A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique for producing multiplexed NMR echo trains. The present invention results in the placement of discrete copies of the original spin-echo in a line along k-space. Utilizing a conventional NMR apparatus, a longitudinal magnetic field is first generated. Next a train of NMR spin-echoes is created by imprinting a repetitive pattern on the longitudinal magnetization. This pattern is composed of a sum of complex exponentials. The spins are then evolved and observed in an uninterrupted readout period. The result is an NMR pulse sequence (10) which splits the spin-echo into a series of spin-echoes thereby permitting the sampling of k-space in a single data acquisition. In the preferred embodiment, the multiplexed echo train technique of the present invention is applied to single-shot magnetic residence imaging (MRI) to permit rapid collection of data, fast screening, and two or three-dimensional imaging in clinically practical times.

Nuclear magnetic resonance NMR is an important measuring technique with many applications. NMR is based on the precessional properties of tiny magnetic moments of atomic nuclei. In an external magnetic field these nuclei can assume a low-energy state when aligned with the field, or a higher-energy state when aligned against the field. A weak but rapidly alternating magnetic field of appropriate frequency applied by a coil near a specimen will stimulate changes in the orientation of the nuclear magnetic moment relative to the direction of the strong static magnetic field. This results in absorption of energy which is emitted when the nucleus returns to the equilibrium state. The absorption and emission of energy take place at the resonant frequency which is a function of the nuclear species and the static magnetic field strength. A detector picks up the timing and type of the emitted energy from which the chemical makeup of the specimen can be discerned.
Spatial information in NMR data can be obtained by imposing a slight gradient in the static magnetic field. Because the resonance frequency of the signal from the nuclei is proportional to the field, it is possible to derive the position of the nuclei by imposing gradients in different directions and detecting the different frequencies of NMR signals.
An important application of NMR is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which is a biomedical technique for depicting tissues within the body. In most MRI medical applications proton NMR signals are used to make anatomical images of biological structures. Three-dimensional reconstruction of images can be achieved using gradients by employing algorithms similar to those in computed X-ray tomography. However, MRI has a number of advantages; it generally provides more contrast between tissues than computed X-ray tomography, and it does this without exposing a patient to any X radiation.
However, conventional MRI also has a number of drawbacks, which include a relatively long data acquisition time (on the order of a minute). As a result, MRI images are subject to motional artifact caused by physiological motions such as heartbeat, blood flow and breathing or voluntary movements of patients. Acquisition time in conventional MRI is long because it requires repeated data acquisitions to acquire an image. In MRI magnetic field gradients allows one to induce spatially and linearly varying frequencies of the NMR signal along the "readout" direction. This produces a spatial spectrum whose Fourier transform is expressed in a time-varying MRI signal. In conventional MRI this signal is seen as an echo whose peak corresponds to the occurrence of coherent phase of the spins along the readout direction. In order to obtain a two-dimensional image, one typically repeats the data acquisition many times to obtain echoes which are identical except for a change in coherence along the "phase encoded" direction. While the actual number and timing of these acquisitions vary greatly, an average image would require 128 data acquisitions each taken 1/2 second apart, requiring 1 minute for total data collection time.
One improvement on conventional MRI is known as fast imaging. In fast imaging techniques the delay between acquisitions is shortened significantly so that the multiple data acquisitions can be obtained in one to ten seconds. Example of fast imaging are two techniques known as GRASS and FLASH.
Another improvement in conventional MRI is known as single-shot imaging. Rather than repeat the data acquisition many times, single-shot techniques allow one to obtain similar copies of an echo in rapid succession in one data collection by the repeated, periodic reversal of the sign of the readout field gradient. This gradient reversal continually "unwraps" the phase changes previously induced, and thus gives repeated coherent echoes. This technique, generally known as Echo-Planar Imaging (EPI) permits the collection of an entire two dimensional data set in a single experiment. This allows rapid collection of data for time-evolution studies and fast screening as well as greatly decreasing motion artifact in the "phase encoded" direction.
The difference between EPI and conventional spin-echo imaging is often illustrated by describing the path traversal in k-space, which is the Fourier representation of physical space as expressed by spatially dependent NMR frequencies. In order to obtain an image, one must sample a two-dimensional k-space "completely." In practice, discrete finite data sampling forces one to limit spatial resolution and spatial boundaries. For further discussion of EPI, see Mansfield, P., J. Phys. C. 10, L55 (1977).
Referring now to FIG. 1, a k trajectory of a conventional spin-echo sequence is shown where one line of k-space is sampled at a time. A typical EPI technique is shown in FIG. 4. Here, the data acquisition covers k-space in one data acquisition. The rapid reversal of the readout gradient is expressed in the reversal of the trajectory along k.sub.x (the x-axis of k-space). If one removes the phase encoding gradients from an EPI experiment, one obtains an echo for each pass through the origin of k space. In FIG. 1 and 4 arrows indicate the direction of the trajectory as determined by the sign of the field gradients during readout. In EPI the addition of small amounts of a magnetic field gradient in an orthogonal direction cause each gradient echo to have the spatial information encoded for this second direction. It will be appreciated that, in both conventional MRI and EPI, the two-dimensional data matrix in FIGS. 1 and 4 is the two-dimensional Fourier transform of the spatial distribution of the detected signal. This matrix can then be transformed to obtain the desired image.
In EPI the image can be generated in much less time than in conventional MRI, e.g., data acquisition periods may be approximately 32-100 milliseconds. Unfortunately, EPI also has a number of disadvantages. It requires specialized hardware which is implemented on only a small percentage of clinical MRI systems. This is because inherent in EPI is the rapid oscillatory switching of a magnetic field gradient between positive and negative values to produce a train of gradient echoes of the MR signal which are detected and parsed into the two-dimensional k-space matrix. This change in readout field gradient over time ("slew rate") is limited by the quality of the hardware which produces the necessary field gradients. Also, the fact that each echo in an EPI data set is a gradient recalled echo rather than a spin echo leads to enhanced artifacts from chemical shift and poor field inhomogeneity.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an NMR technique which can generate multiple spin echoes in a single data acquisition. It would also be desirable to provide an NMR technique which can be used to produce MRI images in less time than conventional MRI techniques. To this end it would be desirable to provide such a technique which can provide single-shot MRI imaging, thereby decreasing motion artifact in the "phase encoded" direction which often results from multiple data acquisitions. It would also be desirable to provide a single-shot MRI technique which avoids the constant reversal of the readout gradient to permit single-shot MRI imaging in conventional clinical MRI equipment. Further, it would be desirable to provide such a system which avoids chemical shift artifacts as well as artifacts due to magnetic field inhomogeneity which can degrade the MRI images. In addition, it would be desirable to provide these features in a system which permits the utilization of conventional MRI equipment without significant reconfiguration or added cost to the apparatus.

