A generalized projection-slice theorem for divergent beam projections is disclosed. The theorem results in a method for processing the Fourier transform of the divergent beam projections at each view acquired by a CT system to the Fourier transform of the object function. Using this method, an inverse Fourier transform may be used to reconstruct tomographic images from the acquired divergent beam projections.

The present invention relates to computed tomography (CT) imaging apparatus; and more particularly, to a method for reconstructing images from divergent beams of acquired image data.
In a current computed tomography system, an x-ray source projects a fan-shaped beam which is collimated to lie within an X-Y plane of a Cartesian coordinate system, termed the "imaging plane." The x-ray beam passes through the object being imaged, such as a medical patient, and impinges upon an array of radiation detectors. The intensity of the transmitted radiation is dependent upon the attenuation of the x-ray beam by the object and each detector produces a separate electrical signal that is a measurement of the beam attenuation. The attenuation measurements from all the detectors are acquired separately to produce the transmission profile.
The source and detector array in a conventional CT system are rotated on a gantry within the imaging plane and around the object so that the angle at which the x-ray beam intersects the object constantly changes. A group of x-ray attenuation measurements from the detector array at a given angle is referred to as a "view" and a "scan" of the object comprises a set of views made at different angular orientations during one revolution of the x-ray source and detector. In a 2D scan, data is processed to construct an image that corresponds to a two dimensional slice taken through the object. The prevailing method for reconstructing an image from 2D data is referred to in the art as the filtered backprojection technique. This process converts the attenuation measurements from a scan into integers called "CT numbers" or "Hounsfield units", which are used to control the brightness of a corresponding pixel on a display.
The term "generation" is used in CT to describe successively commercially available types of CT systems utilizing different modes of scanning motion and x-ray detection. More specifically, each generation is characterized by a particular geometry of scanning motion, scanning time, shape of the x-ray beam, and detector system.
As shown in FIG. 1, the first generation utilized a single pencil x-ray beam and a single scintillation crystal-photomultiplier tube detector for each tomographic slice. After a single linear motion or traversal of the x-ray tube and detector, during which time 160 separate x-ray attenuation or detector readings are typically taken, the x-ray tube and detector are rotated through 1° and another linear scan is performed to acquire another view. This is repeated typically to acquire 180 views.
A second generation of devices developed to shorten the scanning times by gathering data more quickly is shown in FIG. 2. In these units a modified fan beam in which anywhere from three to 52 individual collimated x-ray beams and an equal number of detectors are used. Individual beams resemble the single beam of a first generation scanner. However, a collection of from three to 52 of these beams contiguous to one another allows multiple adjacent cores of tissue to be examined simultaneously. The configuration of these contiguous cores of tissue resembles a fan, with the thickness of the fan material determined by the collimation of the beam and in turn determining the slice thickness. Because of the angular difference of each beam relative to the others, several different angular views through the body slice are being examined simultaneously. Superimposed on this is a linear translation or scan of the x-ray tube and detectors through the body slice. Thus, at the end of a single translational scan, during which time 160 readings may be made by each detector, the total number of readings obtained is equal to the number of detectors times 160. The increment of angular rotation between views can be significantly larger than with a first generation unit, up to as much as 36°. Thus, the number of distinct rotations of the scanning apparatus can be significantly reduced, with a coincidental reduction in scanning time. By gathering more data per translation, fewer translations are needed.
To obtain even faster scanning times it is necessary to eliminate the complex translational-rotational motion of the first two generations. As shown in FIG. 3, third generation scanners therefore use a much wider fan beam. In fact, the angle of the beam may be wide enough to encompass most or all of an entire patient section without the need for a linear translation of the x-ray tube and detectors. As in the first two generations, the detectors, now in the form of a large array, are rigidly aligned relative to the x-ray beam, and there are no translational motions at all. The tube and detector array are synchronously rotated about the patient through an angle of 180–360°. Thus, there is only one type of motion, allowing a much faster scanning time to be achieved. After one rotation, a single tomographic section is obtained.
Fourth generation scanners feature a wide fan beam similar to the third generation CT system as shown in FIG. 4. As before, the x-ray tube rotates through 360° without having to make any translational motion. However, unlike in the other scanners, the detectors are not aligned rigidly relative to the x-ray beam. In this system only the x-ray tube rotates. A large ring of detectors are fixed in an outer circle in the scanning plane. The necessity of rotating only the tube, but not the detectors, allows faster scan time.
Most of the commercially available CT systems employ image reconstruction methods based on the concepts of Radon space and the Radon transform. For the pencil beam case, the data is automatically acquired in Radon space. Therefore a Fourier transform can directly solve the image reconstruction problem by employing the well-known Fourier-slice theorem. Such an image reconstruction procedure is called filtered backprojection (FBP). The success of FBP reconstruction is due to the translational and rotational symmetry of the acquired projection data. In other words, in a parallel beam data acquisition, the projection data are invariant under a translation and/or a rotation about the object to be imaged. For the fan beam case, one can solve the image reconstruction problem in a similar fashion, however, to do this an additional "rebinning" step is required to transform the fan beam data into parallel beam data. The overwhelming acceptance of the concepts of Radon space and the Radon transform in the two dimensional case gives this approach to CT image reconstruction a paramount position in tomographic image reconstruction.
The Radon space and Radon transformation reconstruction methodology is more problematic when applied to three-dimensional image reconstruction. Three-dimensional CT, or volume CT, employs an x-ray source that projects a cone beam on a two-dimensional array of detector elements as shown in FIG. 5. Each view is thus a 2D array of x-ray attenuation measurements and a complete scan produced by acquiring multiple views as the x-ray source and detector array are revolved around the subject results in a 3D array of attenuation measurements. The reason for this difficulty is that the simple relation between the Radon transform and the x-ray projection transform for the 2D case in not valid in the 3D cone beam case. In the three-dimensional case, the Radon transform is defined as an integral over a plane, not an integral along a straight line. Consequently, we have difficulty generalizing the success of the Radon transform as applied to the 2D fan beam reconstruction to the 3D cone beam reconstruction. In other words, we have not managed to derive a shift-invariant FBP method by directly rebinning the measured cone beam data into Radon space. Numerous solutions to this problem have been proposed as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,270,926; 6,104,775; 5,257,183; 5,625,660; 6,097,784; 6,219,441; and 5,400,255.
It is well known that the projection-slice theorem (PST) plays an important role in the image reconstruction from two- and three-dimensional parallel-beam projections. The power of the PST lies in the fact that Fourier transform of a single view of parallel-beam projections is mapped into a single line (two-dimensional case) or a single slice (three-dimensional case) in the Fourier space via the PST. In other words, a complete Fourier space of the image object can be built up from the Fourier transforms of the sequentially measured parallel-beam projection data. Once all the Fourier information of the image object is known, an inverse Fourier transform can be performed to reconstruct the image. Along the direction of the parallel-beam projections, there is a shift-invariance of the image object in a single view of the parallel-beam projections. This is the fundamental reason for the one-to-one correspondence between the Fourier transform of parallel-beam projections and a straight line or a slice in the Fourier space. The name of the projection-slice theorem follows from this one-to-one correspondence.
In practice, divergent fan-beam and cone-beam scanning modes have the potential to allow fast data acquisition. But image reconstruction from divergent-beam projections poses a challenge. In particular, the PST is not directly applicable to the divergent-beam projections since the shift-invariance in a single view of projections is lost in the divergent-beam cases. One way to bypass this problem is to explicitly rebin the measured divergent-beam projections into parallel beam projections. This is the basic method currently used in solving the problem of fan-beam image reconstruction. After the rebinning process, one can take the advantages of the fast Fourier transforms (FFT) to efficiently reconstruct images. There are some issues on the potential loss of image spatial resolution due to the data rebinning. But there are also some advantages in generating uniform distribution of image noise due to the non-local characteristic of the Fourier transform. Alternatively, a fan-beam projection can also be relabeled in terms of Radon variables so that the two-dimensional inverse Radon transform can be used to reconstruct images. In this way, a convolution-based fan-beam image reconstruction algorithm can be readily developed. The advantage of this type of reconstruction algorithm is the explicit filtered backprojection (FBP) structure. The disadvantage of the convolution-based method is that the weight in the backprojection step depends on the individual image pixels and thus noise distribution may not be uniform. This may pose problems in the clinical interpretation of tomographic images. In practice, different CT manufactures may utilize different strategies in balancing these advantages and disadvantages.
In the cone-beam case, it is much more complicated to rebin cone-beam projections into parallel-beam projections. The huge cone-beam data set also poses a big challenge to the potential data storage during the rebinning process. The main stream of the developments in cone-beam reconstruction has been focused on the development of approximate or exact reconstruction methods. For circular-based source trajectories, methods disclosed by L. A. Feldkamp, L. C. Davis, and J. W. Kress, "Practical Cone Beam Algorithm," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 1, 612–619(1984); G. Wang, T. H. Lin, P. Cheng, and D. M. Shinozaki, "A general cone-beam reconstruction algorithm," IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 12, 486–496 (1993); generate acceptable image quality up to moderate cone angles (up to 10° or so). Exact reconstruction algorithms have also been proposed and further developed for both helical source trajectory and more general source trajectories. Most recently, a mathematically exact and shift-invariant FBP reconstruction formula was proposed for the helical/spiral source trajectory A. Katsevich, "Theoretically exact filtered backprojection-type inversion algorithm for spiral CT," SIAM (Soc. Ind. Appl. Math.) J. Appl. Math. 62, 2012–2026 (2002). Starting with either the original Tuy's framework or Grangeat's framework, upon an appropriate choice of weighting function over the redundant data, shift-invariant FBP reconstruction formula has been derived for a general source trajectory. Similar to the fan-beam FBP reconstruction algorithm the characteristic of the convolution-based cone-beam reconstruction algorithm is the voxel-dependent weighting factor in the backprojection step. This will cause non-uniform distribution of the image noise. Moreover, due to the local nature of the newly developed convolution-based cone-beam image reconstruction algorithms, different image voxels are reconstructed by using cone-beam projection data acquired at different pieces of the source trajectory. Namely, different image voxels are reconstructed by using the data acquired under different physical conditions. This will potentially lead to some data inconsistency in dynamic imaging. Finally, the current convolution-based image reconstruction algorithms are only valid for some discrete pitch values in the case of helical/spiral source trajectory. This feature limits their application in a helical/spiral cone-beam CT scanner.
Therefore, it is desirable to have some alternative ways to allow a balance between computational efficiency and non-local noise distribution in the cone-beam image reconstruction. It is also important to avoid a global data rebinning procedure. Namely, a data rebinning procedure from cone-beam projection data to parallel-beam projections after the data acquisition is complete.

