An optical recording system having a laser for generating a light beam to write data to and read data from a storage medium, an RF modulator for modulating the laser to improve its stability, and an apparatus for driving the laser. The apparatus is comprised of a transistor coupled to the laser for supplying current to the laser. An amplifier is implemented to drive the base of the transistor according to a microprocessor. Thereby, the microprocessor effectively controls the power level of the laser. The transistor and the RF modulator are enclosed within shielding to contain the RF energy being generated by the modulator. In addition, the collector-base separation of the transistor reduces the RF energy being transmitted through the line driving the base of the transistor.

Today, optical-based data storage systems are commercially competitive due to their high storage density, relatively low cost, and random access capability. Moreover, magneto-optical data storage systems offer the added flexibility of allowing an optical medium to be erased and new data written in place of the erased section. This feature grants a user the capability to reuse an optical medium many times over by erasing old data and substituting new data in place thereof.
Basically, magneto-optical recording operates in the following manner. Data is stored as a series of binary bits (i.e., 1s and 0s). A laser beam is focused onto an optical medium, usually by means of a lens assembly. Initially, the optical medium is perpendicularly magnetized. To write a "1," the laser beam is pulsed at a high power for a short duration. This raises the temperature of the optical medium to such a degree that an externally applied magnetic field reverses the direction of magnetization in the heated region. When the medium returns to its lower ambient temperature, the "domain" retains its reverse magnetization.
The domains are "erased" by using the laser to perform the same thermal process used to write the data, except that an oppositely directed external magnetic field is applied. Thereby, the domains revert back to their original magnetization.
The stored data is read from the optical medium based on the polar curve principle. This principle states that linearly polarized light, reflected from a perpendicularly magnetized medium, is rotated according to the direction of magnetization. Hence, the magnetization transitions of the domains stored on the media can be read by determining the direction of the plane of polarization of the reflected light. The same laser used to write the data is also used to generate the reflected light for reading the stored data, except that its power is reduced to avoid inadvertently writing data onto the medium.
This type of recording system has one common problem in that, typically, there is no isolation between the laser and the storage medium. Consequently, the light generated by the laser used to read the data stored on the medium is reflected from the medium and directed back at the laser. As a result of this feedback light, the laser becomes unstable. The instability interferes with the reading of data from the medium. That is to say, the instability is a form of noise.
One prior art approach to minimize the instability caused by the feedback light has been to incorporate a radio frequency (RF) modulator. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical prior art RF modulator and laser driver used in magneto-optical recording systems. A laser driver 100 is used to drive a laser diode 101. The RF modulator 102 is implemented to modulate the laser diode 101 at relatively high frequencies (approximately 300-600 MHz). By modulating the laser diode 101, instabilities due to reflected light from the medium are minimized.
However, one disadvantage associated with implementing an RF modulator is that RF energy is hard to contain and channel because it tends to radiate to the surroundings and to transmit through wiring. Hence, the modulator is enclosed within an electro-magnetic interference (EMI) shielding box 103. Inductor 104, feed-through capacitor 105, and resistor 106 are implemented as a low-pass filter to reduce the amount of RF energy being transmitted back to laser driver 100 through line 107. If the LRC 104-106 low-pass filter were not implemented, the RF energy from modulator 102 would trace back to laser driver 100 through line 107, thereby creating a D.C. offset in pre-amplifier 108. The D.C. offset can be compensated, but since RF pickup varies from one device to another, each device must be individually compensated manually. Such a process is labor intensive, costly, and time-consuming.
However, implementing an LRC 104-106 low-pass filter is disadvantageous because it limits the bandwidth of laser driver 100 in WRITE mode operations. In other words, the same low-pass filter which reduces the RF energy from tracing back to the laser driver during READ operations also acts to inhibit the bandwidth of the laser driver during WRITE operations.
In typical prior art magneto-optical recording systems, low bandwidth laser drivers were sufficient to write data onto storage media at certain locations. The sizes and boundaries of the written domains were not critical so long as the domains were adequately spaced apart and written at the proper locations. The data is read from the media by detecting the locations of each of the written domains. This scheme is known as pulse position detection (PPD). As designers strive to increase the capacity of the storage media by writing the domains closer together, the domains start to interfere with one another. In order to write the domains closely together, the boundaries of each domain need to be precisely defined to minimize interference. A higher WRITE mode bandwidth enables the laser drive to more precisely control the power of the laser. In turn, the edges of the domains can be more precisely defined, resulting in higher storage capacities.
Furthermore, magneto-optical recording systems are being developed which incorporate pulse width modulation (PWM) schemes. PWM is utilized to further increase the capacity of a given media. In PWM, data depends not only from the position of the domain but also from its width. Since information is a function of a domain's width, it is important to precisely control the rising and falling transition edges of a write pulse. Again, a high WRITE mode bandwidth is highly desirable to precisely control the pulse transition edges and, hence, the width of the domains.
One prior art method of implementing a high bandwidth WRITE mode, which also includes an RF modulator and a low-pass filter, is to output a relatively strong signal from the laser driver to drive the laser diode. However, this method is disadvantageous because the strong signal on the wire 107 leading from the laser driver 100 to the EMI shielding 103 causes serious radiated emission problems. The problem is worsened by the fact that the output from the laser driver contains a high level of harmonics due to the fast rise and fall times of the write pulses. In some instances, the emission problems are so serious as to cause the magneto-optical data storage system to fail Class "A" EMI standards set forth by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC).
Therefore, what is needed is a means for containing RF energy while, simultaneously, providing high WRITE mode bandwidth without high radiated emissions.

Optical disk drive having a low-emission high-bandwidth laser driver


The present invention describes heterocyclic compounds of general Formula 1 and their method of preparation thereof. The present invention describes general Formula 1 which inhibits phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and can be used as the anticancer agents.

At cellular level, phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) signalling contributes to many important processes, such as cell cycle progression, cell growth, survival and migration and intracellular vesicular transport. The PI3K represents the family of lipid kinases that can be classified into three subfamilies according to structure and substrate specificity viz., class I, class II and class III (Liu et al., Nature review drug discovery, 2009, 8, 627; Courteny et al., J Clin Oncol, 2010, 28, 1075). The class I PI3Ks are the most extensively studied among lipid kinases, are heterodimeric proteins; each containing a smaller regulatory domain and a larger 110 kDa catalytic domain, which occur in four isoforms differentiated as p110α, p110β, p110γ, and p110δ (Walker et al., Mol. Cell 2000, 6, 909). Moreover, Isoform selective inhibitors capable of attenuating PI3K signalling should have significant therapeutic potential for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory (Barber et al., Nat. Med. 2005, 11, 933), cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune disorders. In cancer, evidence suggests that inhibition of the class 1A PI3 kinase p110α appear to be the most appropriate to target, as in number of cancer, p110α isoform is amplified and activated (Stephens et al., Curr. Opin. Pharmacol. 2005, 5, 357).
In the last decade, many small molecules have been discovered as PI3K isoform inhibitors and presenting the new opportunities as therapeutic agents. Some of the small molecules are presently in either phase I or II clinical trial against different type of cancers. Examples includes NVP-BEZ235 developed by Novartis, (Garcia-Echeverria et al., WO2006/122806A2), NVP-BGT226 developed by Novartis, (Kwang et al., Clin cancer res. 2011, 17(22), 7114), XL-147, XL-765 developed by Exelixis, (P. Wu et al., Eur. J. Med. Chem. 2011, 46, 5540), GDC0941 developed by Genentech, (Adrian et al., J. Med. Chem. 2008, 51, 5522), PKI-587 developed by Pfizer, (Mallon et al., Clin cancer res. 2011, 17(10), 3194), GSK1059615 developed by GSK, (Steven D. Knight et al., ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 39), ZSTK474 developed by Zenyaku kogyo, (Yaguchi et al., J. Natl. Cancer inst. 2006, 98, 545; Kong et al., Cancer sci. 2007, 98, 1439; Gordon et al., J. Med. Chem. 2011, 54, 7105-7126; Gordon et al., WO2010/110686A1; Vladimir et al., WO2011/135520A1; Gordon et al., WO2010/110685A2; Venkatesan et al., WO2009/143317A1) etc. In spite of having many PI3K inhibitors in pre-clinical and different clinical trials, still there is need for the discovery of new PI3K inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.

1,3,5 -triazine based PI3K inhibitors as anticancer agents and a process for the preparation thereof

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


A neo-wafer made from integrated circuit die and methods for making a neo-wafer are disclosed. A substrate is provided and includes a dielectric layer with conductive pads for the receiving of one or more integrated circuit die. Die are flip-chip bonded to the conductive pads and all voids under-filled. The neo-wafer is thinned to expose the conductive pads, creating a neo-wafer from which stackable neo-layers with known good die can be singulated.

