A method and device for manufacturing UOE steel pipes, wherein, when an opening width of the U-can obtained by U-ing press is larger than the die-diameter in an O-press of later step, while said opening is narrowed from the front end by the closing rolls disposed before said O-press and/or at least at the entrance portion of the O-press to be smaller than the die-diameter of said O-press, the U-can is simultaneously conveyed into the O-press, and then, after charging into the O-press, undergoes O-ing press to yield an O-can. The device is preferably configured to have the closing rolls disposed in a roll stand and consisted of multiple pairs, to have a mechanism to prevent the U-can from moving upward during narrowing the opening width, and to have the function of conveying the U-can. Thus, UOE steel pipes for high-strength application corresponding to X80 grade can be efficiently manufactured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for manufacturing UOE steel pipes, and more particularly to a method and device for manufacturing UOE steel pipes employing material, which exhibits a large springback after U-ing press, as a starting blank plate in association with a growing demand for increasing strength of steel pipes to be used.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in manufacturing a large-diameter pipe, a method for manufacturing UOE steel pipes has been widely applied, wherein the manufacturing steps consist of "Crimping press"—"U-ing press"—"O-ing press"—"Internal/external welding"—"Expansion" in general.
FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining how a starting blank plate is deformed in "Crimping press", "U-ing press" and O-ing press" among the overall manufacturing steps for UOE steel pipes. Firstly, in Crimping press, both width-wise edge parts of a starting blank plate (a heavy plate) are subjected to bending deformation to roughly match the outside diameter of the final steel pipe, in order to reduce a required working load in O-ing press as well as to prevent the generation of peaking phenomenon in O-ing press.
Next, in U-ing press, by employing a U-press having an open die, the flat plate formed by C-press is deformed into a U-like shape to yield a U-can 1 which can be conveyed to a unit of O-press. And then, in O-ing press, the U-can 1 thus conveyed is deformed into an O-like shape by employing an O-press having a closed die.
As shown in FIG. 1, subsequent to a series of "Crimping press", "U-ing press" and O-ing press", an internal & external welding is applied to make a primary steel pipe which does not satisfies the required dimensional accuracy in terms of the diameter and out-of-roundness. In this regard, the primary pipe is further expanded, so-called enlarging its bore in cold working condition, not only to correct the size of the primary steel pipe but also to reduce the internal tensile stress incurred by press forming as well as welding and to generate an internal compressive stress.
Meanwhile, for steel pipes for use in line pipe where UOE steel pipes are mostly adopted, the demand for high-strength line pipe capable of withstanding the high pressure-transportation is becoming high from the view point of enhancing the transportation efficiency of crude oil, natural gas or the like being obtained in oil and/or gas wells. For example, in association with increasing strength of steel pipes, it becomes possible to reduce the thickness of steel pipes to be laid, thus enabling costs for transportation and/or laying of steel pipes to be reduced.
At present, as steel pipes for use in line pipe, X42–X80 grades are specified in API (American Petroleum Institute) Standard. However, UOE steel pipes that are put into practice in line pipes remain to be made of X70 grade at most. Steel pipes of X80 grade are rarely used in actual line pipe, and only a few cases in actual application are reported thus far. This is attributed to the facts that, in making steel pipes having high-strength of X80 grade or more, it is very difficult to meet the required allowable yield-strength ratio, that is specified for X80 grade in API Standard, for example 93% or less, and press forming cannot be easily carried out.
In particular, as regards press formability, in association with increasing strength of material, the springback after U-ing press in UOE steel pipes becomes large, which leads up to cause a large opening width in the U-can. In the explanation hereinafter, an opening width of the U-can after U-ing press is simply referred to as "U-can width".
FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the relationship between the incidence of U-can width along with the U-can width itself and the die-diameter. Herein, the U-can width W is defined to represent a maximum opening width of the U-can 1. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the U-can width W is larger than the die-diameter of O-press 7, it is not possible to convey the U-can 1 to the proper position within the unit of the O-press 7 due to the interference with the dies 8. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, U-ing press is repeated for plural times until the U-can width W should become smaller than the die-diameter of O-press 7, and then the U-can 1 has to be conveyed to the proper position within the unit of the O-press 7.
However, in a process applying a plurality of U-ing so that the U-can can be conveyed to the next step, it takes much longer time to perform U-ing press, thus resulting in the notable decrease in productivity. Further, since work hardening becomes eminent in the bottom part of the U-can as well as in the vicinity thereof subjected to plastic deformation in the plural U-ing process, the strength distribution in the circumferential direction after pipe making becomes uneven, and the yield-strength ratio of steel pipe also rises.
In order to reduce the U-can width after U-ing press, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in performing U-ing press by employing a punch 9 and a die 10 for U-press, a larger punch stroke of U-press than an ordinary punch stroke is occasionally applied for forming operation. FIG. 3A denotes the deformation in the case of the ordinary punch stroke, while FIG. 3B denotes the deformation in the case of the large punch stroke.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the incidence of the U-can width after U-ing press in terms of the difference of the punch stroke. FIG. 4A denotes the incidence of the U-can width Wa in the case of the ordinary punch stroke in forming operation, while FIG. 4B denotes the incidence of the U-can width Wb in the case of the larger punch stroke in forming operation.
By applying a large punch stroke in a forming operation, it becomes possible for the U-can width Wb after U-ing press to be reduced. However, as the shape after forming becomes the configuration shown in FIG. 4B, it is likely that the out-of-roundness of steel pipes as end products becomes worse and the buckling of the U-can 1 during O-ing press may occur.
Meanwhile, as regards a means for conveying the U-can after U-ing press to the proper position within the unit of O-press, there is disclosed a method for conveying the U-can while preventing it from tilting by disposing a closing stand between the U-press and O-press units in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-232620. However, the role of the side roll provided at said stand in the foregoing Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-232620 is merely to help conveying the U-can to the proper position within the unit of O-press. Thus, this cannot cope with the incidence of the U-can width in association with increasing strength of UOE steel pipes.

