An apparatus having an image blur correcting function comprises a first unit including an image blur correction apparatus, a second unit rotatable about a first axis differing from a photo-taking optical axis relative to the first unit, a vibration detector provided in the second unit for detecting rotational vibration about the first unit, and a controller for operating the image blur apparatus in conformity with the output of the vibration detector.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus having an image blur correcting function for use in a video camera, a digital still camera or the like.
2. Related Background Art
Image pickup apparatuses (cameras) having a solid state image pickup element such as CCD on an imaging plane, such as video cameras and digital cameras, have heretofore been generalized. There are various sizes of image pickup elements such as CCD""s used in these image pickup apparatuses, and generally, as the number of pixels is increased, the size of the CCD becomes larger, and correspondingly, the cost increases. From these conditions, what is called xc2xc inch size, in which the diagonal length is in the order of 4 mm, or what is called ⅓ inch size, in which the diagonal length is in the order of 6 mm, is often conventionally used. Also the number of pixels of these CCD""s is generally 300,000 to 400,000.
Thus, the image size of these image pickup apparatuses is small compared with the 43 mm diagonal of a 135 film silver halide camera. Therefore, in lenses of the same angle of view, great downsizing is generally possible relative to the lenses of 135 film cameras. In fact, in video cameras using a CCD of xc2xc inch, a zoom lens having a zoom ratio of 10 and having a full length in the order of 50 mm is popular.
However, when such a zoom lens is mounted on a compact and light-weight video camera or digital still camera, there arises the problem that particularly in photographing wherein the focal length is set to a relatively long focus side, it is difficult due to hand vibration to obtain a stable image field. From such circumstances, various hand vibration preventing apparatuses have heretofore been proposed.
If a vibration preventing apparatus of this kind is used, not only the harmful vibration of the image field due to such hand vibration will be eliminated, but also a great effect will of course be achieved under such circumstances that in case of photographing from a ship or an automobile, harmful vibration cannot be eliminated even if a tripod is used.
The vibration preventing apparatus of this kind is provided with at least vibration detection means for detecting vibration, and blur correction means for effecting any correction in conformity with the information of the detected vibration so that blur may not occur as the image field.
As the vibration detection means, there are known, for example, an angular acceleration meter, an angular velocity meter, an angular displacement meter, etc. Also as the blur correction means, there are known optical means using a variable apex-angle prism or using the effect of shifting a part of a photo-taking optical system in a plane perpendicular to a photo-taking optical axis to bend the photo-taking optical axis as a result, and electronic means for sequentially changing (pursuing), in a video camera designed to cut out an area actually used as an image field from obtained image pickup image field information, the cutting-out position to a position in which vibration is corrected. However, the latter case is a correcting method among continuous image fields in a moving picture, and is not effective as the correction means in the case of a still picture.
Generally, optical correction means is capable of effecting correction to a vibration within an angle determined as the vibration correction angle of a camera irrespective of the focal length of the lens thereof, and accordingly, even when the focal length of a zoom lens on the telephoto side (the long focal length side) thereof is long, it is possible to have the capability of eliminating any vibration which poses no problem in practical use.
FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C of the accompanying drawings illustrate the relation between the focal length and the vibration angle of a camera in the prior art at an object position on the image field. In FIG. 11A, the optical axis of the lens when the camera is at a position indicated by 112 is 113 and thus, the face of a person 111 which is an object is caught substantially at the center of the image field. Let it be assumed that from this state, the camera has been rotated through a degrees by hand vibration. The position of the camera at this time is indicated by 114 and the optical axis is indicated by 115.
FIGS. 11B and 11C show the position of the image field in this camera position indicated by 112 and 114, FIG. 11C shows the state of a zoom lens at the telephoto end (the end of the long focal length side), and FIG. 11B shows the state of the zoom lens at the wide end (the end of the short focal length side). The reference numeral 116 designates an object in the image field, the reference numerals 117 and 119 denote the respective image fields when the camera position is 112, and the reference numerals 118 and 120 designate the respective image fields when the camera position is 114.
As is apparent from FIGS. 11A to 11C, even if the camera vibration is of the same a degrees, the harm is greater as the vibration on the image field as a matter of course when the focal length of the lens is long. Accordingly, if it is combined with a lens having long focal length particularly on the telephoto side, the effect thereof is remarkable.
FIGS. 12A to 12C, 13A, 13B, 14 and 15 of the accompanying drawings show a construction using a variable apex-angle prism as an example of the blur correction means according to the prior art.
FIGS. 12A to 12C show the construction of the variable apex-angle prism itself. In these figures, the reference numerals 121 and 123 designate glass plates, and the reference numeral 127 denotes a bellows portion made of a material such as polyethylene. Transparent liquid 122 such as silicon oil is enveloped in the interior surrounded by the glass plates 123 and the bellows 127. In FIG. 12B, the two glass plates 121 and 123 are in a parallel state, and the angle of incidence and the angle of emergence of the ray of light of the variable apex-angle prism in this case are equal to each other. On the other hand, when as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12C, the glass plates have angles with respect to each other, the ray of light is bent at a certain angle as indicated by a ray of light 124 in FIG. 12A and a ray of light 126 in FIG. 12C.
Accordingly, vibration can be eliminated by controlling the angle of the variable apex-angle prism provided in front of a lens so that when the camera is inclined by a cause such as hand vibration, the ray of light may be bent by an amount corresponding to the angle of the inclination. FIGS. 13A and 13B show such state, and in FIG. 13A, assuming that the variable apex-angle prism becomes parallel and the ray of light catches the head of the object, there is shown a state in which by a correction for driving the variable apex-angle prism for a vibration of a degrees as shown in FIG. 13B to thereby bend the ray of light, the photo-taking optical axis still continues to catch the head of the object again in this case.
FIG. 14 shows an example of the actual construction of a variable apex-angle prism unit including a variable apex-angle prism and an actuator portion for driving it, and an apex-angle sensor for detecting an angle state. Actual vibrations appear in all directions and therefore, the front glass surface and rear glass surface of the variable apex-angle prism are designed to be rotatable with directions which are 90xc2x0 out of phase with each other as a rotational axis. Also, here, suffixes a and b indicate respective constituents in the two directions of rotation, and the constituents given the same reference numerals are entirely the same in function. Accordingly, description will hereinafter be made with the suffixes a and b omitted. The parts on the b side are partially not shown.
In FIG. 14, the reference numeral 141 designates a variable apex-angle prism comprising glass 121, 123, a bellows portion 127, a liquid, etc. The glass plates 121 and 123 are integrally attached to holding frames 128a, 182b with an adhesive agent or the like. Each holding frame 128a, 128b constituents a rotary shaft portion 133a, 133b between itself and a fixed part (not shown) and is rotatable about this shaft. The shafts 133a and 133b differ in direction by 90xc2x0 from each other. Each coil 135a, 135b is integrally provided on the holding frame 128a, 128b, respectively, while on the other hand, each magnet 136a, 136b, and yokes 137a, 137b and 138a, 138b are provided on a fixed portion (not shown). Accordingly, by electric current being supplied to coils 135a, 135b, the variable apex-angle prism 141 is rotated about its shafts 133a, 133b. There is a slit 129a in the tip end of an arm portion 130a integrally extending from the holding frame 128a, and an apex-angle sensor for detecting the angle state of the variable apex-angle prism is constituted between a light emitting element 131 a such as an iRED and a light receiving element 142a such as a PSD provided on the fixed portion.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a vibration preventing apparatus provided with this variable apex-angle prism 141 as blur correction means, in combination with a lens.
In FIG. 15, the reference numeral 141 designates the variable apex-angle prism, the reference numerals 143 and 144 denote apex-angle sensors, the reference numerals 153 and 154 designate amplification circuits for amplifying the outputs of the apex-angle sensors to a predetermined level, the reference numeral 145 denotes a microcomputer, the reference numerals 146 and 147 designate vibration detection means constituted by angular velocity meters or the like, the reference numerals 148 and 149 denote actuators comprising the aforementioned coils 135a and 135b to the yokes 138a and 138b, respectively, and the reference numeral 152 designates a lens.
In the microcomputer 145, an electric current supplied to the actuators 148 and 149 is determined in order to control the variable apex-angle prism 141 to an angle state optimum to eliminate any vibration on the image field, in conformity with the angle state of the variable apex-angle prism 141 detected by the apex-angle sensors 143 and 144, and the result of the detection by the vibration detection means 146 and 147. The reason why in FIG. 15, the main blocks are shown as two systems is that it is assumed that the control in two directions which are 90xc2x0 out of phase with each other is individually effected.
Also, there have recently announced various forms of the layout of an image pickup apparatus such as a video camera or a digital still camera. Among them, there are nowadays particularly often seen image pickup apparatuses (cameras) of such layout in which a so-called camera portion including a photo-taking lens portion and a solid state image pickup element such as a CCD, and in the case of a video camera, a recorder portion comprising a mechanical portion for effecting recording and reproduction on a tape or the like, and a liquid crystal panel for displaying a recorded image and a reproduced image are rotatably constructed.
FIGS. 16A to 16C and FIGS. 17A and 17B of the accompanying drawings show video cameras of such conventional layout.
FIG. 16A is a front view of a video camera, FIG. 16B is a left side view thereof, and FIG. 16C is a right side view thereof. The reference numeral 240 designates a camera portion including at least a lens and a solid state image pickup element such as a CCD, the reference numeral 241 denotes a recorder portion which includes a recorder for recording an image photographed by a camera portion, the reference numeral 242 designates a photo-taking lens, the reference numeral 243 denotes a photo-taking optical axis, and the reference numeral 246 designates a coupling portion between the recorder portion and the camera portion which are rotatably coupled to each other. The reference numeral 248 denotes a liquid crystal panel as a viewfinder for displaying an image photographed by a camera portion as a finder image, and the reference numeral 247 designates the center of rotation of the liquid crystal panel. The camera portion 240 rotates about the center of rotation 246, and for example, becomes capable of photographing having an elevation angle like a state 245 indicated by dots-and-dark lines. And then optical axis is indicated by 244. Also, if the recorder portion 241 is rotated through 360xc2x0 relative to the lens portion 242 and the lens is turned toward a photographer, so-called face-to-face photographing will become possible. The liquid crystal panel rotates about a center of rotation 247, and can assume, for example, the state of a dots-and-dash position 249.
FIG. 17A is a front view of a video camera provided with a more compact camera portion, and FIG. 17B is a left side view thereof, and in this case, the camera portion 240 rotates about a center of rotation 246, and when it assumes the position of dots-and-dash lines 250, there can be realized an image pickup apparatus which is generally flat and excellent in portability.
Now, in the above-described examples of the prior art, when a photo-taking lens having optical blur correction means is used for blur correction and the piezo-electric vibration gyroscope or the like of an angular velocity meter for directly measuring the rotation of the camera is used as vibration detection means, an optimum construction has not been presented regarding the disposition of these detection means. For example, when the vibration detection means is disposed on the recorder side, a vibration in yaw direction (lateral vibration) as detected by the camera body when the camera portion is used while rotating relative to the recorder portion does not reflect the elevation angle of the camera portion and therefore, there is the problem that normal correction cannot be done unless the lateral vibration is corrected in accordance with the elevation angle of the camera and is replaced with the amount of movement of the blur correction means.
One aspect of the invention is an apparatus having the image blur correcting function which has a first unit including image blur correction means for correcting image blur, a second unit rotatable about a first axis differing from a photo-taking optical axis relative to the first unit, vibration detection means provided in the second unit for detecting the rotational vibration about the first axis, and control means for operating the image blur correction means in conformity with the output of the blur correction means, and which can effect normal image blur correction even when in a video camera or the like wherein only a camera portion is rotatable, only the camera portion has an elevation angle.
Another aspect of the invention is an apparatus having the image blur correcting function which has a first unit including image blur correction means for correcting image vibration, a second unit rotatable about a first axis differing from a photo-taking optical axis relative to the first unit, vibration detection means provided in the second unit for detecting rotational vibration about a second axis differing from both of the photo-taking optical axis and the first axis, signal correction means for correcting the output signal of second vibration detection means in conformity with the rotated state of the second unit relative to the first unit, and control means for operating the image blur correction means in conformity with a vibration signal obtained by the signal correction means, and which can effect normal image blur correction even when in a video camera or the like wherein only a camera portion is rotatable, only the camera portion has an elevation angle.
Another aspect of the invention is an apparatus having the image blur correcting function which has a first unit including image blur correction means for correcting image blur, a second unit rotatable about a first axis relative to the first unit, first vibration detection means provided in the second unit for detecting rotational vibration about the first axis, second vibration detection means provided in the first unit for detecting rotational vibration about a second axis differing from the first axis, and control means for operating the image blur correction means in conformity with the output signal of the first vibration detection means and the output signal of the second vibration detection means, and which can effect normal image blur correction even when in a video camera or the like wherein only a camera portion is rotatable, only the camera portion has an elevation angle.
Another aspect of the invention is an apparatus having the image blur correcting function which has a first unit including image blur correction means for correcting image blur, a second unit rotatable about a first axis relative to the first unit, first vibration detection means provided in the first unit for detecting rotational vibration about the first axis, second vibration detection means provided in the first unit for detecting rotational vibration about a second axis differing from the first axis, and a microcomputer provided in the second unit for operating the image blur correction means in conformity with the output signals of the first and second vibration detection means, and which can effect normal image blur correction even when in a video camera or the like wherein only a camera portion is rotatable, only the camera portion has an elevation angle.
Other objects and modes of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.

