A therapeutic device for thermally assisted urinary function is presented. The therapeutic pad (14) is composed of an upper thermal element (18) and a lower thermal element (19) having a portal (15), both elements substantially cup-shaped to cover and contact the groin. The therapeutic pad (14) is composed of a material sufficiently capable of storing energy from either an external or internal source. The therapeutic pad (14) communicates stored energy as heat to tissues comprising the groin and regions adjacent thereto. The portal (15) allows for the unimpeded flow of urine from the urinary tract into a receptacle. A variety of alternate embodiments are provided, including lift tabs (17a, 17b), an extension element (35) for heating the perineum, a portal sleeve (23) for heating the penis, a slit (34) which bisects the therapeutic pad (14) and portal sleeve (23), a pair of rings (26, 27) to open and close the slit (34), an interior cover (30) about the therapeutic pad (14) for applying moist heat, and support elements (31) along the therapeutic pad (14).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device capable of initiating and enhancing urine flow from a bladder. Specifically, the invention is a therapeutic device that communicates thermal energy to the groin and penis in a non-invasive fashion, so as to enable vasodilation and neurological stimulation of the urinary track and to relax muscles in the surrounding tissue and bladder neck. The invention is contoured and conformal, thereby maximizing contact with the groin and transfer of heat thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bladder and urinary tract dysfunctions are common among males over the age of forty. Dysfunction may be caused by several prostate-related medical conditions, including Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, commonly referred to as BPH, Prostatitis, and Prostate Cancer. Benign Prostatic Hypertrohpy is defined as a benign, otherwise non-cancerous, adenomatous hyperplasia of the paraurethral prostate gland. Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, usually due to an infection. Prostate cancer, as the name suggests, is a malignant growth involving the prostate.
As shown in FIG. 1, the prostate 1 is a doughnut-shaped gland with two lobes located at the bottom of the bladder 4 between the rectum 2 and base of the penis 3, adjacent to the scrotum 6. The prostate 1 encircles the urethra 5, the latter facilitating flow of urine from the bladder 4 out through the penis 3. An enlargement of the prostate 1 causes narrowing of the urethra 5, thereby diminishing urine flow in part or whole.
Symptoms of an enlarged prostate might include difficulty initiating urination, weak urine stream, persistent urge to urinate, and frequent nocturnal urination. In severe cases, obstruction of urine flow may lead to complications, including complete blockage of the urethra, urinary tract infections, stones in the bladder, and blood in the urine. It is estimated that at least seventy percent of men have noticeable enlargement of the prostate by the age of 70.
A variety of treatments, including medications and surgical procedures, are presently known to address the causes and/or symptoms of an enlarged prostate.
Medications are intended to control the growth of and in some cases shrink the prostate. For example, Finasteride limits the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the hormone believed to control prostate growth. Side effects include reduced sex drive, erectile dysfunction, and decreased sperm count. In another example, alpha blockers relax the muscles of the bladder neck and prostate, producing a slight increase in urinary flow. Side effects include headaches, dizziness, light headedness, low blood pressure, fatigue and a sense of difficulty in breathing.
Medical procedures include transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP), transurethral ultrasound guided laser incision of the prostate (TULIP), interstitial laser coagulation (ILC), transurethral vaporization of the prostate (TUVP), prostatic stent implantation, open prostatectomy, transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT), Targis™, transurethral needle ablation of the prostate (TUNA), and water induced thermotherapy (WIT).
TURP is a procedure requiring anesthesia but no external incision. A resectoscope, having a light, valves to control irrigation fluid, and an electrical loop to cut then seal blood vessels, is inserted into the penis through the urethra. The loop is used to remove prostate tissue in pieces, which are then carried into the bladder via irrigating fluids, and flushed out after the procedure.
TUIP widens the urethra by making several small cuts along the neck of the bladder and prostate. This procedure reduces pressure applied by the prostate onto the urethra, thereby making urination easier. TULIP is identical to TUIP, except that cuts are made with a laser.
ILC requires the insertion of a cystoscope into the urethra to introduce a special fiberoptic probe directly into the prostate. The probe focuses a beam of low-power laser energy to vaporize prostate tissue so as to shrink the prostate.
TUVP is a transurethral procedure, which employs a grooved roller bar to directly apply heat to the prostate so as to vaporize tissue therein.
A prostatic stent implant is a tiny, spring-like device inserted into the urethra. When expanded, the stent widens the urethra to permit increased flow of urine. Prostatic stents are preferred for patients who have other medical problems that prohibit medication and surgery.
Open prostatectomy is preferred when the prostate is greatly enlarged, the bladder has been damaged, or the patient has other complications prohibiting transurethral surgery. The patient is anesthetized and an external incision is made either in the lower abdomen or in the perineum. Thereafter, prostate tissue is removed from inside the gland.
TUMT employs a catheter having an antenna at one end to deliver heat via microwave energy to the prostate in a targeted fashion. Deep heating of the prostate improves urine flow via a reduction in the size of the prostate. A fiberoptic thermo-sensor monitors temperature throughout the procedure and a cooling system circulates water within the catheter to protect the urinary tract.
Targis™ is an advanced form of microwave therapy, including a flexible catheter inserted into the urethra, for the targeted delivery of energy to destroy tissue in the prostate. A balloon at the end of the catheter is inflated to position the microwave antenna within the prostate. Chilled water is circulated through the catheter to shield healthy urethral tissue from thermal effects.
TUNA delivers low level radio frequency (RF) energy onto the prostate via two small probes inserted through the urethra. RF energy heats and shrinks the prostate, thereby relieving the obstruction while avoiding damage to the urethra and surrounding tissue.
WIT heats the prostate via a treatment balloon filled with heated water. The treatment balloon, resting in the prostatic urethra, inflates and then fills with water. Temperature controlled water then circulates through the insulated shaft into the treatment balloon. The catheter conducts heat through the insulated shaft to the prostate gland, raises the temperature of the gland, and then destroys the obstructive tissue.
The procedures described above are invasive in that one or more medical instruments are inserted into the body so as to heat, destroy, and/or remove tissue comprising the prostate. Furthermore, each procedure suffers from at least one post-procedure complication, including pain, frequent urination, swelling, bleeding, infection, sexual dysfunction, and prolonged recovery time.
The side effects of medications and complications associated with surgical procedures far outweigh the benefits to most males with prostate-related bladder and urinary tract dysfunction.
As such, what is sorely required is a therapeutic device to relieve the symptoms of prostate related urinary dysfunction while avoiding the side effects and complications of the related arts.