1. Field of the Invention
A device and methods are disclosed that provide ultra-thin, stackable wafers and layers incorporating fully tested and functional singulated integrated circuit die or modified integrated circuit packages. This disclosed invention takes advantage of, and advances related approaches to making and assembling ultra-thin, stackable layers such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,953,588, 6,072,234, 6,117,704, and 6,195,268, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Specifically, the invention relates to methods for creating a "neo-wafer" from previously singulated integrated circuit die or thinned commercial of the shelf (COTS) integrated circuit packages and also relates to a neo-wafer created according to the methods. The invention is suitable for creating neo-wafers for use in wafer-scale integration, manufacturing of multi-chip modules, wafer-scale, three-dimensional packaging, and in processes requiring build up of non-silicon based circuitry on the surface of a previously tested wafer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Microelectronic packages typically include an integrated circuit die formed on a semiconductor material, which as been bonded to a lead frame and encapsulated in a plastic material. The integrated circuit die themselves are manufactured by creating multiple, individual die on a single, standard geometry semiconductor wafer using well known industry techniques. After manufacturing and testing of the die at the wafer level, the individual die are diced, or singulated, for use in a variety of microelectronic package formats.
There is a need in the industry to recreate "neo-wafers" from die that have previously been singulated from the original semiconductor wafer or from modified COTS microelectronic packages. Applications for neo-wafers include uses in wafer-scale integration, manufacturing of multi-chip modules, wafer-scale, three-dimensional packaging, and in processes requiring build up of non-silicon based circuitry on the surface of a previously tested wafer.
In the case of wafer-scale integration, there is a requirement that the wafer contain only tested and fully functional die and that no failed die exist on the wafer. Present wafer manufacturing techniques make 100% die yield on a single wafer generally unattainable.
In the field of multi-chip module manufacturing, the object of the invention is to provide a neo-wafer with a heterogeneous mix of die, potentially manufactured using different processes and foundries.
Neo-wafers incorporating heterogeneous or homogeneous die are also beneficially used in wafer-scale, three-dimensional packaging where wafers containing integrated circuit die are stacked, diced and the individual layers interconnected to form high-density electronic modules. In such applications, 100% die yields are desirable on each wafer in the stack to ensure a failed individual die does not result in making the entire stacked module in which it is incorporated useless.
Finally, the process of non-silicon circuit build up necessitates the reassembly of fully functional individual die into a wafer so that wafer level processes, such as deposition, lithography, and doping, can be performed on the surface of the rewafered die.
Unfortunately, it is presently difficult to create neo-wafers, particularly because of the problem of integrated circuit die alignment on the neo-wafer. It is desirable that the die incorporated into the neo-wafer be aligned and oriented with the same degree of accuracy as found in conventional wafers before die singulation.
It is therefore an object of the disclosed invention to address the die alignment problem while creating a neo-wafer that is compatible with industry standard wafer level processes that can be handled and processed in the same manner as a standard, non-singulated, semiconductor wafer.


A technique is provided that is effective in easily draining liquid entering the interior of housing for housing a prefolded airbag of an airbag apparatus mounted to motorcycles. In a first form, an airbag apparatus mounted to a motorcycle has an opening at the bottom of a retainer, through which the water entering a retainer can be drained to the outside of retainer.

There have been various known techniques of restraining occupants of motorcycles with airbag apparatuses. For example, known techniques include a technique of restraining an occupant with an airbag inflated by inflation gas in a frontal collision (e.g., refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-327182). The airbag apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-327182 has a structure in which a prefolded airbag is housed in a bottomed-box-shaped housing and in which an airbag opening arranged at the top of the housing is covered with a cover (airbag cover). The cover is torn open along a fragile portion with the deploying motion of the airbag to open the airbag opening, thereby enabling the deploying motion of the airbag from the interior of the housing to the exterior.
The housing for accommodating a prefolded airbag, as in the airbag apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-327182, has a bottomed box shape having an airbag opening at the top. Accordingly, it has the problem that even if the tightness of the housing is increased, liquid such as water or oil may be prone to enter or reside in the housing through the periphery of the airbag opening. Particularly, general motorcycles have an airbag apparatus exposed to the outside of the vehicle body in contrast to cars, so that such a problem may be pronounced under the influence of rain, cleaning water, and humidity.

Airbag apparatus and motorcycle having the same


A flash unit that includes a flash generator having at least one energy storage element and at least two light source channels as well as having at least two flash tubes, the flash tubes being supplied with energy by the energy storage element by means of the light source channels. The flash unit further includes an energy quantity control device, by means of which it is possible to provide for each light source channel any desired energy quantity from a minimum charge to a maximum charge of the at least one energy storage element, and a color temperature control device, by means of which it is possible to set a color temperature for each light source channel independently of the energy quantity provided therefor. The functions of all light source channels are fully equivalent.

The invention relates to a flash unit and to a method of controlling flash units.
In photography, flash units have already long been used for uniformly illuminating a subject independently of the external light conditions, there being ignited in a flash tube a flash in which an energy store discharges. It is still relatively simple to control the brightness by means of the amount of light emitted as a whole during the flash. The relatively high energy required for that purpose can be set by charging the capacitors of the energy store to a correspondingly high degree.

Color temperature control of flash units


A closed-loop antenna switching method, a reference signal allocating method, and a feedback signal transmitting method for the same are disclosed. Namely, by transmitting a reference signal via the plurality of transmitting antennas via the antenna switching for reference signal transmission for each prescribed multiple period of an antenna selection period, efficient antenna index information can be fed back. By setting an antenna switching period to a prescribed multiple of an antenna selection period, it is able to prevent power loss and data decoding performance degradation. And, the present invention includes transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) for each band selection period via at least one of the plurality of transmitting antennas and transmitting at least one data demodulation reference signal (DMRS) between the band selection periods via an antenna for not transmitting data by reference signal transmission antenna switching.

Generally, in MIMO communication system, a transmitting antenna switching system is used as a method for securing spatial diversity. This transmitting antenna switching system can be mainly categorized into an open-loop antenna switching system and a closed-loop antenna switching system in accordance with whether feedback information indicating a channel status per each antaean is used or not.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for a configuration of an open-loop antenna switching system. open-loop antenna switching system.
Referring to FIG. 1, in an open-loop antenna switching system, a transmitting side randomly selects an antenna for transmitting data and then transmits data and reference signals. The open-loop antenna switching system employs a structure that uses the small number of RF chains in switching transmitting antennas to transmit data in an overall system for transmission and reception using a plurality of transmitting and receiving antennas.
In particular, a resource allocation module 101 plays a role in deciding and sending a frequency or time and space (antenna) for transmitting data and reference signals. And, a switching module 102 enables the data and reference signals received from the resource allocation module 101 to be transmitted via a randomly selected antenna for each transmission. In this case, a plurality of transmitting antennas are available and the number of the RF chains can range from one to the maximum number of the transmitting antennas.
The above-described antenna switching system is provided to obtain spatial diversity in transmitting data using transmitting antennas alternately in an environment difficult to have transmitting RF chains enough (e.g., in an uplink system, a user equipment (UE) is difficult to have a multitude of RF chains).
FIG. 2 is a diagram for details in operating a resource allocation module and a switching module in the open-loop antenna switching system shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 depicts a method of transmitting data and reference signals (carried between data signals) as packets in a system having two transmitting antennas and a single RF chain, in which the packet may have a single subcarrier structure or a structure that utilizes a plurality of subcarriers in such a system as OFDM system. An arrow shown in FIG. 2 indicates that an antenna is switched.

Antenna switching for data transmission in a communication system using a plurality of transmission antennas


A method for filling an ink tank to one of several selectable ink fill volumes, by providing an ink tank including an ink reservoir having a maximum fill volume V and selecting an ink fill volume Vi to store in the ink reservoir. One subsequently determines a quantity of pellets to add to the ink reservoir, wherein the total pellet volume Vp>(V−Vi−2) cubic centimeters. Upon adding the determined quantity of pellets to the ink reservoir, the ink reservoir is sealed with a lid. Whereupon, ink, in the amount Vi, is added to the ink reservoir.

