The present invention relates to compositions for the oxidative dyeing of keratin fibres, comprising a medium suitable for dyeing and a compound 2-(amino or substituted amino)-3,5-substituted phenol compounds according to the Formula (I), as defined herein.

Dyeing of keratin fibres, particularly hair, is known. The desire to alter the colours of hair is not a facet of modern times. Hair colour is altered to accommodate changes in fashion, style, and personal preference. However, obtaining good colouring and wearability without undesirable side effects to the hair and skin, remains an elusive goal. A suitable method of colouring hair is through oxidative dyeing. A variety of colours may be obtained, including yellows. Although the inventors choose not to speculate on the veracity of the adage according to which reputedly "blondes have more fin," they do recognize that yellow dyes themselves are desired.
Yellow dyes, particularly those used in colouring hair, should provide good colouring, including intensity of colouration and/or fastness, and be able to perform in spite of external agents, such as light, particularly sunlight, adverse weather conditions, washing and styling, permanent waving, perspiration, and/or friction. Such dyes should also be favourable as to toxicology and dermatology. They should be useful in providing a wide range of shades when combined with other ingredients and process stages, too.
The use of 2-aminophenol (also known as ortho-aminophenol or OAP) and some derivatives thereof, for yellow dyeing of keratin is known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,392 (Wella, AG) discloses 2-amino-5-methyl-phenol, WO 02/058,657 (Clairol, Inc.) discloses 2-(amino or amino substituted)-5-methyl-phenol, and DE 202,06,274U1 (Wella, AG) discloses 2,3-diaminophenol derivatives, each for use in providing yellow colours, alone and in combination with other colouring agents.
However, many previous oxidative dye compounds and combinations of such compounds resulting in yellow colourations have demonstrated poor wearability and stability to light, and some have recently experienced objections to their use from a toxicological standpoint. OAP, in particular, has been found to provide poor yellow, e.g. with off-tones. One alternative approach has been to use direct non-oxidative dyes alone or in combination with lessened quantities of oxidative dyes. However, this approach has been found to result in poor wash fastness upon shampooing, among other undesirable effects. Thus, there remains a need to provide further oxidative dye alternatives to known dyes, preferably yellow dyes, and compositions for dyeing of hair comprising them, that produce good colouration, preferably a bright yellow colouration, that exhibit good dye uptake by the hair, are useful in providing shades or colours which are stable over a reasonable period of time, provide good wash fastness and wearability, good selectivity, do not undergo significant change on exposure to light, shampooing or acid perspiration, and/or exhibit a favourable safety profile.
EP 848942 describes substituted anilines and phenols in hair colourant applications. DE 3440263 describes copper complexes which are prepared from starting materials and intermediates including -2-aminophenol 3,5 disulphonic acid.
It has now been surprisingly found that by placing substituents in the 3 and 5 position of 2-(amino and substituted amino) phenols compounds exhibiting one or more of the aforementioned desirable qualities may be provided. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the addition of such substituents in these positions may provide similar improved yellow colour formation and wash fastness with improved toxicology via steric hinderance of the active groups (—OH, NH2) versus previous 2-amino phenols and 2-amino phenol derivatives.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hair dyeing compositions comprising 2-(amino or substituted amino)-3-5-substituted phenol compounds and use thereof


Methods of removing odors, particularly odors within enclosed environments are provided which employ nanocrystalline metal oxide and metal hydroxide particles. The nanocrystalline particles are dispersed within an enclosed space so as to contact exposed surfaces located within the space such as walls, floors, upholstery, and the like and adsorb odor-causing materials located within the enclosed space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally pertains to methods of treating odors, particularly odors and present within enclosed environments, using nanocrystalline metal oxide and metal hydroxide particles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Common sources of malodors include smoke/tobacco, human and pet excrements, mold and mildew, bacteria, food, beverages (spoiled milk), vomit, and dirty clothes. Although malodors have a multitude of different sources, chemically speaking, most malodors are organic (carbon containing compounds) in nature. Malodors, can easily permeate, penetrate, impregnate and cling to organic surfaces within enclosed environments such as cars and buildings.
Various types of odor problems occur in homes. Some of the leading causes of nuisance odors are the result of the biological contamination. When these microbial organisms decay and rot, they give off gases and noxious fumes. Unfortunately these are not just aesthetic problems. Health concerns ranging from nausea to death can arise from acute and repeated exposure to these and other odor causing compounds. Indoor air pollution is now considered by the EPA and Congress to be America's No. 1 environmental health problem. It is estimated that 4-5 million Americans already suffer from the effects of chemically induced environmental illnesses. Tightly sealed buildings and homes may be more energy efficient but can trap pollutants and microbes indoors causing allergies, odors, mold, and illness.
Furthermore, the EPA conducted a 17-year study and found that women working in their homes had a 55% greater risk of dying from cancer than those who worked in an office, primarily due to the use of ordinary household cleaners. Some of the products found in American homes have chemical ingredients that are potentially harmful. These products include oven cleaners, paint removers, pesticides, solvents, drain cleaners, and more.
Treatment of malodors is generally approached in two ways: masking or elimination. If odor masking is used, the source of the mal odor is not eliminated and will eventually return once the "masking" agent is removed. In many cases, the malodor is so overpowering that a masking agent is ineffective. Treatment by elimination, on the other hand, removes the malodor by removing its source. Elimination can be done by physically replacing the contaminated surface or by removing the malodor-causing agent itself.
Numerous compositions and methods have been developed for reducing odors from a variety of sources; however, they have had only limited success because the odors associated with a wide range of sources are complex and can comprise a mixture of different substances including, but not limited to inorganic bases such as ammonia, organic acids such as butylic acid and isovaleric acid, and neutral molecules such as acetaldehyde and methyl mercaptan. The most common ways of reducing malodors caused by these substances include: (I) masking the odor using an odor-masking aroma, (ii) adsorption of the odor using inorganic materials, such as activated carbon, sodium bicarbonate, and talcum powder, and (iii) using a composite, such as chlorine dioxide, for reducing bacteria which produce the malodorous substances. However, these methods present the following problems: (I) the odor is not eliminated, but only masked, (ii) the adsorption capability of these traditional sorbents is limited, (iii) by using the oxidizing agent, a secondary pollutant can be produced, and (iv) the sorbents can be effective only under certain conditions such as a wet environment.

Treatment of odors using nanocrystalline metal oxides


Insulating cup includes an inner body and an outer body. The inner body has an inner sidewall defining a top opening and an inner bottom portion, and the inner sidewall includes a first circumferential rib and a second circumferential rib. The outer body has an outer sidewall surrounding at least a substantial portion of the inner sidewall and engaging the first circumferential rib and the second circumferential rib to define an insulating space therebetween, and the outer body has an outer bottom portion disposed below the inner bottom portion to define a surface-engaging edge.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosed subject matter relates to a disposable cup for serving beverages, such as water and coffee, and food items, such as ice cream. Particularly, the present disclosed subject matter is directed to a cup having a multi-layer structure to provide improved insulating properties, among other benefits.
2. Description of Related Art
Some known types of disposable cups include those made from polystyrene, expanded polystyrene or paper. Although polystyrene cups can be aesthetically pleasing, they can have relatively poor insulating properties compared to other cups, and thus are mainly used for holding cold items. Condensation can form on the outside of a polystyrene cup containing a cold item, thereby making the cup wet, cold, and/or uncomfortable to use and/or hold for prolonged periods of time. The condensation can also make the polystyrene cup slippery, thus making the cup even more difficult and/or uncomfortable to hold. Further, polystyrene cups are generally not biodegradable or easily recyclable, and thus can be considered environmentally unfriendly.
Another type of cup, made from expanded polystyrene, or EPS (e.g., a Styrofoam® cup), can have improved thermal insulation properties compared to other cups, and thus can maintain the temperature of a drink, either hot or cold, for a longer amount of time. Expanded polystyrene cups can be relatively inexpensive, and can be comfortable to handle as the exterior of the cup remains relatively close to ambient temperature regardless of the temperature of the item inside the cup. However, expanded polystyrene is also generally not biodegradable or easily recyclable, and thus can also be considered environmentally unfriendly. Additionally, as expanded polystyrene cups are typically printed after they have been formed, and the relatively rough surface of the cup can be incompatible with high-resolution printing, relatively slow and costly processes are typically used for printing on expanded polystyrene cups.
Yet another type of disposable cups, made from paper, are generally recyclable and biodegradable, and thus can be considered environmentally friendly. However, paper cups, particularly single-layer paper cups, can have relatively poor thermal insulation properties, and thus, an item contained therein tends to maintain its temperature for a relatively short amount of time. Paper cups can also be uncomfortable to handle as a hot or cold drink can uncomfortably heat or cool a person's hand. Additionally, like polystyrene cups, a cold drink can cause condensation to appear on the outside of the paper cup, making the cup slippery and/or difficult to hold. Furthermore, paper cups constructed with a single wall or layer can be relatively fragile, and thus, paper cups can susceptible to weakening after exposure to liquids.
Multi-layer paper cups can provide improved thermal insulation and increased strength compared to single-layer paper cups. Multi-layer cups generally include an outer layer and an inner layer, and can include an insulating layer therebetween. Although relatively strong and thermally efficient, multi-layer cups can be relatively expensive if a more complicated manufacturing processes and excess material is required. Some examples of multi-layer cups, including paper cups, that attempt to address these concerns can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,552,841; 6,663,926; 6,598,786; and 6,193,098; U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2008/0121681 and 2008/0041860; and International Publication No. WO2011/003569, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. However, there remains an opportunity for improvement for a disposable cup that is strong, well-insulated and inexpensive to manufacture.


