A method and apparatus for the parametric encoding of a stereo digital-audio signal. The method includes encoding a mono signal produced by downmixing applied to the stereo signal and encoding spatialization information of the stereo signal. Downmixing includes determining, for a predetermined set of frequency sub-bands, a phase difference between two stereo channels; obtaining an intermediate channel by rotating a first predetermined channel of the stereo signal through an angle obtained by reducing the phase difference; determining the phase of the mono signal from the phase of the signal that is the sum of the intermediate channel and the second stereo signal, and from a phase difference between, on the one hand, the signal that is the sum of the intermediate channel and the second channel and, on the other hand, the second channel of the stereo signal. Also provided are a decoding method, an encoder and a decoder.

This type of coding/decoding is based on the extraction of spatial information parameters so that, upon decoding, these spatial characteristics may be reproduced for the listener, in order to recreate the same spatial image as in the original signal.
Such a technique for parametric coding/decoding is for example described in the document by J. Breebaart, S. van de Par, A. Kohlrausch, E. Schuijers, entitled "Parametric Coding of Stereo Audio" in EURASIP Journal on Applied Signal Processing 2005:9, 1305-1322. This example is reconsidered with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively describing a parametric stereo coder and decoder.
Thus, FIG. 1 describes a coder receiving two audio channels, a left channel (denoted L for Left in English) and a right channel (denoted R for Right in English).
The time-domain channels L(n) and R(n), where n is the integer index of the samples, are processed by the blocks 101, 102, 103 and 104, respectively, which perform a fast Fourier analysis. The transformed signals L[j] and R[j], where j is the integer index of the frequency coefficients, are thus obtained.
The block 105 performs a channel reduction processing, or "downmix" in English, so as to obtain in the frequency domain, starting from the left and right signals, a monophonic signal hereinafter referred to as 'mono signal' which here is a sum signal.
An extraction of spatial information parameters is also carried out in the block 105. The extracted parameters are as follows.
The parameters ICLD (for "Inter-Channel Level Difference" in English), also referred to as 'inter-channel intensity differences', characterize the energy ratios by frequency sub-band between the left and right channels. These parameters allow sound sources to be positioned in the stereo horizontal plane by "panning". They are defined in dB by the following formula:
                              ICLD                                [            k            ]                          =                  10.                                              log              10                        (                                                            ∑                                      j                    =                                          B                                                                    [                        k                        ]                                                                                B                                                                    [                                                  k                          +                          1                                                ]                                                              -                    1                                                                                L                                                              [                      j                      ]                                                        ·                                                            L                      *                                                                                [                      j                      ]                                                                                ∑                                      j                    =                                          B                                                                    [                        k                        ]                                                                                B                                                                    [                                                  k                          +                          1                                                ]                                                              -                    1                                                                                R                                                              [                      j                      ]                                                        ·                                                            R                      *                                                                                [                      j                      ]                                                                                )                                                                        dB                                    (        1        )            where L[j] and R[j] correspond to the spectral (complex) coefficients of the L and R channels, the values B[k] and B[k+1], for each frequency band of index k, define the division into sub-bands of the discrete spectrum and the symbol * indicates the complex conjugate.
The parameters ICPD (for "Inter-Channel Phase Difference" in English), also referred to as 'phase differences', are defined according to the following equation:ICPD[k]=(Σj=B[k]B[k+1]−1L[j]·R*[j])  (2)where  indicates the argument (the phase) of the complex operand.In an equivalent manner to the ICPD, an ICTD (for "Inter-Channel Time Difference" in English) may also be defined whose definition, known to those skilled in the art, is not recalled here.
In contrast to the parameters ICLD, ICPD and ICTD, which are localization parameters, the parameters ICC (for "Inter-Channel Coherence" in English) on the other hand represent the inter-channel correlation (or coherence) and are associated with the spatial width of the sound sources; their definition is not recalled here, but it is noted in the article by Breebart et al. that the ICC parameters are not needed in the sub-bands reduced to a single frequency coefficient—the reason being that the amplitude and phase differences completely describe the spatialization, in this case "degenerate".
These ICLD, ICPD and ICC parameters are extracted by analyzing the stereo signals, by the block 105. If the ICTD parameters were also coded, these could also be extracted by sub-band from the spectra L[j] and R[j]; however, the extraction of the ICTD parameters is generally simplified by assuming an identical inter-channel time difference for each sub-band and, in this case, these parameters may be extracted from the time-varying channels L(n) and R(n) by means of inter-correlations.
The mono signal M[j] is transformed in the time domain (blocks 106 to 108) after fast Fourier processing (inverse FFT, windowing and addition-overlapping known as OverLap-Add or OLA in English) and a mono coding (block 109) is subsequently carried out. In parallel, the stereo parameters are quantified and coded in the block 110.
Generally speaking, the spectrum of the signals (L[j], R[j]) is divided according to a non-linear frequency scale of the ERB (Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidth) or Bark type, with a number of sub-bands typically going from 20 to 34 for a signal sampled from 16 to 48 kHz. This scale defines the values of B[k] and B[k+1] for each sub-band k. The parameters (ICLD, ICPD, ICC) are coded by scalar quantization potentially followed by an entropic coding and/or by a differential coding. For example, in the article previously cited, the ICLD is coded by a non-uniform quantifier (going from −50 to +50 dB) with differential entropic coding. The non-uniform quantization pitch exploits the fact that the higher the value of the ICLD the lower the auditive sensitivity to the variations in this parameter.
For the coding of the mono signal (block 109), several techniques for quantization with or without memory are possible, for example the coding "Pulse Code Modulation" (PCM), its adaptive version known as "Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation" (ADPCM) or more sophisticated techniques such as the perceptual coding by transform or the coding "Code Excited Linear Prediction" (CELP).
This document is more particularly focused on the recommendation UIT-T G.722 which uses ADPCM coding using codes interleaved in sub-bands.
The input signal of a coder of the G.722 type, in broadband, has a minimum bandwidth of [50-7000 Hz] with a sampling frequency of 16 kHz. This signal is decomposed into two sub-bands [0-4000 Hz] and [4000-8000 Hz] obtained by decomposition of the signal by quadrature mirror filters (or QMF), then each of the sub-bands is coded separately by an ADPCM coder.
The low band is coded by an embedded-codes ADPCM coding over 6, 5 and 4 bits, whereas the high band is coded by an ADPCM coder with 2 bits per sample. The total data rate is 64, 56 or 48 bit/s depending on the number of bits used for the decoding of the low band.
The recommendation G.722 dating from 1988 was first of all used in the ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) for audio and videoconference applications. For several years, this coder has been used in applications of HD (High Definition) improved quality voice telephony, or "HD voice" in English, over a fixed IP network.
A quantified signal frame according to the G.722 standard is composed of quantization indices coded over 6, 5 or 4 bits per sample in low band (0-4000 Hz) and 2 bits per sample in high band (4000-8000 Hz). Since the frequency of transmission of the scalar indices is 8 kHz in each sub-band, the data rate is of 64, 56 or 48 kbit/s.
In the decoder 200, with reference to FIG. 2, the mono signal is decoded (block 201), and a de-correlator is used (block 202) to produce two versions {circumflex over (M)}(n) and {circumflex over (M)}′(n) of the decoded mono signal. This decorrelation allows the spatial width of the mono source {circumflex over (M)}(n) to be increased and of thus avoid it being a point-like source. These two signals {circumflex over (M)}(n) and {circumflex over (M)}′(n) are passed into the frequency domain (blocks 203 to 206) and the decoded stereo parameters (block 207) are used by the stereo synthesis (or shaping) (block 208) to reconstruct the left and right channels in the frequency domain. These channels are finally reconstructed in the time domain (blocks 209 to 214).
Thus, as mentioned for the coder, the block 105 performs a downmix, by combining the stereo channels (left, right) so as to obtain a mono signal which is subsequently coded by a mono coder. The spatial parameters (ICLD, ICPD, ICC, etc.) are extracted from the stereo channels and transmitted in addition to the binary pulse train coming from the mono coder.
Several techniques have been developed for the downmix. This downmix may be carried out in the time or frequency domain. Two types of downmix are generally differentiated:                Passive downmix, which corresponds to a direct matrixing of the stereo channels in order to combine them into a single signal;        Active (or adaptive) downmix, which includes a control of the energy and/or of the phase in addition to the combination of the two stereo channels.
The simplest example of passive downmix is given by the following time matrixing:
                              M                                (            n            )                          =                                            1              2                                                  (                                                L                                                        (                    n                    )                                                  +                                  R                                                        (                    n                    )                                                              )                                =                                    [                                                                                1                      /                      2                                                                            0                                                                                0                                                                              1                      /                      2                                                                                ]                        ·                          [                                                                                L                                                                    (                        n                        )                                                                                R                                                                    (                        n                        )                                                                                ]                                                          (        3        )
