In an optical interferometer, incident light 1 is divided into reflected light and transmitted light which travel along respective optical paths, which are orthogonal to each other. The reflected light is subjected to total reflection by means of a first reflector 3, and the transmitted light is subjected to total reflection by means of a second reflector 4. The light reflected by the first reflector 3 and the light reflected by the second reflector 4 are again merged by means of the beam splitter 2 into a single ray, and the thus-merged ray falls on a photodetector 5. The optical interferometer is equipped with a third reflector 6 which reflects the incident light 1 at right angles so as to fall on the beam splitter 2, and a fourth reflector 7 which reflects the light, having been transmitted through the beam splitter 2, at right angles so as to fall on the second reflector 4. The beam splitter 2 and the third and fourth reflectors 6 and 7 are mounted on a moving member 8 which can be moved along an optical path extending between the first reflector 3 and the photodetector 5.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical interferometer to be used in the field of, for example, metrology.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing an example configuration of a conventional optical interferometer. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 designates incident light; 2 designates a beam splitter; 3 and 4 designate mirrors; and 5 designates a photodetector.
As shown in the drawing, by means of a beam splitter 2, the incident light 1 is divided into two optical paths which are orthogonal to each other; that is, transmitted light and reflected light. Light reflected by the mirror 3 provided in and oriented at right angles to the optical path for the reflected light and light reflected by a mirror 4 provided in and oriented at right angles to the optical path for the transmitted light are again merged into a single ray by means the beam splitter 2.
At this time, the mirror 3 is moved along the optical path at constant velocity by means of an unillustrated stage on which the mirror 3 is mounted. Consequently, a difference in length arises between the optical path over which the light reflected by the mirror 3 travels and the optical path over which the light reflected by the mirror 4 travels, thus resulting in a variation in the intensity of interference fringes.
The photodetector 5 extracts, as an electric signal, such a variation in the intensity of interference fringes.
As mentioned above, in the above-described conventional optical interferometer, the mirror 3 is moved along its optical path over a long distance, thus resulting in time-consuming operation. Moreover, the accuracy of the optical interferometer must increases with the distance over which the mirror is to travel.
For these reasons, a limitation is imposed on a reduction in the size of and the measurement time required by the conventional optical interferometer. Further, there is also desired an improvement in the optical interferometer in terms of accuracy management.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical interferometer of reduced measurement time, and improve measurement accuracy, and facilitated accuracy management.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact optical interferometer.
To these ends, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical interferometer, wherein incident light is divided by means of a beam splitter into reflected light and transmitted light which travel along respective optical paths, which are orthogonal to each other; the reflected light is subjected to total reflection by a first reflector and the transmitted light is subjected to total reflection by a second reflector; and the reflected light rays are again merged by the beam splitter into a single ray so as to fall on a photodetector, the interferometer comprising:
a third reflector which reflects the incident light at right angles so as to fall on the beam splitter;
a fourth reflector which reflects the light, having been transmitted through the beam splitter, at right angles so as to fall on the second reflector; and
a moving member on which the beam splitter and the third and fourth reflector are mounted and which can be moved along an optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector.
The reflector is typified by a mirror. However, a corner cube or a reflector may be used in place of the mirror.
The photodetector extracts, as an electric signal, a variation in the intensity of interference fringes.
The moving member is usually called a stage.
To these ends, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical interferometer, wherein incident light is divided by means of a beam splitter into reflected light and transmitted light which travel along respective optical paths, which are orthogonal to each other; the reflected light is subjected to total reflection by a first reflector and the transmitted light is subjected to total reflection by a second reflector; and the reflected light rays are again merged by the beam splitter into a single ray so as to fall on a photodetector, wherein a moving member on which the beam splitter and the third and fourth reflector are mounted is moved along an optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector. Consequently, the optical path over which the light reflected by the first reflector travels and the optical path over which the light reflected by the second reflector travels can be changed simultaneously. Thus, the optical interferometer of the present invention can achieve the same optical path difference as that achieved by the conventional optical interferometer, by employment of a travel distance which is one-half that required by the conventional optical interferometer.
Since the optical interferometer of the present invention requires one-half the travel distance required by the conventional optical interferometer, measurement time can be shortened.
Further, since a required travel distance is short, blurring stemming from movement of the moving member can be diminished. Therefore, there can be realized facilitation of accuracy management of parts, an improvement in measurement accuracy, and miniaturization of the optical interferometer.
Preferably, the optical interferometer further comprises:
a fifth reflector which reflects the light reflected by the beam splitter in a direction parallel to the path of the light reflected by the beam splitter (hereinafter called xe2x80x9cin a parallel directionxe2x80x9d) so as to fall on the first reflector; and
a sixth reflector which reflects the light reflected by the fourth reflector in a parallel direction so as to fall on the second reflector, wherein the first and second reflectors are mounted on the moving member.
As mentioned above, the light reflected by the beam splitter is reflected in a parallel direction by means of the fifth reflector so as to fall on the first reflector. Further, the light reflected by the fourth reflector is reflected in a parallel direction by means of the sixth reflector so as to fall on the second reflector. The first and second reflectors are mounted on the moving member on which the beam splitter and the third and fourth reflectors are mounted. Hence, the travel distance can be shortened to one-half that required by the previously-described optical interferometer of the present invention. Accordingly, the travel distance required by the optical interferometer of the present invention can be shortened to one-fourth that required by the conventional optical interferometer.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical interferometer, wherein incident light is divided by means of a beam splitter into reflected light and transmitted light which travel along respective optical paths, which are orthogonal to each other; the reflected light is subjected to total reflection by a first reflector and the transmitted light is subjected to total reflection by a second reflector; and the reflected light rays are again merged by the beam splitter into a single ray so as to fall on a photodetector, the interferometer comprising:
a third reflector which reflects the light, having transmitted through the beam splitter, at right angles so as to fall on the second reflector; and
moving means which synchronously moves the first and second reflectors inn opposite directions so as to approach or depart from each other, along an optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector.
As mentioned above, incident light is divided by means of a beam splitter into reflected light and transmitted light which travel along respective optical paths, which are orthogonal to each other; the reflected light is subjected to total reflection by a first reflector and the transmitted light is subjected to total reflection by a second reflector; and the reflected light rays are again merged by the beam splitter into a single ray so as to fall on a photodetector, wherein moving means synchronously moves the first and second reflectors in opposite directions so as to approach or depart from each other, along an optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector. Thus, the optical path over which the light reflected by the first reflector travels and the optical path over which the light reflected by the second reflector travels can be changed simultaneously. Since the first reflector and the second reflector can be moved simultaneously in opposite directions, the optical interferometer of the present aspect of the invention can perform measurement within one-half the time required by the conventional optical interferometer.
Since the distance over which each of the first and second reflectors are to move is shortened to one-half that required by the conventional optical interferometer, blurring stemming from movement of reflectors can be diminished, thus facilitating accuracy management of parts and improving measurement accuracy.
Preferably, the moving means comprises a feed screw member having helical threads of opposite hands (hereinafter called xe2x80x9copposite-hand helical threadsxe2x80x9d), and the feed screw member is disposed in parallel to the optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector, the helical thread of one hand being engaged with the moving member having the first reflector mounted thereon and the helical thread of the other hand being engaged with the moving member having the second reflector mounted thereon.
As mentioned previously, a feed screw member is disposed in parallel with the optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector and has opposite-hand helical threads. The helical thread of one hand is engaged with a moving member having the first reflector mounted thereon, and the helical thread of the other hand is engaged with another moving member having a second reflector mounted thereon. In addition to yielding the advantageous result yielded by the optical interferometer of the second embodiment, the optical interferometer of the third embodiment yields the advantage of simultaneous movement of the first and second reflectors in opposite directions by means of rotation of the feed screw member.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical interferometer, wherein incident light is divided by means of a beam splitter into reflected light and transmitted light which travel along respective optical paths, which are orthogonal to each other; the reflected light is subjected to total reflection by a first reflector and the transmitted light is subjected to total reflection by a second reflector; and the reflected light rays are again merged by the beam splitter into a single ray so as to fall on a photodetector, the interferometer comprising:
a third reflector which reflects the light, having transmitted through the beam splitter, at right angles so as to fall on the second reflector; and
a moving means on which the first and second reflectors are mounted and which can be moved along the optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector.
As mentioned above, by means of a beam splitter, incident light is divided into reflected light and transmitted light which travel along respective optical paths, which are orthogonal to each other; the reflected light is subjected to total reflection by a first reflector and the transmitted light is subjected to total reflection by a second reflector; and the reflected light rays are again merged by the beam splitter into a single ray so as to fall on a photodetector, wherein moving means on which the first and second reflectors are mounted is moved along the optical path extending between the first reflector and the photodetector. As a result of simultaneous movement of the first and second reflectors in a single direction, the optical path over which the light reflected by the first reflector travels and the optical path over which the light reflected by the second reflector travels can be changed simultaneously. Consequently, the optical interferometer of the present invention can achieve the same optical path difference as that achieved by the conventional optical interferometer, within a travel distance which is one-half that required by the conventional optical interferometer.
Thus, since the optical interferometer of the present invention requires one-half the travel distance required by the conventional optical interferometer, measurement time can be shortened.
Further, since the travel distance required is short, blurring stemming from movement of the moving member can be diminished. Therefore, there can be realized facilitated accuracy management of parts and an improvement in measurement accuracy.
Preferably, the optical interferometer further comprises a fourth reflector which reflects the incident light at right angles so as to fall on the beam splitter;
a fifth reflector which reflects the light reflected from the beam splitter in a parallel direction so as to fall on the first reflector;
a sixth reflector which reflects the light reflected from the third reflector in a parallel direction so as to fall on the second reflector; and
a second moving member on which the fifth and sixth reflectors are mounted and which can be moved along an optical path extending between the fifth reflector and the photodetector, wherein
the beam splitter and the third and fourth reflectors are mounted on the first moving member having the first and second reflectors mounted thereon.
Incident light is reflected at right angles by means of the fourth reflector so as to enter the beam splitter, and the light reflected by the beam splitter is reflected in a parallel direction by a fifth reflector so as to fall on the first reflector. The light, which has been transmitted through the beam splitter, is reflected at right angles by the third reflector. The thus-reflected light is further reflected in a parallel direction by a sixth reflector so as to fall on the second reflector. The third and fourth reflectors are mounted on a first moving member on which the first and second reflectors are mounted, and a second moving member having the fifth and sixth reflectors mounted thereon is moved along the optical path extending between the fifth reflector and the photodetector. In addition to the previously-described advantageous result, the optical interferometer of the present invention requires an advantage of further shortening a required travel distance; i.e., shortening of a travel distance to less than one-half the travel distance required by the conventional optical interferometer.


