Previously-produced motion pictures are enhanced for theatrical exhibition, at double the frame rate at which they were originally produced. New, rendered images are interpolated between each of the images of the original motion picture. These new images are generated by computer software that analyzes the actual horizontal and vertical displacement of each pixel of every image of the original motion picture, so the interpolated images accurately depict the exact image that would have been captured, if the original motion picture had originally been produced at double the actual frame rate of production. This enhancement technique can be used for an entire motion picture, or selectively for certain scenes or sequences. For image components containing complex motion, those components are selected for treatment to correct for such complexity. The entire process can be executed automatically. In the preferred embodiment, the pictures are projected through digital means at 48 frames-per-second.

Most motion pictures produced for conventional theatrical exhibition are photographed at the frame rate of twenty-four frames-per-second, which has been in use for most of the history of cinema. At that frame rate, there persist undesirable artifacts that detract from the presentation of high-quality images, which is one of the goals of modern motion picture production and presentation. Movies shot and presented on film at 24 frames-per-second often have flicker, perceptible grain and motion artifacts, and an appearance that lacks immersive character. This latter artifact is particularly objectionable on large theater screens (fifty feet or more in width), since any image component appears to move a greater physical distance between discrete images on a large screen than on a smaller screen.
Films shot at higher frame rates succeeded, to some extent, in suppressing these undesirable artifacts. Cinerama (three synchronized 35 mm, 6-perforation filmstrips, photographed and projected at twenty-six frames-per-second, primarily used for travelogues) was somewhat successful in reducing flicker and improving resolution, and was immersive. The original Todd-AO system utilized photography at thirty frames-per-second, along with the conventional twenty-four, shot with another camera. A few motion pictures, including Oklahoma and Around the World in Eighty Days, were produced in that format. However, the use of separate photography at two different frame rates was costly, and few films were produced in the Todd-AO format. More recently, the inventor herein taught a means for transitioning between film sequences photographed for exhibition at twenty-four frames-per-second and other sequences photographed at thirty frames-per-second between scenes of a single motion picture (U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,286 (1992)). While there was a perceptible improvement in smoothness of motion at the higher frame rate, the latter system was never developed commercially.
More recently, Weisgerber has taught the use of forty-eight frames-per-second as a rate for photographing and showing motion pictures, to develop a presentation that suppresses the undesirable artifacts present at twenty-four frames-per-second (U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,614 (1997)). In that invention, certain sequences or certain image components are photographed at forty-eight frames-per-second, for a "high-impact" presentation. Other sequences or image components are photographed at twenty-four frames-per-second and double-frame printed, to retain the artifacts that gave the film the "legacy" look. With the entire motion picture produced according to that invention projected at forty-eight frames-per-second, it became possible to give certain portions of a motion picture film or certain image components a more realistic look, compared to other portions of the film or other image components.
The method of Weisgerber 614 works well only for new motion pictures, produced according to it. Because it calls for certain scenes or sequences to be photographed at 24 frames-per-second, and others to be photographed at 48 frames-per-second, it cannot be used to enhance motion pictures that were produced previously at the traditional rate of 24 frames-per-second. Weisgerber 614 called for certain portions of a motion pictures to be photographed at that speed and double-frame printed, but if a previously-existing motion picture photographed entirely at that frame rate were double-frame printed, it would still have the appearance of motion captured and displayed at 24 frames-per -second. Therefore, the method taught in Weisgerber 614 cannot be utilized for upgrading previously -produced motion pictures.
The theatrical cinema community is now recognizing and embracing the advantages of high-frame -rate presentation. The literature has recently featured high-frame-rate (HFR) photography and presentation as a topic of interest. Examples include: HFR Reactions, a SMPTE News Brief from Jan. 4, 2013, Goldman: Higher Frame Rates for 3-D: SMPTE Newswatch, November, 2012 (Peter Jackson's latest The Hobbit release and Douglas Trumbull's conversion of his ShowScan system to digital; "Playing HFR content in . . . theaters will therefore be possible, but not quick, simple, uniform or seamless"), Kaufman: The Aesthetics of High-Frame-Rate Cinema, Creative Cow Magazine (2012, quoting Steven Poster, President of the International Cinema Guild: "with the benefit of accumulated experience, the majority of moviegoers will adjust to the new language of 60 fps, and higher, motion picture, and will look back on the only 24 fps world in the way that we look back on black & white movies at 18 fps; quaint artifacts of another world."), "The Future of Cinema is Smooth, Crisp and Amazing," a slide show for exhibitors from www.christiedigital.com, March, 2012: "The biggest blockbusters are usually about immersive experiences and escapism—big, vibrant, high-action motion pictures" (at 2), "Filmmakers are now demanding the motion picture industry adopt HFR standards that reduce the motion blur, judder and strobing that's now common, and instead deliver enhanced/immersive 2D and 3D experiences for movie-goers. HFRs will give the tools and delivery platform they need to fully realize creative ideas" (at 4), "Digital cinema has turned into a fast-moving train, impossible to stop and largely driven by the box office performance of 3D movies" (at 6).
In an interview on May 12, 2012 for in70 mm.com, high-frame-rate pioneer Douglas Trumbull (inventor of the ShowScan 60-fps system, U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,160 (1984)), interviewer Wolfram Hannemann mentioned Trumbull's picture Silent Running (1972) and its production in the standard aspect ratio for 35 mm film, and asked: "So was it due to budgetary reasons that it was only 1:1.85?" Trumbull replied: "Yes—that was not enough money to make a big spectacle, in 70 mm." Trumbull also posted a statement on his web site, www.douglasstrumbull.com, on Jan. 11, 2012. Referring to James Cameron's digital production of Avatar, he said: "It does reveal . . . a frightening lack of industry-wide understanding of how to move forward toward a more powerful cinematic form and format that is more immersive."
Jeffrey Wells wrote in Hollywood Elsewhere on Apr. 29, 2012 (found at www.hollywood-elsewhere.com): "The bottom line is that, once younger audiences get a taste of it, 48 frames-per-second will be here to stay." This quotation sums up the call in the industry for higher frame rates, particularly 48 frames-per-second. All of these quotes were from articles written during the past year, which demonstrates that the motion picture industry wants high-impact presentation, with the quality associated with the 70 mm film format, at high frame rates, and produced at an affordable cost. As shall be shown, the present invention meets all of those needs.
If the predictions in the literature are accurate, a highly immersive presentation at a high frame rate will lure young viewers, who comprise the majority of today's audiences, into motion picture theaters. Only the market segment that enjoys the "classics" or motion pictures which utilize the legacy look for creative purposes would accept conventional 24-frame-per-second exhibition of films that were originally photographed at that frame rate. Emerging moviegoers will prefer the experience of watching motion pictures shot at a higher frame rate, rather than produced at the conventional frame rate of 24 frames-per-second. All the other aspects of "legacy" films, including the cinematography, story lines and talent of the performers, will be less desirable to future audiences, unless those motion pictures can be upgraded to provide the sort of immersive presentation that those audiences will expect.
The predictions in the literature indicate that only a motion picture that delivers the appearance of an immersive, high-frame-rate presentation will give contemporary audiences what they want. The upgrade described here would prevent the theatrical distribution value of essentially all of the motion pictures produced until now from being diminished by changing audience tastes, despite whatever artistic or other cinematic merits those motion pictures might have. Therefore, it the primary object of this invention to enhance motion pictures photographed and exhibited at a historic frame rate of 24 frames-per-second, and give them the exact appearance that they would have had, if they had originally been photographed and exhibited at the higher frame rate of 48 frames-per-second.
With the recent changes in motion picture technology, along with changes in the desire of contemporary viewers of motion pictures to experience a more immersive presentation than is available at 24 frames-per-second, it has become essentially impossible for previously-produced motion pictures to give these viewers the experience they are beginning to demand. This trend will become more apparent as more motion pictures are produced and exhibited at 48 frames per second or other high frame rates. In effect, the time-honored rate of 24 frames-per-second may soon become a part of cinema history. It will represent a "legacy" look that will appeal to the market segment that like "classic films" and enjoy that specific type of experience, but it will not appeal to the larger market segment that will expect a more immersive motion picture. These viewers will expect the clarity of images and the smoothness of motion in action scenes that is only available with higher frame rates.
The recent changes in motion picture technology will create a sharp line of demarcation between any motion picture produced in the future at a high frame rate, and any motion picture produced at the traditional frame rate, even if such movies were made recently. Without a means for previously-produced motion pictures to deliver the sort of experience available with new motion pictures, those movies will be regarded as part of cinema's past. Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a means for upgrading previously-produced motion pictures to deliver the quality of experience that is becoming available with new motion pictures.
The invention also does this in an economical manner, which is also one of its objects. If a motion picture was photographed at 24 frames-per-second, and a producer later decides to upgrade it for exhibition at 48 frames-per-second for any reason, the method disclosed here accomplishes that upgrade. In addition to its ability to upgrade previously-produced motion pictures, the invention can also be used to upgrade sequences of stock footage, on film or digitally-captured, for use with motion pictures specifically made for exhibition at high frame rates such as 48 frames-per-second. It can also be used for animation produced at 24 frames-per-second, as well as live action, resulting in a dimensionalized, multi-plane experience. The method eliminates judder and other artifacts of 24-frame-per-second production, including with CGI animation at that frame rate.