A knotless suture anchor for reattachment of tissue to bone features a barbed body having a Y-shaped slot formed distally for capturing a length of suture. The suture is passed through the tissue to be reattached, and a simple knot formed in the suture is captured in the slot on the suture anchor. The anchor is installed with the captured suture into a pre-formed pilot hole to draw the tissue to the bone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for tissue repair, and more particularly to techniques using knotless suture anchors for reattaching soft tissue to bone.
2. Description of the Related Art
When soft tissues, such as tendons or ligaments, detach from bone, it is often necessary to reconnect the structures surgically. Techniques and devices that have been developed generally involve tying the soft tissue with suture attached to an anchor secured in a hole provided in the bone tissue. Reattachment with suture involves knot-tying, which can present difficulties in completing the knots and applying appropriate tension, especially when operating on small joints such as those in the hand and wrist. It would be beneficial to reattach tissue torn from bone using minimal knot tying.


Disclosed is a rigging for a saddle, a saddle containing this rigging and a method of making the rigging wherein the rigging has a slot in the rigging material, the slot being large enough for at least a part of a stirrup leather or stirrup strap loop to pass through the slot, the rigging slot having a width for limiting the movement forward and/or rearward of a stirrup that is supported by the stirrup strap loop, the slot in the rigging located spaced downward on the saddle from a slot in a saddle tree of the saddle that supports the stirrup leather or stirrup strap loop.

The location of the stirrups while a person is riding an animal, such as a horse or other equine, is important to the stability of the rider, particularly when riding fast, over rough terrain, turning, or going down steep grades. For example, in certain circumstances the rider has a tendency to push the stirrups backward and when this happens the rider's upper body is moved forward and is in a very unstable position that often causes falls from the saddle. Some have suggested and used extra parts for the saddle to try to reduce this undesirable cause and results, but those means have increased the cost of the saddles and usually distracted from the esthetics of the saddle. For example, something called the Murdoch Method is known that uses a product called Equiband that must be tied, or otherwise attached, to each stirrup and then passes over the back of the saddle to prevent or reduce the tendency for the stirrups to be moved forward parallel to the animal. This method and product makes the saddle unsightly to say the least and tends to be too limiting since it is important that the rider is able to move the stirrups forward and backward to some degree in different circumstances.
What is needed is a saddle that limits stirrup movement generally parallel to the sides of the animal on which the saddle is mounted without adding significant manufacturing cost to the saddle and without distracting or reducing the appearance of the saddle.

Saddle rigging limiting stirrup strap movement, and methods


An apparatus for estimating a parameter, the apparatus includes: an optical fiber; a component in communication with the optical fiber and configured to interact with light at a wavelength related to the parameter; and an optical interrogator in communication with the optical fiber and configured to: illuminate the optical fiber with a series of light inputs, each light input in the series having a substantially constant unique optical wavelength and swept-frequency amplitude modulation; and receive a resulting light signal associated with each light input in the series; wherein the resulting light signals associated with the series of light inputs are used to estimate the parameter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to interrogating an optical fiber to obtain information about the fiber or devices in communication with the fiber. More particularly, the interrogating is performed using optical reflectometry in a borehole penetrating the earth.
2. Description of the Related Art
In exploration and production of hydrocarbons, it is often necessary to drill a borehole into the earth to gain access to the hydrocarbons. Equipment and structures, such as borehole casings for example, are generally disposed into a borehole as part of the exploration and production. Unfortunately, the environment presented deep into the borehole can place extreme demands upon the equipment and structures disposed therein. For example, the equipment and structures can be exposed to high temperatures, pressures, and vibrations that can effect their operation and longevity.
In order to monitor the health of the equipment and structures disposed downhole, a fiber-optic distributed sensing system (DSS) may be used. Sensing fiber (an optical fiber containing sensors or in itself functioning as a sensor) or sensors may be attached to the equipment and structures at various locations usually at different depths in the borehole. The sensors can measure temperature, pressure, strain, and other parameters. By measuring strain for example, the system can determine if borehole casing is being deformed.
In one type of DSS, swept-wavelength (of light) interferometry can be used to interrogate a series of fiber Bragg gratings. Each fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in the series acts as a sensor. The optical fiber, in one example, is affixed to casing or wrapped along a length of the casing. As each FBG is exposed to a changing condition, the optical characteristics of each FBG will change in relation to the changed condition. A sensor interrogator is used to measure the optical characteristics of each of the FBGs in order to ascertain the changing conditions.
With conventional swept-wavelength Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR), also referred to as coherent OFDR, a swept-wavelength light source is coupled to an optical fiber. The optical fiber includes a reference reflector and a series of FBGs. The wavelength of light from the light source is swept to interrogate each of the FBGs. The reference reflector forms an interferometric cavity, such as a Fabry-Perot cavity, with each individual FBG.
As the wavelength of light from the light source is swept, an interferogram is created with a frequency for each interferometric cavity that is proportional to the length of the cavity for each FBG. Thus, spectral data from each FBG is modulated with a unique frequency, which ultimately permits individual inspection of the FBGs through conventional signal processing techniques. Converting the spectral data into the spatial frequency domain through a Fast Fourier Transform yields a view of the fiber with one set of measurements that includes the amplitude of the reflected light as a function of distance, where the distance is derived from the time. In this manner, each FBG can be monitored and treated as an individual sensor.
Unfortunately, the same vibration that can adversely affect the equipment disposed in a borehole can also adversely affect the conventional coherent OFDR system. The vibrations can affect light signals in the optical fiber, thereby, limiting the usable length of the optical fiber. The longer fiber lengths especially provide more opportunity for light interaction with the vibration, resulting generally, in increased distortion with longer lengths.
The conventional coherent OFDR system can also have problems relating to nonlinear tuning of the wavelengths of light transmitted into the fiber. These nonlinearities can reduce the fidelity of the measurements.
Therefore, what are needed are techniques to interrogate an optical fiber that reduce susceptibility to vibration of the optical fiber or to the tuning rate nonlinearities of the light used for the interrogation.

Combined swept-carrier and swept-modulation frequency optical frequency domain reflectometry


A scanner has a sensor assembly having a sensor to receive light from an image, and which assembly generates an image signal corresponding to the image, which image signal has a plurality of color channel components representative of different spectral regions. A media holder holds a media carrying the image. An illuminator to illuminate the image of a held media such that light from the image falls on the sensor. The illuminator has a plurality of sets of light emitting elements to provide illumination in all of the spectral regions, each set having a different spectral output with at least a first set having plural sub-sets of different spectral output within a first one of the spectral region represented by the color channels, the number of different spectral output elements being greater than the number of color channels. The illuminator also has an integrator between the array and the media holder so as to improve uniformity of the illumination from the illuminator which illuminates the image. A method of calibrating a scanner, and a method of scanning images using a scanner are also provided.

Scanners convert hard copy analog images on a media into image signals typically in the form of digital data. The media can be either transmissive (for example, a photographic negative) or reflective (for example, paper). The use of scanners has become widespread for a variety of applications, including storing, manipulating, transmitting and displaying or printing copies of the images. For example, images captured in photographic media can be converted to digital data and stored on compact discs for readout and display as a video image or for printing with various types of color printers. In order to capture the photographic image signal, an image frame is scanned with light, such as a line of light, and the light transmitted through the image is detected, typically as three primary color light intensity signals, and then digitized. The digitized values may be formatted to a standard for video display and stored on compact disc, magnetic media, or other suitable storage. Scanners take a variety of forms and the various common aspects of film digitizing, particularly line illumination and linear CCD-based digitizers, are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,346. For example, in one common type of scanner a one-dimensional sensor (typically referenced as a line sensor or one-dimensional array) is used and the illumination source directs a line of light onto the image bearing media, which is then moved one line at a time to scan the complete image line by line. In another scanner type, a two-dimensional sensor (typically referenced as a two dimensional or area array) is used, and the illumination source illuminates the entire image at the same time, so that the complete image is scanned in a single exposure. Scanners with area arrays are simpler to construct and are often preferred. However, scanners with line sensors provide higher resolution at lower equipment cost. A sensor assembly of a typical color scanner includes both the sensor and suitable electronics, so as to provide a multi-color channel output signal representing the scanned image, with each color channel corresponding to a different spectral region (for example, red, green and blue channels, or cyan, magenta and yellow channels).
In order to obtain image signals that accurately represent a scanned image, the illumination source used in a scanner must meet certain requirements. One is that the light must be of sufficiently high intensity. While this can be obtained by using higher-powered light sources, this leads to greater heat generation with required means to control such heat, and often to a light source with a shorter life. The illumination source should also provide uniform intensity of illumination so that the signal-to-noise ratio does not vary across the extent of the image of a media being scanned. Although correction to the image signal can be used to remove the effects of such non-uniformity, doing so causes regions of low illumination to be noisier than regions of high illumination from the higher gain applied there. Additionally, since the media to be illuminated may contain defects such as scratches, it is well known that the visibility of such defects may be reduced by distributing the light onto the media at angles of incidence up to +-45 degrees. This is generally accomplished either by using a diffusing element such as ground glass or a diffuse integrating chamber with or without an optical waveguide in close proximity to the media. Many of these desirable features (such as intensity and uniformity of illumination) become more difficult to obtain in area array scanners.
It is possible to use as a light source, a broadband, white light source with appropriate filters to remove undesirable spectral components. One such known prior art arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, a broadband white light source, in the form of an incandescent light bulb 2, is positioned in a reflector 4 to direct light to an multi-layer interference filter 6 (sometimes referred to as dichroic filters). Interference filter 6 is constructed to reject infrared (to which a scanner sensor may be sensitive). The filter may also be designed to improve color balance by removing unwanted components of visible light. Color balance is the balance between the red, green and blue channels. Such interference filters are expensive to construct. Light from filter 6 then enters a non-imaging optic light concentrator cone 8 and through an input port 11 of a integrating chamber 50. The inside of integrating chamber 50 is made of a diffuse reflective material so that a relatively uniform beam of light leaves an exit port 12 toward a media to be scanned, then onto an area array sensor.
The above illumination system is relatively effective. However, it is relatively fixed in the sense of producing one particular output, unless one adds mechanical filter wheels or similar arrangements to provide some degree of freedom over light source control. Thus, light source control beyond color balance or total exposure, is not readily obtained.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,406 discloses a line scanner in which lines of differently colored light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used to provide lines of illumination of different colors. The relative ON times of the different colored LEDs may be adjusted to provide a desired color balance between the red, green and blue lines, which correspond to the red, green and blue color channels obtained from the sensor. Again, light source control beyond color balance, is not readily obtained from such a line scanner. U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,379 discloses a scanner in which relatively complex different shaping filter sets, are used to cause a scanner spectral sensitivity to overlap the dye absorption peaks in a negative or positive image. U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,359 discloses a scanner in which, for a given film type, color balance, IR rejection and notch filtering requirements are obtained with a single interference filter. The scanners of both '379 and '359 patents then, use different filters for different films, thereby requiring mechanical filter changing arrangements, and are limited in their ability to affect scanner spectral sensitivity by virtue of filter technology. That is, filters inherently can only subtract light obtained from a light source. Furthermore, some filters can be expensive to construct. Additionally, filtering inherently wastes power and may cause unnecessary heat generation.
It would be desirable to provide a scanner which has any one or more of the following properties, namely the scanner sensitivity can not only be controlled for color balance between color channels, but also provide a readily shaped sensitivity spectrum within one more color channels which is not limited by filter technology, which can very readily and accurately alter the shape of the scanner sensitivity spectrum for different media to be scanned without the need for cumbersome filter changes, which has relatively high power efficiency, and which can still provide good light uniformity to an image to be scanned, and which illumination source generates relatively little heat.


