The present invention relates to a data conversion apparatus and a learning device in which an image can be converted into a higher-quality image. A class-tap generating circuit (2) and a predictive-tap generating circuit (3) respectively generate from an SD image a class tap for classifying a specified pixel of an HD image and a predictive tap for determining the specified pixel. A classification circuit (4) classifies the specified pixel based on the class tap. A coefficient RAM (5) obtains a tap coefficient for the class of the specified pixel from tap coefficients obtained by using supervisor pixels and learner pixels and by learning the relationship between the supervisor pixels and the learner pixels for each of at least one class while applying weighting to the supervisor pixels and the learner pixels based on the activity of the predictive tap generated from the learner pixels. A predictive-computation circuit (6) determines the specified pixel by using the tap coefficient and the predictive tap.

The applicant of this application previously proposed classification adaptive processing as data conversion processing for improving the quality of images or performing other types of image conversion.
The classification adaptive processing includes classification processing and adaptive processing: data is classified by classification processing according to the property of the data, and each class of the data is subjected to adaptive processing. The adaptive processing is, for example, as follows.
In the adaptive processing, for example, low-quality or standard-quality image (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an "SD (Standard Definition) image") data is mapped by using predetermined tap coefficients so as to be converted into high-quality image (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an "HD (High Definition) image") data.
It is now assumed that, for example, a linear coupling model is employed as the mapping method using tap coefficients. In this case, the pixel values of pixels y forming HD image data (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "HD pixels") are determined by using tap coefficients and a plurality of pixels forming SD image data (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "SD pixels") extracted as predictive taps for predicting the HD pixels according to the following linear equation (linear coupling).
                    y        =                              ∑                          n              =              1                        N                                                                                w              n                                                  x              n                                                          (        1        )
In equation (1), xn indicates the pixel value of the n-th pixel of the SD image data (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "SD pixel") forming the predictive taps for the HD pixel y, and wn indicates the n-th tap coefficient to be multiplied with the pixel value of the n-th SD pixel. In equation (1), it is assumed that the predictive taps consist of N SD pixels x1, x2, . . . , xN.
The pixel value y of the HD pixel may be determined by equations of higher degrees, such as a quadratic equation, rather than by the linear equation expressed in (1).
When the true value of the pixel value of the k-th sample HD pixel is indicated by yk, and when the predictive value of the true value yk determined by equation (1) is indicated by yk′, the predictive error ek is expressed by the following equation.ek=yk−yk′  (2)
Since the predictive value yk′ in equation (2) is determined by equation (1), equation (1) is substituted into yk′ in equation (2), thereby obtaining the following equation.
                              e          k                =                              y            k                    -                      (                                          ∑                                  n                  =                  1                                N                                                                                w                  n                                                                  x                                      n                    ,                    k                                                                        )                                              (        3        )
In equation (3), xn,k designates the n-th SD pixel forming the predictive taps for the k-th sample HD pixel.
The tap coefficient wn that sets the predictive error ek to be 0 in equation (3) is the optimal value for predicting the HD pixel. Generally, however, it is difficult to determine such tap coefficients wn for all the HD pixels.
Accordingly, as the standard for the optimal tap coefficient wn, the method of least squares, for example, is used. Then, the optimal tap coefficient wn can be determined by minimizing the sum E of the square errors as the statistical error expressed by the following equation.
                    E        =                              ∑                          k              =              1                        K                                                                                e            k            2                                              (        4        )
In equation (4), K indicates the number of set samples of the HD pixel yk and the SD pixels x1,k, x2,k, . . . , xN,k forming the predictive taps for the HD pixel yk.
The tap coefficient wn that minimizes the sum E of the square errors in equation (4) must satisfy the condition that the value determined by partial-differentiating the sum E with the tap coefficient wn becomes 0, and thus, the following equation must be established.
                                                                                ∂                  E                                                  ∂                                      w                    n                                                              =                                                                                e                      1                                                                                ∂                                                  e                          1                                                                                ∂                                                  w                          n                                                                                +                                                            e                      2                                                                                ∂                                                  e                          2                                                                                ∂                                                  w                          n                                                                                +                  …                  +                                                            e                      k                                                                                ∂                                                  e                          n                                                                                ∂                                                  w                          n                                                                                =                0                                                                        (                                                n                  =                  1                                ,                2                ,                …                                                                                ,                N                            )                                                          (        5        )
Accordingly, by partial-differentiating equation (3) with the tap coefficient wn, the following equation can be found.
                                                        ∂                              e                k                                                    ∂                              w                1                                              =                      -                          x                              1                ,                k                                                    ,                                            ∂                              e                k                                                    ∂                              w                2                                              =                      -                          x                              2                ,                k                                                    ,        …                                          ,                            (        6        )                                                                    ∂                              e                k                                                    ∂                              w                N                                              =                      -                          x                              N                ,                k                                                    ,                  (                                    k              =              1                        ,            2            ,            …                                                              ,            K                    )
The following equation can be found from equations (5) and (6).
                                                        ∑                              k                =                1                            K                                                                                e                k                                                          x                                  1                  ,                  k                                                              =          0                ,                                            ∑                              k                =                1                            K                                                                                e                k                                                          x                                  2                  ,                  k                                                              =          0                ,                              …                                                                                ∑                                  k                  =                  1                                K                                                                                e                  k                                                                  x                                      N                    ,                    k                                                                                =          0                                    (        7        )
By substituting equation (3) into ek in equation (7), equation (7) can be expressed by the normal equations expressed by equations (8).
                                          [                                                                                (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      1                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      1                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                                (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      1                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      2                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                    …                                                                      (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      1                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      N                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                                (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      2                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      1                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                                (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      2                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      2                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                    …                                                                      (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      2                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      N                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                                ⋮                                                  ⋮                                                  ⋱                                                  ⋮                                                                                (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      N                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      1                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                                (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      N                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      2                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                    …                                                                      (                                                                  ∑                                                  k                          =                          1                                                K                                                                                x                                                      N                            ,                            k                                                                                x                                                      N                            ,                            k                                                                                )                                                                        ]                    [                                                                                w                  1                                                                                w                  2                                                                                ⋮                                                                                w                    N                                                                                ]                                                                                =                                                                                =                                                                                =                                                                                [                                                                                (                                                            ∑                                              k                        =                        1                                            K                                                                                x                                                  1                          ,                          k                                                                                y                        k                                                                              )                                                                                (                                                            ∑                                              k                        =                        1                                            K                                                                                x                                                  2                          ,                          k                                                                                y                        k                                                                              )                                                                                ⋮                                                                                (                                                            ∑                                              k                        =                        1                                            K                                                                                x                                                  N                          ,                          k                                                                                y                        k                                                                              )                                                                                ]                                    (        8        )
By preparing a certain number of sets of the HD pixels yk and the SD pixels xn,k, the same number of normal equations (8) as the number of tap coefficients wn to be determined can be found, and by solving equations (8) (the matrix at the left side next to the tap coefficients wn in equations (8) must be regular to solve equations (8)), the optimal tap coefficients wn can be determined. In solving equations (8), the sweep-out method (Gauss-Jordan elimination), for example, may be employed.
As described above, by solving equations (8) by setting many HD pixels y1, y2, . . . , yk to be supervisor data as supervisors for learning tap coefficients and by setting SD pixels x1,k, x2,k, . . . , xN,k forming the predictive taps for each HD pixel yk to be learner data as learners for learning the tap coefficients, learning is conducted for determining the optimal tap coefficients wn. By using the optimal tap coefficients wn, SD image data is mapped (converted) onto (into) HD image data by using equation (1). The above-described processing is adaptive processing.
The adaptive processing is different from mere interpolation processing in that components contained not in SD images but in HD images are reproduced. More specifically, only from equation (1), the adaptive processing is similar to the so-called "interpolation processing" using interpolation filters. However, the tap coefficients wn, which correspond to tap coefficients used in the interpolation filters, are determined by learning by using HD image data as supervisor data and SD image data as learner data. Thus, components contained in HD images can be reproduced. Accordingly, it is possible that the adaptive processing serves the function of creating images (creating the resolution).
In learning tap coefficients wn, the combinations of supervisor data y and learner data x can be changed so as to obtain tap coefficients wn performing various conversions.
If HD image data is used as the supervisor data y, and if SD image data determined by adding noise or blurring to the HD image data is used as the learner data x, tap coefficients wn for converting an image into an image without noise or blurring can be obtained. If HD image data is used as the supervisor data y, and if SD image data determined by decreasing the resolution of the HD image data is used as the learner data x, tap coefficients wn for converting an image into an image having improved resolution can be obtained. If image data is used as the supervisor data y, and if DCT (discrete cosine transform) coefficients determined by performing DCT on the image data is used as the learner data x, tap coefficients wn for converting the DCT coefficients into image data can be obtained.
As described above, in classification adaptive processing, the tap coefficient wn that minimizes the sum of the square errors in equation (4) is determined for each class, and equation (1) is calculated by using the tap coefficient wn, thereby converting an SD image into a high-quality HD image. That is, by using the tap coefficients wn and the predictive taps xn generated by the SD image, equation (1) is calculated so as to determine HD pixels forming the HD image.
Accordingly, when the dynamic range of the predictive taps is small, the HD pixels are more vulnerable to variations in the values of the predictive taps xn (pixel values of the SD pixels xn forming the predictive taps) compared to when the dynamic range is large.
For the sake of simplicity, it is now assumed, as shown in FIG. 1A, that a predictive tap consists of two SD pixels x1 and x2, and the pixel value y of the HD pixel is determined by the following equation corresponding to equation (1).y=w1x1+w2x2  (9)
Since the dynamic range of a predictive tap is determined by subtracting the minimum value from the maximum value forming the predictive tap, the dynamic range D of the predictive tap shown in FIG. 1A is expressed by the following equation.D=x2−x1  (10)
In this case, the HD pixel y in equation (9) can be expressed by the following equation from equation (10).y=(w1+w2)x1+w2D  (11)
It is now assumed, as shown in FIG. 1B, that, between the SD pixels x1 and x2 forming the predictive tap shown in FIG. 1A, the SD pixel x2 is displaced by Δx2 and is represented by x2′. Then, the HD pixel y′ can be determined from the predictive tap consisting of the SD pixels x1 and x2′ according to the following equation.y′=w1x1+w2x2′  (12)
The dynamic range D′ of the predictive tap shown in FIG. 1B is expressed by the following equation.D′=x2′−x1  (13)
In this case, the HD pixel y′ in equation (12) can be expressed by the following equation from equation (13).y′=(w1+w2)x1+w2D′  (14)
Since the SD pixel x2′ is displaced from the SD pixel x2 by Δx2, it can be expressed by the following equation.x2′=x2+Δx2  (15)
The dynamic range D′ in equation (13) can be expressed by the following equation from equation (15).
                                                                        D                ′                            =                                                                            x                  2                                +                                  Δ                                                                                x                    2                                                  -                                  x                  1                                                                                =                                                          D                +                                  Δ                                                                                x                    2                                                                                (        16        )
By substituting equation (16) into equation (14), the HD pixel y′ can be determined by the following equation.y′=(w1+w2)x1+w2(D+Δx2)  (17)
Accordingly, when the SD pixel x2 forming the predictive tap shown in FIG. 1A is displaced from Δx2, the resulting HD pixel is changed from y expressed by equation (11) to y′ expressed by equation (17).
The value equal to the amount by which the HD pixel determined by a predictive tap before being displaced is changed to the HD pixel determined by a predictive tap after being displaced is referred to as the "displacement rate R", which can be expressed by, for example, the following equation.
                    R        =                              |                                          y                ′                            -              y                        |                    y                                    (        18        )
By substituting equations (11) and (17) into equation (18), the displacement rate R can be determined by the following equation.
                    R        =                                            w              2                                    Δ                                                                                x              2                                                                          (                                                      w                    1                                    +                                      w                    2                                                  )                                                          x                1                                      +                                          w                2                                          D                                                          (        19        )
According to equation (19), the displacement rate R becomes smaller as the dynamic range D of the predictive tap is larger, and conversely, the displacement rate R becomes larger as the dynamic range D of the predictive tap is smaller.
This means that a displacement of the predictive tap hardly influences the resulting HD pixel when the dynamic range D of the predictive tap is large, and conversely, a displacement of the predictive tap considerably influences the resulting HD pixel when the dynamic range D of the predictive tap is small.
Accordingly, when the dynamic range of the predictive tap is large, the influence of a displacement of the predictive tap on the resulting HD pixel can be suppressed by the so-called "masking effect" due to the large dynamic range (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "DR masking effect" of masking the influence of a displacement of a predictive tap on the resulting HD pixel by a large dynamic range). However, when the dynamic range of the predictive tap is small, the above-described DR masking effect does not function, and thus, a displacement of the predictive tap considerably influences the resulting HD pixel.
Thus, the quality of a resulting HD image becomes different between when a predictive tap has a large dynamic range and when a predictive tap has a small dynamic range, thereby making the user feel unnatural.
The level of the DR masking effect also changes the quality of an HD image obtained as a result of performing classification adaptive processing. Accordingly, if the level of the DR masking effect is adjustable by the user, the user is able to obtain an image having a desired quality.

Data converting apparatus and data converting method, learning device and learning method, and recording medium


In the system of a variable transmission bandwidth, transmit power control for minimizing an impact on a circuit is performed. There is provided a transmit power control method that is applied to a transmission apparatus that transmits data through the use of a different transmission format at each transmission opportunity, in which transmit power is controlled depending on the transmission format before digital/analogue conversion is performed on transmission data, and, based on the transmit power control, the transmit power is controlled on the transmission data that has been subjected for the digital/analogue conversion. In addition, the transmission format specifies a frequency bandwidth used for transmission of the transmission data.

In a conventionally known wireless communication technology, an uplink (also referred to as an "up") generally means a channel through which data is transmitted from a mobile station apparatus to a base station apparatus when the base station apparatus and the mobile station apparatus communicate with each other in cellular communication or the like. In this uplink, the base station apparatus simultaneously receives signals from various mobile station apparatuses. Therefore, if the levels of reception power from various mobile station apparatuses are equal to each other, the base station apparatus can easily perform reception processing, and excellent reception properties are also achieved. In order to realize this, a method of controlling the transmit power of a signal transmitted by the mobile station apparatus is introduced into a cellular system, and this is referred to as transmit power control (TPC).
A formula used for determining a transmit power value used in the data communication of an uplink that is defined in specifications (non-patent document 1) on next-generation cellular communication (3.9G) is shown below.[Formula 1]PPUSCH(i)=min{PCMAX,10 log10(MPUSCH(i))+PO—PUSCH(j)+α(j)·PL+ΔTF(i)+f(i)}  (1)
In formula (1), PUSCH stands for physical uplink shared channel, and represents a data channel through which data for an uplink is transmitted. PPUSCH (i) represents a transmit power value in the i-th frame. min {X, Y} is a function for selecting the minimum value from X and Y. Po—PUSCH is transmit power on which PUSCH is based, and is a value that is specified by an upper layer. MPUSCH represents the number of resource blocks (RB: a unit used when a terminal accesses a base station) used for transmission in a data channel, and indicates that, as the number of RBs used is increased, the transmit power is increased. In addition, PL represents path loss, and α is a coefficient by which the path loss is multiplied and is specified by the upper layer. ΔTF is an offset value in a modulation scheme or the like, and f is an offset value (a transmit power control value in a closed loop) calculated by a control signal from the base station. Furthermore, PCMAX is the maximum transmit power value, and PCMAX may be physically the maximum transmit power or may be specified by the upper layer.
Next, a formula used for determining a transmit power value used in control data communication is shown below.[Formula 2]PPUSCH(i)=min{PCMAX,P0—PUSCH+PL+h(nCQI,nHARQ)+ΔF—PUCCH(F)+g(i)}  (2)
In formula (2), PUCCH stands for physical uplink control channel, and represents a control channel through which control data in an uplink is transmitted. Although parameters used in formula (2) is approximately the same as used in formula (1), since the number of RBs has been determined in the control data, there is no parameter that depends on the number of RBs. A coefficient by which path loss is multiplied is not set. Here, h is a parameter that is determined by what information is included in data on PUCCH, and an offset value is determined by the type of data. g is an offset value (a transmit power control value in a closed loop) calculated by a control signal from the base station.
Meanwhile, in the next-generation cellular system, as an uplink communication method, DFT-S-OFDMA (stands for discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiple access, and is also referred to as SC-FDMA: single carrier frequency division multiple access or DFT precoded OFDM) is used. This method has the property of a signal in a single carrier method and a very excellent PAPR (peak to average power ratio) property.
The PUSCH and the PUCCH described above have different frequency bands that are allocated, and although the mobile station apparatus can physically perform simultaneous transmission in the PUSCH and the PUCCH, the simultaneous transmission is not performed in the PUSCH and the PUCCH in the specifications of the next-generation cellular communication (3.9G), in consideration of degradation of the PAPR property caused by performing the simultaneous transmission.
Furthermore, in a more advanced generation (4G), a technology referred to as carrier aggregation is being examined in which systems whose specifications have been specified in 3.9G are caused to function as one system by being used in parallel in a plurality of different frequency bands. This technology has the advantage of more simply enhancing a throughput.
Moreover, the extension of the communication method is being examined, and one of the candidates is a method referred to as a clustered DFT-S-OFDM. In this method, RBs are discretely used although RBs continuous in a frequency region are used in the DFT-S-OFDM method. Since the clustered DFT-S-OFDM is characterized in that discrete RBs are used, the PAPR property is degraded, but the diversity effects of frequency selection can be expected. Furthermore the number of RBs that cannot be used due to restriction of the use of continuous RBs can be reduced.
Non-patent document 1: 3gpp ts 36. 213
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a transmission apparatus based on the specifications of 3.9G. In FIG. 6, a scrambling section 200 scrambles data on the PUSCH. A modulation section 201 performs error correction and digital modulation. A DFT pre-coding section 202 performs pre-coding through DFT. A modulation section 203 modulates data in the PUCCH. A spreading section 204 performs data spreading specified by the specifications. A selection section 205 performs selection based on which one of the PUSCH and the PUCCH is transmitted.
A resource map section 206 allocates data to be transmitted to a subcarriers to be transmitted. An OFDM signal generation section 207 generates an OFDM signal including a guard interval. A RF section 208 is constituted by to a subcarriers to be ranging from a D/A conversion (digital/analog conversion) section to an antenna. The RF section 208 includes a transmit power control section A, and a control section 209 performs transmit power control.
The following formula is a formula for determining transmit power in 3.9G.[Formula 3]PPUSCH(i)=min{PCMAX,10 log10(MPUSCH(i))+PO—PUSCH(j)+α(j)·PL+ΔTF(i)+f(i)}  (3)PPUCCH(i)=min{PCMAX,P0—PUCCH+PL+h(nCQI,nHARQ)+ΔF—PUCCH(F)+g(i)}  (4)
In the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 6, transmit power control is performed such that the transmission apparatus uses the transmit power control section A to control transmit power and that consequently, the transmit power can be expressed by formula (3) or formula (4).
In W-CDMM used in 3G, as the output power of the transmission apparatus, an output power of about −50 dBm to 24 dBm is required. When this value is applied to a 3.9G system without being processed, a variable region of about 74 dB is determined in the transmit power control section A. Furthermore, in 3.9G, the frequency bandwidth of transmission is variable.
For example, if the 3.9G system is a system that can be used from 1 RB to 100 RB, an input power to an amplifier is varied by 20 dB. If an output power of −50 dBm to 24 dBm is required for all the RBs, the transmit power control section A totally needs a variable region of 94 dB. Further, this becomes a serious problem when a larger number of RBs are used by the transmission apparatus as in the carrier aggregation.
Another problem is that, since the number of RBs used is different, it is likely that a bit resolution required for the D/A conversion section is affected. For example, a difference of 20 dB in the input power corresponds to a resolution of 6 bits to 7 bits. Furthermore, when, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the PUCCH and the PUSCH are transmitted at the same time, it is impossible to perform transmit power control in each physical channel, and it is also impossible to perform transmit power control in units of the carrier aggregation.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing conditions, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transmit power control method and a transmission apparatus which can perform transmit power control to minimize an impact on a circuit in a system of a variable transmission bandwidth.

Transmit power control method and transmission apparatus


The improved tuning mechanisms include a novel string clamp comprising a lever based clamping element oblique to the string path that utilizes an enlarged radiused underside to provide a variable clamping point to address various diameters of strings which can be integrated into either a fine-tuner or Macro-tuner arrangements; further, there, is, in addition to an improved Global-tuner, a fixed dimension multi-tier insert plate for a tremolo base plate, provided in differing sizes, to support bridge elements in a radii that matches various fingerboard radii, and improvements directed towards integrated riser posts for bearing arrangements on the pivot axis of a fulcrum tremolo provide a slotted axel recess and a separate threaded outer sleeve-like portion to allow alignment to the tremolo's bearing axis regardless of the position of riser post within body for adjustably mounting the fulcrum tremolo to the instrument, which, in the preferred embodiment, all work cooperatively together.

In a stringed musical instrument, such as a guitar, the strings, placed under tension, extend unsupported between a first critical point usually formed by the nut positioned where the neck joins the head and a second critical point usually formed by a clearly defined point on the bridge positioned on the body. The strings are secured or fixed at one end on the body of the instrument to what is traditionally known as the tailpiece, strung over the bridge and extended past the nut at the transition from the neck instrument to the head, and, for conventional instruments, secured at the other end to the tuning pegs where an untensioned string is tensioned and adjusted to a tuned pitched condition, proper playing pitch for play, or, simply, tuned condition; sometimes a nut arrangement is provided for a headless or tuning peg-less design. The neck further comprises a fingerboard or fret board that a player presses the strings against to play various pitches up and down the neck; the fingerboard typically is formed with a convex radius that commonly varies between 9 and 16 inches. Further, it is known to those of ordinary skill in the art that the direction of the strings are generally parallel to both neck and the surface of the body despite instances where the string deviates from this direction at either or both the peg head or tailpiece. The tension of an individual guitar string is approximately 17 lbs at typical pitched conditions; anchoring or securely attaching the string holds the string to the instrument under normal conditions that often comprise an additional of 10 lbs of tension per string under other certain circumstances.
The second critical point can be created as a part of a combined bridge and tailpiece structure. Traditionally, the size of the bridge element is quite small so as to create a clearly defined single point of contact between the string and the bridge element. It is between these two points that the playable string length is typically determined, sometimes referred to as the scale length or harmonic length. Adjusting the relative distance between the first and second critical points is called harmonic tuning or setting the intonation. Some bridges structures are individually adjustable, that is for each string, relative to the nut for achieving a more precise harmonic tuning. Usually this adjustment of the second critical point for harmonic tuning is carried out first and then the strings of the instrument are tuned to playing pitch. Often referred to the "initial setup", it is not uncommon that further adjustment of the harmonic tuning is necessary for a variety of reasons, for example, including changing the brand of a string where the alloy of the strings is varied or when the gauge of strings the player chooses changes as well as "setting" the string by manually pulling on the string along the scale length in order to improve elasticity in the string at first tensioning before the string can confidently relied on to hold proper playing pitch during the life of the string.
Often the typical construction of the strings, particularly for guitar and bass, includes a plain end and, on the other end, a "ball end" which being a washer-like addition is wrapped by the string itself into a larger form to enable "fixing" or securing the string on the instrument to the tailpiece element; alternatives to the "ball end" include as known to those of ordinary skill in the art as "bullet ends" formed from metal and molded around the end of the string. The tailpiece is usually provides for an opening or recess sufficient in size to receive the strings of various diameters ranging from 0.007″ to 0.070″ or more while being smaller than the diameter of the ball end so as to limit the passing of the ball end through the opening or recess in order to secure or mount each of the individual strings to the body. The wrapping usually extends up to a ½″ towards the plain end and as such the position of the tailpiece structure relative to the bridge element must insure that the wrapping does not extend over the second critical point when arranged on the instrument; this wrapping, under normal circumstances, is not subject to stretch compared to the rest of the string. Stable fine adjustments of these and other elements have been a longstanding problem for stringed musical instruments.
In the relevant art, "anchoring" strings is often referred to as attaching or securing a string and understood with the limitation that the anchoring is sufficient so that the string is fixedly attached or secured to the instrument under the typical tensioned conditions of the string that typically range from 16 to 20 lbs or greater.
Playing pitch or proper playing pitch or pitched string condition is generally understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to be the proper pitch of a guitar string relative to the remaining guitar strings when a guitar is played "in tune." For example, in a standard tuning arrangement, for a six string guitar, based on the standard A=440 Hz, the playing pitch of the 1st string (highest) is tuned to note E (329.63 Hz), the playing pitch of the 2nd string is tuned to note B (294.94 Hz), the playing pitch of the 3rd string is tuned to note G (196.00 Hz), the playing pitch of the 4th string is tuned to note d (146.83 Hz), the playing pitch of the 5th string is tuned to note A (110 Hz), and the playing pitch of the 6th string is tuned to note E (82.41 Hz).
In the Proelsdorfer U.S. Pat. No. 2,304,597, string tensioning devices placed on the tailpiece for fine tuning the pitch of the strings of violins, guitars and the like, were disclosed; such pitch adjustment is quite limited in range, comprising generally an interval falling between that of a whole tone and a major third at best, and designed to offer the tuning of the strings a minor adjustment of pitch after the general tuning is achieved with the tuning pegs on the head of the instrument which traditionally first provides for raising and adjusting the tension of the strings to pitch from an untensioned condition and then setting the string. This is regarded as fine tuning and the apparatus for doing so, the "fine tuners", usually comprise an adjustment knob or thumb screw.
It is known to those skilled in stringed musical instrument design and construction that various tremolos have been proposed and utilized for varying the tension of all the strings simultaneously for the purpose of creating a tremolo sound. Further, it is known to those skilled in the art that there are a great many commonly used names for such devices, such as tremolo, tremolo device, tremolo tailpiece, tremolo bridge, fulcrum tremolo, fulcrum tremolo bridge, fulcrum tremolo tailpiece, fulcrum tremolo bridge-tailpiece, vibrato, vibrato bridge, vibrato tailpiece, vibrato bridge tailpiece, etc.
In one specific species, known as the fulcrum tremolo, first introduced in Fender U.S. Pat. No. 2,741,146, shows and provides a device comprising a novel structure, which incorporates the bridge and the tailpiece. The portion supporting the bridge elements is called the bridge plate or the base plate. Further, both the bridge and the tailpiece elements connected to the base plate both move together as the fulcrum tremolo device is pivoted. Accordingly, a singular and defining aspect of the fulcrum tremolo is that the harmonic tuning is upset as the device is pivoted; and, accordingly, for an instrument equipped with a fulcrum tremolo, it is unique in that only restoring all of the strings to a proper pitched condition also simultaneously restores the harmonic tuning for all the strings. The base plate upon which the individual bridge elements are adjustably secured has a beveled ridge portion which is secured to the instrument body by six screws permitting pivotal movement about a fulcrum axis which varies the tension on the strings and produces the desired tremolo effect; in general, this device allowed for extensive dropping down of the pitch of all the strings and a modest upward capacity that further enabled the familiar mild pedal steel or Hawaiian guitar vibrato effect provided in gentle pivoting.
In this first vintage fulcrum tremolo, herein referred to as Type I, the metal bridge elements of '146 are loosely held in place by a spring loaded attachment screw arrangement pivotally secured through openings in a small folded portion of the base plate farthest from the fulcrum axis. The bridge elements also incorporate set screws for varying the relative height of the bridge elements and, therefore, height of the respective second critical points relative to the base plate and by extension, to the body and neck. Later iterations of Fender '146 included pivotally supporting the fulcrum tremolo relative to the body with a riser post arrangement adjustably connected to the fulcrum tremolo. The horizontal distance between the vertical centerline of each riser post is approximately 2.22″. Further, the distance from the pivot point to the second critical point not including the variable heights of the bridge elements is 0.25″ and the distance form the nut to the pivot is about 25.25″ since the Fender Stratocaster for which this fulcrum tremolo first appeared provided a 25.5″ scale length.
Typically, in order to facilitate the fulcrum tremolo pivoting about its fulcrum axis, counter springs, as a biasing element, are utilized to counteract or counter balance the pull of the strings. Counter springs are usually connected to the body of the instrument at one end and, on the other end, to a separate spring attachment means transverse the base plate, usually a block of metal, milled or cast or a combination of the two, which being secured to the bottom of the base plate by three screws 90 degrees to the base plate, is often called a spring block or inertia block. Upward pitch changes initiated by the use of the fulcrum tremolo in one direction can significantly increase the tension of individual strings.
One of the most troublesome problems with prior art for the fulcrum tremolo has been maintaining the "initial position" achieved at "initial setup" when all the strings are brought to proper playing pitch as the harmonic tuning is achieved. When a musician plays on the string there is usually some kind of string stretch over time that results in the overall tuning, and thereby, the "initial position" going out of balance. Specifically, when the pitch of the string changes, the position of the fulcrum tremolo and the position of the second critical point relative to the nut changes which then instantly alters the harmonic tuning.
This singular characteristic adds complexities in obtaining the primary goal of achieving a stable equilibrium between the force of the tension provided by the two to five biasing or counter springs (connected between the tremolo and the body) in relation to force of tension of all the strings (connected to the fulcrum tremolo and the end of the neck at the peg head by the tuning pegs or an optional nut arrangement that secures the strings without tuning pegs, etc.)
Accordingly, these and other inherences need to be addressed in achieving a true and lasting initial position for the fulcrum tremolo and has been the object of many inventions. In this inherent inter-dependant system of tensioning forces, contrary to the requirements of other tremolo or fixed bridge arrangements, (in the ideal instance where the essential conditions of the initial setup have been established and the appropriate tensioning force of the springs provisioned), the precise tensioning to proper playing pitch for any less than the total number of strings will inherently fail to achieve pitch and harmonic tuning for all of those strings attached to the tremolo.
Initial position refers to the position of the fulcrum tremolo and, therefore, the position of the second critical point on the bridge elements in relation to the first critical point on the nut such that the tension of the strings, each at the intended proper pitched condition, and the appropriately tensioned counter springs, renders a specific equilibrium point wherein the harmonic tuning for all the strings is simultaneously achieved. Often the pivot means is subject to wear and the tremolo does not always return to its initial position. Great care is required to establish the initial position since both aspects of adjustment are interactive and it simultaneously provides both the proper harmonic tuning and proper pitch tuning for each of the individual strings in order to enable a lasting "initial setup".
Improvements to the Fender '146 fulcrum tremolo have included using string clamps at the nut and at a point on the opposite side of the intonation point or second critical point on each of the bridge elements relative to the nut in order to limit string stretch to the prime vibratory portion of the string within these two points defining the scale length; and, separately, adopting a novel shaped beveled edge, called a "knife edge", adjustably supported by two screw-like members called riser posts positioned in the body to improve the return to initial position after pivoting the fulcrum tremolo device (Rose U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,661). The knife edge fulcrum pivot arrangement provides for the base plate to be positioned generally parallel to the instrument body and offers the novel possibility to increase the tension of the string for upward pitch changes.
In this second vintage fulcrum tremolo, herein referred to as Type II, the horizontal distance between the vertical centerline of each riser post is approximately 2.925″. The distance from the pivot point to the second critical point, not compensating for the variable heights of the bridge elements, is about 0.425″ and, approximately, 25.00″ from the first critical point on the nut for instruments with a 25.5″ scale length.
In Rose U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,236 a combination of the bridge element, the tailpiece and fine tuners replaced the "novel structure" of the Fender device so that within the limited range (typically within a range about the interval of a whole tone, for example from C to D in the Western diatonic musical scale) the strings could be re-tuned without first unlocking the string clamps at the nut. However, string stretch beyond the range of the fine tuners necessitated a correction that is tedious and time consuming involving unlocking the string clamps, re-tuning the strings, re-clamping, and further re-tuning the string with the fine tuners and then re-tuning all the other strings to re-balance the equilibrium point back to initial position. The string clamps of the Rose fulcrum tremolo are characterized by small blocks slideably mounted within a recess within a housing element connected to the bridge element. The player typically cuts the ball-end of the string off and then vertically places the cut end of the string within the recess between the block and a vertical surface located closest to the bridge element created by the recess and then bend in the direction of the tuning pegs—in a some instances, there are later designs that do not require the ball end to be cut off for the clamping mechanism to fixedly secure a string.
Therefore, for stringed musical instruments, as is known to those skilled in the art:                The second critical point is a clearly defined point on the bridge or individual bridge elements, the adjustment of which relative to the first critical point on the nut defines the length of the string or scale length and the adjustment of which is called harmonic tuning.
For fulcrum tremolos as originated by Fender U.S. Pat. No. 2,741,146, when pivoted:                Both the bridge portions and the string anchoring means, the tailpiece, simultaneously move about a common fulcrum axis;        The harmonic tuning is upset and is only restored when all strings are at proper playing pitch;        The tuning pegs or other means of tensioning the strings are inter-dependant with each other in obtaining initial position; and        Various factors can disturb the equilibrium point between the tension of the strings and the tension of the counter springs and as a consequence disturb the initial position.
For those fulcrum tremolos equipped with fine tuners as with Rose U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,236, Storey U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,750 and Fender U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,737:                The bridge and tailpiece portions simultaneously move about the fulcrum axis when the device is pivoted for the tremolo effect;        The fine tuner screws simultaneously move with the bridge and tailpiece portions about the tuning axis when fine tuning; and        Fine tuners are designed to offer the tuning of the strings a minor adjustment of pitch after the general tuning is first achieved, typically, by the tuning pegs on the head of the instrument; and        Adjusting the tension of a string by the fine tuner knob alone simultaneously adjusts the harmonic and pitch tuning and can achieve tuning a string to proper pitch conditions while simultaneously achieving proper harmonic tuning.
For those fulcrum tremolos fitted with string clamps at the first and second critical points as in Rose U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,661,                String stretch beyond the clamps at the first and second critical points is eliminated offering the most stability of tuning possible; and        A plain end of the string is inserted between the bock and a vertical surface formed, transverse the general direction of the string, in a recess in the housing element and clamped by threading an adjustment bolt; the adjustment screw is pivotally positioned in the direction of the strings and the fine tuner adjustment screw is both transverse to the adjustment bolt and direction of the strings.
These two vintage fulcrum tremolos of the last century, Fender in the 50's and Rose in the 80's, are in part distinguished by the differing standards in the spacing between the riser posts, approximately, 2.22″ and 2.925″ typically. The individual parts of the two vintage designs were generally not compatible. Consequently, those who had guitars with the 2.925″ spacing were limited to tremolos that had fine tuner arrangements and string locks and those guitars with the 2.22″ spacing were limited to those tremolos without fine-tuners and string locks.
Often the musician is called upon to play in an ensemble where the other instruments are not tuned to a typical concert pitch. Accordingly, the musician must flatten or sharpen the initial tuning of all the strings on his instrument in order to meet the pitch requirements of other instruments. This re-tuning often disturbs the initial position because the tension of the counter springs has not been readjusted as well. Accordingly, the position of the base plate of the tremolo is either tilting away from or towards the body of the instrument which then can limit the range in which the tremolo can be activated. Steinberger U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,005 and Gunn U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,275 provide for an adjustable counter spring and utilize an adjustment knob that provides a means to vary tension of the counter spring and thereby maintain the equilibrium point between the tension of the counter spring and the tension of the strings on a non-fulcrum tailpiece tremolo, that is, a tremolo device where the bridge elements do not pivot with the anchoring means and, therefore, do not upset the harmonic tuning as such.


A panel, a tactical maintenance curtain system, and a method includes a plurality of first panels, where each of the plurality of first panels are rectangular; a plurality of second panels, where each of the plurality of second panels are disposed between a pair of the plurality of first panels via lap joints, and where each of the plurality of second panels are rectangular; and at least two webbing straps containing each of the plurality of first panels and the plurality of second panels; where each of the plurality of first panels, the plurality of second panels, and the at least two webbing straps are constructed of a material providing suitable impact protection from bullets and blast fragments.

Military personnel in combat zones require protection from enemy weapons. Further, munitions and the like also require protection from weapon fire and the like. Conventionally, military personnel are wearing protective body armor to reduce risk of injuries. Body armor is generally protecting clothing, designed to absorb and/or deflect slashing, bludgeoning, and penetrating attacks. In addition to military personnel, body armor can be used to protect police forces, private citizens and private security guards or bodyguards. Body armor can include metal or ceramic plates in battledress, providing additional protection from rifle rounds. Metallic components or tightly-woven fiber layers can give soft armor resistance to stab and slash attacks from a knife. Mail armor continues to be used as protection against stab/slash attacks.
For personal body armor, Kevlar™ is well known as a component of some bullet resistant vests and bullet resistant face masks. Kevlar is a product name and trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora and was developed at DuPont in 1965. Various helmets and vests used by United States military forces since the early 1980s both have Kevlar™ as a key component, as do their replacements. Other military uses include bullet resistant facemasks used by sentries. Kevlar™ in non-woven long strand form is used inside an outer protective cover to form chaps that loggers use while operating a chainsaw. If the moving chain contacts and tears through the outer cover, the long fibers of Kevlar™ tangle, clog, and stop the chain from moving as they get drawn into the workings of the drive mechanism of the saw. The latest Kevlar™ material that DuPont has developed is Kevlar XP. In comparison with 'normal' Kevlar™, Kevlar™ XP is more light-weight and more comfortable to wear, as it is quilt stitch is not required for the ballistic package. Another fiber used to manufacture a bullet resistant vest is Dyneema™ which is a lightweight high-strength oriented-strand gel spun through a spinneret. Dyneema™ has an extremely high strength-to-weight ratio (a 1-mm-diameter rope of Dyneema™ can bear up to a 240-kg load), is light enough that it can float on water, and has high energy absorption characteristics. Dyneema™ is a polyethylene fiber.
However, there can be situations where it is not feasible for personnel to wear protective body armor while still in harm's way in a combat area or the like. For example, while in a combat zone, personnel may need to perform maintenance in a small area which does not allow the personnel to wear protective body armor. One such example can include performing setup and maintenance on a Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System (LPWS). For example, the LPWS is a Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar, abbreviated C-RAM or Counter-RAM, that is a system used to detect and/or destroy incoming artillery, rockets and mortar rounds in the air before they hit their ground targets, or simply provide early warning. AN LPWS can be mobile as well, mounted, for example, on a flatbed trailer or the like. Disadvantageously, maintenance and setup in an LPWS or other C-RAM is in a small, confined, and unprotected area. As such, it is not possible for field personnel to wear protective armor during these activities which could take several hours. Other equipment can also have these same limitations such as field-based radar systems and other weapons.
Furthermore, conventional body armor is not as effective with personnel performing maintenance and setup in dangerous areas. In particular, the design of conventional body armor is meant to protect a user's chest. While performing maintenance and setup in dangerous, personnel are in movement and exposed, i.e. not standing straight with the chest exposed, but exposing various body areas based on positioning.
Accordingly, there also is a need for portable protective armor that is not necessarily worn, but effective in protecting personnel as well as objects such as munitions in the field. Such portable protective armor would be easy to set up, be portable in nature, selectively configurable, and configured to provide protection over a specific area.

