A system comprising at least a wearable control unit, a camera apparatus and a wearable vision apparatus. The wearable control unit may receive information from the camera apparatus and may process the received camera information. For example, the received camera information may be thermal information or infrared information. The wearable control unit may process the received camera information to video information that may be transmitted to the wearable vision apparatus. The wearable vision apparatus may then display the received video information.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to vision systems, and in particular, to a wearable vision system that is configurable by a wearer to provide both enhanced vision by displaying video information derived from camera capture information and unobstructed normal vision.
2. Background
When engaged in dangerous situations, the safety of those involved may depend on maintaining uninterrupted concentration until these situations are resolved. Some situations may initially be deemed dangerous because of obvious hazards such as fire, natural forces such as bad weather, temperature, etc., hostile actions from human adversaries such as the exchange of gunfire, etc. However, readily apparent hazards often may lead to, and in some instances may distract from, other hazardous circumstances that can arise unexpectedly. Unforeseen collateral events can act as a catalyst to immediately exacerbate bad situations. Instantaneous reactions can avoid harm and save lives, and conversely, breaks in concentration can result in injury or even death for not only those directly involved in the situation, but also to innocent bystanders.
Handling dangerous situations is an everyday experience in some professions. In addition to the military, other examples may include civil servants such as policemen, firemen, search and rescue, border patrol officers, etc. These professionals are constantly put in jeopardy by the scenarios they face on a daily basis. The safety of these people, and possibly also of the teams in which they operate, may depend on each team member maintaining focus so that they may be able to react to both expected hazards and unexpected threats. Loss of focus may result in simple mistakes such as a person misjudging surrounding terrain. However, even a simple error can be costly. For example, the loss of formation due to personnel inadvertently tripping over a rock may result in a more serious situation such as the exposure of a military unit's flank to enemy fire, the need to rescue a fallen comrade from a condition that puts both the rescuer and the rescued in harm's way, unnecessary commotion that delays an urgent rescue operation, etc.
Even some tools that are meant to be beneficial in precarious situations can end up being dangerous distractions. For example, rescue equipment, if not able to be operated in a manner that allows focus to be maintained on the situation at hand, can create a loss of focus that places one or both of the operator and the person being rescued in jeopardy. For example, hand-held location or detection apparatuses may present issues because a person's hands are no longer free to hold more essential equipment. The same problem exists with equipment that requires a user to place focus on the apparatus itself during configuration. The requirement to move focus from the environment to the apparatus may subject the operator to peril in that they may not be aware of unforeseen circumstances that arise, and may not become aware of these circumstances until too late. Moreover, apparatuses that require users to physically reconfigure the object when not in use (e.g., so as not to be an obstruction) may prove to be more of a burden than a benefit.


A drive system for rotating a disk includes a housing having a planar element with a working surface which includes a spindle which facilitates rotational movement of the disk relative to the drive assembly. A plurality of orifices extend through planar element at an acute angle relative to the working surface and are arranged in a circular array. A conduit assembly delivers fluid to the housing. The fluid exits through the orifices outlets to provide a motive force for rotating the disk around the spindle, while also providing a pressure differential to support the medium.

Magnetic and optical disks are highly popular for storing large quantities of information, for example, with personal computers. Magnetic disks come in various formats including 8 inch, 51/4 inch and 31/2 inch diameter. Disk drive systems retrieve information from and store information on the disks. These drive systems take on various forms depending upon the format of the disk. Both magnetic and optical disk drives use an electrical drive motor linked to a power supply via speed control circuitry. Also, the drive systems use some mechanical or physical device for coupling the storage medium to the drive motor to rotate the medium at a controlled velocity. The storage medium is rotated relative to a read/write head of the disk drive system. The read/write head retrieves information from and transfers information to the storage medium.
Known data storage systems use drives that rotate the medium by engagement of the drive with the medium. A metal hub is used for engagement with 31/2 inch diskette designs, while a spindle is used to engage a central aperture with hubless 51/4 inch designs. Thinner medium allows head designs to have improved head-to-medium contact by increasing the wrap around the head. Also, a fixed hub or contact spindle stiffens the medium near the inner data tracks and results in poorer head-to-medium contact at these tracks. This limits the useful area of the medium and makes it difficult to produce very small diameter media. Also, at higher speeds, as is well-known, the fixed hub flexible medium generates a concave profile as it is pulled toward the drive base. This complicates head-to-medium contact. The radial tolerances with the large fixed hubs become more significant as the data storage products use higher track densities.
In the optical data storage product area a flat substrate is required and a thick caliper base must be used. A thinner caliper is preferred if it could be kept flat during use. The medium containers for magnetic and optical diskettes are relatively large and bulky due to housing one medium per container. For example, it takes a container that is 0.125 inch thick to store one diskette that is 0.003 inch thick. A system is needed that will be able to store hundreds of 0.003 inch thick media in one container for enhanced data storage.

Fluid drive system for a rotating medium

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A golf club is provided including a club head having a toe portion, a heel portion including a shaft receiving bore, a face for striking a golf ball, a center of gravity and a sole. The shaft includes a proximal end and a distal end. The distal end is received in the shaft receiving bore of the heel portion of the club head. A grip is connected to the proximal end of the shaft. The connection of the shaft and club head is characterized by the shaft having a distal end or tip that is cut at an angle of between 5.degree. and 85.degree. and more preferably 30.degree. and 45.degree. relative to a longitudinal axis of the shaft. Similarly, the shaft receiving bore is blind and includes a bottom wall adjacent the sole of the club head. This bottom wall extends at an angle to a longitudinal axis of the bore matching the distal end or cut angle of the shaft. Further, the bottom wall of the bore is positioned vertically below a plane extending through the center of gravity of the club head and parallel to the ground when the club head is positioned to strike a golf ball with the sole resting on the ground. A method for producing the golf club is also provided.

Golf is a skill sport wherein the constant goal is a level of improved play. Such a level may be achieved in two ways. The first is by improving the ability and skill of the individual golfer. The second is by improving the performance of the equipment including not only the golf balls but also the golf clubs used to strike the balls. This invention relates to the desire to provide improved golf clubs exhibiting enhanced performance including greater accuracy and hitting distance as well as improved "feel" that allows for better control of the flight of the ball by the player.
The desire to provide golf clubs exhibiting enhanced performance and accordingly, a competitive edge has been a driving force in the golf club industry for years. Improvements in the design of golf clubs include cavity backed irons to provide a better weight distribution and larger sweet spot for striking the ball and "metal woods" that allow a better weight distribution and presentation of a larger sweet spot for increases in both directional accuracy and driving distance.
Despite a large number of significant advances having been made in golf club design over the years, further improvements in performance are still desired and are possible. In this regard, one area of golf club design in ready need of improvement is the coupling between the shaft of the club and the club head. It is this aspect of golf club design to which the present invention relates.


The present invention discloses novel sulfenate derivatives and their bioconjugates for phototherapy of tumors and other lesions. The sulfenates of the present invention are designed to absorb low-energy ultraviolet, visible, or near-infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The phototherapeutic effect is caused by direct interaction of free radicals, the reactive intermediate produced upon photofragmentation of the sulfenate moiety, with the tissue of interest.

