A method for supporting a plurality of financial source forms that includes receiving a user selection of a source form of the plurality of financial source forms to obtain a user-selected source form, and dynamically populating field text within a plurality of dynamic fields on a worksheet associated with the user-selected source form, wherein the worksheet is used for tax preparation.

Every year millions of people, companies, and other institutions file various documents with the different governing bodies, such as agencies and services of local, state and national governments. The documents may be directed toward filing taxes, inventory and accounting filings, medical reimbursement filings, etc.
Each document is typically designed around the concept of forms. Specifically, a document may be composed of one or more forms. A form includes multiple data-containing fields and static text describing and relating to the data containing fields. The fields may be user-generated or calculated. A user-generated field is a field which has data from the user or an outside resource. A calculated field is a field in which the data in the field is the output of an equation involving other fields.
Each field in document is typically entered with data representing a concatenation of various pieces of information. For example, on an accounting sheet, the data representing a summary of pension fund payments may include several pieces of information (e.g., the amount of pension fund payments paid, the amount of pension funds due, the amount of pension funds remaining).
Accordingly, a form may be a source form and/or a target form. A source form contains the information to enter into a target form. Thus, a source form is often generated by an outside source other than the person filing the document.
Software products include several methods for simplifying inputting the data into the documents. For example, a software product may include a worksheet having a questionnaire. The worksheet is typically a target form with the questionnaire in static text. The user answers the questions or inputs text in user-modifiable fields.
For example, a person receiving a pension may use information from a source form from a previous employer to enter data in an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) target form. The information may be used in multiple fields or may be concatenated with other information into a single field.
Often, source forms are related by having similar treatment of the same data. Specifically, the field names within the family may change however, data from the source forms in the same family may use similar calculations to create the target form. For example, the tax treatment of annuities listed on Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Forms CSA-1099-R and CSF-1099-R are essentially the same as the tax treatment of annuities on IRS Form 1099-R. Accordingly, a user, ignoring the static text describing the fields, may use data from OPM Form CSA-1099-R and OPM Form CSF-1099-R to fill in IRS Form 1099-R and obtain correct calculations for the user's taxes. Thus, a user having an OPM Form CSA-1099-R may ignore the static text questionnaire to enter data into the worksheet that describes the IRS Form 1099-R.

Dynamically modifying descriptive text of a form worksheet field in response to a financial form selection


A system for visually rendering an elongate medical device in a body is provided. The system includes an electronic control unit configured to find a measured physical location for each of a plurality of position sensors on the elongate medical device. The electronic control unit is further configured to apply a spline function to each of the measured physical locations to determine a display location for each position sensor. The electronic control unit is further configured to interpolate between display locations of adjacent position sensors to identify display locations for portions of the elongate medical device between adjacent position sensors. The electronic control unit is further configured to generate image data for display of an image of the elongate medical device including the display locations of the position sensors and the display locations of the portions of the elongate medical device between adjacent position sensors.

a. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for visually rendering a catheter or other elongate medical device in a body. Specifically, the instant invention relates to a system that corrects systematic measurement noise to improve image rendering accuracy.
b. Background Art
Catheters are used to perform a variety of tasks within human bodies and other bodies including the delivery of medicine and fluids, the removal of bodily fluids, and the transport of surgical tools and instruments. In the diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation, for example, catheters may be used to deliver electrodes to the heart for electrophysiological mapping of the surface of the heart and to deliver ablative energy to the surface, among other tasks. In order to properly administer treatment, the position and orientation of a catheter inside the body must be continuously monitored. One known technique for determining the position and orientation of a catheter within a body is by tracking a plurality of sensors on the catheter using a position sensing and navigation system (sometimes called a location mapping system). In one exemplary system offered for sale by St. Jude Medical, Inc. under the trademark "ENSITE NAVX", the sensors comprise electrodes. Excitation of pairs of electrodes on the outer surface of the body generates electrical fields within the body. Voltage measurements on the catheter electrodes can then be used to determine the position and orientation of the catheter electrodes within a coordinate system of the position sensing and navigation system. Other exemplary position sensing and navigation systems include magnetic systems.
In order to provide information to clinicians about the position and orientation of the catheter, the determined position and orientation of the catheter sensors is often used to render an image of the catheter relative to surrounding tissues, including heart tissues. One drawback to conventional systems, however, is that the determined position and orientation of the catheter sensors is subject to systematic errors due to subtle differences in, e.g., sensor impedances and amplifier channels. These errors can distort the rendered shape of the catheter from its true mechanical shape in the resulting image.
The inventors herein have recognized a need for a system for visually rendering a catheter or other elongate medical device in a body that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.

System and method for rendering an image of an elongate medical device

St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.


A method for removing thiophene and thiophene compounds from liquid fuel includes contacting the liquid fuel with an adsorbent which preferentially adsorbs the thiophene and thiophene compounds. The adsorption takes place at a selected temperature and pressure, thereby producing a non-adsorbed component and a thiophene/thiophene compound-rich adsorbed component. The adsorbent includes either a metal or a metal cation that is adapted to form π-complexation bonds with the thiophene and/or thiophene compounds, and the preferential adsorption occurs by π-complexation. A further method includes selective removal of aromatic compounds from a mixture of aromatic and aliphatic compounds.

