A liquid crystal display device provided with a thin film transistor with excellent electrical characteristics and reduced off current, for which increase in manufacturing costs can be suppressed while suppressing reduction in yield. A thin film transistor includes a gate electrode provided over a substrate; a gate insulating film provided to cover the substrate and the gate electrode; a first island-shaped semiconductor layer and a second island-shaped semiconductor layer each formed as a stack of a microcrystalline semiconductor layer and a buffer layer with a depression on an upper surface thereof, over the gate electrode with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween; a conductive semiconductor layer; and a conductive layer provided on the conductive semiconductor layer. The conductive semiconductor layer is provided between the first island-shaped semiconductor layer and the second island-shaped semiconductor layer in contact with the gate insulating film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and an electronic device using the liquid crystal display device. The present invention particularly related to a liquid crystal display device using a thin film transistor in a pixel portion, and an electronic device using the liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, techniques to form thin film transistors using a semiconductor thin film (with a thickness of approximately several nanometers to several hundreds of nanometers) which is formed over a substrate having an insulating surface have been put to practical use in many electronic devices. Thin film transistors are put to practical use particularly as switching elements in pixel portions of liquid crystal display devices, and research and development is still actively pursued.
As a switching element of a liquid crystal display device, a thin film transistor using an amorphous semiconductor film is used for large panels, and a thin film transistor using a polycrystalline semiconductor film is used for small panels. As a method of forming a polycrystalline semiconductor film, there is known a technique in which a pulsed excimer laser beam is shaped into a linear laser beam by an optical system and an amorphous silicon film is crystallized by being irradiated while being scanned with the linear laser beam.
Further, as a switching element of an image display device, a thin film transistor using a microcrystalline semiconductor film is used (see Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 4-242724, Patent Document 2: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2005-49832, and Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,987). In addition, as a manufacturing method of a thin film transistor with a purpose of improving characteristics of an amorphous semiconductor film, a method of forming an amorphous silicon film over a gate insulating film, forming a metal film over a top surface thereof, and then irradiating the metal film with a diode laser to modify the amorphous silicon film into a microcrystalline silicon film, is known (see Non Patent Document 1: Toshiaki Arai and others, SID '07 DIGEST, 2007, p. 1370-1373). According to this method, the metal film formed over the amorphous silicon film is provided for converting the light energy of the diode laser into thermal energy, and should be removed afterwards to complete a thin film transistor. In other words, it is a method in which the amorphous silicon film is heated only by conduction heating from the metal film, so that a microcrystalline silicon film, which is a microcrystalline semiconductor film, is formed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Liquid crystal display device and electronic device provided with the same

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A single-mode optical waveguide with a core, surrounded by a cladding consisting of an inner soft layer and an outer harder layer is described. The outer layer has a grating structure on its inner surface, whose spatial frequency is the same as that of the guided mode. The thickness of the inner cladding is sufficient to keep the grating outside the mode field in undeformed regions of the waveguide, so that normally no out-coupling of the light results. Connections are made by crossing two such waveguides at an angle and pressing them together. This results in deformation of the two waveguides such that the gratings are brought into proximity with the cores. Light is coupled out of one waveguide and into the other in the deformed region, resulting in a self-aligning optical connection. The out-coupled light propagates normal to the waveguide axis, so errors in the crossing angle cause little change in efficiency. Because the cladding system is sufficiently resilient to recover after deformation, the connection is remakeable.

Metal transmission lines are an increasingly serious bottleneck to the operation of computers, switch-routers, and other information handling systems. The speed of processors and logic has been increasing much faster than the available wiring bandwidth, resulting in unfavorable tradeoffs of power consumption, complexity, and transmission speed. Hence there is increasing interest in using optical interconnection between boards in computers, and even between chips on a board or a multi-chip module (MCM).
Guided-wave optics replaces electrical conduction in wires, with light propagating in dielectric optical waveguides. A dielectric guide is typically a cylindrical structure (often, not necessarily, circular), made up of annular layers. The innermost cylinder is the core, and is surrounded by one or more cladding layers, having refractive indices that are lower than that of the core. Within certain ranges of frequency, position, and angle, light traveling axially in such a structure is guided, that is, it shows no tendency to spread out radially with distance as ordinary light beams do. There is always at least one guided mode in any structure where the core index exceeds the cladding index (two, if polarization is taken into account). A waveguide in which only one such mode can propagate at a given frequency is called a single-mode waveguide. Depending on the waveguide dimensions and refractive indices, there may be other modes as well, in which case the guide is said to be a multimode waveguide.
The optical mode field falls off exponentially with radial distance in the cladding region, and its decay constant depends on the difference between the core and cladding refractive indices. In order to allow the core to be relatively large (several wavelengths in diameter) and reduce losses due to roughness and index non-uniformity at the core-cladding boundary, the core and cladding indices are usually chosen to be close to each other (1%-5% difference), which makes the decay constant in the cladding region a very sensitive function of the index difference. These guided-wave optical devices have many applications, of which the most important is long-haul fiber optic communication.
Modulated optical beams travel almost exactly the same way as unmodulated ones, regardless of how fast the modulation is; there is no tendency for higher modulation frequencies to be lost, in sharp contrast with the high frequencies in a metal wired connection. Guided wave optics is thus a natural candidate for such connections, but the set of requirements inside a computer are quite different from those that are familiar from long-haul communications. The hardware required is different as well. Inside the computer, many parallel connections are needed, each with a single unidirectional data stream coming from one modulated source per line to one detector per line. There are also important applications for one-to-many connections, where one source drives many inputs. These sources and detectors must be inexpensive, because there are so many required (hundreds for a typical server processor board) On the other hand, the very low loss of fibers (0.15-0.5 dB/km) is unnecessary, and no wavelength-division multiplexing is required. Thus, optical interconnections inside computers are likely to rely on polymer waveguides arranged in ribbons, and mass-produced especially for the purpose.
Furthermore, these parallel connections must be remakeable, so that the board can be unplugged for service and a spare plugged in, without requiring that the optical links be replaced. Multimode waveguides and fibers are currently the most common, since their comparatively large cores allow them to be spliced and coupled with loose mechanical tolerances compared to those of ordinary single-mode fibers, as used in telecommunications. Loose tolerances translate into low cost and usually into mechanical robustness as well.
Single-mode waveguides have significant advantages over multimode waveguides, especially in their small diameter and the resulting high interconnection density. Since light in a single-mode waveguide has a well defined guide wavelength, single-mode waveguides allow the use of long gratings and directional coupler structures that rely on a well-defined guide wavelength and field distribution. Hence a remakeable, single-mode, multi-waveguide connector that allowed loose mechanical tolerances would be a significant advance in optical interconnection technology.

Apparatus and methods for remakeable connections to optical waveguides

International Business Machines Corporation


A system and method. The system may include a display, an image generator configured to output a stream of image data, an aircraft state sensor configured to output aircraft state data, and at least one processor. The at least one processor may be configured to: receive the stream of image data; compute an optical flow on the stream of the image data resulting in image-based motion vectors (MVs); receive the aircraft state data; compute expected MVs based on the aircraft state data; compare the expected MVs with the image-based MVs; determine whether at least some of the stream of the image data fails a predetermined assurance level based on a comparison of the expected MVs with the image-based MVs; and upon a determination that at least a portion of the stream of the image data fails the predetermined assurance level, transmit or implement a system response.

Vision systems are central to low-visibility operations (e.g., take-off and landing), which require higher integrity. These vision systems typically utilize devices (e.g., graphics processing units (GPUs) and camera cores) which often have limited design information available and no design assurance level. In order to use these components, the components must be monitored to detect hazardously misleading information in certified avionic solutions. Current solutions require device specific monitors, which must be re-designed and implemented as components go obsolete. Current image monitoring methods are costly since they are specific to each core or focal plane array's (FPA's) low-level detail design.

Motion vector vision system integrity monitor


There is provided a holographic display device, which includes a display panel including plural sub-pixels, wherein each sub-pixel includes plural subdivided pixels, and each subdivided pixel has an adjustable light transmittance; a backlight, configured to provide reference light to the display panel; a phase adjustment layer, including plural transparent phase adjustment components, wherein each phase adjustment component is configured to adjust a phase of a light ray transmitted through the phase adjustment component, and the phase adjustment components corresponding to a single sub-pixel have phase adjustment amounts different from each other; and a controller, configured to obtain a target phase of a light ray to be transmitted through each sub-pixel, and determine a target subdivided pixel, which corresponds to the target phase, in each sub-pixel, and further configured to obtain a target intensity of the light ray, and adjust a light transmittance of the target subdivided pixel.

Holography is a recording and reproducing technology to record and reproduce a real three-dimensional image of an object by using the principles of interference and diffraction of light.
However, in the related art, after a hologram is formed on a holographic plate, a phase and an intensity of the interfered light are fixed, and thus only one hologram can be displayed (i.e., reproduced). Therefore, it is a technical problem to be solved urgently in the field to make a phase and an intensity recorded on the holographic plate adjustable so as to display different images.

