A spatial filtering method and apparatus which is particularly useful for addressing the problem of pulsation motion in intravascular ultrasound imaging, but may also be applied to imaging systems in other environments. According to a specific embodiment, the present invention provides a method and related apparatus for determining relative motion (rotation, pulsation, or in-plane translation and/or a combination thereof) in orthogonal r-.theta. memory space, prior to scan conversion, between a first and second image frame, and displaying an accurate image and/or performing pre-scan conversion image stabilization of the image.

The present invention relates to high resolution intravascular imaging and more particularly to ultrasound imaging and techniques for efficient and accurate image processing needed for enhanced image display.
In some types of intraluminal or intravascular ultrasound (also referred to as "IVUS") systems, an ultrasonic unidirectional exciter/detector within a catheter probe positioned within a blood vessel is used to acquire signal data from echoes of the emitted ultrasonic energy off the interior of the blood vessel. In intraluminal ultrasound imaging, the production of high resolution images of vessel wall structures requires imaging at high ultrasound frequencies. Vectors are created by directing focused ultrasonic pressure waves radially from a transducer in a catheter and collecting echoes at the same transducer from the target area. A plurality of radial vectors from the rotated transducer comprises an image frame. A signal processor performs image processing on the acquired data in order to provide a display of the intravascular image on a raster-scan display monitor. As the intravascular image displayed is used by doctors or other skilled technicians in examining the interior of the blood vessel in order to facilitate accurate diagnoses and/or to perform intricate medical procedures, it is important that the displayed image be as stable and accurate as possible and comfortably viewed. However, the movements of and within the blood vessel due to systolic and diastolic movement of the heart cause the displayed images to move on a frame-by-frame basis, thereby resulting in an unsteady view of the intravascular region. The occurrence of these movements complicates the signal processing required to provide a stable and accurate intravascular image display. Determining on a frame-by-frame basis whether and how much the image has moved is important for accurate image display or so that the image in successive frames can be accordingly adjusted to compensate for that motion.
In intravascular ultrasound imaging, three types of frequently encountered relative motions between the catheter and the blood vessel need to be analyzed: pulsation, rotation, and in-plane translation. These motions are described in the context of a plane that is in transverse cross-section to the blood vessel through which blood normally flows along the length of the blood vessel. Specifically, pulsation involves the inward and outward radial motion, uniformly or non-uniformly, of the blood vessel and blood region. Rotation involves the turning of the blood vessel and blood region with respect to the location of the center of the blood vessel. In-plane translation involves the movement within the plane of the blood vessel and blood region. Of course, some combination of these three types of motions is often encountered in intravascular ultrasound imaging and must be efficiently analyzed to provide an accurate and/or stable image display.
The problem of image displacement can be a complex matter in intravascular imaging systems, greatly affecting the quality and accuracy of the image displayed. The quality and accuracy of the displayed image is very important for doctors who may be performing intricate and often life-dependent procedures based on their real-time observations and reactions to the displayed image. For example, when the heartbeat causes blood vessels to pulsate and move in a complex manner, conventional imaging systems will show this rapid motion, making it extremely difficult for doctors to view and determine what is going on within the vessel. It is therefore very important to determine the type and quantity of the motion encountered so that an accurate image display may be provided. In addition, the image may be moved and adjusted to compensate for these motions and thereby stabilize the displayed image. It is desirable in some applications that the displayed image is sufficiently stabilized on a frame-by-frame basis with image processing analysis after data acquisition. Once the image is stabilized, then temporal filtering for blood speckle and other image enhancement techniques may be performed by existing means and techniques in order to view a corrected and filtered image.
FIG. 1 illustrates such a conventional ultrasonic imaging system that may be used for intravascular image display. As seen in FIG. 1, a specialized signal processing device 10 is used with an ultrasonic imaging system 12 including a catheter probe 13 wherein ultrasonic beams 14 are emitted by an ultrasonic transmitter or exciter 16. The ultrasonic imaging system of FIG. 1 performs data acquisition for the intravascular image in polar coordinates (r, .theta.). Radial spokes or vectors 18 of information are collected from a target 20 (the interior walls of a blood vessel) based on ultrasonic reflections at a transducer 22. Specifically, information is gathered by projecting narrow ultrasonic sampling beams 14 from exciter 16 as it is rotated (by an angle .theta.) within catheter 13 within blood vessel 20. The reflections scale in amplitude over a range and are recorded by transducer 22 as amplitude as a function of unit distance (r) along the radius of each vector. The image is representative of a cross-sectional "slice" of the structure of blood vessel 20 and includes wall structures (bloodwall interface) 26 and lumens of blood (blood region) 24, as seen in FIG. 1. This image data may be originally acquired as either analog or digital information, depending on the specific system utilized.
The data acquired is converted into pixels representing points in a scanned (swept or rotated) two-dimensional image. The pixels are assigned a value on, for example, a gray scale between black and white. Of course, in other embodiments, the assigned value may be on a color scale. After the conventional intravascular ultrasonic imaging system acquires the image data, signal processor 10 scan-converts the acquired image data and then stabilizes the rasterized scan-converted image data on a frame-by-frame basis, and then provides the raster image for viewing on a display device 30 coupled to signal processor 10. Scan conversion involves converting the digitized acquired image data into x-y rasterized image data for storing into the display memory 32 within signal processor 10. Scan conversion of data acquired in polar coordinates (r, .theta.) to pixels represented in rectangular coordinates (x, y) involves a translation (x=rcos.theta. and y=rsin.theta.) in the purely mathematical domain. Thus, each sample point acquired in polar coordinates may or may not coincide with a pixel in rectangular coordinates. Therefore, interpolation between polar coordinate sample points is often required in order to obtain each pixel in the x-y raster image. Moreover, it is apparent that some of the originally acquired data is lost upon performance of the scan conversion due to the resolution of the interpolation being insufficient to make the "polar data acquisition"-to-"rectangular scan conversion" translation transparent. Accordingly, as scan conversion quality varies, conventional intravascular ultrasonic imaging systems which provide scan-converted x-y raster image display from data acquired in polar coordinates thus may result in less accurate data representation due to the interpolation required.
Subsequent to scan-conversion (and the A/D conversion for analog acquired data), a signal processor used with conventional intravascular ultrasound imaging systems performs image processing analysis by correlation techniques on the scan-converted x-y image data in order to provide a stabilized image on a frame-by-frame basis, as discussed earlier. Examples of such correlation techniques are discussed in detail by Daniel I. Barnea and Harvey F. Silverman in an article entitled "A Class of Algorithms for Fast Digital Image Registration," on pages 179-186 of the IEEE Transactions on Computers, Vol. C-21, No. 2, February 1972, and by Petros Maragos in an article entitled "Morphological Correlation and Mean Absolute Error Criteria," on pages 1568-1571 of the IEEE Proceedings 1989 of the International Conference on Acoustic Speech and Signal Processing. Both articles are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.
Using such correlation techniques on scan-converted x-y image data, the conventional signal processor in intravascular ultrasound systems compares successive image frames to determine what type and how much motion has occurred so that the second image frame can be re-registered with the first image frame and a corrected image can be displayed. In particular, a "region of interest" or "window" of the image frame is selected, the region of interest is compared to a "search region" larger than the region of interest, and the region of interest is moved through all possible steps in the search region to locate a specific location in the search region where there is a maximum correlation (as great as 1) with the region of interest. The position of the correlation peaks is used to determine how the image has moved. Thus, the type and quantity of the frame-by-frame motion of the image can be determined, and the second image can be re-registered to that location in the first image to thereby adjust or correct the displayed image to compensate for the motion.
In the specific imaging environment in intravascular ultrasound systems, the conventional region of interest has been rectangular (e.g., square), primarily because the various motions can be analyzed satisfactorily in rectangular (x, y) coordinates. In particular, post-scan conversion image processing analysis using the conventional rectangular region of interest in the x-y coordinate domain is able to easily handle in-plane translation by breaking down the motion into its x-component and y-component. Rotational motion using the conventional rectangular region of interest in the x-y coordinate domain is also fairly easily handled by using the arctangent function. However, pulsation is difficult and complex to analyze, as it violates the rigid body motion which conventional image processing analysis assumes. Accordingly, conventional systems with post-scan conversion image processing analysis using a rectangular region of interest must compensate for the non-rigid body motion encountered in pulsation by using computations which may result in an image display with limited accuracy. For example, the rectangular region of interest may be broken into multiple (e.g., four) rectangular sub-regions of interest within the larger region of interest and image processing performed for each rectangular sub-region of interest. The respective motions of each rectangular sub-region of interest relative to each other are used to determine how much pulsation occurred in a crude manner. Conventional intravascular ultrasound image processing systems thus may be limited to displaying a poor or inaccurate representation of the intravascular image, particularly when encountering motion such as pulsation.
From the above, it can be seen that improved methods and apparatus are needed to provide more accurate and/or stable images for display in ultrasonic intravascular imaging systems.

