A method for enhancing an ultrasound image is provided, wherein the ultrasound image is segmented into a feature region and a non-feature region, while sufficiently utilizing features contained in the ultrasound image, in particular including some inconspicuous features. The enhanced image according to present invention is not susceptive of the image segmentation and avoid dependence of the enhancement effect on the segmentation template, so as not to produce an evident artificial boundary between the feature region and the non-feature region but to highlight some special information in the image and to remove or mitigate invalid information. Thus the enhanced ultrasound image is particularly suitable for the visual system of the human beings.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a typical ultrasound imaging system. It operates as follows: under the control of a main controller, a probe transmits an ultrasound to a body tissue to be tested, and receives an echo signal reflected from the body tissue after a certain delay. The echo signal is fed into a beam former, which performs focus for delay, weighting and channel accumulation to generate signals on one or more scan lines. A detector detects the scanning signals output from the beam former and feeds them into a DSC (Digital Scanning Converter), where a coordinate conversion is implemented. The resulted image data is sent to a computing device (generally including a built-in processor, a FPGA circuit, even a computer system or the like). An image enhancement module located in the computing device processes the image data and feeds it into a monitor for display. Alternatively, the ultrasound imaging system may invoke an image sequence stored in an external memory, process them by means of the image enhancement module and then display them.
Here, the ultrasound imaging system employs the image enhancement module to realize post-processing of image, which aims at improving the quality of ultrasound images and assisting medical diagnosis, in particular, by overcoming problems in two aspects. The first aspect is to enhance significant structures or features in the image which interest the doctors, including bones, capsules, canals, cavities or the like. That is to say, all distinguishable structures should remain in the resulted image after ultrasound image enhancement, including normal and abnormal structures, while providing sufficient textural and contrast information. In the second aspect, speckles should be suppressed. If the reflection surface of a tissue within the human body is not so smooth that the coarseness of surfaces are equal to the wavelength of the incoming ultrasound, the echo signals generated by different reflection sources may overlay or counteract due to phase difference. Such an overlay or counteraction is represented visually as grains of the image. As such, speckle noises are always present when scan line data at different locations are processed and combined to form a final ultrasound image. The speckle noises will mask some useful information in the image, thus interfering with the doctor's diagnosis to some extent. Speckle mitigation is thus another object for enhancing image.
In relation to the above problems, an image enhancement method with a gradient-based segmentation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,208,763 and 6,592,523. In this method, an image is segmented into a structural and a non-structural region according to the gradient information. Anisotropy sharpening is performed on the structural region based on Intensity-weighted 2nd order directional derivative, to enhance contrast of edges of the image. Isotropic smoothing is performed on the image data classified as a non-structural region, to mitigate speckle noise. The above prior art, however, has the following disadvantages: (1) although the method in the patent advantageously segments an image into a structural and a non-structural region, but it leaves out some inconspicuous features by only taking gradient scale information into account, in particular, the enhancement effect relies too much on the segmentation template when the structural region takes the gray-scale of the image as the sharpening coefficient, and too much discontinuity will occur at the edges of the segmentation template. Accordingly the enhancement effect is not ideal; and (2) linear smoothing of the non-structural region cannot mitigate speckle noises greatly.

Ultrasound image enhancement and speckle mitigation method

Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.


Switching circuitry is provided for a mobile terminal having a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) mode of operation and a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode of operation. The switching circuitry includes resonant tank circuitry having a controllable resonant frequency and an output coupled to an antenna of the mobile terminal. The switching circuitry also includes a transmit switch that couples TDMA transmit circuitry to an input of the resonant tank circuitry when transmitting in the TDMA mode of operation, a receive switch that couples TDMA receive circuitry to the input of the resonant tank circuitry when receiving in the TDMA mode of operation, and a FDD switch that couples a FDD transceiver to the output of the resonant tank circuitry when in the FDD mode of operation. The controllable resonant frequency is controlled such that the transmit and receive switches are isolated from the antenna during FDD operation.

As wireless communication standards evolve, a need has arisen for a mobile terminal that accommodates both the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) standard and Wide-Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standards, such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Frequency Division Duplex (UTRA/FDD) standard. A mobile terminal accommodating both of these standards includes transmit and receive circuitry for GSM operation and transmit and receive circuitry for UTRA/FDD operation. Since it is also desirable for the mobile terminal to include a single antenna, there remains a need for a switch architecture that couples transmit and receive circuitry for GSM operation to the antenna during GSM operation and couples transmit and receive circuitry for UTRA/FDD operation to the antenna during UTRA/FDD operation.
A conventional switch architecture that may be used for this purpose simply includes controllable switches for coupling each of the transmit and receive paths for GSM operation to the antenna during GSM operation and a controllable switch for coupling the UTRA/FDD transceiver to the antenna during UTRA/FDD operation. However, a major problem for this architecture is intermodulation distortion. More specifically, during UTRA/FDD operation, the transmit frequency from the UTRA/FDD transceiver mixes with blocking signals, such as transmit signals from nearby mobile terminals, to produce intermodulation distortion that disturbs the UTRA/FDD reception and degrades the operation of the mobile terminal.
Thus, there remains a need for a switch architecture that reduces or substantially eliminates non-linearities during FDD operation such that a magnitude of intermodulation distortion during FDD operation is substantially reduced.

Switch architecture for TDMA and FDD multiplexing


A lampshade assembly that includes only three parts, namely, a pleated lamp shade formed as a continuous resilient band having a plurality of notches in the pleat folds that extend inwardly towards the center of the band, a flexible member extending through apertures adjacent one end of the band, and a rigid support including a ring. The method of forming the lampshade assembly by the customer includes the one step procedure of moving the rigid support into the interior of the band and towards the flexible member until the ring of the support snaps into place in the notches. In the formed lampshade assembly, the ring pushes outwardly against the opposing inwardly directed force of the resilient band to hold the band, in conjunction with the flexible member, in a position in which the lampshade flares downwardly and outwardly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a lamp shade assembly of the type including a pleated lamp shade and a support, and the method of forming same.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
It is desirable to have a pleated lamp shade assembly which is economical to manufacture, which can be shipped in a knocked-down condition to alleviate damage to the shade during shipment and to reduce shipping and storage costs, and yet be easily and quickly assembled by the ultimate customer. One attempted solution previously contemplated in the prior art includes the use of a series of deformable hook members each of which must be deformed during assembly of a rigid support member of the lamp shade with the pleated shade as the forming ring of the rigid support member is pushed past each of the hook members. As the forming ring passes the hooked end of each of the hook members the flexible hook member undeforms and returns to its original position. Then, there is required a second step of pulling the rigid support structure back into the retaining hole of each of the hook members where the lip of the retaining member deforms and then snaps back to catch the forming ring of the support member. As the forming ring is caught on all flexible hook members spaced about the pleated material, the lamp shade with the pleated material is assembled.
The above mentioned lamp shade assembly utilizing hook members had various shortcomings, as will be apparent from the above description thereof. Thus, there is the additional manufacturing costs of providing the plurality of hook members and assembling same with the pleated shade. Also, it is apparent that in the two step assembly by the ultimate customer of support structure with the deformable hook members that some difficulty during assembly can occur.
A preliminary patentability search in Class 362, subclass 352, produced the following patents, some of which may be relevant to the present invention: Payne, U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,996, issued Aug. 12, 1986; Payne, U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,268, issued Nov. 25, 1986; Yeh et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,949, issued Feb. 19, 1991; Hyland et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,312, issued Jun. 9, 1992; Hyland et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,902, issued Mar. 16, 1993; and Hyland, U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,415, issued May 10, 1994.

