An LED package structure including a carrier, an LED chip, an encapsulant and a PL material is provided, wherein the LED chip is disposed on the carrier for emitting light. The encapsulant encapsulates the LED chip. The PL material is distributed in the encapsulant. The PL material is suitable for being excited by the light emitted from the LED chip and scattering the light. Moreover, the present invention provides a novel PL material with a molecular formula of WmMon(Y,Ce,Tb,Gd,Sc)3+t+u(Al,Ga,Tl,In,B)5+u+2v(O,S,Se)12+2t+3u+3v+3m+3n: Ce3+, Tb3+, wherein 0<t<5 and 0<m, n, u, v<15.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an LED (light-emitting diode) package structure. More particularly, it relates to an LED package structure comprising a photoluminescent diffuser material.
2. Description of the Related Art
As LED luminous efficiency has continued to enhance in recent years, LEDs have gradually replaced fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps in some applications, such as fast-responding scanner light sources, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) back light sources, automobile dashboard lighting, traffic lights, and general lighting devices. In comparison with conventional light bulbs, LEDs have absolute predominance because of features, such as compact size, durability, low voltage/current operation, break-resistance, zero heat radiation during illumination, no mercury (and therefore no environmental pollution) and high luminous efficiency (energy saving). In terms of production technologies and applications today, white LED draws the most attention among LEDs' various lighting colors.
White light is a type of light blended from a plurality of colors of light. The white light visible to human eyes comprises at least two colors of light in different wavelengths. For example, blue light and yellow light are blended to form a dual-wavelength white light; or red light, green light and blue light are blended to form a triple-wavelength white light. Currently white LEDs are fabricated in three methods. First, there is a so-called triple-wavelength method, wherein an LED chip set is comprised of a red LED chip, a green LED chip and a blue LED chip. Uniform white light is formed by adjusting respective currents passing through the three chips. This mode features a high luminous efficiency along with a higher production cost. Second, there is a so-called dual-wavelength method, wherein an LED chip set is comprised of a blue LED chip and a yellow LED chip. By adjusting the respective currents of the two chips, uniform white light is formed. This method is characterized in good luminous efficiency and a lower production cost. Additionally, there is a third method, wherein white light is formed by blending blue light formed by a blue LED and yellow light formed by exciting blue light to form yellow phosphor. The third mode features a simpler production process, lower luminous efficiency and a lower cost. Therefore, currently, most white LEDs are based on the third method. Namely, the white light is formed by means of the blue light and the yellow phosphor excited by the blue light.
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a conventional white LED package structure. In FIG. 1, the conventional white LED package structure mainly comprises package lead pins 100, a blue LED chip 102, an inner encapsulant 104 and an outer encapsulant 106, wherein the blue LED chip 102 is disposed on the package lead pins 100 and electrically connected to the package lead pins 100 via two soldering wires 108; the inner encapsulant 104 comprises yellow phosphor, covering the blue LED chip 102; an outer encapsulant 106 is used to cover part of the package lead pins 100, the blue LED chip 102 and the inner encapsulant 104. The aforesaid white LED uses the blue light emitted by the blue LED chip 102 to excite the inner encapsulant 104 to form a dual-wavelength white light, which is blended by the blue light and the yellow light.
FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of another conventional white LED package structure. In comparison with FIG. 1, the major improvement of the white LED is an additional diffusion layer 110 applied to cover the inner encapsulant 104. The diffusion layer 110 comprises transparent glue in which transparent particles or air bubbles are distributed. The transparent particles or air bubbles in the diffusion layer 110 repeatedly refract the light rays, which enables the tone of the blended light to be more uniform.
However, to obtain a better light interfusing effect, the fluorescent powder on the above-described inner encapsulant 104 and the size and distributed density of transparent particles or air bubbles in the diffusion layer 110 must be well matched. Since too many factors can influence the light interfusing effect, practically it is difficult to some extent to produce and control the light interfusing effect.
To get a detailed understanding of the above-described LED package structure, U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,925 and the ROC patent PN 383508 can be used for reference.

Light-emitting diode package structure, cold cathode flourescent lamp and photoluminescent material thereof


Mechanisms for optimizing the selection of a new legal channel during regulatory domain changes and improving the user experience during changes in the underlying physical link having wide applicability to many wireless communications links are disclosed. Applications comprise cellular networks, WLANs, WPANs. Wireless USB, high speed channels for Bluetooth and other uses of WiMedia as well as a wide range of radio technologies that use a number of time and/or frequency-domain separation techniques to create multiple channels in a given portion of the RF spectrum where there is no global agreement on the use of the RF spectrum. Differences could pertain to permitted frequency ranges, permitted power levels, requirements to detect and/or avoid other radio technologies, indoor/outdoor use requirements, and many others. The disclosed embodiments provide a method for taking advantage of, or at least minimizing the impact of, a change in the channel link which impacts the channel characteristics such as the available bandwidth.

1. Field
The described aspects relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to maintaining quality of wireless communication service links during regulatory boundary crossings.
2. Background
All wireless communication systems must establish a wireless channel link between devices. The channel has a number of characteristics such as bandwidth and latency that impact their suitability for certain types of data. These characteristics are impacted by factors including regulatory constraints. Some communication standards lack worldwide agreement on permitted channel characteristics: each international regulatory domain may specify local legal characteristics such as frequency ranges. Devices may require knowledge of their current location and regulatory domain before transmitting, to prevent broadcasting on frequencies, power levels, or other characteristics that are not legal in that location. However, in some cases requirements for regulatory device notification of legal transmission frequencies have not been adopted. Currently, there are some standards that lack a mechanism to alert a device that the channel it has been using is no longer legal upon a regulatory boundary crossing and/or regulatory domain change. The device will remain unaware that it must implement a channel change to meet new local regulatory requirements, which may also impact the bandwidth available to the device.
Even if the device, by some proprietary mechanism, becomes aware that a channel it is using is no longer legal because of a regulatory domain change, it may at present simply have to terminate the use of the channel. This could result in a negative user experience such as loss of video or audio playback without explanation. This disclosure describes techniques that offer a wide range of options that may improve this situation. For example, using techniques described below, the device may be able to select a different channel that is legal in the new regulatory domain.
Unfortunately, a change in channel characteristics, such as a reduction in available bandwidth, after a regulatory channel change may negatively impact the user experience and Quality of Service. For example, a user application may have a Quality of Service bandwidth requirement for supporting video streaming at 20 Mega bytes per second (Mbs). If the bandwidth of the new legal channel is less than the bandwidth of the previous channel, the ability to receive the video stream may be impaired. There is therefore a need in the art for optimizing the selection of a new channel during regulatory domain changes and improving the user experience during changes in the underlying physical link that impact the available bandwith by maintaining Quality of Service.

Method and apparatus for maintaining quality of service during regulatory domain change


A lateral file having a cabinet structure which provides improved rigidity against racking, including an improved upright boxlike housing having an improved base associated therewith. The housing has opposed sidewall structures which are defined by identical one-piece monolithic structures each having a generally planar and upright exterior side wall with a pair of channel-like uprights fixed to an inside surface thereof and extending vertically along the exterior side wall adjacent opposite edges thereof. The upright channels and the exterior side wall are formed as a monolithic one-piece structure from a monolithic piece of sheet steel, such as by roll forming. The sidewall structure is generally symmetrical about a vertically extending centerline so that identical sidewall structures can define both the right and left sides of the housing.