Holographic display device and holographic display method


Systems, methods, and computer program products for providing wireless network access are disclosed. A wireless network access device comprises at least one local communication network interface and a plurality of wireless network interfaces. Requests for resources are received over the local communication network interface, processed by the processor, and distributed among two or more of the plurality of wireless network interfaces. Algorithms for determining a number of wireless network interfaces and for selecting particular wireless network interfaces are disclosed. Received resources may be stored in a cache memory, and may be used to respond to subsequent requests for the same resource.

Mobility is becoming an increasingly important aspect of computing. The advent of mobile computing devices such as, for example, laptop computers and handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs), coupled with the advent of the World Wide Web (WWW) has provided the technological infrastructure to permit users to access information and applications from many different locations across the world. Mobile access to computing resources expands the utility of these resources and increases the value of computer networks.
Presently, mobile connectivity is hampered by both a shortage and a lack of flexibility of wireless communication connections. Wireless communication networks were engineered primarily for voice communications. Accordingly, wireless communication connections are characterized by fixed, relatively low bandwidth connections. For example, wireless communication networks that operate in accordance with the GSM standard provide a connection having a fixed bandwidth that results in a maximum data rate of between 9600 and 14,400 bits per second, depending upon the particular variation of GPS connection. Wireless communication networks that operate in accordance with the CDMA standard provide similar data rates. While adequate for voice communications, these data rate restrictions limit the functionality of wireless connections for data networks. In addition, there may be gaps in the coverage of particular wireless service provider networks. Such gaps may be geographic, i.e., particular geographic areas may suffer from poor coverage. Alternatively, gaps may be a function of increased network traffic in a particular cell or sector of a network.

Wireless network access technologies for retrieving a virtual resource via a plurality of wireless network interfaces


An observation system for masking a privacy zone and method thereof are provided. The observation system has a camera part that photographs a certain observation area. An operation part receives a user-set command for selecting a privacy zone among the observation area, where the privacy zone requires no observation. A control part outputs a control signal for setting a mask area that masks the privacy zone according to the user-set command. An area set part generates a plurality of vertexes forming the mask area according to the control signal. An image signal process part uses a mosaic scheme to masks the privacy zone photographed by the camera part according to the mask area formed by the plurality of vertexes set by the area set part. An output part displays the mask area masked by the image signal process part. Therefore, the privacy zone photographed from the camera part is not displayed on a screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an observation system to display a mask area capable of masking a privacy zone and a method to display the mask area. More particularly, the present invention relates to an observation system that calculates a mask area included in an observation area photographed by an observation camera to mask a privacy zone, and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, observation cameras have been installed in buildings or on streets to prevent crime and theft. Images photographed by the observation cameras are displayed on monitors of police stations or building management offices to notify policemen or managers of the present status of the locations at which the observation cameras are installed. As described above, an observation system displays on a certain monitor an image photographed by an observation camera. The observation system includes a controller for controlling operation of the observation camera such that a user may control operation of the observation camera and the monitor.
FIG. 1 is a view of a conventional observation system.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional observation system includes an observation camera 10, a monitor 20, and a controller 30.
The observation camera 10 includes a charge coupled device (CCD) for photographing a certain observation area and a driving part (not shown) for driving the lens part 15 to rotate in a horizontal direction by a pan angle of 360°, to rotate in a vertical direction by a tilt angle of 180°, and to zoom.
The monitor 20 converts an image signal corresponding to the observation area photographed by the observation camera 10 into an image signal corresponding to the display scheme of the monitor 20 to display on a camera screen 25.
The controller 30 receives a user's adjustment command for adjusting the observation camera 10 and a user-set command for setting operation of the monitor 20 via various operation keys 31 and a joystick 35. The controller 30 outputs a control signal for controlling the observation camera 10 and the monitor 20 according to the received various commands.
The observation system has advantages in preventing crime and theft, however, it also has disadvantages in that privacy is disturbed, because the observation camera covers all the designated areas, including even a privacy area relating to an individual person. To solve this problem, a function is introduced to the observation system that masks the privacy area among the observation area displayed on the camera screen 25.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are views for explaining a method of displaying a mask area according to a conventional observation system.
Referring to FIG. 2A, a user controls the operation of the observation camera 10 via the controller 30 to locate the privacy zone PZ included in the observation area. When the privacy zone PZ is displayed on the camera screen 25, a user sets a mask area M to mask the privacy zone PZ via the controller 30.
Referring to FIG. 2B, a user operates the controller 30 to place the privacy zone PZ on a center of the camera screen 25 and adjusts a size of the mask area M accordingly. The center point (Pi, Ti) of the mask area M is placed on the center of the camera screen 25, and a user operates the certain operation key 31 and the joystick 35 to adjust the size of the mask area M and to set the mask area M. Position data corresponding to the center point (Pi, Ti) of the mask area M and position data corresponding to four vertexes forming the mask area M are stored.
Then, as a user operates the observation camera 10 via the controller 30, the privacy zone PZ displayed on the camera screen 25 is masked via the preset mask area M according to the operation of the observation camera 10. Therefore, it prevents disturbance of the privacy of the privacy zone PZ.
However, according to the conventional method for setting the mask area M, one cannot minutely set the mask area M because the zoom value is fixed and the proportion of the mask area M is fixed to a 4:3 aspect ratio. Additionally, the number of the mask areas M that can be set on a single camera screen 25 is limited to four or less due to limited storage space. Finally, due to the slow speed of calculating the mask area M, the mask area M cannot be displayed on the camera screen 25 as the observation camera 10 pans and tilts by more than a set speed.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved mask area for and a method of masking a privacy zone captured by an observation system.

Observation system to display mask area capable of masking privacy zone and method to display mask area


A cap insert comprises an elongated sheet which is flexible but sufficiently rigid for use as a shaping insert in a billed cap. The sheet is substantially planar in a relaxed state and includes a central portion, opposing tapered portions, and opposing leg portions. The sheet fits inside a billed cap around the sweatband, and successfully returns an old billed cap to its proper shape.

This invention relates to an insert for a billed cap.
A billed cap comprises a head covering and a bill extending therefrom. According to a common design, the head covering has a front portion (adjacent to the bill) with the necessary circumferential curvature, but with little or no inward curvature. Any subsequent references to a billed cap is understood to be of this design. To maintain the desired shape, the manufacturer typically stitches a heavy, relatively stiff backing material inside the front portion of the head covering. However, after long use and multiple washings, this backing material loses its stiffness. Consequently, the front portion of the head covering tends to collapse and curve inwardly, giving a sloppy and undesirable appearance that may make the cap unwearable.


Systems and methods of operating systems are provided. For example, a system comprises a fuel cooling loop including a cold fuel flowpath having a fuel flowing therethrough, a fuel cooler heat exchanger for cooling the fuel in fluid communication with the cold fuel flowpath, and a cold fuel tank disposed along the cold fuel flowpath for accumulating at least a portion of the cooled fuel. The system further comprises a fuel heating loop including a hot fuel flowpath for a flow of the fuel, a fuel heater heat exchanger for heating the fuel in fluid communication with the hot fuel flowpath, and a hot fuel tank disposed along the hot fuel flowpath for accumulating at least a portion of the heated fuel. The fuel cooling loop is coupled to the fuel heating loop such that the fuel circulates through both the fuel cooling loop and the fuel heating loop.

Vehicles such as aircraft, as well as engines such as gas turbine engines that may be used, e.g., for power generation for such vehicles or for other applications, typically have one or more systems that generate heat. Usually, thermal management systems (TMS) are provided for managing heat generation of the vehicle and/or engine. For example, a cooling system may be used to cool one or more heat loads. Moreover, heat generated by the vehicle and/or engine, or one or more systems of such vehicle and/or engine, may be used to heat fuel consumed by the vehicle and/or engine, as burning a higher temperature fuel can provide, e.g., greater propulsion efficiency for an aircraft.
However, thermal management systems often have a mismatch between capacity and demand. For example, thermal management systems often generate cooling capacity during periods of low cooling demand (i.e., when heat generation is low) and may not generate sufficient cooling capacity during periods of high cooling demand. Thus, excess cooling capacity typically is lost and is not available when increased cooling capacity is needed. As another example, more fuel heating capacity may be generated during certain operating conditions or modes, such as aircraft takeoff, than is needed during those operating conditions, while less fuel heating capacity is generated during operating conditions having a higher or greater demand for heated fuel.
Accordingly, improvements to vehicles such as aircraft, engines (including engines for vehicles), and thermal management systems that help overcome these issues and/or take advantage of potential opportunities, such as the thermal capacity of engine and/or vehicle fuel, would be useful.