An inkjet printing system typically includes one or more printheads and their corresponding ink supplies. Each printhead includes an ink inlet that is connected to its ink supply and an array of drop ejectors, each ejector consisting of an ink chamber, an ejecting actuator and an orifice through which droplets of ink are ejected. The ejecting actuator may be one of various types, including a heater that vaporizes some of the ink in the chamber in order to propel a droplet out of the orifice, or a piezoelectric device which changes the wall geometry of the chamber in order to generate a pressure wave that ejects a droplet. The droplets are typically directed toward paper or other recording medium in order to produce an image according to image data that is converted into electronic firing pulses for the drop ejectors as the print medium is moved relative to the printhead.
Motion of the print medium relative to the printhead may consist of keeping the printhead stationary and advancing the print medium past the printhead while the drops are ejected. This architecture is appropriate if the nozzle array on the printhead can address the entire region of interest across the width of the print medium. Such printheads are sometimes called pagewidth printheads.
A second type of printer architecture is the carriage printer, where the printhead nozzle array is somewhat smaller than the extent of the region of interest for printing on the print medium and the printhead is mounted on a carriage. In a carriage printer, the print medium is advanced a given distance along a print medium advance direction and then stopped. While the print medium is stopped, the printhead carriage is moved in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the print medium advance direction as the drops are ejected from the nozzles. After the carriage has printed a swath of the image while traversing the print medium, the print medium is advanced, the carriage direction of motion is reversed, and the image is formed swath by swath.
The ink supply on a carriage printer can be mounted on the carriage or off the carriage. For the case of ink supplies being mounted on the carriage, the ink tank can be permanently mounted to the printhead, so that the printhead needs to be replaced when the ink is depleted, or the ink tank can be detachably mounted to the printhead, so that only the ink tank itself needs to be replaced when the ink tank is depleted. Carriage mounted ink tanks typically contain only enough ink for up to about several hundred prints. This is because the total mass of the carriage needs be limited, so that accelerations of the carriage at each end of the travel do not result in large forces that can shake the printer back and forth. As a result, users of carriage printers need to replace carriage-mounted ink tanks periodically, depending on their printing usage, typically several times per year.
The cost of an ink tank is related to how much ink it contains. High printing throughput users may prefer high capacity ink tanks, which have a higher selling price, but need to be replaced less frequently. Low printing throughput users may prefer low capacity ink tanks, which have a lower selling price. Ink tank manufacturers want to satisfy the requirements of a wide range of users, so it is advantageous to be able to provide a range of ink fill volumes in the ink tanks.
Providing a range of different ink fill volumes is not as simple as filling an ink reservoir in an ink tank to different levels. The ink tank should be capable of containing the ink even under conditions where the pressure within the tank changes due to environmental conditions. For example, pressure variations within an ink tank can occur due to changes in ambient temperature such as when a tank is stored at elevated temperatures in a warehouse or a particular geographic region where high temperatures are encountered. Pressure variations within an ink tank can also occur when the tank is subjected to changes in barometric pressure such as transporting the tank in an airplane or a geographic elevation high above sea level. Some types of ink tank designs are particularly susceptible to leakage due to pressure variations in the ink tank if there is excessive air in the ink tank. For example, a vented ink tank having a chamber containing free-flowing liquid ink, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,312 and in some of the references cited therein, is more susceptible to such pressure-variation-induced leakage than an ink tank having all of the ink retained within a porous capillary medium. If an ink reservoir in an ink tank is partially filled with free-flowing liquid ink, and the remainder of the ink reservoir volume is occupied by air, pressure variations within the ink tank due to variations in environmental pressure and temperature can become excessive and cause leakage of ink from the ink tank during shipping and storage. This results in both wastage and inconvenience for the user.
One approach that has been commonly used is to provide different geometry ink tanks that have different fill volumes. There are limitations on the amount of change in external dimensions (height, width and length) of an ink tank that can be accommodated in a carriage. For a multi-color inkjet printer, it may be possible to select one ink tank (e.g. for black ink) that is positioned at an outer region of the carriage and change its external dimensions for varying the ink capacity. However, generally the external dimensions of a full set of ink tanks cannot be made much larger or smaller than a standard size and still fit in the carriage.
Another approach is to change the volume of an ink reservoir in an ink tank by modifying the internal dimensions, e.g. by changing the position of internal walls or partitions within the ink tank body. However, each variation in ink capacity requires that a new ink tank body style be separately tooled and injection molded, adding to the cost and complexity of manufacturing.
Similarly, the internal dimensions of an ink reservoir in an ink tank can be modified by changing the size of protrusions that extend into the reservoir from the lid of the ink tank, as disclosed in commonly assigned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/139,544 filed Jun. 16, 2008. However, again each variation in ink capacity requires that a new ink lid style be separately tooled and injection molded, adding to the cost and complexity of manufacturing.
What is needed is a way of providing a range of ink fill levels in a reservoir of an ink tank, without leaving excessive air in the reservoir, and without requiring a different tank body or lid style for each ink fill level.

Selectable fill volume for ink reservoir


This invention provides a modified natural rubber latex formed by charging a polar group-containing mercapto compound into a natural rubber latex to add the polar group-containing mercapto compound to a natural rubber molecule in the natural rubber latex, a modified natural rubber formed by coagulating and drying the modified natural rubber latex, and the rubber composition using the modified natural rubber and being excellent in the low loss factor, wear resistance and fracture characteristics.

Lately, it is strongly demanded to reduce a fuel consumption of an automobile and hence a tire having a low rolling resistance is required. For this end, there is required a rubber composition having a low tan δ (hereinafter referred to as a low loss factor) and being excellent in the low heat buildup as a rubber composition used in a tread or the like of the tire. Also, the rubber composition for the tread is required to be excellent in the wear resistance and fracture characteristics in addition to the low loss factor. In order to improve the low loss factor, wear resistance and fracture characteristics of the rubber composition, it is effective to improve an affinity between a filler such as carbon black, silica or the like and a rubber component in the rubber composition.
For example, in order to improve the reinforcing effect with the filler by improving the affinity between the filler and the rubber component in the rubber composition, there are developed a synthetic rubber wherein the affinity for the filler is improved by a terminal modification, a synthetic rubber wherein the affinity for the filler is improved by copolymerizing with a functional group-containing monomer and so on.
On the other hand, a natural rubber is voluminously used while utilizing its excellent physical characteristics, but there is no technique wherein the affinity for the filler is improved by modifying the natural rubber itself to highly improve the reinforcing effect with the filler.
For example, there is proposed a technique for epoxidizing the natural rubber. In this technique, however, the affinity between the natural rubber and the filler cannot be sufficiently improved, so that the reinforcing effect with the filler cannot be sufficiently improved. Also, there is known a technique wherein a graft-polymerization is conducted by adding a vinyl-based monomer to a natural rubber latex (see JP-A-H05-287121, JP-A-H06-329702, JP-A-H09-025468, JP-A-2000-319339, JP-A-2002-138266 and JP-A-2002-348559). The grafted natural rubber obtained by this technique is put into a practical use as an adhesive or the like. In the grafted natural rubber, however, a large amount of the vinyl compound as a monomer (20-50% by mass) is grafted for changing the characteristics of the natural rubber itself, so that when it is compounded with a filler, the viscosity is largely increased to deteriorate the processability. Moreover, since the large amount of the vinyl compound is introduced into the molecular chain of the natural rubber, there are damaged the excellent physical characteristics inherent to natural rubber (viscoelasticity, stress-strain curve in a tensile test and the like).

Modified natural rubber latex and method for producing the same, modified natural rubber and method for producing the same, rubber composition and tire


A filtration unit and a method of installing a filtration unit are provided. The rectangular filtration unit includes a filter element for filtering fluid. The frame includes a first portion and a second portion. The frame supports the filter element and the frame defines an opening. A first dimension of the filtration unit measured between the exterior of the first portion and the opening is greater than a second dimension of the filtration unit measured between the exterior of the second portion and the opening. In a further example, the filtration unit is mounted in a top section and a bottom section of a holding frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a filtration apparatus header frame, and specifically relates to a filtration unit for ease of insertion into a holding frame.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Filter elements can be used to provide clean fluid, such as air, to or from various devices. Such devices can include gas turbines. Filter elements can include mini-pleat filters and pocket filters. Filter elements can be held in place in a filtration apparatus by a filtration unit that rests in a filter frame within the filtration apparatus. However, new, more efficient filter elements have differing overall shapes which can provide installation difficulties or prevent installation of more efficient filter elements altogether. These difficulties discourage possible retrofits of existing filtration equipment with more efficient filter elements. Furthermore, the installation difficulties can result in reduced efficiency of the filtration apparatus when retrofitted with new filter element designs or cause damage to the filter elements. As a result, there are benefits for continual improvements in filter technologies so as to address these and other issues.


A clinical information reporting system for use with an electronic database for a health care facility, the electronic database containing records for a group of patients and operational information which is accessed and used during the course of operation of the facility, the records containing clinical information for said group of patients, the reporting system including an electrocardiograph which generates ECG-related data for the group of patients; database application logic for incorporating the ECG-related data for the group of patients into the database; and report generating logic for generating a process of care report from the information stored in the database, the process of care report presenting selected process of care information derived from the database as a function of a clinically meaningful class of the group of patients, wherein the clinically meaningful class is defined at least in part in terms of the ECG-related data supplied by the electrocardiograph and stored within the database.

The invention relates to clinical information reporting systems.
Each year, over 500,000 Americans die of acute myocardial infarction (AMI, known as "heart attack"), including over 200,000 in hospitals. Were the medical advances of the last two decades consistently used, the mortality rate for hospitalized AMI patients would be much less. Medical care in this country's 6,000 hospitals varies, and current national AMI mortality rates are about twice those reported from major research centers. The problem is that physicians and hospitals do not consistently deliver optimal cardiac care.
Two fundamental problems underlie the failure to translate medical advances into results in this country's hospitals: 1) delays and errors in emergency room (ER) physician decision-making about the immediate care of the AMI patient, and 2) the lack of any credible and practical way to monitor and evaluate hospital AMI care results.
The key advances in AMI care relate to the very first hours of care: new medications and procedures for immediate use, and admission to the coronary care unit (CCU). Even short delays in treatment can cost lives in the first few hours, as can mistakes in CCU admission, but both are currently common. Delays occur as ER physicians try to sort out and treat AMI patients from among the many others they must evaluate. For example, the typical ER delay in giving thrombolytic therapy is about two hours, despite its well-known loss of its life-saving effect if not given promptly. Admission decisions to the CCU are also often suboptimal. of the early 1.5 million patients admitted to CCUs in this country each year, fewer than half have true acute cardiac ischemia (the diagnosis including AMI as well as "unstable angina pectoris", which can quickly progress to an AMI), thus filling CCUs with unnecessary admissions. More costly in lives, each year approximately 20,000 AMI patients are inadvertently sent home from the ER without any care.
Once primarily the concern of physicians and researchers, because of the scale of the problem, the Federal government is now looking for ways to monitor, evaluate and improve the delivery of AMI care. Over the past two years, separate expert panels have been convened by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, to find ways to improve the delivery of cardiac services. In each case, these panels and agencies have concluded that two major approaches are needed: 1) in order to improve the quality and speed of physicians' emergency care of AMI patients, methods are needed to assist physicians' emergency decision-making; and 2) in order to detect suboptimal care and to encourage continuous improvement, methods are needed to objectively assess the quality of physicians' and hospitals' AMI care.