The use of visible and near-infrared (NIR) light in clinical practice is growing rapidly. Compounds absorbing or emitting in the visible or long-wavelength (UV-A, >350 nm) region of the electromagnetic spectrum are potentially useful for optical tomographic imaging, endoscopic visualization, and phototherapy. However, a major advantage of biomedical optics lies in its therapeutic potential. Phototherapy has been demonstrated to be a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of various surface lesions, both external and internal. Its efficacy is akin to radiotherapy, but it advantageously lacks the harmful radiotoxicity to critical non-target organs.
Phototherapy has been in existence for many centuries and has been used to treat various skin surface ailments. As early as 1400 B.C. in India, plant extracts (psoralens), in combination with sunlight, were used to treat vitiligo. In 1903, Von Tappeiner and Jesionek, used eosin as a photosensitizer for treating skin cancer, lupus of the skin, and condylomata of female genitalia. Over the years, the combination of psoralens and ultraviolet A (low-energy) radiation has been used to treat a wide variety of dermatological diseases and manifestations including psoriasis, parapsoriasis, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, eczema, vitiligo, areata, and neonatal bilirubinemia. Although the potential of cancer phototherapy has been recognized since the early 1900s, systematic studies to demonstrate safety and efficacy began only in 1967 with the treatment of breast carcinoma. In 1975, Dougherty et al. conclusively established that long-term cure is possible with photodynamic therapy (PDT). Currently, phototherapeutic methods are also being investigated for the treatment of some cardiovascular disorders such as atherosclerosis and vascular restenosis, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and for the treatment of some inflammatory diseases such as Chron's disease.
Phototherapeutic procedures require photosensitizers (i.e. chromophores) having high absorptivity. These compounds should preferably be chemically inert and become activated only upon irradiation with light of an appropriate wavelength. Selective tissue injury can be induced with light when photosensitizers bind to the target tissues, either directly or through attachment to a bioactive carrier. Furthermore, if the photosensitizer is also a chemotherapeutic agent (e.g., anthracycline antitumor agents), then an enhanced therapeutic effect can be attained. The key requirements for the design of effective phototherapeutic agents are: (a) large molar extinction coefficients, (b) long triplet lifetimes, (c) high yields of singlet oxygen and/or other reactive intermediates, viz., free radicals, nitrenes, carbenes, or open-shell ionic species such as carbonium ions and the like, (d) efficient energy or electron transfer to cellular components, (e) low tendency to form aggregation in an aqueous milieu, (f) efficient and selective targeting of lesions, (g) rapid clearance from the blood and non-target tissues, (h) low systemic toxicity, and (i) lack of mutagenicity.
Photosensitizers operate via two distinct mechanisms, termed Types 1 and 2. The type 1 mechanism is shown in the following scheme:hv SENSITIZER→(SENSITIZER)*(SENSITIZER)*+TISSUE→TISSUE DAMAGEType 1 mechanisms involve direct energy or electron transfer from the photosensitizer to the cellular components thereby causing cell death. Type 2 mechanisms involve two distinct steps, as shown in the following scheme:hv SENSITIZER→(SENSITIZER)*(SENSITIZER)*+3O2(Triplet Oxygen)→1O2(Singlet Oxygen)1O2(Singlet Oxygen)+TISSUE→TISSUE DAMAGEIn the first step, singlet oxygen is generated by energy transfer from the triplet excited state of the photosensitizer to the oxygen molecules surrounding the tissues. In the second step, collision of singlet oxygen with the tissues promotes tissue damage. In both Type 1 and Type 2 mechanisms, the photoreaction proceeds via the lowest triplet state of the sensitizer. Hence, a relatively long triplet lifetime is required for effective phototherapy. In contrast, a relatively short triplet lifetime is required to avoid photodamage to the tissue caused by photosensitizers.
The biological basis of tissue injury brought about by tumor phototherapeutic agents has been the subject of intensive study. Various reasonable biochemical mechanisms for tissue damage have been postulated even though the type and number of photosensitizers employed in these studies are relatively small. These biochemical mechanisms are as follows: a) cancer cells upregulate the expression of low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents bind to LDL and albumin selectively; (b) porphyrin-like substances are selectively taken up by proliferative neovasculature; (c) tumors often contain increased number of lipid bodies and are thus able to bind to hydrophobic photosensitizers; (d) a combination of "leaky" tumor vasculature and reduced lymphatic drainage causes porphyrin accumulation; (e) tumor cells may have increased capabilities for phagocytosis or pinocytosis of porphyrin aggregates; (f) tumor associated macrophages may be largely responsible for the concentration of photosensitizers in tumors; and (g) cancer cells may undergo apoptosis induced by photosensitizers. Among these mechanisms, (f) and (g) are the most general and, of these two alternatives, there is a general consensus that (f) is the most likely mechanism by which the phototherapeutic effect of porphyrin-like compounds is induced.
Most of the currently known photosensitizers are commonly referred to as photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents and operate via the Type 2 mechanism. For example, Photofrin II (a hematoporphyrin derivative) has been recently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of bladder, esophageal, and late-stage lung cancers. However, Photofrin II has been shown to have several drawbacks: a low molar absorptivity (ε=3000 M−1), a low singlet oxygen quantum yield (φ=0.1), chemical heterogeneity, aggregation, and prolonged cutaneous photosensitivity. Hence, there has been considerable effort in developing safer and more effective photosensitizers for PDT which exhibit improved light absorbance properties, better clearance, and decreased skin photosensitivity compared to Photofrin II. These include monomeric porphyrin derivatives, corrins, cyanines, phthalocyanines, phenothiazines, rhodamines, hypocrellins, and the like. However, these phototherapeutic agents also mainly operate via the Type 2 mechanism.
Surprisingly, there has not been much attention directed at developing Type 1 phototherapeutic agents, despite the fact that the Type 1 mechanism appears to be inherently more efficient than the Type 2 mechanism. First, unlike Type 2, Type 1 photosensitizers do not require oxygen for causing cellular injury. Second, the Type 1 mechanism involves two steps (photoexcitation and direct energy transfer), whereas the Type 2 mechanism involves three steps (photoexcitation, singlet oxygen generation, and energy transfer). Furthermore, certain tumors have hypoxic regions, which renders the Type 2 mechanism ineffective. However, in spite of the drawbacks associated with the Type 2 mechanism, only a small number of compounds have been developed that operate through the Type 1 mechanism, e.g. anthracyline antitumor agents.
Thus, there is a need to develop effective phototherapeutic agents that operate via the Type 1 mechanism. Phototherapeutic efficacy can be further enhanced if the excited state photosensitizers can generate reactive intermediates such as free radicals, nitrenes, carbenes, and the like, which have much longer lifetimes than the excited chromophore and have been shown to cause considerable cell injury.

Aromatic sulfenates for type I phototherapy


A self-contained single-use apparatus for cleaning and hydrating a pair of contact lenses comprises a housing including a pair of hollow snap-lock lens containers in which opposed layers of a deformable relatively hydrophobic reactive material having surfaces arranged for non-abrasive contiguous wetted contact with the optical surfaces of the lenses when the lenses are enclosed in the housings. While in contact with the optical surfaces contaminants in the lenses are attracted to the contacting surfaces of the reactive layers. Upon removal of the lenses the attracted contaminants remain on the contacting surfaces and are disposed of with the housing. The container contains sufficient absorbed liquid for maintaining the lens in a hydrated condition while being treated in the container during the treatment process.

The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for treating contact lenses. More particularly, the invention is directed to a stand-alone apparatus and method by which contact lenses can be cleaned and hydrated without the application of heat, mechanical agitation or cleaning chemicals to the lenses. In a particularly advantageous form the apparatus is single-use and disposable, and comprises a housing including a pair of closable liquid sealed lens containers within which the lenses are contained and brought into contiguous wetted contact with layers of reactive material during the treatment process.
Contact lenses have come into wide use for correcting a wide range of vision deficiencies or cosmetic use. Typically, such lenses are formed from a thin transparent plastic material shaped and dimensioned to fit over the cornea of the eye. The lenses include a concave interior first optical surface for contact with the eye, and an opposed and optically associated convex exterior second optical surface. The two surfaces together define a corrective lens medically prescribed for a particular eye.
Depending on the plastic material used to construct the lenses, the lenses may be either "hard" or "soft". Hard contact lenses, which are comparatively more rigid, are typically formed from a relatively hydrophobic material such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Soft contact lenses, which are comparatively more pliant, are typically formed from a relatively hydrophylic polymer such as hydroyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), which has the property of being able to absorb and bind a proportionately large amount of water within the polymer network. Soft contact lenses formed from such hydrophilic polymers, when hydrated, are more comfortable to wear than hard lenses because they better conform to the cornea of the eye and cause less irritation when worn for extended periods. For this reason, the great majority of contact lenses presently being prescribed are of the soft type.
Unfortunately, soft contact lenses while being worn may collect contaminants from the eye and its environment. These contaminants, for example, may include proteins and lipids from the tear fluid of the eye, and foreign substances such as cosmetics, soaps, airborne chemicals, dust and other particulate matter. Unless periodically removed, these contaminants may cause abrasion to the surface of the eye, may impair the visual acuity of the lens, and may serve as a nutrient media for potentially harmful microorganisms.
Furthermore, for wearing comfort it is necessary that soft contact lenses be maintained uniformly wetted at all times. While on the eye, the moisture content of the hydrophilic material of the lenses is maintained by tear fluid. However, when the lenses are removed for an extended period, as for cleaning or while sleeping, the lenses may dry out and become irreversibly damaged unless they are externally hydrated.
Consequently, various apparatus and methods have been developed for cleaning and hydrating soft contact lenses. For example, cleaning apparatus has been provided wherein the lenses are submersed in a variety of liquid cleaning agents, such as surfactants, oxidants, disinfectants, enzymatic cleaners, or abrasives. Other cleaning apparatus has been provided which included mechanically operated or electrically powered components for vibrating, rotating, abrading, scrubbing, heating, agitating, subjecting to ultrasonic energy, or otherwise mechanically manipulating the lenses to enhance the cleaning action of the cleaning agent.
Such prior apparatus and methods have not been entirely satisfactory for various reasons, including lack of cleaning effectiveness with respect to certain of the various contaminants found on the lenses, undesirable complexity, excessive time required for use, and dependence on an external power source.
Furthermore, certain prior lens cleaning apparatus and methods required added post-cleaning lens treatment procedures such as rinsing before the lenses could be returned to the eye. Also, such apparatus and methods did not provide a convenient and effective means by which contaminants dislodged during cleaning could be retained for subsequent disposal. Unless a separate and time-consuming cleaning of the apparatus was performed, the dislodged, and possibly infectious contaminants could come into contact with the fingers of the user, and possibly the previously cleaned lenses.
Certain of the prior apparatus and methods such as those involving the application of heat (as during the boiling of the lenses) or those utilizing harsh chemical cleaning agents, actually exacerbated the contamination problem by denaturing the organic components of the contaminants, leaving an intractable layer of contamination. The accretion of such intractable layers over time resulted in increased irritation and decreased visual acuity, and ultimately in premature replacement of the lenses.
Moreover, those prior cleaning apparatus and methods which involved the removal of contaminants by mechanical means had the potential of scratching or otherwise damaging the surfaces of the lenses. Surface scratches potentially weaken the lenses and provide a site at which deleterious organisms such as bacteria can flourish.
Preferably, during the cleaning process (typically overnight) the lenses are maintained in a wetted condition, ready for use when the cleaning process has been completed. Certain prior apparatus did not provide for such hydration, and it was necessary that the lenses be moved to a separate hydration chamber upon completion of the cleaning process. This was not only inconvenient and time consuming,but increased the risk of damage to the lenses from additional handling.
Thus, a demand exists for an apparatus and method by which contaminated contact lenses can be conveniently and effectively cleaned with minimum handling and without the application of exterior power.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system, apparatus and method for cleaning contaminated contact lenses.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide an apparatus for cleaning contaminated contact lenses wherein the lenses are concurrently maintained in a hydrated state and cleaned.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a disposable single-use apparatus for cleaning contaminated contact lenses having closable liquid-sealed container within which the lenses are contained while being cleaned.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a self contained apparatus for cleaning a contaminated contact lenses wherein the optical surfaces of the lenses are received in a wetted environment in contiguous contact with reactive layers which attract contaminants from the lenses without the application of external force.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of cleaning contaminated contact lenses wherein the optical surfaces of the lenses are concurrently brought into contiguous contact with reactive surfaces in a liquid environment to cause contaminants to migrate from the lenses to the reactive surfaces,