The present invention relates generally to processes for purification of hydrocarbons and, more particularly, to adsorption processes using sorbents selective to sulfur compounds and to aromatic compounds.
Petroleum is an extremely complex mixture and consists predominantly of hydrocarbons, as well as compounds containing nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. Most petroleums also contain minor amounts of nickel and vanadium. The chemical and physical properties of petroleum vary considerably because of the variations in composition.
The ultimate analysis (elemental composition) of petroleum tends to vary over relatively narrow limits—carbon: 83.0 to 87.0 percent; hydrogen: 10.0 to 14.0 percent; nitrogen: 0.1 to 1.5 percent; oxygen: 0.1 to 1.5 percent; sulfur: 0.1 to 5.0 percent; metals (nickel plus vanadium): 10 to 500 ppm.
Crude oils are seldom used as fuel because they are more valuable when refined to petroleum products. Distillation separates the crude oil into fractions equivalent in boiling range to gasoline, kerosene, gas oil, lubricating oil, and residual. Thermal or catalytic cracking is used to convert kerosene, gas oil, or residual to gasoline, lower-boiling fractions, and a residual coke. Petrochemical intermediates such as ethylene and propylene are primarily produced by the thermal cracking of light hydrocarbon feedstocks in the presence of steam. Catalytic reforming, isomerization, alkylation, polymerization, hydrogenation, and combinations of these catalytic processes are used to upgrade the various refinery intermediates into improved gasoline stocks or distillates. The major finished products are usually blends of a number of stocks, plus additives.
Gasoline is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that distills within the range 100 to 400° F. Commercial gasolines are blends of straight-run, cracked, reformed, and natural gasolines. Straight-run gasoline is recovered from crude petroleum by distillation and contains a large proportion of normal hydrocarbons of the paraffin series. Cracked gasoline is manufactured by heating crude-petroleum distillation fractions or residues under pressure, or by heating with or without pressure in the presence of a catalyst. Heavier hydrocarbons are broken into smaller molecules, some of which distill in the gasoline range. Reformed gasoline is made by passing gasoline fractions over catalysts in such a manner that low-octane-number hydrocarbons are molecularly rearranged to high-octane-number components. Many of the catalysts use platinum and other metals deposited on a silica and/or alumina support. Natural gasoline is obtained from natural gas by liquefying those constituents which boil in the gasoline range either by compression and cooling or by absorption in oil.
Removal of the sulfur-containing compounds is an important operation in petroleum refining, and is often achieved by catalytic processes at elevated temperatures and pressures. The hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process is efficient in removing thiols and sulfides, but much less effective for heterocyclic diunsaturated sulfur compounds, such as thiophenes and thiophene compounds/derivatives (e.g., benzothiophene and dibenzothiophene).
In 1998, the U.S. largest automakers pledged to put clean-burning cars on the road by 2001, beating the Clean Air Act Amendments mandate by five years. They proposed the use of internal combustion (IC) engines capable of emitting 50% fewer nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 70% fewer hydrocarbons, thanks to advanced catalytic converters. Shortly after this low-emission vehicle concept was announced, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed concerns that these reductions might not be achievable if high-sulfur gasoline and diesel fuel continue to be used. Studies involving the EPA and the automobile and oil industries showed that fuel sulfur atoms can bond with reactive sites on the catalyst surface, preventing catalyzed reactions needed to break down NOx and hydrocarbons. Since high-sulfur gasoline may perhaps decrease the effectiveness of advanced catalytic converters, the EPA mandates a reduction in gasoline and diesel sulfur levels to 30 and 15 ppm, respectively, down from the current levels of 300–500 ppm. This should be attained by the year 2006. Faced with the severely high costs of compliance, a surprising number of refiners are seriously considering reducing or eliminating production of on-board fuels.
Ultra-clean fuel may also be desirable for use with a fuel cell system. For the automotive fuel cells, liquid hydrocarbons may be ideal fuels due to their higher energy density, availability, and safety for transportation and storage. However, liquid hydrocarbons usually contain certain sulfur compounds that are poisonous to both the shift catalysts in the hydrocarbon fuel processors and the electrode catalysts in fuel cell processes. Thus, the sulfur content in the liquid hydrocarbons would desirably be generally less than about 0.1 ppm.
During the last decade, there have been several published accounts on using adsorption for liquid fuel desulfurization. Commercially available sorbents (i.e., zeolites, activated carbon and activated alumina) were used in all of these studies. Weitkamp et al. reported that thiophene adsorbed more selectively than benzene on ZSM-5 zeolite. See Weitkamp, J.; Schwark, M.; Ernest, S. "Removal of Thiophene Impurities from Benzene by Selective Adsorption in Zeolite ZSM-5," J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. (1991), 1133. Without being bound to any theory, it is believed that this is because thiophene (C4H4S, also known as thiofuran) has a higher dipole moment (0.55 debye) than benzene (non-polar), although their polarizabilities are similar. Based on this study, King et al. studied selective adsorption of thiophene, methyl- and dimethyl-thiophenes (all with one ring) over toluene and p-xylene, also using ZSM-5. See King, D. L.; Faz, C.; Flynn, T. "Desulfurization of Gasoline Feedstocks for Application in Fuel Reforming," SAE Paper 2000-01-0002, Soc. Automotive Engineers, Detroit (2000). They showed that thiophene was more selectively adsorbed, both based on fixed bed breakthrough experiments. However, the capacities for thiophene were unfortunately quite low (1–2% wt. adsorbed at 1% thiophene concentration). Both vapor phase and liquid phase breakthrough experiments were done in these studies, and the results from two phases were consistent.
The pore dimensions of ZSM-5 are 5.2–5.6 Å. Hence, organic sulfur compounds with more than one ring will be sterically hindered or excluded. Zeolites with larger pores, as well as larger pore volumes, would appear to be more desirable than ZSM-5 as the selective sorbents. Indeed, results of Salem and Hamid indicated that 13X zeolite as well as activated carbon had much higher sorption capacities for sulfur compounds. See Salem, A. S. H.; Hamid, H. S. "Removal of Sulfur Compounds from Naphtha Solutions Using Solid Adsorbents," Chem. Eng. Tech. (1997), 20, 342. Based on the data of Salem and Hamid, Id., the capacity for sulfur compounds by 13X zeolite was approximately an order of magnitude higher than that of ZSM-5, when compared with the data of King et al. (cited above) extrapolated to the same conditions.
Activated alumina (Alcoa Selexsorb) has been used in an adsorption process.
No direct comparison has been made among these commercial sorbents. Their experiments were mostly done in fixed bed adsorbers, by measuring the breakthrough capacities. Based on the literature, the large pore zeolites (NaX or NaY) are about the same as activated carbon and alumina, in terms of adsorption of thiophene.
As mentioned hereinabove, current sulfur levels found in commercial liquid fuels are commonly obtained by Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) treatment. The HDS method is very effective in removing thiols and sulfides, but it is generally not adequate for the removal of thiophenic compounds. For instance, the H2S produced during reaction of some thiophene derivatives is one of the main inhibitors for deep HDS of unreactive species. Ma, X.; Sakanishi, K.; Mochida, I. Hydrodesulfurization Reactivities of Various Sulfur Compounds in Diesel Fuel. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. (1994), 33, 218 and Knudsen, K. G.; Cooper, B. H.; Topsøe, H. Catalyst and Process Technologies for Ultra Low Sulfur-Diesel. Appl. Catal. A-Gen. (1999), 189, 205. For HDS to meet the new federal government mandates, it is believed that reactors with volumes 5–15 times larger (depending on the H2 pressure) than those currently used may be needed.
Ma et al. studied fixed-bed adsorption of thiophene compounds from jet fuels and diesel using an undisclosed transition metal compound (5 wt % loading) supported in silica gel. Ma, X.; Sun, L.; Song, C. A New Approach to Deep Desulfurization of Gasoline, Diesel Fuel and Jet Fuel by Selective Adsorption for Ultra-Clean Fuels and for Fuel Cell Applications. Catal. Today (2002), 77, 107 and Ma, X.; Sprague, M.; Sun, L.; Song, C. Deep Desulfurization of Liquid Hydrocarbons by Selective Adsorption for Fuel Cell Applications. Am. Chem. Soc. Div. Pet. Chem. Prepr. (2002), 47, 48. For jet fuel, they obtained a saturation adsorption capacity of 0.015 g of sulfur per cm3 of adsorbent and also showed that breakthrough occurs at about 20 cm3 effluent volume for about 3.2 cm3 of the metal loaded silica gel. For a model diesel fuel, Ma et al. obtained a breakthrough capacity of 1 cm3 per gram of adsorbent. The latter was done for removal of dibenzothiophene and 4,6-dibenzothiophene molecules. Collins et al. also performed fixed-bed adsorption experiments for sulfur removal, but after oxidation of the thiophenic compounds. Collins, F. M.; Lucy, A. R.; Sharp, C. Oxidative Desulphurisation of Oils via Hydrogen Peroxide and Heteropolyanion Catalysis. J. Mol. Catal. A-Chem. (1997), 117, 397. Oxidation was accomplished by using hydrogen peroxide, an acid catalyst and a phase transfer agent. Afterwards, the oxidized sulfurs were removed from the diesel oil using a silica gel. A breakthrough capacity of about 11 cm3 per gram of silica gel was obtained in this case. Another adsorbent that has been studied was ALCOA Selexsorb, which is an activated alumina. In one specific application (Irvine, R. L. Process for Desulfurizing Gasoline and Hydrocarbon Feedstocks. U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,860, 1998) this proprietary material was used in a temperature swing adsorption (TSA) process in order to continuously adsorb hetereoatoms from hydrocarbon mixtures and produce full boiling range FCC gasoline products with a maximum sulfur content of 30 ppmw.
Essentially all industrial adsorption processes are based on van der Waals interactions between the sorbate and the sorbent. Chemical bonds have yet to be exploited. Further, the drawbacks concomitant with HDS appear to render it an inappropriate solution.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an adsorption process for selectively removing sulfur compounds from liquid fuels at ambient conditions, thereby advantageously leading to a major advance in petroleum refining. It would further be desirable to provide highly selective sorbents for this process, thereby overcoming the drawbacks of current commercial sorbents, which are not desirable for this application. Still further, it would be desirable to provide an adsorption process for selectively removing aromatic compounds from a mixture of aromatic and aliphatic compounds.

Selective sorbents for purification of hydrocarbons

The Regents of the University of Michigan


Buckling plates are provided at comers or sides of a base plate. Each bucking plate selectively buckles between a fixing position, at which a corner or side of a sheet placed on the base plate is fixed, and a release position, at which the corner or side of the sheet is released. This reduces the number of parts and simplifies the structure, thus reducing cost. Further, this simplifies operation and fixes the sheet on a flat surface of the base plate in a stable manner.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sheet fixing mechanism for a drawing board and the like, used for fixing a drawing sheet on the drawing board.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
A known conventional sheet-fixing mechanism used for fixing a drawing sheet on a drawing board is disclosed in Japanese Utility-Model Publication No. 55 (1980)-25976.
According to this conventional art, the sheet fixing mechanism comprises a base, a press member as a bent rod with its one end pivotally attached to the base, and a spring biasing the press member in a sheet-pressing direction. The sheet fixing mechanism is attached to one portion on the base plate constituting a drawing board. When a drawing sheet is fixed on the drawing board, the drawing sheet is held and fixed between the base and the press member.
However, the conventional sheet fixing mechanism has the following problems.
Firstly, the number of parts constituting the sheet fixing mechanism is large, and further the structure of the sheet fixing mechanism is complicated. This increases cost, and cannot provide a drawing board at a low price.
Secondly, when a drawing sheet is fixed, the press member must be lifted up against the resilience of the spring. Such operation is especially troublesome for a child.
Thirdly, as the sheet fixing mechanism is provided only at one portion, the drawing sheet cannot be fixed in a stable manner. Further, as the drawing sheet is placed on the base, the drawing sheet cannot be fixed on a flat surface.