Drawer-type storage cabinets, commonly referred to as vertical files or lateral files, are conventionally utilized in offices and the like for storage of papers and other documents. The storage cabinet known as a lateral file is commonly and frequently utilized since the dimensional relationship of such file contributes to its being more user friendly. More specifically, such lateral file has the length of the file drawer extending generally parallel with the open side of the housing, whereby the housing has an overall depth which is generally significantly less than the length thereof. This enables the individual drawers to be more readily accessible throughout the full length thereof, and at the same time the drawers when extended outwardly into an open position are cantilevered outwardly through a lesser extent than is experienced when opening the drawer of a conventional vertical file.
More specifically the lateral file, as a result of its geometric arrangement, has an upright hollow housing defined generally by parallel upright side walls which are rigidly joined together by top and bottom walls, and which are typically joined by a back wall, the latter frequently being a thin metal sheet. The front side of the upright hollow housing is defined by a large access opening which occupies substantially the entirety of the front side, whereby a plurality of horizontally movable drawer units are supported in vertically superimposed relationship within the interior of the housing whereby the drawer fronts are positioned vertically one above the other so as to close off the front access opening. This overall geometric relationship, coupled with the desire to minimize the thickness of the individual walls and provide an exterior appearance having desired aesthetics, has necessarily resulted in a casing or housing which typically has less strength and rigidity than desired. Because of this, such lateral files have typically exhibited significant "racking" when subjected to load. That is, the housing tends to angularly deflect sidewardly relative to its base, whereby the side walls lose their perpendicular relationship with respect to the base, and the overall operation and appearance of the file is impaired. This racking becomes particularly significant when the lateral file is relatively high since the geometry of the file, for example its lateral or length dimension being typically two to three times its depth dimension, when coupled with an overall height dimension which is large when the file is four or five drawers high, results in the top of the file being laterally displaced a significant distance relative to the base.
Drawer-type storage cabinets of the type described above also typically utilize a construction wherein the cabinet side walls have opposed pairs of front and rear uprights secured thereto and provided with vertical rows of openings or slots for mounting the telescopic slides which are used for individually slidably supporting the drawers for opening and closing movement. A conventional practice for constructing the cabinet involves the use of four different uprights, namely right and left front uprights which are mirror images of one another and have rows of openings therein, as well as right and left rear uprights which are also mirror images of one another and have rows of elongate slots formed therein. These four uprights are all uniquely different from one another and are individually secured, typically welded, to the inner surface of the cabinet sidewall. The use of four different uprights significantly increases manufacturing complexity by increasing the number of different parts required, and the overall handling and sequencing thereof during assembly.
In an effort to somewhat simplify the construction, some conventional cabinets have identical right and left rear uprights so that only three different parts are required. To accomplish this, however, each of the rear uprights is provided with two vertically extending rows of elongate slots associated therewith, only one of which is used depending upon whether the upright is mounted on the right side versus the left side of the cabinet. While this construction hence does somewhat reduce the number of different parts, nevertheless it increases the manufacturing complexity of the rear upright by requiring forming of two slot rows therein, only one of which is used when the upright is assembled to the cabinet. Current cabinet constructions, whether they use three different or four different uprights, hence involves a significant number of different parts which hence complicates the overall manufacturing process.
The known assembly processes for constructing conventional storage cabinets, particularly drawer-type lateral file cabinets, have also frequently utilized separate right and left upright sidewall members which are frequently mirror images due to their defined right and left characteristics, and which typically have separate but distinct front and rear uprights secured to the sidewall member, such as by welding. Such constructions hence involve manufacturing processes which are undesirably complex due to the number of distinct parts which make up the cabinet structure, and the associated assembly steps required to fixedly join the parts. The assembly processes associated with the known cabinet structures have hence involved a greater degree of complexity and cost than desired.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved housing or cabinet structure for a storage unit, particularly a drawer-type lateral file, which overcomes or at least significantly improves the strength of the housing so as to significantly minimize the racking problem conventionally encountered when the file is under load.
More specifically, this invention relates to an improved lateral file having an improved housing or cabinet structure which provides improved rigidity so as to minimize lateral displacement or racking of the housing structure under load, with the improved racking resistance being achieved principally through an improved base wall structure which is rigidly associated with the hollow boxlike housing. The bottom wall structure of the present invention is preferably defined as a closed but generally hollow box which extends across the bottom of the housing and has a thin vertical profile. The closed hollow box additionally has wall structure which defines closed tubelike channels extending lengthwise along at least opposite edges thereof, whereby the box provides significant strength with respect to vertical or downward compression loads imposed thereon, and in addition possesses strength and rigidity to more thoroughly rigidify the hollow boxlike housing so as to significantly minimize lateral racking thereof.
In the improved lateral file of the present invention, as aforesaid, the closed boxlike structure defining the bottom wall of the housing is defined solely by upper and lower boxlike members which are each open on one side. The open boxlike members are disposed in opposed relationship and nested one within the other, and rigidly joined together, to define a generally closed but hollow box which, when rigidly secured to lower edges of the side and back walls of the casing, provide improved resistance against lateral racking of the housing.
In the improved lateral file of this invention, as aforesaid, the opposed and nested upper and lower box members also have edge flanges extending around each of the members, which edge flanges cooperate with the opposite member to define, within the interior of the closed box, a closed tubelike channel structure which extends longitudinally along each of the edges of the box so as to provide the closed box with significantly increased strength and rigidity in both the lengthwise and widthwise dimensions thereof.
In the improved closed box structure defining the bottom wall of the housing, as aforesaid, the closed box structure is defined in its entirety by two members, namely the opposed upper and lower box members, which facilitates both economy and efficiency of manufacture and assembly, and in addition the two box members can be constructed of different thickness materials (for example different gauge sheet metal) so as to optimize strength versus cost and weight.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved housing or cabinet structure for a drawer-type file, particularly a lateral file, which provides improved efficiency of manufacture and construction due to the use of four identical uprights for defining the opposed pairs of front and rear uprights which support the telescopic drawer slides, whereby only a single upright member is required for manufacture and the same upright can be used as a front or rear upright on either the right or left sides of the cabinet. The upright utilizes and provides only a single row of openings extending vertically therealong for cooperating with the front or rear of either the right or left drawer slide, thereby decreasing the number of different parts required, and facilitating efficient manufacture and assembly of the cabinet.
More specifically, this invention relates to an improved lateral file having an improved housing or cabinet structure which has identical front and rear uprights fixed to the inner surfaces of each of the right and left side walls of the cabinet, with each upright having an identical single vertically-extending row of openings therethrough so that each upright is capable of engaging either a front or rear tab associated with an elongate housing of either the right or left telescopic drawer slide. The front and rear uprights, which are all preferably of channel-like cross section, are secured as by welding to the respective side wall so that the front uprights are disposed on opposite sides of the cabinet in opposed relationship adjacent the front opening, whereas the rear uprights are disposed in opposed relationship adjacent the rear side of the cabinet. The drawer slide housing has a first horizontally projecting tab which projects rearwardly adjacent the rearward end thereof for insertion into one of the openings associated with a rear upright, and has a front downwardly-projecting tab for projection through an identical opening associated with the front upright to stationarily and stably secure the telescopic slide to the uprights.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an improved process for manufacturing the housing or cabinet structure, such as for a drawer-type lateral file, which process includes providing a pair of identical upright one-piece sidewall structures each of which can be used to define either the right or left side of the housing, with each sidewall structure having a pair of substantially identical or mirror-image uprights associated therewith adjacent opposite vertical edges thereof so that either upright may function as either a front or a rear upright depending upon the orientation of the sidewall structure during assembly, and providing the uprights on each one-piece side-wall structure by a forming process such as roll forming or the like so that the uprights and the associated side wall define a one-piece integral and monolithic structure formed from sheet metal and more specifically sheet steel. The process reduces the number of different and individual parts which must be manufactured and inventoried, and simplifies the manufacturing process with respect to time, space and efficiency.
Other objects and purposes of the present invention will be apparent to persons familiar with constructions of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
Certain terminology will be used in the following descriptions for convenience in reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words "upwardly", "downwardly", "rightwardly" and "leftwardly" will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The word "front" will refer to that side of the cabinet having an access opening which accommodates the drawer fronts. The words "inwardly" and "outwardly" will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the cabinet and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.


Method for assessing the patency of a patient's blood vessel, advantageously during or after treatment of that vessel by an invasive procedure, comprising administering a fluorescent dye to the patient; obtaining at least one angiographic image of the vessel portion; and evaluating the at least one angiographic image to assess the patency of the vessel portion. Other related methods are contemplated, including methods for assessing perfusion in selected body tissue, methods for evaluating the potential of vessels for use in creation of AV fistulas, methods for determining the diameter of a vessel, and methods for locating a vessel located below the surface of a tissue.

