The present invention provides a camera system that can easily make image data inhibited from being erased erasable when the image data are backed up. A personal computer loads an image file stored in a recording medium of the digital camera and a setting file in which setting states of various processes. When the loaded image data are stored in a hard disk, and when the value of a backup protection variable set by the setting file indicates protection of the stored image file, a read-only attribute of the image file is set. When the value of the automatic erasing variable set by the setting file indicates automatic erasing, and when the number of times of storage of the stored image file is equal to or larger than the number of times set by the setting file, the image file is erased from the recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera system, a digital camera, and a method for controlling a digital camera and, more particularly, to a camera system that makes backup data of image data obtained by photographing by a digital camera, a digital camera which can transfer image data obtained by photographing to the outside, and a method for controlling a digital camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digital cameras such as digital still cameras or digital video cameras have become popular. Such cameras pick the image of an object by using a solid-state image pickup element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) that records digital image data indicating the object image obtained by the image pickup on a mobile recording medium such as a smart medium or a compact flash.
In these kinds of digital cameras, as a method for protecting image data recorded on the recording media, the following two methods are employed.                1. Pieces of image data to be protected are selected by a user one by one to give a read-only attribute to each selected image data.        2. Read-only attributes are given to all pieces of recorded image data at once.
Examples of the protect methods of the two types will be described below in detail. With reference to FIGS. 15A to 15D, a method for giving a read-only attribute to each selected piece of image data will be described below.
A user depresses a menu/execution switch (not shown) prepared for displaying a menu on an image monitor 40 constituted by a liquid crystal display or the like arranged on a digital camera. In accordance with this operation, a menu screen shown in FIG. 15A is displayed on the image monitor 40 of the digital camera.
The user selects a protect menu indicated by a key-shaped mark from the menu screen such that an operation switch (not shown) on which an arrow key indicating four moving directions, e.g., upper, lower, left, and right directions in a display area of the image monitor 40 is operated. In this manner, a protect menu shown in FIG. 15B is displayed on the image monitor 40 of the digital camera. Therefore, the user designates "1 frame set" of the protect menu by operating the operation switch. In accordance with this, on the image monitor 40 of the digital camera, an image indicated by image data recorded on a recording medium by photographing in advance is displayed as a thumbnail. For this reason, the user designates an image to be protected from the thumbnail by operating the operation switch. In accordance with the designation, a screen is displayed on the image monitor 40 of the digital camera. That screen urges the user to perform re-confirmation, as shown in FIG. 15C. When image data corresponding to a designated image is to be protected, the user depresses the menu/execution switch. When the image data are to be canceled, the user depresses a cancel/return switch (not shown).
When the user depresses the menu/execution switch, a read-only attribute is set with respect to image data corresponding to an image designated by the user in the digital camera to protect the image data, and a key-shaped mark is displayed at the upper right portion of the display area of the image monitor 40 as shown in FIG. 15D.
A method for giving read-only attributes to all pieces of recorded image data at once will be described below with reference to FIGS. 16A to 16C.
First, the user depresses the menu/execution switch. In accordance with this, a menu screen shown in FIG. 16A is displayed on the image monitor 40 of the digital camera.
The user selects a protect menu from the menu screen by operating the operation switch in the same manner as described above. In this manner, a protect menu shown in FIG. 16B is displayed on the image monitor 40 of the digital camera. In this state, the user designates "all frame set" of the protect menu by operating the operation switch. In accordance with this, a screen, which urges the user to perform re-confirmation shown in FIG. 16C, is displayed on the image monitor 40 of the digital camera. When all the pieces of recorded image data are protected at once, the user depresses the menu/execution switch. When the protection is canceled, the user depresses the cancel/return switch.
When the user depresses the menu/execution switch, in the digital camera, read-only attributes are set for all the pieces of recorded image data to protect the image data.
Even though a read-only attribute is given to the image data recorded on the recording medium to protect the image data by these methods, when the digital camera is connected to an external storage device such as a hard disk drive or an information terminal device such as a personal computer including a storage device to store the image data recorded on the recording medium of the digital camera in the external storage device or the storage device arranged in the information terminal device as backup data, the image data is expected to be erased from the recording medium in many cases.
However, in the conventional digital camera, it is very complicated to cancel a read-only attribute, which is set once, because the same troublesome procedure for setting protection described in FIGS. 15A to 15D and FIGS. 16A to 16C must be performed. Therefore, it is also complicated to erase image data, to which a read-only attribute is set, from a recording medium.

Data storage management system for camera and camera system


A method and apparatus for position dependent data scheduling for communication of data for different domains along a bus is provided. Having an awareness of the relative position of different domains along a bus, one embodiment of the present disclosure schedules bus operations to allow data from multiple bus operations to be simultaneously present on the bus while preventing interference among the data. The present disclosure is compatible with buses having a termination on one end and those having terminations on both ends. In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, bus operations are scheduled so that first data of a first bus operation involving a first domain are not present at domains involved in a second bus operation at times that would result in interference with second data of the second bus operation.

Computers and other data processing equipment require memory devices to store data to be processed and a processor to process the data. To process the data, the data are moved from the memory devices to the processor, where the data are processed. Then, the results of the processing are moved to the memory devices. Thus, memory read operations are performed to move data from the memory devices to the processor and memory write operations are performed to move results of the processing from the processor to the memory devices. Memory read operations and memory write operations may be performed for other purposes, as well. For example, memory write operations may be used to store data in the memory devices prior to processing. Likewise, for example, memory read operations may be used to read the results of the previous processing operations from the memory devices after those processing operations have occurred. Memory read operations are also used to fetch instructions.
As faster computers and other data processing equipment are developed, concurrency continues to increase, for example, through multiprocessing and multithreading. The concurrency can lead to multiple outstanding memory read and write operations. As concurrency increases, the amount of information that can be communicated with memory devices per unit time, which may be referred to as memory bandwidth, needs to increase.
Each of the memory devices can hold only a certain amount of data. Since it is often necessary to process very large amounts of data, several memory devices are often grouped together to store the data. The memory devices are coupled to the processor by a bus. The processor and the memory devices are coupled to the bus at specific locations along the bus. Thus, one memory device may be closer to or farther from the processor than another memory device.
In the past, data were communicated over the bus relatively slowly, and the data were thought of as being present on the bus as a whole for a given period of time. Actually, as with any signal, the data can only propagate along the bus at a finite speed, limited by such factors as the speed of light and the dielectric constant associated with the bus. Thus, when data are communicated at sufficiently high rates, the data will not necessarily be present on the bus as whole at a given time, but will propagate as pulses along the bus in a manner reminiscent of waves propagating along the surface of a body of water.
Such pulses propagate in both directions along the bus. Moreover, if an end of the bus is not terminated with an impedance to match the characteristic impedance of the bus, pulses reaching that end of the bus will be reflected back along the bus in the opposite direction. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a termination for at least one end of the bus. While pulses may reflect from the unterminated end of the bus, the reflected pulses will eventually disappear from the bus when they reach the bus termination.
In the past, to avoid interference from multiple pulses and their reflections, memory bus operations were scheduled to occur only after the pulses and their reflections have had time to propagate along the bus to the bus termination. While the actual time for pulses and reflections to clear from the bus may vary depending on the location of a memory device along the bus, historically, a standardized delay in scheduling has been used, treating all memory devices as requiring the same amount of time for the bus to clear. Consequently, such scheduling has yielded relatively low channel efficiency. Low channel efficiency refers to the relatively low fraction of time that the bus is actually carrying data and the relatively high fraction of time during which further data cannot be carried over the bus while the pulses and their reflections are still present on the bus.
Thus, a technique is needed to increase the channel efficiency to provide more efficient utilization of the bus and a higher rate of data processing.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for position dependent data scheduling