A loudspeaker apparatus utilizing a ribbon diaphragm which is capable of transforming an electrical signal into an audio acoustical signal. The diaphragm includes a first side and a second opposite side. First and second magnets are also employed in the present invention and are mounted to the edges of the diaphragm such that the diaphragm lies in the magnetic field generated by the pair of magnets. A first plurality of spaced magnetic plates are stacked and extend continuously from the first magnet to the second magnet at the first side of the diaphragm. The first plurality of plates form a throat-shaped cavity of a predetermined size. A second plurality of spaced magnetic focusing plates are stacked on the second side of the diaphragm in the same manner. A plurality of sound damping shims are interposed each of the first plurality of magnetic focusing plates on the sides of the throat-shaped cavity. An acoustic coupler or horn may be easily attached to the throat-shaped cavity to enhance the lower acoustical response range.

The present invention relates to a novel and useful loudspeaker apparatus.
Loudspeaker systems generally employ multiple speakers to cover different sonic ranges of the audio spectrum. Within each portion of the audio spectrum it is highly desirable to maintain a "flat" response in which the decibel output varies a small amount along a particular frequency range. In addition, it is important to produce acoustical energy which is not susceptible to secondary or tertiary harmonic distortions.
Many loudspeaker systems have been proposed in the prior art. It is particularly useful to note the electro-acoustic transducer described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,499 which represents an advance in the acoustical arts. The '499 patent shows a transducer system with a quartet of permanent magnets that are arranged obliquely about a vibrating diaphragm, which includes a metal foil applied to a plastic sheet. Although the transducer described in this patent was a step forward in the art, such transducer lacked an extended range of response and was considered to be of fragile construction. In addition, the coupling of a horn to the transducer of the '499 patent was not successful. This disadvantage prevented the use of certain woofer speakers alone, requiring a mid-range speaker to be used with such a woofer. In addition, the transducer of the '499 patent required a relatively high amount of power for its operation.
A loudspeaker system that is efficient and capable of producing a relatively flat response from the upper limit of a typical woofer to the upper range of human hearing would be a notable advance in the acoustical arts.


A rolling lawn trimmer carriage incorporates a remote trimmer motor control. The carriage may include adjustable mounting bracket means for attaching a lawn trimmer in various positions on the carriage base. A means for parking the carriage in a stationary position is desirably provided to facilitate servicing of a trimmer attached to the carriage.

Portable rotary-head lawn trimmers have become a commonplace item for use in lawn maintenance. Such trimmers typically consist of a rotary motor or engine, the driveshaft of which is coupled to a rotary cutting head by means of an elongated rotating shaft or cable. These devices perform a useful function by allowing the operator of the trimmer to cut grass, weeds, and seedlings in areas which may not be accessible by conventional lawn mowers. However, as hand-carried devices, these trimmers require that the operator manipulate and maneuver the trimmer while supporting its weight manually or with the aid of a shoulder strap from which the trimmer is suspended. Carrying and manually maneuvering the trimmer requires a level of physical exertion that may be stressful and produce fatigue for the operator.
The invention described herein provides a (means for utilizing) rolling apparatus for using a lawn trimmer without having to carry its weight. Various lawn trimmer carriage devices exist in a relatively crowded field of prior art, but there is still an unmet need for a design that allows the use of a lawn trimmer carriage to duplicate the major functions achievable by manual lawn trimmer operation, and to do so with relative ease and economy.


The inner area of a muffler of an engine is partitioned into an expansion chamber, a first volume chamber and a second volume chamber. An inlet tube and the first volume chamber are connected by a first passage. The first volume chamber and a second volume chamber are connected by a second passage, and the second volume chamber and expansion chamber are connected by a third passage. The flow of exhaust gas reaching the expansion chamber via the first passage, second passage and third passage is blocked by a valve which opens according to a pressure rise of the exhaust gas. One of the two acoustic paths formed when the valve is open functions as a resonator having two degrees of freedom relative to the other path so that a high muffling effect is obtained.

It is desirable that the exhaust noise of a vehicle is reduced from low rotation speed to high rotation speed of an engine without increasing exhaust pressure loss. WO95/13460 published by the World Intellectual Properties Organization (WIPO) in 1995 for example discloses a muffler wherein a valve responding to exhaust pressure is provided, and the flowpath of exhaust inside the muffler is changed according to the exhaust pressure.
In this device, first and second expansion chambers and a volume chamber are formed inside the muffler. When exhaust pressure is low, exhaust gas introduced into the muffler by an inlet tube is discharged from a tail tube through the two expansion chambers. When exhaust pressure exceeds a predetermined value, a part of the exhaust gas flows from the first expansion chamber into the second expansion chamber via the volume chamber. The above-mentioned valve is installed in a pipe connecting the volume chamber and the second expansion chamber.
In this case, considering the exhaust gas flowpath which does not pass through the volume chamber as a first path, and the exhaust flowpath which passes through the volume chamber as a second path, the second flowpath functions as a resonator having one degree of freedom with respect to the first flowpath.
The sound wave which passes through the first path is shifted by 180 degrees relative to the sound wave which passes through the second path with the resonance frequency as a boundary, so the pressure waves in the two paths effectively have reverse phase. Therefore the sound waves at the confluence of the two paths in the second expansion chamber mutually interfere which brings about the noise reduction effect.
However, as the resonator formed by the second path relative to the first path in this device effectively has one degree of freedom, in the frequency regions extending beyond anti-resonance frequency on both sides of the resonance frequency, the sound pressure level of the second path drops, and a large difference therefore arises from the level of the first path in these regions.
Therefore, although the sound waves traveling through the first and second paths have reversed phase in the confluence part, a noise reduction. effect due to mutual interference of sound waves can be expected only in a narrow region around the resonance frequency.
Further, if a plurality of expansion chambers are provided in the muffler, the volume of each chamber is small, and muffling performance at low frequencies is not very high.


An electronic device having, arranged in the following order, a cathodic layer, a conductive layer, a photoelectric conversion layer, and an anodic layer. The conductive layer contains a conductive adhesive composition which contains:                (A) a water-soluble polyvinyl polymer,        (B) an organic additive, and        (C) a conductive organic polymer compound.