Disease and injury affecting the cardiovascular system in animals, and particularly humans, are commonplace in today's society. One such disease is atherosclerosis. This disease is characterized by partial blockage (stenosis) of a blood vessel, typically by a narrowing of one or more arteries. In its most severe form, the vessel narrows to the point that it becomes completely blocked (occluded). In coronary arteries, stenosis and occlusion often manifest themselves in the form of severe chest pains and, potentially, myocardial infarction (heart attack). Not limited to coronary arteries, atherosclerosis can also affect the peripheral vasculature, i.e., arteries (and veins) that circulate blood throughout the arms and legs, the carotid arteries, i.e., arteries that carry blood to the brain, and intracranial arteries, i.e., arteries that distribute blood within the brain.
One therapy commonly employed in an effort to overcome the effects of atherosclerosis in coronary and peripheral vessels is bypass graft surgery. During this procedure, a vascular graft, e.g., a vein or artery or, alternatively, a flexible artificial tube, is surgically inserted in a manner that permits blood to bypass the stenotic or occluded portion of a native vessel. Perhaps the best-known example of bypass graft surgery is coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. In CABG, a graft, commonly a saphenous vein or internal mammary artery, is harvested or dissected from the patient, respectively, and then located within the patient to permit blood flow to bypass the stenotic or occluded vessel portion. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, a graft may be used to permit blood to flow directly from the aorta to a location downstream of a stenotic or occluded portion of an artery.
The success of bypass grafts, at least in terms of clinical improvement, depends in significant part upon the ability of the treated vessel to remain free of occlusions over both the short- and long-term. This freedom from occlusions is commonly referred to as vessel patency. Poor patency in the first few months after surgery is thought to be the result of various factors, with the following believed to be the most significant: poor blood circulation, poor coronary arterial runoff, injury to the graft during preparation or faulty surgical technique.
While cardiac surgery in recent years has focused on strategies to minimize trauma to the myocardium, these strategies may increase the likelihood of problems if used during vessel grafting procedures. For example, while surgical techniques now permit CABG to be performed on a beating heart to minimize trauma, there exists a concern relating to the quality of the resulting graft. The use of limited access incisions during CABG procedures has been developed for, at least, the revascularization of the left anterior descending artery using a left internal mammary artery, with the hope of faster recovery, a shorter hospital stay and reduction in cost. However, this method has also raised concerns relating to graft quality. Indeed, there exist reports of early failure in grafts completed using limited access incisions.
Other issues affecting CABG procedures are diagnostic in nature, and include relatively slow and inaccurate identification of stenotic and occluded vessels during the initial phase of CABG procedures (as some of these vessels lie within the heart tissue which inhibits visual identification), and an inability to quickly and accurately determine the extent of blood flow through the relatively smaller downstream vessels (and, more generally, whether the graft was successful in restoring blood flow to affected tissue) after the graft is completed.
Arterial patency issues may arise in therapies that do not include grafts. For example, patency evaluation is desirable in carotid arteries during and after an endarterectomy, in cranial vessels during and after neurosurgery, and in the context of kidney hemodialysis, wherein an assessment of AV fistula patency is desirable. While vessel patency information in these contexts may be obtained using X-ray technology, the disadvantages mentioned previously remain.
The extent of blood flow within a particular tissue or portion thereof, commonly referred to as perfusion, is important in connection with the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of ailments. For example, a perfusion analysis would be desirable in the context of a treatment designed to reduce undesired blood flow into tissue, e.g., halting blood flow into a tumor. At present, MRI may be used to obtain perfusion information, but this information is imprecise and only available after treatment is completed. This lessens the probability that a physician will be able to identify and remedy problems during that same procedure, thereby precluding the need for a subsequent remedial procedure.
Another affliction that requires treatment of the circulatory system is renal failure. In many cases of renal failure, it is desirable to create an AV fistula to provide vascular access for hemodialysis. The fistula is created by joining an artery and vein by a surgical procedure, providing a vessel having a relatively high rate of blood flow. While X-ray technology can be used to assist the physician in determining whether the creation of a properly functioning fistula is possible, and the type of fistula that should be created, the technology suffers from the previously mentioned limitations.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for a diagnostic procedure that permits a physician to evaluate the patency of a particular vessel, and particularly vessels that have undergone an invasive procedure such as a bypass graft procedure. A further need exists for a method of quickly and accurately locating a particular stenotic or occluded vessel, such as a coronary artery during the initial phase of CABG surgery. In addition, improved methods for evaluating the extent of blood flow downstream of a graft are needed, e.g., in coronary arteries and peripheral vasculature, as are more accurate methods for determining the extent of blood perfusion in selected body tissue. A need also exists for an improved means of identifying candidate vessels for AV fistulas, and of obtaining information relevant to a determination of the type of fistula that should be created in a patient with renal impairment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for performing intra-operative angiography


The present application provides a liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display apparatus. The liquid crystal display panel is used in the liquid crystal display apparatus, and the liquid crystal display panel includes a color filter substrate including a substrate, a shading layer disposed on the substrate, and a color filter layer. The shading layer is configured to reflect light rays, and when the light rays are irradiated to the shading layer, the shading layer reflects the light rays. The color filter layer is disposed on the substrate and is spaced by the shading layer.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatuses have numerous advantages, such as thin body, power saving, no radiation, etc., and are widely used. In the market, most of the LCD apparatuses are backlight type LCD apparatuses including a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a backlight module. Operational principle of the LCD panel is that liquid crystal molecules are positioned between two substrates paralleled each other, and a driving voltage is applied to two substrates to control orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, further reflecting light rays of the backlight module and generating images.
Thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) apparatuses currently maintain a leading status in the display field because of low power dissipation, good image quality, high production yield, and other properties. The TFT-LCD apparatus includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a backlight module. The LCD panel includes a color filter (CF) substrate and a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, and transparency electrodes on relative inner sides of the above substrates. A liquid crystal molecule layer is positioned between the two substrates. In an existing LCD panel, the CF substrate is front (in here, "front" is defined as angle of human eye 20), and the TFT substrate is correspondingly behind. The CF substrate includes a black matrix layer regarded as a shading layer, to avoid leakage of the background light and improve brightness of the panel.
With the development of technology, the LCD panel of the TFT-LCD apparatuses appears borderless design. To be specific, the TFT substrate is front (in here, "front" is a same as the above "front", and also is defined as angle of human eye), and the CF substrate is behind. Therefore, the shading layer cannot avoid leakage of the background light, and brightness of the LCD panel cannot be improved.

Liquid crystal display panel and liquid crystal display apparatus

CHONGQING HKC OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


The present invention relates to a method, terminal device and conference server device for providing a multiparty conference in a data network, wherein an individual presentation layout for participants in a composite video image is selected by a participant and transmitted to the conference serving function. Based on the layout information, a composite signal is generated so that the requesting participant has knowledge of the locations of individual participants' information streams, e.g. video stream, within the composite signal. Thereby, the participant can allocate specific information, such as names, titles or functions, to audio or video streams of the multiparty conference.

In order to achieve access independence and to maintain a smooth interoperation with wired terminals across the Internet, an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) core network, as specified e.g. in the 3GGP (Third Generation Partnership Project) specification TS 23.228, has been developed to be conformant to IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) "Internet Standards". The IMS enables network operators of mobile or cellular networks to offer their subscribers multimedia services, based on and built upon Internet applications, services and protocols. The intention is to develop such services by mobile network operators and other third party suppliers including those in the Internet space using the mechanisms provided by the Internet and the IMS. The IMS thus enables conversion of, and access to, voice, video, messaging, data and web-based technologies for wireless users, and combines the growth of the Internet with the growth in mobile communications. In IMS the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is used as the main session control protocol between end user equipments and Call State Control Functions (CSCFs) located in the IMS. SIP enables network operators to provide new features for end users such as dialing with the use of SIP Uniform Resource Indicators (SIP URIs).
For example IETF is working on a SIP conferencing service. The goal is to define how conferencing type of services can be established between terminals, which can be used as a SIP user agent. To this end, an XCON working group has been in IETF, which is responsible for developing standardized suite of protocols for tightly coupled multimedia conferences. As part of the XCON working group protocols for conference control, media control and floor control would be developed and standardized. Multimedia conferences may include any combination of different media types.
In multiparty conferencing, media control protocol enables each participant of the conference to choose the media stream it wants to hear or view. This enhances the end users' experience in multiparty conferencing in that they can view or hear a particular participant of the conference. Each participant of the conference is allowed to send requests to the conferencing server requesting to view a particular participant of the conference or to view multiple participants of the conference in desired layout format like mosaic or continuous presence mode. When the conferencing server receives such a request to view multiple participants at the same time from an end user or end point, it constructs a composite video frame of multiple participants and sends out the video frame to the end participant.
However, the end participant has no knowledge of participants that are provided in the composite video frame. For example, if the conferencing server sends a 2×2 video frame of four different participants to a particular participant of the conference, the endpoint cannot determine where the participants are located in that composite video frame. There is thus no way for an end user to display at its screen titles allocated to individual images in the composite video frame. Hence, presently in multiparty video conferencing systems of circuit switched or packet switched networks no mechanism is given to a participant to request or specify a location of a particular participant's video or multiple participants' video in a composite video frame for the conferencing server. Currently, the conferencing server sends a composite video frame, for example in a continuous presence mode, if the conferencing server is configured in this particular manner. Besides this, there is no other way a participant can request particular video streams in a particular format or order from the conferencing server.