Fourier space tomographic image reconstruction method


Crowbar current in a CMOS amplifier circuit is limited during a transition state where one transistor is being turned on and another transistor is being turned off. The transistor that is being turned off is caused to pass through a midpoint state before the transistor that is being turned on is allowed to transition through a similar midpoint state. In one embodiment, independent gate voltages are applied to the P and N transistors of a CMOS amplifier. The gate voltages are independently controlled prior to passage through a midpoint level and then converge towards one another after passage through the midpoint state.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related generally to complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor CMOS circuits. It is more specifically directed to the design of output buffers in memory chips.
2. Description of the Related Art
CMOS amplifiers are conventionally constructed with a N-channel field effect transistor and a P-channel field effect transistor (FET) connected in series between ground and a positive voltage supply, Vcc. The source of the N-type transistor connects directly or indirectly to ground. The source of the opposing P-type transistor connects directly or indirectly to Vcc. The drains of the two transistors are connected together and their gates are also connected together.
During static operation, a gate voltage, V.sub.g, which develops at the gates of the transistors, remains at one or the other of Vcc and ground. This keeps one of the complementary transistors turned off and thereby minimizes the series current flowing from Vcc through the P and N transistors to ground.
During dynamic operation, the gate voltage V.sub.g transitions between Vcc and ground. As it does so, it passes through a range of values where both the N and P transistors are turned on. A relatively high magnitude of current surges through the transistors, passing from Vcc to ground during this time period. The current surge is referred to as "crowbar" current. Crowbar current is undesirable because it drains substantial amounts of energy from the power supply.
The range of gate voltage values where crowbar current flows is referred to as the crowbar region. The conventional method for minimizing power consumption due to crowbar flow is to minimize the amount of time spent by the gate voltage V.sub.g in the crowbar region. But this produces another problem, referred to as the L(di/dt) problem. The slope dV.sub.g /dt of the gate voltage V.sub.g becomes relatively large as time spent in the crowbar region is reduced. Since drain-to-source current, I.sub.DS, is a function of gate voltage, V.sub.g, the rate of change for drain-to-source current dI.sub.DS /dt increases as dV.sub.g /dt increases. An undesirable voltage surge, V=L(dI.sub.DS /dt) develops along the interconnect leads which couple the CMOS amplifier to the power supply. The surge is in response to the rate of change dV.sub.g /dt at the gates of the CMOS amplifier. L refers to the inductance of the interconnect leads. Interconnect inductance is particularly a problem at circuit portions where on-chip ground or power lines connect by way of relatively long conductors to the ground or power plane of a printed circuit board.
The compromise solution to both the crowbar problem and the Ldi/dt problem has been to minimize the time spent by gate voltage V.sub.g in the crowbar region while limiting the slope dV.sub.g /dt to a predefined maximum value.
There are circumstances, however, where such a compromise solution cannot be used. The design of adjacent circuitry might require the gate voltage V.sub.g to remain within the crowbar region for relatively long periods of time.
One example of this is encountered in the design of high-density static random-access memories (SRAM's) that rely on CMOS technology. Large parasitic capacitances develop either in the bit line structure of the memory device or in an intermediate data bus structure which couples a large number of memory cells to a final output buffer. Data readout time can be undesirably prolonged by the time required for charging and/or discharging the parasitic capacitors. To overcome this problem, the bit line and/or intermediate data bus is pre-charged in between each memory readout, to an amplifier switching point voltage, Vcc/2. This eases the burden placed on the sense amplifiers. The sense amplifiers have input lines coupled to the long bit lines and output lines coupled to the intermediate data bus. When the input and/or output lines are pre-charged to V.sub.cc /2, less time and/or energy is consumed by the sense amplifiers as they drive the intermediate data bus either to Vcc or ground as individual memory cells are addressed and their states are sensed.
A pre-charge approach of this type is disclosed for example, in a paper by Shinpei Kaayano, et al., entitled "265K.times.1/64K.times.4 CMOS SRAM's" IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, vol. SC-21, No. 5, Oct. 1986. A bus pre-charge circuit is provided at the input side of the chip's final output amplifiers.
Given the constraint that a switching point voltage, Vcc/2, is forced to appear on a line coupled to the gates of each CMOS output amplifier, the problem then becomes, how to transfer a sensed bit state through a CMOS amplifier in minimal time, while still minimizing crowbar current and the corresponding dI.sub.DS /dt rate of change.

CMOS circuit with crowbar limiting function


A structure for mounting a canister to an automobile wherein transmission of vibration generated by a wheel is reduced so as to prevent adsorbing agents in the canister from being worn. Wheels are mounted to left and right side members via respective suspensions. A cross member is connected between the left and right side members. The container, which accommodates adsorbing agents, is mounted to the cross member in the center between the left and right side members.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for mounting a canister to an automobile. The canister accommodates adsorbing agents for adsorbing evaporative fuel generated in a fuel tank and, more particularly, to a structure for mounting the canister. The structure reduces transmission of vibration generated in a wheel of the automobile to the canister.
2) Description of the Related Art
In an automobile having an internal combustion engine using gasoline, an evaporative fuel collecting system is used to collect evaporative fuel generated in a fuel tank. The evaporative fuel collecting system is provided with a canister which accommodates adsorbing agents such as activated carbon. The activated carbon adsorbs the evaporative fuel introduced into the canister. Accordingly, the evaporative fuel is prevented from being emitted to atmosphere.
The canister is preferably mounted near the fuel tank so that an operation for connecting tubing between the fuel tank and the canister is easily performed. Such a structure for mounting the canister is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 63-119419. In this structure, the fuel tank is positioned between rear side members provided on opposite sides of the automobile. The canister is mounted to one of the rear side members at a position adjacent to the fuel tank.
When the canister is mounted to a rear side member as mentioned above, vibration generated in a wheel on the side where the canister is mounted is transmitted to the canister via the vehicle suspension and the rear side member. In this case, the grain-like adsorbing agents such as grains of activated carbon are agitated in the canister. This causes the grains of activated. Carbon to rub against to each other, resulting in wearing of the grains of activated carbon. Very small particles are produced by the wearing of the grains of activated carbon. The particles produced by the wearing of the grains of activated carbon may flow into a device such as a solenoid valve provided downstream of the canister. Accordingly, there is a problem in that normal operation of the solenoid valve is not performed due to the small particles accumulating inside the solenoid valve.
Due to the wearing of the grains of activated carbon, the net amount of activated carbon accommodated in the canister is reduced. This results in lesser amount of evaporative fuel being collected in the canister. Additionally, if an open space is formed in the canister due to the wearing of the grains of activated carbon, the evaporative fuel introduced into the canister may directly flow through the canister without being adsorbed into activated carbon. This causes a problem in which the collection efficiency of the evaporative fuel is remarkably decreased.

Structure for mounting a canister for reducing transmission of vibration generated in a wheel to the canister


A landscaping block, patio block, wall block and/or retaining wall block having a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface that can be used in landscaping, retaining wall, and/or patio block systems utilizing a plurality of blocks with a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface. The blocks having the multi-textured or patterned exposed surface can be used in landscaping, retaining wall, and/or patio block systems having a first block type and a second block type. The multi-textured or patterned exposed surface blocks can be used in the construction of walls, fences, and patios to create a geometric design or pattern or a repeating geometric design or pattern in a visually exposed surface of the wall, fence and/or patio constructed.