Photographing apparatus having the image blur preventing function


Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for controlling a user interface. A system configured to practice the method displays a user interface element, such as a knob, on a touch-sensitive display. The system receives input from a user associated with the user interface element via the touch-sensitive display. For example, the user can provide input to the knob via a tap, twist, flick, press-and-hold, drag, slide, or other touch-based input with a single or multiple fingers or other points of contact. The system matches the input to an input category selected from a group of predefined input categories for the user interface element, and updates the user interface element based on the input and based on the input category. The system can also update a value represented by the user interface element, such as a value that affects output or other settings of a software application.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to user interfaces and more specifically to making touch-based interfaces more user friendly.
2. Introduction
With the advent of capacitive touch screens and other touch-sensitive technology on devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and desktop computers, software and hardware developers have focused on adapting user interfaces to take more effective advantage of unique features of this technology. While some user interface elements, such as a button, map very easily to a touch-based interface, other user interface elements, such as a scroll bar on an edge of a scrollable region, can be replaced completely. However, certain user interface elements, such as a knob, are not typical to traditional graphical user interfaces and can present problems in training new users. New or inexperienced users may be unsure how exactly to interact with this type of user interface elements, causing apprehension, fear, and/or uncertainty for a certain segment of the user population. This, in turn, can reduce the approachability of a particular hardware platform as well as individual software applications running on the hardware platform.

