A refuse management system (10) has a refuse container (18) associated with a compactor (20) for compacting refuse in the container (18) at a local position, a local controller (26) for receiving and transmitting signals from the compactor, and a processor (14) at a remote position for receiving and processing signals from the local controller (26). A transmitter/receiver is positioned at each of the local and remote positions for establishing two-way communication between the local controller and the remote processor such that the controller and processor can each send and receive signals from each other. A local display (22, 90) is in communication with the controller (26) for displaying signals from the controller and signals received in the controller from the processor to thereby display container condition. A keypad (82) can be provided with the local display (22, 90) and controller for entering data into the controller and displaying data on the display. Preferably, the keypad has function keys (84) for entering and displaying data representative of system parameters and conditions, and scroll keys (86, 88) for scrolling through the da on the display. Methods of determining the condition of the compactor and refuse container are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to refuse management systems, and more particularly to management systems for refuse compactors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many large retail establishments own or lease refuse compactor systems. These systems usually include a trash compactor unit secured to a container. The container is separable from the compactor unit and can be loaded for transportation by truck to a landfill. Although containers vary in size, a container in common use can typically hold 40 cubic yards of compacted material. When the container is full, the retail establishment typically schedules a refuse hauling service to remove and empty the container. The hauling service sometimes exchanges an empty container for the full container at the retail establishment site to avoid interruption of the establishment's activities. Typically, an indicator light is located on the compactor to inform a user when the container is full. The light is illuminated in response to a pressure that meets or exceeds the preset maximum hydraulic pressure, the assumption being that the compactor cannot crush any further refuse into the container. However, the light can illuminate falsely when unusually hard refuse, such as wooden pallets, are deposited in the container. In addition, retail clerks responsible for loading the container and operating the compactor often fail to pay attention to the light when illuminated. Consequently, refuse backs up into storage areas of the retail establishment otherwise reserved for product shipments until a hauler can be scheduled to empty the container. This problem is augmented on weekends when many refuse hauling companies are closed. As a result, many establishments have the container emptied on a regular basis, whether or not the container is full. However, landfills often charge a standard rate for the size of the container, regardless of the actual amount of refuse disposed. Thus, the retail establishment is subject to additional unnecessary charges from both the hauling company and the landfill.
A refuse management system currently in use has attempted to overcome these problems by the provision of a programmable logic controller (PLC) installed at the compactor site. The PLC gathers, sorts, and stores information about the compactor's operation. A computer at a remote location can access the information stored in the PLC when prompted by a computer operator. The information can then be downloaded and printed into a report. The report is analyzed by a person knowledgeable in statistical analysis and the particular parameters of the compactor in review. The person must then determine when the container will be full and make arrangements with the hauling company to pick up the container. However, the information gathered by the PLC at the compactor site is not available to the end user. The end user does not know what decisions have been made and therefore cannot accurately schedule for compactor down time.
Another problem associated with the current system occurs frequently when the refuse container is removed for dumping. A proximity sensor normally senses the container's presence. When the container is pulled, the proximity sensor is actuated and some of the values stored in the PLC representative of the compactor system conditions, such as average pressure, amount of usage since last pull, etc., are reset. However, the compactor and its associated PLC are sometimes disconnected from their electrical source when the container is separated from the compactor, and reconnected after the empty container and compactor are rejoined. The proximity sensor in this circumstance does not generate a signal to reset the current values. As a result, the currently stored values are inaccurate and can be interpreted erroneously.

Professional Management Disposal Systems (PMDS), L.L.C.


Sensing systems include a tube defining a Fabry-Perot cavity and an optical fiber including a distal end disposed within the Fabry-Perot cavity and a proximal end. A corrodible material caps the Fabry-Perot cavity. Devices for sensing corrosion of downhole equipment include an optical fiber with a corrodible material disposed over a distal end of the optical fiber. Systems for sensing a condition in equipment include an optical fiber with a fiber Bragg grating proximate a distal end thereof and a mass of sensor material coupled to the distal end of the optical fiber. The mass of sensor material is suspended from above the fiber Bragg grating. Other systems for sensing a condition in a wellbore include an optical fiber and a plurality of fiber Bragg gratings along a length thereof. A plurality of sensor materials are coupled to the optical fiber and surround respective fiber Bragg gratings.

Tools and instruments used for oil and gas exploration and production are often exposed to corrosive conditions, such as high temperatures, high pressures, reactive chemicals, and abrasive materials. Therefore, these tools corrode and degrade during use. In addition, scale (i.e., debris and materials from the wellbore or from fluids therein) may be deposited on tools used for exploration and production of oil and gas, which may foul the operation of the tools and create a flow restriction. Fiber optic sensors have several advantages over electro-mechanical sensors: they exhibit greater resistance to aggressive environments, exhibit a smaller footprint with single-point or multi-point measurements, exhibit immunity to electromagnetic noise, and are more resistant to mechanical vibration.

Systems and devices for sensing corrosion and deposition for oil and gas applications


In order to provide a fluorescence detection apparatus having a high sensitivity, a high processing capacity and a competitive edge in cost, the fluorescence detection apparatus according to this invention irradiate the sample with light so that the aspect ratio of the form of the irradiated region by light on the arrangement surface of the sample may be 1±0.1. The preferable form of irradiate region is not limited to one and varies to some extent depending on the item to be optimized. The form of irradiated region may be, for example, a circle, an equilateral triangle, a square, a regular hexagon and the like.

In a fluorescence detecting apparatus, for example, an evanescent field is created on the surface of the substrate by the total internal reflection of light in the optically transparent substrate and biological molecules marked with fluorescence by a probe in the liquid sample supplied on the surface of the substrate are excited in the evanescent field. And the fluorescence radiated from the biological molecules as a result thereof are detected to detect qualitatively biological molecules or to analyze qualitatively the same.
Regarding such a detection of fluorescence, Funatsu et al., Nature vol. 374, 555-559 (1995) describes an apparatus that irradiates a prism with a laser beam and causes the total internal reflection of the laser beam to create an evanescent field in the sample solution on the prism, collects and detects the fluorescence radiating from the biological molecules within the sample excited by the evanescent field with an objective lens. Since an evanescent field is localized on the surface of a prism, the region where fluorescence or scattered light is excited in the sample solution is limited to the vicinity of the surface of the prism. As a result, the background light is contained low, and the molecules near the surface can be detected with a very high sensitivity. As a matter of fact, Funatsu et al., Nature vol. 374, 555-559 (1995) describes the success of detecting a single fluorescent molecule.
And JP-T No. 2004-527741 describes an apparatus that detects emission of light from molecules marked by fluorescence by exciting an evanescent field by having the excited beam totally reflected on the surface of a transparent body.
Generally in order to obtain a total internal reflection, beams must be irradiated obliquely on the reflecting surface. FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view along the plane of incidence of how the excited beam 3 is irradiated from the inside of the substrate 1 having optical transparency into the boundary face between the substrate 1 and the sample 2 contiguous thereto to be totally reflected thereby. Here, the term "plane of incidence" means a surface drawn along the optical axis of the incident beam and the normal of the boundary surface, and the angle formed by the normal of the boundary surface and the optical beam of the incident beam is called "incident angle." If the refractive index of the substrate 1 is represented by n1, the refractive index of the sample by n2 and the incident angle by θ, the necessary and sufficient condition for inducing a total internal reflection is shown by the following equation.sin θ>(n2/n1)  (Equation 1)
If this condition for a total internal reflection is satisfied, an evanescent field 5 is created only near the boundary surface in the sample. Incidentally, since in the case of a transparent material in the visible range, n1<2.5, and in the case of a aqueous solution sample, n2>1.3, always (n2/n1)>0.5. Therefore, if the equation 1 is satisfied, θ>30°. Since with ordinary glass n1 to 1.5, in most cases θ≧60°. Actually, in Funatsu et al., Nature vol. 374, 555-559 (1995), θ=68°.
And in Funatsu et al., Nature vol. 374, 555-559 (1995), the beam outputted by gas laser, having passed through the lens, is irradiated obliquely. Generally, the cross section of the beam outputted by gas laser is circular, and even if a beam having a circular section is made to pass through a lens, its section remains circular. When a beam having a circular cross section is irradiated on a reflection surface with an incident angle θ, the irradiated region on the reflection surface turns into an ellipse with an aspect ratio of cos θ. Therefore, the region irradiated with an excited beam in the apparatus described in Funatsu et al., Nature vol. 374, 555-559 (1995) is an ellipse with an aspect ratio of cos 68°=0.37. In Funatsu et al., Nature vol. 374, 555-559 (1995), a quartz substrate with n1=1.46 is used. As described above, even if whatever material may be used, the total internal reflection occurs always when θ>30° and in most cases θ>60°. Therefore, as far as the same configuration as Funatsu et al., Nature vol. 374, 555-559 (1995) is used, whatever substrate material may be used, the irradiated region always turns out to be an ellipse with an aspect ratio of less than cos 30°=0.86, and in most cases less than cos 60°=0.5.