Therapeutic device for thermally assisted urinary function


A method driving for a solid-state image pickup device in which it is possible to achieve a high dynamic range readout without causing unnaturalness in the reproduced picture particularly even when filming a subject moving at high speed. Primary signal charges are generated by adjacent first and second pixels and are subsequently mixed in the vertical transfer register. Auxiliary signal charges are also generated in adjacent first and second pixels, and, generation of the primary signal charge for the second pixel occurs prior to generation of the auxiliary signal charge of the first pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of driving a solid-state image pickup device, and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a method of driving an all-pixel readout type solid-state image pickup device to provide increased dynamic range and improved image quality.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High-performance solid-state image pickup devices are being developed which have an increased number of horizontal pixels as well as a reduced physical size. However, for vertical resolution, it is only possible to obtain 350 TV lines with a field accumulation readout method which is compatible with the NTSC broadcasting system and 240 TV lines of resolution with a still image not using a mechanical shutter. This is because it is necessary to be compatible with the NTSC broadcasting format wherein two fields consisting of 262.5 scanning lines are interlaced in a 2:1 ratio to make one frame and also more importance has been placed on having the displayed image look smooth rather than increased vertical resolution. Conventional devices as shown in FIG. 7(A), have been designed so that signal charges Q1, Q2 of sensors (pixels) 71 of two adjacent horizontal lines are mixed by being read out into single packets 73 corresponding to two pixels in a vertical transfer register 72. In the next field signal charges Q2, Q1 are mixed by combining two different lines and a signal of 262.5 lines is outputted per one field, that is, with one exposure. The variation in charge amount inside a sensor part 71 is shown in FIG. 7(B).
However, in order to use a non-interlace system or still image fields, compared with the horizontal resolution, the vertical resolution is inadequate. In these fields, it is necessary to have vertical resolution as good as the horizontal resolution in one exposure. As a solution to this, there are solid-state image pickup devices of all-pixel readout type wherein packets 83 are provided in 1:1 correspondence with the pixels (sensor parts 81) of the vertical transfer register 82, as shown in FIG. 8(A). All pixels are read out independently without signal charges being mixed in the vertical transfer register 82. However, this all-pixel readout type solid-state image pickup device has a problem because after signal charges are photoelectrically converted and accumulated in the sensor parts 81, when the output becomes saturated due to an overload of sensor parts 81, the signal output becomes constant and it is not possible to obtain a signal output in proportion to the amount of incident light. The dynamic range with respect to light input is thus narrow. This is because the pixels become saturated when the light is very intense. This also occurs in the case of the solid-state image pickup device of field accumulation readout type shown in FIG. 7. The variation in charge amount in a sensor part 81 is shown in FIG. 8(B) in proportion to incident light.
In this regard, so-called high dynamic range readout type solid-state image pickup devices have been known wherein, all-pixel readout has been made possible by providing packets in the vertical transfer registers in 1:1 correspondence with the pixels. The dynamic range with respect to light input is effectively widened by, after reading out signal charges of the effective period of the vertical direction, providing a short exposure period immediately thereafter within the vertical blanking period. This subsequent signal charge is photoelectrically converted, and added to the signal output of the signal charge for the original longer exposure period. This is performed in a single processing line.
In this high dynamic range readout type solid-state image pickup device, as shown in FIG. 9(A), first, 1) a main signal charge Q1 of a pixel of an odd line (sensor part 91) is read out and immediately thereafter the vertical transfer register 92 is shifted by one pixel. Then after an auxiliary signal charge Q1' is accumulated in the pixel of the odd line again in a short exposure time(2) a main signal charge Q2 of a pixel of an even line is read out at the same time as the auxiliary signal charge Q1'. As a result, the main signal charge Q2 and the main signal charge Q1 are mixed and the auxiliary signal charge Q1' is read out into an empty packet 93. Then the vertical transfer register 92 is shifted by one pixel and then after an auxiliary signal charge Q2' is accumulated again in the pixel of the even line in a short exposure period (3) this auxiliary signal charge Q2' is read out. As a result of this process, the auxiliary signal charge Q2' is mixed with the auxiliary signal charge Q1'. The appearance of variation in the charge amount in a sensor part 91 is shown in FIGS. 9(b) and 9(c).
In this way, in a high dynamic range readout type solid-state image pickup device, signal charges are mixed in the vertical transfer register as in the case of the field accumulation readout type solid-state image pickup device, but the vertical transfer register 92 is used half-and-half by the main signal charges Q1, Q2 of the longer exposure time and the auxiliary signal charges Q1', Q2' of the shorter exposure time. A signal output based on the main signal charges (Q1+Q2) and a signal output based on the auxiliary signal charges (Q1'+Q2') are added in the signal processing line. As a result, as is clear from the incident light--signal output characteristic shown in FIG. 6, even after the accumulated signal charge has become saturated for the primary exposure, it is possible to obtain a signal output which is proportional to the actual incident light amount. Therefore it is possible to widen the dynamic range with respect to the light input. This is possible because although the primary exposure may have resulted in a maximum charge amount for the primary signal Q1 or Q2, the auxiliary signal charge provides information for a more accurate reading.
However, in a high dynamic range readout type solid-state image pickup device of the construction described above, because the main signal charge Q2 is read out after the accumulation period of the auxiliary signal charge Q1' has elapsed and accumulation of the auxiliary signal charge Q2' is carried out after that, a time difference of about half of the vertical blanking period arises between the readout time of the auxiliary signal charge Q1' and the readout time of the auxiliary signal charge Q2'. Because the exposure time of the auxiliary signal charges Q1', Q2' is extremely short compared to the exposure time of the main signal charges Q1, Q2, there is a time difference of about half of the vertical blanking period between the readout timings of the auxiliary signal charges Q1', Q2'. In particular, during filming of subjects moving at high speed, there is a problem because the auxiliary signal charges Q1', Q2' each contain information relating to different images. The resultant reproduced picture based on the auxiliary signal charges (Q1+Q2') becomes an unnatural one because the information for reproducing the image is comprised of image information from two different times. FIG. 9(b) and (c) illustrate how Q2 is generated only after the auxiliary charge Q1' is also generated, thus resulting in the above-mentioned timing problem.

Driving method of solid-state image pickup device

c/o Sony Corporation, 7-35, Kitashinagawa 6-Chome


An implantable cardiac device to induce fibrillation in the heart of a patient to allow testing of the defibrillation capability of the device. The device induces fibrillation using a direct current across the heart. The shock to the heart may be applied in a method to minimize discomfort to the patient. The heart is monitored during application of the shock. The voltage of shock at the heart is gradually increased until fibrillation is induced. Once the fibrillation is detected the shock may be stopped. This results in a minimized voltage level and duration for the shock to the heart, thereby diminishing pain and discomfort to the patient.

Implantable cardiac devices are well known in the art. They may take the form of implantable defibrillators or cardioverters, which treat accelerated rhythms of the heart such as fibrillation or implantable pacemakers, which maintain the heart rate within a prescribed limit, such as, for example, to treat a bradycardia. Implantable cardiac devices are also known which incorporate both a pacemaker and a defibrillator.
Pacemakers deliver pacing pulses to the heart to cause the stimulated heart chamber to contract when the patient's own intrinsic rhythm fails. To this end, pacemakers include sensing circuits that sense cardiac activity for the detection of intrinsic cardiac events such as intrinsic atrial events (P waves) and intrinsic ventricular events (R waves). By monitoring such P waves and/or R waves, the pacemaker circuits are able to determine the intrinsic rhythm of the heart and provide stimulation pacing pulses that force atrial and/or ventricular depolarizations at appropriate times in the cardiac cycle when required to help stabilize the electrical rhythm of the heart.
Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD's), encapsulated in a conductive housing or enclosure, are generally implanted in the left pectoral region of a patient and electrically connected to the heart with one or more electrode carrying leads. One lead includes at least one set of electrodes positioned in the right ventricle. An arrhythmia detector detects ventricular arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation. When such an arrhythmia is detected, a pulse generator delivers a defibrillation output pulse from the defibrillation electrode in the right ventricle to the conductive housing to terminate the arrhythmia. Alternatively, such arrhythmia terminating systems may further include another defibrillation electrode arranged to be positioned in the right atrium and electrically connected to the right ventricular defibrillation electrode. In this arrangement, the defibrillation output pulse is delivered from the parallel connected right ventricular and right atrial electrodes to the conductive housing.
When ICDs are initially implanted their functionality is checked by inducing fibrillation in the heart of the patient and allowing the ICD to correct the condition. The process of inducing fibrillation applies a sudden direct current (DC) having a squared waveform and fixed duration to the heart. This sudden application of DC results in pain and discomfort for the patient, as the patient may be conscious although medicated. Inducement of fibrillation may also be used periodically after implant to recalibrate or check the function of the ICD. Fibrillation may be induced at the time that medication is changed to ensure that device is capable of defibrillating the heart when the patient is on the new medication.


A method of forming p.sup.+ transistor gates is disclosed. A polysilicon layer is covered with an amorphous silicide layer which prevents penetration of p-type dopants through the gate oxide. The silicide may be covered by a dielectric which is formed at a temperature low enough to prevent crystallization of the silicide, a p-type dopant species is directed at the silicide layer. Subsequently an anneal is performed at a temperature high enough to cause a substantial amount of the p-type dopant to move to the polysilicon layer.

Many CMOS integrated circuits utilize n.sup.+ gate material for both PMOS and NMOS devices. However, as gate lengths shrink, there is an increasing trend to the use of p.sup.+ gates for both PMOS and NMOS devices. P.sup.+ gate PMOS transistors (i.e., surface channel devices) exhibit good short channel performance, threshold voltages, and sub-threshold swings which are less dependent upon channel length than PMOS devices with n.sup.+ (i.e., buried channel devices) gates. P.sup.+ NMOS gate transistors have also been found satisfactory in various CMOS applications.
Typically, p.sup.+ gates are formed by depositing a polysilicon layer which is doped. The polysilicon is typically doped with boron or BF.sub.2. However, if the polysilicon is doped by ion implantation with boron, the dopant species (boron) may penetrate through the polysilicon (a phenomenon termed "channeling") into the substrate and cause changes in the threshold voltage. If the polysilicon is doped with BF.sub.2 (a larger species) channeling is less likely to occur. However, the presence of fluorine in the polysilicon seems to enhance boron diffusion through the gate oxide into the substrate during subsequent thermal treatments. Thus, the threshold voltage is again adversely affected.
N.sup.+ gates are typically formed from polysilicon doped with phosphorous. Since phosphorous atoms are bigger than boron atoms, channeling is a less serious problem for devices with n.sup.+ gates (assuming that the same thickness of polysilicon is employed).
One solution to the problem of channeling is to increase the thickness of the gate polysilicon material. (Gates with polysilicon thicknesses of roughly 3600 .ANG. often have acceptable resistance to channeling for currently-used implantation energies. However, such high gates create a topography which makes subsequent processing difficult.)
Some manufacturers of comparatively thin n.sup.+ gates cover the polysilicon with tungsten silicide and then with a silicon dioxide layer. The silicon dioxide layer is formed at a temperature high enough to cause crystallization of the tungsten silicide. After the silicon dioxide is formed, the gate is implanted with an n type dopant such as phosphorous.


Techniques regarding topological classification of complex datasets are provided. For example, one or more embodiments described herein can comprise a system, which can comprise a memory that can store computer executable components. The system can also comprise a processor, operably coupled to the memory, and that can execute the computer executable components stored in the memory. The computer executable components can comprise a quantum computing component that can encode eigenvalues of a Laplacian matrix into a phase on a quantum state of a quantum circuit. The computer executable components can also comprise a classical computing component that infers a Betti number using a Bayesian learning algorithm by measuring an ancilla state of the quantum circuit.

