A method and apparatus for encoding an original image. A first error image is formed from the original image and a first predicted image. A second error image is formed from the original image and a second predicted image. The first error image is resolved into at least one lower resolution image which is encoded. An expanded image is formed based on the encoded lower resolution image, the expanded image being of the same level of resolution as the second error image. An image representative of the difference between the second error image and the expanded image is encoded at full resolution.

An important aspect of most methods for compressing sequences of digital video images is motion analysis. In typical motion analysis, a target image in a sequence of images is divided into a plurality of blocks of pixels. A target region comprising at least one pixel block is selected from the target image. The image preceding the target image is analyzed in order to locate a region of the preceding image which closely matches the target region of the target image. Block matching techniques based on mean-square-error or mean-absolute-error are typically used to locate the region of the preceding image which closely matches the target region of the target image. If no motion has occurred, the preceding and target regions will have the same coordinates within the image frame. If motion has occurred, the preceding region will be offset or translated relative to the target region by an amount which is represented by a displacement vector. This process is typically repeated for each target region in the target image, thereby yielding a displacement vector for each target region. These displacement vectors are thereafter applied to a previous reconstructed image to form a predicted image. An error image is formed from the difference (residual errors) between the target image and the predicted image. The displacement vectors and the error image are then encoded for subsequent use by a decoder in decoding the compressed digital video signal. A known motion compensation system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,478 to Golin, entitled "Method And Apparatus For Compressing And Decompressing A Digital Video Signal Using Predicted And Error Images", the contents of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Pyramidal encoding may be employed to encode error images that result from motion analysis. A pyramidal encoding system that would be suitable for encoding such error images is described in the background portion of parent application Ser. No. 07/813,884, filed Dec. 23, 1991, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. As discussed in the parent application, pyramidal encoding generally provides an effective means for encoding images. The low frequency components of an image are encoded at low resolution and higher frequency components are encoded at higher levels of resolution or at the full resolution level. Since most of the energy of the image is usually at low frequency, most of the image is encoded with relatively few bits. In such cases, full resolution encoding is needed only to sharpen up the image.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved system for encoding images, such as error images that result from motion analysis, using pyramidal encoding.

Pyramidal encoder for encoding error images


An image forming apparatus has an image forming apparatus body, a process cartridge which is provided in this image forming apparatus body so as to be mounted or demounted, a paper feeding tray adapted to be loaded with recording paper, and a small cover which is provided between the process cartridge in a mounted state and the paper feeding tray, and adapted to open or close an insertion inlet of the process cartridge, wherein a space for operating the paper feeding tray is converted into a space for mounting or demounting the process cartridge, by opening the small cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which an exchangeable unit such as a process cartridge is provided so as to be mounted or demounted.
2. Background Art
An image forming apparatus which has a mounting and demounting path for conducting mounting and demounting actions of a process cartridge provided above a paper feeding tray is disclosed in JP-A-2001-130756 and JP-A-2001-097590, for example. JP-A-2002-278188 also discloses an image forming apparatus which has a space between the process cartridge and the paper feeding tray.
Japanese Patent No. 3363756 also discloses an image forming apparatus which has a coupling member for actuating an opening/closing cover and a cartridge conveying member in association, whereby a cartridge can be conveyed in association with opening and closing actions of the opening/closing cover.

Image forming apparatus and method of mounting and demounting process cartridge


An electron beam writing data creating method for creating writing data used for electron beam lithography includes judging whether a resizing process needs to be performed to a figure cell in device pattern data by cell based design or not, the figure cell including a cell layout frame and a pattern in the cell layout frame; performing the resizing process to the figure cell based on a relationship between the cell layout frame and the pattern, and resizing quantity of the resize process in a case where the resizing process is judged as needed to be performed; creating a character pattern cutting frame from the cell layout frame; and extracting a figure in the character pattern cutting frame as a character pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electron beam writing data creating method and an electron beam writing data creating apparatus for creating writing data used in electron beam lithography.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, electron beam (EB) lithography is used to expose fine patterns incapable of being exposed in photolithography. In EB lithography, EB direct writing techniques require no mask preparation for each pattern to be exposed and have thus drawn attention as a QTAT, low-cost fine pattern exposure method. Further, the character projection (CP) method using an opening of a shape of a pattern repeatedly shot enables the number of EB shots to be reduced, thus the writing throughput is improved as compared with the conventional variable shaped beam (VSB) method. Therefore, an apparatus capable of writing by not only the VSB method but also the CP method has been developed further.
In EB direct writing by the CP method, the key factor is to extract repetitive patterns (character patterns) from the pattern data for writing.
Methods of extracting character patterns include a method of creating data obtained by removing overlaps from the pattern data for writing and extracting patterns of the same shape equal to or smaller than the maximum size of the beam (normally several μm □) and a method of extracting figure cells in device pattern data by cell based design (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-348084).
The process of extracting a character pattern is often performed at the time of data conversion. Generally, it is performed when the GDSII stream format, which is commonly used as a semiconductor device layout data format, is converted into a writing data format unique to each EB writing apparatus.
In this process, to turn figure cells into a character pattern, it is necessary to edit and modify the figure cell data before the data conversion process in order to prevent double exposure.
For example, to turn a standard cell, which is used for designing a logic device, into a character pattern, such a pattern as shown in FIG. 1 is arranged repeatedly, as shown in FIG. 2, in which the cells are arranged based on a cell layout frame. In FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 10 indicates a cell layout frame, 21 a contact hole with no overlap, and 22 a contact hole with an overlap.
As shown in FIG. 1, when there is a pattern overlapping with the cell layout frame 10, if the entire cell is used as a character pattern, it overlaps with the adjacent patterns as shown in FIG. 2. If these overlapping patterns are used as character shots and writing is done by the CP method, as the overlapping patterns are exposed twice, the accuracy of the dimensions of the patterns is degraded.
A method of extracting a character pattern automatically from the pattern data of the figure cells which can solve double exposure problem and reduce the burden of character modifying work on the user has been proposed. In this method, a character pattern cutting frame is created from a cell layout frame included in figure cells, the figures in the character pattern cutting frame are used as the character pattern, and the character pattern is allocated to the pattern to be shot by the CP method (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-268657).
For example, when the standard cells in FIG. 1 are used as characters, the figure cells to be used as the character patterns are separated into those inside the cell layout frame 10 and those outside the cell layout frame 10 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, thereby separating the figure cells into patterns overlapping with other patterns and patterns not overlapping with other patterns. This makes it possible to create data of a character pattern which can be shot by CP method so as not to overlap with adjacent patterns.
In FIGS. 3A and 3B, 22a and 22b refer to a pattern located inside the cell layout frame 10 and a pattern located outside the cell layout frame 10, respectively, in the contact holes 22 with an overlap shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3A shows a character pattern. FIG. 3B shows a non-character pattern.
However, as disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-348084, when the extracted character pattern is resized, the accuracy of the connection between the character patterns and the dimensional accuracy of connecting portion of the patterns may deteriorate.
Further, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-348084 discloses a method for solving the problem of the accuracy of connection between the character patterns, in which the figure cells to be extracted are expanded in the upper layer, and then the character pattern are extracted.
However, in this method, since the figure cells to be extracted are expanded into the upper layer cell, the figure calculation amount at the time of extracting character patterns increases. Further, since the figure cells to be extracted are expanded into the upper layer cells, the figure cells to be extracted cannot be treated as figure cells. Therefore, the cell layout frame cannot be used as a character pattern cutting frame, which makes it impossible to extract the original figure cells.

Electron beam writing data creating method and electron beam writing data creating apparatus


A roof-rack mechanism includes one or more retaining devices attached to a track, and a lock device engaged with the track and the retaining device for detachably attaching the retaining device to the track. The retaining device includes a base member, and a bracket attached to the base member and mounted on the track. The bracket includes a recess formed between two legs for engaging with the track, and the lock device is engaged with the track and the legs of the bracket. The retaining device includes two flaps engaged onto the legs of the bracket and secured to the legs and the track with the lock device. The retaining device includes a cover pivotally attached to the base member with a coupler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roof-rack mechanism for an automobile vehicle or the like, and more particularly to a roof-rack mechanism for an automobile vehicle including an improved structure or configuration for solidly and stably and safely attaching or mounting or securing or supporting various objects or loads onto the roof of the automobile vehicle or the like and for preventing the objects or loads from being hurt or damaged when carried with the automobile vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical roof-rack mechanisms or loader systems or cargo carrying or supporting structures or configurations comprise a pair of rails or racks attached or mounted or secured on top of the roof of the automobile vehicle for detachably or removably attaching or mounting or securing various objects or loads or cargo members onto the roof of the automobile vehicle, and for allowing the objects or loads or cargo members moved or carried with the automobile vehicle.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,350 to Kamaya, U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,528 to Kamaya, U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,822 to Oldak, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,500 to Neaux disclose several of the typical roof-rack mechanisms or loader systems or cargo carrying or supporting structures or configurations each also comprising a pair of rails or racks attached or mounted or secured on top of the roof of the automobile vehicle for detachably or removably attaching or mounting or securing various objects or loads or cargo members onto the roof of the automobile vehicle, and for preventing the objects or loads from falling off the automobile vehicle.
However, the rails or racks are normally attached or mounted or secured on top of the roof of the automobile vehicle and parallel to each other, but may not be used for solidly and stably and suitably attaching or mounting or securing larger objects or loads or cargo members onto the roof of the automobile vehicle, such as kayak, canoe, surfing boards or the like.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional roof-rack mechanisms.