Method and apparatus for spatial filtering in an intravascular ultrasound imaging system


The present invention relates to a low-temperature keeping substance which is packed into a closed chamber formed between two rims of a cool mug to keep drinks held in the cool mug cold and comprises water, water absorptive polymer of acrylate resin polymer, stuffed into a chamber of a cool mug; wherein the water and water absorptive polymer are in the ratio of 13:1 (c.c.:g) mixed together as a low-temperature keeping substance which expands and becomes a semisolid one. CaCl can also be used as a freeze-resist substance and Sodium Benzoate used as a preservative and antiseptic so as to prevent the low-temperature keeping substance from being a sharp ice as well as increase the safety when a consumer uses it. Besides, the low-temperature keeping substance has various colors and makes the cool mug look colorful in an aesthetically pleasing manner and gives people a pleasant feeling.

A heretofore known cool mug, referring to FIG. 1, is provided which has two rims 10, 11, forming a closed chamber in which water is held.
The cool mug 1 of the prior art is provided to keep drinks held therein cold and is initially kept in a freezer so that the water held in the closed chamber becomes ice. According to experience, approximately four hours is needed for water to freeze to be ready for use.
Considering the fact that water expands when it freezes and that it takes a relatively long time for water to freeze, only part of the closed chamber is used to hold the water.
From the above discussion, it can be understood that the cool mug 1 has disadvantages as follows:
1. The four hours needed for water to freeze is generally too long to meet users' needs; and, PA1 2. The low temperature keeping effect of the cool mug 1 is generally available for only one hour.

Low-temperature keeping substance stuffed in a cool mug


A high performance memory based computation system comprises an array of memory cells. Each memory cell stores a logic data corresponding to a chosen combination of inputs based on a specific logic function. For improved performance, the memory cell array can be divided into sub-blocks; and the sub-blocks can be serially disposed or juxtaposed. The performance of the memory based computation system can further be improved by removing the repeated memory cell rows, column, and/or sub-arrays.

Most current logic computations and logic operations are performed by logic circuits whose fundamental elements are logic gates. In certain applications unrelated to high performance applications, ROM (Read only Memory) based design has been employed. For example, ROM based design has been employed in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) architectures, where basic logic gates like NAND, and NOR have been implemented. In addition, a similar approach has also been used to generate series of functions like logarithmic and numbers and sinusoidal functions. However, these ROM based designs are mostly used for simple logic functions or operations, such as logic functions or operations with a low logic depth (logic depth being related to the maximum number of series-arranged processing elements in a logic circuit). One major reason for slower operation and higher energy consumption in such ROM based design in FPGA architectures, as well as other devices, is the use this approach for achieving reconfigurability. For this purpose, mainly basic gates are implemented using very small ROM structures (typically, 4 to 16 bit), which requires an increased number of transistors as compared to a conventional CMOS gate. Moreover, a ROM based design in general results in a larger area than its counterpart with conventional logic gates. Similarly, in the context of implementing series logic functions using ROM based designs, this typically involves the employment of ROM sizes, which result in large delays (e.g., accessing the memory), increased area usage, and increased power usage as compared to designed with conventional logic gates.
Therefore, existing memory based designs for logic computations and/or logic operations do not relate to high-performance applications. There remains a continued need for improvements in high performance logic computations and logic operations.

Memory based computation systems and methods of using the same


A data processor includes an execution unit having a multiple number of redundant resources, and a configuration circuit having first and second modes, wherein in the first mode, the configuration circuit enables the multiple number of redundant resources, and in the second mode, the configuration circuit disables the multiple number of redundant resources.

Data processors are typically designed to meet specific product needs. For example, desktop microprocessors operate at very high speeds and have long execution pipelines and multiple parallel resources to achieve very high performance. Microprocessors for laptop computers offer reasonably high performance but have low power features to lengthen battery life. Embedded microprocessors operate at relatively slow speeds and have simple architectures in order to reduce product cost.
Certain products such as multimedia mobile devices can at various times require either high performance or low power consumption. For example when running certain games, a multimedia mobile device requires the microprocessor to provide high performance. However when running other tasks such as EMAIL, the multimedia mobile device requires much lower performance from the microprocessor. These varying processing environments make it difficult for the microprocessor designer to achieve the right balance between performance and preservation of battery life.
In the following description, the use of the same reference numerals in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. Unless otherwise noted, the word "coupled" and its associated verb forms include both direct connection and indirect electrical connection by means known in the art, and unless otherwise noted any description of direct connection implies alternate embodiments using suitable forms of indirect electrical connection as well.

Dynamic re-configuration for low power in a data processor


The present invention relates to a chip resistor and method for making the same. The chip resistor includes a substrate, a pair of bottom electrodes, a resistive film, a pair of main upper electrodes, a first protective coat, a pair of barrier layers, a second protective coat, a pair of side electrodes and at least one plated layer. The first protective coat is disposed over the resistive film, and covers part of the main upper electrodes. The barrier layers are disposed on the main upper electrodes, and cover part of the first protective coat. The second protective coat is disposed on the first protective coat, and covers part of the barrier layers. The plated layers cover the barrier layers, the bottom electrodes and the side electrodes. As a result, the chip resistor features high corrosion resistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip resistor and a method for making the same, and particularly to a chip resistor having barrier layers and a method for making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional chip resistor. The chip resistor 1 is a passive device soldered on an integrated circuit board, and is used for providing resistance. The chip resistor 1 includes a substrate 11, a pair of main upper electrodes 12, a pair of bottom electrodes 13, a resistive film 14, a first protective coat 15, a second protective coat 16, a pair of side electrodes 17, a pair of first plated layers 18, and a pair of second plated layers 19.
The substrate 11 is made of an insulating material, an approximately rectangular plate, and has a back face 111, a pair of side faces 112, and a main face 113. The side faces 112 respectively extend upwards from two opposite sides of the back face 111. The main face 113 corresponds to the back face 111. The main upper electrodes 12 are conductively disposed on the main face 113 of the substrate 11, and are separate from each other. Each main upper electrode 12 has an inner side face 121, an outer side face 122, and an inner end portion 123. The outer side face 122 of the main upper electrode 12 is aligned with the side face 112 of the substrate 11.
The bottom electrodes 13 are conductively disposed on the back face 111 of the substrate 11, and are separate from each other. Each bottom electrode 13 has an outer side face 132. The outer side face 132 of the bottom electrode 13 is aligned with the side face 112 of the substrate 11, such that the main upper electrodes 12 and the bottom electrodes 13 are symmetrical to each other.
The resistive film 14 has a predetermined resistance and is disposed on the main face 113 of the substrate 11, and is disposed in a region between the inner side faces 121 of the main upper electrodes 12. The resistive film 14 extends over the main upper electrodes 12, such that two end portions of the resistive film 14 overlap with the inner end portions 123 of the main upper electrodes 12. The first protective coat 15 is made of a cuttable insulating material, and covers the resistive film 14, such that the resistive film 14 is isolated from the outside environment. The second protective coat 16 is made of an insulating material, and covers the first protective coat 15 and part of the main upper electrodes 12, such that the resistive film 14 and the first protective coat 15 are isolated from the outside environment.
The side electrodes 17 are made of a conductive material. Each side electrode 17 is formed on the side face 112 of the substrate 11, the outer side face 122 of the main upper electrode 12, and the outer side face 132 of the bottom electrode 13, for electrically connecting the main upper electrode 12 and the bottom electrode 13. The first plated layers 18 are nickel layers, and each first plated layer 18 covers the main upper electrode 12, the bottom electrode 13, and the side electrode 17. The second plated layers 19 are tin layers, and each second plated layer 19 covers the first plated layer 18. The second plated layers 19 and the first plated layers 18 are formed by electroplating.
The disadvantage of the conventional chip resistor 1 is described as follows. In an environment with high sour gas and high corrosive gas, the corrosion gas easily penetrates the chip resistor 1 through the interfaces between the second protective coat 16 and the first plated layer 18 and between the second protective coat 16 and the second plated layer 19, and chemically reacts with silver or copper in the main upper electrode 12 to generate silver sulfide or copper sulfide, thus changing the resistance value. More seriously, an open-circuit may be formed, which will paralyze the system where the chip resistor 1 is located.
Therefore, it is necessary to create a chip resistor that solves the above problem and a method of making the same.

Chip resistor and method for making the same


An internally fault-tolerant data error detection and correction integrated circuit device (10) and a method of operating same. The device functions as a bidirectional data buffer between a 32-bit data processor and the remainder of a data processing system and provides a 32-bit datum is provided with a relatively short eight bits of data-protecting parity. The 32-bits of data by eight bits of parity is partitioned into eight 4-bit nibbles and two 4-bit nibbles, respectively. For data flowing towards the processor the data and parity nibbles are checked in parallel and in a single operation employing a dual orthogonal basis technique. The dual orthogonal basis increase the efficiency of the implementation. Any one of ten (eight data, two parity) nibbles are correctable if erroneous, or two different erroneous nibbles are detectable. For data flowing away from the processor the appropriate parity nibble values are calculated and transmitted to the system along with the data. The device regenerates parity values for data flowing in either direction and compares regenerated to generated parity with a totally self-checking equality checker. As such, the device is self-validating and enabled to both detect and indicate an occurrence of an internal failure. A generalization of the device to protect 64-bit data with 16-bit parity to protect against byte-wide errors is also presented.