Transmission control in multiparty conference


A chill roll assembly for a printing press scrubs away boundary layers of air and vapors adhered to both side surfaces of a paper web moving through the chill roll assembly. The chill rolls are supported on separate frames which are adjustable relative to one another. Adjustment of the frames moves the chill rolls into and out of positions in which surfaces of the web sections moving in opposite directions around the rolls are held in closely spaced relationship to define a zone of interference. The boundary layers adhering to the closely spaced surfaces of the moving web sections are scrubbed away in the zone of interference.

A printing press applies ink to an elongated web of paper as the web of paper is moved lengthwise through the printing press. The freshly printed paper web is moved through a drier, and is then moved through a chill roll assembly in order to cool the heated web and to set the ink. A chill roll assembly comprises a succession of rolls which are cooled by water circulating through the interior of the rolls.
As the paper web moves from the drier to the chill roll assembly, boundary layers of air adhere to the opposite side surfaces of the moving web and are carried along with the moving web. Vaporized chemical solvents and ink residue become trapped in the boundary layers on the side surfaces of the moving web as the web emerges from the drier, and are carried by the boundary layers toward the chill roll assembly.
As the moving web proceeds around the rolls in the chill roll assembly, the boundary layers have detrimental effects on the quality of the printed image on the web. The boundary layers adhering to the web surfaces are carried around the rolls in the chill roll assembly between the web surfaces and the roll surfaces. The boundary layers thereby insulate the heated surfaces of the web from the cooled surfaces of the rolls and inhibit heat transfer from the web to the rolls. Furthermore, the vaporized ink and chemical solvents in the boundary layers are deposited as residue on the roll surfaces as the web moves through the chill roll assembly. Ink residue accumulating on the roll surfaces can be transferred back onto the web to soil the printed web surfaces which follow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,636 shows a means for clearing away the boundary layers on both sides of a printed paper web moving through a chill roll assembly. The chill roll assembly includes a pair of small boundary layer control rolls in sliding contact with the opposite side surfaces of the moving paper web. Each boundary layer control roll rotates in a direction opposite to the direction of the web sliding over the roll. A boundary layer carried on the web surface is squeezed off as the web surface slides against the boundary layer control roll.
Another known means for clearing away the boundary layer on the surface of a moving paper web in a chill roll assembly uses one of the chill rolls to affect the boundary layer instead of using a separate boundary layer control roll. In such a chill roll assembly, the paper web follows a horizontal path from the drier to the first one of the chill rolls, and continues in a serpentine path around the successive chill rolls. The chill rolls are mounted on a frame. The frame is pivotal about an axis in order to move the chill rolls relative to the horizontal web section extending from the oven to the first chill roll. The position of the frame can be adjusted to move the second chill roll into a position closely adjacent to the horizontal web section. The web section moving around the second chill roll is thus closely spaced from the horizontal web section. The closely spaced web sections move in opposite directions relative to one another. The closely spaced positions of the oppositely moving we sections define a zone of interference in which the boundary layers on the oppositely moving web sections are scrubbed or squeezed away. However, this arrangement of chill rolls affects only one side of the moving web.
An arrangement of chill rolls for scrubbing the boundary layers on both sides of the moving web is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,771. This patent shows four chill rolls mounted on a frame. The second and third chill rolls are adjustable on the frame. The axles of the second and third chill rolls are mounted at each end in an eccentric. Each of the eccentrics is adjustable on the frame to move the associated axle end horizontally and vertically on the frame. Adjustment of both ends of the second chill roll axle moves the second chill roll into a position closely spaced from the horizontal web section moving from the drier to the first chill roll. A first zone of interference is thereby defined for scrubbing the boundary layer on the upper side surface of the web. Adjustment of both ends of the third chill roll axle moves the third chill roll into a position closely spaced from the web section moving between the first chill roll and the second chill roll. A second zone of interference is thereby defined for scrubbing the boundary layer on the lower side surface of the web. However, the opposite ends of the movable chill roll axles must be carefully adjusted to maintain the chill rolls in parallel relationship and to define uniform zones of interference across the width of the web.


Systems and related methods for supplying power to a medical device employ self-charging serially-connectable portable batteries. A system includes a base module and external battery modules. The base module is operatively coupled with the medical device and includes a base module input connector. Each of the external battery modules includes one or more battery cells, an output connector, an input connector, and a controller. The output connector is configured to output electrical power from the external battery module. The input connector is configured to receive electrical power from another of the plurality of external battery modules. The controller is operatively coupled with the one or more battery cells, the output connector, and the input connector. The controller is configured to control distribution of electrical power received via the input connector to charge the one or more battery cells and/or to be output via the output connector.

Ventricular assist devices, known as VADs, often include an implantable blood pump and are used for both short-term (i.e., days, months) and long-term applications (i.e., years or a lifetime) when a patient's heart is incapable of providing adequate circulation, commonly referred to as heart failure or congestive heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, more than five million Americans are living with heart failure, with about 670,000 new cases diagnosed every year. People with heart failure often have shortness of breath and fatigue. Years of living with blocked arteries and/or high blood pressure can leave a heart too weak to pump enough blood to the body. As symptoms worsen, advanced heart failure develops.
A patient suffering from heart failure may use a VAD while awaiting a heart transplant or as a long term destination therapy. A patient may also use a VAD while recovering from heart surgery. Thus, a VAD can supplement a weak heart (i.e., partial support) or can effectively replace the natural heart's function.
All ventricular assist systems (VAS) require several watts of power to provide cardiac support. Thus, patients using a ventricular assist system and their supporting caregivers or providers (hereinafter "users") can use non-implanted replenishable and/or replaceable power supplies to maintain mobility. Such non-implanted power supplies typically include battery packs and AC wall power converters. The power from these sources may be conveyed to the VAD via a VAS controller using cables.
Existing products, however, use several power cables or a single large enclosure containing both a power source and a VAS controller. The use of several power cables requires users to manage multiple cables. A single large enclosure is cumbersome to wear on the body owing to the relatively large size of batteries and other energy storage devices realizable using present-day technology.
Additionally, while using existing portable, wearable energy sources, users have limited options for expanding the amount of wearable energy storage with present commercial products. Instead, many existing products employ a single energy storage configuration, typically a battery of fixed capacity. Some existing devices allow for optional larger capacity battery packs to be used in lieu of a standard battery pack.
Finally, for all existing products, depleted energy sources must be disconnected before new energy sources can be connected. If a failure occurs with an energy storage system, rendering it inoperable, a user must disconnect the failed energy source before connecting another one. During this time, the medical device may not have been functional or functioning at a reduced capacity. Accordingly, improved portable energy supply systems and related methods that do not have at least some of the above-discussed disadvantages would provide benefits to users of wearable or implanted medical devices.

Energy management of blood pump controllers


Embodiments of the invention disclose techniques for processing of machine-readable forms of unfixed or flexible format. An auxiliary brief description may be optionally specified to determine the spatial orientation of the image. A method of searching for elements of a document comprises the following main operations in addition to the operations of preliminary image processing: selecting the varieties of structural description from several available variants, determining the orientation of the image, selecting the text objects, where the text must be recognized, and determining the minimal required volume of recognition, recognizing the text objects, searching for elements of the form. Searching for elements of the form comprises the following actions: selecting a searched element in the structural description, gaining the algorithm of search constraints from the structural description, searching for the element, testing the obtained variants.

A form is a structured document with one or more pages with fields to be completed. Typically, each field has an associated label or inscription stating the nature of the data the field should contain.
Two types of forms can be identified—fixed forms and flexible forms. A fixed form has the same positioning and number of fields on all of its copies and often has anchor elements (e.g. black squares or separator lines), A non-fixed or flexible form may have different number of fields which may be positioned differently from copy to copy. Examples of flexible forms include application forms, invoices, insurance forms, money order forms, business letters, etc.
Methods of structure assignment and document element search in an electronic graphical image are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,849 but are limited to processing only fixed forms with no deviation in field arrangement.