This type of downmix has however the drawback of not well conserving the energy of the signals after the stereo to mono conversion when the L and R channels are not in phase: in the extreme case where L(n)=−R(n), the mono signal is zero, a situation which is undesirable.
A mechanism for active downmix improving the situation is given by the following equation:
                              M                                (            n            )                          =                              γ                                      (              n              )                                                                                L                                                  (                  n                  )                                            +                              R                                                  (                  n                  )                                                      2                                              (        4        )            where γ(n) is a factor which compensates for any potential loss of energy.
However, combining the signals L(n) and R(n) in the time domain does not allow a precise control (with sufficient frequency resolution) of any potential phase differences between L and R channels; when the L and R channels have comparable amplitudes and virtually opposing phases, "fade-out" or "attenuation" phenomena (loss of "energy") on the mono signal may be observed by frequency sub-bands with respect to the stereo channels.
This is the reason that it is often more advantageous in terms of quality to carry out the downmix in the frequency domain, even if this involves calculating time/frequency transforms and leads to a delay and an additional complexity with respect to a time domain downmix.
The preceding active downmix can thus be transposed with the spectra of the left and right channels, in the following manner:
                              M                                [            k            ]                          =                              γ                                      [              k              ]                                                                                L                                                  [                  k                  ]                                            +                              R                                                  [                  k                  ]                                                      2                                              (        5        )            where k corresponds to the index of a frequency coefficient (Fourier coefficient for example representing a frequency sub-band). The compensation parameter may be set as follows:
                              γ                                [            k            ]                          =                  max                                (                          2              ,                                                                                                                                  L                                                                                [                            k                            ]                                                                                                                      2                                        +                                                                                                                    R                                                                                [                            k                            ]                                                                                                                      2                                                                                                                                                              L                                                                                [                              k                              ]                                                                                +                                                      R                                                                                [                              k                              ]                                                                                                                            2                                        /                    2                                                                        )                                              (        6        )
It is thus ensured that the overall energy of the downmix is the sum of the energies of the left and right channels. Here, the factor γ[k] is saturated at an amplification of 6 dB.
The stereo to mono downmix technique in the document by Breebaart et al. cited previously is carried out in the frequency domain. The mono signal M[k] is obtained by a linear combination of the L and R channels according to the equation:M[k]=w1L[k]+w2R[k]  (7)where w1, w2 are gains with complex values. If w1=w2=0.5, the mono signal is considered as an average of the two L and R channels. The gains w1, w2 are generally adapted as a function of the short-term signal, in particular for aligning the phases.
One particular case of this frequency-domain downmix technique is provided in the document entitled "A stereo to mono downmixing scheme for MPEG-4 parametric stereo encoder" by Samsudin, E. Kurniawati, N. Boon Poh, F. Sattar, S. George, in IEEE Trans., ICASSP 2006. In this document, the L and R channels are aligned in phase prior to carrying out the channel reduction processing.
More precisely, the phase of the L channel for each frequency sub-band is chosen as the reference phase, the R channel is aligned according to the phase of the L channel for each sub-band by the following formula:R′[k]=ei·ICPD[b]·R[k]  (8)where i=√{square root over (−1)}, R′[k] is the aligned R channel, k is the index of a coefficient in the bth frequency sub-band, ICPD[b] is the inter-channel phase difference in the bth frequency sub-band given by:ICPD[b]=(Σk=kbk=kb+1−1L[k]·R*[k])  (9)where kb defines the frequency intervals of the corresponding sub-band and * is the complex conjugate. It is to be noted that when the sub-band with index b is reduced to a frequency coefficient, the following is found:R′[k]=|R[k]|·ejL[k]  (10)
Finally, the mono signal obtained by the downmixing in the document by Samsudin et al. cited previously is calculated by averaging the L channel and the aligned R channel, according to the following equation:
                              M                                [            k            ]                          =                                            L                                            [                k                ]                                      +                                          R                ′                                                          [                k                ]                                              2                                    (        11        )
The alignment in phase therefore allows the energy to be conserved and the problems of attenuation to be avoided by eliminating the influence of the phase. This downmixing corresponds to the downmixing described in the document by Breebart et al. where:
                                          M                                      [              k              ]                                =                                                    w                1                                                          L                                                  [                  k                  ]                                                      +                                          w                2                                                          R                                                  [                  k                  ]                                                                                with                                                                        w            1                    =                                                    1                2                                                                                and                                                                                w                2                                      =                                          ICPD                                                  [                  b                  ]                                            2                                                          (        12        )
An ideal conversion of a stereo signal to a mono signal must avoid the problems of attenuation for all the frequency components of the signal.
This downmixing operation is important for parametric stereo coding because the decoded stereo signal is only a spatial shaping of the decoded mono signal.
The technique of downmixing in the frequency domain described previously does indeed conserve the energy level of the stereo signal in the mono signal by aligning the R channel and the L channel prior to performing the processing. This phase alignment allows the situations where the channels are in phase opposition to be avoided.
The method of Samsudin et al. is however based on a total dependency on the downmix processing on the channel (L or R) chosen for setting the phase reference.
In the extreme cases, if the reference channel is zero ("dead" silence) and if the other channel is non-zero, the phase of the mono signal after downmixing becomes constant, and the resulting mono signal will, in general, be of poor quality; similarly, if the reference channel is a random signal (ambient noise, etc.), the phase of the mono signal may become random or be poorly conditioned with, here again, a mono signal that will generally be of poor quality.
An alternative technique for frequency downmixing has been proposed in the document entitled "Parametric stereo extension of ITU-T G.722 based on a new downmixing scheme" by T. M. N Hoang, S. Ragot, B. Kovësi, P. Scalart, Proc. IEEE MMSP, 4-6 Oct. 2010. This document provides a downmixing technique which overcomes drawbacks of the downmixing technique provided by Samsudin et al. According to this document, the mono signal M[k] is calculated from the stereo channels L[k] and R[k] by the following formula:M[k]=|M[k]|·ejM[k]where the amplitude |M[k]| and the phase M[k] for each sub-band are defined by:
         {                                                                                    M                                                  [                  k                  ]                                                                    =                                                                                                  L                                                              [                      k                      ]                                                                                        +                                                                        R                                                              [                      k                      ]                                                                                                    2                                                                                ∠                                                                                M                                                  [                  k                  ]                                                      =                          ∠                                            (                                                      L                                                              [                      k                      ]                                                        +                                      R                                                              [                      k                      ]                                                                      )                                                        The amplitude of M[k] is the average of the amplitudes of the L and R channels. The phase of M[k] is given by the phase of the signal summing the two stereo channels (L+R).
The method of Hoang et al. preserves the energy of the mono signal like the method of Samsudin et al., and it avoids the problem of total dependency on one of the stereo channels (L or R) for the phase calculation M[k]. However, it has a disadvantage when the L and R channels are in virtual phase opposition in certain sub-bands (with as extreme case L=−R). Under these conditions, the resulting mono signal will be of poor quality.
There thus exists a need for a method of coding/decoding which allows channels to be combined while managing the stereo signals in phase opposition or whose phase is poorly conditioned in order to avoid the problems of quality that these signals can create.