An image coding apparatus that makes possible the parallelization of intra prediction, and outputs coded data that can be decoded by an image decoding apparatus compliant with the H.264 standard. The image coding apparatus performs orthogonal transformation, quantization, inverse quantization, inverse orthogonal transformation, and intra prediction on all blocks obtained when a single macroblock is divided into plural blocks, and includes: a predicted block control unit that causes all of the blocks to be intra predicted using at least one of the intra prediction modes specified in the H.264 standard on at least some of the blocks, in an order different from the raster scan order specified in the H.264 standard; and an sorting buffer that outputs, in the raster scan order, all the blocks intra predicted under the control of the predicted block control unit.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image coding apparatus which performs orthogonal transformation, quantization, inverse quantization, inverse orthogonal transformation, and intra-prediction on blocks into which a macroblock has been divided.
(2) Description of the Related Art
H.264 (also called MPEG-4 AVC) has been standardized as a system for realizing nearly twice the coding efficiency of conventional image coding systems such as MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (refer to ITU-T Recommendation H.264(March 2005); "Advanced video coding for generic audiovisual services", ITU-T. H.264 is a hybrid system based on orthogonal transformation and motion compensation, and in that respect is similar to conventional systems. However, with H.264, there is a high degree of freedom regarding what coding tools to use when coding each element (blocks, macroblocks, and so on), and high coding efficiency is realized through the collective effects of those coding tools.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional image coding apparatus. To make the descriptions easier, only constituent elements related to intra prediction are shown in FIG. 1, and thus a motion prediction unit, a selection unit that selects either intra prediction or motion prediction, a deblocking filter, and the like are omitted from FIG. 1.
This conventional image coding apparatus includes a block division unit 11, a subtraction unit 12, an orthogonal transformation unit (T) 13, a quantization unit (Q) 14, a coding unit 15, an inverse quantization unit (iQ) 16, an inverse orthogonal transformation unit (iT) unit 17, an addition unit 18, a frame memory 19, an intra prediction unit (IPD) 20, and a rate control unit 21.
Considering a moving picture that is made up of continuous pictures (single coding units that include both frame and field), each picture is, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, made up of a single luminance signal (a Y signal 31) and two chrominance signals (a Cr signal 32 and a Cb signal 33), in the case where the pictures are in 4:2:0 format; the image size of the chrominance signals is half that of the luminance signal in both the vertical and horizontal directions.
In addition, each picture is divided into blocks, and coding is performed on a block-by-block basis. These blocks are called "macroblocks." A macroblock is made up of a single Y signal block 41, shown in FIG. 3A, which is of 16×16 pixels; and a Cr signal block 42 and a Cb signal block 43, shown in FIGS. 3B and C, which are of 8×8 pixels respectively, and which spatially match the Y signal block 41 (refer to ITU-T Recommendation H.264(March 2005); "Advanced video coding for generic audiovisual services", ITU-T.
Each picture is divided by the block division unit 11 into input macroblocks, and the input macroblocks are inputted into the subtraction unit 12. For each pixel in each position, the subtraction unit 12 subtracts the pixel value in a predicted macroblock generated by the intra prediction unit (IPD) 20 from the pixel value in the inputted macroblock, and outputs the resultant as a differential macroblock. The differential macroblock is inputted into the orthogonal transformation unit (T) 13, which performs orthogonal transformation on the differential macroblock. It should be noted that while the size of the block on which orthogonal transformation is performed is 8×8 pixels in the MPEG system, 4×4 pixels is the basic size used in H.264.
The orthogonal transformation unit (T) 13 first divides the differential macroblock into 24 4×4 pixel blocks ("51-0" to "51-15", "52-0" to "52-3" and "53-0" to "53-3"), as shown in FIGS. 4A to C, and then performs orthogonal transformation on each pixel block. Note that in the case where the differential macroblock is made up of intra 16×16 pixels, as shall be described later, the orthogonal transformation unit (T) 13 further configures, per signal element, orthogonal blocks ("51-16", "52-4", and "53-4") in which only the DC element of each 4×4 orthogonally-transformed block is gathered, and performs orthogonal transformation on these blocks. Each transform coefficient within the orthogonally-transformed block is inputted into the quantization unit (Q) 14.
The quantization unit (Q) 14 quantizes the transform coefficients within each orthogonally-transformed block in accordance with quantization parameters inputted from the rate control unit 21. The quantized orthogonal transform coefficients are inputted into the coding unit 15 and coded. With H.264, the coding unit 15 codes the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients through variable-length coding; for example, through Context-based Adaptive Variable-Length Coding (CAVLC) or Context-based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC).
The coding unit 15 codes the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients in the above manner, codes macroblock type information and a prediction mode, which shall be mentioned later, and outputs the resultant as a stream.
The quantized orthogonal transform coefficients are supplied to the coding unit 15, and are also inputted into the inverse quantization unit (iQ) 16. The inverse quantization unit (iQ) 16 performs inverse quantization on the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients in accordance with quantization parameters inputted from the rate control unit 21. An orthogonally-transformed block is thereby reconstructed. The reconstructed orthogonally-transformed block is inverse orthogonally-transformed by the inverse orthogonal transform unit (iT) 17, and a differential macroblock is thereby reconstructed. The reconstructed differential macroblock is inputted, along with the predicted macroblock generated by the intra prediction unit (IPD) 20, into the addition unit 18.
For each pixel in each position, the addition unit 18 adds the pixel value in the reconstructed differential macroblock with the pixel value in the predicted macroblock, thereby generating a reproduction macroblock. As this reproduction macroblock is used in intra prediction, it is stored in the frame memory 19.
Next, a prediction method and prediction modes used when the intra prediction unit (IPD) 20 generates a predicted macroblock shall be described.
Intra prediction is a method for predicting pixel values within a macroblock using coded pixels within a frame. With the H.264 coding system, two types of block sizes are prepared as basic units for prediction. These types are macroblock types called "intra 4×4 prediction" and "intra 16×16 prediction."
Furthermore, there are 9 types of prediction modes for intra 4×4 prediction macroblock types, and 4 types of prediction modes for intra 16×16 macroblock types, and the prediction modes can be selected on a macroblock-by-macroblock basis (for example, in intra 4×4 prediction, per every 4×4 pixel macroblock).
FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an arrangement of pixels to be predicted (16 pixels, or "a" to "p") and pixels (reconstructed adjacent pixels, of which there are 12 pixels, or "A" to "L") used in prediction (decoded after coding and reproduced), in the intra 4×4 prediction type. Here, the pixels to be predicted ("a" to "p") are pixels within the macroblock to be coded that has been outputted by the block division unit 11; the reconstructed adjacent pixels ("A" to "L") are pixels of a block or macroblock reproduced after being decoded, and are read out from the memory 19.
FIG. 5B is a diagram showing prediction directions in intra 4×4 prediction. The pixel values of pixels to be predicted are calculated using pixel values of the reconstructed adjacent pixels, in accordance with a prediction direction, using a standardized arithmetic expression (refer to ITU-T Recommendation H.264(March 2005); "Advanced video coding for generic audiovisual services", ITU-T. Prediction directions are identified by mode numbers (mode 0 to mode 8). FIGS. 5C to 5K each show a mode number and a corresponding prediction direction. With a block 60 in mode 0 shown in FIG. 5C, the prediction direction is vertical; with a block 61 in mode 1 shown in FIG. 5D, the prediction direction is horizontal; and with a block 62 is mode 2 shown in FIG. 5E, the prediction uses an average (DC). In addition, with a block 63 in mode 3 shown in FIG. 5F, the prediction direction is diagonal down-left; with a block 64 in mode 4 shown in FIG. 5G, the prediction direction is diagonal down-right; and with a block 65 in mode 5 shown in FIG. 5H, the prediction direction is vertical-right. Finally, with a block 66 in mode 6 shown in FIG. 5I, the prediction direction is horizontal-down; with a block 67 in mode 7 shown in FIG. 5J, the prediction direction is vertical-left; and with a block 68 in mode 8 shown in FIG. 5K, the prediction direction is horizontal-up.
Intra 4×4 prediction is applied to the luminance signal. For example, if the prediction value of a pixel is "P", the prediction values P in each mode are as shown below. Here, adjacent pixels "A" to "M" shown in FIGS. 5C to K and used in prediction are reconstructed pixels that have already been reproduced after being decoded. However, the value of the pixel "D" may be substituted for pixels "E" to "H" temporarily in the case where pixels "E" to "H" have not yet been reconstructed or belong to a different slice or different frame from the 4×4 block.
In mode 0 (vertical), as shown by the block 60 in FIG. 5C, it is possible to predict the values of each pixel within the block 60 when reference pixels "A", "B", "C", and "D" are present; each prediction value P is calculated as follows:
a, e, i, m:P = Ab, f, j, n:P = Bc, g, k, o:P = Cd, h, l, p:P = D
In mode 1 (horizontal), as shown by the block 61 in FIG. 5D, it is possible to predict the values of each pixel within the block 61 when reference pixels "I", "J", "K", and "L" are present; each prediction value P is calculated as follows:
a, b, c, d:P = Ie, f, g, h:P = Ji, j, k, l:P = Km, n, o, p:P = L
In mode 2 (DC), as shown by the block 62 in FIG. 5E, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 62 is as follows when reference pixels "A", "B", "C", "D", "I", "J", "K", and "L" are present:P=(A+B+C+D+I+J+K+L+4)>>3
The prediction value P for each pixel in the block 62 is as follows when only reference pixels "I", "J", "K", and "L" are present:P=(I+J+K+L+2)>>2
In addition, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 62 is as follows when only reference pixels "A", "B", "C", and "D" are present:P=(A+B+D+C+2)>>2
Furthermore, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 62 is as follows when none of reference pixels "A", "B", "C", "D", "I", "J", "K", and "L" are present:P=128