Several commercially available data error correction and detection devices have been developed to protect 32-bit data paths. Exemplary thereof is a device manufactured by Texas Instruments Inc. designated as a TI 74AS634, and a device manufactured by American Microdevices, Inc. designated as an AMD 2960. These prior art devices append seven parity bits to each 32-bit datum to provide single-bit error correction and double-bit error detection capabilities (SEC/DED). The combination of data and parity forms a (39,32) systematic code where 39 bits is a total width required for the expanded data path. This type of protection provides satisfactory coverage for independently occurring random bit errors. However, faults in digital systems can overwhelm this protection level. For example, for an integrated circuit chip failure, sometimes referred to as a "chip kill", the number of errors may involve all of the data lines passing through the particular failed chip.
Known in the art of error detection and correction are Reed-Solomon codes. These codes are an efficient class of linear codes using multi-bit symbols that are maximum distance separable. Binary-based Reed-Solomon codes use symbols from a finite field of 2.sup.m, generally labeled by GF(2.sup.m) where m bits represent a field element. Two sizes of parameter m are of practical interest for present technology: m = 4, representing nibble symbols and m = 8 for byte symbols.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,562, Oct. 9, 1984, Sako et al disclose correcting symbols in an audio system where serial data symbols are being processed. A Reed-Solomon code of generic multi-bit symbols (m>2) is employed having a minimum symbol distance of five symbols, permitting double error correction. Interleaving of bits is employed in one embodiment. The system of Sako et al. processes a string or series of data values and not a single 32-bit data value.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,021, Jan. 13, 1987, Shenton discloses a system that uses two levels of Reed-Solomon codes, interleaving their bit positions to obtain a single byte error-correcting code. The technique requires two decoding operations and employs four check bytes. This system is intended for serial data and has a substantial delay due to de-interleaving and two level decoding.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,572, Jul. 28, 1987, Baggen et al. disclose two Reed-Solomon codes, each having a minimum symbol distance of five and capable of correcting two symbol errors. The codes are interleaved to protect optical disk data having a serial format. This coding system uses soft decision flag information in the decoding process as opposed to hard decision information. Two bits of additional information are attached to each eight bit symbol and indicate to the decoder a relative confidence in the symbol being correct. Each basic code is a shortened byte correcting Reed-Solomon code using four check symbols. The equivalent binary view of each code is 128 bits with 96 information bits.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,321, Mar. 8, 1988, Machado discloses a decoder implemented in a dedicated microprocessor. An associated algorithm employs three shortened Reed-Solomon codes with byte-wide symbols. Two different shortened versions of a byte protecting Reed-Solomon code are involved. Each code has four parity symbols and can correct two symbol errors. Interleaving the three codes is employed in protecting data originating from a rotating disk storage system. The implementation emphasizes simple syndrome calculation circuitry which is coupled to the microprocessor. However, the decoder operates sequentially because of the microprocessor-based decoder. The overall code length after interleaving is 524 symbols.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,490, Nov. 1, 1988, Tenengolts discloses two Reed-Solomon codes employed with interleaving where each code is byte-symbol based. The role of one of the codes is verification of correction performed by the other. The other code is double-byte-correcting and operates on incoming serial data. The basic block size of the data can be changed. Even though the one code is capable of double symbol correction, only single byte error correction is used.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,827, Sep. 19, 1989, Yamada et al. describe a general byte correcting Reed-Solomon code for PCM communication data. The code employed is shortened to 61 symbols which, when viewed over the binary field, is quite long (488 bits). The system handles data serially and employs a standard decoding method. This system is capable of correcting two byte errors in 61 symbols.
In U.S Pat. No. 4,633,470, Dec. 30, 1986, Welch et al. present an advanced theory of decoding serial data protected by a Reed-Solomon code and describe a method for decoding general Reed-Solomon codes over any field without explicitly calculating the syndromes. Serial data is processed by an iterative algorithm having a variable delay. A significant portion of the decoding algorithm implements the Lagrange interpolation formula from classic mathematical theory. Furthermore, this system employs an iterative process and not a direct calculation of values.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,390, Feb. 1, 1983, D. R. Kim discloses the logging of permanent errors in a memory system for correcting single bit errors. This system operates on parallel bits, not on symbols in parallel.
In a journal article entitled "A 10 MHz (255,223) Reed-Solomon Decoder", Proc. IEEE 1988 Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, paper 17.6, May 16-19, 1988, Demassieux et al. describe an implementation of a 16 symbol error-correcting decoder for byte-width symbols. The system treats the data serially. The decoder uses standard sequential Euclidian algorithm techniques to find error location.
All of the above described prior art processes a string or series of data values, and not a single 32-bit data value. These prior art systems also do not encode parity, are unidirectional, and are not internally fault tolerant.
Many of these references deal with the serial use of Reed-Solomon codes and do not have a parallel error-correcting feature wherein all data and parity lines are sensed simultaneously and wherein any error is corrected immediately. As such, these references experience a variable decoding delay due to the sequential nature of their underlying algorithms.
Furthermore, the number of parity positions required by these references is substantial. While additional parity positions may increase the error-correcting or error-detecting capabilities for longer serial data strings, for a 32-bit datum a shortened code that meets the maximum error performance bound for linear codes is preferable.
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide an error detection and correction integrated circuit device that employs a relatively short parity code, as compared to the prior art, while meeting a maximum error performance bound for linear codes for a 32-bit datum.
Also, none of these references teach systems that are internally fault-tolerant. This important attribute ensures that any single subsystem failure in the encoding/decoding device is signalled externally so as to prevent the processing of erroneous data.
It is therefore another object of the invention to provide an error detection and correction integrated circuit device that is internally fault tolerant.

Fault-tolerant corrector/detector chip for high-speed data processing

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy


The present hinged shield assembly is configured to shield a needle to prevent needlesticks. The assembly comprises a base including a hinge, a first shield and a second shield. The first shield extends from the base and at least partially surrounds the second shield. The first and second shields are configured to pivot about the hinge. In some embodiments a distal end of the first shield is open. In other embodiments the first and second shields include sidewalls with channels extending therealong. The first and second shields are rotatable with respect to one another such that the channels in each may be aligned. In other embodiments the first and second shields are translatable and rotatable with respect to one another.

Recapping is a common procedure for periods between drawing up fluids into a syringe and administering injections through a needle. The recapping procedure can occasionally cause needlesticks since users sometime misalign the needles with the openings on the caps. Needlesticks can be painful, but can also cause great inconvenience because all needlesticks must be reported. Also, since needles related to needlesticks must be discarded. medications contained within the syringes are unnecessarily wasted. Furthermore, fluids linked to these clean type of needlesticks can cause injuries and adverse reactions.

Hinged shield assembly and related methods


A farming system which identifies the boundaries of agricultural fields and performs functions based upon whether a vehicle is located within a particular field is disclosed. The system includes a location signal generation circuit which receives positioning signals and generates location signals representative of the location of the vehicle. The system further includes a memory circuit which stores geo-referenced digital maps of the fields and may include boundary data or application maps for each field. The system further includes a control circuit which compares the location signals to the data stored in the memory circuit to determine when the vehicle is located in a particular field. In one embodiment, the control circuit selects a variable-rate application map for the particular field and generates variable-rate control signals from the map data which are applied to a variable-rate applicator. In another embodiment, the control circuit stores characteristic data sensed by a sensing circuit with correlated location signals in a geo-referenced digital map for the particular field. In another embodiment, the control circuit generates height control signals to raise and lower an agricultural tool such as a tractor plow or a combine header based upon relationships between the location of the tool in a field and the location of attributes in the field such as field boundaries or obstructions.