Lamp shade assembly and the method of forming same


A post-in-crown capacitor is disclosed. The post-in-crown capacitor (60) includes a crown (44) coupled to a conductive via (20). A post (48) is disposed within the crown (44) and a capacitor insulation layer (50) is formed outwardly from the crown (44) and the post (48). A capacitor plate layer (52) is then formed outwardly from the capacitor insulation layer (50).

This invention relates generally to the field of microelectronic devices, and more particularly to a post-in-crown capacitor and method of manufacture.
Electronic equipment such as televisions, telephones, radios, and computers are often constructed using semiconductor components, such as integrated circuits, memory chips, and the like. The semiconductor components are typically constructed from various microelectronic devices fabricated on a semiconductor substrate, such as transistors, capacitors, diodes, resistors, and the like. Each microelectronic device is typically a pattern of conductive, semiconductive, and insulative regions formed on the semiconductor substrate.
A capacitor is one such microelectronic device that is used in a number of applications. Each capacitor has an associated capacitance and a switching speed. The capacitance is indicative of the maximum charge that can be stored in the capacitor; and the switching speed is indicative of the speed that the capacitor can be discharged and recharged. In general, the switching speed of the capacitor decreases the larger the physical size of the capacitor. In contrast, the larger the physical size of the capacitor the greater the capacitance of the capacitor.
A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device is generally formed from an array of memory cells with each memory cell having a single transistor and a single capacitor. The capacitance of the capacitor used in a memory cell must be greater than a minimum threshold capacitance. The minimum threshold capacitance is needed because the memory cell has no internal amplification and the charge stored in the capacitor is attenuated when the memory cell is accessed. In addition, the stored charge must be greater than the resolution limit of a sensing amplifier that is used to detect the charge stored in the capacitor.
The density and switching speed of the memory cells in a dynamic random access memory device can be increased by decreasing the physical size of the individual capacitors within each memory cell. Increasing the density and switching speed of the memory cells in the dynamic random access memory device increases the computing power and speed of the dynamic random access memory device. However, reducing the size of the capacitor can reduce the capacitance of the capacitor below the minimum threshold capacitance, thereby rendering the memory cell and the dynamic random access memory device inoperable.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a post-in-crown capacitor and method of fabrication. The present invention provides a post-in-crown capacitor and method of fabrication that substantially eliminates or reduces problems associated with the prior systems and methods.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a post-in-crown capacitor is provided. The post-in-crown capacitor comprises a crown coupled to a conductive via. A post is disposed within the crown and a capacitor insulation layer is disposed on all surfaces of the post and crown. A capacitor plate layer is then formed outwardly from the capacitor insulation layer.
Important technical advantages of the present invention include providing a post-in-crown capacitor that, for a given capacitance, is physically shorter than many conventional capacitors. Accordingly, the size of the post-in-crown capacitor required to obtain the minimum threshold capacitance for a memory cell is smaller than many conventional capacitors. In addition, the smaller size of the post-in-crown capacitor allows the density of microelectronic devices that are fabricated on a given planar area of the substrate to be increased. In a particular application, the reduced size of the post-in-crown capacitor decreases the size of the memory cell and can, thereby, increase the number of memory cells in a dynamic random access memory. The increased number of memory cells increases the available memory in the dynamic random access memory array. Another technical advantage of the present invention is that the capacitance, for a given physical size, of the post-in-crown capacitor is greater than many conventional capacitors.
Yet another technical advantage of the present invention is that the switching speed of the post-in-crown capacitor is faster than many conventional capacitors. Specifically, the overall height of the post-in-crown capacitor is reduced, which reduces the distance that an electrical charge must travel in order to charge or discharge the post-in-crown capacitor. Accordingly, the switching speed of the memory cell is increased, which increases the computing speed of the dynamic random access memory device.
Other technical advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, description and claims.

Post-in-crown capacitor and method of manufacture


When at least one of a value a detected output current to a magnet and a magnet load defined by the following formula is equal to or larger than a threshold value predetermined for the value of the detected output current or a threshold value predetermined for the magnet load, a controller constituting a control device outputs, to a control circuit, a command to decrease voltage applied to the magnet from next attracting operation. Magnet load=excitation ratio×I×V . . . ; wherein excitation ratio: excitation time/(excitation time+non-excitation time); I: value of the output current; V: voltage applied to a lifting magnet.

When magnetic waste is attached and moved, a magnet called a lifting magnet is used. A conventional technique relating to control of this lifting magnet (hereinafter simply referred to as a magnet) is described in Patent Literature 1 below.
Patent Literature 1 discloses that control is performed to raise voltage applied to the magnet when resistance increases due to a temperature rise of the magnet and current decreases. Thus, the technique described in Patent Literature 1 keeps attracting force of the magnet constant.
However, the control described in Patent Literature 1 has the following problems. The control described in Patent Literature 1 may fall into a vicious circle of a temperature rise of the magnet, that is, an increase in temperature of the magnet, a decrease in current, an increase in applied voltage, and the temperature rise of the magnet. As a result, the technique described in Patent Literature 1 causes problems such as deterioration of the magnet and an increase in load on a power source.

KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.


Systems and methods are provided for arranging antennas in an electronic device (200). According to one aspect, the electronic device includes a housing (202) and an antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement includes a first volume (206) positioned adjacent to an edge (212) of the housing, the first volume enclosing a first antenna structure (230) shaped substantially according to a geometry of the edge; a second volume (208) positioned adjacent to a first corner (216) of an opposing edge (214) of the housing, the second volume including a second antenna structure (232) shaped substantially according to a geometry of the first corner; and a third volume (210) adjacent to a second corner (218) of the opposing edge, the third volume including a third antenna structure (234) shaped substantially according to a geometry of the second corner, wherein the first, second, and third volumes do not overlap and are discontinuous.

Wireless communications devices, including mobile telephones and other portable radio communication devices, can include internal, embedded antennas or external, protruding antennas. Internal antennas have become increasingly popular at least because of their small size, light weight, and aesthetic advantages (e.g., allowing the device to have a sleek outer design). However, the arrangement of antennas within, for example, a mobile phone can be constrained at least due to the limited space that is available for antenna structures. For example, when mounted inside a mobile device, the antennas are often subject to problematic amounts of electromagnetic interference from other metallic or conductive objects within the device, particularly from a ground plane included within the device housing. To minimize such performance-abating interference, the antenna volume (e.g., a three-dimensional space inside the device that can be occupied by an antenna structure) can include "dead space" or a "keepout" clearance to set the antenna structure a requisite distance apart from nearby conductive element(s). In at least this way, a given antenna structure can occupy more space or volume within the mobile phone than just the physical geometry of the antenna structure.
Moreover, the growing demand for connectivity in an increasingly mobile world, and for high speed, high data rate wireless communications, has resulted in mobile communications devices that have an increasing number of antennas, covering multiple frequency bands and both cellular radio access technologies (RATs) and non-cellular RATs (e.g., Bluetooth®, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN, a.k.a. WiFi), Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN, a.k.a. WiMax), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Global Positioning System (GPS), etc.). As a result, the internal antenna volume within a mobile phone is often shared by several antennas situated in close proximity, creating antenna design challenges related to isolation, efficiency, and bandwidth.
Antenna design can be further complicated by the need for interoperability between multiple, cellular RATs as existing technologies evolve, or new technologies emerge in parallel to the existing RATs. For example, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), and LTE (Long Term Evolution) can be considered evolutions of the same platform and are colloquially referred to as 2G, 2.5G, 3G, and 4G technologies, respectively. CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) can be considered a competing 3G technology that blends into LTE's 4G technology. These different RATs, whether GSM-based or CDMA-based, may require different circuitry components within a printed circuit board of the mobile device. Further, each of the RATs operates within different frequency bands, and each frequency band may be assigned to specific regions of the world and/or specific wireless communications carriers. As a result, global mobile device manufacturers often create carrier, region, and/or RAT-specific versions or variants of their mobile devices to have a presence in various markets around the world.