Multiplexed echo trains in nuclear magnetic resonance


A digital feedback power supply circuit capable of adjusting the flow of power to a load includes a switching array having a plurality of switches. Each of the plurality of switches is individually controlled by a control circuit. A monitoring circuit measures the output voltage level at an output node and sends this measured output voltage to the control circuit as a feedback signal. The control circuit then compares the measured output voltage level with a reference voltage value. Based on this comparison, the control circuit determines how many of the switches contained in the switching array need to be active to satisfy the power drawn by the load. When the load requires more power, the control circuit sends control signals to turn ON a particular number of inactive switches to satisfy the power drawn by the load. In contrast, when the load requires less power, the control circuit sends control signals to turn OFF a particular number of active switches so that no more than the required power is delivered to the load.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of switching power supplies, and in particular, to a switching power supply with digital feedback.
2. Description of the Related Art
Low voltage integrated circuitry has been improving over the years. Currently, low voltage integrated circuits operating in the three volt range are highly desirable. Such low voltage operation provides, among other benefits, low power consumption. Thus, in battery operated devices, such as portable telephones and lap-top computers, low voltage integrated circuitry allows the devices to operate proportionally longer than devices requiring higher voltage for operation.
In low voltage, low power applications, the source voltage is typically very small. Thus, power supply circuits have been developed to amplify the source voltage for switching applications.
While the power supply circuit provides an increased voltage to circuits that require increased voltage, the supplied voltage level varies depending on load variations and battery supply variations. Thus, it is important to regulate the output voltage of the power supply circuit.
Voltage regulators provide a predetermined and constant output voltage to a load from an unregulated and fluctuating input voltage source. One type of regulator is a switching regulator.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a prior art switching regulator circuit 100. The switching regulator circuit 100 operates from an unregulated supply voltage VIN coupled to terminal 111, and is used to provide a regulated DC output voltage VOUT at terminal 109 (e.g., 5 volts) for driving load 103 which, for example, may be a portable or laptop computer or other battery-operated system. The switching regulator circuit 100 employs a power switch 101, such as a power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), coupled in series or parallel with the load 103, a control circuit 105, and an output circuit 113.
In such a switching regulator circuit 100, the power MOSFET 101, is operated as a saturated switch to alternately supply current to output circuit 113 which includes inductor 115 and output capacitor 117. Output circuit 113 smooths the alternating supply of current so that load 103 is provided a regulated voltage VOUT.
In particular, the current through the inductor 115 builds up during each clock pulse CLK from a clock circuit (not shown), storing energy in its magnetic field. This stored energy is then transferred to filter capacitor 117 at the output, which also smooths the output.
Control circuit 105 monitors the output voltage VOUT to provide a feedback voltage VFB proportional to the output voltage VOUT. The control circuit 105 operates by regulating the feedback voltage VFB to be substantially equal to a reference voltage VREF provided by a reference circuit (not shown). With feedback voltage VFB being regulated, the output voltage VOUT is in turn regulated to a higher voltage.
The control circuit 105 controls the turning ON and turning OFF of the power MOSFET switch 101 in order to regulate the flow of power to the load 103. In particular, the control circuit 105 provides an OFF pulse of constant duration (e.g., 2 to 10 microseconds) during which time power MOSFET switch 101 is held OFF and an ON pulse during which time power MOSFET switch 101 is held ON. Therefore, the control circuit 113 alternately turns power MOSFET switch 101 ON and OFF to provide an alternating supply of current to output circuit 113.
The duty cycle of power MOSFET switch 101, which controls the flow of power to the load 103, can be varied by a variety of methods. For example, the duty cycle can be varied by either (1) fixing the pulse stream frequency and varying the ON or OFF time of each pulse, or (2) fixing the ON or OFF time of each pulse and varying the pulse stream frequency. Thus, power in the switching regulator circuit 100 is transmitted across the power MOSFET switch 101 in discrete current pulses.
The switching regulator circuit 100 controls the output by changing the pulse width or switching frequency. Switching frequency refers to the rate or interval at which the power MOSFET 101 is switched on or off. For example, if a transistor is switched on and off continuously at a 1 millisecond interval, it is said to have a 1 kHz switching rate.
During each switching interval, power is consumed by the switching device as a result of slew rate of the voltage and the current supplied to the switching device. This consumed power is dissipated in the form of losses in the switching device. The total power losses of a switching device consist of switching loss and conduction loss. The magnitude of the switching loss is a function of the switch and the amount of current (I) conducted through the switching device. The magnitude of the conduction loss is a function of the amount of current (I) passing through the switching device.
Power generated by such losses is absorbed by the switching device in the form of thermal energy, or heat, which typically increases the temperature of the switching device, and in turn must be dissipated from the switching device to the environment by heat transfer methods, such as radiation, convection and conduction.
One disadvantage of circuit 100 in FIG. 1 is that the switching regulator circuit 100 has a constant ripple current in inductor 115 (for constant voltage output VOUT), but has a frequency which varies with VIN. The ripple oscillation frequency is given by the equation: EQU fRIP=(1/tOFF)/[1-VOUT/VIN)]
This ripple oscillation frequency may decrease to an audible level with low input voltages VIN. This could occur, for example, when a battery powering the switching regulator circuit 100 is nearly discharged. Inductor 115 may then generate and emit noise that can be objectionable to a user of the device employing the switching regulator circuit 100.
A second disadvantage of switching regulator circuit 100 is that the efficiency is generally a function of output current and typically decreases at low output current. Therefore, although when the switching regulator circuit 100 is supplying close to the rated output current (e.g., when a disk or hard drive is ON in a portable or laptop computer), the efficiency of the overall circuit can be high. However, at low output current there is a reduction in efficiency which is generally attributable to the losses associated with operating the switching regulator circuit 100. For example, during the time the power MOSFET switch 101 is OFF, the current through inductor 115 always ramps down by the same amount regardless of the output current of the switching regulator circuit 100. At low output currents this can cause the current in inductor 115 to reverse polarity and, thus, pull power from the load 103. During the following ON cycle, this current again ramps positive such that the average inductor current equals the load current. Losses associated with this constant ripple current, along with switching losses due to the charging and discharging of the gate of power MOSFET switch 101, quiescent current losses in the control circuitry of the switching regulator circuit 100, switch driver current losses and inductor/transformer winding and core losses, can produce large reductions in efficiency at low output currents. The reduction in efficiency of the switching regulator circuit 100 at low output current can become important in battery-operated systems where maximizing battery lifetime is desirable.
A third disadvantage of switching regulator circuit 100 is that it can be damaged under extreme operating conditions. In particular, the power switch 101 can be damaged. Such conditions occur primarily in the event of short-circuits at the output and when turning the switching regulator circuit 100 ON.
A fourth disadvantage of the conventional switching regulator circuit 100 is that power MOSFET switch 101 must be very large so that when the switch is open, the resistance is close to zero (no DC loss). For example, the power MOSFET switch 101 has a ratio of channel width to channel length (W/L) of 5000/0.5. Therefore, a large capacitance is associated with the gate of the power MOSFET switch 101, which consumes a lot of power when switching the power MOSFET switch 101 ON and OFF, even if only a small pulse of current is needed to maintain the output voltage.
A fifth disadvantage of switching regulator circuit 100 is that it reacts too slowly and is not able to handle rapid changes, such as transients. Thus, the large transients associated with the switching operation can cause crosstalk problems if the switching regulator circuit 100 is to be integrated with other analog or digital components in a system on a chip configuration.
A schematic of another conventional switching voltage regulator circuit 200, is illustrated in FIG. 2 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,178, which is incorporated herein by reference. This switching regulator circuit 200 includes a push-pull switch 201, a driver circuit 203, an output circuit 205, and a control circuit 207.
The push-pull switch 201 which includes two synchronously-switched power MOSFETs 211 (p-channel), and 213 (n-channel) stacked in series between the rail of voltage supply VIN and ground. Power MOSFETs 211 and 213 are used to alternately supply current to output circuit 205 which includes inductor 215 and output capacitor 217. In order to supply the alternating current, power MOSFETs 211 and 213 are respectively driven by P-channel driver 219 and N-channel driver 221.
The control circuit 207 allows push-pull switch 201 to go into a state of operation where both power MOSFETs 211, 213 are simultaneously OFF under conditions where the output voltage VOUT can be maintained substantially at a regulated voltage by output capacitor 217. The ability of push-pull switch 201 to go into such a "sleep mode" is in contrast to other conventional regulator circuits where one of the two power MOSFETs 211, 213 is substantially ON at all times.
When the output voltage falls below the regulated voltage in such a mode, control circuit 207 is adapted to briefly turn push-pull switch 201 on to recharge the output capacitor 217 back to a voltage level in excess of the regulated voltage.
Although the "sleep mode" feature of conventional switching circuit reduces the regulator circuit power consumption since push-pull switch 201 does not dissipate power or allow power to be pulled from load RL to ground in "sleep mode," this switching regulator circuit 200 has disadvantages. Similar to the other conventional switching regulator circuit 100, this switching regulator circuit 200 also requires a very large switch so that when the switch is open, the resistance is close to zero (no DC loss). Thus, a lot of power is still consumed driving the gate of the large switch when switching it on and off, even if only a small pulse of current is needed to maintain the output voltage. Also, this conventional switching regulator 200 still has large transients associated with the switching operation which can cause crosstalk problems.
Another conventional power supply is a switched capacitor power supply. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the switched capacitor power supply circuit 300 includes a charge pump 301, an output terminal 313, an output capacitor 315, a sensing circuit 305 and a control circuit 307. The components of the switched capacitor power supply circuit 300 operate to provide a regulated output voltage Vout at output terminal 313.
The charge pump 301 comprises a variable capacitor 303 and a plurality of switches SW1-SW4. The switches SW1-SW4, which are represented by N-channel FETs, turn ON at logic high level and are controlled by complementary and non-overlapping clock signals CLK 20 and CLK' (CLK bar) 20', which provide a triggering source.
The charge pump 301, supplied by a voltage supply VDD, operates in a two-stage switched mode to provide an amplified voltage at the output terminal 313. In a first phase of the operation of charge pump 301, the clock signal CLK' 20' is at a logic high level and the charge pump 301 is in a charging state, i.e., the variable capacitor 303 is being charged to voltage supply VDD through switches SW2 and SW3.
Then, in a second phase of the operation of charge pump 301, the switched capacitor voltage supply circuit 300 is switched such that the voltage supply VDD and variable capacitor 303 are connected in series so as to create an amplified voltage at the output terminal 313. Thus, when clock signal CLK 20 is at a logic high level, the charge pump 301 is in a discharging state, i.e., the variable capacitor 303 is providing energy to the output terminal 313 through switches SW1 and SW4.
The output capacitor 315 connects across output terminal 313 to a ground reference and provides energy to a load (not shown). Depending upon the energy requirements of the load, the output capacitor 315 may be slightly discharged or greatly discharged. To regulate the output to a selected voltage, the output capacitor 315 must be recharged during clock signal CLK 20. The energy needed to recharge the output capacitor 315 will be dependent upon the amount of energy it needs to supply. Thus, the control circuit 307 adjusts the capacitance of the variable capacitor 303 based on the energy needed.
In operation, the sensing circuit 305 senses an output voltage produced by the charge pump 301. When the voltage at the output terminal 313 is below a threshold, the sensing circuit 305 senses such, sends a signal to the control circuit 307, and the control circuit 307 increases the capacitance of the variable capacitor 303. As a result, additional charge is provided by the variable capacitor 303 and the voltage at the output terminal 313 increases. When the voltage at the output terminal 313 is above the threshold, the sensing circuit 305 senses such, sends a signal to the control circuit 307, and the control circuit 307 reduces the capacitance of the variable capacitor 303. As a further result, less charge is provided by the variable capacitor 303 and the voltage at the output terminal 313 decreases. Hence, by changing the capacitance of the variable capacitor 303, the output voltage is regulated to a relationship between the variable capacitor 303 and an output capacitor 315.
The switched capacitor power supply circuit 300 also has several disadvantages. Similar to the conventional switching regulator circuits 100, 200, the charge pump 301 requires power MOSFET switches SW1-SW4. Therefore, the switched capacitor power supply circuit 300 experiences similar power consumption problems.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a high efficiency switching power supply circuit. It would also be desirable to provide a control circuit and method for maintaining high efficiency over broad current ranges, including low output currents, in a switching power supply circuit.