The present invention is a self-retaining laryngoscope composed of a palate brace or blade, a slider, and a tongue blade. The angulated tongue blade puts less force on the blade, reduces trauma, and is not conducive for mechanical failure. The slider interacts with the tongue blade by widening the opening of the mouth, and acts as a bite block. The fenestrated palate blade provides an unobstructed view of the vocal cords during intubation, and allows removal of the laryngoscope over the endotracheal tube without displacing it. The result is a laryngoscope that requires only one hand to use properly, and has superior retraction due to its shape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical instruments, and more particularly to an improved laryngoscope.
2. Background Information
The early need to visualize the larynx was for surgical purposes. As a medical student in 1829, Benjamin Guy Babington created a "glottiscope." One shank held down the tongue while the other was positioned along the palate. Sunlight provided the illumination for a view of the glottis. The glottiscope was later termed the laryngoscope by his contemporary, Thomas Hodgkins. In 1844, surgeon John Avery developed a head-mounted mirror that reflected candlelight onto a mirror housed within a speculum. But it was Manual Garcia (1805-1906), a professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London, who is generally credited with the discovery of laryngoscopy. In 1854, he utilized a dental mirror in combination with a hand-held mirror reflecting sunlight to visualize his own larynx and trachea during inspiration and vocalization. At the age of 100, he was honored by the most prominent laryngologists of his time as the Father of laryngology. A laryngology clinic was established in Vienna in 1870 and minor surgical procedures were performed under visual control. British surgeon William Macewen was the first to intubate the larynx for surgical purposes. He practiced blind, digital intubation on cadavers and eventually employed this technique to perform a composite resection in 1878. Pediatrician Joseph O'Dwyer worked at New York City's Foundling Asylum, where he developed instruments to enable tracheal intubation that saved the lives of hundreds of children suffocating from diphtheria.
Hans Kuhn modified O'Dwyer's instruments and created a long, flexible metal endotracheal tube and introducer, but his method still depended upon blind insertion, as light sources were inadequate to permit progress in direct laryngoscopy (DL). In 1895, Alfred Kirstein learned of an inadvertent tracheal insertion of an esophagoscope, and proceeded to develop a rigid laryngoscope with transmitted light. This consisted of a lamp within the handle, focused on a lens and redirected through the scope by a prism. Chevalier Jackson subsequently modified Kirstein's laryngoscope by providing distal illumination with a tungsten bulb. In 1913, Henry Janeway devised an open-sided laryngoscope with battery-operated distal illumination specifically for endotracheal intubation.
In 1941, Robert Miller introduced a new, longer, lower profile laryngoscope, which was designed to pick up the epiglottis. This blade required limited mouth opening but also left little space to manipulate the endotracheal tube (ETT). In 1943, Robert Macintosh described a curved blade to elevate the epiglottis by exerting its force on the base of the tongue. He believed that reducing contact with the epiglottis would be less stimulating and provide more room for manipulation of the ETT. Although both blades have been variously modified in the interim, they continue to dominate the field of laryngoscopy. Yet they both fail to provide an adequate glottic view in a small but significant number of patients.
Although there have been advancements in larygoscopy, e.g., fiber optics, varying techniques, lighted wands, and a number of technological modalities, the basic laryngoscope, which is far and away the most utilized instrument, has not materially improved since the early 1940s.
After years of clinical studies, it is clear that positioning alone does not align the mouth, pharyngeal and laryngeal axes and that force must be applied to achieve this. In any situation involving the care of a critically ill or injured person, the first consideration is always establishment and maintenance of the airway. It is estimated that failed intubation, especially in the emergency and austere environment, is the leading "preventable" cause of morbidity and mortality. In the pre-hospital environment, it is estimated that intubation success rates vary from approximately 85-95%. This compares to the approximate 99% success rates in hospitals. The main reasons for such a disparity are training, experience, resources, and technique.
The inability to see the larynx generally results in multiple or prolonged laryngoscopic attempts with increasing force, and is associated with esophageal, pharyngeal and dental injury, arterial desaturation, hemodynamic instability and unplanned intensive care unit admissions. An American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force's definition of a difficult laryngoscopy states that "it is not possible to visualize any part of the vocal cords after multiple attempts" and a difficult tracheal intubation as one which "requires multiple attempts." Though successfully accomplishing intubation is important, it is not enough. Intubation without an adequate laryngeal view should be regarded as a "near-miss," which is incentive enough to improve airway management techniques and reduce reliance upon luck and multiple or forceful laryngoscopies.
The laryngoscope of the future will provide predictable laryngeal exposure and consistently successful intubation. It will be easy to learn, quickly performed and will impose less stress upon the patient. It will be inexpensive to acquire and robust enough to withstand the hostile environment of the pre-hospital setting as well as the operating room. It will not depend on sunlight for reliable laryngeal illumination.
Presently known prior art includes the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,614, which issued to Bauman on Feb. 18, 1986, teaches a laryngoscope with a single disposable nonmetallic blade, a light source disposed within the handle and a light conductor disposed adjacent to and held by the blade. Typical of the prior art, this apparatus requires two hands to operate, and perhaps even two caregivers, if the patient's mouth and head must be stabilized. Lacy (U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,870) and Bar-Or et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,351) also teach disposable plastic single blades used in combination with a light source in a laryngoscope.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,451, which issued to Bauman on Mar. 4, 1986, teaches a laryngoscope blade which has a tip that is capable being bent or flexed in the direction of the handle of the laryngoscope. This allows the patient's epiglottis to be lifted to expose the patient's larynx. This is a single blade instrument. It is provided with a ratchet lock to maintain the bend in the tip. This instrument can bend in only one direction, to lift the epiglottis. Locking the laryngoscope blade in an operable position is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,760, but this lock/unlock mechanism functions to enable the instrument to be compact when it is not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,835, which issued to Filli on Aug. 6, 1991, teaches a slideably adjustable spatula portion in the laryngoscope blade. The function of this spatula is to act as a tongue depressor to facilitate inspection of the pharynx and larynx, or the insertion of an anesthetic breathing tube. This apparatus uses a single blade with a sliding part, which does not lock in position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,859, which issued to Waldvogel on Dec. 10, 1991, teaches a laryngoscope that incorporates a dynamometer in order to measure the force used by the caregiver to examine the patient. This invention is an attempt to avoid trauma to the patient that can occur using prior art apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,964, which issued to Upsher on May 21, 1985, teaches a dual bladed laryngoscope, wherein one conventional blade carries its own light source and the second blade is a light guide for a second light source in the handle of the instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,231, which issued to Franicevic on Mar. 12, 1996. This apparatus is the current state of the art in the field of laryngoscopes. Franicevic teaches a reusable laryngoscope for use "in difficult intubation due to malformation of the jaws, tongue, pharynx, larynx or neck as a result of trauma, edema, inflammation or congenial anomalies." This laryngoscope has a hollow body terminating at its distal end in a pair of opposed blades that can be spread apart by the caregiver. An endotracheal tube slides through the hollow tube in the center of the instrument. Light conducting means are provided to illuminate the larynx. The device includes a fiberoptic optical system for inspecting the larynx during intubation. Franicevic is an improvement on the "bendable tip" of Bauman, cited above. The single distal spreading of the "beak" taught by Franicevic allows some lifting of the soft tissue, but it does nothing to open the mouth or depress the tongue. Franicevic teaches a bias spring to keep the distal blades closed when they are not positively spread apart by the caregiver. This apparatus is not locking or self-retaining in the airway. It also is not disposable and its complex mechanism makes it difficult to adequately sterilize.
The closest prior art known to the present inventor is U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,591, which issued to Minson, the present invention, on Aug. 17, 1999. The '591 patent is a disposable self-retaining laryngoscopes used for orally intubating a patient with an endotracheal tube. However, this design ultimately failed in almost every configuration. The current invention is not similar to the '591 patent: the tongue blade, the palate blade and slider have all been changed significantly. Lengths, angles, and the configuration of the invention have all substantially changed relative to the '591 patent. For example, the fenestration of the improved palate blade allows removal of the laryngoscope over the endotracheal tube without displacing it. This is not possible with the '591 patent.
Despite all of the benefits from the limited improvements of the basic laryngoscope over the decades and the alternatives thereof, there still exists the need for an improvement in laryngoscopic technology at the most basic level to address the aforementioned issues. The number of different variations of laryngoscope found in the prior art is a good indication that many experts skilled in this art have tried to find solutions to these problems. Current technology requires that individuals "retract" the airway with one hand while attempting to intubate with the other. In fact, four hands may be needed to hold the head and mouth of the patient, operate the laryngoscope and intubate the patient. Therefore, an improved laryngoscope is needed that incorporates 1) hands-free application for simultaneous suction and intubation, which is especially important in trauma, and 2) improved and broader illumination. Until now, such an invention does not exist.