Systems and methods for antenna arrangements in an electronic device


A high frequency circuit module for use in an automotive radar or the like, in which RF circuit parts are mounted on both sides of a hard multilayer dielectric substrate, and a transmission line connecting the RF circuit parts provided on both sides is constructed by a via group including a periodical structure or a via having a coaxial structure perpendicular to faces of the multilayer dielectric substrate. As the multilayer dielectric substrate, a hard multilayer substrate using metallic layers as a microstrip line wiring layer, a DC/IF signal line layer, and grounding metal layers for shielding which are disposed on and under the DC/IF signal line is employed. By using the transmission line achieved by a through via having the periodical structure or the through via having the coaxial structure, an electromagnetic wave propagating in parallel between the grounding conductors is confined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high frequency circuit module and, more specifically, to a high frequency circuit module in which a high frequency circuit part such as a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (hereinbelow, called an MMIC) and an antenna are provided on the surface and the rear face, respectively, of a multilayer dielectric substrate. More particularly, the invention relates to a high frequency circuit module suitable for an automotive radar module using millimeter waves.
2. Description of the Related Arts
As the most effective system of an intelligent transport system (ITS) solving a traffic accident, traffic jam, environmental problems of exhaust gas, noise, and so one, resource problems due to large consumption of oil energy, and the like caused by "vehicles", a millimeter wave radar has been developed. In order to equip vehicles as many as possible with millimeter wave radars, realization of an automotive radar module having improved flexibility of a vehicle mounting layout by reducing the size and thickness of the millimeter wave radar, reliability, and low cost is demanded.
As a high frequency circuit module adapted to the automotive radar, a high frequency circuit module in which an antenna and an MMIC are provided on the surface and rear face, respectively, of a multilayer dielectric substrate having therein metallic layers is known.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10 (conventional technique 1), on the surface and rear face of a ceramic multilayer substrate 38 in which a plurality of metallic layers 30 to 33 are provided, an antenna 28 and an MMIC 29 are provided, respectively. As high frequency transmission lines between the antenna 28 and the MMIC 29, microstrip lines 34 and 35 and electro-magnetic coupling slots 36 and 37 are used. Techniques using electro-magnetic coupling slots of this kind are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Nos. 9-237867 and 8-250913. In this example of mounting, when a slot having the same structure is formed over a slot to make the transmission line length shortest, a microstrip line having a length of around λ/2 remains between the slots and works as a resonator. However, when electromagnetic coupling slots are provided above and below the microstrip line, a potential difference occurs between the upper and lower slot metallic layers. Consequently, an electromagnetic wave which propagates in parallel between the slot metallic layers is generated. An amount corresponding to the energy of the electromagnetic wave becomes a loss, so that it difficult to realize the transmission line of a low loss. Therefore, by setting the distance between the electromagnetic coupling slots to λ/2 or longer, interference between the slots is prevented and a loss in the transfer line is minimized. Due to such a structure, the mounting method using the electro-magnetic coupling slots needs a mounting area having the distance of 2λ or longer between the slots, and layout of the upper and lower electronic parts has to be considered so as not to cause interference with the transfer mode of the slot coupling part.
As shown in FIG. 11A (conventional technique 2), there is a known technique in which connection between a plurality of conductive layers 31 and 33 in the multilayer dielectric substrate 38 having the plurality of conductive layers 30 to 33 and 39 is realized by a via satisfying the condition of (R·r)/(2·h)≦L≦(5·R·r)/h (where R, r, and L denote sizes shown in FIG. 11C and h denotes the distance between the conductive layers). When a signal to be transmitted is in a millimeter wave band, the connection between conductive layers in the multilayer substrate formed by the via satisfying the condition can be made by a connecting method of a low loss only in the case where there is one grounding layer connected to the via. However, occurrence of an electromagnetic wave propagating between a plurality of grounding layers cannot be suppressed. Consequently, the method cannot be used to connect the conductors to realize a low loss in the millimeter wave band.
Further, as a technique which does not use a dielectric multilayer substrate, as shown in FIG. 12 (conventional technique 3), there is a technique in which an MMIC 43 and an antenna 44 are provided on the surface and rear face, respectively, of a metal base plate 42, and a coaxial structure 45 formed in the base plate 42 is used to connection the MMIC 43 and antenna 44. In the structure, the RF circuit substrate including the MMIC 43 and the antenna are connected to each other via the coaxial structure, so that a thin, small millimeter wave radar can be relatively easily produced. In the diagram, reference numerals 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 and 51 denote a circuit substrate, an insulating material, an outer terminal, an insulating material, a bonding wire, and a transmission/reception circuit cover, respectively.
As described above, the conventional techniques have problems with respect to easiness in manufacture, manufacturing cost, and circuit characteristics. Particularly, to use the modules for an automotive millimeter wave radar, since the millimeter wave radar is a device mounted outside of a vehicle and use environments of temperature, moisture, vibration, and the like are hostile, generally, an RF circuit has a hermetic structure of interrupting the outside air. Since the transmission loss in the millimeter wave band is much larger as compared with that in a microwave band, the transmission line has to be designed to be as short as possible. Although the line length can be shortened by mounting the RF circuit part on the same face of the substrate as the antenna, it is difficult to mount the RF circuit part and the antenna on the same face due to the limited size of the RF circuit part and the hermetic structure.
In order to mount the RF circuit part and the antenna of the millimeter wave radar as close as possible, the RF circuit part and the antenna are mounted on both sides of the mounting substrate so as to be overlapped, and an oscillator and an amplifier of the RF circuit parts have to be disposed so that the transmission line length becomes the shortest. However, as the mounting substrate of the millimeter wave band, a thin substrate having a dielectric thickness of 0.2 mm or less is used to suppress a transmission line radiation loss. Therefore, the base plate 42 for assuring the mechanical strength is needed as shown in FIG. 12 for the millimeter wave radar. Consequently, the structure whose assembling and processing cost is high has to be employed.
A both-sided two-layer substrate is generally used to assure the characteristics of the millimeter wave transmission line for an RF circuit. A transmission line for a millimeter signal, a power providing line, and a transmission line for a low frequency signal are formed on the same face. Since the high/low frequency signal transmission lines and the power providing line cannot cross each other, aerial wiring such as a bonding wire is required. The higher the frequency of a signal is, the more the signal easily radiates, and it causes a crosstalk in another line. It makes the millimeter waver radar unstable. In addition, since the flexibility of designing of layout of the RF circuit is regulated in the two-layer substrate, reduction in cost by reducing the substrate area of the expensive RF circuit part is limited.


