A method and device for providing information to a user are provided. The method includes providing at least one user indicator device in operable communication with the user for providing non-visual and non-verbal communications to the user, and enabling information to be received by the user indicator device from a remote source. The method further includes communicating information to the user via the user indicator device in a non-visual and non-verbal way that may be substantially indicative of at least one instruction for the user so the user can operate in one or more environments in conformance with the information provided.

Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communication methods and devices and, more particularly, to incorporating non-visual and non-verbal communications in such methods and devices.
Background Information
There are several existing communication methods and devices that may be used to provide information to a user. Often times, however, these methods and devices communicate information in the form of visual commands and/or verbal commands which may be difficult to see or understand and may prevent the user from paying attention to their surrounding environment.


Apparatus and methods are disclosed that adjust the phase of a read/write clock signal. The read/write clock signal may be used in a data storage apparatus to regulate reading/writing on a data storage media. An apparatus includes an adjustment circuit that adjusts phase of an edge of a read/write clock signal based on the timing of information that is read from a data storage media. Another apparatus includes a servo circuit and a read/write channel circuit. The servo circuit generates a leading edge transition of a servo gate signal in response to a signal indicating that a read/write transducer is approaching a start of a servo wedge. The read/write channel circuit generates a trailing edge transition of the servo gate signal in response to occurrence of a defined time delay following the transducer reading a servo address mark from the servo wedge.

In data storage systems, such as disk drives, there is a need to be able to accurately detect data that has been stored on a storage media. For example, in a magnetic disk drive, data is stored as a coded series of magnetic transitions on the surface of a magnetic disk. An analog signal is formed by reading the magnetic transitions. The analog signal is sampled to detect bits, and the bits are decoded to recover the data. A clock signal controls the sampling of the analog signal and decoding of the detected bits.

Adjustment of read/write clock edge timing


An ophthalmic lens system for reducing the risk of progression of a myopic eye by selectively maintaining, inducing or creating asymmetry of the peripheral retinal profile for the eye. A method for reducing the risk of progression of myopia comprising determining the magnitude of asymmetry of the on-axis/off-axis refractive error profile or eye length profile of the eye and providing an ophthalmic lens system that corrects for and provides acceptable on-axis vision and simultaneously controls the position of the off-axis refractive error profile or eye length profile such that resultant profile of the eye is asymmetric.

Myopia (short-sightedness) is a disorder of the eye in which distant objects cannot be clearly focused, but near objects can be. Images of distant objects are brought to focus in front of the retina because the axial length of the eye is greater than the focusing power of the eye. Myopia may be corrected by the use of a negatively powered lens, which shifts the focus of the distant images to be on or nearer the fovea. For some individuals, myopia can be a serious and progressive condition that leads to increasing visual impairment despite the use of corrective lenses.
While there is general agreement that the process of normal eye development involves a feedback mechanism which regulates the length of the eye to maintain good focus for both distance and near objects, there is no consensus regarding the nature of the mechanism or how the mechanism decides on the magnitude of progression for each individual eye.
Accordingly, there is a need for systems, methods, and devices for determining the risk of myopia progression of each individual eye and/or to more effectively control the progression of myopia or a myopic shift in refractive error.

Systems, methods and devices for controlling the progression of myopia


In accordance with an embodiment, apparatuses and methods are provided for coordinating operation between leadless pacemakers (LPs) located in different chambers of the heart. A method includes configuring a local LP to receive communications from a remote LP through conductive communication over first and second channels, maintaining the first channel active for at least a portion of a time when the second channel is inactive to listen for event messages from the remote LP, detecting an incoming signal at the local LP over the first channel, determining whether the incoming signal received over the first channel corresponds to an LP wakeup notice, when the incoming signal corresponds to the LP wakeup notice, activating the second channel at the local LP, and receiving an event message over the second channel from the remote LP.

Currently, implantable medical devices (IMDs) utilize one or more electrically-conductive leads (which traverse blood vessels and heart chambers) in order to connect a canister with electronics and a power source (the can) to electrodes affixed to the heart for the purpose of electrically exciting cardiac tissue (pacing) and measuring myocardial electrical activity (sensing). These leads may experience certain limitations, such as incidences of venous stenosis or thrombosis, device-related endocarditis, lead perforation of the tricuspid valve and concomitant tricuspid stenosis; and lacerations of the right atrium, superior vena cava, and innominate vein or pulmonary embolization of electrode fragments during lead extraction. Further, conventional pacemakers with left ventricle (LV) pacing/sensing capability require multiple leads and a complex header on the pacemaker.
A small sized IMD has been proposed that mitigates the aforementioned complications, termed a leadless pacemaker (LP), that is characterized by the following features: electrodes are affixed directly to the "can" of the device; the entire device is attached to or within the heart; and the LP is capable of pacing and sensing in the chamber of the heart where it is implanted.
The LPs that have been proposed thus far offer limited functional capability. The LP is able to sense in one chamber and deliver pacing pulses in that same chamber, and thus offers single chamber functionality. For example, an LP device that is located in the right atrium would be limited to offering AAI mode functionality. An AAI mode LP can only sense in the right atrium, pace in the right atrium and inhibit pacing function when an intrinsic event is detected in the right atrium within a preset time limit. Similarly, an LP device that is located in the right ventricle would be limited to offering VVI mode functionality. A VVI mode LP can only sense in the right ventricle, pace in the right ventricle and inhibit pacing function when an intrinsic event is detected in the right ventricle within a preset time limit.
It has been proposed to implant sets of multiple LP devices within a single patient, such as one or more LP devices located in the right atrium and one or more LP devices located in the right ventricle. The atrial LP devices and the ventricular LP devices wirelessly communicate with one another to convey pacing and sensing information between each other to coordinate pacing and sensing operations between the various LP devices. However, these sets of multiple LP devices experience various limitations.
For conventional implanted devices such as pacemakers, communication, which is normally RF or inductive communication, is relatively infrequent and is limited to device implantation, patient follow-up, and more recently, patient monitoring. In any of these cases, the time between communication sessions is very large relative to the communication time of any given session. This allows the implanted device to periodically check for the presence of the external instrument and since that external instrument has a significantly better power source (not limited by patient anatomy and related safety issues) it can carry more of the communication burden, offloading to the implant only the minimum function necessary to communicate. For example, the external instrument can transmit stronger signals and can apply more signal processing power to the reception and decoding of the received signals.
In the case of intercommunication between implants, e.g., leadless pacemakers that are configured to fit within a chamber of a patient's heart, however, the power sources are heavily constrained due to patient anatomy and related safety issues. In addition, in order for two or more implantable medical devices to deliver coordinated therapy or perform synchronized data collection, information must be regularly exchanged between the devices, e.g., on a pulse by pulse basis. Any excess power consumption needed for inter-device communication will reduce device battery/power cell longevity, requiring the patient to undergo more frequent operations to have their implants replaced.
Further, communication between an external programmer and an implant, e.g., RF communication, usually permits large transmitter to receiver separations in comparison with the wavelength of communication. Implant to implant communication, on the other hand, may require communication to occur in near-field, i.e., the transmitter to receiver separation may be much smaller than the wavelength of communication, at hundreds of kHz, resulting in a higher noise to signal ratio and requiring higher processing power for decoding the signal.
Additionally, in the case of using conducted communication through the body tissue, the signal is greatly attenuated. Estimates are for a 60 dB to >80 dB attenuation over only a few cm of device separation (with electrode separation of 3 cm). Poor relative orientations can cause even further signal deterioration. A single chamber leadless cardiac pacemaker can receive communication pulses from an external instrument since that instrument can overcome that attenuation with high amplitude pulses. Also the external instrument can tightly control the signal pulse timing to simplify the receiver. If specific messages are lost by distortion or interference, the system can resend the message, with little implication to patient safety.
A dual chamber leadless pacemaker system must overcome the high signal attenuation using lower amplitude (subthreshold) pulses and with limited electrode spacing. There is less control over the electrode orientation so the receiver sensitivity must be much higher to detect and decode low level signals (<1 mV). The signal timing must also be recovered as cardiac events can occur at any time. The communication power budget is more limited and there should be an equal balance between transmitter and receiver complexity as both devices may need to relay information.
There is also a tighter real-time constraint as message information is a part of the active system timing (as compared to reprogramming or diagnostics for an external instrument communication link). The communication link must also be more reliable as the penalty for dropped messages is greater. Due to the tight power constraints, designing a suitable error coding scheme is more challenging since long error codes will consume additional current.
Each of the LP devices must expend significant power to maintain the wireless communications links. The wireless communications links should be maintained in order to constantly convey pacing and sensing information between, for example, atrial LP device(s) and ventricular LP device(s). This pacing and sensing information is necessary to maintain continuous synchronous operation, which in turn draws a large amount of battery/power cell power.
Further, it is difficult to maintain a reliable wireless communications link between LP devices. The LP devices utilize low power transceivers that are located in a constantly changing environment within the associated heart chamber. The transmission characteristics of the environment surrounding the LP device change due in part to the continuous cyclical motion of the heart and change in blood volume. Hence, the potential exists that the communications link is broken or intermittent.