A matrix-type display device in which a number of pixels are arranged and a scanning line and a signal line to which a display signal is output are connected to each pixel. A signal line driver circuit in which a decoder circuit is controlled by a counter circuit, or a scanning line driver circuit in which a decoder circuit is controlled by a counter circuit is divided into a plurality of sections. A clock signal and/or a power supply voltage is selectively supplied to the respective sections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a matrix-type display device and, more specifically, to a matrix-type display device with low power consumption.
2. Description of the Related Art
In active matrix display devices, the driver circuits generally employ shift registers or decoder circuits. This specification will describe the case of using decoder circuits.
FIG. 15 shows the configuration of an example of a conventional matrix-type display device. This matrix-type display device in FIG. 15 consists of a signal line counter 1501, a signal line decoder 1502, a signal line sampling circuit 1503, a scanning line counter 1504, a scanning line decoder 1505, and an m-row/n-column pixel matrix portion 1506.
To produce m or more different binary outputs, the signal line counter 1501 is composed of counter circuits of i stages (i satisfies 2i>m) that operate in synchronism with a signal line clock signal 1507 (see FIG. 3)
To produce n or more different binary outputs, the scanning line counter 1504 is composed of counter circuits of j stages (j satisfies 2j>n) that operates in synchronism with a scanning line clock signal 1508 (see FIG. 3).
The signal line decoder 1502 is a logic circuit that is so constructed as to select a particular signal line in response to an output of the signal line counter 1501.
The scanning line decoder 1505 is a logic circuit that is so constructed as to select a particular scanning line in response to an output of the scanning line counter 1504.
The signal line sampling circuit 1503 is a switching circuit that outputs, in synchronism with a pixel signal 1509, a display signal to pixels selected by an output of the signal line decoder 1502.
In the pixel matrix portion 1506, pixels (see FIG. 6) are arranged in matrix form on a plane. FIG. 6 shows a circuit configuration of each pixel. In FIG. 6, reference numerals 601 and 602 denote a scanning line and a signal line, respectively. Each pixel consists of a liquid crystal element 604, an auxiliary capacitor 605, and an n-channel thin-film transistor 603 whose gate receives an output of the scanning line decoder 1505 and source receives an output of the signal line sampling circuit 1503.
The operation of the conventional matrix-type display device will be described below.
First, a description will be made of an operation of displaying one line, that is, pixels connected to a single output line of the scanning line decoder 1505.
Attention is paid to the k-th line from the top in the vertical direction (hereinafter referred to simply as "k-th line"). When the output of the scanning line decoder 1505 for the k-th line turns a high potential (hereinafter abbreviated as "H"), the gate electrodes of all the k-th line pixels receive "H" and hence source-drain conduction is established in all the n-channel thin-film transistors of the k-th line.
During the course of the above operation, as the signal counter 1501 counts up in response to the signal line clock signal 1507, signal lines are sequentially selected from the left-side end of the k-th line by the signal line decoder 1502 and a video signal is sampled by the signal line sampling circuit 1503. Thus, display signals are sequentially written to the respective pixels, that is, a one-line writing operation is finished.
Next, a description will be made of an operation of displaying one frame.
As the scanning line counter 1504 counts up in synchronism with the scanning line clock signal 1508, scanning lines are sequentially selected from the top of one frame by the scanning line decoder 1505 and are given an output "H." The above-described one-line display is effected when the gate signal of each line is "H." One frame is displayed in this manner.
As described above, in the conventional matrix-type display device, as the number of signal lines of the signal line counter 1501 or the number of scanning lines of the scanning line counter 1504 increases, the number of flip-flop circuits in the counter circuits in which the holding signal varies in synchronism with each one-period clock decreases.
FIGS. 5A and 5B show the configuration of a flip-flop circuit. In FIGS. 5A and 5B, reference numeral 501 denotes a flip-flop circuit; 502, an inverted clock input line; 503, a clock input line; 504, a data input line; 505, an output line; and 506, an inverted output line.
In the above situation, the clock line capacitance, which is the clock line wiring capacitance plus the capacitance of elements that are connected to the clock lines, may cause a problem. The clock line capacitance is charged and discharged every time the clock signal to the counter circuits varies, and therefore consumes power even when there is no variation in the holding signal.
If it is prevented that a clock is input to circuit portions the inventors recognized that preventing the clock from being input to the circuit portions consumption due to the existence of the clock line capacitance could be reduced as much and hence the amount of heat generation could also be reduced.
Further, the elements are always supplied with a power supply voltage and leak current occurs therein. This is another factor of undue power consumption. If it is prevented that a power supply voltage is supplied to circuit portions where no variation occurs in the holding signal or the output signal, the power consumption due to leak current could be reduced as much and the amount of heat generation could also be reduced.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A roof hook for mounting of solar installation modules on roofs. The roof hook has a first fastening section, which extends in the X and Y direction for fixing a roof hook, a hook-shaped mount for fixing the solar installation module or a fastening profile for solar installation modules and a second fastening section which runs perpendicular to the first fastening section in the Z direction from the latter. The mount is adjustable on the second fastening section in the Z direction, and fasteners act obliquely to the Z direction for fixing the mount on the fastening section.

Known roof hooks in their fastening section have several bores for accommodating fastening screws. DE 20 2008 016 000 U1 shows a roof hook which is made divided and EP 0881339 A1 discloses a safety roof hook. By means of the fastening screws the roof hook is fastened on the roof, especially to roof panels which lie under the pantiles. The hook-shaped holder section protrudes under the pantiles on the roof top. The solar installation modules are fastened directly or indirectly via fastening profiles to the holding section, generally with fastening screws. The known roof hooks are usually made integral and are generally welded together from two segments, specifically the fastening section and the holding section. The disadvantage in the known roof hooks is the involved mounting due to poorly reachable fastening elements and lacking or insufficient adjustment possibilities to the roof hooks on different pantiles and/or different solar installation modules or fastening profiles for solar installation modules.

Mounting system for installing solar system modules on roofs


Generally, the present disclosure is directed to metal-to-metal sealing systems and methods for use with the various pressure-retaining components, and in particular to pressure-retaining components that may be used in mudline suspension systems. In one illustrative embodiment, a system is disclosed that includes a first pressure-retaining component having an outside face, the outside face including first and second metal sealing surfaces proximate an end of the first pressure-retaining component, wherein the second metal sealing surface is positioned along the outside face between the first metal sealing surface and the end of the first pressure-retaining component. The system further includes, among other things, a second pressure-retaining component having an inside face, the inside face of the second pressure-retaining component including a third metal sealing surface that is adapted to sealingly engage at least the first metal sealing surface.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present invention relates to subsea wellhead systems, and more particularly to metal-to-metal sealing systems in mudline suspension systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many offshore oil and gas drilling operations, subsea wells are drilled using temporary drilling platforms, such as jack-up rigs, floating rigs, and the like, the specific type and design of which may depend on various drilling and environmental factors, such as water depth, target drilling depth, and the like. Unlike those situations where a subsea well is drilled using a conventional fixed offshore drilling platform—which is commonly designed to support a significant portion of the weight of the various casing strings installed in the well during drilling operations—the weight of the well is not borne by the jack-up or floating rig, but is instead typically supported by a so-called mudline suspension system. In a mudline suspension system, the weight of the various casing strings and other well components are supported at the sea bed, or mudline, which thereby enables a substantial reduction in the size and weight of the structural components needed in the structure of the temporary drilling platform, which can primarily be design to provide lateral stability during drilling operations to those portions of the well casing rising above the sea floor.
Typically, once a temporary drilling platform, e.g., a jack-up or floating drilling rig, has completed the drilling and testing operations on given subsea well, the sections of casing that rise above the wellhead at the sea floor are removed, each casing string is capped at the subsea wellhead, and the well may be temporarily abandoned for a period of time prior to the commencement of production. Temporary abandonment of the subsea well may in some cases last for several months, depending on several factors, such as the age of the field, the number of adjacent wells, the presence of and distance to an existing production platform, and the like. Thereafter, once an offshore production platform—which may gather production from a single subsea well or from multiple wells adjacent well—has been brought into position, the well is then reconnected, or tied back, to the production platform, and oil and gas production from the well may begin.
While the use of mudline suspension systems in offshore oil and gas wells may provide substantial benefits in both drilling and production operations, locating the various casing hangers and other related complex connections at the mudline may impose several technical challenges. For example, access to the subsea wellhead may be severely limited, particularly in those cases where the water depth may range to 2000-3000 feet, or even greater. In such cases, routine equipment maintenance and/or repair of the wellhead components may be problematic. Accordingly, great emphasis is generally placed on robust and reliably engineered sealing systems, since any repairs that may be required for leaking or malfunctioning wellheads in a subsea environment are difficult, if not practically impossible, to perform. Sealing system reliability is of even greater importance in high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) wellhead applications, which may operate under pressures in excess of 10,000 psi and temperatures above 250° F.
One particular aspect of prior art mudline suspension systems where sealing system problems and/or failures have occurred is with the various pressure-retaining components such as casing hangers and their related landing, abandonment, and/or tieback connections. As noted above, many subsea oil and gas wells may experience a drilling phase, an abandonment phase, and a production phase, during which time at least some of the seals on a given casing hanger may experience multiple sealing and unsealing cycles, sometimes referred to as "make/break" cycles. The following sealing system life-cycle description is typical for the life of an exemplary casing hanger seal.
Typically, the sealing surface of a casing hanger experiences a first sealing cycle in the shop where it is initially manufactured when it is connected to and tested with a landing subassembly, or landing sub, so called because it is used to "land" or install the casing hanger and casing inside of a drilled wellbore. In most cases, the casing hanger and the landing sub remain in this connected and sealed configuration throughout the step of landing, or installing, the assembled casing, casing hanger and landing sub in the well, after which the casing string is cemented in place. In at least some applications, this first seal between the casing hanger and the landing sub is then broken so that a back-wash step for removing cement and/or other debris from the annular space outside of the casing hanger can be performed. Once the back-wash step is complete, the landing sub is then re-engaged with the casing hanger, thus creating a second sealing cycle on the sealing surface of the casing hanger.
After the completion of all drilling and testing operations on the well, the second seal between the casing hanger and the landing sub is broken so that the casing riser string and the landing sub can be removed in preparation for temporary abandonment of the well. Thereafter, a temporary abandonment cap, or TA cap, is installed on the casing hanger, thus imposing a third sealing cycle on the sealing surface of the casing hanger. The TA cap then remains in place until production operations are ready to commence, at which time the third seal between the casing hanger and the TA cap is broken so that the well can be re-opened and re-connected, or tied back, to a production platform. A casing riser string and tieback subassembly, or tieback sub, that is used for tying the well back to the production platform is then lowered into place and connected to the casing hanger, thus imposing a fourth sealing cycle on the sealing surface of the casing hanger.
As may be appreciated, deformation and/or surface damage to the various sealing surfaces of a typical mudline suspension system can occur during any one or more of the sealing cycles described above. Furthermore, surface damage and/or deformation problems are often much less forgiving in HPHT applications, where metal-to-metal seals are normally employed due to the inherent temperature limitations of many elastomeric seal materials, and the commensurately reduced durability and reliability thereof. Moreover, since high-nickel alloy materials are used for many HPHT wellhead applications, the galling problems associated with sliding engagement of metal-to-metal sealing surfaces are also much more prevalent.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop metal-to-metal sealing systems and configurations that may overcome, or at least mitigate, one or more of the problems associated with the various sealing, unsealing, and resealing operations that are performed on a typical mudline suspension system as described above.