The subject disclosure relates to topological feature classification, and more specifically, to one or more prior knowledge-based inferences of one or more Betti numbers using a hybridization of quantum and classical computing technologies.
Topological data analysis techniques utilize algebraic topology formulations to provide a framework that can be insensitive to the particular metric chosen, provide dimensionality reduction, and/or be robust to noise found in the subject data. Further, topological data analysis can be facilitated by machine learning, deep learning, classification, inference, and/or artificial intelligence tasks. For instance, one or more machine learning tasks can utilize principals of algebraic topology to generate higher and higher levels of abstraction of the subject data, wherein determinations regarding characteristics of the data can then be performed based on the abstractions rather than the raw data.
Traditionally, classical computing techniques or quantum computing techniques have been implemented to perform topological data analyses. Classical computing techniques can readily execute topological data analyses on large datasets. Given the low cost and availability of processing power for classical computing devices, classical computing techniques can exhibit a desired efficiency in analyzing large datasets. However, analysis by classical computing techniques can be limited by the complexity of the data. In contrast, quantum computing techniques can readily execute topological data analyses on complex datasets, but are limited in the amount of data that can be processed. For example, conventional quantum algorithms can require a level of circuit depth or fault tolerance that cannot be readily achieved in near term quantum computing.

Prior knowledge-based topological feature classification

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A coin counter includes a base frame including a support board, a rotation unit including a rotation disk, a connecting unit including a mounting bracket, and a receiving unit including a receiving seat and a protective plate. Thus, the protective plate is located above the rotation disk of the rotation unit to protect the rotation disk of the rotation unit so as to prevent the coins in the receiving seat from directly contacting and hitting the rotation disk of the rotation unit. In addition, the protective plate of the receiving unit has two opposite sides each supported by the side edge of the receiving seat so that the protective plate of the receiving unit is supported by the receiving seat to bear the heavy load of the coins.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin counter and, more particularly, to a coin counter for a bank or an amusement ground to count coins.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional coin counter comprises a support bracket, a coin outlet port mounted on and connected to the support bracket, a rotation disk rotatably mounted on the support bracket and having a peripheral wall provided with a plurality of receiving grooves to receive a plurality of coins wherein each of the receiving grooves of the rotation disk is movable to approach the coin outlet port to introduce each of the coins into the coin outlet port, a stop bar mounted on the support bracket and located above the coin outlet port to stop movement of the coins so that only one of the coins is allowed to enter the coin outlet port, a rotation shaft rotatably mounted on the support bracket and secured on the rotation disk to rotate the rotation disk, a drive motor mounted on the support bracket and connected to the rotation shaft to rotate the rotation shaft, and an open cover mounted on the support bracket to receive the rotation disk and to allow entrance of the coins. In operation, when the rotation disk is rotated, each of the coins is driven by the respective receiving groove of the rotation disk to pass through the stop bar into the coin outlet port and is delivered outwardly from the coin outlet port. However, when too many coins are accumulated in the cover, the coins press the rotation disk, thereby interfering with rotation of the rotation disk. In addition, when too many coins are accumulated in the cover, the heavy weight of the coins causes a greater burden to the rotation disk, so that the rotation disk is easily worn out or broken.

Coin counter that stops operating automatically when overload of the coins happens


The invention provides an excellent means of giving an excellent bleaching effect when a liquid bleaching composition is used as foam. A liquid composition containing (a) hydrogen peroxide, (b) a specific sugar derivative-based surfactant, (c) polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether wherein the carbon number of the alkyl group is 10 to 14 and the mole number of oxyalkylene added on the average is 7 to 12, and (d) water in a specific ratio is foamed and used in bleaching of clothing.

An oxygen-based liquid bleaching agent containing hydrogen peroxide as a major base material can be used in colored/patterned clothes, and used preferably because of advantages such as direct applicability to stains. The oxygen-based liquid bleaching agent is usually used by a method of washing with it together with a weakly alkali detergent introduced into a washing machine, or by a method that involves applying it directly onto stains and then washing together with a weakly alkaline detergent in a washing machine, but the bleaching effect is still not satisfactory.
In a method of solving this problem, a liquid bleaching composition using specific two kinds of surfactants in combination with a bleaching activator is disclosed in JP-A 9-104898, JP-A 9-104900 and JP-A 9-100492.
On one hand, a bleaching agent charged into a trigger container for the sake of use is disclosed. JP-A 11-100594 discloses a clothing oxygen-based bleaching agent charged into a trigger container provided with a discharger having a specific foaming mechanism. JP-A (W) 11-500778 discloses a liquid composition containing a peroxide bleaching agent and a surfactant introduced into a spray-type dispenser. JP-A(W) 9-506130 discloses a peroxide compound-containing two-part detergent capable of spraying. Further, JP-A 5-156293 discloses an alkyl glucoside-containing bleaching agent for hard surface, and suggests that the bleaching agent can be fed in a foamed state with a spray container.

Foamy composition for bleaching clothing


A device for video decoding may include a memory configured to store video data and a processor configured receive a bitstream including encoded video data. The processor may be configured to select a number of template matching (TM) candidates for a temporal layer or slice during the video decoding. The number of TM candidates selected are fixed prior to the video decoding, or adaptively calculated during the video decoding. The processor may be configured to generate a prediction block and residual block, based on a template matching candidate, to reconstruct the video data.

Video coding standards include ITU-T H.261, ISO/IEC MPEG-1 Visual, ITU-T H.262 or ISO/IEC MPEG-2 Visual, ITU-T H.263, ISO/IEC MPEG-4 Visual and ITU-T H.264 (also known as ISO/IEC MPEG-4 AVC), including its Scalable Video Coding (SVC) and Multi-view Video Coding (MVC) extensions.
In addition, a new video coding standard, namely High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) or ITU-T H.265, including its range extension, multiview extension (MV-HEVC) and scalable extension (SHVC), has recently been developed by the Joint Collaboration Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) as well as the Joint Collaboration Team on 3D Video Coding Extension Development (JCT-3V) of ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) and ISO/IEC Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG).
The latest HEVC draft specification, and referred to as HEVC WD. Hereinafter, is available from http://phenix.int-evry.fr/jct/doc_end_user/documents/14 Vienna/wg11/JCTVC-N1003-vl.zip
ITU-T VCEG (Q6/16) and ISO/IEC MPEG (JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11) are now studying the potential need for standardization of future video coding technology with a compression capability that significantly exceeds that of the current HEVC standard (including its current extensions and near-term extensions for screen content coding and high-dynamic-range coding). The groups are working together on this exploration activity in a joint collaboration effort known as the Joint Video Exploration Team (JVET) to evaluate compression technology designs proposed by their experts in this area. The JVET first met during 19-21 Oct. 2015. And the latest version of reference software, i.e., Joint Exploration Model 5 (JEM 5) could be downloaded from:
https://jvet.hhi.fraunhofer.de/svn/svn_HMJEMSoftware/tags/HM-16.6-JEM-5.0/
Algorithm description of Joint Exploration Test Model 5 (JEM5) could be referred to http://phenix.it-sudparis.eu/jvet/doc_end_user/current_document.php?id=2714.

Various improvements to FRUC template matching


A method of and a system for controlling a hydraulic shock absorber of an automobile are provided. In the shock absorber, a flow of damping fluid induces a load on an actuator of the shock absorber during bouncing and rebouncing of the shock absorber, and the actuator is actuated in response to an output signal of a control unit. In order for the actuator to counteract the load applied thereto, the output signal is modified in response to the load. According to the embodiment, the load is determined by a table look-up operation based on an input load detected by a load sensor mounted to the automobile.

The present invention relates to a method of and a system for controlling a hydraulic shock absorber, and more particularly to a damping force control for a shock absorber of the type wherein a flow of damping fluid induces a load on an actuator during bounding and rebounding of the shock absorber.
A shock absorber of the above mentioned type is used in a known vehicle suspension system disclosed by Japanese Utility Model Application First (unexamined) Publication No. 63-112914. The shock absorber comprises an outer cylinder tube, an inner cylinder tube filled with a damping fluid, a piston slidably disposed in the inner cylinder tube to divide the interior of the inner cylinder tube into a first chamber and a second chamber, and a variable flow restrictor for providing a restricted flow of damping fluid between the first and second chambers during bounding and rebounding of the shock absorber. In order to vary flow area of the flow restrictor passage, a rotary valve is operatively connected to an actuator in the form of a stepper motor operative under the control of a control unit. During bounding and rebounding of the shock absorber, there occurs a flow of damping fluid passing through the restricted flow passage, inducing a load on the rotary valve in such a direction as to increase the opening degree of the restricted flow passage. The load on the rotary valve is applied to the actuator, and variable with a pressure generated by the flow of damping fluid passing through the restricted flow passage. However, the magnitude of an output signal of the control unit remains constant for each of range positions which the shock absorber may be conditioned to operate. Thus, the actuator is not controlled in such a manner as to compensate for a change in load applied to the actuator owing to a flow of damping fluid passing through a restricted flow passage.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of and a system for controlling a hydraulic shock absorber wherein an actuator is controlled in such a manner as to compensate for a change in load induced by a flow of damping fluid passing through a restricted flow passage during bounding and rebounding of the shock absorber.