The output circuit is provided with an operational amplifier, a current supply circuit and an impedance changing circuit. The current supply circuit supplies current to the operational amplifiers at rising and falling of an output signal delivered by the operational amplifier. The impedance changing circuit changes the impedance between the operational amplifier and an output terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an output circuit used in a dot inversion driving circuit or a line inversion driving circuit of a liquid crystal display apparatus or the like, and particularly to an output circuit of low power consumption and high slew rate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus is provided with driving circuits each of which applies a voltage to each pixel according to an image to be displayed. A dot inversion driving circuit of the prior art is disclosed in, for example, Japanese National Phase PCT Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-504389. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the dot inversion driving circuit of the prior art.
The dot inversion driving circuit of the prior art is provided with a plurality of operational amplifiers 51. Two operational amplifiers 51 are shown in FIG. 1. A switching element 53 is connected to an output terminal of each of the operational amplifiers 51. The other end of the switching element 53 serves as an output terminal of the driving circuit. Every switching element 53 receives a control signal S51 input for the on/off control thereof. Connected to each output terminal is a panel load comprising a resistive element 54 and a capacitive element 55.
FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the dot inversion driving circuit of the prior art. In the dot inversion driving circuit of the prior art made in the constitution described above, a voltage is output in high impedance state when the switching element 53 is off. When the switching element 53 is on, output voltage of the operational amplifier 51 is output directly.
An operational amplifier used in the dot inversion driving circuit or the like is also disclosed (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei 7-221560). In the operational amplifier of the prior art described in this publication, mean power consumption is reduced by decreasing the level of direct current bias voltage and increasing the current supply when charging the capacitive load, while increasing the level of direct current bias voltage after the charging is completed.
With the driving circuit of the prior art described in Japanese National Phase PCT Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-504389, however, there is a problem of high overall current consumption though the power consumption can be reduced by shorting a plurality of output terminals to obtain a voltage of an intermediate level thereof. This problem is caused by the current being supplied all times to the operational amplifier.
It may appear possible to reduce the overall current consumption by replacing only the operational amplifier with that described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei 7-221560. However, it results in such a problem as undesirable oscillation or ringing of the output voltage or a decrease in the slew rate.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an output circuit capable of improving the slew rate and reducing the power consumption.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an output circuit comprises an operational amplifier, a current supply circuit and an impedance changing circuit. The current supply circuit supplies current to the operational amplifiers at rising and falling of an output signal from the operational amplifier. The impedance changing circuit changes the impedance between the operational amplifier and an output terminal.
According to the aspect of the present invention, the operational amplifier is supplied with a current from the current supply circuit at the rising and falling of the output from the operational amplifier. Thus it is made possible to decrease the level of current supply to the operational amplifier to a lower limit at times other than the rising and falling of the output signal. Slew rates at the times of rise and fall of the output signal are also improved by changing the impedance between the output terminals by means of the impedance changing circuit after the rise or fall has started, thereby reducing the load on the operational amplifier.
The impedance changing circuit may have two switching elements that have different values of resistance from each other and are connected in parallel with each other between the operational amplifier and the output terminal. Resistance of one of the switching elements that has higher resistance is preferably 80 to 100 times as large as that of the other switching element of lower resistance.
The impedance changing circuit may have a transfer gate switch connected between the operational amplifier and the output terminal. In this case, the impedance changing circuit may have a control element for controlling gate voltages of two field effect transistors that constitute the transfer gate switch.
Further, a capacitive load of the liquid crystal display apparatus may also be connected to the output terminal. In this case, the output circuit is used as, for example, a dot inversion driving circuit or a line inversion driving circuit.
Furthermore, the output circuit may also have at least another set of the operational amplifier, the bias circuit and the impedance changing circuit, with a shorting circuit that short-circuits the plurality of output terminals of each set. In case the output circuit is used as a dot inversion driving circuit, power consumption can be reduced further through short-circuiting of the output terminals thereby to obtain a voltage of an intermediate level thereof.
The nature, principle and utility of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals or characters.


A process for the segregation, sterilization, and purification of recycled plastic medical waste with the subsequent production of plastic products made therefrom is disclosed. Also disclosed is a method for the front-end segregation of recycled plastic medical waste into a polypropylene waste stream and a mixed plastic waste stream. These segregated streams are further purified through a processing method that removes contaminating fibrous, metal and other waste products. Polypropylene and mixed plastic streams isolated using these methods yield a homogenous material that can be blended with other materials for the production of raw plastic or for extrusion to form commercial plastic products. A method for tracking regulated and non-regulated medical waste stream production kinetics and chain of custody from discrete waste disposal sites is also disclosed.

Medical waste, biopharma waste and laboratory waste are heterogeneous. In addition to paper and liquid waste, the contents include a variety of rigid and flexible plastics. Much of this plastic stream is capable of being recycled into useful products if properly decontaminated, thereby limiting environmental pollution by preventing waste accumulation in landfills and waste incineration. Due to the heterogeneous nature of this waste, it is difficult to obtain a homogenous plastic waste stream and effectively recycle the plastic. Most attempts to isolate these plastic polymers from heterogeneous medical waste, biopharma waste, and/or laboratory waste have relied heavily on backend segregation. Backend segregation is labor intensive, financially burdensome, and/or requires significant fortification of the resulting plastic to enhance its value as a resale commodity. There is a need to develop effective plastic diversion techniques capable of segregating this material and enriching the homogeneity of the waste stream to increase the quality of plastic for subsequent recycling. More specifically, there is a need for technology that allows for repeated isolation of high-quality resin to be used in circular economy products.

Plastic articles made from the segregation, decontamination, and purification of biomedical waste plastics in a system leveraging waste production data to modify material purification and product manufacturing


An extrusion die is used for producing ceramic honeycomb materials. It is particularly useful in producing such extrudates in sheet form by configuring the die in the form of a cylinder and providing a cutting device proximate to the exterior of the cylinder so that when relative rotation is imparted between the cutter and the cylinder, a honeycomb sheet is removed. A cover can be provided over the exterior surface of the cylindrically-shaped die to permit formation of honeycomb extrudates in pellet form.

Ceramic honeycomb structural bodies are effective as catalyst carriers for purifying exhaust gases of internal combustion engines and as filters for fine particle removal. These honeycomb structural bodies are usually made of a ceramic material such as cordierite, alumina, silicon carbide, and the like, and owing to their configurations, they are generally produced by an extrusion method.
In order for honeycomb structures to function efficiently as catalytic converters, it is necessary that their cells provide a substantially large surface area for catalytic material to react with the exhaust gases. Also, the cell walls must have a substantially thin cross-sectional dimension to provide a large open frontal area to reduce back pressure within the exhaust system. However, the thin walled structure must have sufficient mechanical and thermal integrity to withstand normal automotive impact and thermal requirements.
In the past, it has been customary to form extrusion dies for forming thin-walled honeycomb structures from a solid die body by saw-cutting discharge passages in the outlet face of the die body and drilling rather lengthy feed holes into the inlet face of the die body which communicate with such discharge passages, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,654 to Bagley. As further shown in the Bagley patent, the feed holes may communicate with each intersecting passage or every other intersection, as desired. However, in both cases the feed holes extend a substantial distance through a unitary die body.
In order for the extruded material to coalesce within the discharge passages, it is necessary for the passages to have sufficient length so that the extruded material will have time to flow transversely within slots to knit into a unitary grid prior to being longitudinally discharged from the outlet face of the die. Alternatively, additional feed holes may be provided in communication with the slot gridwork to reduce the amount of transverse flow required to provide such a unitary cellular matrix prior to discharge from the die face.
In the past, planar extrusion dies have been utilized to form ceramic honeycomb structures. Examples of such extrusion systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,836,302 to Kaukeinen, 4,118,456 to Blanding, et al., 4,687,433 to Ozachi, et al., and 4,877,766 to Frost. Such devices work well in extruding single piece structures having relatively small cross-sectional areas. The cross-sectional area of honeycomb structures is, however, limited by the size of the die used to form them. This becomes a problem when it is necessary to produce honeycomb structures with large cross-sectional areas. It is simply not cost-effective to manufacture a large one-piece honeycomb structure with a planar extrusion die. Instead, small component pieces of such large structures are separately extruded through planar dies, and the pieces are then fitted together and sealed with frit. Due to its time-consuming and labor-intensive nature, this procedure is not particularly satisfactory. There, thus, continues to be a need for techniques of producing large ceramic honeycomb materials in an efficient and cost-effective fashion.


A rear vehicle-body structure is provided that can absorb a rear-end collision load by a short frame region on a vehicle-body rear side. Embodiments include a rear side frame having a rear-side breaking frame section including a rear-side breakage starting portion on a rear side among breakage starting portions disposed at intervals in a front-rear direction, a front-side breaking frame section including a front-side breakage starting portion on a front side and at which the direction of breakage is opposite from the direction of breakage at the rear-side breakage starting portion, and a middle frame section between the rear-side breakage starting portion and the front-side breakage starting portion. The axial proof stress of the rear-side breaking frame section is lower than the axial proof stress of the front-side breaking frame section; and the middle frame section includes beads at a predetermined interval in an axial direction.

Typically, for example, EVs (electric vehicles that drive wheels by a motor supplied with electricity from a battery unit) have a battery unit disposed under a front floor panel and a kick-up, while range-extended electric vehicles (so-called REEVs that include a wheel driving motor, a battery unit that supplies the motor with electricity, and an engine that drives a generator, and supply electricity generated by the generator to a battery to charge the battery) have a fuel tank disposed further rearward of the battery unit.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2016-107779 discloses a rear vehicle-body structure in which a rear part of each rear side frame deforms under a rear-end collision load so as to bend compactly from a rear side and thereby absorbs the load, while a middle part of the rear side frame bends significantly toward a vehicle-width-direction inner side around a pivot point set on a front side thereof, so that a rear floor panel deforms and thereby absorbs the load.
However, there is room for improvement in terms of absorption of a rear-end collision load in order to secure a space for the passenger compartment, and particularly to protect a battery unit/fuel tank disposed under a kick-up in an EV or an REEV, in the event of a rear-end collision.