In mode 3 (diagonal down-left), as shown by the block 63 in FIG. 5F, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 63 is as follows when reference pixels "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", and "H" are present:
a:P = (A + 2B + C + 2)>>2b, e:P = (B + 2C + D + 2)>>2c, f, i:P = (C + 2D + E + 2)>>2d, g, j, m:P = (D + 2E + F + 2)>>2h, k, n:P = (E + 2F + G + 2)>>2l, o:P = (F + 2G + H + 2)>>2p:P = (G + 3H + 2)>>2
In mode 4 (diagonal down-right), as shown by the block 64 in FIG. 5G, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 64 is as follows when reference pixels "A", "B", "C", "D", "I", "J", "K", "L", and "M" are present:
a, f, k, p:P = (A + 2M + I + 2)>>2b, g, l:P = (M + 2A + B + 2)>>2c, h:P = (A + 2B + C + 2)>>2d:P = (B + 2C + D + 2)>>2e, j, o:P = (M + 2I + J + 2)>>2i, n:P = (I + 2J + K + 2)>>2m:P = (J + 2K + L + 2)>>2
In mode 5 (vertical-right), as shown by the block 65 in FIG. 5H, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 65 is as follows when reference pixels "A", "B", "C", "D", "I", "J", "K", "L", and "M" are present:
a, j:P = (M + A + 1)>>1b, k:P = (A + B + 1)>>1c, l:P = (B + C + 1)>>1d:P = (C + D + 1)>>1e, n:P = (I + 2M + A + 2)>>2f, o:P = (M + 2A + B + 2)>>2g, p:P = (A + 2B + C + 2)>>2h:P = (B + 2C + D + 2)>>2i:P = (J + 2I + M + 2)>>2m:P = (K + 2J + I + 2)>>2
In mode 6 (horizontal-down), as shown by the block 66 in FIG. 5I, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 66 is as follows when reference pixels "A", "B", "C", "D", "I", "J", "K", "L", and "M" are present:
a, g:P = (M + I + 1)>>1e, k:P = (I + J + 1)>>1i, o:P = (J + K + 1)>>1m:P = (K + L + 1)>>1f, l:P = (M + 2I + J + 2)>>2j, p:P = (I + 2J + K + 2)>>2n:P = (J + 2K + L + 2)>>2b, h:P = (I + 2M + A + 2)>>2c:P = (B + 2A + M + 2)>>2d:P = (C + 2B + A + 2)>>2
In mode 7 (vertical-left), as shown by the block 67 in FIG. 5J, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 67 is as follows when reference pixels "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", and "H" are present:
a:P = (A + B + 1)>>1b, i:P = (B + C + 1)>>1c, j:P = (C + D + 1)>>1d, k:P = (D + E + 1)>>1l:P = (E + F + 1)>>1e:P = (A + 2B + C + 2)>>2f, m:P = (B + 2C + D + 2)>>2g, n:P = (C + 2D + E + 2)>>2h, o:P = (D + 2E + F + 2)>>2p:P = (E + 2F + G + 2)>>2
In mode 8 (horizontal-up), as shown by the block 68 in FIG. 5K, the prediction value P for each pixel in the block 68 is as follows when reference pixels "I", "J", "K", and "L" are present:
a:P = (I + J + 1)>>1e, c:P = (J + K + 1)>>1i, g:P = (K + L + 1)>>1b:P = (I + 2J + K + 2)>>2f, d:P = (J + 2K + L + 2)>>2j, h:P = (K + 3L + 2)>>2k, l, m, n, o, p:P = L
In addition, regarding the luminance signal, 4 prediction modes (mode 0 (vertical) (A); mode 1 (horizontal) (B); mode 2 (DC average) (C); and mode 3 (plane) (D)) are defined for intra 16×16 prediction in the H.264 standard, and are shown in FIGS. 6A through D (refer to ITU-T Recommendation H.264(March 2005); "Advanced video coding for generic audiovisual services", ITU-T. Hence, there is a total of 13 prediction modes, including the intra 4×4 prediction modes mentioned above, from which the optimal prediction mode can be selected and used in coding.
Regarding the chrominance signals, 4 prediction modes (prediction modes using the same prediction directions as in intra 16×16 prediction for the luminance signal; however, mode 0 is DC, mode 1 is horizontal, mode 2 is vertical, and mode 3 is plane) are defined for an 8×8 pixel block, and it is possible to code the chrominance signals independently from the luminance signal.
In intra prediction, intra 8×8 prediction is added for the luminance signal as a Fidelity Range Extension. Intra 8×8 prediction has been introduced in combination with the addition of encoding tools for orthogonal transformation of 8×8 pixels, with the goal of improving the coding efficiency of high-definition moving pictures. With intra 8×8 prediction, macroblocks are divided into 4 blocks, each block is smoothed with a 3-tap low-pass filter, and prediction is carried out using one of the 9 modes, in the same manner as in intra 4×4 prediction (refer to ITU-T Recommendation H.264(March 2005); "Advanced video coding for generic audiovisual services", ITU-T.
Note that for each predicted block predicted in each mode of each prediction type, the position and size of that block is compared to the position and size of the corresponding target block outputted by the block division unit 11, and an evaluation value is calculated for each predicted block based on an evaluation function that, for example, sums the absolute value of the difference between the two blocks. Based on each calculated evaluation value, a predicted block of the best prediction mode, which is the prediction mode estimated to have the lowest coding amount, is selected, and that predicted block is outputted to the subtraction unit 12 and the adding unit 18.
In addition, the intra prediction unit (IPD) 20 outputs information relating to the mode number of the selected prediction mode to the coding unit 15.
In H.264 coding, each 4×4 pixel block included in a macroblock is, by default, coded in the zigzag raster scan order indicated by the numbers in the blocks in FIG. 7. With intra prediction, it is necessary to code and decode the images in the surrounding blocks in advance in order to predict a certain block. For example, to carry out intra prediction on the number 6 block in FIG. 7 through all intra prediction modes (9 modes in intra 4×4 prediction), reference pixels of the decoded image in the number 3 (left), number 1 (lower left), number 4 (upper), and number 5 (lower right) blocks are necessary. In other words, in order to predict the abovementioned certain block, a series of processes, or intra prediction (IPD), orthogonal transformation (T), quantization (Q), inverse quantization (iQ), and inverse orthogonal transformation (iT), must first end for the surrounding blocks.
However, if coding is performed in the default zigzag raster scan order shown in FIG. 7, intra prediction cannot begin until decoding of all the shaded blocks shown in FIG. 8A, or blocks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15, has finished. Note that for blocks 3, 11, 7, 13, and 15, the upper-right block cannot, by nature, be referred to (coding and decoding of the upper-right block is later timewise); therefore, the values of pixels furthest to the right in the upper block may be used as the reference pixels for the upper-right block.
Accordingly, as shown by the processing timeline for the predicted blocks in FIG. 8B, downtime arises before starting the IPD (the intra prediction processing series) block processing and the TQiQiT (orthogonal transformation (T), quantization (Q), inverse quantization (iQ), and inverse orthogonal transformation (iT) processing series) block processing, respectively. This downtime becomes an interference when parallelizing (pipelining) the IPD and TQiQiT processing series, and becomes a problem when attempting to speed up coding in H.264.
As a response to these issues, the following technology has been disclosed in Patent Reference 1 (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-140473): blocks are not sequentially processed in the default zigzag raster scan order shown in FIG. 7; rather, the blocks positioned to the left of and above the predicted block used in prediction are processed two or more places previous in order to the predicted block, which makes pipelining possible.
FIG. 9A can be given as an example of the processing order of predicted blocks in the technology denoted in Patent Reference 1. In FIG. 10, when a macroblock composed of 16 pixels×16 lines is divided into 16 blocks composed of 4 pixels×4 lines and the blocks are processed, assuming the position (address) of each block is defined as (X, Y), where X, Y=0, 1, 2, 3, FIG. 9A shows that the blocks should be processed in the following order: (0, 0), (1, 0), (0, 1), (2, 0), (1, 1), (3, 0), (2, 1), (0, 2), (3, 1), (1, 2), (0, 3), (2, 2), (1, 3), (3, 2), (2, 3), (3, 3). However, even if processing is performed in the order shown in FIG. 9A, it can be seen in FIG. 9B that downtime arises when starting intra prediction for six of the blocks, or blocks 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, and 15. Moreover, even with a different processing order, if the rules concerning processing order denoted in Patent Reference 1 are followed, at least six blocks interfere with the parallelization (pipelining) when performing intra prediction with reference to surrounding blocks using all intra prediction modes.
Accordingly, considering the prediction mode, shown in FIG. 5A, that uses the reference pixels "E" to "H" positioned above the upper-right block, and which is one of the default prediction modes in intra prediction, interference with the parallelization (pipelining) processing on blocks 2, 6, 10, and 14 is avoided in the technology denoted in Patent Reference 1 by changing prediction modes to a mode that does not use the reference pixels "E" to "H". In other words, interference with parallelization (pipelining) is avoided by using a prediction mode not specified in the H.264 standard.
Furthermore, a static value (for example, 128) is used as the prediction value for the remaining blocks 1 and 15, as can be seen in FIG. 11A. Or, pixel values of a decoded image in the block located two blocks to the left are used, as can be seen in FIG. 11B. Through this, interference with the parallelization (pipelining) processing is avoided.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image coding apparatus disclosed in Patent Reference 1. A predicted block control unit 192 causes an intra prediction unit (IPD) 20 to perform intra prediction using a prediction mode not specified in the H.264 standard in the order shown in FIG. 18A.
It should be noted that with the technology denoted in Patent Reference 1, the image coding apparatus sequentially processes blocks using a prediction mode not specified in the H.264 standard and in an order different from the default zigzag shaped raster scan order, and outputs data. Therefore, the image decoding apparatus is provided with a means for restoring the data of each block to the default zigzag raster scan order and a means for decoding the data of the blocks predicted through the prediction mode not specified in the H.264 standard.
The technology denoted in Patent Reference 1 pipelines the intra prediction and speeds up processing in intra prediction in the H.264 coding system by processing the blocks located above and to the left of a predicted block used in intra prediction two or more places previous to the predicted block, rather than sequentially processing the predicted blocks in the default order. Furthermore, a prediction mode for intra prediction that does not use the reference pixels of a block to the upper-right of the predicted block is provided. For blocks that still cannot be predicted, two methods are suggested: giving the reference pixels a static value, or copying referable pixels located two blocks away and using the copied pixels in prediction.
The image coding apparatus denoted in Patent Reference 1 codes blocks by processing blocks in an order different from the default order of the H.264 standard, using an intra prediction prediction mode different from those specified in the standard, and inserting reference values not allowed in the standard. Therefore, a means for decoding coded data that is different from that specified in the H.264 standard is also required in the image coding apparatus. Accordingly, an image decoding apparatus compliant with the H.264 standard cannot decode data outputted from the image coding apparatus of Patent Reference 1.