A magnetic sensor of the present invention includes a Hall-effect sensor configured to detect magnetism and an IC being configured to drive the Hall-effect sensor and perform signal processing therefor and having two or more metal interconnection layers. The Hall-effect sensor and the IC are electrically connected to each other via wire interconnections and sealed in one package. Metal interconnections on the IC to input output voltage of the Hall-effect sensor to a signal processing unit of the IC have a grade-separation junction portion in order to suppress an induced electromotive force which a change in the magnetic flux density externally applied generates at output terminals of the Hall-effect sensor, the wire interconnections connected to output electrode pads of the Hall-effect sensor, and the metal interconnections to input the output voltage of the Hall-effect sensor to the signal processing unit of the IC.

Generally, a Hall-effect sensor that is a magnetic sensor varies its output voltage in proportional to a magnetic flux density. It is well known that the Hall-effect sensor is widely used in a so-called current sensor or the like which measures the amount of current flowing through a conductor because the Hall-effect sensor can detect the magnetic flux density generated in proportional to the current flowing through the conductor by using characteristics of Hall-effect sensor.
Meanwhile, a so-called hybrid automobile is well known, which uses both an internal combustion engine and a motor as its drive source to reduce exhaust gas and improve fuel saving. Such a hybrid automobile is generally equipped with an inverter device configured to convert DC power supplied from an in-vehicle battery into three-phase AC power. The three-phase AC power converted by the inverter device is supplied to the motor which is a power supply target. Moreover, in such a hybrid automobile, a current sensor is attached to a power-supply conductor, such, for example, as a bus bar or a cable, connecting the motor to a power module, such as an IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor), using for in the inverter device. Then, this current sensor is used to detect current flowing through the bus bar or cable, and the inverter device controls power to be supplied to the motor based on the detected current. The current sensor is required to respond within about several microseconds because current to the motor needs to be detected and controlled quick and accurately in order to rotate the motor efficiently.
A conventional current sensor includes, as shown for example in FIG. 1 of Patent Literature 1, a conductor through which current to be detected flows, a magnetic core surrounding the conductor and having an air-gap portion, a Hall-effect sensor placed in the air-gap portion of the core, and a substrate. The motor using for a hybrid automobile or the like undergoes a drastic change in current as large as several hundred amperes, and therefore the magnetic flux density applied to the Hall-effect sensor drastically changes, too. In this regard, if there is an interconnection loop in wire interconnections connecting output electrode pads of the Hall-effect sensor to external terminals or in interconnections on the substrate connecting output external terminals of the Hall-effect sensor to a signal processing circuit such as an amplifier, an induced electromotive force of a measurable magnitude is superimposed on the output voltage. Thus, it is well known to suppress the induced electromotive force superimposed on the output voltage by using a method of routing interconnections on a substrate as described in Patent Literature 1.
As shown in Formula 1, it is well-known that an induced electromotive force is generated in proportional to a time derivative of a magnetic flux density B and an area S of a loop traversed by a magnetic flux.
                              V          induction                =                              -                                          ⅆ                Φ                                            ⅆ                t                                              =                                    -              S                                                                  ⅆ                B                                            ⅆ                t                                                                        (                  Formula                                                              1                )            (Vinduction: induced electromotive force, Φ: magnetic flux, S: area of loop, and B: magnetic flux density)
In this formula, units are as follows: Vinduction [V], Φ [Wb], S [m2], and B [Wb/m2]. It is needless to say that the unit [V] is equivalent to a unit [Wb/s], and the unit [Wb/m2] is equivalent to a unit [T]
It is needless to say that the induced electromotive force is generated in such a direction that current can flow in a direction cancelling a change in a magnetic field applied to the loop. The output voltage of the Hall-effect sensor undergoes overshoot on the rising edge if the direction of the induced electromotive force has the same polarity as the output voltage, and undergoes undershoot on the rising edge if the direction of the induced electromotive force has an opposite polarity to that of the output voltage. Due to any of these induced electromotive forces, a delay occurs before the output voltage can be outputted stably at a desirable voltage, and such a delay leads to output response delay. Generally, an acceptable tolerance of the overshoot and the undershoot for the current sensor is ±10 of the output voltage in a stable state.
Meanwhile, in recent years, a linear Hall-effect sensor IC in which a Hall-effect sensor and an IC including a signal processing unit for the Hall-effect sensor are sealed in one package, as described for example in Patent Literature 2, has been used in order to reduce the number of components constituting the current sensor to reduce the size thereof. Regarding the linear Hall-effect sensor, it is needless to say that a Hall-effect sensor including a conductive layer made of a compound semiconductor with high sensitivity is of course suitable for the linear Hall-effect sensor, because the higher the sensitivity of the Hall-effect sensor is, the higher the resolution of current detection can be.
It is well known that in the linear Hall-effect sensor IC, a Hall-effect sensor chip made of a compound semiconductor and an IC chip configured to drive the sensor chip and perform signal processing therefor are connected to each other by wire interconnections such as Au wires and are sealed in one package.


A control apparatus according to the present invention is a control apparatus collecting data related to copying machines and communicating with a centralized control unit on the basis of the data collected, including a communication device for calling the centralized control unit, a determination device for determining that connection with the centralized control device can not be made in spite of the fact that the communication device is activated, a setting device for setting a retransmission time on the basis of a random number in a predetermined time period in response to a determination output of the determination device, a timer device for counting the present time, and a control device for having the communication device call the centralized control unit again when the present time becomes the retransmission time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to copying machine control apparatus, and to copying machine control apparatus for transmission of data for controlling copying machines to a centralized control unit on the center side and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A system for management of a plurality of copying machines is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,834. In the disclosed system, various operating data of the copying machine such as a total number of copies, machine malfunctions and amounts of remaining copy sheets and toner are transmitted to a computer through a communication network. The computer processes the transmitted data and feeds back to the copying machine instructions.
In a system in which data of copying machines are transmitted from respective terminal devices to a centralized management unit through a communication network such as a public telephone network, connection between the terminal device and the management unit sometimes can not be made.
For example, it is when the network connection can not be made because of overlapping dialing from a number of terminal devices, or when some operational fault occurs in the control unit on the center side.
In such cases, it is generally desirable to re-dial after a predetermined time period.
However, general communication terminal devices and lines such as telephone machines and facsimile apparatus are shared as above-mentioned terminal devices and networks in many cases.
In this case, excessive repeat of above re-dialing because of situations on the center side limits use of a telephone machine and so forth on the user, which is not preferable.
To deal with trouble occurrence is one of objects of a system in which control data for a plurality of copying machines are transmitted from respective terminal devices to the control center side through a line such as a communication network (a public telephone lines) for centralized control.
That is, in the above-mentioned system, when a trouble occurs in a copying machine, the information thereof is immediately transmitted to the control center, where dispatch of a serviceman or instructions to the user by way of the communication line and the like are conducted.
Depending on circumstances, however, the abovementioned measures are not required. For example, it is when the user knows how to deal with the trouble very well and can deal with it by himself, or when a serviceman has been already dispatched by a request through a telephone or the like.

Control apparatus of copying machine with improved communication function for centralized control unit