New England Medical Center Hospitals, Inc.


Provided are a method, apparatus and device for adding a video special effect and a storage medium. The method includes: acquiring a source video sequence and at least one special effect video sequence; in the case where frame rates of the two or more than two special effect video sequences are same, inserting a frame into the source video sequence and superimposing the two or more than two special effect video sequences on the source video sequence at the same time; and in the case where frame rates of the two or more than two special effect video sequences are different, determining a target frame rate from the frame rates of the two or more than two special effect video sequences inserting frames into the source video sequence and then superimposing the two or more than two special effect video sequences on the source video sequence.

In the process of video production, there is often an operation of superimposing a dynamic special effect. A video sequence of the special effect part (also referred to as a special effect sequence) generally has a stable frame rate, but the quality of the source video may be uneven. If the quality of the source video sequence is not high (the frame rate is relatively low or the rhythm is not smooth), the playback effect of the superimposed special effect is not smooth.
In the related art, the special effect is added in the following two manners: one is to superimpose directly according to the frame number, in this manner, if the frame rate of the special effect sequence is greater than the frame rate of the source video, the superimposed special effect is slowed down when being played and the effect is not good; the other is to remove part of the video frame of the special effect sequence so that the frame rate of the special effect sequence after this part of the video frame is removed is the same as the frame rate of the source video, and in this manner, the superimposed special effect may be stuck when being played.

Method, device and apparatus for adding video special effects and storage medium


The image forming apparatus includes: an intermediate transfer body; a liquid adhesion device which provides a first liquid having a viscosity not less than 15 mPa·s and not greater than 300 mPa·s at 25° C, on the intermediate transfer body; a droplet ejection device which ejects a second liquid containing a coloring material onto a region of the intermediate transfer body where the first liquid is provided by the liquid adhesion device, in a state where the first liquid on the intermediate transfer body has a thickness not less than 1.6 μm; a viscosity raising device which raises a viscosity of the second liquid on the intermediate transfer body; and a transfer device which transfers an image including dots of the second liquid formed on the intermediate transfer body, onto a recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method, and more particularly, to image forming technology for forming an image on a recording medium by using a liquid such as ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inkjet recording apparatuses which form a desired image by ejecting ink onto a medium are subject to demands for higher image quality as well as demands for higher image recording speed. These demands are mutually contradictory, and various ways have been contrived in order to resolve these conflicting issues. For example, in cases where a recording medium having permeable characteristics, such as paper, is used, ink droplets permeate into the recording medium and image degradation occurs due to bleeding, dot spreading (shape abnormalities), or the like. Technology is used in which an image is formed provisionally on an intermediate transfer body having non-permeable characteristics, whereupon the image is transferred to a recording medium, thereby suppressing the ink permeation into the recording medium.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-250052 discloses an invention wherein a primary image is recorded onto an intermediate transfer body by using UV ink which is curable by irradiation of ultraviolet light, the viscosity of the UV ink forming the primary image is increased by radiating ultraviolet light onto the primary image, and the primary image is then transferred onto paper forming a recording medium, thereby making it possible to record a secondary image on the recording medium in a short time.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-161603 discloses an inkjet recording method in which a radiation-curable ink is cured on an intermediate transfer body by means of radiation and then the cured ink is transferred by heating at a temperature that is higher than Tg (i.e., the glass transition temperature) of the cured ink.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-179960 discloses an inkjet recording apparatus comprising a light irradiation device which is provided inside an intermediate transfer body provided for temporarily holding ink ejected from a recording head (which is also simply referred to as a "head") and which radiates light curing the ink, wherein the amount (degree) of the light irradiation increases successively, from the ink ejection part onto which the ink is ejected from the head, to the transfer part where the ink is transferred to a recording medium, to the cleaning part where residual ink on the intermediate transfer body is removed.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-153368 discloses a composition in which high-viscosity ink of 10000 mPa s or above is applied to a transfer roller by means of a roll coater or blade, an image is then created thereon-using low-viscosity ultraviolet-curable color inkjet ink, and this image is transferred to a printing roller, whereby transferring onto a curved printing medium can be achieved without deteriorating image quality.
However, for instance, when ink droplets ejected from a head onto a medium in order to form an image make contact with each other and combine before fixing on the medium, depositing interference occurs, and hence displacement of the dots formed by the ink and dot shape abnormalities occur, leading to marked deterioration of image quality. This phenomenon is particularly marked in cases of using a medium having non-permeable characteristics (including a medium having an extremely slow permeation speed).
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a situation of the above-described depositing interference. As shown in FIG. 16, when an ink 32 ejected in the form of a droplet onto an intermediate transfer medium 16 from heads 12C, 12M, 12K, 12Y makes contact with another ink 32 deposited previously onto the intermediate transfer body 16, it is drawn toward the previously deposited ink 32, thus giving rise to beading (combination). If beading of this kind arises, then displacement occurs in the dot formation positions.
In the inventions described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-250052 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-161603, depositing interference is liable to occur if ink droplets make contact with each other before irradiation of ultraviolet light. Moreover, in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-179960, in cases where high-speed printing is performed, depositing interference is liable to occur if ink droplets make contact with each other before light is radiated onto the ink ejection part by the light irradiation device.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-153368 does not disclose a method of avoiding depositing interference of the color ink ejected in the form of droplets by the inkjet head. If the viscosity of the previously applied high-viscosity ink is too high, then it is difficult for the low-viscosity color ink to penetrate into the film of high-viscosity ink, and hence depositing interference is liable to occur when the color ink is deposited. Furthermore, in order to put a high-viscosity ink having a viscosity of 10000 mPa·s or above onto a transfer roller, it is necessary to apply the ink to the whole surface of the transfer roller by means of a roll coater, blade, or the like, and therefore the consumption of high-viscosity ink rises.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method with decreased image transfer disturbance


Devices and methods for determining a propensity to diabetic and/or macular degeneration in a subject by measuring certain featured from a captured retinal image from a subject are described.

Diabetes mellitus affects nearly 26 million US adults with 1.5 million more cases diagnosed each year as noted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2011. The CDC predicts that 1 in 3 Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. Diabetes is associated with multiple long term complications including premature cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy and macular edema are the leading cause of new blindness diagnoses in the US. While millions of Americans have been diagnosed with diabetic and/or macular degeneration, a serious problem is that many more are unaware they are at high risk. One-third to one-half of people with diabetic and/or macular degeneration are undiagnosed and, hence, untreated. Although it has been shown that aggressive lifestyle intervention can delay or prevent diabetic and/or macular degeneration in those at high risk, it is also believed that earlier diagnosis and specific treatment of the eye disease either through laser photocoagulation or use of medications which block abnormal retinal vessel growth can prevent or delay the serious complications related to the disease (blindness) and improve health outcomes significantly. Since one third of people have a complication from diabetic retinopathy and/or macular degeneration at the time of diagnosis and duration of hyperglycemia is directly related to complications, earlier detection and intervention could have a significant impact on complication prevention.
In spite of considerable research into new methods to diagnose and treat this disease, diabetes remains difficult to treat effectively, and the mortality observed in patients indicates that improvements are needed in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this disease. There are multiple social and economic barriers to access to health care providers in the US and world-wide for earlier diagnosis and treatment and there is also a need for an improved approach to screen and classify the risk for future complications such as blindness from diabetes by utilizing new mobile technologies.

Devices and methods for classifying diabetic and macular degeneration


A selective transfer roll stamp is provided which rotates on a source substrate to selectively transfer elements arranged on the source substrate. The selective transfer roller stamp includes: a roller unit rotating about an axis of rotation and including projecting portions protruding in a radial direction and recessed portions formed between neighboring projecting portions; and an adhesive layer formed on the outer circumferential surface of the roller unit and coming into contact with the elements, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the adhesive layer is made flat in a circumferential direction.