Patios, fences, walls, and retaining walls are used in various landscaping projects and are available in a wide variety of styles. Numerous methods and materials exist for the construction of patios, fences, walls and retaining walls. Such methods include the use of natural stone, poured concrete, precast panels, masonry, and landscape timbers or railroad ties.
In recent years, segmental concrete wall, patio and landscaping units, which may be laid, positioned or dry stacked without the use of mortar or other complex securing means, have become widely accepted in the construction of patios, fences, walls and retaining walls. Such patio, wall and landscaping units have gained popularity because they are mass produced and, consequently, relatively inexpensive. They are structurally sound, easy and relatively inexpensive to install, and couple the durability of concrete with the attractiveness of various architectural finishes.
In the manufacture of patio, wall and landscaping blocks and other kinds of blocks made from concrete, it is common to use a mold that forms a block module which is then split to form two or more blocks. Another method is wherein blocks are individually formed in a mold and the surfaces are textured by removal of the mold. Another known method of creating a block having an irregular or textured surface is to form the block in a mold box that has been provided with a sidewall liner shaped to impart the irregular or textured surface on the block during the block molding process.
In the construction of a patio, wall or fence the aesthetic design of the individual block units and the overall visually pleasing aesthetic appearance of the patio, wall or fence is very desirable. Blocks that have a desirable texture or pattern create an exposed surface of a patio, wall or fence that is visually appealing.
It would be desirable to provide a patio, wall or landscaping block with a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface for use in constructing a wall, retaining wall, fence, patio or the like. It would be further desirable to provide a block with a multi-textured pattern or textured surface that could create multiple desirable and aesthetic designs in an exposed surface of a patio, wall, fence or the like.
It would be desirable to provide a patio, wall or landscaping block having a chamfer on the sides and top of the front face of the block, to reduce the probability of sustaining damage to the block edges during manufacture, plant-handling, transportation and site installation handling. It would further be desirable that the sides and top of the front face of the wall block have an angled chamfer which creates block edges that are greater than 90° from a vertical plane formed from the sides and front of the block. The greater than 90° edges are harder to chip off or wear away during manufacture, plant-handling, transportation and site installation handling, and thereby minimize any damage to block edges.
It would be desirable to provide a system of multi-textured or patterned blocks for constructing a patio, wall or fence that combines the ease of installation of modern segmental wall blocks, patio blocks and landscaping blocks with the attractive appearance of an aesthetic design.
It would be desirable to provide a block system for constructing a wall, patio or fence that utilizes a block that has a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface that allows complex designs or patterns to be formed or created onto an exposed surface of the constructed wall, patio or fence such that the contrast and/or differences between a first pattern or texture and a second pattern or texture (and the differences between other additional patterns and textures as desired) would create the pattern or design onto the overall visually exposed surfaces of the wall, patio or fence. It would further be desirable to provide a block system for constructing a wall, patio or fence that utilizes a first block type that has a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface and a second block type that has a multi-textured or patterned exposed surface that would allow for more complex designs or patterns to be formed or created into an exposed surface of the constructed wall, patio or fence.

Multi-textured or patterned exposed surface of a landscaping block, wall block, patio block and block system


The present invention provides a heterojunction photodiode which includes a pn or Schottky-barrier junction formed in a first material region having a bandgap energy Eg1. When reverse-biased, the junction creates a depletion region which expands towards a second material region having a bandgap energy Eg2 which is less than Eg1. This facilitates signal photocurrent generated in the second region to flow efficiently through the junction in the first region while minimizing the process-related dark currents and associated noise due to near junction defects and imperfect surfaces which typically reduce photodiode device performance. The heterojunction photodiode can be included in an imaging system which includes an array of junctions to form an imager.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to optoelectronic devices and, more particularly, to infrared photodiode photodetectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photodetectors are used in numerous applications to detect light and provide a corresponding electrical signal. Infrared (IR) photodetectors are one class of detectors which are included in a variety of applications, such as night vision, communications, and environmental monitoring. IR detectors can be based on several different material systems, including silicon (Si), gallium arsenide (GaAs), silicon germanium (SiGe), aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs), lead salts (PbS, PbSeTe, PbSnTe), various Hg-bearing compounds, pseudobinary alloys of HgTe and HgSe with CdTe, CdSe, MnTe, MnSe, ZnTe, and ZnSe. Mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe or MCT) is attractive because it has a direct energy gap, can be grown as high-quality epitaxial thin films on transparent substrates, can be doped to obtain both high and low carrier concentrations, and spans the entire IR wavelength range from ˜0.8 μm to >20 μm. It can also be compositionally graded to vary the bandgap energy with position. More information regarding MCT photodetectors can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,407.
Photodiodes provide the highest performance of all photodetectors. A photodiode consists of a semiconductor pn junction. The semiconductor absorbs light having photon energy higher than the semiconductor's bandgap, creating electron-hole pairs. If the light is absorbed in the n(p)-region, the holes (electrons) are the minority carriers and diffuse to the depletion region, where they are swept by the depletion region electric field into the p(n)-region to create a photocurrent that becomes the detector signal. Absorption of light in the depletion region produces this sweeping without need for diffusion.
The fundamental quality of a detector is its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); i.e., the ratio of the photocurrent to the noise current present in the detector under measurement conditions. The highest quality a detector can have in any operating condition is to have a SNR limited by the noise current that comes from the photon background itself. This condition is called "background-limited performance" or BLIP. The highest BLIP quality is attained when every absorbed photon generates a minority carrier that contributes to the photocurrent. The efficiency of minority carrier collection is called the quantum efficiency, and perfect detectors will have a quantum efficiency of 1. Note that if the light is absorbed in a material of relatively low bandgap, but the pn-junction is in a portion of the semiconductor structure with a wide bandgap (i.e., if the structure is a type of "heterostructure" having spatially varying energy gaps), under some conditions an energy barrier exists that frustrates diffusion of minority carriers to the depletion region and significantly reduces the photocurrent.
Current MCT detector technology does not operate near its full potential. One reason is because of point and extended defects in the material, which can be caused by impurities or vacancies, imperfect surfaces, interfaces, or damage introduced during fabrication. These defects can cause recombination of any minority carrier in their vicinity, in particular those photogenerated carriers that produce the detector signal. This recombination decreases the detector quantum efficiency.
The defects mentioned above may also cause the detectors to have too much noise. Dark current, which is a current that flows through the photodetector in the absence of incident light, adds noise to that inherent in the photocurrent, lowering the SNR below the BLIP level. The dark current is caused by the thermal generation or tunneling of charge carriers due to fundamental mechanisms, to point defects, or to extended defects. It is generally desired to have the photodetector provide its maximum (BLIP) sensitivity at as high at temperature as possible, up to room temperature to avoid the need for elaborate cooling schemes. However, the thermally generated dark current-induced noise typically increases exponentially with increasing operating temperature. Consequently, there is a need for a photodetector with fewer defects near the active region so that, at a given temperature, the quantum efficiency is improved and the defect-generated noise is reduced.
Dark currents are lower in materials with higher ("wider") energy gaps than those in materials with lower ("narrower") gaps. This is because the defects can only generate dark currents in proportion to the equilibrium concentration of minority carriers in the semiconductor, and because this concentration for fundamental physical reasons is exponentially lower in higher energy gap materials. Therefore, one expects the dark currents from defects to be reduced greatly in wide bandgap materials compared to their currents in narrow gap materials. Roughly, for a given level of defect-moderated and fundamental mechanisms, the same dark current density will be realized for a given ratio of energy gap to temperature.


An aircraft based satellite communication (SATCOM) terminal includes a broadband aperture configured to communicate through non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites for broadband communications, a management aperture configured to receive NGSO satellite management information from a geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite, and at least one processor that performs operations. The operations receive the NGSO satellite management information from the GSO satellite, where the NGSO satellite management information indicates positions and associated time of a set of the NGSO satellites. The operations acquire a second communication link with a second NGSO satellite among the set using the NGSO satellite management information during handoff switching from using a first communication link that was previously acquired with a first NGSO satellite to using the second communication link being acquired with the second NGSO satellite. The operations then perform broadband communications through the broadband aperture and the second communication link with the second NGSO satellite. Related ground-based control centers are disclosed.

Commercial aircraft provide broadband data traffic communications, e.g., Internet, for passengers through satellite communication systems. These systems are being designed for use of mixed orbit inflight connectivity service where service will be delivered from satellites that are a mix of Non Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) Satellite and Geostationary Orbit (GSO) Satellite. NGSO includes Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) satellites. GSO includes Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO) satellites. FIG. 1 illustrates aeronautical communications services provided through NGSO satellites overlaid by a GSO satellite.
A commercial broadband system using NGSO satellites for aircraft communications has not yet been demonstrated. SpaceX recently shared its intention of extending the Starlink (LEO Broadband System) service to aircraft in its blanket license application to FCC. Over decades, aeronautical broadband service has been primarily delivered using GSO satellites. With the introduction of the next-generation LEO satellite constellations, airline operators are eager to offer passenger low-latency high-speed inflight connectivity. However, the aeronautical antenna and modem technology will have substantial challenges. Some challenges that arise when attempting to deliver inflight connectivity to commercial aviation using next-generation NGSO satellites, primarily LEO satellites, include the following:
1) Approximate broadband communication service disruption of about 7 seconds occurring every 5 to 6 minutes;
2) Higher probability of acquisition failure when attempting to join the moving NGSO satellite;
3) Frequent occurrences of aircraft satellite communication systems needing to operate without access to accurate information needed to assist with tracking the ever moving fleet of NGSO satellites; and
4) Waste of large bandwidth due to replication of multicast terrestrially and over the NGSO satellites.