Most previously-existing motion pictures, even if they were produced recently, do not even meet the 1990s standard of Weisgerber 614. Most commercially produced films were, and still are, photographed at twenty-four frames-per-second, in the 35 mm feature film format, with four perforations per frame. That format did not allow for sufficient visual information storage to deliver the full effect of the previous Weisgerber invention, which required the 70 mm film format.
Under the present invention, films produced in the 35 mm format can be converted to a digital platform that can exceed the 70 mm film standard for this purpose, with exhibition by digital projection, although film projection could be used. Most importantly, twenty-four discrete images displayed during each second are not enough to provide for the smooth appearance of motion which the previous Weisgerber invention strove for, but could not fully deliver, since additional images would have been required. Unfortunately, analog film methods could not have captured images that would have displayed the look that a motion picture would have had, if it had actually been photographed at a higher frame rate. Film production and exhibition also adds undesirable amounts of judder and blurring to the transitional "in between" images that are blended through conventional image compositing. For this reason, the present invention does not blend pre-existing images at any time, but renders entirely new images for interpolation between original images, thereby doubling the amount of picture information contained in a motion picture.
The 48 frame-per-second frame rate is essential to the practice of the invention, and it can be used to upgrade any motion picture photographed at 24 frames-per-second, no matter when it was produced, or whether it was originally photographed on film or by digital image capture. With the upgrade to 48 frames-per-second for release, a motion picture enhanced according to the invention described here can also possess enhanced commercial value, because it will be distributed more widely, resulting in an additional revenue platform.
The invention disclosed here is resolution-independent, in that it can be used in connection with any resolution level presented to the viewers of a motion picture, including newly-developed high-resolution formats.
Smoothness of motion, as observed by the audience, is especially important in modern, large-screen motion picture theaters. These screens are, in many cases, fifty feet or more in width. Any finely-delineated motion projected onto such a wide screen must appear to traverse a greater distance on that screen between images than is traversed on older screens, which were seldom over forty feet wide. In order to display motion at 48 frames-per-second so it appear smooth, it is necessary to add a new extra image between each of the original images of a motion picture. This way, the large distance displaced by each picture element (pixel) from one image to the next does not impart a jerky appearance to the motion picture as projected. The present invention solves this problem by replicating exactly what each new, rendered image would have depicted if each of those images had been original images in a motion picture photographed at a high frame rate such as 48 frames-per-second.
It should be noted that other inventions have used variable frame rates for storage of digital motion picture images; see, e.g. Cok, U.S. Pat. No. 7,242,850, which teaches a method for storing such images at different frame rates for economy of storage space. The present invention teaches away from Cok by adding data in the form of new digital images, each such image placed between each image pair from the original motion picture. It is true that Cok manipulates frame rates by digital means in the practice of his invention, but his method works against the method disclosed here. Cok is drawn specifically to storing digital images with maximum efficiency and conservation of storage space. By doing so, he sacrifices the image texture, image quality and resolution that the present invention delivers. For example, Cok would only require one exposure of a shot to establish a location, even though that shot would be displayed on the screen for several seconds. When displayed, Cok's single exposure would exhibit a freeze-frame appearance, which lacks the texture and quality that would be present if the same shot were exhibited in multiple exposures, photographed at a frame rate that is the same as the display rate. Cok also calls for the blending of images to create the new images that he interpolates into the digital image sequences which he processes. It is an important feature of the present invention that there is no blending of images, and that new images are rendered for interpolation only by estimating the motion of each pixel and producing images that place each pixel where it would have been, if it had been captured at a moment in time exactly half-way between the instant at which the previous image in the original motion picture and next image in the original motion picture were captured.
By the Cok standard, the invention disclosed here is wasteful. The object of the present invention is to enhance image quality and resolution for viewers of motion pictures, primarily by taking previously-produced motion pictures produced at 24 frames-per-second, and upgrading them for exhibition at 48 frames-per-second. The invention is based on rendering a new image and inserting it between each image of the original motion picture and the next image in sequence. By doing this, the method disclosed doubles the amount of picture information contained in the motion picture. This is an inherent feature of the invention. There is a tradeoff between economical storage of data and increasing the amount of picture information to provide an enhanced viewing experience for audiences in motion picture theaters. The two goals are incompatible and militate in opposite directions. Cok optimizes efficient data storage, while the invention described here optimizes the viewer's experience by doubling the amount of information in a motion picture. By the Cok standard, the invention described here would be considered extremely wasteful. In effect, Cok compresses image data, while the present invention expands it.
The present invention also constitutes a significant improvement over Cok, because it takes advantage of technology that was unknown when the Cok invention was filed in 2001. Since that time, image quality has improved to the point where it is now possible to accomplish lossless image conversions. Digital files can be transferred and converted with no loss of resolution or image quality. Because of newly-available levels of efficiency in the processing of digital images, these transfers can be considered "lossless" in that new frames that are renderd by digital means look as good, in every aspect, as original frames from a previously-produced motion picture. The present invention teaches a method for rendering new frames and interpolating them between each frame of the original motion picture and its successor. For such an invention to work properly, the new frames must look as good, in every aspect, as the original frames. New efficiencies of digital data transfer allow this, but it could not have been contemplated when Cok reduced his invention to practice in 2001.
Even if the method taught by Cok were used for the purpose of the present invention, it would not succeed in delivering an appropriate cinematic presentation, free of artifacts. The mere use of variable frame rates, as utilized for slow-motion effects, is unsuitable for a high-impact presentation. One of the primary deficiencies of the prior art is that existing variable frame-rate methods are not capable of dealing effectively with complex motion, so that such motion could be presented to an audience in a form that is free of undesirable artifacts. By using software that "looks ahead" to place each pixel of each image in its proper position, the invention goes beyond the prior art and overcomes this deficiency.
Prior methods of synthesizing digital images also fail to produce the quality of images required for the practice of the present invention. For example, the method taught by Hazra, U.S. Pat. No. 6,369,614 and assigned to Intel Corp., may fulfill its object for images to be shown on a computer screen. On large motion picture theater screens, however, it fails to provide the resolution, smoothness of motion or image clarity, which are the objects of the present invention. For the smooth motion that contemporary audiences are accustomed to experiencing, due to its presence in other media, each pixel of a motion picture must appear to move only a short distance on the screen from one image to the next. On a screen fifty feet (600 inches or 1524 cm) wide with an image 2080 pixels wide, each pixel is nearly three tenths of an inch or three quarters of a centimeter wide. On such a large screen, it is critical that the apparent distance traveled on the screen between images be minimized, in order to display motion that appears smooth and free of unwanted artifacts. A rate of 48 frames-per-second allows each pixel to appear to move only half as far between images as a rate of 24 frames-per-second.
The primary difficulty with the method disclosed in Hazra 614 is that, if an image is found to be of unacceptable quality, Hazra's method calls for "aborting and repeating a previous frame" (claims 5, 17 and 21; see also claim 7). The feature that repeats entire frames when the quality of a particular frame is deemed unacceptable defeats the entire purpose of the present invention. If enough frames are repeated in a sequence, the result displayed to an audience would be similar to double-frame printing, as used in Weisgerber 614 for scenes or sequences of a motion picture when a high-impact audience effect is not desired. In other words, the Hazra method cannot prevent the result that portions of motion pictures are absolutely unacceptable for the present invention. The present invention corrects that defect by processing most of the pixels in the frames which the Hazra method would consider "unacceptable" and repeat in their entirety. In that manner, as shall be shown, the present invention delivers the desired effect, in a way that the Hazra invention cannot. This correction feature, which is an integral part of the invention described here, could not have been anticipated by the prior art.
The present invention presents the appearance of immersive, high-impact motion pictures by enhancing previously-produced motion pictures to render the image quality typically associated with advanced motion picture technology. By using contemporary computer techniques, motion pictures that were photographed at twenty-four frames-per-second can be enhanced to appear as though the motion had, instead, been captured at forty-eight frames-per-second. This allows release of previously-produced motion pictures, with an image quality that will satisfy contemporary audiences. Thus, the motion pictures treated according to this invention can generate a new revenue stream for their owners. The enhancement of motion pictures as described here is demonstrated by a working prototype of the system used in the practice of the invention, installed in a commercial motion picture theater.

Method for enhancing motion pictures for exhibition at a higher frame rate than that in which they were originally produced


An improved user terminal specifically designed for use in the home for accessing a wide variety of service computers is disclosed. The terminal comprises a single board computer including a microprocessor remotely reconfigurable programmable gate array logic, several types of solid-state memory, and various input-output units. The programmable gate array forms the logical connection between the microprocessor, the memory, and the input-output elements, and allows the computer to functionally mimic an IBM Personal Computer, thus allowing it to run a wide variety of software. The programmable gate array can be remotely reconfigured, and a so-called FLASH-EPROM memory is used to store reconfiguration code. This allows the hardware to be reconfigured remotely in order to add additionally function, or to cure a particular problem such as to prevent a "virus" or the like from attacking the system.

