An electronic apparatus including an image sensing unit performs scene determination processing of determining a photographic scene based on an image being captured by the image sensing unit. Upon receiving a help designation to display a help screen, the electronic apparatus displays a description concerning the determined photographic scene as the help screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus including an image capture unit, an electronic apparatus control method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a function of automatically determining a photographic scene upon photographing has evolved in a digital camera. A digital camera having such a function automatically sets the photographing conditions of the camera in accordance with the determined photographic scene so that photographing can appropriately be performed without causing the user to set the photographing conditions. There is also an image capture apparatus that displays a help based on its operating state such that the user can know how to use the image capture apparatus without any instruction manual.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-253054 (patent literature 1) describes displaying an image representing an operation member of an image capture apparatus when it has transited to a help mode and describing the function of the operation member. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-142884 (patent literature 2) describes changing the particulars of help display concerning an operation member based on whether the photographing mode will be used by a user experienced in the operation of the image capture apparatus. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-121654 (patent literature 3) describes determining a photographic scene based on the features of an image under photographing and controlling the exposure, the shutter speed, the flash light emission amount, and the like in accordance with the determined scene.
However, patent literatures 1 and 2 do not consider changing the help screen in accordance with the scene determination result at all, although they describe doing help display concerning an operation member based on the photographing mode. Patent literature 3 does not consider cooperation between the scene determination result and the help screen at all, although it describes reflecting the scene determination result on the photographing settings.
An item about which the user requires a description of help display is supposed to change between an operation mode in which a lot of photographing settings are automatically done using a result obtained by determining a photographic scene, as in patent literature 3, and an operation mode in which many photographing settings are manually done by the user, as in manual photographing. For example, in the operation mode in which many photographing settings are manually done by the user, as in manual photographing, it is helpful to display, as a help, a description of operation members to be used for the photographing settings. On the other hand, in the operation mode in which a lot of photographing settings are automatically done using a result obtained by determining a photographic scene, displaying a description of operation members to be used for the photographing settings is of little help to the user. Although patent literature 2 describes changing the particulars of a help displayed for a certain operation depending on the photographing mode, changing the article of which a description is to be displayed is not taken into consideration.

Electronic apparatus, electronic apparatus control method, and storage medium


According to the present invention, when image data high-efficiency-coded based on the MPEG standard or the like is clustered at every sector of a predetermined number, a link sector is provided at a connected portion of each cluster and the image data is interleaved and recorded on a mini disc, the image data is recorded on each cluster at the unit of 1GOP. When the mini disc is a preformatted one and a P picture or B picture exists at the starting portion of the cluster, a picture which becomes a predictive standard is encoded as an I picture and recorded on the link sector of the immediately-preceding cluster independently of an original P picture. Upon decoding, when the I picture was not recorded on the link sector of the immediately-preceding cluster, the P picture or the B picture recorded at the starting portion of the cluster is inhibited from substantially being decoded. Thus, when the high-efficiency-coded image data is recorded on the disc-shaped recording medium, such as the mini disc or the like, an edit processing based on the unit of GOP becomes possible by a simple and rapid processing. Also, a special reproduction, such as a fast forward and a reverse reproduction based on the unit of GOP becomes possible by a simple and rapid processing.