There have been attempts to fabricate flexible elements and components based on printed electronics technology, and printed electronics is increasingly used, mostly in product ranges such as displays, RFID, and solar power. In printed electronics, printing usually occurs at a lower temperature than a semiconductor process or at room temperature. Elements are fabricated by a coating process, a printing process, a patterning process, etc., and flexible components can be made via a post-process for forming wiring and electrodes and processes like joining and cutting.
In the actual fabrication of devices using elements, space for wiring and other uses is needed. That is, space is needed between each device, but cannot be formed if all elements arranged on a wafer are transferred at once, which makes device fabrication difficult.
Moreover, for a device consisting not of a single type of element but of multiple types of elements, one element is transferred first, and then another element is transferred near it. As can be seen from this example, a transfer process for device fabrication often requires a process of selectively transferring an element, and there is an already known technique for selective transfer using a patterned stamp in the transfer process.
FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a conventional selective transfer roll stamp, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of protrusions on the selective transfer roll stamp of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the conventional selective transfer roll stamp includes a roller 20 rotating about the axis of rotation, and an adhesive layer 30 covering the roller 20. Protrusions 31 are formed on the surface of the adhesive layer 30, and flat portions 32 are formed between neighboring protrusions 31. A plurality of elements 1 arranged on a source substrate 10 are separated from the source substrate 10 as they are attached to the protrusions 31 on the rotating stamp.
However, as shown in FIG. 2, in a case where a contact load F is applied in the process of transferring elements 1 on the source substrate 10 to the stamp, the flat portions 32, as well as the protrusions 31 on the stamp, may collapse, leading to the risk of bringing the flat portions 32 into contact with the elements 1 on the source substrate 10. In that case, the elements 1 are transferred to the stamp, which should not happen, and this makes the whole process defective.
As the size and pitch of the protrusions 31 become smaller, the flat portions 32 collapse more frequently, especially when transferring micro-sized elements 1, thus leading to a further decrease in process defect rates.
Moreover, the conventional selective transfer roll stamp should be replaced often because the protrusions wear out or become damaged over a long-time process.

KOREA INSTITUTE OF MACHINERY & MATERIALS


The present invention is based at least in part on the discovery of the genomic structure of the human SR-BI gene and on the identification of polymorphic regions within the gene. Accordingly, the invention provides nucleic acids having a nucleotide sequence of an allelic variant of an SR-BI gene and nucleic acids having an SR-BI intronic sequence. The invention also provides methods for identifying specific alleles of polymorphic regions of an SR-BI gene, methods for determining whether a subject has or is at risk of developing a disease which is associated with a specific allele of a polymorphic region of an SR-BI gene, and kits for performing such methods.

Coronary heart disease is a major health risk throughout the industrialized world. Atherosclerosis, the most prevalent of cardiovascular diseases, is the principal cause of heart attack, stroke, and gangrene of the extremities, and thereby the principle cause of death in the United States. Although historically much emphasis has been placed on total plasma cholesterol levels as a risk factor for coronary heart disease, it has been clearly established that low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is an independent risk factor for this disease. Family and twin studies have shown that there are genetic components that affect HDL levels. However, mutations in the main protein components of HDL (ApoA1 and ApoAII) and in the enzymes that are known to be involved in HDL metabolism (e.g., CETP, HL, LPL and LCAT) do not explain all of the genetic factors affecting HDL levels in the general population (J. L. Breslow, in The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, C. R. Scriver, A. L. Beaudet, W. Sly, D. Valle, Eds. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1995), pp 2031-2052; and S. M. Grundy, (1995) J. Am. Med Assoc. 256: 2849). This finding in combination with the fact that the mechanisms of HDL metabolism are poorly understood, suggests that there are other as yet unknown factors that contribute to the genetic variability of HDL levels.
One candidate factor is the SR-BI receptor, which has been shown to bind HDL and LDL cholesterol and mediate uptake into cells (Acton, S. et al., (1996) Science 271:518-520). SR-BI is likely to contribute to genetic lipoprotein variability, thereby playing a role in the development of atherosclerosis.
In addition, cholesterol gallstone formation could be caused by a defective SR-BI receptor, since the SR-BI receptor is likely to be involved in transferring HDL-cholesterol from extrahepatic tissues to the liver (reverse cholesterol transport) e.g. for incorporation into bile (J. L. Breslow, in The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, C. R. Scriver, A. L. Beaudet, W. Sly, D. Valle, Eds. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1995), pp 2031-2052; S. M. Grundy, (1995) J. Am. Med Assoc. 256: 2849; G. Assman, A. von Eckardstein, H. B. Brewer Jr. in The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, C. R. Scriver, A. L. Beaudet, W. Sly, D. Valle, Eds. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1995), pp 2053-2072; W. J. Johnson et al., (1991) Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1085:273; M. N. Pieters et al., (1994) Ibid 1225:125; and C. J. Fielding and P. E. Fielding, (1995) J. Lipid Res 36:211).
Further, a defective SR-BI receptor or abnormal levels of SR-BI receptor could influence the fertility of a subject, since SR-BI appears to be involved in HDL-cholesteryl ester delivery to steroidogenic tissues (ovary, adrenal glands and testis) for hormone synthesis (Acton, S. et al., (1996) Science 271:518-520; Landschulz, et al., (1996) J. Clin. Invest. 98:984-95; J. M. Anderson and J. M. Dietschy (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256: 7362; M. S. Brown et al., (1979) Recent Prog Horm. Res. 35:215; J. T. Gwynne and J. F. Strauss III, (1982) Endocr. Rev. 3:299; B. D. Murphy et al., (1985) Endocrinology 116: 1587).
The SR-BI receptor (Scavenger Receptor-BI) is a scavenger receptor that mediates endocytosis of unmodified and modified lipoproteins, e.g., LDL, acetylated LDL, oxidized LDL (Acton et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269:21003), HDL ((Acton, S. et al., (1996) Science 271:518-520), anionic phospholipids (Rigotti et al. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270:16221), negatively charged liposomes and apoptotic cells (Fukasawa et al. (1996) Exp. Cell Res. 222:246). The human SR-BI receptor (also termed "CLA-1") exists in two differentially spliced forms (Calvo and Vega (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268:18929). The predominant form of human SR-BI is a protein of 509 amino acids. The shorter form of the SR-BI receptor has 409 amino acids, and is lacking the 100 amino acids located 42 amino acids downstream of the initiation codon (Calvo and Vega, supra). The nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding human SR-BI is disclosed in Calvo and Vega, supra) and the nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding hamster SR-BI is disclosed in Acton et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269:21003 and in PCT Application WO 96/00288.

Intronic and polymorphic SR-BI nucleic acids and uses therefor


The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for the transmission of control signal in a radio communication system. The method includes the steps of processing first control information on the basis of a first resource index to create a first control signal, processing second control information on the basis of a second resource index to create a second control signal, and transmitting the first control signal and the second control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radio communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting a control signal in a radio communication system.
2. Related Art
In next generation multimedia radio communication systems, which have been actively studied in recent years, there is a demand for a system capable of processing and transmitting a variety of information (e.g., video and radio data) at a higher data rate in addition to the early-stage voice service. The radio communication system is designed for the purpose of providing reliable communication to a plurality of users irrespective of their locations and mobility. However, a wireless channel has an abnormal characteristic such as a fading phenomenon caused by a path loss, noise, and multipath, an inter-symbol interference (ISI), a Doppler effect caused by mobility of a user equipment (UE), etc. Various techniques have been developed to overcome the abnormal characteristic of the wireless channel and to increase reliability of radio communication.
A multiple input multiple output (MIMO) scheme is used as a technique for supporting a reliable high-speed data service. The MIMO scheme uses multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas to improve data transmission/reception efficiency. Examples of the MIMO scheme include spatial multiplexing, transmit diversity, beamforming, etc. A MIMO channel matrix depending on the number of receive antennas and the number of transmit antennas can be decomposed into a plurality of independent channels. Each independent channel is referred to as a spatial layer or a stream. The number of streams is referred to as a rank.
There is an ongoing standardization effort for an international mobile telecommunication-advanced (IMT-A) system aiming at the support of an Internal protocol (IP)-based multimedia seamless service by using a high-speed data transfer rate of 1 gigabits per second (Gbps) in a downlink and 500 megabits per second (Mbps) in an uplink in the international telecommunication union (ITU) as a next generation (i.e., post 3rd generation) mobile communication system. A 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) is considering a 3GPP long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) system as a candidate technique for the IMT-A system. It is expected that the LTE-A system is developed to further complete an LTE system while maintaining backward compatibility with the LTE system. This is because the support of compatibility between the LTE-A system and the LTE system facilitates user convenience. In addition, the compatibility between the two systems is also advantageous from the perspective of service providers since the existing equipment can be reused.
A typical radio communication system is a single-carrier system supporting one carrier. Since a data transfer rate is in proportion to a transmission bandwidth, the transmission bandwidth needs to increase to support a high-speed data transfer rate. However, except for some areas of the world, it is difficult to allocate frequencies of wide bandwidths. For the effective use of fragmented small bands, a spectrum aggregation (or bandwidth aggregation or a carrier aggregation) technique is being developed. The spectrum aggregation technique is a technique for obtaining the same effect as when a band of a logically wide bandwidth is used by aggregating a plurality of physically non-contiguous bands in a frequency domain. By using the spectrum aggregation technique, multiple carriers can be supported in the radio communication system. The radio communication system supporting the multiple carriers is referred to as a multiple carrier system. The carrier may also be referred to as other terms, such as, a radio frequency (RF), a component carrier, etc.
Meanwhile, a variety of uplink control information is transmitted through an uplink control channel. Examples of the uplink control information include an acknowledgement (ACK)/not-acknowledgement (NACK) used to perform hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), a channel quality indicator (CQI) for indicating a downlink channel state, a scheduling request (SR) for requesting radio resource allocation for uplink transmission, etc.
However, in order to provide a high-speed data rate in a next generation radio communication system, additional control information has to be transmitted, unlike the legacy system. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a method and apparatus for effectively transmitting additional control information while maintaining compatibility with the legacy system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for the transmission of a control signal in a radio communication system


A calibration standard includes a base and an outside measurement gage block disposed in a recess of the base such that edges and calibration surfaces of the outside measurement gage block are protected by the base and allow access to the calibration surfaces by a caliper. A method for calibrating calipers using the calibration standard is also provided.