Fluorescence detection apparatus and method, and prism used therein


A method to negotiate computer settings in advance is presented. A prediction is made to determine if the computer setting will be needed, and if needed, whether a value outside of a normal range of values will be needed. A value for the computer setting that is outside of the normal range of values is determined and the value is set to the outside value. A value within the normal range of values is used if it was predicted that there is no need for a value outside of the normal range of values.

Computer systems are being developed with ever increasing complexity. Computers acquired solely for word processing now come with software that provides paging, scheduling, window management, and device management. Networked computers and workstations also have multiple network protocols, multiple file systems, and multiple application program interfaces.
Several problems have been encountered with the increased complexity of computer systems. One problem is that programs designed for a particular machine may not work efficiently, if at all, on other machines. Many of these programs require computer settings to be set in order for the program to function. A computer setting is a program setting or operating system setting that is used to configure the program or operating system. The computer settings are often manually configured in an effort to get the program to work. The manual configuration is done by trial and error by tweaking settings incrementally to see if an incremental change is sufficient for what is needed. Once the program works, no more tweaking is done.
Another problem is that many settings can not be changed during operation and must be selected prior to operation. A user often does not know which value should be selected to use for a particular setting. In these instances, the user selects a value and sees if the operation will work. If it does not work, the value is changed by stopping the operation, changing the value, and restarting (e.g., re-booted) the operation every time the setting is tweaked.
A further problem occurs when settings are negotiated between two or more systems. Settings are negotiated based on each system's needs at the time of negotiation. These systems are often stuck with the negotiated settings when the protocol being used prohibits renegotiation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for advance negotiation of computer settings


A centrifugal pump with a cutter mechanism has a toothed cutter auger affixed to an impeller, and a toothed cutter stator affixed to the volute casing. The auger is a rotor cutter preferably profiled radially to match the inlet geometry of the impeller vanes while extending along its central axis towards the pump suction. The auger is preferably radially concentric to the impeller and includes vanes numbered preferably to match the number of vanes on the impeller. The auger is affixed to the impeller, preferably with a lockscrew threaded into a common pump shaft. The radial profile of the auger essentially makes a continuous vane with the impeller, and prevents solids from hanging on the inlet vane tip or center void while providing a smooth flow transition into the impeller.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to pumps for liquids, and more particularly, to centrifugal pump cutters for cutting solids suspended in the liquid.
2. Description of Related Art
Pumps in both the manure slurry and municipal waste markets are subject to clogging due to the nature of stringy materials and other soft solids which tend to restrict or block the impeller passages in a centrifugal pump. This clogging can occur as often as every few days.
One attempt to solve the clogging problem was provided by a drawing of an "A Series Cutter Assembly: Drawing #046897" to Homa. The Homa assembly is a crude welded device with a single slicer blade welded to a cutter plate, and two flat slicer blades welded inside an impeller and leaving a small opening therebetween. The Homa assembly has operational flaws, including shortcomings present in any welded device designed without thought to hydraulic impact of the cutters. For example, the Homa cutter and stator teeth block flow into the impeller, causing substantial pressure drop as flow enters the pump. This pressure drop will limit the amount of "lift" that the pumps can generate, limit the flow range of a pump, limit the size of a solid that can flow through the pump, and increase the amount of power that would be required to operate the pump. With just one impeller tooth the cutting force is skewed to one side causing life reducing unbalanced loads. The cutter teeth and impeller will have a reduced operational life because of the unbalance.
The Homa mechanism is fabricated with the teeth welded into the impeller and stator. Welding the teeth adds problem on operation of the pump. For example, welds can be attacked by corrosion causing premature failure. Heating from the welds can damage the impeller and stator. That is, the heat could warp the teeth and change the base structure of the underlying material. The corrosion resistance near the weld can change because of the heat. In addition, impact loads (from cutting) are concentrated at the weld points leading to reduced impeller/stator life. Further, the welded on teeth are non-replaceable. This means that failure at the weld would likely require a new impeller or plate in order to make a repair that now requires a pump rebuild. Even prior to failure, the welded-on teeth are wear items and will need to be renewed on a regular basis. Since pumps can go several years without a major rebuild, the requirement that base parts (impeller/stator) be replaced with the teeth is an expensive time consuming problem for pump users.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.


A thermal dye transfer printer reduces print time by printing sequential color section from a donor web onto a receiver sheet while the donor web and receiver sheet travel in forward or reverse directions relative to a printer head. A first colored image is formed on the receiver by printing as the donor web and the receiver sheet transit the printer head in a first direction. The donor web is indexed to bring the trailing edge of a second color section in registration with the trailing edge of the first colored printed image on the receiver web portion. Then the image receiver web transits the printer head in the opposite direction and the second color is printed on the receiver sheet in combination with the receiver sheet. The steps are repeated for all color patches.

Digital photography is highly competitive with conventional photography. One disadvantage of digital photography is the quality and durability of prints of images taken with a digital camera. While computer screens display vivid images, photographers still want hard copies of their pictures. Conventional prints from photofinishers are far superior to most prints made from home based printers because many home based printers use ink jet technology. Ink jet printers are low cost devices and they provide a range of prints, some of which are unacceptable, others that fade quickly, and some that have good color and long life. One of the better printers for color digital photography images is the thermal dye transfer printer. It creates an image from sequential patches of different colors and applies a clear, protective coating to the finished print. These printers reproduce excellent images that are quite durable and generally superior to images made with ink jet printers.
However, thermal dye transfer printers are inherently slow. Ink jet printers simultaneously deposit different color inks to make an image. In contrast, thermal dye transfer printers deposit only one color at a time. Their speed is further reduced by the conventional process of returning the printed paper to its initial position before a second color is printed on the paper. In order to print three colors and a clear coat on a paper, a printer shuffles the paper back and forth seven times: one time for each color or layer and one time to reload for the three subsequent colors or layers. There is a need to make thermal dye transfer printers quicker and to reduce the time it takes to make a color print using a thermal dye transfer printer.
Thermal dye transfer printers are also popular in printing kiosks. The Eastman Kodak Company markets and sells a line of printing kiosks that provide users with thermal dye transfer prints of digital photographs. The kiosks are user friendly and have touch screens with menu driven programs for showing a digital camera user how to make prints of digital images.
Nevertheless, printing thermal dye transfer images is inherently slow. A state of the art 4″×6″ thermal dye transfer printer takes between 11 and 12 seconds to make a print. In order to give consumers a net printing time of about five or six seconds, kiosks are equipped with two 4″×6″ printers. The printing operation alternates between the two printers so that the average time per print is about five or six seconds.
That solution imposes a high cost of capital equipment on each kiosk. There is still an unsolved problem of economically reducing the net print time. Studies show that about half of the 11 to 12 second print time is spent in handling receiver paper and dye transfer rolls. Hence, even if the actual time of image transfer was zero, the handling time for the receiver and donor webs would be at the current net time experienced by consumers. A zero image print time is impossible, but even a 50% improvement would still leave the consumer with an average print time of about eight seconds. Therefore, even a 50% reduction in image print time, by itself, will not materially reduce the time experienced by consumers or allow the kiosk to print with only one 4″×6″ printer.

Method and apparatus for reducing print time


A system for determining a treatment plan for a patient comprises a database of patient data elements indicative of a medical condition associated with a patient. A predictive model is applied to patient assessment data and used to prepare a treatment plan. A rules engine applies a patient rule consistent with the treatment plan to selected data elements stored in the database to produce an output indicative of a change in the medical condition of the patient. The output from the rules engine is used to determine if intervention is warranted. The predictive model is applied continuously to determine whether to update the treatment plan and, if necessary, the patient rule.