System and method for touchscreen knob control


Disclosed herein is an optical storage device having an objective lens actuator for moving an objective lens in a focusing direction. The objective lens actuator includes an actuator base fixed to a carriage movable in the radial direction of an optical disk, a lens holder for holding the objective lens, and a supporting mechanism for elastically supporting the lens holder to the actuator base. The actuator base has an elongated hole extending in the radial direction of the optical disk. A relative position between the actuator base and the carriage is adjusted so that the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens in the radial direction of the optical disk occurring in displacing the lens holder in the focusing direction is minimized, and thereafter the actuator base is fixed to the carriage by means of screws.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an optical storage device, and more particularly to an actuator for an optical pickup in an optical disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical disk has received attention as a memory medium that becomes a core in the recent rapid development of multimedia, and it is usually accommodated in a cartridge case to be provided as an optical disk cartridge for practical use. The optical disk cartridge is loaded into an optical disk drive to perform reading/writing of data from/to the optical disk by means of an optical pickup (optical head).
A recent optical disk drive intended to realize size reduction is composed of a fixed optical assembly including a laser diode module, a beam splitter for reflecting and transmitting a laser beam, and a photodetector for receiving reflected light from an optical disk, and a movable optical assembly including a carriage and an objective lens actuator mounted on the carriage and having an objective lens. The carriage is movable in the radial direction of the optical disk along a pair of rails by means of a voice coil motor (VCM). A write-power laser beam emitted from the laser diode of the fixed optical assembly is first collimated by a collimator lens, next transmitted by the beam splitter, next reflected by a beam raising mirror of the movable optical assembly, and finally focused on the optical disk by the objective lens, thereby writing data onto the optical disk. On the other hand, data reading is performed by directing a read-power laser beam onto the optical disk. Reflected light from the optical disk is first collimated by the objective lens, next reflected by the beam splitter, and finally detected by the photodetector, thereby converting the detected optical signal into an electrical signal.
The objective lens actuator includes an actuator base (fixed portion) fixed to the carriage, and a lens holder (movable portion) supported to the actuator base in a cantilever fashion by a plurality of spring wires or leaf springs. The lens holder has an objective lens, a focusing coil, and a plurality of tracking coils. A magnetic circuit opposed to the focusing coil and the tracking coils to configure the VCM is fixed to the actuator base or the carriage. The conventional objective lens actuator is assembled by the following method. First, the actuator base is temporarily fixed to the carriage by means of screws or the like. Secondly, the tilt of the actuator base or the tilt of a spindle motor for mounting the optical disk is adjusted so that the optical axis of the objective lens becomes substantially perpendicular to an ideal recording surface of the optical disk. Finally, the actuator base is fixed to the carriage.
For a proper reading and/or writing operation in an optical disk drive, a beam spot focused on the recording surface of the optical disk by the objective lens must be maintained always in an optimum shape. Accordingly, the laser beam must be directed onto the recording surface of the optical disk substantially perpendicularly thereto. To meet these requirements, the tilt of the actuator base or the tilt of the spindle motor is adjusted so that the optical axis of the objective lens becomes substantially perpendicular to the ideal recording surface of the optical disk in assembling the optical disk drive as described above. Further, the lens holder holding the objective lens undergoes a focusing operation to maintain an optimum beam spot shape during reading and/or writing of data, because there occur surface vibrations due to potential warpage or the like of the optical disk.
FIG. 1 is a graph showing the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens in the radial direction of the optical disk in the case of displacing the lens holder in the focusing direction in the conventional objective lens actuator. As described above, the method of assembling the conventional objective lens actuator includes the steps of adjusting the tilt of the actuator base or the tilt of the spindle motor and thereafter fixing the actuator base to the carriage by means of screws or the like. As apparent from FIG. 1, the radial tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens (the tilt in the radial direction of the optical disk) increases with an increase in displacement of the lens holder in the focusing direction in the conventional assembling method. Accordingly, although the radial tilt (xe2x88x920.07xc2x0) is adjusted to 0 at the position where the displacement of the lens holder in the focusing direction is 0 (an ideal focal length to the ideal recording surface) by the tilt adjustment of the actuator base or the spindle motor, the radial tilt in relation to the displacement of the lens holder in the focusing direction remains, causing a possibility of adverse effects on a proper operation. The tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens in the radial direction of the optical disk in relation to the displacement of the lens holder in the focusing direction is expected to be due to the fact that there is a difference in rigidity between the horizontally opposite spring wires supporting the lens holder or that the point of action of the actuator in the focusing direction is offset from the center of gravity of the lens holder.
Thus, the conventional objective lens actuator involves the deviation in position between the center of gravity of the lens holder and the point of action of the actuator in performing a focusing operation, or the imbalance such as variations in spring rigidity between the elastic supporting members (e.g., leaf springs or spring wires) supporting the lens holder. As a result, the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens occurs in association with a change in spatial position of the lens holder in performing a focusing operation. If the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens increases, there is a possibility that a data reading and/or writing operation may be adversely affected.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an optical storage device which can minimize the tilt of the optical axis of an objective lens occurring in performing a focusing operation.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical storage device capable of at least reading information recorded on an optical storage medium, comprising an actuator base for movably supporting a movable portion holding an objective lens for focusing a light beam onto the optical storage medium; a fixing portion for fixing the actuator base; and a lens actuator for driving the objective lens to displace the objective lens at least in a focusing direction, the lens actuator comprising a coil provided on one of the movable portion and the fixing portion and a magnetic circuit provided on the other of the movable portion and the fixing portion; the actuator base being fixed to the fixing portion in the condition that a relative position between the coil and the magnetic circuit in a given direction is set so as to minimize the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens in the given direction occurring in displacing the objective lens in the focusing direction.
The fixing portion comprises a carriage for moving the lens actuator across tracks formed on the optical storage medium. Preferably, one of the actuator base and the carriage has an elongated hole for adjustment of the relative position. The elongated hole extends in the given direction. The other of the actuator base and the carriage has an engaging member movably engaging with the elongated hole. The given direction is a direction across the tracks or a direction substantially along the tracks.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical storage device capable of at least reading information recorded on an optical storage medium, comprising a drive base; a carriage mounted on the drive base so as to be reciprocatable in a first direction; first driving means for moving the carriage; a light source mounted on the drive base; and an objective lens actuator having an objective lens for focusing a light beam output from the light source onto the optical storage medium; the objective lens actuator comprising an actuator base fixed to the carriage; a lens holder for holding the objective lens; supporting means for movably supporting the lens holder to the actuator base; and second driving means for moving the objective lens in a focusing direction, the second driving means comprising a magnetic circuit fixed to the carriage and a coil fixed to the lens holder; wherein one of the actuator base and the carriage has an elongated hole extending in the first direction; a relative position between the actuator base and the carriage in the first direction is adjusted so that the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens in the first direction occurring in displacing the lens holder in the focusing direction is minimized; and the actuator base is fixed to the carriage by fixing means inserted through the elongated hole.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical storage device capable of at least reading information recorded on an optical storage medium, comprising a drive base; a carriage mounted on the drive base so as to be reciprocatable in a first direction; first driving means for moving the carriage; a light source mounted on the drive base; and an objective lens actuator having an objective lens for focusing a light beam output from the light source onto the optical storage medium; the objective lens actuator comprising an actuator base fixed to the carriage; a lens holder for holding the objective lens; supporting means for movably supporting the lens holder to the actuator base; and second driving means for moving the objective lens in a focusing direction, the second driving means comprising a magnetic circuit fixed to the carriage and a coil fixed to the lens holder; wherein one of the actuator base and the carriage has an elongated hole extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction; a relative position between the actuator base and the carriage in the second direction is adjusted so that the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens in the second direction occurring in displacing the lens holder in the focusing direction is minimized; and the actuator base is fixed to the carriage by fixing means inserted through the elongated hole.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling an optical head including an actuator base for movably supporting a movable portion holding an objective lens for focusing a light beam onto an optical storage medium, a fixing portion for fixing the actuator base, and a lens actuator for driving the objective lens to displace the objective lens at least in a focusing direction, the lens actuator having a coil provided on one of the movable portion and the fixing portion and a magnetic circuit provided on the other of the movable portion and the fixing portion; the method comprising the steps of temporarily fixing the actuator base to the fixing portion; continuously reciprocating the objective lens in the focusing direction; measuring the tilt of the optical axis of the objective lens in a given direction; adjusting a relative position between the coil and the magnetic circuit in the given direction so that the tilt in the given direction is minimized; and finally fixing the actuator base to the fixing portion after the adjusting step.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention and the manner of realizing them will become more apparent, and the invention itself will best be understood from a study of the following description and appended claims with reference to the attached drawings showing some preferred embodiments of the invention.


An extract of Scutellaria barbata D. Don is effective in the arrest of cancer cell growth in the G1 phase, the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells and the shrinking of solid cancers. The extract may be prepared as a pharmaceutical composition for administration to mammals for the treatment of solid cancers, such as epithelial cancers. Such epithelial cancers include breast cancer and ovarian cancers. The extract is obtained from Scutellaria barbata D. Don by contacting aerial portions of a plant from the species Scutellaria barbata D. Don with an aqueous or alcoholic solvent.

While advances in early detection and adjuvant therapy for breast cancer have had a favorable impact on patient survival in general, patients who develop advanced metastatic breast cancer are generally likely to face a less favorable prognosis. Commonly used hormonal and chemotherapeutic agents can lead to transient regression of tumors and can also palliate symptoms related to cancer. However, these treatments are often accompanied by toxicities and intolerable side effects and eventually become ineffective in controlling advanced stage breast cancer and its symptoms. Improvements in survival are modest, even with newer targeted biological agents. Moreover, in most metastatic cancers resistance to available conventional treatment ultimately develops or excessive side effects are seen with conventional therapies.
It is interesting to note that greater than 60% of all chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of breast cancer are derived from natural substances (Newman 2003). A fairly recent example is the development of taxanes from the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia. Throughout the world, it is estimated that approximately 80% of the world population still relies on botanical medicine as the primary source of therapy. In the West, botanical medicine is considered a popular form of complementary and alternative medicine among patients diagnosed with cancer. However, few clinical trials have been conducted to firmly assess the safety and efficacy of botanical agents for the treatment of breast cancer, despite anecdotal case reports of cures and clinical efficacy in women who have relied solely on botanical medicine for treatment. It has previously been shown that the aqueous extract of Scutellaria Barbata can lead to growth inhibition of breast cancer cell lines in vitro ("Antiproliferative activity of Chinese medicinal herbs on breast cancer cells in vitro," Anticancer Res., 22(6C):3843-52 (2002)). BZL101, a concentrated aqueous extract of Scutellaria Barbata, was evaluated for antiproliferative activity on five breast cancer cell lines (SK-BR-3, MCF7, MDA-MB-231, BT-474, and MCNeuA). These cell lines represent important prognostic phenotypes of breast cancer expressing a range of estrogen and HER2 receptors. BZL101, tested at a 1:10 dilution (15 μg/ml), demonstrated >50% growth inhibition on four of the five cell lines (Campbell, 2002). BZL101 showed >50% growth inhibition on a panel of lung, prostate and pancreatic cancer cell lines. BZL101 at the same dose did not cause >25% of growth inhibition on normal human mammary cells (HuMEC), demonstrating selectivity to cancer cells (Table 1). More so, BZL101 had a mild mitogenic effect on normal human lymphocytes. In cell cycle analysis, BZL101 caused an S phase burst and G1 arrest. BZL101 also attenuated mitochondrial membrane potential causing caspase-independent high molecular grade (HMG) apoptosis.
There is a need for therapies for treatment of patients having metastatic cancers. There is also a need for therapies with reduced, and more specifically minimal, toxicity for patients having metastatic cancers. In particular, there is a need for novel therapies with relatively low toxicity for the treatment of metastatic solid tumors, such as epithelial tumors, and more particularly breast and ovarian cancers.
These and other needs are met by embodiments of the invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A system is provided for implementing a location specific gaming event having a server and databases for maintaining a plurality of user accounts and for maintaining location information. The server and databases maintain at least one affiliate account with at least one geographic location. The system is configured to receive at least one request from the at least one affiliate account to arrange for a location specific gaming event at the geographic location associated with the affiliate account. The system is further configured to receive at least one communication from mobile devices of at least two users when the mobile devices are located at the geographic location, the server of the system configured to administer the location specific gaming event to the users.