The present invention relates to a disc-shaped recording medium for use in recording high-efficiency coded digital image data and a disc recording apparatus and a disc reproducing apparatus for use in recording and reproducing the high-efficiency coded digital image data on and from the disc-shaped recording medium.
As is well known, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) is standardized based on a music CD (Compact Disc Digital Audio: hereinafter simply abbreviated as CD-DA).
Initially, a physical format thereof will be described briefly. The physical format is the format in which data can be read out from the CD-ROM disc when such disc is loaded onto a CD-ROM drive.
One disc can include music tracks or data tracks of 99 tracks at maximum. Information concerning such tracks are recorded on the disc at its starting portion called a TOC (Table of Contents), i.e., at the innermost peripheral portion of the disc. A portion in which the TOC is recorded is referred to as a leading track (leading Track). On the other hand, the portion in which a piece of last music is recorded on the CD-DA is referred to as a leadout track (Leadout Track).
In the CD-DA, a stereo audio signal is converted into digital audio signal at a sampling rate of 16 bits and 44.1 kHz and recorded, data of 2 (stereo).times.2 (16 bits).times.44.100=176,400 bytes is recorded per second. In the CD-ROM, a sector which results from dividing one second equally by 75 is handled as a minimum unit and therefore one sector is formed of 2,352 bytes.
In the case of CD-ROM MODE-1, one sector includes SYNC data (12 bytes), header (4 bytes), ECC (Error Collection Coding: 276 bytes) for error-correction, EDC (Error Detect Coding: 4 bytes) or the like and therefore remaining 2048 bytes are recorded as user data. ECC and EDC are omitted from the data, such as audio and image data, which need not be strictly error-corrected by data interpolation processing or the like, and 2,336 bytes except SYNC and header are recorded in one sector as user data. This is referred to as CD-ROM MODE-2.
Recently, personal audio equipment called mini disc (trademark) that can be recorded and reproduced have been developed and are now commercially available on the market.
The mini disc employs an EFM (Eight to Fourteen Modulation) as a disc writing modulation system and CIRC (Cross Interleave Reed-Solomon Code) as an error correction code. Audio data compressed according to an ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) system is recorded in accordance with this format. Compressed data is recorded at every block called a cluster as shown in FIG. 6. This is a format very close to the above-mentioned CD-ROM MODE 2.
The CD-ROM uses 98 frames of CD as one sector. This is equivalent to a playback time of 13.3 ms. A CIRC interleave length is 108 frames (14.5 ms) and is longer than one sector of the CD-ROM. When data is recorded by using the CIRC error correction code, it is necessary to secure at least 3 extra sectors. This area is referred to as a link area. It is necessary to maintain a link area of 108 frames (1 sector+.alpha.) before data starts being written. After data was written, it is necessary to maintain the area of 108 frames similarly, otherwise the error correction interleaving is not completed.
If data is written from an arbitrary position, then the link area is dispersed into respective portions of the disc with the result that efficiency with which data is recorded and reproduced is deteriorated. Therefore, data is written at every recording unit of a certain magnitude. This recording unit is referred to as a cluster in the mini disc. One cluster is formed of 36 sectors. This rewriting is constantly carried out at the unit of an integral multiple of one cluster. Data to be recorded is temporarily stored in a RAM and then written in the disc. This RAM can be used commonly as a shock-proof memory that can realize a shock-proof function when used upon reproduction.
In the magneto-optical disc type mini disc that can be recorded and reproduced, 3 sectors of one cluster (=36 sectors) are maintained as a link sector and the next 1 sector is maintained as a sub-data sector. Compressed data is recorded on the remaining 32 sectors.
When data is recorded, data starts being written from about the 2nd link sector of the preceding cluster. When the writing of data on the 36th sector is finished, error correction data has to be written into the starting link sector and the 2nd link sector.
In the mini disc that is similar to the preformatted CD, data need not be rewritten at the unit of clusters and data is recorded successively so that 3 sectors on the link area need not be provided. Therefore 4 sectors (3 link sectors and 1 sub-data sector) are all assigned to sub-data in which graphics data or the like can be stored.
As described above, in the mini disc, the recording disc and the preformatted disc differ from each other in sub-data capacity so that, if sub-data is included, then it is not possible to copy data from the preformatted disc to the recording disc completely.
When a part of previously-recorded data is rewritten in the recording disc, if data to be updated is of very small amount, the whole of the cluster should be rewritten because data are interleaved at the unit of clusters.
On the other hand, an image signal high-efficiency coding system for digital storage media is standardized according to the MPEG1 (Moving Picture Image Coding Experts Group Phase 1) standard. Storage media that are an object of this system are media whose successive transfer rate is 1.5 Mbit/sec or smaller, such as CD, DAT (digital audio tape), hard disk or the like. Moreover, the storage media not only are connected to a decoder directly but also are assumed to be connected to the decoder through transmission media, such as a computer bus, a LAN (local area network) and telecommunication system. Further, the storage media can be not only played back in the forward direction but also played back in some special way, such as random access, high speed playback and reverse direction playback.
A principle of image signal high-efficiency coding system based on the MPEG1 is as follows.
In accordance with the high-efficiency coding system, redundancy in the timebase direction is reduced by calculating differences between image signals, whereafter redundancy in the timebase direction is reduced by using discrete cosine transform (DCT) and variable length coding.
Redundancy in the timebase direction will be described below.
It is customary that preceding and succeeding images and a target image (image at a certain time) of a continuous moving picture are very similar to each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, for example, if difference between an image to be coded and a preceding or succeeding image is calculated and a resultant difference is transmitted, then it becomes possible to reduce an amount of transmitted information by reducing redundancy in the timebase direction. The image thus coded is referred to as a predictive-coded picture (Predictive-coded picture, P picture or P frame) which will be described later on. Similarly, if the difference between an image to be coded and a preceding or succeeding image or an interpolated image generated from the preceding and succeeding images is calculated and a resultant small difference is transmitted, then it becomes possible to reduce an amount of transmitted information by reducing redundancy in the timebase direction. The image thus coded is referred to as a bidirectionally predictive-coded picture (Bidirectionally Predictive-coded picture, B picture or B frame) which will be described later on. In FIG. 16, an image represented by reference symbol I represents an intra-coded picture (Intra-coded picture, I picture or I frame) which will be described later on. An image represented by reference symbol P in the figure represents the P picture, and an image represented by reference symbol B represents the B picture.
Motion compensation is carried out in order to generate a predictive image.
According to the motion compensation, a block (referred to hereinafter as a macroblock) of 16.times.16 pixels composed of a unit block of 8.times.8 pixels, for example, is extracted and a macroblock with a smallest difference is searched from the position near the position of a macroblock corresponding to the preceding image. Then, it is possible to reduce an amount of transmitted data by calculating difference between the extracted macroblock and the searched macroblock. In actual practice, it is possible to code the P picture (predictive-coded picture) by selecting images with small data amounts at the macroblock unit of 16.times.16 pixels from image whose difference relative to the motion-compensated predictive image is calculated and image whose difference relative to the motion-compensated predictive image is not calculated.
However, in the above-mentioned case, large data amount have to be transmitted with respect to an image portion, such as background or the like which can be exposed after an object was moved. Therefore, in the B picture (bidirectionally predictive-coded picture), data of decoded forward or backward image whose motion was compensated from a time standpoint, a difference between an interpolated image generated by adding the preceding two images and an image to be coded and an image having no difference, i.e., an image to be coded, is calculated and the result with the smallest data amount is coded.
Redundancy in the spatial axis direction will be described below.
Difference of image data is not transmitted as it is but processed at every unit block of 8.times.8 pixels by discrete cosine transform (DCT). The DCT expresses an image not by the pixel level but by an amount of frequency component of cosine function. By 2-dimensional DCT, for example, data of the unit block of 8.times.8 pixels is converted to coefficient block of 8.times.8 cosine function components. In general, it is frequently observed that an image signal representing a natural picture obtained by a television camera becomes a smooth signal. In this case, it is possible to efficiently reduce data amount by processing the image signal by DCT.
Specifically, if the smooth signal, such as the image signal representing the natural picture, is processed by DCT, then a large value is concentrated near a particular coefficient. If this coefficient is quantized, then almost all of the 8.times.8 coefficient blocks become zero and only a large coefficient remains.
Thus, when data of 8.times.8 coefficient blocks is transmitted, if such data is transmitted in the form of a Huffman code composed of a set of non-zero coefficients and a 0-run representing the number of 0s provided ahead of a non-zero coefficient in a zig-zag scanning fashion, then it becomes possible to reduce a transmission amount. The decoding side rearranges an image in the opposite procedure.
A structure of data that the above-mentioned coding system handles is illustrated in FIG. 17. The data structure shown in FIG. 17 is composed of a block layer, a macroblock layer, a slice layer, a picture layer, a group of picture (GOP: Group Of Picture) layer and a video sequence layer, in that order from below. This data structure will be described sequentially from the bottom layer in FIG. 17.
Initially, in the block layer, each unit block of the block layer is composed of 8.times.8 pixels (pixels of 8 lines and 8 pixels) of luminance or adjacent color difference blocks. Each unit block is processed by the above-mentioned DCT.
In the macroblock layer, each macroblock is composed of 6 blocks, 4 luminance blocks (luminance unit blocks) Y0, Y1, Y2, Y3 adjoining in the left and right and upper and lower directions and 2 color difference blocks (color difference unit blocks) Cr, Cb which are equivalent at the same positions as those of the luminance blocks. These blocks are transmitted in the order of Y0, Y1, Y2, Y3, Cr and Cb. In this coding system, a type of predictive image (reference image from which a difference is calculated) and transmission of the difference are judged at the macroblock unit.
The slice layer is composed of one or a plurality of macroblocks connected in the scanning order of images. In the header of the slice layer, a difference between a motion vector and a DC (direct current) component within an image is reset and the first macroblock includes data representing the position within the image. Thus, when an error occurs, the slice layer can be restored. For this reason, the length and the starting position of the slice layer are made arbitrary and can be varied depending on the error state on a transmission line.
In the picture layer, a picture, i.e., each image is composed of one or a plurality of slice layers. In accordance with the coding system, the slice layers are classified as four kinds of images of the intra-coded picture (I picture or I frame), the predictive-coded pictures (P picture and B frame) and the DC intra-coded picture (DC coded (D) picture).
In the intra-coded picture (I picture), upon coding, only closed information in one picture is used. Accordingly, in other words, upon decoding, a picture can be reconstructed by only information of the I picture. In actual practice, a difference is not calculated and image data is processed by DCT and coded. Although this coding system is generally low in efficiency, if the I picture is inserted everywhere, then it becomes possible to carry out random access and high-speed reproduction.
In the forward predictive-coded picture (P picture), I picture or P picture located at the advanced position from a time standpoint and which was already decoded is utilized as a predictive picture (picture which becomes a reference to calculate a difference). In actual practice, a more efficient method of coding a difference of a motion-compensated predictive picture and a method of (intra-) coding a predictive picture without calculating a difference is selected at the unit of macroblock.
In the bidirectionally predictive-coded picture (B picture), there are used three kinds of pictures of I picture or P picture located at the advanced position as the predictive picture from a time standpoint, which are already decoded, and an interpolated picture generated from the aforementioned two pictures. Thus, the most efficient method of coding a difference between the motion-compensated three kinds of pictures and the intra-coding method can be selected at the unit of macroblock.
The DC intra-coded picture is an intra-coded picture formed of only a DC coefficient of the DCT and cannot exist on the same sequence as those of the other three kinds of pictures.
The above-mentioned group of picture (GOP) layer is composed of one or a plurality of I pictures and 0 or a plurality of non-I pictures.
When the input order to the encoder is set to 1I, 2B, 3B, 4P*5B, 6B, 7I, 8B, 9B, 10I, 11B, 12B, 13P, 14B, 15B, 16P*17B, 18B, 19I, 20B, 21B, 22P, the sequential order of the output from the encoder, i.e., input to the decoder, is set to 1I, 4P, 2B, 3B*7I, 5B, 6B, 10I, 8B, 9B, 13P, 11B, 12B, 16P, 14B, 15B*19I, 17B, 18B, 22P, 20B, 21B, for example.
The reason that the sequential order is replaced in the encoder is that, when the B picture, for example, is coded or decoded, the delayed I picture or P picture which becomes a predictive picture from a time standpoint should be coded previously. A spacing (e.g., 9) of the I picture and a spacing (e.g., 3) of the I picture or B picture can be set arbitrarily. The spacing of the I picture or P picture may of course be changed within the group of picture layer. A pause of the group of picture layer can be represented by "*". Also, reference symbol I depicts the I picture, reference P depicts the P picture and reference symbol B depicts the B picture.
The video sequence layer shown on the topmost portion of FIG. 17 is composed of one or a plurality of group of picture layers whose picture sizes and image rates are the same.
Assuming that the digital image data high-efficiency-coded according to the MPEG1 system is recorded on the previously-mentioned mini disc, then the following problems will arise.
If the 1GOP recording unit is set to an arbitrary unit which is not related to the cluster, there is then the possibility that image data of 1GOP will be recorded over two clusters or greater. In this case, the GOP is started from somewhere in one cluster and may be ended somewhere in another cluster. As a result, it becomes difficult to carry out an edit processing, such as replacement to other GOP, by using the GOP as a cut unit. Even if the edit processing can be carried out, there is then the problem that an average transfer rate is lowered.
When the P picture or B picture which takes the final frame of the immediately-preceding GOP as the predictive picture (picture which becomes a reference) is disposed at the starting portion of the 2GOP, the immediately-preceding GOP also should be decoded in order to decode the P picture or B picture of the GOP. There is then the problem that, upon seek reproduction such as a fast forward and a reverse reproduction, it becomes difficult to reproduce a picture rapidly.
An object of the present invention is to enable an edit processing based on the unit of GOP to be carried out by a simple and rapid processing and to enable a special reproduction, such as a fast forward and a reverse reproduction to be carried out by a simple and rapid processing when high-efficiency-coded digital image data is recorded on a disc-shaped recording medium, such as a mini disc or the like.