Mudline suspension metal-to-metal sealing system


A sound absorbing material is interposed between an outer perforated plate and an inner plate to constitute a sound absorbing body, which has a bottom wall portion extending generally vertically, a hood portion laterally bulging from the top of the bottom wall portion to assume a semi-circular cross-section, and a top wall portion extending from the hood portion to assume a gentle convex cross-section. A cap is attached to the end face of the top wall portion, and a fixing member is attached to a lower portion of the bottom wall portion to constitute a sound absorbing device. The two sound absorbing devices having the identical structure are fixed to the outer surfaces of an upper portion of an upright sound insulation wall through the fixing members so as to assume a symmetrical fixing posture. The caps of the two sound absorbing devices are connected by a connecting member. Alternatively, a gap is formed between the caps and a space suitable for planting is defined by a top surface of the sound insulation wall and the two inner plates.

The present invention relates to a sound absorbing device to be mounted on a sound insulation wall which is installed, for instance, by the side of an expressway to insulate noise caused by passage of vehicles.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Examined Publication No. Sho. 51-46969 and Japanese Utility Model Application Unexamined Publication No. Sho. 62-186200 disclose mounting a sound absorbing device on top of a sound insulation wall which is installed, for instance, by the side of an expressway. However, these conventional sound absorbing devices have the following disadvantages. First, to fix a long cylindrical sound absorbing device having a relatively large diameter to the top of an upright sound insulation wall, tightening bands for the sound absorbing device and metal fixing parts therefor need to be separately provided on top of the sound insulation wall. To prevent drop of the sound absorbing device, wires need to be used so as to penetrate through the sound absorbing device in its radial direction and to be fixed to the wall. Further, the size of the fixing metal parts for the sound absorbing device needs to be adjusted for that of the sound insulation wall. Therefore, a complicated work is needed to install the sound absorbing device with the use of a large number of parts.
Further, the appearance is very poor because the cylindrical sound absorbing device is provided on top of the upright sound insulation wall, the former is fixed to the latter with the bands at intervals of several meters, and the band fixing parts protrude sideways.
An additional work of filling the space between the flat top surface of the upright sound insulation wall and the cylindrical sound absorbing device makes the fixing operation unduly longer.

Sound absorbing device for sound insulation wall


An electrical connector (100) for electrically connecting with a chip module and a printed circuit board comprises a plurality of insulative housings (1), a plurality of contacts received in the insulative housing, and a frame (2) defining an accommodating space (26) to accommodate the insulative housings. The frame defines continuous lateral walls (23) and a plurality of enhancing ribs (24) extending from the lateral walls into the accommodating space. A plurality of first rivet sections (231) are disposed on at least one of the lateral walls of the frame and the insulative housings and a plurality of first mounting holes (16) are defined in at least one of the insulative housings and the lateral walls of the frame to receive the first rivet sections. A plurality of second rivet sections (243) are disposed on at least one of the enhancing ribs of the frame and the insulative housings and a plurality of second mounting holes (17) are defined in at least one of the insulative housings and the enhancing ribs to receive the rivet sections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector for removably mounting a chip module to a printed circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors are widely used in computer field to realize electrical connections between chip modules and printed circuit boards because of their stable performance.
Such an electrical connector usually comprises a molded insulative housing and a plurality of contacts accommodated in the insulative housing. The insulative housing comprises opposite mating surface and mounting surface. When the electrical connector is in use, the insulative housing is firstly retained to the printed circuit board via soldering solder balls of the contacts to the printed circuit board, then the chip module is positioned to the mating surface to realize electrical contact between mating portions of the contacts and electrical pads of the chip module in one-by-one manner. Thus, the electrical connection between the chip module and the printed circuit board is realized.
However, with the development of technologies, new challenge of more stable electrical connection and higher speed of data transmission to the conventional connectors are raised. Thus, a conventional electrical connector was designed to electrically connect the chip module and the printed circuit board. The conventional electrical connector comprises a plurality of insulative housings, a plurality of contacts retained in the insulative housings and a frame capable of being riveted to the insulative housings. The frame comprises sidewalls each forming a transverse-bar retention rib extending into the frame to divide the frame into a plurality of receiving sections. Each sidewall forms a plurality of rivet sections, correspondingly, the insulative housing forms a plurality of through holes. To assemble the insulative housings to the frame, the rivet sections protrude through the through holes then are riveted by tool and become thinner and larger to contact upper surfaces of the insulative housings to retain the housings to the frame.
However, the frame only disposes rivet sections on sidewalls, the retention rib is of transverse bar shape. Limited by limited space of the retention ribs, the rivet sections cannot be disposed on the retention ribs. Therefore, the rivet sections are only disposed on the sidewalls of the frame, the insulative housings still have possibility to separate from the frame. Therefore, it is desired to provide an improved electrical connector to stress the problems mentioned above.

Electrical connector with improved retention structures


A method of making a razor blade unit is provided. The method includes the steps of: providing a plastic base member; providing a plastic upper member, the plastic upper member having a first surface and an opening in the first surface; securing a shaving aid member to the first surface of the upper member, the shaving aid completely surrounding the opening; inserting at least one razor blade between the plastic base member and the plastic upper member; and securing the plastic base member to the plastic upper member creating a plastic body having the at least one razor blade disposed in the plastic body.

Various embodiments of wet or safety razors are known. In each case, disposed at the front end of a handle is a razor blade unit that carries the razor blade(s). The razor blade unit can be integrally formed with the handle as a molded plastic part. Alternatively, the razor blade unit may be separate from the handle and be secured thereto in an exchangeable manner via an appropriate mechanism.
Various embodiments of razor blade units are known. Basically, a plastic body is provided in which razor blade(s) are encased.
The skin contacting portion of the plastic body typically has a shaving aid member or lubrication strip provided in the rear region behind the razor blade(s). The shaving aid member or lubrication strip helps reduce friction between the razor blade unit and the skin of the user during shaving providing an improved shave.
Although the known shaving aid members or lubrication strips reduce friction between the razor blade unit and the skin of a user and thus to some extent provide an improved shave, further improvements in reducing friction between the razor blade unit and the skin of the user are desired.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of making a razor blade unit, of a wet razor of the aforementioned general type whereby an improved shaving aid member is provided and hence an improved gliding condition is provided.