Provided is a vacuum packaging machine (100), comprising a machine body (1), a vacuum cover (2), a main controller (3), a sub-controller (4), a heat-sealing mechanism (5) and a vacuumizing mechanism (6), wherein a vacuum chamber (11) is provided in the machine body, the vacuum cover covers the machine body and corresponds to the position of the vacuum chamber; the main controller is provided on the machine body, the sub-controller is provided on the vacuum cover, and the main controller is in communication connection with the sub-controller; and the main controller is in communication connection with the heat-sealing mechanism and the vacuumizing mechanism, and functional keys (40) used for implementing vacuumizing and heat-sealing operations are provided on the sub-controller.

As shown in FIG. 1, a current common (suction) vacuum packaging machine comprises a vacuum pump, a vacuum chamber, a vacuum cover 103, a solenoid valve, a heater, a heat-sealing strip, a lock structure 102, a controller 101, and a vacuum cover opening and closing unit. Such (suction) vacuum packaging machine comprises the following specific working process: first, opening the vacuum cover 103 and placing the bag mouth of a packaging bag 105 in the vacuum chamber; then closing the vacuum cover 103 and locking the lock structure 102; and finally, controlling the (suction) vacuum packaging machine by the controller 101 to complete an operation of vacuuming and heat-sealing the packaging bag. However, in a process of operating such (suction) vacuum packaging machine, before the vacuum cover 103 is closed, a user must use at least one hand to apply an external force in the left-right or front-rear direction to keep the bag mouth of the packaging bag 105 flat and stable in the vacuum chamber in order to ensure that the packaging bag 105 can achieve a good heat-sealing effect. After the vacuum cover 103 is closed, in order that the bag mouth of the packaging bag 105 remains flat and stable and the vacuum chamber is completely sealed before vacuumizing so that the vacuumizing unit can perform a vacuumizing operation to the vacuum chamber and the packaging bag, the user needs to lock two sides of the lock structure 102 with both hands while pressing down the vacuum cover by a hand, then click the control key on the controller 101 with a hand, and when the machine finishes the vacuumizing operation, the user unlocks the lock structure 102 by a hand. This operation process is complicated and tedious, and it is prone to the situation that the heat-sealing effect is not good and air leakage occurs since the bag mouth is not kept flat.
In order to overcome the technical problem of inconvenient operation of the lock structure, some (suction) vacuum packaging machines do not adopt lock structures or a manner of pressing the vacuum cover 103 with both hands to achieve the technical purpose of maintaining the bag mouth of the packaging bag flat and the vacuum chamber sealed. However, the controller 101 (and a control key) of such (suction) vacuum packaging machine is mostly provided on the machine body 104. Since the controller 101 (and a control key) is separated from the vacuum cover 103, the user still feels that the operation is inconvenient and the design is irrational. In other words, the existing (suction) vacuum packaging machines generally have technical problems of tedious operation and inconvenient use.

GUANGZHOU ARGION ELECTRIC APPLIANCE CO., LTD.


A folding door with two or more intrinsically rigid folding shutter elements with alternating noncollapsing and collapsing element edges, with at least one guide means which can be raised and lowered on or in one or more guide rail(s), for moving a, in particular the lower, permanently guide rail-adjacent, noncollapsing door element edge, wherein at least one release movement means, which is provided for the initial release movement of the permanently guide rail-adjacent door element edge from the guide rail(s), at the beginning of the opening of the folding door, and for the final advance movement of the permanently guide rail-adjacent door element edge at the end of the closing of the folding door, and an actuation device and method for the same.

Folding doors according to the preamble are known from WO 2008/125343 A1 of the same applicant and from the International Patent Application PCT/EP2012/000157 of the applicant of Jan. 16, 2012, whose content is included here by reference in the present patent application. According to WO 2008/125343 A1, adjustment sections are needed during the installation of the folding shutter in or in front of a building opening. There are no possibilities for sealing the closed folding door on the margin. All of these documents are incorporated by reference into the specification of this application.

Folding door with two or more intrinsically rigid folding shutter elements with alternately noncollapsing or collapsing element edges and actuation device for same


The claimed subject matter provides systems and/or methods that effectuate a simple protocol for tangible security on mobile devices. The system can include devices that generate sets of keys and associated secret identifiers, employs the one or more keys to encrypt a secret and utilizes the identifiers and encryptions of the secret to populate a table associated with a security token device that is used in conjunction with a mobile device to release sensitive information persisted on the mobile device for user selected purposes.

The mobile phone is fast becoming an all-encompassing, personal accessory for communication, entertainment, and personal finance. As the mobile phone becomes the ultimate wallet, as well as the keeper of sensitive personal information, securing it against theft and hacking will eventually become of paramount importance. To date, the primary concern for most users has been prevention of theft; mobile phones generally are easier to lose than wallets, because the mobile phone typically is utilized much more frequently. In recognition of this fact, many software and hardware mechanisms have been proposed or implemented to make it difficult for hackers to obtain sensitive information from stolen phones. Nevertheless, few, if any, of these schemes have been promising against hardcore hackers.
In addition, the main drawback of existing protection schemes is the requirement that users authenticate themselves to their mobile device, for example, by typing a password or personal identification number (PIN) code. This inconvenience causes many users to disable these security measures completely. Nonetheless, there currently are proposals to use biometrics, such as, fingerprints to replace passwords. These methods, however, have yet to prove themselves useful to typical users. Furthermore, there are several problems with biometrics. Firstly, since fingerprints are fairly easy to capture and forge, biometric readers can be deceived. Secondly, unlike passwords, existing biometrics generally rely on static and permanent data about a person, e.g., fingerprints and iris patterns; thus they can neither be renewed, nor replaced. Moreover, there is a growing concern that once a person's biometrics data has been misappropriated, the game is effectively over with regard to re-utilization of such stolen information.
The subject matter as claimed is directed toward resolving or at the very least mitigating, one or all the problems elucidated above.


A heat exchanger 10 comprises a pressure vessel 14 having a feed inlet 11 in an upper part thereof for particulate material to be subjected to heat exchange and an outlet 13 at a lower part thereof for the outflow of particulate material from the vessel 14. A plurality of heat exchange elements, such as heat exchange plates 12, arranged in spaced relationship inside the pressure vessel 14 to define flow passages between adjacent heat exchange elements 12 is provided for particulate material to flow therethrough under the force of gravity. The pressure vessel 14 has an inside wall extending around the heat exchange elements 12 and further comprises a trap, such as a baffle 22, between the heat exchange elements 12 and the inside wall for trapping particulate material leaking from the flow passages between the heat exchange elements 12 to form a gas barrier 26 between the heat exchange elements 12 and the pressure vessel 14. In one embodiment, a plurality of the traps 22, spaced along the heat exchange elements 12, are provided to form a plurality of separate gas barriers along the heat exchange elements 12. A method of effecting pressure reduction during a heat exchange operation, using the apparatus according to the invention, is also provided.