Disc-shaped recording medium, disc recording apparatus and disc reproducing apparatus


A liquid crystal display device with no flicker and with bright excellent display is provided. A polarity pattern of a conventional frame inversion driving is one kind of display. A polarity pattern of a conventional source line inversion driving is two kinds of display, and a disclination pattern is one kind of display. On the contrary, in a circuit structure of the present invention, polarity patterns are made to have not less than four kinds, and disclination patterns are made to have not less than two kinds. By this, bright display in which flicker is not included and poor display due to disclination is improved, can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving method suitable for a display which uses a display material such as a liquid crystal and in which display pixels are arranged in a matrix form, and particularly to an alternating current driving method of a liquid crystal panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a technique for manufacturing a semiconductor device in which a semiconductor thin film is formed on an insulating substrate, such as a thin film transistor (TFT), has been rapidly developed. The reason thereof resides in that the demand for a liquid crystal display device (typically, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device) has been increased.
The active matrix type liquid crystal display device displays an image in such a manner that an electric charge going in and out of each of several tens to millions of display pixels arranged in a matrix form is controlled by a switching element of each of the display pixels.
In the present specification, the display pixel indicates a device mainly constituted of a switching element, a pixel electrode connected to the switching element, a liquid crystal, and an opposite electrode disposed opposite to the pixel electrode through the liquid crystal. However, the display pixel in the case of a liquid crystal panel using IPS driving, the display pixel indicates a device mainly constituted of a switching element, a pixel electrode connected to the switching element, a liquid crystal, and a common electrode disposed on the same substrate.
In addition, the common potential in the present specification indicates the potential of the opposite electrode of the display pixel or the potential of the common electrode.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a liquid crystal display device. FIG. 3A is a schematic structural view of an active matrix circuit in a liquid crystal panel 101 in FIG. 2.
In FIG. 2, the liquid crystal panel 101 includes a plurality of (N) scanning lines (corresponding to scanning lines A, B, C, D, . . . in FIG. 3A) extending in parallel to each other in the horizontal direction (lateral direction), a plurality of (M) signal lines (corresponding to signal lines (1), (2), (3), (4), . . . in FIG. 3A) extending in parallel to each other in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) and crossing the scanning lines at right angles, Mxc3x97N switching elements (TFTS etc.) respectively disposed in the vicinity of each of the crossing portions of the scanning lines and the signal lines, and a pixel electrode 111 connected to each of the switching elements.
In the liquid crystal panel 101, one end of the scanning line is connected to a gate electrode of each of the switching elements 110, and the other end is connected to a gate driver circuit 104 (scanning line driver circuit). On the other hand, one end of the signal line is connected to a source electrode of each of the switching elements 110 and the other end is connected to a source driver circuit 105 (signal line driver circuit).
FIG. 3B shows a display pattern (display pixels of four rows by six columns (A1 to D6)) as a part of a display region. FIG. 3B corresponds to the pixel electrodes 111 in FIG. 3A. That is, the display pixel A1 is mainly constituted of the switching element 110 disposed at the crossing point of the scanning line A and the signal line (1) in FIG. 3A, the pixel electrode 111 connected to the switching element, an opposite electrode provided opposite to the pixel electrode, and a liquid crystal existing between the pixel electrode and the opposite electrode.
For simplification, FIG. 3 shows only the scanning lines A to D, the signal lines (1) to (6), and the display pixels of four rows by six columns (A1 to D6) forming a part of the display region.
A typical example of display operation of the panel will be described in brief with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.
First, in accordance with a signal from a shift register circuit or the like (not shown) in the source driver circuit, only a part (pixel A1) of the lateral direction (horizontal direction) line of picture information (panel input image signal 203) is selectively sampled in the signal line (1), and its signal potential is applied to the entire of the signal line (1). Then a signal potential (turning on the TFT disposed in the vicinity of the crossing place) is applied only to the scanning line A. Only the switching element disposed in the vicinity of the place where the signal line (1) and the scanning line A cross with each other is turned on, so that the signal potential of the signal line (1) is applied to the pixel electrode. The liquid crystal is driven by the applied signal potential and the amount of transmitted light is controlled, so that a part (picture corresponding to A1) of the picture information is displayed on the display pixel A1.
Next, while the state in which the display pixel A1 displays is kept by an auxiliary capacitance or the like, at the next instant, only a part of the lateral direction (horizontal direction) line of the image signal is selectively sampled, and its signal potential is applied to the signal line (2) adjacent to the signal line (1). In this way, similarly to the display pixel A1, a part (picture corresponding to A2) of the picture information is displayed on the display pixel A2.
Such a display operation is sequentially carried out, so that a part (A1, A2, A3, A4, . . . ) of the picture information is sequentially displayed on the first pixel row (row A) in the lateral direction. During this, the scanning line A is applied with a signal which turns on the switching element disposed in the vicinity of each of the places where the scanning line crosses the signal lines.
Subsequently, when writing in all pixels of the first pixel row A in the lateral direction is ended, a signal potential (turning on a switching element disposed in the vicinity of a crossing place) is applied only to the scanning line B. Only a part (pixel B1) of the image signal is sampled in the signal line (1) and its signal potential is held. In the same way, only the pixel row (row B) corresponding to the second row in the lateral direction is sequentially written. Such a display operation is carried out by the number of pixel rows (N rows), so that one picture (frame) is displayed on the display region.
In addition, after one picture (frame) is displayed, in the liquid crystal display using TFTs or the like as switching elements, in order to prevent deterioration of the liquid crystal material, to eliminate display blur, and to keep display quality, signal potentials in which positive and negative polarities are inverted in one frame (one picture) are normally applied (alternating current driving) to the respective display pixels, while common potential is used as a reference.
These display operations are sequentially repeated and a plurality of pictures are obtained, so that images are displayed on the display region 106.
Next, the alternating current driving method briefly described in the above will be described in more detail. Incidentally, polarity patterns of display pixels (four rows by six columns) in conventional typical alternating current driving methods are shown in FIGS. 15A to 15B and FIG. 16A. The polarity patterns of FIGS. 15A and 15B and FIG. 16A correspond to the display pattern (display pixels of four rows by six columns (A1 to D6)) shown in FIG. 2B.
In the drawings (FIG. 1, FIGS. 15A and 15B, FIG. 16A, and FIG. 17A) showing polarity patterns in the present specification, the common potential is made a reference, and in the case where a signal potential applied to a display pixel is positive, xe2x80x9c+xe2x80x9d is shown, and in the case of negative, xe2x80x9cxe2x88x92xe2x80x9d is shown.
In addition, as a scanning system, there is interlaced scanning in which scanning lines of one picture (one frame) are divided into two (two fields) and scanning is carried out, and non-interlaced scanning in which scanning lines are sequentially scanned from the above on the picture. Here, examples using the non-interlaced scanning will be mainly described.
In FIG. 15A showing a conventional example, the polarities of image signals applied to all display pixels are inverted every frame, so that this example is called frame inversion driving.
As shown in FIG. 15A, the feature of the frame inversion driving is that signal potentials having the same polarity are applied to all display pixels in one arbitrary frame so that a polarity pattern (1) (positive) is displayed, while the polarity of the signal potentials applied to all the display pixels is inverted into negative so that a polarity pattern (2) (negative) is displayed in the next frame. That is, when attention is paid only to the polarity pattern, the frame inversion driving is a driving method in which two kinds of polarity patterns (polarity pattern (1) and polarity pattern (2)) are repeatedly displayed.
The problem of the conventional frame inversion driving is that a polarity inversion period is as long as one frame, and it becomes a frequency range (about 30 Hz) which can be recognized by a human eye, so that an observer can recognize, as flicker, a subtle difference between the display (1) at the time when the polarity of the image signal is positive and the display (2) at the time when the polarity of the image signal is negative. Especially in halftone display, remarkable flicker is observed.
Another conventional example shown in FIG. 16A is called source line inversion driving.
As shown in FIG. 16A, the feature of the source line inversion driving is that each of the display pixels is applied with a signal potential having a polarity opposite to a signal potential of its adjacent display pixel in the lateral direction (horizontal direction). In one arbitrary frame writing period, image signals having a signal potential of the same polarity (positive) with each other are applied to the display pixels (odd columns) expressed by A1, B1, C1, . . . , A3, B3, C3, . . . , A5, B5, C5, . . . On the other hand, image signals having a signal potential of the same polarity (negative) with each other are applied to the display pixels (even columns) expressed by A2, B2, C2, . . . , A4, B4, C4, . . . , A6, B6, C6, . . . In this way, a polarity pattern (1) is displayed. Then, in a next frame writing period, an image signal having the polarity opposite to the polarity pattern (1) displayed in the proximate frame writing period is applied to each of the display pixels so that a polarity pattern (2) is displayed.
That is, as shown in FIG. 16A, similarly to the conventional frame inversion driving, the conventional source line inversion driving is also a driving method in which two kinds of polarity patterns (polarity pattern (1) and polarity pattern (2)) are repeatedly displayed.
FIG. 18 shows an example of a timing chart of a panel input signal when the conventional source line inversion driving is used and a white picture is displayed on the display region of a liquid crystal panel which is normally black. The signal corresponds to the display pattern (display pixels of four rows by six columns (A1 to D6)) shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 16A.
Another conventional example shown in FIG. 15B is called gate line inversion driving.
As shown in FIG. 15B, the feature of the gate line inversion driving is that each of the display pixels is applied with an image signal having a polarity opposite to its adjacent display pixel in the longitudinal (vertical) direction. In this method, the polarity of the signal potential of the image signal is inverted from positive to negative or from negative to positive every horizontal scanning period.
That is, similarly to the conventional driving method, this is a driving method in which two kinds of polarity patterns (polarity pattern (1) and polarity pattern (2)) are repeatedly displayed.
By this source line inversion driving and gate line inversion driving, flicker which is a problem in the frame inversion driving is reduced. However, the problem of the source line inversion driving and the gate line inversion driving is that since a stripe called disclination is produced between adjacent display pixels applied with opposite polarities, so that the brightness of the entire display picture is lowered.
In the present specification, the disclination means poor display (light loss in the case of normally white display, light leak in the case of normally black display) due to disturbance of an oriented state of liquid crystal caused by the potential difference which is produced between the display pixel applied with the image signal having the positive polarity and the display pixel applied with the image signal having the negative polarity.
The potential difference between the adjacent display pixels is produced from electric flux lines shown in FIGS. 14(1) and 14(2). FIG. 14(1) is a top view showing the state of electric flux lines produced between two pixel electrodes (1) and (2) when an effective electric field (positive or negative) is applied to the pixel electrodes (1) and (2) in the direction vertical to the paper surface. FIG. 14(2) is a sectional view. However, for convenience, FIG. 14(1) shows only the electric flux lines produced in the lateral direction between the pixel electrodes (1) and (2), and FIG. 14(2) shows the state of the electric flux lines immediately before liquid crystal molecules oriented in the vertical direction respond to the application of the electric field.
FIG. 16B shows a disclination pattern corresponding to FIG. 16A. In FIG. 16B, the disclination is formed at a fixed position, and although the polarities of the signal potentials applied to the display pixels are different, the disclination pattern (1) is substantially the same as the disclination pattern (2).
In addition, although not shown, as another alternating current driving method, there is proposed an alternating current driving method (dot inversion driving) in which the polarity of an image signal is inverted for every writing of all adjacent display pixel and the inverted signal is applied to the display pixel. In the dot inversion driving, the polarities of adjacent pixels are different from each other, so that the influence of a potential difference produced between the adjacent display pixels is great and the disclination greatly influences the display.
As described above, in the conventional alternating current driving methods (source line inversion driving and gate line inversion driving), like the example shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the polarity pattern (1) and the polarity pattern (2) are repeatedly displayed, and the disclination is continuously formed at the fixed position between adjacent display pixels having different polarities, so that the brightness of the picture is lowered. In addition, the same can be said of another alternating current driving method (dot inversion driving).
In another alternating current driving method (frame inversion driving), although the disclination is not produced, flicker is produced.
The number of display pixels of a display has been increasing year after year, and a driving frequency becomes very high for a panel with a large number of display pixels. For example, it is said that the NTSC standard requires about 400 thousand display pixels, and the HDTV standard requires about 2 million display pixels. Thus, the maximum frequency of an input image signal is about 6 MHz in the NTSC standard, and about 20 MHz to 30 MHz in the HDTV standard. In order to accurately display this image signal, a clock signal is required to have a frequency (for example, about 50 MHz to 60 MHz) several times that of this image signal. In future, it is expected that display of high fineness and high picture quality is increasingly required, and an image signal with a very fast dot clock is to be treated.
Hitherto, it has been difficult to accurately make alternating current of an image signal and a clock signal having such a high frequency band range and to drive a liquid crystal panel. This is because a liquid crystal material used in a conventional LCD has a slow speed (several tens ms to hundreds ms) of response from application of a potential, and even if a driver circuit is constituted of TFTs which use, for example, amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon and can operate in a high frequency band region, the liquid crystal material can not respond to the high speed operation, which is a problem.
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device which has no flicker and can obtain bright display, and to provide a method of driving the same.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal panel including a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal sealed between them, wherein N scanning lines, M signal lines, and Mxc3x97N display pixels respectively disposed at each of crossing portions between the scanning lines and the signal lines are disposed on one of the substrates, and an image signal having a positive or negative polarity is applied to each of the display pixels so as to make image display, the liquid crystal display device being characterized in that the image signals with the same polarity are applied for every n (M greater than nxe2x89xa72) adjacent lines of the signal lines, and a boundary portion between a group of the display pixels connected to the n signal lines applied with the image signals having the positive polarity and a group of the display pixels connected to the n signal lines applied with the image signals having the negative polarity is periodically moved.
The display device of the above aspect is characterized in that the boundary portion is moved every frame or field interval.
Moreover, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device of the above aspect is characterized in that the liquid crystal panel includes at least two image signal wiring lines, and the image signal wiring lines include a first image signal wiring line applied with the image signal having the positive polarity, and a second image signal wiring line applied with the image signal having the negative polarity.
Moreover, the display device of the above aspect is characterized in that the liquid crystal panel includes a switching element at each of the crossing portions between the scanning lines and the signal lines, and the scanning lines, the signal lines, and the switching element are formed on the same substrate.
Moreover, the display device of the above aspect is characterized in that the liquid crystal panel includes a polarity selecting circuit for selecting the polarity of the image signal applied to the signal lines, and the signal lines, the scanning lines, the switching element, and the polarity selecting circuit are formed on the same substrate.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device comprises a display region constituted of display pixels arranged in a matrix form, an image signal having a positive or negative polarity being written in the display pixels so as to make image display, wherein the active matrix type liquid crystal display device is characterized by comprising a circuit for forming the image signal which sequentially displays at least four kinds of polarity patterns on the display region.
The display device according to the second aspect is characterized by comprising a circuit which sequentially displays at least four kinds of polarity patterns on the display region every one frame or one field interval, and sequentially displays them in one period of frames the number of which is the same as that of the kinds of polarity patterns.
Moreover, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the second aspect is characterized by comprising a circuit which inverts the polarity of the image signal applied to the respective display pixels every plural frame or plural field periods.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a method of driving an active matrix type liquid crystal display device which includes a display region constituted of display pixels of x rows by y columns arranged in a matrix form and in which an image signal having a positive or negative polarity is written in each of the display pixels so as to make image display, the method being characterized in that Z kinds of polarity patterns are displayed on the display region.
The method of driving the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the third aspect is characterized in that the Z kinds of polarity patterns are displayed every frame interval, and are sequentially displayed in one period of the Z frames.
The method of driving the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the third aspect is characterized in that the Z (Z=4) kinds of polarity patterns are sequentially displayed on the display region constituted of the display pixels of x rows by y columns arranged in a matrix form.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal panel including a display region constituted of a liquid crystal sealed between a pair of substrates, N scanning lines, M signal lines, and Nxc3x97M display pixels respectively disposed at each of crossing portions between the scanning lines and the signal lines, the scanning lines, the signal lines, and the display pixels being disposed on one of the substrates, wherein the liquid crystal display device is characterized in that at least two kinds of different disclination patterns are displayed on the display region.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a method of driving an active matrix type liquid crystal display device which comprises a liquid crystal sealed between a pair of substrates, and a display region constituted of display pixels arranged in a matrix form, and in which an image signal having a positive or negative polarity is written in each of the display pixels so as to make image display, the method being characterized in that at least two kinds of different disclination patterns are displayed on the display region.
The method of driving the display device according to the fifth aspect is characterized in that the disclination patterns are sequentially displayed on the display region every frame or field interval.