A vehicle having a climate-controlled console (14) is provided. The vehicle (10) includes a vehicle frame (12) and a console (14) attached to the vehicle frame (12). The console (14) includes a housing (20), a drawer (22), and one or more climate regulators (24). The housing (20) defines a cavity (26). The drawer (22) is slidably attached to the housing (20) and movable into the cavity (26). The drawer (22) includes one or more compartments with a floor portion (38), a lid (36), and a series of wall portions (40) extending between the floor portion (38) and lid. One or more of the wall portions (40) are formed from a transparent material (56) for displaying an interior (58) of the compartment (28). The climate regulators (24) maintain a predetermined climate in the compartment (28).

Existing vehicle interiors typically include a series of storage compartments for storing a variety of items, such as maps, sunglasses, and coins. Certain vehicles include a center console positioned between a pair of front bucket seats. This center console typically is formed from colored or otherwise opaque material. In this respect, the items within the console are visible only when viewed by a direct line of sight through an unobstructed opening of the compartment. For that reason, a vehicle occupant may be required to search through a pile of items within the console before finding the item the occupant wishes to retrieve.
Typical vehicle storage compartments are manually opened or closed. In this way, a vehicle occupant typically pulls open and pushes closed the storage compartment.
It is therefore desirable to provide a climate controlled vehicle console with one or more windows and a series of compartments for readily storing and accessing cargo.

Climate controlled vehicle console with window


A packet repeater is connected between an IEEE-1394 host terminal and a PPP server. The host terminal transmits a PPP packet containing the physical address of an IEEE-1394 device. During a discovery stage of a PPP connection, the packet repeater receives a PPP packet from the terminal, copies the physical address contained in the packet to an entry of a management table, and successively receives packets from the server and copies the physical address of the server and a session identifier respectively contained in the packets to that entry of the table. During a session stage of the connection, the packet repeater receives a PPP packet either from the terminal or the server and determines the destination of the packet according to the physical address of one of the terminal and the server which is set in the table corresponding to a session identifier of the packet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to IP communication between terminals connected to networks of different protocols and more specifically to a technique for interconnecting IEEE 1394 networks and IP networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
When an internet protocol packet is relayed between local area networks of different protocols, it is the usual practice to terminate the packet at layer 2 and examine its target address at layer 3, and then forward the packet to an appropriate interface.
The current practice is useful for building large scale networks where the address on one side of a boundary point differs from the address on the other side. However, the use of the current practice for large scale networks is not justified for applications where the number of user terminals is relatively small. Particularly, servers would be installed for communications between terminals.
A method has been standardized by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) for networking a number of local area networks of different protocols into a logically single network as RFC 925 (Request for Comment 925 "Multi-LAN Address Resolution"). In this method, a repeater acts as a proxy ARP server for each terminal to process ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) packets. In order for an IP packet repeater to repeat unicast packets between an IEEE 1394 network and an IEEE 802.x network, the repeater is required to perform header translation by rewriting the source address of a packet from a terminal to the physical address of the repeater when the repeater broadcasts an ARP packet to obtain the physical address, or GUID (Global unique ID) of a 1394 terminal and is required to associate the GUID with the physical address, or MAC address of the 802x terminal and their IP addresses.
If a device is attached to the IEEE 1394 bus, a bus reset is triggered and the entire bus is reconfigured automatically. This bus initialization consists of three phases: reset, tree identification and self identification. During the first phase all nodes are informed of a bus reset occurrence. In the succeeding phase the topology of the bus is determined. The last phase is responsible for assigning every device a physical ID. To recognize a device after a bus reset a global unique identifier (GUID) is used for unique addressing.
In response to the ARP request packet, the packet repeater reads the sender IP address field, the GUID field, the sender unicast FIFO field and sets the contents of these fields into the IP address field, the GUID field and the sender unicast FIFO field (available for the receipt of IP datagrams) of an ARP packet management table, respectively. The packet repeater rewrites the ARP packet from the IEEE 1394 format to the IEEE 802.x format by reading the sender and target IP addresses from the 1394 ARP packet into the 802.x ARP packet and setting all zeros in the target MAC address field of the 802.x ARP packet and the repeater's MAC address in the sender MAC address field of the 802.x ARP packet.
The 802.x ARP packet is then encapsulated in an 802.x frame which contains an 802.x header in which the target MAC address field is set to all zeros and the sender MAC address field is set with the repeater MAC address. The frame is then broadcast to all terminals of the 802.x network. Since the sender MAC address field of the frame is set with the repeater MAC address, all recipient terminals on the 802.x network recognize that the repeater is the sender of the packet. As a result, an ARP reply packet which will be sent from a targeted 802.x terminal is destined to the packet repeater.
The MAC address and the IP address of the targeted 802.x terminal are set in the sender MAC address field and the sender IP address field of this ARP reply packet, respectively. The MAC address of the packet repeater is set in the target MAC address field and the IP address of the 1394 terminal is set in the target IP address field of the ARP reply packet.
When the packet repeater receives this ARP reply packet, it reads a copy of its MAC address of the targeted 802.x terminal from the sender MAC address and sets the copy into the MAC address field of the ARP management table, and reads a copy of the IP address of the targeted 802.x terminal from the sender IP address field and sets the copy into the IP address field.
The ARP reply packet is then encapsulated in an IEEE 1394 packet containing an Asynchronous Block Write (ABW) header in which the unicast FIFO of the requesting 1394 terminal is set in its offset address field, and transmitted from the packet repeater to the 1394 network.
When the requesting 1394 terminal transmits a packet to the target 802.x terminal after the ARP procedure, the 1394 terminal formulates a packet by setting the IP address of the 802.x terminal in the destination address field and specifying the GUID and unicast FIFO of the packet repeater and forwards the packet. On receiving the packet, the packet repeater recognizes that it is targeted and retransmits this packet to the target 802.x terminal. When a packet is transmitted from the 802.x terminal to the 1394 terminal, the 802.x terminal sets the IP address of the 1394 terminal in the destination address field of the packet and specifies the MAC address of the repeater.
During a session, the packet repeater reads the IP address set in a packet received on one side of the repeater as a key to search the ARP packet management table for a corresponding set of MAC address, GUID and unicast FIFO of the destination terminal and rewrites the destination address of the received packet for transmission to the other side of the repeater.
On the other hand, PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol (PPP) over Ethernet (802.3) protocol has been developed to establish a PPP connection over Ethernet. This protocol is divided into two stages according to different modes of communication. In the first stage, called discovery stage, a connection is established between a non-1394 host terminal and a PPPoE server (or node) which can be used as an access concentrator. The host terminal specifies a MAC address of the server to acquire a session identifier. In the subsequent stage, or session stage, in which a session is established to an internet service provider to perform an IP communication using the assigned session identifier. When the session is terminated, the discovery stage is resumed. Discovery and session stages can be distinguished from each other by a value set in the Ethernet-type field of the IP 1394 packet and a value set in the Ethernet-type field of the 802.x packet. If an IEEE 802.x terminal initiates a communication, it sends a PADI (PPPoE Active Discovery Initiation) packet which specifies a service name that the host requests. Since the non-1394 host terminal has no knowledge of the MAC address of the PPPoE server during the discovery stage, it broadcasts a PADI packet to the network. In response, a PPPoE server replies with a PADO (PPPoE Active Discovery Offer) packet to the host terminal, which contains the name of the server and a service name supported. The host terminal responds to this PADO packet by returning a PADR (PPPoE Active Discovery Request) packet which contains the service name and the PPPoE server's name which were previously set in the PADO packet. When the PPPoE server receives this packet, it transmits a PADS (PPPoE Active Discovery Session Confirmation) packet in which a session identifier is set corresponding to the requested service name. When the host terminal receives this PADS packet, a session stage begins. During the session stage, an IP connection specified by the session identifier is performed between the host terminal and the Internet. The session stage is terminated when the host terminal or the access controller transmits a PADT (PPPoE Active Discovery Terminate) packet.
However, the 1394 network cannot accommodate the point-to-point protocol. Therefore, if a 1394 network were connected to an 802.x network, host terminals could not transmit PPP packets. If a PPP connection were established in a system where a 1394 network and an 802.x network are interconnected by a packet repeater, both of the packet repeater and the 1394 terminal cannot acquire destination address at the start of a PPP connection. More specifically, since unicast sessions between 1394 terminals cannot proceed only with a Global Unique Identifier, a unicast FIFO Identifier (i.e., a register address of a device attached to a 1394 serial bus) is additionally required to specify the destination 1394 node that is attached to the 1394 serial bus of the host terminal. However, the host terminal must broadcast an ARP packet to obtain the register address of the destination node by indicating its IP address. Since the host terminal is not assigned an IP address prior to the establishment of a PPP connection and since the ARP procedure requires an IP address, the host terminal cannot rely on the ARP procedure to acquire the address of a destination, and hence it cannot identify the correspondent terminal. Therefore, PPP connections cannot be established between 1394 host terminals.