1. Field of the Invention
The present arrangement relates to a system and method for electronic games. More particularly, the present arrangement relates to a system and method for electronic games, with location specific attributes.
2. Description of Related Art
Coin-operated amusement equipment created an original form of location based competitive gaming systems and competitive gaming culture. Games like Ms. Pac Man™, Pong™, Asteroids™, Golden Tee Golf™, were placed in locations around the world allowing patrons to play, compete for and display high scores and or participate in organized tournaments in those locations.
With the advent of mobile devices, a significant amount of game play has been ported from fixed single player arcade machine to mobile devices. Many of the location based competitive culture, location owner patronage benefits and the player experience have all been greatly diminished or eliminated.

Method and system to provide location-based competitive games, tournaments, prizes and high score reports via mobile devices


A method and system are disclosed to provide a conference among conference participants over a communication network. A routing system receives conference utilization data from a plurality of conference systems. The routing system receives a request to join the conference from one of the conference participants. The routing system processes the conference utilization data in response to the request to select one of the conference systems. The one conference system joins the one participant to the conference in response to the selection of the one conference system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communications, and in particular, to telephone conference calls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Telephone conference calls allow telephone conversations between three or more persons. A telephone conference call, or teleconference, is typically performed by a telephone system device called a bridge. The bridge joins together multiple participants to enable group communication. In order to join the teleconference, each participant is typically given a pre-assigned telephone number to call. In the prior art, the pre-assigned number is statically assigned to the teleconference before the teleconference actually occurs, and may be assigned days in advance. When the participant dials in, the telephone system receives the pre-assigned bridge telephone number and may ask the participant for a password or personal identification number (PIN). The participant is then connected to a corresponding conference bridge by a telephone system and may join a conference.
In the prior art, teleconference bridging is commonly performed through bridge facilities. Typically, such bridge facilities are located in various geographic areas, and can handle large numbers of incoming conference calls. Each bridge facility can contain multiple bridges and additionally can contain a routing device, including a Voice Response Unit (VRU) and processor. A call coming into the bridge facility is routed to a particular bridge in the bridge facility by the routing device.
However, the prior art static bridging approach has several drawbacks. Due to the popularity of telephone conferencing, many people may be participating at any time. If load changes occur, the bridge facility has to perform some manner of load balancing. Some examples of load changes are when participants drop out of a teleconference, when unexpected participants join a teleconference, when a technical problem occurs in any part of the bridging system, etc. The prior art attempts to avoid load balancing by under-utilizing bridges, i.e., each bridge in a bridge facility is typically not fully loaded. For example, each bridge in a prior art bridge facility is typically loaded to only about 60% of capacity in order to allow for unforeseen load changes.
FIG. 1 shows a telephone system performing a prior art load balancing. In this example, a first bridge facility 101 needs to transfer some conference call traffic to a second bridge facility 102. The prior art load balancing is accomplished by the first bridge facility 101 linking to the second bridge facility 102 and passing some conference calls to the second bridge facility 102. The circuits 103 from the callers to the first bridge facility 101 are maintained, and are linked to the second bridge facility 102 via additional telephone circuits 104, as shown. The prior art load balancing approach therefore ties up the additional circuits 104. In addition, the prior art load balancing approach occurs only after a traffic problem has occurred, and does not prevent loading problems. Geographic load balancing, wherein a bridge facility is selected according to the location of the caller and the bridge, is not achieved. Furthermore, the prior art requires computationally expensive VRU technology at a bridge facility. Moreover, the routing device and the VRU are unnecessarily duplicated in each bridge facility.

Dynamic routing for a telephone conference call


An active UHF amplifier includes a transistor having a base for receiving signals, a grounded emitter, and a collector for outputting signals, a first inductor having a first end for coupling to a voltage source, the inductance of the first inductor being between 10-100 nano-Henries, a first capacitor having a first end coupled to the first end of the first inductor, a second inductor having a second end coupled to the base of the transistor, the inductance of the second inductor being between 1-100 nano-Henries, a second capacitor having a first end coupled to a first end of the second inductor, the capacitances of the first and the second capacitor being between 10 pico-Farads and 100 nano-Farads, a first resistor, and a second resistor having a resistance divided by the resistance of the first resistor and multiplied by a voltage of the voltage source being between 0.5-0.8 volts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an amplifier, and more particularly, to a UHF active antenna amplifier for a digital video broadcast (DVB) receiver and related DVB devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, the quality of a wireless TV broadcasts has been improved dramatically due to the rapid development of digital TVs. Accordingly, channels adopted by the wireless TV broadcasts have been promoted from a conventional very high frequency (VHF) channel to a popular ultra high frequency (UHF) channel.
In a wireless TV broadcast system, wireless signals received by a passive antenna are transferred, without any processing, to a digital video broadcast (DVB) receiver via a cable. The length of the cable greatly affects the quality of the wireless signals received by the DVB receiver—the longer the cable is, the more noise-vulnerable the wireless signals transferred over the cable become, and therefore have a very poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

UHF active antenna amplifier for digital video broadcast (DVB) receiver and related DVB device


Adaptive regulated power supply voltages are applied to programmable logic integrated circuits. Control circuitry in a programmable logic IC generates control signals that are transmitted to an external voltage regulator. The voltage regulator generates one or more power supply voltages in response to the control signals. The values of control signals determine the target values of the supply voltages. The control circuitry can adapt the power supply voltages to compensate for temperature and process variations on the IC. The power supply voltages can be programmed by a manufacturer or by a user to achieve desired target values. The control circuitry can also put a programmable logic IC into a sleep mode by dropping the high supply voltage to a low value to reduce power consumption during periods of low usage.

The present invention relates to adaptive power supply voltage regulation for programmable logic, and more particularly, to techniques for providing regulated power supply voltages to programmable logic integrated circuits that can be adapted to compensate for process and temperature variations, or other factors.
Programmable logic devices (PLDs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) typically receive a power supply voltage (VCC) from an external voltage regulator. The voltage regulator provides a fixed regulated voltage that is based on a target value. The power supply voltage is distributed to circuits inside the PLD/FPGA.
Process variations effect the speed and power consumption of transistors in a PLD significantly. For example, when hundreds of PLDs are mass produced according to a particular semiconductor process, the goal is for all of the a PLDs to be identical. In reality, transistors in some of the PLDs end up having shorter gate lengths than the transistors in other PLDs because of variations in the process.
The PLDs that have short gate length transistors operate faster than the PLDs that have longer gate length transistors. The faster chips consume more power than the slower chips. Typically, PLD chips are grouped into bins after manufacture based on their individual speed and power consumption characteristics. A customer can then select a PLD with particular speed and power requirements from one of the bins.
However, customer demand sometimes does not match the bin distribution of the PLDs. For example, a manufacturing process may generate a larger number of slow speed PLDs than customers want to purchase. Also, a customer has no way of controlling the speed and power consumption of a particular PLD.
Because the external voltage regulator generates fixed supply voltages, the supply voltages cannot be used to optimize the speed or power of an individual PLD. Therefore, some PLD die may have to be discarded if their speed parameters and power consumption is outside predefined limits. The contribution of current leakage adds an additional criteria to power consumption on a PLD. Also, process variations are excepted to become more significant as transistor sizes are scaled down further.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide techniques for providing regulated power supply voltages to programmable logic integrated circuits that can be adapted to compensate for process and temperature variations, or factors.

Adaptive power supply voltage regulation for programmable logic


An apparatus and a method for assisting a child to read a book having at least one visual indicia displayed adjacent one or more of the plurality of printed objects. Each of the at least one visual indicia is uniquely associated with the adjacent one of the plurality of printed objects. The device includes a user input device separate from the book having at least one touch-sensitive switch and at least one visual indicia displayed thereon for receiving a user command indicative of a user's selection of a visual indicia and for outputting a signal corresponding to the selected visual indicia. The device further includes a storage device for storing data representing speech associated with the printed objects adjacent the visual indicia. A controller receives the signal outputted from the user input device and selectively retrieves the data corresponding to the selected visual indicia. A sound generator then converts the retrieved data into speech.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic devices for assisting a preschooler to read, and in particular, an apparatus and a method for enunciating and/or verbally explaining a word, phrase or any select portion of a book.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that children's books having electronic sound generating devices can entertain as well as captivate the interest of a child. One such electronic book has a strip disposed along an edge of a book and a plurality of touch-sensitive pads arranged along the strip. Each of the pads corresponds to a particular sound effect and has a graphic picture printed thereon. These same pictures also appear in the text of the book, such as in the middle or at the end of a sentence, for prompting the child to press the pad on the strip to thereby generate the intended sound effect for the story being read. Although they are entertaining, such books do not teach children how to pronounce letters, words, or phrases and thus require an adult to read along with the child.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,430 to Smith et al. discloses a self-reading child's book having an electronic sound generating device and a light-emitting diode (LED) under each word. These LEDs are automatically and sequentially illuminated as the child activates a switch associated with each LED so that the sound generating device enunciates the words in sequence. The disclosed electronic book is costly to manufacture as it requires an array of electronic devices to be incorporated into each page of the book.
Thus, there is a need for a low-cost reading tutor device for use with a conventional book, and which is both easy and fun to use by beginning readers, particularly, preschoolers.