Accuracy is the degree of conformity of a measured or calculated quantity to its true value. Precision or repeatability is the degree to which a number of measurements or calculations show the same or similar results. The results of a measurement can be accurate but not precise, precise but not accurate, neither, or both. The measurement is valid if it is both accurate and precise.
To determine if a measuring device makes valid measurements, a standard with a known dimension can be used. The measuring device is used to measure the standard and the resulting measurement compared to the known dimension of the standard. If the measurement produced by the measurement device is substantially equivalent to the known dimension and the measurement is repeatable, it can be assumed that the measurement device is calibrated to make valid measurements of that particular dimension.
This calibration allows the accuracy/precision of the measuring device to be ascertained over its lifetime and corrective action taken when the accuracy/precision falls below a predetermined value. These measuring devices may include tape measures, calipers, micrometers, protractors, or other devices.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.


The invention is directed to an ammunition casing made of a composite fiber material, which comprises fiber material and a bonding agent, is at least partially flammable and has a high strength. The ammunition casing is particularly useful when surrounding a smoke screen unit, and the combustion reaction products of the composite fiber material form soot particles, preferably of hydrocarbon C.sub.X H.sub.Y, which will contribute to the smoke screen effect of the smoke screen unit during combustion.

The present invention is directed to an ammunition casing or cartridge casing made of a composite fiber material, which material comprises fiber materials and a bonding agent and which composite fiber material is at least partially flammable and has a high degree of strength.
Ammunition casings, which use essentially two different fiber materials, are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,776, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference thereto and which was the basis for German Offenlegungsschrift 19 18 163, discloses the use of a mixture, which is made of a flammable propellant, which also functions as a type of bonding agent, and fibers made of carbon that are manufactured by carbonizing spun or woven textile fibers. These pure carbon fibers have a high strength up to a temperature of 2500.degree. and, thus, cannot in themselves burn at lower temperatures. In addition, for example, on the other hand, an ammunition casing of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,824, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference thereto, and from German Patent 35 46 489. In these two references, fiber material comprises cellulose nitrate, which will burn spontaneously without producing smoke, even in the absence of oxygen. Since cellulose nitrate is subject to explosive laws, for safety reasons, its processing can only occur with aqueous slurries, which increases the processing costs.
It is also well known to use a smoke screen unit as ammunition, wherein the smoke screen unit is contained in a vessel or canister, which is, up to now, made of steel or aluminum casings, and which casings themselves do not burn and, thus, have no direct influence on the combustion behavior. However, during combustion of a smoke screen unit with such a metal casing or canister, there are disadvantages in that it is known as a chimney effect, which causes a pulsating combustion of the smoke screen unit. Long ammunition casings can, in particular, be regarded as chimneys, whereby the particles produced during combustion of the smoke screen unit are deposited on the inner wall of the ammunition casing, and thus cause a short-term blockage, whereby the blockage can only be blown out again by means of the pressure that occurs during combustion and then builds up due to the blockage. By means of this combustion that pulsates due to the temporary blockage of the ammunition casing, the dynamics of the combustion is complicated in such a way that it is essentially impossible to make any statements concerning the effectiveness of the particles that occur during combustion, and a uniform, regular smoke reaction does not occur.

Ammunition casing of composite fiber material


A coarse timing acquisition technique includes generating a sequence detection indicator. The sequence detection indicator indicates detection of a sequence of repeated symbols in a received signal. The sequence detection indicator is based on a first energy threshold and a normalized moving sum of an autocorrelation signal. The autocorrelation signal is based on the received signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications systems, and more particularly, to timing in communications systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical packet-based communications system, data packets include a header or preamble portion and a payload portion. In general, the preamble portion facilitates delivery of the payload, which is the part of the transmitted data that is the purpose of the transmission. Accurate identification of the end of a preamble portion of a data packet and the beginning of a payload portion of the data packet facilitates data recovery that achieves a target performance rate. Accordingly, a robust technique for identifying a payload portion of a received data packet is desired.


As a method for determining transistor palcement of a cell by using a computer, a degree of integratin of the cell equivalent to manual layout design can be realized and a processing can be performed within a practical time. At a one-dimensional placement step, transistors of the cell are placed in a string with vertical placement state in each channel region. At a two-dimensional placement step, conditions of the one-dimensional placement step are excluded, and the transistors can be placed in a plurality of strings with horizontal placement state in each channel region to strings with horizontal placement state in each channel region to change the transistor placement. Consequently, a result of the transistor placement obtained at the one-dimensional placement step can be improved and the cell can be made more compact. At the one-dimensional placement step, global optimization is performed. At the two-dimensional step, only local improvement of the placement is performed. Therefore, a burden on the computer can be relieved more considerably than in a method for placing transistors in two-dimensions from the beginning, and the processing can be performed within the practical time.

The present invention relates to a layout synthesis technique of a LSI leaf cell such as a standard cell or a data pass leaf cell to be used for an electric circuit such as a CMOS'LSI, and more particularly to a method for determining placement of transistors in a cell area.
In recent years, a semiconductor process technology has been developed at the dizzying pace, and technological innovations have been made successively. Every time design and development of the most advanced high-performance system are projected in response to the technological innovations of a process, it is necessary to develop a new cell library. At the same time, there are various semiconductor processes. Each process is utilized according to use. For this reason, the cell library should also be prepared corresponding to the various processes. Also in design of a LSI system, high-speed operation, low power consumption and the like are targeted. The cell library should correspond to the various targets. In other words, the cell library has recently been developed very often. Actually, a great number of cells should be prepared for one library. Furthermore, a submicron era has began so that a mask design rule (design rule) has been complicated still more. Consequently, a reality with the development of the cell library has become more serious.
In development of a standard cell library and a private cell library for a data pass according to the prior art, layout design thereof has been obtained most manually. The reason is that a cell having a high degree of integration should be designed because the area of a leaf cell directly influences that of a block and furthermore that of a chip. In consideration of the reality related to the development of the cell library, it is apparent that manual layout design will not meet the needs of development in the near future. Accordingly, the cell layout synthesis technique will become more important rapidly.
Cell layout synthesis (cell synthesis) means that a mask layout having a transistor level is generated from a net list having the transistor level by using a design rule, and generally comprises three processings: (1) transistor placement; (2) a wiring between transistors; and (3) compaction. A cell synthesis method or a placement wiring method having the transistor level has conventionally been studied vigorously. However, most of these studies have great restrictions on an input circuit, a placement style of transistors and the like in order to simplify computer processings.
As an example of the restrictions, a one-dimensional placement model is employed. The one-dimensional placement model has the form in which P type transistors and N Type transistors are each placed in one string with the gate width direction fitting the vertical direction of a cell so that the two rows of P type and N type transistors is placed in parallel with each other in the cell. Since a lot of cells should be prepared for one cell library, transistors used for the cells have recently had various sizes. In the case where the one-dimensional placement model is employed under the circumstances, a rate of the cell which cannot form an optimal layout for a generally determined cell height in the cell library cannot be ignored. Accordingly, when developing a practical cell synthesis system, it is necessary to employ a method which is not restricted to the one-dimensional placement model. `T. Uehara and W. M. vanCleemput, "Optimal Layout of CMOS Logic Cells", 25th ACM/IEEE Trans. Computer Vol. c-30, pp.305-312, May 1981` has proposed that a layout area can be reduced by sharing a diffusion layer between adjacent transistors. After that, there have been proposals including a relation of algorithms which maximize diffusion sharing to paring problems of P-type and N-type transistors. Most of the algorithms have the one-dimensional placement model as a premise.
A small number of methods having no one-dimensional placement model as a premise have been proposed. A method for generating cells variable in size in the vertical direction of the cells by repeatedly placing a pair of P channel region and N channel region in the cell and using a one-dimensional placement in each channel region has also been proposed. It is supposed that this method is more effective in a macro cell than a standard cell. On the other hand, a method which enables to arrange a plurality of transistors in the vertical direction of the cell in each of P and N channel regions into which the cell is divided as well as in the one-dimensional placement, and to change the number of arrangeable transistors depending on a position in the horizontal direction of the cell region has been described in `C. J. Poirier, "Excellerator: Custom CMOS Leaf Cell Layout Generator", IEEE Trans. On Computer Aided Design Vol. 8, No. 7, pp. 744-755, July 1989`. It is supposed that this method is also effective in the standard cell. However, this method has restrictions, for example, directions of transistors should be arranged in the same direction, sizes of the transistors should be uniform and the like so that a degree of freedom equivalent to manual design is not dealt with. A method which also deals with a degree of freedom related to the directions of the transistors has been disclosed in `D. G. Baltus, J. Allen, "SOLO: A Generator of Efficient Layouts From Optimized MOS Circuit Schematics", Design Automation Conference, pp. 445-452, 1988`. According to this method, a cell circuit is divided into partial circuits and a specific placement pattern (gate matrix style) is applied to the partial circuit so that the cell is not always optimized.
As described in `Chi Yi Hwang, Yung-Ching Hsieh, Youn-Long Lin, Yu-Chin Hsu, "An Efficient Layout Style for Two-Metal CMOS Leaf Cells and Its Automatic Synthesis", IEEE Trans. on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 410-424, March 1993`, it is recognized that a cell height should be reduced in the same manner as a cell width in order to optimize a layout. A problem of optimizing a wiring in a cell which is a factor of determining the cell height has become important to transistor placement.
Various methods for optimizing a wiring between elements have been known by studies of optimal placement of a standard cell on a block and the like. Even if these methods are exactly applied to the problem of the transistor placement, a layout of the cell cannot be optimized. In order to optimize the cell while taking a cell width and a cell height into consideration, two optimization indexes, that is, optimization of diffusion and that of wirings by minimization of diffusion separation (maximization of diffusion sharing) should be dealt with at the same time. In the conventional transistor placement method, the two optimization indexes are not taken into consideration at the same time but optimization is divided into two stages in which first optimization is performed by one of the indexes and second optimization is performed by the other index. A typical method has been well known in which a partial circuit is extracted from a given circuit of a cell, transistors are placed in the extracted partial circuit in order to optimize diffusion, results of placement are regarded as transistor groups, and the transistor groups are placed in order to optimize a wiring.
The conventional method has a restriction that P type transistors and N type transistors are arranged vertically in a one-dimensional placement style. Thus, the transistors are placed on a horizontal dot string and the placement is evaluated by using grid coordinates. The above-mentioned document written by C. Y. Hwang has disclosed an example.
In order to apply cell synthesis performed by a computer to actual development of a cell library, it is necessary to solve a problem of a cell area, that is, a problem of how to increase a degree of integration of the cell equivalently to manual layout design. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to give a complete two-dimensional degree of freedom by a transistor which acts as a placement element in the cell and to optimize a layout of the cell. In the conventional cell synthesis method, however, great restrictions are imposed on an input circuit, a placement style of transistors and the like so as to simplify computer processings as described above. Therefore, the conventional cell synthesis method is inadequate to realize a flexible layout equivalent to manual design.
If the complete two-dimensional degree of freedom is given to the transistors and the transistors are placed by the computer, it takes a lot of time to perform the processing. Therefore, such placement is not practical.
According to the transistor placement method according to the prior art, diffusion and wirings are separately optimized in two stages so that optimal transistor placement cannot always be obtained generally. In particular, the method for extracting partial circuits to group transistors has the following problem. If the number of the transistors of each group is great, a final result of transistor placement greatly depends on selection of the partial circuits. Consequently, there is a high possibility that the final result of placement might be optimized locally. Although a processing efficiency is high, some cells have a variation in a degree of optimization.
In the conventional method, P type transistors and N type transistors are placed on horizontal dot strings and grid coordinates are used to evaluate the placement on the condition that the transistors are vertically arranged in a one-dimensional placement style. According to an actual mask design rule, however, in the case where adjacent transistors share a diffusion electrode, a distance between gates obtained with a contact provided on the electrode is different from that. obtained without the contact provided on the electrode. For this reason, the P type transistors and the N type transistors are not always arranged vertically in a layout obtained after compaction. There is also a possibility that an actual cell might include transistors having different gate lengths. In this case, it is impossible to arrange the P type transistors and the N type transistors vertically. In other words, the conventional transistor placement has a problem that the placement evaluation is not performed in conformity with a real layout.