It will be appreciated that in recent years banking customers have increasingly become accustomed to using automatic teller machines (ATMs). These have been relatively successful because they provide a simple and clear "menu" of choices to the consumer at each step of each transaction, such that the customer is very readily led through the sequence of inputs required by the system to respond to the customer's request. It would be desirable if such functions could also be carried out by the consumer in the privacy of his own home, thus rendering the service more convenient and thus more likely to be commonly used.
Presently, the most widely used personal computers are manufactured by IBM Corporation (the "IBM PC" or "PC") or so called "clones" thereof. The software for the PC's is currently so widely used that it is advisable for the home computer, employed for accessing computerized services, such as banking, to be compatible with the PC's.
To date, substantially all PC's have been configured to comprise a keyboard of between 60 and 101 keys, a display device, and a housing containing the circuit boards of the computer including various interfaces to other devices such as modems for communication, printers and the like. Such PC's, while increasingly popular, still intimidate many potential users. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a computer which conforms to the functionality of the PC--that is, for example, which runs software developed for banking applications so that it can interface with banking computers, exactly as if it were in fact a conventional PC--while providing a user-friendly, simplified and nonthreatening appearance. In particular, it is desired to place a computer having PC functionality within a package physically resembling an essentially conventional telephone.
Copending Application Ser. No. 260,832 filed Oct. 21, 1988 discloses generally a telephone-resembling device which performs computer functions as well as conventional telephone functions, while presenting a user-friendly appearance. That application Ser. No. 07/260,832, is incorporated by reference herein, and the present invention is related to the invention described in Ser. No. 260,832.
It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that the provision of 37 PC functionality", that is, the ability to run conventional PC software programs without modification to the software, places very substantial constraints on the design of a computer which is to fit within a housing conforming in size and shape to that of conventional telephone. For example, substantially all PC programs are designed to be stored on "floppy disks", or are initially supplied on floppy disks and later copied to a "hard disk". Both of these memory devices require more space than is available in the housing of a conventional telephone. Similarly, the circuit boards used conventionally in PCs are much too large to fit within a conventional telephone, as are the keyboards which are conventionally used. Accordingly, it is not possibly to simply shoehorn the normal PC components into a housing resembling a conventional telephone. Moreover, it is desirable in any event to eliminate the use of removable floppy disks and the like from the device provided according to the invention, to simplify its operation and to render it even more user-friendly, and thus accessible to a wider class of possible users.
various firms, including AT&T and Sears, Roebuck & Co., have provided home banking services employing home terminals which communicate with bank service computers. These have either involved "dumb terminals", i.e., terminal devices having no intelligence, or conventional PC's. Nether system is fully user-friendly, since both require some computer literacy on the part of the user.
It will also be appreciated that if a home terminal is to provide access to a banking computer to perform financial transactions, a very high degree of security must be built into the system, such that the user cannot corrupt his own or other accounts, cannot withdraw assets from other accounts, and most importantly cannot cause a system error of a type which would cause the entire bank computer system to cease operations, however briefly. To do so means that the home terminal must interact with the network in a sophisticated way. It is also highly desirable that the interaction of terminal and host be amenable to convenient alteration at a later time if it should become necessary.
For example, there have recently been widely publicized instances of "software viruses" which permeate computer networks. The chaos caused in a banking system susceptible to such a virus can hardly be imagined. The prior art teaches no system which provides anything
It is therefore very important that the home computer be updatable, remotely from the host, with respect to hardware and software changes necessary to eliminate such bugs or viruses, and to introduce new security features, such as data encryption. remotely resembling this set of features in a terminal intended for home use for accessing a banking system.
It is another object of the invention to provide a user home terminal which is suitable for banking functions as indicated above and which would additionally be useful in accessing other sort of data bases which support, for example making airline reservations, obtaining stock quotes, accessing news tickers, accessing directory "white" and "yellow pages", and the like. Again, while various computer systems are available essentially for home use for providing these functions, in substantially all cases these are conventional personal computers which still intimidate a large fraction of the potential user market. Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide these functions as well in a user-friendly, non-intimidating compact terminal generally resembling a telephone.
Megatel Computer (1986) Corporation, of Weston, Ontario, Canada, with which at least one of the inventors named herein is affiliated, has been selling for more than a year prior to the filing date of this application a single board computer which is capable of emulating an IBM Personal Computer and running conventional software programs intended for use with conventional IBM PCs. This Megatel computer has on its single circuit board a microprocessor, typically a Nippon Electric Corporation (NEC) model V25 or V40, a programmable gate array chip sold by Xilinx Corporation under Model No. XC2018 or the equivalent, both random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) and various input-output devices as well as associated connectors and the like. Briefly stated, the use of the programmable gate array to connect the microprocessor to the memory and to the input-output devices has provided this computer with unparalleled flexibility in emulation of the basic functions of an IBM PC, such that it is capable of running substantially all conventional software programs for the IBM PC. This is true even though in many applications the Megatel computer is not connected to external magnetic storage media, printers and the like, and even though the software normally would only run on computers thus configured. To fully understand the significance of this fact, a brief discussion of the IBM PC marketplace is in order.
As a rule, conventional software programs are stated to be "PC-compatible" when they are intended to be run on the IBM Personal Computer (PC). However, not all "PC-compatible" programs will run on all PC's. That is, for example, one program may require a so-called "hard disk" having 40 megabytes storage capacity. Another may require one megabyte of RAM. A third may require an optical disk; a fourth a "VGA adapter card", and a fifth, two floppy disks. Thus, "PC-compatibility" only implies with respect to a particular software program that a PC can be configured with appropriate devices and peripherals on which the software will then run; it does not mean that all "PC-compatible" software will run on the same PC.
The basic hardware components of the PC itself, as distinguished from its peripherals, include a microprocessor, a certain amount of read-only and random-access memory ("ROM" and "RAM" respectively), and circuit elements providing logical connection between these various basic components as well as to the keyboard and the display, and to any peripherals such as modems, printers, external memory and the like. The peripherals are normally connected directly to various dedicated "driver" and "interface" chips, which are in turn connected by logic circuit elements to the microprocessor, RAM and ROM. Thus, all PC's require some sort of hardware, i.e., discrete circuit elements, to provide appropriate logical connections to functionally "glue" the microprocessor, RAM, ROM, and the various dedicated input/output devices and peripheral drivers together.
Certain software, referred to as the "BIOS", for Basic Input/Output System, is also essential to provide the "PC architecture". The BIOS provides the interface between the usual PC-compatible software programs (which are also referred to the art as "DOS-compatible", which means that they are designed to work with IBM's Disk Operating System, or DOS; DOS is thus only useful if the BIOS and BIOS-compatible hardware are already in place) and the actual hardware elements. The hardware elements, plus the BIOS, thus form the basic "PC architecture".
In the IBM PC itself, a custom designed "gate array" chip is normally used to provide the logical connection between the microprocessor, the RAM and ROM, and the various dedicated input/output and peripheral driver elements. Various others have provided these functions using so-called programmable array logic (PAL) chips. Such PALs comprise a number of predefined but not preconnected logic gates on a chip. Connections are established by fusing fusible links disposed on the chip. Having thus been programmed, the PAL circuitry cannot be further altered.
Megatel has been selling for more than one year prior to the filing date of this application a single-board computer in which the function of logically connecting the microprocessor to the memory, input/output and other devices is provided by a programmable gate array (PGA) chip, also sometimes referred as a logic cell array (LCA) chip, made by Xilinx, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. and second sourced by other firms. The BIOS used by Megatel in this computer is also commercially available. The "glue" required to functionally connect the microprocessor, the memory, and the input-output chips is provided by configuring the PGA chip by supply of a series of signals, referred to by Xilinx as "configuration programs" and sometimes herein as "configuration code" or "configuration software". Essentially, this configuration code defines the logical connection of various basic logic elements on the PGA chip.
The Xilinx "Programmable Gate Array Data Book" (1988) discusses at pages 6-38 to 6-40 use of this technology for "self-Diagnosing Hardware", suggesting that the device ". . . can perform diagnostic functions at power-up, or in test modes, and perform normal functions where the board is determined to be operational." It is specifically suggested that this will be particularly useful for testing peripheral control logic using loopback techniques, I/O and memory error detection circuitry, and interrupt techniques. It is an object of this invention to fully utilize these capabilities of the programmable gate array chip to provide very powerful test and configuration capabilities for the terminal of the invention.