Image coding apparatus, method and program for intra prediction using specified H.264 prediction modes in specified scan order


A water treatment system, particularly pre-filtration unit of the water treatment system, comprising at least one chlorine sensor device, includes a salt-water treatment device which is connected to the chlorine sensor device, an electrolysis cell being disposed in the associated line, and thereafter a pump and a release valve.

Filter routes have the disadvantage that the remote diagnosis of chlorine and hardness and the monitoring of the degree of soiling of mechanical filters cannot be carried out or can only be carried out by taking great efforts.
Moreover, it is necessary for reasons of safety, particularly in dialysis water treatments, that a time-consuming manual documentation of the water hardness and/or of the chlorine content should be carried out daily, especially in order to furnish evidence that the toxic chlorine has been removed from the liquid by the filters used.
Existing chlorine sensors for online measurement are often not chlorinated at regular intervals and cannot provide any reliable measurement results in the absence of chlorine in the liquid.
To remove hardly soluble salts, such as calcium and/or magnesium, from the water, softeners are often used. When softeners are used with acidic cation exchange resins, these must be regenerated by means of sodium chloride brine solution at regular intervals.
This regeneration is normally carried out with sodium chloride solution which is provided in a so-called brine container in which salt is dissolved in a predetermined liquid amount.
Failure of the regeneration process e.g. because of a missing sodium chlorine brine solution may lead to serious calcification of the downstream systems.
Moreover, softeners tend to show a microbial growth with subsequent contamination of the liquid flowing therethrough because of the relatively large resin volume.
Problems are posed by filter blocking because the resulting exchange of filter material is normally accompanied by operational interruption.

Chlorine measurement/filter testing/brine container monitoring of a water treatment system


A mechanism is provided for filtering an address book. Contacts are read of the address book of a user. An operative connection is maintained to a social networking site related to the user. Social networking communication data of the user is extracted from the social networking site. The contacts are ranked in the address book based on the social networking communication data of the user.

Exemplary embodiments relate to address books, and more specifically, to filtering address books.
Mobile/portable communications devices, such as cellular telephones, include memory to store contact information. This contact information is typically arranged in an address book (also known as a contact list) and can include name, address information, telephone numbers, and email addresses. Many of these address book systems offer features such as speed dial, voice dial, custom ringtones, and images to enhance the look and user experience of the address book. Address book options allow for various communication methods including voice call, messaging, and email.
In a conventional mobile communication device providing the address book operation, a process of searching and dialing a specified phone number is performed as follows. First, a user executes a menu mode of the portable communication device by manipulating a function button or a menu button provided on the portable communication device, and selects an address book search operation by using a direction button or a numeral button. Then, the user searches for a desired phone number by scrolling the address book using the direction button or inputting a name to be searched.
Many users have multiple address books associated with multiple devices. For example, a user may have an address book for one or more mobile communications devices, home computers, work computers, and game systems. Often, many of the contacts are on multiple address books and the user is burdened with the task of entering and maintaining contact information for each contact in each of the address books. A redundant task that is both time consuming and tedious.
Software has been developed that allows two devices to be synchronized to establish a common address book. This is particularly beneficial for business professionals that use email applications to store contacts for their clients and other important contacts. The business professional may also have a mobile device, such as a smart phone, that combines traditional cellular telephone functions and personal digital assistant (PDA) functions in a single device. Synchronizing the contacts on the computer and on the smart phone ensures that the appropriate contact information is available whenever the professional is using either device. This also eliminates having to enter the same contact information into multiple devices.
People are constantly finding different ways to communicate and network, both socially and professionally. The Internet has made communication easily accessible via email and instant messaging applications. In recent years, networking websites have become popular and are becoming increasingly so. These websites allow people to share information and find others that share similar interests. Networking naturally increases the number of contacts a particular individual may have, thus, increasing the number of address book entries of contacts. This correspondingly increases the number of contacts that a user has to search to find and locate a desired contact.


In one implementation, a circuit substrate includes a substrate having opposing sides. At least one of the sides is configured for transfer mold packaging and has conductive traces formed thereon. A soldermask is received on the one side, and has a plurality of openings formed therethrough to locations on the conductive traces. The soldermask includes a peripheral elongated trench therein positioned on the one side to align with at least a portion of an elongated mold void perimeter of a transfer mold to be used for transfer mold packaging of the one side. In one implementation, the invention includes a transfer mold semiconductor packaging process. In one implementation, the invention includes a semiconductor package. In one implementation, the invention includes a ball grid array.