Methods and apparatus to facilitate allowing a user to vary the quality of an output image in exchange for a variable cost. Each quality has an associated cost. By allowing the user to select a value relationship of a quality and its associated cost, the user is provided with an opportunity to receive an output image that provides the most value to the user.

The present invention relates generally to imaging devices, and in particular to methods and apparatus to facilitate variable image quality output based on a value to a user.
Coin-operated or other pay devices are available to produce images. These devices may produce an image from an original supplied by a user, e.g., self-service copiers found in most public libraries or self-service photo printers found in many photographic outlets. Alternatively, these devices may produce an image generated by or through the apparatus itself, e.g., customized greeting-card kiosks found in shopping malls or other retail outlets. Payment may be supplied to the device in the form of coins, currency, credit or debit card, tokens or other forms of payment. Alternatively, the device may provide some indication of the cost to the user for payment elsewhere. Using a customized greeting card as an example, an imaging device can print a barcode or other indicia on the card itself indicative of a price to be paid by the user. As another example, the imaging device may be activated only through the use of a tally device. A tally device typically counts the number of images produced by the user. When the tally device is returned to an administrator of the imaging device, the user is charged for the tallied image count.
Typically, a user is charged based on the imaging device being chosen for use. The user, if presented with a choice, can choose between imaging devices based on a desired quality of the output image. For example, a copy center may have color copiers and black and white copiers available for use. The cost to use a color copier is generally higher than the cost to use a black and white copier. If a user wants a color copy, they will have to choose and pay for the use of a color copier. Likewise, if a user wants a black and white copy, they will most likely choose and pay for the use of a black and white copier due to its lower cost. However, the user generally pays the color copier price to use a color copier regardless of whether they are making a copy of a black and white original or a color original.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below that will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternative methods and apparatus providing a user with flexibility regarding cost and quality of an image output.
Methods and apparatus are described herein to facilitate allowing a user to vary the quality of an output image in exchange for a variable cost. Each quality has an associated cost. By allowing the user to select a value relationship of a quality and its associated cost, the user is provided with an opportunity to receive an output image that provides the most value to the user.
For one embodiment, the invention provides a method of generating an output image. The method includes generating a set of one or more value relationships associated with producing the output image. Each value relationship includes a cost to a user to receive the output image having a corresponding quality. The method further includes generating the output image in response to a user selection of one of the value relationships. The output image has the quality associated with the selected value relationship.
For another embodiment, the invention provides an imaging device. The imaging device includes a formatter for rendering image data into a printable image, a print engine for producing an output image from the printable image, and a processor. The processor is adapted to generate a first cost to a user of the imaging device to receive the output image having a first quality and to generate a second cost to the user of the imaging device to receive the output image having a second quality. The processor is adapted to direct the formatter and the print engine, as necessary, to generate the output image in accordance with the first quality if the user selects either the first quality or the first cost and the processor is adapted to direct the formatter and the print engine, as necessary, to generate the output image in accordance with the second quality if the user selects either the second quality or the second cost.
For yet another embodiment, the invention provides an imaging system. The system includes an imaging device for generating an output image in response to image data. The system further includes a processor adapted to generate a set of one or more value relationships associated with producing the output image, wherein each value relationship comprises a cost to a user to receive an output image having a corresponding quality. The system still further includes a user interface for communicating the set of value relationships to the user and for accepting a selection of one of the value relationships by the user. The processor is further adapted to direct the imaging device to generate the output image having the quality associated with the value relationship selected by the user.
Further embodiments of the invention include apparatus and methods of varying scope.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An emergency warning system for buses, trucks or other vehicles. The system warns a driver of a potentially dangerous condition such as the approach of a train at a railroad crossing or the approach or presence of an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance, fire truck or police unit. A dedicated radio or other frequency is transmitted directly to to the bus or vehicle and a warning light and audible warning sound is generated. Multiple dedicated frequencies may be utilized in the system.

The present invention is generally related to the emergency warning system arts and, in particular, to a system and method to warn a motorist of an approaching train or locomotive. The system described is also useful to warn motorists of an approaching or nearby ambulance, fire truck or police vehicle.
As is known in the art, the number of railway crossing collisions, fatalities and injuries annually in the United States is quite startling.
Based upon an NBC News study for 1999, there are 160,000 public highway and rail intersections in the U.S. Of this number, 60 percent or over 96,000 lack warning gates and lights. There were over 3400 train-vehicle collisions in 1999 which resulted in 399 deaths and 1,360 persons injured.
As is also known in the art, the number of collisions between vehicles and ambulances, fire trucks and police cars is also very high and results in many deaths and injuries annually.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to set forth an efficient on-board warning system to alert a vehicle driver of a potentially dangerous condition such as the approach of a train, locomotive or emergency vehicle.
It is also an object of the invention to demonstrate a warning system for the above purposes which may be economically mass-produced and installed for widespread commercial appeal.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art from the description which follows.


An adaptable garment material and method of producing such a material. The material may have a substrate and a plurality of shape memory polymer elements integrated therewith, or may be a mat of interwoven shape memory polymer elements. The shape memory elements adapt in the presence of an actuation trigger and exhibit different properties upon actuation.

Textiles have been used in the manufacture of garments. Materials used to construct the garments have been either natural or man-made. Sometimes, a wearer of a textile garment may become too warm or too cold depending upon a variety of factors. It is possible that these problems may be addressed by some action of the wearer. For example, temperature of a wearer may be adjusted by adding or removing layers of clothing, or by buttoning, unbuttoning, zipping, or unzipping the garment. It is possible that certain portions of the garment may be opened or closed to adjust temperature and insulation of the wearer, as well. For example, side zippers or flaps, or zippers under the sleeves of a jacket or shirt may be opened or closed to modify the temperature of the wearer.


The present invention relates to DNA molecules encoding a canine IgA and species-specific regions of the canine IgA constant region. The invention comprises the DNA molecules, proteins encoded by the DNA molecules, antibodies to the proteins, cells transformed by the DNA molecules, assays employing the transformed cells, compounds identified by the assays and kits containing the DNA molecules or derivatives thereof.