In recent years, in organic electroluminescences, various solar cells, touch panels, mobile phones, electronic papers, and the like, transparent electrodes using a transparent conductive film are being eagerly investigated.
For example, organic photoelectric conversion or electric-optical conversion devices represented by organic thin-film solar cells are usually fabricated by laminating materials on electrodes composed of a transparent conductive film. As for the transparent conductive film, though various conductive films such as metal thin films, metal oxide thin films, conductive nitride thin films are being investigated, metal oxide thin films are the mainstream at present because they are chiefly capable of making both light transmission properties and conductivity compatible with each other and are also excellent in terms of durability. Above all, in particular, tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) is widely used in view of the facts that it is well balanced between light transmission properties and conductivity and that it is easy for achieving the formation of a fine electrode pattern by means of wet etching with an acid solution (Patent Document 1).
On the other hand, there is proposed a sheet in which a metal-made fine mesh or grid is formed on a transparent base material such as PET (Patent Document 2). There is a possibility of utilization of such a sheet as a transparent electrode because its translucency and conductivity can be controlled according to a design of the mesh (rate of opening determined by a pitch or line width).
Now, in the case of laminating layers composed of an organic element material, electronic devices have hitherto been manufactured by a vacuum vapor deposition method or a dry process analogous thereto, a wet process represented by coating, or a lamination process via a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (Patent Document 3). In such a lamination process, transparent electrode films and transparent conductive films having stickiness have been desired; however, the conventional transparent conductive films involve a problem on a balance among transparency, stickiness, and low resistivity.
Accordingly, it has been proposed to use, as a conductive component in a conductive adhesive composition, a conductive organic polymer compound such as polythiophene or derivatives thereof. More specifically, it has been proposed to manufacture an electronic device by a lamination process via a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer containing a conductive organic polymer compound (see Patent Document 4 and the like).
However, in the lamination process via a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer containing a conductive organic polymer compound, the utilization was limited in an element application in which cleanliness and uniformity of an interface are important. In addition, there was involved such a problem that the performance of an electronic device is lowered, for example, the conductivity of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is low, the carrier injection efficiency at the laminate interface is lowered, an adhesive force of an interface is low, and the like.

Conductive adhesive composition, electronic device, positive electrode laminate, and method for manufacturing electronic device


Smart glasses and a method for recognizing and prompting a face are provided. The smart glasses store a database recording a plurality of profile information and business card information thereof. In the method, an image located in the field of view of the smart glasses is captured by an image capturing unit and at least one face appearing in the image is recognized. Facial features of each of the recognized faces are compared with those of the profile information in the database to find the profile information matching the facial features. In particular, if profile information matching the facial features is found, business card information corresponding to the profile information is displayed on a display unit; if profile information matching the facial features is not found, the business card information of a business card appearing in the image is recognized to associate the business card information with the recognized face.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recognizing a human face, and more particularly, to smart glasses and a method for recognizing and prompting a human face using the smart glasses.
Description of Related Art
Social interaction is affected to different degrees by the development of technology. For instance, some become homebound due to the popularity of smart apparatuses and networking software, and on the other hand some wisely adopt smart apparatuses in their lives to expand their network and social life.
As time passes, the number of acquaintances is increased. In the case of a public figure or a successful businessman, networking is an even more important resource. However, not everyone can remember everything they ever see, and when a person that has not been seen for a long time suddenly appears with a cordial smile but only a vague impression of the person remains in memory such that the name or occupation cannot be successfully recalled when greeting the person, the situation can become quite awkward. Therefore, if the user can be helped to instantly recognize the person met, the social interaction and network expansion of the user can be significantly boosted.
Patents related to facial recognition via smart glasses include Taiwan Patent Publication No. 201401184, Taiwan Utility Model Patent Publication No. M480729, China Patent Publication No. 103827728, and US Patent Publication No. 20110026782.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the information disclosed in the Background section does not mean that one or more problems to be resolved by one or more embodiments of the invention was acknowledged by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Smart glasses and method for recognizing and prompting face using smart glasses


A solid-state imaging apparatus in which a first substrate, a second substrate electrically connected to the first substrate through a connector and circuit elements disposed in the first substrate and in the second substrate, and forming pixels, each of the pixels includes a photoelectric conversion element disposed in the first substrate and configured to generate a signal corresponding to an amount of incident light, and a signal holder disposed in the second substrate in correspondence with the photoelectric conversion element and configured to hold an output signal corresponding to the signal generated by the corresponding photoelectric conversion element, and the signal holder is formed by laminating a capacitance element including a plurality of electrodes on a plurality of layers within the second substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging apparatus and an imaging apparatus.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-175948, filed Aug. 8, 2012, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, imaging apparatuses such as video cameras and electronic still cameras have become popular. In these imaging apparatuses (hereinafter referred to as "cameras"), a charge coupled device (CCD) type solid-state imaging apparatus and an amplification type solid-state imaging apparatus are used. In the amplification type solid-state imaging apparatus, a plurality of pixels are disposed in a two-dimensional matrix shape. Accordingly, the amplification type solid-state imaging apparatus guides signal charges generated and accumulated by the photoelectric conversion section provided within a pixel on which light is incident to an amplification section provided within the pixel, and outputs a signal amplified by the amplification section as an output signal from the pixel.
An example of the amplification type solid-state imaging apparatus is a solid-state imaging apparatus using a junction field effect transistor in the amplification section, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) type solid-state imaging apparatus using a CMOS transistor in the amplification section, or the like.
In addition, in the related art, a scheme of sequentially reading signal charges generated and accumulated by the photoelectric conversion section of each pixel arranged in a two-dimensional matrix shape by row is adopted in a general CMOS type solid-state imaging apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "solid-state imaging apparatus"). In this read scheme, the timing of exposure in the photoelectric conversion section of each pixel is specified by the start and end of reading of signal charges, and an exposure timing of a pixel differs for every row.
As an exposure method, a simultaneous imaging function (hereinafter referred to as "global shutter function") of implementing the simultaneity of generation and accumulation of signal charges by exposing all pixels at the same timing is proposed. Accordingly, the use of the CMOS type solid-state imaging apparatus having the global shutter function is increasing.
In the CMOS type solid-state imaging apparatus having the global shutter function, it is generally necessary to have a storage capacitance section with a light blocking effect so as to accumulate signal charges generated by the photoelectric conversion section until a read operation ends. In the CMOS type solid-state imaging apparatus of the related art having the above-described global shutter function, signal charges generated by photoelectric conversion sections after all pixels have been simultaneously exposed are transferred to storage capacitance sections simultaneously in all pixels and temporarily accumulated. Thereafter, the signal charges accumulated in the storage capacitance section are sequentially converted into a pixel signal at a predetermined read timing and the pixel signal is read.
A solid-state imaging apparatus in which a MOS image sensor chip in which a micro-pad is formed on a wiring layer side for every unit cell and a signal processing chip in which a micro-pad is formed on a wiring layer side of a position corresponding to the micro-pad of the MOS image sensor chip are connected through a micro-bump has been disclosed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361). In addition, a method of preventing an increase in a chip area of a solid-state imaging apparatus by bonding a first substrate on which a photoelectric conversion section is formed with a second substrate on which a plurality of MOS transistors are formed has been disclosed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339). Even in the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339, the separately manufactured first and second substrates are electrically connected through a connection electrode.
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361, a cell of a MOS image sensor chip includes a photoelectric conversion element, an amplification transistor, and the like (see FIGS. 5 and 12 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361), and a cell of a signal processing chip has a configuration in which a signal output from the cell of the MOS image sensor chip is digitalized and stored in a memory (see FIGS. 8 and 9 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361).
In addition, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339, circuit elements constituting a pixel having the global shutter function of the related art are divided and disposed on two substrates (see FIG. 9 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339). Thus, an increase of a chip area can be avoided. In addition, because a phenomenon of noise moving from the MOS image sensor chip to the signal processing chip due to light incident on a pixel during a waiting period until signal charges accumulated in the storage capacitance section of the MOS image sensor chip are read is suppressed by forming a configuration in which first and second substrates are bonded, it is possible to prevent signal quality from being deteriorated due to the above-described noise.

Solid-state imaging apparatus and imaging apparatus


An airbag and airbag apparatus in which a venthole is closed or opened by a small amount until an occupant hits the airbag, and the venthole is opened or opened by a large amount when the occupant hits the airbag. Inner panels 22A and 22B are provided inside of an airbag 10. Ventholes 18 and 18A allowing an inside and an outside of the airbag 10 to communicate with each other are provided in a rear panel 14. A lid member 60 for covering the venthole is provided on an outer surface side of the rear panel 14. The venthole 18A is a constantly-open type venthole that is not covered by means of the lid member 60. A tether 70 couples the lid member 60 with the inner panels 22A and 22B through the constantly-open type venthole 18A.