System and method for low power communication between implantable devices


A joint unit of a control arm of a wheel suspension in a motor vehicle, with a housing (1) and a pivot (2), which is mounted slidingly in the housing by a spheroidal bearing surface (3). The joint unit has a catching device (4) to avoid complete separation of the housing (1) from the pivot (2). The catching device spans over part of the housing (1) in a contactless manner during normal operation. The catching device (4) has at least one flexible catching band or at least one securing strap (4.1, 4.2) with a recess (4.1.1, 4.2.1), into which protrudes a catching pin (1.1, 1.2) of the housing in a contactless manner during normal operation, or at least two securing straps (4.1 and 4.2).

Wheel suspensions in motor vehicles have various bearings and joints depending on the requirements and the function. For example, ball and socket joints are suitable for making possible a relative motion of two components in a plurality of degrees of freedom. Joint units that have elastomer layers to absorb vibrations introduced via the wheel are known as well. Consequently, the properties of the motor vehicle and here especially those of the wheel suspension can be influenced by means of prior-art joint units not only in respect to the wheel guiding in general but also in respect to an increase in comfort.
Joint units in chassis components are highly stressed safety components, which are usually designed according to the "safe life principle," i.e., in such a way that they are reliable in operation with multiple safety for the entire service life of a motor vehicle. Nevertheless, events or highly unfavorable causal relationships, in which total failure of such joint units may develop, are purely theoretically conceivable. This would be possible, for instance, as a consequence of the wear occurring on the bearing shell or due to the development of corrosion on the ball pivot, because contaminants or water could enter the interior of the joint after failure of the sealing system. The consequence of this could be that a joint unit thus damaged is completely separated, i.e., the connection between the housing and the pivot would separate.
Prior-art joint units comprise a housing and a pivot, the pivot mounted in the housing by means of a spheroidal bearing surface being able to perform a sliding motion within the housing. The spheroidal bearing surface, which may be part of the pivot and can be connected to same in the sense of assembly, is a usual form of bearing geometry in the state of the art. For example, such a joint unit appears from DE-OS 23 50 087 or EP 1 036 280 A1. Since components are connected to one another in such a way that they are movable relative to one another in the prior-art joint units, the taking into account of the wear occurring between the components that are movable relative to one another represents an essential quality feature. Consequently, considerable efforts are made to keep the wear as low as possible over the entire service life of the joint unit or to eliminate it altogether. Prior-art joint units are sealed in a complicated manner for this reason in order to prevent water or contaminants from entering the inner components of the joint. The available solutions are perfected and mostly guarantee the reliable function of the joint units far beyond the service life of the motor vehicle, so that failure of the joint unit can be ruled out.
Nevertheless, it may happen during necessary repair or maintenance work on the wheel suspension of a motor vehicle that parts of the joint unit are damaged inadvertently or in an unnoticed manner. Would this case actually occur, the above-mentioned entry of water and/or contaminants into the interior of the joint unit could not be ruled out with certainty any longer. However, this would lead to a premature, increased wear of the components of the joint unit. Even complete separation of the housing from the pivot would be conceivable in the extreme case. However, such a case must be ruled out for safety reasons. No solutions that could prevent the complete separation of the housing from the pivot have been known in the state of the art so far, so that such a worn vehicle could still be brought to the nearest repair shop, e.g., with an emergency running function.


Providing a reproducing apparatus of an in-car disk player, a method and a program for controlling reproducing apparatus. The reproducing apparatus, which is portable and can be carried home, has reproducing means for reproducing data recorded in a disk-shaped recording medium, a sensor section for detecting the state of a vehicle, and control means for changing a reproducing speed of the reproducing means based on the result detected by the sensor section, and can surely copy data recorded in an optical disk to a recording apparatus such as a hard disk drive apparatus, even inside a vehicle, without an excessive vibration countermeasure such as cushions, by changing a reproduction speed of a disk-shaped recording medium.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a reproducing apparatus, a method for controlling a reproduction and a program for reproduction. The present invention can be applied to, for example, a portable optical disk player, which is installed inside automobile and can be carried home.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a computer is capable of copying various data provided from a CD-ROM or the like to a hard disk drive apparatus therein and uses the data copied. On the other hand, the computer is also capable of recording various data, such as data recorded in the hard disk drive apparatus and data made by various application programs, to an optical disk for storing.
In such application programs used for recording and reproducing data to and from an optical disk, a speed of reading or writing data can be selected according to need, so as to ensure execution of reading or writing process, for example, even to and from a low quality optical disk.
On the other hand, an in-car optical disk player is made to be suitable for using inside a vehicle, even during bumpy rides, to listening to the music or searching a map by virtue of having enough vibration mechanism, such as cushions.
In addition, a portable magneto-optical disk apparatus, which is used for an audition of audio signal data, reproduces data at high speed as compared to a normal reproducing speed, and outputs the reproduced data through a high capacity buffer memory, so that the sound-skipping is effectively avoided.
On the other hand, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-42406 disclosed in Japan, an in-car DVD player is proposed, which stops reproducing a DVD by detecting start of driving in order to keep safe driving.    [Patent Document 1]    Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-42406

Reproducing apparatus, method for controlling reproduction and controlling program for reproduction


Methods and apparatus for removing a dent from an automobile rim are described herein. A hammer having a hammer head containing lead, antimony and aluminum is applied to pound an automobile rim. The dent is removed from the rim without breaking the rim. Different compounds of lead for the hammer head are provided. In one embodiment the hammer weighs between 10 and 12 pounds. In another embodiment the hammer head has a cylindrical shape. The hammer head may chip away during hitting the rim.

This application generally relates to the field of automobile rim repair. More specifically, this application relates to methods and apparatus for removing dents from automobile rims.
Automobile rims are susceptible to damage, for example, when a car is driven into a pothole. Generally, automobile rims are very expensive. Custom rims or sets of rims on high-end automobiles can cost well over $1000 per set, or more. Currently, if a rim is dented or otherwise damaged, it usually must be replaced at great cost. There is no acceptable way to inexpensively remove dents from an automobile rim without breaking the rim. In areas with large or frequent potholes, the expense of replacing rims can make driving a high-end automobile a financial impossibility.
Therefore, a need for improved tools and methods to remove dents from an automobile rim without damaging the rim exists.


A steel piston for an internal combustion engine may include a piston crown and a protective layer disposed on the piston crown. The protective layer may include an adhesion layer of Cr or CrN, which is present on a surface of the piston crown. The protective layer may include a functional layer, which is present on the adhesion layer. The functional layer may have at least one of (i) at least one layer (A) of CrN and (ii) at least one layer (B) of CrOn in the form of [(A)/(B)]a, and a may represent 1 to 100.

In steel pistons for an internal combustion engine, in particular for diesel engines, the problem arises that the burning fuel cloud, ignited after the injection, generates a very large amount of heat. The combustion chamber bowl, which is constructed in the crown of the steel piston, is thereby subject to an intensive oxidation, typically in regions close to and/or on the upper edge of the combustion chamber bowl, i.e. the lip-like boundary region between the combustion chamber bowl and the flat upper edge of the piston crown, i.e. the bowl edge. In this oxidation, the iron in the steel is oxidised to Fe2O3 and the resulting oxides have no adhesion to the non-oxidised steel material of the piston lying therebeneath.
Through mechanical expansion/contraction processes, the oxidised layer which is formed is finally detached, with so-called scale notches being formed. Through this process, the regions which are thereby eroded become so large over the course of time that they are visible to the naked eye. Through further spreading of these scale notches into the base material of the steel piston, finally bowl edge cracks can occur, which in extreme cases can lead to a destruction of the piston. Furthermore, owing to the scale notches, the problem arises that through the corresponding change to the form of the bowl edge, disturbances of the combustion process can be brought about, and thereby the exhaust emission characteristic of the engine is impaired.
With regard to the problem described above, a method is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 7,458,358 B2, in which a coating material is applied onto the piston crown of a piston for an internal combustion engine, which coating material has a microstructure and a porosity, wherein the coating is irradiated with a high-energy laser beam, in order to increase the density of the coating, whilst at the same time the microstructure is converted and a material connection is produced between the coating and the piston crown surface, and a portion of the coating is masked, in order to prevent an irradiation with the laser beam.
From EP 1 217 095 A1 a protective coating is known for a thermally stressed component, in particular a turbine component, for protection from corrosion and/or oxidation and/or erosion, wherein the protective coating has a single-layered or multi-layered sealing coating of an amorphous material.
In addition, from DE 197 41 800 A1 a layer system is known for coating metal substrates which are liable to corrosion with at least one intermediate layer and at least one functional layer, wherein the functional layer is a nitride, carbon nitride and/or oxynitride of at least one of the metals from the 4th to 6th subgroup of the periodic table, and the intermediate layer is composed of one or more metal oxides.
With the coatings and methods of the prior art, however, the above-mentioned formation of scale notches and the damage to the piston entailed therewith cannot be completely satisfactorily prevented.