Embodiments of this invention relate generally to providing care to patients in healthcare locations. More particularly, embodiments of this invention provide a system and method for creating treatment plans for patients that are continuously updated based on patient data.
Advances in communications, video displays, monitoring devices and computers have made it possible to remotely monitor hundreds of monitored patients. Alerting systems may be deployed to alert healthcare providers when certain conditions are met. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,986 issued to Shabot, et. al for a "System And Method For Automatic Critical Event Notification," describes a critical event notification system that permits review of a patient's diagnostic information, lab results, chart, or other data, automatically, by computer or similar equipment, and it provides for automatic paging of a responsible physician or physicians should a "critical event" be detected. The decision to page an individual is made automatically by the system, and does not require a direct human decision.
"Decision Support Systems in Critical Care" (Edited by M. Michael Shabot and Reed M. Gardner, 1994), is a compilation of articles that collectively describe the application of computers in health care settings. Decision support systems are defined as systems that receive medical data as input and produce medical information and/or knowledge as output. In some implementations, decision support systems utilize inferencing methods to detect associations between different pieces of information, alerting clinicians to certain patterns of events, which may be serious or life-threatening.
An example implementation of an inferencing method is described in the context of analyzing blood gas readings and laboratory results. Three different types of alerting algorithms are described: 1) high and low critical values 2) calculation-adjusted critical values, and 3) critical trends. (See, Decision Support Systems in Critical Care, pages 157-65.) The calculation-adjusted critical value algorithm reflects the dependence of the algorithm on multiple parameters. The application of the inferencing module produces an alert that is displayed on a screen or sent to a wireless device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,656 issued to Applicants, a smart alarm system was described. The smart alarm system of the '656 Patent, constantly monitors physiologic data and all other clinical information stored in the database (labs, medications, etc). The rules engine searches for patterns of data indicative of clinical deterioration. By way of illustration, one family of alarms looks for changes in vital signs over time, using pre-configured thresholds. These thresholds (also referred to as "rules") are patient-specific and setting/disease-specific. Physiologic alarms can be based on multiple variables. For example, one alarm looks for a simultaneous increase in heart rate of 25% and a decrease in blood pressure of 20%, occurring over a time interval of 2 hours. Alarms also track additional clinical data in the patient database. Other rules follow laboratory data (e.g. looking for need to exclude active bleeding and possibly to administer blood). Regardless of the data elements that are used, the purpose of the rules is to facilitate detection of changes in a patient's condition (whether that condition is improving or degrading) in a predictive manner and to automate a response appropriate to the "new" condition.
Clinical prediction has been practiced in various forms since the first doctor practiced medicine. Observation, intuition, and the prevailing wisdom of the time were used to diagnose and treat illness. The patient's status following a particular treatment was associated with the treatment, whether or not there was a causal connection between the two. Often, treatments that were ineffective, or worse, deleterious, were perpetuated because there was not basis for determining whether there was a cause and effect relationship between the treatment and the result.
Scoring systems were developed to identify the important physiologic parameters and chronic health conditions that determine clinical outcome. The typical clinical prediction rule is geared to determine a specific outcome. The identification of the key predictive variables is accomplished using well-known statistical techniques. The model is validated by applying the scoring system to patients and confirming the outcome against the predicted outcome.
An example of a predictive scoring system is the Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) instrument commonly used to assess patients for admission to an ICU. The APACHE II instrument studied 5800 patients, and 13 hospitals, and, with statistical methods, identified 12 continuous physiologic variables measured within twenty-four hours of ICU admission." These variables were coupled with others describing the chronic health of the patient. APACHE II has also been applied to a wide variety of clinical issues in critical care and has been the method of choice for describing the severity of illness in some landmark studies.
APACHE II has several unintended flaws. The first was that the derivation data set was relatively small and therefore did not have the statistical power to describe subsets of disease, such as congestive heart failure, liver failure, and hematologic malignancy. The second was that the instrument could not distinguish between patients who had prior treatment and those who did not. This flaw, now termed "lead-term bias," was discovered when a number of investigators demonstrated that the predictive accuracy of APACHE II faltered when it was applied to patients who were transferred from other ICUs or from within the hospital setting. In these situations, the APACHE II instrument underestimated mortality.
APACHE III was intended to correct this deficiency. This instrument was derived from 17,440 patients, and 40 hospitals, representing a wider spectrum than APACHE II. APACHE III employs 17 continuous physiologic variables, chronic health information, prior treatment location before ICU admission, and principal ICU diagnosis. It also has a new feature whereby mortality prediction is updated on a continuous basis.
A Simplified Acute Physiologic Score (SAPS) was developed to streamline the approach utilized by the APACHE systems. The SAPS II system employs 17 variables: 12 categorical physiologic variables; age; type of admission; and three other designated disease variables (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS, metastatic cancer, and hematologic malignancy). The SAPS score is entered into a mathematical formula, which can be solved on a calculator and whose solution provides the predicted hospital mortality. Therefore no commercial computer software is necessary to perform this calculation. This simplicity plus its low cost have made SAPS a popular choice in some centers, particularly in Europe.
The Mortality Prediction Model (MPM).uses a mathematical formula whose solution provides a prediction of patient mortality. Typically, the MPM score is determined immediately upon ICU admission. The updated version of MPM (MPM24) uses a score twenty-four hours after ICU admission, utilizing five of the admission variables and eight additional physiologic variables. This provides two points of prognostic assessment within a 24-hour period. The MPM24 correlates with SAPS and APACHE, since all three are measured within twenty-four hours of ICU admission.
Many other predictive models have been developed for various purposes. By way of illustration and not as a limitation, a partial list of predictive models comprises SAPS II expanded and predicted mortality, SAPS II and predicted mortality, APACHE II and predicted mortality, SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment), MODS (Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score), ODIN (Organ Dysfunctions and/or INfection), MPM (Mortality Probability Model), MPM II LODS (Logistic Organ Dysfunction System), TRIOS (Three days Recalibrated ICU Outcome Score), EUROSCORE (cardiac surgery), ONTARIO (cardiac surgery), Parsonnet score (cardiac surgery), System 97 score (cardiac surgery), QMMI score (coronary surgery), Early mortality risk in redocoronary artery surgery, MPM for cancer patients, POSSUM (Physiologic and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and Morbidity) (surgery, any), Portsmouth POSSUM (surgery, any), IRISS score: graft failure after lung transplantation, Glasgow Coma Score, ISS (Injury Severity Score), RTS (Revised Trauma Score), TRISS (Trauma Injury Severity Score), ASCOT (A Severity Characterization Of Trauma), 24 h—ICU Trauma Score, TISS (Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System), TISS-28 (simplified TISS), PRISM (Pediatric RISk of Mortality), P-MODS (Pediatric Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score), DORA (Dynamic Objective Risk Assesment), PELOD (Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction), PIM II (Paediatric Index of Mortality II), PIM (Paediatric Index of Mortality), CRIB II (Clinical Risk Index for Babies), CRIB (Clinical Risk Index for Babies), SNAP (Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology), SNAP-PE (SNAP Perinatal Extension), SNAP II and SNAPPE II, MSSS (Meningococcal Septic Shock Score), GMSPS (Glasgow Meningococcal Septicaemia Prognostic Score), Rotterdam Score (meningococcal septic shock), Children's Coma Score (Raimondi), Paediatric Coma Scale (Simpson & Reilly), and Pediatric Trauma Score.
Predictive models are useful in establishing an initial treatment plan for a patient. Continuous assessment of patient specific rules can facilitate the implementation of the treatment plan. However, it would also desirable to monitor the progress of the patient using predictive models to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment plan on a continuous basis and to revise the treatment plan and/or the patient specific rules accordingly.

Using predictive models to continuously update a treatment plan for a patient in a health care location


Disclosed are a data transmission method and apparatus. The method includes: a transmission node acquiring information about a data transmission mode, herein the information about the data transmission mode includes a rapid data transmission mode in which a time-domain length of data transmission is configured based on a time-domain symbol; and the transmission node transmitting data according to the acquired data transmission mode. In the data transmission method, the time-domain length of data transmission is configured based on the time-domain symbol, the setting of the time-domain length of data transmission is flexible, multiple opportunities of data transmission can exist in one subframe, resources used for data transmission can be guaranteed to be found rapidly when there is a data transmission demand, thus rapid data transmission is realized and data transmission delay is reduced.

With the increasing perfection of commercial use of a Long-Term Evolution (LTE)/Long-Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-Advanced/LTE-A) system of the 4th Generation (4G) mobile communication technology, technical index requirements on the next generation mobile communication technology, i.e., the 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication technology are higher and higher. The industry generally believes that the next generation mobile communication system should have features such as ultrahigh speed, ultrahigh capacity, ultrahigh reliability and ultralow delay transmission feature.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of delay transmission features in existing different generation mobile communication technologies. As illustrated in FIG. 1, horizontal ordinates express delay demands and longitudinal coordinates express different generation mobile communication systems. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a delay of data transmission in a traditional system of the 2nd Generation (2G) mobile communication technology exceeds 100 ms, and this delay can reach a low delay communication effect in the aspect of human body muscle response; a delay of data transmission in a system of the 3rd Generation (3G) mobile communication technology is 100 ms, and this delay can reach a low delay communication effect in the aspect of hearing; and a delay of data transmission in a 4G system is about 20 ms, and this delay can reach a low delay communication effect in the aspect of vision.
However, technologies for implementing delay transmission in each generation mobile communication technology cannot satisfy ultralow delay communication requirements in application scenarios such as mobile 3D targets, virtual reality, intelligent transportation and intelligent power grids. These application scenarios require that a data delay with a magnitude of 1 ms can be realized.
In an existing LTE system, a physical downlink control channel is located on first n Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of a subframe, and a Physical Downlink Share Channel (PDSCH) is located after a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) time domain and occupies the entire subframe in the time domain. In addition, an enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (ePDCCH) and a physical downlink share channel use a frequency division multiplexing mode, and time-domain lengths are the same, as illustrated in FIG. 2 which is a schematic diagram of a physical downlink control channel and a physical downlink share channel in an existing LTE system. In FIG. 2, in a subframe, an oblique line shaded part expresses a PDCCH region, an oblique small check shaded part expresses an ePDCCH region and a black part expresses a PDSCH region.
Generally, only after user equipment receives a PDCCH/ePDCCH, a PDSCH frequency-domain position can be known and corresponding data decoding is started to implement data transmission. Thus, in one aspect, if the PDCCH/ePDCCH receiving is delayed, thus decoding of data born by the PHSCH will be delayed; and in the other aspect, since an interval of PDCCH/ePDCCH/PDSCH transmission in the LTE system is one subframe, even though there is burst super real-time data transmission, processing can be performed by waiting for the incoming of a next subframe and this data transmission mode increases data transmission delay.
In addition, since the time-domain length is fixed, i.e., the entire subframe is occupied in time domain, a frequency-domain position of data transmission can only be adjusted. As a result, for a small data packet scenario that data transmission can be completed through a single OFDM symbol or a plurality of OFDM symbols, data transmission can only be completed in a delay of one subframe, this undoubtedly also increases data transmission delay and consequently rapid transmission of data is hindered.