Stereo parametric coding/decoding for channels in phase opposition


Automated determination and setting of an ultrasound system transmit power level is provided for contrast agent imaging. Low mechanical index imaging of contrast agents allows substantially continuous imaging of contrast agents without destruction. By comparing data associated with different transmit power levels and spatial locations, different delays between acquisition or different acquisition sequences, a contrast agent imaging transmit power generally minimizing destruction of contrast agents and maximizing signal-to-noise ratio is automatically determined. By using contrast agent specificity for setting the transmit power in addition or alternative to destruction of contrast agents, harmonic imaging may be improved.

The present invention relates to contrast agent imaging. In particular, a transmit power level is provided for contrast agent ultrasound imaging.
Contrast agents are typically gas or fluid filled micro-spheres which resonate at ultrasound frequencies. The contrast agents are injected into the blood stream and carried to various locations in the body. When insonified, echo signals are generated due to resonance of the contrast agents. The echo signals provide good contrast to signals from the surrounding tissue or fluid.
Destruction of contrast agents prevents repetitive scanning or real-time imaging. At higher powers, pressures, or mechanical indices (MI), the micro-spheres can burst and be eliminated from a scanning plane. Since contrast agents can move slowly through the body's vasculature, the microspheres do not quickly enter the imaged tissue. With high MI imaging, slower scanning rates are required to allow fresh agent to replenish the scanning plane.
Contrast agents are imaged with low MI or low transmitted power levels to avoid destruction. High frame rates for imaging can be maintained. For low MI imaging, the user selects a transmit power or the system uses a pre-set contrast agent imaging transmit power. Unlike tissue imaging or imaging of contrast agents at high MI, low MI imaging of contrast agents can be more challenging. Returned signals can be weak, and a user may often search for a preferred transmit power level. The user subjectively determines a transmit power level that minimizes bubble destruction but maintains a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio. This takes time and training. Systems that fix, or preset, the transmitted power levels for an examination can improve the efficiency of an examination. However, the preset values may not be optimal. Preset values may be sub-optimal due to different patient types, different clinical applications, or different contrast agents.

Automated power level for contrast agent imaging


A floating strainer is constructed having a rectangular frame. A cylindrical drum is attached to each corner of the rectangular frame. Below the rectangular frame, a box-strainer is fixed. The distance between the box-strainer and the rectangular frame is adjustable so that the level at which water is drawn can be raised or lowered. The bottom of the box-strainer includes hose connections. These are positioned so that the hoses connect at the bottom of the floating strainer and extend vertically down from the bottom. This configuration operates to distribute the weight of the hose and reduce stress and strain on the hose.

A safe supply of drinking water is a fundamental need worldwide. With growing populations, additional sources of drinking water are in ever increasing demand. Lakes and other fresh-water reservoirs provide one source from which drinking water can be drawn. An example of a system used to draw and purify water from such a source is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,750, titled "Community Drinking Water Purification System," which issued on Dec. 7, 1999, and which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Basically, this type of system requires an intake apparatus to draw water from the source. In some standing bodies of water, the cleanest volume is found near, but not on the surface. Accordingly, water is preferably drawn from a sub-surface layer, near the top of the body of water. Various apparatus have been designed for this purpose. For one example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,855, titled "Method and Apparatus for Providing Water for Irrigating Turf Grass," which issued on Oct. 1, 1991, teaches an intake which hangs in the water from a float. A tether between the float and the intake determines the level from which water is drawn. The float is free to move about the body of water, limited only by the hose which is connected to the intake.
A particularly vulnerable portion of this design is found at the connection between the hose and the intake. This portion of the hose forming the joint with the intake suffers the most wear. Because the intake rises and falls along with the float, it tends to stress and strain the joint between the intake and the hose. Likewise, because the intake follows the float, movement of the float will, in turn, flex and twist this joint. Over time the joint will suffer wear and eventually may crack or separate.
A broken hose can cause serious damage to a water filtration system. For one example, if the hose breaks away and falls to the bottom of a lake, it may draw in sand and rocks. These can clog in-line filters and if they flow to an intake pump can cause serious damage.


Apparatus and method for scaling volume for a multimedia computer system are disclosed. A volume control algorithm, in association with the computer system hardware, increases or decreases the perceived volume over time. The increase or decrease in volume being scaled to correspond to the logarithmic nature of perceived audio transmissions. Thus, fifty percent of the maximum on a given volume scale corresponds to a human perceived half volume output.

The human perception of audio volume is distinctly logarithmic in nature. For example, a drop of one-half in the amplitude of an audio signal corresponds to a discerned decrease in volume of significantly less than one half of the original volume. Thus, it is much more convenient for applications if an audio subsystem provides a volume scale such that fifty percent of the maximum of the volume sounds like half the volume to the user. Translating the volume for smooth transitions from one volume level to a higher or lower volume level over time is an especially perplexing problem.
When increasing the volume over time, the most cost effective solution is to have a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) perform the appropriate conversion. However, most DSPs are sixteen-bit, fixed point processors that are unable to effectively perform logarithmic functions because of truncation problems due to limited precision leading to round off errors. The subject invention solves this problem by presenting a fast, non-linear, smooth, accurate scaling method using a DSP.
Other applications have been faced with translating linear values to non-linear values. One example of such a solution is found in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 1217-1221, entitled, "COLOR OR GREY SCALE SELECTION CIRCUIT WITH CORRECTED D/A CONVERTER." The subject TDB discloses an approximation to logarithmic brightness steps employing a linear D/A converter using a suitable correction. The correction is applied by adding an offset C to the output of a linear A/D converter voltage, and multiplying by a constant. This solution is impractical as a solution to our problem due to the inaccuracies inherent in multiplication on a sixteen bit processor.

Apparatus and method for smooth audio scaling

International Business Machines Corporation


Example method includes: transmit a plurality of probe images from an Internet of Things (IoT) device at an edge network to a server hosting a target deep neural network (DNN), wherein the plurality of images are injected with a limited amount of noise; receive a feedback comprising a plurality of discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients from the server hosting the target DNN, wherein the plurality of DCT coefficients are unique to the target DNN; generate a quantization table based on the feedback received from the server hosting the target DNN; compress a set of real-time images using the generated quantization table by the IoT device at the edge network; and transmit the compressed set of real-time images to the server hosting the target DNN for DNN inferences.

Computer vision based on deep neural networks (DNN) has lots of potential in the Internet of Things (IoT) regime with promising applications, such as object classification for a solar-powered wireless camera and/or object segmentation for a city-scale public-safety drone, etc. However, running DNN applications on IoT devices remains challenging due to the limited computing power, storage space, and/or battery life of the IoT devices. With the 5G network that features mobile edge computing, it is possible to offload inference tasks to powerful edge nodes. Thus, IoT devices can stream the captured video and/or image source to remote edge servers, which can then perform the compute-intensive DNN inference and respond with the results.
DNN-based inference at the edge has recently become a new frontier of deep learning research. However, considering the growing number of connected IoT devices, limited wireless bandwidth is becoming a fundamental challenge, hindering the deployment of the edge inference for DNN-based applications. Since DNNs are sensitive to input noise (for example, a single corrupted pixel may fool the DNN), IoT devices need to send high quality image and/or video to the edge for inference, causing scalability issues at wireless links. Therefore, source compression technique designed to facilitate the DNN inference at edge, which saves the bandwidth without compromising the DNN inference accuracy.

Image compression with bounded deep neural network perception loss

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


An inbred sunflower line, designated PHA262, the plants and seeds of inbred sunflower line PHA262, methods for producing a sunflower plant produced by crossing the inbred line PHA262 with itself or with another sunflower plant, and hybrid sunflower seeds and plants produced by crossing the inbred line PHA262 with another sunflower line or plant.