A method for removing trace levels of oxygen from combustions products includes delivering fuel, oxidant and water into a direct combustion device. The fuel, oxidant and water are combusted in the direct combustion device to produce the combustion products. The combustion products include steam with trace levels of oxygen. The combustion products are then delivered to a scrubber for removal of oxygen. The scrubber includes a material capable of reacting with the oxygen.

Conventional, oil recovery involves drilling a well and pumping a mixture of oil and water from the well. Oil is separated from the water and the water is usually injected into the subsurface formation. Conventional recovery works well for low viscosity oil. However, conventional oil recovery processes do not work well for higher viscosity, or heavy oil.
Enhanced oil recovery processes employ thermal methods to improve the recovery of heavy oils from subsurface reservoirs. The injection of steam into heavy oil bearing formations is a widely practiced enhanced oil recovery method. Typically, several tonnes of steam are required for each tonne of oil revered. Steam heats the oil in the reservoir, which reduces the viscosity of the oil and allows the oil to flow to a collection well. After the steam fully condenses and mixes with the oil, the condensed steam is classified as produced water. The mixture of oil and produced water that flows to the collection well is pumped to the surface. Oil is separated from the water by conventional processes employed in conventional oil recovery operations.
Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) provides is a relatively new oil recovery process for producing heavy oil, which ideally utilizes 100% quality steam for injection into well (i.e., no liquid water). Once injected into the well, the 100% quality steam transfers heat to the heavy oil upon condensation. The heavy oil with reduced viscosity drains together with steam condensate and is recovered via a producer well, disposed parallel and beneath the injector well.
Other heavy oil recovery methods that utilize steam include cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam flooding.
Steam generation costs limit economic returns of the SAGD, CSS and steam flooding. Relative to conventional boiler or once through steam generation approaches, direct steam generation may facilitate lowering these costs due to improvements in efficiency, inherent makeup water replacement and reduced fouling issues. Direct steam generation operates by burning a fuel in a combustor and quenching resulting combustion products with water to produce a mixture of steam and the combustion products including any unconsumed trace amounts oxygen.
Oxygen mixed in the steam is highly corrosive to the carbon steel materials used in conventional oilfield production systems. Methods for reducing the impact of the presence of oxygen include changing the metallurgy of the facilities to use an oxygen resistant material or utilizing chemical corrosion prevention treatment to coat the exposed surface of carbon steel. However, such methods may have high capital cost and potentially limited benefit at high temperatures.
Therefore, a need exists for removing trace levels of oxygen from the mixture of steam and combustion products.

Method for removing trace levels of oxygen from direct combustion device combustion products


An unshielded twisted pair cable includes a plurality of unshielded twisted pairs, a filament helically wound around the plurality of unshielded twisted pairs and a jacket encasing the plurality of unshielded twisted pairs and the filament. A gap, between the jacket and the plurality of unshielded twisted pairs, is formed by and is substantially the same thickness as the thickness of the filament.

In the communication industry, one type of common communication cable is formed from a pair of two wires twisted around one another, commonly referred to as a twisted pair. Typical high speed communication cables are comprised of a number of unshielded twisted pairs running through an outer jacket.
One problem that typically confronts the installation of such cables is that undesired capacitive and inductive coupling, also known as crosstalk, can occur between an unshielded twisted pair in a first cable with other items outside the cable, in particular with unshielded twisted pairs running in adjacent cables.
In order to reduce these unwanted conditions, prior art methods have introduced a number of changes into the cables, all with various degrees of satisfaction. For example, a first method used to reduce coupling with twisted pairs in adjacent cables is to increase the rate of twist between the conductors in the twisted pairs. However, by increasing the rate of twisting, the amounts of material used is greater per unit of distance, thus increasing the weight of the twisted pair, and the cable as well, and also leading to a greater amount of conductor losses in the signal due to the additional distance needed to be traversed.
A second method for addressing the condition of coupling with unshielded twisted pairs in adjacent cables is to simply increase the distance between them. In the prior art, this is done simply by increasing the thickness of the jacket. However, this presents a number of additional problems, all of which render the cable unfit.
For example, the additional material used for the jacket requires that more material be used. This additional material adds construction cost, adds weight to the final cable and also adds more fuel in the case of a fire, thus reducing or eliminating the ability of the cable to meet the required fire safety standards.
In addition to these basic physical constraints to simply adding more material to the jacket in order to prevent coupling with unshielded twisted pairs in adjacent cables, another drawback is that it will increase the amount of dielectric loss. This is particularly true with cables that include twisted pairs surrounded by a PVC jacket which is widely used for cable jacketing because of its low cost and fire resistant properties. Although PVC is commonly used for the above reasons, its poor dielectric properties also lead to increased loss in the unshielded twisted pairs. Thus, this condition is exacerbated when the jacket is made even thicker.
Another prior art solution was to place the jacket of the cable onto the twisted pairs in a loose fitting arrangement. Such a design, both increases the distance between the twisted pairs and outside interference sources and also reduces the amount of capacitive coupling, both of which are accomplished while maintaining the same amount of jacket material. However, this solution is inadequate because the loose fitting arrangement of the jacket allows the internal twisted pairs to vary their proximity to the jacket along the distance of the cable. This causes impedance variations along the length of cable as the internal twisted pairs move into and out of contact with the jacket.
Yet another solution, such as that proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,046, proposes an arrangement to add striations to the internal diameter of the jacket in order to generate a continuous and evenly spaced gap between the unshielded twisted pairs in the center and the bulk of the outer jacket. However, this design may suffer from a few drawbacks. First, by adding the striations, additional material is again included, adding weight, cost and reduced efficiency in meeting fire safety standards. Additionally, because the striations include a significant amount of material in and of themselves, having numerous contact points with the twisted pairs, there is still a significant amount of dielectric loss caused by the jacket.
In spite of past attempts to solve the problem of reducing coupling between unshielded twisted pairs in adjacent cables, there is still no low cost, light weight solution that also meets the necessary fire safety standards.

Unsheilded twisted pair cable and method for manufacturing the same


An antenna system includes a ground plane, a microstrip-line coupler, a metal cover, and a main antenna. The microstrip-line coupler has a first input port, a second input port, a first output port, and a second output port. The metal cover is disposed above the microstrip-line coupler and coupled to the ground plane. The main antenna is coupled to the first output port and the second output port of the microstrip-line coupler. The metal cover is configured to reduce the interference from the microstrip-line coupler and to enhance the gain of the main antenna.

Field of the Invention
The subject application generally relates to an antenna system, and more specifically, relates to an antenna system for use in a mobile communication device.
Description of the Related Art
In a communication system, if a transmission antenna and a reception antenna have different polarization directions, the transmission efficiency may be negatively affected very much. For example, if the transmission antenna is horizontally-polarized, the reception antenna should be also horizontally-polarized to achieve the maximum transmission efficiency. Otherwise, a vertically-polarized reception antenna may not receive any horizontally-polarized signal at all. Also, if the transmission antenna is RHCP (Right-Hand Circularly-Polarized), the reception antenna should be also RHCP to achieve the maximum transmission efficiency. Otherwise, an LHCP (Left-Hand Circularly-Polarized) reception antenna may not receive any RHCP signal at all.
When the communication system is applied to video streaming, gaming or data transfer, the transmission data should be compressed due to there being no sufficient transmission bandwidth. However, the compressed data have some disadvantages, for example, distortion, low quality, transmission delay, and package loss, etc. For uncompressed video transmission at low frequency (e.g., 5 GHz), such as through WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface), it requires at least four antennas to transmit a 1080P video. This design is too large to be used in a cellular phone. Accordingly, how to design a small antenna with adjustable polarization is a critical challenge for current antenna designers.