Research within the agricultural community has shown that management of crop production may be optimized by taking into account spatial variations that often exist within a given farming field. For example, by varying the farming inputs applied to a field according to local conditions within the field, a farmer can optimize crop yield as a function of the inputs being applied while preventing or minimizing environmental damage. This management technique has become known as precision, site-specific, prescription or spatially-variable farming.
The management of a field using precision farming techniques requires the gathering and processing of data relating to site-specific characteristics of the field. Generally, site-specific input data is analyzed in real-time or off-line to generate a prescription map including desired application or control rates of a farming input. A control system reads data from the prescription map and generates a control signal which is applied to a variable-rate controller for applying a farming input to the field at a rate that varies as a function of the location. Variable-rate controllers may be mounted on agricultural vehicles with attached variable-rate applicators, and may be used to control application rates for applying seed, fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide or other inputs. The effect of the inputs may be analyzed by gathering site-specific yield and moisture content data and correlating this data with the farming inputs, thereby allowing a user to optimize the amounts and combinations of farming inputs applied to the field.
The spatially-variable characteristic data may be obtained by manual measuring, remote sensing, or sensing during field operations. Manual measurements typically involve taking a soil probe and analyzing the soil in a laboratory to determine nutrient data or soil condition data such as soil type or soil classification. Taking manual measurements, however, is labor intensive and, due to high sampling costs, provides only a limited number of data samples. Remote sensing may include taking aerial photographs or generating spectral images or maps from airborne or spaceborne multispectral sensors. Spectral data from remote sensing, however, is often difficult to correlate with a precise position in a field or with a specific quantifiable characteristic of the field. Both manual measurements and remote sensing require a user to conduct an airborne or ground-based survey of the field apart from normal field operations.
Spatially-variable characteristic data may also be acquired during normal field operations using appropriate sensors supported by a combine, tractor or other vehicle. A variety of characteristics may be sensed including soil properties (e.g., organic matter, fertility, nutrients, moisture content, compaction, topography or altitude), crop properties (e.g., height, moisture content or yield), and farming inputs applied to the field (e.g., fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, seeds, cultural practices or tillage parameters and techniques used). Other spatially-variable characteristics may be manually sensed as a field is traversed (e.g., insect or weed infestation or landmarks). As these examples show, characteristics which correlate to a specific location include data related to local conditions of the field, farming inputs applied to the field, and crops harvested from the field.
Special problems exist, however, when site-specific farming equipment is used on more than one farm, or on multiple fields that are part of a single farm. For example, because it is desirable to maintain farming data associated with each field independently of farming data associated with any other field, it would be desirable to have a site-specific farming system capable of maintaining data from different fields independently (e.g., using different files or layers of data). In such a system, an operator of a vehicle may be required to manually select a field being worked from among various fields that have been defined in the site-specific farming system. Requiring manual selection of a particular field, however, increases the number of tasks that an operator must perform. Also, manual selection may cause errors to occur in selecting a field being worked. Such errors may result in incorrect prescription maps being selected, or in received farming data being stored in geo-referenced maps which do not correspond to the correct field.

Automatic identification of field boundaries in a site-specific farming system


The present relates to a display panel and the driving circuit thereof. A scan driving circuit of the driving circuit of the display panel according to the present invention produces a plurality of scan signal for scanning a plurality of pixel structures of the display panel. In addition, a data driving circuit produces a plurality of data signals corresponding to the plurality of scan signals and transmits the plurality of data signals to the plurality of pixel structures, where a common electrode of the plurality of pixel structures is coupled to a ground. Moreover, the data driving circuit according to the present invention adjusts the signal levels of a plurality of gamma voltages according to a compensation signal of a compensation circuit, and thus further adjusting the levels of the data signals.

Modern technologies are developing prosperously. Novel information products are introduced daily for satisfying people's various needs. Early displays are mainly cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Owing to their huge size, heavy power consumption, and radiation hazardous to the heath of long-term users, traditional CRTs are gradually replaced by liquid crystal displays (LCDs). LCDs have the advantages of small size, low radiation, and low power consumption, and thus becoming the mainstream in the market.
LCDs control the transmittance of liquid crystal cells according to data signals for displaying images. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the display panel and its plurality of pixel structures according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the display panel comprises a plurality of pixel structures 10′ and a driving chip 20′. The driving chip 20′ produces a driving signal for driving the plurality of pixel structures 10′. Where each of the pixel structures 10′ includes a thin film transistor (TFT) 12′ and a storage capacitor 14′. The gate of the TFT 12′ is coupled to a scan line; the source of the TFT 12′ is coupled to the driving chip 20′; and the drain of the TFT 12′ is coupled to the storage capacitor 14′. Because an active-matrix LCD adopts active switching devices, it is advantageous in displaying moving pictures. TFTs 12′ are mainly used as the switching devices in active-matrix LCDs.
In addition, the applications of TFT LCDs are extensive. Their driving method is to turn on the internal cell using the gate. Then the source is used for supplying the accurate voltage for controlling the orientation of the liquid crystal in the display panel for displaying images. FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the plurality of pixel structures of the display panel and FIG. 3 shows waveform of the driving signal for the plurality of pixel structures according to the prior art. As shown in the figures, the driving chip 20′ will produce a plurality of scan signals G0, G1, . . . , Gn and transmit the plurality of scan signals G0, G1, . . . , Gn sequentially to a plurality of scan lines Ga1, Ga2, . . . , Gan of the plurality of pixel structures. As any of the scan lines is activated, namely, the scan signal reaching VGH, a plurality of data lines S0, S1, . . . , Sn supply the corresponding voltages of image data to the pixel structures 10′ of the display panel and thus displaying the image.
There exists a parasitic capacitor 16′ between the TFT 14′ of the plurality of pixel structures 10′ and the storage capacitor 14′ such as Cs1, Cs2, Cs3, and Cs4 in FIG. 2. Thereby, when the scan signal G0 is cut off, the storage voltages across the storage capacitors Cs1, Cs2 will be shifted downwards by a shift voltage Vsft owing to the parasitic capacitors 16′, which is approximately 1 volt. The driving chip 20′ will provide a reference voltage DC to a common electrode 18′ of the plurality of pixel structures according to the shift voltage Vsft, which is used as a common voltage. Hence, when the scan signal G0 is cut off and the storage voltages across the storage capacitors Cs1, Cs2 are shifted by a shift voltage Vsft owing to the parasitic capacitors 16′, the storage voltages across the storage capacitors Cs 1, Cs2 are still symmetrical to the common voltage of the common electrode 18′ while displaying identical grayscale.
Nonetheless, the parasitic capacitors 16′ vary over the display panel. As the storage voltages across the storage capacitors Cs1, Cs2 are shifted by a shift voltage Vsft, the shift voltage Vsft will be slightly different. Thereby, while displaying identical grayscale, the storage voltages across the storage capacitors Cs1, Cs2 are not symmetrical to the common voltage of the common electrode 18′ and thus producing the flash phenomenon. For overcoming this problem, according to the prior art, the driving chip 20′ needs to provide the reference voltage DC to a common electrode 18′ of the plurality of pixel structures, as shown in FIG. 4, and the voltage tuning function, which will lead to increases in circuit area and power consumption.
Moreover, as the scan signal G0 switches TFTs, as shown in FIG. 5, the voltage level of the common voltage on the common electrode of the pixel structures are influenced, which further influences the displaying quality. Besides, because the plurality of pixel structures of the display panel is not grounded directly, when the panel is influenced by electrostatic charges, the charges have to be released through the contact with the common electrode and via the electrode static discharge circuit 30′, as shown in FIG. 6. Consequently, the electrostatic charges are not released to the ground directly; the electrostatic charges still have the possibility of damaging the circuitry of the driving chip 20′ via the common electrode. Thereby, the endurance of the display panel module according to the prior art to electrostatic charges are inferior.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a novel display panel and the driving circuit thereof for avoiding an extra reference voltage to a common electrode of the plurality of pixel structures and thus reducing circuit area and power consumption. In addition, the displaying quality can be enhanced by eliminating the influence of the switching of scan signal on the common electrode. Furthermore, the endurance of the display panel on electrostatic charges can be improved as well. Thereby, the problems described can be solved.

Display panel and driving circuit thereof


Processing and analyzing at least one remotely-sensed image to automatically detect and identify parking lots within a region of the remotely-sensed image. This may include: (1) receiving a remotely-sensed image having zero or more parking lots; (2) identifying a set of pixels related to parking lot features within the remotely-sensed image; (3) identifying at least one parking row within the remotely-sensed image; and (3) identifying a parking lot based on the identified parking rows. Identifying at least one parking lot may further include using first, second, third, and fourth level modules, such as a concrete/asphalt detection module, a road marking detection module, a vehicle detection module, and a Hough aggregation for parking row detection module.

Information regarding parking lot infrastructure may be used for various commercial and non-commercial applications. The ability for businesses and governments to identify and monitor parking lot infrastructure can play a critical role in determining economic development, predicting future trends, and in developing mapping software. Readily available remotely-sensed imagery has significantly improved this ability to identify and monitor parking lot infrastructure. However, such imagery includes vast amounts of data that is difficult to process efficiently to a high degree of accuracy. Prior art methods have been developed for detecting and identifying parking lots in remotely-sensed imagery with efficiency and accuracy drawbacks. Such methods are typically limited to specific types of imagery and are unreliable. They often locate parking lots where none exist or fail to identify parking lots that are remotely located, relatively small, or located on building roof-tops. Moreover, such methods typically lack sufficient detail related to the parking lot features, such as, for example, dimensions and locations of parking rows. Many prior art methods also rely heavily on manual extraction.

Techniques for identifying parking lots in remotely-sensed images by identifying parking rows


A composition is disclosed for preventing and repairing leaks, and lubricating gaskets and o-rings, preferably for use in a motor vehicle air conditioning system. The composition preferably includes a fluorocarbon resin mixed a dye. Mineral oil for R-12 refrigerant systems or ester oil for R-134a refrigerant systems can also be added to the mixture. The composition is preferably installed with an air conditioning oil injector through the low pressure side service port of the air conditioning system. When using the product, it is not required to evacuate the air conditioning system. The oil injector containing the composition is connected to the low pressure side service port, the motor vehicle engine is started, the air conditioning system is set to maximum cooling and the system recharged with either R-12 or R-134a refrigerant. The relevant leaks are sealed by composition which also lubricates rubber parts of the air conditioning system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to leak stoppers and in more particular to an improved composition for stopping, detecting, sealing and/or preventing leaks in air conditioning systems such as those in an automobile.
2. Background of the Invention
Automobile air conditioning systems often begin to leak after periods of extended use. The leaks can occur from a variety of sources. Current products on the market to repair such leaks either do not perform as claimed or are relatively complicated to use. Thus, there exist a need in the art for a leak stopper, detector, sealer and/or preventer for air conditioning systems, such as, but not limited to, those found in vehicles, which effectively performs to repair or prevent leaks in the system and is relatively simple to use. It is to these goals that the present invention is directed.