It is well-known that a venthole is provided in an airbag, and that when an occupant or the like of a vehicle hits the expanded airbag, an impact applied to the occupant or the like of the vehicle is absorbed by means of discharging a gas from an inside of the airbag via the venthole.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-16228, an airbag constructed such that the venthole is covered by a lid member until gas-pressure in the inside of the airbag reaches a predetermined pressure, and when the gas-pressure exceeds the predetermined pressure, the lid member is pushed open by the gas-pressure and the venthole is opened is described.
Incidentally, in the same publication, an airbag for use in a driver's seat of a vehicle is exemplified. The airbag in the same publication is formed by stitching each of peripheral edge portions of respective two round shaped sheet members (panels), and the entire airbag is formed to be one chamber. The venthole is provided in the sheet member on an opposite side that is opposite to a vehicle-occupant side of the airbag, and a lid member is provided so as to cover the venthole.
In the airbag in the same publication, when the airbag is expanded, since the venthole is covered by the lid member until the gas-pressure in the inside of the airbag reaches the predetermined pressure, and the discharge of the gas from the venthole is limited, the inside of the airbag rapidly reaches high pressure and the airbag is rapidly developed.
Further, when the gas-pressure in the inside of the airbag exceeds the predetermined pressure, since the id member is pushed open and the venthole is opened, in a case that the vehicle-occupant hits the expanded airbag, the gas is discharged from the inside of the airbag via the venthole and thereby the impact applied to the vehicle-occupant is absorbed.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-16228
In the aforementioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-16228, there is a possibility that when the pressure in the inside of the airbag rises to the predetermined pressure or more, even when the stage is that before the occupant hits the airbag, the venthole is opened and the gas is needlessly discharged from the venthole.


According to an exemplary embodiment, an ESD protection structure situated in a semiconductor die includes a FET including a gate and first and second active regions, where the gate includes at least one gate finger, and where the at least one gate finger is situated between the first and second active regions. The ESD protection structure further includes at least one contact-via chain connected to the first active region, where the at least one contact-via chain includes a contact connected to a via. The at least one contact-via chain forms a ballast resistor for increased ESD current distribution uniformity. The contact is connected to the via by a first metal segment situated in a first interconnect metal layer of a die. The at least one contact-via chain is connected between the first active region and a second metal segment situated in a second interconnect metal layer of the die.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally in the field of semiconductors. More particularly, the invention is in the field of ESD protection structures in semiconductor dies.
2. Background Art
"Multi-finger" FETs, such as multi-finger MOSFETs, are used as a major electrostatic discharge (ESD) component in many CMOS applications. In order to discharge ESD current uniformly, a multi-finger FET should be designed such that all portions of the multi-finger FET turn on simultaneously. However, due to process variations and a continual scaling down of device size in advanced technologies, it is difficult for all portions of a multi-finger FET to conduct ESD current uniformly. Thus, a portion of the multi-finger FET may turn on faster than another portion of the multi-finger FET and become "a hot-spot," which can localize more ESD current. By localizing more ESD current, the hot-spot can cause early ESD failure in the form of filamentation or thermal runaway.
To avoid the creation of a hot-spot in an ESD structure, a ballast resistor has been connected in series with a drain and/or source of the multi-finger FET to assist in uniformly distributing ESD current. In one conventional approach, a salicide block layer is added on the active region between drain contact and gate edge of a multi-finger FET such that an unsalicided active region operates as a local ballast resistor. However, this approach requires a large layout area and introduces a high drain-to-bulk parasitic capacitance, which severely degrades device high frequency performance.
In another conventional approach, a ballast resistor can be formed by connecting an N well resistor in series with a drain of a multi-finger FET. However, the N well resistor also requires a large layout area and undesirably introduces high parasitic N well-to-bulk capacitance to the drain, thereby severely degrading device high frequency performance.
In yet another conventional approach, a number of segmented active strips are used on both drain and source sides of the gate of a multi-finger FET such that each segmented active strip provides an equivalent local ballast resistor. However, in this approach, an increase in ballast resistance requires a corresponding increase in the length of each segmented active strip, which undesirable increases layout area. By increasing the layout area, drain-to-bulk and/or source-to-bulk parasitic capacitance is also increased, which degrades high frequency performance of the device.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an ESD protection structure that provides increased ESD current distribution uniformity without undesirably increasing layout area, and without degrading high frequency performance.

ESD protection structure using contact-via chains as ballast resistors


Methods and compositions are provided for treating pain in an individual. Aspects of the methods include administering to the individual an agent that promotes ALDH activity. These methods find many uses, for example in treating and preventing nociceptive pain, inflammatory pain, and neuropathic pain.

Pain, as defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain, is "An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage." (Bonica J J. Pain. 1979; 6(3):247-8). Pain, be it acute or chronic, can be highly debilitating. Current treatments are not wholly effective, and may produce unwanted side effects. As such, effective management of pain requires novel therapeutics suitable for use in individuals. The present invention addresses these issues.

Methods and compositions for treating pain

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


The present invention relates to implantable medical devices, in particular stents, comprising pro-healing poly(ester-amide)s.

Until the mid-1980s, the accepted treatment for atherosclerosis, i.e., narrowing of the coronary artery(ies) was coronary by-pass surgery. While effective and evolved to a relatively high degree of safety for such an invasive procedure, by-pass surgery still involves potentially serious complications and in the best of cases an extended recovery period.
With the advent of percutaneous tranluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in 1977, the scene changed dramatically. Using catheter techniques originally developed for heart exploration, inflatable balloons were employed to re-open occluded regions in arteries. The procedure was relatively non-invasive, took a very short time compared to by-pass surgery and the recovery time was minimal. However, PTCA brought with it other problems such as vasospasm and elastic recoil of the stretched arterial wall which could undo much of what was accomplished and, in addition, it created a new disease, restenosis, the re-clogging of the treated artery due to neointimal hyperplasia.
The next improvement, advanced in the mid-1980s was the use of a stent to maintain the luminal diameter after PTCA. This for all intents and purposes put an end to vasospasm and elastic recoil but did not entirely resolve the issue of restenosis. That is, prior to the introduction of stents, restenosis occurred in from 30-50% of patients undergoing PTCA. Stenting reduced this to about 15-20%, much improved but still more than desirable.
In 2003, drug-eluting stents or DESs were introduced. The drugs initially employed with the DES were cytostatic compounds, that is, compounds that curtailed the proliferation of cells that resulted in restenosis. The occurrence of restenosis was thereby reduced to about 5-7%, a relatively acceptable figure. However, the use of DESs engendered a new problem, late stent thrombosis, the forming of blood clots long after the stent was in place. It was hypothesized that the formation of blood clots was most likely due to delayed healing, a side-effect of the use of cytostatic drugs.
What is needed is an implantable medical device that includes a pro-healing influence to counter the delayed healing due to the eluting drugs. While this would be particularly useful with regard to coronary stents, it would also provide substantial benefit to any manner of implantable medical device. For instance, it has been stated that the occurrence of restenosis in the case of lower extremity percutaneous angioplasty is particularly unacceptable (Paul S. Teirstein, Circulation, 2000, 102:2674) and it would be expected that this situation would also be amenable to the effects of stents having pro-healing properties. The present invention provides such implantable medical devices.

Implantable medical device comprising a pro-healing poly(ester-amide)


In order to avoid appearance of indifferent zone of positioning signals obtained from a burst pattern recorded on a magnetic disk because of erase bands derived on outer border lines of burst tracks, width of a magnetic gap of the reproducing head of the invention is designed to be not narrower than width of a pitch of the burst tracks added with width of the erased band and not wider than two times of said width of a pitch of the burst tracks reduced of said width of the erased band.