Liquid crystal display device, active matrix type liquid crystal display device, and method of driving the same

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


Demineralized bone particles having a median length to median thickness ratio of at least about 10:1 are incorporated in an osteogenic composition useful for repairing bone defects.

This invention relates to demineralized bone and to an osteogenic composition incorporating demineralized bone. More particularly, the invention relates to demineralized bone particles having a relatively high median length to median thickness ratio, e.g., as in the case of filaments and thin sheets, and to a flowable osteogenic composition containing such particles within a biocompatible fluid carrier.
The use of demineralized bone powder in the repair of bone defects has been a subject of investigation for some time. Bone powder contains one or more substances, possibly bone morphogenic protein (BMP), which induce bone regeneration at the defect site. See, e.g., Covey et al., "Clinical Induction of Bone Repair with Demineralized Bone Matrix or a Bone Morphogenetic Protein", OrthoRaedic Review, Vol. XVII, No. 8, pp. 857-863 (August, 1989). According to Habal et al., "Autologous Corticocancellous Bone Paste for Long Bone Discontinuity Defects: An Experimental Approach", Annals of Plastic Surgery, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 138-142 (August 1985), autogenous bone which has been granulated into a pastelike material and combined with autogenous blood has been used in the repair of long bone defects in dogs.
While it is known that bone particles possessing relatively high median length to median thickness ratios, e.g., filaments and thin sheets, can be obtained by milling bone, such particles are not known to have been subjected to demineralization, a process which results in the nearly complete removal of the inorganic components of the bone, largely hydroxy apatite, which gives bone its characteristic rigidity and structural properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,373 discloses a deformable, shape-sustaining osteogenic composition, suitable as a filler for osseous defects, in which particles of demineralized bone are uniformly distributed within a carrier which is a liquid polyhydroxy compound such as glycerol. The vast majority of the demineralized bone particles possess random, irregular geometries with an average median length to median thickness ratio of from about 1:1 to about 3:1.