Steel piston for an internal combustion engine and method for its production

Oerlikon Surface Solutions AG, Pfäffikon


This is a method of forming a semiconductor-on-insulator water with a single-crystal semiconductor substrate. Preferably the method comprises: anisotropically etching a substrate 22 to form trenches 24 having walls and bottoms; anisotropically depositing oxide 26,28,34 over a surface of the substrate 22 and on the trench 24 walls and bottoms; etching to remove trench wall oxide 28, but leaving oxide 26,34 over the semiconductor surface 22 and on the trench 24 bottom, thereby creating seed holes which expose portions of the semiconductor substrate 22; epitaxially growing semiconductor material 32 on the exposed portions of the semiconductor substrate 22 to partially fill the trenches; depositing nitride; anisotropically etching the nitride to form nitride sidewalls 36; forming oxide 40 on top of the grown semiconductor material; removing nitride sidewalls 36; anisotropically etching semiconductor 42 until the buried oxide 34 is reached, thereby leaving islands of semiconductor material 44 on the buried oxide layer 34; thermally growing oxide 46 on areas of exposed semiconductor; anisotropically etching oxide 40 to expose the top of the semiconductor islands 44; and epitaxially growing semiconductor material 48 to merge the semiconductor islands 44 and create a layer of single-crystal semiconductor material which is insulated from the substrate 22. This is also a semiconductor-on-insulator wafer structure. The wafer comprises: trenches 24 having walls and bottoms in a single-crystal semiconductor substrate (e.g. silicon substrate 22); a first insulator (e.g. oxide 20,26,34) on a surface of the substrate and on the trench bottoms; a second insulator (e.g. oxide 46) on the trench walls; and a layer of single-crystal semiconductor material (e.g. silicon epi layer 48) on the surface and extending into the trenches, with the layer being insulated from the substrate.

SOI technologies have been investigated extensively for a number of applications including radiation resistant or rad-hard devices, high-performance high-speed IC's, and 3-D integrated devices. Various techniques have been investigated for SOI material formation. These include:
1. Silicon-on-Sapphire (by epitaxial growth)
2. Silicon-on-CaF2 or BaF2 (by MBE)
3. SOI by selective epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO-SEG)
4. SIMOX (high-energy oxygen implantation into Si)
5. SOI by wafer bonding
6. Recrystallization techniques
Among those techniques, SOS, SIMOX, and SOI by wafer bonding are the most manufacturable techniques at present. In general, the SIMOX approach requires high-dose, high-energy O+ ion implantation. The optimization of the SIMOX material quality requires special attention to the implantation and subsequent annealing conditions. The single crystal silicon layer formed on the SIMOX wafer is rather than (e.g. less than a few thousand .ANG.). In some cases, it may be necessary to deposit a layer of epitaxial silicon on top of the SIMOX material in order to reduce the number of defects in the active device regions and fabricate devices away from the defective silicon/silicon dioxide interface.
The wafer bonding techniques employ various bonding methods such as annealing, mechanical pressing and annealing, or electric-field pressing and annealing. Various interlayer insulators such as thermal silicon dioxide and doped oxide have been used. Typical wafer bonding processes are based on the Van der Walls forces which require extremely flat and defect free surfaces. When the two silicon wafers are bonded together, various methods can be used to thin the wafers to form the SOI layers.
The SOI material fabrication by ELO-SEG (epitaxial lateral overgrowth-selective epitaxial growth) is based on selective epitaxial filling of seed holes and lateral epitaxial overgrowth followed by a subsequent etch back to produce thin epi on patterned oxide. The original oxide layer is patterned in order to provide silicon seed holes for SEG and subsequent lateral overgrowth. There is a trade-off between the epi material quality (and manufacturing cost) and the amount of electrical isolation between epi and semiconductor substrate.

Soi wafer fabrication by selective epitaxial growth


A process for preparing a composition comprising a mixture with ester and amine function in the form of ester-amines, amines, salts of amines, monoglycerides and diglycerides all derived from monomeric, dimeric, trimeric, and/or tetrameric fatty acids contained in polymerized polyunsaturated oil comprising: (a) polymerizing a polyunsaturated vegetable or animal oil to form a polymerized oil, (b) treating the polymerized oil with water vapor, and (c) reacting the polymerized oil with an excess of at least one compound containing at least one hydroxyl function and at least one tertiary amine function, optionally in the presence of a catalyst. Said methods further comprise adding the compositions to an oil effluent as dispersing agents for hydrates.