A system and method for providing error detection in a directory has been disclosed. The method and system include comparing a first group of data and a second group of data to provide a comparison signal and detecting errors in response to the comparison signal.

In modern microprocessor design, there is a trend toward increasing operating speeds, cache sizes, and, therefore, the size of cache directory address tags. There is an accompanying increase in the likelihood of errors in the information, such as address tags, stored in a cache directory. For example, a tag having more bits has increased occurrences of a alpha particle having flipped a bit. Thus, error detection is increasingly important. Error detection of this sort typically involves comparing redundant information for consistency.
One conventional way that microprocessor operating speed is increased is to employ dynamic logic circuitry. Such circuitry is particularly useful for control logic associated with cache directories because the speed of comparing address tags may be a limiting factor in the speed of reading and writing to a cache. However, dynamic circuitry is not well suited to logical inversions, which are required for comparing bits or bytes of information, for example to detect data errors.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and system for fast and efficient detection of data errors. The need is particularly acute for such a method and system that is compatible with dynamic logic circuitry. The present invention addresses such a need.

Error detection of directory arrays in dynamic circuits

International Business Machines Corporation


An adjustable bra is provided permitting the wearer to adjust how the bra provides support to the wearer. The bra includes at least one shoulder strap and a rear band. Attachment of the shoulder strap to the rear band can be configured at a plurality of positions along the rear band. The bra can include a second shoulder strap also configured to attach at a plurality of positions along the rear band.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure. Accordingly, such statements are not intended to constitute an admission of prior art.
Brassieres or bras are common accessories generally worn by women to support and cradle their breasts. From the time a young girl starts to develop they learn to wear a bra and do so for the rest of their lives. The average woman may accumulate many, many bras during their lifetime each with different purposes, styles and comfort levels.
Proper support and sizing of a bra is important. Back pain and other ailments have been linked to women wearing improperly sized bras. Bras are sized according to cup size but can be presented as a one-size-fits-all solution for a given cup size.
Bras come in a wide variety of colors and styles. Bras can be expensive and can take up large amounts of storage area. A woman may spend a great deal of money to have a wide variety of bras, and the woman may be inconvenienced with crowded closet and drawer spaces, with different varieties of bras filling storage areas that she would prefer to keep available for other clothes.


When a display map information is reduced to a specified scale for a wide area, items of congestion information are extracted which have a congestion level of “congested or busy”, and an overlap determination area is created for a congestion link of each item of extracted congestion information. The overlap determination area extends both transversely and longitudinally for a specified distance from the congestion link. Also, for each group of congestion information items having overlapping determination areas, an equal congestion level area is created by connecting the overlap determination areas and displayed in a color that corresponds to the congestion level. Equal congestion level areas are also created in the same manner for the congestion information items with congestion levels of “congested” and “not congested”, and displayed in different colors that correspond to their respective congestion levels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation system that displays map information and displays a guidance route to a destination on the map, particularly a navigation system that provides guidance that includes congestion information based on received road traffic information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, navigation systems have been more frequently installed in vehicles for providing guidance in driving the vehicle, so as to make it possible for the driver to more easily reach a desired destination. A navigation system is a system that is capable of detecting the vehicle's current position using a GPS receiver or the like, then obtaining map data that corresponds to the current position from a storage medium such as a DVD-ROM, hard disk, or the like, or through a network, and displaying the map data on a liquid crystal display. In addition to reading the map data that includes the vehicle's current position, from the storage medium or the like, drawing a map image of the area surrounding the vehicle's current position based on the map data, and displaying the map image on a display system, the navigation system displays a superimposed vehicle position mark on the map image, then scrolls the map image as the vehicle moves or keeps the map image stationary and moves the vehicle position mark, so that the driver can tell at a glance the location of the vehicle.
Various types of navigation systems have been proposed that provide congestion information based on received road traffic information. For example, a navigation system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-10-283589, (paragraphs (0007) to (0020), FIGS. 1 to 5) draws, on a display screen, a map corresponding to a host vehicle position, receives road traffic volume information from an external source, and displays road traffic volume information on the map. The navigation system also receives, from the external source, road traffic volume information that indicates the lengths of congested sections of monitored roads within specific predetermined areas ("meshes" or "grids"), as well as the congestion levels. The navigation system uses the total length of the monitored roads within each area, the lengths of the congested sections, and the congestion levels to compute the road traffic volume in a given area. The navigation system then controls the coloring or brightness levels of the map image of the area in a manner indicative of the road traffic volume.
However, the navigation system described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-10-283589 displays the average road traffic volume, that is, the average congestion level, for an entire area (grid). Therefore, when the map information display area is a wide area displayed on a reduced scale to a specified level or lower, for example, a wide area display that allows an entire metropolitan area to be viewed, many roads within the area (grid) are omitted from the display. It is therefore difficult to judge accurately which roads and which localities within the area have high traffic volume or are congested. Also, because the road traffic volume is averaged, the displayed road traffic volume is not accurate.


One embodiment of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element wherein the organic electroluminescence has a substrate, a partition wall on the substrate, a pixel on the substrate sectioned by the partition wall, an organic luminescent layer on the pixel, forming an under-layer on the entire surface of a luminescent area including the inside surface of the pixel and the upper surface of the partition wall and forming the organic luminescent layer by coating an ink which includes an organic luminous material by a printing method on the surface of the under-layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescence (EL) element, a display having a high definition and a method for manufacturing thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a display having a high definition by printing an ink material on a product to be printed such as a substrate for manufacturing precision parts so as to form a pattern by a printing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an organic EL element has an organic luminescent layer having an organic luminous material between two electrode substrates facing each other. By applying a voltage to an organic luminescent layer, an organic EL element emits light. In order to emit light efficiently, it is important to control the thickness of the organic luminescent layer. For example, it is necessary to make a thin film with a thickness of about 100 nm. Moreover, patterning with a high definition is required when a display is manufactured.
As an organic luminous material which is formed on a substrate or the like, a low-molecular material and a high-molecular material can be used. In general, the thin film of a low-molecular material can be formed by a resistance heating deposition method (a vacuum evaporation method) or the like on a substrate, and is patterned using a mask with a fine pattern at this time. However, there is a problem that the larger a substrate becomes, the more difficult it is to obtain a patterning accuracy in this method.
On the other hand, as a process of pattering an organic luminescent layer in order to manufacture a full colored display using a high-molecular luminous material, a method for forming a pattern by an ink jet method and a method for forming a pattern using a printing plate are proposed.
The method for forming a pattern by an ink jet method includes discharging a luminescent layer material which was dissolved in a solvent on a substrate from an ink jet nozzle. Then, a predetermined pattern is obtained by drying the material on the substrate. (Patent Document 1) However, an ink spreads in a circular state at the time of dropping on a substrate, because an ink droplet discharged from the nozzle is spherical. Therefore, there is a problem in that a linear pattern cannot be obtained, because the shape of the formed pattern lacks linearity or the accuracy of the point where the ink droplet is dropped is poor.
On the other hand, for example, a method for forming a linear pattern by the following processes is disclosed (Patent Document 2): a bank is formed on a substrate using a material having an ink-repellent property by a photolithography method or the like; thereafter, an ink droplet is dropped on the substrate and the ink is repelled on the bank portion and a linear pattern is formed. However, when the ink repelled on the bank portion returns inside a pixel, the ink builds up in the pixel. Thereby there remains a problem in that irregularity of film thickness of an organic luminescent layer inside a pixel occurs.
Then, instead of a low-molecular material, patterning by a printing method using an ink which was made by a high-molecular organic material dissolved or dispersed in a solvent, is proposed. As a printing method, a relief printing method, a reverse type printing method or a screen printing method can be exemplified. Especially, relief printing is superior in terms of accuracy of a pattern formation and evenness of film thickness. Thereby, relief printing is suitable for a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element performed by a printing method.
Furthermore, a method such as a gravure printing method in which a hard plate such as a printing plate made of a metal or the like is used is inappropriate among various printing methods, because an organic EL element and a display uses a glass substrate as a substrate in many cases. Therefore, a printing method which uses a printing plate made of rubber having elasticity, an offset printing method which uses a printing blanket made of rubber or a relief printing method which uses a photosensitive resin plate including rubber which has elasticity or including another resist as a main component can be adopted as an appropriate printing method. In an actual case, as an approach of these printing methods, a method for printing a pattern by an offset printing method and a method for printing a pattern by a relief printing method are proposed. (Patent Documents 3 and 4)
However, a formation of an organic luminescent layer by a printing method is significantly influenced by wetting properties of the surface of an area on which the organic luminescent layer is formed. Therefore, in the case where a layer located just under the organic luminescent layer (the layer is defined as an under-layer) is formed only within a pixel on a partition wall substrate as in the past, there was a problem in that the thickness of an organic luminescent layer differed, because wetting properties of the upper surface of a partition wall which is not printed and located around pixels and wetting properties within a pixel were different.
The present invention is practiced to solve this problem. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an organic EL element without defect and irregularity by forming the film of the organic luminescent layer uniformly at the time of forming the film of an organic luminescent layer.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-H10-12377    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2002-305077    Patent Document 3: JP-A-2001-93668    Patent Document 4: JP-A-2001-155858

Organic EL element and method for manufacturing thereof


A management server in a communications network receives information for display at a plurality of user devices. The information includes multiple user interface components for display on the user devices. Upon receiving the information, the management server identifies the different components and selectively distributes the components to different ones of the user devices based on predefined routing data stored in a memory accessible to the management server.