In some metal recovery processes, such as the recovery of iron from ore, products are generated which are at a high temperature and pressure. One such product is, for example, iron carbide fines at a temperature of about 1000.degree. F. in the presence of product gases at a pressure of about 50 psi. The product is delivered under high pressure from a reactor via a cyclone and requires cooling as well as pressure reduction down to atmospheric pressure.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a heat exchanger for heating or cooling a product, while at the same time effecting a pressure reduction.


The intra-grid power director comprises a polyphase electric machine having a rotor that can be turned through less than a complete revolution within a stator winding. The rotor winding is connected within a transmission line to a first portion of an electric utility power grid, all portions of which operate at the same frequency. The stator winding is connected to the other portion of the grid so as to generate a rotating magnetic field having the same direction of rotation as the field generated by the rotor winding. The power director also comprises an arrangement for selecting an angular relationship between the stator and rotor windings and for sustaining a resultant torque.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention provides apparatus and method for controlling power flow within a synchronized electric power distribution grid.
2. Background Information
It is an established practice in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power to interconnect a plurality of polyphase power sources and loads into a "grid" synchronized to have identical frequency, number of electrical phases, and electrical phase angles. Grids may be very large and may include multiple utility systems as well as large numbers of co-generation sites and loads.
In his U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,608,615 and 5,754,420, the inventor teaches apparatus and method for transferring poly-phase electric power from a first grid having a first frequency and first phase to a second grid having a second frequency and second phase without thereby creating harmonic current distortion on either grid, the apparatus comprising a rotating electric machine, having a first winding connected to the first grid, a second winding connected to the second grid and a torque-applying means acting to apply torque between the two windings. The disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,608,615 and 5,754,420 are herein incorporated by reference. It is particularly noteworthy that the rotating machine taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,608,615 and 5,754,420 rotated with a speed proportional to the difference in electrical frequency between the two grids.
In his U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,615 the inventor teaches an electric machine structurally similar to a wound rotor induction motor and means of applying a torque thereto, with an angular displacement of the rotor shaft resulting from the application of the torque. U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,615 provides no teaching of the complementary situation of controlling the angular displacement of such a machine and providing means of sustaining the resultant torque.
Within a single power grid there are many interconnections, often in crisscross patterns, that result in multiple paths between two points. Sometimes "loop flow" occurs. For example, 100 Megawatts could be flowing from point A to point B by one route, while 20 Megawatts could be flowing from point B to point A by a different route. A net useable transfer of 80 Megawatts is going from A to B but there are losses associated with the additional 20 Megawatts on both of these routes, and lines on either of the two routes could be overloaded. Consequently, there are occasions when it becomes desirable to force some electric power to flow along a path other than the one with the lowest impedance. That is the subject of this invention.


An animal bed or cot for dogs or other pets includes a frame-supported fabric upon which the dog rests. The frame includes a plurality of pipes connected together at corners by three-way elbow fittings. Each frame pipe defines a narrow slit with an interior awning track extending along the length of each pipe. The fabric is inaccessible to chewing by attachment of the fabric to the awning tracks inside of the pipes. The diameter of the frame pipes is sized to prevent a dog from getting its mouth around the frame pipes and into the fabric. The fabric also fits inside of the elbow fittings so there are no open gaps between the frame and fabric to permit a dog to bite the fabric.

This invention relates to an animal bed or cot for dogs or other small animals and more particularly to an animal bed or cot having fabric upon which the dog or other animal rests and wherein the fabric is inaccessible to chewing.
The flooring in most kennels is concrete, wood, vinyl or other hard surface which is often uncomfortable for animals. The lack of a soft resting place can also aggravate arthritic conditions and other joint problems, including hip dysplasia. The lack of a soft resting place can also cause calluses and wear the hair off of elbows, which is a particular problem for show dog owners.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide comfortable bedding for dogs or other animals. It is well known, however, among boarding kennel operators, dog breeders, veterinarians, show dog and hunting dog owners, and anyone who keeps dogs in a kennel type enclosure, that dogs so confined will frequently chew or attempt to tear apart whatever type of bedding or material is put into the enclosure to provide for their comfort and warmth. In particular, young dogs and, within certain breeds, dogs of all ages may attempt to rip apart anything within their reach, whether soft or hard. Thus, many dogs will destroy that which is there for their own comfort.
If towels, carpets, blankets or similar material is used for bedding in a kennel, they must be laundered frequently. In the case of boarding kennels, bedding must be laundered daily. In a kennel with a large number of enclosures, commercial grade washing and drying equipment is often required.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a soft resting place on a bed-type apparatus wherein the fabric upon which the dog or other animal rests is virtually impossible to chew or to be torn apart by the animal's teeth.
Another object is to provide an animal bed or cot which is protected from chewing by the dog or other animal and which needs replacing far less often than a non-protected bed or cot.
A further object of the invention is the provision of an animal bed or cot for dogs or other animals which is easy to maintain and clean at a lower cost than conventional animal bedding.
Still another object is to provide an animal bed or cot which can be quickly and easily washed or cleaned without being disassembled by using a hose or pail of water with a brush and detergent.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages are realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


An oscillatory sprinkler includes a base frame, an oscillatory unit, a water output tube, and a tubular socket. The water output has one end attached to the oscillatory unit and the other end pivotally attached to the base frame to allow oscillatory motion of the water output tube upon actuation of the oscillatory unit. The water output tube further has a plurality of water outputs. The tubular socket is rotatably mounted on the water output tube, having a plurality of faces. A strip with a plurality of sprinkling nozzles is removably attached to each face. Retaining members are provided in each face to retain the tubular socket in a desired position relative to the water output tube.

The present invention relates to an improved oscillatory sprinkler and, more particularly, to an oscillatory sprinkler with a rotatable tubular socket in which the sprinkling width and sprinkling angle thereof are adjustable.
Many kinds of sprinklers employing an oscillatory means for broadening the coverage of sprinkling area are currently on the market. Such sprinklers generally comprise a base frame, oscillatory means, and a tubular element containing a plurality of holes through which water is discharged. The oscillatory means enables the tubular element to oscillate back and forth, thereby allowing a fixed area of lawn to be watered. Furthermore, the oscillatory angle of such sprinklers is normally adjustable, providing a means for varying the sprinkling area in the vertical direction. Thus the sprinkling area can, to some extent, be tailored to suit the vertical dimension of a particular lawn.
However, using such sprinklers, there is no way to adjust the coverage of sprinkling area in the horizontal direction. Consequently, the user must periodically adjust the location of his sprinkler in order to completely cover his lawn. Therefore, there has been a long and unfulfilled need for an improved oscillatory sprinklers to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.


The present invention relates to a method of synthesizing sulforaphane by reacting a compound of formula (A) with an oxidizing agent in an aqueous solvent and in the presence of a catalyst. The invention further provides a method of synthesizing a stabilized complex of sulforaphane and cyclodextrin by mixing the sulforaphane prepared by the methodology defined herein with cyclodextrin in an aqueous solvent.