The invention relates to compositions that can be used as emulsifying and dispersing surfactants, and more particularly as additives for dispersing hydrates in oil effluents, and their preparation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,920, the Assignee described a process for the production of a composition consisting of a mixture containing at least amides, amines, ester-amides, ester-amines, salts of amines and mono-glycerides, formed from the monomeric, dimeric trimeric and/or tetrameric fatty acids contained in a polymerized polyunsaturated oil, this process comprising the transamdification and transesterification reaction of a thermally polymerized polyunsaturated oil, with at least one aminoalcohol, used in excess. In order that the final composition contains esteramide compounds, it was necessary to use aminoalcohols of which at least one amine function is primary or secondary. The aminoalcohols which are capable of being used were therefore, for example, monoethanolamine, monopropanolamine, monoisopropanolamine, 1-amino-butanol, 2-amino-1-butanol, N-methylethanolamine, N-butylethanolamine, pentanolamine, hexanolamine, cyclohexanolamine, polyalcoholamines or also polyalkoxyglycolamines, as well as aminated polyols such as diethanolamine, diisopropanolamine or trihydroxymethylaminomethane. Diethanolamine was preferably used.
The composition obtained could be used, without any purification, as an emulsifying and dispersing surfactant, as such or after dilution with various solvents, such as, for example, aromatic fractions, various alcohols or also with certain fatty acid esters.
It was indicated that the compositions thus defined were able to be used in a large number of applications, for example, as emulsifying agents allowing the formation of oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsions, depending on the nature of the oil and the respective proportions of the two constituents (the hydrophilic constituent and the hydrophobic constituent). They could also be used as dispersing agents for solids or as foam stabilizers in a liquid or in an emulsion. A particular use which was indicated consisted of forming stable dispersions of ice in hydrocarbon media, for example, in light condensates of oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,844 describes another particular application of the compositions prepared according to the process of U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,920. This application consists of using them as dispersing additives for hydrates in suspension in fluids containing at least water, a gas and a liquid hydrocarbon (under conditions where hydrates may form from the water and gas), in a manner so as to facilitate transport of same.
It has now been realized that the effectiveness as dispersing additives for hydrates, of the compositions prepared as described in U.S. Pat. 6,221,920 varied according to the type of oil effluent considered and that, although it is excellent in certain effluents it can be less good in others.
Other compositions have now been found which can be advantageously used as emulsifying and dispersing surfactants and which have, as dispersing additives for hydrates, an improved effectiveness in certain oil effluents, in which the compositions prepared as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,290 might be less effective.
Such compositions can be prepared by using aminoalcohols having at least one tertiary amine function instead of aminoalcohols having primary or secondary functions. These compositions do not include ester-amides.
The compositions according to the invention therefore contain at least compounds with ester and amine functions in the form of ester-amines, as well as the salts of amines, monoglycerides and diglycerides, these compounds being formed from monomeric, dimeric, trimeric and/or tetrameric fatty acids contained in a polymerized polyunsaturated, natural, vegetable or animal oil.
They can be obtained by a process which comprises the following stages:
a) use (or preparation) of a polymerized oil by polymerization of a polyunsaturated vegetable or animal oil;
b) optionally, treatment of said polymerized oil by entrainment with water vapor; and
c) reaction of the polymerized oil with an excess of at least one compound containing at least one hydroxyl function and at least one tertiary amine function, in the presence or not of a catalyst.
In order to prepare the compositions according to the invention, a commercial polymerized polyunsaturated oil can be used, such as the products known under the names xe2x80x9cstandoliexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cstand oilsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbodied oilsxe2x80x9d. In this case, stage (c) of the process is carried out directly, optionally preceded by a stage such as (b).
In a different manner, if in stage (a) one has to prepare the polymerized oil, one can start from any vegetable or animal oil having a degree of polyunsaturation sufficient to allow the polymerization by contact of the fatty chains containing diene or triene between themselves, as is the case, for example, for linoleic and linolenic acid. As examples the following oils can be mentioned: linseed, sunflower, safflower, china wood, grapeseed, soybean or corn, or certain fish oils, as well as any other oils having high levels of linoleic and/or linolenic acid.
Linseed oil is preferred in the invention. An approximate composition in fatty acids of linseed oil is as follows:
The polymerization of a polyunsaturated oil can be carried out according to any appropriate method, thermally or by catalytic route. The polymerization by essentially thermal route can be carried out by simple heating to approximately 300xc2x0 C. under nitrogen. The heating time then determines a viscosity gradient of the polymerized oil, which can reach, after a heating time for example of 20 hours or more, a dynamic viscosity of 65 Paxc2x7s at 20xc2x0 C.
The polymerization can also be carried out at 280-290xc2x0 C. under reduced pressure in the presence of anthraquinone or benzoquinone (see Nisshin Oils Mills, Yokohama, Japan, Nagakura and coll. (1975), 48(4), 217-22).
When the polymerized polyunsaturated oil used to produce the compositions according to the invention is prepared, in order to reduce the duration of the polymerization and therefore the risk of forming undesirable degradation products, provision can also be made to catalyze the polymerization of the starting polyunsaturated oil by metals, such as for example, zinc, lead, tin or copper in the form of nitrates, chlorides or stearates, or also manganese in the form of oxide or of a salt. In this respect, there can be mentioned for example the heating for 6 hours of the linseed oil with copper (II) nitrate in a proportion of 0.5 to 2% by weight relative to the starting oil described by Sil S. and Koley S. N., Department of Chemical Technology, Univ. of Calcutta (1987) 37(8), 15-22.
Among the metal catalysts used to reduce the duration of the reaction, a salt or dioxide of manganese MnO2 can be advantageously used, for example in a proportion of 0.5 to 2% by weight relative to the starting oil. Such catalysts can in fact be left in the final product without causing problems of toxicity or compatibility with the media in which the additive will be finally used.
In all cases, in order to be able to be used in the production process according to the invention, the polymerized oils advantageously have a dynamic viscosity at 20xc2x0 C. of 5 to 65 Paxc2x7s and preferably of 10 to 20 Paxc2x7s. They generally have an acid number of 8 to 20.
The composition of the oligomers of fatty acids contained in a polymerized linseed oil having a dynamic viscosity at 20xc2x0 C. of 65 Paxc2x7s is given hereafter, by way of example:
These values were obtained after methanolysis of the polymerized oil, and the separation of the methyl esters of the different fatty acids (monomers, dimers, trimers and higher oligomers) was achieved by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC). The acid number of the polymerized oil is equal to 16 mg of KOH/g.
The product of the polymerization reaction, after methanolysis, can be purified by distillation in order to eliminate from it the esters fraction corresponding to the monomeric fatty acids. A mixture is then obtained which contains approximately 1% of monomeric acids, approximately 75% of dimeric acids, approximately 19% of trimeric acids and approximately 5% of higher oligomers.
Moreover, it was noticed that it was possible to improve the properties of the compositions according to the invention by subjecting the polymerized oil, in an optional stage (b) which is carried out before the reaction with the aminoalcohol, to an operation of entraining with dry water vapor having the effect of deodorizing the polymerized oil and eliminating degradation products which could be present in the polymerized oils and pose problems vis-a-vis certain media in which the final compositions may be used.
In order to carry out this treatment, a stream of dry water vapor is passed over the polymerized oil to be treated, in a quantity of 5 to 30% by weight relative to the oil for example, at a temperature of 180 to 250xc2x0 C., under a vacuum of 7 to 2.5 kPa and for a period of 1 to 5 hours.
Stage (c) of the preparation process for the compositions according to the invention implements the reaction of the polymerized oil, optionally after treatment by entraining with water vapor, with an excess of at least one aminoalcohol containing at least one hydroxyl function and at least one tertiary amine function. Triethanolamine, for example can be used as the aminoalcohol.
This reaction can be carried out at a temperature of 100 to 200xc2x0 C. and preferably 110 to 160xc2x0 C., preferably without catalyst with elimination of the water vapor as it forms, either by using a third solvent in order to obtain an azeotrope, or by operating without solvent, but by elimination of the water by distillation under reduced pressure (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,089,212 and the article by Harry Kroll and Herbert Nadeau in J.A.O.C.S. 34, 323-326, June 1957). The reaction can also be catalyzed, which appreciably reduces its duration. As catalysts, alkaline alcoholates of lithium, sodium or potassium methylate or ethylate type are generally used. The reaction time is then 15 to 200 minutes; preferably, the reaction is stopped after 100 minutes.
The molar ratio of the aminoalcohol to the polymerized oil, expressed as the moles of fatty acids which it contains, is generally from 1/1 to 2/1, preferably, of the order of 1.5/1.
The product obtained by the process according to the invention consists of a composition mainly containing compounds with ester and amine functions, in particular in the form of ester-amines, as well as monoglycerides and diglycerides, formed from monomeric, dimeric, trimeric and/or tetrameric fatty acids, contained in the polymerized polyunsaturated oil. It can be used directly without any purification, either as such or after dilution in a solvent suitable for the emulsifying application chosen. The compatible solvents which may be used can be chosen from the aromatic solvents, such as for example toluene or xylenes, or the fractions of aromatic solvents, the esters of C1 to C8 monoalcohols and of the mixture of C6 to C22 fatty acids deriving from castor oil, the esters of C1 to C8 monoalcohols of hydroxylated C6 to C22 fatty acids obtained by chemical route and all esters produced by the opening of the epoxide bond of epoxidated mono-or polyunsaturated esters.
The compositions according to the invention are of particular use as dispersing additives for hydrates in oil effluents intended to reduce the tendency to agglomerate of said hydrates. In this use, these compositions are added to the fluid to be treated at concentrations ranging in general from 0.1 to 5% by weight, preferably 0.2 to 2% by weight relative to the water.
The entire disclosure of all applications, patents and publications, cited above and below, and of corresponding French application 99/06446, filed May 19, 1999 are hereby incorporated by reference.

Methods of making emulsifying and dispersing surfactants and their use


A gate driver that comprises n shift registers, wherein n is an integer equal to or larger than 1, each of the n shift registers includes; a start stage which outputs a gate signal and starts its operation in response to a start signal, and a plurality of subsequent stages which are connected to each other in sequence, and which sequentially output a plurality of gate signals in response to a signal output from the start stage, wherein at least one stage of the plurality of subsequent stages is reset by the start signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gate driver and a display apparatus having the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gate driver having improved output characteristics and a display apparatus having the gate driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display ("LCD") includes an LCD panel that displays an image. The LCD panel includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate facing the lower substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the lower and upper substrates.
The LCD panel includes a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, and a plurality of pixels each of which is connected to a corresponding gate line of the plurality of gate lines and a corresponding data line of the plurality of data lines. The LCD panel includes a gate driving circuit that sequentially applies a gate signal to the gate lines. Typically, the gate driving circuit is directly formed on the gate driving circuit through a thin film deposition process.
The gate driving circuit includes a shift register in which a plurality of driving stages are connected to each other, one after another, and sequentially outputs the gate signal. Each driving stage outputs the gate signal to a corresponding gate line of the plurality of gate lines in response to a carry signal applied from a previous stage and applies the carry signal to a subsequent stage.
In addition, each driving stage is turned off by a gate signal applied from the subsequent driving stage, however a method is required to turn off a last driving stage of the driving stages since there are no additional subsequent driving stages to turn off the last stage of the driving stages.

Gate driver and display apparatus having the same


An advanced fin positioner for operatively mounting a finshield assembly having cantilevered therefrom a plurality of cooling fins and for facilitating selective positioning of the finshield assembly with respect to a bushing tip plate of a glass fiber forming apparatus. The advanced fin positioner including a body member, nut block and compound lead screw. The body member is releasably attached to a mounting bracket connected to a bushing frame of the glass fiber forming apparatus and has slidably attached thereto at least one slide arm including a vertically extending slot. The nut block is operatively attached to the finshield assembly and to the at least one slide arm and constrained for vertical movement by the slot along the body member. The compound lead screw is operatively connected to the body member and the nut block such that by rotating the compound lead screw, the body member and the nut block act against each other causing the nut block and the finshield assembly to move.