Methods of object search and recognition


A semiconductor device having a bipolar MOS composite element pellet suitable for a compression structure. In this pellet, a semiconductor substrate on which a MOS composite element is formed is electrically connected to an external part by an electrode plate compressed to the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-power semiconductor device having a bipolar-MOS composite element and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device having a bipolar-MOS composite element pellet suitable for a pressure contacted structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional high-power semiconductor devices are available as devices for performing switching of large currents of several tens of amperes. Of these devices, a device incorporating a bipolar-MOS composite element pellet such as an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) is available as a high-power semiconductor device capable of a high-speed operation.
A conventional device of this type is described in detail in High-Power, High-Speed Toshiba IGBT Module, TOSHIBA CORPORATION, September 1987, p4.
As especially indicated by the diagram in the second step in the Assembly flow of FIG. 4 on page 4 in High-Power, High-Speed Toshiba IGBT Module, in the conventional device incorporating a bipolar-MOS composite element pellet, the pellet is electrically connected to external electrodes by wire bonding. Although such a conventional device is designed to conduct large currents, since the bonding wires serve as main current paths, the allowable current is small. If an overcurrent exceeding the allowable current flows in the device for some reason, bonding wires may be fused or may become disconnected from electrodes on the pellet or from external electrodes. Fusing and disconnection of bonding wires are especially dangerous for devices using large currents. Currently, for example, a fuse is arranged independently of a device so that if fusing/disconnection of bonding wires is caused, the fuse is fused to quickly stop the device to prevent explosion of the device.
In addition, such a device tends to generate heat due to switching of large currents. For this reason, degradation or breakage of bonding wires tends to occur especially due to thermal fatigue. This shortens the service life of each bonding wire and hence the service life of the device.
Furthermore, since bonding wires are bonded to electrodes consisting of aluminum, process fluctuation leads to fluctuation in bonding strength. This means that if bonding strength is decreased, disconnection of bonding wires from electrodes tends to occur.

Semiconductor device having bipolar-mos composite element pellet suitable for pressure contacted structure


A protection control circuit for discharge lamps aims to control protection signals input to a load at a rear end of a high voltage output zone that are generated during abnormal conditions. The high voltage output zone has a control unit and a driving unit, and a switch device interposed between them to receive a first voltage distribution signal output from the control unit and output a plurality of second voltage distribution signals corresponding to the number of the driving devices. Each of the driving devices is connected to a high voltage output zone line of the discharge lamp that feeds back a protection signal to the switch device. The switch device determines a first electricity condition or a second electricity condition of each high voltage output zone line of the discharge lamps that is connected to the individual driving device.

Electricity control techniques for inverters are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,791,239 proposed by the Applicant is such an example. That technique focuses on the conventional inverter circuit and includes an individual pulse-width modulation (PWM) control unit, a driving unit, and a voltage boosting unit to drive an individual discharge lamp (CCFL or EEFL). As the size of display panels increases gradually, the number of the discharge lamps also increases. The required electricity increases too. Hence the size of circuit board to accommodate the configuration of the PWM control unit, driving unit and voltage boosting unit made according to the number of discharge lamps is larger, and circuit layout and production are more difficult. Illumination and electric field interference among the discharge lamps also increases. As a result, luminance uniformity suffers. While the aforesaid technique provides a solution, it mainly aims to provide, through a single PWM control unit, synchronous driving signals of the same phase and same frequency according to the driving units and voltage boosting units that are required to drive the discharge lamps on the rear end. Thereby each driving unit, voltage boosting unit and discharge lamp can be driven synchronously to achieve the uniform luminance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,867,955 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0122066 A1 disclose other techniques to address the arc discharge phenomenon occurred to an inverter at a high voltage output zone in abnormal conditions. They provide a protection device which generates a protection signal which is fed back to a control unit to stop high voltage output in the high voltage zone.
However, with the size of the display panel increased constantly, the number of the discharge lamps increases even more. The driving lines for the driving units, voltage boosting units and discharge lamps also increase. If one of the lines is abnormal (not necessary malfunctions, could be an irregular voltage for a short period of time), the control unit receives the signal and stops all driving signals. If this situation occurs to the upper discharge lamps where heat concentrates, the display panel will be shut down and cannot display. Moreover, as the display panel becomes larger, if merely one discharge lamp is abnormal, it does not seriously effect user's viewing of the display panel. Hence the existing techniques that provide a single protection control mode are troublesome and undesirable.

Protection control circuit for discharge lamps


A plasma switch employs a cold cathode which yields secondary electrons to sustain a plasma within the switch. The cathode is provided with a series of perturbations which increase the effective cathode surface area exposed to the plasma and increase the average effective path lengths of secondary electrons emitted from the cathode and the probability of such electrons having ionizing collisions with gas molecules within the switch. The interior cathode surface is provided with a coating formed from chromium or a chromium mixture. Chromium combines a high rate of secondary electron emission with low sputtering and other advantageous properties for plasma switch operation. Various types of chromium-plated perturbations are described.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to crossed-field plasma switches, and to cold cathodes used therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
A low pressure plasma opening switch, referred to as the CROSSATRON Modulator Switch (CROSSATRON is a trademark of Hughes Aircraft Company, the assignee of the present invention), has recently been developed. Details of this switch are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,945 by Schumacher, et al., assigned to Hughes Aircraft Company, and in a text edited by Guenther, et al., Opening Switches, chapter entitled "Low-Pressure Plasma Opening Switches", Schumacher, et al., pages 93-129, Plenum Publishing Corp., 1987. The switch is a secondary-electron-emitter, cold cathode device which employs a controlled diffuse discharge to both close and open pulsed-power circuits at high speed and high repetition frequency. In contrast to prior DC-current opening-switch devices such as hard-vacuum tetrodes, the low-pressure plasma opening switch described by Schumacher eliminates the need for a cathode heater, and offers instant starting, long life, low forward voltage drop, high current conduction and electromechanically rugged operation.
The basic configuration of the switch is illustrated in FIG. 1. The switch is based upon a crossed-field discharge in a four element, coaxial system consisting of a cold cathode 2, an anode 4, and a source grid 6 and control grid 8 between the cold cathode 2 and anode 4. These elements are cylindrical in shape; FIG. 1 depicts a sectional view on one side of the device center line.
Charges for conduction are generated by a plasma discharge near the cathode. The plasma is produced by a crossed-field cold cathode discharge in a gap located between the source grid 6 (which serves as an anode for the local cross-field discharge) and the cathode 2. The gap is magnetized with a cusped field supplied by permanent magnets 10 attached to the outside of the switch. This arrangement eliminates the need for cathode heater power, and also permits instant start operation.
The source plasma 12 is generated by pulsing the potential of the source grid 6 to a level above 500 volts for a few microseconds to establish a crossed-field discharge. When equilibrium is reached, the source grid potential drops to the low discharge level about 500 volts above the potential of cold cathode 2. With the control grid 8 remaining at the cathode potential, the switch remains open and the full anode voltage appears across the vacuum gap between the control grid 8 and the anode 4.
The switch is closed by releasing the control grid 8 potential, or by pulsing it momentarily above the 500 volt plasma potential. This allows plasma to flow through the source grid 6 and control grid 8 to the anode 4. Electrons from the plasma are collected by the anode, the switch conducts, and the anode voltage falls to the 500 volt level. To open the device, the control grid 8 is returned to the cathode potential or below in a hard tube fashion.
Once a glow discharge has been initiated, it is maintained as illustrated in FIG. 2 by secondary electron emission from the cold cathode. This is illustrated in FIG. 2, which plots the steady state, glow-discharge potential distribution between the cathode and anode. The plasma potential relative to the cathode is generally 200-1,000 volts, depending upon the gas species and electrode materials used, as well as the current density at the cathode. Ions are collected from the plasma in the gap across non-neutral sheath regions 14, 16 at both the cathode and anode, respectively. Electrons, however, are collected at the anode only. The plasma maintains a small anode-sheath voltage drop to adjust the ambipolar flux of electrons and ions so that the plasma remains electrically neutral. Most of the potential drop across the switch occurs at the cathode sheath 14, where ions are accelerated to kinetic energy levels sufficient to stimulate the emission of secondary electrons from the cathode surface. The total cathode current is thus the sum of the ion current collected from the plasma (current flow 18), and the emitted secondary-electron current from the cathode (current flow 20). Electrons from the plasma are repelled by the cathode potential, and cannot cross the cathode sheath 14 to reach the cathode (current path 22).
Following their emission from the cathode, the secondary electrons are accelerated through the cathode sheath 14 and enter the plasma at an energy corresponding to the 200-1,000 volt cathode sheath drop. The magnetic field traps these electrons in a spiral between the cathode and anode, causing them to undergo ionizing collisions with the background neutral gas atoms in the plasma before they are collected by the anode. In the steady state, the rate of ionization from these collisions balances the ion loss rate to the cathode and anode such that the glow-discharge plasma is maintained at a constant level.
The cold cathode has typically been formed from a high strength, relatively inexpensive stainless steel or copper tube, with a smooth-bore refractory metal sheet, typically molybdenum, vacuum oven brazed to the inside surface of the tube to provide an electron-emissive surface facing the plasma. This process is expensive because the large area braze requires a significant amount of gold-based braze material, vacuum oven time, and tooling. Process yield has also not been satisfactory because of differences in the thermal expansion properties of the refractory metal sheet and underlying tube material. For example, molybdenum and copper have different rates of thermal expansion. The molybdenum sheet is brazed to the tube at a temperature of about 950.degree. C., but when the sheet cools, it contracts less than the underlying copper tube. This process produces wrinkles in the molybdenum sheet, a poor bond, and trapped pockets of air and gold braze.
The efficiencies achieved with such switches have also not been optimum. The efficiency is directly proportional to the forward voltage drop across the switch. The forward drop could theoretically be reduced by increasing the secondary electron yield from the cold cathode and/or increasing the dwell time of the secondary electrons within the plasma, thereby increasing the probability of an electron colliding with and ionizing a gas molecule before being captured by the anode. With a plasma potential of 500 volts, current switches achieve a secondary electron yield of only about 0.2 per ion striking the cathode wall. While the secondary electron yield could in principle be increased by coating the cathode with a very low work function material, such materials are normally sputtered away by the plasma ions which strike the cathode. Although molybdenum is most frequently used as a cathode coating, it is expensive and difficult to work with.