Conduit retainer apparatus includes a central bridge element and a pair of end plates secured to the central bridge element. The conduit retainer apparatus is disposed in a trench on top of conduits. The end plates dig into the sides of the trench to prevent the conduits from rising or floating as the conduit is being encased in concrete. The end plates include barb elements to help lock the conduit apparatus to the sides of the trench. Different configurations of barb elements are illustrated, and also different embodiments of end plates and bridge elements.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for holding conduit in a trench and, more particularly to apparatus disposed on top of conduits in a trench and extending between the sides of the trench.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In construction, trenches are dug to receive conduits. The conduits are used for different things, such as liquids (water), electrical conductors, etc. Typically, there are several conduits in a single trench. After the conduits are disposed in a trench, the trench is sometimes back filled with concrete. The conduits have a tendency to rise in the concrete as the concrete is being poured, and in order to prevent the conduits from rising, the conduits must be held in place in some manner.
In the prior art, the conduits are individually fastened in place in some manner or disposed in or on forms or "chairs" in a relatively time consuming and expensive manner. Typically, the use of forms also utilizes vertically oriented spikes to hold the forms in place. Such spikes are disliked by installers.
The following patents have been brought to the attention of the inventor:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,661 (Alesi, Jr.) discloses apparatus for supporting conduits in a trench. The conduit holding apparatus includes stackable forms for holding a plurality of conduits in spaced relation. The apparatus is held in place in a trench by vertically oriented spikes 33, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The spikes have problems and the spike approach is not favored by installers. The present apparatus utilizes end plates to secure a horizontally extending element above the conduits to hold the conduits in a trench. The present apparatus may be used with the Alesi basic structure in place of the vertical spikes. The present apparatus is disposed above the top row of conduits to hold the conduits in the trench.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,484 (Mathews) discloses another type of conduit spacing apparatus. The apparatus is designed to hold conduits of different diameters in a trench. See FIG. 8. The apparatus also uses vertically oriented spikes for holding the apparatus in a trench, and is thus again not favored by installers. Again, the present apparatus may be used with the Mathews apparatus as discussed above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,1414 (Parkin) discloses apparatus for supporting a fixture to a ceiling, such as a ceiling fan. The apparatus is secured between ceiling joists by joist-engaging blocks mounted on the ends of a threaded support member. The threaded support member thus expands upon the rotation of a center element to drive the spike ends of the blocks into the joists. This apparatus is completely unlike the present invention. The present invention utilizes a pair of end plates that are secured to the walls of a trench completely independently of the structure between the end plates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,447 (McFarland) discloses a conduit spacing and anchoring apparatus which again utilizes vertically oriented spikes (rebar alements) to anchor the conduit holding elements in a trench. The apparatus is accordingly subject to the same deficiencies noted above for the apparatus which use such anchoring elements. Again, the present apparatus may be used with the McFarland structure to secure the conduits in a trench and thus overcome the vertical spike problems, as discussed above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,441 (Solbjorg) discloses another type of conduit stacking and retaining apparatus. The elements which hold the conduits or pipes are secured to panels 8, as shown in FIGS. 1c, 1d, and 7. The conduit holding elements are not secured to the walls of the trench. The present invention may be used with the basic conduit or pipe holding elements to secure the conduits or pipes to the walls of the trench, thus obviating the requirement for the panels 8 and the elements 19 and their associated elements. See FIG. 7 and column 3, particularly lines 50–64.
None of the patents discussed above disclose or in any way suggest that conduits may be retained in place utilizing end plates which may be secured to the walls of a trench. In all cases, the present apparatus may be used with the conduit holding elements by being using the end plates secured to trench walls and then by placing the center bridge element over the conduits and securing the bridge element to the end plates.
The apparatus overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art by providing a retainer disposed on top of the conduits and extending between the sides of the trench. The retainers may be placed on the conduits in a spaced apart manner in the trench quickly and easily and the retainers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.


A gear driven trip lever for a toilet comprises a handle, a handle stop and a torsion spring disposed outside the tank. Inside the tank is a gear driven trip lever subassembly comprising a home position rack that is secured to a mounting plate and a spring-loaded clutch cam. The end of the flush lever nearest the gear driven trip lever subassembly is configured as a geared structure that meshes with gears disposed on a home position rack. When a user pushes the flush handle, the home position rack lifts the geared flush lever. The clutch cam contacts and slides on the home position rack as it moves downwardly. When the flush handle is fully depressed downwardly, the clutch cam releases the home position rack which returns to its home position via a compression spring and the geared flush lever is returned to its home position.

Conventional toilets typically employ a number of essential components. First, a porcelain water tank is mounted immediately above a porcelain bowl from which a quantity of water is rapidly drained in order to flush waste from the bowl into a sewer system. One very common design uses a flapper valve made of an elastomeric material that covers the drain outlet of the tank. When the flush handle on the outside of the tank is manually actuated, typically by pushing the handle downwardly, the flapper valve is lifted by means of a flush lever via a chain or other connecting means. This allows the head of water in the tank to drain through the flush valve and the drain outlet. The flapper valve is typically designed with an inverted air chamber so that it initially floats as it is lifted away from the drain outlet in the bottom of the tank. This allows sufficient flushing water to flow into the bowl even if the user immediately releases the flush handle. When the water level in the tank drops, the tank is automatically refilled through a fill valve connected to a water supply line.
Current flush levers used with toilet tanks typically comprise a rotatable handle disposed to the tank exterior, a flush lever disposed within the tank interior and a mechanical coupling disposed between the rotatable handle and the flush lever. Actuation of the flush lever is accomplished by pushing the end of the rotatable handle downwardly (or rearwardly depending on the handle's orientation), thereby lifting the flush lever about a central pivot point. All of this mechanical action relies essentially on gravity, the flush lever and flapper valve typically being heavier than the flush handle, and on the flotation of the flapper valve within the tank.
In the view of these inventors, there is a need to allow the flush lever and the rotatable handle to be configured such that it can be operated in a way that does not allow the user to control the open and close time of the flapper or canister.

Gear-driven trip lever with clutch assembly


A device and method for providing a user interface using information is provided. The device includes a display unit, a sensor and a controller. The display unit displays at least one graphic user interface (GUI). The sensor generates a sensor signal according to a user's finger touch input. The controller receives the sensor signal from the sensor, identifies a touch area and an adjacent area based on the received sensor signal, generates touch finger shape-based information according to the identified touch area and the identified adjacent area, and controls the display unit to display the GUI according to the generated finger shape-based information.

Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a device and method for providing a user interface, and a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for providing the user interface.
Description of the Background
With the development of sensor and software related technology, user interfaces in various electronic devices, such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, palmtop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable multimedia player (PMP), and mobile phone, should preferably be user-friendly in use and design. User interfaces based on touch are widely used, and can execute an operation when a user touches a screen of a display device (or unit), thereby performing a corresponding function.
Conventional touch-based user interfaces, however, have a limitation in that, since a touched icon can execute only an instruction corresponding thereto, they do not allow for a variety of user's touch inputs.

Device and method for providing a user interface


A keyboard system for an electronic musical instrument includes: a keyboard having a number of keys; a keyboard central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the keyboard; a switch connected to each key on the keyboard; a pull-up resistor serially connected to each switch; a unit for applying voltage to a serial circuit of each switch and each pull-up resistor; and a unit for parallel supplying a signal at an intersection point between each switch and each pull-up resistor to the CPU. The operation states of a plurality of keys can be independently detected by sequentially detecting the potential at the interconnection points.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a keyboard system for electronic musical instruments, and more particularly to a keyboard system for electronic musical instruments each key of which has a contact switch.
b) Description of the Related Art
A keyboard type electronic musical instrument uses a keyboard for designating a pitch and the like. It is generally necessary to electrically detect a key depression in order to generate a tone signal corresponding to the depressed key. To this end, each key of the keyboard of an electronic musical instrument has a contact switch. In detecting a depressed key as well as a key speed, a two-make switch is generally used as a contact switch.
A matrix circuit of contact switches are generally used to simplify the wirings of contact switches provided for keys of a keyboard. Namely, a plurality of row lines and column lines are used to form a matrix of intersections, and a switch is connected to each intersection. One two-make switch is connected at two intersections.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional contact switch circuit for the keyboard of an electronic musical instrument. A plurality of row lines X.sub.0, . . . , X.sub.15 form power supply lines, and a plurality of signal lines (column lines) Y.sub.0, . . . , Y.sub.15 are intersecting with the row lines X.sub.0, . . . , X.sub.5. Serially connected to the column lines Y.sub.0, . . . , Y.sub.15 are pull-up resistors R.sub.0, . . . , R.sub.15 whose other ends are grounded.
At each intersection between the row lines X.sub.0, . . . , X.sub.15 and column lines Y.sub.0, . . . , Y.sub.15, a serial circuit of a diode D and a switch SW is connected. When a switch SW is closed, a voltage applied to the row line X causes current to flow from the row line X to the diode D, switch SW, pull-up resistor R, and to ground. Therefore, a voltage appears on the corresponding column line Y to generate an output signal.
If the diode D is not connected at each intersection and a plurality of switches SW are closed at the same time, current may flow reversely resulting in a possibility of erroneous recognition that a switch which is not closed actually is recognized as being closed.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, assuming that the switches at the intersections between the row line X.sub.3 and column line Y.sub.10, row line X.sub.7 and column line Y.sub.10, and row line X.sub.7 and column line Y.sub.5 are closed at the same time when a voltage is applied to the row line X.sub.3 and diodes are not provided, then the voltage is also applied to the column line Y.sub.5 via the closed switch at the intersection between the row line X.sub.7 and column line Y.sub.5. Namely, the switch at the intersection between the row line X.sub.3 and column line Y.sub.5 is erroneously recognized as being closed. For this reason, a diode for preventing reverse current is required at each intersection.
In the contact switch circuit shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to detect the close state of each of 256 switches provided for 16.times.16 row and column lines. If a two-make switch is used for each key of a keyboard, one key is assigned to two intersections of the matrix shown in FIG. 2.
Recently, an electronic musical instrument uses a central processing unit (CPU) for its main body and another CPU for its keyboard. The keyboard CPU detects each event at the keyboard, processes the detected event in the form of proper signals, and sends them to the main CPU.