Distributed-intelligence computer system including remotely reconfigurable, telephone-type user terminal


In an engine cover mounting structure, an internal portion of an elastic member comprises a small diameter hole portion having a small inside diameter and a large diameter hole portion having a large inside diameter which continues to the small diameter hole portion, the relationship between an outside diameter W1 of a head portion which engages with the elastic member and an inside diameter W2 of the small diameter hole portion is set to be W1>W2, and the relationship between an inside diameter W3 of the large diameter hole portion and an outside diameter W4 of a leg portion is set to be W3≧W4, the large diameter hole portion and the small diameter hole portion are made to communicate with each other in a step-like fashion, and at least part of a portion to be restrained is provided on an outer circumferential side of the large diameter hole portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine cover mounting structure of an engine and an engine cover which covers the engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has become common in recent years that an engine cover is provided at a position between an engine and a bonnet in an engine compartment of a vehicle. This engine cover has a function to enhance the design property within the engine compartment by visually shielding the engine as well as a function to block noise that leaks (or is transmitted) from the engine.
The engine cover is mounted on an engine member. There are known various methods of mounting an engine cover on an engine member. For example, there exists a method of fastening an engine cover and an engine member together with bolts. In addition, there exists a method in which mounting portions are provided on one of a rear side of an engine cover and an upper surface of an engine member and portions to be mounted are provided on the other, whereby the engine cover is mounted on the engine member by bringing the mounting portions and the portions to be mounted into engagement with each other (for example, refer to JP-A-2004-278779).
In a engine cover mounting structure disclosed in JP-A-2004-278779, a mounting portion is made up of a hollow frame portion and a hollow elastic member which is inserted into the frame portion. A projection having a shape corresponding to a hollow interior of the elastic member is used as a portion to be mounted. Then, the mounting portion and the portion to be mounted are attached to each other by inserting the projection into the hollow interior of the elastic member. Since the elastic member is inserted in the frame portion, the portion to be mounted is mounted in the frame portion via the elastic member.
The frame portion is opened at a distal end thereof, that is, an end portion of the frame portion which is to face the portion to be mounted is opened. The elastic member inserted in the frame portion is formed into a cylindrical shape which is opened at two end portions thereof; an end portion facing the portion to be mounted and an opposite end portion thereto. Due to this, the projection is inserted into the elastic member through the opening in the frame portion. A restraining portion is provided on the frame portion in such a manner as to project into the hollow interior. A portion to be retrained is provided on an outer circumferential side of the elastic member at a position corresponding to the restraining portion in such a manner as to be brought into engagement with the restraining portion. The elastic member is held in the frame portion by virtue of the engagement of the restraining portion with the portion to be restrained. A cylindrical interior defined in the elastic member is formed into a shape which is expanded and contracted in an axial direction. An external shape of the projection is formed into a shape which corresponds to the cylindrical interior of the elastic member. Due to this, when the projection is inserted and passed through the elastic member, an internal surface of the elastic member and an external surface of the projection are brought into engagement with each other, whereby the portion to be mounted is mounted in the mounting portion.
The projection is formed into a shape which is diametrically expanded at an axially distal end and diametrically contracted at a central portion thereof. The internal surface of the elastic member is formed into a shape in which a diametrically expanded portion and a diametrically contracted portion are provided in an axial direction thereof in order to conform to the shape of the projection. Due to this, when the distal end (the diametrically expanded portion) of the projection is passed along the diametrically contracted portion of the elastic member in an attempt to insert the projection into the elastic member, the projection needs to be inserted while diametrically expanding the elastic member, and this increases a load (a press fit load) required for the insertion. Then, when the distal end of the projection has passed through the diametrically contracted portion of the elastic member, the press fit load is reduced. As this occurs, the elastic member elastically deforms to be contracted after the temporary expansion, and since the elastic member comes into spring contact with the projection when so contracted, a vibration of shock produced when the elastic member comes into spring contact with the projection is transmitted to the hand of the operator. Consequently, the operator is able to sense and realize through a change in press fit load and the vibration whether or not the mounting work has been completed. A touch perception imparted or sensed by the operator as this occurs is referred to as a click stop feeling in insertion in this specification.
Here, in an engine cover mounting structure like the one disclosed in Patent JP-A-2004-278779, the external shape of the projection is formed into a shape which corresponds to the cylindrical interior of the elastic member. Then, in order to ensure the fixing of the projection to the elastic member, the external shape of the projection is made larger than the cylindrical interior of the elastic member. Due to this, since the projection is inserted while being brought into press contact with the elastic member, the load (the press fit load) produced when the projection is inserted into the elastic member is increased, deteriorating the mounting work efficiency. The press fit load can be reduced by reducing a dimensional difference between an inside diameter of the elastic member and an outside diameter of the projection. In this case, however, the aforesaid click stop feeling in insertion is deteriorated, and this makes it difficult for the operator to sense and realize whether or not the mounting work has been completed. Consequently, also in this case, there has been caused a problem that the mounting work efficiency is not improved as desired.


A device for switching an electrical signal, controlled by an optical wave and having an on state and an off state, which can be inserted into a microwave transmission line, comprises a semiconductor substrate on which two conductive tracks are formed, these tracks being separated by a gap providing electrical insulation between the two tracks and each being connected to an input port and an output port, in the on state the electrical contact between the two tracks being established by illuminating the substrate in the region of the gap by means of the optical wave, the input impedance and the output impedance of said switching device being mismatched to the impedance of the transmission line in the off state and are matched to the impedance of the transmission line in the on state.

With new applications in these fields, the bandwidth requirements are increasing regularly while being accompanied by a demand to reduce costs, and therefore to simplify the RF signal reception chain.
A plurality of combined effects are accentuating the need for sampling and conversion systems for analog and digital signals.
In order to digitally process the received signals, the reception chains of these receivers need to have analog/digital conversion functions.
Thus, telecommunications require larger and larger bandwidths in order to allow the transmission of dense data streams, notably in wireless local area networks (WLAN). There may be considered to be a law for data transmission equivalent to Moore's Law, namely that the bit rate of wireless communications doubles every 18 months, rapidly exceeding a rate of 1 Gbps.
Because of the intrinsic limitations of the bandwidth available to analog/digital converters being developed, without other alternative technologies having yet been suggested, microwave reception chains require complex and expensive transposition functions.
In particular, current semiconductor-based technologies do not make it possible to provide analog/digital encoders operating above 2 to 3 GHz with a large dynamic range, often lying beyond a signal-to-noise ratio of 50 dB. It is conventional to introduce microwave mixing functions into the reception chain in order to transpose the received signals into the frequency band compatible with the input of an encoder.
When the input frequencies are very high, it is necessary to resort to a plurality of mixing stages, which significantly increases the complexity of microwave reception chains.
Optically controlled electronic devices can be used to carry out the switching or sampling functions required in order to produce, notably, converters.
In the scope of use in an analog reception system, a user generally seeks a device whose performances in terms of dynamic range, insertion losses and noise are optimized, and the optical control power of which is therefore as low as possible. In the case of a photoswitch, in particular, this leads to a device whose two optically controlled states, the on state and the off state, are very different in terms of transmission, this difference being several tens of decibels (dB). Such a switch may be defined as a device having two electrodes representing an input port and an output port, which are deposited on a photoconductive substrate, as well as an interaction region consisting of the region of the substrate which separates the two ports and which, under the effect of a light wave, ensures electrical continuity between the two ports. The control light wave is generally conveyed by means of an optical fiber to the region of the component on which it interacts (interaction region) in order to control the operation of the component. Optimization of the optical control power is obtained by using systems making it possible to focus all of the light into the interaction region, with limitations which are of the order of 10 μm for a single-mode fiber and 50 μm for a multimode fiber. The literature reports a variety of research into the production of photoswitches with illumination using a high optical power, having an ultrafast operating mode, the time involved being of the order of one picosecond.
However, devices produced to date have characteristics and performances which limit the working frequency to frequencies compatible with the best contrast between the on state and the off state, denoted by ON/OFF. Thus, current devices are limited to frequencies of the order of 1 to 2 GHz, their characteristics and performances being as follows:                low ON/OFF contrast of the order of from 3 dB to 10 dB at a frequency of 20 GHz;        insertion losses of the order of 30 dB;        high optical control power, of the order of 100 mW on average.For a given semiconductor, reduction of the optical control power requires far smaller dimensions in the illuminated region, these dimensions being for example of the order of nanometers.

Microwave signal switching device, particularly of nanometric size, and electronic component incorporating such a device

UNIVERSITE DES SCIENCES ET TECHNOLOGIES DE LILLE SAIC

UNIVERSITE PARIS 6 PIERRE ET MARIE CURIE


A rolling resistant heat-treated steel, which has the following elements indicated in mass fractions in relation to the overall weight: 0.5% to 0.6% inclusive carbon, 0.0031% to 0.005% inclusive boron and 3.5 parts or more parts of titanium in relation to 1 part of nitrogen.