An apparatus for driving a light source and a liquid crystal display device using the same is disclosed. The apparatus for driving a light includes: a light source unit including a plurality of lamps to emit light; and a light source driving unit that selectively drives the plurality of lamps in response to a luminance control signal and a selection signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to an apparatus for driving a light source that increases the variable range of luminance and decreases power consumption.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device displays images using the electrical and optical properties of liquid crystal. A typical LCD device includes an LCD panel that displays images using a pixel matrix, and a driving circuit that drives the LCD panel. As LCD panels do not emit light, a backlight unit is provided to transmit light into the LCD panel to produce a viewable image. The LCD panel controls the transmittance of light emitted by the backlight unit by changing the alignment of liquid crystal according to a data signal applied to each sub pixel of the pixel matrix to thereby display images.
Backlight units may be broadly classified as either edge type or direct type units. In case of the edge type backlight unit, a light source is provided at a lateral side of a light-guiding plate and light emitted from lamps is supplied to the LCD panel through a light-guiding plate and a plurality of diffusion sheets. The direct type backlight unit is typically used with large-sized LCD panels and includes a plurality of light sources arranged at regular intervals at a lower surface of LCD panel to supply light to the entire lower surface of LCD panel.
The light source of the backlight unit may include a cylindrically shaped lamp such as a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) or an External Electrode Fluorescent Lamp (EEFL). An EEFL lamp has electrodes formed externally to a cylindrical tube. The lamp of the backlight unit is driven by an inverter that supplies a tube current by changing a DC driving voltage to an AC driving voltage and stepping up the level of the AC driving voltage.
When used with large sized LCD devices, an edge type backlight unit typically uses a plurality of lamps. However, since the plurality of lamps provided in the related art LCD devices are driven by a single inverter, the variable range of luminance emitted from the lamps is limited, and power consumption is relatively high even in applications that display text and that do not need the higher luminance used for displaying moving images.

Apparatus for driving a light source and liquid crystal display device using the same


Upon composing characters with an image, character images in an image for editing and in a composite image agree. When characters are composed with a low resolution image represented by low resolution image data, character image generating means generates enlarged character image data from a character image to be composed with, and 1/n reduction means obtains reduced character image data by reducing the enlarged character image data by 1/n. Editing means generates an image for editing by using the reduced character image data and the low resolution image data. The editing procedure and the enlarged character image data are recorded in an editing description file. Based on the editing description file, composition means in an image server generates composite image data by using the enlarged character image data and high resolution image data. The composite image data are output as a printed image by image outputting means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image editing method and apparatus for obtaining an image for editing by composing a character image with a low resolution image, and also to an image composing method and apparatus for obtaining a composite image by composing a character image with an original high resolution image.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printing service for printing a composite image has been in practice. In this service, among image data coded hierarchically from low resolution to high resolution, editing operations such as composition with a character image are carried out on the low resolution image data, and this editing procedure on the low resolution image is recorded in an editing description file. This editing description file is transferred to an image server via a network, and processing such as composition with a character image is carried out on the high resolution image according to the procedure by an image composing computer in the image server. A composite image is then printed.
In such a service, when the character image is composed with the low resolution image, the kind of low resolution image, a position at which the character image is inserted, and font information (such as the content of the characters and the size thereof) are recorded in the editing description file. The character image is generated by the image composing computer in the image server using a font of a size suitable for the high resolution image, based on the font information. The character image is then inserted into the high resolution image at the position corresponding to that of the low resolution image, and the composite image is generated as a result. For example, when the low resolution image is an image having a reduction ratio of 1/4 of the high resolution image and the font of the characters inserted in the low resolution image is of 20 point, the image server generates the character image using a font of 20xc3x974=80 point, and inserts the character image in the high resolution image.
However, in a character image composed of x-point characters and having a size of H1xc3x97W1 as shown in FIG. 4(A) and in a character image composed of characters of xxc3x97n point and having a size of H2xc3x97W2, H2/H1=n or W2/W1=n as shown in FIG. 4(B)is not necessarily true. Actually, it is often found that the above relations are not satisfied. This is because a character of a font having a large point number is generated from vector information, while a character of a font having a small point number is pre-stored as an image and not generated from vector information. For example, a 48-point character shown in FIG. 5(a) is different in width, height, and line thickness from a 12-point character magnified by 4 shown in FIG. 5(b). Therefore, if a character image composing a font of a point number in accordance with a magnification between the high and low resolution images is inserted in a high resolution image, the position of the character image is different from an image for editing, and the image to be printed is not in accordance with the image for editing, due to the character image extending beyond the high resolution image, for example.
Furthermore, when characters of a special font are inserted in the low resolution image upon editing, the font may not be supported by the image server. In such a case, the image server cannot compose the character image requested by a user with the high resolution image.
Based on consideration of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image editing method and apparatus as well as an image composing method and apparatus, for matching up a composite image with an image for editing.
An image editing method of the present invention is an image editing method for carrying out composition of a character image with a low resolution image generated by reducing an original image by a predetermined ratio, and comprises the steps of:
generating an enlarged character image by enlarging the character image based on the predetermined ratio;
generating a reduced character image by reducing the enlarged character image based on the predetermined ratio; and
generating an image for editing by composing the reduced character image with the low resolution image.
xe2x80x9cEnlarging the character image based on the predetermined ratioxe2x80x9d means to enlarge the image by a magnification of n if the predetermined ratio is 1/n.
It is preferable for the image editing method of the present invention to output the enlarged character image and information regarding the low resolution image as an editing description file.
The xe2x80x9cinformation regarding the low resolution imagexe2x80x9d herein referred to means the kind of low resolution image, a position at which the character image is inserted, font information (the content and the size of the characters), and the like.
An image composing method of the present invention obtains a composite image by composing the enlarged character image with the original image, based on the editing description file output by the image editing method of the present invention.
An image editing apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus for carrying out composition of a character image with a low resolution image generated by reducing an original image by a predetermined ratio, and comprises:
enlarged character image generating means for generating an enlarged character image by enlarging the character image based on the predetermined ratio;
reduced character image generating means for generating a reduced character image by reducing the enlarged character image based on the predetermined ratio; and
editing means for generating an image for editing by composing the reduced character image with the low resolution image.
It is preferable for the image editing apparatus of the present invention to further comprise output means for outputting the enlarged character image and information regarding the low resolution image as an editing description file.
An image composing apparatus of the present invention comprises composition means for obtaining a composite image by composing the enlarged character image with the original image, based on the editing description file output by the image editing apparatus of the present invention.
Upon generation of the image for editing through composition of the character image with a low resolution image generated by reducing the original image by the predetermined ratio, the image editing method and apparatus of the present invention enlarges the character image to a size appropriate for the original image, and reduces the enlarged character image by the predetermined ratio to compose the reduced character image with the low resolution image. Since the reduced character image is generated by reducing the enlarged character image by the predetermined ratio corresponding to a ratio between the original image and the low resolution image, a ratio between the width and height of the reduced character image is approximately the same as in the enlarged character image. Therefore, between the image for editing and the composite image obtained by insertion of the enlarged character image with the original image, the ratio of width and height of the character image and the position of the character image are approximately the same and the two images agree.
When the image composition is carried out by using the enlarged character image, the enlarged character image and the information regarding the low resolution image are output as the editing description file, and the composite image is obtained through composition of the enlarged character image with the original image carried out by the image composing method and apparatus of the present invention, based on the editing description file.

Image editing method and apparatus and image composing method and apparatus


A coupling device for securing an elongate member to the spine is provided. The coupling device comprises a compressible inner member that secures an anchor member therein when the inner member is axially shifted within an outer member. Structures are provided to prevent disassembly of the anchor and coupling device prior to locking of the elongate member.

Various devices for internal fixation of bone segments in the human or animal body are known in the art. For instance, pedicle screw and/or hook systems are sometimes used as an adjunct to spinal fusion surgery, and which provides a means of gripping a spinal segment. Such systems may have a rod-receiving portion and an integral anchor portion, or may be provided with a separate anchor member, especially one that may be pivoted with respect to a rod-receiving member. Although pedicle screw systems, comprising a pedicle screw and a rod-receiving device, are primarily discussed herein, it is also possible to anchor a rod-receiving device to the spine with a different type of anchor member, such as a laminar hook. The pedicle screw of such a system includes an externally threaded stem and a head portion. The rod-receiving device (also referred to as a coupling device) couples to the head portion of the pedicle screw and receives a spinal rod. Two or more such devices are inserted into respective vertebrae and adjusted along the spinal rod to distract, de-rotate, and/or stabilize a spinal column, for instance to correct scoliosis or stabilize the spinal column in conjunction with an operation to correct a herniated disk. The pedicle screw does not, by itself, fix the spinal segment, but instead operates as an anchor point to receive the rod-receiving device, which in turn receives the rod. One goal of such a system is to substantially reduce and/or prevent relative motion between the spinal segments that are being fused.
Pedicle screw systems may be configured for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques. MIS techniques require implantation, manipulation, and locking of the pedicle screw system through a very small incision in the patient's skin. It has been suggested that one possible advantage of a MIS approach is that it can decrease a patient's recovery time.
Conventional pedicle screw systems and even more recently designed pedicle screw systems have several drawbacks. Some pedicle screw systems include rather large and bulky assemblies to secure a rod, thus increasing opportunities for tissue damage in and around the surgical site during installation. Many of these systems also include set-screw type locking mechanisms or multi-part cap structures that require a significant portion of the assembly to be located above the rod, increasing the height or profile of the implants extending radially away from the spinal column, which may cause patient discomfort after implantation. Systems with set screws also lack a predetermined locking position, often resulting in overtorquing of the locking mechanism. Many systems also require a rod-receiving device to be coupled to the pedicle screw or other anchor device prior to implantation or include numerous components that must all be carefully assembled together, making these systems more difficult to install and maneuver in a spinal operation where MIS techniques are used.
Furthermore, assemblies with polyaxial fixation devices in the prior art ordinarily rely on downward force of the rod against the head of the fixation device to secure the fixation device against pivoting, so that the assembly, and specifically the rod receiving portion thereof, is provided with little support or stability prior to full locking of the rod.