Small-size antenna system with adjustable polarization


There is described herein, a method for inducing Tc22 lineage T cells from a population of CD8+ T cells, the method comprising: a) providing a population of CD8+ T cells; b) activating the population; and c) culturing or contacting the population of CD8+ T cells with Coenzyme A.

Metabolic programming is a central regulator of T cell activation, effector function and differentiation. Upon activation, T cells engage in aerobic glycolysis and increase their rate of glycolysis and lactate production disproportionately to the increase in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS)1-4 Adoption of this highly glycolytic phenotype supports effector function, as cytokine production is coupled to the flux of glucose down the glycolytic pathway5-7. Metabolic pathways also control the differentiation of CD8+ memory cells as wells as the commitment of CD4+ cells to specific subset lineages8-14.

Anti-cancer T cells and their preparation using coenzyme A


A storage assembly for positioning between vehicle seats, includes an enclosable compartment that has opposing longitudinal sidewalls and opposing lateral sidewalls that are connected to the opposing longitudinal sidewalls to define an interior volume. A plurality of retention features are spaced along an upper edge of the opposing longitudinal sidewalls and the opposing lateral sidewalls. A hanging storage module has a rigid panel suspended in the interior volume and a pair of support elements protrudes horizontally from opposing ends of the rigid panel to removably engage a corresponding pair of the plurality of retention features on a select one of the opposing longitudinal sidewalls and the opposing longitudinal sidewalls. The rigid panel has a side portion configured to vertically hold at least one object.

It is common for vehicles to incorporate storage compartments throughout the interior of the vehicle for retaining objects and other devices, such as, portable electronic devices, writing instruments, and other personal items. Frequently, these storage compartments become cluttered and unorganized due to their incompatibility with the size and orientation of the stored objects. For instance, storage compartments with relatively large interior volumes may more easily accommodate larger objects, but these larger compartments may also be less adapted for the organized storage of smaller objects. Likewise, having a number of smaller storage compartments adapted for smaller objects may be difficult to account for stored items in the various enclosed areas. Also, as vehicle occupants increasingly carry and rely upon more portable electronic devices, it is desirable to accommodate the storage and organization of these devices along with other objects. The organization of storage space within vehicles is increasingly desired, as storage space within vehicles is becoming more limited as the overall size of vehicles continues to decrease.

Storage assembly for vehicle center console


An isolated extract of deer velvet which contains components which have molecular weights that are substantially are less than or equal to 10 kDa and which have a proliferative effect on endothelial cells and/or promote angiogenesis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a deer antler extract. In particular, the present invention relates to angiogenic extracts obtained from deer antler velvet, and compositions containing said extracts for use in the treatment of wounds, injuries and diseases in human and animal medical practice.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wounds, in particular persistent wounds, which are difficult to heal, require a blood supply that can nourish the wound and mediate the healing process and minimize scar formation. Generally, most commonly used therapies for treating persistent wounds do not assist the wound to provide its own blood supply and therefore the healing process is slow.
Various therapies for the treatment of chronic wounds exist, however, the use of compression bandages still appears to be a common treatment (Marshall et al., 2001). Other therapies are available and some natural therapies have been proposed that work through mechanisms involving regulation of oxygen tension, and thus support hyperbaric oxygen treatments (Sen et al., 2002).
The healing of wounds by increasing angiogenesis (the process of vascularisation of tissues) is apparent with some proposed therapies. In a recent study adenosine appears to have increased the rate at which wounds healed by acting as an adenosine A(2A) receptor agonist (Montesinos et al., 2002). This resulted in increased numbers of micro vessels in the treated wounds. Increased angiogenesis is a likely mechanism underlining the improved healing shown in this paper.
The well known classical angiogenic growth factor Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) has been shown to cause angiogenesis and enhanced wound healing, when delivered by gene therapy to ensure local sustained delivery (Deodato et al., 2002). Malinda et al. (1998) have found that Thymosin α1 stimulates endothelial cell migration, angiogenesis, and wound healing, also confirming it as a potential wound healing agent.
Deer antlers are cast and regenerate annually. The antler grows at up to 2 cm a day during its growth phase, during which time it is termed 'velvet antler'. The growth is driven by a population of stem cells found in mesenchymal tissue at the tip of the antler (Li et al., 2002). Velvet antler is highly vascularised and blood vessels within the antler must grow at the same rate as the antler to support antler growth. We have identified this system as a potential source of angiogenic factors that will support wound healing processes.
There is one paper that suggests that the healing or regenerating pedicle, which they called the blastema, may have angiogenic potential (Auerbach et al., 1976). This paper involved the author screening a variety of tissues including antler blastema with the aim of showing that some tissues contained angiogenic potential. Importantly however, this paper did not contain any data showing actual angiogenic or wound healing activity. Blastema referred to the healing tissue which appears once the antler has cast, and is different from the more mature growing antler which the inventors have studied and outline in this specification.
There are no published reports of growing deer velvet antler being investigated in relation to its angiogenic effects. The inventors have found that total protein extracts of growing velvet do contain angiogenic factors.
The research outlined in this specification shows that extracts of deer velvet which contain these angiogenic factors are extracted from throughout the antler and are not just concentrated within the growing antler tip.
The inventors have prepared a composition of isolated peptides extracted from deer velvet antler which has an angiogenic effect and can be used to heal wounds.
The inventors fractionated velvet to assess the angiogenic potential. As part of the fractionation process they investigated high and low molecular weight fractions of velvet, and were surprised to find that the low molecular weight fraction had good activity. This was an encouraging result as smaller molecules are more likely to be stable and not degrade so rapidly within a wound.
Based on their molecular weights, most classical angiogenic growth factors would be expected to be found in the high molecular weight fraction, one exception to this rule would be the Thymosin family of peptides.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
It is acknowledged that the term 'comprise' may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term 'comprise' shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term 'comprised' or 'comprising' is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

Deer antler extract for promoting angiogenesis

Velvet Antler Research New Zealand Limited (VARNZ)


A signal processor for processing multiple satellite signals is disclosed. The signal processor includes multiple acquisition channels operable for capturing tracking information from a first plurality of satellite signals synchronously according to multiple correlations between multiple reference coarse acquisition (C/A) codes and the first plurality of satellite signals. The signal processor further includes multiple code generators coupled to the acquisition channels and operable for generating the reference C/A codes to the acquisition channels.

Generally, a satellite navigation system such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver can be used to receive satellite signals from various satellites and to process the satellite signals. A base-band signal processor included in the satellite navigation system can capture tracking information from available satellite signals and track the corresponding satellites according to the tracking information. FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a satellite navigation system 100 with a conventional base-band signal processor. As shown in FIG. 1, the satellite navigation system 100 includes a radio frequency (RF) front end 104 for receiving satellite signals from various satellites via an antenna 102 and for converting the frequency of the satellite signals from a RF to an intermediate frequency. An analog-to-digital converter 106 can digitize the satellite signals at a predetermined sampling frequency and generate a digital satellite signal, which can be also called a base-band signal, to an acquisition module 130 in a base-band signal processor 120. The acquisition module 130 can include multiple acquisition channels to capture tracking information from the base-band signal. A tracking module 150 including multiple tracking channels can receive the tracking information from the acquisition module 130, track the corresponding satellites according to the tracking information and output navigation information. A navigation data calculator 108 and a position calculator 110 can calculate a position of the satellite navigation system 100 according to navigation information from the tracking module 150.
In the base-band signal processor 120, the acquisition channels and the tracking channels may share a single code generator 140 which can generate local carrier codes and coarse acquisition (C/A) codes used in the satellite signals. The code generator 140 may work with only one acquisition channel or only one tracking channel at a certain time. Since each of the acquisition channels and each of the tracking channels require a code generator during operation, the acquisition channels and the tracking channels may not operate synchronously. Furthermore, a set of satellites are fixed to each of the acquisition channels, and each acquisition channel captures tracking information from the satellite signals output from the fixed set of the satellites. Also, the satellite tracked by each of the tracking channels is fixed and may not be adjusted during the operation of the satellite navigation system 100, which may further decrease the system efficiency and flexibility.

Navigation system with a signal processor


A network comprises a communication device having network communication interfaces and a data processing node having network communication ports. The communication device includes a first and a second interface communicatively coupled to a first and a second port of the data processing node respectively. The first interface is selected as a primary interface for the transmission of network traffic to destinations across the network. The second interface is selected as a backup interface which is to be selected for the transmission of the network traffic in the case of a need to failover to the backup interface. Network traffic from the communication device is transmitted via the first interface while the first interface is selected as the primary interface. At least one data message is transmitted from the communication device via the second interface, while the first interface is selected as the primary interface.