In the production of glass fiber filaments, it is well known to flow molten glass from a suitable source into a bushing assembly. A bushing assembly is generally an elongated channel having side and end walls and a generally planar bottom which includes a large number of nozzles or tips through which the molten glass passes. In the zone immediately below these tips, the molten glass is formed into filaments, which normally then have a sizing applied to them and are gathered into a strand, and wound onto a package.
The environment in the zone immediately below the tip plate is crucial in the formation of the filaments because it is this area that the molten glass cools and changes into the filaments. For example, it will be appreciated that temperature fluctuations in this zone will result in diameter variations in the strands. Filaments subjected to more rapid cooling in one portion of the zone than in another portion of the zone will have larger diameters and may not withstand the gathering and winding forces applied to them causing breakage of the filament. Conversely, filaments which are undercooled may break due to instability.
The tip plate and molten glass is cooled by a finshield assembly including cantilevered cooling fins. The finshield assembly is located beneath the bushing tip plate and frequently must be taken down from its use location for cleaning, repair, or for adjustment of the fin geometry caused by tip plate deformation or warping. The means for securing the finshield assembly and cooling fins to the bushing must be secure yet quickly releasable. A generally permanent nut and bolt connection is usually not suitable for this application since such a connection would not be quickly and readily undone. The high operating temperature in the glass fiber forming area in combination with the glass volatiles that are released during glass fiber formation, together with the presence of cooling water sprays and the like combine to render a conventional nut and bolt attachment of the finshield assembly to the bushing assembly unacceptable.
In addition, to the requirement for precise control of the temperature environment in the formation of glass filaments and easy attachment of the finshield assembly, it will be further appreciated that stray air currents can also carry unwanted materials into the zone thereby breaking the filaments and decreasing production efficiency.
For a more detailed description of the operating environment and construction of a glass fiber forming apparatus, reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,325,722; 4,391,618 and 4,566,891, incorporated herein by reference.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that there is a need for effective control of the environment in the zone directly beneath the tip plate. An object of the present invention is to provide an advanced fin positioner to operatively control the position of the finshield assembly. Another object of the present invention is to provide an advanced fin positioner that is compact in design. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an advanced fin positioner of a modular design for easy rebuild or repair. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an advanced fin positioner that is capable of operating at temperatures of 600 degrees fahrenheit without warpage. Another object of the present invention is to provide an advanced fin positioner that is simple and economical to manufacture.

Owens Corning Fiberglas Technology, Inc.


Disclosed herein are GABAA positive allosteric modulators for the treatment of pruritic conditions and dermatitis. Also disclosed herein are formulations comprising the GABAA positive allosteric modulators.

Itch is an unpleasant sensation of the skin that elicits the desire to scratch. Common causes of inch include, for example, xerosis, skin conditions and insect bites. Most cases of itching are treated with H1-antihistamines, which work reliably if the cause of itching is histamine related. However, many cases of itch are not histamine related. Thus, there remains a need for pharmaceutical compounds that are suitable for treating itch.

GABAA positive allosteric modulator compounds for treatment of itch and/or dermatitis


Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided for fast format-preserving encryption. An input string can be divided into blocks (potentially of varying length). An arrangement of cryptographic pipelines can perform operations on different blocks, each pipeline providing an output block. The cryptographic pipelines can interact such that the output blocks are dependent on each other, thereby providing strong encryption. The pipelines can operate efficiently on the block and operations can occur partly in parallel.

In some cases, applications need to perform specific types of encryption for specific purpose. For example, for some applications in order to be compliant with data standards or regulations, an encrypted ciphertext must have the same size and format as the original unencrypted plaintext. An encryption scheme where the encrypted output ciphertext is in the same format as the input plaintext can be referred to as format-preserving encryption.
Previous approaches to format-preserving encryption for plaintext inputs suffered from many problems including, but not limited to: requiring large databases, being overly CPU-intensive, not providing enough cryptographic security, or having limits on the size of the input text.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to addressing the above problems, and other problems, individually and collectively.

Fast format-preserving encryption for variable length data


A lock-up control apparatus and method for a torque converter of an automatic power transmission associated with a vehicular internal combustion engine driven in a plurality of engine driving modes, such as a lean burn mode. A lock-up region of a map for the torque converter is modified toward a higher vehicle speed when the engine operates in one of the driving modes such that an engine output torque value becomes large under the same engine load conditions as those when the engine is driven in any one of the other driving modes in which the engine output torque is small. The lock-up region is extended up to a higher engine load region when the engine operates in one of the driving modes such that the engine output torque is small under the same load condition.

The present invention relates to an automatic power transmission for an automotive vehicle. The present invention particularly relates to lock-up control apparatus and method for a torque converter of the vehicular automatic power transmission associated with an internal combustion engine which is driven in a plurality of driving modes. The associated engine is such a lean burn engine or internal-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine that the different driving modes make different engine output torque values under exactly the same engine load applications.
A torque converter is installed in an automatic power transmission in order to provide a driving torque augmentation function and a driving torque variation absorption (compensation) function for a drive train in the automatic power transmission.
Since, however, a slip occurs between input and output elements (pump impeller and turbine liner) of the torque converter, a power transmission efficiency becomes unavoidably worsened.
Hence, many of the torque converters, in these days, adopt a lock-up type such that, when the vehicle is transferred into such a driving condition that neither the torque augmentation function nor torque variation absorption function is required, a converter state in which no slip limitation occurs between the input and output elements can be switched to a lock-up state in which a mechanical (direct) coupling between the input and output elements occurs.
It is a general practice that, in a lock-up control method for such a lock-up type torque converter as described above, a controller determines whether the torque converter should fall in the lock-up state or not according to the engine load state and a vehicle speed, including the case where the engine located at a prior stage of the torque converter is such the lean burn engine or internal-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine as is driven in the plurality of the driving modes such that the different driving modes make the different engine torque values under the same engine load conditions.
A Japanese Patent Application First Publication (unexamined) No. Showa 59-150942 published on Aug. 29, 1984 exemplifies a previously proposed control apparatus for an air-fuel mixture ratio of a lean burn engine associated with the lock-up type torque converter.
In the above-identified Japanese Patent Application First Publication, the air-fuel mixture ratio of the engine becomes lean, i.e., a lean burn state when the lock-up state of the torque converter occurs.
However, in the lock-up control technique for the torque converter associated with the lean burn engine described in the above-identified Japanese Patent Application First Publication, a lock-up region to render the torque converter in the lock-up state which is determined according to the engine load and the vehicle speed is left unchanged in both two driving modes such that in a lean burn state the engine output torque value becomes small and in a lean burn inhibit state wherein the air-fuel mixture ratio is maintained at a stoichiometric air-fuel mixture ratio the engine output torque value becomes large, under the same engine load conditions.
That is to say, since the lock-up region for the torque converter is the same in the case of the lean burn state of the engine and in the case of the lean burn inhibit state of the engine, the torque converter is locked up in such a low fuel consumption mode that the engine output torque is relatively low.
On the other hand, since it is an usual practice in the lean burn engine that when an engine coolant temperature is relatively low or relatively high, the lean burn state is inhibited. During such a lean burn inhibit state as described above, the engine output torque value is large as compared with the case of the lean burn state.
Hence, since an input torque imposed on the torque converter is large during the lean burn inhibit state of the engine, a pump drainage of a lock-up clutch piston used to directly couple between the input and output elements of the torque converter becomes lack so that a clutching force thereof becomes deficient, thus a, so-called, judder being developed.

Lock-up control apparatus and method for torque converter of automatic power transmission


The switch signaling methods providing improved switching between representations for adaptive HTTP streaming described herein enable user experience and bandwidth efficiency improvements for adaptive HTTP streaming solutions, even when segment data is encrypted. The signaling methods include associating segment maps with segments of a representation, wherein a segment map comprises both temporal entry and temporal exit points within associated segments together with byte offset information and potentially other segment information, wherein segment maps may be generated with predictable time span patterns that are independent of the time spans of the associated segments. These embodiments can be used to enhance existing deployments in such a way that there is no need to change existing content encoding and formatting processes, and such that existing clients that receive and play out content are unaffected.