The present invention provides a method for diagnosing or detecting Idiopathic Scoliosis, in particular AIS, as well as a method for prognosticating this disease in a human subject.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS).
Spinal deformities, scoliosis in particular, represent the most prevalent type of orthopaedic deformities in children and adolescents. Idiopathic scoliosis represents the most common form of scoliosis (70-80% of scoliosis diagnosed in adolescents are idiopathic). Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS; OMIM 181800) is a 3D deformity of the spine that causes a coronal imbalance of up to 10 degrees. It affects 2-4% of under-18 population worldwide, which makes it the most common spinal deformity in this stage (Konieczny M R, Senyurt H, Krauspe R. Epidemiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. J Child Orthop. 2013 February; 7(1):3-9). AIS affects mainly female individuals (about 85%) (Lonstein J. E. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The Lancet. 1994; 344: 1407-1412). There is a predominance of females among the severe cases, despite the ratio between men and women being 1:1 in minor curves. However, female to male ratio increases substantially with age. In particular, the prevalence of curves with higher Cobb angles (>40°) in female rises 7.2:1 (Konieczny M R, Senyurt H, Krauspe R. Epidemiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. J Child Orthop. 2013 February; 7(1):3-9). Clinically it is characterized by pain, aesthetic deformity and alterations in pulmonary functions. Genetic and Epigenetics (environmental interactions, life style, gravity, and nutrition) contribute to this disease, so the diagnostic and prognostic of AIS makes the clinical decisions a challenge (Burwell R. G., Dangerfiel P. H., Moulton, A., Grivas T. B. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), environment, exposome and epigenetics: a molecular perspective of postnatal normal spin growth and the etiopathogenesis of AIS with consideration of a network approach and possible implications for medical therapy. Scoliosis 0.2011, 6:26). Patients are aware that their life is exacerbated by many unknowns, and treatments are often ineffective, invasive, and costly. Scoliosis patients also have increased health risks (cancer, cataracts, skin reddening, etc.) due to frequent X-ray exposure (The National Scoliosis Foundation; www.scoliosis.org/info.php) (Knott, P., et al. SOSORT2012 consensus paper: reducing x-ray exposure in pediatric patients with scoliosis. Scoliosis. 2014; 9:4).
Currently, there is an AIS prognostic test commercialized by Transgenomic Inc., USA (www.scoliscore.com). This test is based on the identification of genetic mutations (53 genetic loci) which provide a long-term susceptibility to develop severe AIS. However, this product is, unfortunately, not useful for the analysis of AIS evolution, since it is based on the analysis of 53 polymorfisms in genes, and the genetic of patients do not change over time. Furthermore, the analysis offered by ScoliScore Test cannot be performed in Clinical Analysis Units in Hospitals, among other reasons, because the samples must be sent to Transgenomic laboratories. In addition, such a test does not alter treatment options avalilable (Julien C., et al. Towards a comprehensive diagnostic assay for scoliosis. Personalized Medicine 2013; 10(1), 97-103).
In order to overcome the above mentioned problems, clinicians require new diagnostic and prognostic tools for AIS to:                detect Idiopathic Scoliosis, in particular AIS, with the already existing equipment in hospitals, and with none or little specific training for health professionals/customers. Preferably, it should also facilitate early detection and treatment to provide a positive effect on long-term results (as demanded by Scoliosis Patients Europe, scolpat.eu/scoliosis/),        predict the clinical evolution of AIS patients,        schedule in a coherent way the visits to the hospital and minimize X-ray explorations,        decide the best time for initial treatment with braces and spine surgery,        monitor the positive effects of exercise that sometimes is recommended for AIS patients,        understand the myriad of factors influencing the predisposition and pathogenesis of AIS, and        it should also identified risk patients in familial cases of AIS, preparing psychologically the young patients which suffer not only of physical limitations and physiological problems but also aesthetic skeletal deformities.

Kit and method for the diagnosis/prognosis of idiopathic scoliosis

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIÓN BIOMÉDICA EN RED (CIBER)

HOSPITAL UNIVERSITARIO Y POLITÉCNICO LA FE


A rotating tenon cutter having a wooden or aluminum body and a curved cutter blade positioned adjacent to a throat having a bell mouth with a matching curve. A cylindrical tenon is formed with an attractive shoulder that curves from the tenon to the largest cross-sectional dimension of the work piece on the same radius as the cutter blade. A bubble level vial in the body indicates when the axis of rotation (and axis of the tenon to be formed) is horizontal. The cutter blade is repositionable on the body so that the bevel is appropriately presented for sharpening using a drum sander while the face or a flat side of the tenon cutter body rests on a drill press table.

Round tenons have been long and widely used in woodworking, particularly in furniture making, and most particularly in chair making. Such tenons are used for attachment of chair rungs to chair legs and for securing other furniture and chair parts. Round tenons may be provided by securing a short length of round dowel in a suitably shaped and placed hole on the part requiring a tenon. More typically however, a round tenon is formed on the part itself, which part may also be round or have a square, rectangular or differently shaped cross section.
Many tenons, particularly in chair parts, have a truncated conical shape, i.e. are round but tapered. Such tenons are desirable in that they provide a snug fit in an appropriately shaped mortise (that is tapered). However, slight relative movement between the joint members loosens the joint. By contrast, accurately sized cylindrical tenons can move in a mortise without loosening. Furthermore, the mortise-containing furniture member can lock around a cylindrical the tenon as the mortise member dries and shrinks.
A substantial number of methods and devices have been used for forming such tenons. They may be formed by hand using a pocket knife, draw knife, chisel, spoke shave or other tools. They may be formed on general purpose equipment like lathes and drill presses, and in some instances they may be formed using dedicated machines like the Stanley number 77 dowel making machine (although this machine will accept only a limited range of sizes of work pieces). There are also a variety of tenon forming cutters intended to be rotated against a work piece utilizing a brace. Finally, high speed tenon-forming cutters for use in a drill press are available.
Some such devices are intended to form tenons having only a particular diameter or group of predetermined diameters. Others are purportedly capable of producing a range of tenon diameters. Most of these devices, including for the Stanley number 77 dowel making machine, have a cutting blade or blades that are difficult to sharpen because, among other reasons, their shape is complex.
Drawbacks are associated with all of these devices. Some are large, unwieldy and expensive. All make it difficult or impossible to adjust by small amounts the diameter of the tenon produced. However, the availability of such adjustment is important in order to accommodate the variety of conditions, species, relative moisture contents and other factors presented by various tenon-forming situations. For instance, fiber spring-back may cause tenons formed in green wood to be oversize. Most of these prior tenon-forming techniques and devices also cannot form off-axis tenons and leave an unattractive shoulder on the work piece adjacent to the tenon.
In the face of all these considerations, there has been a recent resurgence of interest in rustic furniture, such as furniture built from "twigs" or other sections of trunks, stems, or branches from which the bark may or may not have been removed, but which retain some of their natural surface shape and character. The continuing need for cylindrical tenons described above, and this resurgence in the popularity of rustic furniture, have created the need for an economical but improved tenon-forming tool.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide a tenon cutter for forming attractive, accurately sized cylindrical tenons with attractive tenon shoulders on components of rustic and other furniture.
It is also an object of this invention to provide tenon cutters that can be operated with hand tools such as braces and, alternatively, with power hand drill motors.
It is another object of this invention to provide tenon cutters that can be adjusted easily and accurately to vary the diameter of tenons produced by small amounts in order to accommodate the need for such variations as a result of the size of mortise that is to receive the tenon, and because of the moisture content or other properties of he wood being used.
It if a further object of the present invention to provide a tenon cutter that uses a blade that may be easily and quickly without significant risk of altering the desired blade profile and with minimal sharpening skill.
Another object of the present invention is facilitation of formation tenons that are accurately aligned with the work piece on which they are formed and, alternatively, of tenons that are off-axis when those are desired.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a tenon cutter design that can be manufactured with sufficient economy to enable retail sale of the tenon cutter, or of a set of tenon cutters in different diameters, at an attractively low price.


An apparatus and method for processing audience measurement data detects and corrects one or more corrupted time codes. The corrupted time codes are identified by calculating a first set of intervals between a set of read times that may, but need not, be consecutive, each of which corresponds to one of the time codes extracted from a broadcast signal. The first set of intervals are compared to a second set of intervals between the time codes to identify when one or more of the second intervals do not meet a predetermined criteria. At least one of the time codes associated with each of the second intervals that do not meet the criteria is identified as being corrupted. The method used to calculate a corrected time code involves using the magnitude of the corresponding first interval to calculate the corrected time code.