Computer networks interconnect network nodes so that the nodes can communicate with each other. In some cases, network nodes may be directly connected to each other. In other cases, network nodes may be connected via one or more intermediate network nodes.
As the size and complexity of the network grows, the number of possible communication paths between any two network nodes can also increase. In such cases, network traffic is not always necessarily communicated via a preferred communication path between the two network nodes. In some cases, network traffic can be routed via a relatively indirect communication path even when there is a relatively direct communication path between two network nodes.
In telephony networks, the sending of telephony traffic via a relatively indirect communication path including a remote switch when it could be sent more directly is sometimes referred to as "tromboning." Tromboning is generally undesirable, because it tends to use more bandwidth, which requires higher-capacity links and switching hardware and can lead to increased costs in setting up and running the network. It can also make the network less predictable and harder to specify and troubleshoot. In such cases, it would be preferable to be able to send the traffic via the preferred, relatively direct communication path.
It would be desirable to provide improved methods and apparatuses for transmitting and forwarding data in a network.


A semiconductor memory device having an externally controllable input and output mode is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes a first and second plurality of pads and an input and output mode set circuit electrically connected to the first plurality of pads and the second plurality of pads, for generating a plurality of input and output mode signals. The input and output mode set circuit cuts off signals received from the first plurality of pads, controls the level of each of the input and output mode signals to be at either a logic high level and a logic low level, and sets the input and output mode when a voltage higher than the supply voltage of the semiconductor memory device is applied to one of the second plurality of pads in a test mode. The high voltage is not applied to the second plurality of pads and the input and output mode set circuit controls the level of the input and output mode signals to be at either a logic high level or a logic low level, and thus sets the semiconductor memory device to have one input and output mode responsive to signals received from the plurality of pads, during a normal operation. Accordingly, it is possible to externally change the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory device having externally controllable data input and output mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semiconductor memory device includes storage elements. A user can write data into or read data out from these storage elements. That is, a user can input or output data to and from the memory device. A plurality of data items can be simultaneously input and output. The number of data items simultaneously input to and output from the memory device depends on the input and output mode set by the manufacturer during manufacturing. For example, the manufacturer can set the input and output mode to ×4, ×8, and ×16. When the input and output mode is set to ×4, the number of data items simultaneously input to and output from the memory is 4. When the input and output mode is set to ×8, the number of data items simultaneously input to and output from the memory is 8. When the input and output mode is set to ×16, the number of data items simultaneously input to and output from the memory is 16. The input and output mode for a given memory device is set when the semiconductor memory device is designed. An input and output mode controlling circuit sets the input and output mode.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of the input and output mode controlling circuit included in a conventional semiconductor memory device. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional input and output mode controlling circuit 101 includes a first input and output mode setting unit 111 and a second input and output mode setting unit 112. The first input and output mode setting unit 111 sets the mode to ×16. The second input and output mode setting unit 112 sets the mode to ×4. When a signal P16 is at a logic high level, the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device 101 is set to ×16. When a signal P4 is at the logic high level, the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device 101 is set to ×4. When the signals P4 and P16 are both at logic low levels, the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device 101 is set to ×8. The signals P4 and P16 are never both simultaneously at logic high levels.
The first input and output mode setting unit 111 includes a pad 121, an NMOS transistor 131, a PMOS transistor 141, and inverters 151 through 153. The second input and output mode setting unit 112 includes a pad 122, an NMOS transistor 132, a PMOS transistor 142, and inverters 154 through 156. When the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device 101 is to be set to be ×16, the pad 121 is grounded. When the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device is set to be ×4, the pad 122 is grounded. The NMOS transistors 131 and 132, and the PMOS transistors 141 and 142, are always turned on by providing a supply voltage Vcc to the semiconductor memory device 101. The PMOS transistors 141 and 142 are smaller than the NMOS transistors 131 and 132.
When the pad 121 is grounded, the voltage level of node N1 is decreased to the level of a ground voltage GND. Accordingly, the signal P16 is at the logic high level. When the pad 121 floats, the voltage level of the node N1 is increased to the level of the supply voltage Vcc. Accordingly, the signal P16 is at the logic low level. When the pad 121 floats and the pad 122 is grounded, the voltage level of the node N2 is decreased to the level of the ground voltage GND. Accordingly, the signal P4 is at the logic high level. When the pad 122 floats, the voltage level of the node N2 is increased to the level of the supply voltage Vcc. Accordingly, the signal P4 is at the logic low level. When the pads 121 and 122 both float, the signals P4 and P16 are at the logic low level. Namely, the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device is set to ×8.
In the conventional semiconductor memory device 101, the input and output mode cannot be changed after the device is packaged. The fixed input and output mode leads to the following problems. First, productivity is lowered because the semiconductor memory device must be tested in each input and output mode. Second, test efficiency is reduced because the driving capability depends on the input and output mode of the semiconductor memory device. Third, since specifications are classified during the evaluation of the semiconductor memory device, it is difficult to completely characterize the semiconductor memory device in each input and output mode.

Semiconductor memory device having externally controllable data input and output mode


A filter having a high transmittance. The filter includes a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, and a periodic or random array of through-holes formed so as to pass through the first surface and the second surface. The through-hole has a size of subwavelength at a range of infrared and terahertz wave. Here, transmission resonance characteristic of incident light on the first surface is controlled by a shape of the through-hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic wave filter at terahertz or infrared region using shape resonance and surface plasmon resonance in through-holes formed on a metallic layer and having various structures of periodic or random arrays.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, in-depth research has been performed in order to improve transmission characteristics at visible light regions through surface plasmon on a metallic layer having a periodic through-hole array structure. In this structure, incident light transmits efficiently a through-hole having a size much smaller than half the wavelength.
In the recent years, study on these transmission characteristics has been expanded into infrared, terahertz and microwave regions. It has been known that the transmission resonance at these regions is closely related to not only surface wave on a metallic layer but a through-hole shape constituting a periodic structure. In practice, however, it is necessary to provide more comprehensive understanding as to how the resonance due to a through-hole shape is related to transmission characteristics, and how the transmission due to the shape resonance is characterized.

Terahertz or infrared filter using shape resonance

Seoul National University Industry Foundation


A process for crystallizing a polyester polymer by introducing a molten polyester polymer, such as a polyethylene terephthalate polymer, into a liquid medium at a liquid medium temperature greater than the Tg of the polyester polymer, such as at a temperature ranging from 100° C. to 190° C., and allowing the molten polyester polymer to reside in the liquid medium for a time sufficient to crystallize the polymer under a pressure equal to or greater than the vapor pressure of the liquid medium. A process flow, underwater cutting process, crystallization in a pipe, and a separator are also described.