Streaming media delivery may become increasingly important as it becomes more common for high quality audio and video to be delivered over packet-based networks, such as the Internet, cellular and wireless networks, powerline networks, and other types of networks. The quality with which the delivered streaming media can be presented may depend on a number of factors, including the resolution (or other attributes) of the original content, the encoding quality of the original content, the capabilities of the receiving devices to decode and present the media, timeliness and quality of the signal received at the receivers, etc. To create a perceived good streaming media experience, transport and timeliness of the signal received at receivers may be especially important. Good transport may provide fidelity of the stream received at the receiver relative to what a sender sends, while timeliness may represent how quickly a receiver can start playing out the content after an initial request for that content.
A media delivery system can be characterized as a system having media sources, media destinations, and channels (in time and/or space) separating sources and destinations. Typically, a source includes a transmitter with access to media in electronically manageable form, and a receiver with an ability to electronically control receipt of the media (or an approximation thereof) and provide it to a media consumer (e.g., a user having a display device coupled in some way to the receiver, a storage device or element, another channel, etc.).
"Consumption" is a process at a destination that uses the media being consumed in some way, such as for presentation. For example, a mobile video player "consumes" video data, often at the playout rate of the video. Where the media has a playout rate, such as video that has a normal speed playout rate, a "presentation time" can be defined. For example, the point in a media stream that a viewer would reach after 2:00.00 minutes of normal, uninterrupted playing from the beginning of a media presentation is referred to as having a presentation time ("PT") of 2:00.00.
While many variations are possible, in a common example, a media delivery system has one or more servers that have access to media content in electronic form, and one or more client systems or devices make requests for media to the servers, and the servers convey the media using a transmitter as part of the server, transmitting to a receiver at the client so that the received media can be consumed by the client in some way. In a simple example, there is one server and one client, for a given request and response, but that need not be the case.
Traditionally, media delivery systems may be characterized into either a "download" model or "streaming" model. The "download" model might be characterized by timing independence between the delivery of the media data and the playout of the media to the user or recipient device.
As an example, in a download model or configuration, a receiver that is coupled to a media player or other media consumer and the media is downloaded far enough in advance of when it is needed by the player/consumer or will be used. When the media is used (consumed), as much as is needed is preferably already available at the recipient. Delivery in the download context is often performed using a file transport protocol, such as HTTP, FTP or File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport ("FLUTE") and the delivery rate might be determined by an underlying flow and/or congestion control protocol, such as TCP/IP. The operation of the flow or congestion control protocol may be independent of the playout of the media to the user or destination device, which may take place concurrently with the download or at some other time.
The "streaming" mode might be characterized by a tight coupling between the timing of the delivery of the media data and the playout of the media to the user or recipient device. Delivery in this context is often performed using a streaming protocol, such as the Real Time Streaming Protocol ("RTSP") for control and the Real Time Transport Protocol ("RTP") for the media data. The delivery rate might be determined by a streaming server, often matching the playout rate of the data.
Some disadvantages of the "download" model may be that, due to the timing independence of the delivery and playout, either media data may not be available when it is needed for playout (for example due to the available bandwidth being less than the media data rate), causing playout to stop momentarily ("stalling"), which results in a poor user experience, or media data may be required to be downloaded very far in advance of playout (for example due to the available bandwidth being greater than the media data rate), consuming storage resources on the receiving device, which may be scarce, and consuming valuable network resources for the delivery which may be wasted if the content is not, eventually, played out or otherwise used. In addition, the most pleasing user experience in many cases is to be able to view the video almost immediately after the user decides what to view, as opposed to the model where the user has to order a video after deciding what to view and then having to wait minutes, hours, or potentially days before viewing is possible.
An advantage of the "download" model may be that the technology needed to perform such downloads, for example HTTP, is very mature, widely deployed, and applicable across a wide range of applications. Download servers and solutions for massive scalability of such file downloads (for example, HTTP Web Servers and Content Delivery Networks) may be readily available, making deployment of services based on this technology simple and low in cost.
Some disadvantages of the "streaming" model may be that generally the rate of delivery of media data is not adapted to the available bandwidth on the connection from server to client and that specialized streaming servers or more complex network architecture providing bandwidth and delay guarantees are required. Although streaming systems exist which support variation of the delivery data rate according to available bandwidth (for example Adobe Flash Adaptive Streaming), these are generally not as efficient as download transport flow control protocols such as TCP at utilizing all the available bandwidth, and require specialized server infrastructure to support the server/client streaming sessions.
Recently, new media delivery systems based on a combination of the "streaming" and "download" models have been developed and deployed. An example of such a model is referred to herein as "adaptive HTTP streaming" (herein referred to as "AHS"). Typically, the same multimedia content may be encoded in a variety of different ways, e.g., to accommodate client devices having different decoding and rendering capabilities and to allow for bandwidth adaptation. For example, the same multimedia content (such as the same movie) may be encoded according to different codecs, different frame rates, different bit rates, or different resolutions, be encapsulated using different file formats, and the like. Each unique combination of characteristics forms a "representation" of the multimedia content.
A variety of representations may have similar decoding and rendering requirements (e.g., similar codecs, related resolutions, similar file formats, etc.) but provide different bitrates providing different quality representations of the same multimedia content. An "adaptation set" is a group of representations from which a client might select a representation. For a given period of a presentation, there might be multiple adaptation sets, such as a video adaptation set and an audio adaptation set, but in examples herein, a single adaptation set might be considered, without loss of generality.
Representations may be divided into a plurality of segments, each segment for example corresponding to a period of time for the multimedia content, e.g., ten seconds, one second, 30 seconds, etc. A client device may determine an amount of bandwidth that is currently available, and then request one or more subsequent segments from one of the representations based on the bitrates of the representations and the currently available bandwidth. In this manner, when the amount of bandwidth increases, the client device may request segment(s) from a relatively higher quality representation, but when the amount of bandwidth decreases, the client device may request segment(s) from a relatively lower quality representation that can be accommodated by the amount of bandwidth.
Each segment of a representation can be stored in a file, wherein a URL is associated with each such file, and such that the URL can be used by an AHS client to request an HTTP download of the segment file from standard HTTP web servers. Using this approach, in response to a user request to play the media content from a particular starting point, an AHS client can issue HTTP requests to download segments and receive the requested segments for playout. Ideally, the playout of the media content from the user-requested starting point can begin on the device soon after the user request, and playout of the media content can continue in real-time from that starting point thereafter, i.e., without stall events wherein the media playout is temporarily stalled while waiting for additional media data to arrive. In some AHS systems, HTTP byte range requests may also be used to request portions of segments.
One advantage of AHS is that it can be deployed using standard HTTP web servers, i.e., the same infrastructure used to deliver other Internet content. Another potential advantage of AHS is that AHS clients deployed across a multitude of different devices on a multitude of different types of networks can dynamically decide which representation is suitable to request for playout depending on the characteristics of the playout device, on network conditions such as available bandwidth for downloading, and other factors. This last advantage is especially important for mobile devices, wherein the available network bandwidth might dynamically vary on short time scales, and thus to avoid stalls while at the same time providing the highest quality playout possible for the given network conditions, the AHS client might need to quickly change from requesting segments of one representation to requesting segments of another representation. Furthermore, other characteristics might change quickly on a mobile device, e.g., the amount of remaining charge in the battery, or the display size of the playout, etc.
Frames that might be suitable to be considered to be used for switching between representations, such as I frames, may not provide as much video compression other types of frames, such as P or B frames. However, when points at which a switch are less frequent, a client device attempting to switch between representations may need to wait for a lengthy period of time before a switch is possible, which may cause user experience to suffer (e.g., due to delayed starting of playback for the representation initially or a rebuffering/stuttering playout event after a switch between representations). Therefore, strategic decisions are typically made regarding how frequently to include frames that might be used for switching between representations of multimedia content.
One popular AHS solution is the HTTP Live Streaming protocol initially developed by Apple Inc. (hereafter referred to as "HLS"), and sometimes also called Apple Live Streaming (abbreviated herein to "ALS"), as described in the IETF draft titled "HTTP Live Streaming" and which can be found at the URL with the domain "tools.ietf.org" and the file there named "/html/draft-pantos-http-live-streaming-06". Another popular AHS solution is described in the MPEG DASH standards, for example as specified in ISO/IEC 23009-1:2012 (abbreviated herein "MPEG DASH" or the "MPEG DASH standard").
Thus, what is needed are improved signaling methods and usage of such signaling methods that provide a seamless user video experience during representations switches, and also enable efficient usage of network resources during representation switches.

Switch signaling methods providing improved switching between representations for adaptive HTTP streaming


A device for application to a body part of a patient to determine the physiological condition of the patient. The device includes a housing, in the form of a hollow socket closed at its distal end and open at its proximal end, for receiving the body part, a pressurizing device for applying a pressure field around the body part when received in the housing, and a sensor for sensing changes in the body part related to changes in pulsatile blood volume therein. The housing includes at least three contiguous but separate sections including a distal end section at its distal tip, a proximal end section at its opposite end, and at least one middle section between the end sections. The pressurizing device applies a pressure field to the portions of the body part received within at least the distal end section and the middle section of the housing. The distal end section is configured to apply pressure to all of the distal portion of the body part including its distal most tip. The sensor is configured to sense pulsatile volume changes in at least one segment distal to the proximal-most segment.