Ancillary identification codes are often added to broadcast radio and television programs for the purpose of enabling audience measurement. The ancillary identification codes, which are added at the time of program broadcast or creation, are subsequently accessed at a signal reception site to identify a program being viewed or heard at the signal reception site and for identifying the time at which the program is being viewed/heard. Systems for encoding video signals with ancillary identification codes have been in widespread use for decades. For examples of such systems refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,100 to Thomas et al., incorporated herein by reference. Many of the video encoding systems are designed to take advantage of the rigid, periodic timing that is characteristic of video signals by adding the ancillary code at periodic intervals in one of the lines of the vertical blanking interval of a television signal. In contrast, audio encoding systems have become feasible more recently because of the greater difficulty in hiding a code in an audio signal that lacks the rigid, periodic timing of a video signal. Specifically, coding cannot be masked during periods of program silence such that the code cannot be inserted at regular intervals when one or more of the intervals coincide with periods of silence. As a result, audio encoding systems typically do not add identification codes to a program at strictly periodic intervals.
To enable audience measurement, conventional broadcast identification codes begin with a synchronization or start-of-message field which allows a decoder to detect and lock onto the code, followed by a source identification (SID) field that identifies the source of the broadcast program. A time code field containing a characteristic time, such as a time of initial dissemination of the broadcast from a network feed site to affiliated local stations, follows the SID field. Other fields may contain additional data.
A household site selected for audience measurement may decode a broadcast program signal to obtain the time codes and SIDs embedded therein. The time codes and SIDs are stored at the household site and subsequently transmitted to a central facility for reconciliation with an activity log that identifies the broadcast activity of a set of identified sources relative to a set of time codes. Thus, the time codes and SIDs received from a household site are compared to the activity log to identify the programs that have been viewed/heard at the household site.
However, the time codes extracted from the time code fields may be insufficient to enable identification of the time at which a program was viewed. Specifically, a delay may occur between a time that a program is encoded and a time when the same program is aired. Specifically, a network may encode a program with an SID unique to the network and with a time code equal to a standard clock time at which the program is initially distributed to affiliated local broadcasters by a satellite distribution system. The local broadcasters may either transmit the program immediately or store the program for hours or even days before airing the program. As a result, the time code embedded into the broadcast signal may have no relation to the actual local time at which the program is broadcast to viewers/listeners. Similarly, VCR technology permits viewers to record broadcast programs for later viewing of the recorded program off-air thereby also causing a shift between the time code embedded in the signal and the actual local clock time at which the program is viewed.
To compensate for the potential time delay that may occur between program encoding and program broadcast, the household site is additionally configured to record a set of read times that represent the actual, local times at which a broadcast program is being decoded for viewing/listening. More specifically, a read time is obtained from a local clock for each instance that a time code is detected/decoded in the programming signal being viewed/heard.
Unfortunately though, the data collection performed by an audience measurement system such as the household site described above is not error free. Specifically, decoder error may occasionally cause one or more of the extracted identification code bits to be erroneously decoded. Generally, the probability that a time code bit will be incorrectly decoded increases monotonically with the temporal spacing of the code bit from the synchronization field. As a result, an accurately decoded SID does not guarantee that the associated time code bits have been decoded error free. In addition to decoder errors, the audience measurement system may encounter time intervals during which no code can be read—either because none was added to the signal initially or because of signal transmission and distribution artifacts that degrade or accidentally erase the code. Poor signal reception may further exacerbate data collection errors.
In addition to the decoder errors discussed above, audience measurement systems designed to collect time codes from audio signals are also prone to data collection errors associated with using a microphone to receive the signal to be decoded. Specifically, despite dramatic advancements in the art that have enabled the inaudible burying of a time code within an audio signal and that have further enabled the retrieval of the same code at a reception site, a time code cannot be reliably extracted from an inevitably degraded signal picked up with a microphone.
Unfortunately, prior art systems designed to overcome such data collection errors are often computationally expensive and require complex processing equipment that can be costly and difficult to maintain and repair. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294 to Thomas et al. discloses a measurement system that uses a computationally expensive feature recognition system to back-up a code reading system.
As a result, there is a need in the art for an audience measurement system that overcomes one or more of the foregoing data collection errors.

Apparatus and method for detecting and correcting a corrupted broadcast time code


A semiconductor laser device includes: an electrically insulating film on the top face of a laser chip; and a metal film, on the electrically insulating film. The electrically insulating film and/or the metal film has, in plan, a polygonal shape with five or more apexes, each of the apexes having an interior angle less than 180 degrees. Stress due to a change of temperature during operation is reduced, resulting in a semiconductor laser device having a longer life and higher reliability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser device, and more particularly to a semiconductor laser device with an ingenious patterning of an electrical insulating film or a metal film formed on the top face of a semiconductor chip.
2. Description of the Related Art
An AlGaInAs/InP-based laser, which exhibits good thermal and high-frequency characteristics, has been spotlighted as a semiconductor laser for optical fiber communications. Another AlGaInP/GaAs-based laser, which exhibits good thermal characteristics and excellent high-power operation, has been also spotlighted as a semiconductor laser for information processing. Most of these semiconductor lasers employ a ridge waveguide type structure, which can reduce processing steps and costs for manufacturing them.
In such ridge waveguide type semiconductor lasers, stress due to patterning of an electrical insulating film or an electrode formed on the surface of the chip are considered for one of degradation factors during energizing.
The related prior art is listed as follows: Japanese Patent Unexamined Publications (kokai) JP-A-2002-280663.
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a conventional AlGaInAs/InP-based semiconductor laser device of ridge waveguide type. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the laser device in FIG. 10.
On the top face of a laser chip 1 formed are two grooves 12 by etching, and between these grooves 12 formed is a narrow ridge portion 11. On both sides of the grooves 12 formed are two stage portions 13 and 14, respectively.
The top face of the laser chip is covered with an electrical insulating film 3, such as SiO2, except the vicinity of the summit of the ridge portion 11, on which a stripe-like opening is provided. On the upper faces of the stage portions 13 and 14 formed are underlaid films 4 and 7, such as SiO2. On the underlaid film 4 of the stage portion 13 formed is a deposited electrodes, and on the deposited electrode 5 a plated electrode 6 is formed. Meanwhile, another deposited electrode 8 is formed so as to extend from the underlaid film 7 of the stage portion 14 via the groove 12 to the summit of the ridge portion 11, and on the deposited electrode 8 a plated electrode 9 is formed. Both the deposited electrode 8 and the plated electrode 9 have a chip contact portion 9a on the upper face of the ridge portion 11, a lead-out portion 9b in the groove, and a bonding pad 9c on the upper face of the stage portion 14.
Next, problems on the conventional semiconductor laser device of ridge waveguide type will be described below. After continuously energizing the semiconductor laser device for a long time, the device is gradually degraded, finally laser oscillation will be stopped. For one approach for analyzing degradation factors of such a device, bottom face EL (electro-luminescence) evaluation is known. The bottom face EL evaluation is a method of observing light-emitting conditions of a laser device from the bottom face of the chip. In case crystalline defects occur in the chip during energizing, dark spots or lines can be observed, thereby effectively detecting degraded locations or degradation factors in the waveguide.
FIGS. 12A and 12B are explanatory views illustrating a relation between a pattern on the surface of the chip and an EL pattern on the bottom face. The EL pattern on the bottom face, as shown in FIG. 12B, is a macrophotograph which is taken by picturizing a light-emitting pattern of a degraded device from the bottom face of the chip, after continuously energizing it, e.g., for several hundred hours with a current of one hundred and several dozen mA at a temperature of 85 degree-C.
As seen in detail from the EL pattern on the bottom face, typical dark spots occur (1) at a location corresponding to a front edge of the chip-contact portion 9a of the plated electrode 9, (2) at a location corresponding to front edges of the underlaid films 4 and 7, and (3) at locations corresponding to the lead-out portion 9b of the deposited electrode 8 and the plated electrode 9, and a front edge of the bonding pad 9c, respectively. Each of these front edges and each of the locations in which the dark spots occur commonly reside on a straight line perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ridge portion 11.
Firstly, a main degradation factor in item (1) will be discussed below. Thickness of the plated electrode 9 is typically about 4 μm, whereas thickness of the deposited electrode 8 is typically about 0.8 μm, thereby causing a higher current density in the vicinity of the edge of the plated electrode inside the deposited electrode. The current concentration on the vicinity of the edge of the plated electrode causes a localized rise of temperature, so that crystalline defects occur inside an active layer right under the edge of the plated electrode. This is one of degradation factors.
Secondly, main degradation factors in items (2) and (3) will be discussed below. As referring to FIG. 10, the underlaid films 4 and 7, the deposited electrodes 5 and 8, and the plated electrodes 6 and 9, which are formed on the surface of the chip, have linear portions W1, W2, W3, W4 and W5, perpendicular to the ridge portion 11. When the ridge portion 11 is supplied with a current, the temperature of the whole chip rises up, not only in the ridge portion 11 where the current passes through, but also in an area where no current flows. The rise of temperature of the chip causes stress, since a crystal constituting the laser chip, a material of the underlaid films and a material of the electrodes have different coefficients of thermal expansion. In case the ridge portion 11 undergoes such stress from the linear portions perpendicular to the ridge portion 11, crystalline defects occur inside an active layer right under the ridge portion 11, thereby causing dark spots in the bottom face EL pattern, as shown in FIG. 12B. In particular, the lead-out portions of the deposited electrode 8 and the plated electrode 9 is located closely to the ridge portion 11, causing larger stress.
Further, as to another degradation factor of item (1), in addition to the above-mentioned current concentration in the vicinity of the edge of the plated electrode, the linear portion w6 of the edge of the plated electrode intersects perpendicularly to the ridge portion 11, thereby causing stress due to the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the metal constituting the electrode and the crystal. This may be one of degradation factors.
As described above, in the conventional semiconductor laser device of ridge waveguide type, because of stress due to the differences in coefficient of thermal expansion among the electrical insulating film and the electrodes, which are formed on the surface of the chip, and the crystal, crystalline defects occur during energizing, thereby presumably causing the device to be degraded.