The goal of plant breeding is to combine in a single variety or hybrid various desirable traits. Major objectives in sunflower breeding include improved seed yield, earlier maturity, shorter plant height, uniformity of plant type, and disease and insect resistance. High oil percentage is important in breeding oilseed types whereas large seed size, a high kernel-to-hull ratio, and uniformity in seed size, shape, and color are important objectives in breeding and selection of nonoilseed sunflower. Other characteristics such as improved oil quality, protein percentage and protein quality are also important breeding objectives.
Sunflower are bred through techniques that take advantage of the plant's method of pollination. A plant is self-pollinated if pollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower of the same plant. A plant is cross-pollinated if the pollen comes from a flower on a different plant.
Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type for many generations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce a uniform population of true breeding progeny. A cross between two different homozygous lines produces a uniform population of hybrid plants that may be heterozygous for many gene loci. A cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number of gene loci will produce a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically and will not be uniform.
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), can be bred by both self-pollination and cross-pollination techniques. The sunflower head (inflorescence) usually is composed of about 1,000 to 2,000 individual disk flowers joined to a common base (receptacle). The flowers around the circumference are ligulate ray flowers with neither stamens nor pistil. The remaining flowers are hermaphroditic and protandrous disk flowers.
Natural pollination of sunflower occurs when flowering starts with the appearance of a tube partly exserted from the sympetalous corolla. The tube is formed by the five syngenesious anthers, and pollen is released on the inner surface of the tube. The style lengthens rapidly and forces the stigma through the tube. The two lobes of the stigma open outward and are receptive to pollen but out of reach of their own pollen initially. Although this largely prevents self-pollination of individual flowers, flowers are exposed to pollen from other flowers on the same head by insects, wind, and gravity.
A reliable method of controlling male fertility in plants offers the opportunity for improved plant breeding. This is especially true for development of sunflower hybrids, which relies upon some sort of male sterility system. Two types of male sterility, genetic and cytoplasmic, have been found in sunflower.
Hybrid sunflower seed is typically produced by a male sterility system incorporating genetic or cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) inbreds. Plants of a CMS inbred are male sterile as a result of factors resulting from the cytoplasmic, as opposed to the nuclear, genome. Thus, this characteristic is inherited exclusively through the female parent in sunflower plants, since only the female provides cytoplasm to the fertilized seed. CMS plants are fertilized with pollen from another inbred that is not male-sterile. Pollen from the second inbred may or may not contribute genes that make the hybrid plants male-fertile.
There are several methods of conferring genetic male sterility available, such as multiple mutant genes at separate locations within the genome that confer male sterility, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,654,465 and 4,727,219 to Brar et al. and chromosomal translocations as described by Patterson in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,861,709 and 3,710,511. These and all patents referred to are incorporated by reference. In addition to these methods, Albertsen et al., of Pioneer Hi-Bred, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/848,433, have developed a system of nuclear male sterility which includes: identifying a gene which is critical to male fertility; silencing this native gene which is critical to male fertility; removing the native promoter from the essential male fertility gene and replacing it with an inducible promoter; inserting this genetically engineered gene back into the plant; and thus creating a plant that is male sterile because the inducible promoter is not "on" resulting in the male fertility gene not being transcribed. Fertility is restored by inducing, or turning "on", the promoter, which in turn allows the gene that confers male fertility to be transcribed.
There are many other methods of conferring genetic male sterility in the art, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. These methods use a variety of approaches such as delivering into the plant a gene encoding a cytotoxic substance associated with a male tissue specific promoter or an antisense system in which a gene critical to fertility is identified and an antisense to that gene is inserted in the plant (see: Fabinjanski, et al. EPO 89/3010153.8 publication no. 329,308 and PCT application PCT/CA90/00037 published as WO 90/08828).
The use of male sterile inbreds is but one factor in the production of sunflower hybrids. The development of sunflower hybrids requires, in general, the development of homozygous inbred lines, the crossing of these lines, and the evaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods are used to develop inbred lines from breeding populations. Breeding programs combine the genetic backgrounds from two or more inbred lines or various other broad-based sources into breeding pools from which new inbred lines are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new inbreds are crossed with other inbred lines and the hybrids from these crosses are evaluated to determine which of those have commercial potential.
Pedigree breeding starts with the crossing of two genotypes, each of which may have one or more desirable characteristics that is lacking in the other or which complements the other. If the two original parents do not provide all the desired characteristics, other sources can be included in the breeding population. In the pedigree method, superior plants are selfed and selected in successive generations. In the succeeding generations the heterozygous condition gives way to homogeneous lines as a result of self-pollination and selection. Typically in the pedigree method of breeding five or more generations of selfing and selection is practiced: F.sub.1 .fwdarw.F.sub.2 ; F.sub.3 .fwdarw.F.sub.4 ; F.sub.4 .fwdarw.F.sub.5, etc.
A single cross hybrid sunflower variety is the cross of two inbred lines, each of which has a genotype that complements the genotype of the other. The hybrid progeny of the first generation is designated F.sub.1. In the development of hybrids only the F.sub.1 hybrid plants are sought. Preferred F.sub.1 hybrids are more vigorous than their inbred parents. This hybrid vigor, or heterosis, can be manifested in many polygenic traits, including increased vegetative growth and increased yield.
The development of a hybrid sunflower variety involves three steps: (1) the selection of plants from various germplasm pools for initial breeding crosses; (2) the selfing of the selected plants from the breeding crosses for several generations to produce a series of inbred lines, which, although different from each other, breed true and are highly uniform; and (3) crossing the selected inbred lines with different inbred lines to produce the hybrid progeny (F.sub.1). During the inbreeding process in sunflower, the vigor of the lines decreases. Vigor is restored when two different inbred lines are crossed to produce the hybrid progeny (F.sub.1). An important consequence of the homozygosity and homogeneity of the inbred lines is that the hybrid between a defined pair of inbreds will always be the same. Once the inbreds that give a superior hybrid have been identified, the hybrid seed can be reproduced indefinitely as long as the homogeneity of the inbred parents is maintained.
A single cross hybrid is produced when two inbred lines are crossed to produce the F.sub.1 progeny. A double cross hybrid is produced from four inbred lines crossed in pairs (A.times.B and C.times.D) and then the two F.sub.1 hybrids are crossed again (A.times.B).times.(C.times.D). Much of the hybrid vigor exhibited by F.sub.1 hybrids is lost in the next generation (F.sub.2). Consequently, seed from hybrid varieties is not used for planting stock.
Sunflower is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, a continuing goal of plant breeders is to develop high-yielding sunflower hybrids that are agronomically sound based on stable inbred lines. The reasons for this goal are obvious: to maximize the amount of seed produced with the inputs used and minimize susceptibility of the crop to environmental stresses. To accomplish this goal, the sunflower breeder must select and develop superior inbred parental lines for producing hybrids. This requires identification and selection of genetically unique individuals that occur in a segregating population. The segregating population is the result of a combination of crossover events plus the independent assortment of specific combinations of alleles at many gene loci that results in specific genotypes. Based on the number of segregating genes, the frequency of occurrence of an individual with a specific genotype is less than 1 in 10,000. Thus, even if the entire genotype of the parents has been characterized and the desired genotype is known, only a few if any individuals having the desired genotype may be found in a large F.sub.2 or S.sub.0 population. Typically, however, the genotype of neither the parents nor the desired genotype is known in any detail.
In addition to the preceding problem, it is not known how the genotype will react with the environment. This genotype by environment interaction is an important, yet unpredictable, factor in plant breeding. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the genotype, how that genotype will interact with various environments or the resulting phenotypes of the developing lines, except perhaps in a very broad and general fashion. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art would also be unable to recreate the same line twice from the very same original parents as the breeder is unable to direct how the genomes combine or how they will interact with the environmental conditions. This unpredictability results in the expenditure of large amounts of research resources in the development of a superior new sunflower inbred line.
Pioneer research station staff propose about 400 to 500 new inbreds each year from over 2,000,000 pollinations. Of those proposed new inbreds, less than 50 and more commonly less than 30 are actually selected for commercial use.


Casing signals generated by an EMAT in a borehole are processed using at least two orthogonal band-limited filters. The band-limited filters may include Gaussian or Cauchy Wavelet filters. By using the Hilbert transform, an envelope of the filtered signals is determined and amplitudes and arrival times of individual arrivals are estimated. These can be used to estimate casing and cement properties.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 wellbores typically comprise casing 8 set within the wellbore 5, where the casing 8 is bonded to the wellbore by adding cement 9 within the annulus formed between the outer diameter of the casing 8 and the inner diameter of the wellbore 5. The cement bond not only adheres to the casing 8 within the wellbore 5, but also serves to isolate adjacent zones (e.g. Z1 and Z2) within an earth formation 18. Isolating adjacent zones can be important when one of the zones contains oil or gas and the other zone includes a non-hydrocarbon fluid such as water. Should the cement 9 surrounding the casing 8 be defective and fail to provide isolation of the adjacent zones, water or other undesirable fluid can migrate into the hydrocarbon producing zone thus diluting or contaminating the hydrocarbons within the producing zone, and increasing production costs, delaying production or inhibiting resource recovery.
To detect possible defective cement bonds, downhole tools 14 have been developed for analyzing the integrity of the cement 9 bonding the casing 8 to the wellbore 5. These downhole tools 14 are lowered into the wellbore 5 by wireline 10 in combination with a pulley 12 and typically include transducers 16 disposed on their outer surface formed to be acoustically coupled to the fluid in the borehole. These transducers 16 are generally capable of emitting acoustic waves into the casing 8 and recording the amplitude of the acoustic waves as they travel, or propagate, across the casing 8. Characteristics of the cement bond, such as its efficacy, integrity and adherence to the casing, can be determined by analyzing characteristics of the acoustic wave such as attenuation. Typically the transducers 16 are piezoelectric devices having a piezoelectric crystal that converts electrical energy into mechanical vibrations or oscillations transmitting acoustic wave to the casing 8. Piezoelectric devices typically couple to a casing 8 through a coupling medium found in the wellbore. Coupling mediums include liquids that are typically found in wellbores. When coupling mediums are present between the piezoelectric device and the casing 8, they can communicate the mechanical vibrations from the piezoelectric device to the casing 8. However, lower density fluids such as gas or air and high viscosity fluids such as some drilling mud may not provide adequate coupling between a piezoelectric device and the casing 8. Furthermore, the presence of sludge, scale, or other like matter on the inner circumference of the casing 8 can detrimentally affect the efficacy of a bond log acquired with a piezoelectric device. Thus for piezoelectric devices to provide meaningful bond log results, they must cleanly contact the inner surface of the casing 8 or be employed in wellbores, or wellbore zones, having liquid within the casing 8. Another drawback faced when employing piezoelectric devices for use in bond logging operations involves the limitation of variant waveforms produced by these devices. Fluids required to couple the wave from the transducer to the casing only conduct compressional waves, thus limiting the wave types that can be induced in or received from the casing. A great deal of information is derivable from variant acoustical waveforms that could be used in evaluating casing, casing bonds, and possibly even conditions in the formation 18. Therefore, there exists a need to conduct bond logging operations without the presence of a particular couplant. A need exists for a bond logging device capable of emitting and propagating into wellbore casing numerous types of waveforms, and recording the waveforms.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,311,143 to Engels et al., having the same assignee as the present disclosure and the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method and apparatus for inducing and measuring acoustic waves, including shear waves, within a wellbore casing to facilitate analysis of wellbore casing, cement and formation bonding. An acoustic transducer is provided that is magnetically coupled to the wellbore casing and is comprised of a magnet combined with a coil, where the coil is attached to an electrical current. The acoustic transducer is capable of producing and receiving various waveforms, including compressional waves, shear waves, Rayleigh waves, and Lamb waves. The transducer remains coupled to the wellbore casing as the tool traverses portions of the casing. An important aspect of the method of Engels is the ability to identify different modes of propagation of acoustic signals within the casing. The amplitude and times of arrival of the different signals is indicative of properties of the casing. The present disclosure provides an improved method for the estimation of arrival times and amplitudes of these different modes. For the purposes of the present disclosure, the individual arrivals may be referred to as "events."

EMAT acoustic signal measurement using modulated Gaussian wavelet and Hilbert demodulation


A subscriber unit (104) with multiple receive antennas (160, 162) and a single transmit antenna (160) derives beamforming weights to be used at a base station (102) with multiple transmitting antennas (602, 604, 606, and 608). The downlink beamforming weights are derived at the subscriber unit (104) from a prior downlink transmission from the base station (102) to the subscriber device (104) and an uplink sounding signal is used to carry derived downlink beam forming weights to the base station (102). Downlink antenna specific pilots (without weight) are used at the subscriber device (104) to determine the beamforming weights. Decimated sounding signals, where the number of sounding subcarriers is at least the same as the number of antennas at the base station (102), allow multiple users to sound at the same time.

Communications systems are generally defined in terms of their communications parameters (e.g. data rate, channel bandwidth, modulation type etc.). The communications parameters of communications systems are chosen according to the characteristics of the communications channel and the type of communications required.
In mobile communications systems, the propagation of signals between communicating units are affected by the rapidly varying multipath and fading characteristics of the communications channel. Consequently the communications parameters for such mobile communications systems are chosen to take into account the variations in the gain and delay characteristics of the channel due to multipath and fading effects.
Generally the communications parameters of a communications system are fixed. However, to maximize system performance in a mobile communications system, it is advantageous to continuously optimize the communications parameters of the communications system according to the current state of the rapidly varying communications channel.
In order to continuously optimize the communications parameters of a mobile communications system, accurate, real-time information on the characteristics of the communications channels is gathered. The information is then processed and the communications parameters of the system are optimized according to the current channel characteristics.
In the early 1970s, proposals for determining forward channel sounding information were developed. In a communications system that uses a forward channel sounder, the mobile unit transmits a known tone or sequence in an uplink to a Base Station (BS). BSs are medium to high-power multi-channel two-way radios which are in a fixed location and serve as access points between mobile devices and the rest of a communication system. The base station then processes the information and transmits in a downlink the desired communications parameters to the mobile unit for use in future communications between the two communicating units. For TDD systems, the downlink (DL) RF channel is similar to the uplink (UL) RF channel, and thus can be derived at the BS using an uplink sounding signal.
A known method of increasing communication performance is through antenna "beamforming." Beamforming is a signal processing technique used with an array of antennas, where the directionality of a radiation pattern is controlled by adjusting the phase of the coordinated antennas. When transmitting a signal, beamforming can be used to increase the gain in the direction the signal is to be sent by adjusting the phase of each antenna to create peaks and nulls in the radiation pattern.
An example of a mobile unit communicating with BSs is a mobile unit with two receive antennas, but only one transmit antenna. The DL channel information is used to properly perform the downlink beamforming of the base station antennas. In TDD systems, UL sounding signals from the single transmit antenna of the mobile unit do not provide the DL channel information from the BS antennas to the non-transmitting but receiving-only antenna(s) of the mobile unit. In FDD systems, the estimated UL channel information from the UL sounding signal differs from the DL channel since the UL and DL are on different carrier frequency.
Therefore a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.

Mobile assisted downlink beamforming with antenna weight feedback


A system and storage medium for providing continuous communication between passive and active equipment are provided. The system includes a conversion unit coupled to at least one the passive and active equipment, which monitors signals received from the equipment. The signals relate to an equipment state. Upon detecting a state change, the system converts a signal associated with the state change to a TCP/IP-formatted request. The system also includes a message handler coupled to the conversion unit, which receives the request from the conversion unit and transmits the request to a host system. The message handler also removes TCP/IP formatting from the request resulting in a file transfer protocol message. The conversion unit converts the file transfer protocol message to a signal and responds to the signal by the equipment. The conversion includes decoding the file transfer protocol message and setting a signal line to a requested state.

The present invention relates generally to manufacturing production systems, and more particularly, to a method and system for providing continuous communication between process equipment and an automated material handling system (AMHS).
The efficiency of a manufacturing enterprise depends, in part, on the quick flow of information and process execution across a complete supply chain. Advancements in shop-floor activities include the automation of production equipment, material processing, material control systems, and the integration of these systems with a host manufacturing execution system (MES). Automating manufacturing processes for certain industries presents many challenges. Unlike the automotive industry, for example, which employs standard assembly-line processing techniques, the manufacture of semiconductor materials such as wafers in an electronics industry generally involves non-linear processing techniques and frequent changes to production tools that are introduced to the AMHS.
Moreover, due to the migration of larger and heavier wafers (e.g., 300 mm), manufacturers are relying more heavily on AMHSs to handle the processing and inter-bay transport of these items. Recent advancements in AMHS technology include the standardization of control signals that are transferred between production equipment and the AMHS, as well as the associated cabling requirements. This standardization ensures reliability in loading and unloading wafer materials at the production equipment load ports and is defined by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International® (SEMI), headquartered in San Jose, Calif., in publication "SEMI E15.1-1108 Specification for 300 mm Tool Load Port" and is also referred to as SEMI E84 standard.
During the installation of these cables, automated manufacturing operations are halted to ensure the installer's safety while making the physical connections. Clearly, this slows down the production schedule and has a negative impact on overall productivity.
What is needed, therefore, is a way to perform these installations without taking the production equipment offline.

Method, system, and storage medium for providing continuous communication between process equipment and an automated material handling system

International Business Machines Corporation


A shock suppressor has an upper base, a lower base and a connecting device. The upper base has a bottom and a top channel defined in the bottom along a first direction. The lower base corresponds to the upper base and has a top and a bottom channel defined in the top along a second direction corresponding to the first direction of the top channel at an angle. The connecting device is slidably mounted in the top channel and the bottom channel. Accordingly, the shock suppressor can reduce or isolate the transmission of a shock efficiently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shock suppressor for a structure or sensitive equipment, and more particularly to a shock suppressor that can dissipate seismic shock energy efficiently.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, the trend for constructing taller and taller buildings has gathered pace. However, the effect of ground motions is a very important factor to be considered in the design of a high building or a skyscraper, from micro-vibrations to catastrophic earthquakes, such as in USA, Taiwan or Japan. Therefore, shock reduction is very important aspect in the construction of a structure or a skyscraper.
In addition, to protect cultural or historical relics, industrial precision instruments, etc, a shock suppressing device is needed.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a shock suppressor to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A method for manufacturing a ferroelectric film includes the steps of causing, in a solution containing sol-gel raw materials, hydrolysis and polycondensation to the sol-gel raw materials to form a liquid containing particulate gels dispersed therein, and forming a ferroelectric film by a migration electrodeposition method, using the liquid containing particulate gels, through electrodepositing the particulate gels on an electrode.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to ferroelectric films, methods for manufacturing ferroelectric films, ferroelectric capacitors, ferroelectric memories, and piezoelectric elements.
2. Related Art
Presently, when a ferroelectric film is formed in a semiconductor device, for example, in a ferroelectric memory (FeRAM), a ferroelectric film is formed in an area that is larger than a required portion, and then a patterning is conducted by using a lithography technique to leave the required portion. In this case, damages would likely be inflicted on the ferroelectric film by etching that is conducted at the time of patterning. As a result, the crystal quality of the ferroelectric capacitor may deteriorate, and troubles such as generation of a leak current may occur.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a ferroelectric film having a good crystal quality, and ferroelectric films that are obtained by the manufacturing method.
It is another object of the present invention to provide ferroelectric capacitors, ferroelectric memories and piezoelectric elements, to which a ferroelectric film in accordance with the present invention is applied.

Method for manufacturing a ferroelectric film


A bra includes two brassiere cups and two side straps extending from the two brassiere cups each of which has a perfume cell attached to the inner side thereof with a lining member attached to the inner side of the brassiere cup to position the perfume cell. Each of the perfume cell has a mixture liquid received therein and an inlet defined therein so that the perfume will be dispensed by the body temperature.

Conventional bras generally comprise two brassiere cups with side straps having back-hook closure or front-hook closure to securely wear the bra to the body. Two shoulder straps are connected between each pair of brassiere cup and the side strap so that the bra is well worn to the body. It is troublesome if the weather is hot and wet, the bra contacting the body will cause sticky and uncomfortable feeling. Under some conditions, smell is not good because of sweat.
The present invention intends to provide a bra having a perfume cell received in each of the two brassiere cups so that the body temperature will dispense the perfume. Furthermore, the perfume cells are shaped to perform as falsies.

No. 25-2, Ching Yun Alley, Dong Jinn Road, Sha Luh Town


In an apparatus and method for converting the frame rate of an image signal in a display system without an external memory, the display system and method are capable of down converting the frame rate of an image signal using a frame rate conversion unit without an external memory. The system and method can be used even in the case where the frequencies of input and output synchronization signals are locked to the same frame rate. The frame rate conversion unit disable-masks portions of the frames of a data enable signal or a vertical synchronization signal, thus canceling the portions of the frames, and outputs the masked data enable signal or the masked vertical synchronization signal to an LCD driving circuit unit, thereby down converting the frame rate of the image signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display system, and more particularly, to a frame rate conversion apparatus and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a display system, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, displays an image at a vertical frequency or frame rate of 60±5 KHz. Since image signals are input at various frame rates, the display system converts the frames of the image signals into frame rates that are permitted by a particular display device, such as an LCD panel. The display system performs frame rate down conversion on the input image signal when the frame rate of an input image signal is greater than permitted in the display device, and performs frame rate up conversion otherwise. Unlike a signal output by a video player or a TV signal, the frame rate of a signal output by a graphic card of a computer is likely to be greater than the frame rate required by the display device such as an LCD panel. Thus, the display system requires an apparatus that performs frame rate down conversion. Since advancement in technologies increases the frame rate permitted in the display device such as the LCD panel, the need for frame rate conversion continues to become reduced. Nonetheless, frame rate conversion is still required to display signals with various frame rates on a display device.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional LCD system 100 with a frame rate conversion function. The LCD system 100 includes a frame rate conversion unit 110, a synchronization detector 120, an external memory 130, an LCD driving circuit unit 140, and an LCD panel 150. When a three color signal, i.e., R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) image data, and a synchronization signal output from an external device such as a graphic device are input to the LCD system 100, the frame rate conversion unit 110 converts the frame rates of the R, G, B data using the external memory 130. When the converted R, G, B data is input to the LCD driving circuit unit 140, the LCD driving circuit unit 140 processes the converted R, G, B data to be displayed on the LCD panel 150.
FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the frame rate conversion unit 110 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the frame rate conversion unit 110 includes a First In First Out (FIFO) memory 111, a second FIFO memory 112, and a controller 113. When the R, G, B data output from the external device is sequentially input to the first FIFO memory 111, the external memory 130, and the second FIFO memory 112, the frame rate of the R, G, B data is converted into a frame rate required by the LCD panel 150 and the converted R, G, B data is input to the LCD driving circuit unit 140. The controller 113 controls input of data to and output of data from the first FIFO memory 111, the external memory 130, and the second FIFO memory 112, using an input vertical synchronization signal VS and an input horizontal synchronization signal HS detected by the synchronization detector 120. The controller 113 also generates an output vertical synchronization signal OVS, an output horizontal synchronization signal OHS, and an output data enable signal ODE whose frame rates are sufficient to drive the LCD panel 150, and outputs them to the LCD driving circuit unit 140.
As described above, since the frequencies of the output synchronization signals OVS and OHS are different from those of the synchronization signals VS and HS input from an external device. The frame rate of image data input outside the LCD system 100 has been converted. In this case, only when the output data enable signal ODE is at a logic high level, the LCD driving circuit unit 140 outputs the image data to the LCD panel 150 so that the image data is displayed on the LCD panel 150.
FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship among the input synchronization signals VS and HS and vertical and horizontal data enable signals VDE and HDE. Referring to FIG. 3, an image is displayed on the LCD panel 150 when both the vertical data enable signal VDE and the horizontal data enable signal HDE are at a logic high level. The period of the vertical data enable signal VDE is shorter than that of the vertical synchronization signal VS, and the period of the horizontal data enable signal HDE is shorter than that of the horizontal synchronization signal HS. In other words, an output data enable signal DE shown in FIG. 4 goes high when both the vertical data enable signal VDE and the horizontal data enable signal HDE are at a logic high, and an image is displayed on the LCD panel 150 when the LCD driving circuit unit 140 operates in response to the high-level output data enable signal DE. FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating the relationship among the vertical synchronization signals VS and OVS and the data enable signals DE and ODE generated before and after frame rate down conversion is performed. Referring to FIG. 4, the period of the output vertical synchronization signal OVS is longer than that of the input vertical synchronization signal VS. Thus, frame rate down conversion must be performed by decimating or interpolating parts of the frames of input signals to control the frame rates of output signals. For instance, when the frequency of an input frame is 75 Hz and the frequency of an output frame is 60 Hz, one of every five frames must be rejected as shown in FIG. 5.
As described above, conventional frame rate conversion requires the external memory 130, and the FIFO memories 111 and 112 and the controller 113 to drive the external memory 130. Accordingly, an LCD system 100 with a frame rate conversion function has a complicated circuit construction and is expensive to manufacture. Such problems also occur in a low-price display system that performs only frame rate down conversion to realize a Picture-In-Picture (PIP) function; and a multi-sync system that performs frame rate down/up conversion on signals with various frame rates, e.g., a signal output from a graphic card of a computer, a signal output from a video player, and a TV signal, and displays these signals. For instance, in order to display a PIP screen with a frame rate of 60 Hz in a screen with a frame rate of 75 Hz, the frame rate of a part of the screen with the frame rate of 75 Hz may be converted down to the frame rate of 60 Hz.

Apparatus and method for converting frame rate without external memory in display system


Disclosed is a printing process which comprises (a) incorporating into an ink jet printing apparatus containing an aqueous ink a recording sheet which comprises (1) a substrate; (2) a first coating layer which comprises a binder and microspheres; (3) a second, ink-receiving coating layer situated so that the first coating layer is between the second, ink-receiving coating layer and the substrate, said second, ink-receiving layer comprising a hydrophilic binder and microspheres; (4) an optional antistatic agent; (5) an optional biocide; and (6) an optional filler; and (b) causing droplets of the ink to be ejected in an imagewise pattern onto a surface of the recording sheet containing microspheres, thereby generating images on the recording sheet. Also disclosed is a printing process which comprises (a) incorporating into an ink jet printing apparatus containing an aqueous ink a recording sheet which comprises (1) a substrate; (2) a first coating layer which comprises a binder and microspheres; (3) a second, ink-receiving coating layer situated so that the first coating layer is between the second, ink-receiving coating layer and the substrate, said second, ink-receiving layer comprising a hydrophilic binder and microspheres; (4) an optional antistatic agent; (5) an optional biocide; and (6) an optional filler; (b) causing droplets of the ink to be ejected in an imagewise pattern onto a surface of the recording sheet containing microspheres, thereby generating images on the recording sheet; and (c) thereafter exposing the substrate to microwave radiation, thereby drying the recording liquid on the recording sheet.