This application claims foreign priority from Israeli Application No. 130939 filed in Israel on Jul. 14, 1999 which application is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
The present invention relates to probe devices which apply a predetermined static pressure to a body part of a patient, preferably a digit (i.e., a finger or toe) of the patient, while non-invasively detecting certain medical conditions. The invention is particularly useful in the methods and apparatus described in our PCT Application PCT/IL97/00249, published as International Publication No. WO98/04182 on Feb. 5, 1998, and in our Israel Application 124787 filed Jun. 7, 1998; and the invention is therefore described below with respect to such methods and apparatus.
Publication WO 98/04182 discloses methods and apparatus for the non-invasive detection of a change in a physiological condition of a patient by monitoring changes in the peripheral arterial tone as manifested by changes in the arterial blood volume in a terminal extremity of a body part, preferably a digit (finger or toe) of the patient. The method and apparatus are described therein particularly for detecting mycardial ischemia and sleep apnea, and also for continuously monitoring blood pressure. The preferred constructions described therein generally include a probe for application to the patient""s body part (e.g., finger). The probe includes a housing for receiving the distal end of the patient""s body part, and pressurizing means for applying a static pressure field substantially uniformly around the distal end of the patient""s body part when received in the compartment, including its terminal-most extremity. The static pressure field is of a predetermined magnitude sufficient to substantially prevent distention of the venous vasculature, uncontrolled venous backflow, and retrograde shockwave propagation into the distal end of the body part, and to partially unload the wall tension of, but not to occlude, the arteries in the distal end of the body part when at heart level or below. The probe further includes a sensor for sensing changes in the distal end of the patient""s body part related to changes in volume therein which are due to changes in instantaneous blood volume related to arterial tone.
Publication WO 98/04182 discloses various types of devices or probes which may be used, and many applications of such devices. Some of the devices measure changes in volume in the distal end of the digit accompanying blood pressure waves, while other devices measure changes in optical density in the distal end of the digit accompanying blood pressure waves.
Further information concerning the construction and operation of such devices, as well as many of the applications in which such devices may be used, appears in our Publication WO 98/04182, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
It was found that at times the sensors used in such devices were extremely sensitive to movements of the finger, such as finger jitter during exercise. Such movements of the finger tend to produce volume changes which could affect the accuracy of the sensor in detecting the change in the actual physiological condition of the patient being monitored.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device for application to a body part of a patient to detect a change in the physiological condition of the patient, which device exhibits less sensitivity to movements of the body part during its use. Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the foregoing type which is of a relatively simple construction, and which therefore can be produced in volume and at relatively low cost.
According to the present invention, there is provided a device for application to a body part of a patient to detect a change in the physiological condition of the patient, comprising: a housing for receiving the body part; pressurizing means for applying a pressure field around the body part when received in the housing; and a sensor for sensing changes in the body part related to changes in blood volume therein; characterized in that: the housing includes at least three contiguous but separate sections including a distal end section at its distal tip, a proximal end section at its opposite end, and at least one middle section between the end sections; and in that the pressurizing means applies a pressure field to the portions of the body part received within at least the distal end section and the middle section of the housing; and the sensor senses changes in the portion of the body part received within the middle section of the housing.
In most of the preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the pressurizing means also applies a pressure field to the proximal end section and comprises one or more deformable membranes, preferably of resilient elastomeric material, within the housing defining a separate fluid chamber within each housing section; and a fluid pressure source for applying a fluid pressure, preferably a static fluid pressure, to all the chambers.
According to further features in these preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the housing is configured to receive a digit of the patient and includes: a closed distal end, enclosing one or more chambers, for receiving the distal end of the patient""s digit; and an open proximal end, enclosing one or more additional chambers, at the opposite end of the housing and connected thereto by the middle section.
As will be described more particularly below, a device constructed in accordance with the foregoing features is less sensitive to certain movements of the patient""s body part, (e.g., a finger), during the test period. This is because the sensor measurements are taken in the area of the middle chamber which is open at both ends, and therefore longitudinal movements of the finger, (e.g., finger jitter during exercise) would tend to produce substantially equal movements at the two ends of the middle section, such that the effects of such movements on the sensor measurements taken in the middle chamber tend to cancel each other.
In one described embodiment, the housing is constituted of a plurality of parts secured together, and the chambers are also constituted of separate membranes, one secured within each of the parts. In a second described embodiment, the housing is constituted of a single part of tubular shape, and the chambers are also constituted of a single membrane of tubular shape, the device including a plurality of internal annular rings for pressing spaced annular portions of the membrane to the inner surface of the housing to define the separate fluid chambers within the housing.
A third embodiment is also described below wherein the closed distal end of the housing, and the end fluid chamber therein, are of substantially shorter length than the other portions of the housing and the fluid chambers therein. In addition, the end fluid chamber in the closed distal end section of the housing includes an abutment element having a concave surface for receiving the distal tip of the patient""s digit.
A fourth embodiment is also described below, wherein the housing is in the shape of a cylinder open at both ends, and the distal end is closed by a fluid chamber mounted therein. In one variation of this embodiment, only the fluid chamber closes the distal end of the cylinder; whereas in another variation the end fluid chamber closing the open end of the cylinder includes a rigid element mounted within the distal end of the cylinder and enclosed by the membrane defining the end fluid chamber. In the construction wherein the rigid element is enclosed by the membrane, the rigid element is formed with holes therethrough permitting the free flow of fluid within the end chamber with respect to both sides of the rigid element.
Still further embodiments are described wherein the proximal end section includes a sponge cushion rather than a pressurized chamber.
All of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in relatively simple structures capable of being produced in volume and at a low cost.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.

Probe devices particularly useful for non-invasive detection of medical conditions


A ground based power generation system contains at least two compressor stages, a combustion stage and a turbine stage. An intercooler is positioned between the two compressor stages and a regenerator is positioned between the compressor stages and the combustion stage. The combustion stage contains at least one of a pulse detonation combustor and constant volume combustor. Downstream of the combustion stage is the turbine stage. Heat for the regenerator is supplied from the turbine stage. Further, a bypass flow device is included which re-directs flow upstream of the combustion stage to downstream of the combustion stage and upstream of the turbine stage.

This invention relates to power generation systems, and in particular to ground based pulse detonation combustion systems for power generation.
In the world of power generation, one of the most important objectives is to maximize operational efficiency. This ensures that the maximum amount of power for a given amount of work or fuel consumption is obtained.
Current research in the area of aviation propulsion has led to the development of pulse detonation combustors (PDCs). Pulse detonation combustors produce pressure rise from periodically pulsed detonations in fuel-air mixtures, resulting in a relatively high operational efficiency when compared to the operational efficiency of a conventional gas turbine engine. Thus, it would be desirable to employ pulse detonation combustion technology in the power generation industry.

Ground based pulse detonation combustor for power generation


A slotted communication mode employed in a wireless code division multiple access (CDMA) communication system includes slotted frames interspersed among normal frames, each slotted frame containing a slot during which a measurement of signal quality of transmission at a different candidate operating frequency is made by the mobile station, a leading frame portion preceding the slot, and a trailing frame portion succeeding the slot. In order to mitigate an increase in bit error rate (BER) as a result of use of the slotted mode the spreading factor (SF) of data in the leading and trailing frame portions is set to a value which is greater than that of data in the normal frames. The increase of spreading factor of data in these frame portions may be accompanied by an increase in power level therein, as a further BER mitigating factor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the slotted mode in wireless cellular or personal communications services (PCS) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems wherein idle slots appear sandwiched between leading and trailing active frame portions or partial frames and the mobile station makes signal quality measurements during the slots, e.g. of pilot strength, at candidate operating frequencies different from the current or serving operating frequency. In its particular aspects, the present invention relates to adjustment of transmission parameters made with respect to communications in the leading and trailing frame portions to mitigate deterioration of communications and/or dropped calls.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is specified in EIA/TIA IS 2000.5 section 22.214.171.124.8.3.3 that the mobile station measures the strength of all pilots in a candidate frequency search set in one or more visits to the candidate frequency, using actions including stopping various activities at the serving frequency, tuning from the serving frequency to the candidate frequency, measuring mean input power at the candidate frequency, returning to the serving frequency, and restarting activities thereon. These inter-frequency measurements are transmitted to the network infrastructure where they are used in making handover decisions.
Handovers are employed in wireless cellular and personal communications systems to allow mobile stations to travel from the coverage area of one base station to another, including the ability to maintain the continuity of an ongoing call. While handovers are usually employed to transfer the mobile station from a current to a new base station, it is also possible to hand over a communication with the mobile station from one set of forward and reverse links to another of the same base station.
In a CDMA system a handover of a mobile station between base stations can be either a soft handover, in which during a transient period the mobile station simultaneously maintains forward and reverse links with both the current and new base stations, generally at the same frequency, and receives the same data via both base stations, and a hard handover, where the mobile station switches from current links to new links generally at a new frequency and/or of a new network without such a transient period in which current and new forward and reverse links are simultaneously maintained.
The known slotted mode is employed to provide idle slots during which the mobile station makes the inter-frequency measurements. The idle slots are usually, but not necessarily equal to a frame in duration, and are immediately preceded and immediately succeeded by frame portions or partial frames which are typically one half frame in duration. For ease of explanation, each combination of a leading frame portion, a slot, and a trailing frame portion is referred to herein as a xe2x80x9cslotted framexe2x80x9d, and these xe2x80x9cslotted framesxe2x80x9d are interspersed among the usual frames referred to herein as xe2x80x9cnormal framesxe2x80x9d. The instantaneous symbol rate RINFO, and instantaneous spreading factor SF=RCHIP/RINFO (where RCHIP is the constant chip rate of the Pseudo Noise (PN) spreading code) in these frame portions or half frames are maintained to be the same as in the normal frames. Then, in order to aid the recovery by the Viterbi decoder of symbols lost due to the lack of throughput during the slot, the power level, and consequently the symbol energy to noise ratio, of transmissions in these frame portions is increased accordingly.
However, it is not always possible to sufficiently further increase the power level of transmission, e.g. when the power level of the mobile station is already at or near its maximum radiated power, which leads to increases in bit error rate (BER). Under such circumstances, the slotted mode may cause a dropped call, causing annoyance and inconvenience to the parties to the call.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the occurrence of dropped calls as a result of the slotted mode in CDMA wireless cellular and personal communication systems, by a method which is an alternative to, or can be used in addition to, increasing transmission power during the frame portions preceding and/or succeeding slots.
The present invention is based on the insight that to substantially obviate a high risk of a dropped call during or as a result of the slotted mode, an increase in BER may be mitigated by acts including sufficiently increasing the spreading factor of transmissions to and from the mobile station during these frame portions.
Thus, a slotted mode method in accordance with the present invention employed in a wireless CDMA communication system which slotted mode includes slotted frames interspersed among normal frames, each slotted frame comprising a slot during which a measurement of signal quality of transmission at a candidate operating frequency different from the serving frequency is made by the mobile station, a leading frame portion preceding the slot, and a trailing frame portion succeeding the slot, is characterized in that data in the leading and trailing active frame portions of the slotted frame is transmitted at a spreading factor which is greater than, and preferably at least double, that of data in the normal frames.
Such a increase of spreading factor may be as an alternative to or in addition to increasing transmitting power during the active frame portions of the slotted frame.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon perusal of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, wherein:


A security gateway security gateway provisions a web browser hosted on a user device with a proxy auto-configuration file configured to automatically redirect the web browser to the security gateway as a proxy server for clientless virtual private network (VPN) operation when the web browser browses any uniform resource locator including a particular domain name that encompasses a private network. Upon receiving from the web browser over a public network a request to access a private resource on the private network, the security gateway establishes a secure public connection to the web browser, establishes a private connection to the private resource, and associate the private connection with the secure public connection to form a clientless VPN connection between the web browser and the private resource. The security gateway forwards content between the private resource and the web browser over the clientless VPN connection without performing any content rewrite operations.

Conventional clientless VPN solutions include a user device that accesses a private network through a proxy, such as a security gateway. In the conventional solution, the security gateway performs "HTML rewrite" or "HTTP rewrite" of web pages and JavaScript content exchanged between the private network and the user device in order to maintain transparency of the security gateway. The rewrite process is complicated and can result in errors.

Proxy-based clientless VPN with web browser proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file and extension


A program-display control apparatus can display information on each of a plurality of programs in a state that can be recognized by the user with ease without regard to the display configuration of the display data of the program. A display-configuration modification unit changes the display configurations of the program table of a BS digital broadcast, the program table of a ground wave broadcast, and a WEB program table into a new display configuration which increases the amount of information on the programs without regard to the display configuration of each of the programs. Furthermore, a program-table creation unit creates display data according to the new display configuration and outputs the display data.

The present invention relates to a program-display control apparatus and a program-display control method which are used for displaying a table of television-broadcast programs and/or a table of web programs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a program-display control apparatus and a program-display control method which are used for displaying a table of television-broadcast programs transmitted by way of a satellite, a table of television-broadcast programs transmitted by ground waves and/or a table of web programs.
Traditionally, a program table is announced to the audience through radio and television columns in a newspaper or a magazine. A program table is a table of scheduled programs of BS (Broadcast Satellite) digital broadcasts or ground wave broadcasts. A BS digital broadcast is a television broadcast transmitted by adopting a digital method by way of a BS. On the other hand, a ground wave broadcast is a television broadcast transmitted by adopting an analog method using a ground wave. In addition, in recent years, a program table transmitted from a television broadcasting station as a program table having a radio/television column format can be displayed on the screen of an apparatus such as a television receiver or a personal computer. As an example of such a program table, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) produced by Gemstar Corporation is widely known. There are two methods of displaying a program table having a radio/television column format. The two methods are referred to as a program-table display method of a program-frame type and a program-table display method of a time-frame type, respectively. In accordance with either of the methods, the horizontal axis of the screen represents channels or corporation names and the vertical axis represents the time.
However, the conventional program-display control apparatus and the conventional program-display control method have a problem that information on each program cannot be displayed in a format which can be recognized by the user with ease because the data of the program table is configured to be displayed in an EPG format.
For example, with the conventional technology, a program table of a BS digital broadcast cannot be displayed on the same screen as a program table of a ground wave broadcast. Thus, the user must switch the screen from the program table of a BS digital broadcast to the program table of a ground wave broadcast in order to inspect the latter or vice versa. As a result, in order to make a video-recording reservation, the user may need to carry out a very cumbersome operation of switching the screen from the program table of a BS digital broadcast to the program table of a ground wave broadcast. In addition, in recent years, a program table of web programs is also being distributed to the audience. It is also necessary to display the program table of web programs at the same time as the program tables of broadcasts.
On top of that, with the conventional technology, it may be impossible to display information on programs on a displayed table of the programs. The information on a program includes the name and description of the program. FIGS. 33A and 33B are each a diagram showing a typical screen displaying a conventional program table having the radio/television format. To be more specific, FIG. 33A is a diagram showing a typical screen displaying a program table of a program-frame type for a time period of one hour from 10:00 to 11:00. On the other hand, FIG. 33B is a diagram showing a typical screen displaying a program table of a time-frame type for a time period of one hour.
In the case of the program-frame type, the program table has a configuration in which the name of the last program in the time period of one hour and information on the program are always displayed and, in addition, the name of the program having the longest broadcast period in the time period of one hour and information on the longest program are displayed. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 33A, the name of the last program is program B. In the case of the time-frame type, on the other hand, the program table has a configuration in which the name of each program in the time period of one hour and information relevant to the program are displayed in an area with a size proportional to the length of the broadcast time of the program. Thus, in the case of the program table shown in FIG. 33A, since the name of the last program B with a broadcast period from 10:20 to 11:00 and information on the program must be displayed, only a small area is left. As a result, while it is possible to display the name of the first program A with a broadcast period from 10:00 to 10:20 in this small area, it is impossible to display information on the program in the same area. In the figure, the information on program A is represented by a string of characters enclosed in a box formed by dashed lines. In the case of the program table shown in FIG. 33B, by the same token, since the name of program D and information on the program are displayed in an area with a size proportional to the length of the broadcast time of the program, only a small area is left. As a result, while it is possible to display the name of program C with a broadcasting period from 10:00 to 10:10 in this small area with a size proportional to the broadcast time of 10 minutes, it is impossible to display information on the program in the same area. In the figure, the information on program C is represented by a string of characters enclosed in a box formed by dashed lines.
In the case of BS digital broadcasting, programs sharing an event may be broadcast by using a plurality of channels each allocated to one of the programs. In such a case, a large amount of picture data is transmitted through a broad band accommodating the used channels. Thus, it is possible to display a picture having a higher quality than a picture transmitted using only a single channel. With the conventional technology, however, a program table cannot be displayed by placing emphasis on the shared-event programs, each serving as a characteristic program. Thus, the conventional technology does not give a configuration that can be recognized by the user with ease.
In addition, for example, the transmission format of BS digital broadcasts allows information on up to three genres to be added for each program. Since the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, named ARIB, does not prescribe an order in which the three genres are to be broadcast, however, in accordance with the conventional technology, a first genre in the transmission order is displayed in the program table as a program attribute. Thus, the conventional technology has a problem that, even if a genre which the user wants to see is included in a program, the genre may not be displayed in the program table so that, in this case, the user overlooks the program or misses a video-recording reservation for the program. That is to say, the conventional technology does not give a configuration that allows the user to recognize the genre display of a program with ease.
On the top of that, the transmission format of ground wave broadcasts allows information on only one genre to be added for each program. Thus, the data structure of the EPG information in ground wave broadcasts is different from the data structure of the EPG information in BS digital broadcasts. Thus, even if the genre of a program of a ground wave broadcast is the same as the genre of a program of a BS digital broadcast, the genres cannot be displayed in the same format.
It is thus an object of the present invention addressing the problems described above to provide a program-display control apparatus and a program-display control method which are capable of displaying information on each program in a state easily recognizable to the user without regard to the configuration used to display program-table data included in a received television broadcast signal.

Program-display control apparatus and program-display control method