A method and system for automatically uploading the configuration of a security system to a central station automation system via telephonic lines, long-range radio (e.g., cellular), or Internet. The end result is that the automation system has sufficient information regarding the type and configuration of the system installed at the protected premises to properly handle alarms reports from that system.

Presently, security alarm central station operators manually enter subscriber account and system information into an automation system database. This subscriber information may include the security system type, number of zones, the type of occurrence is happening in each zone (e.g., burglary, fire, panic, etc . . . ), alpha descriptors that identify each zone (e.g., front door, garage door, etc. . . . ) and the reporting format and report codes expected for each zone. This manual data entry task is a tedious and time-consuming part of a central station's operations. Further, the manual data inputting method cannot guarantee that the entered data will match the data of the security system that is installed at an associated protected location.
The present invention will allow a security system at a protected location to automatically upload alarm security control panel configurations and subsequently pass that information onto the compatible automation system. For example, this transmittal of security panel data can be accomplished using Honeywell's MX8000 Digital Alarm Receiver, Honeywell's AlarmNet-i, or any other compatible device (e.g., a modem connected to port on an automation system). The result is that the automation system automatically receives and stores the exact security control panel configuration, including all zones, descriptors, and reporting codes.

Automatic panel configuration upload to a central station automation system


An image display apparatus includes a display panel that displays an image, and a detecting unit that detects a magnitude of deformation of the display panel. In addition, a control unit controls display on the display panel according to an output of the detecting unit such that the magnitude of deformation of the display panel becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, attention has been drawn to light-emitting flat panel display apparatuses. A light-emitting flat panel display apparatus displays an image by irradiating a fluorescent material with electron beams emitted from an electron source to generate fluorescent light. In such a display apparatus, electrons collide with the fluorescent material to emit fluorescent light, current is applied to electron emitter elements to emit electrons, and the electron emitter elements arranged on a plane are sequentially driven through electric wires, thereby generating heat. Through the heat generation, a temperature difference is caused between the face plate and the rear plate, and distortion or color deviation might be caused in the screen due to the difference in thermal expansion.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-55567 discloses an image display apparatus that is equipped with an air blower for distributing air between the display panel and the exterior casing. In the image display apparatus, a material with high heat conductance is employed to facilitate heat exchange.

Image display apparatus having deformation detection


Certain aspects of the present invention are directed to a porous medium screen that can be disposed in a wellbore through a fluid-producing formation. The porous medium screen can include a porous medium and a retaining structure. The porous medium can be a material having one or more pores. The pores can be adapted to allow a fluid to flow through the porous medium and to prevent particles from flowing through the porous medium. The retaining structure can be adapted to retain the porous medium in a position circumferentially surrounding a section of a tubing string and to prevent expansion of the porous medium. The retaining structure can include a shroud and one or more stoppers. The shroud can be adapted to circumferentially surround the porous medium. Each stopper can be adapted to circumferentially surround the section of a tubing string at an edge of the porous medium.

Particulate materials, such as sand, may be produced during the production of hydrocarbons from a well system traversing a subterranean formation. A well system can include devices and procedures for sand control. The production of sand can restrict productivity, erode components of the well system, impede wellbore access, interfere with the operation of downhole equipment, and present disposal difficulties. Sand control can include preventing sand, silt, or other particles from a subterranean formation from entering a wellbore or near-wellbore area of a well system. Sand control can reduce or prevent the migration of sand and other particles into the near wellbore area that may restrict production of fluids from the subterranean formation. In some subterranean formations, sand control can help maintain the structure of a reservoir of fluid around the wellbore in the subterranean formation.
It is desirable to prevent the production of particulate materials from a well that traverses a hydrocarbon bearing subterranean formation.


A modular electronic device system includes an electronic device and a cover for the device that allows the device to be mechanically and electrically mounted to a stand or device adapter on the rear side of the cover. The cover or device adapter can be connectable to modularly attachable and removable accessory devices and can provide electrical ports for powering and operating the accessory devices. While mounted to a stand, power and data communications can be provided to the electronic device, cover, and accessory devices from the stand or an external source. The modular components of the system can be interchangeable to allow the system to be adapted to many different settings and use cases based on the types of components included as the accessory devices and based on the number of accessory devices used.

Portable computing devices have grown in popularity and ubiquity worldwide in recent years. Users of these devices have found applications for many different types of work and in settings in nearly all parts of life. In some ways, these devices have been used to replace or improve other devices, such as flashlights, cash registers, lab equipment, scientific instruments, cameras, and other electronic devices. The convenience and adaptability of portable computing devices such as tablet computers and smart phones have therefore helped serve many needs of users for many purposes.
Such portable computing devices often have batteries that need to be regularly charged between uses. Thus, although the devices can provide great benefits in remote areas and when used in mobile applications, they also frequently need to be connected to power to restore charge. In these times, users often find it difficult to quickly and easily control the charging of the device while still operating the device, particularly in settings where the portable computing devices are under heavy duty loads and operating cycles.
Although the computing devices can be very effective on their own, it is also common to use a case or cover on the computing device to protect it from bumps, drops, scrapes, scratches, and other damage. The presence of a cover can make the mounting and securement of a computing device or a charger complex, unreliable, slow, or otherwise challenging. These covers also similarly inhibit the usage of electronic accessories that are connected to the computing device due to interference from the cover or an undesirable connection to the computing device. There is a constant need for improvements in portable computing devices, covers, and related parts of these systems.


Provided is a water-purifying agent that is excellent in water purifying performance, can be suitably used in an automated wastewater purification apparatus, and is formed of a granulated product including a mixture of a powder of Corchorus olitorius and a polymeric flocculant, wherein a median diameter of the granulated product is 250 micrometers or greater but 850 micrometers or less.

In recent years, a large amount of waste liquids including environmentally hazardous substances such as metal ions and fluorine ions as inorganic ions have been generated in the processes for producing various products in plants.
Meanwhile, regulations on effluence of such inorganic ions have been becoming gradually strict. In order to comply with the effluent control, an inorganic ion removing method that can effectively remove inorganic ions from wastewater including the inorganic ions and can be carried out as easily and inexpensively as possible is demanded.
Hitherto, as the method for removing impurity ions from, for example, wastewater from plants, for example, a flocculating precipitation method, an ion-exchange method, a method for adsorption to an adsorbent such as activated charcoal, an electrosorption method, and a magnetic adsorption method have been proposed.
For example, as the flocculating precipitation method, there has been proposed a method of performing a step of adding a base to wastewater in which heavy metal ions are dissolved, to make the wastewater basic, insolubilize at least part of the heavy metal ions, and form a suspended solid matter, a step of adding an inorganic flocculant to the wastewater to make the suspended solid matter set and settle, a step of adding a polymeric flocculant to the wastewater to turn the suspended solid matter to a macrofloc, and an adsorbing step of passing the wastewater through an adsorption layer containing a cation exchanger formed of a leafy vegetable such as mulukhiya and Japanese mustard spinach (see, e.g., PTL 1).
There has also been proposed a flocculating method of flocculating and separating particles in a suspension by means of mixed use or combined use of a flocculant containing at least any one of mulukhiya, a dried product of mulukhiya, and an extract of mulukhiya with a polymeric flocculant (see, e.g., PTL 2).
The more the amount of the wastewater to be purified, the more the amount of an unnecessary substance included in the wastewater, or the more the kinds of unnecessary substances included in the wastewater, the more necessary it is to build an automated system for feeding a purifying agent necessary for the wastewater purification treatments.
Device automation is an important issue for performing high-speed, stable purification treatments, and it is desired to provide a water-purifying agent suitable for being fed to an automated purification apparatus.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Water cleaning agent and water cleaning method


Fastening means for artificial joints including two titanium wires that are wound into a spiral and wherein the wires clamp a number of bristles between them that extend essentially radially outwards toward the interior of the bone. The bristles are a little bit too long for undisturbed insertion into the cavity of the bone and, thus they will be slightly turned backwards on insertion, thereby securing a very steady grip once inserted.