Demineralized bone particles and flowable osteogenic composition containing same


When a lead used for taking a pet for a walk or leashing the pet to a place such as a kennel is pulled by the pet or a human during walk or while the pet is leashed, a portable electric power generator connected with the lead generates electricity using mechanical energy obtained by the pulling action. The electricity generated by the portable electric power generator is supplied for the electronic device attached to pet worn by the pet through a charging cable disposed along the lead inside or outside the lead, thereby charging a rechargeable battery inside the electronic device attached to pet. The electronic device attached to pet uses the electrical energy of the integrated battery to perform a predetermined operation (such as wirelessly reporting the current location of the pet, and wirelessly reporting information representing the sound of the pet). The electronic device attached to pet reports that the pet got away from a location where the owner exists and has gotten lost for a number of conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric power generation system for charging a battery integrated into an electronic device attached to pet worn by a pet, and a pet tracking system for searching for a stray pet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In Japanese Patent Registration No. 3289983, a search terminal is designed such that it can be installed on a collar for a pet, and a stray pet can always carry it. The search terminal includes a receiver for selective call function, a sound generating apparatus, a speaker, and a receiving antenna. The sound generating apparatus is constituted so as to include a speech synthesis circuit, for example, and since a digitized sound signal is memorized in a memory in the circuit, the speaker supplies a sound message based on a paging detecting signal. An example of the content of the sound message may be "This dog (cat) has gotten lost, and the owner is looking for it. If you notice this dog, please take it under your protection, and call the phone number written on the collar". When a pet wearing a collar of this type has gotten lost, a number assigned to the search terminal is called in the same way as using a telephone to page a standard beeper. Since a massage similar to the one described above is provided as sound from the search terminal installed on the collar when a transmitting facility pages the search terminal, a person close to the stray pet can know that the dog or the cat is a pet which the owner is searching for, and can call the phone number written on the collar or included in the message so as to report the whereabouts of the pet to the owner after taking the pet under protection. A battery for supplying individual blocks of the search terminal with electric power is integrated into the search terminal, or is fixed to a proper position on the collar.
Also there is an electronic device attached to pet which incorporates a battery, a wireless transmitter, a microphone, and the like, is attached to a collar of a dog, obtains bowwow of the dog through the integrated microphone, analyzes the bowwow, and wirelessly transmits a message of analysis result to the outside.
The following Web page shows a portable manual compact electric power generator referred to as Tug-Power as a tool for charging a battery of a cellular phone at any time and at any place.
http://www.nseg.co.jp/japanese/products/tug/syousai.htm
A similar apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-136707.


An efficient and commercially-viable method for the stereoselective transformation of a diol to an alcohol is disclosed. The present method is particularly well-suited for the preparation of the unnatural D-isomer of malic acid or its derivatives from the abundant naturally occurring L-tartaric acid or derivatives thereof.

2.1. Stereochemistry
The study of the spatial arrangement of atoms in a compound and their relation to the properties of the compound is called stereochemistry. Stereoisomers are molecules which possess identical chemical formulas with the same atoms bonded to one another, however they differ in the manner in which these atoms are arranged in three dimensional space. Optical isomers or enantiomers are molecules that are mirror images but are nonetheless nonsuperimposable. Such molecules can rotate the plane of plane-polarized light. Molecules that exhibit this phenomenon are said to be optically active. In describing an optically active compound, the prefixes D and L or R and S are used to denote the absolute configuration of the molecule about its chiral center(s). A chiral center is usually an asymmetric carbon atom, that is, one with four different groups attached to it. The prefixes (+) and (-) or d and l are employed to designate the sign of rotation of plane-polarized light by the compound. A compound with the prefix (-) or l is levorotatory. A levorotatory compound rotates plane-polarized light to the left (counterclockwise). A compound prefixed with (+) or d is dextrorotatory. A dextrorotatory compound rotates plane polarized light to the right (clockwise). As mentioned above, a specific stereoisomer may also be referred to as an enantiomer, and a mixture of such isomers is often called an enantiomeric or racemic mixture.
The property of optical activity is due to molecular asymmetry about carbon atoms that are linked to four different atoms. Where there is only one asymmetric carbon atom, or chiral center as it is sometimes called, there are two possible stereoisomers. Where there are n asymmetric carbons or chiral centers, the number of potential stereoisomers increases to 2.sup.n. Thus, a molecule with three chiral centers would have eight possible stereoisomers.
While the structural differences between stereoisomers are subtle and of little consequence in ordinary chemical reactions, they may be profound where biological systems are concerned, i.e., if the compounds are utilized in enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Thus, the L-amino acids are metabolized in humans but the corresponding D-analogs are not, and only D-glucose can be phosphorylated and processed into glycogen or degraded by the glycolytic and oxidative pathways or intermediary metabolism. Similarly, beta blockers, pheromones, prostaglandins, steroids, flavoring and fragrance agents, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, herbicides and many other compounds exhibit critical stereospecificity. In the field of pesticides, Tessier (Chemistry and Industry, 1984, Mar. 19, 199) has shown that only two of the eight stereoisomers of deltamethrin, a pyrethroid insecticide, have any biological activity. The same statement concerning the concentration of bioactivity in a single isomer can be made about many other pesticides, including the phenoxypropionates and halopropionate derivatives, each containing one chiral center and existing in the form of two optical isomers.
Stereochemical purity is of equal importance in the field of pharmaceuticals, where 12 of the 20 most prescribed drugs exhibit chirality. A case in point is provided by naproxen, or (+)-S-2-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)propanoic acid, which is one of the two most important members of a class of 2-arylpropanoic acids with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory activity used, for instance, in the management of arthritis. In this case, the S(+) enantiomer of the drug is known to be 28 times more therapeutically potent than its R(-) counterpart. Still another example of chiral pharmaceuticals is provided by the family of beta-blockers; the L-form of propranol is known to be 100 times more potent than the D-enantiomer.
Synthesis of compounds with asymmetric centers by standard organic synthetic techniques generally leads to a racemic mixture which, in the aggregate, may have a relatively low specific bioactivity since certain of the stereoisomers in the mixture are likely to be biologically or functionally inactive. As a result, larger quantities of the material must be used to obtain an effective dose, and manufacturing costs are increased due to the co-production of stereochemically "incorrect" and hence, inactive ingredients.
Thus, optical purity or enantiomeric excess is a very important consideration in the design of chemical syntheses of optically active compounds.

Process for the stereoselective transformation of a diol to an alcohol


A system and computer executable instructions running on a mobile device for controlling one or more functions of the mobile device in response to vehicle state data. The mobile device includes a processor and memory coupled to the processor, wherein a receiver in electronic communication with the processor detects a data signal transmission. A default rules-based policy, initially stored in memory of the mobile device, defines how the various functions of the mobile device perform in response to the vehicle state data. A customized rules-based policy is subsequently uploaded into the memory of the mobile device and replaces at least some of the default rules-based policy. Software within the mobile device confirms that the data signal transmission is from an approved transmitter and, if so, causes one or more of the functions on the mobile device to perform in accordance with the customized rules-based policy based.

Use of mobile computing and communication devices in vehicles is a hotly debated topic. While such use provides convenience and potentially enhances worker productivity, it has also been shown that such use has a detrimental effect and impact on the driver/operator's (hereinafter referred to, for convenience, as the "driver") ability to focus on driving or otherwise operating the vehicle—with some studies indicating that distracted driving may be even more dangerous than driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. Numerous accidents by drivers of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, buses, planes, helicopters, blimps, balloons, gliders, boats, ferries, trains, trams, heavy equipment or machinery, and similar devices or machines (collectively and hereinafter referred to as "a vehicle" or "vehicles" for convenience) have been attributed to driver inattentiveness or distraction while talking, texting, surfing, browsing, or otherwise interacting with or using a mobile computing or communication device rather than focusing full attention on driving or operating the vehicle. The term "vehicle" is further intended to include any type of device or machine that is driven, operated, or controlled by a user (i.e., driver) and that is susceptible to accident or injury to self or others if the driver is careless or not paying full attention to operation of the vehicle.
Numerous cities, counties, states, and even the Federal government have imposed or are considering imposing legal restrictions on use of (or that imposed increased sanctions for accidents that occur due to use of) such mobile devices by a driver of a vehicle. As the functionality of such mobile computing and communication devices continues to increase and expand, the potential distractions posed by such mobile devices on vehicle drivers is likely to increase even more—leading to further accidents, higher risks to drivers, passengers, and any third parties near such vehicles, higher insurance rates, and more litigation.
As used herein, "mobile devices" are intended to include and encompass any type of hand-held or mobile device or other computing or communication device usable within a vehicle, such as but not limited to cell phones, smart phones, push-to-talk devices, PDAs, text or email dedicated devices, general computers, laptops, electronic reading devices, multimedia equipment, data tablets, and similar computing or communication device that would or could be used by or accessible to the driver of a vehicle while it is moving or otherwise in operation.
Although laws may be passed, company policies may be adopted, and insurance policies may be tailored to provide lower insurance rates for drivers who do not use their mobile device while operating a vehicle or to provide less or no coverage for drivers who are involved in accidents because of distraction from confirmed use of such a mobile device during an accident, the options and ability for physically or technologically controlling, managing, limiting, monitoring, and auditing use of and communications to and from such mobile devices, particularly in real time and based on other factors and variables (such as whether the vehicle is on and/or moving, how fast it is moving, what time of day it is, what day of the week it is, where the vehicle is located, and the like) has been limited, to date.
For all of these reasons, there are needs in the industry for systems, methods, and devices, that use computer-implemented, configurable policies to control, manage, limit, monitor, and/or audit use of and communications to and from mobile devices used in or by drivers of vehicles. Advantageously, data provided by or obtained from the vehicle, such as from a vehicle's on board computer or similar vehicle components or systems, alone or in conjunction with other available external data or information (such as GPS location data, time of day, day of week, type of activity or communication attempted on the mobile device, and the like) is usable to enable a default or configurable, policy-based software application, preferably installed on or interactive with such mobile devices, which defines rules and protocols selectively to control or limit use of the functionality of such mobile devices. Such systems can also be used advantageously to monitor, audit, and record use of mobile devices in vehicles, even if actual use is not limited, controlled, or prevented by the system or policy. In addition, such systems can be configured to capture relevant data and information about the vehicle when the mobile device is in or in close proximity to the vehicle—even if use of the mobile device is not limited, controlled, or prevented by the system or the policy. Further, such technology can be used advantageously to detect, monitor, and report on vehicle usage patterns, including period of excessive speeding or idle time.
There are needs for such controls and limits not only in consumer markets (e.g., for parents who want to limit or control use of a mobile device by their teen driver while the teen driver is driving the family car) but also in commercial or governmental applications (e.g., a company with a fleet of delivery trucks may need to ensure (for insurance, company policy, political, court settlement, or public relations reasons) that all of their designated employees are not engaged in personal calls, texting, surfing, or use of non-business software application while driving a company vehicle during work hours; or a municipality, county, state, or government agency may need to prevent their conductors or drivers from similar personal activities on mobile devices while operating a commuter train, tram, bus, or other public vehicle while they are on the job.
The above needs and features, as well as additional aspects and business applications, are disclosed herein and will become readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading and studying the following summary of the present inventions, the detailed description of preferred embodiments, and the claims included hereinafter.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems, methods, and devices for policy-based control and monitoring of use of mobile devices by vehicle operators