A laterally air permeable roof assembly having seals at perimetrical edges of the roof and at all penetrations of the roof assembly includes secondary air seals spaced from the perimetrical air seals and the protrusion air seals such that the secondary air seals are isolated from unstable areas of the roof. The unstable areas of the roof are areas which experience a high degree of expansion and contraction in different planes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention related to an improved roof assembly, particularly of the type utilizing flexible membrane material, preferably single-ply material, as the uppermost waterproofing layer of the roof assembly. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an improved roofing assembly of the type utilizing air sealed decking comprising corrugated (preferably metal) sheets, wood decking, concrete planking composite panels, poured concrete and the like placed on a structural framework with the emphasis that this invention is particularly useful in combination with existing roofing assemblies such as built up roofing assemblies.
2. Prior Art
Supportive decking sheets, having corrugations for reinforcement, have been previously used in roofing systems of the type using built-up roof waterproofing and flexible single-ply membranes. These decking sheets are attached to an underlying roof support structure, such as metal I-beams, purlins, joints, a wood frame, or the like. These decking sheets are air permeable at their joints and serve to support insulation boards on the top thereof, which insulation boards are then covered by a roofing waterproofing membrane preferably by a single-ply membrane. Such roof decking sheets are commercially available. Air permeable wood decking composite decking and concrete plank decking are also readily commercially available through construction material supply outlets.
In order to accommodate the wind uplift forces that occur in use of such roofing assemblies on a building, especially the very high forces on tall buildings and structures adjacent perimeter edges of buildings, it has been known to provide venting valves through roof membrane. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,223,486 and 4,557,081; which are assigned to Thomas L. Kelly, all of the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, for examples of venting valve systems that have been used. It has also been known to provide some type of sealing envelope (e.g., membrane or film) that extends over the top of sheet metal or other air permeable decking which effectively seals the insulation boards in an air-tight envelope when topped by the membrane. Certain areas of the perimeter and protrusions through the roof which is being covered are particularly important to seal.
In prior systems, were the deck joints are caulked and sealed or in monolithic decks like a poured-in-place concrete deck, the deck serves as an air-tight seal. In these systems flashing is provided between the deck seal or monolithic concrete deck and the membrane overlying the insulation to form a sealed air-tight envelope at protrusions penetrations and perimeters.
In all of the prior systems which employ an air barrier or seal placed upon the top of an air permeable decking, the wind uplift forces are transferred to the bottom of the air barrier layer pushing upward from inside the building, through the air permeable deck. The integrity of the roof systems vis-a-vis the wind uplift forces depends upon the integrity of the insulation, the insulation skin, and the fastener or adhesive holding capability to the deck to keep the roof assembly in place.
Typically, a roof assembly would incorporate mechanical fasteners that would penetrate the insulation boards and include an overlying washer-type hold-down on top of the insulation. These fasteners would then be screwed or bolted through the insulation and air barrier sheet and roof assembly into the permeable decking underneath. Under certain wind uplift conditions, the connection between the insulation board fasteners and the decking can fail resulting in the insulation board being pushed against the overlying roof waterproofing membrane to cause a roof failure.
Prior roofing systems did not employ air seal barriers from the interior of the building, for example, at penetrations, and wind forces would then focus the stress of uplift pressures through the roof assembly directly into the waterproofing membrane. These prior systems also required a barrier sheet to be interposed between the top of the decking and the bottom of the insulation board or board layers. This air barrier sheet would also then be penetrated by the fasteners for the hold-down of insulation boards. Under certain circumstances during assembly of such roofs, the air barrier could tear at the location of the hold-down fasteners, thereby diluting the air barrier effect
The sealed roof deck wind vacuum transfers disclosed in Thomas L. Kelly's U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,930, all of the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, was a great improvement over the prior art previously discussed. However, the system as disclosed in the '930 patent requires careful placing of the roof deck panels for the application of the caulking between and into the roof decking joints. While well suited for its intended purpose, this system can be burdensome, cumbersome and time consuming since each roof deck panel must be laid in place individually and caulked on the interior of the joint prior to laying down of the overlapping panel.
Further improvements were disclosed in Thomas Kelly's disclosure Ser. No. 08/362,226 filed Dec. 23, 1994 which is incorporated herein by reference. Although all of the aforementioned disclosures have led to improvement of sealed roof deck wind vacuum transfer systems, there remains a need for further improvement.
Notwithstanding, the exceptional improvements in wind uplift protection, which improvements have significantly reduced the incidents of roof failure associated with this effect, storm grade winds, particularly those over 100 mph, are quite capable of tearing an entire roof off the building to which it is affixed. The two reasons for this are understandable upon a brief review of the dynamics of wind uplift and thermal expansion and contraction of roof deck and perimeter structures.
The dynamics involved in wind uplifts are created by two fluid streams and a principle of physics known as the Bernoulli principle. The fluid streams at issue are: first, the flow of air across the top of the building and second the upward flow of air caused by a horizontal air flow colliding with the side of the building and being redirected upwards. The two air streams create a horizontal vortex at the windward edge of the building which urges the roofing membrane upward. This, in combination with the Bernoulli principle, which states that as the velocity of a fluid increases, pressure (as well as temperature) decreases, thus providing lift, is a formidable opponent in the struggle to maintain the roof membrane in its desired position. Add to this the instability caused by thermal expansion and contraction of the roof deck and surrounding structures, (as well as structures extending through the roof deck) and it is easy to comprehend first why roofs blow off.
Thermal expansion and contraction of the various structures is concentrated mainly in the longest direction of the structure. For example, a roof deck will expand and contract mostly in the horizontal direction while a building wall and parapet will expand and contract mostly vertically. This discordant movement creates substantial stress on the air sealing compositions and structures (such as nailers) in the precise locations most critical to securing the entire roof structure. Alternately stated, the described movement loosens nailers and fasteners in the perimeter or penetration areas most susceptible to wind uplift forces. Moreover, once these fastening structures have been defeated there is little to prevent the entirety of the roof from blowing off. As stated above, it is not difficult to comprehend why roofs blow off.
Heretofore, no reasonable or effective method or apparatus has been suggested to alleviate this obviously vexatious situation.

Air sealed roof assembly having secondary air seals isolated from unstable perimeter penetration and protrusion areas


A novel steering mode switching carriage is disclosed. A plurality of such carriages, if coupled to each other, can follow a single path without developing any discrepancy in turning radius between front and rear inner wheels when traveling on a curve. The carriage is used as a conventional cart if the front wheels are made to pivot freely and the rear wheels are fixedly aligned longitudinally. According to the present invention, a pair of pivotal shafts of the front wheels and a pair of pivotal shafts of the rear wheels are coupled by right and left parts of a reversing mechanism respectively. Each pivotal shaft is provided with an engaging member, which has a slider and a link lever extending therefrom. The front wheel is caused to pivot by the slider, and the reversing mechanism and the slider are coupled to each other by the link lever. The right and left link levers are coupled to each other by a synchronizing shaft, which is caused to pivot laterally by a steering lever whose rear end is pivotally supported at a lateral center between the front wheels. A front end of the steering lever is operatively connected to a traction bar, which disengages the engaging members from the pivotal shafts to allow pivotal movement of the front wheels. In this mode, the steering lever is fixed at a central position thereof, thus fixedly aligning the rear wheels longitudinally.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carriage for transporting baggage, parts and the like, more specifically, to a steering mode switching carriage, wherein rear and front wheels of the carriage travel on the same path in traction mode, and wherein the rear wheels travel only in the longitudinal direction while the front wheels are pivotable when the carriage is used as a cart.
2. The Related Art
A conventional carriage includes a pair of front wheels each having a pivotal shaft about which the front wheel is pivotable, and a pair of rear wheels unpivotably fixed. When the carriage travels on a curve, therefore, there is always developed a discrepancy in turning radius between the front and rear inner wheels.
An attempt to transport a large amount of parts or the like at a time by coupling a plurality of carriages would increase the discrepancy in turning radius between the respective front and rear inner wheels in proportion to the number of carriages when a train of carriages travel on a curve. As a result, the path necessitates a sufficient width, allowing no more than three carriages to be coupled. In addition, a driver has to make sure that a corner post is not touched by any of the carriages.


Methods and systems are disclosed for audibly announcing information associated with a calling party in an advanced intelligent network comprising a service switching point, a service control point and a services node. The service switching point is adapted to suspend calls directed to an audio caller identification service and to forward information concerning the calling and called parties to the service control point. The service control point is adapted to direct the call to a selected services node. The services node sends a query to retrieve information concerning the calling party from the service control point. If necessary, other service control points may be queried for the information. While the aforementioned processing is occurring, the calling party continues to hear a ringing signal. When the aforementioned information is retrieved, the service directs a second call to the called party. When an operator from the called party station answers the phone, the service audibly announces information concerning the calling party and the called party is provided an opportunity to accept or reject the call.

In recent years, a number of new telephone service features have been provided by an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). The AIN evolved out of a need to increase the capabilities of the telephone network architecture in order to meet the growing needs of telephone customers or users. The AIN architecture generally comprises two networks, a data messaging network and a circuit-switched, trunked communications network. The trunked communications network handles voice and data communications between dispersed network locations, whereas the data messaging network is provided for controlling operations of the trunked communications network.
Calling Number Identification and "Caller ID" are common names for AIN subscriber services that identify the telephone line from which an incoming call originates. Generally, Caller ID provides the called party with a visual alphanumeric display of the calling party's name and/or telephone number on a Caller Line Identity Display (CLID). This service has become very popular in today's telecommunications market due to subscribers' desire for increased privacy and control. By providing the called party with the identity of the calling party upon receipt of an incoming call, the called party can selectively field incoming calls.
Typically, mobile phone users pay for mobile phone usage including incoming calls. Hence, mobile phone users are likely to subscribe to Caller ID services, such as calling number ID and caller name ID to screen incoming calls, if such a service is available. Mobile phone users who subscribe to Caller ID may find it difficult to read the visual calling name/number data on the cellular phone display, especially while involved in other activities, such as driving. Hence, it is helpful for mobile phone users to receive Caller ID information audibly, rather than visually, so as not to be distracted from other activities.
Traditional wired telephone users as well may find it useful to have an audio caller identification service. Persons who have vision difficulties or who have to keep their eyes on what they are doing may find an audio caller identification system extremely helpful. Additionally, a customer with a cordless phone or several handsets may find it inconvenient to go to the location of a CLID, which may be in another room, to see who is calling. Such users may find it more convenient to receive Caller ID information audibly at the telephone handset.
To accommodate mobile phone users and to address the limitations of visual Caller ID services, there have been proposed systems for audio Caller ID. Existing audio Caller ID systems, however, are limited by relying on technology used by visual Caller ID systems. Visual Caller ID information is limited by the display characteristics of the CLID to 15 characters in length, which is sometimes insufficient to completely and uniquely identify the calling party. Hence, existing audio Caller ID systems, relying on existing visual Caller ID technology, are similarly limited to 15 characters of information, resulting in frequent truncation of names. It would be a great advantage, therefore, if an audio Caller ID system provided more than 15 characters of information to be converted to speech so that names or other data would not be truncated, allowing a calling party to be completely and uniquely identified.
Additionally, in existing audio Caller ID services, for those subscribing to both visual Caller ID and Audio Caller ID, the calling number information displayed on the CLID is incorrect. Rather than displaying the number from which the call was placed, the CLID displays the number of the services node used to complete the call. It would be a great advantage if the correct information would be displayed on the CLID for those who subscribe to both visual and audio Caller ID.
The present invention is directed to an improved audio Caller ID system. Specifically, the present invention is directed to remedying both the truncation of identification information and the incorrect display of the calling party number on the CLID.