The present disclosure relates generally to computer systems, and more specifically, to systems and methods for distributing components of user interfaces to a plurality of user devices.
The popularity of mobile devices, such as smartphones and similar third generation (3G) devices, has surged recently. Users are now accessing a variety of content via the Internet and other computer networks more than ever before. Along with this rising popularity is a surge in the numbers and types of applications that execute on mobile devices. For example, applications are available that configure the display of a user's cellular telephone or other mobile device to control content displayed on the display of another separate device, such as a desktop computer or a television (TV). By way of example only, the "REMOTE" user application published by APPLE enables a user's iPHONE, iPOD, and iPAD to function as a remote control to control audio and video playback of multimedia content on iTUNES and APPLE TV. MICROSOFT'S XBOX SMARTGLASS application performs similar functions.
However, in most cases, the application that provides the controls comprising the user interface (UI) on the user's mobile device is a custom written control application. That is, the control application is especially created to control a specific user application (e.g., iTUNES or XBOX), to ensure that the control elements fit on a certain size display screen, and is particularly directed to specific interaction use-cases. Moreover, users have little or no choice in configuring the UIs provided by these control applications, which prevents users from employing the display screen on their mobile device to display supplementary information such as alerts.
Other applications are similarly affected. For example, Virtual Network Computing (VNC) applications allow users of different devices to share a single desktop. However, the applications on the desktop being shared by the users are generally written for single users, and as such, cannot properly handle shared control from a plurality of different devices. Thus, as a practical matter, controlling such applications from users' mobile devices can be awkward.

System and method for a distributed graphical user interface


An encapsulating system for abating and mitigating contamination from lead-based dust, particles and/or chips in a construction repair, renovation or removal operation and thereby minimizing exposure to lead-based hazardous materials is provided. The apparatus utilizes a framing mechanism supporting an encapsulator container or workbag adapted to surround and seal off a work-area encompassing a contaminated work-piece. The framing mechanism is typically adjustable poles or an adjustable frame apparatus having a plurality of height adjustable vertical legs. The flexible plastic encapsulating container is positioned and supported by the adjustable poles or frame. The container has at least one open-end for surrounding the contaminated work-piece, and the open-end of the container is adhered to the work-area and substantially surrounds and seals off the contaminated work-piece from the interior portions of the work site.

In building reconstruction and remodeling, contractors often encounter building components, particularly window and door casings and framing which may contain lead paint and/or other noxious and unsafe materials.
Good practices, as well as an increasing number of federal and municipal regulations, require safe clean-up procedures for the protection of the workers, as well as the environment, during restoration, repair, renovation and removal operations.
Lead exposure is known as a hazard to young children and babies. Even children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies from exposure to contaminated materials. Lead can be absorbed in the body by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead. In most cases, lead-based paint that is in good condition is not a hazard, but this does not ordinarily remain the case during renovations.
Breathing lead dust, especially during renovations that disturb painted surfaces, is particularly hazardous and must be avoided to minimize dangerous levels of absorption. Lead exposure is more dangerous and acute when children are involved, as babies and young children will often put their hands and other objects in their mouths. Any of these objects can have lead dust on them. Furthermore, children's brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.
Lead from paint chips, which can sometimes be seen, and lead dust, which often cannot be seen, are both serious hazards. Peeling, chipping, chalking, or cracking lead-based paint are other sources of hazardous exposure and require immediate remediation.
Surfaces which experience a lot of wear-and-tear often cause lead hazards to accumulate and include windows and window sills, doors and door frames, stairs, railings, banisters, porches and fences. Lead dust can form when lead-based paint is dry scraped, dry sanded, or heated. Dust also forms when painted surfaces rub together. Lead chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. Settled lead dust can re-enter the air when people vacuum, sweep or walk through it.
Removing lead-based paint improperly can increase the dangers of exposure to lead and lead dust. To permanently remove lead hazards, a trained and certified lead abatement contractor must be utilized. Abatement (or permanent hazard elimination) methods include removing, sealing, or enclosing lead-based paint with special materials. Painting over the hazard with regular paint is not sufficient, particularly during renovations which may require wholesale removal of large portions of building structures.
As of Apr. 22, 2010, federal law requires that renovation firms must be certified under the Environmental Protection Agency's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule. Individuals must be trained in lead-safe work practices and training providers must be accredited by the EPA. Additional information is available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/index.html.
Numerous abatement and mitigation systems have been previously developed as may be seen in the U.S. Patent Publications submitted herewith which are each incorporated herein by reference, including, U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,296, U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,644, U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,042, U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,085, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,483, U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,701, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,934.
It will be recognized, however, that the prior systems each exhibit deficiencies in effectiveness, convenience, adaptability and expense. These features and others are addressed and improved by the present system and method.


The invention includes a method and apparatus for synchronously switching at least one plesiochronous signal within a network element. Specifically, a method according to one embodiment of the invention includes receiving the at least one plesiochronous signal, and mapping the at least one plesiochronous signal into at least one synchronous signal. The at least one synchronous signal includes at least one virtually-concatenated signal, where each of the at least one virtually-concatenated signal includes a plurality of sub-signals, and each of the sub-signals is adapted for being synchronously switched within the network element.

Using existing standards, such as the International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunications (ITU-T) G.Modem standard (i.e., the ITU-T G.707 standard), an Optical Transport Network (OTN) signal (e.g., an Optical Data Unit (ODUk) signal) may be transported and switched data transparent (i.e., all of the original bits are preserved). In other words, use of virtual concatenation and associated functions enables individual signals of which an OTN signal is composed to traverse a network using different communication paths through the network. Unfortunately, however, the associated jitter and timing cannot be guaranteed for a network-wide signal path.
As OTN signals are transported across a network using the G.modem standard, individual signals associated with the original OTN signal are switched independently and, as such, traverse different paths through the network (e.g., traversing different network elements between the originating network element the terminating network element). As a result, reassembly of the original OTN signal on the terminating node requires delay compensation to account for the different times in which the individual signals traverse the network. Unfortunately, such delay compensation is quite complicated and, therefore, expensive to implement.
As such, a system fully implemented according the G.Modem standard requires significant effort to account for delay compensation (where the effort required increases with an increase in the signal bandwidth). For example, engineering delay compensation (with respect to the required delay of ˜32 ms), Random Access Memory (RAM) interfaces, and performance requirements for OC-192/STM-64 signals (i.e., 10 G signal) is particularly difficult. Furthermore, mapping of ODU3 signals is not currently defined by the G.Modem standard since the H4 byte coding used for alignment and delay compensation only supports 256 sub-signals (and 272 sub signals are required). Therefore, the G.modem standard is limited with respect to certain applications.

Method and apparatus for synchronous switching of optical transport network signals


An electrochemical cell has two terminals. One of the terminals is connected to a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) power supply and to a voltmeter. The other terminal is connected to circuitry capable of switching between amperometric and potentiometric measurement modes. A sequence of successive approximations permits selection of a PWM duty cycle giving rise to a desired voltage at the terminal connected with the power supply. In this way a stable excitation voltage is supplied to the cell even in the face of supply voltage instability or drift or instability in electronics coupled with the cell.

It is not easy to make repeatable and accurate measurements in analytical systems such as consumer devices using an electrochemical cell. Many constraints contribute to the difficulty of this task. The consumer device must be light in weight, small and reliable. The price cannot be too high. The device may be running on a new battery or an old one, and the user cannot be relied upon to perform manual calibration steps. The repeatability and accuracy of the measurements must be preserved even in the face of temperature changes and user decisions such as whether or not to use a display backlight.

Method and apparatus for providing stable voltage to analytical system


A matrix drill bit and method of manufacturing a matrix bit body from a composite of matrix materials is disclosed. Two or more different types of matrix materials may be used to form a composite matrix bit body. A first matrix material may be selected to provide optimum fracture resistance (toughness) and optimum erosion, abrasion and wear resistance for portions of a matrix bit body such as cutter sockets, cutting structures, blades, junk slots and other portions of the bit body associated with engaging and removing formation materials. A second matrix material may be selected to provide desired infiltration of hot, liquid binder material with the first matrix material to form a solid, coherent, composite matrix bit body.