According to the US National Cancer Institute, sulforaphane is considered to be one of the 40 most promising anticancer agents (Kelloff G. J, Crowell J. A, Steele V. E, Lubet R. A, Malone W. A, Boone C. W, Kopelovich L, Hawk E. T, Lieberman R, Lawrence J. A, Ali I, Viner J. L, Sigman C. C, J. Nutr, 2000, 130, 467). It is also known to possess antimicrobial properties. Sulforaphane has therefore attracted interest as a potential agent for the treatment and/or prevention of cancer and microbial infections.
Sulforaphane is found in the cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, broccoli sprouts, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cauliflower sprouts, bok choy, kale, collards, arugula, kohlrabi, mustard, turnip, red raddish, and water cress. In the plant, it is present in bound form as glucoraphanin, a glucosinolate. In nature, sulforaphane is often formed from glucoraphanin following plant cell damage by an enzymatic reaction.
Various synthetic methods of producing sulforaphane are known in the art. Sulforaphane was synthesized as early as 1948 by Schmid and Karrer (Schmid H. And Karrer, P.; Helvetica Chimica Acta. 1948; 31; 6: 1497-1505). The Schmid synthesis results in a racemic mixture.
Various alternative synthetic procedures have been reported by, for example, Vermeulen and co-workers (Vermeulen M, Zwanenburg B, Chittenden G. J. F, Verhagen H, Eur. J. Med. Chem, 2003, 38(78), 729-737), Conaway and co-workers ((Conaway C. C, Wang C. X, Pittman B, Yang Y. M, Schwartz J. E, Tian D, McIntee E. J, Hecht S. S, Chung F. L, Cancer Research, 2005, 65(18), 8548-8557), Kuhnert and co-workers (Kuhnert N and Lu Y, Journal of Labelled Compounds & Radiopharmaceuticals 2004, 47(8), 501-507), Rajski and co-workers (Mays J. R and Rajski, S. R. Chem Bio Chem, 2008, 9(5), 729-747 and WO2008/008954), Christopher and co-workers (Christopher A. D'Souza, Shantu Amin, Dhimant Desai, Journal of Labelled Compounds & Radiopharmaceuticals, 2003, 46(9), 851-859), Takayuki and co-workers (Joon-Kwan M, Jun-Ran K, Young-Joon A and Takayuki S, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2010, 58 (11), 6672-6677), and Rabhi and co-workers (WO 2008015315 and U.S. Pat. No. 0,135,618 A1), Cao and his co-workers (Tong Jian Ding, Ling Zhou, Xiao Ping Cao, Chinese Chemical Letters, 2006, 17(9), 1152-1154) and Chen and co-workers (Xin Chen, Zhengyi Li, Xiaoqiang Sun, Hongzhao Ma, Xiaoxin Chen, Jie Ren, Kun Hu, Synthesis, 2011, 24, 3991-3996 and CN 102249968).
Although sulforaphane has been synthesized by various different methods, most of the reported methods suffer several drawbacks; such as, for example, low yields, the use of hazardous and potentially harmful reagents (such as thiophosgene which is a highly toxic and volatile liquid with an unpleasant and irritating odour), the use of Class I or II solvents, laborious work-up/purification procedures and unwanted by-products (such as the inseparable disulfone/sulfonyl derivative of sulforaphane). These processes are therefore not suitable for the efficient large-scale synthesis of sulforaphane.
Therefore, there is a need for an alternative process for synthesising sulforaphane which address one or more of the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art processes. In particular. There is a need for a synthetic process that can be implemented on a large scale. Such a process will ideally be:                (i) efficient, i.e. it gives commercially viable yields of sulforaphane with good levels of purity and utilises a small number of synthetic steps;        (ii) cost effective, i.e. utilising low cost reactants and reaction conditions;        (iii) environmentally acceptable and safe to implement, i.e. it does not use overly toxic reagents or solvents.
One further and significant problem associated with sulforaphane is its inherent instability. Sulforaphane exists in the form of an unstable oil which rapidly degrades under normal conditions. This makes sulforaphane exceptionally hard to manufacture and distribute.
Therefore, there is also a need for a process of synthesising sulforaphane that is readily amenable to subsequent processing steps to provide a more stable form of the sulforaphane that is produced.
One particularly effective approach to stabilise sulforaphane involves the formation of sulforaphane-cyclodextrin complexes. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 7,879,822B2, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, describes the preparation of sulforaphane-cyclodextrin complexes having good stability.
It therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a facile process that enables the sulforaphane that it synthesized to be readily stabilized by the formation of a sulforaphane-cyclodextrin complex.


The present invention is intended to provide a compound or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof which is useful in the treatment of a tumor through its ROS1 kinase enzyme activity inhibitory effect and NTRK kinase enzyme inhibitory effect. The present invention provides a compound having an imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine structure represented by the general formula (I) or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the compound. In the formula, R1, G, T, Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 are as defined herein.