Method and device for manufacturing UOE steel pipes


A speaker 300 is formed using a plate such as a mobile phone display window 310 as a vibrating element. At least two dynamic actuators 950 are positioned behind the edges of the window 310 to actuate the window 310 through its boundary region so as to leave a large uniform area behind the vibrating element for containing any components, e.g. a display or battery.

Electrical speakers are used to convert electrical signals to acoustical signals. The speakers may vary greatly in size and power, but generally they can be divided into two categories: dynamic speakers such as cone speakers commonly used in home HI-FI sets, and electrostatic speakers such as piezoelectric speakers used in buzzers, for example in digital watches and electric alarm clocks. Dynamic speakers typically have an electromagnetic actuator that moves a vibrating element (typically a diaphragm) that passes its vibration to the surrounding air and causes audible acoustic signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,103 presents one dynamic speaker implementation in which a diaphragm carries a plurality of voice coils attached on both sides of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is sandwiched between two yoke plates, which bear columnar magnets. The yoke plates have holes for allowing the passage of sound. In this implementation, the actuator drives the diaphragm practically across all of its area.
Piezoelectric speakers belong to the category of electrostatic speakers. Piezoelectric speakers are based on a piezoelectrically bending plate or strip that vibrates when subjected to an alternating electrical current. Piezoelectric speakers do not require much space and they are light, but their frequency response is often worse than that of dynamic speakers, and as the maximum movement of their sound-producing element (the plate) is relatively short, compared to dynamic speakers, they are outperformed by dynamic speakers at lower frequencies.
In general, the smaller the speaker, the more limited are its power, frequency response linearity and frequency band of sound production. The acoustic power a speaker produces is a product of the area of the cone (within a plane transverse to the movement of the cone) and the length of the movement.
Speakers are used in mobile devices such as portable radios, mobile telephones, portable computers, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices and electronic games. In many such mobile devices, their size (volume) determines the amount of functionality the devices can have, that is the amount of electronics and battery space that they can contain. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the amount of space occupied by all components of such devices including the space occupied by speakers.
As mentioned in the foregoing, piezoelectric speakers are small and light, but they have limited audio quality, particularly since their frequency response is moderate at low acoustic frequencies. On the other hand, dynamic speakers typically have a construction based on a magnet sound coil pair in the middle of the speaker to actuate a vibrating diaphragm. The geometry of the speaker is important to avoid undesired effects well known in the art, such as narrow-band resonance and rocking.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a dynamic (descant) speaker 100 in a sectional view. The speaker has a conical frame 110, which co-axially supports an actuator 120 and compliant surround 112, aligning all these around a shared central axis. The surround 112 attaches a cone 130 to the frame 110 at a mouth of the cone 130 (that is, at the broader end of the cone 130). At the throat (the narrower end of the cone 130) the cone 130 is shaped so that it forms a short cylindrically shaped voice coil support or former 134. The former 134 may be a seamless extension of the cone 130 or a part fixed to the cone 130, but in either case it is here referred to as a part of the cone 130. In addition to the surround, a so-called spider 114 (also co-axial with the frame 110, actuator 120 and surround 112) supports the former 134 with respect to the frame 110. The cone 130 is thus supported such that it is allowed to move easily closer to and away from the actuator 120, but restrained from free movement in a transverse direction. The access of dust into the throat is blocked by a dust cap, which is mounted on the cone 130 and thus vibrates together with the cone 130 when the speaker 100 is used.
The actuator 120 comprises two main parts: a magnet 121 and a voice coil 127, which together convert an electrical signal into vibration. The voice coil 127 is fixed to the former 134 and the magnet 121 is fixed to the frame 110. The actuator further comprises a front plate 122, a back plate 123 and a pole piece 126, all of these being circular, for making a stronger and more homogenous magnetic field through the voice coil 127. The voice coil 127 on the former 134 is surrounded by the front plate 122 and the pole piece 126 such that a narrow air gap 125 is left between the front plate 122 and the pole piece for receiving the former 134 and the voice coil 127.
As is apparent from FIG. 1, the actuator 120 occupies the central area behind the cone 130 except for a vent 124 left in the centre of the pole piece 126. This reduces space available for locating any other components behind the voice coil 127. This is particularly inconvenient in relatively thin devices such as portable information processing devices, because the speaker 100 may easily consume most of the depth of such a device.
With plate speakers, as opposed to cone speakers, the vibrating surface may be manufactured to be thinner, but resonance tends to adversely affect the audio response selectively at the resonance frequency bands. WO 97/09840 discloses one alternative dynamic plate speaker, wherein a different approach has been taken to deal with the generally undesired resonance phenomena. There, a single dynamic actuator is placed underneath a stiff cover plate of a speaker box for vibrating the cover plate. The actuator is non-centrally positioned in relation to the area of the cover plate such that it causes the cover plate to resonate over a broad frequency band thus improving the efficiency of the speaker.
NXT™ has published a Distributed-Mode Loudspeaker (DML) integrated into a visual display device. This speaker has been called NXT SoundVu. Its operation is based on bending waves excited in a transparent cover placed in front of a display. Exciters located at the edges of the transparent cover excite it. The exciters are fixed to a frame surrounding and supporting the transparent cover. The speaker can be used in laptop computers, where the screen is large enough to allow bending the cover on different edges with different exciters according to different signals. The implementation of the SoundVu speaker in each particular use requires solving coupled acoustics problems involved. For designing different SoundVu speakers (with different display devices and transparent covers), the NXT™ have developed special software programs. With these programs computer manufacturers should be able to design custom SoundVu speakers.
The bending of the cover is advantageous in the sense that the air gap behind the cover can be shallow, for example 2.75 mm. This shallow a gap is possible because bending waves of the transparent cover do not move the entire transparent cover as a single vibrating element, thus differing from the plate speaker and the cone speaker described in the foregoing. The sound-production with bending waves is thus far less limited by atmospheric pressure than the sound-production with plate and cone speakers. The bending of a transparent cover can be used in a speaker with relatively large transparent covers, such as a cover for display of a laptop computer having a 35-cm (14-inch) diameter. With smaller displays the coupled acoustics problems becomes more difficult reducing the sound-production performance of the speaker.
It is an object of the invention to avoid or at least mitigate the problems of the prior art.