Keyboard system for an electric musical instrument in which each key is provided with an independent output to a processor


A method for the reduction of instruction cache misses comprises step of generating function profiles of potential cache misses, step of computing function activities and dividing them in nonzero-activity functions and zero-activity functions, step of allocating all the nonzero-activity functions to cache space, step of mapping the nonzero-activity functions from cache space to memory space, step of mapping the zero-activity functions so as to fill allocation holes in memory space.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a method for the reduction of instruction cache miss rate in an application program running on a microprocessor with an instruction cache.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the link order of functions has been modified merely on base of statistical data such as call graph information, and they have been appended to form a linear list in memory, as described for example in "Profile Guided Code Positioning" (by K. Pettis and R. C. Hansen, Proc. Conf. On Programming Language Design and Implemenation, pp. 16-26, June 1990).
However, statistical data such as call graph information does not give certainty about cache misses, since it does not contain sequential information on memory accesses that is essential for evaluating cache behavior. Furthermore, in merely appending functions one to another in memory, flexibility in positioning is very limited.
In other applications, code positioning has been performed a basic block level, again using statistical information such as call graphs or execution frequencies, as described for example in "Achieving High Instruction Cache Performance with an Optimizing Compiler" (by W.-m. Hwu and P. Chang, Proc. 16th Ann. Int'l. Symp. On Computer Architecture, pp. 242-251, June 1989).
However, again sequential information on memory accesses essential for cache behavior cannot be exploited due to the use of merely statistical data. Furthermore, implementation is much more complicate since massive modification of object code is required for basic block positioning.
In addition, in many RISC architectures, direct-mapped caches are employed for their simplicity and short access times to alleviate the gap between processor clock and memory access time. The direct-mapped organization, however, can lead to frequent cache line conflicts during program execution in case of unfavourable code layout, resulting in serious performance degradation.

Method for the reduction of instruction cache miss rate using optimization data from trace data profiles


The cleat removal/install tool has a handle with a first end and a second end. A ratchet is positioned within said handle member proximate said first end. A cleat receiving tool is positioned within said ratchet member or is directly built as part of the ratchet member The cleat tool has a concave surface which functions to mate with the upper surface of the cleat. The concave surface should not be spaced from the surface of the ratchet. That is, the design must be such as to prevent twisting of the concave surface away from the cleat. The upper surface of the cleat removal tool is, in the preferred embodiment, one inch or less from the concave surface of the cleat removal tool. The low thickness of the tool, preferably on the order of about on three quarters of an inch, permits the user to apply pressure directly above and very close to the upper surface of the cleat. The spike receiving recess is provided in the curved surface so that the spike can nest in the tool during the removal or installation process. A pair of prong members extend from the concave surface of said cleat removal tool and serve to engage the cleat during the removal or installation. The prongs are dimensioned to enter corresponding recesses in the golf shoe cleats.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to a novel device for removing and installing cleats in athletic shoes, such as golf shoes. The instant device utilizes a ratchet system in which additional pressure can be added to easily remove or insert the cleats.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The removal and replacement of golf shoe cleats has been a problem for many years. Many shoe cleat installation and removal tools have been of the type projecting straight from the cleat being worked, and manually pressed down thereon to maintain torque engagement with the cleat. Such tools typically have straight wrench projections of generally rectangular cross-section and have a tendency to become disengaged because there is no means for holding the wrench projections in the cleat wrench torque openings except for manual downward pressure. Means for aligning the wrench projections in the cleat wrench torque openings has also been lacking in such tools. With the downwardly maintained manual pressure required to engage these wrench projections all to often one receives barked knuckles and skinned hands upon accidental disengagement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,762 to Acrea attempts to overcome some of the difficulties by disclosing a cleat removing tool with an angled tool for removal of the cleats. Due to the fact that the cleat protrudes through the removal tool, it is difficult to assert any additional pressure directly over the cleat and access holes. Additionally, the user's grip must be removed from the tool every quarter turn for regripping. U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,866 to Berstein also provides the angled tool but has the same leverage problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,461,639 to Grigalunas discloses a wrench which has a pair of prongs at its end to assist in the removal of the cleats. Although angled to allow for clearance of the cleats, there is again no provision for additional leverage and, if the prongs slip out of the cleat holes, it is easy for the user to hit his hand on the cleat ends. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,459,610 to Zadina removal and installation of cleats is through use of a two piece system which provides little clearance. Again, there is no leverage possible other than pressing down on the tool and no way to hold it in place to prevent twisting or accidental removal.


An acoustic wave device includes a piezoelectric substrate, a resonator having comb electrodes that are provided above the piezoelectric substrate and excite an acoustic wave, and a capacitor that is provided above the piezoelectric substrate and is connected in series or parallel with the resonator, the capacitor including electrodes that horizontally face each other above the piezoelectric substrate. The electrodes of the capacitor are further from the piezoelectric substrate than the comb electrodes of the resonator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to acoustic wave devices and filters, and more particularly, to an acoustic wave device having a capacitance formed by electrodes that horizontally face each other on a piezoelectric substrate and a filter using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A surface acoustic wave (SAW) device is well known as one of acoustic wave devices that utilize acoustic waves. The SAW device has comb electrodes formed by an interdigital transducer (IDT) formed on a surface of a piezoelectric substrate. Electric power is applied to the comb electrodes, and an acoustic wave is excited. The SAW device can be miniaturized and lightened in weight. Further, the SAW device is capable of realizing high attenuation. Because of these advantages, the SAW filter is widely applied to devices processing radio signals in a frequency range of, for example, 45 MHz to 2 GHz, such as transmission bandpass filters, reception bandpass filters and antenna duplexers.
There is another acoustic wave device called acoustic boundary wave device in which an acoustic wave is propagated along a boundary between two different media. This type of device has an advantage in that even if foreign particles adhere to surfaces of the two different media, these particles do not cause frequency variation an loss, so that downsizing can be easily realized. There is another advantage in that packaging does not need a hermetically sealed hollow space structure. It is to be noted that the SAW device is required to be mounted in the hermetically sealed hollow space structure in order to prevent foreign particles from adhering to the surface of the device. Furthermore, the temperature coefficient of frequency can be improved by covering the comb electrodes with an SiO2 film.
The recent sophisticated performance of cellular phones needs acoustic wave devices having improved performance such as lower loss in the pass band and greater attenuation in stop bands, and downsizing. For example, in the PCS (Personal Communication Service) system that is one of mobile phone service systems in the North America, the pass band and the stop band are very close to each other. It is well known that a material having a small electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) is advantageously used to realize the filter having the pass band and the stop band close to each other. However, k2 is the physical factor inherent in material itself and has a specific value that depends on the selected material. For example, k2 of 42° Y-cut X-propagation lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) widely used for bandpass filters in cellular phones is approximately equal to 7%.
It is very difficult to control the value of k2 itself. Thus, there have been proposals for effectively reducing k2. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a conventional SAW device, and FIG. 1B is an equivalent circuit diagram of the SAW device shown in FIG. 1A. Referring to FIG. 1A, there is illustrated a resonator 13 in which a pair of reflection electrodes R1 and a pair of comb electrodes 12 interposed between the reflection electrodes R1 are formed on a piezoelectric substrate 16. A capacitor 14 composed f a pair of comb electrodes is formed on the piezoelectric substrate 16. The capacitor 14 is connected in parallel with the pair of comb electrodes 12, and has a different period from that of the comb electrodes 12. The pair of comb electrodes 12 of the comb-electrode type capacitor 14 is composed of comb electrodes 14a an 14b, which horizontally face each other on the piezoelectric substrate 16. A desired resonance frequency can be obtained by connecting the comb-electrode type capacitor 14 to the resonator 13. Thus, the value of k2 can be effectively controlled. It is to be noted that only a few electrode fingers of the comb electrodes 12, the reflection electrodes R1 and the capacitor 14 are illustrated for the sake of simplicity. However, actually, a large number of electrode fingers is provided.
In the SAW device shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the comb-electrode type capacitor 14 has a large value of the resonance sharpness (quality factor Q) in a frequency range lower than the resonance frequency of the capacitor 14. However, only a small value of the resonance sharpness Q is available in a frequency range higher than the resonance frequency. As the resonance sharpness Q has a larger value, the device has a smaller insertion loss. It is therefore desired that the Q value of the comb-electrode type capacitor 14 is as large as possible.