The ROS1 gene encodes receptor tyrosine kinase discovered as a human ortholog of the cancer gene product v-ros of avian sarcoma virus UR2 (University of Rochester tumor virus 2) (Non Patent Reference 1). The ROS1 fusion gene resulting from the chromosomal rearrangement containing the ROS1 gene and the subsequent fusion of the ROS1 gene to another gene was discovered in a lioblastoma cell line U118MG. In the U118MG cells, a gene encoding a Golgi protein FIG (fused in glioblastoma) is fused with the ROS1 gene to form a gene encoding FIG-ROS1 fusion protein (Non Patent Reference 2). The fusion between FIG and ROS1 causes structural change that constitutively activates ROS1 kinase enzyme activity, and the FIG-ROS1 fusion protein has cell transformation activity and tumorigenic activity mediated by the activation of the ROS1 signaling pathway involving STAT3, ERK, and SHP2 (Non Patent References 3 and 4).
The chromosomal translocation of the ROS1 gene has also been identified in a non-small cell lung cancer cell line HCC78 and clinical specimens of lung cancers. The fusion gene of the SLC34A2 gene and the ROS1 gene has been reported in the HCC78 cells, while the presence of the transmembrane protein-encoding CD74-ROS1 fusion gene of the CD74 gene and the ROS1 gene has been reported in non-small cell lung cancer patient specimens (Non Patent Reference 5). The fusion gene of the FIG gene and the ROS1 gene has been found in 2 out of 23 patient specimens of bile duct cancer (Non Patent Reference 6).
The large-scale screening of patient specimens using FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization) has identified fusion genes of the ROS1 gene with SDC, CD74, EZR, SLC34A2, LRIG3, or TPM3. Any of the ROS1 fusion genes SDC-ROS1, CD74-ROS1, EZR-ROS1, SLC34A2-ROS1, LRIG3-ROS1, and TPM3-ROS1 have been detected in 13 out of 1476 non-small cell lung cancer patient specimens (Non Patent Reference 7).
Likewise, the large-scale screening of non-small cell lung cancer patient specimens using FISH has found the ROS1 fusion gene in 18 out of 1073 cases (Non Patent Reference 8). In addition, analysis using patient specimens has showed that the ROS1 gene is highly expressed in brain tumor (Non Patent References 1 and 9).
ROS1 has been shown to be activated in cancer expressing the ROS1 fusion gene (e.g., non-small cell lung cancer, bile duct cancer, or brain tumor) (Non Patent References 5 and 6). Thus, a drug that inhibits ROS1 kinase activity can block the downstream of the ROS1 pathway, i.e. STAT3, ERK, SHP2, which contribute the tumor growth and tumor cell survival. Therefore, ROS1 is expected to be useful as a therapeutic drug for cancer (Non Patent References 1, 6, and 8). Compounds such as crizotinib (Non Patent Reference 8), TAE684 (Non Patent Reference 6), pyrazole derivatives (Non Patent References 10 and 11), and aminopyrazine derivatives (Patent Reference 1) have been reported to have a ROS1 kinase enzyme activity inhibitory effect. These compounds, however, differ in structure from the compounds of the present invention.
Neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor, also called tropomyosin-related kinase (Trk), is a high-affinity receptor that is activated by a soluble growth factor called neurotrophin (NT). The NTRK receptor family has three members: NTRK1 (also called TrkA), NTRK2 (also called TrkB), and NTRK3 (also called TrkC).
NT includes a plurality of proteins as follows: a nerve growth factor (NGF) which activates NTRK1, a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and NT-4/5 which activate NTRK2, and NT3 which activates NTRK3. Each NTRK receptor contains an extracellular domain (ligand-binding site), a transmembrane domain, and an intracellular domain (containing a kinase domain). Upon binding to a ligand, each kinase catalyzes autophosphorylation and then activates the downstream signal transduction pathway.
NTRK is widely expressed in nerve tissues during their development period and plays an important role for the maintenance and survival of these cells. The previous study shows that NTRK plays an important role in both the development and function of the nervous system (Non Patent Reference 12).
A large number of references state that NTRK signal transduction is associated with cancer. For example, NTRK exists at a low expression level in regions other than the nervous system in adult humans, whereas the expression of NTRK is increased at the late stage of prostate cancer. In normal prostate tissues and androgen-dependent prostate tumor at the early state, NTRK1 is expressed only at a low level or an undetectable level, but neither NTRK2 nor NTRK3 is expressed. In androgen-independent prostate cancer at the late stage, however, all isoforms of the NTRK receptors and their ligands are overexpressed. The evidence shows that these late-stage prostate cancer cells depend on NTRK for their tumor survival. Thus, NTRK inhibitors may induce apoptosis for androgen-independent prostate cancer (Non Patent Reference 13). In addition, recent references also show that the overexpression, activation, amplification, fusion gene formation, or mutation of NTRK is related to neuroblastoma (Non Patent Reference 14), secretory breast cancer (Non Patent Reference 15), colorectal cancer (Non Patent Reference 16), ovary cancer (Non Patent Reference 17), head and neck cancer (Non Patent Reference 18), pancreatic cancer (Non Patent Reference 19), and melanoma (Non Patent Reference 20).
Selective NTRK tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been reported, including CEP-751, CEP-701 (Non Patent Reference 21), indolocarbazole compounds (Patent Reference 2), oxindole compounds (Patent References 3 and 4), pyrazolyl condensed-ring compounds (Patent Reference 5), isothiazole compounds (Non Patent Reference 22), and other various compounds (Patent References 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10). These compounds, however, differ in structure from the compound of the present invention.
Lck inhibitors (Patent Reference 11), PKC inhibitors (Patent References 12 and 13), and NTRK inhibitors (Patent References 14 and 15) are known as compounds having an imidazopyridazine skeleton. Nevertheless, none of the known compounds having an imidazopyridazine skeleton exhibit ROS1 kinase enzyme inhibitory activity and NTRK inhibitory activity.

Imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine derivatives as kinase inhibitors


Each switch along a call setup path in a network decides whether the call request should be upgraded from a non-flow-controlled service type to a flow-controlled service type. Each switch bases the decision on whether a boolean variable for the calling subscriber that appears in a management information base (MIB) is set to a value indicating that the subscriber is entitled to the upgrade. In addition, the upgrade is performed only if an interface on the route to the called party on which the call setup request is to be forwarded supports flow-controlled connections. When the call is to be upgraded, the switch replaces the service type indicator in the setup message with a value indicating a flow-controlled service type, and forwards the setup message toward the called subscriber. If the MIB variable is set to a value indicating that the upgrade is not to be performed, it is still possible for a subscriber to request flow-controlled service directly, by indicating this service type in the original call setup message. Each switch also makes a call downgrade decision. When a call setup message is received requesting flow-controlled service but destined for an interface that does not support flow-controlled operation, the switch replaces the service type indicator in the outgoing setup message with a value indicating a non-flow-controlled service type.

None
Not Applicable
The invention is related to the field of data networks, and in particular to connection-oriented networks such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks.
ATM networks support several different classes of service. Commonly known existing services include Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR) service, Available Bit Rate (ABR) service, Variable Bit Rate (VBR) service, and others. These different services are made available to network subscribers by equipment in the network, such as a collection of network switches along a path connecting subscribers for data transfer. A calling subscriber can signal which service type is desired by including a particular identifier in a call setup message that is sent along a path toward a called subscriber. The switches along the path examine the service identifier in order to establish certain operational parameters that will be associated with the connection, such as allocated bandwidth, relative priority, etc.
One distinction among services is whether a technique known as xe2x80x9cflow controlxe2x80x9d is employed in carrying out the service. When a flow control mechanism is in place on a network link, data cells are transferred from sender to receiver only when there is high assurance that a buffer is available for storing the packet at the receiver. In this manner, the chances of a cell being dropped at the receiver due to buffer overrun are reduced or eliminated. The sender is aware of this condition as a result of co-operating with the receiver according to the flow control protocol. Flow-controlled connections are generally more efficient than non-flow-controlled connections, because transmission bandwidth is not wasted sending incomplete frames of data, where a frame is a data unit used in network communications that consists of a number of cells. Flow control also reduces any tendency of network to experience the condition of xe2x80x9ccongestion collapsexe2x80x9d, which is characterized by persistent cell discarding and re-transmission such that little or no useful traffic is delivered.
Flow-control mechanisms are usually associated with a desired metric or goal for a given connection. For example, an ATM flow-control mechanism known as Quantum Flow Control or QFC is promulgated by an association of network equipment providers known as the Flow Control Consortium. The QFC protocol can be used, for example, to provide ABR cell service with essentially zero cell loss. ABR is characterized by bursty demand for network bandwidth. The QFC protocol provides a feedback mechanism from receiver to sender that enables the sender to control the cell transmission rate in accordance with the expectations for ABR service.
With the advent of flow-control protocols such as QFC in ATM networks, it has become desirable to map non-flow-controlled services to flow-controlled services, and vice-versa. Such mapping enables older xe2x80x9clegacyxe2x80x9d ATM devices to access devices that use the newer, more efficient services. The mapping is carried out in part during the call setup process. When a calling party requests a non-flow-controlled service such as UBR, the call can optionally be xe2x80x9cupgradedxe2x80x9d to a flow-controlled service. A switch or other network device through which the call is routed supports non-flow-controlled operation on the interface to the calling party, and supports flow-controlled operation on the interface on the route to the called party, for the duration of such an upgraded call.
Heretofore, the service request mapping functionality in a network device such as a switch has been controlled using a special-purpose workstation external to the switch. According to this scheme, a switch that receives a call setup message notifies the external workstation using a proprietary protocol. The workstation decides whether the call is eligible for upgrade based on interface configuration information. The workstation uses the proprietary protocol to notify the switch whether to upgrade the call or not. The workstation is responsible for processing all call setup requests, and controls all the switches through which call requests are routed. This technique has inferior scalability due to the reliance upon the external workstation. Also, the ability of the switch to operate in different types of network configurations is degraded, due to its reliance upon a non-standard protocol for controlling the service request mapping.
In accordance with the present invention, a technique for distributed control of service request mapping is disclosed that uses standard network management and signaling techniques rather than employing non-standard protocols and equipment. Scalability is improved, and network devices employing the distributed control technique can be used in a wider variety of network configurations by virtue of their enhanced interoperability.
A switch receiving a call setup request from a subscriber that specifies a non-flow-controlled service decides whether the call request should be upgraded to a flow-controlled service type. The decision is based on whether a boolean variable for the calling subscriber that appears in a management information base (MIB) is set to a value indicating that the subscriber is entitled to the upgrade. The upgrade is performed only if the variable is set to TRUE and the interface on which the call setup request is to be forwarded supports flow-controlled connections. When the switch decides to upgrade a call, the switch replaces the service type indicator in the setup message with a value indicating a flow-controlled service type, and forwards the setup message toward the called subscriber. If the MIB variable is set to a value indicating that the upgrade is not to be performed, it is still possible for a subscriber to request flow-controlled service directly, by indicating this service type in the original call setup message. Thus the service mapping technique provides a flexible way for subscribers to access higher-efficiency flow-controlled services.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosed service mapping technique, a switch can decide to downgrade a call setup request under certain conditions. When a call setup message is received requesting flow-controlled service but destined for an interface that does not support flow-controlled operation, the switch replaces the service type indicator in the outgoing setup message with a value indicating a non-flow-controlled service type. The call downgrading functionality complements the call upgrading process by enabling network devices to maintain compatibility with subscriber terminals or other equipment that does not support flow control.
Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention are disclosed in the detailed description that follows.