A moving object is detected from a movie. The actual movie has a complicated background. In order to detect the moving object, the invention is constructed to comprise, in addition to means 500 for inputting the movie, and display 300 for outputting the processed result: means 700 for judging the interval which is predicted to belong to the background as to a pixel region in the movie; means 800 for extracting the moving object; and means 900 for calculating the moving direction and velocity of the moving object.. Thanks to the above-specified construction, even under the complicated background in which not only the change in the illumination condition but also the structure change will occur, the presence of the structure change of the background can be judged to detect/extract the moving object on real time. Moreover, the moving direction and velocity of the moving object can also be calculated.

The invention relates to moving object detection apparatus and method for monitoring the movie which is inputted with a camera, to measure the traffic flows on roads, to detect failures on railroads/crossings, and to prevent crimes in banks or convenience stores.
At present, various places such as the roads, the crossings or the service floors of banks are monitored with the camera movies. This technique is intended to prevent traffic jams, accidents or crimes in advance by monitoring objects moving in a specified place (as will be called the "moving bodies" or "moving objects"). In the traffic flow surveys frequently undergone at roads, for example, the statistical data on the traffic flows can be collected by monitoring how many automobiles, motorbikes, bicycles or pedestrians pass the monitoring area and by classifying the traffic flow into various categories. In the monitoring of the traffic jams on the roads, the accidents at the crossings or the service floors of banks or convenience stores, on the other hand, the accidents or crimes can be prevented in advance by detecting failures such as the jams, the stops of automobiles due to engine stalls, the falling objects or the suspicious behaviors of customers. Thus, there are high needs for moving-monitoring at present cannot go without resorting to the man powers because of its technical level. This causes problems of high cost and easy introduction of human mistakes. With this environment, automation of the monitoring by computers or the like is desired, and various methods have been proposed using models or templates.
The actual case of the movie-monitoring frequently occurs not indoors but outdoors. As a result, the objects or backgrounds are intensely influenced by the climate conditions such as rainfalls or snowfalls or the illumination conditions such as the sunshines or street lights. By the shadow of the environment or the reflection of the light due to the rainfalls, for example, the apparent shapes are highly changed. When the illumination changes from the sunlight to the mercury lamp, moreover, the contrast in brightness or color between the target to be monitored and the background will change. Even the movie at the same location is changed in its image characteristics with seasons or times. It frequently follows that an effective characteristic quantity could be extracted under one condition but not under another condition. Thus, under a complicated background, the monitoring has very low reliability depending upon the kind of the characteristic quantity to be used in the recognition algorithm so that its practicability is difficult.
The asymptotic illumination change of those problems coming from the complicated backgrounds is solved by the moving object detection method using the background difference. This background difference is the method of separating/extracting only a moving object by taking a difference between the background image reflecting only the background and the frame image containing the moving object by using that the background will hardly change in the movie taken with a fixed camera. The background image is automatically acquired by the method determining and using the medians and modes of the intensity of each pixel in the time axis. FIG. 24 simply shows the principle of the moving object detection method using the background difference. If a background image 100 is given in advance for a scene 110 to be monitored, a moving object 111 can be separated/extracted as a scene change 121 from the differential image 120 between the background image 100 and the scene 110.
The feature of this method is robust to any monitoring place. This is because any complicated background such as a utility pole 101 would be deleted by the differential operation if the camera had no motion. The prior art of the moving object detection method according to the background difference is exemplified by 1) IEICE Trans. D-II, Vol. J72-DII, No. 6, pp. 855-865, 1989, 2) IPSJ SIG-Notes, CV 75-5, 1991, and 3) IEICE Trans. D-II Vol. J77-DII, No. 9, pp. 1716-1726, 1994.
However, the method of the prior art has a problem that it is weak to the structure change of the background. FIG. 25 simply shows the problem of the method of the prior art. For example, it is assumed that a stopped object 131 appear in the scene of the background image 100 to cause the structure change of the background, as shown in a scene 130. According to the method of the prior art, the parked object 131 is extracted as a change 141, as indicated in a differential image 140 between the background image 100 and the scene 130. However, it is impossible to discriminate whether the change 141 is caused by the moving object or the structure change of the background. In a scene 150 on and after the structure change of the background, therefore, the structure change and the moving object so merge into each other, as in the region 161 in a scene 160, that they cannot be separated, even after a moving object 151 passed.
A number of structure changes of the background occur in the actual movie monitoring. For example, an automobile having passed a road may be stopped at the parking meter on a road edge to form part of a new background. On the contrary, an object having been stopped at the parking meter may move to make the hidden region into a portion of the new background. When the passing object drops an object onto the road, the falling object may also form part of the new background. In addition, the object having passed the snow may leave its tracks.
Thus, the method of the prior art using the background difference could not cope with the structure change of the background. This is because it is impossible to discriminate whether the portion having a changed background structure belongs to the moving object or a new background region. For this discrimination, it is conceivable to execute the motion analysis of the moving object. For the motion analysis algorithm such as the optical flow, however, the number of moving objects has to be known in advance. Once the number of the moving objects is mis-recognized, the subsequent processing will find it difficult not only to separate the background change region but also the presence of the background change itself.
It can be enumerated as another problem that the separation/extraction of the moving object are unstable. This is because the background change region and the moving object region could not always be correctly discriminated for the aforementioned reason even if the presence of the background change could be judged. When a parcel is dropped from a moving object and left on the road, for example, the moving object region is also updated as the background if the change in the new background by the falling object is detected and if the background is updated. As a result, a dust comes into the region where the moving object has been present at the background updating time. Thus, after the structure change of the background, the moving object couldn't be correctly separated/extracted from the background to make it resultantly difficult to continue the monitoring process.
In order to solve the problems thus far described, the invention has the following three objects.
A first object is to judge whether a pixel region of interest belongs to the background or the moving object, thereby to judge the kind of the background change, if any.
A second object is to extract only the moving object by separating/judging the background change region and the moving object region.
A third object is to easily calculate the moving direction or velocity of the moving object extracted.


A magnetic resonance imaging method and device include a processor and a demodulator including a signal sampling device which provide automatic quantitative motion evaluation of a part of an object. Pulse and gradient sequences (tsq) are applied in pairs with spatially differing tagging patterns, images corresponding to the pairs being subtracted so as to form a tagged image. The motion is monitored by scanning of the tagging pattern in the tagged image which permits improved motion evaluation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging method for monitoring motion of a part of an object to be imaged by application of pulse and gradient sequences to the object, which sequences comprise a tagging section for producing a tagging pattern and an imaging section for producing magnetic resonance signals in the part of the object, the resonance signals being used for forming at least one image of the object. Such tagging patterns can be used in connection with cardiac imaging as so-called myocardial tagging grids to evaluate heart motion in multi heart phase imaging, but can also be used for other purposes such as radiation therapy port planning of a liver. In the latter case the tagging is quasi static.
The present invention further relates to a magnetic resonance imaging device for monitoring motion of a part of an object, which imaging device comprises means for generating a stationary homogeneous magnetic field, means for radiating radio frequency pulses to the object which is placed in the stationary field, gradient generating means for generating magnetic gradient fields which are superimposed upon the stationary field, and processing means which are arranged for applying pulse and gradient sequences to the object under the control of control means, the sequences comprising a tagging section and an imaging section, and which imaging device further comprises receiving means and sampling means for receiving and sampling of magnetic resonance signals generated by the sequences in at least a part of the object, the processing means being arranged for processing sampled resonance signals into at least one image.
Of interest is commonly owned copending application Ser. No. 07/860,620 entitled "Magnetic Resonance Imaging Method and Device for Monitoring Motion of a part of an Object Based on Stimulated Echoes" filed concurrently herewith by the present inventors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A method and device of this kind are known from the article "MR Imaging of Motion with Spatial Modulation of Magnetization", L. Axel et al., Radiology, Volume 171, No. 3, pp. 841-845. For direct imaging of motion of the myocardium a multi heart phase imaging sequence is preceded by a pre-imaging so-called tagging sequence in order to obtain a line or grid reference pattern in the image. The tagging sequence is applied upon detection of the R-wave of an electrocardiogram. The multi heart phase imaging sequence produces magnetic resonance signals in a slice of the heart at different time intervals from the R-wave. Successive magnetic resonance images to be displayed visualize heart motion such as contraction and rotation, the tagging grid in the myocardium being displaced with respect to the chest wall tagging grid in successive heart images of the same slice. The tagging section of the imaging sequence comprises a radio frequency pulse to produce transverse magnetization, a magnetic field gradient to "wrap" the phase along the direction of the gradient and a further radio frequency pulse to mix the modulated transverse magnetization with the longitudinal magnetization. The resulting images show periodic stripes due to the modulation. A second set of modulation bands, for example, in a direction orthogonal to the first, can be produced by following the further radio frequency pulse with a further magnetic field gradient in an appropriate direction and then with a still further radio frequency pulse. Different tagging sections have also been described, e.g. for obtaining a radial tagging pattern, in "A Rapid Starburst Pulse Sequence for Cardiac Tagging", E. McVeigh et al., Book of Abstracts, SMRM 1989, Amsterdam, page 23, or in "Human Heart: Tagging with MR Imaging - A method for Noninvasive Assessment of Myocardial Motion", E.A. Zerhouni et al., Radiology, October 1988, pp. 59-63.
In all these methods it is difficult or not at all possible to evaluate the motion quantitatively, especially automatic evaluation using computer means, due to a relatively poor grid contrast. For images obtained at later stages of the heart cycle the contrast is reduced due to longitudinal relaxation effects. Not only does the grid pattern decay with longitudinal relaxation, but the image intensity becomes increasingly dominated by magnetization which has returned to its relaxed state, and which hence again becomes available for imaging. This relaxed magnetization which is devoid of the grid pattern, and which is thus not useful as far as the tagging is concerned, is a significant factor in reducing the grid contrast.