One embodiment of the present invention includes a computer operable to represent a physical system with a graphical data structure corresponding to a matroid. The graphical data structure corresponds to a number of vertices and a number of edges that each correspond to two of the vertices. The computer is further operable to define a closed pathway arrangement with the graphical data structure and identify each different one of a number of fundamental cycles by evaluating a different respective one of the edges with a spanning tree representation. The fundamental cycles each include three or more of the vertices.

The present invention relates to data processing and more particularly, but not exclusively, relates to a unique methodology for the decomposition of a network-of-networks representation of a system into a set of fundamental cycles, where the fundamental cycles are used to completely characterize and control both linear and nonlinear systems.
There is an ongoing desire to more meaningfully evaluate and control complex systems behaviors. Frequently, these systems can be modeled as a finite group of constituents that interact in a predictable manner based on certain physical rules or conditions. Even so, the application of existing mathematical tools to fully evaluate these systems can be time/cost prohibitive, and sometimes can provide misleading results due to round-off errors or the like. Also, current evaluation/simulation schemes are often not up to the task of analyzing the impact that multiple, simultaneous perturbations can have on such systems. Accordingly, there continues to be a demand for further contributions in this area of technology.

Combinatorial evaluation of systems including decomposition of a system representation into fundamental cycles


The invention provides a unified optical network architecture for metro and access communication networks, wherein a metro ring network interfaces access PONs through one or more reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers to provide wavelength-reconfigurable all-optical transmission of communication signals from the metro ring network to designated optical network units associated with the end-users, and wherein one metro hub located in the metro ring network is utilized to set transmission wavelengths and timing for both downstream and upstream signal transmission for multiple access PONs.

A typical metro-area network aggregates access traffic over a ring roughly 40-50 km in circumference, with typically 4-5 nodes interspersed along it. Each node serves as a portal for a local community through an access network, with residential and business users being added over time. Broadband access networks based on so called fiber to the home (FTTH), fiber to the curb (FTTC), or fiber to the building (FTTB) approaches are becoming the preferred technology for green field deployments. Passive optical networks (PONs) are increasingly employed for delivering broad-band wavelength based services from the metro-area network to the end users using optical fibers.
With reference to FIG. 1, a typical passive optical network consists of an optical line terminal (OLT) 10 performing optical-electrical-optical (OEO) conversion, a remote node (RN) 15 and a number of Optical Network Units (ONUs) 25 near end users. The OLT 10 can be located at a service provider's central office, where traffic coming from a metro edge node 5 in the form of a dedicated optical channel is received, undergoes the OEO conversions and is re-transmitted to the users. Typically, up to 32 ONUs can be connected to an OLT. The term "passive" indicates that optical transmission lines between the OLT 10 and the ONUs 25 have no power requirements or active electronic parts.
FIG. 2 illustrates one prior-art PON implementation, which is also known as the TDM-PON (Time Division Multiplexed Passive Optical Network). In this implementation, each ONU receives the same optical signal, which is generated by the OLT and broadcast to the ONUs 25 using a passive optical splitter 20 at the remote node 15. Each ONU may be assigned a time slot by the OLT 10 for receiving information designated for this ONU; data encryption can be used to prevent eavesdropping. Upstream optical signals are generated by the ONUs using a time division multiple access (TDMA) protocol, wherein the OLT provides time slot assignments for the upstream communication, and are combined at the remote node 15 in a single upstream optical channel, wherein signals from individual ONUs are time-multiplexed, which is then passively transmitted to the OLT 10. The upstream optical signals are typically at a different wavelength from the downstream signals. The OLT 10 typically communicates with the metro ring network 2 through an add/drop port of an optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM) located at the metro edge node 5 using a different set of wavelengths that is used for the OLT-ONU communications. The TDM-PON architecture combines the high capacity offered by optical fiber with the low cost of a passive infrastructure. The sharing of bandwidth in TDM-PON is limited to a single wavelength.
FIG. 3 illustrates another prior art PON implementation known as WDM-PON (Wavelength Division Multiplexed Passive Optical Networks), wherein the passive optical power splitter 20 in the remote node 15 is replaced with a wavelength de-multiplexer (DMUX) 21 to spectrally separate the wavelengths coming from the OLT 10 on the same fiber 13. In this implementation, the OLT has several transmitters and generates a dedicated optical signal at a different wavelength for each ONU 25, which provides an additional communication bandwidth.
FIG. 4 shows a hybrid PON architecture called TDM/WDM PON that is attractive because it provides more bandwidth than TDM PON by using several wavelengths, and allows more flexibility in sharing bandwidth amongst neighboring ONUs than WDM PON through TDM. The hybrid TDM/WDM PON architecture features many transmitters at the OLT10 and a remote node with a DMUX 21 followed by a passive optical power splitter 20 for each or some of the wavelength.
One drawback of the aforedescribed prior-art PON architectures is that they require OEO conversion at each OLT, wherein an OLT receives an optical signal coming from the metro ring network 2, and re-transmits as downstream traffic using one or several dedicated fixed optical transmitters; disadvantageously, the OLT represents a significant part of the cost of current PON architectures.
Another drawback of the prior art access network architectures in that the metro edge node 5, which serves as an interface between the metro ring network and the PON, typically utilizes a fixed optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM), so that wavelengths that are added and dropped at each metro edge node are fixed. This disadvantageously limits the flexibility of wavelength assignment in the metro ring network and possibilities for wavelength reconfiguration and re-use.
An object of the present invention is to provide a unified metro-access optical network architecture that would be free of at least some of these and other drawbacks of the prior art optical networks, and enable wavelength re-configurability and re-use at the metro-PON interface and in the metro-area network at a lower cost.

Wavelength reconfigurable optical network


A paving slab. The paving slab has a unitary body made of concrete-based material, the body having sidewalls extending between top and bottom faces, providing the body with a thickness. The top face is provided with longitudinal false joints defining rows extending from a first to a second side of the unitary body. The first side has a staggered outline and the second side has a stepped outline, the first and second sides being able to engage with respective first and second sides of an adjacent slab shaped as the paving slab, but rotated by 180 degrees. When several of the slabs are assembled on a surface, it creates an illusion that the surface is covered by individual plank pavers randomly assembled.

It is often desirable to have a stone masonry or paving covering with a visually appealing pattern. It is further desirable to vary this pattern so as to create one which is, or seems to be, irregular or "random" to the viewer.
Such irregular patterns are known in the art. They can be created by skilled masons or stoneworkers who can cut bricks, stones, or rocks into any shape and lay them upon the ground with no predetermined logic. Such an irregular pattern may require significant time and labor to produce, and is thus not suitable for all installations.
In the related fields of ceramics and hardwood flooring, there is a trend to create flooring out of rectangular tiles or planks of different sizes, and to arrange such tiles or planks to form a random floor pattern.
There is a need in the landscaping industry for paving units which would provide a similar effect. It would be desirable to recreate such random patterns for outside flooring, such as with cement or concrete-based paving units. Long and narrow paving units made of concrete-based material are not well-adapted for landscaping, since they lack flexural strength and resistance to heavy loads. Both commercial and consumer paving units must comply with standards specifying the load charge the units must be able to withstand, and the flexural strength they must have. In order to comply with such standards, current solutions, such as plank pavers, are offered in thicker pavers, and are thus more expensive. Combining individual plank pavers of different widths and lengths is often not possible or too complex, since they come in different thicknesses. The longer and narrower pavers are typically thicker than wider and/or shorter pavers, since the long and narrow pavers must be able to provide the same flexural strength capacities than shorter and/or wider pavers, and this can only be achieved by increasing their thickness.
There is thus a need to provide a paving solution for forming a paved surface which appears to be made of several distinct rectangular paving units of different lengths. It would also be desirable that the joints between the paving units appear to be located randomly over the paved surface.
Finally, it would be desirable to provide a paving or masonry unit which would allow people with limited or no masonry skills to create a suitably irregular floor pattern from masonry units that could be manufactured quickly and in abundance, easily transported, and assembled without difficulty.

