A pushback cart storage system includes a cart having a first pair of wheels located at a front end of the cart, and a second pair of wheels located between a rear end of the cart and a midpoint of the cart. The wheels roll along rails on a storage rack or frame. The second pair of wheels is located closer to the midpoint than to the rear end of the cart, such that the rear end of the cart extends beyond the end of the rails when the second pair of wheels are rolled to the end of the rails. Accordingly, less steel, or other material, is required to construct the rails of the storage rack, which reduces the overall cost and weight of the system, while allowing the system to support the same number of pallets as a conventional system.

The field of the invention is pushback cart storage systems. Pushback cart storage systems are typically used in warehouses and other storage facilities to efficiently store loaded pallets. Pushback cart storage systems typically include rolling carts for supporting pallets. The carts include wheels that roll along rails on storage racks or frames, and/or along tracks in other carts. The rails are preferably slightly inclined so that gravity assists in moving the carts forward along the rails to the front of the rack. A storage rack may include several levels of inclined rails for storing several pallets vertically.
By providing one or more rolling carts on a set of rails, pallets may be loaded onto carts and pushed back along the rails toward the rear of the storage rack. In this manner, pallets may be stored one in front of the other on the storage rack, and several pallets may be loaded and unloaded from a single aisle. As a result, the number of aisles required for forklifts to maneuver throughout a warehouse is minimized, and the usable space between aisles is therefore increased. Accordingly, aisle space required for forklift access when using conventional storage rack systems may instead be used for additional pallet storage racks, thus providing more efficient use of space.
Various pushback cart storage systems have been successfully used in the past, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,129,223, 5,415,300, and 5,598,934, incorporated herein by reference. While these systems have been effective, there is a need for improved designs that reduce overall system cost and increase storage efficiency.


A light receiving device and a circuit device which includes an amplifier directly connected to the light receiving device are provided on a frame which is connected to a power source potential. The light receiving device and circuit device are integrally covered with resin. On electrodes through which the light receiving device and circuit device are connected to the frame, semiconductor substrates of the same conductivity type are provided, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light receiving module for use in a light remote control system utilizing light as a signal transmitting medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, a light remote control system utilizing light such as infrared rays as a signal transmitting medium has been used for many indoor apparatuses such as audio apparatuses, air-conditioners and television receivers, since infrared rays are tolerable to noises and capable of transmitting a comparatively large amount of information for a short period of time. In the light remote control system, a light emitting diode is used on the light irradiating side, and a light receiving module is used on the light receiving side. In a light receiving module disclosed in Japanese laid-open Utility Model Application No. H1-102834, a light receiving device and a circuit device for amplifying an output signal of the light receiving device are provided on a printed circuit board and housed in a shielding case.
In the above-mentioned light receiving module, however, an electrical connection arrangement is complicated since the light receiving device and the circuit device are connected through the printed circuit board. Further, since the connection line is long, noises are apt to be picked up between the light receiving device and the circuit device. Moreover, since a printed circuit board is used, the space occupied by the light receiving module is large. To solve these problems, it has been tried to integrate a light receiving device and a circuit device on one semiconductor substrate. However, it has not yet been put into practical use. This is because with such an arrangement, an output and a response speed of the light receiving device are low and because the circuit device is apt to erroneously operate when light is irradiated thereto.
FIG. 1 shows a light receiving module disclosed in Japanese laid-open Patent Application No. H3-72730. In the figure, a light receiving device 91 and a circuit device 92 are provided on a printed circuit board 93, and are housed in a shielding case 94. A structure for removing noise signals is added to the light receiving module. That is, a mesh 95 is provided at a light input portion of the shielding case 94, and a light filter 96 is arranged inside the mesh 95. Thereby, a specific noise signal is attenuated. For example, when the light receiving module is used for a television receiver, the mesh 95 and the light filter 96 are designed so that a noise signal (the frequency thereof is in the vicinity of 16.6 KHz) from a flyback transformer is attenuated.
However, such a noise removing structure increases the number of required parts and complicates the arrangement of the light receiving device. Further, even a desired input light signal passing through the mesh 95 and the light filter 96 is attenuated by the noise removing structure. Furthermore, an overflowing current is apt to flow between a diffusion layer 97 and an insulating layer 98 in the light receiving device 91. Thereby, a predetermined output current cannot be obtained.
Moreover, an arrangement where a light signal is directed to a light receiving device through a transmission hole provided to the mesh 95 of a shielding case which covers the light receiving device has a predetermined directional characteristic with respect to an entering direction of the light signal.
That is, concerning a small-size television receiver, since a user is located in a direction toward which a display tube thereof faces, it is only necessary to receive a light signal coming from a range approximately 30 degrees on both sides of the direction toward which the center of the display tube faces. Since only light having passed through the transmission hole which is provided on a flat portion of the shielding case is received, it is sufficient to receive only light coming from the inside of a cone, which is a directivity range, formed by rotating a line which is at 40 degrees to the perpendicular with respect to the flat portion of the shielding case about the perpendicular.
Since apparatuses are becoming larger in size and there are more occasions where an apparatus is remote-controlled which is arranged in the vicinity of the ceiling such as a lighting apparatus, it is required to increase the angle of directivity. That is, concerning a 29- to 40-inch television receiver, it is required to enable the television receiver to be remote-controlled at any position in a wide range in a room so that a user can enjoy watching television anywhere in the room. Moreover, in a case where a lighting apparatus hung from the ceiling is controlled with a remote controller, it is required that a user having the remote controller can control the turning on and off of the lighting apparatus anywhere in a room. Therefore, for remote controllers for these apparatuses, a cone of approximately 90 degrees is required. In other words, it is necessary for the light receiving module to receive both a light signal coming from a direction perpendicular to the shielding surface and a light signal coming substantially from the side of the shielding surface and to detect them at a low S/N (signal to noise) ratio. However, the above-described prior art cannot satisfy such a demand.

Light receiving module for converting light signal to electric signal


A display device includes an insulating substrate including a display region, at least one pad disposed in a non-display region on the insulating substrate which applies a voltage to the display region, a connecting part which is electrically connects at least two pads or at least two portions of the pad; and a power supply unit which applies the voltage to the pad.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device which is applied with a driving voltage or a common voltage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, organic light emitting diode ("OLED") devices have attracted attention and interest in the industry of flat panel display devices because of their low-power requirements, light weight, slim shape, wide viewing angle, high-speed response, and other beneficial attributes.
In an OLED device, a plurality of thin film transistors ("TFTs") are formed on an OLED substrate. The TFTs include a switching transistor connected to a data line and a driving transistor connected to a voltage supply line, wherein the lines form the boundary of a pixel. Pads are disposed on the OLED substrate to supply voltages, such as a common voltage and a driving voltage, to OLEDs of the OLED device.
A gate driving part and a data driving part, which apply a gate voltage and a data voltage to the gate line and data line respectively, may be formed on the OLED substrate by a chip on glass ("COG") method. When applied by the COG method the driving parts are fixed to certain places of the OLED substrate and thereafter do not move. With space on the OLED substrate being thus occupied by the gate and data driving parts space for the pads which supply the driving voltage and the common voltage are limited.
Due to this space limitation, the driving voltage and the common voltage may not be sufficiently supplied to the display device, and thus an overall brightness of the display device may decrease and may not be uniform.


A hopper receives upper and lower articles delivered simultaneously from a mobile transport device having superimposed transport platforms. Disposed within the hopper are independently movable diverters for diverting the articles to proper outlets of the hopper. The diverters comprise rotatable plates able to divert both of the upper and lower articles to either a first outlet or a second outlet, or to divert one of the articles to the first outlet, and the other article to the second outlet.

The invention relates to the high-speed, high-volume conveying of small articles which are to be sorted by being conveyed from a loading station to one of a number of discharged hoppers disposed along a conveying path. In particular, the invention relates to the discharge hoppers.
Such a conveying/sorting apparatus is used to sort articles such as packages in mail-order facilities and courier services, for example. The apparatus typically includes a rail which defines the conveying path, and a number of transport devices which travel along the rail between the loading and collecting stations. Each transport device includes a platform, such as a driven endless belt, which receives articles at the loading station and discharges them onto collection devices at respective collective stations.
Various types of conveying/sorting machines are known; in particular, commonly owned patent GB 2,111,933, relates to a sorting plant which comprises a number of transport devices, each having a rotation apron or belt constituting an article transport and unloading platform. The transport devices move along a fixed route lines with hoppers designed to collect, and thereby sort, the articles. The articles, suitably coded on the basis of their destination, are loaded into individual cells in a loading station where sensing devices (e.g., scanners) check the type of parcel (size, weight, etc.), match each parcel with a transport platform, and load the articles into respective transport devices passing through the loading station. The transport device then transports its article to the respective hopper and discharges the article into the hopper.
The use of hoppers that are capable of carrying out a further sorting of the discharged articles is known for example from Italian Patent No. 1,122,898. Those hoppers comprise one or more tiltable bulkheads or plates capable of selectively defining various channeling routes into which the discharged article can be addressed. That kind of hopper is particularly advantageous because, it enables the degree of sorting to be increased without increasing the number of final destinations for the transport devices, and without increasing the length of the plant. Thus, the plant manufacturing costs are minimized, without actually affecting the performance as a whole.
In an effort to maximize the performance of a plant, i.e., to increase the number of objects handled per hour, it has been proposed to use transport devices each having transport platforms arranged on two vertically superposed planes (see concurrently filed application Ser. No. 08/749,230 (attorney docket no. 024444-294).
The object of the present invention is to provide a discharge hopper that is capable of receiving and sorting articles received simultaneously from such superposed transportation platforms, to enable them to be sent to the same or different final containers.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a hopper which operates in a reliable, simple way and which is not too expensive to manufacture.