Magnetic resonance imaging method and device for monitoring motion of a part of an object


A power boat having an improved hull including concave aft sections, and which hull is capable of operations at a wide range of speeds with low relative horsepower for vessel weight and improved fuel economy is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the boat is a 38 foot power boat having an improved hull which can achieve speeds of up to about 18 knots, with a 200 hp engine and which burns about 10 gals. per hour. The hull preferably includes a negative deadrise angle at the aft sections, the deadrise angle being positive at the bow and transitioning to a negative angle at the aft sections of the hull.

Power boating has become an increasingly popular past time around the world. In addition to recreational use of power boats, power boats are also utilized in commercial and military settings. Generally, the use of the boat determines the type of hull which will be utilized in constructing the boat. For example, many people who operate power boats for recreation require increased speed for sports such as water skiing, while also requiring stability for safety. In addition, many recreational consumers require cabins for comfort and want fuel efficiency for economic and environmental reasons. In contrast, commercial boats may require less speed, but more stability for their particular application, and fuel efficiency remains a concern. Conventional hull shapes for mono-hull boats can be generally characterized as displacement type hulls, semi-displacement type hulls and planing hulls.
Displacement hulls utilized in power boats are well known in the art. Such hulls have a shape which is not overly sensitive to weight, but which does not exhibit any lift characteristics. Lift is the force that enables a hull to raise up out of the water as the forward thrust provided by the engine and propeller increase, thereby increasing the boat's speed as wetted surface is decreased. Thus, while displacement type hulls afford the operator with seaworthy characteristics, top speeds of these vessels are generally governed by waterline length. The maximum speed of displacement hulls has been conventionally accepted to be limited to the theoretical hull speed formula computed by multiplying the square root of the length of the hull's waterline (WL) by 1.4, i.e. maximum speed=1.4√{square root over (W)}L.) For example, a boat with a 30 foot waterline should have a theoretical maximum hull speed of about 7 knots. Beyond their theoretical optimal speed conventional displacement hulls begin to sink into the water, rather than lift out of the water, thereby decreasing their speed. Thus, increasing horsepower does not equate in such hulls to an increased speed, but rather can lead to the hull being driven lower into the water and increasing the wetted surface, reducing speed to a point that the vessel can actually sink. Generally, displacement type hulls are utilized for long range power boats, where weight carrying and fuel tankage capabilities for providing range outweigh the need for increased speed. In addition, due to their round shaped hull sections, displacement powerboats tend to have a rolling motion in a seaway and generally require some method of roll dampening, typically by using paravanes or gryro controlled underwater fins. Even displacement vessels as large as 600 foot passenger cruise ships use roll dampening devices for passenger comfort.
Another style hull which is utilized in power boats, such as lobster boats, is a semi-displacement hull. Semi-displacement hulls partially lift out of the water as forward propulsion is increased, but at the same time the wave created by the bow is increased creating drag as speed and power are increased. Semi-displacement hulls have advantages for use as fishing boats and commercial craft as their speed can be adjusted based on the load carried by the boat. Motion in a seaway for semi-displacement hulls is generally better than displacement hulls due to their flat aft sections. However, offshore fishing vessels still utilize paravanes on the outriggers for dampening rolling action to allow the crew to operate safely. Semi-displacement hulls are normally not as fast as planing hulls, but are faster than displacement hulls. Conventionally powered and loaded semi-displacement hulls normally operate at 2.0 to 2.3 times the square root of the waterline length. However, because of the bow wave factor and the drag created by their very flat (almost horizontal deadrise) aft sections of the hull, such semi-displacement hulls require a significant amount of power to operate at higher speeds, regardless of load. For example, a 35 foot semi-displacement hull boat having a single, 350 hp engine would typically burn about 20 gals. per hour at a maximum speed of about 14 knots.
Planing hulls generate lift as forward propulsion is increased, reducing the amount of hull which is in the water and dramatically increasing speed as compared to displacement type hulls. Most currently available power boats utilized deep V-shaped hulls or moderate deep vee shapes. While the speed of such boats is good, they require large amounts of horsepower and, consequently, burn a considerable amount of fuel in order to get the hull out of the water to attain the faster speeds. For example, a 40 foot deep V hull boat having twin 350 hp engines would typically burn about 40–50 gals. per hour at a maximum speed of about 25 knots. In addition, a planing hull is very sensitive to allowable weight, limiting the amount of fuel that can be carried, thus limiting range of operation. Speeds in excess of 80 knots have been achieved in planing hulls using enormous power plants with significant fuel burn. Approx. 80% of the pleasure power boats in the United States use planing hulls because of their speed and comfortable motion in flat and moderate seas. However, maintaining minimum planing speeds, usually in excess of 12 to 14 knots, in high sea conditions can be very uncomfortable due to the pounding motion created by the flat hull sections. Using a planing hull at speeds below planing speed can also be uncomfortable due to the hull shape which obtains it's stability from water moving fast across the underwater sections of the hull.
Improvements to all hull types are continually being made in an effort to optimize specific hull characteristics, according to the particular use of the boat. However, to date no hull design has been developed for power boats which has successfully exhibited good fuel economy and range at variable operating speeds while also providing a stable, comfortable ride.
Accordingly, there is needed in the art a power boat having a hull design which exhibits good to excellent fuel economy and range at variable operating speeds, while also providing a stable, comfortable ride.


A microlaser assembly is provided that includes a microresonator, such as a side pumped microresonator having an active gain medium and a passive Q-switch, a pump source for inducing resonation of the microresonator and the generation of laser signals, one or more electro-optic components, such as one or more non-linear crystals, amplifiers, oscillators or active gain mediums, for modifying the laser signals emitted by the microlaser and a beam steering element for aligning the laser signals emitted by the microresonator with the electro-optic components. The beam steering element is preferably controllably adjustable so as to precisely align the laser signals emitted by the microresonator with an electro-optic component. In order to provide more general alignment, the microlaser assembly can also include a mechanical alignment member. For example, the microlaser assembly can include a first mechanical alignment member for aligning the microresonator and the beam steering element and a second mechanical alignment member for aligning the beam steering element and the electro-optic component. In this regard, the first and second mechanical alignment members can each include at least one pin for operably engaging the microresonator, beam steering element and/or the electro-optic components. The laser signals emitted by the microresonator can therefore be efficiently coupled to the electro-optic components in order to provide the desired laser output.