Rod coupling assembly and methods for bone fixation


A planter, in certain embodiments, includes a structural air manifold. The planter may include a hollow structural member configured to bear and/or distribute static and dynamic loads of the planter. The structural member may include a hollow interior having a first port and a second port. A plurality of individual planting units and a fan may be mounted to the structural member and coupled to the hollow interior at the first and second ports, respectively, via a conduit. The hollow interior may provide a path for forced airflow between the first and second ports to enable pneumatic operation of a feature of the agricultural seed planter. Further, each planting unit may include a seed meter pneumatically coupled to the fan. An orifice may be disposed in the first or second port to restrict the airflow through the port and to the seed meter.

The invention relates generally to an agricultural seed planter, such as a multiple row seed planter, used to distribute rows of seeds into soil. For example, the agricultural seed planter may include a number of individual planting units mounted to a common frame, such as a trailer frame or tow frame. A vehicle, such as a tractor, may tow the common frame across an agricultural field, such that the separate individual planting units can plant a plurality of separate rows of seeds into the soil. In some agricultural seed planters, a seed meter regulates the rate of seed distribution in each planting unit.
Typically, a fan provides airflow to drive each individual seed meter through a complex network of conduits separate from the common frame. For example, a separate conduit may connect each seed meter directly with a port of the fan. Unfortunately, these complex networks are expensive and unreliable due to the numerous lengths of conduit, numerous connection points, and extensive space consumption between the fan and each individual seed meter. In addition, the lengthy conduits may interfere with movement of the agricultural seed planter, servicing, maintenance, and so forth.


Methods and apparatuses for monitoring the level of glucose or other constituents in live subjects are disclosed. Stem cells are obtained from the subject and processed into cells that change their optical characteristics in response to a level of the constituent. The responsive cells are formed into clusters and implanted into in the subject's body at locations that permit optical monitoring from outside the subject's body. The implanted cell clusters are illuminated and the reflected illumination from each of the cell clusters is detected. Changes in the optical characteristics of the cell clusters that correspond to the responses of the cell clusters are identified, and the identified changes are mapped to a constituent level based on calibration data for each cell cluster. An indication of the constituent level in the subject is then output.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a minimally invasive, continuous monitoring technology for monitoring the concentration of body constituents, which can be useful to help maintain a person's or animal's well being and for treating certain diseases. Notable examples of constituents that may be monitored include: blood glucose, oxygenated hemoglobin, electrolytes, drug and toxic agent levels, bilirubin, etc.
For simplicity, the invention is described in the context of monitoring of blood glucose concentration. However, the invention can be similarly used for monitoring the concentrations of other body constituents.
2. Background of Glucose Monitoring
Diabetes is the fastest growing serious illness in the western world. In the US and Europe there are well over 40 million people suffering from diabetes (see reference #1, identified below). Diabetes that is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels is associated with numerous severe pathologies that are responsible for serious clinical manifestations in many of the body systems, for example, cardiovascular, neurological, renal, ophthalmic etc (see references #28-31, identified below). The unstable blood glucose level may also result in life threatening hypoglycemia.
Many of the medical complications associated with diabetes can be reduced and even prevented by strict control of the blood glucose level. However, this requires frequent measurement or monitoring of the blood glucose level and, on this basis, the introduction of the appropriate treatment. The treatment may range from diet to insulin injections or delivery by pumps. Unfortunately, conventional blood glucose concentration measurements require blood drawing. And because it is painful, many patients do not make the measurements as often as they should. As a result, they may not control their glucose level well enough and complications are quite common.
One prior art solution to this problem is to implant continuously monitoring sensors that are inserted into the body by means of a small bore needle (penetrating rather deep under the skin) and connected to an outside device by wire leads. But the use of such devices is thus far very limited.

Continuous monitoring of glucose and other living body constituents


The present invention relates to a method, a base station, and a radio communication system for reducing inter-cell signal interference. The method for reducing inter-cell signal interference includes: sending, by a serving base station, a user identity of a served user equipment to an neighboring second base station, coordinating a radio resource with the second base station, and obtaining a coordinated radio resource for scheduling the user equipment corresponding to the user identity, so that a base station that is neighboring to a base station using the coordinated radio resource to schedule the user equipment corresponding to the user identity avoids using the coordinated radio resource; and using, by the serving base station, the coordinated radio resource to schedule the user equipment corresponding to the user identity.

With the development of mobile broadband, bandwidth requirements of end users are increasing. An existing networking manner in which a macro base station is used as a main part, however, cannot meet a bit rate required by a mobile broadband service.
To further improve system capacity, more low-power access points or small-cell base stations (collectively called small-cell base station below), for example, access points (access point) such as a home base station (Home eNodeB), a microbase station (micro eNodeB), a pico base station (pico eNodeB), a relay base station (Relay eNodeB), a femto base station (femto eNodeB), and a remote radio head (RRH, Remote Radio Head) in a Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) technology, may be introduced in a range of the macro base station.
Transmit power of a small-cell base station is lower than transmit power of a macro base station, and downlink coverage of a small-cell base station is far less than downlink coverage of a macro base station. A hybrid networking manner with a macro base station and a small-cell base station can enhance coverage of a hot spot area, coverage of an indoor blind spot (or weak spot), and cell edge coverage of the macro base station, improve average cell throughput, cell edge throughput, and an uplink/downlink spectrum utilization rate of a cell, and reduce network costs and CAPEX (capital expenditure) of an operator, and the like. We call it a heterogeneous network.
When moving in a heterogeneous network in which a small-cell base station and a macro base station use an intra-frequency networking manner, a user equipment (UE) may pass through the small-cell base station. When passing through a border of the small-cell base station and the macro base station, the UE needs to perform a switchover. It is found out through studies that during a switchover on a heterogeneous network, a switchover failure rate of a UE is relatively high due to an interference cause. For example, resulting from downlink interference of a macro cell on a small cell, a failure occurs due to that a UE served by the small cell is difficult to receive downlink information; or for another example, when a UE served by a macro cell moves to a central area position of a small cell, resulting from downlink interference of the small cell on the macro cell, a failure occurs due to that the UE served by the macro cell is difficult to receive downlink information; for still another example, resulting from uplink interference of a UE served by a small cell on a UE served by a macro cell, a failure occurs due to that the macro cell cannot receive uplink information of the UE served by the macro cell.
If there are more small-cell base stations in a heterogeneous network, a UE needs to perform a switchover more frequently, and frequent switchover brings a large number of signaling and processing loads to the network. If the UE is not allowed to perform a switchover, so as to reduce the number of switchover times, the UE drops a call due to an interference problem. For example, if no switchover is performed when a UE served by a macro cell passes through a small cell, downlink of the small cell brings about strong downlink interference on the UE when the UE enters a center of the small cell, which causes the UE to drop a call.

Method, base station, and radio communication system for reducing inter-cell signal interference


A brassica vegetable tablet contains at least 50 .mu.g of sulforaphane and a maximum of 50 .mu.g of sulforaphane-nitrile. A process for producing a brassica vegetable product includes inactivating endogenous myrosinase enzyme in a brassica vegetable and thereafter blending the vegetable with exogenous myrosinase enzyme. The preferred process may include steam blanching as the method of inactivating the endogenous myrosinase enzyme. The preferred process may also include horseradish root as the source of exogenous myrosinase enzyme.