Method and apparatus for sorting articles received from vertically spaced platforms of a moving transport device


For use in an instruction prefetching system for carrying out instruction prefetch in a data processing system in controlling a branch history table responsive to an instruction request address for producing a historical branch instruction address and a corresponding branch destination address, a device uses a detect mode which is determined by the prefetching system to indicate whether the branch destination address should or should not be used in the instruction prefetch. When the historical branch instruction address is retrieved from the table and furthermore when the branch destination address should be used, the branch destination address is actually used in the instruction prefetch. When the historical branch instruction address is retrieved and furthermore when the branch destination address should not be used, a signal is produced to indicate that the historical branch instruction address is found. In this event, the device does not send the branch destination address to the prefetching system. The device is particularly useful when a conditional branch instruction should be executed repeatedly a predetermined number of times.

The present invention relates to a device for use in an instruction prefetching system of a data processing system in controlling a branch history table arrangement which will presently be described. The device according to this invention can therefore be called a branch history table controlling device.
Various instruction prefetching systems are already known in the art. An example is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 286,021 filed Dec. 19, 1988, as a continuation-in-part application by Syuichi Hanatani et al for assignment to the present assignee based on patent applications filed in Japan under Application No. 203,550/1982 and others.
According to the Hanatani et al application, the data processing system includes as usual an instruction address register for memorizing a request address signal representative of an instruction request address. Supplied with the request address signal, an instruction memory produces an instruction signal representative of an instruction from one of its memory addresses that is indicated by the request address signal. The instruction prefetching system is for carrying out instruction prefetch of successively prefetching such instructions along an instruction stream with each instruction prefetched as a current instruction at a time in compliance with the request address signal which is currently memorized in the instruction address register to represent a current request address.
The instruction stream may include a conditional branch instruction which indicates, depending on a condition, one of a branch direction of going to a branch destination or target instruction and a continued direction of not going to the branch destination instruction. The condition is indicated by an outcome obtained after a decoding cycle in which decoding is carried out on the conditional branch instruction prefetched prior to the decoding cycle. Until the decode cycle of the conditional branch instruction, the instruction prefetch proceeds along the branch and the continued directions when prediction is branch successful and branch unsuccessful, respectively.
In order to reduce a loss cycle time which is inevitable when the outcome is found to indicate that the prediction is either incorrect or correct, the instruction prefetching system preferably comprises either a branch history table (BHT) or a decode history table (DHT). The branch history table is revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,183 issued to Edward H. Sussenguth. The decode history table is revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,872 issued to Jacques J. Losq et al and is alternatively called a decode-time history table.
The branch history table is for memorizing a plurality of signal pairs. Each signal pair comprises a branch instruction address signal and a branch destination address signal. Previous to prefetch of a conditional branch instruction as a current branch instruction, it is usual that the conditional branch instruction is already prefetched as a previously executed branch instruction and subsequently decoded to produce a historical outcome. Only when the historical outcome indicates that the prediction should have been branch successful, the branch instruction address signal indicates the memory address of the previously executed branch instruction as a previously executed branch instruction address. The branch destination address signal represents a branch destination address which corresponds to the previously executed branch instruction address and is obtained when the previously executed branch instruction was subjected to execution.
In the manner described in the above-cited Hanatani et al application, a retrieving arrangement is connected between the instruction address register and the branch history table for use in retrieving one of the branch instruction address signals of the signal pairs that represents a branch instruction address indicated by the request address signal representative of the current request address. When such a branch instruction address is located, the branch history table produces the branch destination address signal representative of the corresponding branch destination address for use in continuing the instruction prefetch from the branch destination instruction which is represented by an instruction signal produced when the corresponding branch destination address is used in accessing the memory address.
A combination of the branch history table and the retrieving arrangement is herein referred to as the branch history table arrangement. Inasmuch as the signal pairs are memorized only when the historical outcome indicated that the prediction should have been branch successful, the branch history table arrangement is not effective when the prediction should have been branch unsuccessful in connection with a branch instruction which should be prefetched.
The decode history table is for memorizing a plurality of signal pairs like the branch history table. Each signal pair represents a historical branch instruction and a historical outcome which indicates either of branch successful and unsuccessful. The branch destination instruction is therefore fetched after the decode cycle of the conditional branch instruction which is located in the decode history table as one of the previously executed branch instructions represented by the signal pairs. This is undesirable in carrying out the instruction prefetch.

Device for effectively controlling a branch history table for an instruction prefetching system even if predictions are branch unsuccessful


The present invention is a plant growth promoter containing one or more seed shell components of plant selected from Palmae Elaeis, Leguminosae Faboideae, Juglandaceae, Rosaceae Prunus, and Oleeae.

Various nutritional factors are necessary for plant growth. A shortage of some of the factors is known to hinder plant growth. For example, three major fertilizer factors are: nitrogen which is a component element of proteins; phosphorus which is not only a constituent element of nucleic acids or phospholipids but plays an important role in energy metabolism and synthesis or decomposition reactions of substances; and potassium which has physiological action of substance metabolism or mass transfer. A shortage of these major components generally depauperates plant growth. Calcium is an important component constituting plant bodies and cells and also plays an important role in maintaining the balance of the metabolic system. Therefore, deficiency in calcium causes physiological disorders. In addition, various nutrients such as Mg, Fe, S, B, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cl, Si, and Na are necessary for plants.
These nutritional components such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are applied in the form of a base fertilizer or an additional fertilizer, or a liquid fertilizer is diluted and provided by soil drench or foliar spray. Although these fertilizers are essential for plant growth, the application of the fertilizers beyond certain concentrations cannot contribute to improvement in the growability and yields of plants.
However, an important challenge to agricultural production is to increase yields by promoting the growth of agricultural crops and increasing harvests per unit area. For this purpose, various necessary plant growth regulators have been developed and utilized. The plant growth regulators represented by gibberellin, auxin, and the like are used for regulating growth such as sprouting, rooting, elongation, flower formation, or fruit setting, and morphogenic reaction. However, these substances have multifaceted and complicated actions and limited applications.
Various techniques considered to lead to the growth promotion of agricultural crops have heretofore been proposed. In fields where agricultural crops are to be cultivated, soil properties are important factors in terms of productivity and the like, and studies are being carried out to increase productivity by improving soil properties. The use of plant-based materials at that time has also been studied.
JP-A 61-289820 describes a soil improvement agent obtained by crushing and cutting a coconut shell into irregular shapes with its epidermis and hard inner shell adhering to each other, and then sorting according to size and packaging.
JP-A 9-302340 describes a soil improvement agent mainly composed of the fibrous material of coconut rind.
JP-A 11-50052 describes a soil expansion and softening agent in which coconut shell chips and coconut shell fibers are mixed with coconut shell dust.
JP-A 2000-23560 describes at least one culture soil selected from the group consisting of coconut dust, beaten bark, and sawdust as the culture soil.
JP-A 2003-192484 describes a growth promoter for plants characterized by containing an organic substance such as a pulverized product obtained by pulverizing the mesocarp of coconut fruit or a fermented product thereof, and a neutralizing agent.


A holster for containing a sealant caulk gun heaving a tip comprising:

Many tools are used under conditions which make it inconvenient for the user to keep them in hand or to set them aside when they are not actually in use. The well-known caulking gun is one of these. In addition, the dripping of caulking compound from the tool during non-use represents a problem because it so easily can wind up on the hands or clothes of the user, or on the floor where it becomes a safety hazard to others, and can be tracked to other locations.
Apparently, little has been done to alleviate this problem. Of course, there are many belt-suspended holders for tools in general, but few, if any, address the special problems posed by caulking guns. The following patents address belt-suspended holders of tools, and only one addresses a holster for a caulking gun.
Martin Swiss Pat. No. 250,232, published May 18, 1948, discloses a belt from which are suspended, by loops, a number of sheaths into which are inserted various kinds of materials and tools. Except for illustrating the concept of suspension by loops from a belt, Martin has no bearing on the present invention.
Henrion French Pat. No. 1,077,958, published Nov. 15, 1954, discloses a sheath or scabbard having a protective tip thereon, for suspending files or the like slim pointed objects from a belt, and providing for the tip to be fastened to a wearer""s thigh. Except for the protective tip to cover the points, Henrion has no bearing on the present invention.
Gliebe U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,101, issued Feb. 13, 1962, discloses a holder for a fishing rod, said holder being held on a belt by a sheath. Gliebe""s only relationship to the present invention is to disclose a sheath suspended from a belt.
Breeding et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,735, issued Sept. 26, 1967, discloses a holster for a mason""s trowel, designed to be adaptable to a range of sizes thereof. Other than being a holster to suspend a tool from a belt, it has no relationship to the present invention.
Rosenkaimer U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,787, issued Sept. 19, 1978, discloses a scabbard for a knife which can be attached to a belt without unfastening the belt. Other than disclosing one method of removably attaching a belt clip over a belt, there is no relationship to the present invention.
Pattermann U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,708, issued Nov. 17, 1981, discloses a scabbard or sheath for a drywall taper""s knife. Pattermann has no relationship to the present invention.
Tuthill U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,088, issued Jan. 29, 1985, discloses a sportsman""s sheath for holding a pair of pliers and a knife. There is no relationship to the present invention.
Litman U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,116, issued May 13, 1986, discloses a holster for holding a tear-gas projector on the belt. Other than disclosing a receptacle for holding the projector, there is no relationship to the present invention.
Devine U.S. Pat. No. 5,232137 issued Aug. 3, 1993 discloses a holster for carrying a spray can with a receptacle for receiving the end of the spray can.
Byrd U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,281 issued Jan. 31, 1995 discloses a painter""s utility belt which has a variety of loops, one of which can secure a section of PVC pipe or the like to provide for the storage of a caulking gun.
Banks U.S. Pat No. 4,830,247 issued May 16, 1989 discloses a holster for a caulking gun supported from a belt having a nose plate, a clasp and a cutting element and a wire element for opening the caulking gun.
The only relationships to the present invention which are disclosed in the foregoing references are those which are old in the art, and which do not anticipate or suggest, either singly or in combination, the novel improvements of the present invention which uniquely has an anti-drip mechanism on the end, a detachable belt clip means, and a carrying pouch for additional tools.
The present invention is a hands-free xe2x80x9cholsterxe2x80x9d for a caulking xe2x80x9cgunxe2x80x9d, which is comprised of a strap, which can be suspended from a belt and having a first end and a second end. The first end of the strap is made in the form of a clip which can be removably attached to a belt by sliding over the belt edge without lacing through the belt. The invention further comprises a body secured to the second end of the strap for holding the caulking xe2x80x9cgun,xe2x80x9d having a first body end with a guide horn secured to the body opposite the side the strap secures to the body and a second body end with an opening and elongated nose with an opening in communication with the opening in the second body end. On the second body end, the opening receives the tip of the caulking xe2x80x9cgunxe2x80x9d once the gun is inserted in the holster, and the elongated nose then surrounds the tip. The elongated nose has a removably detachable cap which can be secured to the elongated nose to prevent caulk from spraying or spattering the user or surrounding environment.
One of the benefits and objectives of the invention is that it frees the user""s hands to perform other tasks except when actually engaged in caulking.
Other benefits and objectives will become apparent as the detailed description and the drawings are studied.

Abstract: a strap having a first end and a second end,

Abstract: a clip with a tongue formed in the first end for attaching or disengaging from another object;

Abstract: a body connected to said second end of the strap further comprising a first body end with a guide horn and a second body end having a second body end opening and an elongated nose connected to the second body end;

Abstract: said elongated nose further having an opening disposed therein in communication with the second body end opening for receiving the tip of said sealant/caulk gun; and

Abstract: a cap detachably secured to the elongated nose.


An analog-to-digital conversion circuit includes a first comparator, a second comparator and a counter circuit. The first comparator compares an analog signal with a ramp signal. The second comparator compares the analog signal with the ramp signal plus a predetermined offset. When a signal level of the ramp signal is less than a signal level of the analog signal, the counter circuit counts a number of clock cycles of a first clock signal to generate a first portion of a digital signal. When the signal level of the ramp signal plus the predetermined offset is greater than the signal level of the analog signal, the counter circuit counts a number of clock cycles of a second clock signal to generate a second portion of the digital signal. A frequency of the first clock signal is less than a frequency of the second clock signal.

To meet the demand for high resolution and high speed imaging, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor (CMOS image sensor or CIS) usually employs column-parallel analog-to-digital conversion architecture to sample and convert analog signals outputted from pixels. As a single slope analog-to-digital converter (ADC) can meet the need for small pixel sizes, the column-parallel analog-to-digital conversion architecture is implemented almost by single slope ADCs. However, as image resolution is further increased, a conversion speed of a single slope ADC cannot meet the requirements of high speed imaging. Also, power consumption resulting from a counter of the single slope ADC increases.
Therefore, there is a need for a novel analog-to-digital conversion scheme, which can simultaneously meet the needs for high resolution, high speed imaging, small pixel sizes and low power consumption.

Analog-to-digital conversion circuit, image sensor and analog-to-digital conversion method


A stabilization part stabilizes surface vibration of a flexible optical disk along a rotation axis direction of the optical disk by means of pressure difference of air flow created according to Bernoulli's law at a portion on which information writing/reading is performed, provided on a side of the optical disk opposite to a side on which information recording/reproducing is performed. In this case, areas are provide on the upstream side and down stream side along the disk rotation direction of the portion of the optical disk which is stabilized by said stabilization part, said areas of the optical disk not having pressure difference created thereon by the air flow.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk drive system employing a disk surface stabilization mechanism, and, in particular, an optical disk drive for carrying out rotation drive of an optical disk which is an optical information recording medium in a form of sheet which has a flexibility, an optical information recording device, an optical information reproduction device, and a disk cartridge used therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical disks are demanded to store mass digitized data, as digitization of television broadcasting starts in recent years. A basic method of improving recording density on the optical disks is to reduce the diameter of a beam spot used for recording/reproduction information onto/from the optical disk.
For this reason, it is effective to shorten in wavelength of light used for recording/reproduction, and also, it is effective to enlarge numerical aperture NA of an object lens applied there. As for the wavelength of light, the wavelength of approximately 650 nm of red light is used on DVD while 780 nm of near infrared light is used on CD. Recently, a semiconductor laser of purple-blue light has been developed and it is expected that approximately 400 nm laser light will be practically used.
Moreover, the object lens for CD has less than 0.5 NA while the object lens for DVD has approximately 0.6 NA. It is demanded that the numeral aperture (NA) be enlarged further to 0.7 or more, from now on. However, enlarging NA of the object lens and shortening the wavelength of light may result in increase in influence of aberration in case the light applied is weakened. Therefore, the margin of tilt on the optical disk may decrease. Moreover, since the depth of focus becomes smaller by enlarging NA, it will be necessary to increase focus servo accuracy in the optical disk drive.
Furthermore, since the distance between the object lens and record surface of an optical disk becomes smaller by using the object lens of high NA, the object lens and optical disk may collide before focus servo control operation at the beginning thereof, unless surface vibration or axial runout on the disk is sufficiently controlled.
For example, as the O PLUS E (vol. 20 , No. 2) discloses on page 183 , as a large-capacity optical disk drive system having a short wavelength and high NA, a record film is formed on a rigid and thick substrate as in CD, and, light for recording/reproducing is not made to pass through the substrate, but recording/reproducing is made onto the record film through a thin cover layer is proposed.
Moreover, Japanese laid-open patent application No. 7-105657 and Japanese laid-open patent application No. 10-308059 disclose a method of stabilizing surface vibration on optical disk as a result of a flexible optical disk being rotated on a specially provided stabilization plate having a plane surface.
However, in case the substrate of optical disk is made of a rigid body, it is necessary to manufacture the optical disk at a very high accuracy and also to form the record film at a very low temperature condition in order to sufficiently reduce surface vibration and/or tilt of the disk which is rotating at high speed. Such requirements may reduce the yield of products, which may result in cost rise of optical disks.
Moreover, by the method for rotating an optical disk with flexibility on the stabilization plate, if it is made to rotate on a simple plane surface as disclosed by Japanese laid-open patent application No. 10-308059 , the optical disk and the stabilization plate may touch and slide. For this reason, the optical disk may vibrate, and surface vibration at high frequency may occur. Such a type of surface vibration at high frequency may fall in a frequency range for which mechanical focus servo control cannot deal with, and, thereby, residual servo error may not be sufficiently eliminated.
Furthermore, if the optical disk and object lens slide mutually due to surface vibration, dirt/dust may be generated thereby, which then may cause various error. Especially, as Japanese laid-open patent application No. 7-105657 discloses, the record film of an optical disk may be damaged in the case the record film is provided on the side facing the stabilization plate, which may directly result in recording/reproducing error.

Disk drive system employing effective disk surface stabilization mechanism


In a communications network, such as the Internet system and method for arranging the transportation of baggage for airline passengers. Flight information and baggage information from a user is received via the communications network. Typically this is accomplished via a combination of information capture from an online travel provider (e.g., airline) and user input at a Web page. The baggage to be transported is identified and transported from an origin airport to a destination airport. The baggage is delivered to the user specified destination location. The method may further comprise collecting the baggage from an origin location other than the origin airport (e.g., residence, office, hotel, etc.). Travelers may access updated information concerning the location of their baggage from a desktop or laptop computer, a hand-held communication device, a cellular telephone with Internet access, or other suitable communications device.