Upon contact between two bodies, a polyaxial stress state is formed under the contact surfaces and can be converted into material strain via the equivalent stress or shear stress hypothesis. This is also the case if both bodies roll on one another; by way of example, a bail can roll on a plane or in a ball groove. A material is resistant to rolling if it can withstand this loading durably, without damage arising as a result of material fatigue. An inadequate rolling strength becomes apparent initially in a microstructural transformation or in a progressed stage in destruction of the raceway contour by the breakaway of small material fractions. Depending on the nature of contact (point or linear contact), a hardness of 58 HRc or 650 HV at the site of the greatest pressure is deemed to be sufficient for the required rolling strength.
Heat-treated steels are suitable for hardening with subsequent tempering on account of their carbon content. A heat-treated steel can be an alloyed steel. An alloy is described by indicating the mass fractions of the components thereof as a percentage. The percentages indicated for describing the present invention are mass data which indicate the percentage in relation to the overall weight. The heat-treated steels include steels for surface layer hardening in accordance with DIN 17212. In the case of partial hardening, in the surface layer of the component, only the surface layer has a martensitic microstructure, with the core having a heat-treated microstructure,
Hardening refers to the process of rapid cooling from the austenite area, with the austenite being transformed into martensite.
Tempering is understood to mean heating after preceding hardening to a temperature below "Ac1." This can be effected with the objective of a heat treatment or for reducing internal stresses in the microstructure. In the iron-carbon diagram, Ac1 denotes the first transformation point upon heating of the steel, This transformation point denotes the start of the alpha-gamma transformation (start of austenite formation).
Bar material denotes, in particular, bars having any desired cross-sectional. profile, for example rectangular profiles and round profiles. The length of the bars can vary depending on the use; lengths of up to several meters are possible.
A known heat-treated steel Cf53 with the material number 1,2113 is normalized or spheroidized for subsequent machining,
The intention of the normalizing is for a uniform microstructure with a fine grain to he formed in the material. It is employed for eliminating non-uniform and coarse microstructures.
In the case of spheroidizing, the focus is on the change in the elongation at break and in the hardness. As a result of the annealing, the strip-like cementite loses strength and can follow up in striving for a body with the smallest possible surface. Granular cementite is formed, which is why this is also referred to as spheroidizing. As a result, it is easier to form and machine the material.
Soft annealing achieves an improvement in machinability in the case of steels having a carbon content of greater than 0.4% by weight, There is a dependency between the mechanical properties and microstructure constituents (ferrite, pearlite) and also the distribution thereof and the degree of spheroidization of the carbides. These annealed steels have a relatively low core strength.
Said heat-treated steels are often pre-heat-treated as round bars. In the case of average and higher diameters, 20 to 40 mm, non-uniform through-hardenability or heat treatability may he present, and consequently inhomogeneous mechanical properties and also residual stresses and distortion may be the result. By way of example, the low-alloyed heat-treated steel Cf53 can only be heat-treated all the way through as bar material to a diameter of less than 20 mm. The bar material which has been heat-treated all the way through has a largely homogeneous heat-treated microstructure, as seen over the cross-section.
The round bars which have been pre-heat-treated can be machined by chip-forming processes or forming processes and finally hardened and tempered. During the hardening, it is often the case that merely the surface layer is hardened.
A defined increase in the mechanical properties which is tolerated within relatively narrow limits can be achieved via heat treatment of the bar cross-section. This is a foundation of controlled cold forming processes. An even better hardenability of the surface layer is possible out of the heat-treated microstructure.
The hardness penetration is an important criterion for a high-quality heat treatment. The objective of a heat treatment within the context of the abovementioned application is to produce uniform mechanical properties.


A method and system for identifying anomalous cells includes an imaging subsystem to generate a track file from collected images of cells, a image processing subsystem to extract features from the track file and generate feature sets for particular cells, and a discrimination subsystem to generate a probabilistic belief function from the feature sets to determine a probability that at least some of the cells are anomalous. The images may include sample cells from a tissue sample. In embodiments, the imaging subsystem may collect images from photographs and may also collect images from a microscope. In embodiments, the discrimination subsystem may perform both supervised and unsupervised training to update the belief functions learning from known anomalous cells and cells with know anomalous features to enhance its accuracy over time.

Conventional anomalous cell screening techniques rely on human operators (e.g., a laboratory technician) to identify anomalous cells by screening tissue samples through a microscope. One limitation to conventional screening techniques is that the accuracy varies greatly depending on the experience as well as the visual acuity of the laboratory technician. For example, these conventional techniques can result in high false-negatives in detecting cervical cancer cells, failing to identify many instances of cervical cancer.
Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that they generally look for known defects instead of identifying cells with normal characteristics to identify other anomalies, whether known or unknown. Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that they are sometimes limited to detection of anomalies based on a particular set of rules for anomaly detection per screen. Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that tissue samples are usually sent to an off-site laboratory for the screening, which may add several days, and even weeks, before the results are available. Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that a laboratory generally performs screening for one or two particular anomalies (e.g., a particular type of cancer) and may be unable to perform screening for other anomalies. Reasons for these limitations are many, and include the skill of the laboratory technicians and the available resources at the site. As a result of these limitations, certain anomalies may go undetected or additional samples and screening may be required.
Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that use of prior experience in detecting anomalies may not be effectively utilized. In other words, it is sometimes difficult for current screening techniques to improve their accuracy based on prior correct and/or erroneous results, and thus it is difficult for continuous improvement and validation of those screening abilities. Finally, conventional methods of screening generally make use of only one source of images at a time, such as a visible image of a cancer cell as seen through a microscope.
Thus there are general needs for improved systems and methods to detect anomalous targets, particularly for detecting anomalous cells such as cancerous cells. There are also needs for more accurate systems and methods to detect anomalous cells. There are also needs for systems and methods for detecting anomalous cells that provide results quicker, as well as systems and methods that learn from their results to further improve their accuracy. There are also needs for systems and methods for detecting anomalous targets using one or more sources of images simultaneously.

System and method for detecting anomalous targets including cancerous cells


An image pickup apparatus, in which a light is projected toward a physical object by projection means, and based on the reflected light by the physical object of the light, a defocus amount is detected (steps S2003 to S2008) by the first focus detection means and the second focus detection means, respectively, and a correction value for matching the defocus amount detected by the first focus detection means with the defocus amount detected by the second focus detection means is calculated and kept stored (step S2009), and at the photographing time, based on the defocus amount detected by the first focus detection means and the correction value kept stored, a focus adjustment lens within a photographic lens is driven, thereby preventing an inappropriate correction of the defocus amount.

Heretofore, in general, as a device for performing an auto focus detection (AF: auto focus) of a camera, the following camera has been known. That is, in this auto focus device, light flux from an object having passed through different exit pupil areas of an image pickup lens is focused onto a pair of line sensors. The object image is photoelectrically converted and then a pair of image signals are outputted. From a displacement amount of the relative position of this pair of image signals, a defocus amount is detected, and based on this defocus amount, the driving of the image pickup lens is performed (Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-054242). Hereinafter, such focus detection system is referred to as a phase difference detection system.
Further, in a digital camera using an electronic image pickup sensor, an auto focus device has been also well-known, in which, while a focus position is changed by driving a photographic lens, the estimation of the contrast of an object obtained by the image pickup sensor is performed, thereby detecting an in-focus position (Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-004914). Hereinafter, this focus detection system is referred to as a contrast detection system.
Further, for the electronic image pickup apparatus comprising both of the phase different detection system and the contrast detection system described above, a device has been also known, in which a difference between the in-focus position detected by the phase difference detection system and the in-focus position detected by the contrast detection system is stored in advance as a correction value, and at the normal photographing time, the photographic lens is driven in accordance with the in-focus position detected by the phase difference detection system and the stored correction value (Patent Document 3 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. JP 2000-292684).
Since the phase difference detection system disclosed in the Patent Document 1 can detect a defocus amount in a range from a certain focus position to an in-focus position, a time required for the in-focus detection is short. However, since an object light path obtained by the phase difference detection system is different from a object light path in the case of the actual photographing, there arises an error between the in-focus position detected by the phase difference detection system and the in-focus position in an image pickup plane.
Further, in the contrast detection system disclosed in the Patent Document 2, since the focus detection is performed on the object light path when photographing, the in-focus position on the image pickup plane can be accurately detected. However, it is necessary to perform a contrast estimation calculation while changing the in-focus position of the image pickup lens, and this arises a problem that it takes time until the in-focus position is reached.
Further, in the electronic image pickup apparatus disclosed in the Patent Document 3, there arises a problem that, though the in-focus position displacement detected by the phase difference detection system can be accurately corrected using the correction value, an appropriate correction value cannot be detected depending on the condition of the object when detecting the correction value. For example, in case the contrast of the object is low, there arises a big error in each of the detection result of the phase difference detection system and the detection result of the contrast detection system. In case of the infinite focusing distance where the distance to the object is greatly away from the normal distance, and the closest focusing distance, there arises an error in the detection result due to the influence such as the stopping accuracy of the photographic lens and the like. In addition, since the in-focus position is displaced due to chromatic aberration of the photographic lens, it is not possible to find an accurate correction value. In this manner, the correction value changes according to measurement condition, and thus, it is necessary to restore the measurement condition to a predetermined measurement condition to detect an intrinsically accurate correction value. However, while it is easy for the plant and the like to create the predetermined measurement condition, it is difficult for the general user to create the predetermined measurement condition.

Image pickup apparatus and defocus amount correction value calculation method


An inflatable article repair and inflation kit comprises a canister of sealing fluid; an inlet connectable to a pressure source and connected to the canister; a selector valve interposed fluidically between the inlet and the canister; a conduit connected to the selector valve, in parallel with the canister; and a flow resistance of the selector valve and the canister to reduce the pressure in the canister with respect to the pressure in the conduit. The inflatable article repair and inflation kit ensures the best pressure into the sealing fluid canister.