The present invention relates to a high density magnetic recorder, and particularly to that provided with a magnetic recording disk wherein burst patterns are recorded for positioning magnetic head of the magnetic recorder.
Together with development of multi-media devices, recording density of magnetic recorders has become higher year by year. For realizing the higher recording density, the higher recording track density, that is, the narrower recording track pitch being required, a recording track pitch of 6000 TPI (Tracks Par an Inch), namely a track pitch of 4 .mu.m is attained today.
For recording and reading such high density recording tracks, high precision positioning of the magnetic head is indispensable. For that purpose, several methods have been proposed, one of which is a method of magnetic head positioning according to signals obtained by the magnetic head detecting a specific pattern, called the burst pattern, recorded on the magnetic recording media.
FIG. 4A illustrates a magnetic disk 1, in data cylinders 2 thereof the burst pattern 3 is recorded, as shown in FIG. 4B. In FIG. 4B, the right-left direction represents the rotating direction of the magnetic disk 1. The data cylinders 2 are composed of a plurality of data tracks 21, as shown in the left half of FIG. 4B, and on a part of which is recorded the burst pattern 3, the details thereof are illustrated in the right half of FIG. 4B.
In the example of FIG. 4B, the burst pattern 3 consists of four stripe strips 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D, adjacent with each other in the rotating direction. The defining width of a data track is 2P, and each of the four stripe strips 3A to 3D is composed of a sequence of a recorded area and a blank area each having a width 2P ranged in turn in the radial direction of the magnetic disk 1. The recorded areas are recorded, by a recording head provided for data recording, in such a manner that their pattern phases differ by 2P between the former two stripe strips 3A and 3B and the latter two stripe strips 3C and 3D, and by P between the second and the third stripe strips 3B and 3C, to be read out by a reproducing head H to be positioned.
In the example, signal intensity differences A-B and C-D are calculated, A to D being signal intensities obtained by the reproducing head H at the stripe strips 3A to 3D respectively. Each of the signal intensity differences A-B and C-D is to follow a quasi-sine curve having a cycle of 4P and a phase difference of P with each other, when radial position of the reproducing head H is changed. Thus, the radial position of the reproducing head H can be precisely specified and controlled in a width of 4P according to the signal intensity differences A-B and C-D.
However, the recording area having a radial width 2P can not be recorded by one writing, since the width of the recording head is generally designed to be narrower than the data track width 2P. Therefore, each of the recording areas of the burst pattern 3 should be recorded by two writings, shifting the recording head by a burst track pitch P, that is, 1/2 of the data track pitch 2P, and so, inevitably accompanied by an erase band 4 having an erase width e derived on each outer border line of burst tracks, 30 to 39 for example, as illustrated in FIG. 4B. The erase width e is determined by magnetic field distribution at edges of magnetic gap of the recording head and magnetic characteristic of the magnetic disk 1 such as crystal axis distribution in its recording layer.
When there are derived these erase bands 4 in the recorded areas of the burst pattern 3, there arise indifferent zones where both the signal intensity differences A-B and C-D do not vary even when the reproducing head H is shifted radially, disabling precise positioning of the reproducing head H.
In order to obtain a high S/N ratio, many magnetic recorders are provided with two magnetic heads, one high output MR (MagnetoResistive) head for reproducing and one ID (InDuctive) head for recording. Further, the width of the reproducing head is usually designed to be narrower than that of the recording head. So, the erase bands 4 derived by a wide recording head gives comparatively large effect for a narrow reproducing head, easily resulting in appearances of the indifferent zones.
That is a problem.


The invention relates to a device for detecting physiological sounds, the device comprising a thin film, and a first conductive element for conducting sounds, the conductive element being located on the thin film. In some embodiments, the detection device comprises a cavity; the thin film is a part of the cavity. The volume of the cavity is variable; the volume of the cavity is reduced, either when the conductive element contacts the skin of a human or a mammal, or before the conductive element contacts the skin of a human or a mammal, or after the conductive element contacts the skin of a human or a mammal. The device of the inventions can significantly improve the detection sensitivity and resolution of physiological sounds, and can give early diagnosis pathological sounds, for example, heart failure can be detected by heart sound diagnosis.

This is only an introduction to the background of the invention and cannot be considered as the prior art of the invention.
In the field of medical health, deaths resulting from heart problems account for a very high proportion of total deaths, and the diseases related to heart are characterized in sudden and high risk. Rome wasn't built in a day. Facing heart-related diseases, we not only need to mend, but also to improve health awareness and take preventive measures. Hence, it is of great significance for the prevention of heart-related diseases (such as high incidence of cardiovascular diseases) to monitor in real-time the ECG and heart sound of patients regularly, or to monitor the ECG and heart sound of non-patients on a regular or irregular basis for preventing heart damage.
Heart is the pump of a human body engine. Heart generates electrical simulation before mechanical contraction, produces a physical current which conducts onto the surface of a human body via tissue fluid and body fluid, so that different heart beat sounds are resulted in different parts to form a potential difference of different body surfaces. The heart problems can be prevented and monitored by means of recording and distinguishing the said real-time changes.
To ensure accurate heart status monitoring of medical or scientific research significance, a ECG and heart sound measuring instrument is required. Although some small devices have been used for detecting heart sounds, which detects sounds and converts them into electronic signal for output, to achieve automatic detection of heart sounds, however, as the generation of heart or other physiological sounds involves very complicated processes and conditions, some pathological sounds are very difficult to distinguish from each other, it is necessary to carry out early detection, distinguish pathological sounds, and provide early treatment.

Device and method for detecting physiological sound

SHANGZHI MEDICAL TECHOLOGY (HANGZHOU) CO., LTD.


An RF detector configured to provide two outputs, one being a function of the true RMS power level of an RF input signal, and the other being a function of the instantaneous/peak power of the RF input signal, normalized to the average power level. The RF detector includes a variable gain detection subsystem including a single detector or detector array that provides a representation of the power level of the RF input signal. The detector or detector array is common to both the RMS power detection channel and the instantaneous/peak power detection channel of the RF detector. A method of RF detection includes providing representations of the RF input signal at different gain levels, selecting one or more of the representations, and averaging the selected signals. The gain levels of the selected representations is adjusted to provide information about the average power level of the RF input signal.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to RF detectors and, more particularly, to RF detectors capable of providing an indication of both the average power and the instantaneous or peak power levels of an RF signal.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There are many applications in which it is desirable to measure the peak and/or average power level of a radio frequency (RF) signal. For example, power measurement and control of the RF signals in both the transmitting and receiving chains of modern wireless communications systems, such as cellular telephone networks, may be essential. To efficiently use the available bandwidth, the transmitted signals in these systems may be modulated using complex modulation standards such as CDMA, WCDMA or WiMax. These complex modulated signals have a time varying crest factor, which is defined as the peak to average power ratio of the signal, resulting in intolerable errors if conventional power detectors using diode detection or successive amplification are used to measure signal power.
Conventional techniques to characterize modulated signals depend on the parallel processing of the input signal to compute the average power and the instantaneous or peak power. For example, referring to FIG. 1A, a single RF input signal at terminal 102 is processed by an envelope detector or peak detector 104 to generate the instantaneous power/peak power output, a, and is also processed by an average power detector 106 to generate the average power output, b. FIG. 1B illustrates a variation of this method in which the RF input signal is initially processed using a power envelope detector 112 and is then processed using an averaging circuit 114 to generate the average power output, b, and using the buffer/peak detector 104 to generate the instantaneous/peak power output, a.
In some cases, it is desirable to measure the crest factor of the RF signal and/or to obtain information about the signal wave shape. Calculation of the crest factor requires both average power information and peak power information. Referring again to FIG. 1A, a conventional technique uses a divider 108 to calculate the crest factor after parallel processing of the RF input signal to determine the peak power, a, and the average power, b, as discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,276. The divider 108 calculates the ratio of the peak detector 104 output (a) to the average power output, b, resulting in an output signal (b/a) on terminal 110 that is a representation of the input signal crest factor. When an envelope detector is used instead of a peak detector, the divider provides an instantaneous power output signal that is normalized to average power; i.e., the ratio of instantaneous power to average power.
A disadvantage of RF detectors using the parallel processing technique is that an RF coupler (not shown) is required at the input 102 to drive both the average power detection channel and the envelope power or peak power detection channel. In addition, because different detectors (104 and 106) are used in the two different detection channels, there may exist part-to-part, process, and temperature variations between the two channels, which can degrade the accuracy of the measurements, particularly of the crest factor measurement. Matching circuitry may be required to compensate for such differences between the two channels, adding complexity and cost to the system. Another disadvantage is that the divider 108 may be required to handle nonlinear calculations depending on the output characteristics of the average power detection channel and the envelope power or peak power detection channel. In addition, because any inaccuracy in the divider would compromise the crest factor measurement, an accurate, possibly complex and expensive, divider may be required.
There are a variety of commercially available average power detectors that may be used in the systems illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. One example of an average power detector is an RMS-DC converter. RMS-DC converters are used to convert the RMS (square-root of the mean (average) of the square) value of an input AC (time-varying) signal into a DC (or quasi-DC) current or voltage. RMS-DC converters are capable of measuring the RMS power of an RF signal independent of the signal wave shape or crest factor. Wide-dynamic range average power detectors using feedback control loop techniques are commercially available.
For example, referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a block diagram of an RMS-DC converter 200 that incorporates a squaring RF detector 206 with a variable scale factor and a feedback control loop. The RMS-DC converter receives an RF input, Vin, at terminal 202 and provides a signal at terminal 204 which is representative of the average power of the input signal. The squaring RF detector 206 is responsive to a scaling factor control signal, Vscale, received at a control port 208 and provides an output voltage, Vout, at an output port 209, the output voltage being a representation of the square of the RF input signal scaled by a monotonic function of the control signal. Thus, the output of the squaring RF detector 206 is given by:Vout=|Vin|2׃(Vscale)  (1)
The second element of the average power detection feedback loop is an integrator 210 having an input port 212 coupled to the output port 209 of the squaring RF detector 206, a reference port 213 that receives a reference signal 214, and an output port 216 coupled to the control port 208 of the squaring RF detector 206. The output port 216 of the integrator 210 is also coupled to the terminal 204 of the RMS-DC converter 200. The integrator 210 is configured to integrate the difference between the output, Vout, of the squaring RF detector 206 and the reference signal 214 to adjust the scaling factor of the squaring RF detector until the average output signal of the squaring RF detector is equal to the reference signal, thus resulting in a feedback control loop. This feedback loop forces the squaring RF detector 206 to operate at a controlled output operating point. For example, a drop in the RF input signal power received at terminal 202 results in negative integration in the integrator 210, forcing the squaring RF detector 206 to provide amplification to the input signal to keep the average squaring RF detector output, Vout, at a constant point. Because of this interaction in the feedback control loop, the scaling factor control signal, Vscale, of the squaring RF detector 206 will vary as a function of the average of the RF input signal, Vin, providing a representation of this RF input signal average power. Some examples of such, or similar, RMS-DC converters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,348,829, 6,429,720 and 6,437,630.
Single-detector average power or peak power detecting schemes, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, suffer from a reduced dynamic range, for example, on the order of about 35 dB in high-frequency integrated circuit detector designs. Average power detector using a feedback control loop technique, such as that illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed above can achieve much larger dynamic range depending on the scaling function implementation in the feedback control loop. For example, average power detectors with more than 75 dB dynamic range are commercially available. However, in a system such as that illustrated in FIG. 1A, where both peak/envelope and average power are measured, the normalized instantaneous power output or peak power output would be limited by the lesser performance (dynamic range) of the envelope power or peak power detecting scheme. In addition, single-detector envelope power or peak power detecting scheme are generally also highly dependent on the input RF frequency, which may not be desirable in many applications.