Rotary drill bits are frequently used to drill oil and gas wells, geothermal wells and water wells. Rotary drill bits may be generally classified as rotary cone or roller cone drill bits and fixed cutter drilling equipment or drag bits. Fixed cutter drill bits or drag bits are often formed with a matrix bit body having cutting elements or inserts disposed at select locations of exterior portions of the matrix bit body. Fluid flow passageways are typically formed in the matrix bit body to allow communication of drilling fluids from associated surface drilling equipment through a drill string or drill pipe attached to the matrix bit body. Such fixed cutter drill bits or drag bits may sometimes be referred to as "matrix drill bits."
Matrix drill bits are typically formed by placing loose matrix material (sometimes referred to as "matrix powder" into a mold and infiltrating the matrix material with a binder such as a copper alloy. The mold may be formed by milling a block of material such as graphite to define a mold cavity with features that correspond generally with desired exterior features of the resulting matrix drill bit. Various features of the resulting matrix drill bit such as blades, cutter pockets, and/or fluid flow passageways may be provided by shaping the mold cavity and/or by positioning temporary displacement material within interior portions of the mold cavity. A preformed steel shank or bit blank may be placed within the mold cavity to provide reinforcement for the matrix bit body and to allow attachment of the resulting matrix drill bit with a drill string.
A quantity of matrix material typically in powder form may then be placed within the mold cavity. The matrix material may be infiltrated with a molten metal alloy or binder which will form a matrix bit body after solidification of the binder with the matrix material. Tungsten carbide powder is often used to form conventional matrix bit bodies.

Matrix drill bits and method of manufacture


A switch circuit for switching between a first storage and a second storage. The switch circuit includes a switch, first and second control circuits, a switch control chip, and a processing chip. When the second control circuit transmits power from a power supply to the first storage, the first control circuit connects the power supply to the first storage, and connects the second control circuit to the processing chip the first storage regardless of the state of the switch. When the second control circuit transmits power from the power supply to the second storage, the first control circuit connects the power supply to the second storage, and connects the processing chip to the second storage regardless of the state of the switch.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a switch circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Dual systems are used for protecting information stored in handheld devices. Users can store important information in one system, and store general information in the other system. Software is generally used to switch the handheld device between the two systems. However, there are security risks.

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.


An image processing apparatus for compositing multiple component images into a composite image is proposed. The image processing apparatus includes: a separating unit that separates a codestream corresponding to each one of the component images into a header portion and a data portion; a header processing unit that edits the separated header portion; and a codestream generation unit that generates a codestream corresponding to the composite image by combining the edited headers and the separated data portions. Each component codestream is generated by dividing the corresponding one of the component images into one or more rectangular regions, transforming pixel values of the divided one or more rectangular regions with discrete wavelet transform into transform coefficients, and compressing the transform coefficients.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus that forms an image in which a plurality of component images are composited (formed into a composite image), an image forming apparatus in which the image processing apparatus is provided, a computer program that causes a computer to function as the image processing apparatus, and a computer readable recording medium storing the computer program.
2. Description of the Related Art
JPEG is one of the most widely used image compression/decompression algorithms. JPEG 2000, a successive technique to JPEG, is a further improved algorithm that offers higher performance and various additional functions. JPEG 2000 is expected to become the de facto standard of the next generation that realizes superfine compression/decompression of still pictures.
Recent improvements in the precision of image forming apparatuses have enabled one to composite a plurality of pages into fewer pages. The rapid growth in information available through computers as well as concerns about environmental problems increase demand for such compositing of pages.
Conventionally, each image is decompressed, expanded in a memory, and shrunk to a certain size, if necessary.
The conventional technique of compositing images, however, requires much more time and memory space than processing of single images does. Users need to prepare more memory capacity and spend more time to process the compositing of images than to process the images as they are.
To solve such problems, Japanese Patent
Laid-open Application No. 2000-156829 discloses an invention to save memory capacity by processing the compositing of images by lines or alternative small units.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2000-156830 discloses an invention in which an additional buffer is provided so as to accelerate the compositing of images.
Additionally, Japanese Patent Laid-open
Application No. 2001-148774 discloses an invention in which users can designate the number of images to be composited.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 10-322542 discloses an invention for the compositing of previously composited images.
The inventions disclosed in the above first and second references, however, cannot solve the problem that each image to be composited is expanded in the memory one by one, taking much more time than processing of single images.
Neither of the inventions disclosed in the above third and fourth references is the solution to the problem.

Image processing apparatus for compositing images


An optical lens assembly includes a sensor array, a lens array, and a shading element. The sensor array has a plurality of sensors arranged as a matrix to convert optical signals into electrical signals. The lens array has a plurality of lens units arranged as a matrix. The lens array is provided on the sensor array, and the lens units are aligned with the sensors to focus light onto the sensors respectively. The lens units are made of a light curable material or a thermosetting material, and separated from each other to form a trench between each two of the neighboring lens units. The shading element is received in the trenches of the lens array to avoid light which goes into any one of the lens units from entering into the other lens units.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an optical device, and more particularly to an optical lens assembly, an array type lens module, and a method of making the array type lens module.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent days, more and more image pick-up apparatus, such as digital camera and cell phone, are equipped with an image capture device, such as charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and theses image pick-up apparatus are made as smaller as possible so that the image capture devices are asked as smaller as possible as well.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional miniature lens assembly 2, including a sensor array 600 and a lens array 700 on the sensor array 600. The sensor array 600 has a plurality of sensors 610 arranged as a matrix, and the lens array 700 has a plurality of lens unit 750 arranged as a matrix and aligned with the sensors 610 respectively. Light is focused on the sensors 610 through the lens modules 750 respectively, so that each sensor 610 may get a temporary image.
With a specific imaging software, it may combine the temporary images from the sensors 610 to obtain a high quality final image. In such miniature lens assembly 2, the sensors 610 of the sensor array 600 with low pixel may obtain the high quality image, and therefore each lens unit 750 only needs a few lenses, which is helpful to narrow the size of the lens assembly.
A conventional way of making the lenses 710 of the lens array 700 is to pour the molten epoxy on a glass substrate 711, and then press it with a mold to form a first lens layer 712 on a side of the glass substrate 711, and then turn over the glass substrate 711, and do the same procedures again to form a second lens layer 713 on the other side of the glass substrate 711. The first lens layer 712, the glass substrate 711, and the second lens layer 713 form the lenses 710. FIG. 1 shows there are two sets of lenses 710, 720, and the lens 720 is made by the same method. While light is entering the lens unit 750, some oblique beams may enter the other lens unit 750 through the lens layers or the glass substrates that interferes with the imaging of the sensors 610 of the sensor array 600, and lead to lowering of the quality of the final image. Besides, the glass substrates in the lenses 710, 720 still take some spaces, which is not helpful to reducing the thickness of the lens assembly.

Optical lens assembly, array type lens module and method of making the array type lens module


The present disclosure relates to a washing machine. The washing machine may include an integrated tub/drum that includes a drum main body that has a cylindrical shape or a truncated conical shape, stores water, holds or accommodates laundry and water, and rotates, and a plurality of hollow lifters that extend or protrude outward from a circumferential surface of the drum main body, and extend or protrude inward from the circumferential surface of the drum main body; a hollow rotary shaft that is coupled to and/or that penetrates one end and/or surface of the drum main body; and a drain pipe that is in the integrated tub/drum through the hollow rotary shaft, configured to discharge water from the drum main body and that may be collected by the lifter.

A washing machine refers to an apparatus that eliminates foreign substances in, on or attached to laundry by agitating and rotating water, detergent and the laundry. Washing machines may be classified into pulsator type washing machines that wash the laundry using a water flow generated by operation of a pulsator in the washing tub, and drum type washing machines that wash laundry by dropping the laundry vertically, which is caused by rotation of the drum.
The drum type washing machine has a door at the front of the washing machine that allows the user to put the laundry through the door. The drum type washing machine operates in a manner that drops and washes the laundry, and uses relatively small amounts of water and detergent. Specifically, a drum type washing machine in the related art includes a cabinet that forms an external appearance of the washing machine, a tub that is installed in the cabinet and that stores water, a rotatable drum in the tub that holds or accommodates laundry, a drive motor that is installed behind and/or below the tub and that provides power to the drum, a water supply device that supplies water to the tub, and a drain device that discharges water in the tub to the outside of the cabinet after a washing operation ends.
Accordingly, in the drum type washing machine in the related art, when the laundry is washed, the laundry is put into the tub in a lateral direction by opening the door at the front of the washing machine, supplying water to the tub, and then washing the laundry while a lifter in the drum lifts up and drops the laundry by rotation of the drum, which receives rotational power from the drive motor.
As such, the drum type washing machine in the related art includes the tub in addition to a separate drum. That is, the drum type washing machine in the related art has a structure in which the tub stores water and the drum washes the laundry, wherein the drum is installed in the tub.
However, because the tub is typically made of a plastic material, the tub may be easily contaminated by mold, mildew, water scale or other foreign substances entering or generated in the tub when the tub is used over a long period of time. There is a problem in that it is difficult to clean the tub when the tub is contaminated because the drum cannot be easily removed. When the tub, which stores water, is contaminated, the tub may become corroded and then the laundry may become contaminated, which may cause a user to incur a skin irritation or disease.
This problem exists with the pulsator type washing machine as well as the drum type washing machine. The reason is that the pulsator type washing machine also includes a reservoir (tub) in a main body thereof.
According to the drum type washing machine in the related art, the drum rotates and is supported by a single shaft at a single side or end, and thus, there is also a problem in that vibration and noise may occur due to deflection(s) of the shaft.