Distributed control of service category request mapping


A light source assembly, a method for making same, and a display device using same are disclosed. The light source assembly includes a circuit substrate, an opaque and light-reflecting colloidal layer on the circuit substrate, micro light-emitting elements electrically connected to the circuit substrate, a base layer, a layer of convex lenses, and a layer of immediately-adjacent concave lenses. The colloidal layer defines grooves. At least two micro light-emitting elements each emitting light of a different color are arranged in each groove. The base layer is infilled into each groove and covers each micro light-emitting element. Each groove is covered by a convex lens which converges the emitted light. Each concave lens, covering one convex lens, substantially corrects optical path deviations of light of different wavelengths (that is, different colors), so reducing chromatic aberrations.

A light source assembly in a micro-projector light machine used for augmented reality glasses (AR Glass) generally includes convex lenses and light-emitting elements that emit light of different colors. Since the convex lens has different refractive indexes for different wavelengths of light (that is, different colors), after passing through the convex lens, different colors of light converge at different focal points on an optical axis of the convex lens, thereby causing chromatic aberration.
Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.

Light source assembly, method for making same, and display device

Interface Technology (ChengDu) Co., Ltd.

INTERFACE OPTOELECTRONICS (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD.


Disclosed herein is a method for designing a semiconductor device, the method including: assigning a plurality of wiring tracks including first and second tracks; connecting a first data I/O circuit to a first data node of a first circuit by a first signal bus arranged on the first wiring track; connecting a second data I/O circuit to a second data node of the first circuit by a second signal bus arranged on the second wiring track when a first design mode is selected; and connecting the first data I/O circuit to a second circuit by a second signal bus arranged on the second wiring track when a second design mode is selected.

There is a case where a semiconductor device such as a DRAM is designed to be switchable to a plurality of operation modes by changing mask or switching a fuse when it is manufactured. For example, there is a semiconductor device designed to allow switching of the number of data I/O terminals that are used for inputting and outputting data. In this case, a part of read/write buses may become unused depending on the number of the data I/O terminals to be used.

Semiconductor device having plural signal buses for multiple purposes


A coupling lens arranged on an optical path of an optical beam from a VCSEL, which has a refraction plane and a diffraction plane that respectively change a power according to a temperature change and suppresses a beam-waist position change in a main-scanning direction and a sub-scanning directions on the scanning surface caused by the temperature change, by a wavelength change of the optical beam caused by power changes of the refraction plane and the diffraction plane and the temperature change. A deflecting unit deflects the optical beam that passed through the coupling lens. A scanning optical system condenses a deflected optical beam on the scanning surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical scanning device and an image forming apparatus, and, more particularly to an optical scanning device that scans a scanning surface by beams from a light source, and to an image forming apparatus including the optical scanning device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, high stability relative to temperature change, high definition (high image quality), and high speed as well as cost reduction are required for image forming apparatuses such as an optical printer, a digital copying machine, and an optical plotter. These image forming apparatuses generally include an optical scanning device that scans a scanning surface by beams from a light source.
For high definition and high speed of an image forming apparatus, a method of using a plurality of beams has been used. To obtain a plurality of beams, there are two methods: (1) a method of combining a plurality of end-face emitting semiconductor lasers; and (2) a method of using an end-face emitting laser array in which a plurality of light emitting units is formed on one substrate. However, in the method (1), there are problems in that because the elements are mounted in a plurality of numbers, a light source unit becomes complicated, the number of parts increases and complicated adjustment is required. In the method (2), there is a problem that there is a difference in wavelength between the light emitting units, and individual adjustment is not possible.
A light source using a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) has been recently proposed. This type of light source can easily form several tens of light emitting units two-dimensionally on one element. Further, because light emission due to stable laser oscillation is performed by a single longitudinal mode oscillation in each light emitting unit, a difference in the wavelength between respective light emitting units is quite small.
As a representative method of achieving cost reduction of the image forming apparatus, there is a method of resinifying optical elements used for the optical scanning device. For example, if various lenses are formed of a resin material, there are merits that (1) lightening is possible, (2) low-cost molding is possible, and (3) formation of a surface having a special shape (hereinafter, also "special surface" for convenience) is facilitated. Particularly, if a resin lens having the special surface is employed, optical characteristic of the lens can be improved. As one of the special surfaces, there is a diffraction plane having a shape obtained by folding a shape of a refraction plane at an appropriate pitch. The diffraction plane can add a power higher than that of the refraction plane to the lens, thereby enabling a reduction of the number of the lenses constituting an optical system of the optical scanning device.
To realize the image forming apparatus highly stable relative to a temperature change, in the optical scanning device, (A) a method of correcting degradation of the optical characteristics due to the temperature change by combining a plurality of lenses having an opposite power to each other, and (B) a method of correcting degradation of the optical characteristics due to the temperature change by using negative dispersion of the diffraction plane have been proposed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2004-126192, 2003-337295, H11-223783, 2002-214556, and 2005-215188). Particularly, along with sophistication of a forming technique of the resin material, the method of using the diffraction plane is effective for realizing the optical scanning device highly stable relative to a temperature change, with a small number of parts and low cost.
However, because the diffraction plane is very sensitive to a difference in wavelength of incident beams, there is the possibility that significant performance degradation of the optical system can occur according to magnification of the optical system and a difference in wavelength of the light source. In the method (B), therefore, the shape of the diffraction plane needs to be designed so that a power change of the diffraction plane due to wavelength variation of the light source cancels the performance degradation of the optical system. In other words, the shape of the diffraction plane needs to be designed corresponding to the optical system, and therefore generality of the lens having the diffraction plane formed thereon decreases, thereby leading to cost increase.

Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus