An embodiment of the present invention provides a method, comprising reducing the losses due to electro-mechanical coupling and improving Q in a multilayered capacitor by placing a first capacitor layer adjacent at least one additional capacitor layer and sharing a common electrode in between the two such that the acoustic vibration of the first layer is coupled to an anti-phase acoustic vibration of the at least one additional layer.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a device, comprising a multilayered tunable dielectric capacitor, wherein the multilayers of tunable dielectric are adapted to be DC biased to reduce the dielectric constant; and wherein the DC bias is arranged so that the number of layers of tunable dielectric biased positively is equal to the number of layers of tunable dielectric biased negatively.
An embodiment of the invention further provides a method, comprising reducing the losses due to electro-mechanical coupling and improving Q in a multilayered capacitor by placing a first capacitor layer adjacent at least one additional capacitor layer and sharing a common electrode in between the two such that the acoustic vibration of the first layer is coupled to an anti-phase acoustic vibration of the at least one additional layer.
Still another embodiment of the present invention provides a multilayered tunable capacitor, comprising a first voltage tunable dielectric layer, at least one additional voltage tunable dielectric layer adjacent to the first voltage tunable dielectric layer and sharing a common electrode in between the two, and wherein any acoustic vibration of the first voltage tunable dielectric layer caused by the application of combined AC and DC voltages is coupled to a corresponding acoustic vibration caused by the application of the combined AC and DC voltages to the at least one additional voltage tunable dielectric layer, thereby reducing acoustic losses and improving Q.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides, a device, comprising a single layered varactor consisting of at least two capacitors connected in series to an RF signal and adapted to reduce acoustic losses and improve Q. The adjacent electrodes of the at least two capacitors may be positioned to vibrate in opposite phases thereby reducing acoustic losses and improving Q. Further, a DC bias may be applied across the at least two capacitors from a top to a bottom electrode.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a method, comprising reducing the acoustic losses and improving Q in a single layered varactor by connecting at least two capacitors in series to an RF signal so that adjacent electrodes of the at least two capacitors vibrate in opposite phase. In the present method, the DC bias may be applied across the at least two capacitors from a top to a bottom electrode and the at least two capacitors may produce acoustic waves of the opposite phase which cancel and wherein by placing a first capacitor adjacent to at least one additional capacitor, the acoustic wave of the first capacitor may be coupled to and cancel an opposite phase acoustic wave of the at least one additional capacitor.
Still another embodiment of the present invention provides a device, comprising at least two capacitors connected in series to an RF signal and adapted to reduce acoustic losses and improve Q, wherein adjacent electrodes of the at least two capacitors may be positioned to have maximal interimposing of acoustic vibrations with opposite phases thereby reducing acoustic losses and improving Q. The DC bias may be applied across the at least two capacitors in opposite directions.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a tunable capacitor, comprising a plurality of voltage tunable dielectric layers acoustically coupled together and sharing a common conductive electrode between adjacent the tunable dielectric layers, a plurality of outer conductive electrodes on the outer surfaces of the tunable dielectric layers forming a plurality of acoustically-coupled capacitors, and an applied DC bias on each of the capacitors such that the number of positively-biased capacitors equals the number of negatively-biased capacitors. The present device may further comprise an applied RF signal between the top and bottom electrodes.
Lastly, an embodiment of the present invention may provide a tunable capacitor, comprising multiple single-layer capacitors connected in series to an RF signal, wherein the single-layer capacitors are in close lateral physical proximity and are acoustically coupled together and wherein a DC bias is capable of being applied to each capacitor such that the electric fields on equal numbers of the single-layer capacitors are in opposite directions.

Capacitors adapted for acoustic resonance cancellation


Electrodes can generate electrical stimulation pulses at least one first intensity level and at least one second intensity level. The first and second intensity levels are above and below a given stimulation threshold, respectively. The synchronous or asynchronous delivery of second-level pulses enables the conduction of the atrioventricular node to be modulated by electrotonic effect, for example, to reduce ventricular frequency in the event of atrial fibrillation.

The present invention relates to a device and a method for electrical stimulation of the heart.
Experimental studies on animals and on man (such as those reported, for example, in the work xe2x80x9cElectronic inhibition and active facilitation of excitability in ventricular musclexe2x80x9d by J. M. Davidenko, M. Delnar, and J. Beaumont in J. Cardiov. Electrophysiol. Vol. 5, No. 11 November 1994, pages 945-960), have shown the effects of subthreshold electrical stimuli on response to subsequent stimulations. These effects are referred to briefly by the term electrotonic inhibition. According to this research, the introduction of a subthreshold conditioning stimulus between two above-threshold stimulations is followed by a transitory decay in the excitability of the muscle stimulated. In particular, a subthreshold stimulus triggered a certain period of time before the subsequent above-threshold stimulus may delay the response to the subsequent stimulus in question, increasing so-called latency, that is, the interval between the pulse and the respective rapid front of the action potential, and even having an actual inhibition effect. The degree of inhibition is directly proportional to the amplitude and to the duration of the subthreshold conditioning stimulus and is inversely proportional to the post-conditioning period between the electrotonic inhibition pulse and the next stimulation pulse.
Electrotonic inhibition can explain some phenomena which occur during atrial fibrillation in man. This applies in particular to the paradoxical effect of a reduction in ventricular frequency due to the action of a vagotonic drug such as digitalis (which reduces atrial refractory periods and therefore considerably increases the frequency of local atrial fibrillation) and to the effect observed, also during atrial fibrillation, of a reduction in the shortest R-R periods of the electrocardiograph signal, to the point of disappearance, when the ventricle is stimulated at longer intervals.
These phenomena can be explained only by electrotonic inhibition which would act on the atrioventricular node, actually reducing its conduction rate as a result of the increased atrial fibrillation frequency and because of the reverse conduction of ventricular stimuli.
In this connection, the following references may be consulted: xe2x80x9cOn the mechanism(s) of atrioventricular nodal transmission in atrial fibrillationxe2x80x9d by F. L. Meijler and J. Jalife in Cardiology 1997; 42(4); pages 375-384, and
xe2x80x9cAV nodal function during atrial fibrillation; the role of electrotonic modulation of propagationxe2x80x9d by F. L. Meijler, J. Jalife, J. Beaumont, and D. Vaidya in J. Cardiov. Electrophysiol. Vol. 7, No. 9 September 1996, pages 843-861.
Recent tests in which subthreshold stimuli were used to terminate re-entrant ventricular tachycardia, both at local level and by involving the atrioventricular node, with a view to evaluating the optimal site for performing a radio frequency ablation, should also be considered as further support for the hypothesis of the effect of a reduction in the propagation rate and of an extension of the refractory period. The following references should also be referred to in this connection:
xe2x80x9cSubthreshold conditioning stimuli prolong human ventricular refractorinessxe2x80x9d by J. R. Windle, W. M. Miles, D. P. Zipes, and E. N. Prystowsky, in Am. J. Cardiol. 1986; 57; pages 381-6, and
xe2x80x9cSubthreshold stimulation in the region of the slow pathway during atrioventricular node re-entrant tachycardia: correlation with effect of radio-frequency catheter ablationxe2x80x9d by S. Willems, C. Weiis, T. Hofmann, C. Rickers, and T. Meinertz in JACC Vol. 29, No. 2, February 1997, pages 408-15.
The object of the present invention is to provide improved solutions which can take advantage of the above-described phenomenon, known as electrotonic inhibition, to achieve an improvement in the course of the electrical heart-stimulation effect.
In one aspect, this invention is a heart-stimulation device comprising first stimulator means for applying electrical stimulation pulses at a first intensity level; second stimulator means for applying electrical stimulation pulses at a second intensity level; the first and second intensity levels being above and below a stimulation threshold, respectively; control means in electrical communication with the first and second stimulator means and capable of selectively controlling the generation of the stimulation pulses in the first and second stimulator means at the first intensity level and at the second intensity level. Preferably, the first stimulator means and the second stimulator means are configured to stimulate distinct regions of the heart. The first stimulator means may stimulate at least one of an atrial region and a ventricular region, and the second stimulator means may stimulate the heart muscle in the region of the atrioventricular node. The second stimulator means may further comprise sensing means for sensing the activity of the heart muscle. The control means can vary selectively at least one intensity parameter selected from the group of pulse amplitude, duration and frequency. The second stimulator means may be configured to generate a sub-threshold stimulation pulse in the form of individual pulses or repeated pulse trains and/or the pulse may synchronous or asynchronous with spontaneous heart activity.
In another aspect, this invention is an electrical heart-stimulation device comprising a first electrode adapted to apply electrical stimulation pulses at a first intensity level; a second electrode adapted to apply electrical stimulation pulses at a second intensity level; the first and second intensity levels being above and below a stimulation threshold, respectively; a processing unit in electrical communication with the first and second electrode, the processing unit capable of selectively controlling the generation of the electrical stimulation pulses in the first and second electrodes at the first intensity level and at the second intensity level.
In yet another aspect, this invention is a method of stimulating the heart, comprising providing a processing unit in electrical communication with a means for detecting atrial fibrillation and with first and second electrodes; implanting the electrodes in the heart; providing electrical stimulation pulses to the heart from the first electrode above a stimulation threshold; and providing electrical stimulation pulses to the heart from the second electrode below a stimulation threshold, wherein the electrical stimulation pulses are delivered in response to the detection of atrial fibrillation.

Heart stimulation device with electrotonic inhibition


The learning algorithm called Expand-and-Truncate Learning (ETL) is invented to synthesize a three-layer threshold network (TLTN) with guaranteed convergence for an arbitrary switching function. There has not yet been found an algorithm to synthesize a threshold network for an arbitrary switching function. The most significant contribution of this invention is the development of a learning algorithm for a three-layer TLTN which guarantees convergence for any switching function, automatically determining a required number of threshold elements in the hidden layer. For example, it turns out that the required number of threshold elements in the hidden layer of a TLTN for an n-bit parity function is equal to n. The threshold element in the proposed TLTN employs only integer weights and integer thresholds. Therefore, this will greatly facilitate actual hardware implementation of the proposed TLTN using currently available digital VLSI technology.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to computer systems and more particularly is concerned with artificial neural networks.
2. Related Art
Artificial neural networks (or in short neural networks) are powerful information processors. Neural networks are increasingly being applied today to solve problems in such diverse areas as speech recognition, expert system, process control, and robotics. They have a revolutionary potential exceeding far beyond their current capability. In 1969, Minsky and Papert proved that 2-layer perceptron networks were inadequate for many real-world problems such as the exclusive-OR(XOR) function and the parity problem which are basically linearly inseparable functions[MiPa69]. Kolmogorov and Stone-Weierstrass theorems have proved that three-layer neural networks can perform all real mapping. However, there has not been yet found a learning algorithm which can synthesize a three-layer threshold network (THTN) for an arbitrary switching function.
Recently, the Back-Propagation Learning (BPL) algorithm has been applied to many binary-to-binary mapping problems. Since the BPL algorithm requires that the activation function of a processing element (i.e. neuron) be differentiable and the activation function of a threshold element is not differentiable, BPL a algorithm can't be used to synthesize THTN a for an arbitrary switching function. Moreover, since the BPL algorithm searches the solution in continuous space, the BPL algorithm applied to binary-to-binary mapping problems results in long training times and inefficient performance.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A calibrating apparatus for lens carrier, includes a carrier, a driving unit, a first-dimension detector, and a control unit. The driving unit is capable of moving the carrier in a first-dimension direction. The first-dimension detector is capable of generating a corresponding first-dimension positional signal for the carrier according to a condition of whether detecting the carrier. The control unit is capable of receiving the first-dimension positional signal. The control unit determines whether the driving unit performing a first-predetermined driving operation based on the first-dimension positional signal for the carrier received when starting to calibrate. Finally, a position of the carrier in the first-dimension direction is adjusted based on the first-dimension positional signal for the carrier received after performing the first-predetermined driving operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a calibrating apparatus, a calibrating method, and a moving method for lens carrier of an optical mechanism, and more particularly, to a calibrating apparatus, a calibrating method and a moving method for lens carrier to detect a fixed point to calibrate the position thereof in a dimension is adapted in an optical mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an optical mechanism system, the positions of lenses are very important. Since the positions of the lenses are directly related to the quality of images, a calibrating mechanism is employed in the optical mechanism to adjust the lenses to the suitable positions.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional calibrating apparatus for lens, is provided. Because the lens is apt to be abraded or polluted if adjusting directly the lens, the lens (not shown) is generally disposed on a carrier 10 such that the carrier 10 is adjusted to adjust the lens. The calibrating apparatus for lens includes a plurality of positing areas 120, 122, 124, and 126 defined around the periphery of the carrier 10, and a plurality of detectors 110, 112, 114, and 116 configured for detecting the positing areas 120, 122, 124, and 126 respectively to position the carrier 10 accurately.
The conventional calibrating apparatus for lens as shown in FIG. 1, employs two detectors to detect the position thereof in each one dimension, respectively. In other words, the lengths of the positing areas 120˜126 and the positions of the detectors 110˜116 are designed specially. The detectors 110 and 114 are configured for determining the horizontal-dimension (left and/or right) position of the carrier 10; and the detectors 112 and 116 are configured for determining the vertical-dimension (up and/or down) position of the carrier 10.
In operation, the carrier 10 is moved left and/or right to calibrate in the horizontal-dimension. The detectors 110, 114 and/or the positing areas 120, 124 are designed that the detectors 110 and 114 may detect the positing areas 120 and 124 respectively at the same time if the carrier 10 is in the suitable position. In the calibrating process, if the positing area 120 is detected and the positing area 124 is not detected, the judging result represents that the carrier 10 is positioned left (it may represent that the carrier 10 is positioned right with the different design). Contrarily, if the positing area 124 is detected and the positing area 120 is not detected, the judging result represents that the carrier 10 is positioned right (left). Similarly, the detectors 112, 116 and the positing areas 122, 126 are configured for adjusting the carrier 10 in the vertical-dimension.
In this condition, the (two) detectors may be cooperated to calibrate the carrier 10 in one dimension. In other words, the conventional calibrating apparatus may employ four detectors to calibrate the carrier 10 in two dimensions. However, in the condition that various apparatus are designed more and more compact, the amount of the detectors limits to reduce the size and the manufacturing cost of the optical mechanism.
What is needed is providing a calibrating apparatus, a calibrating method and a moving method for lens carrier, which may solve the above problems.

Calibrating apparatus, calibrating method and moving method for lens carrier


An automatic transmission includes a pressure adjusting unit that controls hydraulic pressure supplied to a transmission mechanism by the operation of a solenoid valve. A housing has a heat radiating portion for radiating heat to the outside and houses the pressure adjusting unit. A first connector is so arranged as to pass through the housing and has a control circuit unit electrically connected to the solenoid valve of the pressure adjusting unit. A second connector is electrically connected to an engine control unit outside the housing and engages with the first connector and the heat radiating portion. The second connector is electrically connected to the control circuit unit and presses the first connector onto the heat radiating portion.

Conventionally, in an automatic transmission of the type in which a transmission mechanism for varying speeds stepwise or continuously variably is driven by hydraulic pressure. The hydraulic pressure supplied to the transmission mechanism is adjusted by a pressure adjusting unit controlled by a control circuit unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,070 shows an automatic transmission in which a connector case is arranged in such a way as to pass through a housing for housing a pressure adjusting unit and a control circuit unit connected to the electric components of the pressure adjusting unit is accommodated in the connector case. In the automatic transmission of this type, it is possible to realize, for example, a speed change responsive to the driving state of a vehicle by electrically connecting the control circuit unit housed in the connector case to another control circuit unit outside the housing and the electric components such as a sensor.
However, in a conventional automatic transmission in which a control circuit unit is housed in a connector case, a structure that releases heat generated by the control circuit unit itself to the outside is not employed for a connector and hence the malfunction of the control circuit unit is apt to occur. The malfunction of the control circuit unit finally causes the transmission error of the automatic transmission and hence it is extremely important to accelerate heat radiation from the control circuit unit. A method of expanding the area of the circuit board of the control circuit unit is thought as a method of accelerating heat radiation from the control circuit unit, but in the case of this method, the size of a connector is increased to increase costs, which is not desirable.


A method and system are provided for performing anticipatory changes to a resource governed by a locking mechanism. Entities (such as transactions in a database system) that want to modify a resource request permission to modify the resource. However, prior to receiving permission, they make anticipatory changes to a private version of the resource. The entities are prevented from making the anticipatory changes permanent until they receive permission to make the changes. Because they can make the changes, and proceed to other operations, before receiving permission, any delay in receiving permission has less adverse effect on their performance.

Computers use resources, such as memory, modems and printers, during the execution of computer programs. Many of these resources are only used periodically by any given computer program. For example, the amount of time a word processing application requires a printer to print documents is typically small relative to the amount of time that the word processing application is used to create documents. If the only process that had access to the printer was a single word processing application, the printer would remain idle most of the time.
To take full advantage of resources, computer networks have been developed in which processes running on many computer devices, or "nodes", can share resources. Thus, instead of having to purchase one printer for every computer, users may purchase a single printer that may be connected to a network that has many computers. Processes on each computer on the network access the printer only when the processes require the printer.
Even though resources may be shared, as described above, many resources may not be used by more than one process at any given time. For example, most printers are unable to print more than one document at a time. Other resources, such as data blocks of a storage medium or tables stored on a storage medium, may be concurrently accessed in some ways (e.g. read) by multiple processes, but accessed in other ways (e.g. written to) by only one process at a time. Consequently, mechanisms have been developed which control access to resources.
One such mechanism is referred to as a lock. A lock is a data structure that indicates that a particular process has been granted certain rights with respect to the resource. There are many types of locks. Some types of locks may be shared by many processes, while other types of locks prevent any other locks to be granted on the same resource.
For example, ownership of a NULL mode lock on a table grants a process no permission to access the table in any manner. Ownership of a concurrent read lock grants a process permission to read the table, but does not guarantee that other processes are not concurrently writing to the table. Ownership of a protected read lock grants a process permission to read the table and guarantees that no other process is concurrently writing to the table. Ownership of a concurrent write lock grants a process permission to write to the table, but does not guarantee that another process is not also writing to the table. Ownership of a protected write lock grants a process permission to write to the table and guarantees that another process is not also writing to the table. Ownership of an exclusive mode lock grants a process permission to do anything with a table, and guarantees that no other process is performing any operation on the table.
Due to the various permissions and guarantees associated with these locks, certain lock combinations are not allowed. For example, if a process owns an exclusive mode lock on a resource, then no other process can be granted any lock other than a NULL mode lock. If a process owns a protected write lock, then no other process may be granted an exclusive mode lock, a protected write lock, a protected read lock or a concurrent write lock. If a process owns a protected read lock, then no other process may be granted an exclusive mode lock, a protected write lock or a concurrent write lock. If a process owns a concurrent write lock, then no other process may be granted an exclusive mode lock, a protected write lock, or a protected read lock. If a process owns a concurrent read lock, then no other process may be granted an exclusive mode lock.
A category of lock that may be held by more than one process at a time is referred to as a share lock. For example, two processes can hold concurrent read locks on the same resource at the same time, so concurrent read locks are share locks. For the purposes of explanation, the following description shall refer to exclusive mode locks, share locks, and NULL mode locks.
Before a process can perform an operation on a resource, the process is required to obtain a lock that grants to the process the right to perform the desired operation on the resource. To obtain a lock, a process transmits a request for the lock to a lock manager. A lock manager is a process that is responsible for granting, queuing, and keeping track of locks on one or more resources. To manage the use of resources in a network system, lock managers are executed on one or more nodes in the network.
According to one prior art implementation, a lock manager implements two types of objects: a resource object and a lock. Resource objects are data structures that correspond to actual resources. An application that uses a lock manager establishes a mapping between actual resources and resource objects. Each resource object has two queues: a granted queue and a convert queue. The granted queue is an unordered list of locks that have been granted. The convert queue is a partially ordered list of locks that have been requested, but not yet granted. Typically, a request for a lock is actually a convert request, where a process holding a lock is requesting that the lock it holds be converted from one mode of lock to a different mode of lock.
Locks are data structures that identify a process and a lock mode. Lock managers attach locks to the grant queues of resource objects to indicate that the process identified in the lock has been granted a lock of the type indicated in the lock on the resource that corresponds to the resource object to which the lock is attached.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical lock manager 106. Lock manager 106 is a process that is configured to manage a resource object 100 stored in a memory 108. The resource object includes a granted queue 102 and a convert queue 104. Lock manager 106 has attached three locks 110, 112 and 114 to the granted queue 102, and one convert request 130 to the convert queue 104.
All locks and convert requests have a process ID portion and a lock mode portion. The process ID portion 116 of lock 110 indicates that a process PROC_1 owns lock 110, and the lock mode portion 118 of lock 10 indicates that lock 110 is an exclusive lock. The process ID portion 120 of lock 112 indicates that lock 12 is owned by a process PROC_2, and the lock mode portion 122 of lock 112 indicates that lock 112 is a NULL mode lock. The process ID portion 124 of lock 114 indicates that lock 114 is owned by a process PROC_3, and the lock mode portion 126 of lock 114 indicates that lock 114 is a NULL lock. The process ID portion 132 of convert request 130 indicates that convert request 130 is associated with process PROC_4, and the lock mode portion 136 of convert request 130 indicates that PROC_4 currently holds a NULL mode lock on the resource. In addition to a lock mode portion 136, convert request 130 has a requested mode portion 134 that indicates that PROC_4 is requesting an exclusive mode lock.
Lock manager 106 has attached locks 110, 112 and 114 to granted queue 102, indicating that PROC_1 currently has exclusive ownership of the resource that corresponds to resource object 100. Lock manager 106 has attached convert request 130 to the convert queue 104, indicating that PROC_4 has requested but has not yet been granted an exclusive mode lock on the resource associated with resource object 100.
Information pertaining to any given resource may be stored in the resource object that corresponds to the resource. Each resource object is stored in the memory of a single node. The node on which a resource object is stored is referred to as the master node for the resource object.
According to one lock management approach, a process initially establishes a NULL mode lock on all resources that the process will possibly use. Then, when the process actually requires access to a resource, the process requests that its NULL mode lock be converted to a lock that grants to the process the rights to perform the desired operation.
For example, to delete a table, a process must obtain an exclusive mode lock on the resource object that corresponds to the table. To obtain the exclusive mode lock, the process transmits a message to the lock manager that controls the resource object that corresponds to the table. In the message, the process requests that its current NULL mode lock be converted to an exclusive mode lock. If no other process has requested a conversion, and if no currently granted locks would prevent the grant of an exclusive mode lock, then the current lock held by the requesting process is converted to an exclusive mode lock. Once the lock manager performs the requested conversion, the lock manager transmits a message to the requesting process to indicate that the requested conversion operation has been performed.
If a process requires access to read data from a table, the process must obtain a share lock. To obtain a share lock, the process requests the lock manager that controls the resource object that corresponds to the table to convert its current lock to a share lock. If no other process has requested a conversion, and if no currently granted locks would prevent the grant of a share lock, then the current lock held by the requesting process is converted to a share lock.
If an exclusive mode lock has already been granted for the table, then a share lock cannot be granted. Under these circumstances, the lock convert request is placed on the convert queue of the resource object. When the blocking process is ready to release its exclusive lock, the blocking process may send a lock downgrade request to the lock manager. The lock manager responds by converting the exclusive mode lock to a lesser lock that allows the grant of the share lock. The share lock is then granted by moving the share lock request from the requested queue to the granted queue and transmitting a message to the requesting process to inform the requesting process that the share lock has been granted.
The convert queue of a resource object is a partially ordered list that holds all outstanding (ungranted) lock requests. If any outstanding lock requests have not been granted, one of the ungranted lock requests will be at the "head" of the convert queue. Even if the currently granted locks do not prevent a lock manager from granting a particular lock request, the lock request is placed on the convert queue if the convert queue is not empty. This policy prevents "livelocks", where one process cannot make progress in the system while other processes can.
It is not uncommon for many processes to concurrently hold share locks on a resource. The set of processes that hold share locks on a particular resource are collectively referred to herein as the "share lock holders".
If one of the share lock holders (the "requester") wants to convert to an exclusive mode lock, the requester has to first send a convert request to the master node of the resource. When the shared-to-exclusive request reaches the head of the convert queue in the master node of the resource, the master node sends downconvert request messages to all share lock holders asking them to downconvert or close their locks. The master node can only grant the exclusive lock to the requester after all share lock holders acknowledge to the master that they have downconverted their locks. Between the time the requester sends the upgrade request and the time that the exclusive lock is granted, the requester has to wait, and cannot start updating the resource or perform any subsequent work even though the requester already has a current copy of the resource in its cache.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Anticipatory changes to resources managed by locks


Various processes are disclosed for conducting database searches by telephone. A user is initially prompted to utter N characters of a search query, and/or to enter these characters on a telephone keypad. Based on the user's entry, a speech recognition grammar is either selected or is generated dynamically for processing the user's utterance of the complete search query. In one embodiment, the speech recognition grammar is selected based on a sequence of N telephone keys selected by the user, without requiring the user to uniquely specify the N characters to which these keys correspond. In another embodiment, the speech recognition grammar is selected based solely on utterances of the N characters by the user such that the correct grammar is selected even if an utterance of one character is misidentified as an utterance of a similar sounding character. Also disclosed are methods for generating speech recognition grammars from query logs.

With the increasing popularity of wireless devices, many web site operators and other content providers are deploying voice driven interfaces ("voice interfaces") for allowing users to browse their content. The voice interfaces commonly include "grammars" that define the valid utterances (words, phrases, etc.) that can occur at a given state within a browsing session. The grammars are fed to a speech recognition system and are used to interpret the user's voice entry. In web-based systems, the grammars are typically embedded as text files within voiceXML versions of web pages.
One problem with speech recognition systems is that the reliability of the recognition process tends to be inversely proportional to the size of the grammar. This poses a significant problem to content providers wishing to place large databases of products or other items online in a voice-searchable form. Specifically, if all or even a significant portion of the terms in the searchable domain are incorporated into the grammar, the grammar may become too large to provide reliable speech recognition. If, on the other hand, many terms are omitted from the grammar, the system will be incapable of recognizing many valid queries. The present invention seeks to address this and other problems.

Generation and selection of voice recognition grammars for conducting database searches


A belt drive differential with an output shaft, two planet sprockets rotatably mounted to a carrier to orbit in a circular path about a carrier axis coaxial with the output shaft, a first output sprocket attached to the output shaft, a second output sprocket coaxial with the output shaft, and a toothed power transmission belt connecting the sprockets.

The invention relates to planetary gear transmissions and components, but more particularly, the invention relates to a belt drive differential where a planet pinion engages a flexible belt.
In a belt drive differential, planet pinions in the form of pulleys are rotatably mounted to a carrier and orbited in a circular path about a carrier axis. Output pulleys arranged substantially coaxial with the carrier axis transmit power to shafting.
In a belt drive differential, two or more planet pulleys are rotatably mounted to a carrier and orbited in a circular path with the carrier about a carrier axis. Two output pulleys are arranged coaxial with the carrier axis and a belt bent in a circuitous path is entrained around and engages the planet pulleys and output pulleys which are in different planes. Such a drive with multi-plane pulleys is commonly known as a mule pulley drive.
In the belt differential disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,608 to Meihak, coaxial planet V-pulleys are used in conjunction with a V-belt and output V-pulleys individually fixed to and near ends of separate shafts that are coaxial with the carrier axis. Ends of the two shafts are commonly journaled to the carrier and require additional journaling with thrust capability to prevent axial separation of the commonly journaled shaft ends and the fixed output V-pulleys. The position of the planet V-pulleys require periodic adjustments for "belt take up" by means of threaded fasteners to adjust belt tension and to compensate for belt wear. Summarily, the V-belt drive has limited power capability, requires intermittent belt take-up adjustments which has the effect of changing belt drive length to minimize V-belt slippage; and two shafts are required, one fixed to each of the two output pulleys.
In the belt differential disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,572 to Parker, both non-coaxial frustoconcial and cylindrical planet pulleys are used in conjunction with a toothed synchronous belt and output sprockets individually fixed near ends of separate tubular gear shafts that are coaxial with the carrier axis and are journaled over a central or third coaxial shaft. The two tubular shafts require additional journaling with thrust capacity to prevent separation of the tubular shaft ends with fixed output sprockets. The position of the planet frustoconical pulleys and cylindrical pulleys require belt take-up adjustment for belt drive length to tension the belt to impede it from ratcheting on the output sprockets. A second set of frustoconical guide pulleys are also required juxtaposed the belt and opposite planet pulleys to help guide the belt and impede belt ratcheting. Summarily, the synchronous belt drive requires adjustment of the belt drive length to minimize belt ratcheting on the output sprockets; frustoconical rollers are required to impede belt movement that can cause belt ratcheting; and three shafts are required, one fixed to each of the tubular gear shafts and, a central shaft.
There are several major problems with the aforementioned belt drives. A major problem is that there is not a fixed or constant belt drive length. The position of the planet pulleys must be re-adjusted for belt take-up to obtain or change to a belt drive length where V-belt slipping or synchronous belt ratcheting is impeded.
Another problem with the prior art belt drive differentials is associated with the use of multiple output shafts. The output pulleys or sprockets are each connected to separate shafts. Special journaling with thrust capability is required to keep the output sprockets and pulleys in a position that does not impact belt drive length. The use of a third or central shaft introduces a problem of lubrication and fretting corrosion with the journaled tubular shafts.
A particular problem with the Parker '572 belt drive differential is that it uses planet pulleys as idlers that engage the tips of belt teeth to adjust belt drive length and define a curved surface about which belt bending is forced. The pulleys press against the tips of the belt teeth allowing the belt tensile member (i.e., cord) to bend at very small bending radii in areas between belt teeth which causes crimping of the belt's tensile member that is deleterious to belt life. The smaller the radius of the pulley, the shorter the belt life. The use of frustoconical pulleys is particularly deleterious to a cord tensile member because the belt must bend over various radii across its width as it presses against the frustoconical pulley.
A belt drive length is associated with the length of the belt's tensile member because belt bending takes place at the tensile member. Consequently, bending of a synchronous belt and its belt drive length cannot be precisely controlled by small diameter planet pulleys that press against tips of belt teeth.


Methods, systems and devices described herein can be used for automatically adjusting one or more cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) pacing parameters (and more generally stimulation parameters), to achieve a long term reduction in left ventricular (LV) diastolic pressure (and more generally, preload) of a heart failure (HF) patient. A reduction in LV diastolic pressure is indicative of a reduction in preload (the force of blood the fills the left ventricle), which is typically indicative of an improvement in a patient's HF condition. In accordance with certain embodiments, when a set of stimulation parameters is tested, the set is tested for a period that is sufficiently long enough to allow the patient's compensatory mechanisms to react to the set of stimulation parameters and achieve a substantially steady-state LV diastolic pressure corresponding to the using the set of stimulation parameters. Such techniques are believed to provide better results than achieved using acute hemodynamic optimization techniques.

In recent years, it has been demonstrated repeatedly that there is little tangible improvement in clinical outcomes from performing acute hemodynamic optimization of paced pulse timing. There is a reason for this. Since the heart is not a fatigable muscle, a hemodynamic sensor by itself gives no indication if a pacing intervention improves hemodynamics at the expense of greater energy expenditure, which could trigger maladaptive neurohormonal mechanisms within minutes to hours, or if the pacing intervention truly unloads the left ventricle.
The goal of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is to synchronize mechanical activation, which can relieve compensatory mechanisms and unload the heart. Preload (the force of blood that fills the left ventricle) and afterload (the force against which the left ventricle must work to eject blood) are the two factors that determine cardiac output, in addition to the force of contraction. Increasing preload is a mechanism used by the body to compensate for poor cardiac function. Though there is some nonlinearity in the pressure-volume preload relationship, maintaining higher filling pressure allows a greater volume of blood to fill the left ventricle.
In particular, the Frank-Starling law explains how preload helps to maintain cardiac output (CO). The curves shown in FIG. 1 are used to illustrate a relationship between preload and CO. In FIG. 1, preload is indicated by left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LV EDP), which is closely related to the left atrial pressure (LAP) when blood enters the left ventricle during diastolic filling. The curves at the left in FIG. 1 show different possible Frank-Starling curves as a function of contractility. The curves at the right in FIG. 1 show different Frank-Starling curves and as a function of afterload, expressed as arterial resistance. In advanced heart failure (HF), a curve may even have a negative slope at elevated filling pressure.
Still referring to FIG. 1, the Frank-Starling curves show CO as a function of LV EDP, where LV EDP is a surrogate of preload. All of the curves show that increasing preload leads to an increase in CO, which may not be true in advanced HF. At the left, the curves demonstrate that higher contractility can also increase CO. At the right, the curves show that higher afterload (expressed by arterial resistance) reduces CO.
Except in extreme deterioration, such as decompensated HF, the body's powerful neurohormonal mechanisms compensate in various ways to maintain CO. Even if a sub-optimal pacing configuration is programmed, the body attempts to preserve CO. Some of these adaptations are considered hallmark signs of HF, such as an increase in resting heart rate and over-activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. It may be less easily measured, but is certainly no less important, that the body may decrease the amount of blood distributed to organs of the body to accumulate blood and maintain a higher filling pressure in an attempt to compensate for poor cardiac function. When all other factors are kept unchanged, the ventricles will be able to expel a greater amount of blood during systole if the force bringing blood into the ventricles during diastole is greater.
Thus, it may be concluded that the acute change in CO caused by activating a pacing intervention has an unclear relationship to the outcome that will result from long-term use of the pacing intervention. Acute CO changes are, rather, a measure of the delay to action of the body's compensatory mechanisms. Similarly, it is likely that there will be neither a clear acute change in LAP morphology, nor even in its mean value over the cardiac cycle, immediately after starting a pacing intervention.

Implantable stimulation devices, and methods and systems for use therewith, that automatically adjust stimulation parameters to improve preload in an HF patient


A zoom camera having enhanced focusing stability during high magnification zooming under environments of high temperatures or low temperatures. When the zoom camera performs zoom-in operations in an environment of high or low temperatures, aperture control is added as the zoom magnification becomes higher and the temperature becomes higher or lower whereby the depth of field is made deeper to assure the presence of a range with good focusability.

The present invention relates to exposure control of high-magnification zoom cameras.
Zoom cameras have generally two major types of lenses. One of them is a zoom lens which determines the size of an image to be formed on a charge-coupled device (CCD) image pickup plane. The other is a focus lens which performs focus adjustment of an image being formed on the CCD image pickup plane. Regarding the focus adjustment of the focus lens during zoom lens magnification changing operations, there are two kinds of functions: automatic focus function, and manual focus function.
In the auto-focus function, at the time of an operation for changing the zoom lens magnification, a focus lens position is automatically determined in accordance with a target subject or object to be photographed in such a way that an image being formed on CCD image pickup plane comes into focus at all times. On the other hand, the manual focus function is such that trace curve information indicative of the relationship of a zoom magnification and a moved distance of the focus lens is stored and, based on such trace curve information, the focus lens position is adjusted. This trace curve has temperature dependency, and there are many portions which are dependent on the temperature characteristics of a housing of the zoom lens, called the lens barrel.
One example of prior known techniques for improving the trace curve's temperature dependency is disclosed in JP-A-2003-248171, which recites therein, as its objective, "in a variable magnification image sensing device, unwanted variation or fluctuation of an image formation position occurring due to a temperature change is lessened while permitting the use of a plastic lens, thereby retaining good focusing performance" and recites as the solving means "a variable magnification image sensor device having a four-group lens configuration, wherein the device has in a third group a plastic lens 3 which has positive refracting power with a negative temperature coefficient of refractivity and a predetermined focal distance, a first support lens barrel L1 which holds together the third lens group and the first lens group, and a second support barrel L2 which holds together the third lens group and an image pickup element 5, characterized in that a variation of the image formation position due to temperature changes of the lens groups is countervailed or "cancelled" by a variation amount of imaging position due to an extension/shrink amount based on a temperature change of the support barrel having a prespecified linear expansion coefficient."
In addition, one prior art concerning the improvement of focus adjustment method of the manual focus function is found in JP-A-2006-189571, which discloses as the object "if there is an error in distance information and actual focus position at the time of manual focusing, there is a case where accurate focusing becomes impossible, in particular, at the distance of a settable range end; however, even in this situation, the best possible focus state is obtained without bothering the user with troublesome works" and recites as the solving means "an image sensor device having manual focus means, which has auto-focus means for automatically obtaining a focus position from the periphery of a presently set focus position, wherein the autofocus means performs focus control when the focus position is set at a predetermined position."


A foldable and collapsible hanger includes a pair of articulated upper branches pivotally coupled to, and extending from, opposite sides of a central hub which carries a hook. An articulated lower branch is pivotally coupled to, and extends between, distal ends of the upper branches to form a conventional hanger when deployed. The hanger may be folded along joints present in the upper and lower branches into a compact configuration that facilitates easy storage of the hanger.

A conventional clothes hanger is typically an integrally formed rigid structure having a hook, a pair of downwardly angled upper members extending in opposite directions from the hook, and a lower transverse member extending between the upper members. The shoulders of a garment, such as a coat or jacket, may be draped over the upper members of the hanger to suspend the garment from the hanger in a generally upright orientation so as to reduce the risk of wrinkling or creasing garment. Additionally, garments such as pants or trousers may be draped over the lower member to similarly reduce the risk of wrinkling or creasing of the garments.
Conventional clothes hangers are, however, relatively wide, and are therefore not convenient for carrying in a suitcase, briefcase, travel bag, purse or the like, when traveling or needing to change clothes when away from home. For example, it is often difficult to extract a conventional clothes hanger from a travel bag. The hanger may rumple or otherwise damage the surrounding clothes or other items in the bag. Additionally, the exposed hook of the hanger frequently becomes entangled with the other items in the bag.
For these reasons, a variety of collapsible and foldable clothes hangers have been proposed in the past which are foldable into a relatively compact unit for storage and transportation, and which may be deployed to form a conventional hanger when needed. An exemplary embodiment of one such prior art foldable clothes hanger is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,420,116 to Walters. However, the foldable clothes hanger disclosed in Walters has several disadvantages, that are typical of the problems associated with the prior art in general. For example, when the hanger disclosed in Walters is collapsed, some of the components (e.g. the chain members) of the hanger remain loose and may become entangled with other items or objects. Additionally, the hook remains exposed when the hanger is collapsed, and thus may easily catch on other items or objects when inserted or removed from a travel bag. Moreover, in the case of metal hangers, the exposed hook of the hanger might be potentially dangerous in certain situations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,534 to Hwang discloses another prior art foldable clothes hanger. In order to collapse the hanger in Hwang, however, a connection on the lower branch must first be disengaged, in order to separate this component into two distinct pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,562 to Brink et al. also discloses a prior art foldable clothes hanger. However, in the Brink et al. design, the receptacle bearing the hook protrudes downward and significantly extends into the hanger triangle. As a result, this is little space between the hanger and the receptacle, which would make hanging pants or trousers on the lower branch somewhat difficult. Additionally, the protruding receptacle increases the likelihood that a pant cuff would be snagged when removing pants from the hanger.
Consequently, as a result of these and other disadvantages associated with the prior art, a need exists for an improved foldable garment hanger.


A shift register unit includes a signal input module, a first control module, a second control module, a signal output module and a total reset module. The total reset module is configured to control a potential of the pull-up node and a potential of the signal output terminal based on a potential of a first pull-down node, a potential of a second pull-down node and a level signal.

In the gate driver on array (GOA) technology, a gate drive circuit is integrated in an array substrate to replace a gate driver chip, thereby reducing power consumption and costs. Compared with the traditional technology, in the GOA technology, not only the circuit board bearing a gate driver can be omitted to realize a design in which two sides of a display panel are symmetric, but also the chip bonding area at the edge of the display panel can be omitted to facilitate a narrow-frame design. In addition, the chip bonding process in the row direction can be omitted in the GOA technology, which facilitates improvement in the overall productivity and yield.
A GOA structure is a gate drive circuit made of several thin film transistors (TFT) and a capacitor on an array substrate. In essence, the GOA structure is a shift register, which can turn on and reset signals line by line by repeatedly cascading shift register units.

Shift register unit, method for driving the same, gate drive circuit, array substrate and display device

HEFEI XINSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


A grip element for mounting over a free end of a gripped article includes a gripping surface and an engagement surface extending from the gripping surface. The engagement surface is configured and dimensioned for engagement by a pushing device such that the pushing device sufficiently engages the engagement surface to push the engagement surface without use of an additional pushing device. The grip element is further configured and dimensioned with respect to the article such that the pushing device moves the grip element substantially completely onto the article without requiring lubrication or separate expansion of the grip element. Various features which improve the assembly of the grip element or article may be provided separately or in combination. A method of assembling the grip element onto the article is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a grip element for a hand-held and/or finger-manipulated article. More particularly, the present invention relates to a grip element which is easily assembled onto an article, such as a hand-held or finger-manipulated article.
With the increasing attention to ergonomic designs, handle portions of hand-held or finger-manipulated articles are increasingly designed to enhance gripping thereof. For instance, handles are often contoured and/or textured to facilitate grasping. Such formation of handles has been known for many years. It has become increasingly desirable to enhance gripping even further by providing a grip element formed from a material different from the material of the handle portion. The different material may provide unique characteristics not achievable by the material from which the main body of the handle must be formed. For instance, hand-held and finger-manipulated articles may be formed from such materials as plastics or metals or woods which are hard and/or slippery. The provision of a grip element formed from a material different from that of the underlying article, such as rubber or foam, has become increasingly popular. Such grip elements may provide such benefits as reduced slippage (increased friction), an insulative effect (i.e., an element that is not cold to the touch), and/or cushioning.
Various grip elements formed from a material different from the material of the underlying article are known in the art. For instance, foam and rubber grip elements have been sold for many years for selective assembly onto a hand-held or finger-manipulated article to facilitate or to enhance grasping thereof. In addition, hand-held and finger-manipulated articles have also been sold with grip elements of materials different from the underlying material of the article already provided thereon. Such grip elements may be formed on the article by molding the material of the grip element onto the different underlying material of the article on which the grip element is to be provided. Alternatively, such grip elements may be formed separately from the article and then assembled onto the article. The latter manner of formation of a grip element generally tends to be less expensive and more amenable to mass production, and thus is more desirable.
However, although the actual formation of a separately formed grip element may be simpler than formation of the grip element as an integral element of the article, assembly of the grip element onto the article may be difficult. Because the grip element may increase friction or may be formed from an elastomeric element (for resiliency and cushioning effect), the grip element may not slide easily over the article. Thus, various techniques have been used to facilitate assembly of such grips onto an article. For instance, air may be blasted into the interior of a tubular elastomeric grip element to cause the grip element to expand. The grip element thus may readily be inserted over the grip section of an article. Once the air blast is discontinued, the grip element resumes its natural configuration, which typically has an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the article, so that the grip element is secured onto the article. Similarly, equipment for mechanically stretching a grip element has been used. Alternatively, a lubricant, such as mineral spirits or isopropyl alcohol, may be used to reduce friction between the grip element and the article.
However, the above-mentioned manners of mounting a grip element all have significant drawbacks. Using a blast of air is costly and generally is not desirable. As may be readily appreciated, machinery which mechanically stretches the grip element is not only costly, but also requires precision both in manipulating the grip element as well as in mounting the expanded grip element on the article. Finally, use of alcohol or other types of lubricants which are potentially flammable near assembly equipment has clear inherent risks.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to improve the manner in which a grip element is mounted onto an article such that costs are reduced, and speed and efficiency in assembly are increased.
The present invention is directed to a grip element for assembly onto a free end of a hand-held, finger-held, or finger-manipulated article. One application of the grip element is to provide a comfortable grip for finger-manipulated articles, such as writing instruments, razors, toothbrushes, utensils, and tools. The grip element can also be used with larger articles that may be held in the palm of the user""s hand, such as impact tools (e.g., hammers), various sports equipments (e.g., rackets, bats, golf clubs), and motor-driven devices (e.g., power drills or motorcycles). The variety of articles on which the grip element of the present invention may be mounted are referenced herein as xe2x80x9cgripped articlesxe2x80x9d for the sake of convenience only, and not with any intended limitation.
The grip element referenced herein includes a gripping surface and an engagement surface extending from the gripping surface. The engagement surface is configured and dimensioned for engagement by a pushing device such that the pushing device may move the grip element substantially completely onto the gripped article without requiring lubrication or separate expansion of the grip element. For example, the engagement surface may be a substantially planar surface that is angled, or perpendicular to, the gripping surface. The engagement surface is preferably provided at a distal end of the grip element, which is located furthest away from the proximal, free end of the article. Thus, the pushing device pushes the engagement surface onto the gripped article, effectively pulling the rest of the grip element.
To ease assembly of the grip element onto the gripped article, the inner diameter of the grip element may increase, or taper outwardly, in a direction from a proximal end of the grip element (closest to the pushing device), toward a distal end of the grip element (furthest from the pushing device). In addition, the inner diameter of the grip element at the grip element distal end may be larger than the outer diameter of the grip section at the grip section proximal end, thus allowing the distal end of the grip element to slide readily over at least a portion of the grip section. Further, the inner diameter of the grip element at the grip element proximal end may be smaller than the outer diameter of the grip section at the grip section proximal end to assist in retaining the grip element on the gripped article.
The present invention is also directed to a gripped article incorporating the grip element. The article includes a grip section for receiving the above-described grip element.
The present invention is also directed to a method of assembling a grip element onto a gripped article. The method includes the steps of contacting an engagement surface of the grip element, and pushing the engagement surface to move the grip element onto the article. The engagement surface may be positioned at a distal end of the grip element so that pushing on the engagement surface pulls a gripping portion of the grip element substantially completely onto the grip section of the article. A tubular member, such as a cap (in the case that the grip element is used for a writing instrument), may be slid over the grip element to contact the engagement surface. The method may further include contacting and pushing the end of the grip closest to the free end completely onto the article.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, the scope of the invention being set out in the appended claims.


A system and method are presented for digital communication via a time division multiplexed serial data stream. A serial communication system according to the present invention includes a serial communication controller having a set of functional units each configured to perform a specific function of a serial communication protocol. The functional units are operably coupled in series in order to produce digital data according to the serial communication protocol. The set of functional units operates alternately upon an active one of the multiple serial data channels within the time division multiplexed serial data stream. Each functional unit may be a state machine including one or more programmable registers for storing state information which determines the operating state of the functional unit. An active channel transition from a first data channel to a second data channel may be accomplished by saving state information associated with the first data channel and “restoring” saved state information associated with the second data channel. A memory unit coupled to each functional unit may include a separate portion allocated to each of the multiple serial data channels. State information may be retrieved from the functional units and stored in the portion of the memory unit allocated to the first data channel. State information may then be retrieved from the portion of the memory unit allocated to the second data channel and stored within the memory elements of the functional units, thus accomplishing the state “restoring” activity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to digital communication systems, and more particularly to serial data communication systems employing time division multiplexing to combine several different serial data channels into single serial data streams.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
A transmission medium carries signal-encoded information (i.e., data) from one point to another. Common types of transmission media include metal wires for carrying electrical signals, fiber-optic cables for conveying light signals, and air through which electromagnetic signals (e.g., light and radio waves) travel. As digital signals are more immune to degradations suffered along transmission media, data is often transmitted over transmission media in digital form. For example, telephone service providers typically digitize analog speech signals before conveying the speech signals over relatively long lengths of transmission media. Each telephone conversation may be represented by a serial stream of binary digits (i.e., bits) having a beginning and an end, generally constituting a data "channel."
A given transmission medium may be able to handle the transmission of several different data channels at the same time (e.g., several different telephone conversations occurring simultaneously). In this case, each data channel may be assigned a periodically recurring block of time (i.e., a "time slot") for transmission of digital data upon the transmission medium. A transmitting digital communication system may combine the digital data of several individual data channels into a single serial data stream using TDM, then transmit the serial data stream upon the transmission medium. A receiving digital communication system may receive the serial data stream via the transmission medium and separate the data of the individual data channels, thus reforming the individual data channels.
In order to allow the detection of possible errors occurring during transmission of the channel data via the transmission medium, the data of each individual data channel is typically divided into discrete units called "frames." Error control information is derived from the framed data, and is transmitted along with the framed data. The error control information allows for the detection and/or correction of transmission errors. A transmitting digital communication system encapsulates channel data into frames, generates the error control information associated with the frames, incorporates the error control information into the frames, and transmits the frames upon the transmission medium. A receiving digital communication system receives the framed data from the transmission medium, extracts the error control information from the frames, checks the framed data for errors, and reassembles the channel data from the framed data. All of the above actions are performed according to a selected communication protocol.
There are numerous protocols currently being used for conveying serial data streams upon a transmission medium, including T1, E1, and the high-level data link control (HDLC) protocol. Each serial data communication protocol achieves data transmission in a different way, and digital communication system hardware and/or software designed to implement one serial data communication protocol will typically not recognize data transmitted using another serial data communication protocol. In addition, new serial data communication protocols are continuously being developed in an effort to increase the rates and reliabilities of digital data transfers.
A microcontroller is an integrated circuit which incorporates a processor core along with one or more support circuits on the same monolithic semiconductor substrate (i.e., chip). The support circuits perform support functions such as communication functions and memory interface functions. Systems which employ microcontrollers are typically implemented using fewer separate semiconductor devices. Advantages of such systems include shortened design times, lower fabrication costs, and higher reliabilities. Microcontrollers find applications in industrial and commercial products including control systems, computer terminals, hand-held communications devices (e.g., cellular telephones), network interface equipment, photocopier machines, facsimile machines, and hard disk drives.
It would be beneficial to have a digital communication system capable of transmitting and receiving serial data using time division multiplexing and organized in a functional manner such that the digital communication system may be easily configurable and/or modifiable to convey the serial data via any serial data protocol.

System and method for digital communication via a time division multiplexed serial data stream


A remote displaying method for monitor apparatus, comprises: converting step, for converting a plurality of graphic elements which constitute a displayed graphic on the monitor apparatus into a plurality of corresponding display instructions; transmitting step, for transmitting the display instructions to a remote display apparatus; receiving step, for receiving the display instructions on the remote display apparatus; and displaying step, for displaying on the remote display apparatus in accordance with the display instructions.

In medical treatment field, the monitor apparatus is widely used in detecting the physiological parameters of a patient and displaying the detected physiological parameters on a display apparatus for reviewing by a doctor in real time. Usually, the physiological parameters are displayed in real time in the room where the patient stays. However, there is a need for the doctor to remotely view the physiological parameters in a place different from where the patient locates. Therefore, it is a very important function to view the detected physiological parameters on an apparatus remote from the patient in real time.
In the prior art, there are several approaches to view the detected physiological parameters remotely. Wherein, one of most usually employed approaches lies in capturing the graphics displayed on the screen of monitor apparatus by software and sending the captured graphics to a remote apparatus for displaying. One of the main drawbacks of this solution lies in the large amount of data to be transmitted, which requires an increased bandwidth of network. Since there is a large amount of data to transmit, it is very difficult to meet the requirement of viewing the graphics on a remote display apparatus in real time.
Another approach in prior art is to send the detected physiological parameters, such as values of pulse rate, values of blood pressure, etc, directly from a monitor apparatus to a remote display apparatus for viewing. The remote device receives those parameters and then constructs its own display interface based on those received parameters. Since the monitor apparatus can not control the property of the interface on the remote device, the interface on the monitor apparatus may be very different from that of the remote device. In such a case, the viewers may be confused when frequently switched between those two types of interfaces. Moreover, the remote devices in this case require a higher processing capability to construct its own interface from the received parameters. Consequently, the manufacturing cost and maintenance cost of those remote devices are very expensive.

Remote display method and system for a monitor apparatus

Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.


An apparatus for screen printing a conductor pattern on a circuit board blank includes a receiving frame having a nest for seating the circuit board blank. The nest includes a porous stone having a surface for supporting the circuit board blank. Air is drawn through the porous stone for urging the circuit board blank against the porous stone. There is further provided a screen printing mechanism for printing on the circuit board blank seated in the nest.

This invention relates to a screen printing apparatus for providing a pattern of conductor strips on circuit board blanks. The apparatus has a receiving frame provided with a screen printing nest for the circuit board blank to support the same in a planar manner. The screen printing nest may be exposed to vacuum at those sides which are oriented away from the circuit board blank.
In the manufacture of circuit boards for producing multilayer circuits, particularly on unfired (green) ceramic films which undergo sintering at low temperatures, conductor patterns are printed with an electrically conductive paste on the green circuit board blanks. Such a process is described in an article by J.I. Steinberg, S.J. Horowitz and R.J. Bacher, entitled "Herstellen yon Mehrlagenschaltungen mit niedrig sinternden grunen Keramikfolien" ("Manufacture of Multilayer Circuits with Green Ceramic Films Undergoing Sintering at Low Temperatures") in the periodical "Elektronikproduktion & Pruftechnik", Issue 9A of 1986. According to this article, the screen printing apparatus utilizes a screen printing nest serving as the backup support for the green ceramic film and is provided with a plurality of small holes through which vacuum is applied to immobilize the green ceramic film. Care has to be taken that the holes in the screen printing nest should be sufficiently small so that the outline of the holes will not be reproduced on the printed side of the film. In observing such a requirement, the manufacture of printing screen nests involves significant expense. In case pass-through contacts are to be provided, where very small tolerances have to be observed, risks are high that the underlying hole in the screen printing nest will be soiled.


The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for assigning chargers to electric vehicles. The method comprises clustering chargers into at least one charger cluster, receiving charging reservation requests from the electric vehicles during a predetermined period of time, clustering the electric vehicles into at least one electric vehicle cluster, determining a charging priority between the electric vehicles based on the at least one electric vehicle cluster and assigning the chargers to the electric vehicles based on the determined charging priority. As a result of this, an efficient charging reservation is proposed to a user, so that it is possible to help the user utilize time efficiently.

With the increase of government support for eco-friendly vehicles, the number of electric vehicles is increasing. However, charger infrastructure capable of charging the electric vehicle is growing slowly compared to the increase rate of the number of the electric vehicles.
Therefore, if an electric vehicle user does not have a plan in advance of where to charge for long-distance travel, the user may have a problem that the vehicle is fully discharged. Also, even if the user has the plan beforehand, the user may wait for a long time in front of the charger.

Apparatus and method for assigning charger to electric vehicles


A reservoir production control system includes a plurality of wells for producing a reservoir linked to a central computer over a downhole communication network and a surface communication network. Both the downhole and the surface communication networks are wireless communications paths for transmitting downhole data and surface data to the central computer. Both networks include a series of interconnected tubing or pipe that allows transmission of data over electrically isolated portions of the pipe and tubing. After integrating and analyzing all relevant data and comparing the data with a reservoir model, the central computer initiates changes in a plurality of downhole control devices associated with the wells, thereby optimizing the production of the reservoir.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to reservoir optimization and more specifically to petroleum wells having downhole independently addressable wireless measurement and control devices that communicate with surface power and telemetry devices such that production from individual zones within individual wells may be coordinated to optimize overall reservoir production.
2. Description of Related Art
Oil and gas reservoirs are extensive three-dimensional subsurface geological structures whose fluid contents are produced through arrays of wells which withdraw fluids from the reservoir only at points where the wells pass through the producing zones. As fluids are withdrawn at the wells, pressure differentials develop within the reservoir which in turn create displacement of fluids from more distant reservoir regions towards the producing wells. To assist in sweeping desired fluids towards the producing wells, it is common practice in some fields to pump water or other fluids into wells which are designated injection wells.
To assist in comprehending the changing condition of the reservoir and thus manage production from individual wells to optimize recovery from the field overall, it is common practice to develop a reservoir model which reflects the relevant characteristics of the formation's fixed matrix such as porosity and permeability, and the composition, pressure, and temperature of the fluids contained within that matrix. The parameters of both the matrix and the fluids are expected to change as fluids are withdrawn from the producing wells and injection fluids are introduced at the injection wells. Since the geological formations of the reservoir are generally heterogeneous, the starting values of the matrix and fluid parameters are spatial variables, and as production evolves the changes in these parameters are also spatially variable in addition to being time dependent.
The data used to generate a reservoir model come from many sources. Three-dimensional seismic surveys provide stratigraphy and faulting, and wireline logging, existing well production histories provide, and to a lesser extent seismic surveys, provide data on formation fluids.
The starting values of the reservoir model parameters adjacent to each well can be measured relatively easily using wireline logging tools before each well is cased, but once production has commenced the presence of the well casing prevents many of the measurements which can be made in an open hole. Even measurements which could be made through the casing are usually not performed in existing practice since doing so would require either removing the production hardware and tubing from the well and running cased hole wireline logs, or the use of permanent downhole sensors connected to surface equipment by cables which extend the full depth of the well. These cables are expensive, are not entirely reliable, often introduce operational problems, and their installation at the time of completion complicates that process. The same issue of requiring cables to operate downhole control equipment such as valves also discourages the use of such devices. When downhole control devices are absolutely required, the provision of permanently installed cables can be avoided by using slickline tools, but cost prevents these from altering the settings of downhole devices at frequent intervals.
All references cited herein are incorporated by reference to the maximum extent allowable by law. To the extent a reference may not be fully incorporated herein, it is incorporated by reference for background purposes and indicative of the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art.


A video element of a browser can be moved, resized, etc. independently of the remainder of a browser page. In one embodiment, as the video element is moved, the remainder of the browser page is reformatted so as to change the page's layout. The renderer of the content can have a different video provider sourcing the video element than the remainder of the browser page. As a result, two different content streams can be provided to the renderer in parallel. In another embodiment, the video element can be docked, such as through a flick operation or a drag-and-drop operation. Once docked, the browser page can be scrolled while the docked video element remains at a fixed location relative to an edge of the browser page.

With the increasing popularity of streaming audio and video over networks, such as the Internet, there is a need for optimizing data transfer so that the client experience can be maximized. If the data transfer is not optimized, frames can be lost resulting in glitching or pausing of the streamed content.
The term "streaming" is typically used to indicate that the data representing the media is provided by a host computer over a network to a playback device (i.e., a media playback computer implemented as any of a variety of conventional computing devices, such as a desktop PC, a notebook or portable computer, a cellular telephone or other wireless communication device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gaming console, etc.) The client computer typically renders the streaming content as it is received from the host, rather than waiting for the entire file to be delivered.
Webpages being viewed using browsers often provide content supplemented with the option for inline video streaming. Thus, a written story (i.e., content) can be supplemented with a video teaser including a play button. If the user selects the teaser, a video plays while the content is being viewed. Typically, if the user continues to scroll the content, the video scrolls off of the viewable area of the user interface. At that point, the video can be heard, but not seen. A user is thereby prevented from watching the video and reading the content, which lessens the overall user experience. On mobile phones, the screen space is too limited to allow the user to view video and content simultaneously. Consequently, selecting the video typically results in a full-screen video mode wherein only video can be viewed, without content.
In typical systems for viewing content, a media engine decodes content from a network and passes the content to a browser engine. The browser engine then serially passes the content to a renderer. The renderer treats written content and video content the same. Thus, scrolling a page of content results in the video being scrolled off the viewable screen area. The system includes multiple layers of buffering that restricts the ability to efficiently render the streaming. As such, mobile devices often lose frames, which can frustrate users.
Enhancements in video streaming in a browser are desirable to maximize the user experience and allow the user to efficiently consume content.


The present invention relates to riboswitches that have been engineered to regulate pre-mRNA splicing. In particular, the insertion of a high affinity theophylline binding aptamer into the 3′ splice site region, 5′ splice site region, or branchpoint sequence (BPS) of a pre-mRNA modulates RNA splicing in the presence of theophylline. Accordingly, the aspects of the present invention include, but are not limited to, theophylline-dependent riboswitches which modulate RNA splicing, methods of modulating RNA splicing using theophylline and its corresponding riboswitches, methods of improving/identifying theophylline-dependent riboswitches, methods of treating diseases associated with or caused by abnormal RNA splicing.

The vast majority of structural genes in higher eukaryotes contain intervening sequences (introns) whose precise removal from the mRNA precursors (pre-mRNAs) is essential for proper gene expression. Excision of introns from nuclear pre-mRNAs is catalyzed by the spliceosome, perhaps the most complex ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assembly in the cell (Nilsen, 2003). A number of RNA-RNA and RNA-protein interactions involving five small nuclear RNAs (U1, U2, U4, U5 and U6) and many snRNP and non-snRNP proteins mediate the removal of introns and joining of exons (Kramer, 1996; Moore et al., 1993; Newman, 1994; Nilsen, 2003; Will and Luhrmann, 1997).
Pre-mRNAs are spliced in a two-step pathway involving two sequential transesterification reactions. In the first step, pre-mRNA is cleaved at the 5′ splice site simultaneously generating two splicing intermediates: a linear first exon RNA, and an intron-second exon RNA in a lariat configuration. In the second step, the 3′-hydroxyl group of the last nucleotide in the first exon makes a nucleophilic attack at the phosphodiester bond separating the intron and the second exon (3′ splice site) enabling the joining of two exons and the release of the intron as a lariat (Kramer, 1996; Moore et al., 1993; Newman, 1994; Nilsen, 2003; Will and Luhrmann, 1997).
In higher eukaryotes, three distinct sequences direct the splicing reaction: the 5′ splice site (/GURAGY), the branchpoint sequence (BPS) (YNYURAC), and the 3′ splice site (YAG/), where a slash (/) denotes a splice site, N denotes any nucleotide, R denotes purine, Y denotes pyrimidine, and underlining indicates the conserved nucleotide. During the early stages of the spliceosome assembly the 5′ and the 3′ end of the intron are recognized by intermolecular base pairing between U1 snRNA and the 5′ splice site (Seraphin et al., 1988; Siliciano and Guthrie, 1988; Zhuang and Weiner, 1986) and by the binding of U2AF to the poly(Y) tract/3′ ss AG (Merendino et al., 1999; Ruskin et al., 1988; Wu et al., 1999; Zamore et al., 1992; Zorio and Blumenthal, 1999), respectively. Later in the spliceosome assembly, U1 snRNA-5′ splice site base pairing is disrupted and the 5′ splice site is bound by U6 snRNA (Kandels-Lewis and Seraphin, 1993; Konforti et al., 1993; Lesser and Guthrie, 1993; Sawa and Abelson, 1992; Sawa and Shimura, 1992; Sontheimer and Steitz, 1993; Wassarman and Steitz, 1992). The branchpoint adenosine is selected in part by intermolecular base pairing between the BPS and U2 snRNA, and the RS domain of U2AF65 stabilizes this interaction (Gaur et al., 1995; Valcarcel et al., 1996). Recently, a one-step assembly of the spliceosome has also been reported (Malca et al., 2003; Stevens et al., 2002).
Pre-mRNAs can also undergo alternative splicing to generate variant mRNAs with diverse and often antagonistic functions (Black, 2003; Clayerie, 2001; Graveley, 2001; Smith and Valcarcel, 2000). Alternative splicing of pre-mRNA is now recognized as the most important source of protein diversity in vertebrates (Maniatis and Tasic, 2002; Mironov et al., 1999; Roberts and Smith, 2002; Thanaraj et al., 2004). It has been estimated that 35-60% of human genes generate transcripts that are alternatively spliced (Johnson et al., 2003; Mironov et al., 1999), and 70-90% of alternative splicing decisions result into the generation of proteins with diverse functions ranging from sex determination to apoptosis (Black, 2003; Kan et al., 2001; Modrek et al., 2001). Importantly, the defective regulation of splice variant expression has been identified as the cause of several genetic disorders (Dredge et al., 2001; Faustino and Cooper, 2003; Garcia-Blanco et al., 2004; Hull et al., 1993; Nissim-Rafinia and Kerem, 2002; Pagani and Baralle, 2004; Phillips and Cooper, 2000), and certain forms of cancer have been linked to unbalanced isoform expression from genes involved in cell cycle regulation or angiogenesis (Krajewska et al., 1996a; Krajewska et al., 1996b; Novak et al., 2001; Steinman et al., 2004; Venables, 2004; Xerri et al., 1996). Therefore, development of tools that could control pre-mRNA splicing may have far-reaching effects in biotechnology and medicine.
Initial efforts aimed at controlling pre-mRNA splicing exploited the intrinsic property of nucleic acids to bind specific complementary pre-mRNA sequence and inhibit/modulate splicing (Dominski and Kole, 1993). However, susceptibility of antisense oligonucleotides to nuclease digestion, off-target effects, and problems associated with the delivery and localization led to the realization that better methods are needed (Heidenreich et al., 1995). Bifunctional molecules that act like an antisense oligonucleotide, but carry the binding site for a known splicing factor have proved to be useful in reprogramming pre-mRNA splicing (Cartegni and Krainer, 2003; Eperon and Muntoni, 2003; Skordis et al., 2003; Villemaire et al., 2003). Although bifunctional molecules have overcome some of the problems associated with antisense-based approach, the need to include various chemical modifications limit their utility.
Notably, all of the above mentioned approaches function in a constitutive manner, i.e., an antisense oligonucleotide or a bifunctional molecule directed to inhibit the splicing will continue to do so as long as the oligonucleotide is available. Given that splicing of many pre-mRNAs is regulated in a tissue or development specific manner (Black, 2003; Lopez, 1998), to be able to switch off/on the splicing would be of broad application in gene-based therapy and functional genomics. Although a recently reported small molecule-based approach, which could activate splicing by simultaneously binding to a protein containing the splicing activation domain and a second protein bound to the pre-mRNA has the potential to act as a splicing switch, expression of heterologous proteins and maintaining small molecule-protein interplay makes this approach complicated (Graveley, 2005).
Accordingly, there is a need to develop novel approaches to regulate RNA splicing or alternative RNA splicing in a condition-specific manner.

Artificial riboswitch for controlling pre-mRNA splicing


Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for generating a bridge between analytical models. In an embodiment, a server can extract a first variable dependency schema from a first model (e.g., predictive model or business intelligence report) and a second variable schema from a second model (e.g., predictive model or business intelligence report). The first variable dependency schema includes a first definition of a relationship between a first variable and a second variable. The server can compare the first variable dependency schema and the second variable dependency schema. Furthermore, the server can generate a modification to be made in the second variable dependency schema based on the first definition of the relationship between the first and second variable and outputs the modification to be made to the second variable dependency schema.

An analytics application provides functional services to analyze and extract relevant insights from operational data to drive the business process optimally by making an appropriate decision. The functional services can include reporting (e.g., Business Intelligence) and predictive. Conventional systems do not allow reports and predictive models for common data modeling. For example, reports and predictive models do not share variable dependency metadata. This creates a high risk of inconsistency and incompleteness of obtaining a complete view of business data for both business intelligence and predictive perspectives. To align such the report and predictive model, users need to extract and compare variable dependencies manually. This can be a very time consuming and error-prone process.
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Automatic generative process bridge between analytics models