Dual aperture dual modem SATCOM terminal


A method for monitoring the adjustment movement of a component, in particular a window pane or a sunroof in motor vehicles, which is driven by a drive device and can be adjusted in a translatory or rotary fashion. A plurality of input signals which can be derived from the drive device and which represent a deceleration of the adjustment movement of the drive device are input at input neurons of an input layer of a neural network with at least one hidden layer having hidden neurons. Said network outputting, at at least one output neuron of an output layer, an output value which corresponds to the adjusting force or to a trapped state or nontrapped state.

The invention relates to a method for monitoring the adjustment movement of a component which is driven by a drive device and is adjustable in a translatory or rotary fashion, in particular a method for determining the force with which a drive device adjusts a component or traps an object which is located in the adjustment travel of the component.
DE 198 40 164 A1 discloses a method for adjusting a component which can be moved in a translatory fashion between two positions and in which the instantaneous force effect on the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion from the period length of a drive motor which is part of a drive device which adjusts the component which can be adjusted in a translatory fashion is calculated from force change values which are calculated from changes in the rotational speed of the drive motor, and from which summed force change values and force change values which have been weighted by means of equation systems which have been created by means of a mathematical model of the entire adjustment device including the drive are determined, said force change values depending exclusively on the behavior of the drive motor. The instantaneous force effect on the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion is used as a criterion for the switching off or reversal of the drive motor, the value of an upper threshold value being used instead of the value for the change in rotational speed in the calculation of the force change values for each value for a change in rotational speed which exceeds said upper threshold value.
In order to limit the number of physical variables to be sensed and the frequency of the samplings of the physical variables, the period length of the rotations of the drive motor is sensed by means of a magnet wheel and two Hall sensors. Fine resolution monitoring of the trapping prevention criteria is aimed at on the basis of the sensed period length in conjunction with various parameters sensed empirically or by measuring means, by extrapolating the sensed period length.
For this purpose, in order to determine the instantaneous force effect on the component which is moved in a translatory fashion, the measured values of the period length which are available only on a period basis are extrapolated, the parameters which are used during the extrapolation formula modulating the entire system of the drive device and being determined by means of the spring stiffness, attenuation and friction values of the entire system. As a result, spectral components of the period time profile which originate from vibrations are evaluated more weakly than those which originate from a case of trapping. From the estimated values which are determined for the period length in this way, the change in rotational speed is then estimated at a time with respect to the preceding time using a motor voltage filter and a displacement profile filter in order to eliminate the influences of the motor voltage and the position of the movable vehicle component on the motor speed.
The to eliminate the motor voltage and position of the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion on the motor speed model, inter alia, the dynamic behavior of the drive motor when there are changes in voltage. A further correction is performed by the estimated changes in rotational speed being compared with a fixed, chronologically constant lower limit. If the estimated changes in rotational speed exceed this lower limit, they are multiplied by a proportionality factor which represents the steepness of the motor characteristic curve of the drive motor.
DE 40 20 351 C2 discloses a method for controlling a window pane of a motor vehicle in which a correction method is applied in order to derive a trapping prevention criterion which is intended to prevent excessively early response of a trapping prevention device. For this purpose, a first sensor device supplies control electronics with signals which are associated in terms of their origin with the window pane and the drive device which moves the window pane, these signals being the voltage of the onboard electrical system, the window lifter speed, the torque of the drive, the weight of the window pane etc., while a second sensor element supplies the control electronics with signals which are not associated in terms of their origin with the window pane and the drive device, specifically with acceleration forces which act on the vehicle bodywork. In order to prevent the trapping prevention device being incorrectly switched off or reversed, the signals of the second sensor element are used as a basic level and the signals of the first sensor device are evaluated in terms of safety criteria.
In the known method, use is made of a relative detection of a vehicle body by means of a rise in the period length, that is to say the force changes at successive time intervals are compared with one another, as a result of which the run up of the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion can be differentiated only with difficulty from the trapping of an object in the adjustment travel of the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion.
When there are jumps in voltage in the onboard electrical system of a motor vehicle and when sections of poor road are traveled over, the known methods bring about overcompensation of the interference variables, which leads to high offsets with very high forces so that the permissible trapping forces are exceeded. A further disadvantage of the known methods is that the force acting on the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion can be detected only when there is a rise in the period length, which leads to high forces when there is a degression in the period length, that is to say when the period length decreases, for example owing to ease of movement of the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion, which also leads to increased trapping forces.
Changes in the profile of the adjustment travel of the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion which are due to ageing and wear are compensated in the known method by parameter changes, which entails readjustment of the control algorithm and a correspondingly complex control method.
Finally, the known methods are dependent on the selection of a specific number of different parameters which are decisive for the switching off and reversing of the component which can be moved in a translatory fashion, which entails corresponding complexity of sensor systems and control equipment when there is a relatively large number of parameters.
DE 101 96 629 T1 discloses the use of a neural network in a sensor system for a driven closing system and a method for preventing a driven closing system from closing according to requirements, in which method the sensor system detects objects by means of a proximity sensor before trapping occurs. However, the problems which occur with the known methods which are specified above relate to the sensing of signals of the drive device which makes evaluation and fault correction particularly difficult owing to the variables which influence one another.

Method for monitoring the adjustment movement of a component driven by a drive device

Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co KG, Coburg


A variable valve operating mechanism of a four-stroke internal combustion engine includes a slide pin energized by a pin spring in a direction while oil pressure acting on the slide pin in the opposite direction through oil pressure supply passages. The slide pin moves by controlling the oil pressure causing a stem contact surface and a stem through hole to selectively face a valve stem. The mechanism also includes an oil discharge passage including a discharge port which is opened to allow oil acting the slide pin to be discharged when the valve lifter is pressed by a valve operating cam to move for opening the valve. The mechanism is capable of quickly moving the slide pin upon the release of oil pressure when the valve comes into a quiescent state. Therefore, the response of transitioning the variable valve from an operating state to the quiescent state is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable valve operating mechanism of a four-stroke internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Background Art
For a variable valve operating mechanism of a four-stroke internal combustion engine provided including a hydraulically controlled valve pausing mechanism in a valve lifter which is provided between a valve operating cam and a valve stem of a poppet valve, an example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-27908.
The Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-27908 disclosed the following structure. A slide pin holder is fit and attached in a valve lifter, and a slide pin is fit into the slide pin holder so as to slide in a direction orthogonal to a valve stem. In the slide pin, a stem contact surface abutting on the valve stem of the poppet valve energized by a valve spring and a stem through-hole through which the valve stem penetrates are formed in adjacent to each other. The slide pin is energized by the pin spring in one direction, and oil pressure acts on the slide pin in the opposite direction through an oil pressure supply passage. The slide pin is moved by controlling the oil pressure to cause the stem contact surface and stem through hole to selectively face the valve stem.
Accordingly, when the oil pressure acts to move the slide pin against the pin spring and cause the stem contact surface to face the valve stem, the valve lifter is pressed by the valve operating cam to move, and accordingly, the slide pin presses the valve stem to drive the valve open.
On the other hand, when the oil pressure is released, the slide pin is moved by energizing force of the pin spring to cause the stem through hole to face the valve stem. Even if the valve lifter is pressed by the valve operating cam, therefore, the valve stem penetrates the stem through hole and does not operate, so that the valve is brought into a quiescent state.
In the case where the valve comes into an operating (opening and closing drive) state, when the oil pressure acts on the slide pin, air is released to the opposite side, and the slide pin instantly moves, thus providing a good response. In the case where the valve comes into the quiescent state, however, oil is not actively discharged even if the oil pressure is released. Accordingly, when the oil pressure is not instantly relieved completely, the movement of the slide pin by the spring force of the pin spring is slow, and a desired response cannot be obtained.
Especially in the case of a so-called cylinder quiescent state in which all valves of a cylinder are paused, if the movement of the slide pin is delayed from the release of the oil pressure and the timing of the cylinder to come into the cylinder quiescent state is delayed, fuel feed control becomes difficult to cause fuel to be accumulated or cause pumping loss.

Variable valve operating mechanism of four-stroke internal combustion engine


Apparatus for connecting two mutually crossing cable portions (2, 3) at respective intersections (17) of a netting formed from one or more cables, with two wires to be wound around the cable portions at the intersections, comprises two hollow wheels (4, 5) which are driven about a common axis (DA) in mutually opposite directions, with wire receiving means (20, 21) for the wires (12, 13), which are mounted in cavities in the drive wheels (4, 5) displaceably in mutually opposite axial directions and are non-rotatably connected to the drive wheels (4, 5). The two hollow wheels (4, 5) are rotatably mounted on a frame (1, 6, 7) and are driven by a common drive means (8-10, 14).