The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention presents improved packages for single-use, disposable folded towels, and more particularly to single- and multi-towel packages which provide for readily grasping a defined portion of the towel upon opening the package and automatic unfolding of the towel upon removal from the package without a separate unfolding step requiring additional consumer action. Single-towel embodiments are disclosed which provide for complete unfolding of the towel by the use of: (a) an opening bearing a particular geometrical relationship to the dimensions of the folded towel; or (b) a flexible bar within the package to provide unfolding of the towel in the longitudinal direction. A multi-towel embodiment which provides for the advantageous dispensing features and convenience of an improved single-towel package while providing the added capability of multi-towel transportation is also disclosed. These packages provide for complete containment and protection of the folded towel prior to use, while providing ease of dispensing and unfolding for the consumer at the time of use. Several methods of folding folded towels for use with packages according to the present invention are also disclosed, as well as various methods of fabricating the improved packages according to the present invention.

In today's society, cleanliness is very important both from a health standpoint and an aesthetic standpoint. However, when one is away from home it is much more difficult to perform personal cleansing due to unavailability of traditional cleansing tools such as soap, cloths, and running water. Cleansing of sensitive areas of the body also requires special consideration, as ordinary towel products, cleansing agents, and other associated materials such as disinfectants may cause irritation and discomfort.
To address this problem, manufacturers of consumer products have developed disposable, paper-based towel products which are pre-moistened with a non-irritating cleansing agent. As used herein, the terms "single-use" and "disposable" are used interchangeably to refer to towels and packages which are to be used once and then discarded, rather than retained (and perhaps cleaned) for reuse. There are two basic types of containers for such pre-moistened towel products, namely multi-towel containers and single-towel disposable packages.
In a typical multi-towel container, a flexible or rigid moisture-impervious container is utilized. The pre-moistened towel products are either on a roll, with perforations defining the ends of individual towels, or in some sort of folded, stacked relationship such that one towel at a time (or in some cases, more than one) is presented to the consumer and can readily be extracted from the container. These containers thus typically promote easy dispensing of individual towels, and are usually recloseable to protect the remaining towels. The major drawback of most multi-towel containers is that, because of the number of towels contained, of necessity they have a significant amount of bulk, are awkward to carry away from home, and render discretion in use practically impossible.
Pocket-sized, single-towel disposable packages designed for away-from-home use avoid the bulk and awkwardness of the multi-towel containers, but are not without drawbacks. Most such packages do not have a defined portion of the towel which is presented to the consumer upon opening the package, and hence the consumer must typically reach inside the package and fish about for the folded towel to grasp and extract it. Due to the lack of a roll of towels to feed from and/or other towels to interact with, in a typical single-towel package the folded pre-moistened towel is typically dispensed as a small, tightly folded moist pad consisting of the towel as it remains folded in two directions, i.e., along major axes of the towel. The consumer must then manually unfold this small pad of material to have the entire extent of the towel available for use. This is an undesirable and time-consuming process requiring two hands to accomplish, and without which the towel is of little practical use. The pre-moistened nature of the towel exaggerates this problem. The amount of handling of the towel which this unfolding requires also presents a significant likelihood of contamination of the towel prior to actual use.
The present invention is directed to improving single- and multi-towel packages to provide the advantageous accessibility and unfolding features of multi-towel containers while retaining the transportability and concealability of a single-towel disposable package, and thus increase consumer satisfaction with this type of product. A plurality of such single-towel packages, or multi-towel variations of such packages, may thus provide comfort and convenience as might be required for a day of traveling or a full day away from home. Specific attributes and advantages of this invention will be apparent with reference to the accompanying Specification and Drawing Figures.

Packages for single-use folded towels which provide for unfolding of the towel upon removal from the package


In one example, a method for controlling a display with a digital signal includes detecting a binary value from a timing controller, the binary value corresponding to a portion of an image to be displayed. The method can also include determining a previous binary value from the timing controller and calculating a difference between the binary value from the timing controller and the previous binary value from the timing controller. Furthermore, the method can include generating an encoded signal based on the difference and transmitting the encoded signal to a display panel.

Display devices commonly include light-emitted diodes (LEDs), which provide a two-lead semiconductor light source. When a suitable voltage is applied to the light-emitted diodes, light is emitted. In some examples, display devices can include micro-LEDs that include arrays of microscopic LEDs that form individual pixel elements. The micro-LEDs can receive an analog signal to display images.
In some cases, the same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and the figures to reference like components and features. Numbers in the 100 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 1; numbers in the 200 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 2; and so on.

Display control based on a digital signal


A computer system and reclamation control method capable of effectively utilizing storage resources of a storage system even under the circumstance where the storage system is operated according to thin provisioning and a file server can obtain snapshots.

As an example of conventional technology relating to the present invention, there is a computer system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 2008-146574. This patent literature discloses that when resident software of a host computer cancels the correspondence relationship between data in a file system and areas (pages) of virtual volumes, specified data is written to an area of a virtual volume and the area of the virtual volume to which the specified data is written is then returned to a pool by a storage control device.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 2010-0033374 which is another conventional technology discloses that when deleting a file or a snapshot, a file management device judges whether or not data to be deleted is shared with another snapshot; and if the data to be deleted is not shared, zero data is written to an area of the data to be deleted.

Computer system and reclamation control method

Abstract: The present invention is designed so that if a block, to which a host does not refer, but reference from a snapshot remains, exists in a virtual volume of an operation volume, temporary data is written to this block; and as triggered by this writing, data before writing is saved to a difference volume, so that the reference from the snapshot to this block is released and then this block can be reclaimed.


A ballast assembly for a work vehicle. The ballast assembly includes a frame, a ballast weight, and a lift. The frame is included in an underside of the work vehicle. The ballast weight has a first portion and a second portion. The lift has an upper end pivotally coupled to the frame and a lower end releasably coupled to the ballast weight. The first and second portions are configured to engage with a ground surface and the frame, respectively, when the ballast weight is loaded onto the work vehicle. The first and second portions are configured to engage with the frame when the ballast weight is loaded onto the work vehicle.

It is known to ballast work vehicles, such as a tractors, to accommodate for various implements attached thereto. Suitcase weights may be mounted to the front of the vehicle when forward located ballast is desired, while wheel weights may be attached to the rear wheels of the vehicle when rearward located ballast is desired.
In some instances, an operator of the vehicle may want to adjust the ballast of the vehicle. For example, the operator may want to increase the ballast, so as to increase the maximum tractive force when performing heavy draft field operations. Or alternatively, the operator may want to decrease the ballast, so as to improve fuel efficiency, increase payload capability, and increase the amount that can be hauled when there are weight limits associated with a combination of the vehicle and a towed implement.


A phosphorus ligand-free, mild, efficient and complete catalytic hydrogenation process is for the sustainable production of terminal diols from renewable terminal dialkyl esters with improved yield. Soluble, phosphorus ligand free Ru (II)-pincer type complexes can be used as catalysts in the hydrogenation process.