One aspect of the invention is concerned with a method of hormone replacement therapy, which method comprises administering to a person in need of such a therapy an effective amount of an estrogenic component selected from the group consisting of: substances represented by the formula

In hormone replacement therapy (HRT), sometimes also referred to as estrogen replacement therapy, estrogens are administered to prevent or treat symptoms resulting from estrogen deficiency or hypoestrogenism. Hypoestrogenism can occur in both females and males, and can lead to disorders and ailments such as osteoporosis (loss of bone mass), arteriosclerosis, climacteric symptoms such as hot flushes (flashes), sweats, urogenital atrophy, mood disturbances, insomnia, palpitations. Estrogen deficiency has also been associated with cognitive disturbances and Alzheimer's disease.
Hypoestrogenism, and in particular chronic hypoestrogenism, is frequently observed in (peri-)menopausal and post-menopausal women. However, it can also result from hypogonadism or castration, as well as from primary ovarian failure, treatment of e.g. breast cancer with aromatase inhibitor and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue treatment of benign gynaecological diseases such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, uterine fibroids (leiomyomas), dysmenorrhoea, menorrhagia and metrorrhagia.
Endogenous and exogenous estrogens fulfil important central nervous and metabolic functions in the female organism: normal estrogen levels make a decisive contribution to a woman's well-being. Notwithstanding the widespread use of estrogens in HRT methods, there are still some unsolved problems. Well-known estrogens, in particular biogenic estrogens (i.e. estrogens that occur naturally in the human body), are eliminated from the blood stream very quickly. For instance, for the main human biogenic estrogen 17β-estradiol the half-life is around 1 hour. As a result, between separate administration events, blood serum levels of such biogenic estrogens tend to fluctuate considerably. Thus, shortly after administration the serum concentration is usually several times higher than the optimum concentration. In addition, if the next administration event is delayed, serum concentrations will quickly decrease to a level where the estrogen is no longer physiologically active.
The most important synthetically altered estrogenic steroid is 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE). This estrogen is dominant in oral hormonal contraception. Apart from EE, mestranol has been used in a few cases; mestranol is a "prodrug" that is metabolised to EE in the organism. The liver is a target organ for estrogens. The secretion activity that is affected by estrogens in the human liver includes increased synthesis of transport proteins CBG, SHBG, TBG, several factors that are important for the physiology of blood clotting, and lipoproteins. The strong hepatic estrogenicity of ethinyl estradiol and diethylstilbestrol (DES), especially their effect on haemostasis factors, may explain why these synthetic estrogens have been associated with the enhanced risk of thromboembolism. Other undesirable'side-effects that have been reported in relation to the use of synthetic estrogens include fluid retention, nausea, bloating, cholelithiasis, headache, breast pain and an enhanced risk of breast cancer with longer term usage. The aforementioned deficits are of considerable clinical significance when commonly known biogenic or synthetic estrogens are applied. Consequently, there is an as yet unmet need for estrogens that do not display these deficits and which can suitably be employed in HRT methods to effectively replace endogenous ovarian secretion of estradiol, i.e. to treat or prevent symptoms of hypoestrogenism.
HRT employs continuous administration of effective amounts of an estrogen for prolonged periods of time. The administration of estrogens has been associated, however, with endometrial proliferation in women and it is now widely accepted that "unopposed" estrogen therapy substantially increases the risk of endometrial cancer (Cushing et al., 1998. Obstet. Gynecol.91, 35-39; Tavani et al., 1999. Drugs Aging, 14, 347-357). There is also evidence of a significant increase in breast cancer with long-term (10-15 years) use of estrogen therapy (Tavani et al., 1999. Drugs Aging, 14, 347-357; Pike et al., 2000. Steroids, 65, 659-664).
In order to counteract the negative effects of unopposed estrogen therapy, adjunctive progestogen treatment is nowadays commonly applied. Regular progestogen administration is believed to inhibit the continual estrogen stimulation of the endometrium through an anti-proliferative effect and appears to reduce the incidence of endometrial carcinoma in post-menopausal women receiving estrogen replacement therapy (Beral et al., 1999. J. Epidemiol. Biostat., 4, 191-210). Such an adjunctive treatment, generally using synthetic progestogens, is given either in continuous combined regimens with estrogen, or added sequentially, typically for about 14 days each month, to continuous estrogen treatment. Sequential regimens are associated with undesirable vaginal bleeding in response to periodic progestogen withdrawal, while continuous combined therapy frequently results in unpredictable breakthrough bleeding. Unacceptable bleeding of this type is the most frequent reason for discontinuation of hormone replacement therapy.
Additional adverse effects of adjunctive progestogens include oedema, abdominal cramps, breast tenderness and mood symptoms (Hahn, 1989. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 161, 1854-1858). Some synthetic progestogens unfavourably affect lipid patterns and thus negate or attenuate the estrogen induced cardioprotective effects (Sitruk-Ware, 2000. Steroids, 65, 651-658).
To avoid the need for adjunctive progestogens, efforts have been made to synthesise molecules with selective estrogenic properties so as to obtain desirable effects in certain target tissues, such as bone, liver, brain and in tissues that mediate cardioprotection, while minimally affecting other tissues, such as endometrium and breast. These efforts were based on the emerging knowledge that the interaction of estrogens with protein regulating estrogen responsiveness, i.e. estrogen receptors, may vary in different target tissues. Estrogenic, compounds, which selectively modulate estrogen receptors in different target tissues and therefore may be expected to have selective estrogen agonistic/antagonistic effects, are known as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) (Katzenellenbogen et al., 2000. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol., 74, 279-285; Burger, 2000. Horm. Res., suppl 3, 25-29).
The optimal SERM is expected to affect differentiated cellular functions without inducing proliferation, because enhanced proliferation is associated with increased cancer risk. Regarding the endometrium, exaggerated proliferation (hyperplasia) has been demonstrated to be a precursor of endometrial cancer. Furthermore, the optimal SERM would eliminate the need for adjunctive progestogen treatment and its adverse effects. An example of a synthetic SERM that is commercially available is raloxifene, a benzothiophene anti-estrogen (Clemett et al., 2000. Drugs, 60, 379-411). A drawback of the known synthetic SERM's is that these molecules do not occur naturally in the human body and that they bear little resemblance to the estrogen receptor agonists that are found in the human body, e.g. estrogens such as estrone, estradiol and estriol.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a method of hormone replacement therapy, wherein an estrogenic component is administered which does not display the deficits that have been observed for commonly known biogenic or synthetic estrogens and which estrogenic component exhibits SERM-like properties, so that co-administration of progestogen can be avoided. In addition the present method aims to employ an estogenic component that is biogenic or that closely resembles a biogenic estrogenic substance.

Pharmaceutical composition for use in hormone replacement therapy

Abstract: in which formula R1, R2, R3, R4 independently are a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group or an alokxy group with 1-5 carbon atoms; each of R5, R6, R7 is a hydroxyl group; and no more than 3 of R1, R2, R3, R4 are hydrogen atoms; precursors capable of liberating a substance according to the aforementioned formula when used in the present method, and mixtures thereof; said composition containing virtually no progestogen or anti-progestin.

Abstract: Another aspect of the invention relates to a drug delivery system for enteral or parenteral administration that contains at least 1 μg of the aforementioned estrogenic component and virtually no progestogen or anti-progestin.


The static eliminating and dust removing apparatus comprises a big container and a small container disposed within the big container. The big container opens at the top and bottom ends to suck the dust in upwardly and discharge the dust. The small container is of hollow cylindrical or truncated conical structure and of a construction that the cyclone and tornado are generated within the small container. Furthermore, the static eliminating and dust removing apparatus has an ion generator disposed in the small container for generating ions which is injected or introduced in the small container and a dried compressed air injection opening formed on the small container for injecting the dried compressed air into the small container to generate cyclone and tornado within the small container.

In the conventional invention described in the Japanese Patent Publication 2010-088751, the container is disposed above the moving work and a compressed air including ions is injected into the container to generate a cyclone and negative pressure so as to separate dust from the work. Thus the dust is separated from the work in a non-contact state.