An apparatus of the kind is known from EP 0 428 848 A1, which corresponds to the patent application identified above. In the known apparatus, the two wires are wound around the cable portions at the intersections by means of two winding elements which have wire entrainment means. The two winding elements rotate in opposite directions of rotation about a common axis of rotation which is determined by the cable portions to be wound around.
The problem of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of the kind set forth above, in which a common drive is provided for the two winding elements in a simple manner.
In accordance with the present invention that problem is solved by
two wheels of a hollow configuration which are driven about a common axis in mutually opposite directions; PA1 wire receiving means for the wires which are to be wound around the cable portions at the intersections, the wire receiving means being mounted in the cavities in the drive wheels displaceably in mutually opposite axial directions and being non-rotatably connected to the hollow wheels; PA1 a frame on which the two hollow wheels are rotatably mounted; and PA1 a common drive device for the two hollow wheels.
The two hollow wheels guarantee a support for winding elements which are for example of a cylindrical configuration and which contain the wire receiving means which in known manner can be in the form of bores extending in the winding elements parallel to the common axis of rotation. The support can be provided on a common frame which has two mounting plates, the hollow wheels being mounted rotatably on the two mounting plates.
The drive for the hollow wheels and thus the wire receiving means carried by the hollow wheels, about the common axis of rotation, can be in the form of a manual drive, for example a hand crank. It is also possible however to use a motor for the common drive, for example a pneumatic motor, or a hydraulic motor, or an electric motor. Possibly the hand crank or the motor drive can be optionally flange-mounted to a common drive shaft by way of which the drive moment is transmitted to the hollow wheels.
Between the common drive shaft and the hollow wheels, the apparatus may have two transmission assemblies using pulling means, or transmission assemblies using gears, or transmission assemblies with a similar action which drive the hollow wheels in opposite directions of rotation. Preferably, a transmission assembly using pulling means is used for each of the hollow wheels.


A system, method, and computer program product are used for packaging a stored value card that unviewably secures the secured value card in the package. The package includes a readable area allowing for purchasing of the stored value card without removing it from the package or viewing it within the package. This can allow for minimized fraud and illegal use of stored value cards. In one example, the package is scanned for purchasing, and once the purchase in approved, the purchaser can activate the card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to packaging and activating stored value cards.
2. Related Art
Stored value cards have increasingly become a card of choice for gift givers, whether they are for personal or business reasons. In point-of-sale (POS) cases, all or a portion of the card is usually visible after being secured in or secured to the packaging. Typically, the viewable portion of the card is used during the purchase and activation of the card. However, having this information visible to the public can allow for illegal or fraudulent use of the information. This is especially true of open system cards that can be used anywhere in the world. Typically these cards are activated upon purchase.
While this is secure for most cases, in some cases this also can allow for fraudulent use of the stored value card. A description of debit and other stored value cards, typical packaging and activation techniques can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,381 issued to Stich et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Given the foregoing, what is needed is a system, method and computer program product for packaging and activating stored value cards, which keeps them unviewably secured within the package.

System, method, and computer program product for packaging and activating stored value cards

American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.


A combined bib and bottle holder for a child having a front and rear panel sewn together and enclosing a soft material. An elastic loop is attached to the front panel for supporting a bottle. A pair of upper portions are formed on the front and rear panels for forming a neck hole.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to infant accessories and, more particularly, to a combined bib and bottle for infants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bibs are an indispensable apron like cloth and the like for tying around a child's neck at meals. In the past, bibs have generally served no other function than to act as a barrier for milk or food. During feeding it is obvious that an infant requires a person to hold a bottle or the bottle being held by another support. No past bibs have combined the primary purpose of a bib serving as a shield against liquid as a result of feeding by a bottle with the capability of supporting the bottle. Accordingly, it is desirable in the prior art to provide a bib capable of supporting a bottle during feeding.


An apparatus for performing a vascular treatment. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a vascular therapy device comprising a vascular treatment device and a feeder. The vascular treatment device can connect to a wire configured for use in vascular treatment. The vascular treatment device can rotate the wire. The feeder can be configured for controller the longitudinal translation of the wire. The feeder and the vascular treatment device can be independently or combinedly controlled.

Field of the Invention
This specification relates to the field of vascular treatment.
Description of the Related Art
Sclerotherapy can be used to treat blood vessels, blood vessel malformations, and similar problems in other body systems, such as the lymphatic system, and has been used in various forms for over 150 years. In its more modern form, sclerotherapy has been used since the 1960's, in Europe, for treating various vein conditions such as; varicose veins, reticular veins, spider veins of the leg, and also some fine facial veins.
Sclerotherapy can be used to treat these conditions by instigating vascular fibrosis and obliteration in response to irreversible endothelial cellular destruction and exposure of the underlying subendothelial cell layer. This destruction is usually caused by the injection of a sclerosant into the vein. However, if the injected sclerosant is too weak, there may be no endothelial injury at all. If the sclerosant is a little stronger, the varicose vessel is damaged, but recanalization occurs and an incompetent pathway for retrograde blood flow persists. Finally, if the injected sclerosant is too strong, the varicose vessel endothelium is destroyed, but adjacent vessels that are not targeted for treatment may also be damaged by the sclerosant.
The requirement for an ideal strength of the sclerosant is complicated by the constant flow of blood through the vein that is being treated. This flow simultaneously dilutes, and thereby weakens, the sclerosant, while also transporting the sclerosant to other parts of the vascular system.
Thus, improved methods and devices for treating the vascular system are desired.

Sclerotherapy catheter with lumen having wire rotated by motor and simultaneous withdrawal from vein


One or more unique hinges are provided within panels of a fragility packaging article for use in retaining one or more fragile articles within a container (e.g., a corrugated box). The unique hinges provide predicted deformation paths that assist in protecting one or more fragile items stored in the container. One of the unique hinges is a diamond shaped hinge that provides at least two predicted deformation paths. Other unique hinges of the present invention includes a gusset hinge, a step hinge, and a v-hinge, each of which provides at least one predicted deformation path. The predicted deformation paths reduce permanent deformation and provide for improved overall cushioning, thereby increasing protection of fragile items and significantly reducing damage that may occur to the fragile items. The unique hinges of the present invention also improve the cosmetic appearance of a fragility packing article because a majority of crushing occurs along the unique hinges, preventing random unsightly crush points from occurring throughout the packaging article.

Fragility packaging as used in the present context refers to a type of packaging employing plastic structures (e.g., thermoformed plastic structures) which provide both structural support and shock absorption to the fragile items they are designed to carry. Such packages are typically used in combination with conventional corrugated cartons, and define shock absorbing air spaces between the packaged item and the inner surfaces of corresponding panels of the carton. Such packages can also be plastic totes that are used as material handling devices. Among the many advantages of thermoformed fragility packages are that they are recyclable, provide cushioning against repeated shock loading, are compact to ship and store in bulk. Examples of fragility packages are described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,226,543; 5,385,232; 5,515,976; 6,010,007; and 6,142,304, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
One embodiment of the above-described fragility packaging is used for shipping computer components such as disk drives in bulk from manufacturing to assembly points. The distance such packages are designed to travel may vary from one end of a factory to another, to one end of the world to another. Conventional bulk disk drive fragility packages provide a main platform divided into cells for locating and separating each drive relative to the adjacent drive. Generally parallel side edges of the main platform are provided with integrally formed hinged flaps. Preferably, these flaps are also divided into cells which are in registry with the main platform cells, and once placed in a carton, the flaps provide protection to the sides of the drives in each cell. Examples of such packages are manufactured and sold by R.S.V.P., Inc., Soquel, Calif. under the trademark U-PAD.
Often, U-PAD packages will be provided with a lid, which is typically a thermoformed, generally planar panel also provided with cells in registry with the other cells. When the lid is placed over the packaged disks in the U-PAD already in the carton, the tops of the disk drives will also be separated from adjacent disk drives, and the lid will also separate the disk drives from the corresponding top panel or panels of the carton.
U-PAD packages may vary in configuration depending on the size and type of items (e.g., disk drives) being packaged. In some cases, a single row of items will be packaged in separated fashion with a carton, while in others, two rows of items are placed in parallel relationship to each other. In the latter situation, the main platform is provided with an integrally formed, centrally located, vertically projecting sidewall structure. This sidewall structure is also divided into cells to engage the inner sides of each disk drive in each of the two rows of packaged items. In the case of dual row packages, the corresponding lid is also provided with separated, parallel rows of cells to be in registry with the cells of the so-called DOUBLE U-PAD package.
With the increasing popularity of U-PAD packaging, and the corresponding trend in the computer industry to out source components, a wider variety of components and other packaged items are being shipped in this type of package. Also, each manufacturer has its own specifications for the properties which the packaging must have to provide satisfactory protection. Thus, depending on the packaged item and the manufacturer, various regions and/or portions of the fragility package need to have a range of flexibility, rigidity and/or shock absorptive properties. For example, packages designed to be carried by hand from one end of a factory to another, or to be shipped by themselves, must be designed to withstand a greater drop height than packages designed to be loaded onto a shipping pallet for transport on a truck.
Another packaging design requirement of component manufacturers is that the packaging be easily installed in the carton or tote and loaded with fragile items by relatively unskilled workers, or even by machine, in as rapid a fashion as possible while still taking into account the inherent fragility of the items.
The packaging manufacturer is then forced to develop many designs of fragility packaging to satisfy customers shipping relatively similar fragile items. As such, to make the most efficient use of resources, the goal of the packaging manufacturer is to provide packaging with a maximum range of properties using as few distinctive package designs as possible.
One of the ways a thermoformed packaging structure protects fragile items is by flexing and thereby absorbing forces that are applied to a carton within which the thermoformed structure (and fragile items) are placed. Such forces may result, for example, from the carton being dropped or knocked over, or from further cartons being placed on top of the carton or pushed against the carton. A problem with conventional thermoformed packaging structures is that they often crush or deform at unpredictable points (e.g., when applied forces overcomes the flexibility of the structure). A result of unpredictable crush points is that the fragile items may be damaged. A further result of such unpredictable crush points is that the integrity of the packaging structure may be ruined, and thus fragile items may be damaged by the force causing the unpredicted crush point and/or later applied forces. Additionally, such unpredicted crush points are unsightly and may cause a customer unpacking the fragile items to question whether the producer and/or shipper took proper care of the fragile items. This may strain otherwise good relations between parties. Accordingly, there is a desire to overcome the problems caused by such unpredictable crushing or deformation of packaging structures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Apparatus are provided that includes a multi-function device that is configured to perform a plurality of functions relating to manipulating a document. The multi-function device can have a display configured to display interface tool for facilitating the customization of a function of the multi-function device. The interface tools allow a user to communicate with the multi-function device to enter information relating to the customized function. The custom application can be configured to be installed on the multi-function device, and the custom application is used to customize the multi-function device.