The present invention relates generally to microlaser assemblies and, more particularly, to microlaser assemblies having microresonators, one or more electro-optic components and a beam steering element for controllably aligning the laser signals emitted by the microresonator with the electro-optic components.
Modern electro-optical applications are demanding relatively inexpensive, miniaturized lasers capable of producing a series of well-defined output pulses. As such, a variety of microlasers have been developed that include a microresonator and a pair of at least partially reflective mirrors disposed at opposite ends of the microresonator to define a resonant cavity therebetween. The microresonator of one advantageous microlaser includes an active gain medium and a saturable absorber that serves as a Q-switch. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,413 to John J. Zayhowski which issued on Feb. 28, 1995 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,815 to Brian L. Peterson which issued on Jun. 6, 2000, the contents of both of which are incorporated in their entirety herein. By appropriately pumping the active gain medium, such as with a laser diode, the microresonator will emit a series of pulses having a predetermined wavelength, pulse width and pulse energy.
As known to those skilled in the art, the wavelength of the signals emitted by a microlaser is dependent upon the materials from which the active gain medium and the saturable absorber are formed. In contrast, the pulse width of the laser pulses emitted by a conventional microlaser is proportional to the length of the resonator cavity. As such, longer resonator cavities will generally emit output pulses having greater pulse widths as defined by the following equation:       t    pw    =            2            n                    xe2x80x83                  l        c
in which tpw is the pulse width, 1 is the length of the resonator cavity, n is the refractive index of the microlaser and c is the speed of light. Further, both the pulse energy and average power provided by a microlaser are proportional to the pulse width of the pulses output by the microlaser. All other factors being equal, the longer the microresonator cavity, the longer the pulse width and the greater the pulse energy and average power of the resulting laser pulses as a result of the increased gain.
Conventional microlasers, such as those described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,413, are end pumped in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis defined by the resonator cavity. In this regard, the longitudinal axis of the microresonator cavity extends lengthwise through the resonator cavity and is oriented so as to be orthogonal to the pair of at least partially reflective mirrors that define the opposed ends of the resonant cavity. As such, conventional microlasers are configured such that the pump source provides pump signals in a direction perpendicular to the at least partially reflective mirrors that define the opposed ends of the resonant cavity. The effective length of the resonator cavity is therefore equal to the physical length of the resonator cavity.
While a microlaser can be fabricated such that the resonator cavity has different lengths, a number of factors contribute to generally limit the permissible length of the resonator cavity. In particular, a number of electro-optical applications require microlasers that are extremely small. As such, increases in the length of the resonator cavity are strongly discouraged in these applications since any such increases in the length of the microresonator cavity would correspondingly increase the overall size of the microlaser. In addition, the length of passively Q-switched microlasers is effectively limited by the requirement that the inversion density must exceed a predetermined threshold before lasing commences. As the physical length of the resonator cavity increases, greater amounts of pump energy are required in order to create the necessary inversion density for lasing. In addition to disadvantageously consuming more power to pump the microlaser, the increased pumping requirements create a number of other problems, such as the creation of substantially more heat within the microlaser which must be properly disposed of in order to permit continued operation of the microlaser.
As such, side-pumped microlasers have been developed as described by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/337,432, filed Jun. 21, 1999, by Brian L. Peterson, et al. and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/337,716 filed Jun. 21, 1999, by Steve Guch, Jr., et at, the contents of both of which are incorporated in their entireties herein. Like an end-pumped microlaser, a side-pumped microlaser includes a microresonator consisting of an active gain medium and a saturable absorber that serves as a Q-switch, and a pair of at least partially reflective mirrors disposed at opposite ends of the microresonator to define a resonant cavity. Unlike an end-pumped microlaser in which the opposed end faces of the microresonator are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis defined by the microresonator, however, the opposed end faces of the microresonator of a side-pumped microlaser are disposed at a non-orthogonal angle, such as between about 30xc2x0 and about 35xc2x0 relative to a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis defined lengthwise through the microresonator. As such, the microresonator will support a zig-zag resonation pattern. In order to initiate the resonation, the microlaser also includes a pump source for .introducing pump signals into the active gain medium via a side surface of the microresonator. In response to the pumping of the active gain medium via the side surface, the zig-zag resonation pattern is established within the resonant cavity and a series of pulses are emitted once the necessary inversion density has been reached. As a result of the zig-zag resonation pattern, the effective length of the microresonator of a side-pumped microlaser is increased without having to increase the physical dimensions. Thus, a side-pumped microlaser can generate pulses having greater pulse widths and correspondingly greater pulse energies and average power levels than the pulses provided by end-pumped microlasers of a similar size.
Notwithstanding the advantages offered by side-pumped microlasers, some modern electro-optical applications require pulses that have greater pulse energies and greater average power levels as well as pulses that have different wavelengths than that emitted by a microresonator. As such, microlaser assemblies generally include a microresonator and one or more electro-optic components for receiving the pulses and for modifying the pulses. For example, the electro-optic components can include an optical parametric amplifier for amplifying the pulses. Alternatively, the electro-optic components can include one or more non-linear crystals for altering the wavelength of the pulses, such as by doubling or quadrupling the frequency of the pulses.
In order to appropriately receive and modify the pulses emitted by the microlaser, the electro-optic components must be precisely aligned with the microlaser. As the microlaser and the associated electro-optic components become smaller, this alignment becomes even more necessary, but also more difficult. Moreover, as the requirements for microlaser assemblies increase, the proper alignment of the microlaser and the associated electro-optic components becomes even more critical. Thus, a need exists for microlaser assemblies having microresonators and associated electro-optic components that can be reliably aligned in a precise manner in order to provide the output required by modern electro-optical applications.
A microlaser assembly is therefore provided that includes a microresonator having an active gain medium and a passive Q-switch, a pump source for inducing resonation of the microresonator and the generation of laser signals, one or more electro-optic components, such as one or more non-linear crystals, amplifiers, oscillators or other active gain mediums, for modifying the laser signals emitted by the microlaser and a beam steering element for aligning the laser signals emitted by the microresonator with the electro-optic components. In one advantageous embodiment, the pump source pumps the active gain medium via a first side surface of the microresonator. In order to support a zig-zag resonation pattern in response to the side pumping, the first and second end faces of the microresonator are typically disposed at a nonorthogonal angle relative to the longitudinal axis defined by the microresonator. As a result of the zig-zag resonation pattern, the microresonator can generate pulses having greater pulse widths and correspondingly greater pulse energies and average power levels than the pulses produced by conventional microresonators of a similar size. In addition, by precisely aligning the laser signals emitted by the microresonator with the electro-optic components, the beam steering element of the microlaser assembly of the present invention facilitates the reliable and efficient operation of the microlaser assembly and supports multiple downstream electro-optic stages for amplifying the laser signals and/or altering the wavelength of the laser signals depending upon the requirements of a particular application.
Preferably, the beam steering element is controllably adjustable so as to precisely align the laser signals emitted by the microresonator with an electro-optic component. For example, the beam steering element can include at least one wedge prism and, in one embodiment, includes a pair of steering Risley prisms. The beam steering element typically provides for the relatively precise alignment of the laser signals emitted by the microresonator with the electro-optic components. In order to provide more general alignment, the microlaser assembly can also include a mechanical alignment member.
In this advantageous embodiment, the microlaser assembly can include a first mechanical alignment member for aligning the microresonator and the beam steering element and a second mechanical alignment member for aligning the beam steering element and the electro-optic component. For example, the first and second mechanical alignment members can each include at least one pin for operably engaging the microresonator, the beam steering element and/or the electro-optic components. In this regard, the microlaser assembly can further include a microresonator mount for supporting the microresonator and a component mount for supporting the electro-optic component. In addition, the microlaser assembly of this embodiment can include a housing for holding the beam steering element. As such, the at least one pin of the first mechanical alignment member can engage the microresonator mount and the housing for generally aligning the microresonator and the beam steering element. Likewise, the at least one pin of the second mechanical alignment member can engage the component mount and the housing for generally aligning the electro-optic component and the beam steering element. As such, the mechanical alignment members can provide general alignment of the microresonator with the electro-optic components, while the controllably adjustable beam steering element provides more precise alignment or fine tuning.
In one advantageous embodiment in which the microresonator is side-pumped, the microresonator also has a second side surface extending between the opposed end faces and opposite the first side surface. As such, the zig-zag resonation pattern includes a number of segments of alternately opposite slope that intersect at respective inflection points proximate one of the first and second side surfaces. As such, the microlaser assembly can include first and second pump sources for introducing pump signals into the active gain medium at locations along the first and second side surfaces, respectively, that coincide with the inflection points. As such, the gain provided by the pump signals can be maximized.
The microlaser assembly of the present invention therefore provides for the alignment of the microresonator, such as a side-pumped microresonator, with one or more electro-optic components, such as one or more non-linear crystals, amplifiers and oscillators. In particular, the microlaser assembly of one embodiment provides for both the general alignment of the microresonator and the electro-optic component by means of one or more mechanical alignment members, as well as the more precise and controllably adjustable alignment of the microresonator and the electro-optic component by means of a beam steering element. Thus, the laser signals emitted by the microresonator can be efficiently coupled to the electro-optic components in order to provide the desired laser output.