The present invention relates to an inflatable article repair and inflation kit with an improved pressure reducing device, and which is connected to a high-pressure source, such as a heavy-duty, wheeled vehicle brake system.
A canister of sealing fluid for repairing inflatable articles, such as tyres, is known to be connected to a pressure reducing device.

Inflatable article repair and inflation kit with a pressure reducing device


A lancet injector is provided having a lancet tip that may be automatically removed from the lancet injector after piercing and being retracted from the skin of the subject. A separation recess extends from the slot along the housing toward the proximal end of the housing allowing the control member to move proximally into the separation recess. The separation recess has a proximally extending retention recess that retains the lancet holder in its most proximal position. The lancet holder has a bore extending longitudinally through it aligned with the central axis of the housing. A pin extends from the proximal end of the housing along the central axis of the housing toward the central bore of the holder. The control member moves into the separation recess causing the pin to enter the bore of the lancet holder and contact the lancet. The pin stops proximal movement of the lancet during further proximal movement of the control member in the separation recess thereby causing the lancet to be pushed to the edge of frictional contact with the lancet holder. Movement of the control member proximally into the retention recess moves the lancet out of frictional contact with the holder. Thereafter, the distal end of the housing is directed downward causing the lancet to fall into an appropriate sharps container.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to lancet injectors and more particularly to lancet injectors having lancet tips that are automatically removable from the lancet injector without requiring hand contact with the lancet.
2. Description of Related Art
Lancets are used to pierce the skin of a subject, usually through the finger. Blood then flows through the incision where it can be collected for testing in a blood collection tube such as a capillary tube or pipette.
Historically, early lancets generally had a handle and a needle extending therefrom. However, numerous problems are inherent with such lancets such as controlling the depth and angle of penetration by the needle, controlling the force of the insertion, and the psychological affect to the user of seeing the exposed needle.
One attempt to avoid these and other problems with this early type of lancet was to create lancets having needles that are spring loaded to be injected into and removed from the subject's skin. Typically, these devices hide the needle both before and after the incision is made to prevent its view by the subject and to prevent inadvertent contact with the needle. An example of such a lancet injector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,565 issued on Apr. 8, 1986 to W. D. Cornell and C. Evans and its parent application U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,856, issued to W. D. Cornell and C. Evans on Mar. 12, 1985, both assigned to the assignee of the present application.
The invention disclosed herein is an improvement of the lancet injector described in these two patents. Consequently, in order to better understand the present invention, a verbatim detailed description and FIGS. 1-6 of the lancet injector of the two above-referenced patents are set out herein in their entirety:
"Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, a lancet injector 10 is shown including an elongate, generally cylindrical, housing 12 having a chamber or bore 14, and a lancet holder 16 slidable in the housing bore 14. Housing 12 has a proximal end 18 in which is secured an end plug 20, and a distal end 22 covered by a removable cap 24 having a central opening 25. Cap 24 is frictionally held in place by an annular bead 26 on the exterior of housing 12. In this way, the cap 24 can be snapped on and off the distal end 22 of the housing.
The lancet holder 16, as also seen in FIG. 3, includes a generally cylindrical portion or slide 28 having a lancet holding member 30 integrally connected to the distal end of the slide and a cylindrical extension or spring connector 32 at the proximal end of the slide. A spring 34, shown as a coil spring, is disposed in the bore 14 between the holder 16 and the plug 20. Spring 34 is shown engaged between the holder and a lower end portion of the housing. The connector 32 is provided with a series of external integral bumps 36 disposed in a spiral arrangement for threadedly receiving and holding the upper or distal end of coil spring 34. The spring 34 is threaded onto connector 32 until the end of the spring engages an integral stop bump 38. The end plug 20 is shown provided with an integral extension or spring connector 40 having a spiral series of integral bumps 42 which threadedly receives and, as shown, holds the lower end of coil spring 34. The spring 34 is threaded onto connector 40 until the end of the spring engages an integral stop bump 44. If desired, the spring connectors 32 and 40 may be provided with suitable screw threads instead of the series of bumps or the ends of the spring 34 may be fixed to those connectors by other suitable means.
The slide 28 has a hole 46 in which is secured a manual slide control member or control latch 48 which extends through a slot, indicated generally at 50, in the sidewall of the housing 12. Latch 48 extends to the exterior of the housing so that it provides an exterior manual control movable along the slot 50 for positioning the lancet holder 16 in a number of positions, as will be further described.
In assembling the device 10, the opposite ends of spring 34 may be respectively threaded onto connectors 32 and 40 to provide unitary assembly, as seen in FIG. 3. This assembly can be inserted into the proximal end of the housing 12. The free length of the spring 34 is such that the unit may be manually rotated in the housing 12 by rotating plug 20 until the hole 46 appears in the slot 50. The latch 48 may then be inserted through the slot and into hole 46. The latch 48 is fixed in the hole 46, for example, it may be adhesively connected or solvent bonded to the sidewalls of hole 46.
The holder 16 and connected latch 48 are preferably spring biased in a counterclockwise direction of rotation, as viewed in the drawings, that is arcuately toward engagement with the left sidewall 52 of slot 50. This may be accomplished by providing the plug 20 and inner wall of the housing 12 at its proximal end with cooperating surfaces which permit insertion of the plug in a selected relative position with respect to slide 28. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the plug 20 is provided with a plurality of flats 54 which register with a plurality of flats 56 (FIG. 2) on the inner sidewall of bore 14 at the proximal end 18. In this way, after the latch 48 is secured in hole 46, the plug 20 can be rotated counterclockwise so that the latch 48 engages a wall of slot 50, and then the plug 20 is further rotated in the same direction a slight amount relative to holder 16, and then the plug is inserted into the end 18 of the housing. Because of the cooperating flats 54 and 56, the plug cannot rotate and remains in its inserted position with the spring 34 resiliently biasing the holder 16 and latch 48 leftwardly or counterclockwise toward the left edge 52 of slot 50. The plug 20 may be adhesively connected such as by applying a suitable adhesive to the plug prior to insertion or a suitable solvent where the plug and housing materials can be solvent bonded.
The lancet holding member 30 is shown as a sleeve or cylindrical barrel having inner sidewalls 58 which frictionally engage outer peripheral surfaces of a lancet 60. The lancet 60 is shown including a base or handle 62, such as of plastic material, and a needle 64, such as a solid stainless steel pointed needle. The handle 62 may be molded about the needle so that the tip of the needle extends outwardly beyond the upper end 66 of the handle. In FIG. 4, the lancet 60 is shown including an integrally molded needle cap or sheath 68 covering the pointed needle tip. The connection between the sheath 68 and the handle 62 is fragile so that by twisting or rotating the sheath relative to the handle, and then pulling the sheath from the needle tip, the needle tip is exposed. The depth of the lancet holding member 30 is less than the length of the lancet handle 62 so that the upper portion, such as its upper one half, extends out of the holder and may be grasped, for example, between the thumb and finger, for inserting the lancet 60 into the holder 30 and for removing it after use. The bottom of the lancet bottoms on the bottom of the member 30 as shown in FIG. 2.
The slot 50, as best seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, is shaped so as to have a relative wide portion at the proximal end of the slot through which the control member 48 can be moved. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the member 48 is shown in its retracted position which places holder 16, member 30, and lancet 60 in the retracted position with the needle tip wholly within the housing 12. The control member 48 is shown releasably latched in an axial recess 69 having a downward protrusion 70 for securely holding the lancet holder in the retracted position. When the lancet holder 30 is in the retracted position, the spring 34 is in compression and exerting maximum longitudinal or linear spring force on the holder 16 in the distal direction. Also, the holder 16 is held in recess 69 against the biasing force of spring 34.
When the control member 48 is manually unlatched from the retracted position (FIGS. 1 and 2), such as by moving it leftward over the protrusion 70 by applying pressure with a finger or thumb, the holder 16, due to the force of spring 34 and inertia, moves swiftly linearly or longitudinally and distally through housing bore 14 to a skin piercing position wherein the point of needle 64 extends through opening 25 in the end cap 24 and distally of the distal end of the housing as shown in phantom in FIG. 5. During this movement control member 48 moves along a slot portion 72. The holder 16 and lancet 60 are quickly linearly retracted to a neutral position, that is, with the point of needle 64 retracted or withdrawn from the incision and within the housing 12 as shown in FIG. 5. Spring 34 is sized relative to housing 12 such that when the holder 16 and control member 48 are in this neutral position, the spring 34 is at its free length position or neutral force position, that is, spring 34 is substantially neither in tension nor compression.
In moving from the retracted position of FIG. 1 to the skin penetrating position shown in phantom in FIG. 5, it is primarily the inertia or momentum of the moving holder 16 that causes the lancet to move distally past the neutral position of the holder or free length position of the distal end of spring 34 (position shown in full in FIG. 5). Since the distal end of spring is extended distally beyond the position it would have when the spring 34 in its neutral or free length condition due primarily to the inertia of the moving holder 16, the spring is tensioned and therefore swiftly retracts or moves the needle point proximally from the piercing position back to the neutral position.
The parts may be proportioned such that the extent of distal travel of the lancet 60 may be limited by the engagement of the control member 48 with a sidewall 74 (FIGS. 1, 5 and 6) of the slot 50, the indicated phantom position of member 48 in FIG. 5, or, if desired, by the engagement of the upper end 66 of the lancet handle with the inner side of the end wall of cap 24. In some cases, the construction may allow the end 66 to strike the skin.
The holder 16 and lancet holder 30 may be moved to a lancet access or unloading and loading position, the position shown in FIG. 6. This is accomplished by removing cap 24 and urging the control member 48 rightwardly against the bias force from its neutral position of FIG. 5 and into an elongate slot portion 76 of slot 50, then longitudinally or linearly upwardly and distally into an enlarged slot portion 78, and then leftwardly into the access position in a recess 80 in slot 50 and which has a distally extending sidewall 82 holding the member 48 in place. During this distal movement in slot portion 76 the coil spring 34 is tensioned, that is, stretched beyond its neutral or free length condition of FIG. 5. The tensioned spring 34 tends to maintain the member 48 urged downwardly in groove 80 so that it cannot move out of the groove.
In the lancet access condition of holder 16, as shown in FIG. 6, the lancet holding member 30 extends through and above the upper or distal open end of the housing 12. In this position the upper portion of the lancet 60 may be grasped by the handle 62 and pulled upwardly to remove it from the member 30. A new lancet may then be inserted into the holder 30 until it bottoms against the inner bottom wall of the member 30. After a new lancet is inserted into the holding member in the access position of FIG. 6, the needle sheath such as sheath 68 (FIG. 4) is removed to expose the pointed needle tip, and then the external control member 48 is manually moved out of recess 80 into the enlarged slot portion 78. The member 48 is moved rightwardly against the rotary bias force of spring 34 into an elongate slot 76 where the force of tensioned spring 34 swiftly moves the slide 28 proximally longitudinally or axially of the housing so that it moves back into its neutral position shown in FIG. 5, the bias force of the spring urging it against the left edge 52 of the slot 50. The cap 24 may then be snapped back onto the distal end of housing 12.
In use, a new lancet, such as lancet 60, is inserted into the lancet holder 30 when the control member 48 is positioned in the lancet access position indicated in FIG. 6. The needle sheath, such as sheath 68 (FIG. 4) is removed from the lancet, and the control member 48 is manually moved out of recess 80 so that the tensioned spring 34 withdraws the lancet and slide 48 through slot portion 76 to the neutral position indicated in FIG. 5. The cap 24 or a new cap may now be placed over the distal end of the housing 12.
Next, the control member 48 is manually moved proximally or downwardly in slot portion 72 compressing coil spring 34 and then over to recess 68 to place the member 48 and holder 16 in a latched retracted or cocked position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The housing 12 may now be hand grasped and the end cap 24 pressed against the skin, such as the skin of the finger, of the person whose blood is to be tested. The control member 48 may now be forced out or the retracted position so that the force of spring 34 and the inertia of the lancet 60 and lancet holder 16 effect piercing of the skin by the needle tip of the lancet and quick removal of the needle from the skin incision to the neutral position as indicated in FIG. 5. The cap 24 may now be removed and the control member 48 moved to the lancet access position as shown in FIG. 6 so that the used lancet may be easily and safely removed from the injector 10 and discarded. At this time, a new lancet may be inserted into the holding member 30 and the control member again moved to the neutral position of FIG. 5 so that the device is again ready to be used to effect skin piercing.
The blood flow caused by the lancet piercing the skin may be collected in a capillary tube or pipette and subjected to clinical testing. For example, at times, glucose testing may be done relatively often in the case of diabetics. Also, such testing may be self-performed such as in the home for monitoring blood glucose.
The lancet injector device 10 effects a very quick incision and withdrawal of the lancet needle so that patient discomfort is minimized. Since the lancet is substantially hidden by the housing, one does not see the lancet point during use and the anxiety of the patient is generally substantially less than where one sees the lancet point. Also, the injector 10 is easy to operate.
The injector 10 requires only one functional spring while operating in a simple and highly effective manner. The spring 34 is shown as a single coil propulsion compression spring which propels the lancet holder 16 for the skin piercing operation. Spring 34 provides the force for piercing the skin as well as swiftly withdrawing the lancet from the incision. The spring 34 is also tensioned when the device is in its lancet access position (FIG. 6) so that its force is also used to quickly withdraw the exposed lancet needle to the neutral position (FIG. 5) when the control member 48 is moved accordingly. Also, spring 34 provides the arcuate biasing force normally urging the slide 48 leftwardly when such bias is employed in the device. The construction of device 10 requires few moving parts and, in general, is simple and economical to make and use.
The housing 12, holder 16 and plug 20 may be economically molded from any suitable plastic, for example, from a copolymer made from acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene (ABS), or polypropylene. The cap 24 may also be made from a suitable plastic such as polypropylene. While a snap-on type cap 24 is shown, other cap constructions allowing attachment and removal are possible."
A problem with the lancet injectors of the two above-referenced patents is that the lancet tip must be manually removed from the lancet holder 30 after the lancet has been retracted from the skin of the subject. During this removal process, the lancet tip is exposed and in close proximity to the fingers of the person removing the lancet tip. This increases the possibility that the person removing the lancet may become inadvertently stuck by the lancet tip. In addition to the dangers inherent in puncture wounds, there is the additional danger that the person removing the lancet tip may become infected with a blood borne disease transmitted through the stick from a contaminated lancet tip. These are of course problems to be avoided.