The present invention is directed to ink jet printing processes. More specifically, the present invention is directed to ink jet printing processes using recording sheets containing microspheres on at least one surface thereof. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a printing process which comprises (a) incorporating into an ink jet printing apparatus containing an aqueous ink a recording sheet which comprises (1) a substrate; (2) a first coating layer which comprises a binder and microspheres; (3) a second, ink-receiving coating layer situated so that the first coating layer is between the second, ink-receiving coating layer and the substrate, said second, ink-receiving layer comprising a hydrophilic binder and microspheres; (4) an optional antistatic agent; (5) an optional biocide; and (6) an optional filler; and (b) causing droplets of the ink to be ejected in an imagewise pattern onto a surface of the recording sheet containing microspheres, thereby generating images on the recording sheet. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a printing process which comprises (a) incorporating into an ink jet printing apparatus containing an aqueous ink a recording sheet which comprises (1) a substrate; (2) a first coating layer which comprises a binder and microspheres; (3) a second, ink-receiving coating layer situated so that the first coating layer is between the second, ink-receiving coating layer and the substrate, said second, ink-receiving layer comprising a hydrophilic binder and microspheres; (4) an optional antistatic agent; (5) an optional biocide; and (6) an optional filler; (b) causing droplets of the ink to be ejected in an imagewise pattern onto a surface of the recording sheet containing microspheres, thereby generating images on the recording sheet; and (c) thereafter exposing the substrate to microwave radiation, thereby drying the recording liquid on the recording sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,939 (Siddiqui), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses films or sheets of linear polyester containing glass spheres having a certain particle size distribution and in a certain amount based upon the weight of the polyester film. The addition of the glass spheres improves several properties of the film, including the dynamic coefficient of friction. Preferably, a second film additive, fumed silica, of a controlled particle size distribution and weight, is additionally added to the film. The addition of the fumed silica additionally improves several properties of the polyester film, including the static coefficient of friction of the film.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,152 (Baker et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses infusible, solvent-insoluble, solvent-dispersible, inherently tacky, elastomeric polymeric microspheres which are formed from non-ionic monomers and comprise at least one oleophilic water-emulsifiable alkyl acrylate or methacrylate ester. The microspheres are prepared by a suspension polymerization technique which includes the use of an ionic suspension stabilizer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,337 (Mulkey) discloses a sheet material having a transparent backing coated with a layer containing a polymeric binder and particles of solid material which is insoluble in the binder. The refractive index of the solid material varies from that of the binder by at most .+-.0.6. The surface of the layer is ink receptive and, by printing on that surface, a transparency is obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,008 (Malhotra et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a recording sheet which comprises a substrate; a first coating in contact with the substrate which comprises a crosslinking agent selected from the group consisting of hexamethoxymethyl melamine, methylated melamine-formaldehyde, methylated urea-formaldehyde, cationic urea-formaldehyde, cationic polyamine-epichlorohydrin, glyoxal-urea resin, poly (aziridine), poly (acrylamide), poly (N,N-dimethyl acrylamide), acrylamide-acrylic acid copolymer, poly (2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid), poly (N,N-dimethyl-3,5-dimethylene piperidinium chloride), poly (methyleneguanidine) hydrochloride, poly (ethylene imine) poly (ethylene imine) epichlorohydrin, poly (ethylene imine) ethoxylated, glutaraldehyde, and mixtures thereof; a catalyst; and a polymeric material capable of being crosslinked by the crosslinking agent and selected from the group consisting of polysaccharides having at least one hydroxy group, polysaccharides having at least one carboxy group, polysaccharides having at least one sulfate group, polysaccharides having at least one amine or amino group, polysaccharide gums, poly (alkylene oxides), vinyl polymers, and mixtures thereof; and a second coating in contact with the first coating which comprises a binder and a material selected from the group consisting of fatty imidazolines, ethosulfate quaternary compounds, dialkyl dimethyl methosulfate quaternary compounds, alkoxylated di-fatty quaternary compounds, amine oxides, amine ethoxylates, Imidazoline quaternary compounds, alkyl benzyl dimethyl quaternary compounds, poly (epiamines), and mixtures thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,914 (Malhotra), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a transparency comprising a supporting substrate and thereover a blend comprising poly(ethylene oxide) and carboxy methyl cellulose together with a component selected from the group consisting of (1) hydroxypropyl cellulose; (2) vinylmethyl ether/maleic acid copolymer; (3) carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose; (4) hydroxyethyl cellulose; (5) acrylamide/acrylic acid copolymer; (6) cellulose sulfate; (7) poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid); (8) poly(vinyl alcohol); (9) poly(vinyl pyrrolidone); and (10) hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose. In addition, papers with the aforementioned coatings are disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,954 (Malhotra), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a transparency for ink jet printing comprising a supporting substrate and thereover a coating consisting essentially of a blend of carboxymethyl cellulose and polyethylene oxides. Also disclosed are papers for use in ink jet printing comprising a plain paper substrate and a coating thereover consisting essentially of polyethylene oxides.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,403 (Malhotra), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a recording sheet which comprises a substrate and an image receiving layer comprising a mixture of (a) a polymer capable of forming a latex and selected from the group consisting of poly (vinyl chloride), ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymers, poly (vinyl acetate), carboxylated poly (vinyl acetate), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, polymers containing acrylate monomers, poly styrene, styrene-butadiene copolymers, carboxylated styrene-butadiene copolymers, butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymers, butadiene-acrylonitrile-styrene copolymers, and mixtures thereof; (b) a polysaccharide; and (c) a polymer containing oxyalkylene monomers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,093 (Carls et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses an electrographic article comprising a polymeric film having at least one polymeric receptor layer coated on at least one side thereof, said receptor layer having an equivalent or lower storage elasticity modulus than a toner resin used for forming images on the article.
Copending application U.S. Ser. No. 08/036,575, entitled "Transparent Recording Sheets," with the named inventor Shadi L. Malhotra, filed Mar. 19, 1993, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a substantially transparent recording sheet which comprises (a) a substantially transparent substrate; (b) a binder polymer coated on the substrate; and (c) particles of an antistatic component, said particles being present on at least the surface of the binder polymer coating.
While known materials and processes are suitable for their intended purposes, a need remains for improved recording sheets. In addition, there is a need for improved recording sheets suitable for use in ink jet printing processes. Further, a need remains for recording sheets which exhibit rapid drying times when imaged with aqueous inks. Additionally, a need remains for recording sheets coated with a discontinuous, porous film. A need also remains for recording sheets which are particularly suitable for use in printing processes wherein the recorded substrates are imaged with liquid inks and dried by exposure to microwave radiation. There is also a need for recording sheets which, subsequent to being imaged with an aqueous ink and dried by exposure to microwave radiation, exhibit little or no curling.

Recording sheets for ink jet printing processes


A wireless user terminal (10), such as a cellular telephone, includes a transceiver (14, 16) for conducting bidirectional RF communications with a communications network (32) and a data processor (18b) for controlling the operation of the terminal. The terminal further includes (a) a first memory capable of storing a data processor program; (b) a second memory capable of storing a data processor program; (c) a memory device or register for storing a flag for indicating which of the first and second memories is a currently Active memory, that stores a currently active data processor program, and which of the first and second memories is a currently Idle memory; and (d) circuitry for receiving another data processor program from the communications network and for storing the received another data processor program into the Idle memory. The circuitry operates while the data processor executes the data processor program stored in the Active memory.

It is known in the prior art to download information into a wireless telephone subscriber set or radio modem through the air interface from a central site, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,191, "Method and Apparatus for Remotely Programming a Wireless Telephone Set" by I. Gerszberg, and by U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,524, "Method and Apparatus for Over-the-Air Upgrading of Radio Modem Application Software", by R. D. Fennell.
In this latter U.S. patent a selective call receiver includes a processor and a memory. The processor receives upgrade data and upgrade installation software, upgrades the modem's application software using the upgrade data, and then deletes the upgrade installation software and upgrade data.
It can be appreciated that the ability to update the software of a mobile terminal using the air interface is a significant advantage to both network subscribers and network providers, as the update can be accomplished without requiring the subscriber to return the terminal to a dealer or service center. Using the air interface to upgrade the terminal's software enables the service provider to download new and enhanced value-added features to requesting mobile terminals, and/or to update all subscriber terminals to take advantage of revisions to the applicable air interface standard. An air interface standard can be considered to be a set of rules or protocols which must be followed to successfully operate the mobile terminal in a given network over the air (i.e., wireless radio) interface. The standard known as IS-136.1 is one such air interface standard.
It can then further be appreciated that it is important to provide an efficient and accurate technique to upgrade the operating program of a mobile terminal over the air interface so as to cause a minimum impact on the availability of the mobile terminal to the user.