Static eliminating and dust removing apparatus


The object of the present invention is to provide a fuel return device whereby the residual amounts of fuel in a plurality of fuel tanks can be made approximately equal. According to one preferred mode of the present invention, the fuel return device comprises: residual amount detecting means for detecting the residual amount of fuel in respective fuel tanks; and fuel return distribution adjusting means for adjusting the distribution of the fuel returning to the respective fuel tanks, in accordance with the values detected by the residual amount detecting means, in such a manner that the residual amounts of fuel inside each of the fuel tanks are approximately equal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a fuel return device for recovering surplus fuel of the fuel supplied to an internal combustion engine simultaneously from a plurality of fuel tanks, and returning same to the fuel tanks, and more particularly, to a fuel return device whereby the residual amounts of fuel in the respective fuel tanks can be made equal.
2. Background Art
Recently, a DME internal combustion engine which uses dimethyl ether (hereinafter, called "DME") as an alternative fuel instead of gasoline or diesel oil, has become known.
A fuel supply system for a DME internal combustion engine (hereinafter, simply called "engine") is described with reference to FIG. 3.
In this fuel supply system, two fuel tanks 31a and 31b filled with fuel (DME) are provided in the chassis of the vehicle (not illustrated). Pressure feed pumps 32a and 32b for supplying DME under pressure are provided respectively at the fuel tanks 31a and 31b. The fuel inside the fuel tanks 31a and 31b is supplied respectively by the pressure feed pumps 32a and 32b to a fuel pipe 33, and the pressure of the fuel is raised by a secondary pump 34. Thereupon, the fuel is supplied to a supply pump 35 provided in the engine E. A common rail 37 for accumulating pressurized fuel that is to be injected is connected to the supply pump 35, and a plurality of fuel injection valves (injectors) 36 for injecting fuel into the combustion chambers of the respective cylinders of the engine E, are connected to the common rail 37. The supply pump 35 raises the fuel to a pressure suitable for injecting into the combustion chamber, and supplies the fuel to the common rail 37.
The secondary pump 34 and the supply pump 35 are pressure control pumps which are capable of adjusting the output pressure, and they are connected respectively to fuel recovery pipes 38a and 38b which serve to return surplus fuel that has been discharged from the pumps 34 and 35, to the fuel tanks 31a and 31b. A fuel recovery pipe 38c for returning surplus fuel discharged from the common rail 37 to the fuel tanks 31a and 31b is connected to an intermediate point of the fuel recovery pipe 38b. A pressure control valve (PCV) 40 is provided in the fuel recovery pipe 38c and the pressure inside the common rail 37 is adjusted to the optimal pressure for fuel injection. The fuel recovery pipes 38a and 38b are joined to a single main fuel return pipe 39. Therefore, the surplus fuel from the secondary pump 34, the supply pump 35 and the common rail 37 is all recovered into the main fuel return pipe 39. Two subsidiary fuel return pipes 44a and 44b branch off from the downstream end of the main fuel return pipe 39, and these subsidiary fuel return pipes 44a and 44b are connected respectively to the fuel tanks 31a and 31b. The surplus fuel recovered into the main fuel return pipe 39 is divided between these subsidiary fuel return pipes 44a and 44b and returned to the respective fuel tanks 31a and 31b via the same. In the diagram, numeral 43 denotes a fuel cooler and numeral 45 denotes a fuel shut-off valve.
Here, the amount of heat generated by the DME is approximately 28.8 MJ/kg, which is relatively low compared to the figure of approximately 42.7 MJ/kg in the case of diesel oil. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the amount of fuel injected into the engine in order to obtain output performance equivalent to that of a diesel engine running on diesel oil. Accordingly, the amount of fuel consumed becomes very large, and in order to allow the vehicle to travel a long distance with one filling of the full tank, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the fuel tank. Therefore, a plurality of fuel tanks 31a and 31b may be provided in the vehicle, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Furthermore, in some cases, the fuel tanks are divided into a plurality of separate bodies, due to layout criteria.
In a vehicle that is fitted with a plurality of fuel tanks, if the fuel in the respective fuel tanks is used in a sequential fashion such that the supply of fuel switches from one fuel tank to the next fuel tank when one fuel tank has become empty, then it is necessary to provide a large-capacity pressure feed pump, respectively, at each fuel tank due to the fact that a DME requires a large amount of fuel to be supplied to the fuel injection valves, as described previously. This leads to increased costs. Moreover, providing a large pressure feed pump inside each fuel tank may also be problematic in terms of space.
Therefore, in the fuel supply system illustrated in FIG. 3, fuel is supplied to the fuel injection valves 36 simultaneously from each of the fuel tanks 31a and 31b. More specifically, the pressure feed pumps 32a and 32b of the plurality of fuel tanks 31a and 31b are actuated simultaneously. In so doing, it becomes possible to use pressure feed pumps 32a and 32b of relatively smaller capacity in the respective fuel tanks 31a and 31b.
If fuel is supplied simultaneously from a plurality of fuel tanks 31a and 31b, then the surplus fuel from the secondary pump 34, the supply pump 35 and the common rail 37 is distributed between the respective fuel tanks 31a and 31b.
However, there may be cases where the temperatures and pressures inside the fuel tanks 31a and 31b are not equal, due to the use conditions of the vehicle, the driving conditions, or the like. Consequently, the amount of fuel branching off from the main fuel return pipe 39 into the respective subsidiary fuel return pipes 44a and 44b and flowing from these into the respective fuel tanks 31a and 31b is not equal, and hence a problem arises in that the rate of reduction (the residual amount) of the fuel inside the fuel tanks 31a and 31b becomes unequal. In a worst case scenario, one of the fuel tanks 31a or 31b may become empty before the other fuel tank and hence the corresponding pressure feed pump 32a or 32b may be driven without fuel, thereby causing damage to the pump.

Fuel return device for internal combustion engine


A resistive random access memory may include a memory array and a periphery around the memory array. Decoders in the periphery may be coupled to address lines in the array by forming a metallization in the periphery and the array at the same time using the same metal deposition. The metallization may form row lines in the array.

This relates generally to resistive random access memories (ReRAMs).
A ReRAM relies on materials that can be electrically switched between a higher conductive state and a lower conductive state several times. One type of ReRAM, a phase change memory, uses phase changes materials, i.e., materials that may be electrically switched between a generally amorphous and a generally crystalline state. One type of phase change memory element utilizes a phase change material that may be, in one application, electrically switched between a structural state of generally amorphous and generally crystalline local order or between different detectable states of local order across the entire spectrum between completely amorphous and completely crystalline states.


A mirror is disclosed for use in motor system. The mirror includes a composite with at least one of silicon carbide, boron, and boron carbide and an alloying agent that increases the electrical conductivity of the composite sufficient for the composite to be processed by electrical discharge machining.

The invention generally relates to mirrors, and relates in particular to mirrors and methods of constructing mirrors for use in motor systems such as in limited rotation motor systems and continuous rotation motor systems.
Mirror materials for limited rotation motors (such as galvanometers) have traditionally been chosen from available hard, polished or easily polishable natural materials. For example, mirrors have long been formed of a wide variety of materials, including for example, ice, copper, bronze, obsidian and silver, as well as coated or plated materials such as silver coated glass, mangin coated glass, and rhodium coated electro-formed metals. The use of a coating permits a different material to be used for the structural component of a mirror while the reflective surface is formed of another material (or composite).
For certain applications, however, such as for use with limited rotation motors, conventional coated glass mirrors do not provide sufficient stiffness or low enough density for some applications. Beryllium and silicon carbide are known to be suitable for use as mirror materials in galvanometers, but each suffers from certain drawbacks. Beryllium is generally expensive and difficult to process by grinding and polishing, and further has become disfavored in view of it being a possibly toxic material. Silicon carbide is also generally expensive and difficult to process by grinding and polishing.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved mirror material and method of making an improved mirror for use in limited rotation motor systems.

Method for optimal material selection and processing for dynamic mirror applications


An image display device may include a varifocal optical element that condenses a light beam emitted from a light source and scans a projection surface with the light beam from the varifocal optical element. The varifocal optical element may include lenses located side by side in a direction orthogonal to their optical axes that are in parallel with each other; an orthogonal plane mirror that reflects the beam that passes through one of the lens to the other lens; and an actuator that moves the orthogonal plane mirror in parallel along the optical axes of the lenses. The displacement of the actuator may be controlled based on the scanning angle.