Acoustic wave device and filter using the same


A curved vehicle door having a correspondingly curved windowpane and a correspondingly curved function carrier on which all of the add-on parts and door coverings are held and which can be used as protection for the occupant in the event of a lateral crash against the door. The function carrier is constructed in a sandwich-like manner from at least two shell bodies each having one of horizontal and vertical stiffening sections, the stiffening sections forming crossing points for fastening the shell bodies to each other so that the shell bodies form together a continuously closed frame of the function carrier. The outer shell body forms the curved outer side of the function carrier having at least two parallel grooves for accommodating a window lifting and lowering device which has a curvature matched to the curvature of the vehicle door.

The invention relates to an outwardly curved vehicle door, in particular for motor vehicles having a correspondingly curved side windowpane.
In the prior art, the central supporting element forming the function carrier of a passenger vehicle or truck door consists of a deep-drawn steel sheet having a material thickness of between 0.8 and 1.2 mm. Although the steel sheet forms an encircling, closed edge, the supporting steel sheet has to have relatively large apertures and cutouts for installation work on the door lock, on the windowpane, on the lifting mechanism for the windowpane and on other add-on parts of the door. These necessary apertures and cutouts in the steel sheet reduce the stability of the door in the event of a crash and are the reason for relatively low strength values in all load situations. Moreover, the large cutouts in the region of the outer door covering mean that water easily penetrates, which can be prevented only to an unsatisfactory extent by sealing films and cannot be prevented sufficiently reliably in the long term. In addition, the relatively large cutouts in the supporting steel sheet necessitate complex means for fastening the door add-on parts making relatively large tolerances necessary in regard to the securing of the door coverings. The installation of conventional vehicle doors is particularly complex and time-intensive, since all of the accessory parts have to be assembled by hand on the manufacturing assembly line and are difficult to gain access to on the supporting steel sheet. In order largely to be able to counteract the deficient stability of the steel sheet as the function carrier of the conventional vehicle doors, special reinforcements have to be provided which protrude relatively far out of the plane of the steel sheet, as a result of which the known vehicle doors constitute a particularly bulky structural body which requires an unsatisfactorily large structural space between the door outer covering or the outer skin and the function carrier.
This relatively large structural space of the vehicle door, which is curved outward to a greater or lesser extent and has a particularly large structural depth or strength, is necessitated by the curvature of the door and the correspondingly curved side windowpane which is connected to a window lifting and lowering system which, in the prior art, comprises a scissors-type mechanism or a device having a control cable, it being possible for these known window lifting and lowering systems to be operated by motor. In this case, however, the known systems take up a necessarily uncurved section of space within the curved door over the height of the complete window closing and opening path, which means in many cases taking up up to 60 mm in spatial depth which could be saved if there were a window lifting and lowering system which does not require an uncurved section of space within the curved vehicle door with its correspondingly curved side window and at the same time may also be provided with a drive by motor.

Curved vehicle door having a function carrier providing side impact protection


A cardiac lead is provided that includes a connector for connecting to a cardiac stimulator and a flexible sleeve coupled to the connector. The sleeve has a first segment, a second segment and a jacket coupling the first segment and the second segment. The jacket is composed of a shape-memory polymeric material which deforms diametrically in situ to selectively disconnect the first segment from the second segment. An electrode is coupled to the sleeve and a conductor is disposed in the sleeve and coupled to the connector and the electrode for conveying electrical signals. The breakaway function of the jacket allows removal of all but a small portion of the lead without dissection of fibrous tissue.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cardiac stimulator leads, and more particularly to a cardiac lead having a shape-memory polymeric breakaway structure, such as a passive fixation tine or the distal end of a lead sleeve.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional cardiac stimulator systems consist of a cardiac stimulator and an elongated flexible cardiac lead that is connected proximally to a header structure on the cardiac stimulator and is implanted distally at one or more sites within the heart requiring cardiac stimulation or sensing. The cardiac stimulator is normally a pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibrillator, a sensing instrument, or some combination of these devices.
At the time of implantation, the distal end of a cardiac lead is inserted through an incision in the chest and manipulated by the physician to the site requiring electrical stimulation with the aid of a flexible stylet that is removed prior to closure. At the site requiring electrical stimulation, the distal end of the lead is anchored to the endocardium by an active mechanism, such as a screw-in electrode tip or, alternatively, by a passive mechanism, such as one or more radially spaced tines that engage the endocardium. The proximal end of the lead is then connected to the cardiac stimulator and the incision is closed.
One of the body's normal physiological responses to the engagement of a lead with the endocardium is the production of fibrous tissue around the distal end of the lead. The production of fibrous tissue begins almost immediately after the lead is fixed to the heart and may continue as long as the lead is in place. The extent of fibrous tissue growth varies from patient to patient. In most patients, the tissue envelops several millimeters of the distal end of the lead. However, depending upon the patient's particular physiology, as well as the duration of implantation, the extent of fibrous tissue developed may be much more substantial.
For many endocardial leads, fibrous tissue serves the vital function of providing a relatively permanent anchor for the distal end of the lead. Indeed, screw-in tips and tines are designed to hold the lead in contact with the endocardium until fibrous tissue develops and takes over the job of anchoring the lead in position.
It is not uncommon for recipients of cardiac stimulator systems to require replacement of their existing cardiac leads. There are a variety of medical indications that may prompt lead replacement. Some examples include deterioration of the patient's arrhythmia condition due to disease or injury, new sites of electrical dysfunction within the heart, and lead failure. Where lead replacement is indicated, the physician may choose to remove the existing lead or leave the existing lead in place and implant and connect a new lead to the cardiac stimulator.
The initial step in a normal lead removal procedure involves gently tugging proximally on the proximal end of the lead in an attempt to dislodge the distal end of the lead from the endocardium. Since it is normally desirable to remove the lead intact, care must be taken during this operation to avoid applying excessive thrust to the lead that might otherwise break the lead into sections or disconnect the insulating sleeve of the lead from the electrode structures. If the lead is unintentionally broken during the removal process, the physician may have difficulty successfully removing all of the lead components via the original tissue pathway used to implant the lead. In such circumstances, it may be necessary to insert a femoral catheter and enter the heart through the inferior vena cava in an attempt to fish out the remaining components of the lead. The removal process may be hampered by the presence of the fibrous tissue gripping the lead.
In circumstances where tissue ingrowth is substantial enough to prevent ready removal of the lead, physicians sometimes resort to the introduction of a fibrous tissue cutting tool, which consists of a tubular introducer that is passed over the lead body to the site of tissue ingrowth. The tip of the introducer includes a cutting implement, such as a serrated blade or a laser fiber optic element that is used to cut through the fibrous tissue. Extreme care must be exercised when using this type of fibrous tissue cutting instrument to avoid perforating the walls of the heart. Even with careful administration, some fibrous tissue may be so substantial that cutting may not be successful.
Although a decision to leave an existing lead in place avoids some of the difficulties associated with lead removal, there are, nevertheless, trade-offs associated with such a course of treatment. In circumstances where an existing lead is left in place and a new lead is implanted and connected to the cardiac stimulator, the heart must accommodate an additional tubular structure. Where the existing lead is in the right ventricle, the result is another structure interacting with the patient's tricuspid valve. For some patients, the problem may be compound. There are examples of arrhythmia patients undergoing six such lead replacement procedures whose hearts contain six or more disconnected cardiac leads.
Infection represents another potential problem associated with leaving an existing lead in place following replacement with a new lead. A disconnected cardiac lead may present a pathway for infections originating outside of the heart to bypass the protective function of the pericardial sac and attack the heart from within. This problem seems to arise more frequently in geriatric patients who experience infection in their subcutaneous tissue pockets as a result of the gradual thinning of the dermal layers adjacent to their cardiac stimulators. An infection originating in the subcutaneous pocket of a patient may quickly travel through the lumen of a disconnected lead and attack the myocardium.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or reducing one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.