Method for generating transistor placement in an automatic cell layout design

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for fabricating stacks of IC chips into modules providing high density electronics. A relatively large number of layers are stacked, and then integrated by curing adhesive applied between adjacent layers. A large stack is formed, various processing steps are performed on the access plane face of the large stack, and then the large stack is segmented to form a plurality of smaller, or short, stacks. Means are provided for causing separation of the larger stack into smaller stacks, without disturbing the adhesive which binds the layers within each small stack.

This invention relates to the fabrication of three-dimensional electronic packages in which a multiplicity of individual integrated circuit (IC) chips are secured together in a stack which provides a very high density electronic package.
The assignee of this application pioneered the use of IC chip stacks, first as modules providing photo-detector focal plane circuitry, and then as units suitable for computer memories and the like. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,525,921 and 4,646,128 relate to the stacks designed for general use as memory devices and other non-focal-plane packages.
The methods used for fabricating such three dimensional (3D) IC chip stacks have become increasingly sophisticated. The three dimensional approach has been applied to both SRAM and DRAM memory chips with satisfactory results. Stacking of memory chips has reached density levels of seventy chips in a 0.220 inch.times.0.520 inch.times.0.520 inch stack, each chip having a 1 megabit memory. Expectations are to increase the memory per chip and the number of chips per stack.
In this approach chips are tested, measured, and then assembled in a stacking fixture, with a thin layer of adhesive between adjacent chips. The stacked chips and fixture are then placed in an oven and baked at the curing temperature for a given time. The "face" of the stack is then etched to expose the thin film metal leads. The leads are of the order of 1 micrometer thick and 125 micrometers wide. After sufficient etching, several layers of passivation, preferably polyimide, are deposited over the stack face, covering to a depth somewhat greater than the length of the exposed thin film metal leads. This polyimide serves as an insulating layer between the silicon chips and the metal pads and/or buslines deposited later in the process. After curing the polyimide layers, the face of the stack is thinly lapped to clear cured polyimide from the thin film metal lead ends.
Using photolithography and vacuum deposition of Ti-W/Au or other suitable metal or metal combination, pads and buslines are formed on the stack face. The pad to metal lead interconnect that is formed is referred to as a "T-connect". Such a T-connect is depicted in FIG. 1. To complete the assembly, the stack can be solder bumped or wire bonded to a substrate for eventual connection to external circuitry. One of these assemblies is shown in common assignee U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,166.
Since memory chip wafers are usually selected "off the shelf", and therefore not dedicated to the stacking process, some modification is required before the die can be used for this purpose. Depending upon how the finished stack is to be attached to its substrate or circuit assembly, it has been found to be appropriate to reroute the pads by thin film metal leads to one edge of the "new" chip. For some applications, however, it may be preferable to reroute to more than one edge of the chip. This wafer lead rerouting process is disclosed in common assignee U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,820.
One of the possible chip stacking processes is disclosed in common assignee U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,160. After a stack has been fabricated, there are several process steps performed on the access plane of the full stack. It is economically no more costly to perform these process steps on a stack containing 70 chips than on a stack containing 10 chips. In fact, it is easier to work with a larger stack because it is easier to handle. These process steps performed on the full stack include those steps discussed above and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,921.

Method for fabricating stacks of IC chips by segmenting a larger stack


An optical fiber connector includes a connector case (1) having a receiving cavity (3); a ferrule (21); a ferrule holder (31) movable within the receiving cavity and holding the ferrule at its front end; and a conical spring (38) for biasing the ferrule holder forwardly so that the ferrule projects forwardly from the receiving cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical fiber connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 12 shows an optical fiber connector. A ferrule 21 is held by a ferrule holder 22 which is housed in the receiving cavity 3 of a connector case 1 such that its bosses 23 and 24 are housed in channels 4 and 5 of the connector case 1 respectively.
FIG. 13 shows another optical fiber connector. A connector case 1 is provided at the rear end with a cable receiving aperture 2, into which an optical fiber cable 11 is inserted and secured to the connector case 1 by a threaded nut 12. An optical fiber 13 extends forwardly from the end of the cable 11 and terminates at a ferrule holder 22 which holds a ferrule 21 at the front end. The connector case 1 is provided at the front end with a receiving cavity 3 for housing the ferrule holder 22. The ferrule 21 extends forwardly in a front opening 8 of the connector case 1. A pair of arms 9 extends rearwardly from opposite sides of the connector case 1 for engagement with a mating plug.
In FIG. 14, the ferrule 21 is held by the ferrule holder 22 which is housed in the receiving cavity 3. The ferrule holder 22 is provided at the front end with a conical boss 25 with a flange 26 and at the rear end with a rear front flange 27 which abuts on an end clip 29. A coil spring 28 is placed between the flanges 26 and 27 for biasing the conical boss 25 forwardly so that the corner portion 25a abuts on the aperture 7 of the connector case 1 while the flanges 26 and 27 abut on the inside walls 3b and 3a of the receiving cavity 3, respectively.
In the connector of FIG. 12, however, the gap between the ferrule holder 22 and the receiving cavity 3 is so small that when the ferrule 21 is fitted into a precision sleeve 30, a small radial offset between the ferrule and the precision sleeve 30 causes a collision between them. As a result, the ferrule 21 is pushed rearwardly so that the rear end 22a of the ferrule holder 22 is pushed against the end wall 22a of the receiving cavity 3, producing a friction resistance in proportion to the pushing force. This friction resistance restricts the radial movement of the ferrule 21, making it very difficult to fit the ferrule 21 into the precision sleeve 30.
In the connector of FIG. 13, however, the corner portion 25a of the conical boss 25 abuts on the aperture 7 of the connector case 1 with little or no play so that even when the ferrule 21 is pushed rearwardly upon fitting into the precision sleeve 30, it hardly moves in the radial direction, making it very difficult to fit the ferrule 21 into the precision sleeve 30.