Communications system for establishing PPP connections between IEEE 1394 terminals and IP networks


A door for a vehicle includes a run channel and a door glass slidable up and down along the run channel. A rear edge of the door glass, which is in sliding contact with a rear channel of the run channel, has respective projecting portions at upper and lower end portions thereof. The projecting portions project more than a middle portion of the rear edge positioned centrally in an up-and-down direction of the rear edge. The rear edge is deeply received in a groove formed in the rear channel not throughout the length thereof but at the projecting portions so as to reduce a slide resistance which the door glass undergoes when sliding relative to the run channel.

Doors for vehicles including run channels, door glasses movable up and down along the run channels, and window regulators provided at lower parts of the door glasses are put in practical use.
As for the above door, no serious problem is presented in its practical use so long as the door glass of the door has a front edge, an upper edge and a rear edge formed to conform in configuration to three sides, that is, a front channel, an upper channel and a rear channel of the run channel, respectively.
The door as discussed above is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-11-348556. The disclosed door will be described with reference to FIG. 10 hereof.
A door 200 for a vehicle shown in FIG. 10 includes a door body 201, a run channel 202 provided in the door body 201 and a door glass 203 movable up and down along the run channel 202. The door glass 203 has a lower part at which a window regulator 204 is positioned. The window regulator 204 is attached to the door body 201. The door glass 203 has a front edge 211, an upper edge 212 and a rear edge 213 conforming in configuration to a front channel 205, an upper channel 206 and a rear channel 207 of the run channel 202, respectively.
The front edge 211 of the door glass 203 slides in its entirety relative to the front channel 205. The rear edge 213 of the door glass 203 slides in its entirety relative to the rear channel 207. Thus, the door glass 203 is undesirably subjected to an increased resistance when sliding up and down along the run channel 202.
Additionally, because the upper edge 212 of the door glass 203 has its configuration conforming to that of the upper channel 206 of the run channel 202, the upper edge 212 is in its entirety fitted to the upper channel 206 in one stroke when the door glass 203 is fully closed. As a result, the door glass 203 can not be fully closed without producing a loud sound.
Thus, there has been a demand for a vehicular door including a door glass which can undergo a reduced resistance when moving up and down and which can be fully closed without producing a loud sound.

Door for vehicle having a door glass with projecting portions


A information processing apparatus and method is disclosed wherein an image of a predetermined region can be picked up and a desired moving body in the predetermined region can be tracked readily to pick up an image of the moving body. A sensor image acquisition module acquires a sensor image. A moving body detection module detects moving bodies existing in a predetermined region based on the sensor image. A tracking object designation module designates one of the detected moving bodies. When a moving body is designated by the tracking object designation module, an image pickup mode changeover module sets the image pickup mode to a continuous tracking mode in which the designated moving body is tracked to pick up an image of the moving body. The invention can be applied, for example, to a monitoring system.

This invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, a program, and a recording medium, and more particularly to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, a program and a recording medium wherein an image of a predetermined region can be picked up and a moving body in the predetermined region desired by a user can be tracked to pick up an image of the moving body.
In recent years, in order to assure the security, a multi-point camera monitoring system (multi camera system) is frequently installed, for example, in a bank, a parking area, a house and so forth in which an automatic teller machine (ATM) is placed.
Such a multi camera system as described above includes a plurality of video cameras and a recording apparatus for recording images acquired by the video cameras. An apparatus for use with such a multi camera system as described above has been proposed wherein a plurality of images are reduced in scale and combined into a one-frame image as disclosed for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 10-108163 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1). Also a device has been proposed wherein images from a plurality of video cameras are collected and recorded on a recording medium such as a video tape as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-243062 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 2).
FIG. 1 shows an appearance of an example of a conventional multi camera system.
Referring to FIG. 1, the multi camera system 1 shown includes four cameras 11-1 to 11-4. The cameras 11-1 to 11-4 are stationary cameras whose photographing direction is fixed or pan tilt zoom cameras whose photographing direction is variable. The cameras 11-1 to 11-4 monitor a region 21 of a circular wide area of a diameter of 40 m, for example, in a parking area.
FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration of the multi camera system shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, each of the cameras 11-1 to 11-4 picks up an image. The cameras 11-1 to 11-4 are individually connected to a recording apparatus 41 and supply analog signals of images obtained by image pickup to the recording apparatus 41. The recording apparatus 41 records image data which are digital signals of images obtained by A/D conversion of the analog signals of the images supplied from the cameras 11-1 to 11-4. Further, the recording apparatus 41 is connected to a display apparatus 42 and causes the display apparatus 42 to display an image corresponding to the image data.
However, in the multi camera system 1 in FIG. 2, the cameras which can be connected to the recording apparatus 41 are limited to only four cameras 11-1 to 11-4, and therefore, the extensibility of the multi camera system 1 is poor.
FIG. 3 shows another example of the configuration of the multi camera system 1 in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 3, the cameras 11-1 to 11-4 are connected to a personal computer (PC) 52 through a network 51. Each of the cameras 11-1 to 11-4 picks up an image and transmit image data obtained by the image pickup to the PC 52 through the network 51 in accordance with the IP (Internet Protocol). The PC 52 records the image data and displays an image corresponding to the image data.
As described above, in the multi camera system 1, four cameras 11-1 to 11-4 are required to monitor the region 21. Therefore, it is cumbersome to install the cameras, and a high cost is required for the multi camera system 1. Further, in order to acquire high definition images, it is necessary to pick up images with a raised image pickup magnification, and therefore, a greater number of cameras are required. However, where the number of cameras is not increased while it is intended to acquire high definition images, it is difficult to acquire high definition images from all portions of the entire region 21. Therefore, it is necessary for the operator to normally monitor normal images and designate a desired region to acquire a high definition image of the region.
A monitoring camera is available which can monitor a situation within a wide area using a single camera by picking up an image of a subject while the image pickup direction is shifted successively to obtain a panorama image of the entire subject formed from a plurality of unit images.

Information processing system, information processing apparatus and information processing method, program, and recording medium


An energy-absorbing fastened structure includes first and second platelike members which are tightly fastened by a fastener having a shaft portion. The shaft portion is passed through first and second through holes which are mated with each other and respectively formed through the first and second members. The first member is formed with an energy-absorbing means for absorbing a heavy shock load which exceeds a predetermined magnitude and is applied to the fastened structure. The absorbing means is to be deformed by the shaft portion which is forced to move together with the second member relative to the first member. With this, damages to the second member is prevented or at least minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a so-called energy-absorbing fastened structure, and more particularly to an energy-absorbing fastened structure of a reclining device which is installed on an automotive seat, the fastened structure being capable of preventing or at least minimizing damages upon an accident to a lock mechanism of the reclining device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, various kinds of reclining devices have been proposed and put into practical use particularly in the field of automotive seats. As is known, the reclining device serves to adjust angular position of a seatback of an automotive seat and to lock the same at a certain desired angular position relative to a seat cushion thereof to provide a seat occupant with a comfortable sitting posture.
For example, JP-A (Patent) 63-318911 discloses a reclining device having therein a planetary gear arrangement. This type of reclining device installed on a motor vehicle seat can steplessly adjust angular position of a seatback thereof and lock the same at a certain desired angular position relative to a seat cushion thereof. The reclining device comprises first and second supporting plates which are respectively formed with ring gears meshed with a plurality of planetary gears, a control gear which is meshed with the planetary gears and coaxially mounted on a control shaft, an arm plate which is secured to the seatback, and a base plate which is secured to the seat cushion. The first and second supporting plates are respectively secured to the arm plate and the base plate through connecting pins. Thus, when the control shaft is rotated, the first supporting plate and the arm plate are slowly rotated about an axis of the control shaft so as to adjust the angular position of the seatback. When rotation of the control shaft is stopped, the seatback is locked at a certain desired angle.
When, for example, the motor vehicle is hard rear-ended by another vehicle, a seat occupant of the vehicle is abruptly rearwardly forced to move relative to the seat and struck at his or her back onto the seatback. Therefore, a heavy shock load is added to the seatback and the reclining device which supports the same. Therefore, the reclining device can be strongly built so as to support the load and thus to prevent or at least minimize damages to the same. However, this increases the production cost of the reclining device.


The present invention provides for a method of treating preterm labor in a subject in need of such treatment comprising administration of a therapeutically effective amount of an inhibitor of 5.alpha.-reductase type 1 to the subject. The present invention further provides for a method of preventing premature labor in a subject susceptible thereto comprising administration of a labor-preventive amount of an inhibitor of 5.alpha.-reductase type 1 to the subject. Further, the present invention also relates to a method of reducing the risk of premature labor in a subject at risk therefor. The present invention also provides for a method for stopping labor preparatory (i.e., prior) to Cesarean delivery in a subject in need of such treatment comprising administration of a therapeutically effective amount of an inhibitor of 5.alpha.-reductase type 1 to the subject.. Further, the present invention provides for compositions useful in the methods of the present invention, as well as a method of manufacture of a medicament useful for treating pre-term labor and for stopping labor preparatory to Cesarean delivery.