Plasma switch with chrome, perturbated cold cathode


A lens/sensor subassembly (318) may include a feedback sensor (324), a data transmission line (302), and an electrical element (328). The feedback sensor (324) may be configured to measure a phenomenon in an eye (100) of a patient during a laser-based ophthalmological therapy. The data transmission line (302) may be configured to communicate feedback data measured by the feedback sensor (324) to a laser-based ophthalmological treatment system (200). The electrical element (328) may be degradable in response to exposure to therapeutic radiation (316). The degradation of the electrical element (328) may interrupt communication of the feedback data measured by the feedback sensor (324) to the laser-based ophthalmological treatment system (200).

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described herein are not prior art to the claims in the present application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Macula disease may result in loss of vision or reduction in quality of vision of a patient. Diabetic macular edema (DME), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) are examples of macula disease. In some circumstances, therapeutic radiation may be administered to an eye of a patient to treat the macula disease. A laser-based ophthalmological treatment system may be used in combination with a contact lens assembly to administer the therapeutic radiation. The contact lens assembly may include several components. As the contact lens assembly is used, one or more of the components may become damaged or effectiveness of one or more of the components may decrease. Additionally, the contact lens assembly may be placed in direct contact with a cornea of an eye of a patient. The direct contact may transfer contaminates such as bacteria and other biological material from the eye to the contact lens assembly. Accordingly, to improve treatment, to ensure effective treatment, and/or to minimize cross-contamination between patients, the contact lens assembly may be disposable and replaced between patients or following a particular amount of use.
However, it may be difficult to ascertain when components lose their effectiveness. Moreover, multiple sterilizations of the contact lens may cause uneven heating inside the contact lens and may scratch a surface of the contact lens, which may lead to increase the lens scattering. Thus, contact lens assemblies with ineffective components may be used during treatments, which may result in an unsafe condition for patients. Additionally, replacement of the contact lens assembly may increase costs associated with administration of the treatments, which may incentivize reuse to avoid such costs.

Disposable contact lens for optical treatment systems


An evaporation fuel processing system is equipped with a vapor passage, a canister, a purging passage, a purge control valve, a filling amount detector, and an ECU. The ECU comprises an adsorption amount detecting circuit that detects the adsorption amount of an evaporation fuel, which is adsorbed by the canister upon filling of the fuel at a time when a fuel is filled into a fuel tank, a breakthrough time calculating circuit that calculates a time, based on the detected adsorption amount, at which the canister would experience breakthrough in the event that the evaporation fuel were not purged into an engine from the canister, and a control circuit that carries out purge processing by the purge control valve based on the calculated time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an evaporation fuel processing system and a purging method therefor, which is equipped with a first communication passage through which an evaporation fuel generated inside of a fuel tank that stores fuel is introduced, a canister connected to the first passage and which adsorbs the evaporation fuel, a second communication passage that communicates between the canister and an intake passage of an internal combustion engine, and a purging processor for purging the evaporation fuel adsorbed by the canister into the internal combustion engine through the second communication passage.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to supply fuel to an internal combustion engine, a fuel tank is used. Inside the fuel tank, an evaporation fuel (vapor), which is gassed out from the fuel, is generated. In order to prevent dispersion of the evaporation fuel into the atmosphere unnecessarily, a canister is provided.
The canister is filled with an adsorptive material such as activated carbon or the like, which adsorbs and collects the evaporation fuel. The collected evaporation fuel is purged into the intake passage of the internal combustion engine through a purging passage during running of the internal combustion engine. Owing thereto, breakthrough (outflowing) of the evaporation fuel from the canister drain is decreased.
Incidentally, there are times when after fuel has been filled into the fuel tank, running of the internal combustion engine may be stopped for long periods of time. In particular, with a hybrid system in which the internal combustion engine and an electric motor are used in common, there may be cases in which driving is performed only under operation of the motor, and where operation of the internal combustion engine is not conducted for a prolonged period.
At such times, inside the fuel tank, a large amount of evaporation fuel is easily generated, whereas the frequency of purging of evaporation fuel from the canister becomes quite small. As a result, cases occur in which the evaporation fuel, which cannot be collected by the canister, is simply released into the atmosphere.
Consequently, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 06-233410 (hereinafter referred to as Reference No. 1), a control apparatus for a generator-driving engine is known. In Reference No. 1, an electric vehicle is disclosed, having an engine that receives supply of fuel from a fuel tank and a generator, which is driven by mechanical output from the engine for generating electricity. In the control apparatus for controlling at least operations of the engine, there are disclosed, respectively, means for detecting the fuel vapor amount inside the fuel tank under a condition in which the engine is stopped, means for initiating driving of the engine in the case that the detected vapor amount exceeds a first predetermined amount, means for detecting the fuel vapor amount inside the fuel tank under a condition in which the engine is driven, and means for stopping the engine in the event that the detected vapor amount falls to or below a second predetermined value, the apparatus being characterized by the feature in that the second predetermined amount is smaller than the first predetermined amount.
However, when an internal combustion engine is not driven over a prolonged period of time, along with the passage of time, leakage of the evaporation fuel that has been adsorbed by the canister to the exterior occurs easily. Notwithstanding this fact, in the aforementioned Reference No. 1, purge processing is performed only upon detection of a fuel vapor amount inside the fuel tank. There is no disclosure of methods or practices for reducing breakthrough of evaporation fuel from a canister.