The invention relates to DNA molecules encoding a canine IgA. The invention comprises the DNA molecules, proteins encoded by the DNA molecules, antibodies to the proteins, cells transformed by the DNA molecules, assays employing the transformed cells, compounds identified by the assays and kits containing the DNA molecules or derivatives thereof.
Immunoglobulin (Ig) proteins consist of two identical light (L) chains and two identical heavy (H)chains. Both Ig L and H chains contain an amino-terminal variable region of approximately 110 amino acids that forms the antigen binding domain. The carboxy terminal constant (C) region domains of each chain is defined by two isotypes of IgL chain ( kappa and lambda) and multiple isotypes of IgH chains (mu, delta, gamma, epsilon and alpha which define IgM, IgD, IgG, IgE, and IgA, respectively). The IgH chain C regions contain the effector functions common to antibodies of a given isotype.
Substantial variations in the quantities of specific IgH chain isotypes are observed when different tissue fluids are analyzed. For instance, IgA is the primary Ig isotype in mucosal fluids, but is found at low levels in serum. The preponderance of IgA found at mucosal sites reflects the critical role IgA provides as a first line of defense against pathogens invading epithelial surfaces.
IgA is the principal immunoglobulin of mucosal surfaces where it is secreted as a polymeric antibody complex that contains J chain and secretory component. To fully understand antibody mediated immune responses at mucosal surfaces in a specific species, a knowledge of the Ig.alpha. constant region gene from that species is required.
Substantial variation in Ig.alpha. C regions gene copy number among species has been reported. For instance, functional Ig.alpha. gene copy number differs widely from mouse (one) and human (two) to rabbit. Our studies indicates that only a single Ig.alpha. gene is present in the canine genome. Unlike other immunoglobulin genes, the hinge region of Ig.alpha. is not encoded by a separate exon, but rather is fused to the 5' end of the CH2 domain. This organization of hinge and CH2 is conserved in the canine Ig.alpha. gene. The length of the Ig.alpha. hinge region has been shown to vary. For instance, the human Ig.alpha.1 gene has a hinge region of 18 amino acids while the human Ig.alpha.2 gene hinge region is only 5 amino acids long. The canine Ig.alpha. gene hinge region is 10 amino acids long, identical in length to the mouse Ig.alpha. hinge region.
Studies have suggested that the primary interactions between IgA and secretory component reside in the CH2 and CH3 domains of Ig.alpha.. Secretory component is covalently linked to IgA through disulfide bonds. Cys 311 of the human Iga CH2 domain is responsible for this linkage. Covalent linkage of canine Ig.alpha. to secretory component may also occur at this position because this cysteine residue is conserved in the canine Ig.alpha. chain.
For therapeutic purposes, it may be desirable to generate antibodies against the IgA of the target species in order to maximize the affinity of the anti-IgA antibodies. In addition, screening assays aimed at the identification of small molecules which alter IgA mediated responses in the dog can be optimized through the use of canine IgA, the actual target.
Prior to the described invention, it was virtually impossible to design peptides which could be used to produce antibodies of specifically targeted against canine IgA. When IgA sequences from other species are used for this purpose, the resulting antibodies have reduced affinity for the canine IgA and, therefore, reduced efficacy compared with antibodies generated using the described invention. Further, the availability of the cloned canine IgA gene enables large quantities of the canine IgA protein to be produced recombinantly for use in drug development (e.g., small molecule screening, assay development and anti-IgA antibody generation).
The DNA of the present invention may be used to identify regions of the canine IgA which are homologous to those targeted in other species and to predict novel therapeutic targets. Therapeutically interesting portions of the sequence may be expressed in chimeric proteins or used to produce peptides.
The invention also provides a renewable source of canine IgA protein through its expression using recombinant DNA techniques. This provides material for establishing assays to monitor IgA-mediated immune responses.


The control system controls the operation of a charge coupled device. The operation of the charge coupled device is responsive to a shift clock signal of a given frequency and a shift enable signal. The control system includes a timer for generating one of a number of shift clock signals. Each of the shift clock signals has a different frequency. A programmable register stores a plurality of control bits which may be programmed into the program memory of the control system. A multiplex switching is used for selecting one of the shift clock signals in response to the state of the control bits and directing the selected shift clock signal to the charge coupled device. An address decoder in response to addressing by the microprocessor, generates the shift enable signal which signal is directed to the charge coupled device concurrently with the presence of the selected shift clock signal.

The present invention relates to a charge coupled sensing device system and, more particularly, to a microprocessor control system, such as those used to control an electronic postage metering system, having a microprocessor controller in communication with the charge coupled device through an input-output interface.
In electronic postage meters, and other like devices, it is known to use charge coupled devices (CCD) for various sensing tasks. Particularly, it is known to use CCD for sensing various states of various components of an electronic postage meter (EMP) and conveying that sensed information to the microprocessor controller system of the electronic postage meter. Also, it is conventional to develop a unique control system for each electronic postage meter model, i.e., each meter model has a control system which incorporates a uniquely specified microprocessor, ASIC, memory devices and a variety of other electrical components. As a consequence, for each meter model, the CCD interface is uniquely specified to operate with the particular CCD to be used. Consequently, the control systems for each meter model series are relatively non-standard.


A new apple variety of distinguished by a small size fruit; resistance to apple scab; fruit having extremely crisp flesh and excellent flavor; and fruit that ripens in mid-September, but does not readily fall from the tree.

None.
None.
Latin Name of the Genus and Species of the Plant Claimed: Malusxc3x97domestica.
Variety Denomination: xe2x80x98Co-op 33xe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apple tree named xe2x80x98Co-op 33xe2x80x99. Our new tree resulted from a planned hybridization program and is a selection from crossing xe2x80x98PCF2-134xe2x80x99 (a proprietary, unpatented apple tree) as the seed parent with xe2x80x98669 N.J.5xe2x80x99 (a proprietary, unpatented apple tree) as the pollen parent. The resulting tree was selected when growing in a cultivated area of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
The xe2x80x98Co-op 33xe2x80x99 variety is distinguished from other apple varieties due to the following unique combination of characteristics: resistance to apple scab; fruit has extremely crisp flesh and excellent flavor; fruit does not drop when ripe; small size; and ripens in mid-September, when grown in Lafayette, Ind.
Asexual reproduction of this new variety has been accomplished by grafting and budding onto rootstocks xe2x80x98Malling 7xe2x80x99 (unpatented) and xe2x80x98Malling Merton 111xe2x80x99 (unpatented) rootstocks shows that the foregoing characteristics come true to form, are firmly fixed, and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations.
The original tree and progeny have been observed growing in a cultivated area of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Certain characteristics of this variety, such as growth and color, may change with changing environmental conditions (e.g., light, temperature, moisture, nutrient availability, or other factors). Color descriptions and other terminology are used in accordance with their ordinary dictionary descriptions, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Color designations are made with reference to The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.) Colour Chart.

Apple tree named xe2x80x98Co-op 33xe2x80x99


A computer-implemented method for copying data records from a first table residing in a database to a second table involves selecting a column of the first table as a parallelization column, identifying a number of distinct data record field values in the parallelization column of the first table and identifying a corresponding number of copy groups of data records. Each copy group of the data records includes the data records of the first table, which have the same distinct data record field value in the parallelization column of the first table. The method further involves setting up a corresponding number of copy processes; each copy process is configured to copy a respective copy group of data records from the first table to the second table.

A database may store data organized, for example, as tables (consisting of rows of data records and columns, which mark or indicate data record field attributes). A database management system (DBMS) may include software applications specially designed, for example, for the definition, creation, querying, update, and administration of the database. The software applications may allow interaction with a user, other applications (e.g., business applications), and the database itself, for example, to capture and analyze data.
A business or organization may store a large number of data records (e.g., millions of data records) in a database. Often while using or administering the database, there may be a need to copy portions of the stored data, for example, to another database, client computer or business application. The database may include a built-in "copy" feature or tool for copying database tables. However, commonly available database copy tools may have performance limitations (e.g., in efficiently copying a large amount data) at least when used in some integrated technology platforms or with some database types. Further, the built-in database copy feature or tool may not be available or accessible to external users (e.g., business application users) of the database without implementing elaborate access and authorization procedures.
Consideration is now being given to database copy features and tools that are useful in a variety of circumstances including, for example, copying of large amounts of data, and copying of data in a parallel mode. Attention is directed to increasing the efficiency of database copy tools and to database copy tools that can be triggered from within business application computing platforms.


A microcomputer equally divides the circumference of a RGB circle into 6×n (n is an integer of 1 or more) parts, and calculates a RGB value of each divided color. (255, 0, 0) is stored as a reference RGB value of a reference color in a ROM in the microcomputer. The microcomputer 3 converts the reference RGB value depending on an angular difference on the RGB circle between a designated color whose RGB value is to be found and the reference color, and assumes the converted RGB value as a RGB value of the designated color.

An illumination unit for emitting lights with various colors has been conventionally proposed (Patent Literature 1, for example). The illumination unit includes an R (red) light source, a G (green) light source, and a B (blue) light source, and can change illumination colors by adjusting luminance of each light source.
In the illumination unit, a table of RGB values corresponding to each illumination color is stored, and a microcomputer for controlling the light sources reads a RGB value of a desired illumination color from the table, and adjusts the luminance of the light sources according to the read RGB value.