Microlaser assembly having a microresonator and aligned electro-optic components


Methods and platforms are disclosed for providing enhanced telecommunication wireless and wireline services comprising: 1) wireless device location-based personal contact service; 2) digital multi-media telecommunication session documentation; 3) provision of digital product samples according to subscriber-definable criteria and to a wireless device upon reading of a product identifying code with a wireless device; 4) wireless location-based product price, availability and information service; 5) short-range wireless device CRM (customer relationship management) functions; 6) wireless vital sign monitoring service capable of automatic messaging; 7) entertainment event futures determination method and securities market. The invention is physically comprised of a telecommunication platform such as a web-enabled computer, television or other device; or a telephone, cell phone, or wireless PDA that integrates some or all of: a computing apparatus, a digital camera, a data input method from external wireless devices, a network interface capable of interfacing with the Internet and/or a telecommunications network such as a public telephone network, a short-range wireless communication method with other wireless devices, such as Bluetooth, a user interface, a bar code or other product code (such as RFID) reading apparatus and software, a global positioning system (GPS) or other device location determination method, a network service provider and related application hosting facilities, software and databases.

1. Technical Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to telecommunications services and the growing functional capability of portable, digital, wireless communication devices; and specifically to offering enhanced telecommunication services involving wireless communication devices and service providers equipped with enhanced technological functions. The invention discloses a plurality of unique services and business methods that combine emerging and yet-to emerge technologies in the creation and delivery of value-added services.
2. Description of Prior and Current Art
Wireless service providers and device makers are constantly seeking to create value-added services capable of generating new revenue. Services are in part determined by software and hardware technological capability. The gradual integration into wireless devices of multiple technologies including computing, broadband, still and moving digital image capture, wireless data capture from digital instruments, short-range local networking such as WiFi and Bluetooth, and others enable new classes of services. Currently, such technologies, if utilized at all, are utilized as discrete functions and not integrated services.
Currently, short-message-systems (SMS) are offered by wireless service providers, as are downloadable ring tones, music or video samples, and forwarding of digital image files taken with digital cameras integrated with wireless devices. The invention describes business and technological methods that offer enhanced services.


A jitter detection circuit includes an oscillation circuit, a measurement period setting circuit for outputting a measurement period signal based on a measurement period specifying signal, the measurement period setting circuit receiving the output clock from a PLL circuit, a counter for counting the number of clock cycles output from the oscillation circuit over the period during which the measurement period signal is being output, a reference count value determining circuit for setting a reference count value for the number of clock cycles output from the oscillation circuit over the period during which the measurement period signal is being output, and an error detection circuit for detecting the jitter error of the PLL circuit based on the maximum count value and minimum count value counted by the counter, and the reference count value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device equipped with a jitter detection circuit and a jitter detection method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, as semiconductor components have gotten more miniaturized, an integrated circuit comprising those semiconductor components have been becoming larger in scale. Therefore, some of integrated circuits of recent years have a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) circuit embedded within them. This PLL circuit is used not only to generate a clock signal used in the chip, but also to match the clock with the phase of an external clock.
Since this PLL circuit is a feedback circuit, the clock frequency can be varied depending on the stability. Jitter is one of these fluctuation widths as the clock phase is changed. When the fluctuation width of jitter is too large, it affects the operational stability of the integrated circuit which is synchronizing with the clock. Japanese Unexamined patent publication Nos. 10-267999 and 2003-179142 disclose techniques for measuring jitter in an integrated circuit having a PLL circuit.
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined patent publication No. 10-267999, a test input signal is input while varying the phase of the signal. Then, the test signal is latched in synchronization with a receive clock and output. The fluctuation width is measured by comparing the output signal with an expected output value.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined patent publication No. 2003-179142 introduces an embedded oscillation circuit called "window clock oscillation circuit". Using a delay circuit for the falling edge of the window clock signal to change as appropriate the time period during which clock cycles output from the PLL circuit is counted, jitter is examined based on the number of the falling edges of the clock signal output from the PLL circuit.
However, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined patent publication No. 10-267999, there is a problem that since it includes jitter caused by a test board extending to the PLL embedded circuit, it cannot accurately measure jitter caused by the embedded PLL circuit itself. Furthermore, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined patent publication No. 2003-179142, the characteristics of the delay circuit contained in the internal circuit varies depending on voltage, temperature, and the like. Consequently, the jitter measurement may be varied depending on the surrounding environment or the like, and therefore it is difficult to accurately measure jitter. In addition, in a circuit disclosed in Japanese Unexamined patent publication No. 2003-179142 or similar circuit, since the circuit itself is complicated, it increases the circuit scale.
In a conventional Jitter detection circuit, it is difficult to accurately measure the fluctuation rate of jitter with simple circuitry.

Jitter detection circuit and jitter detection method


Separation chambers, deboning machines, and methods of operating the same are provided. In one aspect, a separation chamber for a compression-type deboning machine includes a body defining an internal cavity therein having a frusto-conical shape. A central longitudinal axis of the body extends from a first opening of the cavity near a first end of the body to a second opening of the cavity near a second end of the body. The first opening is larger than the second opening. The separation chamber also includes a plurality of perforations defined through the body from an inner surface of the body to an outer surface of the body. Each perforation includes a perforation axis extending longitudinally through a center of the perforation. The perforation axes of the plurality of perforations are transverse to a radial axis extending perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis of the body.

Conventional deboning machines are represented in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,189,104 and 5,813,909. U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,104 generally relates to deboning machines of the type in which an auger conveys ground meat and bone materials through a perforated conduit from one end thereof while exerting pressure on said materials to force meat components out of the conduit through the perforations thereof at the same time that bone components are being conveyed to discharge at the other end of the conduit through an adjustable valve ring which surrounds an extension of the auger and is adapted to control pressure within the conduit. The valve ring includes an internal, circumferential series of indentations confronting the auger extension and extends axially so as to be open to discharge for positively expelling bone components. U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,909 generally relates to a slotted separation chamber for a compression type deboning machine. The separation chamber may include a plurality of elongated slots.

Separation chambers for deboning machines


A method and apparatus for identifying individuals for the purposes of determining clearance access or surveillance is characterized by enrolling an image of a person's face either voluntarily or secretly to be later used for comparison when the person voluntarily desires clearance or is covertly detected. The system can recognize or identify individuals regardless of whether the individual is wearing eye glasses or attempted disguises. In one embodiment, the system allows an authorized operator to enroll an image of a person through a facial scan for subsequent clearance access. The system records the camera positioning, captures an image, scales the image and records data from a region of interest within the scanned image to a database for later comparison. Enrollment data and the corresponding image information are then associated with a personal identification number assigned to the person. Upon presentment before the system, and entering the assigned personal identification number, another facial scan is taken of the person to be compared with the data from the regions of interest from the enrollment database of images to confirm the identity of the individual. In a second embodiment, the system operator injects an image secretly taken of an individual for later surveillance and identification. In a surveillance mode, the system automatically detects a person's presence, positions the camera through analysis of the image, captures an image, and then processes the image to determine if the person is enrolled in the enrollment database.

Biometric techniques for determining the identity of individuals, such as in security applications, have been well known and in use for some time. To date, biometric techniques have primarily been oriented towards fingerprint analysis rather than the visual recognition of facial images. Identification using infrared thermal imaging has been a more recent phenomena. For example, Rice, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,149, taught the scanning of subcutaneous blood vessels by measuring the inflection of incident radiation as a technique for determining a person's identification signature. However, active heating of the area being scanned was required in order to get an accurate scan. More recently, the Prokcski et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,094, moved the infrared field forward by describing a method and apparatus for identifying individuals characterized by analyzing elemental shapes from thermally derived biosensor data. Thermal images are converted into digital representations by measuring the intensity of each pixel corresponding to the level of thermal energy for a corresponding portion of the image. Following standardization, an image containing the elemental shapes can be compared and then correlated with unique structural features of an individual.
However, several aspects of the systems have not been dealt with: automatically positioning a camera or other, biosensor, enhancing identification accuracy through class sorting, and identifying individual facial features from those subjects wearing eyeglasses.

Facial recognition system for security access and identification


A cooking appliance may include a case that defines a cavity for cooking, a top plate that is disposed above the cavity and that is configured to define an external appearance of a top side of the cooking appliance, a control panel that is disposed at a front upper position of the cavity and that is configured to define an external appearance of a front side of the cooking appliance, the control panel having a knob for user operation, and a door that is disposed below the control panel and that is configured to define, along with the control panel, the external appearance of the front side of the cooking appliance, the door being configured to open or close the cavity.

Generally, a cooking appliance may be a household appliance that is used to cook food using electricity or other kinds of energy (e.g. gas)
Among these cooking appliances, a cooking appliance that uses gas as a heat source includes a gas range, a gas oven, or a gas oven range, and a cooking appliance that uses electricity as a heat source includes an induction range or a microwave oven. In addition, there is a cooking appliance in which an induction range using electricity and a gas oven using gas are combined with each other.
In particular, in the case of a gas oven range, a gas range may be located at the top to form a first cooking unit, and a gas oven may be located below the gas range to form a second cooking unit.