Transporting baggage to and from the home or office to the airport is frequently one of the most cumbersome aspects of airline travel for business and pleasure travelers alike. Moreover, airline passengers carrying more than one small piece of luggage to the airport are often forced to wait in long lines to manually check their luggage with airline personnel. Typically, at check-in, an airline employee inputs the passenger's name or ticket number and the number of bags traveling with the passenger into a computer terminal. Tags are then generated and affixed to the baggage, which is then placed on a conveyor. Due to the time constraints associated with airline travel, this delay often forces passengers to hurry through the airport to board their flights on time, adding to an already stressful travel experience.
The inconvenience associated with checking baggage continues even after passengers disembark an aircraft in their destination city. Travelers must typically wait at baggage carousels for their baggage to appear, while the line outside of the airport for ground transportation steadily grows. Those unlucky passengers whose bags are unloaded last from the aircraft will unfortunately spend additional time waiting in line for ground transportation. In addition, airline delays and/or unavoidable scheduling may often force business travelers to carry their baggage directly from the airport to a business meeting because they do not have sufficient time to check in at their hotel.
The prior art includes baggage handling systems that are limited to intra-airport (or intra-terminal) baggage handling. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,639 to Yamazaki is directed to an intra-airport baggage receiving and handling method and system, with particular emphasis on the security aspects of baggage handling. Other prior art shipping services ship packages (e.g., a set of golf clubs) as freight separate from the passenger (i.e., the packages or baggage are not transported as checked baggage on a commercial airline flight with their passenger owner). Airlines will also typically deliver baggage to the home of a passenger when that baggage was temporarily lost or delayed during travel. None of these prior art systems, however, eliminates the need for travelers to carry their bags to the airport, wait in line to check their bags at the counter with airline personnel, with a skycap, or at an airport kiosk, retrieve their bags from an airport carousel, and carry their bags to a destination location.
While passenger convenience remains an important priority for air travel providers, the events of Sep. 11, 2001 have also raised public awareness of security issues surrounding air travel. Making our airways safe has become a priority of both the air travel industry and our federal government. One focus of this wide-ranging security effort has been on baggage screening and efforts to ensure that checked bags do not contain explosive devices. To this end, Congress has mandated that by Dec. 31, 2002, 100% of checked baggage at all United States airports must be electronically screened for explosives.
Critics of this mandate maintain that it will be impossible to achieve 100% baggage screening with currently-existing explosive detection system (EDS) facilities due to high false-positive screening rates and low throughput capability. They also suggest that the cost for installing a sufficient number of EDS machines to satisfy the mandate would exceed current budget estimates. They therefore recommend that Congress relax the mandate and push the deadline for 100% baggage screening to 2004. This would allow time to procure and install additional EDS machines and to realize improvements in EDS technology. Such a delay in implementing the mandate, however, will obviously adversely affect air travel security.

Baggage transportation security system and method


A bone prosthesis has a growth enhancement coating recessed in and protected by its surface topography. The topographic features define gaps under a few millimeters which are readily spanned by new bone growth, while the features protect the coating from abrasion or physical damage. The topographic features substantially surround the coated regions, and prevent migration of flakes spalled during implantation or microparticles shed by the coating as it is resorbed or incorporated in new bone over time. In a preferred embodiment, edge features cast in the surface of a metal prosthesis include dovetail, undercut or skewed faces which firmly interlock with newly-growing bone to form a strong and shear-free, substantially rigid attachment. The prosthesis may be cast in a mold having a complex surface interlock texture, and these molds may be mass produced by an iterative three-dimensional printing technique to build each mold up in layers in the form of a suitable casting negative. The prosthesis is then cast of molten metal in the mold, and the mold material is broken away and cleaned off, e.g., by an etch. A growth enhancer such as hydroxyapatite (HA) is plasma-sprayed to selectively deposit on and completely cover the floors of the recesses formed in the casting. Preferably, the upper surfaces about the recesses are polished, and the recess walls are overhung so they are masked from the coating process, causing the HA coating to adhere only in the protected floor regions. The HA floors are at the bottom of pits or macropores, at a depth of under three millimeters, and preferably one-half to two millimeters, so that new bone growth spans the gaps and penetrates into the prosthesis over an extended surface textured region.

The present invention relates to implantable bone prostheses, and more particularly to bone prostheses which are structural in the sense that they are formed of a strong material which is attached to a bone in a way to replace or reinforce all or a portion of the natural bone. Examples of such prostheses include bone plates which are fastened to the bone at a fracture site to connect separated pieces and provide a structural link across a break or crack. Such bone prostheses also include entire joints or articulations or portions thereof, such as are customarily employed to replace or rebuild weakened, diseased or damaged hip joints, knee joints or the like.
In general, it has been found desirable that the prosthesis become incorporated in the existing bone, or at least that new bone growth attach to surfaces of the prosthesis to form a strong junction therewith. Historically, early prostheses sought only a certain level of biocompatability or nontoxicity for the material employed in the body or outer surface of structural elements forming the prosthesis. This approach essentially treated prosthetic patches as though they were braces or struts used in building construction, and relied extensively on material strength and the fitting or the contour of the article to replace corresponding bone strength. Subsequently, it was learned that bone adheres better to textured surfaces and that particular shapes and sizes of the surface texture or relief on a prosthetic device enhance the regrowth of bone in and around the surface, and increase the strength of the junction so formed. Particular material such as calcined and sintered preparations of coral or mineral-like materials, such as calcium phosphate-hereafter referred to simply as hydroxyapatite (HA)--were found to especially enhance new bone growth and promote incorporation into active bone processes.
Taking for example, a simple prosthetic device such as a replacement stem of a hip joint, these insights as to bone growth enhancement have been applied in several ways, as follows. Such an assembly normally includes a ball, and a stem to which the ball is attached, wherein the stem is tapered, and possibly splined or otherwise shaped to fit within the femur and to rigidly anchor the ball and stem assembly to this major leg bone. The ball itself is generally a polished metal or metal/ceramic article, which may be permanently or removably affixed to the stem portion by a very strong and precisely machined or molded fitting, such as a tapered bore and post. The stem, on the other hand, is typically substantially all metal, such as a titanium or a cobalt chrome alloy, and is intended to bear the load and bending stresses transmitted between stem and bone along the upper leg. While historically femoral stems were initially simply cemented in position with an acrylic or similar cement, subsequent knowledge of bone growth has lead to the development of such stems having textured regions configured for promoting bone growth and enhanced gripping strength with the newly-grown bone. There has been a concomitant reduction and even elimination of the use of cement for initially attaching the stem to the bone at this site.
A number of ways have evolved for creating the aforementioned surface textures, including plasma spraying of metal droplets, baking-on or welding of thin wires or grains onto regions of the surface, and more recently, the direct casting of the article with regions of surface texture formed by a pattern in the casting mold. In the latter approach, several difficulties were initially presented. First, a casting procedure necessarily involves forming a suitable mold and, subsequent to casting of the metal article, removing the mold. The existence of surface texture on the mold and the cast part generally increases the difficulty of separating the two parts. Second, often desirable textures quite simply cannot be separated without breaking the mold. This feature has also presented difficulties for example in attempts to mass produce appropriate molds by conventional processes such as slip casting the mold body over a wax perform.
Problems of this type can be largely overcome by initially making the molds in an automated manner using techniques such as three dimensional printing, which are described in greater detail in commonly assigned U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 08/198,874 and the file wrapper continuation of that application filed on Jun. 6, 1995, as well as the techniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/198,607 filed Feb. 18, 1994, as well as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,055 of Sachs et al., the disclosures of all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Those applications taken together describe techniques for three-dimensional printing or building-up and curing of a form or a mold having an arbitrary bounding surface, so that the article cast therein may be formed with complex or arbitrarily-designed surface protrusions or indentations, including protruding walls of an undercut or overhanging type which would normally be not manufacturable in multiple copies, or which would present great difficulty of proper filling, finishing, or separation from the mold if so manufactured. It also allows the computerized storage and generation of shapes, and the precise modification or scaling of dimensions and contours to allow one to quickly identify and subsequently define shapes suitable for optimal bone growth and attachment, and to manufacture such textured prosthesis in multiple sizes.
So far as relevant to present application, mold and prosthesis forming techniques of the foregoing patent applications are assumed known and their teachings are incorporated by reference herein without further discussion. They allow one to cast a prosthesis with a desired shape of growth-compatible and grip-enhancing surface relief.
In addition to surface texture, various prior art techniques of forming a prosthesis use a bone growth material such as hydroxyapatite, either in the structural body or in regions of the surface of the prosthesis. One such technique has been to form a porous body of hydroxyapatite (HA), which is then filled by casting a metal for reinforcement into the porous body. Another approach is to apply the hydroxyapatite as a surface coating to an already-cast article. Such a coating may be applied, for example, by a plasma spray deposition process in order to firmly adhere the HA material to the surface of an already-cast article. Other techniques of applying an HA coating include painting-on a slurry of hydroxyapatite and baking it at a sufficiently high temperature.
However, the approach of applying such a coating to enhance bone growth and attachment at the surface of a prosthesis has generally fallen into disfavor because both the process of initial handling and implantation, and the resorbability and disintegration in vivo of the hydroxyapatite, result in shedding of flakes and microparticles, and these shed particles can cause adverse bodily reactions, such as lysis and cell reactions, or can become trapped or embedded as abrasive bodies in components in the joint space.
Accordingly, it would desirable to provide a bone prosthesis with enhanced bone growth properties but without the structural disadvantages of prior growth enhancement constructions.