A molded base element includes a base element body having a substantially rhomboid longitudinal sectional shape and formed of two side walls intersecting one another along a longitudinal direction. Each of the side walls extends between longitudinally spaced cut surfaces and has a base surface adjacent a free end thereof opposite the intersection of the side walls. Slots or holes can be formed at the flattened surface at the line of intersection. Alternatively, grooves can be formed on the inner or end surfaces of the walls.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molded structural element for consolidating soils, making them capable of being walked on and driven on and for holding earth and other substrates in a horizontal to vertical arrangement, in particular, for the purpose of planting.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many molded blocks for the covering consolidation of substrates. All are laid with joints, inter alia for the purpose of drainage. Plants cannot flourish here or are undesirable. The soils present underneath become compacted at the points of continuous load and are virtually completely unable to breathe. Water no longer penetrates deeply and is removed by means of an elaborate drainage system.
Meadows or lawns absorb water like a sponge and release it slowly downward. Plants and soil animals survive well here. Walking and driving is possible in the dry state but only to a limited extent in the wet state. The plants are damaged, depending on the load.
Molded lattice-type blocks for lawns can help to solve the problem of load-bearing capacity and suitability for planting. They differ in shape and material, and water seeps into their cavities, the soil breathes and soil fauna and flora find space for living, taking root and growing.
However, a disadvantage here is that virtually all these molded blocks have side walls and orifices at right angles to the substrate. In the case of high traffic loads, this molded block is subjected to loads at certain points and is pressed further and further into the soil, owing to the lack of a lateral bond. The substrate squeezes upward out of the cavities and is recompacted there. The resulting situation is similar to that in the case of the covering molded blocks. Furthermore, these molded blocks are generally used only for the same purpose.


Apparatuses for playing signals received from the internet or other information highway or a stored database on one or more speakers are described. The apparatus has a receiver for receiving information from preselected addresses; a processor for interpreting the signals; and at least one speaker for playing signals from the internet. There is at least display device connected to the receiver for displaying an image received from the internet. The processor selects images that correspond with the signals played by the speaker.

This application relates to the field of internet receivers that are capable of receiving Internet radio signals or audio signals from a stored playlist. More specifically, this application relates to speakers and video screens that relate to a specific station that is received through these devices by Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Wi-Max. It is also noted that one Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Wi-Max Internet receiver may be used to supply signals to multiple speakers and screens.
Internet Radio Stations are easy to broadcast and with Wi-Fi and Wi-Max can be transmitted to virtually every part of the world. In fact, the problem is that so many stations are available on the Internet that it is hard for them to get traction. It is hard for those stations to get traffic even when they have been "selected" by the service. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an Internet Radio player which can help an Internet Radio Station gain market share.

Themed ornaments with internet radio receiver


A communications system is provided that includes a detector that has I/Q mismatch, a calibration circuit that estimating a phase and/or an amplitude mismatch of the detector, and a compensation circuit that uses the estimated phase and/or amplitude mismatch to mitigate the effects of the amplitude and/or phase mismatch. An IQ-modulated signal produced by the I/Q-modulator can be communicated over a loop back connection to the detector of the communication system. The calibration circuit can estimate the I/Q mismatch for the IQ-modulator and can provide the estimated values to a pre-compensation circuit. In one aspect, I/Q mismatch in the IQ-modulator of a communication system can be determined using a spectrum analyzer. Power measurements can be used to compute the amplitude mismatch and the phase mismatch of an IQ-modulator.

Electronic communications using devices such as telephones, fax machines, mobile telephones, radios, and modems generally involve wireline electric signals and/or wireless electromagnetic signals. The study of electronic signals is called signal processing, and the study of communicating signals is called communication theory.
Electronic signals are generally characterized by at least three well-known properties—frequency, amplitude, and phase—any one of which can be used to represent information. For example, AM radio stations use electromagnetic signals that contain information in their amplitudes, and FM radio stations use electromagnetic signals that contain information in their frequencies. In general, the process of producing a signal that contains information in its frequency, amplitude, and/or phase, is called modulation, and the counterpart process of retrieving information from a such a signal is called demodulation or detection. For a radio station, for example, AM is a shorthand for amplitude modulation and FM is a shorthand for frequency modulation. In the field of communication, devices that perform modulation/demodulation have come to be known as "modems."
AM and FM communication protocols are mainly used in radios that communicate analog audio information, and other communication protocols are generally used to communicate digital information. One popular digital communication protocol is known as "I/Q modulation," in which the communication signal is a combination of two amplitude-modulated sinusoidal signals that have the same frequency but that are π/2 radians apart in phase, i.e., in "quadrature." Thus, another name for I/Q modulation is quadrature amplitude modulation, or QAM. The "I" in I/Q modulation refers to information associated with the one of the signals (e.g., cosine), and the "Q" refers to information associated with the other signal (e.g., sine).
A fundamental concept that is used with signal processing and communication theory, and especially with I/Q modulation, is the representation of electronic signals as complex functions, i.e., functions that have a real and an imaginary part. Complex functions can be plotted on a complex plane in which the real part of the function corresponds to values on the horizontal axis and the complex part of the function corresponds to values on the vertical axis. The use of complex functions is a conceptual tool that provides a convenient way to represent signal amplitude and phase. For example, suppose a signal is characterized by the complex function s(t)=r(t)+j·m(t), where r(t) and m(t) are real-valued functions and j designates the imaginary part of the complex function. Using the complex function, the magnitude of the signal s(t) can be computed by |s(t)|=√{square root over ((r(t))2+(m(t))2)}{square root over ((r(t))2+(m(t))2)}, and the phase of the signal can be computed by
      ∠s              (      t      )        =            arctan                    (                              m                                      (              t              )                                            r                                      (              t              )                                      )              .  As another example, operations that change the frequency content of a signal can also be described using complex numbers and Fourier transforms. For example, one skilled in the art will recognize that multiplying a signal s(t) with the complex sinusoid ejωct=cos(ωct)+j·sin(ωct) in the time domain will produce a resulting signal s′(t)=s(t)ejωct in which the frequency content of s′(t) is shifted by ωc compared to s(t).
In I/O modulation, the transmitted signal ideally contains two signals that are in quadrature, such as cosine and sine signals, each having a particular amplitude. For a theoretical explanation, suppose the transmitted signal iss(t)=sl,kδ(t−kT)cos(ωct)+sQ,kδ(t−kT)sin(ωct),where ωc is the angular frequency,
      T    =                  2                π                    ω        c              ,k is an integer, δ(t−kT) is the time-shifted ideal impulse function, and sl,k and sQ,k are real values. Further suppose that the values of sl,k and sQ,k are chosen to satisfy the equations sl,k=Akcos(θk) and sQ,k=Aksin(θk). Then, the transmitted signal becomess(t)=Akcos(θk)δ(t−kT)cos(ωct)+Aksin(θk)δ(t−kT)sin(ωct).Recognizing that cos(a−b)=cos(a)cos(b)+sin(a)sin(b), the transmitted signal can be expressed ass(t)=δ(k−kT)Akcos(ωct−θk),which shows that particular choices of values for sI,k and sQ,k can result in different amplitude and phase for the transmission signal. Accordingly, I/Q modulation can represent information by modulating the amplitude and phase of the transmission signal. It is suitable to note here that the impulse function is purely theoretical and, in reality, can be replaced by some pulse-shaped function p(t).
In the field of digital communication, the set of all available values sl,k and sQ,k is called a "constellation," and each available pair of values (sl,k, sQ,k) is called a signal point. When the constellation is designed such that Ak does not change for different signal points and only θk changes, the modulation is called phase-shift keying, or PSK. When the constellation is designed such that θk does not change for different signal points and only Ak changes, the modulation is called amplitude-shift keying, or ASK. In general, however, both Ak and θk may change. Also, the number M of signal points in a constellation determines the amount of information that is associated with each signal point. In general, each signal point can represent b=└log2M┘ bits of information, and usually M is a power of two.
Ultimately, the desired operation of a transmitter is to perform frequency, amplitude, and/or phase modulation, and circuits exist that can do so directly. For example, a voltage-controlled oscillator can be used to perform frequency modulation. If frequency modulation is not needed, however, it may be simpler to use I/Q modulation. For example, I/Q modulation can require generating two quadrature signals, varying the amplitudes of the signals according to a constellation, and then combining the amplitude-modulated signals to, effectively, produce an amplitude and/or phase modulated transmission signal. Additionally, I/Q modulation may also simplify the detection/demodulation of the transmission signal. Detection of an I/Q modulated signal will be described later herein.
One complication that can arise in I/Q modulation is that the quadrature oscillators of a transmitter and/or receiver may not be ideal and may actually not be in quadrature, giving rise to phase mismatch. Another complication is that the quadrature oscillators may provide periodic signals that have different amplitudes, giving rise to amplitude mismatch. These complications will be referred to herein as "I/Q mismatch." I/Q mismatch can introduce unwanted frequency components into a signal and can degrade the performance of a communication system. While the "I" and "Q" oscillators in a transmitter may be carefully designed and manufactured, I/Q mismatch can nevertheless occur because of temperature dependencies and/or other phenomena affecting oscillators. Therefore, there is continued interest in providing communication systems that can operate effectively when I/Q mismatch occurs.

Compensation of I/Q mismatch in a communication system using I/Q modulation