RF detector with crest factor measurement


A neutral point diode having three connecting terminals electrically commonly connected to each other is used in a type for connecting each generating coil of a three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle in a Y-shape connection. The coil terminal of a neutral point side of each generating coil is connected to each of the three connecting terminals of this neutral point diode. A diode having two connecting terminals electrically commonly connected to each other is used in a type for connecting each generating coil in a Δ-shape connection. The coil terminals of two adjacent generating coils are connected to the respective two connecting terminals of this diode. In both the types, one coil terminal is connected to one connecting terminal and a connecting work is simplified.

A Y-shape connection for connecting the respective generating coils of the three phases in a star shape (Y-shape), and a Δ-shape connection for connecting the respective generating coils of the three phases in a delta shape (Δ-shape) are known as the three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle building-in the rectifier assembly of this kind.
First, the three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle of the conventional Y-shape connection will be explained. The three-phase alternating current electric generator of a neutral output utilization type for rectifying a neutral output of each of the generating coils of the three phases and further increasing the rectifying output is known as the three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle of the Y-shape connection. For example, the three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle of this neutral output utilization type is disclosed in FIG. 7 of JP-A-9-19119.
In the three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle of the neutral output utilization type of this kind, it is necessary to connect a coil terminal of the neutral side of each of the generating coils of the three phases connected in the Y-shape connection to a neutral diode of the rectifier assembly built in the electric generator. Each of the generating coils of the three phases has the three coil terminals on the neutral side in total. In the three-phase alternating current electric generator of the neutral output utilization type, it is necessary to connect all these three coil terminals of the neutral side to one neutral diode.
In the construction for connecting the three coil terminals of the neutral side to one diode, all the three coil terminals are connected to one connecting terminal of the diode as a result so that it is difficult to make its connecting work.
For example, in a full-wave rectifier assembly, a diode pair connected to the neutral point is constructed by a positive side diode and a negative side diode, and an anode terminal of the positive side diode and a cathode terminal of the negative side diode are overlapped with each other. However, it is necessary to nip all the three coil terminals of the neutral side terminals from each generating coil in a portion in which these anode terminal and cathode terminal are overlapped with each other and are fastened. It is difficult to make such a connecting work.
JP-A-9-19119 discloses a three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle in which the connecting structure of each of the generating coils of the three phases and the rectifier assembly is improved. In this prior art, the use of a special circuit substrate shown in the upper portion of FIG. 1 of this prior art is proposed. In this circuit substrate, a circuit pattern is formed on one surface of an insulating property substrate. The three coil terminals of the neutral side from each generating coil are connected to each other by the circuit pattern. Accordingly, as a result, the diode pair connected to the neutral point is constructed such that one terminal connected to the above circuit pattern is simply nipped between the anode and cathode terminals of this diode pair. Accordingly, its connecting work is simplified.
However, in accordance with this prior art, it is necessary to newly arrange the special circuit substrate between the generating coils of the three phases and the rectifier. This circuit substrate causes an increase in the number of parts built in the electric generator and makes the internal arrangement of a bracket complicated.
The three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle of the conventional Δ-shape connection will next be explained. For example, this conventional three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle of this Δ-shape connecting type is disclosed in FIG. 1 of JP-A-4-42759.
In this three-phase alternating current electric generator of the Δ-shape connection, it is necessary to connect two coil terminals from two adjacent generating coils among the respective generating coils of the three phases to each corresponding diode pair of the full-wave rectifier assembly built in the electric generator. In each diode pair, for example, it is necessary to fasten terminals from the two adjacent generating coils together with the anode terminal of the positive side diode and the cathode side terminal of the negative side diode. Accordingly, it is also difficult to make this connection.
This difficulty can be improved by using a circuit substrate shown in FIG. 1 of JP-A-9-19119. However, the number of parts is increased and the internal structure of the bracket is complicated by using the circuit substrate.
This invention proposes an improved three-phase alternating current electric generator for a vehicle able to simplify the connecting work of the generating coils of the three phases and the diode without increasing the special circuit substrate.


A colorant contains a crystal of a compound represented by the following formula (1):

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a colorant.
2. Related Art
Black colorants known for use in information recording materials such as electrophotographic toners and inkjet inks include carbon black, aniline black, black iron oxide, and black titanium oxide. In this regard, Yuki Ganryo Handbook—Color Office, 2006 can be referred to. These black colorants also find use as a component for imparting black color or light shielding properties in the manufacture of black light-shielding glass, black matrix materials of plasma displays or liquid crystal displays, agricultural light-shielding films, and so forth.
Improvement on colorants and development of colorants with an added function have been conducted extensively. So far proposed colorants with an added function include those which look black but, unlike carbon black, do not absorb infrared light. Such colorants are exemplified by a subtractive mixture of cyan, magenta, and yellow pigments (hereinafter referred to as CMY composite black) and a black perylene-based pigment such as the pigments proposed in JP-A-2003-41144 and JP-A-2003-41145, which are obtained by firing a specific compound (hereinafter simply referred to as a black perylene pigment).

Abstract: the crystal having a crystal form showing main peaks at interplanar spacings d of 3.45±0.5 Å, 3.63±0.5 Å, 4.23±0.5 Å, 6.65±0.5 Å, and 7.84±0.5 Å in powder X-ray diffraction pattern with CuKα radiation.


An electrically controlled smart window, which includes two transparent plates arranged oppositely, a power supply component and an in-between light-adjusting area. Hereinto the light-adjusting area is divided into a matrix of light-adjusting units by pixel wall(s), and every units are closely arranged in a grid shape. To the power supply component, an electrode is connected with the pixel wall, and another is localized on the center of light-adjusting unit and did with the transparent plate. Both surface-charged liquid crystal polymer particles and conductive packing fluid are filled into the medium between the two transparent plates. According to the present disclosure, cholesteric liquid crystal polymer microparticles with specific reflection band and surface charges are used as basic reflectors, thereby achieving the significant advantages of being easy to manufacture, low cost, and stable performance, without causing interference to electromagnetic signals.

With the increasing emphasis on environmental protection and energy conservation, remarkable progress has been made in the rational use of energy and the development of energy-saving products. In the early 1980s, electrochromic materials were first proposed to be applied to energy-saving lighting systems such as buildings, automobiles and airplanes to form an "smart window" that may dynamically adjust a solar radiation transmittance. Until now, the research and application of the smart window still keep hot.
At present, the smart window is mainly divided into three categories: chrome smart window, i.e. coated glass with unidirectional heat reflection, defective to limited reflectivity, and potential hazard of heavy metal pollution; ionic crystal smart window, mainly based on an electrically controlled technology of metal or metal oxide, limited by electromagnetic signal shielding to interfere communication and navigation systems; and an electrophoresis or particle suspension smart window, featuring light selectivity and limited transmission angle of visible light.
Therefore, a smart window based on suspended liquid crystal particle comes into being. It can selectively reflect visible or infrared light with specific wave band via. Bragg reflection of self-assembled helix of cholesteric liquid crystal polymer. And infrared reflection can effectively weaken indoor heating effect originated from external heat radiation to reduce air conditioning consumption, especially in summer. However, even if electro-responsive, thermo-responsive and photo-responsive liquid crystal materials are available to adjust light transmission and reflection within a determined wave band, they are still limited by their own response capability, color change range and stimulation condition. So controllability and response speed are difficult to be improved greatly.