In the field of obstetrics, one of the most important problems is the management of preterm labor. A significant number of the pregnancies progressing past 20 weeks of gestation experience premature labor and delivery, which is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Despite major advances in neonatal care, retention of the fetus in utero is preferred in most instances.
Tocolytic (uterine-relaxing) agents that are currently in use include .beta.2-adrenergic agonists, magnesium sulfate and ethanol. In addition, oxytocin receptor antagonists are in development. Ritodrine, the leading .beta.2-adrenergic agonist, causes a number of cardiovascular and metabolic side effects in the mother, including tachycardia, increased renin secretion, hyperglycemia (and reactive hypoglycemia in the infant). Other .beta.2-adrenergic agonists, including salbutamol, terbutaline and albuterol have side effects similar to those of ritodrine. Magnesium sulfate at plasma concentrations above the therapeutic range of 4 to 8 mg/dL can cause inhibition of cardiac conduction and neuromuscular transmission, respiratory depression and cardiac arrest, thus making this agent unsuitable when renal function is impaired. Ethanol is as effective as ritodrine in preventing premature labor, but it does not produce a corresponding reduction in the incidence of fetal respiratory distress that administration of ritodrine does.
The present invention may also be used to stop labor preparatory to Cesarean delivery.
The enzyme 5.alpha.-reductase catalyzes the reduction of testosterone (T) to the more potent androgen, 5.alpha.-dihydrotestosterone (dihydrotestosterone" or DHT), as shown below: ##STR1##
5.alpha.-reductase also catalyzes the reduction of progesterone to dihydroprogesterone, as shown below: ##STR2## and the reduction of androstenedione to androstanedione, as shown below: ##STR3##
There are two isozymes of 5.alpha.-reductase in humans. One isozyme (type 1) predominates in the sebaceous glands of facial skin and skin tissue. The other (type 2) predominates in the prostate.
Finasteride (17.beta.-(N-tert-butylcarbamoyl)-3-oxo-4-aza-5.alpha.-androst-1-en-3-one, as shown below, is a potent inhibitor of the human type 2 enzyme. ##STR4## Under the tradename PROSCAR.RTM., finasteride is known to be useful in the treatment of hyperandrogenic conditions, see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,071. Finasteride is currently prescribed for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition affecting to some degree the majority of men over age 55. Finasteride's usefulness in the treatment of androgenic alopecia and prostatic cancer is described in the following documents: EP 0 285 382, published 5 Oct., 1988, EP 0 285 383, published 5 Oct., 1988 and Canadian patents 1,302,277 and 1,302,276.
Inhibitors of 5.alpha.-reductase type 1 have also been described. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,807, issued Jun. 18, 1996, WO 93/23420, published Nov. 25, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,351, issued Apr. 23, 2013, WO 93/23038, published Nov. 25, 1993, WO 93/23048, published Nov. 25, 1993, WO 93/23041, published Nov. 25, 1993, WO 93/23040, published Nov. 25, 1993, WO 93/23039, published Nov. 25, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,485, issued Apr. 23, 1996, WO 94/07861, published Apr. 14, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,071, issued Oct. 25, 1994, WO 95/11254, published Apr. 27, 1995, WO 95/00147, published Jan. 5, 1995, WO 95/28928, published Nov. 2, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,799, issued May 14, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,159, issued Jan. 11, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,734, issued Jun. 28, 1994, WO 95/02607, published Jan. 26, 1995, WO 95/32215, published Nov. 30, 1995, WO 96/22100, published Jul. 25, 1996.
Also known are compounds which are potent inhibitors of both 5.alpha.-reductase type 1 and type 2. These include the compounds described in WO 95/12398, published May 11, 1995, WO 95/07926, published Mar. 23, 1995, and WO 95/07927, published Mar. 23, 1995.
RU-486, also known as mifepristone, is known to be a progesterone antagonist. Abdellilah et al., in Progesterone and Mifepristone modify principally the response of circular myometrium to oxytocin in preparturient rats: comparison with response to acetylcholine and to calcium, J. Pharmacol. and Exp. Therp. 265(3):1205-1212 (1993), report that an oral dose of 10 mg/kg of RU-486 on GD 21 was able to induce parturition in pregnant rats treated with 200 mg/kg progesterone subcutaneously.
Mahendroo et al., in 5.alpha.-reduced androgens play a key role in murine parturition, Molecular Endocrinology 10:380-92 (1996) describe a study involving mice homozygous for genetic null mutations of type 1 5.alpha.-reductase. Seventy percent of these mice failed to initiate parturition. In those studies, the serum progesterone levels in the homozygous mutated mice were not markedly different from wild type mice during the later part of pregnancy. Administration of the progesterone antagonist RU-486 was able to induce parturition in 100% of the mice homozygous for genetic null mutations of type 1 5.alpha.-reductase. In addition, administration of 5.alpha.-androstan-3.alpha.,17.beta.-diol (3.alpha.-Adiol) was able to induce parturition in 93% of the homozygous mutated mice.
Benbow and Waddell, in Distribution and Metabolism of Maternal Progesterone in the Uterus, Placenta, and Fetus during Rat Pregnancy, Biology of Reproduction 52:1327-1333 (1995) report that in the rat, plasma progesterone concentration decreases substantially during the last six days of pregnancy.
Flint and Armstrong, in The appearance of an endometrial 20.alpha.-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase towards the end of pregnancy in the rat, Endocrinology 92:624-627 (1973) describe that in the rat the activity of 5.alpha.-reductase was low at days 14-16 and increased 2.5-fold before the end of pregnancy, and that the activity of 20.alpha.-hydroxy-steroid dehydrogenase increased 3.5-fold during the latter half of gestation. They note that the decrease in peripheral plasma progesterone concentration occurring on day 21 of gestation in the rat has been implicated as a possible cause of the onset of labor.
Howard and Weist, in Progesterone metabolism by uterine tissue of pregnant rats, Steroids 19:35-45 (1972) observed a tenfold increase in metabolic activity of progesterone between day 11 and day 21 of pregnancy when the results were expressed as nanograms of progesterone metabolized per gram of tissue per hour.
Maltier et al. (Parturition in Reproduction in Mammals and Man. Thibault et al (Eds.) Elllipses Publishing, Paris 1993; pp.: 481-501) discuss parturition and note that at the end of pregnancy, the progesterone/oestradiol-17.beta. ratio decreases by 40% in the myometrium.
Marrone and Karavolas, in Progesterone metabolism by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and uterus of the rat during pregnancy, Endocrinology 109:41-45 (1981) report on the in vitro metabolism of progesterone by the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary and uterus of the rat during pregnancy and observed increased metabolism of progesterone by the uterus at the end of pregnancy and decrease of 5.alpha.-reductase activity in the pituitary.
Myatt et al., in Identification and changes in concentration of prostaglandin H synthase isoforms in rat myometrium at parturition Prostaglandins 48:285-296 (1994) note that nuclear progesterone receptor concentrations were maximal on days 16-18 of pregnancy, decreased from days 18 to 22 (delivery) and fell 24 hours postpartum in the rat.