Paving slab for forming a random pattern


An embodiment of a method of routing a packet between nodes of a network begins with a step of determining that a route of an external network from a source node to a network node provides an expected near minimum transmission time for transmission of the packet from the source node to a destination node. The method continues with a step of determining that a packet queue for a network link at a source node exceeds a threshold. The method concludes with a step of routing the packet to the destination node via the external network and the network node.

Large enterprises often rely on private networks for internal data communication. Such internal data communication includes internal e-mail, internal web access, and internal database access as well as internal streaming media, file sharing, and file transferring. Data communication which uses the private networks is protected from external security attacks, including eavesdropping and tampering. Data communication over private networks is expected to increase as large enterprises place more activities on-line and as new applications such as streaming media develop and mature.
Private networks are built from physically private communication channels such as leased lines, Frame Relay links, and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) links. A private network is dedicated to an enterprise's traffic. It has dependable and guaranteed performance characteristics including predictable transmission time (i.e., delay) and bandwidth. The private network also has a low loss rate provided that traffic does not approach the bandwidth for an extended period of time or that the traffic does not exceed the bandwidth. However, the private network is expensive. In many cases, an enterprise must pay for bandwidth regardless of whether it is used. Due to limited budgets, an enterprise will normally choose to not purchase significantly more capacity than the enterprise expects to use. For such an enterprise, flash traffic or a sudden large bandwidth flow can cause congestion which results in increased delays as packet queues grow and lost packets as the packet queues overflow.
Typically, a private network will include gateways to the Internet via ISPs (Internet service providers), which provide connectivity between the private network and the Internet. Such connectivity exists for many reasons including providing employees with quick access to resources and services on the Internet. Generally, the private network will have multiple gateways to the Internet with each gateway providing connectivity to the Internet for a locale. This provides lower delays when accessing the Internet. This also conserves bandwidth along the private network since traffic bound for and returning from the Internet does not travel along significant portions of the private network.
A VPN (virtual private network) includes two or more sites coupled together by IP (Internet protocol) tunnels. An IP tunnel between two sites encrypts packets at the first site, transmits the packets over the Internet to the second site, decrypts the packets at the second site, and utilizes authentication to detect packet tampering between the first and second sites. Private networks are inherently secure. In contrast, Internet-based VPNs provide security through encryption and authentication. Relative to private networks, VPNs are inexpensive. However, VPNs provide lower quality of service compared to private networks. Because the VPNs make use of the Internet and because the Internet is shared among many users, it is not possible to guarantee loss rate, delay, or bandwidth. Even within a single communication session, it is possible to experience a wide range of delays and bandwidths. Because of these limitations, large enterprises use private networks for internal traffic and make use of VPNs when connecting home users, small isolated offices, or partners to their private networks.
Because flash traffic or a sudden large bandwidth flow on a private network can cause increased delays and can result in lost packets, it would be desirable to be able to use an Internet-based VPN to route some private network traffic. However, because of the Internet's shifting delay and bandwidth characteristics, a technique for assuring efficient use of the private network and the VPN is needed. More generally, there is a need for a routing protocol which routes some network traffic over an internal network and other network traffic over an external network.
What is needed is a method of routing a packet between nodes of a network by routing the packet at least partly over an external network.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


constructional building set comprising gear boxes which are provided with guide grooves and shaft passages. The guide grooves and the shaft passages are constructed such that transmission elements can be inserted into the guide grooves from the outer side of the gear box in such a manner that the transmission elements are positioned in alignment with the shaft passages in the gear boxes. When the gear box additionally comprises means for releasable geometrical retention of the transmission elements in their position in alignment with the shaft passages after insertion of the transmission elements into the gear box, it is ensured that the shafts can be pulled out of the assembled gear structure without the transmission elements dropping out of the gear structure. This simplifies the mounting operation and makes it easier to use the gear structure as an assembled unit that can be used for different applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a constructional building set comprising gear box casings which are provided with guide grooves and shaft passages constructed such that transmission elements can be inserted into the guide grooves from the outer side of the gear box casing so that the transmission elements are positioned in alignment with the shaft passages.
In connection with constructional building sets e.g. for the building of toy vehicles, cranes, machinery and the like the gear box casings with inserted transmission elements perform various transmission tasks which can be achieved using known gear wheels, racks, chain drives and similar transmission elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Particularly in connection with toy constructional building sets it is important in view of the motor function of the child that these gear box casings with transmission elements are as simple to assemble as possible. Thus, the Danish Patent No. 161 868 discloses a steering mechanism comprising a rack assembly including a rack and a gear wheel which can engage the rack. The gear wheel is mounted in a housing through which also the rack extends, there being provided a groove through which the gear wheel is inserted into the housing, said groove being closed at one end in a manner such that the gear wheel, when inserted into the housing, is positioned in alignment with shaft passages which are provided in the housing so that a shaft can easily be inserted through the shaft passages in the housing as well as the shaft hole on the gear wheel. When the shaft is pulled out of the housing and the gear wheel-again, the gear wheel can thus drop freely out of the housing.
The object of the present invention is to provide a toy constructional building set comprising gear box casings which enable and facilitate assembly of the gear housing, the transmission elements and the associated shafts to a higher degree than the prior art. Another object is to provide a toy constructional building set enabling the shafts to be pulled out from a mounted gear unit without the individual transmission elements dropping out of the gear box casing, thereby enabling easy and quick transfer of a gear unit comprising gear box casing and transmission elements e.g. from one toy structure to another.

Constructional building set comprising gear box casings


A device having a planar substrate, the substrate having a first side and a second side, where at least one first arrangement may be provided on the first side, which has at least one first single-wire and possibly at least one first cavity, and where at least one first device for storing electromagnetic energy is provided, one end of a single-wire being connected to the device for storing the electromagnetic energy, and the other end of the single-wire being disposed possibly, as free end, in, below or abutting on the first cavity.

The present invention relates to a device for storing electromagnetic energy and signals, for example from biological systems. The device can pick up electrical signals and, possibly modified, emit them again.
Detection of biological processes which go back to moving electrical charges is known from the state of the art (e.g. in medicine in the case of EEG, ECG and/or ENG). Furthermore, it is known that biological processes can be influenced by means of electromagnetic devices (e.g. biophoton spectral analysis, biological resonance techniques, the use of magnetic fields for faster germination or for acceleration of vital processes).
Within living cells, electrical potential variations can occur due to de-, re- or hyperpolarisation of the cell membrane. These electrical potential variations generate an electromagnetic field or effect emission of electromagnetic waves.
Biological cells consist of a large number of charged molecules, such as for example charged proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and carbohydrates. In the cell, a high concentration of molecules (approx. 200-400 mg/ml for proteins) prevails and the molecules are found in constant motion. Without the movement of the molecules, the cell would not be viable.
It is known that moving electrical charges produce electromagnetic radiation, i.e. electromagnetic waves. Since a large number of cellular molecules is permanently in motion (driven passively by Brownian molecular motion and actively by energy, e.g. by ATP hydrolysis), living cells permanently emit—even if weak—electromagnetic radiation.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a device which can absorb and store electromagnetic signals of biological systems and can also emit electromagnetic signals to biological systems.