Breakaway structure for body implantable medical device


A gatekeeper (109) including a compare unit (204) and a record unit (206). The compare unit (204) receives call requests and accesses a database which is a record of where a called party picked up the call, e.g., at home, at the office, via a mobile phone, or via an emergency number. The compare unit (204) performs an analysis such as a “closest neighbor” analysis to determine the location of the user at the time of day closest to that of the present call. The call is then routed to the user at that location. The record unit (206) then makes the appropriate notation in the database for the latest call.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications systems and, in particular, to an improved system for providing routing in a gatekeeper in an IP telephone network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Internet Protocol (IP) is one of the most popular packet communication and networking protocols being used today. It finds use both on the Internet and in wide area networks (WANs) and local area networks (LANs), such as asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and Ethernet networks. The promise of inexpensive voice telephony using the Internet has led to extensive interest in "Voice over IP" (VoIP) and "Telephony over LAN" (ToL) applications. In particular, several IP telephony protocols have been developed, including the H.323 Recommendation suite of protocols promulgated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Details concerning the H.323 Recommendation may be obtained from the International Telecommunications Union; the H.323 Recommendation is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.
A gatekeeper is an H.323 entity that essentially provides routing and various control functionality. More particularly, the gatekeeper may be programmed with one or more numbers associated with system users, and will attempt to direct calls to the appropriate number. For example, a user may be provided with a work number (coupled to the LAN); a home number; a mobile number; and a voice mail number. When a call is received by the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper follows a set of routing rules to reach the called party.
In certain systems, gatekeeper tries one number after another (e.g., three or four rings in each case) until it is able to reach the user or all numbers associated with the user have been tried at least once. Because the system has no intelligence, it can take a long time before the user is reached.
In some systems, a user can set "time rules," wherein the call is routed to a user at a particular number at a particular time. However, such systems are unable to adapt to changes in the user's schedule unless the user manually changes the rules each time. A slight change in schedule could result in a long wait for anyone trying to contact the user.

Self-learning intelligent call routing gatekeeper


An automatic rivet loading module which includes a pusher mechanism, a gripper mechanism, a mandrel receptacle, mechanisms for moving mandrels in the mandrel receptacle, and a tool activation device. The gripper mechanism receives a rivet, and a mandrel is moved through the rivet such that the rivet threads onto the mandrel. The gripper mechanism moves out of the way while the pusher mechanism pushes the mandrel down. The pusher mechanism then retracts, and the gripper mechanism closes and is ready to receive another rivet. This process is repeated until the mandrel is full of rivets. The mandrel receptacle is rotatable such that the loaded mandrel swings to a position under the tool activation device to be loaded into a rivet tool. As the loaded mandrel is swung under the tool activation block, a new mandrel is swung under the gripper mechanism, in position for loading with rivets.

This invention generally relates to tools and methods for loading rivets into a rivet gun, and more specifically relates to an automatic rivet loading device and a method of automatically loading rivets.
A speed rivet is a tubular fastener consisting of a flange and a stem. The fastener is placed on a mandrel, which is a wire with a bulb on the end. The speed rivet is strung on the mandrel with the stem directed towards the bulb of the mandrel. The rivet tool is a device that holds the mandrel and pulls the mandrel through the rivet, causing the rivet to expand in diameter. The expansion process causes the rivet to expand in a hole in a workpiece, causing the components to lock together. The significance of the speed rivet is that it can be used and installed from one side of the assembly. The speed rivet is also special in that it does not incorporate a break stem which leaves part of the broken off mandrel in the rivet. A typical rivet tool holds a string of up to 60 rivets on one 20 inch long mandrel, and as one rivet is "broached" at the nose of the gun, the next rivet is moved up, ready to use. Hence, a typical rivet tool needs to be reloaded by stringing a new load of rivets on the mandrel.
Despite the fact that it is advantageous to be able to load rivets into a rivet gun, especially in the case where the rivet gun is a manual tool, the methods which are typically used to insert rivets into a rivet gun are time consuming for the operator. Typical methods which have been used to load rivets into a rivet gun have been unsuccessful due to one or more of the following, depending on the method: the high cost of replacement parts; the high maintenance time and high custom component costs; the high maintenance down time of the tooling; the long length of time it takes to reload the rivet gun; the weight of the tool is too heavy and is at the top end of ergonomic specifications; and the distance from the reload station to the placing tool is too great.

Method of using an automatic rivet loading module


A punching device includes an inflatable cylinder-shaped bag which serves as a punching bag when inflated and a hollow casing which is filled with sand or water and which supports the cylinder-shaped bag resiliently and vertically thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a punching device, more particularly to a punching device which includes an inflatable punching bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional punching device which is used for practicing kicks and punches by a boxer, martial arts practitioners and the like. The conventional punching device includes a bag 101 that is filled with sand and that is suspended from a high position by means of a rope 102.
Some of the drawbacks resulting from the use of the conventional punching device are as follows:
(1) The sand bag 101 is heavy and cannot be moved easily to a desired place.
(2) Since the sand bag 101 does not swing even if it is continuously punched because of its heavy weight, the sand bag 101 is unable to produce counter punches.
(3) A boxer cannot practice swiftness and punch-avoiding tactics when the sand bag 101 is in use.
FIG. 2 shows another conventional punching device which includes a base plate 1, a vertical stand 2 fixed on the base plate 1 adjacent to one end thereof, and a punching bag 4 which is connected to a top end of the vertical stand 2 by means of a resilient member 3. The punching bag 4 is stuffed with clothing material or cotton.
During practice, one foot of the puncher steps on the base plate 1 in order to prevent collapsing of the vertical stand 2 due to the force applied on the punching bag 4. Movement of the legs of the puncher is thus prevented. In order to overcome this drawback, the base plate 1 can be made of a heavy material such as cement or the like, so that the punching device will not topple when the bag 4 is punched. This solution, however, results in another drawback. The increased weight of the punching device makes it more difficult to move the same to a desired place. Furthermore, the punching device requires a relatively large space, thus making it inconvenient to store.


A device for controlling point-to-point communication between a module and a transmission bus, the device including a printed circuit that carries the transmission bus and that includes a connection element to connect the module to the transmission bus. The printed circuit includes a communication control unit disposed between the transmission bus and the connection element, the communication control unit includes unidirectional communication logic gates, and a logic control circuit for the logic gates. Such a device may, as an example, find application to programmable controllers.

A programmable controller or PLC ("Programmable Logical Controller") is an automatic control facility capable of driving, controlling and/or monitoring one or more processes, in particular in the field of industrial control rigs, construction or electrical distribution.
Of generally modular design, a PLC programmable controller is composed of various modules which inter-communicate through a transmission bus, generally called a "backplane" bus. The modules are fixed mechanically in a rack, which comprises a printed circuit which also supports the backplane bus as well as the connection elements intended to cooperate with connectors generally present on the rear part of the modules so as to effect the necessary link between the modules and the bus. The number of modules depends of course on the size and the type of process to be automated.
Typically, a programmable controller can comprise:                a power supply module providing the various voltages to the other modules through the backplane bus.        a central unit module UC which comprises embedded software ("firmware") integrating a real-time operating system OS, and an application program, or user program, containing the instructions to be executed by the embedded software to perform the desired control operations. The UC module also generally comprises a connection on the front face to programming tools of personal computer PC type.        input/output I/O modules of various types as a function of the process to be controlled, such as digital I/Os or analogue TORs for counting, etc. These I/O modules are linked to sensors and actuators participating in the automated management of the process.        one or more modules for communicating with communication networks (Ethernet, CAN, etc.) or man-machine interfaces (screen, keyboard, etc.).
By way of example, an input/output module can comprise between 1 to 32 I/O pathways, a PLC controller may be capable depending on the model of managing several hundred I/O pathways. If required, several racks are therefore connected together in one and the same PLC. Thus, as a function of the application and the process to be automated, a PLC controller can comprise a large number of modules. It is the user of the PLC controller who therefore decides on the number and positioning of the modules in a rack, as a function of his/her application.
Parallel backplane transmission buses do exist, but henceforth, the backplane transmission bus is often a serial bus. Generally, a serial bus comprises several bidirectional transmission lines and is of the multipoint type in the sense that the bidirectional lines pass through all the connection elements and connectors associated with the various modules connected to the bus.
The equivalent impedance of each line of the backplane bus (line+module connectors+input capacitance of the modules) varies enormously as a function of the number of connected modules and their respective location in the rack, rendering the dimensioning of the bus signals difficult or indeed impossible (=mismatch of the signals). The dimensioning of each multipoint line of a backplane bus, that is to say chiefly the value of the characteristic impedance Z0 adopted for the line as well as its matching at each of the ends of the lines, in fact depends on the presence or otherwise of the modules on the backplane. For example, the more significant the number of modules connected to the backplane bus, the lower the effective characteristic impedance Z0eff.
Now, as has just been seen, it is the user who as a function of his/her application fixes the number and also the location of the modules connected in a rack. It naturally follows that optimal dimensioning cannot be obtained in a systematic manner, thus giving rise to a risk of high consumption due to the low equivalent impedance of the line and a risk of mismatching of the signals, with the additional consequence that a mismatched signal causes significant electromagnetic radiation and generates more harmonics.
This instability phenomenon is all the more pronounced the lower the voltage chosen for the bus signals (for example a voltage of 3.3 V instead of a customary voltage of 5 V) with the aim of consuming less energy (so-called "low power" technology). Dimensioning has shown that the traditional approach of multipoint/multiconnector lines is not suited to this "low power" technology.

Device for controlling point-to-point communication between a module and transmission bus