The present invention relates to a brassica vegetable concentrate and supplement containing high levels of sulforaphane and minimal levels of sulforaphane-nitrile and the method of making it.
Although consumers are increasingly more aware of the relationship of brassica vegetables to health and disease, many people don't reap these benefits because they don't like the taste of the vegetables or they find them cumbersome to eat. Broccoli, as well as other brassica vegetables, may be helpful in fighting disease because they contain glucosinolates. Glucosinolates are converted to isothiocyaniates, such as sulforaphane, by myrosinase enzymes, a group of enzymes that are naturally present in brassica vegetables. Sulforaphane and other isothiocyanates help the body to fight disease by inducing a group of enzymes capable of detoxifying carcinogens in the body.
Unfortunately for consumers, myrosinase enzymes contact the giucosinolate when the cells of the brassica vegetable are disrupted such as by chewing or milling. Therefore, those consumers who don't like the taste of broccoli, yet don't want to pass up its health benefits, must force themselves to eat something they don't like. In addition, glucosinolates can also be converted by miyrosinase enzymes into nitriles Such as sulforaphane-nitrile, non-nuitrients that are contraindicated for health. Therefore, there is a need for a brassica supplement that has high levels of sulforaphane but low levels of sulforaphane-nitrile.
At the present time, a suitable brassica vegetable supplement or concentrate is not available. Typically, prior art brassica tablets, such as broccoli tablets, are made by dehydrating the fresh vegetable, grinding the vegetable into a powder form and thereafter forming a tablet or supplement. High temperature dehydration, however, inactivates the endogenous (naturally present) myrosinase enzymes. Consequently, it is hypothesized that when the supplement is ingested, the conversion of the glucosiniolates to isothiocyanates cannot occur via the aforementioned plant pathway. It has also been suggested to make brassica tablets by freeze-drying the vegetable. In this method, the endogenous myrosinase enzymes are not inactivated in the final product. However, the enzymes contained in the tablet are not active at the low pH of stomach acids (when the supplement is swallowed before it can convert the glucosinolates into isothiocyanates).
A process that produces a brassica vegetable supplement or concentrate with high levels of sulforaphane and minimal sulforaphane-nitrile is desired. Such a process should maximize the conversion of the parent glucosiniolates (gluocoraphanin) to sulforaphane while minimizing the presence of sulforaphane-nitrile. Therefore, the resulting supplement or concentrate must contain preformed sulforaphane in lieu of the parent glucosinolate and corresponding myrosinase enzymes where conversion is subject to environmental conditions.

Brassica vegetable supplement and process for manufacture


A key switch includes a switching member supported on a resilient member and connected to a key cap and driven by it to slide in a locating member. The switching member has two opposite, curved side plates caused to slide in the locating member along two opposite sliding ways. The elastic member has a plurality of small raised portions supported on the PC board, a plurality of spaced ribs on the inner wall surface to reinforce the structure and the elastic resilient property thereof, and a plurality of notches between the raised portions for exhaust of air squeezed by the circular flange of said switching member.

The present invention relates to a key switch which is easy to assemble, which is smooth in operation, and which does not produce noise during the operation.
Various mechanical key switches have been known. These known structures of key switches are generally expensive to manufacture and complicated to assemble. Further, they produce loud noise during the operation. The present invention has been accomplished to eliminate these disadvantages.
According to the present invention, there is provided a key switch which is generally comprised of a switching member supported on a resilient member and connected to a key cap and driven by the key cap to slide in a locating member. The switching member has two opposite, curved side plates caused to slide in the locating member along the two opposite sliding ways in the locating member. The elastic member has a plurality of small raised portions supported on the PC board of a keyboard, a plurality of spaced ribs on the inner wall surface thereof to reinforce its structure and elastic resilient property, and a plurality of notches between the raised portions for exhaust of squeezed air so as to eliminate possible noise.


A wet/dry sheet dispenser. The dispenser has an elongate refill which holds a liquid and fits into a complementary base. Liquid is selectively dispensed from the refill by longitudinal activation of a pump. The pump may be disposed on either the refill or base. Liquid flows from the refill, into the base and is ultimately dispensed onto a sheet. This arrangement allows for convenient and selective one hand pump operation, so the other hand is free to grasp the sheet. The sheet may be used wet or dry as desired at the point of use.

Sheet dispensers are well known in the art. Some dispensers allow the user to dispense liquid in conjunction with dispensing sheets from the dispenser. Exemplary art is shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,804,061; 4,436,224; 4,667,846; 4,798,312; 5,671,872; 5,762,710; 5,819,989; 6,138,874; 6,431,405; 7,018,473; 7,318,949; 7,850,041; 8,006,864; 2008/00117882; 2009/0302049; 2010/0032443; 2011/0315715; 2013/0126549; 2013/0206789 and DE 202011105459. But these attempts do not necessarily dispense the liquid directly to the sheet, potentially leading to inconvenience for the user.
Attempts to dispense the liquid directly to the sheet are found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,865,271; 4,106,433; 4,620,502; 4,74,7,365; 5,433,084; 5,672,206; 5,829,278; 5,887,759; 6,059,882; 6,319,318; 6,343,491; 6,431,111; 6,457,434; 6,497,345; 6,547,881; 6,613,144; 6,918,513; 7,185,841; 7,654,412; 7,856,941; 7,784,424; 2007/0272701; 2009/0031952; 2009/0032636; 2011/0088619; WO 200035327; WO 200587068; WO 2007070898; EP 1017303; EP 0744147; CN 2172081; CN 101156755; DE 29610683; DE 3535330; DE 19846375; DE 102010036072; DE 202011105459; DE 20305272; and FR 2238457. As can be seen, some of these attempts rely upon rollers or other means of direct contact of some portion of an apparatus with the sheet. Such an arrangement adds complexity to the apparatus and risks tearing the sheet by contact. Yet other attempts purportedly spray the liquid onto the sheet. But such attempts also rely upon complex apparatus, and may not have the flexibility desired by the user at the point of use.
A dispenser which allows for convenient sheet refill and for wet and dry sheets to be dispensed without contact with the apparatus is needed. But such an apparatus, without more, is not sufficient to meet everyday needs. Convenient refill of the liquid is also needed. And the dispenser must provide for convenient operation and a suitable liquid pattern on the sheet when a wet sheet is desired.

Wet/dry sheet dispenser and method of using


A retrofit energization arrangement especially suitable for an aircraft wherein original factory-placed wiring can be reused in common bus form for plural new loads in order to avoid the expense and hazard of disassembling original wiring bundles for new conductor incorporation. Serviceable wiring possibly earlier retired in place or becoming unneeded from equipment removal can, by way of the invention, be used for plural diverse new loads including loads of disparate operating cycle and current requirements for example, even though energized via a common bus. In the disclosed apparatus both energizing current and load control signals are transmitted via the same electrical bus between control location and load areas of the aircraft where control decoding and energy tap-off occur, the latter by switch mode power supply if needed. Control signals of sinusoidal waveform, minimal electromagnetic and radio frequency interference character and limited existing bus filtering attenuation are disclosed; these may be embodied as the Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) or Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System, CTCSS, frequencies used in the radio communication art. Loads of differing types are disclosed as examples in the described embodiment of the invention; additional loads are feasible. Use of the invention in land vehicles, watercraft and building structures is also contemplated.