Integrated circuitry chips are typically formed into packages, with the packages then being mounted or otherwise connected to other substrates and devices. Many different packaging methods and devices exist for integrated circuitry in the form of a semiconductor chip. One exemplary package mounts a semiconductor chip to another circuit substrate, for example a printed circuit board. The printed circuit board is typically fabricated to have a plurality of conductive traces formed thereon in desired patterns. An insulative layer referred to as a soldermask is then typically formed on the circuit substrate. Such layers are typically patterned to provide openings to locations on the circuit traces therebeneath. The soldermask typically prevents solder bridging on the circuit side of the assembly. The semiconductor chip is typically mounted to the circuit substrate by being adhered to the soldermask with a die attach adhesive. Conductive wire or other bonding is then conducted to connect the circuitry of the chip with the circuitry of the substrate.
Thereafter, in one exemplary packaging process, an insulative encapsulant material is provided to one side of the substrate over the semiconductor chip and soldermask. Such can be formed by a transfer molding process whereby a mold having a void is placed against the circuit substrate and an encapsulant caused to flow therein. The mold is ultimately removed and the encapsulant is allowed to cure.
One type of semiconductor packaging finding increasing use are ball grid arrays. Such can be fabricated as described above and additionally include conductive traces and a soldermask received on the opposing side of the circuit substrate from which the semiconductor die or chip is mounted. Openings are provided in the soldermask on the opposing side to desired locations of the opposing side circuit traces. An array of solder balls are mounted through the openings to surfaces of the conductive traces. The solder ball array serves to provide an electrical connection for the package with another substrate or device.
The current trend towards ball grid array and other semiconductor packaging has created a number of challenges. Among these are cracking of the soldermask on the circuit side of the substrate during encapsulation, and less than desirable adhesion of the encapsulant material to the underlying soldermask. Such can create defects in the package that can cause production yield losses and long-term reliability failures. Typical soldermasks used today comprise a polymeric material that is applied to the outer surfaces of the substrate to, among other things, protect the circuitry, define particular features (for example, solder ball pads), define plated areas and control solder wicking during the reflow of solders. Typical soldermask materials used today are relatively soft with low mechanical strength.
Traditionally, soldermask materials are used to cover all areas of a ball grid array substrate that are not specifically open to reveal some part of the underlying circuit. In the area of the perimeter of the mold body, the soldermask is typically used to protect the circuit traces from the clamping forces applied by the mold body and to form a level surface of the ball grid array substrate so that the mold body can form a good seal during encapsulation. Yet, clamping forces applied by the mold body to the ball grid array substrate can be quite high. In some cases, these forces can be in excess of four tons on a single ball grid array substrate strip. Because of these high clamping forces on the relatively soft character of the soldermask, high shear forces are induced in the soldermask. These shear forces can cause severe cracking of the soldermask. Cracks in the soldermask can cause a functional failure by severing the circuit traces below and, even if not, are a cosmetic defect that may cause such part to be rejected by the consumer.
It would be desirable to overcome these and other drawbacks associated with semiconductor packaging and packaging processes. Yet, the invention is limited only by the accompanying claims as literally worded and as appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents without any limitation being read therein with respect to objective or result.

Circuit substrates, semiconductor packages, and ball grid arrays


An automatic anti-trap device is provided to add safety to other apparatuses. The automatic anti-trap device of this invention has a driving circuit to control a motor, a current sensor to generate a current signal, a current ripple peak value circuit to generate a current ripple peak value signal according to the current signal, and a micro processor to generate a working signal for the driving circuit to control the motor according to a keystroke signal, the current signal and the current ripple peak value signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic anti-trap device, and especially relates to an automatic anti-trap device used on the power window of an automobile.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Transmissions comprised of a motor, gear module or screw are often used in daily life. These transmissions can facilitate such items as the power windows of an automobile, power gates, roller gates and conveyers. This kind of transmission has high output force and low power consumption to move a heavy object. But when the transmission works abnormally, such as when trapping an object or becoming blocked, the transmission is easily damaged and the trapped object is easily injured. Unless a person stops the transmission motion, the typical transmission, which does not have an automatic anti-trap device, can injure a person or damage an object by its high output force.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the automatic anti-trap device according to a prior art. This automatic anti-trap device comprises a micro processor 150, a driving circuit 130 and a position sensor 120. The driving circuit 130 and the position sensor 120 couple to the micro processor 150, and the driving circuit 130 and the position sensor 120 couple to the motor 110 separately. Furthermore, the micro processor 150 couples to a memory 170 to store the processed data. The motor 110 moves a window 199 (such as power window of an automobile) by coupling to a gear module 190. The micro processor 150 uses the position signals detected by the position sensor 120 to get time intervals and torques of the motor and compares the intervals and torques with the interval threshold value and torque threshold value stored in micro processor 150. When the time interval or torque is greater than the threshold values, the automatic anti-trap device stops or reverses the motor 110.
However, as time goes by, the physical condition of the device changes as the motor or machine ages. Hence, this kind of automatic anti-trap device easily exhibits error in action unless its threshold values are updated accordingly.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the automatic anti-trap device according to another prior art, which is different from that shown in FIG. 1 in that the position sensor 220 and the proximity sensor 225 of FIG. 2 are set at the border of the window 199 rather than coupled to the motor 110. The micro processor 250 makes logical judgments according to the information from position sensor 220 and the proximity sensor 225. This kind of device has an advantageous simple algorithm but is disadvantaged in that establishing the sensors and circuits at the border of the window 199 is difficult to design and costly to produce.
Therefore, an automatic anti-trap device is needed with updatable threshold values and is easily maintained and inexpensive to improve the transmission safety.


A lectern incorporating a support member having a recess that can receive a control panel or laptop or notebook computer, for use with the by a speaker or other presenter. The support member defines an interior, and includes a keyboard tray slidably received within the interior and connectable to the monitor or computer positioned within the recess such that an individual can enter information directly from the keyboard into the device positioned within the recess. The lectern also includes a pair of sliding panels that can be used to cover or expose the device positioned within the recess. The lectern further includes a vertical adjustment mechanism for raising or lowering the height of the lectern as necessary.

A speaking venue is often provided with a lectern or podium, in order to provide a surface for any papers or notes used by the speaker as well as to provide a structure to support a microphone and to house voice amplification components and/or controls. Prior art lecterns or podiums are normally constructed of a base supported on a floor or other supporting surface, a frame or column extending upwardly from the base, and a support member disposed on an upper end of the column opposite the base. The speaker is able to rest or lean against the support member while speaking, and may also place any notes or papers on an upwardly facing support surface defined by the support member.
Prior art lecterns are typically constructed such that the support surface is fixed at a specific height without being adjustable to accommodate speakers of differing stature. Also, prior art lecterns have significant shortcomings when the speaker uses an electronic device such as a computer for assistance in a speech or presentation. While prior art lecterns are able to support the device on the surface, such lecterns have no provisions for accommodating wires or cables associated with the device, which results in such wires or cables trailing off of the surface and down the sides or back of the lectern.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a lectern that is adjustable in height to adapt to the height of a particular speaker using the lectern. It is also desirable to develop a lectern that facilitates use of a device, such as a computer, by the speaker. Furthermore, it is desirable to develop a lectern that includes the capability to transmit data from a device, such as a computer, to one or more various display devices connected to the lectern in order to more easily display data or information to the audience.


A material capable of producing a sintered body of cubic system garnet type Li7La3Zr2O12 as a solid electrolyte having specified ion conductivity by firing at relatively low temperature in short time. The material for the solid electrolyte is an oxide containing Li, La, Zr and Bi, and the oxide has a cubic system garnet crystal structure where La sites are partly or entirely substituted by Bi.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel material for solid electrolyte.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Li7La3Zr2O12 having a garnet type crystal structure, not only a tetragonal system but also cubic system is reported as a crystal system (R. Murugan et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 46, 7778 (2007)). In particular, the one having a cubic system is known to exhibit high lithium ion conductivity in the order of 10−4 S/cm. This material is expected to be used as a solid electrolyte material of an entire solid lithium ion battery because it has characteristics of excellent chemical stability, wide potential window, as well as high lithium ion conductivity. Therefore, research and development are advanced for a method for producing Li7La3Zr2O12 having a cubic system garnet type crystal structure (hereinafter, "cubic system garnet type Li7La3Zr2O12"), or a secondary battery or the like using the material.
For example, an entire solid lithium secondary battery is proposed that includes a cathode having a cathode active material; an anode having an anode active material including a lithium alloy containing at least one specified elements selected from the group consisting of Mg, Al, Si, In, Ag and Sn; and a solid electrolyte of garnet type oxide represented by a composition formula Li5+XLa3(ZrX, A2−X)O12 (wherein, A represents one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Sc, Ti, V, Y, Nb, Hf, Ta, Al, Si, Ga and Ge, and X satisfies 1.4≦X<2), interposed between the cathode and the anode (JP 2011-70939 A).
Besides the above, for example, as a material in which Al is added to Li7La3Zr2O12, there is known a ceramic material containing lithium (Li), lanthanum (La), zirconium (Zr), oxygen (O) and aluminum (Al), and having a garnet type or quasi garnet type crystal structure (JP 2011-51800 A).