Electrically controlled smart window, preparation method thereof, and light-adjusting method thereof

Shenzhen Guohua Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.

Academy of Shenzhen Guohua Optoelectronics


A main board, comprising a first set of memory slots, the first set of memory slots comprising a first channel and a second channel disposed in parallel with each other, and each of the first channel and the second channel comprising a first type of slot and a second type of slot respectively, wherein the first type of slot and the second type of slot of the first channel are disposed at a first side and a second side of the first channel respectively, the first type of slot and the second type of slot of the second channel are disposed at a first side and a second side of the second channel respectively, and the first side of the first channel is adjacent to the first side of the second channel.

The present invention relates to personal computer or server. The present invention relates to a main board of a server, and more particularly, relates to a mixed type of memory slots disposed on a main board of a server.
FIG. 1 is a top view of a main board 1A of a half-width server in prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the main board 1A of the half-width server includes a plurality of (for example: two) central processing units (CPUs) 2-1 and 2-2, a plurality of peripheral chipsets (for example: a south bridge chipset 3-1 and a network communication controlling chipset 3-2) and a plurality of (for example: two sets) memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2. The peripheral chipsets 3-1 and 3-2 are disposed at the rear side 1b of the main board 1A.
As shown in FIG. 1, air flow A provided by cooling fans flows from the front side 1a of the main board 1A to the rear side 1b of the main board 1A. Since the distance W between the plurality of (for example: four) memory modules of each of the memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2 is small, the air flow A may be blocked and cooling efficiency may thus be deteriorated, which may cause overheating of the CPU 2-2 and the memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2. Accordingly, in the design of the half-width sever, such main board 1A structure may not fully support the CPUs 2-1 and 2-2 and the memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2 of all the levels and standards. Furthermore, overheating of the peripheral chipsets 3-1 and 3-2 disposed at the rear side 1b of the main board 1A may also occur.
Moreover, each of the memory slots for the memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2 includes a number of through holes. If the signal wires from the rear side 1b of the main board 1A (for example, signal wires S of the peripheral chipsets 3-1 and 3-2) are designed to connect to the front side 1a of the main board 1A, it is necessary to increase the number of layers of the main board 1A or shorten the distance W between every memory modules of the memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2 the to make a space close to one side 1c of the main board 1A so that the signal wires S may pass the space and connect to the front side 1a of the main board 1A.
However, the electric magnetic field M generated by high speed signals which are transmitted through the signal wires S may radiate outward from the side 1c of the main board 1A. Furthermore, overheating problems of the memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2 may get worse if the distance W between the memory modules of the memory sets 4-1, 4-2, 5-1 and 5-2 is reduced.
In order to overcome the overheating of the CPU and memory modules and electric magnetic radiation from the signal wires of the main board of the half-width server in prior art, the present invention provides a mixed type of memory slots which include surface mounted slots and through hole slots.

Main board and methods for disposing memory slots on the main board

Celestica Technology Consultancy (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.


A polymer resin composition is disclosed including a chemically attached lubricant structure to produce a self-lubricating medical device thereby eliminating the need of a secondary lubrication step currently required which is useful in medical and surgical devices.

Infusion therapy products have multiple components that require lubrication, including a cannula, catheter, wedge, tipping and blood control actuator. The lubricants are currently applied in a secondary, solvent-based process during the manufacture of the components. The solvents used during the secondary lubrication application process are constantly under scrutiny from regulatory agencies. Manufacturers are constantly seeking to upgrade their manufacturing processes to utilize acceptable solvents to ensure compliance with constantly changing regulatory standards. However, constant conversions and upgrades to manufacturing processes to comply with constantly changing regulatory standards, e.g. a conversion from the use of a HCFC solvents to a VOC-flammable solvent, can be both capital and resource intensive for the manufacturer. Thus, the elimination of the secondary, solvent based lubrication step would lead to substantial savings, not only from the elimination of the solvent but also with respect to the cost of the secondary process itself with regards to capital equipment, time and resources. The elimination of the secondary, solvent based lubrication step would also lead to a substantial environmental benefit and an increase in work-place safety resulting from the elimination of the solvent in the manufacturing process.
Lubricants which are applied as a coating or blended into the plastic itself can leach out into patient's blood stream. While the regulatory bodies currently allow for some controlled amount of silicone based (or other) lubricant into the patient. Thus, the elimination of the potential leaching would result in an increase to patient safety.
Thus, there is a need for a self-lubricating polymer composition which does not require a secondary, solvent based lubrication step while allowing for tailorability without additives or an extra coating. There is also a need for a self-lubricating polymer composition would also result in a consistent coating thickness and amount due to the lubricant being chemically-bounded to the resin, thereby mitigating concerns of variations of lubrication performance due to process variations. There is also a need for a functionalized lubricant which would eliminate migration concerns of the lubricant into the blood stream.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


It is intended to obtain a high quality image which is not affected by the fluctuation of dark outputs, and pixels having a specifically large dark output, called defects, and has no lateral line etc. A solid-state image pickup apparatus including: an aperture pixel region which accumulates and outputs the electric charges generated depending on incident light; a light shielded optical black region; a black reference pixel region in which no impurity region for accumulating electric charges is formed; and level shifting means which shifts the reference level of the output signals of the black reference pixel region with respect to the reference levels of the output signals of the aperture pixel region and the optical black region, is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image pickup apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, a solid-state imagepickup apparatus includes an optical black region (OB region) which is light shielded so as not to react with light in order to obtain a signal (black reference signal) serving as a reference signal for a signal level. An effective pixel signal is arithmetically processed with reference to the signal outputted from the OB region. Such a pixel is called OB pixel. When such a solid-state image pickup apparatus is used for a digital still camera, etc., a prolonged period exposure time causes dark currents to be accumulated in the pixel to increase so that the dark current values fluctuate for every pixel and the fluctuation of signals become large. Although the black reference signal is obtained by clamping the output from the OB region, due to the fluctuation of signals as mentioned above, the black reference signal for every row fluctuates, resulting in such an adverse effect that lateral stripe occur on an image screen.
Moreover, as a countermeasure when a light shielding film constituting the OB region has a defect which causes light transmission to occur, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H03-240379 (Patent document 1), a solid-state image pickup apparatus is disclosed, in which an impurity region for accumulating electric charges is not formed in the OB region. Since there is no accumulation of electric charges due to the dark currents, in the OB region of the solid-state image pickup apparatus, the above-mentioned adverse effect is suppressed. However, since, if especially, the exposure time period becomes long, a difference between the original black reference signal of the effective pixel region and the signal of the OB region will occur, it is difficult to supply an exact black reference signal.
The countermeasure for such a problem is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-64196 (Patent document 2). In the patent document 2, a solid-state image pickup apparatus includes a first OB region which is formed by implanting impurities into a semiconductor substrate, and a second OB region of which semiconductor substrate is not implanted with impurities, as the OB region. A signal from an effective pixel region is clamped with reference to the analog signal outputted from the second OB region, converted into a digital signal, and after that the digital signal is further clamped with reference to the digital signal outputted from the first OB region. It is supposed that while stable clamping including no unnecessary dark current, can be performed in this manner, the influence of the dark currents on the signals of the effective pixel region can be corrected exactly.
However, according to the configuration of the Patent document 2, the difference in output between the first OB region and the second OB region is present by an amount of the output voltage due to the dark currents. Consequently, the dynamic range of a circuit performing analog clamping and an analog-to-digital converter, and the dynamic range of the digital output of the analog-to-digital converter are required to be larger by the amount of the difference due to the dark currents.
Moreover, according to the layout view of the effective pixel region and the OB region, the first OB region formed by implanting impurities into a semiconductor substrate is arranged only at a part of each row (a horizontal optical black region in the second half of each row). Thus, in order to obtain a stable output level in the head row of the effective pixel region, the layout is configured to perform clamping using only the second OB region, of which semiconductor substrate is not injected with impurities.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to obtain a high quality image with no lateral line etc. without being affected by the fluctuation of the dark outputs, and signals having a specifically large or small dark output, called defects.