Device for storing electromagnetic energy from biological source


The individual identification apparatus includes the image pick up portion 50 and the calculation processing portion 60. When recording information on a specific individual, the portion 50 picks up a pattern of a predetermined body portion of the specific individual and outputs a reference image signal. When desiring to identify an arbitrary person with the specific individual, the portion 50 picks up a pattern of a predetermined body portion of the arbitrary individual and outputs a target image signal. The portion 60 calculates a correlation signal between the reference image signal and the target image signal. That is, the portion 60 digitizes the reference image signal and the target image signal, electronically Fourier transforms those image signals, electronically multiplies the Fourier transformed images, and electronically inverse Fourier transforms the multiplied result to obtain the correlation signal. The portion 60 then judges, based on the correlation signal, whether the arbitrary person is the specific person.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an individual identification apparatus for confirming identities of individuals with using a pattern recognition technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, confirmation of identities of individuals is required in order to manage entrance and exit of individuals in and out of restricted areas and to prevent free access to important equipment. Individual identification apparatuses have been proposed to identify each individual under investigation with a specific individual on record. The person under investigation will be referred to as an "arbitrary individual" hereinafter.
Fingerprints, palm prints, retinas, and voices, for example, are unique for each individual. The individual identification apparatuses therefore generally compare such a unique characteristic of an arbitrary person with a corresponding characteristic of the specific person.
It is noted that the fingerprint has attracted attention because it is easily handled and it can allow the individual identification apparatus to provide a high recognition accuracy. According to a conventional fingerprint identification method, the individual identification apparatus extracts features (minutiae) from fingerprints. The features include character points such as ending and turning points of ridges in the fingerprints. Confirmation of the individual's identity is performed based on those features extracted from the fingerprints.
According to this method, however, fingerprints have to be subjected to complicated preprocessings in order to accurately extract features from the fingerprints. A large number of features have to be extracted from the fingerprints in order to enhance recognition accuracy.
On the other hand, it is still desirable that the number of features be small so that the recognition operation can be attained in a short period of time. These conflicting demands make it difficult to provide an individual identification apparatus which can perform its recognition operation with high accuracy but still within a short period of time.
Especially, confirming a mismatch between different individuals generally requires a longer time period than when confirming a match between identical individuals as described below.
According to the conventional method, when one feature is extracted from the arbitrary person s fingerprint, the extracted feature is compared with a corresponding feature of the specific person's fingerprint. The features in the arbitrary person's fingerprint are subjected one by one to this extracting-and-comparing operation. In order to judge a mismatch between the arbitrary person and the specific person, a predetermined large number of features have to be subjected to the extracting-and-comparing operations. The number of features, in the arbitrary person's fingerprint, that match the corresponding features of the specific person's fingerprint is counted. The mismatch between the arbitrary person and the specific person is confirmed when the number of those matching features is less than a predetermined threshold.
A match between the arbitrary person and the specific person is confirmed when the number of the matching features reaches the predetermined threshold. It is noted, however, that the number of the matching features will possibly reach the predetermined threshold before the extracting-and-matching operations are completed for all the predetermined number of features. In this case, it becomes unnecessary to extract remaining features from the arbitrary person's fingerprint. Thus, confirming a match between identical individuals generally needs extraction of less features than when confirming a mismatch between different individuals. In other words, confirming a mismatch between different individuals generally requires a longer time period than when confirming a match between identical individuals.


According to one embodiment, an electronic component includes a device having a plurality of electrodes; a lead electrically connected to each of the plurality of electrodes; a first resin body sealing the device and a portion of the lead; and a first conductive body connected to the leads and contactable with a second conductive body.

Recently, technologies in which wide gap semiconductors such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) are used as substrates in power semiconductor devices have been the focus attention.
However, wide gap semiconductor devices generally have a lower resistance to static electricity than silicon semiconductor devices. This condition remains unchanged even when the wide gap semiconductor device is contained in a resin-sealed semiconductor package.
To improve the resistance of the semiconductor package to static electricity, a method exists whereby an external protective circuit is installed with the semiconductor package. However, such techniques require extra work and lead to an increase in cost.


A probe that includes both a temperature transducer and a pressure sensing port is adapted to be mounted upon and extend into the intake housing of a gas turbine engine. The probe is operative to provide air temperature and pressure data to an engine controller for the gas turbine engine.

This invention relates in general to gas turbine engines and in particular to a combined temperature and pressure probe for intake air to a gas turbine engine.
Gas turbine engines, or jet engines, have been widely adopted to power aircraft, where their simplicity and operating efficiency provides high reliability with low operating costs. A sectional view of a gas turbine engine is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1. The engine 10 includes three primary parts. A compressor 12 located to the left of FIG. 1 is disposed within an engine intake housing 13. The compressor 12 consists of a plurality of fan blades 14 attached in rows to a cone-shaped cylinder 16. To the right of the compressor 12 is the second primary part of the engine, which is a combustion chamber 18. The combustion chamber 18 includes a perforated flame holder 20 that has a generally cylindrical shape. A plurality of fuel injectors are 22 positioned at the left end of the flame holder 20. To the right of the gas turbine engine 10 is a multi-bladed turbine 24 that forms the third primary part of the engine. The turbine 24 is connected by a rotatable shaft 26 that passes through the combustion chamber 18 to the compressor 12. Thus, rotation of the turbine 24 also rotates the compressor 12.
During operation of the engine 10, the compressor 12 spins and draws air into the engine, as illustrated by the arrow at the left of FIG. 1. The compressor 12 compresses the air and then forces the air into the combustion chamber 18 through the perforations in the flame holder 20. Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber 18 through the fuel injectors 22 and ignited. The resulting hot gases are expelled to the right of FIG. 1, where they drive the turbine blades and thereby spin the turbine 24, which, in turn spins the compressor 12. The hot gases are then exhausted from the engine 10, as illustrated by the arrow at the right of FIG. 1.
Successful operation of the engine 10 requires that the flow of fuel into the combustion chamber 18 be carefully controlled. The fuel flow must be coordinated with the temperature and pressure of the air entering the engine intake housing 13. Typically, a temperature sensor 30 and a separate pressure probe 32 are mounted upon the engine intake housing 13 and provide air temperature and pressure data to an engine controller 34. As best seen in FIG. 2, the pressure probe 32 usually consists of a tube 34 having an open end 36 that extends through a first sensor opening 37 in the housing. The tube 34 is bent 90 degrees such that the open end 36 of the tube 34 receives a portion of the incoming air stream. A flexible hollow hose 38 is attached to the portion of the tube 34 that extends outside of the intake housing 13. The hose 38 passes through an aperture 40 formed in a side of an engine controller housing 42 and is attached to a pressure transducer 44. Thus, the pressure of the intake air is directly applied through the hose 38 to the pressure transducer 44. The pressure transducer 44, which generates an electrical voltage that is proportional to the air pressure within the tube 34 and hose 38, is mounted upon a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 46 that is disposed within the controller housing 42.
Similarly, the temperature sensor 30 extends through a second sensor opening 47 in the intake housing 13 and is operative to generate a voltage that is proportional to the air temperature within the intake housing 13. The air temperature voltage is transferred over a wiring harness 48 that is attached to the temperature sensor 30 and extends through the side of the controller housing 42. The harness wires are electrically connected to conductive traces disposed upon the surface of the PCB 46. The PCB 46 also carries electronic components (not shown) that are responsive to intake air temperature and pressure for controlling the operation of the gas turbine engine 10. Typically, the temperature sensor wiring harness 48 terminates at an electrical connector (not shown) that is mounted upon the controller housing 42. The electrical connector allows removal of the engine controller for servicing without disturbing the temperature sensor 30.
As described above, it is known to mount separate temperature and pressure sensors upon the intake housing of a gas turbine engine. The pressure sensor is connected by a tube to a pressure transducer that is mounted within an engine controller. The engine controller may be mounted upon the engine or located remotely from the engine. Regardless of the engine controller location, an external wiring harness and associated electrical connector are required to connect the temperature sensor to the engine controller. The wiring harness would typically require electrical shielding. Additionally, a flexible pressure tube is needed to connect the pressure sensor to the engine controller. The wiring harness, electrical connector and pressure tube add weight and cost to the engine while reducing operational reliability. Additionally, two apertures are required in the engine intake housing for mounting the sensors. Accordingly, it would be desirable to simplify the mounting of the temperature and pressure sensors.

Combined temperature and pressure probe for a gas turbine engine


A computer program and a programmed apparatus (10) for automatically handling and resolving user complaints against subjects is disclosed. The program includes a routine for directing the apparatus to receive a complaint from a complainant against a subject, a routine for directing the apparatus to receive from the subject a response to the complaint, a routine to direct the apparatus to store the complaint and response in a data record, and a routine for negotiating a settlement of the complaint.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, computer program, and apparatus for automatically handling, processing and resolving complaints.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When consumers receive unsatisfactory goods or services, or are involved in a dispute with a vendor or other subject, they typically must lodge complaints directly to the subject by filling out a complaint form or by directly speaking to the subject. Although this method of complaint resolution sometimes resolves the particular dispute at issue, it does not inform other consumers about the complaint. Additionally, some consumers do not like to file complaints face-to-face due to inconvenience or embarrassment.
Government and non-profit consumer organizations such as the Better Business Bureau provide services that inform consumers about complaints lodged against subjects by compiling complaints filed against different companies and then allowing consumers to check the reputation of a particular subject by requesting a report listing the complaints lodged against the subject. Unfortunately, these services don't encourage the complainant and the subject to resolve a complaint because the subject is not notified directly of the complaint and cannot respond to the complaint. Additionally, these services do not allow the subject to publicly respond to the complaint and therefore endanger the subject's reputation when baseless complaints are filed. Moreover, these consumer complaint services are typically local or regional and each has different methods for resolving complaints, resulting in inconsistent handling of consumer complaints.
Another limitation of prior art methods of handling user complaints is that they do not encourage good conduct and cooperation between complainants and subjects while the parties attempt to resolve the dispute. Particularly, once a complaint has been filed by conventional methods, neither party is rewarded for good conduct while attempting to resolve the complaint nor punished for bad conduct.

Method and apparatus for handling complaints