A high frequency device includes a transmission/reception amplifier 13 that amplifies and outputs an input signal, and a transmission/reception switch 2 that gang switches internally so that during transmission an input of the transmission/reception amplifier 13 is connected to an up mixer and an output of the transmission/reception amplifier 13 is connected to an antenna unit 5, and so that during reception the output of the transmission/reception amplifier 13 is connected to a down mixer and the input of the transmission/reception amplifier 13 is connected to the antenna unit 5.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for wireless communication using high frequency, and in particular to the structure of a high frequency circuit that amplifies a high frequency signal.
(2) Description of the Related Art
With the rapid spread of mobile telephones in recent years, techniques relating to high frequency devices and high frequency circuits have advanced dramatically. Such advances are followed year by year with improved performance and reduced size and cost of wireless communication devices such as mobile telephones.
In addition, with the integration of conventional computer terminals and mobile telephones, wireless LAN (local area network) systems that perform high speed data communication are also rapidly entering into widespread use. Such wireless LANs are one type of broadband communication, and currently support high speed data transfer of several hundred kilobits to several tens of megabits per second, using a frequency band of approximately 2 GHz to 5 GHz. Such broadband communication enables distribution of high-definition moving images and the like.
The structure of a high frequency circuit in a wireless communication device used in a wireless LAN system is approximately the same as that of a high frequency circuit in a mobile telephone. FIG. 1 shows the structure of a conventional high frequency circuit. An antenna unit 5 is composed of antennas 51 and 52, and an antenna switch 53. This is a diversity structure that uses a lateral antenna that is highly sensitive. The transmission/reception switch 9 switches the antenna unit 5 to be connected to a transmission circuit or a reception circuit. The transmission/reception switch 9 is necessary in time division duplex (TDD), which is generally employed in wireless LAN systems to use the same frequency for both transmission and reception. A BPF (bandpass filter) 43 used for reception reduces unnecessary band components in signals received by the antenna unit 5. An LNA (low-noise amplifier) 12 amplifies an input signal, so that the amplified signal is low in noise, and outputs the amplified signal to a down mixer. A PA (power amplifier) 11 amplifies, to high output, a signal sent from an up mixer. BPFs 41 and 42 reduce unnecessary band components before and after the PA, respectively.
Details about wireless LANs can be found in "Musen Akusesu Gijutsu (Wireless Access Technologies)", Journal of IEICE, February 2001, pp. 105-111. Furthermore, details about antenna diversity, and the structure of the filter and the transmission/reception unit can be found in Journal of IEICE, November 2001, pp. 775-789 and pp. 796-802.
Since there are instances in which a high power signal is input into the LNA in the high frequency circuit of a wireless communication device used in a wireless LAN system, it is necessary to use an amplifier with a large saturation output to prevent signal distortion due to amplification by the LNA in nonlinear areas. As a result, amplifiers with approximately the same output are used for the LNA and the PA.
The expense of active elements such as the LNA and the PA contributes to high costs of high frequency circuits. Furthermore, the component size of high-output amplifiers is a hindrance in producing circuits that can be mounted compactly.