Methods and apparatus for updating the software of a mobile terminal using the air interface


A soft X-ray microscope comprising a soft X-ray radiation source which is substantially a spot radiation source, a condenser for leading soft X-rays from the radiation source to a sample, a reflecting mirror for grazing incidence which is disposed between the radiation source and the condenser, and has a rough reflecting surface, an objective optical system for forming a magnified image of the sample, and a soft X-ray detector for receiving the soft X-rays from the objective optical system. This microscope exhibits excellent imaging characteristic even when it uses a spot radiation source.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a soft X-ray microscope which is to be used for observing and measuring objects by utilizing soft X-rays having wavelengths within a range from several angstroms to several hundred angstroms.
b) Description of the Prior Art
The type of light sources for the conventional optical microscopes are halogen lamps, xenon lamps, mercury lamps and the like, which have light emitting members of finite sizes and emit incoherent rays diverging in all directions in space. Therefore, these light sources are generally used for illumination in Kohler mode since illumination in this mode can easily be performed by projecting an image of a light source 1 to a location at an infinite distance by a condenser 2 for illuminating a sample 3 as illustrated in FIG. 1.
The type of radiation sources for soft X-ray microscopes are X-ray sources of the conventional type which an electron beam, laser plasma radiation sources which utilize high-output pulse lasers developed one after another in the recent years and synchrotron radiation sources. Though the X-ray radiation sources of the type which an electron beam and the plasma radiation sources have radiation emitting members of finite sizes, they can hardly be used for illumination in the Kohler mode since the radiation sources use radiation emitting members which are very small (several microns to several hundred microns). Accordingly, the X-ray radiation sources are used generally for illumination in a critical mode wherein an image of a radiation source 4 is projected onto a sample 3 by using a condenser 2 as illustrated in FIG. 2. In the region of the soft X-rays, however, a zone plate utilizing diffraction or a reflecting mirror is used as the condenser. The radiation sources having radiation emitting members which are small but have directivities are usable for illumination in the Kohler mode (diverging in space), are actually used for illumination in the critical mode.
FIG. 3 illustrates a fundamental optical system for microscopes. In this drawing, the reference numeral 1 represents a radiation source, the reference numeral 2 designates a condenser, the reference numeral 3 denotes a sample, the reference numeral 6 represents an objective optical system and the reference numeral 7 designates an image surface. The optical system for microscopes illustrated in FIG. 3 can generally be regarded as a partially coherent optical system which has an imaging characteristic given in a form subjected to Fourier transformation as expressed by the formula (1) shown below (see Kogaku Gijutsu Handbook, p 118 and later, Asakura Shoten, Kogaku No Genri III, p 781 and later, Tokai Daigaku Shuppankai, etc.): ##EQU1## wherein the reference symbol I(x,y) represents brightness of image, the reference symbols x and y designate coordinates on an image surface, the reference symbols m, n, p and q denote spatial frequencies, the reference symbol j represents the imaginary unit, the reference symbol T designates transmittance distribution t of the sample subjected to Fourier transformation, the reference symbol T* denotes a complex conjugation of T and C(m,n;p,q) represents a transfer function of the partially coherent optical system expressed by the following formula (2): ##EQU2## wherein the reference symbol p.sub.1 (u,v) represents a pupil function of the objective optical system, the reference symbol p.sub.2 (u,v) designates a pupil function of the condenser, the reference symbols u and v denote coordinates on the pupil surface, m is equal to .lambda.fm expressed by using wavelength .lambda. of radiation and the reference symbol f represents a focal length of the objective optical system.
The formula (1) mentioned above means that Fourier transformation is performed by multiplying the transmittance distribution t of the sample subjected to the Fourier transformation, i.e., a spatial frequency spectrum of the sample by C(m,n;p,q) which represents a frequency characteristic of a transfer function of the optical system. This means that a spot image response function of the optical system and an amplitude transmittance distribution of the sample are convoluted in real space.
The formula (2) mentioned above means that the transfer function C(m,n;p,q) is obtained by correlating the pupil function P.sub.2 of the condenser to the pupil function p.sub.1.
Let us consider the frequency characteristic of the optical system only in one direction for simplicity of description which will be made below for pointing out problems of microscopes using the radiation sources. When considered only in one direction, the formula (2) mentioned above gives a transfer function expressed by the following formula (3): ##EQU3## Let us assume that contrast is low on the sample or that a radiation bundle coming from the sample is scarcely scattered. It is already known that transmission of an image can be discussed in this case while considering a transfer function of C(m,o) (see, for example, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, A295 (1415) pp. 513 (1980)). In this case the formula (3) can be transformed as follows: ##EQU4## Though the formula (4) has an integration range of -.infin. to +.infin., this range is determined dependently on sizes of the optical system and the condenser since the pupil function has no value outside a range of a pupil. When the objective optical system has a pupil of a size traced as a circle in FIG. 4, the formula (4) has a value which corresponds to an area which is slashed in FIG. 4.
In case of an ordinary optical microscope, a light source has a large size 7 and a diameter of a light bundle to be allowed to be incident on the optical system thereof is determined dependently on an aperture of an aperture stop disposed before the condenser. The aperture of the aperture stop is ordinarily adjusted in conjunction with a numerical aperture of the objective optical system comprised in the microscope. Therefore, the light source is used for illumination in an incoherent mode, but the size of the condenser is equal to that of the pupil of the optical system in this case and let us represents a radius of these pupils by a reference symbol a.sub.1. When the transfer function C(m,n) is traced on coordinates taking the spatial frequency as the abscissa, we obtain a curve A shown in FIG. 5. In this case, we obtain a cutoff frequency expressed as follows: EQU 2a.sub.1 /(.lambda.f) (=2NA/.lambda.)
wherein the reference symbol NA represents a numerical aperture.
Further, size of the aperture of the aperture stop disposed before the condenser is often adjusted to 0.8 to 0.9 times as large as the numerical aperture of the objective optical system when contrast is low on the sample. This adjustment is performed for emphasizing locations at which the sample varies phases thereof by enhancing a degree of coherence of the illumination system and for facilitating observation of the sample by enhancing image contrast. In this case, the transfer function C(m,n) is represented by the curve B shown in FIG. 5 and the cutoff frequency is expressed as follows: EQU (a.sub.1 +a.sub.2)/(.lambda.f)
wherein the reference symbol a.sub.1 represents a radius of the pupil of the objective optical system and the reference symbol a.sub.2 designates a radius of the pupil of the condenser. In this case, it is difficult to quantitatively judge whether the image contrast represents variation of transmittance or phase of the sample.
Now, let us consider a case wherein the aperture of the aperture stop disposed before the condenser is extremely small. In this case, the radiation source is used as a spot source for illumination with a radiation. In this case, illumination is performed in a coherent mode and the transfer function C(m,n) is as represented by the curve C shown in FIG. 5. Then, the cutoff frequency is a.sub.1 /(.lambda.f) and has a value equal to half the value obtained by the incoherent illumination. Further, the degree of coherence of the illumination system becomes extremely high, whereby it is impossible to judge whether an image represents the variation of transmittance or the variation of phase.
When a microscope uses a radiation source or a coherent illumination system as described above, an image has high contrast but does not permit a microscopist to interpret the meaning of the image. In addition, such a radiation source poses a problem in that the resolving power of the microscope combined with the radiation source is lowered to approximately 50%. This problem has never been discussed by the prior art of which taught that light sources having light emitting members of finite sizes were to be used for microscopes.
Moreover, the point radiation sources such as the laser plasma radiation sources are used inevitably for illumination in the critical mode since these radiation sources cannot be effectively used for Kohler illumination. These radiation source provide illumination in an incoherent mode wherein the cutoff frequency is as represented by the curve A or B, but the critical illumination is problematic in that luminance distributions on radiation sources appear directly as illumination distributions on images.