It has been known for some time how to replace worn, or in other ways damaged, joints--for instance joints damaged by rheumatism, by removing a joint end from a bone and replacing this end with an artificial part. These artificial parts include a joint part and a connection part that is inserted into the cavity of the remaining bone. The fastening of the artificial part in the bone has been carried out in different way, for instance, the connection part has been threaded and/or cemented into the bone.
Presently available artificial parts have a number of drawbacks. Firstly, this method of fasteing is comparatively complicated and time consuming. Secondly, with time, great loads, for instance in the vicinity of knee joints and thigh bones, cause an increasing play between an artificial part and bone, which may require a replacement of the artificial part. Change of the artificial part normally involves the shortening of the bone to obtain adequate material in which to fasten the artificial part. After a few replacements of the artificial part, so little of the bone remains that the joint must be made rigid due to the lack of bone material.
A further drawback of the artificial parts known thus far is that the natural formation of blood vessels cannot occur within inner cavity of the bone, which presumably further reduces the life span of the mounting of the artificial part and, thus, of the artificial part itself.


A coating method is disclosed, which comprises coating a base coating paint on a substrate, coating thereon a clear coating paint of a curing system different from that of the base coating paint in a wet-on-wet state, and then baking the resultant coatings, wherein a curing catalyst for curing the clear coating paint is incorporated into the base coating paint and wherein the curing catalyst has a boiling point of 150.degree. C. or higher under 760 mmHg. The base coating paint comprising such a curing catalyst is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a method for coating a base coating (or base coat) paint and clear coating (or clear coat) paintto, particularly, motor cars by a wet-on-wet technique, and a base coating paint used therefor. In particular, the present invention relates to a coating method capable of remarkably improving the coating workability, and a base coating paint used therefor.
Recently, various curing systems for clear coating paints have been proposed. They include, for example, curing systems containing a hydroxyl group (including a blocked hydroxyl group), a carboxyl group (including a blocked carboxyl group wherein the hydroxyl group of the carboxyl group is blocked), a phosphoric acid group (including a blocked phosphoric acid group wherein the hydroxyl group of the phosphoric acid group is blocked) or an acid anhydride group; curing systems containing such a group as described above and also a silyl group (including a hydrolyzable silyl group blocked with a hydrolyzable group) and/or an epoxy group; curing systems containing an acetoacetyl group and a vinyl ether group or a vinyl thioether group (hereinafter referred to simply as a vinyl (thio)ether group); curing systems containing a vinyl (thio) ether group and a carboxyl group or a silyl group; curing systems containing an alicyclic epoxy group and a silyl group; and curing systems containing a silyl group or an alicyclic epoxy group singly. In such curing systems, a curing catalyst is usually used so as to accelerate the curing reaction of the functional groups.
In the wet-on-wet technique, the clear coating paint and the base coating paint are separately stored in storage vessels until immediately before the coating thereof, and these paints are separately transferred to a coating apparatus such as a nozzle or spraying means for the wet-on-wet coating. However, as the strage time of a clear coating paint comprising a functional group-containing oligomer or polymer (hereinafter referred to as "oligomer" collectively) and also the curing catalyst becomes longer, the clear coating paint begins to cure in the presence of such a curing catalyst and gradually thickened before the wet-on-wet coating is carried out. Therefore, when two or more kinds of functional groups are involved, the oligomers having different groups must be separated from each other and also when the curing catalyst is to be incorporated, it should be incorporated into only one kind of the oligomer to prevent the curing reaction. Even when an oligomer having only one kind of a functional group is used, it must be separated from the curing catalyst to prevent the curing reaction. When the paint is stored in the form of two or more liquids and they are mixed together immediately before the wet-on-wet coating is carried out, the flow rate and amount of each liquid must be controlled to prepare the clear coating paint, which makes the mixing device complicated and, therefore, makes the cost high for the apparatus.

Method for forming coating and base coating paint used therefor

Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Incorporated


A display assembly for a portable terminal inhibits the penetration of foreign matter from an exterior environment into the interior of the portable terminal. The display assembly includes a display for mounting in an open-faced compartment enclosed by a bottom/top cover plate. A resilient seal component of the display assembly is positioned between the display and the compartment, the seal component including a body including a base portion connected to a top portion by side portions for defining an interior channel for engaging the sides of the display, once received therein. A top portion of the seal component is adapted for overlapping a portion of the top surface of the display and the base portion for overlapping at least a portion of the bottom surface of the display.

Wireless communication has advanced significantly over the past few decades. Today, mobile terminals (such as mobile phones, pagers, personal digital assistants, scanners and similar devices) play an important role in society. People of all ages and walks of life use these mobile terminals to communicate, access the Internet, play games, store information, communicate with bar codes and RFID tags, and organize their calendars. People often rely on having easy access to their mobile terminals at all times.
As consumers increasingly rely on their mobile terminals, they desire to take their mobile terminals everywhere they go and have access to them at any time of day. As a result, today's mobile devices are frequently used in environments hostile to the mobile terminal's electronics. For example, a person who takes a cell phone, PDA, or similar device, to the beach risks harming the device by getting the device sandy or wet. Likewise, someone who works outdoors and is exposed to the elements may desire to have a mobile terminal that is water, dirt, and shock resistant. Accordingly, the sealing feature of a display of the mobile device and the device housing is important for the continued operational integrity of the device in the presence of hostile environments with undesirable foreign matter (e.g. water, other fluids, moisture, particulate matter, etc.).
Further, different assembly processes for the display into the housing of the device need approximately configured sealing components that are compatible with the assembly processes.

Sealing system and seal component for a display assembly of a portable device


A variable length balloon catheter assembly and methods for inflating a variable length balloon to a predetermined length. The variable length balloon catheter has a balloon at a distal end and a plurality of stricture mechanisms securing the balloon to the catheter. The stricture mechanisms are provided at known intervals and have a known rupture pressure. The balloon is inflated and a known number of stricture mechanisms are ruptured providing for a variable balloon length based on the number of stricture mechanisms ruptured.

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a severe blockage in the arteries which significantly reduces blood flow. CLI is a serious form of peripheral arterial disease and is caused by atherosclerosis, the hardening, and narrowing of the arteries due to the buildup of plaque. One of the treatment options for CLI is balloon angioplasty. For this procedure the surgeon can gain access through the femoral or the tibiopedal arteries using common surgical techniques such as the Seldinger technique. In these patients tibiopedal access is easier than femoral access since the amount of calcification of the arteries is higher on the femoral side.
Because the vessel is blocked by the buildup of plaque, it is necessary to carry out the balloon angioplasty in the arterial wall due to limited access available in the blocked arterial lumen. A wire guide is passed through the arterial wall and the balloon angioplasty is performed to open up the vessel wall. Due to access gained only from one side of the blockage, it is difficult to estimate the length of the balloon needed for the angioplasty of the arterial wall.
Currently, the angioplasty procedure is performed by gaining access into wall of the occluded artery and using a wire guide to move to the other end of the calcification. This is usually done by passing a wire guide or a stiff ended catheter through the arterial wall. Once access is gained though the calcification contrast injection is carried out to size the occlusion and then the balloon with the required size is used to carry out the angioplasty.
It would be beneficial to have a balloon catheter having a variable length balloon rather than having to select a balloon size after sizing the occlusion. It would be helpful if the length of the balloon could be varied during a procedure.


A chair mechanism for an ergonomically adjustable, reclinable chair includes a frame and profile bands mounted to the frame. The profile bands are flexible and are configured to define a forwardly projecting lumbar region, the degree of forward projection of the lumbar region being variable in response to the position and movement of the chair seat. A flexible back support surface is carried by and spans the region between the profile bands. The shape and contour of the back surface is controlled by the shape of the profile bands. The chair mechanism enables the user to shift easily between upright and reclining positions without requiring the use of heavy springs or complex linkages.

Task chairs, commonly found in office and other work environments, typically include an arrangement to enable the sitter to adjust his posture between upright and reclined positions. It has been observed, reportedly, that one sitting at a desk or other work space may shift posture or position within the chair as often as approximately once per minute. Desirably, such chairs should be comfortable throughout the range of user-shifted positions. Movement through the range of chair movement should require little effort. The chair should present even resistance to the user's movement and should avoid a sense of instability. The resistance should be low and as close to uniform, as sensed by the user, as possible. The chair, desirably, should require no effort by the user to maintain the chair in a selected reclined position. This quality, referred to as "dwell" may be considered as the ability of the chair to maintain a balanced position at any attitude within the recline range of the chair.
Task chairs having a reclining feature require a number of considerations in order to facilitate comfort, reduce stress and minimize user effort when changing positions. Reclinable chairs may take any of a number of general configurations, including those in which the entire chair, including the seat and back, tilt back, as well as those in which the seat back and seat of the chair are mounted to a frame so that they can move relative to each other.
A common feature of reclinable or tiltable chairs is a spring mechanism to bias the chair components toward an upright position. These mechanisms typically include powerful springs to generate sufficient force to reduce the effort of the sitter when shifting between reclined and upright positions. The spring mechanisms are designed to apply a progressively increasing resistance force as the user reclines in order to counteract the increase in load supported by the back of the chair. The spring force stored during recline serves to assist the user when returning to an upright position. The use of such spring mechanisms generally results in variation in the force necessary to shift the degree of incline at various portions of the range of movement of the chair resulting in an uneven resistance and feeling of instability. In those chairs having separately movable seat and back portions, complex linkages and pivots may be used in an effort to optimize the motion of the chair components between upright and reclining positions that will be comfortable and will provide desired degree of support for the user throughout the range of motion.
Chairs having such spring and linkage mechanisms typically are complex and difficult to design and assemble. Additionally, they tend to be costly. The spring and linkage mechanisms for such chairs typically are among the most expensive of the chair components.
Also among the difficulties with those reclinable or tiltable chairs having a spring mechanism to bias the chair in the upright position is that the force applied by the spring must be adjusted or tuned for the particular user. Larger, heavier users will require an adjustment to increase the force of the spring while smaller, lighter users will require adjustment to a reduced spring force. This may be problematic in shared use environments, such as conference rooms, where a particular chair may be used by different users at different times or where the user may not be familiar with the adjustment controls of the chair. Even where a chair is dedicated for a single user, the adjustment and tuning mechanisms may not be understood and the user may be unable to or may find it difficult to adjust the chair.
Such chairs may be provided with some form of lumbar support intended to relieve spinal stress and back fatigue by bearing against the lumbar region of the back, particularly when the user is sitting in an upright position in which the weight of the user's torso is on the spine and pelvis. When the user is in a reclined position, the weight of the torso is distributed more evenly and over a broad area so that the force and pressure on the spine and the back muscles is lessened. Consequently, in a reclined configuration, the presence of enhanced lumbar support is not as important as when the sitter is in an upright position. Indeed, a pronounced lumbar support in a seat back may be found to be uncomfortable when the seat back is reclined. In those chairs in which a lumbar support is adjustable, it may be necessary for the user to manually adjust the configuration of the lumbar support when shifting between upright and reclined positions.