Methods and compositions for treating preterm labor


The present invention is a removably attachable vehicle body protection pad which is designed to be placed on the doors of a vehicle in a removable fashion when the vehicle is parked, so that the vehicle is protected when people in adjacent vehicles open their doors. The present invention provides a protection for the vehicle from being scratched or dented by other vehicles. The removably attachable pad includes an impact absorbent member having a fabric front surface and a plastic back surface, one or more magnetic strips for attaching the pad to a vehicle body, and one or more handle holes for holding the pad and fastening a security cable.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to the field of vehicle moldings. In particular, the present invention relates to a removably attachable vehicle body protection pad for protecting the side doors of a vehicle.
2. Description of The Prior Art
In general, the concept of side moldings for a vehicle has been seen in the prior art. Numerous patents exist for devices which protect the side doors of a vehicle from scratches and dents. These scratches and dents occur when a parked vehicle is struck by the opened door of another closely parked vehicle. The problem with some of these devices in today's market is that they are too expensive to be manufactured, do not function adequately, or require a considerable amount of time to install, remove, and store. In addition, while most previous products provide only a narrow strip of protection, this device provides a wider range of protection in areas where scratches and dents actually occur. The vehicles can be manufactured with side moldings already installed by the manufacturer, but it can be very expensive at times because it is an optional item for the vehicle. In addition, such side moldings are usually very small and offer only minimal protection. Some vehicles do not come with side moldings. This is where the present invention comes into play. The following prior art references are relevant to the field of the present invention.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,765 issued to Henderson et al. on Feb. 14, 1956 for "Door Protecting Accessory For Vehicles" (hereafter "the Henderson Patent").
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,412 issued to Miller on Sep. 9, 1980 for "Extendable Vehicle Lateral Guard" (hereafter "the Miller Patent").
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,502 issued to Campbell, Jr. on Jan. 15, 1985 for "Car Body Guard" (hereafter "the Campbell Patent").
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,697 issued to McGlone et al. on Feb. 12, 1985 for "Portable, Positionable Locking Magnetic Molding Tubes For Vehicle Protection" (hereafter "the McGlone Patent").
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,560 issued to Balanky on Jul. 30, 1985 for "Protective Cover For Vehicles" (hereafter "the Balanky Patent").
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,685 issued to Fischer on Dec. 31, 1985 for "Protective Pad For Side Of Motor Vehicle" (hereafter "the Fischer Patent").
7. Canadian Patent No. 689,935 issued to Parker on Jul. 7, 1964 for "Car Door Protector" (hereafter "the Canadian Patent").
8. German Patent No. 511,441 issued to Harbig on Oct. 30, 1930 (hereafter "the German Patent").
9. French Patent No. 1,077,058 issued to Schwob on Nov. 4, 1954 (hereafter "the French Patent").
The Henderson Patent discloses a door protecting accessory for vehicles. A longitudinally extending recess is provided in the outer face of the body and the recess is enlarged at its inner side edges for accommodating an elongated strip of metal which acts not only as a reinforcement for the device but also as an ornament. The device is attached to the outer side of the door by suction cups.
The Miller Patent discloses an extendable vehicle lateral side guard. It includes a strip extending outward and away from the exterior surface of the vehicle door. The strip is rigidly fixed to a pair of parallel arms which are arcuate in shape and which extend through the outer surface of the door. The arms are connected at their opposite ends to a U-shaped frame having vertical bars and a cross-bar integrally connected and rigidly fixed to the ends of the arms.
The Campbell Patent discloses a car body guard. It includes an elongated flexible rubber strap rolled up in a housing which is mounted in one of the wheel wells of the car. The strap may be unwound from the housing and extended across the side of the car and have its free end fastened to an attachment member in the other wheel well on the same side of the car. A return spring retains the strap along the side of the car and rolls it up again in the housing after it is detached from the attachment member in the other wheel well.
The Fischer Patent discloses a protective pad for the side of a motor vehicle. A hollow plastic pipe is encased with foam. The hollow plastic pipe is suspended by flexible belts which hang in a generally inverted Y shaped configuration and which is attached to the door of the vehicle.
The McGlone Patent discloses portable, positionable, locking magnetic molding tubes for vehicle protection. It includes an extruded tubing of a "D" channel configuration which adheres to any ferrous surface by means of an adhesively attached magnetic strip which is attached to the length of the molding in the underside recess of the "D" channel. The molding incorporates an internal flat semi-rigid member that maintains the molding in a straight and lateral attitude when attached to a ferrous panel. It also includes a circumferential locking device consisting of a coated wire retainer loop culminating in two reverse-band locking members. The locking device fits over the molding and the distally protruding locking members are then available for attaching to panel edges or the inside lip of vehicle doors to prevent theft.
The Balanky Patent discloses a protective cover for vehicles. The protective cover can be placed on or removed from the front and sides of a vehicle to protect its finish.
The Canadian Patent discloses a car door protector including two hook means attached at opposite ends of an elongated tether. The two hook means are hooked at opposite ends of the vehicle door edge.
The German Patent discloses a sectional railing attachment for a car. It includes several rails which attach to specific sections of the car such as the doors and fenders.
The French Patent discloses spaced apart cushioning members attached from end to end of the car.
One disadvantage of the prior art patents is that they use elaborate components and are therefore too expensive to manufacture. Another disadvantage of the prior art patents is that they use adhesive to attach the side molding onto the exterior surface of the vehicle. The adhesive can lose its adherence as time passes and the side molding will fall off the vehicle when the adhesive is not in effect.
Therefore, there is always a need to improve the side moldings of vehicles which will prevent scratches and dents on the side of the vehicle. It is also desirable to design a side molding that can easily be detached from the side door of the vehicle, so that the side molding can be removed when the vehicle is in motion. It is also desirable to design a side molding that can withstand adverse weather conditions, so that the side molding can be left on the vehicle while it is parked.

Removably attachable vehicle body protection pad


An implantable atrial defibrillator provides cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion. The atrial defibrillator includes a first detector for detecting atrial activity of the heart and an atrial fibrillation detector responsive to the first detector for determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion. The atrial defibrillator further includes a pacing output circuit responsive to the atrial fibrillation detector for pacing the ventricles of the heart at a pacing rate when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion and a cardioverter stage for applying the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart after the pacing output circuit has paced the ventricles for a predetermined number of cardiac cycles. The pacing output circuit stabilizes the cardiac rate of the heart prior to the application of the cardioverting electrical energy.

The present invention generally relates to an atrial defibrillator and method for applying cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion. The present invention is more particularly directed to a fully automatic implantable atrial defibrillator which exhibits improved safety by reducing the potential risk of induced ventricular fibrillation which may result from the delivery of cardioverting electrical energy to the atria. More specifically, the atrial defibrillator and method of the present invention guards against applying cardioverting electrical energy to the atria under conditions believed to contribute to induced ventricle fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation is probably the most common cardiac arrhythmia. Although it is not usually a life threatening arrhythmia, it is associated with strokes thought to be caused by blood clots forming in areas of stagnant blood flow as a result of prolonged atrial fibrillation. In addition, patients afflicted with atrial fibrillation generally experience palpitations of the heart and may even experience dizziness or even loss of consciousness.
Atrial fibrillation occurs suddenly and many times can only be corrected by a discharge of electrical energy to the heart through the skin of the patient by way of an external defibrillator of the type well known in the art. This treatment is commonly referred to as synchronized cardioversion and, as its name implies, involves applying electrical defibrillating energy to the heart in synchronism with a detected ventricular electrical activation (R wave) of the heart. The treatment is very painful and, unfortunately, most often only results in temporary relief for patients, lasting but a few weeks.
Drugs are available for reducing the incidence of atrial fibrillation. However, these drugs have many side effects and many patients are resistent to them which greatly reduces their therapeutic effect.
Implantable atrial defibrillators have been proposed to provide patients suffering from occurrences of atrial fibrillation with relief. Unfortunately, to the detriment of such patients, none of these atrial defibrillators have become a commercial reality.
Implantable atrial defibrillators proposed in the past have exhibited a number of disadvantages which probably has precluded these defibrillators from becoming a commercial reality. Two such proposed defibrillators, although represented as being implantable, were not fully automatic, requiring human interaction for cardioverting or defibrillating the heart. Both of these proposed defibrillators require the patient to recognize the symptoms of atrial fibrillation with one defibrillator requiring a visit to a physician to activate the defibrillator and the other defibrillator requiring the patient to activate the defibrillator with an external magnet.
Improved atrial defibrillators and lead systems which exhibit both automatic operation and improved safety are fully described in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/685,130, filed Apr. 12, 1991, in the names of John M. Adams and Clifton A. Alferness for IMPROVED ATRIAL DEFIBRILLATOR AND METHOD and Ser. No. 07/856,514, filed Mar. 24, 1992, in the names of John M. Adams, Clifton A. Alferness, and Paul E. Kreyenhagen for IMPROVED ATRIAL DEFIBRILLATOR, LEAD SYSTEMS, AND METHOD, which applications are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. As disclosed in the aforementioned referenced applications, synchronizing the delivery of the defibrillating or cardioverting electrical energy to the atria with a ventricular electrical activation (R wave) of the heart has been considered important to avoid cardioverting the heart during the heart's vulnerable period or T wave to thus prevent induced ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is a fatal arrhythmia which can be caused by electrical energy being delivered to the heart at the wrong time in the cardiac cycle, such as during the T wave of the cycle. The atrial defibrillators of the aforementioned referenced applications exhibit improved safety from inducing ventricular fibrillation by sensing ventricular activations of the heart in a manner which avoids detecting noise as ventricular electrical activations for generating reliable synchronization signals. Hence, these implantable atrial defibrillators, by providing such noise immunity in R wave detection assure reliable synchronization.
Another measure for reducing the risk of inducing ventricular fibrillation during the delivery of cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart employed by the defibrillators of the aforementioned referenced applications is the reduction of the amount of the electrical energy which is passed through the ventricles during cardioversion of the atria. This is achieved by locating the cardioverting electrodes in or near the heart to provide a cardioverting energy path which confines most of the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart.
It has also been observed that during episodes of atrial fibrillation, the cardiac rate often becomes highly variable. The highly variable cardiac rate is generally characterized by repetitively alternating long and short cardiac cycles which result in dispersion of refractoriness. With such highly variable cardiac rates, there can be a dispersion of refractoriness after the long cardiac cycles. This creates an increased sensitivity to an "R on T" condition contributing to the likelihood of induced ventricular fibrillation if the atria are cardioverted in synchronism with an R wave which is closely adjacent to the preceding T wave.
The atrial defibrillator and method of the present invention greatly reduces the risk of inducing ventricular fibrillation during atrial cardioversion or defibrillation by assuring that the cardioverting electrical energy is not applied to the atria during a time of dispersion of refractoriness. As will be seen hereinafter, this is accomplished by stabilizing the heart rate through pacing the ventricles at a constant or fixed cardiac rate before the cardioverting or defibrillating electrical energy is applied to the atria of the heart. Such heart rate stabilization prevents a dispersion of refractoriness condition from occurring. Furthermore, the cardioverting electrical energy is preferably applied at a time corresponding to the fixed cardiac rate while the ventricles are also paced. This assures that the cardioverting electrical energy is applied in synchronism with depolarization of the ventricles and not during a T wave. As a result, a reduced risk of induced ventricular fibrillation is assured because the cardioverting electrical energy will not be applied to the atria during an R on T condition or during a vulnerable period of the heart.