At the beginning of the solid-stating process, PET pellets are crystallized usually with hot air or in mechanically-mixed, hot-oil-heated vessel. Building molecular weight in the solid-state requires extensive crystallization and/or annealing so that pellets will not stick as they enter the solid-stating reactor at typically 195 to 220° C. Polyester (or copolyester) pellets are generally supplied to converters in a semi-crystalline form. Converters desire to process semi-crystalline pellets rather than amorphous pellets because the semi-crystalline pellets can be dried at higher temperatures without agglomerating. Drying the pellets immediately prior to extrusion of the melt to make bottle performs is necessary to prevent hydrolytic degradation and loss of intrinsic viscosity (It.V.) of the melt inside the extruder. However, drying amorphous polyester pellets at or above the Tg of PET without first crystallizing the pellets will cause the pellets to agglomerate at higher temperatures (140° C. to 180° C.) in the dryers. Feeding amorphous pellets to an extruder will cause the screw to be wrapped as the pellets become hot enough to crystallize in the extrusion zone.
From the pellet manufacturing side, a typical commercial process involves forming the polyester polymer via melt phase polymerizing up to an It.V. ranging from about 0.5 to 0.70, extruding the melt into strands, quenching the strands, cutting the cooled polymer strands into solid amorphous pellets, heating the solid pellets to above their Tg and then crystallizing (also known as crystallization from the glass since the pellets to be crystallized start at a temperature below their Tg), and then heating the pellets in the solid state to an even higher temperature while under nitrogen purge (or vacuum) in order to continue to build molecular weight or It.V. (i.e. solid stating). The solid stating process runs hot enough to make it necessary to first crystallize the pellets to prevent agglomeration at the solid stating temperatures. Thus, crystallization is necessary to avoid agglomeration of the pellets during solid stating and during the drying step prior to extruding the melt into bottle performs.
Typical melt phase polyester reactors produce only amorphous pellets. To make these pellets crystalline, they are usually heated to elevated temperatures in a crystallization vessel while being constantly stirred using paddles or other mechanical rotary mixing means in order to prevent sticking or clumping in the crystallization vessel. The crystallizer is nothing more that a heated vessel with a series of paddles or agitator blades to keep the pellets stirred (e.g. Hosakawa Bepex Horizontal Paddle Dryer). Rotary mixing means suffer the disadvantage of requiring additional energy for mechanical rotational movement, and rotational mechanical agitation required to keep the pellets from sticking can also cause chipping and other damage to the pellets, leading to dust generation or the presence of "fines" in the crystallizer and product. These small pieces of chipped off plastic can often cause extrusion problems if not properly removed.
Alternately, a crystallizer can consist of injecting hot gas into a vessel known as a hot, fluidized mixed bed, mostly containing already crystallized pellets which prevents the amorphous pellets being fed to the vessel from sticking to one another (e.g. a Buhler precrystallizer spout bed unit). Such commercial processes utilize the "thermal" crystallization technique by employing a hot gas, such as steam, air, or nitrogen as the heating medium. The residence time in hot fluidized mixed bed processes is up to six hours. These processes also suffer the disadvantage in that large quantities of gas are required, requiring large blowers and making the processes energy intensive.
Each of these crystallization processes is rather slow and energy-intensive. Crystallization processes can take up to six hours, require energy to turn mechanical rotary mixing means in some cases, have high energy requirements to process hot gases or oil, and the pellets are usually cooled from the pelletizer to about 25 to 35° C. after which they are reheated prior to and during crystallization. Moreover, crystallization vessels are fed with low It.V. pellets suitable, which in turn are solid stated into higher It.V. pellets required for making a suitable bottle. It would be desirable to crystallize polyester polymers in a more energy efficient manner or in lower cost equipment. For example, it would be desirable to reduce the residence time of the polyester polymer in the crystallizer, or provide a process which avoids the energy requirements of mechanical rotary mixing means or of cooling and reheating between pelletization and crystallization, or which even could avoid the step of solid stating altogether, while providing to the converter a high temperature crystallized pellet to enable the converter to dry the pellets at conventional temperatures (typically at 140° C. to 180° C.). Obtaining any one of these advantages would be desirable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Thermal crystallization of a molten polyester polymer in a fluid


Magnetic resonance imaging hardware (A) defines a patient receiving region (20) that is surrounded by a bore liner (22). A socket (50) is mounted in the bore liner with an appropriate receptacle for receiving a standard plug (52) of a conventional pulse oximetry system. Conventional pulse oximetry systems include a sensor unit (54) connected with a cable (56) having the plug (52) at one end thereof. A notch filter (62) attenuates currents near the resonance frequency of the imager. A preamplifier (60) amplifies signals from the sensor unit. Within the shielding (66) of the preamplifier, a low pass filter (68) is provided to remove induced radio frequency components from the preamplified sensor unit signal. A radio frequency filter (70) mounted at the shield of the shielded room (B) prevents radio frequency signals from reaching an exterior processing and display unit (E) and prevents radio frequency signals from a clock (72) of the processing and display unit from being conveyed into the shielded room (B). The processing and display unit processes the signal received from the preamplifier to generate a pulse rate display (78) and a blood oxygen concentration display (80).

The present application is directed to the art of monitoring physiological conditions within a high magnetic field environment. The present invention finds particular application in conjunction with pulse oximetry measurements within the bore of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and will be described with particular reference thereto. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention will also find application in conjunction with the measurement of other physiological conditions within MRI equipment or other equipment with strong, changing, magnetic fields.
During a diagnostic examination, physicians often want to monitor various physiological conditions. Among these conditions are the patient's pulse rate and blood oxygen content. Pulse oximetry equipment is commonly available off-the-shelf for measuring a patient's pulse and blood oxygen content. Typically, a pulse oximetry system includes a visible red and an infrared light source, such as a pair of light emitting diodes. The light sources and a light sensor are mounted in a sensor unit that is attached to the patient such that the light passes through a portion of the patient before reaching the light sensor. The amount of blood oxygen is readily determinable from the difference in the absorption of these two wavelengths of light.
Typically, a cable extends from the sensor unit to a processing and display unit. The processing and display unit provides electrical power along the cable for the light emitting diodes and the sensor. This unit further receives signals from the sensor and performs an appropriate analysis to determine the patient's blood oxygen content and pulse rate.
It has been proposed to clip the pulse oximeter sensor unit to a patient before placement in the bore of a magnetic resonance imager and position the processing and display unit adjacent the exterior of the bore where its display can be viewed by the doctor or attendant. However, this has several drawbacks. First, the processing and display units typically have an internal clock, e.g. a microprocessor clock, which has harmonics at or near the resonance frequencies of a magnetic resonance imager. An 0.5 Tesla MRI machine has about a 21 MHz resonance frequency; a 1.0 Tesla MRI machine has about a 42 MHz resonance frequency; and a 1.5 Tesla MRI machine has about a 64 MHz resonance frequency. The processing and display unit and the lead running to the sensor unit tend to broadcast radio frequency signals of the microprocessor clock frequency and its harmonics into the bore of the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus. These radio frequency signals interfere with the proper operation of the magnetic resonance imager, degrading the resultant images.
Second, the electrical leads extending from the processor and display unit to the sensor unit act as the secondary or pick-up coil when subject to the changing magnetic fields of the magnetic resonance imager. That is, the changing magnetic fields in the bore tend to induce like currents in the electrical leads extending between the sensor unit and the processing and display unit. These radio frequency currents in the lead can interfere with the proper processing of the pulse oximetry signals and even damage the processor and display unit. Yet more dangerous, these same induced RF currents can cause excessive electrical inductive and resistance heating, particularly adjacent the sensor unit. This can cause RF burns on the patient.
With these problems in mind, others have produced a pulse oximetry unit in which the sensor unit is connected with the processor and display unit by fiber optic cables. Because there are no electrical cables extending through the magnetic resonance imager bore, there is no possibility of RF burns to the patient or RF induced noise in the signal conveyed to the processor and display unit. However, the fiber optic leads tend to be relatively delicate and easily broken. Once damaged, the cost of repair is very high. Further, the fiber optic systems normally require different clips for patients of different size, particularly separate adult and pediatric clips or sensor units. Individual sensor units are again very expensive.
Another solution is to encase the sensor unit in a shielded mit. The mit and the cable are surrounded with a grounded shield. This system prevents RF currents from being induced on the conductors connecting the sensor unit with the processing and display unit, eliminating the interference which such RF currents can cause with both the signals coming to the processing unit and the signals going to the sensing unit. However, the RF magnetic fields can induce RF currents in the shielding which RF currents can still cause RF burns to the patient.
The present invention provides a new and improved combination MRI imaging apparatus and pulse oximetry system which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.