A method and apparatus for preparing quick cooking and precooked filled pasta products by preconditioning a blend of a starch material with steam and small amounts of an internal lubricant to produce a semi-moist and partially cooked blend which is cooked and cooled under controlled conditions in a co-rotating twin screw extruder with low shear screw configuration and then co-extruded into the final filled pasta product by extruding the blend through a die, and cutting the extrudate, which may then be dried or otherwise processed.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for preparing a variety of quick cooking and precooked filled pasta products, such as ravioli, tortellini, manicotti, stuffed shells, dumplings and wonton by utilizing a steam injected preconditioner with an internal lubricant, a co-rotating intermesh twin screw extruder with low shear configuration and a co-extrusion die, and a stamper or cutter for forming a continuous co-extruded filled shell into pasta segments of predetermined configuration.
2. Description Of The Related Art
The use of co-extrusion equipment and processes to prepare filled food products is known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,690 to Chiao et al., for example, describes an apparatus and process for continuously producing a co-extruded wrapped food product such as wonton, pot stickers, ravioli, tamalis, filled donuts and the like. After the product is filled, shaped, cut and sealed, it is partially or completely cooked, or frozen. Other co-extrusion apparatus and processes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,744 to Thulin et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,499 to Wainright.
In recent years, there has been a substantially increased demand for foods which can be prepared quickly. While pasta products, including filled pasta products, which are pre-cooked are very popular with consumers, conventional pasta products require anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour to cook. This is the time required for boiling water to rehydrate and gelatinize the starch contained in these products, which is necessary to make them suitable for consumption. To adapt such products to more convenient and quick cooking food items, many attempts have been made in the art to reduce necessary cooking time.
Methods and apparatus for preparing a pre-cooked pasta product are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,592 to Myer et al. High temperature pumping and back mixing zones are utilized to form a gelatinized pasta dough by uniformly mixing a cereal composition and blending it with water. The dough is subjected to shearing conditions at elevated pressures and temperatures substantially above the gelatinization temperatures of the starches in the cereal composition.
In Seltzer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,214, a process is disclosed for the production of quick cooking pasta products. The process comprises combining flour, water, a carbonate, acidic leavening salt and an interrupter to form a dough, extruding the dough through an extrusion cooker under conditions of pressure and temperature sufficient to permit the carbonate to react with the acidic leavening salt and at least partially to gelatinize the starch in the flour, and drying the extruded, formed pasta product.
In U.S. Pat. No, 4,243,690, Murakami et al. disclose a process for preparing instant cooking dry macaroni. The flour and other ingredients are mixed with 25 to 35% weight water into a granular mixture while avoiding kneading The mixture is then subjected to a preliminary steaming step to effect alpha-conversion of the starch components. Thereafter the mixture is molded into the desired shape, and then subjected to an additional steaming step, followed by drying.
Lometillo et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,397, disclose a process for producing instant pasta products having an expanded porous cellular structure which enables the pasta to be rehydrated for consumption in a short period of time. The pasta blend comprises a farinaceous starch-containing material, gluten, an edible vegetable oil, a strengthening agent, such as microcrystalline cellulose, and water, all of which are introduced into an extrusion cooker. Optional ingredients include a starch complexing agent, such as glyceryl monostearate, a phosphatide such as lecithin, cereal flour, flavoring and vitamins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,593 to Sturgeon discloses a process for preparing quick cooking food including rice, cereal, grain or pasta, wherein the particulate food product is fluidized with steam to a predetermined moisture level, and subsequently cooled and dried to a second predetermined moisture level, also in a fluidized bed.
Harada et al. U.S. Pat. No, 4,540,590, discloses a process for producing a partially dried pasta with good shelf life, while Cunningham, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,563 discloses quick cooking macaroni products. They are produced by forming a dough containing at least 50% wheat flour, which is then formed into noodles by extrusion and the noodles re-dried to a moisture content of less than 6%.
The use of a lubricant in the formulation of reformed, rehydratable rice products is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,436 to Lou et al. Starting materials used in the process include ungelatinized rice flour, an aeratron agent, an emulsifier and optionally an edible gum.
An extrusion process for manufacturing quick cooking rice is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,251 issued to Wenger et al. This patent disclosed a low shear extrusion process in which a mixture of ingredients is mixed in a preconditioner, and thereafter the mixture is introduced into an extruder and passes through a cooking zone. The cooked mixture then passes through a venting zone and out through an extruded dye to form the final product.
A number of machines have been proposed for the automated production of pasta products, including those which encapsulate a filler material with dough. Typical machines of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,227,728 and 2,774,313 to Lombi; U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,641 to Shuster; U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,634 to Huang; 4,941,402 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,914 to D'Alterio Although these machines exhibit slight variations, they typically include separate hoppers for a fresh dough mixture and a separate source for filler material Each of the hoppers releases the dough mixture which is flattened into dough sheets by passage through various forming and shaping rollers. The filler material is deposited between the two sheets of fresh dough and a ravioli or dumpling type product is formed by the pressing and cutting of the two fresh sheets of dough about peripheral portions which surround the central filled region of the product. In the D'Alterio, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,914, one sheet of fresh dough is deposited on a rotary horizontal drum with uniformly spaced cavities A filler dispenser has downwardly aimed nozzles which inject filler material into the cavities after the first sheet of fresh dough has been forced into the cavity. A second sheet of fresh dough is laid over the cavity and a roller presses the second sheet against the first sheet to fuse them around the central filled portion. The dough encapsulated pasta sections are cut from the fused dough sheets as ravioli or like product.
None of the apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned patents form filler encapsulated pasta products, such as ravioli, from a precooked cylindrical pasta shell formed in a co-extruder.
The present invention provides flexibility in processing quick cooking or precooked, filled pasta products. A variety of filled pasta products are provided with various degrees of cooking time. The products can be produced quickly and economically by using a twin screw extruder in conjunction with a preconditioner, an internal lubricant, a co-extrusion die, and a stamper or cutter for forming a continuous co-extruded shell into pasta segments of predetermined configuration.

Precooked filled pasta products made by co-extrusion


A single potential ion source includes a single conical electrode encircled by a cylindrical magnet. At least one filament is placed proximate to the electrode. This arrangement serves to accelerate electrons created by energy from the filament toward a center axis of the conical electrode. The electrons collide with gas particles to create a focused ion stream. The stream may be directed into a magnetic field in a mass spectrometer tube.

The present invention relates to ion sources such as those used in, e.g., mass spectrometers. In particular, the present invention relates to an ion source which operates using only a single potential.
Mass spectrometers are known in the art, and may be used to measure the presence of a selected gas in a system. A central component of a typical mass spectrometer is the ion source. Gas entering the mass spectrometer flows into the ion source. Electrons, produced typically by a hot filament, enter an ion chamber and collide with the gas molecules. This creates an environment within the chamber where ions are quantitatively proportional to the pressure in the ion chamber. Ions are withdrawn from the ionization chamber through an exit hole or slit under the influence of an electrostatic field created by a voltage potential applied at a withdrawal electrode. The ions are further guided by one or more focus plates which also produce a field created by further voltage potentials. The various voltage potentials creating the ion beam and the focus fields are chosen to ensure that a straight ribbon of ions exits from the chamber.
The ions from the chamber typically enter a magnetic field which deflects ions in proportion to their mass-to-charge ratio. In magnetic bending types of helium mass spectrometer leak detection systems, the magnetic field is typically adjusted so hydrogen ions are deflected 135.degree., helium ions 90.degree., and all heavier species less than 90.degree.. An ion collector is placed at 90.degree. to collect the target particles, i.e., helium ions. All other ions are deflected away from the collector. The collector current is then measured by an amplifier for evaluation.
In these previous systems, the ion source required the application of a number of voltages to create necessary electron trajectories and to withdraw and collimate a stream of ions for delivery through the magnetic field. Most previous systems required at least four or five different voltage sources to accomplish this. This is undesirable for several reasons. When these voltages are varied to obtain the desired helium ion beam current and shape they tend to interact and thus require a series of iterative adjustments which makes an automatic tuning more difficult. The iterations required makes the adjustment procedure rather lengthy. Further, construction, design, and coupling of ion sources requiring several potentials is difficult. With increased complexity comes reduced reliability and increased cost.
Another disadvantage of existing ion sources is that they have a limited useful life. The life of the source is only as good as the life of the electron emitting filament used in the system. Although certain existing systems use redundant filaments (i.e., a spare is typically placed opposite or beside the primary filament for use when the primary expires), the life of the ion source is still limited. Once both filaments have expired, the ion source is rendered useless until the source can be retrofitted with new filament(s).
Accordingly, an ion source for a mass spectrometer leak detection system is needed which is easily tuned, simple in design, low in cost, and long in life. Further, it would be desirable to provide an ion source which supports automatic tuning.