A gooseneck coupler is shown and described. The gooseneck coupler may include a first member having at least one aperture, a second member having at least one aperture, the second member telescopingly engaged with the first member where the aperture of the first member is generally aligned with the aperture of the second member, and a base member attached with the second member, the base member having a socket shaped to accept a hitch ball. The gooseneck coupler may also include a locking member pivotally attached with the base member, and a fastening device securing the first and second members. The fasting device may include at least one nut attached with at least one elongated member, where the nut and elongated member are positioned within the second member, and a fastener inserted into the apertures of the first and second members and selectively engaged with the nut.

Many vehicles are designed to transport freight, goods, merchandise, personal property, and other large cargo. Often, these vehicles may be arranged to tow a towed vehicle, such as for example a trailer, by attaching the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle through use of some kind of hitch assembly. The towing industry has developed a number of methods and apparatuses for securing or engaging the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle, such as attaching a trailer to a pick-up truck or other kind of truck with a load bed.
There are many different types of trailer hitches in the art that may be attached to the towing vehicle depending on the type of towed vehicle and towing vehicle involved. Some of the most common types of hitches include gooseneck, fifth wheel, and rear mounted. For example, towed vehicles may be connected to the towing vehicle by way of a hitch assembly that includes a ball hitch or member secured to the towing vehicle and a ball socket coupling mechanism secured to the towed vehicle that mounts over the hitch ball and thereby allows for the towed vehicle to pivot behind the towing vehicle.
Numerous types of hitch balls have been developed to be attached to the bumper or other rear portion of a towing vehicle. The towed vehicle may be equipped with a coupler mechanism to be attached to the towing vehicle by placing the coupler mechanism over the hitch ball and securing the coupler to the hitch ball. Similar apparatus using hitch receivers attached to the rear of the towing vehicle and drawbars may be used to secure towed vehicles to towing vehicles.
Some towed vehicles may be designed to carry heavy loads. Connecting such a towed vehicle to a ball hitch on a bumper of a towing vehicle, however, may be impractical. When a towed vehicle load is heavy as compared to the weight of the towing vehicle, applying the towed vehicle load generally over or in front of the rear axle of the towing vehicle may create a more desirable towing condition. In addition, such an arrangement may put much of the force of the towed vehicle load onto structural members of the towing vehicle, such as the frame, whereby the hitch ball may be located, for example, in the truck bed.
There are generally two arrangements for securing a towed vehicle to the bed of a towing vehicle—a fifth wheel hitch and a gooseneck hitch. A fifth wheel hitch may be utilized with towed vehicles having a king pin, which may be part of a pin box attached to the towed vehicle. A gooseneck hitch may be utilized with a towed vehicle having a gooseneck coupler that may generally be coupled to a hitch ball that may be located in the bed of the towing vehicle. The hitch ball may be permanently or removably secured to the frame or bed of the towing vehicle.
The towed vehicle coupler often has a socket portion that is sized and shaped to receive the hitch ball. The gooseneck coupler may engage the hitch ball to pivotally couple the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle. The gooseneck coupler to hitch ball connection may allow for relative movement between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle as the towing vehicle makes turns, traverses uneven or rough terrain, and passes along inclining and declining roadways. The hitch ball member may be removed or lowered to a stowed position below the bed to ensure that the use of the bed is not substantially hindered by the presence of the ball.
Gooseneck couplers may be utilized for heavy duty towing, but have limitations under such conditions. For example, a gooseneck coupler utilized in conjunction with a heavy duty ball, such as a three inch ball, may offer a head rating of 40,000 pounds or adjustable applications of up to 30,000 pounds. However, adjustable applications are not available with a rating of over 30,000 pounds. The current three inch ball heads having ratings up to 40,000 pounds maximum gross trailer weight do not provide adjustment or telescoping tubes. These gooseneck couplers have design constraints that contribute their failure to meet the SAE minimum pitch and roll and vertical tension requirements.
Further, there is limited ball articulation and no landing area for ball entry, which makes hook up difficult. There are other three inch ball heads with a 30,000 pound load capacity with adjustable couplers. These gooseneck couplers, however, are only rated at 30,000 pound maximum gross trailer weight rating. These also include a lot of moving parts, pinch points and are difficult to operate. Further, these prior art gooseneck couplers do not posses a landing area large enough to allow the hitch ball and socket to be off center by more than one inch and still find center without having to reposition the tow vehicle in relation to the towing vehicle. Instead they utilize a front only ball entry.
Therefore, there is a need for a heavy duty adjustable gooseneck coupler having a rating of over 30,000 pounds that overcomes the deficiency noted above.


A linear MOSFET device includes a shield plate positioned between a drain and an overlying gate. A voltage bias is applied to the shield plate to maintain linear operation of the device for RF power amplification. An AC ground is preferably connected to the shield plate. The voltage bias can be varied for matching of parallel connected devices, for responding to peak input signals, and for temperature compensation.

This invention relates generally to RF power amplifiers, and more particularly the invention relates to a semiconductor field effect transistor having a voltage biased buried shield electrode which provides adjustable linearity in device operation.
A typical RF electrical signal power amplifier has multiple stages including a driver stage and a plurality of output stages connected in parallel. For applications requiring amplification of signals with very high peak to average power requirements, additional amplifier stages must be provided for the peak power without signal clipping. However, this is not an efficient use of silicon and results in poor overall performance and high cost.
Heretofore, circuits have been proposed to give improved amplified linearity with varying signal input power. Kishida U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,854 discloses a circuit which minimizes clipping by boosting linearity as signal peaks are received by the amplifier. However, the proposed linearity correction is a function of output signal and not the input signal.
For best device RF operation, the parasitic capacitances (C.sub.rss, C.sub.oss) and device resistance (R.sub.dson) of devices must be minimized. Optimization of the parameters is typically bounded by certain specifications, for example a minimum breakdown voltage (BV.sub.dss) is typically specified, for example greater than 60 Volts for cellular base station amplifiers. Gate to source capacitance, C.sub.rss, can be minimized by using polycide gate structures which can minimize gate to drain overlap, but the device resistance (R.sub.dson) and transconductance linearity typically degrade due to a limit on the maximum N-well doping for such devices.
Adler et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,848 discloses a field effect transistor device which provides reduced source to drain resistance in RF applications. The structure includes extending the source electrode over a polysilicon gate to provide increased isolation of the gate from the drain and substrate. However, the structure does not reduce the direct capacitance coupling of the gate electrode to the underlying drain.
Weitzel et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,149 discloses a field effect transistor having a gate-drain shield on the device surface to reduce lateral gate-drain capacitance. The device does not shield vertical capacitance of the overlapping gate and drain region.
Lin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,234 discloses a dual gate field effect transistor in which a second gate is placed on top of the primary gate of a lateral DMOS transistor and is used to modulate conductivity of the channel. However, the device has very high gate to drain capacitance since the second gate is directly over the drain region. Since gate to substrate capacitance is not minimized, the device is not well suited for RF applications.
The present invention is directed to a field effect transistor structure including a shield electrode between the gate and drain regions of the transistor and which can be used as a feedback electrode in providing increased linearity of the device as an RF power amplifier.

RF power device having voltage controlled linearity


The present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing synthetic leather in which, after obtaining a thickened liquid by adding a thickening agent (B) with an oxyethylene group content of 2×10−2 mol/g or less to an aqueous urethane resin composition containing an aqueous urethane resin (A) having an acid value of 0.01 mgKOH/g or higher in a range of 0.01 to 30 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the aqueous urethane resin (A), the thickened liquid is coated on a base and coagulated with a coagulating agent (C) containing a metal salt (c-1). As the thickening agent, it is preferable to use one or more kinds of thickening agent that is selected from the group consisting of a cellulose thickening agent, an acryl thickening agent, and a urethane thickening agent. Furthermore, as the metal salt (c-1), calcium nitrate is preferable.

While the regulations on the use of an organic solvent including dimethyl formamide (DMF) gain momentum in Europe or China, the change from an existing solvent-based urethane resin composition to an aqueous urethane resin composition is also in progress in the field of synthetic leather.
For processing the aqueous urethane resin composition, a method of forming a porous structure by carrying out a specific treatment is widely used for the purpose of improving touch feeling, impact resistance, or the like of synthetic leather. For example, in PTL 1, a method of forming a porous structure by carrying out a heating treatment by using wet heat and microwave in combination after coating an aqueous urethane resin composition on a base; in PTL 2, a method of porosifying an aqueous urethane resin composition by a wet heating using steam or a heating using high-frequency heating or high-frequency dielectric heating in combination; and in PTL 3, a method of forming a porous structure by performing a thermal gelling treatment after immersing an aqueous urethane resin composition in a fibrous base; or the like are disclosed.
Other than those described above, a method of forming a porous coating film by performing coagulation, drying, or the like after allowing an aqueous urethane resin composition to enclose foams by mechanical foaming or the like is disclosed (for example, see PTLs 4 to 7).
The above-described documents are mere examples, and, other than those, a great deal of research and investment is carried out to achieve the porosification of an aqueous urethane resin composition. However, it is still not possible to form a porous structure without undergoing a complex treatment like heating, foaming process, or the like.

Method for manufacturing synthetic leather