Aliphatic 1,3-diols, particularly 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO), have many applications as monomer units for polyester and polyurethane, and as starting materials for the synthesis various value-added products. 1,3-propanediol was chemically produced either from acrolein or ethylene oxide a petroleum feedstocks. However, as non-renewable crude oil resources become limited, substitutes for petroleum feedstocks are increasingly sought after; as such the synthesis of 1,3-propanediol from renewable resources is of great interest. The non-renewable crude oil resources were used as feedstock chemicals. However, considering the serious concern over the dwindling non-renewable petroleum feedstocks and environmental factors an alternative methods based on renewable resources are of immense interest and highly attractive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,771 disclosed a method of producing aliphatic and cycloaliphatic diols by catalytic hydrogenation of dicarboxylic acid esters under very harsh conditions (higher temperature and higher pressure) by the use of a copper chromite catalyst, wherein said dicarboxylic acid ester has up to 12 carbon atoms in the diacid portion and up to 4 carbon atoms in the alcohol portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,004 disclosed a process for the production of alcohols and diols by hydrogenation of a corresponding hydrogenatable material selected from monoesters of carboxylic acids, monoesters of dicarboxylic acids, diesters of dicarboxylic acids, lactones, and mixtures of two or more thereof, wherein said catalyst is selected from reduced manganese promoted copper catalysts, reduced copper chromite catalysts, reduced promoted copper chromite catalysts, and chemically mixed copper-titanium catalysts.
Article titled "New CNN-Type Ruthenium Pincer NHC Complexes. Mild, Efficient Catalytic Hydrogenation of Esters" by E Fogler et al. published in Organometallics, 2011, 30 (14), pp 3826-3833 reports New pincer ruthenium complexes (2-6) based on the new bipyridine-NHC ligand 1 resulting in an efficient catalytic hydrogenation of esters to the corresponding alcohols under mild conditions. However, this strategy was not applicable to hydrogenation of terminal diesters to terminal diols.
Article titled "Electron-Rich PNP- and PNN-Type Ruthenium(II) Hydrido Borohydride Pincer Complexes. Synthesis, Structure, and Catalytic Dehydrogenation of Alcohols and Hydrogenation of Esters" by J Zhang et al. published in Organometallics, 2011, 30 (21), pp 5716-5724 reports Electron-rich phosphorus ligand based PNP- and PNN-type ruthenium(II) hydrido borohydride pincer complexes, [RuH(BH4)(tBu-PNP)] (tBu-PNP=(2,6-bis(di-tert-butylphosphinomethyl)pyridine) (5) and [RuH(BH4)(tBu-PNN)] (tBu-PNN=2-di-tert-butylphosphinomethyl-6-diethylaminomethylpyridine) (6), were prepared from their corresponding N2-bridged dinuclear Ru(II) complexes [(tBu-PNP)RuCl2]2(μ-N2) (3) and [(RtBu-PNN)RuCl2]2(μ-N2) (4), respectively. The 6 effectively catalyzes the hydrogenation of nonactivated aromatic and aliphatic esters to the corresponding alcohols with TON˜200 under a relatively mild pressure of dihydrogen and neutral and homogeneous conditions.
Article titled "Efficient hydrogenation of biomass-derived cyclic di-esters to 1,2-diols" by E. Balaraman et al. published in Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 1111-1113 reports an unprecedented homogeneous hydrogenation of cyclic di-esters, in particular biomass-derived glycolide and lactide, to the corresponding 1,2-diols catalyzed by Ru(II) PNN (1) and Ru(II) CNN (2) pincer complexes under mild hydrogen pressure. This strategy is applicable only for cyclic esters (easy to hydrogenate under optimal conditions).
Article titled "Ester hydrogenation catalyzed by Ru—CNN pincer complexes" by Y Sun et al. published in Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 8349-8351 reports new Ru—CNN pincer catalysts for ester hydrogenation under mild conditions. They synthesized and characterized two new NHC-based CNN-pincer ligands and the corresponding ruthenium (II) complexes 2. Complex 2a can be deprotonated by a strong base to form a 5-coordinate species 3a With dearomatized pyridine moiety in the ligand backbone. Compound 3a can split H2 to form a trans-dihydride species 4a with a rearomatized pyridine moiety in the ligand back-bone.
PCT application no. 2006106484 disclosed a process for the reduction by hydrogenation, using molecular H2, of a C3-C7O substrate containing one or two esters, or lactones, functional groups into the corresponding alcohol, or diol, characterized in that said process is carried out in the presence of a base and at least one catalyst or pre-catalyst in the form of a ruthenium complexes of a tetradentate ligand wherein the coordinating groups consist of at least one amino or imino group and at least one phosphino group.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,511 disclosed a process for the production of 1,3-propanediol comprising: hydrogenating an aqueous solution of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst, the hydrogenating being carried out at a temperature of from 30° C. to 180° C., a hydrogen pressure of 5 to 300 bar and a pH of from 2.5 to 7.0, wherein the catalyst is a supported catalyst comprising an oxide phase on which ruthenium is disposed in a quantity of from 0.1 to 20 wt %, relative to the oxide phase.
Article titled "catalytic Hydrogenation of Esters. Development of an Efficient Catalyst and Processes for Synthesizing (R)-1,2-Propanediol and 2-(1-Menthoxy)ethanol" by W Kuriyama et al. published in Org. Process Res. Dev., 2012, 16 (1), pp 166-171 reports a ruthenium catalyst for the reduction of esters by hydrogenation to (R)-1,2-propanediol and 2-(1-menthoxy)ethanol.
Article titled "Ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogenation of esters using tripodal phosphine ligands" by M J Hanton et al. published in Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 2011, 346 (1-2), pp 70-78 reports the synthesis of a new tripodal phosphine ligand, N(CH2PEt2)3, N-TriPhosEt and the use of tripodal ligands of this type, N(CH2PR2)3 (R=Ph, Et), in conjunction with ruthenium for the catalyzed hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate (DMO). However complete hydrogenation is difficult.
Article titled "Synthesis of alcohols and diols by hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and esters over Ru—Sn—Al2O3 catalysts" by M Toba et al. published in Applied Catalysis A: General, 1999, 189 (2), pp 243-250 reports new sol-gel Ru—Sn—Al2O3 catalysts prepared by a complexing agent-assisted sol-gel method, which selectively hydrogenates unsaturated or aromatic carboxylic acids and their esters to the corresponding unsaturated or aromatic alcohols at low pressure.
Article titled "Hydrogenation of dimethyl adipate over bimetallic catalysts" by SM Santos et al. published in Catalysis Communications, 2004, 5 (7), pp 377-381 reports hydrogenation of dimethyl adipate at moderate conditions (5 MPa and 255° C.) aiming at screening the performance of noble metals and some additives on 1,6-hexanediol selective production. Ruthenium was found to be the most active metal and selectively cleavage the O—CH3 bond in the ester group giving the adipic acid monomethyl ester. The production of hexanediol was significant over RuSn/Al2O3 catalyst (49% selectivity).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,844,452 disclosed a process for the co-production of butane-1,4-diol and tetrahydrofuran by hydrogenation of a corresponding hydrogenatable material selected from mono-(C1 to C4 alkyl) esters of dicarboxylic acids, di-(C1 to C4 alkyl) esters of C4 aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, γ-butyrolactone, and mixtures of two or more thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,987 disclosed a process for catalytically reducing perfluorinated diesters having the general formula ROOC(CF), COOR, wherein R is a lower alkyl radical, and n is a positive integer having a value of from 2 to 4, inclusive, which process comprises reacting said perfluorinated diester with hydrogen at pressures of from about 8000 to more than 16,000 p.s.i. and temperatures of from about 50-300° C., in the presence of from 20% to 300% by weight, based on the weight of the perfluorinated diester, of a copperchromium oxide catalyst essentially free of uncombined alkaline earth oxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,334 disclosed a process for the production of butane-1,4-diol by vapor phase hydrogenolysis of a dialkyl ester of a C4 dicarboxylic acid in presence of heterogeneous hydrogenolysis catalyst comprises copper chromite.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,846,983 disclosed a method for reducing a halogenobenzoic acid ester, in which dehalogenation is inhibited in presence of a ruthenium complex represented by the following general formula (1): RuXY(CO)(L)