Computer users frequently access peripheral devices, such as, for example, multi-function devices. A multi-function device can be in the form of various devices, including a printer, scanner, or other type of device that can manipulate one or more documents. It may be desirable to add customized features to a multi-function device that allow a user to create custom features, for example, relating to the functionality of the multi-function device. Typically, the customization of a multi-function device is accomplished with the use of a separate server that is required to host the application used to customize the device. This can be problematic for users that do not have the capability to utilize a separate server, or for users that have multi-function devices that are not connected to a network.

Tools and methods for customizing multi-function devices


A method and apparatus for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a predicted collision with a stationary object. A proximity sensor is used to determine a position of an obstacle relative to the vehicle. A steering angle of the vehicle is determined and used to predict a trajectory of the vehicle. A collision zone on the vehicle is identified based on the vehicle trajectory, the collision zone being that spot or location on the vehicle which is predicted to contact the obstacle. A visual display within the vehicle (on the control panel, for example) provides a visual indication to the driver of the position of the collision zone on the vehicle and a predicted trajectory of the collision zone as the vehicle moves in accordance with the steering angle.

Parking aids are known which warn the driver of a vehicle of objects which are too near to the front and/or rear of the vehicle. In such systems, proximity sensors are typically mounted in the front and/or rear bumpers. When an object is detected close to the front or rear of the vehicle, an audible alarm, typically a beeper, is sounded. As the vehicle gets closer to the detected object, the frequency of the beeper increases until the object is at a predefined distance from the vehicle, at which point a continuous alarm is sounded.
There are several problems with these known parking aids systems. When the vehicle is close to a detected object, a continuous audible alarm is sounded and the driver is not able to determine whether an actual collision is imminent. Further, in some situations, for example when simply passing objects which are very close to the front or rear side of the vehicle, a continuous warning is provided when there is no risk of collision. A further drawback is that traditional parking aid systems do not detect obstacles located to the side of the vehicle and therefore are not able to provide lateral collision warnings.
It is also known to provide a camera mounted on the rear of a vehicle and to display the image from the camera on a display screen on the dashboard of the vehicle. This allows the driver to view obstacles to the rear of the vehicle. It is also known to predict the trajectory of a vehicle based on the instantaneous steering wheel angle and superimpose a predicted trajectory path onto the camera picture on the display screen. This allows the driver to see, for a given steering angle, where the vehicle will travel. With such camera display systems, the driver must interpret the image on the screen in order to assess whether a given trajectory will result in a collision.


Provided is an image forming apparatus control method which, when an image is to be formed from image data with a digital signature, safely manages the image formed from the image data even if it is impossible to certify whether the image data is tampered. When receiving a request for formation of an image of image data with a digital signature from a personal computer, this image input/output apparatus requests a digital signature issue/authentication server to certify the authenticity of the signature data. On the basis of the certification result, the apparatus adds, to the output image, an additional image indicating that the original image is tampered, or an additional image indicating that whether the original image is tampered cannot be certified.

With recent decreases in costs of storage media such as DRAMs and HDDs, it is becoming possible to inexpensively store a large amount of image data in an image forming apparatus. This makes it possible to add a storage (filing) function to the conventional image forming apparatuses having only functions of printing out data onto sheets of paper and outputting image data read from originals. While the convenience improves because a large amount of images can be stored in an image forming apparatus having a storage device, a new security problem arises. That is, the possibility that image data on the storage device is tampered, erased, or illegally output by an unauthorized third party is pointed out. To prevent this problem, the conventional image forming apparatuses protect unauthorized access to image data by personal authentication using a password or the like (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-218220). Also, with the recent progress of time business, a technique which certifies the validity of data by communication with a time stamp authority or certificate authority on the Internet has been developed and put into practical use. For example, a time stamp method complying with RFC3161 is beginning to be used.
When digital data is to be protected by certifying the validity of data by communication with a certificate authority or time stamp authority on the Internet, a user sometimes wants to output the contents of data in accordance with the degree of urgency even if:
1) the data to be output is not authorized by the certificate authority because, e.g., the data is tampered.
2) the system of the authentication server is not operating for some reason, or
3) the user cannot communicate with the authentication server for some reason such as a network failure.
Under any of conditions 1) to 3) above, however, the output result of image data may be abused because the data is tampered, or data whose validity is not certified by the certificate authority or time stamp authority may be carelessly distributed.

Method and apparatus to authenticate image data that includes a digital signature


A shaped charge and a method of using such to provide for large and effective perforations in oil bearing sandy formations while causing minimal disturbance to the formation porosity is described. This shaped charge uses a low-density liner having a filler material that is enclosed by outer walls made, preferably, of plastic or polyester. The filler material is preferably a powdered metal or a granulated substance, which is left largely unconsolidated. The preferred filler material is aluminum powder, or aluminum particles, that are coated with an oxidizing substance, such as TEFLON®, permitting a secondary detonation reaction inside the formation following jet penetration. The filled liner is also provided with a metal cap to aid penetration of the gun scallops, the surrounding borehole casing and the cement sheath. The metal cap forms the leading portion of the jet, during detonation. The remaining portion of the jet is formed from the low-density filler material, thereby resulting in a more particulated jet. The jet results in less compression around the perforation tunnel and less skin damage to the proximal end of the perforation tunnel.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the design of shaped charges. In particular aspects, the invention relates to improved liner design for shaped charges and the use of improved shaped charges within a wellbore in order to better penetrate oil bearing sandy formations with minimal skin damage and to reduce hydrocarbon viscosity. Such a shaped charge features a composite jet that produces a large diameter hole in the formation, barely disturbing the formation properties. Such charges will greatly benefit gravel-packing completions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Shaped charges are used in wellbore perforating guns. A shaped charge typically consists of an outer housing, an explosive portion shaped as an inverted cone, and a metal liner that retains the explosive portion within the housing. When oil-bearing sands are perforated by conventional shaped charges, the full oil-producing potential of the formation is often not realized. The perforated walls tend to get cemented over by the backflow of jet material from the impacted region. During detonation of the shaped charge, a high-velocity jet is formed which is preceded by a mushroom-shaped front end and followed by a slow-moving slug of material. As the metallic jet penetrates the surrounding oilwell casing, cement sheath, and formation, portions of the casing and formation are displaced by the metallic jet and placed into plastic back flow. This results in an area around the perforation tunnel where the material that was within the tunnel has been compressed. Because the material is compressed, it is denser and less permeable than the undisturbed in-situ rock in the formation. This decrease in permeability may be sufficient to preclude hydrocarbons from entering the perforation tunnel.
In conventional shaped charges, the liner that retains the explosive charge within the housing is typically made of a single monolithic material, principally copper, but also sometimes of tungsten, brass, molybdenum, lead, nickel, tin, phosphor bronze, or some combination of these elements. Other prior liner designs have been made from sintered copper or lightly consolidated copper powder mixed with graphite and tungsten powders. These liner designs are better suited for penetration of the wellbore casing and the formation, but cause significant skin damage to the perforation tunnel and are, therefore, not optimal for use in oil-bearing formations.
The inventors of this application have recognized this. With sandy formations, the depth of the penetration is typically not of great importance to achieving good production of the well. Sandy formations have good initial permeability. Of greater significance is the cleanliness of the perforation. The high compression and ensuing plastic flow of target material damages the original permeability of the formation, thus inhibiting the free flow of hydrocarbons into the wellbore and often necessitating drastic post perforation treatment. A perforation that results in minimal skin damage will effectively permit transmission of hydrocarbons into the wellbore.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0037692 A1 by Liu discusses the use of aluminum in shaped charges. Among the several shaped charge designs discussed are those that employ aluminum either mixed with the explosive or used as a solid liner with or without the accompaniment of a copper liner for producing a deep penetrating jet. He also discusses mixing aluminum with ferrous oxide to form the liner. In Liu's design, additional energy is released through a secondary detonation when molten aluminum reacts with an oxygen carrying substance, such as water. However, Liu's application teaches mixing of inert powder aluminum with energetic explosive. This actually reduces the available energy content per unit volume of explosive, which, in turn, reduces the likelihood of aluminum undergoing the secondary detonation inside the hollow carrier gun due to the limited air space in its interior. Once the solid slug made from the aluminum liner reaches the formation, it lodges itself into the deep narrow hole made by the aluminum or copper jet that preceded it. This rapidly cooling solid slug lodged in the perforation tunnel severely restricts, if not completely stops, the flow of hydrocarbons into the well. Reaction of the aluminum slug with the borehole water will be limited to the exposed surface of the slug, at best.
The present invention addresses the problems of the prior art.