Bone prosthesis with protected coating for penetrating bone intergrowth


A voltage conversion circuit includes a reference voltage generation unit for generating a reference voltage having a uniform level regardless of a level of an input voltage varying according to an operation mode; and a driver unit for generating and outputting an active voltage or a standby voltage using the reference voltage output by the reference voltage generation unit according to a control signal.

The present invention relates to a flash memory device, and more particularly to a voltage converter circuit for providing an operation voltage to a flash memory device which has a reduced circuit area.
Recently, as demand for mobile devices such as a camcoder, digital camera, cellular phone, MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer3) player, etc., increases, efforts for improving operation performance of mobile devices have been made.
Since mobility of the mobile devices themselves is important, they are made to be portable and thus power is supplied to them via battery, etc. Accordingly, for improving the portability of the mobile devices, they tend to be designed lighter and to consume less power for lengthening their operation time period. External voltage (VCC) supplied by the mobile device is inputted to the flash memory device having a voltage down converter (VDC) and a flash memory chip. The VDC reduces the external voltage (VCC) and converts it to a voltage suitable for operating the flash memory chip.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a flash memory device.
Referring to FIG. 1A, the flash memory 100 includes a voltage down converter (VDC) 110 for lowering an external voltage VCC input from an external source, e.g., from a mobile phone. The lowered voltage is provided to a flash memory chip 130 for its operation.
FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the VDC 110 of FIG. 1A.
Referring to FIG. 1B, a voltage down converter 110 includes a reference voltage generation unit 111 for outputting a reference voltage having a substantially constant level using an external voltage VCC, and a driver unit 112 for providing a voltage according an operation mode using the reference voltage output by the reference voltage generation unit 111.
The reference voltage output by the reference voltage generation unit 111 is substantially constant regardless of variation in the external voltage VCC. The driver unit 112 generates and outputs the voltage for operation of the flash memory chip using the reference voltage output by the reference voltage generation unit 111.
The reference voltage generation unit 111 is designed to ensure stability for Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) in order to output the reference voltage of a constant level (or uniform level).
FIG. 1C illustrates more detailed circuit diagrams of the reference voltage generation unit 111 and the driver unit 112. The reference voltage generation unit 111 includes an active reference voltage generation unit 114 for providing an active reference voltage in an active mode, and a standby reference voltage generation unit 115 for providing a standby reference voltage in a standby mode. The active reference voltage generation unit 114 includes a first comparator COM1 and a voltage driver 113.
The driver unit 112 includes an active voltage provision unit 116 for outputting a voltage VDC according to the active reference voltage VINT_REF provided by the standby reference voltage generation unit 114, and a standby voltage provision unit 117 for outputting a voltage VDC during the standby mode using the standby reference voltage STBY_REF output by the standby reference voltage generation unit 115. The active voltage provision unit 116 includes a second comparator COM2, a PMOS transistor P, and first and second diodes D1 and D2.
A background voltage VBG provided by the flash memory chip is input to the inverse terminal (−) of the first comparator COM1 of the active reference voltage generation unit 114. A feedback voltage Vfb input from the voltage driver 113 is input to the non-inverse terminal (+) of the first comparator COM1. The first comparator COM1 outputs a control voltage VREG based on the difference between the input voltages. The control voltage VREG is input to the voltage driver 113.
The voltage driver 113 receives the control voltage VREG provided by the first comparator COM1 and outputs the active reference voltage VINT_REF needed in the active mode. In this case, the voltage driver 113 delivers the active reference voltage output to the first comparator COM1 as the feedback voltage Vfb to output the control voltage VREG so as to output the uniform reference voltage.
A test bit decoder 118 provides a test bit for controlling the reference voltage output to the voltage driver 113 based on the characteristics and peripheral circumstance of the flash memory device 100.
The standby reference voltage generation unit 115 starts to operate according to a Power On Reset (POR) signal for initiating the operation of the flash memory device 100, and outputs the standby reference voltage STBY_REF provided in the standby mode. In this case, the standby mode refers to a state where the power supply turns on, and the chip waits for operation before substantial operation is started. The standby reference voltage generation unit 115 includes circuits similar to those of the active reference voltage generation unit 115. Since the magnitudes of voltages required for the active mode and the standby mode are different from each other, the specifications for the modes are different, so that the standby and active reference voltage generation units are separately configured using devices having different characteristics.
That is, the standby reference voltage generation unit 115 is designed as a circuit having rapid response time and low current consumption, such as a Widlar Reference Circuit, and the active reference voltage generation unit 115 is designed as a circuit which is less influenced from PVT circumstances rather than current consumption.
The flash memory device 100 requires little current in a standby state (e.g., about 10 uA) because the device is not operated. During an active state, a current in the hundreds of uA to dozens of mA is consumed. In this case, operation means operations performed on the flash memory device, e.g., programming data in the flash memory device 100, reading the data, or the like.
The active reference voltage VINT_REF output by the active reference voltage generation unit 114 is input to the non-inverse terminal (+) of the second comparator COM2 of the active voltage provision unit 116. A signal at a node K2 is input to the inverse terminal (−) of the second comparator COM2.
The second comparator COM2 outputs a control signal based on voltage difference between signals input to the inverse and non-inverse terminals. The control signal output by the second comparator COM2 is input to the gate of the PMOS transistor P. The PMOS transistor P is coupled between a power supply voltage and the node K1 and outputs the power supply voltage according to the voltage level of the control signal input to the gate thereof.
First and second diodes D1 and D2 are provided between the node K1 and a ground node and connected to each other at the node K2. The node K2 is coupled to the inverse terminal (−) of the second comparator COM2. The active voltage VDC is output through the node K1.
In this case, the second comparator COM2 is operated by an active enable control signal ENABLE_ACT. When the active mode is begun, the active voltage provision unit 116 is operated by receiving the active enable control signal ENABLE_ACT, thereby providing the active voltage.
The standby voltage provision unit 117 includes circuits similar to those of the active voltage provision unit 117, and is configured to use devices suitable to characteristics according the magnitude of the output voltage. The standby voltage provision unit 117 is operated when a standby enable signal ENABLE_STBY is received.
FIG. 1D is the operation timing diagram of FIG. 1B.
The operation of the VDC 110 of FIG. 1B is described below. When the active enable control signal ENABLE_ACT is at a low level, and the standby enable control signal ENABLE_STBY is at a high level, the standby voltage provision unit 117 is operated.
Furthermore, when the standby enable control signal ENABLE_STBY is at a low level, and the active enable control signal ENABLE_ACT is at a high level, the active voltage provision unit 116 is operated.
As describe above, the magnitudes of currents required for the active mode and the standby mode are different from each other, so that different reference voltage provision circuits are provided according to specs. Accordingly, the active reference voltage generation unit 114 and the standby reference voltage generation unit 115 are separately configured, which requires the use of more area.

Voltage converter circuit and flash memory device having the same


A hose cutter tool includes scissor arms joined at a pivot point having opposed jaws, one of which includes a cutter blade and the other of which defines an arcuate support surface to hold tubing material. As the arms are manipulated, the blade descends through and cuts the tubing material.

This invention relates to a device for cutting tubing and the like, and more particularly, to a device which includes arm members that are connected to operate with a scissors action and include jaws that facilitate positioning of a tube appropriately for proper engagement by a jaw mounted blade that cuts the tube.
Canadian Patent No. 1,178,426 discloses a scissors type tube cutter which includes a pair of opposed jaws. One jaw has a v-shaped tube support surface which positions a tube for engagement by a blade held by the other jaw. Importantly, the blade is offset from the center line of the v-shaped tube holding jaw to insure a slicing stroke by the blade against a tube positioned by the v-shaped support surface. The device disclosed has been commercialized and is useful. However, there has remained the need to provide an improved tube or hose cutter, especially for use in the automotive repair field. The present invention is directed to such an improved tube or hose cutter.


Admission control means for controlling admission of traffic into a voice communication network, the admission control means comprises means for examining a call control message of a call control dialogue when admission of said traffic into said voice communication network is requested, the admission control means admit a traffic into said voice communication network only if the call control message accompanying the traffic admission request satisfies a pre-determined admission criterion.