Disclosed is a method, system, and computer program product for automated implementation of pipeline flip-flops in an electronic design. Two operating modes can be used either together or separately to implement pipeline flip-flops. An analysis mode is employed to perform a determination of the number of stages of pipeline flip-flops needed for particular portions of an electronic design. A placement stage is used to place the pipeline flip-flops in the layout.

An integrated circuit (IC) has a large number of electronic components, such as transistors, logic gates, diodes, and wires that are fabricated by forming layers of different materials and of different geometric shapes on various regions of a silicon wafer.
Many phases of physical design may be performed with computer aided design (CAD) tools or electronic design automation (EDA) systems. To design an integrated circuit, a designer first creates high level behavior descriptions of the IC device using a high-level hardware design language.
An EDA system typically receives the high level behavior descriptions of the IC device and translates this high-level design language into netlists of various levels of abstraction using a computer synthesis process. A netlist describes interconnections of nodes and components on the chip and includes information of circuit primitives, such as for example, transistors and diodes, their sizes and interconnections.
An integrated circuit designer may use a set of layout EDA application programs to create a physical design of the IC from the logical design. The layout EDA application uses geometric shapes of different materials to create the various electrical components on an integrated circuit and to represent electronic and circuit IC components as geometric objects with varying shapes and sizes. The geometric information about the placement of the nodes and components onto the chip may be determined by a placement process and a routing process. The placement process is a process for placing electronic components or circuit blocks on the chip and the routing process is the process for creating interconnections between the blocks and components according to the specified netlist.
The problem being addressed by the present invention is caused by the tendency of many modem electronic designs to become extremely large, with larger die sizes and more complex floorplans. This results in longer connections between routing end-points within the electronic designs, so that it is becoming impossible for an unassisted signal to travel from one end-point to another in a single clock cycle.
To address this problem, the electronic designer inserts pipeline flip-flops or pipeline registers (hereinafter collectively referred to as "pipeline flip-flops") between start-points and end-points in a route between two points. In this way, the signals transmitted between the two points will be kept in proper synchronization for the given clock cycles.
FIG. 1 shows a very simple example of this process, in which a designer is required to route a net between Macro A and Macro B. The "before" situation is shown at the top part of the figure, in which it can be seen that there is a 10 mm distance between Macro A and Macro B. Assume that this distance is too long to allow a signal to get from Macro A to Macro B within a single clock cycle. To address this problem, the designer could create a revised routing scheme by inserting three pipeline flip-flops 10a, 10b, and 10c along the route, with equal distances of 2.5 mm between any two points along the revised route, which is shown in the "after" situation at the bottom of the figure.
Conventionally, the process to insert pipeline flip-flops into a design is highly manual in nature, with a designer commonly required to individually consider and analyze nets in the design to determine where and when pipeline flip-flops need to be inserted into the design. This is a tedious and error-prone task if performed manually. Moreover, if there are a very large number of nets in a design (which is likely given that the present problem arises because of larger and more complex designs), then the amount of effort needed to perform the analysis may become overwhelming. The task for the design is further complicated by the fact that many nets in the design are not routed along nicely straight routing paths as shown in FIG. 1. Instead, as shown in FIG. 2, many routing paths extend along complex and winding paths, making it even more difficult for a designer to determine the ideal pipeline flip-flop positions for the routing path.
Therefore, as is evident from the above discussion, there is a need for an improved approach for placement of pipeline flip-flops in an electronic design.

Method and system for implementing pipeline flip-flops


Described is a system for controlling a torque controlled prosthetic device given motor intent inferred from neuroimaging data. The system includes at least one torque controlled prosthetic device operably connected with one or more processors. Further, the system is configured to receive neuroimaging data of a user from a neuroimaging device and decode the neuroimaging data to infer spatial motion intent of the user, where the spatial motion intent includes desired motion commands of the torque controlled prosthetic device represented in a coordinate system. The system thereafter executes, with a prosthesis controller, the motion commands as torque commands to cause the torque controlled prosthetic device to move according to the spatial motion intent of the user.

(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a robotic control system and, more particularly, to a system for controlling robotic prosthetic devices given motor intent inferred from neuroimaging data.
(2) Description of Related Art
Brain machine interfaces (BMI) and neural prosthetics offer great hope for restoring function to people with spinal cord injuries and amputees, as well augmenting and enhancing the abilities of people with full motor function. There have been a number of advances in neural imaging as well as in decoding motor intent from neuroimaging data. However, with regard to prosthetic device control there have been fewer advances, with most approaches rooted in conventional robotic control.
There is a body of work in BMI and neural prosthetics research which addresses the decoding of cortical signals for the downstream execution of motion commands by an external device (see, for example, the List of Incorporated Literature References, Literature Reference Nos. 1, 9, 11, 12, and 15). Most of this work focuses on the neural decoding with less rigor applied to the prosthesis control. In cases where a robotic arm prosthesis is controlled, the motion trajectory is typically converted into joint commands and executed using joint space control (see, for example, Literature Reference Nos. 11, 12, and 15).
To date, no known prosthetic control system has been proposed which uses a task/posture decomposition. Task/posture decomposition has particular advantages over joint space control in BMIs. It is based on an abstraction analogous to the manner in which cortical signals are encoded (e.g., eye-centered, hand-centered Cartesian coordinates). Further, it is generalizable to whole body prosthetic control involving multiple prosthetic limbs and high degree-of-freedom kinematics. Joint space prosthetic control is limited in this capacity due to its reliance on inverse kinematics solutions. Additionally, task/posture decomposition allows for the specification of postural behaviors based on minimizing important objective functions (e.g. power consumption, virtual muscle effort, etc.) consistent with the execution of cortical motion commands.
There has been some work on applying neuromorphic computing architectures to BMIs and neural prosthetic systems. For example, the work of Dethier et al. focused on the use of artificial spiking neural networks for decoding and filtering cortical signals (Kalman filter based decoding using endpoint kinematics as the state vector and neural spike rates as the measurement vector) rather than prosthetic control (see Literature Reference No. 7).
Additionally, the work of Bouganis and Shanahan was directed to controlling a robotic arm using artificial spiking neural networks; although their work was not applied to a neural prosthetic system (see Literature Reference No. 2).
Other researchers performed work in the simulation of neural prosthetic limbs in conjunction with biomechanical models (see Literature Reference Nos. 4, 5, and 8). However, while their work implements musculoskeletal models into the simulation, the focus of these efforts is on simulating and validating the control of the prosthetic device. Thus, again, there is no known system that integrates a sensorimotor controller, in addition to the prosthetic controller.
Therefore, a continuing need exists for a system that allows enhanced modeling and analysis of the interface issues associated, not just with the biological and engineered components, but also with the biological and engineered control systems. Further, a need exists for a system-level architecture for applying artificial spiking neural networks to the learning of motor maps, consistent with postural criteria, for controlling motion in BMI and neural prosthetic systems.