According to one embodiment, there is provided a magnetic disk device including a magnetic disk, a storage unit, and a control unit. The magnetic disk includes a recording region. The storage unit is configured to store a value according to number of accesses to each of a plurality of regions obtained by dividing of the recording region of the magnetic disk in association with each of the plurality of regions. The control unit is configured to count a value according to the number of accesses to each of a plurality of regions in a count step unit that is a value determined according to an elapsed time from occurrence of a specific situation and is a value counted per unit access, and to update the value stored in the storage unit.

In a magnetic disk device, in an access time from when an access request to data is generated to when reading/writing of the data is started, mechanical wait times such as a seek time and a rotation wait time exist. The mechanical wait time varies depending on a physical address in the magnetic disk device. Therefore, to improve access performance of the magnetic disk device, it is necessary to appropriately reallocate data in consideration of the access frequency to the magnetic disk.


There is provided a process for producing a vinyl chloride-based polymer, in which a suspension polymerization of either vinyl chloride monomer, or a mixture of vinyl chloride monomer and another copolymerizable monomer, is conducted in a polymerization vessel fitted with a reflux condenser, the process including the steps of:                (A) adding to the reaction mixture a high-activity, oil-soluble polymerization initiator, with a 10-hour half life temperature of no more than 40° C. at a concentration of 0.1 mol/L in benzene, for a specified time within a period from the commencement of heat removal using the reflux condenser through to completion of the polymerization, and        (B) adding an antioxidant either continuously or intermittently to the reaction mixture at least during the period from the commencement of addition of the high-activity, oil-soluble polymerization initiator through to completion of that addition. According to the present invention, the process for producing a vinyl chloride-based polymer by aqueous suspension polymerization in a polymerization vessel fitted with a reflux condenser can be improved, the heat removal capability can be utilized effectively to shorten the polymerization time, and a high quality vinyl chloride-based polymer with an extremely low level of fish eyes can be produced.

Suspension polymerization of either vinyl chloride monomer, or a mixture of vinyl chloride monomer and another copolymerizable monomer, is generally conducted in the following manner. A polymerization vessel fitted with a reflux condenser, a jacket, and a cooling baffle or coil or the like is charged with an aqueous medium, a dispersant (a suspension agent), and a polymerization initiator, as well as various other additives, as required. Subsequently, hot water is passed through the jacket to increase the temperature inside the polymerization vessel to a predetermined polymerization reaction temperature, thereby initiating polymerization. By subsequently passing cold water through the jacket, baffle, coil, and reflux condenser to remove the heat generated by the polymerization reaction, the polymerization reaction is allowed to proceed with the temperature inside the polymerization vessel maintained at a predetermined reaction temperature.
In recent years, attempts have been made to improve productivity by shortening the polymerization time. One method of shortening the polymerization time involves increasing the quantity of polymerization initiator added, thereby increasing the polymerization reaction rate. However, the ability to remove heat from the polymerization vessel is limited, and the quantity of polymerization initiator can only be increased within the bounds allowed by this heat removal capability. As a result, there are limits to how much the polymerization time can be shortened using this method.
One example of a proposed process that enables better shortening of the polymerization time is a process in which, by combining a high-activity polymerization initiator and a low-activity polymerization initiator, the reaction rate can be controlled at both the initial stages of polymerization and the closing stages of polymerization, thereby reducing the polymerization time (patent reference 1). According to this process, the heat removal capability of the polymerization vessel can be utilized effectively in the initial stages and closing stages of the polymerization, but in the middle stages of the polymerization, the heat removal capability is excessive, and can not be effectively utilized. This tendency is particularly marked in those cases where a reflux condenser is used as one of the heat removal devices.
Another proposed process that enables further shortening of the polymerization time is a process in which a high-activity, oil-soluble polymerization initiator is added in the period following commencement of heat removal using the reflux condenser, through until a certain polymerization conversion rate is reached (patent reference 2). According to this process, the heat removal capability of the polymerization vessel can be used effectively, and the vinyl chloride-based polymer can be produced with good productivity. However in this process, the high-activity, oil-soluble polymerization initiator added during the polymerization requires some time to disperse uniformly through the reaction mixture inside the polymerization vessel, meaning the concentration of the polymerization initiator develops an uneven distribution, which causes an increase in the number of fish eyes in the product polymer. Furthermore, because the high-activity, oil-soluble polymerization initiator is added to the polymerization vessel, containing the unreacted monomer, over a long period during the polymerization, polymer scale tends to adhere to the inside of, and the region around the outlet of, the supply pipe for the high-activity, oil-soluble polymerization initiator. As a result, the pipe can sometimes become blocked. Furthermore, because the adhered scale can break away and become incorporated within the polymer, the level of fish eyes within the product tends to increase.
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Laid-open publication (kokai) No. Hei 6-166704
Patent Reference 2: Japanese Laid-open publication (kokai) No. Hei 7-82304

Process for producing vinyl chloride polymer


Layers of padding materials or cushions formed from an elastic foam matrix structurally supporting and encapsulated gel elements are disclosed. Methods of manufacturing such composite and laminated composite padding materials, layers of padding, or cushions are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to padding materials that may be used for a variety of applications. More particularly, the invention relates to composite matrix and gel padding or cushions and a method of manufacturing such paddings and cushions.
2. Description of Related Art
The present state of the art for impact absorbtion is to use materials such as high density polystyrene foam in helmets or viscoelastic foams and gels in padding. There are a wide variety of high density polystyrene foam densities available, referred to herein under the brand name, Styrofoam®. Styrofoam® is a registered trademark of The Dow Chemical Company, P.O. Box 2166, Midland, Mich., 48641. Packing materials have very low densities of 1 pound per cubic foot, while higher density foams of 3 pounds per cubic foot can be found in helmet liners. Visocelastic foams and gels vary in density from 5 pounds per cubic foot in some foams to as much as 65 pounds per cubic foot in gels. Low density foams begin to crush or compress with lower amounts of applied force compared to high density foams. The resistance to compression in gels is a function of the hardness as determined by the Shore durometer rating. Gels with high Shore values behave more like rigid solids, while those with low Shore values behave more like viscous liquids. It is this inherent resistance to compression that determines how much acceleration an object is subject to when it strikes the surface of an impact absorbing material. The various materials employed for this purpose thus far have shown wide-ranging capabilities to attenuate accelerative forces at highly variable velocity profiles.
Tissue injury due to sustained compressive forces or rapid acceleration/deceleration has been well documented. Various materials have been employed to reduce the amount of tissue damage (i.e., pressure sores, concussions, etc.) that can occur when there is sufficiently high force or acceleration on the body. Materials such as Styrofoam® (a light, resilient foam of polystyrene available from Dow Chemical Co.), viscoelastic polyurethane foam, and polyurethane gel have been used as padding materials. One problem with the design of some of these padding materials has been the lack of suitable testing to determine the amount of protection afforded by the material in terms of G-acceleration or deceleration. Another problem is the weight and cost of the material, particularly for polyurethane gel. Some inventors have included measurements on the amount of force or acceleration protection that the padding material provides. While this information is helpful it does not fully assess the potential effects of acceleration alone, or of force, which is mass dependent, on body tissues. In the case of head injury the present American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for helmets do not provide adequate protection from the effects of acceleration and force. However, it is difficult to change conventional helmet structural designs because of the legal liability resulting from head injuries involving helmets. Consequently, it is necessary to develop new padding materials that are able to provide a superior level of protection from acceleration and the effects of mass on bodily tissues.
Inherent protection of bodily parts from compressive forces, acceleration and deceleration is effected by integument, adipose, and skeletal tissues. The skeletal system provides protection from penetration and compression of internal organs, but has little ability to mitigate the effects of acceleration on the organ system. Protection from acceleration is effected by the integument and adipose tissues due to their ability to sustain stretching and compression. Various forms of polyurethane have demonstrated excellent properties in this regard, particularly the gel and viscoelastic foam formulations. One problem with the use of such materials is that no one form is able to provide the broad range of characteristics that may be required in a protective material.
The background art is further characterized by U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,254,843 to Talluri; 7,141,032 to Flam et al.; 7,076,811 to Puchalski; 7,062,795 to Skiba et al.; 6,704,943 to Calonge Clavell; 6,070,271 to Williams; 6,026,527 to Pearce; 6,025,067 to Fay; 5,947,918 to Jones et al.; 5,749,111 to Pearce; the disclosures of all of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have composite padding materials that exhibit similar properties to those of skin, integument and adipose tissues of the human body. It would be advantageous if such a composite padding material was also lightweight and easy to manufacture.