In the electrical energy conveyance art there is often a need to use existing inaccessible electrical wiring in order to achieve some new and originally unconsidered function. A "smart" ability to accomplish this new function can often save significant amounts of work and expense involved in a rework effort. This set of events is encountered in a plurality of differing applications of the electrical arts, i.e., in numerous fields of endeavor including buildings and transportation equipment of differing types.
One example of this situation is to be found in the electrical wiring of certain rooms in many homes especially in the United States but also other locations of the world. In these rooms, such as in a bedroom, there is originally provided a ceiling light fixture controlled by a wall mounted light switch located near the entrance door of the room. Energy for lighting the lamp of this fixture may be supplied to either of a small metal electrical box containing the wall switch or to the small metal electrical box used to mount the light fixture in the room ceiling. In either event the original house wiring often includes a single pair of lamp fixture controlling electrical conductors running between the two metal boxes, conductors that are buried and securely attached to structural members of the house before a wall covering such as plaster board or wet plaster is put in place. Such conductors are of course later inaccessible for enhancements such as an increase in conductor numbers without substantial destructive and reconstruction efforts. Local building codes in a few locations of the U.S. provide an exception to this general rule in requiring the use of "conduit" or pipe-like pathways and pulled-in conductors between these metal boxes and thus allow for new conductor retrofitting when needed. Communities around the city of Chicago, Ill. are for example known to have such local code rules. In most locations however original wiring is of the "Romex" or "BX" or even older "knob and tube" varieties and is thus rigidly attached to or passing through structural members of the house and is now inaccessible.
A problem with this usual wiring arrangement often arises when a new or additional usage of one or more of these boxes is contemplated, a use such as providing a combination electrical light and ceiling fan is desired in the room. When the box to box conductors are two in number, lie buried between wall surfaces and between first floor ceiling and second floor flooring and consist of flexible "Romex" or "BX" or other common two conductor residential wiring forms, the provision of a new third or additional electrical conductors for separate control of fan speed, fan direction and lamp intensities for example is a significant dilemma.
One clever solution to this electrical art dilemma has been provided by the Casablanca Fan Company located in California, USA. Combination fan and light fixtures provided by this supplier do in fact provide a plurality of differing fan speeds and directions and lamp illumination intensities all with use of only the two original conductors joining the ceiling and wall boxes! The Casablanca designers have accomplished this plurality of control functions through use of control signals coded into the sinusoid waveform of the supplied electrical energy wave. The Casablanca coding is embedded in the controlled energy wave near the sinusoid waveform zero voltage crossing points. Such coding is accomplished with wave slicing events performed by bidirectional semiconductor devices of the silicon controlled rectifier type, devices known in the art as "thyristors" or by other names proprietary to the device supplier. A more complete description of the Casablanca control is provided in a series of U.S. Patents including U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,409 issued to Casablanca designers, this and any other patent identified in this document are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Although the Casablanca control and coding technique is elegant in design and performance it is limited by practicalities such as nearby lightning surges being often destructive of semiconductor devices when integrated into long house wiring runs, by switch contact resistance increasing over use lifetime, by generation of distorted sinusoid wave shapes (that are minimally diminished in electrical energy delivery effect but include high frequency harmonics, a possible source of radio frequency interference noise) and by the inherent applicability of the coding only to alternating current electrical energy sources. Generally it also may be stated that the Casablanca coding intentionally distorts an incoming sinusoidal wave in order to introduce the control coding as opposed to adding additional sinusoids to an incoming waveform in order to embed the control signals. The zero crossing coding of the Casablanca technique may nevertheless generally be considered as one clever and practical approach to communicating control signals by way of two energy delivery conductors and to the use of limited conductor existing wiring for new and more demanding applications.
As described herein there is additional need for arrangements somewhat of this nature in electrical applications outside of the house and building environment. It is for example particularly difficult to re-wire an aircraft in order to provide for new exterior or interior light sources or to energize other loads especially when such loads may necessitate physical dispositions at distant locations of a large airframe and thus require transmission of energy through hundreds of feet of integrally assembled and hidden factory installed wiring. Re wiring is of further increased difficulty when the wiring in an originally installed factory bundle is now characterized by electrical insulation degradation such as embrittlement or chafing or where the aircraft includes decorative or thermal insulation interior panels or other physical obstructions for examples. One needs only to consider the conclusions reached with respect to TWA flight 800 in New York to appreciate the significance of fragility in existing aircraft wiring. Aircraft rewiring is in fact so difficult and costly that the practice of "retirement in place" for original wiring has become commonplace in older aircraft, particularly in military aircraft.
In the art of improving existing aircraft with upgraded electronic systems, as has been practiced in several cycles in for example the fleet of B-52 bombers used by the U.S. Air Force since the mid 1950's, it may be convenient to reuse the electrical conductors of a somewhat large-conductor factory-wired bus of significant length and advantageous physical location for certain new equipment not in existence at the time of original aircraft fabrication. For example electronic equipment at the time of B-52 design was almost totally dependent on vacuum tubes and thus was characterized by low input to output efficiency, larger physical size and greater energy usage than is now experienced with integrated circuits and other semiconductor equipment. In a related manner smart missile weapons and global position system equipment for examples were completely unknown at the time of B-52 design but now are necessary additions for effective present day usage of such aircraft.
Similar examples involving the retrofitting of other aircraft are under current military consideration. The C-130 transport aircraft has been manufactured in several versions for years and certain of these versions are being considered for receipt of enhanced avionics equipment including cockpit displays and controls. Similarly the close ground support fighter aircraft commonly known as the A-10 and "warthog" has been in use for years and has also received modern equipment upgrades. The addition of night vision equipment and the provision of night vision equipment-compatible lighting both inside and outside the aircraft are additional areas of significant present military concern and are believed assisted by the present invention.
The present invention has been found especially useful in the modernization of tanker aircraft wherein both a replacement for incandescent filament lamps with light emitting diode elements and bus signal decoding electronics can all reside in the space reserved for original incandescent lamp fixtures. In such aircraft there exists, for example, a large number of light fixtures used in guiding an aircraft being refueled into correct position for engagement with the refueling boom. These fixtures are used under nighttime conditions and in both friendly and hostile airspace. Some of these guidance lamps now need to house covert or night vision related infrared characteristics in order to provide aircraft safety in hostile airspace. The present invention adds the capability to select between these multiple forms of signal illumination without need to provide additional lamp fixture wiring and other costly and time-consuming changes.
By way of capabilities achieved in the present invention an earlier provided electrical bus, as for old and now removed electronic equipment for example in an aircraft, may be re used to energize several present day loads while the application of energy to these loads is nevertheless individually controlled from the cockpit or from some other point of the aircraft, such as an operator station. Such technique may of course also be applied to newly installed wiring and equipment where it is desirable to reduce conductor numbers, weight or bundle size. According to this arrangement, a single electrical bus may be used to control a plurality of differing loads through signal coding communicated along the same bus conveying the controlled energy. For simplification purposes herein these multiple electrical loads may be represented by light sources of different character located throughout the aircraft and its exterior. Such light sources are of course also possible actual loads that may be energized in this manner, all as described subsequently below herein.

Common bus aircraft retrofit load control

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


In the coding of image data corresponding to a raster of pixel values, a generalized run length coding is used in respect of the difference between the pixel values in the raster line to be coded and the pixel values in the same position in the preceding raster line, such that with respect to multi-value pixels (gray values), the generalized run length coding comprises an approximation of the course of the differences as a function of the position in the raster line with a linear function and the code then contains the number of pixels and a characterization of the approximating function, and with respect to binary pixels (on/off), the length is simply a determination of the series of pixel values each equal to the pixel value in the same position in the preceding raster line, wherein in a particularly effective embodiment, this generalized run length coding with respect to the preceding line is combined with generalized run length coding of the pixel values within a line, both methods each being performed in parallel, and the method delivering the most effective code that is the longest series of pixels, compensated for by the length of the code itself, is selected for the actual encoding.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus of coding digital image data and more specifically to a method and apparatus of coding consecutive blocks of data groups having as content the values of pixels of an image.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Digital image data forms the digital representation of a physical image and is e.g. generated by electro-optically scanning an image according to an orthogonal raster of rows and columns of pixels and converting the measured optical density of each pixel into a digital value that may have one of two possible values (black or white) or one of several possible values (shades of gray). Normally, the digital data takes the form of groups of bits or bytes and are stored in a memory in blocks. One such block may correspond to one row or line of pixels of the image.
A method of the kind described above is known from IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 5 (October 1988). In accordance with this known method a series of data groups (a data group being a byte with the gray value of a pixel) having an identical value within a line are coded with a code which contains (a) the number of data groups in the series and (b) the content of those data groups. This coding is generally termed "run length coding". Run length coding is also frequently applied to data groups containing binary pixel values, as is apparent, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,512.
If, as in a page of text, the rows of pixels contain many series of identical value, this coding can result in a considerable compression of the image data, and this is an attractive feature in connection with the storage thereof in a memory or with its transmission, for example, over a network. However, there are many series of pixels with identical value in the column direction as well, and they can be used for a more extensive coding, which results in even greater compression of the image data.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,512 also makes use of a vertical repetition code, it does so only to a very restricted degree, namely by replacing a pixel row completely identical to the preceding one by a repetition code. This is a relatively ineffective coding method, since there is relatively little chance that two consecutive rows will be completely identical.
When a uniform gray surface in an image is detected by a scanner, there will still be small variations in the measured pixel values due to noise and deviations in the scanner. These small variations restrict the codability if complete equality of the corresponding data groups is required. It has been found, however, that minor variations in gray values frequently do not visibly change the total picture, and consequently the choice has been made to make a series of consecutive data groups codable in the case of gray value pixels with minor adjustments of the pixel values. The method according to the invention, therefore, provides for equality "by approximation" and not absolute equality. As a result, in practice the coding results in a much higher compression.
It should also be noted that the approximation of a series of pixel values by a linear function is known per se and is described, for example, in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 12 (May 1988). However, the use of the pixel values in the preceding line to increase the efficiency of the coding cannot be derived therefrom.