System and method for audio caller identification service

AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc.


The invention is directed to compounds having the following sequences: Leu Val Leu Leu Lys Lys Leu Met Lys Lys Tyr Lys Lys Leu Lys Lys Leu Gly Gly Leu as set forth in SEQ. ID. No. 1; Leu Leu Leu Leu Lys Leu Leu Leu Lys Lys Asn Pro Lys Leu Lys Lys Leu Ile Gly Val as set forth in SEQ. ID. No. 2; Leu Leu Leu Leu Lys Lys Leu Leu Lys Leu Met Asn Leu Leu Lys Lys Leu Gly His Tyr as set forth in SEQ. ID. No. 3; and Lys Lys Ile Lys Glu Lys Tyr Asp Lys Met Lys Lys as set forth in SEQ. ID. No. 4.

The present invention describes pharmaceutically relevant compounds for use as preservatives and antimicrobial application and may be applied to treatment or prevention of manifestations of infectious disease. More specifically, the present invention includes a new class of polypeptides and their associated salts thereof, which possess broad spectrum antimicrobial potency and favorable therapeutic profiles. In addition, the application may embody a variety of chemical disinfectant uses for reduction in bacterial growth and sterilization. Applications are widespread, from antibacterial and antifungal creams, food preservatives, indwelling medical device coatings to antibiotics for human disease treatment. Polypeptides are key carriers of biochemical information in all mammalian systems, thus garnering considerable interest as therapeutic and diagnostic reagents. No such polypeptide sequences as described in the present invention have been previously discovered or isolated either synthetically using de novo design or purified from compositions in the natural ecosystems.

Yeast-toxin-related protein for antimicrobial vaccine and sterilizing preservative use


A memory interface apparatus includes a plurality of data memories MEMs, and address modification units AMDs and memory access units I/Fs respectively corresponding to the plurality of data memories MEMs. Each address modification unit AMD has an offset table OFT for pre-storing a plurality of offsets, reads an offset from the table OFT based on received second data D2, modifies an address indicated by a received generation number GN using the read offset, and applies a resultant address to a corresponding memory access unit I/F. Each memory access unit I/F accesses a memory MEM based on the applied address, according to a received operation code C. Each result of access is applied in parallel to an operation unit ALU, which in turn performs operation of the applied result according to an operation code C. Thus, operation processing which compounds access to a memory can be carried out, utilizing parallelism in processing sufficiently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory interface apparatus responsive to received data for accessing a data memory and outputting the result of the access, and more particularly, to a memory interface apparatus responsive to reception of data to which number information is allocated in an input time series order for accessing a data memory by addressing using the number information and the like, and for processing and outputting the result of the access. It is noted that a data memory herein is a memory for storing data to be referred to or updated at the time of execution of processing in an information processor.
2. Description of the Background Art
Parallel processing is effective when high speed processing of a large amount of data, such as video signal processing, is desired. A so-called data driven type architecture has particularly attracted attention among parallel processing architectures.
In a data driven information processor, processing is performed according to a rule "when all the data needed for an operation are available and resources such as an operation unit required for the operation are assigned thereto, the operation is carried out".
In processing time series digital signals such as video signals, the same processing is often applied to each time series signal. Therefore, in a digital signal processing data driven information processor, a dynamic data driven method in which the same processing flow can be carried out with each time series data separated from each other.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a conventional data driven information processor for digital image signal processing. FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing formats of data packets applied to a conventional example and an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a field configuration of a generation number in a data packet. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a logical arrangement of a data memory based on the field configuration of the generation number shown in FIG. 11.
The data packet shown in FIG. 10A includes an operation code C, a node number ND, a generation number GN corresponding to a time series order as described above, and data D. The node number ND is a number which is allocated to each node indicating each processing step (each operation code C) carried out in a data flow graph representing a data flow program. The data packet shown in FIG. 10B is the same as that shown in FIG. 10A except that the data packet of FIG. 10B includes first and second data D1 and D2 instead of data D in the data packet of FIG. 10A.
The data driven information processor of FIG. 9 includes a junction unit J for receiving and sequentially outputting a data packet; a waiting control unit FC for receiving a data packet, waiting data and producing paired data or a constant; a data memory MEM; an operation unit FP for performing operation processing and accessing memory MEM; a storage unit PS for pre-storing a data flow program of each type of processing such as video signal processing; and a branch unit B for receiving and outputting a data packet. These units are connected to each other through an internal pipeline shown by a thick solid line in the figure.
Referring to FIG. 11, generation number GN is data of a fixed length, and consists of an m-bit field address FD#, an n-bit line address LN# and a 1-bit pixel address PX#.
The content of generation number GN of FIG. 11 corresponds to the logical arrangement of data memory MEM shown in FIG. 12. Memory MEM serves as an image memory if the information processor performs video signal is processing and the logical arrangement thereof includes 2.sup.m fields each specified by an m-bit field address FD#, each field includes 2.sup.n lines in a vertical direction each corresponding to an n-bit line address LN#, and each line includes 2.sup.1 pixels each corresponding to a 1-bit pixel address PX#.
If processing according to a data flow program for image signal processing stored in storage unit PS in FIG. 9 is to be carried out, a data packet from the internal pipeline and a data packet of FIG. 10A externally applied to an information processor are first supplied to packet junction unit J, and sequentially output to waiting control unit FC. Waiting control unit FC receives a data packet, and waits for a data packet or fetches a pre-stored constant in order to produce paired data in view of a generation number GN of the received data packet, and thereafter, produces such a data packet as shown in FIG. 10B and outputs the data packet to operation unit FP.
An operation code C, a node number ND, a generation number GN and data D of input packet to unit FC are set in an operation code C, a node number ND, a generation number GN and first data D1 of the data packet of FIG. 10B produced in waiting control unit FC, respectively. If paired data is produced, data paired with data D is set in second data D2 of the data packet of FIG. 10B produced, and if a constant is fetched, the fetched constant is set therein.
Operation unit FP receives an applied data packet, and performs operation processing of first or second data D1 or D2 of the received data packet or accesses memory MEM according to the result of decoding an operation code C of the received data packet, and thereafter, outputs a data packet having a format of FIG. 10A to program storage unit PS. Normally, the result of operation processing or access to a memory is stored as data D in a data packet output from operation unit FP.
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating access to a memory in a conventional operation unit FP, and FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an address modification step for access to a memory in FIG. 13.
In FIG. 13, a memory MEM is located in the center of the figure, for convenience. Blocks in FIG. 13 include an address modification unit amd, a memory access unit i/f, and a control unit Cn for controlling these units. In the case of performing access to a memory, a generation number GN in a received data packet is processed in address modification unit amd based on the step of FIG. 14, so that a logical address of two dimensions (line, pixel) by n planes (fields) indicated by the generation number GN is converted into a physical address of the memory MEM by address modification using an offset indicated by second data D2 of the received data packet.
In program storage unit PS, the subsequent operation code and a node number corresponding to that operation code are fetched from a pre-stored program based on a node number ND of a received data packet to be respectively set in the received data packet as an operation code C and a node number ND, and then, the received data packet is output. A data packet output from program storage unit PS is output externally or is output to the internal pipeline from branch unit B.
The above described data driven information processor has been to have an architecture suitable for digital image signal processing, since it can access two dimensions by n planes logically arranged at the time of performing access to a memory MEM, based on a generation number GN corresponding to time series data, that is, it can access, for each data packet, an address of a memory MEM corresponding to a scan position of an image signal.
In the arrangement of the above described operation unit FP, however, access to a memory MEM (see FIG. 13) and operation processing are carried out independently of each other in function, and therefore, filter operation, correlation operation and the like using the result of reference to a memory MEM, which are frequently used in image processing, must be performed in a plurality of nodes. Inclusion of a number of nodes in a data flow graph may cause an internal pipeline in an information processor to be crowded with data packets at the time of execution of processing according to the data flow program. In addition, overhead would be produced for waiting for data for operation processing of the resultant data of access to a data memory MEM. Consequently, improvement in throughput of processing has been difficult.
A technique has been proposed in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/215,564, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,834, in order to solve these problems. An operation unit FP is partially improved in this technique.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating access to a memory in an operation unit FP disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/215,564, now U.S. Pat No. 5,502,834. A memory MEM is located in the center of the figure, for convenience. Blocks in FIG. 15 are different from those in FIG. 13 in that blocks in FIG. 15 additionally include an arithmetic and logic unit alu for receiving and processing the result of access to a data memory MEM and include a control unit Cn1 instead of control unit Cn, in that an output of the arithmetic and logic unit alu is fed back to a path for access to a memory MEM, and in that each unit is controlled by control unit Cn1. With the structure of FIG. 15, simple access to a memory MEM, operation processing of resultant data of the access and data applied to operation unit FP, and update of the content of memory MEM using the result of the operation processing can be realized with a single received operation code C.
Use of an operation instruction which compounds access to memory MEM as described above allows operation using the result of access to a memory, which is frequently used in image processing, to be carried out with fewer nodes and without waiting for data in waiting control unit FC. Accordingly, reduction in the number of nodes causes reduction in the amount of data packets flowing in the information processor upon processing for each generation, and no waiting for data permits data packets of more generations to be supplied to the information processor, so that throughput of processing could be improved.
In the arrangement of FIG. 15, however, since a data packet which stores an intermediate result of correlation operation circulates through a pipeline or an intermediate result is temporarily stored in a data memory MEM, improvement in operation efficiency has not been easy. In addition, since processing is performed in a time direction in order to avoid waiting for data, it has been difficult to utilize parallelism in processing only by a function as shown in FIG. 15. It is noted that parallelism in processing herein means that processing includes a plurality of basic processings (access to a memory or operation) which can be carried out in parallel.
A further improved operation unit FP has been proposed to solve the above described problems.
FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating access to a memory in a proposed operation unit FP. A memory MEM is located in the center of the figure, for convenience.
FIGS. 17 and 18 are diagrams illustrating address modification steps for access to a memory in FIG. 16.
Blocks in FIG. 16 includes two memories MEMs, memory access units i/fs and address modification units amds corresponding to respective memories MEMs, a selector sl, an arithmetic and logic unit alu, and a control unit Cn2 for controlling each unit.
This arrangement enables not only two memories MEM to be accessed simultaneously (in parallel) in the case of FIG. 16, but also access to each memory MEM, operation using the result of the access, and update of the content of each memory MEM using the result of the operation to be carried out with a single operation code C. In addition, when memories MEMs are to be accessed, a single generation number GN corresponding to two dimensions (pixel, line) by n planes (fields) is converted-into two different physical addresses by address modification using different offsets indicated by second data D2 by means of the step shown in FIG. 17 or 18.
Use of an operation instruction which compounds parallel access to two memories MEMs as described above allows operation processing using the result of reference to a memory, which is frequently used in image processing, to be carried out with fewer nodes, so that data packets of more generations can be supplied to an information processor, resulting in improvement in throughput of processing.
It can be said that the apparatus of FIG. 16 has an architecture suitable for digital image signal processing since scanning of the content of a memory MEM corresponding to a scan position of an image signal and operation which compounds parallel access to two memories MEM can be carried out in an order of received data packets. However, parallel access to data memories MEMs is limited to at most two memories MEMs for a single operation code C, and therefore, parallelism in processing is not used sufficiently. Accordingly, since filter operation or correlation operation using at least three data must be processed serially using a plurality of instructions, it has been difficult to improve throughput of processing.
In addition, as shown in FIGS. 14, 17 and 18, a part (second data D2) of a field of a data packet is directly used as an offset of an address for access to a data memory MEM. Therefore, in particular when two different data memories MEMs are to be accessed in parallel, the range of an offset value must be reduced, or either a pixel offset or a line offset must be common to both data memories MEMs. With this restriction, even if two different data memories MEMs could be accessed in parallel, access to addresses, which have different pixels and different lines, of the memories MEMs to be accessed or access to a portion other than the region of the memories MEMs which can be subject to address modification using an offset must be processed serially with two instructions, so that parallelism in processing has not been used sufficiently.