Composite matrix and gel padding and method of manufacturing


A clock circuit for generating a spread spectrum clock signal with reduced amplitude electromagnetic interference (EMI) spectral components is provided where the clock circuit includes a delay line circuit, the delay line circuit providing a spread spectrum clock signal from a reference clock signal in response to a modulation signal, a delay of said delay line circuit being controlled by said modulation signal.

Many electronic devices employ microprocessors or other digital circuits that require one or more clock signals for synchronization and other functions. A clock signal permits precise timing of events in the microprocessor, for example. Typical microprocessors may be supervised or synchronized by a free-running oscillator, such as an oscillator driven by a crystal, an LC-tuned circuit or an external clock source. Clocking rates up to 40 MHz, 66 MHz, 100 MHz, 133 MHz, 200 MHz and beyond are common in personal computers. The parameters of a clock signal are typically specified for a microprocessor and may include minimum and maximum allowable clock frequencies, tolerances on the high and low voltage levels, maximum rise and fall times on the waveform edges, pulse-width tolerance if the waveform is not a square wave and the timing relationship between clock phase if two-clock phase signals are needed.
High performance microprocessor-based devices using leading edge, high-speed circuits are particularly susceptible to generating and radiating electromagnetic interference (EMI). The spectral components of the EMI emissions typically have peak amplitudes at harmonics (i.e., whole number multiples) of the fundamental frequency of the clock circuit. Accordingly, many regulatory agencies, such as the FCC in the United States, have established testing procedures and maximum allowable emissions for such products.
Practical synchronous digital systems radiate electromagnetic energy in a number of narrow bands at the clock frequency and its harmonics, resulting in a frequency spectrum that, at certain frequencies, can exceed regulatory limits for electromagnetic interference. In order to comply with government limits on EMI emissions, costly suppression measures or extensive shielding may be required. Other approaches for reducing EMI include careful routing of signal traces on printed circuit boards to minimize loops and other potentially radiating structures. Unfortunately, such an approach often leads to more expensive multilayer circuit boards with internal ground planes. In addition, greater engineering effort must go into reducing EMI emissions. The difficulties caused by EMI emissions are made worse at higher processor and clock speeds.
An alternative approach is to reduce the spectral density of the EMI by lowering the peak energy emissions at harmonics using a spread spectrum clock signal. This approach consists of modulating the frequency of the clock signal by either a regular function such as a triangular wave or by a pseudo-random function. This method distributes the energy of the clock signal over a wider frequency range, thereby reducing its peak spectral density. This procedure works because the EMI receivers used by testing laboratories divide the electromagnetic spectrum into frequency bands approximately 120 kHz wide. If the system under test were to radiate all of its energy at one frequency, then this energy would fall into a single frequency band of the receiver, which would register a large peak at that frequency. Spread spectrum clocking distributes the energy so that it falls into a large number of the receiver's frequency bands, without putting enough energy into any one band to exceed the statutory limits.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of this effect where the spectral amplitude versus frequency at a harmonic (NF) is indicated by the plot labeled M. As also shown, the spectrum at the harmonic of a standard clock signal is given as an impulse function labeled I. The spectrum of the spread spectrum clock signal at the same harmonic frequency ideally assumes a trapezoidal shape as illustrated by the plot labeled T.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a spread spectrum clock generator circuit 10 including a phase locked loop (PLL), such as proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,488,627, 5,631,920, 5,867,524 and 5,827,807, the entirety of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. The PLL 10 includes a first frequency divider 12, a phase detector 14, low pass filter 16, voltage controlled oscillator 18 and second frequency divider 20. The circuit 10 frequency modulates an externally generated clock signal designated "Ref", such as a signal generated by a piezoelectric crystal driven at its resonant frequency by a suitable driver or oscillator circuit, to provide a spread spectrum output clock signal CLK. The frequency modulation of the clock signal reduces spectral amplitude of the EMI components at each harmonic of the clock when compared to the spectrum of the same clock signal without modulation.
Although the spread spectrum clock signal circuit 10 can reduce the EMI emissions in an electronic device, the modulation is done through a complex PLL circuit as illustrated. Further, the output clock signal is mostly influenced by the phase noise of the oscillator circuit 18 but not the reference signal Ref. The reference signal passes through the VCO 18 and is fed back through the phase detector 14. If the reference signal is a very high frequency input and the phase noise of the VCO 18 is not proper with respect to the high frequency reference signal, the VCO 18 will influence the precision of the output clock signal.
Therefore, there remains a need for a less complex circuit and method for generating a spread spectrum clock signal. Still further, there remains a need for a circuit and method for generating a spread spectrum clock signal with improved phase noise.

Spread spectrum clock generator and method of generating spread spectrum clock

Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology, Inc.


Provided is a rail that is effective in improving wear resistance and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) resistance. The rail has a metallic structure including a pearlitic structure and a structure other than the pearlitic structure in a surface layer from a surface of a rail head to a depth of at least 0.5 mm, where the pearlitic structure has Vickers hardness of 420 HV or more and 520 HV or less, and the structure other than the pearlitic structure has Vickers hardness of 350 HV or more and 420 HV or less.

In heavy haul railways mainly built to transport ore, the load applied to the axle of a freight car is much higher than that of passenger cars, and rails and wheels are used in increasingly harsh environments. Such a heavy haul railway, that is, a rail used in a railway for trains or freight cars having a heavy loading weight, is conventionally mainly made of steel having a pearlitic structure from the viewpoint of attaching importance to wear resistance and RCF resistance. In recent years, it has been required to further improve the wear resistance and the RCF resistance of the rail to increase the loading weight on a freight car and improve the transportation efficiency.
Therefore, various studies have been conducted with the aim of further improving wear resistance and RCF resistance. For example, JP 4805414 B (PTL 1) proposes a rail having excellent RCF resistance, in which the chemical composition, the structure (microstructure) of the rail head surface and the rail bottom surface and the fraction of the structure, the hardness of the pearlitic structure part, and the surface roughness are respectively specified. JP 4938158 B (PTL 2) proposes a rail having excellent RCF resistance, in which the chemical composition, the structure of the rail head surface and the fraction of the structure, the hardness of the pearlitic structure part, and the concentration of Mn are respectively specified.


Nucleic acid and polypeptide sequences are described which relate to an EIN6 gene, a gene involved in the plant ethylene response. Plant transformation vectors and transgenic plants are described which display an altered ethylene-dependent phenotype due to altered expression of EIN6 in transformed plants.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to plants and plant genes, including both plant mutants and transgenic plants containing a gene that confers an ethylene insensitive phenotype. Also encompassed by the invention are methods of using the disclosed plant gene to confer an ethylene insensitive phenotype.
2. Description of the Related Art
The plant hormone ethylene plays a central role in a variety of processes, including wounding, pathogen attack, cell fate and elongation, senescence, and fruit ripening. The classical triple response to ethylene, inhibited hypocotyl and root elongation, thickening of the hypocotyl, and exaggeration of the apical hook, has been used to study the signaling pathway that mediates this hormone response. Molecular genetic studies in Arabidopsis thaliana have exploited the triple response to ethylene, and resulted in the identification of mutants defective in this response. Epistasis studies with plants that are insensitive to the hormone or display a constitutive response to ethylene have suggested a signaling pathway in which one group of proteins acts to antagonize pathway activity in the absence of the hormone, and a second group functions to transmit the signal and initiate physiological responses.
The ETR1 gene and a family of related genes, including EIN4, ETR2, ERS1, and ERS2, encode ethylene receptors. Ethylene binding is mediated by the hydrophobic amino terminus of ETR1 in a copper dependent manner. Point mutations in this domain can disrupt ethylene binding, and result in dominant ethylene insensitivity, suggesting that the proteins actively suppress pathway activity in the absence of the hormone, and that ethylene binding removes this inhibitory activity. Genetic experiments in which combining loss of function alleles of at least three family members resulted in constitutive pathway activity in the absence of ethylene confirmed the idea that the receptors negatively regulate ethylene signaling in the absence of the hormone. The important role copper plays in receptor function was underscored by the identification of the RAN1 gene, which bears significant sequence similarity to the Menkes/Wilson disease copper transporter. Disruption of RAN1 by mutation or co-suppression resulted in plants that display a constitutive triple response, suggesting that copper is required for the nominal formation or proper structure of a receptor complex in addition to ethylene binding.
Mutation of the Raf kinase homolog CTR1 also results in a constitutive triple response in the absence of ethylene. Based on epistasis studies, CTR1 functions downstream of the ethylene receptors, and represses signaling pathway activity in the absence of the hormone. The repressive roles played by both CTR1 and the receptors suggests a functional link between the two. Indeed, protein interaction studies have shown that CTR1 and ETR1 physically interact, but the manner by which ETR1 may activate CTR1 is unknown. Although the homology of CTR1 to Raf suggests a downstream MAP kinase signaling cascade, the manner by which CTR1 represses ethylene signaling is also unknown.
Mutations of the EIN2 gene are recessive and also confer complete ethylene insensitivity. Epistasis testing indicates that EIN2 functions downstream of CTR1, and consequently is thought to play a central role in ethylene responses. EIN2 possesses an amino terminus that is predicted to contain multiple transmembrane domains, and is similar to metal transporters of the Nramp family. The exact manner in which EIN2 functions to activate the ethylene signaling pathway is unclear, however it has been shown that expression of its carboxyl end is sufficient to stimulate ethylene-dependent effects, including the triple response.
Terminal components of the primary ethylene signaling pathway are encoded by the EIN3 gene and a related family of EIL genes. ein3 mutations partially block activation by both ctr1 mutations and the EIN2 carboxyl end, indicating that it functions downstream of EIN2 in the signaling cascade. EIN3 and EIL proteins represent a novel class of transcription factors, and have been found to bind as dimers to a unique site found in some promoters of a second class of transcription factors termed ethylene response element binding proteins (EPEBP). Many of these factors bind to the GCC box found in many ethylene responsive genes that are activated several hours after ethylene treatment. An EIN3 binding site was found in the promoter of one such factor, ERF1, which was activated within fifteen minutes of ethylene treatment in an EIN3-dependent manner. Overexpression of ERF1 activated a subset of ethylene responses and bypassed an ein3 mutation, indicating that it functions downstream of EIN3 in the signaling cascade. These data indicate that a complete ethylene response is mediated by a series of transcription factors that act in sequential steps. EIN3 and EIL proteins act very early in the transcriptional cascade, whereas ERF1 and related proteins act later.
Roman et al. described a mutant plant, ein6 (Roman, et al. (1995) "Genetic analysis of ethylene signal transduction in Arabidopsis thaliana: five novel mutant loci integrated into a stress response pathway" Genetics 139(3): 1393–1409) This mutant plant demonstrated ethylene insensitivity, which was assumed to be the result of a single recessive mutation. The EIN6 gene was not identified. Unlike etr1 and ein2 mutants, ein6 mutant plants were found to retain some sensitivity to ethylene, with the root being less sensitive to ethylene than the hypocotyl. However, the original work mischaracterized the ein6 mutant plant as the phenotype was thought to be due to a single mutation.
In addition, the chromosomal location and DNA/Protein sequence of the EIN6 gene was not described, thus hindering in-depth studies of this mutation. However, as described below, the present application describes the isolation and characterization of the EIN6 gene, as well as the mutant allele, ein6.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