Local area networks (LANs) are increasingly used for carrying telephony services within an organisation or a corporate environment. For the sake of enhanced security, reliability and guarantee of QoS (quality of service), telephony services in a LAN environment are typically carried by packetized voice data traffic using VoIP (voice-over-internet protocol) technology and are separated from ordinary data traffic by segregation of LANs, for example, by VLAN (virtual LAN). A LAN which is dedicated to VoIP telephony services is referred to as a trusted LAN in this specification because of the more stringent demand on service security, reliability and network robustness. On the other hand, a LAN for carrying ordinary data traffic, including a combination of voice and data traffic, is referred to as an "un-trusted network". The segregation of voice and data LANs means that devices connected to the segregated LANs cannot communicate among themselves directly via the Data Link Layer (layer 2 of the OSI 7-layer model) and communication between such devices will have to take place via an upper layer, that is, the Network Layer.
To safeguard service integrity of a trusted voice network, devices are admitted into the trusted voice network upon satisfactory authentication. Authentication before admission does not pose a major problem for special IP-phones which have a built-in authentication mechanism. However, pre-admission authentication does pose difficulties for devices without dedicated authentication means, such as, for example, "off-the-shelf" IP phones or soft-phones which are software based VoIP applications running on devices connected to an un-trusted network.
While the segregation of voice and data networks enhances security, reliability and robustness of a trusted voice network by mitigating the risks of spread-over damage due to malicious attack on the un-trusted network, this also poses severe, if not impossible, limitations to communications between voice devices respectively connected to the trusted and un-trusted networks. For example, soft-phones or IP-phones connected to an un-trusted network but without dedicated authentication means will have to go through normal or public internet channels in order to establish voice communication with voice devices connected to the trusted network. However, traffic through normal public internet channels are typically safeguarded by a corporate firewall which is usually configured to block all UDP based media traffic. As a result, there can be no voice communications between such devices without compromise to the security of the trusted network.
To enhance deployment flexibility, it is desirable that telephony devices connected to a trusted network (which will be referred to as "trusted voice devices" (TVDs) below) and telephony devices connected to an un-trusted network (which will be referred to as "un-trusted voice devices" (UVDs) below) can communicate with each other. However, this flexibility must be on the basis that deployment costs are not substantially increased and security of the networks is not compromised by lowering the security thresholds. Compromise in network security is not acceptable and defeats the initial purposes of having segregated networks for trusted and un-trusted devices. This is currently impossible in a segregated VLAN environment mentioned above.
Throughout this specification, the term "Layer" means and refers to a Layer as defined under the OSI (open system interconnection) protocol model, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms "trusted network", "voice LAN" and "trusted voice network" are equivalent and used interchangeably, and the terms "un-trusted network", "data LAN" and "data network" are equivalent and used interchangeably. A description of VLAN techniques can be found in, for example, "IEEE Standard for Information technology—Telecommunications and information exchange between systems—IEEE standard for local and metropolitan area networks—Common specifications—Part 3: Media access control (MAC) Bridges, ANSI/IEEE Std 802.1D, 1998 Edition". This documentation is incorporated herein by reference.

Security gatekeeper for a packetized voice communication network

Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd.


A method for reducing the thrombogenicity of microvascular anastomoses in a warm blooded mammal comprising administering to said mammal at the site of said microvascular anastomoses contemporaneously with microvascular reconstruction of a small but inhibitory effective amount of TFPI.

This invention relates to a novel method for inhibiting microvascular thrombosis and, more particularly, to a method for reducing the thrombogenicity of microvascular anastomoses during microvascular reconstruction by the topical administration of a blood coagulation inhibitor known as lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor (LACI) and alternatively as tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI).
Thrombosis of microvascular anastomoses, particularly in cases of extremity trauma in free flap reconstructions, is a significant problem for the reconstructive surgeon. A recent survey by Salemark, Microsurgery 12, 308-311 (1991), revealed that many centers routinely make use of systemic anticoagulation for replants and free flap transfers. However, the risk for generalized hemorrhage [Leung, Hand 12, 25-32 (1980); Hirsh, Semin. Thromb. Hemostas. 12, 21-32 (1980)], with compounding risks from blood transfusion products, leaves open the question of benefit from massive systemic circulatory alteration merely to preserve flow in a small vessel supplying blood to non-vital tissue.
The concept of site-specific action by an antithrombotic agent, administered through simple topical application was proposed by Cooley and Gould, Microsurgery 12, 281-287 (1991). Since those vessels which are prone to thrombosis are exposed during the reconstructive effort, with ready access to the lumenal surface during the anastomotic repair, an agent could be applied through the course of normal vessel irrigation, potentially achieving a highly localized effect through surface binding to the thrombogenic site(s). In fact, Cooley et al. have described one possible agent, a peptide based on the platelet-binding and fibrin-polymerizing region of fibrinogen, and have shown its ability to reduce the occurrence of thrombotic occlusion in a rat model [6th Ann. Meeting, Amer. Soc. Reconstructive Microsurgery, Toronto, Canada, Sep. 21-23, 1990].
Thrombosis caused by vascular injury is at least partially if not predominantly initiated through the tissue-factor-mediated pathway of coagulation.
Plasma contains a multivalent Kunitz-type inhibitor of coagulation, referred to herein as tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI). This name has been accepted by the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Jun. 30, 1991, Amsterdam. TFPI was first purified from a human hepatoma cell, Hep G2, as described by Broze and Miletich, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 1886-1890 (1987), and subsequently from human plasma as reported by Novotny et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264, 18832-18837 (1989); Chang liver and SK hepatoma cells as disclosed by Wun et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265, 16096-16101 (1990). TFPI cDNA have been isolated from placental and endothelial cDNA libraries as described by Wun et al., J. Biol. Chem. 263, 6001-6004 (1988); Girard et al., Thromb. Res. 55, 37-50 (1989). The primary amino acid sequence of TFPI, deduced from the cDNA sequence, shows that TFPI contains a highly negatively charged amino-terminus, three tandem Kunitz-type inhibitory domains, and a highly positively charged carboxyl terminus. The first Kunitz-domain of TFPI is needed for the inhibition of the factor VII.sub.a /tissue factor complex and the second Kunitz-domain of TFPI is responsible for the inhibition of factor X.sub.a according to Girard et al., Nature 328, 518-520 (1989), while the function of the third Kunitz-domain remains unknown. See also copending application Ser. No. 07/301,779, filed Jan. 26, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,833. TFPI is believed to function in vivo to limit the initiation of coagulation by forming an inert, quaternary factor X.sub.a : TFPI: factor VII.sub.a : tissue factor complex. Further background information on TFPI can be had by reference to the recent reviews by Rapaport, Blood 73, 359-365 (1989); Broze et al., Biochemistry 29, 7539-7546 (1990).
Recombinant TFPI has been expressed as a glycosylated protein using mammalian cell hosts including mouse C127 cells as disclosed by Day et al., Blood 76, 1538-1545 (1990), baby hamster kidney cells as reported by Pedersen et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265, 16786-16793 (1990), Chinese hamster ovary cells and human SK hepatoma cells. The C127 TFPI has been used in animal studies and shown to be effective in the inhibition of tissue factor-induced intravascular coagulation in rabbits according to Day et al., suora, and in the prevention of arterial reocclusion after thrombolysis in dogs as described by Haskel et al., Circulation 84, 821-827 (1991).
Recombinant TFPI also has been expressed as a non-glycosylated protein using E. coli host cells and obtaining a highly active TFPI by in vitro folding of the protein as described in co-pending application of Judy A. Diaz-Collier, Mark E. Gustafson and Tze-Chein Wun, on "Method of Producing Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor", Ser. No. 07/844,297, filed Mar. 22, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,091, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The cloning of the TFPI cDNA which encodes the 276 amino acid residue protein of TFPI is further described in Wun et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,852, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

Method of inhibiting microvascular thrombosis


A check valve for a pump of an electronically controlled brake system includes a valve body provided with a fluid path, a spring seat placed in an outlet of the fluid path of the valve body, a valve rod fitted at a lower end thereof into an inlet of the fluid path of the valve body, a valve piston provided with a through hole that is selectively opened and closed by an upper end of the valve rod, as the valve piston moves upward and downward along an inner wall of the valve body, and a spring interposed between the spring seat and the valve piston.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a check valve for the pump of an electronically controlled brake system, such as an anti-lock brake system, a brake traction control system or a vehicle dynamic control system, and, more particularly, to a piston type check valve.
2.Description of the Related Art
In general, an electronically controlled brake system is used to provide powerful and stable braking force by preventing an automobile from skidding. For such electronically controlled brake systems, there have been disclosed an Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) for preventing an automobile from skidding during the application of a brake, a Brake Traction Control System (BTCS) for preventing driving wheels from skidding during the abrupt start or acceleration of an automobile, and a Vehicle Dynamic Control System (VDCS) for maintaining an automobile in a stable state by controlling brake oil pressure using a combination of an ABS and a BTCS.
Such an electronically controlled brake system includes a plurality of solenoid valves for controlling brake oil pressure transmitted to hydraulic brakes mounted on the wheels of an automobile, a low-pressure accumulator and high-pressure accumulator for temporarily storing brake oil removed from the hydraulic brakes, a motor and pump for forcibly pumping brake oil stored in the low-pressure accumulator, and an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for controlling the operation of the solenoid valves and the motor. The above-described components are enclosed in a compact pump housing made of aluminum.
A conventional check valve for controlling the flow of fluid in a pump for an electronically controlled brake system is depicted in FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional ball-type check valve that is used in the pump of the electronically controlled brake system. The ball-type check valve, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a valve body 3 provided with an inlet 3a, an outlet 3b and a valve seat 3c, a ball 5 adapted to selectively opening and closing the valve seat 3c, a spring seat 7 tightly fitted into the valve body 3, and a spring interposed between the ball 5 and the spring seat 7. The check valve constructed as described above is tightly fitted into a pump housing 1.
Meanwhile, the above-described check valve has the following problems.
First, when the ball 5 moves away from the contact surface of the valve body 3, the ball 5 moves laterally due to the gap between the inner wall 3d of the valve body 3 and the ball 5, so that the operation thereof is unstable, thus causing the discharge pressure value of the outlet 3b to be unstable.
Second, when the ball 5 moves away from the contact surface and then comes into contact with the contact surface, the contact position of the ball 5 may vary due to the movement of the ball 5, so that leakage and variation in opening pressure may occur due to the irregular wear and variation in contact position of the ball 5 during long-term operation.
Third, since the spring 9 is seated on the spherical ball 5, the seating surface of the spring 9 is not stable, so that the function of the spring 9 may be degraded due to the offset of the spring 9, or the function and quality of the check valve may be considerably reduced due to the contact of the spring 9 with the inner wall 3d of the valve body 3.