There is disclosed a dielectric filter, comprising: a dielectric block; a plurality of inner conductor formed holes provided in the dielectric block; inner conductors provided on the inner walls of the inner conductor formed holes; and outer conductor provided on the outer surface of the dielectric block so as to have one opening-face as an open-face of the inner conductor formed holes, and have the other opening-face thereof as a short-circuiting-face; wherein the sectional shape of the inner conductor formed holes are substantially constant in the range from the open-face to the short-circuiting-face, and a step is provided in the intermediate portion of the center axis of at least one inner conductor formed hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dielectric filter and a dielectric duplexer, each having inner conductor formed holes provided inside of a dielectric block, and an outer conductor provided on the outer surface of the block, and a communication apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional dielectric filter using a substantially parallelepiped-shaped dielectric block is formed in which plural inner conductor formed holes having inner conductors on the inner walls thereof are provided, and an outer conductor is provided on the outer surface of the dielectric block. Referring to a dielectric filter of which one end-face functions as an open-face, and the other opposite-end face does as a short-circuiting face, if two adjacent inner conductor formed holes are straight holes having the same inner diameters and straight-line center axes, the resonance frequencies of the even mode and the odd mode between the two resonators composed of the two adjacent inner conductors and the outer conductor become coincident with each other, coupling between the resonators can not be attained.
In order to couple the adjacent two resonators, conventionally, the following methods have been employed.
(1) The resonators are given a step impedance structure by making different the inner diameters on the open-face side and the short-circuiting side of the inner conductor-formed holes, respectively.
(2) The impedances on the open-face side and on the short-circuiting side of the resonators are made different from each other by providing a slit or step for a part of the dielectric block.
(3) An electrode pattern for coupling the resonators is formed on the open-face of the dielectric block.
The above-described conventional dielectric resonators have the following problems to be solved, respectively. In the case of the structure in which inner conductors are formed on the inner walls of inner conductor formed holes, the unloaded Q (Qo) of each resonator is considerably changed with the inner diameter of the inner conductor formed hole. When the ratio of the thickness of a dielectric block to the inner diameter of the inner conductor formed hole is varied, the unloaded Qo has a maximum at a value of the ratio. Whether the ratio is increased or decreased, the Qo is reduced. Therefore, in the case where the inner diameter of the inner conductor formed hole is made different on the open-face side and the short-circuiting-face side, as described in (1), the inner diameter of the inner conductor formed hole can not be optimized in such a manner that the Qo has a maximum, for the whole of the inner conductor formed hole.
When a distorted portion such as a slit, a step, or the like, as described in (2), a concentration area is generated in the current distribution of the inner conductors and the outer conductor, so that the Qo of each resonator is deteriorated.
Further, in the case of the structure in which an electrode pattern is provided on the open-face of an dielectric block, the coupling coefficient as described in (3), the dimensional precision of the electrode printed pattern determines the coupling coefficient between resonators. Accordingly, there arises the problem that a high accuracy is required, and the production is complicated.
To overcome the above described problems, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a dielectric filter in which no deterioration of the Qo, is caused by deforming the outer shape and size of the dielectric block, the Qo of a resonator is optimized, and the adjustment of coupling can be easily performed.
One preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a dielectric filter, comprising: a dielectric block; a plurality of inner conductor formed holes provided in the dielectric block; inner conductors provided on the inner walls of the inner conductor formed holes; and outer conductor provided on the outer surface of the dielectric block so as to have one opening-face as an open-face of the inner conductor formed holes, and have the other opening-face thereof as a short-circuiting-face; wherein the sectional shape of the inner conductor formed holes are substantially constant in the range from the open-face to the short-circuiting-face, and a step is provided in the intermediate portion of the center axis of at least one inner conductor formed hole.
Another preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a dielectric filter, comprising: a dielectric block; a plurality of inner conductor formed holes provided in the dielectric block; inner conductors provided on the inner walls of the inner conductor formed holes so as to have open-ends on the inner walls of the holes; and outer conductor provided on the outer surface of the dielectric block; wherein the sectional shape of the inner conductor formed holes are substantially constant in the range from one opening-face of the holes to the other opening-face, respectively, and a step is provided in the intermediate portion of the center axis of at least one inner conductor formed hole.
In the above described dielectric filter, each of the inner conductor formed holes may have a square cross section.
According to the above described structure and arrangement, no deterioration of the Qo, caused by deforming the outer-shape of a dielectric block, occurs, the Qo of a resonator can be optimized, and the coupling can be easily adjusted.
Preferably, the ratio d/D is 0.2-0.4 where D represents the width in the short side direction of the dielectric block, and d represents the width of the inner conductor formed hole.
According to the above arrangement, the Qo can be easily optimized by relatively determining the inner diameter of an inner conductor formed hole based on the outer-shape of the dielectric block.
Further, the position of the step may be nearer to one opening-face with respect to the center in the longitudinal direction of the inner conductor formed hole, and the interval between the center axis of the inner conductor formed hole ranging from the step to the other opening-face of the inner conductor formed hole and the center axis of an inner conductor formed hole adjacent to the inner conductor formed hole may be substantially two times the interval between each center axis and the corresponding outer conductor.
According to the above described arrangement, a bias in a current flowing through the outer conductor and the inner conductor can be reduced, and the reduction of the Qo can be inhibited. The ratio of the inner diameter of the inner conductor formed hole based on the outer shape of the dielectric block can be optimized not only in the thickness direction of the dielectric block but also in the direction in which the resonators are arranged, and therefore, the Qo can be further optimized.
Yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a dielectric duplexer comprising the plurality of the dielectric filters described above, the dielectric filters being formed in the single dielectric block.
Yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a communication apparatus including the dielectric filter or the dielectric duplexer described above.
According to the above arrangement, a communication apparatus of which the loss in a high frequency circuit section is small can be formed without the size being enlarged as a whole.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.

Dielectric filter dielectric duplexer and communication apparatus


The present invention provides an adjustment method for a position detection apparatus which comprises an optical system including first and second optical members whose positions can be changed, and detects a position of an object, comprising the steps of calculating a value representing an asymmetry of a detection signal of a light which enters a photoelectric conversion device via the optical system, for each of a plurality of positions of the first optical member in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the optical system, specifying a position of the object in the direction of the optical axis, at which the value is insensitive, for each of the plurality of positions, and adjusting a position of the second optical member in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis based on the value at the position of the object specified in the specifying step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustment method for a position detection apparatus, an exposure apparatus, and a device fabrication method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A projection exposure apparatus which projects and transfers a circuit pattern formed on a reticle (mask) onto, for example, a wafer via a projection optical system has conventionally been employed to fabricate a semiconductor device using photolithography.
Along with the micropatterning of semiconductor devices, the projection exposure apparatus is required to transfer a reticle pattern onto a wafer by exposure with a higher resolving power. A minimum line width (resolution) that the projection exposure apparatus can transfer is proportional to the wavelength of exposure light and is inversely proportional to the numerical aperture (NA) of the projection optical system. In view of this, the wavelength of the exposure light is shortening and the NA of the projection optical system is increasing.
An exposure light source has currently shifted from a superhigh pressure mercury lamp (i-line (wavelength: about 365 nm)) to a KrF excimer laser (wavelength: about 248 nm) and an ArF excimer laser (wavelength: about 193 nm), and the practical application of even an F2 laser (wavelength: about 157 nm) is in progress. Moreover, the adoption of EUV (Extreme Ultra Violet) light with a wavelength of about 10 nm to 15 nm is expected.
There has also been proposed immersion exposure that aims at increasing the NA of the projection optical system by filling at least part of the space between the projection optical system and the wafer with a liquid (e.g., a liquid with a refractive index higher than 1). The immersion exposure improves the resolution by increasing the NA of the projection optical system on the wafer side.
Along with such an improvement in resolution, the projection exposure apparatus is also required to improve the overlay accuracy, that is, the accuracy of overlaying several patterns on the wafer. In general, the overlay accuracy must be about ⅕ the resolution. Along with the micropatterning of semiconductor devices, it is increasingly becoming important to improve the overlay accuracy. To obtain a desired overlay accuracy, it is necessary to align the reticle and wafer with high accuracy. For this purpose, the projection exposure apparatus includes a plurality of alignment detection systems (i.e., position detection apparatuses).
Wafer alignment detection systems are roughly classified into two types, that is, the off-axis detection system and the TTL-AA (Through the Lens Auto Alignment) detection system. The off-axis detection system detects an alignment mark on the wafer without using a projection optical system. The TTL-AA detection system detects an alignment mark on the wafer with the alignment wavelength of non-exposure light via a projection optical system.
In recent years, the semiconductor device production mode is shifting from low-variety, high-volume production to high-variety, low-volume production. Along with this trend, an alignment detection system which can minimize detection errors in wafer processes under various conditions (with regard to, e.g., the material, thickness, film thickness, and line width) is demanded. For example, when the alignment detection system includes a TIS (Tool Induced Shift), it generates detection errors even when it detects an alignment mark with a symmetrical stepped structure. Detection errors are generated due to aberrations (in particular, coma aberration due to decentering) which cause TISs and remain in the optical system of the alignment detection system, and the tilt (optical axis shift) of the optical axis of this optical system. To provide an alignment detection system which can minimize detection errors in wafer processes under various conditions, it is necessary to reduce coma aberration and an optical axis shift of the optical system of the alignment detection system.
Under the circumstances, an adjustment method for an alignment detection system has been proposed, which reduces an optical axis shift by moving an optical member of the alignment detection system (adjusting the optical center of gravity) so that an asymmetrical waveform obtained upon detecting an adjustment mark becomes symmetrical. See Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-167738 for details of this technique.
However, the conventional adjustment method performs the adjustment so that coma aberration and an optical axis shift of the optical system of the alignment detection system are canceled in total, so it does not reduce coma aberration and an optical axis shift of the optical system of the alignment detection system (make them close to zero).
A waveform obtained upon detecting the adjustment mark becomes asymmetrical not only due to the influence of coma aberration but also due to the influence of an optical axis shift. In some cases, the influences of coma aberration and an optical axis shift merely cancel each other even when the optical axis shift is adjusted by moving the optical member of the alignment detection system, so the coma aberration and optical axis shift which cause detection errors, in fact, remain. Consequently, the alignment detection system adjusted by the conventional adjustment method can minimize detection errors in a wafer process under a certain condition, but cannot minimize those in wafer processes under various conditions. In other words, the detection accuracy (alignment accuracy) of the alignment detection system adjusted by the conventional adjustment method changes for each wafer process.