Cell compositions consisting essentially of mammalian hematopoietic CXCR4+ stem and progenitor capable to migrate in response to stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) and/or capable to adhere to stromal cells in response to an adhesion-inducing agent, are provided for clinical transplantation. Hematopoietic CXCR4−/low stem and progenitor cells can be converted into CXCR4+ cells by stimulation with a suitable agent. The composition consists preferably of human CD38−/low CXCR44 cells.

Hematopoietic stem cells are rare primitive blood cell progenitors that have the capacity both to self-replicate, so as to maintain a continuous source of regenerative cells, and to differentiate, so as to give rise to various morphologically recognizable precursors of blood cell lineages. These precursors are immature blood cells that cannot self-replicate and must differentiate into mature blood cells including the erythroid, lymphoid and myeloid cells. Within the bone marrow microenvironment, the stem cells self-proliferate and actively maintain continuous production of all mature blood cell lineages throughout life.
Bone marrow (BM) transplantation is being increasingly used in humans as an effective therapy for an increasing number of diseases, including malignancies such as leukemias, lymphoma, myeloma and selected solid tumors as well as nonmalignant conditions such as severe aplastic anemias, immunologic deficiencies and inborn errors of metabolism. The objective of BM transplantation is to provide the host with a healthy stem cell population that will differentiate into mature blood cells that replace deficient or pathologic cell lineages.
The source of the BM for transplantation may be autologous, syngeneic or allogeneic. Preferred are autologous BM or BM from HLA-matched siblings, but also BM from HLA-nonmatched donors is being used for transplantation.
Complicating factors in BM transplantation include graft rejection and graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). Since donor T lymphocytes were found to cause GVHD in animals, one of the procedures to prevent or alleviate GVHD consists in removing T cells from the donor BM before transplantation. This can be done by different techniques, e.g. by soybean agglutination and E-rosetting with sheep red blood cells, or by treatment with anti-T lymphocyte monoclonal antibodies. Extensive use of T-cell depleted BM effectively prevented GVHD but, unfortunately, resulted in a high rate of graft rejection (10–15% in HLA-matched recipients and 50% in HLA-nonmatched recipients) or graft failure (as high as 50%).
Another problem in BM transplantation is the difficulty of achieving long-term successful engraftment also when no graft rejection or GVHD occurs. Nowadays, patients which were successfully transplanted have very low levels of stem cells and immature progenitors which generate mature blood cells, compared with healthy individuals.
Stem cells are functionally defined by their ability to home to the bone marrow and to durably repopulate transplanted recipients with both myeloid and lymphoid cells. The processes that mediate homing and engraftment of human stem cells to the bone marrow involve a complex interplay between cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules.
Much of our knowledge of the regulation and the hierarchical organization of the hematopoietic system derives from studies in the mouse wherein stem cells are identified and quantified in long-term reconstitution assays. In contrast, our knowledge of the biology of human hematopoiesis is limited, since it is mostly based on in vitro assays or clinical bone marrow transplantation protocols, both lacking the option to characterize and quantify repopulating stem cells.
Intensive research is being carried out in order to understand the processes that mediate homing and engraftment of human stem cells to the bone marrow. Recently, several groups have established in vivo models for engrafting human stem cells, e.g. into immune deficient mice such as irradiated beige, nude, Xid (X-linked immune deficiency), SCID and non-obese diabetic SCID (NOD/SCID) mice, and in utero transplantation into sheep fetuses, which resulted in successful multilineage engraftment of both myeloid and lymphoid cells (McCune et al., 1988; Nolta et al., 1994; Lapidot et al., 1992; Larochelle et al., 1996; Civin et al., 1996).
Previously, the present inventors have developed a functional in vivo assay for primitive human SCID repopulating cell (SRCs) based on their ability to durably repopulate the bone marrow of intravenously transplanted SCID or NOD/SCID mice with high levels of both myeloid and lymphoid cells (Lapidot et al., 1992; Larochelle et al., 1996). Kinetic experiments demonstrated that only a small fraction of the transplanted cells engrafted and that these cells repopulated the murine bone marrow by extensive proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, the primitive human cells also retained the capacity to engraft secondary murine recipients (Cashman et al., 1997). Transplantation of populations enriched for CD34 and CD38 cell surface antigen expression, revealed that the phenotype of SRC is CD34+CD38− (Larochelle et al., 1996). Other repopulating cells may exist since recent studies suggest that immature human CD34− cells and more differentiated CD34+CD38+ cells have some limited engraftment potential (Zanjani et al., 1998; Conneally et al., 1997).
Accumulating evidence indicates that stem cell homing to the bone marrow is a multistep process. The mechanisms and specific adhesion molecules involved in this process are not fully understood. The β1 integrins very late antigen 4 (VLA-4) and VLA-5 and the β2 integrin lymphocyte function-associated 1 (LFA-1) have been shown to be implicated in the adhesive interactions of both mouse and human progenitor cells with the bone marrow extracellular matrix (ECM), as well as with bone marrow stromal cells (Levesque et al., 1995). VLA-4 plays an especially important role in murine stem cell migration and hematopoiesis in vivo. Murine stem cells lacking β1 integrins fail to colonize the fetal liver (Hirsh et al., 1996).
Similarly, homing of lymphocytes into lymphoid tissue and migration of leukocytes to inflammation sites are also mediated by adhesion molecules and by an entire family of chemoattractant cytokines (chemokines) and their cell surface receptors. Chemokines are cytokines that are best known for their ability to selectively attract subsets of leukocytes to sites of inflammation. However, chemokines are also important regulators of human development, hematopoiesis and angiogenesis. Activation of chemokine receptors in leukocytes results in a multistep process that includes activation of cell surface adhesion molecules followed by firm adhesion to the vessel wall and eventually migration into the extravascular compartment (Premack and Schall, 1996).
Stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) is a noted chemokine also known as pre-B cell growth stimulating factor (Nagasawa et al., 1996). Human and murine SDF-1 differ in one amino acid and are crossreactive. SDF-1 is the ligand for the CXCR4 receptor (previously identified as the orphan chemokine receptor fusin/LESTR), which is expressed on many cell types, including some CD34+CD38− cells (Bleul et al., 1996). In vitro SDF-1 attracts CD34+CXCR4+ cells, and was also shown to induce rapid activation of LFA-1 and VLA-4 on human CD4+ T cells (Aiuti et al., 1997; Campbell et al., 1998). In vivo SDF-1 is produced by bone marrow stromal cells as well as by epithelial cells in many organ (Bleul et al., 1996; Aiuti et al., 1997). Mice that lack SDF-1 or do not express CXCR4 exhibit many defects, including the absence of both lymphoid and myeloid hematopoiesis in the fetal bone marrow (Nagasawa et al., 1996). A defect in stem cell homing to the bone marrow may be one explanation for such a phenotype. Overexpression of human CD4 and CXCR4 receptors on murine CD4+ T cells led to enhanced homing of these cells to the murine bone marrow (Sawada et al., 1998).
In view of the expanded approach to treatment of many severe diseases by hematopoietic stem cell treatment, it is highly desirable to understand better the mechanism behind stem cell horning to the bone marrow and repopulation of transplanted hosts in order to obtain stem cells with higher rates of successful and long-tem engraftment.