U.S. Pat. No. 8,471,048 disclosed a ruthenium carbonyl complex that is represented by Formula (1): RuXY(CO)(L) (1) wherein X and Y, which may be the same or different from each other, represent an anionic ligand and L represents a tridentate aminodiphosphine ligand represented by Formula (2):
wherein R1, R2, R3, and R4, which may be the same or different from each other, represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, an aralkyl group, an alkyloxy group, a cycloalkyloxy group, an aryloxy group, an aralkyloxy group, a heterocyclic group, or a substituted amino group, and R1 and R2 or R3 and R4 may bind to each other to form a ring with an adjacent phosphorus atom, the alkyl group, cycloalkyl group, aryl group, aralkyl group, alkyloxy group, cycloalkyloxy group, aryloxy group, aralkyloxy group, heterocyclic group, and substituted amino group may have a substituent group, and Q1 and Q2, which may be the same or different from each other, represent a divalent alkylene group which may have a substituent group, a divalent cycloalkylene group which may have a substituent group, or a divalent aralkylene group which may have a substituent group.
Article titled "Bond Activation and Catalysis by Ruthenium Pincer Complexes" by C Gunanathan et al. published in Chem. Rev., 2014, 114 (24), pp 12024-12087 reports a review on ruthenium pincer complexes of type B (saturated) and C (unsaturated) developed since 2003 from the perspective of bond activation and catalysis.
Article titled "Homogeneous hydrogenation of fatty acid methyl esters and natural oils under neat conditions" by N T Fairweather et al. published in Organometallics, 2015, 34 (1), pp 335-339 (Publication Date (Web): Dec. 18, 2014) reports a series of ruthenium- and iron-based pincer catalysts for the homogeneous hydrogenation of fatty acid methyl esters to fatty alcohols with turnover numbers (TONs) of up to 1860. These catalysts operate under neat conditions (no solvent) from the gram to the kilogram scale.
U.S. patent application no. 2015329455 disclosed a process for the production of α,α-difluoroacetaldehyde involves reacting α,α-difluoroacetic acid esters with hydrogen gas (H2) in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst represented by the general formula [2],

Article titled "Osmium and Ruthenium Catalysts for Dehydrogenation of Alcohols" by M Bertoli et al. published in Organometallics, 2011, 30 (13), pp 3479-3482 reports a series of pincer-type complexes of Os and Ru and investigated in catalytic alcohol dehydrogenation. The hydrides OsHCl(CO)[HN(C2H4PiPr2)2] and OsH2(CO)[HN(C2H4PiPr2)2] possess good air, moisture, and thermal stability and are outstanding versatile dehydrogenation catalysts for primary alcohols for reactions of transfer hydrogenation, dehydrogenative coupling, and amine alkylation.
PCT application no. 2014036650 disclosed a novel amino-sulfide metal catalyst for organic chemical syntheses including hydrogenation (reduction) of unsaturated compounds or dehydrogenation of substrates. The range of hydrogenation substrate compounds includes esters, lactones, oils and fats, resulting in alcohols, diols, and triols as reaction products.
Article titled "High Productive Ethylene Trimerization Catalyst Based on CrCl3/SNS Ligands" by E Ahmadi et al. published in Catalysis Letters, 2011, 141 (8), pp 1191-1198 reports Methylaluminoxane (MAO)-activated chromium (III) complexes of tridentate SNS ligands of the form (RSCH2—CH2)2NH (R=alkyl, aryl) have been prepared and tested for the trimerization of ethylene to 1-hexene.
Article titled "Replacing Phosphorus with Sulfur for the Efficient Hydrogenation of Esters" by D Spasyuk et al. published in Angew Chem Int Ed Engl., 2013, 52(9), pp 2538-42 reports readily available, air-stable amino-sulfide catalyst, [RuCl(2)(PPh(3)){(HN(C(2)H(4)SEt)(2)}]. This complex displays outstanding efficiency for the hydrogenation of a broad range of substrates with C═X bonds (esters, ketones, imines), as well as for the acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling of ethanol to ethyl acetate.
The terminal esters are difficult to hydrogenate. The production of terminal diols in one step with improved yield, minimal impurities and by products which requires a catalyst system with good stability both during terminal diols synthesis and during product recovery and recycle. Therefore, it is desirable in the art to identify alternative catalyst systems that demonstrate potential advantages in the one-step production with improved yield of terminal diols.

Catalytic hydrogenation process for the synthesis of terminal diols from terminal dialkyl aliphatic esters

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


A solid-state imaging device includes an imaging section having multiple pixels laid out in a matrix form for performing photoelectric conversion and multiple vertical transfer sections that vertically transfer signal charges of the multiple pixels in columns, a control section that controls the transfer, hold and addition of signal charges transferred from each of the vertical transfer sections, at least two horizontal transfer sections that horizontally transfer signal charges output from the control section, and a horizontal-horizontal transfer section that transfers the signal charges of one horizontal transfer section that has received the signal charges transferred from the control section to the other horizontal transfer section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device, a method for driving a solid-state imaging device and a camera system and, in particular, a charge-transfer type solid-state imaging device typically such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) imaging device, a driving method therefor and a camera system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a solid-state imaging device, charges stored in a valid pixel area are taken out as an electric signal from an output section through a vertical transfer section and a horizontal transfer section. Then, the taken electric signal may be recorded to a recording medium for video or may be directly transferred and reproduced on a television deployed on a receiver side, for example.
A technology for a solid-state imaging device adopting the interlace scan-interline transfer (IS-IT) charge transfer method has been proposed that decimates pixels in the vertical direction in order to improve the readout speed (which will be called frame rate).
In an example of the decimation of pixels in a case of the solid state imaging device with a frame rate of 7.5 frame/sec. for outputting all 1280×960 pixels, in order to attain a frame rate of 30 frame/sec., only one of four pixels in the vertical direction is read out, that is, the compression at a compression rate of ¼, which is the rate for reading out pixels is performed on the pixels in the vertical direction for improvement in frame rate.
This method can perform the compression in the vertical direction but does not allow the compression in the horizontal direction. For that reason, when the pixels in the vertical direction of 1280×960 pixels are compressed at the compression rate ¼, 1280×240 pixels are output from an output section. Therefore, it is difficult to keep the aspect ratio for televisions and deteriorate the horizontal to vertical balance. As a result, the necessity occurs for performing the compression in the horizontal direction to keep the aspect ratio 4:3, and the necessity occurs for performing downstream processing for performing the compression in the horizontal direction at the compression rate ¼.
On the other hand, a technology has been proposed that performs compression in the horizontal direction in a horizontal transfer section by handling adjacent two or more predetermined number of vertical transfer sections as one group, establishing correspondence between the group and a unit transfer bit of a horizontal transfer section and transferring charges from a vertical transfer section to the unit transfer bit (which will be called corresponding unit transfer bit, hereinafter) of the horizontal transfer section corresponding to the group to which the vertical transfer section belongs (refer to JP-A-2002-112122 (Patent Document 1), for example).

Solid-state imaging device, method for driving solid-state imaging device and camera system


A signal buffer amplifier with high linearity is provided. A circuit includes a first transistor having a first gate terminal, a first source terminal, and a first drain terminal. The circuit also includes a second transistor having a second gate terminal, a second source terminal, and a second drain terminal, the second drain terminal coupled to the first source terminal. The circuit further includes a first signal path coupled in between a signal input and the first gate terminal, a second signal path coupled in between the signal input and the second gate terminal, and a signal output coupled to the second source terminal. The first signal path includes a filter.

Wireless communication applications have been a major driver in the development of high-speed high resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADC) with better alternating current (AC) performance in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR), as well as intermediate frequency (IF) sampling capability.
A major challenge in implementing such an ADC is preserving the high performance for high input frequencies. Generally, as the input frequency increases, the effect of input signal path nonlinearity becomes more detrimental to overall system performance. The detrimental impact of input signal path nonlinearity is especially true when large sampling capacitors, which are needed to achieve the high SNR requirement, are used.
Therefore a key to achieving high IF sampling performance is to create a low noise and low distortion input front-end capable of handling those high frequency signals. A buffer circuit plays a very critical role to achieve high linearity with IF sampling and to isolate the ADC's external driving network from the kick-back caused by the switching of the sampling capacitances.
FIG. 1 illustrates a buffer 100. Buffer 100 comprises a transistor 105, preferably a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) device, arranged in a source follower configuration. Transistor 105 may be driven by a current source 110. Due to non-constant signal-dependent output impedance of a MOSFET device, buffer 100 often does not meet the high linearity requirements desired for many buffer circuit applications.