Apparatus and method for penetrating oilbearing sandy formations, reducing skin damage and reducing hydrocarbon viscosity


A new and distinct cultivar of Rose plant named ‘Esm Guinda’, characterized by its long, strong and upright flowering stems; durable foliage; red-colored flowers; and excellent postproduction longevity.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Rose plant, botanically known as Rosa hybrida, commercially used as a cut flower Rose plant, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Esm Guinda'.
The new Rose plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in El Quinche, Pichincha, Ecuador. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new freely-flowering cut flower Rose varieties with novel and attractive flower colors and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Rose plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in September, 2004 of a proprietary Rose selection identified as code number 108, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Rose selection identified as code number 129, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Rose plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in El Quinche, Pichincha, Ecuador in April, 2005.
Asexual reproduction of the new Rose plant by cuttings at El Quinche, Pichincha, Ecuador since July, 2005, has shown that the unique features of this new Rose plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.


A compound of the formula (I): wherein X is hydroxy, protected hydroxy or optionally substituted amino; Y is —COORA wherein RA is hydrogen or ester residue, —CONRBRC wherein RB and RC each is independently hydrogen or amide residue, optionally substituted aryl or optionally substituted heteroaryl; and A1 is optionally substituted heteroaryl; provided that a compound wherein Y and/or A1 is optionally substituted indol-3-yl is excluded, a tautomer, a prodrug, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or a hydrate thereof has an inhibitory activity against an integrase.

Among viruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a kind of retrovirus, is known to cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The therapeutic agent for AIDS is mainly selected from the group of reverse transcriptase inhibitors (e.g., AZT, 3TC, and the like) and protease inhibitors (e.g., Indinavir and the like), but they are proved to be accompanied by side effects such as nephropathy and the emergence of resistant viruses. Thus, the development of anti-HIV agents having the other mechanism of action has been desired.
On the other hand, a combination therapy is reported to be efficient in treatment for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome because of the frequent emergence of the resistant mutant in Balzarini, J. et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1996, 93, p13152-13157. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors are clinically used as an anti-HIV agent but agents having the same mechanism of action often exhibit cross resistance or only an additional activity. Therefore, anti-HIV agents having the other mechanism of action are desired.
Under the above circumstance, the research has been focused on integrase, which is an enzyme relating to the site-specific recombination or insertion of viral DNA into chromosomes in animal cells, and the research for anti-HIV agents based on the enzyme inhibitory activity has been performed; (1) KOURILSKY P et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 61 (3), 1013-1020 (1968); (2) F Barin et al., J. VIROL. METHODS (NETHERLANDS), 17/1-2(55-61) (1987); (3) Fesen. M R, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 2399, (1993); (4) DeNoon, D J, CDC AIDS Weekly Pagination:P2 (1990).
On the other hand, a gene therapy has been applied to thirteen hereditary diseases such as adenosine deaminase deficiency, familial hypercholesterolemia, haemophilia and the like, and recently extended to rheumatics, cancer, infectious diseases such as HIV and the like. Namely, the number of diseases as an object of a gene therapy is increasing year by year. The gene therapies have been applied on more than three thousands patients in the world, especially in the U.S.A. Several methods for transfections of genes have been developed such as a lipofectin method and a transfection with an adenovirus vector, an adeno-associated virus vector, and the like. Over fifty percents of the gene therapies are performed by using a retrovirus vector prepared from MLV (Moloney murine leukemia virus, Mo-MLV, MMLV). Though each method has merits and demerits, a retrovirus vector is expected to stably express the gene for a long term without disappearance of the gene by cell divisions because it is inserted into host cells. However, the clinically used retrovirus vector derived from MLV can infect only proliferating cells because it is not able to actively transfer to the nucleus. Therefore, the retrovirus vector derived from HIV can overcome the above problem, which is being researched.
The problems accompanied by these retrovirus vectors include 1) the emergence of self-replicating viruses by mutation or transformation with endogenous virus, 2) cytotoxicity, 3) oncogenicity and the like. Therefore, it is important to solve the problems accompanied by these retrovirus vectors and various types of the improved vectors are studied. (Takashi Yoshida, The Japanese Association of Gene, Handbook of the development of the gene therapy, N.T.S., 1999).
Some integrase inhibitors have recently been reported, for example, peptide derivatives described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,573, tetrahydronaphthyl derivatives described in GB 2306476A, and acrydone derivatives described in WO 97/38999.
Additionally, in Khim. Geterotsikl. Soedin. 1973, (11), 1519, the following 2-hydroxy-4-oxo-2-butenoic acid derivatives substituted with indolyl at the 4-position are described without showing any therapeutic activity.
Gardner, T. S. reported, in J. Org. Chem. 1961, (26), 1514, the following 2-hydroxy-4-oxo-2-butenoic acid esters substituted with heteroaryl at the 4-position, but their therapeutic activity is not described therein.
It is described in JP-A 61-134346 that the following 2-hydroxy-4-oxo-2-butenoic acid derivatives substituted with heteroaryl at the 4-position are useful as an antiulcer agent.
Ferles, M. Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun., 1990, 55, p1228-1233 and Barluenga, J. Synthesis 1996, 1, p133-140 disclose the following heteroaromatic derivatives having 1-hydroxy-3-oxo-propenylene group are described without any therapeutic activity.
Moreover, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,109, dioxobutanoic acid derivatives substituted with non-aromatic heterocycles are described to be useful as an anti influenza viral agent, whose mechanism of the action is the inhibition of cap-dependent endonuclease.
1-(5-Phenylaminotriazol-3-yl)-3-hydroxy-(thiophen-2-yl)-propenone, 1-[5-(4-tolylamino)triazol-3-yl]-3-hydroxy-(thiophen-2-yl)-propenone and the like are described in Indian. Journal of Chemistry Vol. 30B, March 1991, pp. 313-319, but their therapeutic activity is not described.