Evaporation fuel processing system and purging method therefor


A system and method for rendering a virtual sound source using a plurality of speakers in an arbitrary arrangement includes expanding a wave field of the virtual sound source and a composite wave field generated by the plurality of speakers into multi-pole expansions, and equating the multi-pole expansions to each other to form a continuous equation. A set of constraints is applied to the continuous equation that minimize an error in a sweet spot region resulting in a linear system of equations. The linear system of equations is solved using singular-value decomposition to arrive at a pseudo-inverse representing a multi-dimensional transfer function between the virtual sound source and the plurality of speakers. The multi-dimensional transfer function is then applied to a signal of the virtual sound source to render the virtual sound source in the sweet spot region using the plurality of speakers in the arbitrary arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sound signals encoded over multiple speakers to create the perception of specific spatial properties.
2. Background Art
Interest in rendering sound signals with 3-D spatial properties has been motivated by many applications including enhancing intelligibility in teleconferencing systems, navigation systems for the visually impaired, and enhancing the sense of immersion in virtual environments. The challenges for rendering sound with a limited number of speaker elements involve creating stimuli that are perceived as realistic with accurate spatial properties. In addition, the complexity of the rendering algorithms present challenges for fast and efficient implementations.
The basic problem of spatial audio rendering is creating the perception that sound is coming from a location in a space where a speaker cannot be located. For example, if presenting a holographic representation of a person (e.g., as in the (currently) fictional but generally illustrative example of a "holodeck" from the American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise, "Star Trek"), it is desired to create the perception that a voice is coming from the mouth of the holographic representation, even though it is not possible to locate a physical speaker at the location of the mouth of the holographic representation. It is desired, however, to give the listener the impression that sound emanates from the mouth of the holographic representation.
In this example, the location of the listener where the perception of the sound emanating from the holographic representation is received is known as the "sweet spot," which, as used herein, means a region where the listener's perception of the rendered sound is correct.
One of the more popular approaches to rendering sound is wave-field synthesis (WFS). It is capable of accurately reconstruct a pressure field within a large area of interest with moderate processing power. The absence of a "sweet spot" makes it well suited for creating realistic spatial audio impressions for large audiences or listeners moving around in a large area. Unfortunately, it requires a rather high number of speakers. Another drawback of the method is that it is based on Green's Second Theorem, and the field can be reconstructed only either inside or outside a closed boundary containing the equivalent sources. When a source is located within a reconstruction domain (i.e., an "immersive environment"), a focused source must be located between the listener and the speakers to ensure correct perception. As an example illustrating this limitation, imagine a virtual videoconferencing environment, where the remote person's avatar is standing right beside the local participant. Methods based on Green's Second Theorem cannot render this source without additional modifications increasing computational complexity and invalidating correctness of the reconstructed field in some regions of the reconstruction domain. WFS can also require a relatively large number of speakers. This can be prohibitive for immersive virtual environments, especially if they need to be portable or set up in many smaller rooms. In addition, the reproduction of the sound field at every point in an immersive environment with only a few listeners is often not necessary.
Another popular approach to rendering sound is Dolby 5.1, which delivers spatial and ambient sound to a listener's vicinity (the "sweet spot") using a regularly-spaced setup of five loudspeakers and one subwoofer. Dolby 5.1 creates only directional perception, but distances are not accurately reproduced and the Doppler effect (moving a sound in 3-dimensional space) must be either recorded or manually reproduced by performing a frequency shift.

Method and system for creating three-dimensional spatial audio

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


The invention relates to a device and a method for controlling the light emission (i) of at least three light sources (21, 22, 23), wherein the light emitted by the light sources (21, 22, 23) is detected in a sequence of measuring periods during a calibration phase, and calculated on the basis of the information on the brightness of each individual light source (21, 22, 23) obtained during the measuring periods. In at least one of the measuring periods, the detected light comes from a plurality of the light sources (21, 22, 23).

In recent years, LEDs or light-emitting semiconductor elements in general have been used increasingly in lighting technology because the powers attainable with light sources of this kind are now sufficiently high for relatively large lighting applications. By comparison with other types of light source, LEDs offer the advantage of a relatively greater efficiency. Furthermore, the power and therefore the brightness of an LED can be adjusted in a relatively simple manner, so that light can be generated in almost any required colour shade through a corresponding mixing of different colours.
However, one problem of LED illuminants of this kind, which provide LEDs of different colours, is that these illuminants are not stable with regard to colour-location without an appropriate control or regulation on the basis of thermal influences or ageing factors. Furthermore, since deviations in the light emission of individual LEDs can occur as a result of manufacture, this means that cost-intensive measures must be adopted in order to adjust the power of the individual LEDs. Otherwise, the risk would arise, that ultimately, the colour shade of the mixed light emitted by the illuminant may not correspond to the user's requirements.
In this context, it is known from the prior art, that light emitted from the different light sources can be detected using a sensor, and a regulation adapted to the test result can be implemented during the control of the LEDs. Since information about the light of each individual light source must be available in order to achieve an accurate colour control, steps are taken especially in order to obtain this information. For example, in the case of a method described in EP 056 993 B1 for operating light sources, a calibration is implemented during operation. In this context, the light sources are controlled temporarily during a calibration phase in such a manner that only an individual light source is active in each case within a sequence of individual measuring periods. The brightness information for the currently active light source can therefore be obtained in each case via the sensor, wherein a corresponding control of the LEDs as a whole is then implemented on the basis of this information. In this context, the individual measuring periods are preferably dimensioned to be so short that the regular operation of the illuminant is influenced as little as possible.
The method described in EP 1 056 993 B1 is used widely for the colour control of LED illuminants, however, it has proved problematic that the different LEDs are activated in each case individually during the calibration phases. The consequence of this is that, in spite of the relatively short measuring periods, in which light from an individual LED or respectively of an individual colour is emitted, slight colour changes in the light emission of the illuminant as a whole can occur, which are perceptible by an observer albeit only slightly. This effect is additionally intensified in that these colour sequences required for the calibration occur regularly. Furthermore, there are limits to the shortening of the individual measuring periods, because peaks, which can falsify the test results, may occur if individual light sources are switched on and off again within an excessively short interval.

Device and a method for controlling light emission


A connector portion of a hard disk device is provided with a recess portion that guides a connector portion of a holder device so as to align the connector portion of the holder device with the connector portion of the hard disk device. The connector portion of the holder device is provided with a guide projection that is guided by the recess portion. A connector body is attached to a holder body shiftable within a range that the connector portion of the holder device can follow the connector portion of the hard disk device and a range that the guide projection can be guided by the recess portion.

As vehicle navigation devices, there are known navigation devices having a configuration in which a hard disk device, that is, an electronic device, is detachably mounted to a holder device. In such navigation devices, a connector that is provided on the hard disk device side and a connector that is provided on the holder device side may have manufacturing errors. For this reason, the connectors may not be suitably aligned when mounting the hard disk device to the holder device, making it difficult to connect connector terminals of both connectors.
There are known navigation devices in recent years that are provided with a floating mechanism that shifts the connector on the holder device side and the connector on the hard disk device side relative to one another (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2007-35376, for example). In the navigation device described in JP-A-2007-35376, the floating mechanism is provided on the connector terminal of the second connector on the holder device side. The connector terminal of the second connector elastically deforms so as to absorb a misalignment relative to the first connector on the hard disk device side. As a consequence, when mounting the hard disk device to the holder device, the connector terminal of the first connector on the hard disk device side and the connector terminal of the second connector on the holder device side are surely connected.
However, in the navigation device described in JP-A-2007-35376, an unnecessary force that follows an elastic return force of the connector terminal of the second connector is applied between the connector terminal of the first connector and the connector terminal of the second connector. In such case, a load is applied to a soldered portion that joins the connector terminal of the first connector to a circuit board accommodated inside the hard disk device, and to a soldered portion that joins the connector terminal of the second terminal to a circuit board accommodated inside the holder device. This load may reduce the mechanical life of the soldered portions.