Image display devices that horizontally and vertically scan a projection surface with laser light and thereby display an image thereon are known (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-121538A and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-268645A).
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a scanner of an image display device.
Referring to FIG. 1, the image display device includes light source 121; condenser lens 122 that condenses a laser beam emitted from light source 121 on projection surface 124; and scanning mirror 123 that scans projection surface 124 with the laser beam condensed by condenser lens 122.
Regularly, the size of each pixel of a displayed image depends on the diameter of the beam spot on projection surface 124. Thus, if condenser lens 122 and projection surface 124 are set such that the beam waist of the condensed laser beam is positioned at projection surface 124, the diameter of the beam can be decreased and a high-resolution image can be obtained.
However, since the optical path length of the laser beam from scanning mirror 123 to projection surface 124 changes based on the scanning angle of scanning mirror 123, the beam waist may not be positioned at projection surface 124 depending on the position thereon. In this case, the resolution becomes lower on a part of the screen.
Next, the reason why the resolution becomes lower on a part of the screen will be described.
FIG. 2 schematically shows that the optical path length and the beam waist change based on scanning angle θ.
Assuming that the effective diameter (radius) of scanning mirror 123 is denoted by w, the propagation distance is denoted by z, and the radius of the beam waist formed at a distance where the amplitude value becomes 1/e of the maximum value is denoted by ωo, the following equations 1 and 2 are satisfied. In these equations, λ is the wavelength of the laser beam; and π is a circular constant. The beam numerical aperture is given by ω/z.[Mathematical Expression 1]ω2=ω02·{1+(z/a)2}  (Equation 1)[Mathematical Expression 2]a=π·ω02/λ  (Equation 2)
It is now assumed that the beam diameter (radius) on projection plane 124 is ω0 when scanning angle θ is zero and the beam waist is arranged on light path length L(0). Light path length L(0) is the distance from the surface of scanning mirror 123 to projection plane 124 on the light path of the central light beam of the laser beams. Projection distance f is the distance from condenser lens 122 to projection plane 124, and is determined by the focal length of condenser lens 122. When the distance from a principal point of condenser lens 122 to the surface of scanning mirror 123 is denoted by d, then light path length L(0) is a value which is obtained by subtracting distance d from projection distance f.
The distance from the surface of scanning mirror 123 to projection plane 124 on the light path of the central light beam of the laser beam when scanning angle θ is greater than 0, is assumed to be light path length L(θ). Then, light path length L(θ) is expressed by the following Equation 3.[Mathematical Expression 3]L(θ)=L(0)/cos θ  (Equation 3)
If scanning angle θ is greater than 0, since optical path length L(θ) becomes greater than optical path length L(O), propagation distance z in equation 1 increases. As a result, the beam diameter (radius) increases from 2ω0 to 2ω(L(θ)). As scanning angle θ increases, the beam diameter (radius) on projection surface 124 becomes large. As a result, the size of each pixel increases and thereby the resolution of the image decreases in the circumferential region of the screen.
In the foregoing image display device, if a varifocal lens is used as condenser lens 122 and the focal length of the varifocal lens is controlled based on scanning angle θ such that the beam waist is positioned at projection surface 124, a high-resolution image can be equally displayed on the entire screen.
The varifocal lens is composed for example of a condenser lens, a divergent lens, and an actuator that moves the condenser lens in the optical axis direction. When the actuator moves the condenser lens, the distance between the condenser lens and the divergent lens changes and thereby the focal length changes.
FIG. 3A schematically shows the arrangement of the varifocal lens having a long focal length, whereas FIG. 3B shows the arrangement of the varifocal lens having a short focal length.
As shown in FIG. 3A, as distance d between condenser lens 130 and divergent lens 131 becomes short, back focus BF becomes long. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 3B, as distance d between condenser lens 130 and divergent lens 131 becomes large, back focus BF becomes short.
Back focus BF is expressed by the following equation 4.[Mathematical Expression 4]BF={f1−d}·f2/(f1+f2−d)  (Equation 4)
where f1 denotes the focal length of condenser lens 130; and f2 denotes the focal length of divergent lens 131.
As technologies for the foregoing varifocal lens, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-121538A describes a focusing optical system that is composed of a combination of a condenser lens and a divergent lens and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-268645A describes a structure in which an actuator moves a condenser lens in the optical axis direction.


Methods and compositions for treating myocardial dysfunction or inflammation are described. The methods of the invention involve administering an agent that can inhibit lysozyme to an animal in need thereof. Preferred lysozyme inhibitors include TAC and chitobiose.

Sepsis is a clinical syndrome that results from an activated systemic host inflammatory response to infection. In its more severe form, sepsis affects almost 800,000 North Americans each year, and results in the deaths of approximately 30% of these. It is the leading cause of morbidity for patients admitted to a contemporary intensive care unit (ICU), through the development of a syndrome of disseminated organ injury, known as the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Sepsis is characterized by an overwhelming systemic response to infection and may lead to septic shock. Septic shock is a life threatening immunological reaction to a severe infection. Septic shock is caused by the presence of large numbers of bacteria in the blood stream; symptoms include a fall in blood pressure, impaired ability of the blood to clot and damage to major organs including kidneys, liver and lungs.
Septic shock is becoming increasingly common in the North American population because of an increasing population at risk: a larger proportion of elderly individuals including many with chronic debilitating disease, and increasing numbers of people with impaired immunity due to disease such as cancer and AIDS. About 400,000 cases of sepsis, 200,000 cases of septic shock and 100,000 deaths from both occur each year in the U.S.
Researchers continue to experiment with medication to fight the infection and control the inflammatory response associated with sepsis and septic shock. However, the 50% mortality rate associated with septic shock has improved little in the last 30 years despite innovations in antibiotic therapy and life support modalities. To combat the condition, hospitals currently administer drugs and fluids to patients maintain blood pressure and use antibiotics to fight the infection.
Epidemiologic surveys have demonstrated that tissue injury secondary to activation of the inflammatory system may also complicate noninfectious disorders (e.g. acute pancreatitis and ischemia-reperfusion). The term systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is used in this setting to refer to the consequences of a dysregulated host inflammatory response when infection is not present. SIRS is a widespread inflammatory response to a variety of severe clinical results.
It is important to distinguish between an underlying disease (infection or pancreatitis) and the host's response (sepsis or SIRS). This distinction is important clinically since it is the latter, not the primary disease, that is responsible for the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). MODS is the usual explanation for the high mortality rates associated with these syndromes.
Several investigators have shown that a depression in cardiac contractility is an important component of hemodynamic collapse in sepsis (1,2). Some have attributed this cardiac dysfunction to a low molecular weight substance that is present in septic plasma (3-4). Lefer and coworkers suggested, on the basis of a large body of work, primarily in animal models of hemorrhagic shock, that myocardial depressant factor was a small molecular weight peptide originating from the pancreas (3,4). Others suggested that this substance was a cytokine released into the circulation as part of the inflammatory reaction induced by the infecting organism (5). However, there is no clear consensus about the origin or biochemical nature of myocardial depressant substance(s) in sepsis. Indeed, the very existence of such a factor has remained controversial.
The inventors previously provided additional evidence for the existence of a myocardial depressant factor in sepsis (6). In an Escherichia coli model of induced sepsis in dogs, Gomez et al (6) showed that myocardial depression developed after 4 h of bacteremia and that this depression could be reversed by removal of a circulating substance of <30,000 molecular weight from the plasma by continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration. Myocardial depressant activity in plasma [filterable cardiodepressant substance (FCS)] was detected by a bioassay that included a right ventricular trabecular preparation. FCS activity was detected in the plasma as early as 1 h after sepsis and increased further at the 4 h interval. Hemofiltration returned FCS activity to preseptic levels.
In a subsequent study, the inventors further characterized the nature of FCS (7). By pore filtration techniques, the inventors found that FCS was contained in the 10-30 kilodalton (KD) fraction of plasma, was found in the acetone-insoluble portion of plasma, and that its activity could be diminished by the proteolytic enzyme proteinase-K. This suggested that FCS was likely to be a protein.


An image sensor has a plurality of pixels arranged in an array, a selection means for selecting individual pixels in the array, and a shutter means for transmitting a shutter signal to the pixels. The pixels are constructed and arranged to sense incident light only when both selected and in receipt of a shutter signal. The pixels in said array can thus be triggered individually to capture light at different times.

Electronic cameras are generally divided into two broad categories: still cameras and video cameras. However, there is a degree of overlap between the two types of camera. For example, some "video" cameras are capable of capturing both movies and still images.
On the other hand, some still cameras are provided with a "movie" or "video" function, which allows the camera to capture a sequence of images. These images can subsequently be shown as a movie. This invention is concerned primarily (but not exclusively) with the latter type of camera.
Electronic cameras generally include an image capture device or sensor having an array of photosensitive detectors or picture elements (pixels). A moving image or movie can be captured by recording a sequence of images detected by the sensor.
The rate at which a sequence of images can be captured (the frame rate) depends in part on the size of the sensor (that is, the number of pixels in the array), and is limited by the rate at which data can be read (digitised) from the sensor. Reading information from an imaging sensor at high speed introduces noise (read noise), which lowers the signal quality of the image. Accordingly, if the sensor has a large number of pixels, the frame rate will generally be rather slow. Smaller sensors with fewer pixels may provide a higher frame rate, but the resolution of the image will be correspondingly reduced.
The inventor's previous patent application WO 2008/138543A describes an image capture device including a sensor with an active area comprising a plurality of pixels, and a shutter array comprising a plurality of shutter elements that can be activated individually to control the exposure of the individual pixels. The pixels are arranged in a number of pixel subsets that can be exposed sequentially to capture a sequence of lo-res images each comprising less than the full set of pixels, or simultaneously to capture a hi-res image comprising all or substantially all of the pixels. However, the provision of a separate shutter array adds to the size and complexity of the device.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image sensor and a method of capturing images that mitigate at least some of the aforesaid disadvantages.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an image sensor having a plurality of pixels arranged in an array, a selection means for selecting individual pixels in the array, and shutter control means for transmitting a shutter signal to the pixels, wherein each said pixel is constructed and arranged to sense incident light only when both selected and in receipt of a shutter signal, whereby pixels in said array can be triggered individually to capture light at different times.


A constant velocity joint includes a trunnion extending radially outwardly about a trunnion axis. The joint also includes a ball surrounding the trunnion and rotatable relative thereto about a plurality of needle rollers. The joint further includes a retainer that is a single, unitary structure coupled to the trunnion and positioned to limit movement of the ball and the needle rollers in a direction parallel to the trunnion axis.

Constant velocity joints are widely used for the transmission of rotational energy. Constant velocity joints allow a drive shaft to transmit power through a variable angle, at constant rotational speed. One type of telescoping constant velocity joint is referred to as a tripot joint. Tripot joints are particularly useful for automotive axial drive shafts, particularly in front-wheel-drive vehicles between the transaxle differential and the driving wheel, as well as other applications. These telescoping constant velocity joints transmit a torque at various rotational speeds, joint angles and telescopic positions between shaft members.
Constant velocity joints in their existing condition have the risk of fracturing roller retainers or ring retainers when subjected to high torque durability tests with excessive severity. Such a test generates cyclic loads that cause fatigue of the components.

Needle retainer for constant velocity joint and method of determining trunnion shape

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