Heteroaromatic derivatives having an inhibitory activity against HIV integrase


An electrically regeneratable battery of electrochemical cells for capacitive deionization (including electrochemical purification) and regeneration of electrodes is operated at alternate polarities during consecutive cycles. In other words, after each regeneration step operated at a given polarity in a deionization-regeneration cycle, the polarity of the deionization step in the next cycle is maintained. In one embodiment, two end electrodes are arranged one at each end of the battery, adjacent to end plates. An insulator layer is interposed between each end plate and the adjacent end electrode. Each end electrode includes a single sheet of conductive material having a high specific surface area and sorption capacity, preferably a sheet formed of carbon aerogel composite. The batter further includes a plurality of generally identical double-sided intermediate electrodes that are equidistally separated from each other, between the two end electrodes. As the electrolyte enters the battery of ells, t flows through a continuous open serpentine channel defined by the electrodes, substantially parallel to the surfaces of the electrodes. By polarizing the cells, ions are removed from the electrolyte and are held in the electric double layers formed at the carbon aerogel surfaces of the electrodes. As the electrodes of each cell of the battery are saturated with the removed ions, the battery is regenerated electrically at a reversed polarity from that during the deionization step of the cycle, thus significantly minimizing secondary wastes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to the field of electrochemistry, and it relates to a new separation method and apparatus for removing ions, contaminants and impurities from water and other aqueous process streams. More specifically the invention relates to a new regeneration method for placing the removed ions back into solution.
2. Background Art
The separation of ions and impurities from electrolytes has heretofore been generally achieved using a variety of conventional processes including: ion exchange, reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, electrodeposition, or filtering. Several alternatives have been proposed that address the problems associated with the conventional separation processes. However, such alternatives have not been completely satisfactory for specific applications nor useful for all applications, and have not met with universal commercial success or complete acceptance.
The conventional ion exchange process has been used as a means for removing anions and cations, including heavy metals and radioisotopes, from process and waste water in various industries. This process generates large volumes of corrosive secondary wastes that must be treated for disposal through regeneration processes. Existing regeneration processes are typically carried out following the saturation of the columns by ions, by pumping regeneration solutions, such as concentrated acids, bases, or salt solutions through the columns. These routine maintenance measures produce significant secondary wastes, as well as periodic interruptions of the deionization process.
Secondary wastes resulting from the regeneration of the ion exchangers typically include used anion and cation exchange resins, as well as contaminated acids, bases and/or salt solutions. For example, H2SO4 solutions have been used for the regeneration of cation columns in metal finishing and power industries; HNO3 solutions have been used for the regeneration of cation columns used in processing nuclear materials; and NaCl solutions have been used in residential water softening processes.
Under an applied electrical field, ionic species in solution can be separated from the aqueous solution by a variety of means. The use of flow-through or flow-by electrochemical cells containing porous, high-surface-area, electrically conductive carbonaceous electrodes have been employed for separation of ionic species in solution. The electrodeposition of metals from aqueous solutions where electron transfer takes place between the carbon electrode and the ions in solution has been employed. Without apparent electron-transfer steps at potentials less than the reduction potentials of the soluble species, ionic species are thought to be separated from the solution by a simple electrostatic separation where they are held within the electrical double-layer formed at the solution-electrode interface, i.e., capacitive deionization. Such deionization of the solution by a capacitive process has been proposed in the early 1960's by Arnold and his colleagues [B. B. Arnold, G. W. Murphy, J. Phys. Chem. 65 1 (1961) 135–138.]. Their capacitive deionization (CDI) process was suggested for desalination of brackish water.
In one capacitive deionization method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,858 issued to Farmer (herein referred as "Farmer"), a stream of electrolyte to be processed, which contains various anions and cations, electric dipoles, and/or suspended particles, is passed through a stack of electrochemical capacitive deionization cells, i.e., a capacitor. Each of these cells of the capacitor includes numerous electrodes having exceptionally high specific surface areas (for example, carbon aerogel having a surface area of 400–1000 m2/gm). By polarizing the cell, non-reductible and non-oxidizable ions are removed by electrodeposition. Electric dipoles also migrate to and are trapped at the electrodes. Small suspended particles are removed by electrophoresis. Therefore, the fluid stream leaving the cell is purified.
The Farmer method is an efficient deionization process since the pressure drop in the capacitive deionization cell is dictated by channel flow between parallel surfaces of monolithic, microporous solids (i.e., the electrodes) and across (rather than through) such surfaces. Hence, it is insignificant compared to that needed to force water through the permeable membrane required by the reverse osmosis process as well as capacitive deionization processes described by Andelman in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,547,581, 5,415,768, 5,360,540, 5,200,068, and 5,192,432.
A feature of the Farmer separation system is that no expensive ion exchange membranes are required for the separation of the electrodes. All the anodes and cathodes of the electrode pairs define individual cells that are connected in series, each pair defining an open, unobstructed channel for fluid flow between the electrode pair. The system is modular and can be readily expanded to include several electrode pairs (i.e. cells or modules) thus forming a capacitor with a relatively large anode or cathode total surface area. Typically, the electrode pair modules are arranged so that fluid flow through the capacitor is in a serpentine pattern across, rather than through, a relatively large number of intermediate electrode pairs having no dimension open to the exterior of the cell(s) or capacitor (other than those electrode pairs at a single fluid input and single fluid output location). Ultimately, the Farmer system capacity can be increased to any desired level by expanding the capacitor to include a substantial number of electrode pairs. Although each electrode pair can define a single cell, in the Farmer system all of the closed series of cells formed by the intermediate electrode pairs act as a single cell or capacitor.
The Farmer system is not without its problems; underpotential deposition, electrodeposition, chemisorption, electrophoresis and other separation phenomena involving a charge transfer across the carbon surface and the liquid electrolyte can also occur. These types of processes affect the reversibility and robustness of the deionization-regeneration cycle (process). Under such conditions, the regeneration and/or rejuvenation of the saturated electrode and cell system would dictate the performance and overall effectiveness of the deionization process. Recent efforts have focused on the efficiency and effectiveness of the regeneration of multiple-cell stacks containing the above-described carbon aerogel compounds.
The electrosorption of simple ionic compounds such as NaCl, NH4Cl and NaNO3 may be accomplished reversibly if cells can be regenerated or rejuvenated with deionized water over a long period of time and with voltage reversal as appropriate. However, several techniques for effective and optimal regeneration methods have been suggested. Even under a low or mild applied potential (i.e., <1.2V in water-based streams) for removal of ions, certain charge transfer processes have been shown to occur which have given rise to deposited or strongly bound species. During regeneration, even with a reversed polarity, the applied voltage to capacitive systems may not be sufficient to counteract fractions of the ions that remain attracted strongly by other means such as underpotential deposition or chemisorption. Accordingly, a cycle efficiency (i.e., the ratio of the amount of salt recovered during regeneration over that determined during deionization expressed in terms of percentage) never reaches 100%, particularly over many successive cycles and especially when the total regeneration time and the total deionization time is the same. Certain features of such inherent inefficiency have been observed in results presented in previous investigations. Under special treatments, aged electrodes can, however, be rejuvenated to regain degraded capacity. Farmer et al. in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 143, pp. 159–169, 1996) has reported that electrodes that have been aged naturally for many experiments over several months have been rejuvenated to close to the original capacity by reversing the polarity for a short period of time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,597, issued to Andelman, has suggested that electrodes of carbon fibers and activated carbon powders (arranged to form short fluid pathways, each open in at least one dimension to the exterior of the capacitor) can be maintained by alternating the polarity in successive cycles. However, limited data have been collected on the regeneration of such saturated electrodes on an electrochemical cell basis. Presently, no process has effectively shown the efficacy and efficiency of continuously processed deionization-regeneration cycles.
Regeneration of the Farmer system at the same or lesser time than the actual deionization step in a given cycle has not been shown. Furthermore, contaminated water usually contains a variety of ions and species with different properties. Use of chemical regenerants, deionized water, long regenerating time and voltage reversal is needed to completely rejuvenate the system if such a system is not regenerated immediately and allowed to age under such extreme conditions.
Timely regeneration and activation of electrodes can allow brief extension of the operating voltage window to thus expand the capacity of the electrodes without irreversibly damaging the electrodes. Accordingly, deionization (e.g., desalination) can be accomplished at potentials above that of water electrolysis which is 1.2V. A short voltage pulse above 1.2 V can allow more efficient enhancement of the capacity without generating significant gas amounts by electrolysis. Subsequent operation at a reversed voltage will rereact this small amount of gases and reversibly restore the electrode capacity.
Thus, a need exists for a new method/technique for a complete deionization-regeneration cycle which continuously maintains the efficacy and efficiency of the deionization system. Such a process can significantly reduce, if not entirely eliminate, secondary wastes in certain applications, and does not cause a considerable pressure drop in the flowing process stream or require significant energy expenditure. Deionization methods should not require a short fluid pathway in electrosorption systems, should not require salt additions for ion regeneration in a water softening system, and further should not require additional desalination devices, such as reverse osmosis filters, to remove the excess sodium chloride introduced during regeneration.
Additionally, the new method should enable the separation of any inorganic or organic ion or dipole from any ionically conducting solvent, which could be water, an organic solvent, or an inorganic solvent. For example, it should be possible to use such a process to purify organic solvents, such as propylene carbonate, for use in lithium batteries and other energy storage devices. Furthermore, it should be possible to use such a process to remove organic ions, such as formate or acetate from aqueous streams.
The new method should further be adaptable for use in various applications, including without limitation, treatment of boiler water in nuclear and fossil power plants, production of high-purity water for semiconductor processing, removal of toxic and hazardous ions from water for agricultural irrigation, and desalination of sea water.
Therefore, there is still a significant unfulfilled need for a new method and apparatus for deionization and regeneration which, in addition to the ability to significantly reduce if not to completely eliminate secondary wastes associated with the regeneration of ion exchange columns, do not result in a considerable pressure drop of the flowing process stream, and do not require significant energy expenditure. Furthermore, each electrode used in an apparatus employed for deionization and regeneration should be made of a structurally stable, porous, monolithic solid. Such monolithic electrodes should not become readily entrained in, or depleted by the stream of fluid to be processed, and should not degrade rapidly with cycling. These electrodes should have a very high specific surface area; they should be relatively thin, require minimal operation energy, and have a high removal efficiency. The new method should be highly efficient and should be adaptable for use in a variety of applications including, but not limited to, sea water desalination.

Alternating-polarity operation for complete regeneration of electrochemical deionization system

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