Connector coupling structure and holder device


A switching power supply that conducts switching of an input voltage by a switching element to obtain a specified output voltage includes: an ON width controlling component that controls an ON width of the switching element; a zero current detecting component that detects zero current through the switching element to turn ON the switching element; a frequency reducing component that delays a turn ON timing of the switching element upon detection of a light load condition by a load condition detecting component to reduce a switching frequency of the switching element; and an AC period detecting component that detects a period of the input voltage to hold the load condition detected by the load condition detecting component over every period detected by the AC period detecting component.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a switching power supply in which the power factor in the region of small phase angle of the input voltage does not decrease even in the state with a maximum frequency limitation on the switching frequency under a light load condition.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 shows a schematic construction of an example of a switching power supply having a power factor correction function. The switching power supply basically comprises an inductor L connected at a terminal thereof to a diode bridge circuit DB that is a rectifier circuit performing full-wave rectification of input AC voltage AC and a switching element Q connected to the other terminal of the inductor L and forming a current path from the diode bridge circuit DB through the inductor L on turning ON of the switching element Q. The switching element Q is a MOS-FET, for example.
The switching power supply further comprises a diode D connected to the other terminal of the inductor L and forming a current path from the inductor L to an output capacitor Cout on turning OFF of the switching element Q to deliver a specified output DC voltage Vout on the output capacitor Cout. The output DC voltage Vout is supplied through an output terminal OUT to an electronic device (not shown in the figure). The above described construction having a main component of the switching element Q composes the main body of a switching power supply of a booster type that obtains an output DC voltage Vout of about 400 V, for example, from AC 100 V.
The control circuit CONT, which is an integrated circuit performing various functions with a monolithic structure, conducts ON/OFF driving the switching element Q to control the current that flows through the inductor L. Specifically, the control circuit CONT receives at a terminal FB thereof a voltage Vfb that is detected through a voltage dividing resistors R4 and R5 and proportional to the output DC voltage Vout. An error detector 11 provided in the control circuit CONT generates a difference voltage between this voltage Vfb and a predetermined reference voltage Vref. The error detector 11 is a transconductance amplifier, for example. The control circuit CONT comprises a comparator 12, which is an overvoltage detector that compares the voltage Vfb received through the terminal FB with a predetermined reference voltage Vovp to detect an overvoltage.
The control circuit CONT receives at a terminal IS thereof a voltage Vis that is detected with a resistor R3 series-connected to the source terminal of the switching element Q and proportional to the current running through the switching element Q. A comparator 13, which is an overcurrent detector (or an overcurrent detecting means) provided in the control circuit CONT, compares this voltage Vis with a predetermined reference voltage Vovc to detect an overcurrent. The control circuit receives at a terminal ZCD thereof through a resistor R2 a winding voltage that is generated across an auxiliary winding La of the inductor L and corresponds to the current through the inductor L. A comparator 14, which is a zero current detector provided in the control circuit CONT, compares this winding voltage with a predetermined reference voltage Vzcd to detect a zero current.
A comparator 15, which is a PWM device or an ON width control means, compares a saw-tooth wave generated by an oscillator 16 with the error output of the error detector 11, the error output being the voltage difference between the voltage Vfb and the reference voltage Vref. This comparator 15 reverses the output thereof into an H level when the saw-tooth wave reaches the error output of the error detector 11, and thus resets a flip-flop 18 through an OR circuit 17. The flip-flop 18 is set by the output of the comparator 14 through an OR circuit 19 when the comparator 14 detects a zero current. The output through the OR circuit 19 also triggers the generation of the saw-tooth wave in the oscillator 16.
The switching element Q is ON/OFF-controlled by the output of the flip-flop 18 that is set and reset as described above. Specifically, the flip-flop 18 controls the gate voltage of the switching element Q giving a set output to a driver circuit not shown in the figure. Thus, the switching element Q is switching-driven in such a way that the switching element Q is turned ON upon setting of the flip-flop 18 and turned OFF upon resetting of the flip-flop 18.
The comparator 15 resets the flip-flop 18 corresponding to the error output of the error detector 11, thereby controlling an ON width of the switching element Q. The comparator 14 sets the flip-flop 18 upon detection of a zero current and simultaneously triggers generation of oscillation in the oscillator 16, thereby controlling ON/OFF period or a switching frequency of the switching element Q.
A resistor R1 connected to the terminal RT regulates a slope of the saw-tooth wave generated by the oscillator 16. Capacitors C1 and C2 and a resistor R6 that are connected to a terminal COMP is a phase regulation circuit for the error output of the error detector 11. The flip-flop 18 is forcedly reset through the OR circuit 17 when an overvoltage is detected by the comparator 12 or an overcurrent is detected by the comparator 13. A timer circuit 10 counts a certain time at the start of the power supply and sets the flip-flop 18 through the OR circuit 19.
In the switching power supply with the construction described above, when the magnitude of the load connected to the output terminal OUT is constant, the error output of the error detector 11 is constant and the switching element Q is switching-controlled with a constant ON width. The input voltage Vin is obtained by full-wave rectification of the input AC voltage AC through the diode bridge DB, and the voltage across the inductor L varies with the phase angle as shown by the waveform (a) in FIG. 7.
The waveform (b) in FIG. 7 is a saw-tooth wave generated in the oscillator 16, which is compared with the error output of the error detector 11 in the comparator 15. The comparison result ON/OFF-controls the switching element Q as shown by the waveform (c) in FIG. 7. The waveform (d) in FIG. 7 shows the current flowing through the inductor L in the ON/OFF operation of the switching element Q. It is apparent that the slope of the inductor current varies depending on the phase angle of the input voltage Vin. The envelope of the peak values of the inductor current forms an AC waveform similar to the input voltage Vin, the peak values being the inductor current at the instances of turning OFF of the switching element Q.
This causes variation in the period of time from the moment of turning OFF of the switching element Q to the moment of zero current through the inductor L. If the switching element Q would be ON/OFF-controlled with a constant period or constant frequency despite this variation, the switching element Q is turned ON under the condition of subjecting to a certain voltage on the switching element Q. Thus, the switching element Q suffers from a significant switching loss.
The zero current detection mentioned earlier detects the moment of zero current through the inductor L after turning OFF of the switching element Q. Zero current switching conducts turning ON of the switching element Q at this moment of zero current, thereby reducing the switching loss in the switching element Q caused by the variation of the peak values of the inductor current.
Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose in detail basic construction and switching control of this type of switching power supply.    [Patent Document 1]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,984,963    [Patent Document 2]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,116,090
In the switching control described above, the switching frequency Fc increases as the load becomes lighter as shown in FIG. 8. If the switching frequency Fc exceeds the operation frequency of the switching element Q, the switching loss increases. Accordingly, control is conducted to limit the maximum frequency Fmax of the switching frequency Fc as disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. The limiting the switching frequency Fc below the maximum frequency Fmax is actually carried out by delaying the turning ON timing of the switching element Q, thereby avoiding power factor degradation.
However, there is the following problem in the power factor correction by limiting the maximum frequency of the switching frequency Fc. In the ON/OFF control of the switching element Q as described above, the magnitude of the inductor current is controlled corresponding to the phase angle of the input voltage Vin. Consequently, the inductor current is small in the region of small phase angles. When the maximum frequency limitation of the switching frequency is added under a light load condition in particular, the inductor current hardly flows in the region of small phase angle of the input voltage Vin, resulting in distortion in the input current waveform, which causes degradation of power factor in the region of small phase angles.

Switching power supply with circuit to control turn on timing of switching element


The present technique relates to a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method for enabling acquisition of control information even when a preamble signal cannot be acquired.

IEEE 802.11, which is a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standard, uses a mechanism, which is called CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance), for avoiding mutual interference between terminals. Operation of CSMA/CA will be simply explained below. Before performing transmission, a terminal stands by for the transmission (back-off) for a random period of time (back-off time period). In addition, in a case of detecting a radio wave having power equal to or higher than a certain signal detection threshold as a result of observing the surrounding radio-wave environment (carrier sense) during the back-off, the terminal halts the back-off, waits until another terminal completes transmission, and resumes the back-off for the remaining back-of time period. With this mechanism involving back-off and carrier sense, a terminal can avoid collisions of packets while obtaining a transmission opportunity in an autonomous distributed manner.
Meanwhile, under IEEE 802.11ax, standardization of which is currently under consideration, a technology called Spatial Reuse (hereinafter, also referred to as SR) for enabling transmission of a packet by adjusting a detection threshold and transmission power even when a signal from a peripheral terminal is detected is being examined in order to solve a problem that transmission is excessively inhibited by CSMA/CA due to recent increase of wireless LAN terminals. In SR, a terminal reads out a BSS (Basic Service Set) identifier and transmission power information included in a preamble signal, which is a header part of a received signal, and, when having determined that the received signal has been transmitted not from a BSS to which the terminal itself belongs but from an OBSS (Overlapping BSS) which is an adjacent BSS, the terminal controls the transmission power of the terminal itself so as not to exert any influence on the OBSS, and then, performs transmission.
The information regarding identification of a BSS and control information for deciding the transmission power described above are all included in the preamble signal. However, in a case where the terminal has already started transmission or reception when a preamble signal arrives at the terminal, the terminal cannot receive the preamble signal, and thus, cannot acquire control information included in the preamble signal.
Therefore, there has been a demand for a method for, without demodulating data, enabling acquisition of control information in a packet a preamble signal of which could not be acquired.
For example, PTL 1 discloses a method for enabling sense-value information transmission according to the position of a tone signal which is used by each sensor to perform transmission/reception, in order to eliminate overhead caused by a header in a wireless sensor network. According to this method, an effect of acquiring information even from some midpoint of a packet without involving data demodulation can be expected.

Wireless communication device and wireless communication method

Abstract: The wireless communication device includes an OFDM signal generation section that generates an OFDM signal in which at least one of plural resource units obtained by channel band division is set as a control information resource unit for transmitting control information. The present technique is, for example, applicable to a wireless communication device, etc. that performs wireless communication conforming to a standard such as IEEE 802.11.