An embodiment method of controlling fin bending in a fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) includes forming an isolation region over a substrate, performing a first annealing process, the first annealing process including a first wet anneal, the first wet anneal removing impurities from the isolation region; a second wet anneal, the second wet anneal forming silanol in the isolation region; and a first dry anneal, the first dry anneal dehydrating the isolation region. In an embodiment, the first annealing process is followed by a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process, an etching process, and a second annealing process for the isolation region.

Semiconductor devices are used in a large number of electronic devices, such as computers, cell phones, and others. Semiconductor devices comprise integrated circuits that are formed on semiconductor wafers by depositing many types of thin films of material over the semiconductor wafers, and patterning the thin films of material to form the integrated circuits. Integrated circuits include field-effect transistors (FETs) such as metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors.
One of the goals of the semiconductor industry is to continue shrinking the size and increasing the speed of individual FETs. To achieve these goals, fin FETs (FinFETs) or multiple gate transistors are used in sub 32 nm transistor nodes. FinFETs not only improve areal density, but also improve gate control of the channel.
Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


An elongated lens (300) is formed with a trough (310) along the long axis on the light emitting surface of the lens. The elongated lens (300) may include a curved wall (325) about its perimeter, and a smooth transition (317) between the curved wall (325) and the trough (310). The trough (310) may include a concave shape along both the long axis and the short axis, although the radius of curvature of the concave shape may differ between the long and short axes. The eccentricity of the illumination pattern may be controlled by the size of the trough (310) and these radii of curvature.

Lenses are commonly used to alter the shape of the illumination/radiation pattern produced by a light source. Elongated illumination patterns are often required for camera flash lamps, vehicle head lamps, street lighting, and so on.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,339,200, "LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE AND VEHICULAR LAMP", issued 4 Mar. 2008 to Amano et al. discloses a lens that provides an elongated illumination pattern for a vehicular lamp by increasing the divergence of light from a light emitting device along one axis. To compensate for the greater intensity of light when viewed from the center of the light emitting source, compared to the off-center intensity, the lens includes a concave portion about an optical center of the light emitting device, and a convex portion on either side of the optical center, the convex portions having a larger emission surface than the concave portion. The resultant lens is "peanut shaped", the concave portion corresponding to the narrowed center portion of a peanut shell.
FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate an example peanut shaped lens 100 that provides an elongated illumination pattern from a single light source that emits a Lambertian radiation pattern. FIG. 1A is a perspective view that illustrates the peanut shape having a narrowed center region 110 separating two larger lobes 120. The illustrations are not to scale, and may include exaggerated features for ease of illustration and explanation. In some embodiments, the difference in size/volume between the larger lobes 120 and the smaller center region 110 may be substantially less than illustrated in these figures.
FIG. 1B illustrates a top view of the peanut shaped lens of FIG. 1A, while FIGS. 1C and 1D illustrate cross-section views taken along views C-C and D-D, respectively, of FIG. 1B. The view C-C is taken along the long axis 130, and the view D-D is taken along the short axis 140. As illustrated in FIG. 1C, the larger lobes 120 form a convex surface, and the center region 110 forms a concave structure, as viewed along cross-section C-C. As illustrated in FIG. 1D, the cross-section of the center region 110 forms a convex surface. This convex cross-section extends for the entire length of the lens through the long axis 130 of the lens, include the larger lobes 120, the radius of the convex surface changing accordingly. Light source 150 may be a semiconductor light emitting device (LED), or a plurality of light emitting devices, and may be arranged within a recess of the lens or situated on or near the lower surface of the lens.
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the light propagation through the lens 100 with respect to each axis 130, 140, respectively. As disclosed, the lens 100 includes a concave lens portion 210 and two convex lens portions 220 on either side of the concave lens 210. Each of these lens portions provide an optical axis with respect to the light source 150. The concave lens portion 210 provides optical axis 201, and each of the convex lens portions 220 provides an optical axis 202. Each optical axis 202 extends from the light source 150 through the center of curvature 205 of the convex lens portions 220. The concave lens 210 serves to disperse the light emitted from the light source 150 away from the optical axis 201, forming an elongated light emission pattern along the long axis 130. Each of the convex lenses 220 serve to converge the light toward its respective optical axis 202, which results in an elongated light emission pattern along the long axis 130. By proper selection of the size and curvatures of the lenses 210, 220, a uniformly illuminated elongated light emission pattern may be formed.
The cross section of the lens 100 relative to the short axis 140 forms a convex lens 240. The cross section taken along any point on the long axis 130 forms a similarly shaped convex lens, as indicated by the dashed line 240′, the size being relative to the height and width of the lens 100 along the long axis 130. As illustrated, the convex lens 240 serves to concentrate/collimate the light from the light source 150, forming a relatively narrow light emission pattern along the short axis 140. The convex lens 240′ will similarly concentrate/collimate the light from the light source 150, maintaining a narrower light emission pattern along the short axis 140.
The overall emission pattern formed by the lens 100 is long in one axis, and narrow in the other axis, forming a substantially rectangular, or oval illumination pattern. However, the complex shape of the lens 100 introduces interdependencies between the parameters in each dimension. For example, if a wider illumination pattern is desired relative to the short axis (FIG. 2B), the radius of curvature of the convex lens 240 may need to be decreased. This change of shape of the lens 240 may limit the feasible shapes of the lenses 220. Constraints on the physical size of the lens as well as methods of forming a suitable mold may also limit the shape of the lens.


A display device including a transparent base having a plurality of card holders in place thereon. The holders include a transparent front face member and back joined in a yieldable manner to permit flexing for insertion and removal of the card or other article to be displayed. The holders are secured to the base by a spacer with an adhesive which does not alter the transparency of the holder and base to which it is secured. The front face member and back of each holder are joined by a flexible common edge which biases the face member toward the article displayed to retain same in place.

The present invention pertains generally to display devices for display of two dimensional articles.
A problem exists for the collectors and sellers of trading cards of the type having athletes pictured thereon along with a brief biography with their statistics on the back of the card. Further, handling of these cards greatly reduces their collector value which, depending on the pictured athlete, may be substantial. Trading of such cards is a common practice and accordingly permanent mounting of same in a picture frame is impractical.


Disclosed within is a communication architecture for medium access control (MAC) layer virtualization, where the architecture is made up of: a physical MAC layer, a plurality of physical resource blocks (RBs) associated with the MAC layer, a plurality of virtual medium access control (vMAC) layers, where each vMAC layer corresponds to a separate service group, with each service group programming its own scheduling logic in each vMAC layer, and a plurality of virtual resource blocks (vRBs) associated with each vMAC layer, where the vRBs are filled with data packets according to the scheduling logic in each vMAC instance. The physical MAC layer virtualizes the RBs as vRBs and assigns them to each vMAC layer according to a service level agreement associated with each service group, and each vMAC maps traffic flows of subscribers associated with it onto the assigned vRBs.

Field of Invention
The present application relates to the medium access control operations of the radio access networks of wireless broadband communication systems, and more particularly, methods and apparatus for virtualizing the available wireless system resources and decoupling the user scheduling operation from the operation of resource assignment in base stations.
Discussion of Related Art
This invention is concerned with the specification of a method and apparatus for the virtualization of wireless resources for a wireless system where multiple virtual MAC layer slices may operate simultaneously in a base station. While the scheduling operations conducted by the virtual MAC layers decide on which users and flows will get service, the assignment of the physical wireless resources to these users and flows is decoupled from such scheduling operations.
The patent application US 20110029347 A1 presents a wireless network virtualization scheme, where each MVNO bids for resource blocks by providing a per-user rate-utility function to the network operator. The Mobile Network Operator (MNO) who owns the network in return makes rate allocations to each MVNO, set current and future prices for the resource blocks, based on sum-utility maximization across all users. MVNOs transfer the bytes for each user based on the allocation and update utility functions of each user.
The patent application US 20130094486 A1 discloses a virtualization scheme for wireless local area networks, where multiple virtual access points sharing the same physical access point are granted time shares to access the resources of the physical access point for transmitting the data packets of users associated with the said virtual access points over the wireless medium.
The patent application US 20120044876 A1 discloses a virtualized base station belonging to an operator A and a mobile subscriber of another operator B can access to its home network (i.e., B) after a virtual base station that is part of operator B is instantiated on the virtualized base station that belongs to operator A.
The patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 8,873,482 B2 discloses a wireless network virtualization substrate at the scheduling layer, where bandwidth and/or slot reservations are requested from the virtualization substrate. The virtualization substrate first picks a slice to schedule over a slot (e.g., after sorting each slice with respect to the ratio of bandwidth/resource allocated and bandwidth/resource reserved). The invention also includes utility maximization based allocation strategies in deciding which slice should be assigned to which slot. Then, the virtualization substrate schedules the flows of the selected slice on the allocated slots. Each slice can control the ordering of flows and packets by specifying the scheduling policy for its own flows, putting virtual time tags in the packet headers, or any other means that do not impede the line speed processing.
The patent specifications U.S. Pat. No. 8,351,948 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,700,047 B2 both disclose a customizable flow management in a cellular base station, where a plurality of custom flow management schedulers coexists on the same base station. Each flow management scheduler executes a flow management function, which can be configured and programmed by an external entity to change the flow selection process in each scheduler.
The patent application US 20120002620 A1 discloses a method for remotely virtualizing the flows from an entity external to the base station without modifying the base station itself. The virtualization entity shapes the traffic flows and schedules them before forwarding them to the base station entity. A synchronizing function on the external entity prevents packets being backlogged at the base station by matching the shaped traffic rate to the base station's transmission rate.
The patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 8,874,125 B2 discloses a method where a plurality of individually virtualized base stations in a radio access network is shared by multiple entities. At an aggregator/gateway node, resources are allocated centrally to each entity on all base stations connected to the said aggregator node. Aggregator/gateway node dynamically computes the optimal resource share of each entity on each base station based on revenue maximization. The computed shares are passed onto the scheduler at each base station, where the resource shares of entities are locally enforced.
Embodiments of the present invention are an improvement over prior art systems and methods.

Method and apparatus for virtualized resource block mapping


An apparatus and method sequentially parses bitstreams based on a removal of an Emulation Prevention Byte (EPB). The apparatus and method may detect an EPB pattern from among sequentially input bitstreams, may store the bitstreams, may store a processed bitstream where the EPB pattern is removed, among the bitstreams, and may select an output of a register buffer based on an input of a buffer selection flag.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the following description relate to a hardware apparatus that may parse bitstreams at high speed and that may be used for instruction of a processor in a design of an audio/video decoder, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for sequentially parsing bitstreams based on a removal of an Emulation Prevention Byte (EPB).
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a large amount of research has been conducted to replace a conventional hardware design through the development of processors suitable for a predetermined purpose.
To decode bitstreams of audio and video at high speed, it is inevitable to implement (1) a function corresponding to an instruction GetBits to read bitstreams corresponding to a requested length and to shift a position of bitstreams, (2) a function corresponding to an instruction ShowBits to read bitstreams corresponding to a requested length and not to shift the position of bitstreams, and (3) a function corresponding to an instruction SkipBits to shift only the position of the bitstreams. The above three functions may be commonly used to parse bitstreams, regardless of a type of audio codec and a type of video codec.
An H.264/Advanced Video Codec (AVC) that is the most widely used among video codecs may use a start code "0x00000001" to identify a Network Abstraction Layer (NAL). A decoding system of the H.264/AVC may first verify the start code of the NAL, may determine a single NAL unit in bitstreams, and may decode the bitstreams in the NAL.
However, during encoding of the bitstreams, a same pattern as the start code may occur in an intermediate portion of the NAL. In the H.264/AVC, an Emulation Prevention Byte (EPB) "0x03" may be additionally inserted into the bitstreams, thereby preventing the same pattern as the start code from occurring in the intermediate portion of the NAL. Accordingly, the decoding system of the H.264/AVC needs to remove the EPB existing in a single NAL, prior to decoding of the NAL.
In a system for sequentially reading bitstreams and decoding the read bitstreams, to remove an EPB first, an NAL may be read, and an EPB code may be searched for while sequentially parsing the bitstreams. Subsequently, the found EPB code may be removed, and the bitstreams may be decoded again from a starting point of the NAL. Here, since the bitstreams need to be loaded in a memory while overlapping one another, a performance of the system may be reduced.

Apparatus and method for sequentially parsing bitstreams based on removal of emulation prevention byte

Kwangwoon University Industry-Academic Collaboration Foundation


A photoelectric conversion connector comprising a support, a photoelectric conversion element that is provided on said support and that can be connected to an optical fiber through an optical signal, a first resin member that is formed at the upper part of the photoelectric conversion element, and a second resin member that is formed at the upper part of the first resin member. An optical signal transmitted between the photoelectric conversion element and the optical fiber goes through both the first resin member and the second resin member.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion connector, and more particularly to a photoelectric conversion connector formed from two (or more) types of resin members, and to a method for manufacturing this connector.
2. Related Art
Patent Document 1 gives an example of a photoelectric conversion connector and its method of manufacture. The photoelectric conversion connector has a conversion function between optical signals and electrical signals, and is combined with an electrical connector (mating connector) to constitute a photoelectric conversion device. Using a photoelectric conversion connector allows an optical signal from an optical fiber connected to the photoelectric conversion connector to be converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to an electrical connector, and conversely allows an electrical signal from the electrical connector to be converted into an optical signal and transmitted to the optical fiber.
The photoelectric conversion connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a light emitting element that converts electrical signals into optical signals or a light receiving element serving as an optical semiconductor element that converts optical signals into electrical signals, a drive device that drives the light receiving element or light emitting element (hereinafter the light receiving element and light emitting element will be collectively referred to as a "light emitting/receiving elements"), a support member that supports the light emitting/receiving elements and the drive device, a plurality of terminals serving as terminal contacts that can come into contact with the terminals of the electrical connector (the mating connector), and wire bonding serving as a conductive material that connects the light emitting/receiving elements to the drive device and connects the drive device to terminals.
With the photoelectric conversion connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, the light emitting/receiving elements and so forth are all molded integrally from just a first resin member, and at least the light emitting/receiving elements are sealed by the first resin member.
Also, with the photoelectric conversion connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, a protrusion that comprises a reflective face for adjusting the behavior of an optical signal, such as the optical axis, is provided to just the first resin member, and optical signals are transmitted between the optical fiber and the light emitting/receiving elements through just the first resin member. The outer face of the first resin member is molded integrally from a second resin member, but the second resin member merely covers the first resin member, and this second resin member is not used for behavior adjustment or to seal.
With the photoelectric conversion connector in Patent Document 1, sealing of the light emitting/receiving elements is thus performed by just the first resin member, behavior adjustment is performed by just the first resin member, and communication by optical signal between the optical fiber and the light emitting/receiving elements is performed through just the first resin member.

Photoelectric conversion connector and method for manufacturing same


The invention provides a system/method of processing client requests over a computer network of hosts, that includes creating persistent containers in the hosts, creating objects in the containers, grouping the containers into grid container arrays, grouping objects within containers that are within a single grid container array into grid object arrays, creating one micro scheduler for each grid container array, dividing each of the client requests into a plurality of tasks, and assigning groups of the tasks to the microschedulers, wherein the microschedulers assign individual tasks to the objects. The invention assigns the microschedulers additional groups of tasks as the microschedulers return groups of completed tasks. The method can also include passing the client requests through gateways to multiple grid services schedulers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to processing requests over computer networks and more particularly to an improved system that uses a grid services scheduler to divide a client request into many tasks. The system executes the tasks through multiple objects within a grid object array, the objects are within containers that make up a grid container array, and the grid container array is controlled by a micro scheduler.
2. Description of the Related Art
It can be stated that Grid computing is a logical evolution of Cluster computing. The following examines this statement using the Globus toolkit (available from Argonne National Laboratory, located in Chicago, Ill., USA) as a point of reference for the implementation of Grid architecture. In considering the Globus toolkit, it should be pointed out that this technology is evolving at a very fast rate, and there are very significant differences at each release. In particular, the Globus 3.0 architecture is a huge leap, due to the fact that it is based on the Open Grid Services Architecture standard. Therefore, in discussing Globus it is necessary to state the exact release in order to set the context for discussion.
Consider the Globus 2.0 implementation, for example, which predates the introduction of the Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA). In examining the Globus 2.0 architecture, it soon becomes clear that it defines the Grid as a "cluster of clusters". This compounded perspective has been expressed since the inception of the Globus program; the old term used for Grid computing was "Meta-computing"; a reference to the compounded nature of the multi cluster architecture. The "cluster of clusters" perspective is consistent with the initial objectives of the Globus program: to unite, in a single infrastructure, the several clusters located in the geographically disperse National Laboratories. This perspective also makes a lot of sense when considering the scalability of the Grid. Adding individual hosts to a Grid would soon result in an unmanageable infrastructure, and it is a logical step to group the hosts in separately managed groups. The "cluster of clusters" paradigm provides a two tiered hierarchy which greatly simplifies the administration of the Grid.
However, two limitations of the "cluster of clusters" paradigm became immediately apparent. The first is that this scheme was inherently two-tiered. That is, it could only support a two-tiered hierarchy, and it was necessary to make extensions to the original framework in order to support deeper hierarchies. The second limitation is that there was no central facility for scheduling tasks across the entire Grid; that is, there was no meta-scheduler. Each individual cluster was configured with a cluster scheduler which had the authority to schedule tasks in that cluster, but it soon became clear that a Grid scheduler (or meta-scheduler) was necessary to schedule tasks across the entire Grid. The main difficulty in the design of such a scheduler is that in the original Globus toolkit (versions 2.0 and lower) there is a discontinuity between the Grid world and the cluster scheduling world. In particular, different scheduling technologies and protocols were used for task scheduling within a cluster and among clusters. The invention described below proposes a unifying task scheduling domain for both the Grid and cluster domains, and it is therefore capable of seamlessly supporting very deep hierarchical Grids.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Topology aware grid services scheduler architecture