Adjustment method for position detection apparatus, exposure apparatus, and device fabrication method


A system involving method and apparatus for cancelling a periodic electrical interference signal from a signal of interest is disclosed. The system of the invention creates an estimate of the periodic noise component in an electrical signal by sampling the electrical signal at intervals locked to the period of the source of the electrical interference signal. The system analyzes the sampled signal to isolate periodically repeating portions of the signal characteristic of noise. The system inverts the estimate of the noise component and constructs a continuous repeating waveform which is added to the electrical signal. The system does not eliminate transient features of the signal of interest, even when those transient features have frequency components which overlap with frequencies present in the electrical interference signal.

Our world is bathed in electrical noise. Electrical noise can make it difficult to properly measure or transmit small electrical signals by causing electrical interference signals to be present along with the electrical signals of interest. Signals detected with high impedance sensors and/or processed by high gain amplifiers are particularly prone to being contaminated by electrical interference. An extremely wide range of devices used in audio, engineering, medicine and research incorporate high impedance electrical sensors. Examples include microphones, guitar pickups, skin sensors (EKG, EMG, EEG) and microelectrodes used in the neurosciences.
Electrical noise or "interference" is typically the result of the electromagnetic fields generated by electrical currents flowing in electrical or electronic circuits and equipment. Electromagnetic fields can cause interference by several mechanisms. High impedance electronic circuits and ground loops may act as antennas and pick up the electromagnetic field. In other cases poor ground lines carrying high currents can cause ground signals to develop a periodic voltage fluctuation.
Many of the most common and troublesome sources of electrical noise are periodic. The most common form of electrical interference is generated by the power mains but there are other sources. For example, the screen refresh on a computer monitor or television can generate periodic electrical interference. Electrical interference may be induced by alternating current in power supplies, lights and/or other electrical equipment. Periodic electrical interference appears as a repeating waveform superimposed on the signal of interest. The period of the interference signal is the same as the period of the source of the interference. The electrical interference signal may have a very complicated waveform. For example, the wave form of an electrical interference signal caused by power mains in North America would usually appear when viewed on an oscilloscope as a complex spike which repeats at a rate of 60 Hz.
Electrical interference is a major concern in scientific research and in the music industry since it can significantly degrade signal quality. Unfortunately, it is notoriously difficult to remove without also altering the original signal of interest imbedded in the noise. What is needed, and what is not provided in the prior art, is a good method for removing periodic electrical interference from an electrical signal without significantly affecting the electrical signal.
The most common method for removing periodic electrical interference from a signal is to pass the signal through a notch filter tuned to the fundamental frequency of the electrical interference. A notch filter is designed to remove all signal components at a specific frequency and to let all other frequencies pass without attenuation. For example, for removing electrical interference induced by the power mains in North America a notch filter tuned to 60 Hz would be used because 60 Hz is the fundamental frequency of the a.c. power supplied in North American power mains (power mains operate at a frequency of 50 Hz in many other regions). This method effectively eliminates the 60 Hz component of the electrical interference. Unfortunately, it also eliminates the 60 Hz components of the primary signal of interest which also pass through the filter. This loss of signal components, and the introduction of phase distortion, makes the use of notch filters unacceptable when precise characteristics of the signal of interest are important.
Another problem with using a simple notch filter to remove electrical interference is that a notch filter often fails to remove all of the electrical interference even if the filter is accurately tuned to the fundamental period of the electrical interference signal. This is because interference usually has significant power at various harmonics of its fundamental frequency. For example, the electrical interference induced by fluorescent lamps often has frequency components at several harmonics of 60 Hz (120 Hz, 180 Hz, 240 Hz . . . n*60 Hz). Some of these harmonics have frequencies greater than several kHz and many harmonics may have more power than the fundamental. A simple notch filter tuned to 60 Hz will only eliminate the fundamental while the harmonics continue to contaminate the signal.
Comb filters are filters which remove signal components at a fundamental frequency and also remove signal components at harmonics (i.e. integer multiples) of the fundamental frequency. In some applications comb filters may be used to eliminate electrical interference from a signal. However, comb filters will also eliminate the frequency components from the signal of interest at each of the multiple corner frequencies of the comb filter. As a result, the signal of interest is distorted.
Some have attempted to reduce the effect of notch or comb filters on a signal of interest by using notch or comb filters with very narrow notches. Notch filters produce maximal attenuation of the signal at the notch frequency (e.g. 60 Hz). However, they also attenuate frequency components which are slightly above of below the notch setting. The width of the notch refers to the range of frequencies influenced by the filter. If a very narrow notch is used then fewer frequencies in the signal of interest are affected by the filter. However, the narrower the notch, the greater the need for precise matching of the center frequency of the filter to the periodicity of the noise generator. Furthermore, narrow band filters tend to oscillate in response to transient events such as a pulse or the edge of a square wave signal.
The problem of ensuring that the center frequency of a very narrow notch filter is tuned to the frequency of a noise signal may be addressed by using adaptive filters. Adaptive filters monitor a reference signal from the source of the electrical interference (the "noise generator") and use this information to adjust the frequency of the filter to coincide with the precise frequency of the noise. Although use of a finely tuned notch filter decreases distortion of the signal of interest, distortion remains a problem. Furthermore, the need for comb filters in many applications leads to potential distortion of the signal of interest at frequencies equivalent to the fundamental and each of the harmonics of the noise generator.
Removing an electrical interference signal without affecting a signal of interest is a particular problem where the signal of interest is music or other audio signals. Musical signals normally contain a wide range of frequency components spanning the complete bandwidth of the recording system. For example, audio signals are made up of frequencies ranging roughly from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. These frequencies overlap with the 60 Hz fundamental frequency of power mains generated electrical interference as well as all harmonics of 60 Hz up to the 20 kHz upper limit of the audio signal. There are more than 300 evenly spaced harmonics across this range. A comb filter would need to have notches at each of these harmonics to remove all of an electrical interference signal having a fundamental frequency of 60 Hz. Although such a comb filter would eliminate the electrical interference signal, it would also remove all components of the audio signal with frequencies equal to 60 Hz, 120 Hz, 180 Hz . . . 19,920 Hz, and 19,980 Hz. The distortion caused by filtering these frequencies from the audio signal usually makes this approach unacceptable. Signals recorded in clinical medicine, medical research, biological research and other scientific and engineering activities also have frequency components which span the same range as the fundamental and harmonics of periodic electrical interference. Therefore, notch filters are also unacceptable for noise reduction in most of these applications.
Kobatake, Synchronous Adaptive Filter, Papers of Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, v. 19, No. 3, pp. 34-40 discloses an adaptive noise canceller for periodic interference. Kobitake notes that his system acts as a series of notch filters at harmonics of the fundamental frequency and notes that his system could cause distortion of a signal of interest at higher harmonics of the fundamental frequency of the filter.
Nakajima et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,118 describes a system and method for cancelling a periodic noise superimposed on a real signal component of an original signal. The primary problem addressed by Nakajima et al. is to cancel a relatively high frequency periodic noise signal from a signal containing a relatively very slowly varying d.c. signal. Nakajima et al. discuss applications in detecting the torque on the output shaft of a torque converter in an automotive automatic transmission.

Method and apparatus for cancelling periodic electrical interference