Hematopoietic cell composition for use in transplantation


A cutter operative to pierce and cut a sheet of material includes a handle and a body portion coupled to the handle. The body portion includes two puncture fingers having tips for piercing the sheet of material and two blades for cutting two parallel cuts in the sheet of material. In a method of installing a zipper on a sheet of material, left and right portions of a zipper are applied to a sheet of material. A swath portion of the sheet of material is cut having two parallel, spaced-apart cuts between the left and right portions of the zipper. In this manner, zipper installation is established in a manner that avoids formation of flap of material that would otherwise remain between the left and right flanges of the zipper.

In the installation of temporary dust partitions, for example of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,469, U.S. Ser. No. 10/600,939, filed Jun. 20, 2003, U.S. Ser. No. 10/600,300, filed Jun. 20, 2003, and U.S. Ser. No. 11/125,583, filed May 10, 2005 the contents of each being incorporated herein by reference, a plastic sheet of material, or other type of material sheeting, is installed between a ceiling and a floor of a room to isolate or seal portions of a room from airborne dust or fumes.
In such partition installations, especially in longer-term installations, it has become popular to apply a zippered opening in the plastic sheeting, to allow for rapid entry and exit to and from the partitioned area. Examples of zippers of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,819,474, 5,067,207 and 5,311,648, the contents of each being incorporated herein by reference. Such zippers commonly include left and right teeth portions, that are respectively bound to left and right flanges. The left and right teeth portions are opened and closed using a zipper pull. The left and right flanges in turn have an adhesive backing that is applied to the installed plastic sheeting.
During installation of a zipper opening of this type, the adhesive backing of the zipper is applied to the plastic sheeting at the location where the zipper is to be installed. The zipper pull is then engaged to open the left and right zipper teeth on the zipper. This exposes the underlying plastic which is still taut and uniform under the zipper. A knife, such as a box cutter, is used to pierce and cut the plastic that is framed by the left and right flanges of the zipper. The plastic is cut for the entire length of the zipper, leaving behind an opening that can be used as an entryway for the installation. The entryway can be opened and closed at will by engaging and releasing the zipper.
When the plastic sheeting underlying the zipper teeth is cut in this manner, a flap of plastic material remains on either, or both, sides of the opening. The flap is usually non-uniform in width, as the knife, when cutting, can waver between the left and right sides of the opening, leaving a unsightly seam. In addition, the flap can interfere with the operation of the zipper, as it can become lodged, or otherwise snag, in the teeth of the zipper during closure. A box cutter also has an exposed razor blade that can be dangerous to operate.

Plastic sheet cutter and method for installing a zipper on a sheet of material


An illumination device is described for a monitoring camera with a plurality of light devices, each having a light device axis. The light device axes of the invention, intersect an optical axis of the monitoring camera.

Monitoring cameras that are sensitive to radiation in the infrared range and/or light in the visible range are used to monitor security-relevant areas in passenger aircraft. Such monitoring cameras are used, for example, to monitor cockpit doors, passenger doors, as well as the interior space of passenger aircraft. In complete darkness, as occurs, for example, during night flights, it is also necessary to additionally illuminate the monitoring region during use of monitoring cameras that are sensitive mostly to infrared light. For this purpose, illumination devices are used with light devices that emit radiation in the near-infrared range or in the visible light range. Infrared-emitting diodes or simple light-emitting diodes that emit light in the visible range are widely used as light devices in this context.
In traditional variants of illumination devices for monitoring cameras according to the prior art, a parallel arrangement of the camera optics and the illumination device is common. In order to achieve effective illumination of the monitoring area or the monitoring space in front of the monitoring camera, the infrared-emitting diodes (IRED) or the light-emitting diodes (LED) are arranged either with the camera optics behind a cover panel or the diodes are situated separately arranged on the housing front. The direction of emission of such illumination devices is determined mostly by the emission angle of the diodes as a result of the arrangement of the infrared-emitting diodes or light-emitting diodes parallel to the camera optics.
The already known variants of illumination devices often lead to overexposure of the image center of the image obtained with the monitoring camera, because the main radiation intensity of the diodes points in the direction of the camera optics and therefore to the center of the surveyed object. A higher contrast difference between image information in the image center and the edge regions of the image results from this, so that, for example, automatic evaluation of the image contents by appropriate image processing algorithms for image recognition, for recognition of access authorization and the like is hampered. In addition, security-relevant objects cannot be reliably identified precisely in the edge region of the image, because the image center is overexposed.

Illumination device for a monitoring camera

Abstract: The illumination device can have light devices that emit light in the visible range and/or in the near-infrared range.


Embodiments of the disclosure serializing wrapping of a circularly wrapping trace buffer via a compare-and-swap (CS) instruction by a method including executing a CS loop to advance to a location in the buffer indicated by a next free pointer. The method also includes incrementing a master wrap sequence number each time the next free pointer returns to a top of the buffer and executing another CS loop to increment a wrap number stored in a trace block corresponding to the location indicated by the next free pointer. Based upon determining that the wrap number stored in the trace block is one less than or equal to the master wrap sequence number, the method includes reserving space in a buffer associated with the trace block and storing the wrap number stored in the trace block as an old wrap number and incrementing a use-count of the trace block.

The present invention relates to circularly wrapping trace buffers, and more specifically, to methods and systems for serializing wrapping of a trace buffer via a compare-and-swap (CS) instruction.
Trace buffers are often split into blocks of storage which when full can be written externally and/or reused once all writers have finished adding data. In general, when concurrently writing to a circularly wrapping trace buffer from multiple threads, serialization is performed to reserve space and prevent wrapping of the buffer. However, when reserving space for a thread it is difficult to know if other threads are done before allowing wrapping back to that block. Accordingly, there is a risk of writing to a block that is currently being used by another thread.
Existing solutions include using a system lock to ensure that only one write can happen at a time and allowing a thread to reserve space to indicate interest in the current trace block. However, using and waiting for such a system lock can have a negative impact on system performance. Another existing solution is to disable all interrupts while reserving space so it is done quickly thereby minimizing the risk that buffers could wrap during processing. However, disabling interrupts could cause a thread to monopolize a processor and requires that all buffers be in real storage and not paged to an external device.

Serializing wrapping trace buffer via a compare-and-swap instruction

International Business Machines Corporation


A differential amplifier produces a collector current of an output side transistor as an output current signal. In this case, a power supply voltage or a closer voltage to the power supply voltage is supplied to a collector terminal of the output side transistor. First and second current mirror circuits produce a current signal in response to the output current signal. The produced current signal passes through a resistor, a terminal of which is connected to a reference voltage. When the produced current signal passes through the resistor, a voltage drop from the reference voltage occurs at the resistor. By utilizing the voltage drop at the resistor, an output voltage changing in response to two output voltage signals is produced.

This invention relates to a differential amplifier device which includes two transistors as a differential pair and, in particular, to a differential amplifier device having a current-to-voltage converter which converts, into a voltage signal, a current signal outputted from one of the two transistors.
The differential amplifier, a main part of the differential amplifier device, produces a current signal corresponding to difference between two input voltages. Generally, the differential amplifier comprises a differential pair, and two transistors having a particular property. Now, description will be made about a case in which two npn-type transistors are employed as a differential pair. Power supply voltage is applied to a collector terminal of one of the transistors of the differential pair. In this condition, two input voltages are supplied to base terminals of the two transistors, respectively. In the case where the other transistor of the differential pair is an output transistor, a collector of the output transistor receives a collector current having a current value dependent on the difference between the two input voltages as an output current signal which the differential amplifier produces.
In order to obtain a voltage signal, which changes in response to the difference between the two input voltages, by using the output current signal which the differential amplifier produces, the differential amplifier device requires a current-to-voltage converter to convert a current signal to a voltage signal.
A conventional differential amplifier device comprises a current-to-voltage converter only consisting of a resistor. The resistor comprises two terminals. One of the terminals is connected to a collector terminal of an output transistor of the differential amplifier, and another terminal is applied with a reference voltage. In accordance with this current-to-voltage converter, the output current signal from the differential amplifier goes through the resistor. At that time, a voltage drop from the reference voltage occurs at the resistor. The conventional current-to-voltage converter generates a voltage signal by utilizing the voltage drop.
However, the conventional differential amplifier device has the following problem, that is, a collector current value of the output transistor is limited.
Generally, a reference voltage is lower than a power supply voltage because stepping down the power supply voltage produces the reference voltage. If the difference between the reference voltage and the source voltage is large, a value of the output current signal does not reach a theoretical value which depends on the difference between two input voltages but is limited to a level lower than above-mentioned theoretical value.