Check valve for pump of electronically controlled brake system


A method and apparatus for producing uniform stitches in a stack of fabric layers while allowing a user to manually guide the stack across a planar surface beneath a stitch head. Stitch head actuation is controlled as a function of the rate of thread payout.

Applicant's prior U.S. application Ser. No. 10/776,355 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,446) which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an apparatus which permits a user to manually move a stack of fabric layers across a planar bed beneath an actuatable stitch head. The apparatus includes a detector for detecting the movement of the stack for the purpose of synchronizing the delivery of stitch strokes to the stack movement. This approach enables the insertion of uniform length stitches while allowing the user to freely move the stack within a wide range of speeds, to start or stop the stack movement at will, and to guide the stack in any direction across the planar bed.
The preferred embodiments described in said U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,446 employ a detector configured to detect stack movement within the throat space of a quilting/sewing machine by measuring the movement of at least one surface of the stack as it moves across the planar bed. As described, a preferred detector responds to energy, e.g., light, reflected from a target area on the stack surface (top and/or bottom) within the machine's throat space. The detector preferably provides output pulses representative of incremental translational movement of the stack along perpendicular X and Y directions. The output pulses are processed to determine the distance the stack moves. When the stack movement exceeds a threshold magnitude, a "stitch stroke" command is issued to cause the stitch head to insert a stitch through the stacked layers. As the user continues to move the stack across the planar bed, additional stitch stroke commands are successively issued to produce successive stitches.
Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,446 primarily contemplates that a user directly grasp, or touch, the stacked fabric layers to push and/or pull the stack across the planar bed. However, the application also recognizes that the user could, alternatively, mount the stack on a conventional quilt frame and then grasp the frame to move the stack across the planar bed to enable the detector to sense stack surface movement.
Applicant's U.S. Application 60/571,109 filed 14 May 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes alternative embodiments for controlling stitch head actuation which involve using a frame for mounting the fabric layer stack to retain it in a substantially taut condition. The frame is supported for user guided movement beneath a fixedly located stitch head and a detector is provided to produce signals representing the magnitude of frame translation, and thus the magnitude of stack translation.

Stitching method and apparatus employing thread payout detection


A method and system tracks objects in an environment by acquiring a first sequence of images of the environment with a visible-light camera having a first frame rate and a second sequence of images with a thermal infrared sensor having a second frame rate. The second frame rate is substantially lower than the first frame rate. The objects are tracked in the first sequence of images to obtain tracks. Warm regions in the second sequence of images are detected to obtain detections. The tracks and the detections are aligned spatially and temporally, and verified to determine whether the tracks and detections coincide after the aligning.

Person tracking is one of the fundamental problems in computer vision. There has been extensive work on tracking humans and other objects using visible-light video cameras, also referred to as red, green, blue (RGB) cameras. Despite much progress, human tracking remains a largely unsolved problem due to factors such as changing appearances, occlusions, motion of the camera and object, illumination variation, and background clutter. To deal with appearance ambiguities, a variety of methods exist that are based on techniques such as sparse representation, template selection and update, subspace-based tracking, and feature descriptors.
A fundamentally different approach to appearance ambiguities is based on using multiple modalities of sensing. One option for multimodal person tracking is to use a thermal infrared (IR) camera in combination with an RGB camera. However, the widespread adoption of thermal imaging has been hampered by the prohibitively high cost of thermal infrared cameras. Herein, we use the term infrared and the abbreviation IR to refer solely to thermal infrared signals, and not to near-infrared (NIR) signals. We use the term RGB camera to refer to a video camera that operates in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. We use the term RGB camera to encompass not only color cameras but also monochrome or grayscale cameras.
Information fusion across different modalities can be performed at various levels. For example, a low-level fusion approach can combine RGB and IR information at the pixel level, before features are determined. However, if there is a large difference between the spatial and temporal resolutions of the RGB camera and the IR sensor, then fusing low-level information is precluded. In a high-level fusion approach, a global decision might be reached after applying completely independent tracking in the two modalities.
We now describe prior-art approaches to tracking using three types of setups: an RGB camera alone (RGB camera-only tracking), an IR sensor alone, or a combination of both the IR sensor and the RGB camera (RGB+IR).
RGB Camera-Only Tracking
We now describe three basic approaches to RGB camera-only tracking. In the first approach, known as visual tracking, a single object to be tracked is manually marked in the first image of a video sequence. Then, the appearance of the object and background in the first image, along with the subsequent video images, is used to track the object over the course of the sequence. However, visual tracking methods do not include automatic initialization of tracks, which is a problem for many real-world applications. Furthermore, visual tracking methods typically track only one object at a time, and tend to drift off of the target object over long sequences.
A second approach for RGB camera-only tracking, the "tracking-by-detection" approach, provides a more complete solution for multi-person tracking. Tracking-by-detection methods rely on a person detector to detect people in images, then use appearance and other cues to combine these detections into tracks. Such methods often use a relatively slow (not real-time) person detector and combine tracks in an offline process.
An alternative paradigm for RGB camera-only tracking integrates detection and tracking more tightly with an online procedure. Examples of this third paradigm include the "detect-and-track" approach, which uses a background model to detect candidate objects for tracking and couples detection and tracking in a feedback loop.
IR-Only Tracking
Thermal IR imaging offers advantages in differentiating people from background by virtue of temperature differences. The simplest approach, which is widely adopted, uses intensity thresholding and shape analysis to detect and track people. Features traditionally used in RGB images, such as histograms of oriented gradients (HoG), and other invariant features, have been adapted to IR images for person detection. Background modeling in infrared can be combined with grouping analysis to perform long-term occupancy analysis.
Tracking Using RGB+IR
Prior art approaches differ in the level at which information from the IR and RGB streams are combined. Leykin and Hammoud, "Pedestrian tracking by fusion of thermal-visible surveillance videos," Machine Vision and Applications, 2008 describe a system that combines RGB and IR information at a low level. Their system tracks pedestrians using input from RGB and thermal IR cameras to build a combined background model.
In contrast, the system of Davis et al., "Fusion-Based Background-Subtraction using Contour Saliency," CVPR Workshop 2005, merges RGB and IR information at mid-level. Their system uses thermal and visible imagery for persistent object detection in urban settings. Statistical background subtraction in the thermal domain is used to identify an initial regions-of-interest (ROI). Color and intensity information are used within these areas to obtain the corresponding regions-of-interest in the visible domain. Within each region, input and background gradient information are combined to form a contour saliency map.
In yet another approach, Zhao et al., "Human Segmentation by Fusing Visible-light and Thermal Imagery," ICCV Workshop 2009, first tracks blobs independently in the output of the IR camera and the output of the RGB camera, and then merges the information at a high level to obtain a combined tracker.
In each of these prior art approaches to tracking using RGB and IR cameras, the IR camera has about the same fast frame rate as the RGB camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,774 uses a motion sensor to turn lights ON and OFF. However, that method cannot distinguish motion of people from other motions in the room, nor can it determine the number of people in a room.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,634,961 uses a visible light camera mounted on a fan to detect people and accordingly turn the fan ON and OFF.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,825 uses an infrared camera to detect people in a room and accordingly control an air conditioning system.

Method and system for tracking people in indoor environments using a visible light camera and a low-frame-rate infrared sensor

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


Provided is a an amphiphilic diblock copolymer including from 40 to 60% by weight, relative to the weight of the copolymer, of a hydrophilic block including a unit derived from an n-butyl acrylate monomer and a derived from a hydroxyethyl methacrylate monomer. The copolymer also includes from 40 to 60% by weight, relative to the weight of the copolymer, of a hydrophobic block including at least one unit derived from a methyl methacrylate monomer. Also provided is a polymeric membrane that includes the block copolymer and a hydrophobic polymeric matrix. This membrane is useful for treating an effluent, for example, water.

Microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are frequently used to carry out the purification of effluents, in particular of water for the production of drinking water or the treatment of wastewater before it is discharged to the environment.
The polymeric MF or UF membranes are generally manufactured by a technique referred to as phase inversion, consisting in forming a solution of polymer and additive(s), commonly referred to as collodion, in shaping this solution and finally in causing the coagulation thereof by bringing into contact with a coagulation solution containing a nonsolvent of the polymer. Following exchanges of material which take place between the collodion and the nonsolvent, a liquid/liquid phase separation takes place, resulting in the formation of a first, polymer-rich, phase, which forms the membrane, and a second, polymer-poor, phase, which forms the pores of the membrane. The liquid/liquid phase separation can also be triggered by a change in temperature.
The additives influence the structural properties and performance properties of the membrane. They are especially used as pore-forming agents, hydrophilizing/hydrophobizing agents, electrical conductors, mechanical reinforcements and/or structuring agents. In the case of semicrystalline polymers, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), frequently used for the manufacture of filtration membranes, the additives may especially influence the formation of the crystallites which confer properties of mechanical strength and/or chemical resistance on the material constituting the membrane.
The desired performance properties for a filtration membrane are of three types:                filtration performance, in particular from the perspective of permeability and selectivity;        structural properties, conferring especially more or less elevated properties of mechanical strength and chemical resistance on the membrane, depending on the surface state of the membrane; and        resistance in operation, that is to say resistance to aging and durability of filtration performance over time.
This resistance is defined as the ability of a membrane to keep its filtration, surface and mechanical strength properties in tact during the filtration of effluents to be treated but also on contact with chemical rinsing solutions, such as chlorinated solutions, systematically employed for the cleaning of the membranes between two filtration cycles. The choice of the additives makes it possible to adjust one or more of these types of properties of the membrane.
The prior art has proposed the use, as additives for the manufacture of membranes, of copolymers which make it possible to combine, in themselves alone, the advantages of several additives and more particularly amphiphilic block copolymers, as described, for example, in the patent application WO 2010/051150. Due to their particular structure, amphiphilic block copolymers adopt specific conformations in solution and especially undergo micellization in solution. During the implementation of a phase inversion process for the manufacture of a polymeric membrane, due to the presence of water in the coagulation bath, the hydrophilic chains of these copolymers are attracted towards the surface of the membrane, where they become segregated, then conferring specific anti-blinding surface properties on the membranes.
Increasing the lifetime of polymeric filtration membranes also constitutes a major challenge. Membranes are marketed with recommendations relating to their use, especially regarding the maximum momentary concentration of free sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), and regarding the pH regions in filtration and in washing, recommended so as to increase their lifetime. These limits on the use of membranes are due not only to the resistance of their base material but also to that of the additives used.
Thus, it is for example known that polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is an additive widely used for the manufacture of polymeric filtration membranes, especially for providing them with surface hydrophilicity, as indicated by Fontananova et al., 2006, Desalination 192: 190-197, unfortunately only temporarily. This is because, after several months of operation, the hydrophilic additive is rejected. Hydrophilization is therefore not durable.
It is also known that PVP is degraded by chlorinated solutions widely used for the washing of membranes, as described by Wienk et al., 1995, J. Polym. Sci. A. Polym. Chem. 33: 49, or Qin et al., 2002, Desalination 146: 307-309, or else Rouaix et al., 2006, J. Membr. Sci. 277: 137-147.
Membranes comprising PVP then lose their surface properties over time due to the degradation of the PVP, and their lifetime is limited thereby. More particularly, contact of the membranes comprising PVP with an NaOCl solution brings about an increase in their permeability and a decrease in their selectivity. These observations result from an increase in the size of the pores, and also a decrease in their mechanical strength, as explained by Arkhangelsky et al., 2007, J. Membr. Sci. 305: 176-184.
It has also been shown that additives of copolymer type could be destroyed by acidic chemical solutions, as specified by Hester et al., 1999, Macromolecules 32: 1643-1650. The surface state of the membranes may be regenerated by carrying out an annealing operation on the membrane at 90° C. for 12 hours. Such an annealing operation is not, however, compatible with industrial use of the membranes, since it can be expensive and in addition it is not completely effective. Indeed, it has especially been observed that the resistance to the absorption of proteins (bovine serum albumin (BSA)) of membranes after a single acid treatment of 30 minutes is very markedly lower than that of new membranes. The surface regeneration by annealing of the membrane only makes it possible to recover just some of the protective effect of the copolymer with regard to BSA absorption.
Moreover, patent application WO 2014/139977 describes amphiphilic block copolymers with a particular composition, used as additives for the manufacture of polymeric filtration membranes, which make it possible to manufacture membranes having improved surface properties, especially in terms of hydrophilicity or roughness. In addition, the overall chemical resistance of these membranes is superior to that observed in the context of using convention additives such as PVP, and the durability of the surface modifications brought about by the additive is increased.
However, these membranes do not exhibit entirely satisfactory behavior regarding permeability properties. Indeed, the permeability losses during filtration tests on river water are relatively large.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an additive for manufacturing polymeric filtration membranes such that said membranes have improved permeability properties.

Amphiphilic diblock copolymer and use of same for producing polymeric filter membranes


An information storage medium containing multi-language markup document information, and an apparatus for and a method of reproducing the information storage medium which includes audio/video (AV) data, multiple markup documents which contain text information to be displayed in a selected language with a video picture decoded and reproduced from the AV data, and multi-language markup document information for designating one of the multiple markup documents as a markup document in the selected language. Accordingly, the information storage medium allows the reproducing apparatus to display the text information included in the markup document in the interactive mode in respective multiple languages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive information storage medium and a reproducing apparatus for and a reproducing method of reproducing the same, and more particularly, to an interactive information storage medium containing multi-language markup document support information which is provided together with a reproduced data stream displayed in a display window defined by a markup document, and an apparatus for and a method of reproducing the information storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A proposed interactive digital versatile disc (DVD) medium (e.g., a PC Friendly DVD disc) in a current market can be reproduced in an interactive mode by a PC(Personal Computer). The interactive DVD medium contains markup language documents and audio/video (AV) data. The AV data recorded on the interactive DVD medium is reproduced as an AV data stream and displayed in a video mode or the interactive mode. In the video mode, the AV data is displayed in the same way as it is displayed on a regular DVD player while in the interactive mode, the AV data is displayed together with an HTML document in a display window defined by the HTML document. If the interactive mode is selected by a user, a web browser installed in the PC displays the HTML document recorded on the interactive DVD medium. The AV data related to the HTML document is reproduced and displayed in the display window defined by the HTML document.
For example, in a case of a movie whose content is the AV data, a video picture corresponding to a title of the AV data is displayed in a portion of the display window defined by the HTML document, and in the remaining portion of the display window, a variety of supplementary information including scripts, stories, and photos of actors and actresses can be displayed. The supplementary information may be displayed in synchronization with the title of the AV data. For example, when an actor or an actress is displayed in a moving picture section of the display window, the HTML document containing a brief biography is invoked and displayed together with the video picture.
An existing DVD-video standard defines sub-picture data that provides one of multi-language captions together with the reproduced title. Therefore, the user can enjoy the captions of the AV data in a desired language when watching the video picture.
However, the proposed interactive DVD is disadvantageous in that it allows text-based supplementary information to be displayed in only one language together with the AV data in the interactive mode. That is, the proposed interactive DVD does not have any capability to present the supplementary information displayed through the HTML document in multiple languages. Therefore, the user cannot understand text-based information displayed through the HTML document in a foreign language which the user cannot understand. As a result, the interactive mode provided by the interactive DVD is not attractive to the user.

Information storage medium containing multi-language markup document information, apparatus for and method of reproducing the same


An extractor of a square root has rows of first and second arithmetic elements, the number of which is determined in correspondence with bit lengths of a number to be extracted and of the square root thereof. The first arithmetic element comprises an adder for carrying out an addition operation based on either bit data out of the number to be extracted or zero, inverted input data, and carry data, to output addition result data and carry data, first selection circuit for outputting as first output data either the addition result data, or either the bit data or zero, based on selection data, and a second selection circuit for selecting either one or zero based on the selection data to output the selected data as second output data. The second arithmetic element comprises an incrementer for adding increment carry data to increment output data to output increment carry data and increment output data, an adder for carrying out an addition operation based on inverted output data of the incrementer, either bit data out of the number to be extracted, zero, or output data, and carry data, to output addition result data and carry data, and a selection circuit for selecting one out of the addition result data and either the bit data, zero, or output data based on selection data to output the selected data as output data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an extractor of a square root.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an arithmetic method for extracting a square root of a number of binary digit, for instance, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 59-2055. In the method as disclosed, an arithmetic operation is repeated for each bit starting from the most significant bit to the lower bit of a number to be extracted, so that a square root is obtained for each bit. After finishing an operation of the least significant bit of the number to be extracted, the square root is finally obtained. Therefore, if the number to be extracted is constructed, for example, by eight bits, the square root is obtained by repeating the similar operations eight times, which results in requiring a great time for the calculation. Furthermore, since the extractor of a square root as disclosed in the above Japanese patent Publication includes in its structure shift registers necessitating control circuits to control their operations, the circuit structure is made complex, which was another problem in the conventional method.