Memory interface apparatus including an address modification unit having an offset table for prestoring a plurality of offsets


A braking system for a vehicle. The braking system provides continuous tactile feed back through the brake pedal to the operator of the vehicle that conforms to the degree to which the vehicle brakes are being applied so that the tactile feed-back to the operator conforms to the visual and kinesthetic input received by the operator. The braking system has a brake pedal that is mounted to be depressed in response to a force applied thereto by the vehicle operator. The braking system incorporates both a mechanical brake actuating mechanism and a hydraulic brake actuating mechanism. The braking system provides for selective actuation of the mechanical brake actuating mechanism sequentially in advance of the hydraulic brake actuating mechanism when the brake pedal is depressed. A linkage assembly is incorporated in the mechanical brake actuating mechanism. The linkage assembly provides tactile feed-back to the brake pedal throughout the range of operation of said braking system. Subsequent to the mechanical actuation of the braking system, continued depression of the brake pedal actuates the hydraulic brake actuating mechanism. This sequencing is provided by a brake actuating system embodying the concepts of the present invention and is responsible for the reliable tactile feed-back reflected in the brake pedal.

The present invention is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with torque transfer devices in the nature of interleaved, multi-plate, brake packs that are actuated by a combination of mechanical and hydraulic means.
Torque transfer devices in the nature of such multi-plate, brake packs are often employed in conjunction with individual transmission output shafts, or the axle assemblies connected thereto. Such brake packs are generally subjected to axial compression in order to effect the desired braking action in response to depression of the brake pedal. That is, compression of the multiple, interleaved torque plates, with frection disks disposed therebetween, effects the torque transfer between the rotating output shaft and a fixed member secured to the vehicle. It is this torque transfer which actually slows the vehicle.
Combined mechanical and hydraulic actuation of braking systems have been available for many years. The combination advantageously actuates the brake mechanism with relatively modest foot pressure. However, when hydraulic actuation, and/or self energization is employed, the braking system is particularly susceptible to feed-back that might be erroneously interpreted. That is, the braking pressure applied by the vehicle operator, at least as the vehicle operator's foot receives feed-back which reflects the pressure required to effect the braking operation, appears to be disproportionately less than the operator might expect for the braking action desired.
Accordingly, when hydraulic actuation is initiated--particularly if the system initiates hydraulic actuation prior to mechanical actuation--brake pedal effort drops so rapidly that the operator is unable to respond with the required reduction of foot pressure to the brake pedal. In fact, the operator typically responds to the diminished tactile feed-back by applying even greater pressure to the foot pedal, thereby applying an even greater braking force. Under the circumstances of attempting to slow, or to bring the vehicle to a stop, the significant, instantaneous reduction of foot pedal resistance is interpreted as at least a partial loss of braking ability, which explains the operator'normal reaction of applying an even greater amount of pressure to the brake pedal.
The foot pressure applied to stroke, or depress, the brake pedal during the initial actuation of the braking operation is progressively resisted by the prior known brake pedal return spring, as represented by portion 10 of the curve depicted in FIG. 1. After the mechanical apply lever assembly, or the apply shaft, has rotated approximately eight degrees in prior art systems, hydraulic actuation of the braking operation is initiated. The tactile feed-back pressure thereupon drops, as reflected by portion 11 of the curve depicted in FIG. 1, to the extremely modest level of resistance afforded by a regulating spring that is customarily incorporated in the hydraulic brake apply valve. This low level resistance continues through virtually the entire rotational range of the apply lever, or shaft, as represented by portion 12 of the aforesaid curve.

Combined mechanically/hydraulically actuated braking system which provides tactile feed-back


Method of and system for on-board substantially autonomous control for transferring a spacecraft from an initial orbit to a final geosynchronous orbit, by a trajectory that minimizes remaining transfer time and orbit transfer fuel. The spacecraft determines its orbit using a GPS-based system to determine the spacecraft orbital elements. Based on the measured orbit error, corrected co-state parameters are calculated and used to generate an updated thrust trajectory. The corrections are calculated using an innovative numerical procedure, carried out repetitively at a fixed interval until the target geosynchronous orbit is achieved.

To increase the payload mass delivered to orbit, large geosynchronous spacecraft may perform an orbit transfer using high-efficiency ion propulsion. During the orbit transfer, either Hall Current Thrusters (HCTs) or Xenon Ion Thrusters (XITs) are fired nearly continuously for a period of several weeks to months. While the thrusters are fired, the spacecraft attitude is controlled so the thrust vector tracks a specified inertial trajectory vector and the solar arrays remain pointed at the sun. The orbit transfer trajectory vector may be determined by solving the well-known minimum-time continuous firing orbit transfer problem. The trajectory is determined using a computationally intensive numerical iteration procedure that is not practical to implement on-board the spacecraft. The results of the optimization are a set of parameters, known as co-states, that can be used to generate the thrust trajectory on board the spacecraft.
During actual mission operations, the spacecraft generates the orbit transfer trajectory vector using ground-supplied co-states, and follows the trajectory while firing ion thrusters to execute the orbit transfer. However, over time, the actual orbit trajectory will deviate from the ideal orbit trajectory due to the effects of thrust and mass uncertainties, attitude determination and control errors, and perturbations due to the sun, moon, and earth gravity non-uniformities. To mitigate these effects, the ground routinely performs orbit determination using ranging data collected at times when ground contact with the spacecraft is possible. Using the estimated orbit, the ground generates updated co-states that are sent to the spacecraft to compute the updated thrust trajectory that corrects the orbit. This trajectory correction procedure is repeated every several days until the orbit transfer is complete.
There are several significant drawbacks to this approach. The first is that it requires a potentially large and highly skilled ground support staff to generate the orbit determination and trajectory replans for upload to the spacecraft. This staff must support the entire orbit transfer, which can be 100 days or greater. Also, because of the need for ground contact for ranging and commanding, generally at least three ground stations widely spaced in longitude must be available. Ground stations and their support staffs are a significant mission support cost, and it is desirable to reduce the number of stations needed. Additionally, there is a practical limit to the frequency that the firing plan can be updated due to the time required to collect and process orbit determination data and perform the numerical optimization. Larger update intervals reduce the orbit transfer efficiency, because the actual trajectory will deviate to a greater extent from the ideal trajectory. This deviation results in a longer orbit transfer requiring more fuel to complete.
Finally, the upload plans and parameters must be carefully checked and verified by the ground support staff before transmission to the spacecraft. As is true with all operations involving frequent ground commanding, mistakes are possible that can have negative consequences for the mission.