System for controlling brain machine interfaces and neural prosthetic systems


A structure and method for constructing a non-oil-filled towed array providing a single cable entry point for each channel irregardless of the number of hydrophones used to make up a hydrophone group or array is described. The method and apparatus enables uniform buoyancy of the hydrophone array and the primary cable around which the hydrophone array is wound. Uniform buoyancy is achieved through the addition of hollow micro-spheres into a Reaction Injection Molded (RIM) polyurethane material used to mold the hydrophones. Additional buoyancy may be desired adjacent heavier cable sections where connectors and telemetry modules are located. An embodiment enables precise adjustment of hydrophone cable buoyancy by providing precise adjustment of the concentration of hollow glass micro-spheres in areas where more or less buoyancy is desired.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for hydrophones for sensing acoustic pressure waves. In particular the invention relates to a technique for obtaining uniform buoyancy and increased sensitivity utilizing a hollow microsphere loaded reaction injection molding polyurethane material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current methods of constructing non-oil-filled or solid towed arrays have proven to be prohibitively expensive and complex due to their method of construction, which adversely affects reliability. Such techniques are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,774,423; 5,361,240; 5,883,857; and 4,733,378. As a result, solid towed arrays, while demonstrating substantial advantages over oil filled arrays, have met with limited acceptance within the seismic and surveillance communities due to their high price and unreliability. Thus there is a need for a technology which addresses the primary causes of high cost and low reliability with a unique method of construction that eliminates the primary cause of failure and reduces the labor required to construct the array.
The primary cause of failure of solid towed arrays results from the requirement to make electrical connections for each of the numerous hydrophones that make up a single channel in an array. In the case of the cable described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,857, the method of construction calls for a discrete entry into the primary cable in order to connect each hydrophone. Prior methods of construction have utilized a xe2x80x9cfloatationxe2x80x9d cable design that extrudes a buoyant material, such as foamed polyethylene, over an inner jacketed cable, which is then covered with an outer extrusion of polyurethane. The primary problem with this design is the fact that there is no bond between the polyethylene foam and both the inner and outer jackets since they are dissimilar materials. This procedure results in an effective path way between the unbonded dissimilar materials enabling water to migrate up and down the length of the cable in the path way when the outer protective shield of the cable is damaged or a leak occurs relative to the point of cable entry where the hydrophones are attached. Attempted solutions to this problem have proven to be unreliable.
Thus, there is a need for a method of constructing a solid or non-oil-filled hydrophone which does not enable formation of a path way for water to migrate up and down the length of the cable when the outer protective cable shield is damaged or a leak otherwise occurs and which provides a cost effective method and apparatus for a solid hydrophone.
Embodiments of non-oil-filled arrays, and embodiments of equipment and methods of forming non-oil-filled arrays, are described herein. An embodiment of an array provides minimization of cable entry points to one entry point for each channel irregardless of the number of hydrophones used to make up a hydrophone group or array. An embodiment also provides vastly superior protection of the primary cable bundle from damage over present known methods.
In an embodiment, the hydrophone array is provided with uniform buoyancy. Uniform buoyancy is achieved through the use of a hollow micro-sphere loaded Reaction Injection Molded (RIM) polyurethane material. Prior designs have relied on foaming in order incorporate air bubbles into molded areas in the hydrophone and hydrophone cable to achieve buoyancy. The result of prior methods, however, has been a significant variation in the amount of buoyancy achieved. Prior methods have been unable to precisely control the amount of buoyancy in areas of the cable where additional buoyancy is desired. For example, additional buoyancy is desired adjacent the approach to heavier sections of the hydrophone cable where connectors and in the case of digital arrays, the telemetry modules are located.
In one embodiment, a method enables precise adjustment of hydrophone cable buoyancy by providing precise adjustment of the concentration of hollow glass micro-spheres in areas where more or less buoyancy is desired. Use of an Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) process, results in significant reductions in cost and time in the construction of solid towed arrays. The RIM material enables use of a softer, lower durometer matrix in which the micro-spheres reside resulting in a hydrophone cable that is more flexibility than prior known construction methods. For example, the prior known methods provide a minimum bending radius of 6 feet, whereas an embodiment of the method and apparatus provides a minimum bending radius of 18 inches.
An embodiment also provides greater protection of the interior hydrophone cable due to the homogeneous nature of the RIM material (which eliminates the necessity of layering of dissimilar materials and the creation of potential path ways for water to run up and down the hydrophone cable as discussed above) which carries hydrophone signals and array telemetry, resulting in an improvement in the reliability of the system and greater immunity from damage due to abrasions or damage from other sources, for example, shark bite.

Method and apparatus for a non-oil-filled towed array with a novel hydrophone design and uniform buoyancy technique


Method for providing ventilatory settings with regard to the airway pressure levels of an artificial ventilator, the artificial ventilator is connected to a lung, including the steps of obtaining data samples of a gas concentration of the expired gas over a single breath; selecting a plurality of data samples from the obtained data samples; calculating a tracing value being sensitive to changes of alveolar dead space on the basis of the selected data samples; repeating steps a), b) and c) for obtaining a plurality of tracing values; and changing at least one airway pressure level of the artificial ventilator, wherein from an observation of a resulting course of the plurality of calculated tracing values an airway pressure level at which alveolar opening or lung overdistension or lung open condition or alveolar closing occurs is detected. Apparatus for providing ventilatory settings with regard to the airway pressure levels of an artificial ventilator is also disclosed.

Such a method and such an apparatus are known from WO 00/44427 A1. WO 00/44427 A1 deals with the problem of the artificial ventilation of patients with an ailing lung. The basic patho-physiological mechanism of an ailing lung is the lack of surfactant (substance which reduces surface tension) which can cause a collapse of major lung fractions and a dramatically reduced gas exchange area. Hence, to prevent undesirable sequelae and consecutive multiorgan failure, an important goal of protective ventilator therapy is a gentle and early "reopening" of the lung. Through the identification of the alveolar opening and especially of the alveolar closing pressures, a distressed lung may be kept open by proper choice of the airway pressure. However, the manual determination of opening and closing pressures is arduous and time consuming. Therefore, WO 00/44427 A1 suggests to use the partial pressures of oxygen (paO2) as an indicator for determining the opening and closing pressures of the lung. WO 00/44427 A1 has recognized that there is a significant hysteresis behaviour of the paO2 as a function of the ventilation pressure.
FIG. 1 shows the paO2 hysteresis of the same healthy (left) and ailing (right) lung. While there is almost no hysteresis in the healthy lung and the choice of ventilation pressures has no visible impact on the quality of gas exchange, the hysteresis is even more severe in an ailing lung. In many cases, gas exchange may be reduced so strongly that at typical ventilation pressures, a sufficient hemoglobin oxygen saturation (>85 mm Hg) may only be reached if high oxygen concentrations (e.g. 90 . . . 100%) are delivered to the patient.
For such an ailing lung, a ventilation strategy could be to first open the lung with a temporary high inspiratory airway pressure and then ventilate on the descending branch of the hysteresis such that a sufficient tidal volume is reached and gas exchange is maintained. This so called recruitment maneuver has become a common strategy in operating rooms and in the intensive care medicine. In general, to achieve a sufficient tidal volume it is necessary to ventilate the lung with a certain delta pressure, which is defined as:delta pressure=PIP−PEEPPIP is the peak inspiratory pressure and PEEP is the positive end expiratory pressure. The aim of the recruitment maneuver is to find the alveolar opening pressure and the alveolar closing pressure. It is then possible to set the peak inspiratory pressure slightly higher than the alveolar opening pressure and to set the positive end expiratory pressure slightly higher than the alveolar closing pressure. In this way ideally all previously closed lung units will be re-opened and at the same time all open lung units will be kept open.
During a recruitment maneuver the peak inspiratory pressure is stepwise increased so that as many lung units as possible are re-opened, while at the same time the positive end expiratory pressure is increased in order to keep the newly recruited lung units open. When recruiting a lung, some lung units open up and become overdistended, while other lung units are still closed. Thus, when increasing the peak inspiratory pressure in order to re-open as many lung units as possible, most of the opened lung units will be overdistended.
Due to the hysteresis behaviour of the lung, the values obtained for peak inspiratory pressure and for the positive end expiratory pressure during this process of a stepwise increase are too high to further ventilate the lung once the lung units are opened. Thus they need to be reduced systematically.
At first the excessive peak inspiratory pressure is reduced while the positive end expiratory pressure is maintained at its level. This reduction is performed until an adequate tidal volume is reached. From this point onwards both the peak inspiratory pressure and the positive end expiratory pressure are reduced simultaneously. The aim is to find the lowest value for the positive end expiratory pressure that would just maintain all re-opened lung units open. At this stage the peak inspiratory pressure is a secondary variable of interest. Noticeably, the tidal ventilation will change during this simultaneous reduction of the peak inspiratory pressure and the positive end expiratory pressure, since the relief of overdistension will initially increase the lung's compliance. Once the positive end expiratory pressure is too low to keep all previously re-opened lung units open, the point of alveolar closing is reached.
Having identified the values of the peak inspiratory pressure corresponding to the alveolar opening pressure and the positive end expiratory pressure corresponding to the alveolar closing pressure as outlined above, it is then possible to ventilate the lung in an optimal condition. First, all lung units are re-opened by choosing a peak inspiratory pressure which is slightly higher than the alveolar opening pressure, i.e. 2-5 cmH2O higher, and choosing a positive end expiratory pressure which is slightly higher than the alveolar closing pressure, i.e. 2-3 cmH2O higher. Afterwards the peak inspiratory pressure is reduced again to achieve the desired tidal volume. The corresponding ventilation stage corresponds to the optimal condition. An optimal compliance is achieved, since all lung units are opened, and no major overdistension is present.
By way of an example, FIG. 2 shows a typical recruitment maneuver in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the recruitment maneuver is carried out on the basis of a pressure controlled ventilation. Before the final recruitment maneuver takes place, the alveolar opening pressure and the alveolar closing pressure have to be identified. In a first step (step 1), PIP and PEEP are stepwise increased by means of an incremental limb until the alveolar opening pressures have been detected with regard to PIP and PEEP (steps 2 and 3). The alveolar opening pressure with regard to PIP is usually about 40 cmH2O in normal lungs and in the range of 55-60 cmH2O in sick lungs. After a successful alveolar opening, a decremental limb or stepwise decrease of PIP and PEEP is done (step 4) to determine the alveolar closing pressure (step 5). As outlined above initially only PIP is reduced as indicated at the transition from step 3 to step 4 in FIG. 2. After having identified the pressures for alveolar opening and alveolar closing, the final recruitment maneuver (step 6) is done with these new target pressures over 10 breaths and PEEP is set above the alveolar closing pressure to avoid pulmonary re-collapse. For example, PEEP is set 2 cmH2O above the alveolar closing pressure, i.e.PEEP=PEEPclose+2 cmH2O
Alternatively, a volume controlled ventilation can be carried out having the advantage that the ventilated volume remains constant and that all changes of the lung status can be related to changes within the alveoli.
In order to avoid the invasive measurement of paO2, WO 00/44427 A1 utilizes according to a first embodiment the endtidal CO2 concentration (etCO2) and/or the CO2 output as feedback signals for identification of the optimal ventilator settings for ailing lungs. Both feedback signals can be measured non-invasively. etCO2 can be obtained by measuring the CO2 concentration at the end of an expiration cycle. CO2 output (unit [ml CO2/min]) can be obtained from continuous measurements of the CO2 concentration (unit [%]) and air flow (unit [ml/min]) and subsequent breathwise computation of
            V      .                      CO        2                  Atom        =      RR    ·                  ∫        0        T                                    [                      CO            2                    ]                                              (            t            )                    ·                                                    V                .                            Atom                                                  (              t              )                                              𝔻                                                  T            during one expiration cycle. According to a second embodiment of WO 00/44427 A1, the hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO2) is measured non-invasively and is used as a feedback signal for identification of optimal ventilation parameters for ailing lungs.
In summary, WO 00/44427 A1 discloses a non-invasive method for determining the alveolar opening or closing of a lung based on one of the measurement of the parameters CO2 concentration (etCO2), CO2 output or hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO2). However, practical tests have shown various disadvantages of this method. One disadvantage is the fact that a single parameter is subject of various disturbances so that an average value of several parameters has to be taken over several breath cycles which causes a delay in the feed back path. Another disadvantage is the fact that the detection of alveolar opening cannot be clearly distinguished from an overdistension of the lung which could cause severe damages to the lung during the recruitment maneuver.