A base station apparatus in a radio communications system is disclosed. The base station apparatus communicates with a mobile station using an OFDM scheme in downlink. The base station apparatus includes a sync signal generating unit which generates a secondary sync channel; a multiplying unit which multiplies a scramble code with the secondary sync channel; and a transmitting unit which transmits the secondary sync channel with which the scramble code is multiplied. Cell-specific information is detected by the secondary sync channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to radio communications systems to which Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is applied in downlink and specifically relates to base station apparatuses, mobile station apparatuses, and methods of transmitting synchronization channels.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a communications scheme to succeed W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and HSDPA, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is being studied in a W-CDMA standardization body called 3GPP. Moreover, as radio access schemes, the OFDM is being considered for downlink, while SC-FDMA (Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) is being considered for uplink (see Non-patent document 1, for example).
The OFDM, which is a scheme for dividing a frequency band into multiple narrow frequency bands (sub-carriers) and overlaying data onto the respective frequency bands for transmission, densely arranges the sub-carriers on the frequency axis such that one sub-carrier partially overlaps another sub-carrier without their interfering with each other, making it possible to achieve high-speed transmission and to improve frequency utilization efficiency.
The SC-FDMA is a transmission scheme which divides a frequency bandwidth and transmits using different frequency bands among multiple terminals to make it possible to reduce interference between the terminals. The SC-FDMA, which features a reduced variation in transmission power, makes it possible to achieve wide coverage as well as low power consumption of the terminals.
In the LTE, the OFDM provides for two types of CPs (Cyclic Prefixes) for reducing the effect of intersymbol interference by a delay wave, namely a Long CP and a Short CP with different lengths. For example, the Long CP is applied in a cell with a large cell radius and at the time of transmitting an MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) signal, while the Short LP is applied in a cell with a small cell radius. The number of OFDM symbols is 6 when the Long CP is applied and 7 when the short CP is applied.
Now, in a radio communications system using W-CDMA, LTE, etc., a mobile station must generally detect a cell with good radio quality for the own station based on a synchronization (sync) signal, etc., at the time of turning on the power, in a standby status, during communications, or at the time of intermittent reception during communications. The process, which is meant to search for a cell to which a radio link is to be connected, is called a cell search. The cell search method is generally determined based on a time needed for the cell search as well as throughput of the mobile station at the time of conducting the cell search. In other words, the above-described cell search method should be such that the time needed for the cell search is short and the throughput of the mobile station at the time of conducting the cell search is small.
In the W-CDMA, the cell search is conducted using two types of synchronization signals, namely a Primary SCH (P-SCH) and a Secondary SCH (S-SCH). Similarly, conducting the cell search using the two types of the synchronization signals P-SCH and S-SCH is also being considered in the LTE.
For example, a cell search method is being considered such that the P-SCH with one sequence and S-SCH with multiple sequences are transmitted at time intervals of 5 ms (Non-patent document 2). In the above-described method, a downlink receive timing from a cell is specified using the P-SCH, while a receive frame timing is detected and a cell-specific information set such as a cell ID, or cell group ID is specified using the S-SCH transmitted in the same slot. Here, it is generally possible to use a channel estimation value determined from the P-SCH in demodulating and decoding the S-SCH. Then, the cell IDs to be grouped are detected from those cell IDs belonging to the detected cell group ID. For example, the cell ID is calculated based on a signal pattern of a pilot signal. Moreover, the cell ID is calculated based on the demodulation and decoding of the P-SCH and the S-SCH, for example. Alternatively, without grouping the cell IDs, the cell ID may be included as an information element of the S-SCH. In this case, the mobile station can detect the cell ID at the time of demodulating and decoding the S-SCH.
However, in an inter-station synchronization method in which signals from multiple cells are being synchronized, when the above-described cell search method is applied, a problem occurs such that the S-SCHs transmitted from multiple cells in different sequences are demodulated and decoded based on the channel estimation value determined from the P-SCHs transmitted from multiple cells in the same sequence. Here, the transmission characteristics also include a time needed for the cell search, for example. For a non-inter-station synchronization system in which signals from multiple cells are not being synchronized, receive timings of the P-SCH sequences transmitted from the multiple cells differ from one cell to another. Thus, such a problem as described above does not occur.
In order to prevent a degradation in the S-SCH characteristics in the inter-station synchronization system as described above, a cell search method is being considered such that the number of the P-SCH sequences is increased from 1 to a number no less than 2 (for example, 3 or 7) (see Non-patent document 3). Alternatively, there is a method of transmitting the P-SCH in transmission intervals which differ on a per cell basis in order to prevent the S-SCH characteristics degradation in the inter-station synchronization system as described above. In the above-described method, the P-SCHs having different timings of receiving from the multiple cells may be used in the demodulating and decoding of the S-SCH. Thus, it is made possible to prevent the S-SCH characteristic degradation as described above.
Now, from a point of view of cell design, it is deemed that the larger the number of sequences of the P-SCH in Non-patent document 3 and the types of transmission intervals of the P-SCH in Non-patent document 4, the better they are. This is because, the smaller the number of sequences of the P-SCH or the types of transmission intervals, the higher the probability of the P-SCH sequences in neighboring cells becoming the same, or the higher the probability of the P-SCH transmission intervals becoming the same, so that the probability of occurrence of the S=SCH characteristic degradation in the inter-station synchronization system becomes higher.
Moreover, there is a tradeoff relationship between the time needed for conducting the cell search as described above, or the transmission characteristics of the cell search, and the throughput of the mobile station when the cell search is being conducted. Thus, it is desirable to be able to select whether the transmission characteristics of the cell search are to be emphasized or the throughput of the mobile station when the cell search is being conducted is to be emphasized.
Non-Patent Document 1:    3GPP TR 25.814 (V7.0.0), "Physical Layer Aspects for Evolved UTRA," June 2006;
Non-Patent Document 2:    R1-062990, Outcome of cell search drafting session;
Non-Patent Document 3:    R1-062636, Cell Search Performance in Tightly Synchronized Network for E-UTRA;
Non-Patent Document 4:    R1-070428, Further analysis of initial cell search for Approach 1 and 2—single cell scenario;
Non-Patent Document 5:    3GPP TS 36.211 V1.0.0 (2007-03);
Non-Patent Document 6:    3GPP R1-060042 SCH Structure and Cell Search Method in E-UTRA Downlink;
Non-Patent Document 7:    3GPP R1-071584 Secondary Synchronization Signal Design;
Non-Patent Document 8:    3GPP R1-071794;
Non-Patent Document 9:    Chu, "Polyphase codes with good periodic correlation properties," IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. II-18, pp. 531-532, July 1972;
Non-Patent Document 10:    R. L. Frank and S. A. Zadoff, "Phase shift pulse codes with good periodic correlation properties," IRE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. IT-8, pp. 381-382, 1962;
Non-Patent Document 11:    M. J. E. Golay, "Complementary Series," IRE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 7, pp. 82-87, April 1961;
Non-Patent Document 12:    3GPP, R1-062487 Hierarchical SCH signals suitable for both (FDD and TDD) modes of E-UTRA;
Non-Patent Document 13:    3GPP, R1-070146, S-SCH Sequence Design;
Non-Patent Document 14:    3GPP, R1-072093, Details on SSC Sequence Design;
Non-Patent Document 15:    3GPP, R1-071641, Frequency Hopping/Shifting of Downlink Reference Signal in E-UTRA;
Non-Patent Document 16:    3GPP, R1-072368, Mapping of Short Sequences for S-SCH;
Non-Patent Document 17:    3GPP, R1-072326, S-SCH sequences based on concatenated Golay Hadamard codes;
Non-Patent Document 18:    3GPP, R1-072189, Views on Remaining Issues on SCH Design;
Non-Patent Document 19:    3GPP, R1-072328, Secondary-Synchronization Channel Design;
Non-Patent Document 20:    3GPP, R1-072110, Secondary Synchronisation Codes for LTE cell search; and
Non-Patent Document 21:    3GPP, R1-072661, Scrambling Method for Two S-SCH Short Code

Base station apparatus, mobile station apparatus, and method of transmitting synchronization channels


The present invention relates to an epoxy modified polysiloxane composition obtainable by combining the following ingredients:—a polysiloxane of formula (1), wherein each R1 is independently selected from hydroxy, alkyl, aryl or alkoxy radicals having up to six carbon atoms, each R2 is independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl or aryl radicals having up to six carbon atoms and, wherein n is selected so that the molecular weight for the polysiloxane is in the range of from about 400 to 10,000; with formula (1)—an epoxy resin having more than one 1,2-epoxy groups per molecule with an epoxy equivalent weight in the range of from 100 to about 5,000; and—an amino hardener component having active hydrogens able to react with epoxy groups in the epoxy resin to form polymers containing hydroxyl groups, which are able to react with the silanol groups of hydrolyzed polysiloxane to form a polymer network, wherein the epoxy chain polymers and polysiloxane polymers polymerize to form a cured epoxy modified polysiloxane polymer composition.

Epoxy coating materials are well known and have gained commercial acceptance as protective and decorative coatings for steel, aluminum, galvanized steel and concrete in maintenance, marine, construction, architectural, aircraft and product finishing markets. Epoxy-based coatings possess many properties which make them desirable as coating materials. They are readily available and are easily applied by a variety of methods including spraying, rolling and brushing. They adhere well to steel, concrete and other substrates, have low moisture vapor transmission rates and act as barriers to water, chloride and sulfate ion ingress, provide excellent corrosion protection under a variety of atmospheric exposure conditions and have good resistance to many chemicals and solvents. The basic raw materials used to prepare these coatings generally comprise as essential components (a) an epoxy resin, (b) a hardener and (c) a pigment or filler component. Epoxy-based coatings generally show excellent protective properties but a considerable drawback is the limited gloss and color retention when atmospherically exposed.
Increasing awareness about environment and health and safety for human beings calls for extra attention in the preparation of safe paints. Increasing strictness of environmental rules demand a decrease of the emission of harmful solvents. Paint systems with low VOC contents are required. A currently world-wide wanted VOC level is VOC<250 g/L with respect to application viscosity.
Several paint manufacturers recently developed high solids (HS) paint systems with lower VOC contents to cope with environmental rules and regulations. Examples of these coatings in this respect are the commercially widely accepted protective and decorative isocyanate-cured polyurethane coatings. The 2-pack isocyanate-cured polyurethane coatings combine a high potential in gloss and color retention, good chemical resistance and good mechanical properties. Nowadays in some countries, the use of isocyanates is not allowed anymore because of safety and health regulations. There is an urge to replace these isocyanate cured polyurethane coatings by non-isocyanate coatings (NISO). However, from high to medium VOC content NISO coatings commercially available at present perform considerably less compared to the polyurethane finishes.
Using the common binder technologies to reformulate the existing NISO coatings into low VOC versions has been shown to be very difficult, as it requires the development of new polymers and curing processes to accomplish this task.
There is an urgent need for NISO coatings having low VOC content, good flexibility and the mechanical and chemical resistance properties of epoxy or polyurethane based paintings.
Epoxy-polysiloxane based compounds are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,618,860 and 5,275,645, which describe 2-pack glossy epoxy-polysiloxane compositions. Although having good gloss and color retention properties and having very good chemical resistance they tend to be rather hard and brittle. As finish coating on complex structural steel where a higher flexibility is required they are not suitable. Besides, the shrink stresses during curing are generally too high for application on weaker substrates like concrete and low cohesive coating.
Thus, while epoxy-polysiloxane based coating materials have gained commercial acceptance, the need nevertheless remains for epoxy-polysiloxane based materials with improved mechanical and chemical resistance, and more in particular improved resistance to mechanical abuse. Coating materials with improved chemical, corrosion, impact and abrasion resistance are needed for both primary and secondary chemical containment structures, for protecting steel and concrete in chemical, power generation, rail car, sewage and waste water treatment, and paper and pulp processing industries.
In particular known epoxy-polysiloxane coatings show a tendency to crack on complex steel structures. Cracking tendency occurs frequently at local areas, such as corner joints where higher film thicknesses are mainly present.
A main object of the present invention is therefore to provide an epoxy-modified polysiloxane coating composition, which is high solid, has low VOC content and is NISO. It is another object to provide an epoxy-modified polysiloxane composition having improved flexibility and which does not show this cracking tendency, without compromising other properties like chemical or mechanical resistance and hardness development.