System and method of substantially autonomous geosynchronous time-optimal orbit transfer


Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) plants exhibiting resistance to Nasonovia ribisnigri biotype Nr:1 are provided, together with methods of producing, identifying, or selecting plants or germplasm with a Nasonovia ribisnigri biotype Nr:1 resistance phenotype. Such plants include lettuce plants comprising introgressed genomic regions conferring pest resistance. Compositions, including novel polymorphic markers for detecting plants comprising introgressed loci, are further provided.

Host plant resistance is an important trait in agriculture, particularly in the area of food crop production. Although loci conferring resistance to pests have been identified in various lettuce species, efforts to introduce these loci into cultivated lines have been hindered by a lack of specific markers linked to the loci. The use of marker-assisted selection (MAS) in plant breeding has made it possible to select plants based on genetic markers linked to traits of interest. However, accurate markers for identifying or tracking desirable traits in plants are frequently unavailable even if a gene associated with the trait has been characterized. These difficulties are further complicated by factors such as polygenic or quantitative inheritance, epistasis, and an incomplete understanding of the genetic background underlying expression of a desired phenotype.


Flexible medical container containing a light-sensitive medical fluid packaged in an overwrap having UV rays barrier properties to prevent degradation of the light-sensitive fluid but allowing observation of the content of the medical fluid and identifying inscription printed on the medical container.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flexible medical container packaging of aqueous solutions requiring protection form environmental effects of UV lights such as omitted by the sun and fluorescent lights. More particularly, the invention relates to the packaging of fluids such as certain liquid pharmaceutical formulations and diagnostic contrast media sensitive to UV lights in a container which maintains its configuration when filled but flexibly collapses as the fluids are being administered to patients.
2. Reported Developments
Flexible medical containers are known in the art for the containment and delivery of medical fluids. Such containers serve for accommodating blood or for sterile storage of infusion solutions and diagnostic media for parenteral administration. For these purposes the containers must be sterile and sterility is achieved by heating to at least 100.degree. C. or more in an autoclave. Sterility must be maintained during storage and administration of the medical fluids such that environmental conditions such as atmospheric oxidation will not jeopardize the integrity of the medical fluids.
In order to maintain the integrity of the medical fluids both during the sterilization process and storage, the medical bag is packaged in a first packaging material or overwrap having sufficient gas permeability and heat resistance able to withstand heat on autoclaving, and a second packaging material or overwarp which has a high oxygen impermeability. This double packaging results in good shelf life, such as disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,605. Other efforts to maintain the integrity of medical fluids during and subsequent to sterilization included the use of multi-layer packaging, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,721. Still other efforts included the use of a deoxidizer between the medical fluid-filled container and the outer wrap which outer wrap covers both the container and the deoxidizer.
Certain medical fluids are not only oxygen-sensitive, but also light-sensitive. To prevent TV rays reaching the ophthalmic solution in a vessel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,744 discloses the use of a laminate comprising nylon, aluminum foil and polypropylene with which the vessel is overwrapped. Such laminates, containing a metal foil widely used for pouches and bags containing intravenous solutions. However, there is also a need to allow observation of the content of the medical bags during the filling operation and delivery thereof to the patient. To satisfy that need transparent polymeric materials are used. However, such transparent polymeric materials are not sufficient barriers to UV rays.
It would be highly desirable to provide a medical bottle packaged in an overwrap having UV barrier properties yet which would allow observation of the content of the bottle as well as the identifying inscription on the bottle without removing the overwrap.
Such identifying inscription on the medical bottle itself would also reduce errors which may occur during packaging of the medical bottle in an overwrap when the medical bottle and the overwrap are manufactured in different manufacturing operation or at different manufacturing sites.
Applicants have now discovered that, in addition to providing a medical container having the required properties to allow autoclave sterilization, may be packaged in an overwrap which is substantially resistant to UV rays penetration, yet allow viewing the content of the medical bottle and its identifying inscription.


A lower support is provided between the side edges of the roof beneath. The lower support is in contact with the roof adjacent to the exterior edge. Upper supports are provided above and in contact with the roof. The upper supports include upper exterior, interior and intermediate supports. The upper exterior support is adjacent to the exterior edge. The upper interior support is adjacent to the interior edge. Central supports extend between the interior and exterior edges of the roof. The lower support is provided below and the upper supports are provided above. The central supports are located above and in contact with the roof. In this manner lower intersections are formed with the upper exterior and lower exterior and central supports. Upper intersections are formed with the upper interior and the central supports. Central intersections are formed with the upper intermediate and central supports.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable tie down system and more particularly pertains to holding down aluminum car ports, screen rooms and like structures during high winds to abate damage in a reliable and economical manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of support systems of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, support systems of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of securing structures through known methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,531 issued Aug. 15, 1967 to Grimelli relates to Tie-Down House Trailers or the Like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,764 issued Nov. 6, 1973 to Young relates to a Mobile Home Holdown Apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,670 issued Mar. 16, 1976 to Miller relates to an Anchor System for Mobile Homes and Similar Structures. U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,786 issued Jun. 23, 1996 to Lozier relates to a Hurricane-Resisting Building Roof Structure Tie-Down. U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,640 issued Oct. 18, 1994 to Frye relates to an Anchor System for Completed Structures. U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,935 issued Feb. 20, 1996 to Coxum relates to a Roof Anchor System. U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,788 issued Apr. 29, 1997 to Bimberg relates to a Roof Anchoring System. U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,512 issued Nov. 18, 1997 to Spoozak relates to a Hurricane Lock Down System. U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,572 issued Nov. 16, 1999 to Laboy relates to a Roof Tie-Down Support Member. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,593 issued Aug. 7, 2001 to Thompson relates to a Roof Tie Down Connecting Fork and Yoke.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a cable tie down system that allows holding down aluminum car ports, screen rooms and like structures during high winds to abate damage in a reliable and economical manner.
In this respect, the cable tie down system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of holding down aluminum car ports, screen rooms and like structures during high winds to abate damage in a reliable and economical manner.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved cable tie down system which can be used for holding down aluminum car ports, screen rooms and like structures during high winds to abate damage in a reliable and economical manner. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A disposable absorbent article comprising an absorbent core located in a chassis and comprising absorbent particulate polymer material having a basis weight that varies across the absorbent core. Methods for making such an absorbent core and corresponding disposable absorbent article are also disclosed.

Absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, training pants, and adult incontinence undergarments, absorb and contain body exudates. They are also intended to prevent body exudates from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles, such as, bedding, that come in contact with the wearer. A disposable absorbent article, such as a disposal diaper, may be worn for several hours in a dry state or in a urine loaded state. Accordingly, efforts have been made toward improving the fit and comfort of the absorbent article to the wearer, both when the article is dry and when the article is fully or partially loaded with liquid exudates, while maintaining or enhancing the absorbing and containing functions of the article.
Disposable absorbent articles, as disposable diapers, are often purchased and used in a relatively large volume. It has been desirable to make disposable absorbent articles with reduced bulk to reduce space needed for transportation, shelf display, and/or storage. Some absorbent articles, like disposable diapers, have been made thinner by using an absorbent polymer material (also known as super absorbent polymer), such as an absorbent particulate polymer material, as the primary liquid absorbent in the article. Absorbent particulate polymer material absorbs liquid and swells within the article.
A wearer may subject some absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, to one or more rushes of liquid, such as when urinating. Such a wearer typically desires that the absorbent article absorb and hold all such liquid during initial and subsequent rushes of liquid. The rate of absorbency and capacity of the absorbent particulate polymer material may affect the absorbent article's ability to absorb and hold all liquid during initial and subsequent rushes of liquid. When an absorbent article is not able to absorb and hold all liquid, an undesirable liquid leak may occur.
Thus, there remains a desire to enhance the ability of some thin, flexible, and/or inexpensive absorbent articles to absorb and hold one or more rushes of liquid without substantial leakage of liquid from the absorbent article.

Disposable absorbent article with varied distribution of absorbent particulate polymer material and method of making same