Method and apparatus for coding digital image data


A television receiver responds to a quadrature amplitude modulated (QAM) signal containing symbols mapped into a four quadrant grid-like constellation defined by I and Q axes. Demodulated I and Q components are processed by a carrier recovery network which adjusts the parameters of a locally generated carrier reference signal so as to maintain a desired orientation of the QAM constellation. The carrier recovery network includes a time multiplexed processor, including a signal multiplier, exhibiting plural operating modes in a digital phase locked loop exhibiting a loop delay of one symbol period.

In a QAM symbol transmission system of the type disclosed herein, in-phase "I" and quadrature phase "Q" signal components modulate respective cosine and sine carriers. A data symbol being transmitted is represented by both I and Q components. Each symbol may represent several bits, and the number of bits/symbol dictates the type of QAM system, i.e., 16 QAM, 32 QAM, etc. Each symbol is mapped into a prescribed location in a four quadrant grid-like constellation using a look-up table, with a prescribed number of symbols occupying assigned areas in each quadrant. Thus in a 32 QAM system each quadrant of the constellation contains 8 symbols at prescribed locations with respect to in-phase and quadrature phase I and Q axes. A form of differential coding may be used whereby certain bits designate the constellation quadrant in which the symbol is located, and certain bits designate the particular point in that quadrant assigned to the symbol. QAM systems of the type described are well known.
At a receiver, the QAM modulated carrier frequency may be offset relative to a carrier reference signal locally generated at the receiver. This carrier frequency offset is typically manifested by a dynamic rotation of the QAM constellation recovered at the receiver, and may be significantly reduced or eliminated by means of a phase locked loop (PLL) network. The PLL generates a frequency/phase correction signal for dynamically restoring (derotating) the QAM constellation to a correct orientation with the symbols in expected locations. A second order PLL is often preferred for correcting the described carrier offset since a second order PLL exhibits a wide tracking range for correcting a wide frequency deviation, e.g., up to a 60 KHz deviation for example, and typically is able to correct such deviation completely.
The stability of the PLL is a function of both loop delay as determined by the number of clock cycles in a digital phase locked loop (DPLL), and loop gain. High loop gain, is generally desirable but often degrades the stability of the loop. In addition, for a given gain, loop stability decreases as the number of clock cycles (delays) increases. Apparatus according to the present invention addresses this compromise involving loop delay and loop gain in a carrier recovery system.

Carrier recovery processor for a QAM television signal


A blind spot detection system for a vehicle includes a vehicle information detecting module for obtaining at least one vehicle information of the vehicle corresponding to an external environment, an alarm for generating an alarm signal, a plurality of sensors each for emitting a radio signal and receiving a reflecting signal of the transmitted radio signal to detect whether an object exists within a specific range and generate a detection result accordingly, and a control module for controlling the alarm to generate the alarm signal according to the at least one vehicle information and a plurality of detection results generated by the plurality of sensors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blind spot detection system, and more specifically, to a blind spot detection system capable of effectively simplifying a structure, reducing costs, and enhancing sensing accuracy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to the statistics, most of traffic accidents are related to drivers' distraction. If a driver is alerted at 0.5 seconds before being likely to have a collision, it can avoid at least 60% of rear-end collisions, 30% of head-on collisions and 50% of road ramp related traffic accidents. If alerted before one second, it can avoid 90% of traffic accidents. The statistics shows traffic accidents can be effectively reduced if the drives have enough reaction time. Therefore, a blind spot detection (BSD) system, which is a smart vehicle equipment, is developed for such needs.
The BSD system is a safety protection technique for vehicles, and utilizes a radar sensing technique of millimeter wave to achieve early warning. More specifically, the BSD system uses an image self-recognition method of machine vision, to detect obstacles in blind spot areas on left/right/front sides of a vehicle. If the BSD system detects that a specific obstacle exists in a blind spot area, the BSD system actively sends out a message of light or sound, for example, to a driver, so that the driver can determine a driving direction accordingly, to avoid a traffic accident due to the driver's careless or blind side of vision.
Generally speaking, the BSD system deploys sensors in rear and/or front bumpers of a vehicle, emits millimeter wave radio signals, and receives corresponding reflecting signals, to determine whether there is an obstacle, such as another vehicle or a person, within a specific range. Additionally, in order to improve determination accuracy to avoid erroneous determination or alarming, the BSD system requires vehicle related information such as velocity and angle deviation of the vehicle, to determine whether to start BSD or perform debugging; however, the vehicle related information is acquired from an electric control unit of the vehicle through a transmission line or wire. Under such a condition, connection of wires in the vehicle become more complex, especially for a modern smart vehicle, which is equipped with more and more functions and accessories (e.g., collision-warning detection radar, lane departure warning radar, reversing radar, anti-lock brake system, electric stable control system, etc.). Meanwhile, data robust is required during transmission, to avoid interferences from vehicle electric elements or environment noise. For example, ignition system, battery, wipers, electric windows, electric seats, air conditioner, radio, fuel supply system, clutch system, etc. can generate noise; or high-voltage, temperature/humidity changes of external environment may affect stability or accuracy of data transmission.
Moreover, data output from a vehicle electric control unit may not match a data specification of the BSD system, and it needs to transform the transmission data again, therefore delaying the data operation needed for real-time synchronization and causing time delays.
In conclusion, a known BSD system needs to obtain the vehicle related information such as the velocity and the angle deviation from the electric control unit inside the vehicle, and it increases the difficulty of deploying and also decreases the convenience. Therefore, an improvement for the prior art is necessary.


The invention relates to a sample collection kit (100) for collecting plant samples, in particular algae samples for biomedical applications, which sample collection kit comprises at least one sample container for holding plant samples, a plurality of sensors, by means of which sample data can be captured, a data-recording apparatus for recording the sample data, an arrangement of tools, which has collection tools designed for harvesting the plant samples and processing tools designed for processing the plant samples, an arrangement of devices, which has auxiliary devices that can be used in the collection, transport, and processing of the plant samples, a container apparatus (70), which is designed to hold the arrangement of tools and the arrangement of devices in isolation from the environment, and identification markings (80), which contain identification data and are applied to the at least one sample container (70) to the collection tools, and to the processing tools. The invention further relates to a sample collection method.

The invention relates to a sample collection kit which is adapted for collecting plant samples, in particular for collecting algae samples for biomedical applications. The invention further relates to a method for collecting plant samples using the sample collection kit. Applications of the invention include obtaining plant extracts, in particular for biomedical applications, e.g. obtaining alginate granulate.
Alginate is a polysaccharide which is obtained from marine algae and has numerous applications in chemical engineering, food technology and biomedicine. In biomedicine, alginate is used e.g. to produce implants. High demands in terms of the biofunctionality (in particular biocompatibility), purity and stability are placed on implants for medical applications, e.g. for use in human implant recipients. It is generally known, in order to satisfy these requirements, to subject alginates to predetermined cleaning processes in order to minimize fluctuations in the composition. It is furthermore known from DE 10 2005 040 872 B3 to document the collection location (geographic location of algae harvesting) and sample data from the collection location and from the transport of the algae to the consumer in order to minimize fluctuations in the biofunctionality of the alginates obtained from the algae.
Algae harvesting has hitherto been carried out manually by fishermen with reusable tools. The fishermen also perform initial preparation of the collected algae and, where applicable, drying. After harvesting, the collected algae are sent in a sample container, which can be provided e.g. according to DE 10 2005 040 872 B3 with sensors and a data logger, to the consumer, by whom the alginate is obtained from the dried algae, e.g. for the production of an implant.
It has, however, been shown in practice that alginates, even if their collection and transport conditions are documented, can have undesirable fluctuations in biofunctionality. The approval of plant products for medical applications are furthermore linked to strict conditions, in particular guidelines for quality assurance of the production processes and environment (e.g. GMP, "Good Manufacturing Practice") which, as a result of the previous harvesting and transport conditions, can only be satisfied with difficulty and with reduced reliability.
The stated problems not only arise in the collection of algae and the obtaining of alginate, but also in the collection of other plant samples, e.g. for the production of active ingredients.
The objective of the invention is to provide an improved sample collection kit and an improved method for collecting plant samples, in particular algae samples, with which disadvantages of conventional techniques are avoided. The sample collection kit and the method should in particular enable the obtaining of alginate with increased reliability and reproducibility of the collection and processing of algae, improved reproducibility of the composition and/or reduced fluctuations in biofunctionality. The satisfaction of standards for quality assurance, such as e.g. GMP standards, should furthermore be improved.
These objectives are solved by a sample collection kit and a method for collecting plant samples of the invention.

Sample collection kit and method for collecting plant samples, in particular algae samples

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e. V.