Atrial defibrillator and method for providing pre-cardioversion pacing


Embodiments of methods, devices and/or systems for managing the encryption of data are described.

This disclosure is related to managing the encryption of data.
One difficulty with state of the art technology for encryption of data is concerning the ability to access the data, such as during an encryption process. For example, during an encryption process, access to the data may be limited and/or suspended. Additionally, if access to the data is provided during an encryption process, it may be difficult to ensure that the accessed data is encrypted.


Disclosed herein are stable aqueous resinous dispersions and methods for forming such dispersions that include a zinc (II) amidine complex.

Electrodeposition as a coating application method involves the deposition onto a conductive substrate of a film-forming composition under the influence of an applied electrical potential. Electrodeposition has gained popularity in the coatings industry because it provides higher paint utilization, outstanding corrosion resistance, and low environmental contamination as compared with non-electrophoretic coating methods. Both cationic and anionic electrodeposition is used commercially, with cationic being more prevalent in applications desiring a high level of corrosion protection.
Cationic electrodepositable compositions often comprise an aqueous resinous dispersion comprising (i) an active-hydrogen, cationic salt group containing film-forming resin, and (ii) an at least partially blocked isocyanate crosslinking agent. Such compositions also often include a catalyst for the reaction between the resin and the crosslinking agent, such as organotin compounds, among others. More recently, alternative catalysts, such as zinc (II) amidine complexes, have been introduced. Such catalysts are thought to provide better cure rates at relatively low temperatures (low temperature cures may be desirable to, for example, reduce energy costs) and may be less toxic and environmentally undesirable than, for example, organotin compounds.
One drawback to the use of zinc (II) amidine complexes as a catalyst in low temperature cure compositions, however, has been the inability to achieve stable aqueous dispersions comprising such catalysts in combination with an active-hydrogen, cationic salt group containing film-forming resin and an at least partially blocked isocyanate that deblocks at low temperatures. As a result, the use of such catalysts in "low temperature cure" applications has been difficult. The present invention, however, provides methods for using such catalysts in such applications.

Aqueous resinous dispersions that include a zinc (II) amidine complex and methods for the manufacture thereof


A printing management system includes a plurality of printing apparatus and a client terminal that is connected to the plurality of printing apparatus via a communication line. The client terminal includes an information output unit that outputs print information to a portable storage medium, the print information including print subject location information for identifying a location of at least one print subject to be printed. Each of the plurality of printing apparatus includes an information acquiring unit that acquires the print information from the storage medium, a print subject receiving unit that receives the print subject from the location that is identified by the print subject location information of the acquired print information, and a print executing unit that prints the received print subject.

The present invention relates to a printing management system, a printing apparatus and a print information output apparatus used therein, and a printing method used therefor. More specifically, the invention relates to a printing management system provided with plural printing apparatus and a client terminal connected to the plural printing apparatus via a communication line, a printing apparatus and a print information output apparatus used therein, and a printing method used therefor.
Among related printing management systems of the above type is a system that performs confidential printing in which a password is set for a print job to prevent printed matter from being seen by other persons in the case where printers are shared on a network such as a LAN (refer to JP-A-2002-163094, for example). In this system, a password that has been set for a print job is transmitted to a portable terminal of a user and the telephone number of this portable terminal is set for the print job and transmitted to a printer. Then, the user moves to the printer and the telephone number and the password are transmitted from the portable terminal of the user. The printer collates these pieces of information with information (telephone number and password) that is set for the print job and performs printing.
However, in the above system, a print job is held by a printer during a period from the transmission of the print job to the printer to the time point when a user reaches the printer, which is not preferable in terms of secrecy. Further, there may occur a case that it is found after the transmission of a print job to a printer that the use of another printer is favorable (for example, a case that trouble (e.g., toner running out) has occurred in the printer or a case that many standby print jobs exist). However, the above system requires re-transmission of the print job.

Printing management system, printing apparatus, print information output apparatus, and printing method


A crystalline thermoplastic resin composition comprises a rosin acid metallic salt and a crystalline thermoplastic resin. Optionally, a compatibilizing agent may also be included. The rosin acid metallic salt, which acts as a crystal nucleating agent, increases the crystallization rate of the crystalline thermoplastic resin and enables the formation of fine crystals of the resin. Thus, the crystalline thermoplastic resin composition can crystallize at a high rate, and provide molded articles having excellent mechanical properties and/or optical properties.

Because of their excellent properties such as processability, chemical resistance, electrical properties and mechanical properties, crystalline thermoplastic resins such as polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides and polyacetals have been processed into, for example, injection molded articles, hollow molded articles, films, sheets and fibers for various uses. However, these products do not always have sufficient rigidity, thermal rigidity or transparency for some uses.
It is known that the rigidity, thermal rigidity and transparency of the molded articles formed from the crystalline thermoplastic resins may be improved by the rapid formation of fine crystals in the molding process. Therefore, crystal nucleating agents such as talc have been conventionally used to accelerate crystallization rates of crystalline thermoplastic resins.
However, not all the conventional crystal nucleating agents, provide the resins with sufficient crystallization rates, and thus the resulting molded articles do not have always satisfactory mechanical properties such as rigidity and thermal rigidity and/or optical properties such as transparency and glossiness.
For example, JP-A 58-160343 discloses polyester compositions which comprise polyethylene terephthalate or polyester containing a major amount of polyethylene terephthalate, and metallic salts of terpene carboxylic acids to increase crystallization rates of crystalline resins. This publication, however, does not teach or suggest which of the metallic acids of terpene carboxylic acids can provide the thermoplastic resins with the best effect in the increase of crystallization rates, and the molded articles with the best mechanical and/or optical properties.

Process for crystal nucleation of crystalline thermoplastic resin


A method of manufacturing a microlens includes: forming on a transparent substrate an etching stop layer in a lens formation region where a curved lens surface of the microlens is to be formed, the etching stop layer having an island shape as a planar shape thereof; forming an intermediate layer on the etching stop layer; forming an etching mask layer on the intermediate layer, the etching mask layer having an opening at a position facing the etching stop layer; and etching, by means of isotropic etching, the intermediate layer from the opening, and etching the transparent substrate and the intermediate layer from a side of the etching stop layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a microlens used for an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal device, to a microlens array, to a method of manufacturing the same, and to an electro-optical device, and to an electronic apparatus having microlenses.
2. Related Art
In an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal device, for example, a microlens corresponding to each pixel is formed on a counter substrate or a microlens array plate including a plurality of microlenses is bonded to the counter substrate. By using such a microlens array, a bright display can be realized in an electro-optical device. That is, the microlenses increase the usage efficiency of light emitted from a light source by causing the light emitted from the light source, such as a backlight, to be focused on an opening region of each pixel without wasting any light. For example, a liquid crystal device including such microlenses is manufactured as follows. A counter substrate having a built-in microlens array, and an element substrate where pixel electrodes or switching elements, such as thin film transistors and so forth, are formed at respective pixels are sealed by a bonding resin in a portion excluding the image display region while adjusting a gap therebetween, and liquid crystal is interposed therebetween and then encapsulated.
In the above-described liquid crystal device, it is essential to make the thickness of the liquid crystal layer uniform over the entire liquid crystal panel in order to reduce non-uniform luminance and color shading. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-193928 discloses a technique in which a circumferential part of each microlens is curved while a central part of the microlens is flat. By doing this, the thickness of the resin layer formed on the microlens becomes thin due to the reduced thickness of the microlens, and as a result, thickness variation of the liquid crystal layer is reduced.
In such electro-optical devices, there is a general request for devices with a long lifetime.
However, when a microlens is employed, typically, light emitted from the light source is locally focused via the microlens on a portion positioned at the center of an opening region of each pixel, for example, of a liquid crystal or an orientation layer: the inventors have found that deterioration was significant in this portion.
Further, the related art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-193928 is directed to a technique for reducing a thickness variation of the liquid crystal layer: this technique is not regarded as a technique of recognizing deterioration within the pixel region due to focusing, which has been found by the inventors. Furthermore, the inventors expect that the lens characteristics of the microlens are not good because the central portion of the microlens is flat. That is, the microlens disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-193928 does not focus light incident on the central portion, which is a flat surface, but instead allows the light to be transmitted straight through, so that the central portion does not function as a lens. Accordingly, it is difficult to enhance the light usage efficiency by effectively focusing light within the opening region, so that it is difficult to enhance the display luminance and contrast.

Method of manufacturing microlens, microlens, microlens array, electro-optical device, and electronic apparatus