Epoxy modified organopolysiloxane resin based compositions useful for protective coatings


An optical operational memory device comprises a light-emitting device, a first and second phototransistors, and a load resistor. The light-emitting device and the first phototransistor are connected electrically in series to form an optical bistable switch based on optical positive feedback. The second phototransistor is connected in parallel to the optical bistable switch, and the load resistor is connected in series to the optical bistable switch. The time constant given by the product of the current gain of the second phototransistor, the base-collector capacitance of the second phototransistor, and the resistance of the load resistor is larger than the period required for recombination of the excess majority carriers in the base of the first phototransistor. A single optical beam modulated with pulse signals is input to the first and the second phototransistors simultaneously. The optical pulse with a peak power in a predetermined range turns the optical bistable switch on, and the pulse with higher peak power turns the optical bistable switch off.

An example of a device including an optical bistable switch which is turned on and off with optical signals is the optical memory device described in the Japanese Patent Application #60-15178 (Disclosure #62-13086). The circuit of the optical memory device is shown in FIG. 6. In the circuit, the series connection of a light-emitting device 1 and a first phototransistor 2 constitutes an optical bistable switch 3. The optical bistable switch 3 is operated as follows: (1) While the bias voltage is higher than the holding voltage, which is the minimum voltage for maintaining the on-state is applied to the switch, current does not flow through the first phototransistor 2 and the light-emitting device 1 does not emit output light (off-state). (2) When input light is incident upon the first phototransistor 2 and the bias voltage is maintained above the holding voltage, the current starts to flow and the light-emitting device 1 emits output light (on-state). (3) When the illumination of input light is stopped and the bias voltage is maintained above the holding voltage, the phototransistor 2 detects the light emitted from the light-emitting device 1, and the on-state is maintained. (4) When the bias voltage is decreased beneath the holding voltage, the switch is turned off.
In the optical memory device, a second phototransistor 4 is connected in parallel to the optical bistable switch 3, and the optical bistable switch 3 can be turned off by illuminating the second phototransistor 4. This is because the current flowing through the second phototransistor 4 increases the voltage drop in the load resistor 5 and decreases the voltage applied to the optical bistable switch 3. Accordingly, the optical memory device can be turned on with set light incident upon the first phototransistor 2, and turned off with reset light incident upon the second phototransistor 4 while the bias voltage higher than the holding voltage is continuously applied.
The concrete structure of this optical memory device is shown in FIG. 7. The second phototransistor 4 is constructed with a second collector layer 7, a second base layer 8, and an emitter layer 9 on a semiconductor substrate 6; the first phototransistor 2 is with the emitter layer 9, a first base layer 10, and a first collector layer 11; and the light-emitting device 1 is with the first collector layer 11, an active layer 12, and a cladding layer 13. The cathode of the light-emitting device 1 and the collector of the first phototransistor 2 are connected electrically inside the device since they are made of the identical semiconductor layer (the first collector layer 11). In the same manner, the emitter of the first phototransistor 2 and the emitter of the second phototransistor 4 are connected. The anode of the light-emitting device 1 (the cladding layer 13) and the collector of the second phototransistor 4 (the second collector layer 7) are coupled with an external wiring 14 and connected to the anode of a power supply 15 through a load resistor 5. The internally connected emitters of the first phototransistor 2 and the second phototransistor 4 (the emitter layer 9) are connected to the cathode of the power supply 15.
In this structure, the optical signals for turning on and off the optical bistable switch 3 are introduced through the semiconductor substrate 6. The set light and the reset light are distinguished by their wavelengths. The energy bandgap of the second base layer is wider than that of the first base layer. Setting .lambda..sub.1 and .lambda..sub.2 as the wavelengths corresponding to the bandgaps of the first and the second base layers, the input light with a wavelength .lambda..sub.ON satisfying .lambda..sub.2 <.lambda..sub.ON .ltoreq..lambda..sub.1 is transmitted through the second base layer and absorbed in the first base layer. Therefore, the optical bistable switch is turned on with the input light having a wavelength .lambda..sub.ON. On the other hand, the input light with a wavelength .lambda..sub.OFF satisfying .lambda..sub.OFF .ltoreq..lambda..sub.2 is absorbed in the first base layer and turns off the optical bistable switch.
In the optical memory device mentioned above, two light sources are required to turn on and off the optical bistable switch since the wavelengths of the set light and the reset light are different. Two light sources are still necessary for the optoelectronic integrated circuit described in the Japanese Patent Application #1-322147 (Disclosure #3-181920) where the first and the second phototransistors are formed on separate areas of a semiconductor substrate to distinguish the set light and the reset light by spatial location and not by wavelength. On the other hand, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,200 (Mar. 10, 1992), incorporated herein by reference, describes an optoelectronic memory device in which the optical bistable switch can be turned on and off with a single optical beam.
In this optoelectronic memory device, the first and the second phototransistors are formed on separate areas of a semiconductor substrate, which is similar to the optoelectronic integrated circuit described in the Japanese Patent Application #1-322147. However, the input light is incident upon both the first and the second phototransistors simultaneously by using a large-diameter beam as the input light. There are two cases in which the optical bistable switch is turned on and off when the input light is incident upon the first and the second phototransistors simultaneously. Whether the optical bistable switch is turned on or off depends on the equivalent gains of the first and the second phototransistors, the value of the load resistance, and the bias voltage applied to the whole circuit. If the equivalent gains of the phototransistors and the resistance of the load resistor are set properly, the optical bistable switch can be turned on and off with a single optical beam by varying the bias voltage.
The optoelectronic memory device described above has the advantage that the optical bistable switch can be turned on and off with the identical input light. However, the optical bistable switch is not fully controlled with the optical signal since the bias voltage should be changed to distinguish the set and the reset operations. Furthermore, the equivalent gain of the first phototransistor affected by the optical positive feedback is much larger than the gain of the second phototransistor when the same structure for the first and the second phototransistors is used. To compensate for this imbalance, the portion of the input optical power incident upon the second phototransistor should be made larger than that upon the first phototransistor, which requires precise optical alignment for the input optical beam.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Memory systems are provided. A memory system may include a plurality of nonvolatile memories and a memory controller configured to control the plurality of nonvolatile memories. Moreover, the memory system may include an input/output buffer circuit connected between the memory controller and the plurality of nonvolatile memories. A data channel may be connected between the memory controller and the input/output buffer circuit, and first and second internal data channels may be connected between the input/output buffer circuit and respective first and second groups of the plurality of nonvolatile memories. The input/output buffer circuit may be configured to connect the data channel to one of the first and second internal data channels.

The present disclosure relates to memory systems. A semiconductor memory device may be volatile or nonvolatile. A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device may retain contents stored therein even at power-off. Data stored at the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device may be permanent or reprogrammable according to a memory manufacturing technology. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device may be used to store programs, micro codes, user data in a wide range of applications such as computers, avionics, communications, consumer electronics, and so on.

Memory systems including an input/output buffer circuit


A display device which exhibits light with high color purity is provided. A display device with low power consumption is provided. An embodiment is a display device which includes a first pixel electrode, a second pixel electrode, a light-emitting layer, a common electrode, a first protective layer, and a semi-transmissive layer. The light-emitting layer includes a first region positioned over the first pixel electrode and a second region positioned over the second pixel electrode. The common electrode is positioned over the light-emitting layer. The first protective layer is positioned over the common electrode. The semi-transmissive layer is positioned over the first protective layer. Reflectivity with respect to visible light of the semi-transmissive layer is higher than reflectivity with respect to visible light of the common electrode. The semi-transmissive layer does not overlap with the first region and overlaps with the second region. For example, the semi-transmissive layer may include an opening in a position overlapping with the first region.

In recent years, application of display devices to a variety of uses has been expected. Examples of uses for a large display device include a television device for home use (also referred to as a TV or a television receiver), digital signage, and a PID (Public Information Display). A larger display region of a display device can provide more information at a time. In addition, a larger display region attracts more attention, so that the effectiveness of the advertisement is expected to be increased, for example.
Light-emitting devices including light-emitting elements have been developed as display devices. Light-emitting elements (also referred to as EL elements) utilizing electroluminescence (hereinafter referred to as EL) have features such as ease of reduction in thickness and weight, high-speed response to an input signal, and driving with a direct-current low voltage source, and have been used in display devices.
In addition, application of organic EL elements to flexible devices has been studied. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a flexible light-emitting device including an organic EL element.

Display device including a semi-transmissive layer

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.