International Business Machines Corporation


An SOI single crystalline chip structure includes an active device layer for having at least one SOI device placed thereon, a buried oxide layer under the active device layer, a metal layer under the buried oxide layer, and a silicon substrate under the metal layer. At least one through hole passing through the buried oxide layer is disposed at a first predetermined position of the buried oxide layer, and at least one concave hole not passing through the buried oxide layer is disposed at a second predetermined position of the bottom surface of the buried oxide layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an SOI single crystalline chip structure, and, more particularly, to an SOI single crystalline chip structure having a metal layer filled into at least one through hole located at a predetermined position of the embedded oxide layer, and the method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1 of showing a schematic diagram of an SOI single crystalline chip structure 20 according to the prior art. The SOI chip structure 20 includes a single crystal active device layer 22, a buried oxide layer 24 (thereinafter refer to as "BOX") under the active device layer 22, and a silicon substrate ground layer 26 under the BOX 24. This embodiment 20 further includes an interconnect layer 27 above the active device layer 22. The active device layer 22 is for the SOI device 28 layout. With the provision of conductive vias 31, the interconnect layer 27 will have the SOI device 28 grounded (i.e., voltage level of the SOI device 28 make reference to that of the silicon substrate 26 serving as a ground layer) and provide a means of heat dissipation.
The SOI device 28 will have the voltage level reference to the silicon substrate ground layer 26 with the settings of the interconnect layer 27 and the conductive vias 31 passing through the active device layer 22 and BOX 24. The conductive vias 31 connecting the interconnect layer 27 and silicon substrate ground layer 26 can provide grounding effect for the SOI device 28, but the contact resistance in this case is not as ideal as expected consequently. Moreover, the setting of BOX 24 places uncertainty to the performance of heat dissipation of the SOI device 28 to the silicon substrate ground layer 26. This may be caused by the result of the BOX 24 being an oxidation instead of a metal.


Intelligent first-aid kit (1) includes of a fixed first-aid kit of the conventional first-aid kits for storing the most important drugs which it is important to have for emergencies or chronic illnesses. A parallelepipedal is container divided into several elongated compartments (2), preferably with a rectangular cross section and a vertical orientation, which includes a drawer (3), an input reader (5.1), an output reader (5.2), a slot (4) for the insertion of an electronic health card, a keypad (6), a screen (7) and a control module (8).

Today the existence of first aid kits in private homes, businesses, sport organizations, small, medium and large enterprises is not only advisable but required by the national, regional or local governments. It is also common for certain athletes, motorists, explorers, etc., to carry it with them to attend to small medical emergencies which require first aid care.
In other words, there are small first aid kits to fulfill the needs of easy transportation and other larger first aid kits which are normally fixed somewhere in the private home, the office or the related organization.
In these cases, there are inventions which allow removing the first aid kit from its fixing to the wall so that the first aid kit can be brought closer to the injured person or patient and not the other way around.
Other existing solutions relate to case-type first aid kits which are perfected in terms of its shape, its ease of transport and above all in terms of the inner organization of the drugs which it contains to maintain the order and the integrity of some fragile components.
Inventions relating to the device for closing the case or first aid kit generally to prevent unauthorized opening and content loss or theft can also be mentioned.
Another invention in the field of drug administration includes programmable devices for people with Alzheimer's disease. These devices are programmed by the caretaker and they automatically open at predetermined hours with light or acoustic alert signals so that the patient can be provided with the needed tablets at the right time.
These programmable devices are already available to the public, there being models which are duly protected under the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.
What is not found today on the market is a first aid kit such as that presented herein which allows automatically controlling its content leading to knowing not only the amount and type of drugs available but also their expiration date at any time.
As seen below, the first aid kit presented has the significant advantage of knowing its exact content at all times; it further prevents drug waste since the family doctor can know the availability of a certain specific or any other specific with the same medicinal effects which can replace it by merely checking the kit.
As stated in the introduction, it is conceived that first aid kits of this type become sufficiently implemented at local, provincial, regional or national level so as to entail a true optimization of the health system relating to the advantageous use of drugs.
The authorities are already creating public awareness so that the drugs which are no longer needed or which have surpassed their expiration date are deposited in pharmacies or other drug collection points.
Suggestions for pharmaceutical companies to supply packagings with fewer tablets are also detected since it is proven that in many occasions patient only takes a small part of the content of each box.
Therefore it is considered that this invention involves a novel idea which will produce appreciable advantages to the people, organizations or countries deciding to use it.


In order to measure the far field antenna pattern of a phased array antenna, the phased array is focused at a probe antenna which is a specific distance away from the aperture. The antenna pattern is then measured by moving the probe antenna on a constant focal arc. This arc minimizes phase aberrations due to defocusing error. To minimize amplitude errors, the pattern of the probe antenna is carefully matched to compensate for the variation induced amplitude error.

The present invention relates generally to radar antennas, and more specifically the invention pertains to a process for measuring the antenna pattern of a phased array antenna.
Traditional antenna measurements use 2D.sup.2 /.lambda. as a criteria for measuring an antenna under test (AUT) in the far field, where R is the distance from the AUT to a point in space, D is the aperture size of the AUT, and .lambda. is the operating wavelength. Problems arise when D becomes large, which increases the distance R, therefore more real estate is needed to measure the far field antenna pattern.
Development over the years has led to techniques to measure the far field pattern of the AUT on smaller ranges. Using a small range reduces outside interference, eliminates testing time due to poor weather conditions, and provides the option of doing classified testing. Many of the previous smaller range techniques eliminate or lessen these problems. There are however, other problems with these techniques. For example, transformation from near field probing to the far field requires many sample points, the large size and high surface tolerance requirements of a reflector restricts the use of a compact range.
There remains a need for a technique to measure the far field antenna pattern over a 100.degree. angular sector that is 1/10 the size of the conventional far field range, but with errors comparable to the errors one would expect from a far field range.
The task of reducing the range requirements while measuring the far field antenna patterns of large antenna arrays is alleviated, to some extent, by the systems disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,112 issued to Franchi et al; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,820 issued to Pouit et al; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,145 issued to Evans; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,733 issued to Hansen et al.
The patents identified above, relate to methods for measuring antenna patterns. In particular, the Franchi et al. patent describes a method for measuring the far field antenna pattern of a large phased array antenna by applying a correction factor to the antenna phase shifters. The antenna is electronically steered to each of its scan angles, and a particular correction factor is applied to each radiating element to correct the far field antenna pattern to the shortened far field range.
The Pouit et al. patent is directed to a method and apparatus for determining the radiation pattern of an antenna from measurements in the near-field. The antenna is illuminated by a transmit antenna having wavefronts in the shape of circular cylinders. The radiation pattern of the antenna is expressed by an integral transform of a unidimensional function which is mathematically solved.
The Evans patent relates to a method of forming the far field beam pattern of an antenna at short ranges. The antenna beam pattern is rotated through a rotational angle about the line of sight of a source of radar signaling located at a near-field range away from the antenna. Measurements of the antenna field are taken at predetermined angular increments. The far-field beam pattern of the antenna is formed by deriving discrete values thereof for corresponding angle increments along the angular rotation. The discrete beam pattern value corresponding to each selected angular increment is derived as the weighted summation of the multiplicity of antenna field measurements associated therewith.
The Hansen et al. patent describes an apparatus and method for obtaining far-field antenna patterns. Actual phase and amplitude measurements are obtained in the near-field, and then processed in a digital computer. Theoretical Z-matrix numerical techniques are used to calculate the far-field patterns by solving the matrix for the current distribution on the structure.
While the above-cited references are instructive, the need remains to measure the far field patterns of phased array antennas in a manner that reduces the range requirements. The present invention is intended to satisfy that need.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


Methods, systems and devices for generating an authentication key are provided. Two or more communications devices can generate an authentication key by monitoring a physical stimulus that is experienced by both devices (e.g., a common physical stimulus). Each device can then use an identical, predetermined algorithm to generate a common authentication key based on the stimulus. The devices can use the common authentication key to establish a secure network.

Most communications protocols require that each device in a wireless network uses a common authentication key, such as a personal identification number (PIN), to secure communications. However, the traditional techniques for implementing such an authentication process can be tedious and slow. For example, the users may need to agree upon a common PIN (or share a predetermined PIN) and then manually enter the PIN into each device. These steps can slow down the process of forming secured networks and may even discourage users from using secured networks.

Sensor derived authentication for establishing peer-to-peer networks