Non-invasive method and apparatus for optimizing the respiration of atelectatic lungs


A polyimide film having a polyimide as the primary constituent and containing at least a polymeric electroconductive material, wherein                in a weight-decrease vs. temperature-increase curve when the polyimide film is heated gradually from 30° C., a weight-decrease rate at a first inflection point, where an amount of difference in weight-decrease rates decreases first from 30° C., is in the range of −1.9% or more and −1.4% or less.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a polyimide film having a polyimide as the primary constituent and containing at least a polymeric electroconductive material, an image-forming apparatus having an intermediate transfer belt made of the polyimide film, a method for producing the polyimide film, and a method for producing the intermediate transfer belt.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some image-forming apparatuses by electrophotographic process employ an endless intermediate transfer belt (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 62-206567). In the image-forming apparatuses equipped with an intermediate transfer belt, an image is formed by forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of an image carrier, developing the electrostatic latent image with a toner into a toner image, transferring the toner image on the image carrier once onto the intermediate transfer belt electrostatically (primary transfer) by applying a bias voltage to the intermediate transfer belt circulating while in contact with the image carrier, finally retransferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt onto a recording paper and fixing the image thereon into a fixed toner image (secondary transfer).
The intermediate transfer belt is an endless element prepared by cutting a film-shaped base material into a long belt and connecting both ends of the belt to each other. Materials for use as the intermediate transfer belts hitherto proposed include conductive belts made of thermoplastic resin including a polycarbonate resin (see JP-A No. 6-95521); polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) (see JP-A Nos. 5-200904 and 6-228335); polyalkylene phthalate (see JP-A No. 6-149081), and blends of polycarbonate (PC)/polyalkylene terephthalate (PAT) (see JP-A No. 6-149083), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE)/PC, ETFE/PAT, and PC/PAT (see JP-A No. 6-149079); and the like.
However, a conductive material made of a thermoplastic resin such as a polycarbonate resin, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or the like is inferior in mechanical properties, leading to larger deformation of the belt by the stress during operation and consequently to less reliable formation of high-quality transferred images. In addition, it also has a shortened belt life, due to cracks generated at the belt edges during operation.
Alternatively, intermediate transfer belts made of a thermosetting polyimide resin, which is superior in mechanical properties and heat resistance, and conductive filler dispersed therein is proposed (see JP-A Nos. 5-77252 and 10-63115). An intermediate transfer belt made of a carbon black-dispersed thermosetting polyimide was also proposed (see JP-A No. 63-311263).
However, such intermediate transfer belts carry a problem that the intermediate transfer belts made of a thermosetting polyimide resin containing a conductive filler or carbon black as the conductive material exhibit decrease in volume or surface resistivity by repeated application of bias voltages during the primary transfer, and thus could not provide high-quality transfer images reliably. They also carry a disadvantage that if a conductive filler or carbon black is dispersed in the polyimide resin, the resulting belt becomes brittle and more vulnerable to cracks.
As a new measure to overcome these disadvantages, an intermediate transfer belt having a polyimide as the primary constituent and containing at least polyaniline and a dopant for making the polyaniline conductive was proposed (see JP-A No. 2001-109277).

Polyimide film, image-forming apparatus, method for producing the polyimide film, and method for producing the intermediate transfer belt


A game racket comprises a head, a shaft and a handle. The head is provided with a ball-striking surface comprising at least an elastic covering area which forms respectively on both sides of the ball-striking surface a covering plane serving to enhance the ball controllability of the ball-striking surface. The elastic covering area also serves to prevent the strings, which make up the ball-striking surface, from moving aside by a force of a ball impacting the ball-striking surface. The elastic covering area further serves the purpose of absorbing the shock wave generated by the impact of a ball on the ball-striking surface.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a prior art game racket 10 comprises a head 11, a handle 14, and a shaft 15 bridging the head 11 and the handle 14. The head 11 is composed of a ball-striking surface 13, which is formed by a network of longitudinal strings 12 and horizontal strings 12 passing respectively through string holes 16 in the head 11.
The ball-striking surface 13 is composed of a number of intersections 17 formed by the longitudinal strings 12 and the horizontal strings 12. Within the effective area of the ball-striking surface 13, the distance between the two intersections 17 is on the order of 11-18 mm, with each of the longitudinal segment 12' and the horizontal segment 12", which are adjacent to the intersection 17, having its own inclination direction and inclination rate or angle. Upon hitting a ball, the ball-striking surface 13 is distorted by a force. As a result, the ball and the ball-striking surface 13 form a contact area of a predetermined size. The size of the contact area depends on the speed of the ball that hits the ball-striking surface 13, ranging between the area formed by the four intersections a, b, c and d and the area formed by the four intersections a, b', c', and d'. If the ball hits the ball-striking surface 13 vertically, the ball will be returned by traveling in the direction of the normal vector S, as shown in FIG. 1.
When the mass center of the ball is normal to the intersections 17 a, b, c and d, the ball that hits the ball-striking surface 13 is returned in the direction of the normal vector S. The departing direction of a ball depends, to a great extent, on the contact point of the mass center of the ball. However, when the mass center of the ball makes contact with the strings 12' and 12" which have predetermined inclination rates such as f and g, as shown in FIG. 2, the ball will be returned in a direction that deviates a predetermined angle from the normal vector S. As a result, there will be an angular differential between the ball-striking direction of the racket 10 and the direction in which the ball travels. When a person swings the racket 10 in an attempt to strike the ball, it is very likely that the mass center of the ball makes contact with the strings 12' and 12" rather than the intersections 17. As a result, the ball that is returned often travels in a direction deviating a predetermined angle from the direction in which the racket 10 is swung. In other words, it is often difficult for a player to control the precise direction of return of such a ball.
Upon striking an incoming ball, the strings 12 making up the ball-like surface 13 are forced to move or spread aside, as shown in FIG. 4. As a result, the different strings 12 of the ball-striking surface 13 have different tensions. In addition, there is thus created a variation in the number of strings in any per unit area of the ball-striking surface 13. That is to say that the ball-striking surface 13 will not strike the ball uniformly over its entire area.
The prior art methods of reducing the transmission of the shock wave generated by the strings 12 of the ball-striking surface 13 are often ineffective. The shortcomings of the prior art racket 10 described above are true not only with a tennis racket but also with a badminton racket, a squash racket and the like.

Game racket having innovative stringed surface

No. 18, Alley 15, Lane 192, Sec. 1, Tung Shan Road