Low cost high frequency device having compact mounting area, high frequency amplification method, wireless communication device and mobile telephone including low cost and high frequency circuit having compact mounting area

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The steering assistance display device according to this invention includes: a determination unit determining a radius of a curved road on which a vehicle travels, and a velocity and a steering angle of the vehicle; a calculation unit calculating a direction of travel of the vehicle on the basis of an inertial force determined on the basis of the radius and the velocity of the vehicle, and the steering angle; and a display unit displaying by a head-up display a direction of travel.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a steering assistance display device which displays required information to a driver when steering a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
When approaching a corner while driving a vehicle, the act of "predicting how far to turn the steering wheel" is generally much more difficult for a beginner than for an experienced driver. An experienced driver can understand, in an instinctive fashion, the predicted path of travel of the vehicle, from the relationship between the vehicle speed and the radius of the corner, based on his or her vision and experience, and can perform a steering operation in accordance with this instinctive understanding. On the other hand, a beginner performs a steering operation by looking at a relatively close point on the corner. Therefore, the beginner cannot "read" the end of the corner, and adjusts the steering angle while in the curve, which is liable to give rise to wobbles in the travel of the vehicle.
In order to prevent wobbling of this kind, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-058196 (JP 5-058196 A) discloses displaying virtual vehicle wheels to a driver by a display device, such as a head-up display (HUD), in the vicinity of the bonnet, as a parameter indicating the actual steering angle of the vehicle wheels.
However, by displaying the actual steering angle, it is only possible to provide a predicted path of travel when the vehicle is at low speeds, and it is not possible to prompt a beginner to predict the path of travel in a broad vehicle speed range, and therefore the beginner cannot be prompted to perform a suitable steering operation. In other words, with the available technology, there has been a problem in that it has been difficult to prompt such a driver to perform a suitable steering operation.


Methods of projecting an image onto a patient to aid delivery of proton therapy, including capturing a first image of a patient's treatment volume, processing the image to generate a treatment volume image corresponding to at least a portion of the treatment volume, generating a scan pattern to deliver a particle beamline to at least a portion of the treatment volume, projecting the treatment volume image and the scan pattern onto the skin of the patient proximate the treatment volume, and delivering the particle beamline to at least a portion of the treatment volume to match dimensions of the treatment volume image and the scan pattern.

Proton Therapy (PT) is a cancer treatment technology that uses high energy protons to penetrate a patient's body and deposit energy into treatment volumes such as cancerous tumors. PT leverages the Bragg Peak property of charged particles where they deposit the majority of the energy in the last few millimeters of travel as opposed to conventional radiation therapy where the majority of energy is deposited in the first few millimeters of travel—which often causes significant damage to healthy tissue.
PT is delivered to patients through a series of treatments, which frequently occur every day for several weeks. Each treatment typically requires an anatomical image to verify that the tumor is in the correct position prior to treatment, which may be done with basic planar x-ray technology. The most common beam delivery technique is double scattering where a narrow proton beam is scattered to spread the protons physically and also to create an energy spread such that the protons are traveling at various energies. A collimator may be used to trim the proton treatment area in x and y dimensions, and a compensator may be used to modify the proton treatment in the z dimension. The protons are trimmed to the shape of the tumor to precisely deliver the radiation dose to the treatment volume, while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue.
In contrast, a more advanced technique that is gaining popularity is Pencil Beam Scanning ("PBS"), which eliminates the beam scattering, collimator, and compensator. In PBS treatments, the narrow proton beam is directed by a scanning magnet to follow the treatment shape in the x and y dimensions. The beam is adjusted in the z dimension by varying the energy with an energy degrader, frequently positioned between the scanning magnet and the particle accelerator, such as a cyclotron, generating the proton beam.

Methods of projecting an image to aid proton therapy


A first email message is received. The first email message has a first recipient email address and a first payload. The first recipient email address has a first username portion and a first domain name portion. If a user account is associated with the first username portion, then the first payload is transmitted to an email address associated with that user account. Otherwise, the first payload is transmitted, via a fax transmission method, to a first destination specified by a first destination identifier based on the first username portion of the first recipient email address.

A wide variety of options are available today for message and document delivery. These include email (non-secure or secure), SMS/text (non-secure or secure), file transfer (non-secure or secure), fax and voice. In current approaches, the transmission method employed for message and document delivery is established by the sender. For example, a sender who wishes to transmit a document via fax typically sends the document using a conventional fax machine or fax software. As a result, the document is transmitted to the recipient via fax.
One drawback of this approach is that the most efficient and/or effective transmission method for transmitting content to the recipient may not be known to the sender. For example, the recipient may be capable of receiving content via high-resolution digital fax, but the sender might not know this. However, because existing systems require the sender to specify the transmission method, in such systems the sender's lack of knowledge of the most effective and/or efficient transmission method may result in a suboptimal transmission method being used instead.
Some existing systems enable senders to transmit faxes by sending an email to a fax server. For example, to transmit a fax message via conventional fax to a particular fax number, the sender may transmit an email message having the format <fax number>@faxserver.com, where <fax number> is the conventional fax number of the recipient, and faxserver.com is the domain of a fax server. The fax server may receive this email message and transmit the contents of that email message to the recipient using conventional fax.
It may be beneficial, however, to transmit such messages to the recipient using transmission methods other than conventional fax. Existing systems lack this ability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automated electronic package transmission method selection


A stemmed implant comprises a proximal body with a distal shaft extending from the proximal body. The proximal body exterior may be spherical, conical, cylindrical, or another surface of revolution. The distal shaft comprises multiple longitudinal ridges which may originate from the proximal body as separate columns, or which may merge together. The distal shaft and/or the ridges may become narrower as they extend away from the proximal body.

Joint arthroplasty procedures are conducted to restore the function of an unhealthy joint. Typically, these procedures involve replacing the unhealthy natural articulating surfaces of the joint with artificial articulating surfaces. The new artificial articulating surfaces are typically anchored into the adjacent bones to maintain long term stability.
In shoulder arthroplasty, a humeral implant is attached to the humerus and a glenoid implant is attached to the glenoid or scapula. There are two different main categories of shoulder arthroplasty: anatomic and reverse. In an anatomic procedure, the implant designs are intended to replicate the natural anatomy. The humeral head is replaced with a similarly shaped convex hemispherical surface, while the glenoid is replaced with a shallow concave socket. In a reverse procedure, the natural ball and socket is reversed. The humeral head is replaced with a socket fixed to the humerus and the glenoid is replaced with a ball (or glenosphere) fixed to the scapula.
Regardless of the type of procedure, fixation of the humeral component into the humerus typically involves an implant with a stemmed portion that extends into the metaphysis and optionally into the diaphysis of the humerus.
The goals of these implants are to preserve as much native bone as possible, maximize the mechanical stability of the implant, and allow for more physiological loading of the bone to preserve the long term fixation of the implant.
These implants may be used in various surgical procedures that utilize a stemmed fixation that requires rotational stability. The present disclosure is made in the context of a humeral implant for shoulder arthroplasty. Other applications may include a femoral implant for hip or knee arthroplasty, a tibial implant for knee or ankle arthroplasty, or implants for the elbow, wrist, hand, and foot.
The implants disclosed herein emphasize metaphyseal fit and fill. The stem profiles are medially biased. The proximal bodies of the stems are positionable within a prepared proximal humerus so that the proximal body rim is aligned with the humeral osteotomy, while the distal shaft enables such positioning without interfering with final stem seating. Optional fixation elements may extend through the proximal bodies from inside-out. The stems include ridges and grooves to enhance rotational stability of the implants in bone by fitting within non-circular cortical walls. Rounded and rectangular ridges are disclosed, preferably in groups of three to seven, more preferably in odd-numbered groups of three or five. Surface structures may be provided on the stems for immediate mechanical fixation and long-term bone ingrowth.


A network-connectivity system can receive a remote additive hash for a routing-data collection of a remote network node, and compares the remote additive hash with a local additive hash for a local routing-data collection. A respective additive hash represents one or more network-configuration items of a routing-data collection. Also, at least one of the network-configuration items of the routing-data collection includes reachability information for a network node of a computer network, such as a link-state advertisement. If the system determines that the remote additive hash does not match the local additive hash, the system synchronizes the local routing-data collection with the remote network node of the computer network.

1. Field
This disclosure is generally related to computer networks. More specifically, this disclosure is related to propagating routing information across network nodes of a computer network using database synchronization operations.
2. Related Art
Link-based routing protocols, such as Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), propagate link state information across a network by sending link-state advertisements (LSAs) to neighboring network nodes. When a network node receives an LSA, the network node can create an updated graph for the map of the network, and updates a routing table to indicate a first node along a shortest path to each network node.
In link-based routing protocols, it is important that all nodes of a computer network operate under the same network map to prevent forwarding packets in a routing loop within the network. To maintain a synchronized network map, network nodes propagate a received LSA to other neighboring nodes of the computer network, which allows other neighboring nodes to update their routing table.
Oftentimes, an LSA is propagated to a network node that has previously received and propagated the same LSA. Unfortunately, to avoid propagating the LSA in a forwarding loop, a typical network node has to store state information that indicates which neighboring nodes have received which LSAs from the network node. Further, when the network node receives an LSA, the network node has to search through this state information to determine which nodes have not received the LSA, and avoids sending the LSA to all other neighboring nodes. Thus, network nodes experience an undesirable storage cost and computation cost to synchronize link state information across the network.

Dynamic routing protocols using database synchronization