A satellite wide area communications network (10) includes a remote transmitter/receiver (28A) that is coupled through a modem unit (30A) to multiple card readers (12A-1 to 12A-n). A master transmitter/receiver (26) is satellite linked to the remote transmitter/receiver and is coupled through a central packet network (16) to multiple host computers (18-1 to 18-j). A network host computer address is determined for each transaction card inserted in the card readers, and the network address is processed to establish a direct link to the host computer for the card through the modem unit, the satellite link (22A, 20, 24), and the central packet network.

The present invention relates to wide area communication systems and more particularly to systems in which each of multiple data terminals, such as point-of-sale terminals in the form of transaction or credit card readers, is to be linked to its host computer selected from a group of multiple computers.
Wide area business communication networks are employed to connect one or more centralized data/communication centers to multiple remote stations or offices to which data and/or other communication links need to be established. For example, a private communication system may be established as a wide area network in which a company data center is linked with branch offices of the company across a wide geographic area.
The wide area network (WAN) may have any of various system designs. Thus, point-of-sale terminals may be interfaced with the public telephone system thereby establishing a wired terrestial wide area network. A more technologically advanced and often more commercially advantageous network is one in which satellite communications provide the communication links.
One satellite wide area network (SWAN) that is commercially available is called the Integrated Satellite Business Network.TM. supplied by Hughes Network Systems, Inc. In the Hughes SWAN, a hub station is located at a central location and a very small aperture terminal called a Personal Earth Station.TM. is located at each remote site.
In the prior art, point-of-sale terminals such as transaction card readers have used the public telephone network to gain access to one of possibly several host computers. A telephone call is placed from the card reader either automatically upon a credit, cash or other card being swiped through the reader, or manually by the user entering dial digits through a keypad.
Card readers normally have an integral or external modem that provides an interface to a traditional telephone circuit. As a result, connection of card readers to a WAN through a digital interface, such as an RS232 interface, has been problematic. Thus, the card-reader modem expects to interface a telephone circuit while the WAN equipment expects to interface digital terminal equipment (DTE).
Moreover, some data communication networks for point-of-sale terminals such as card readers can connect each point-of-sale terminal in the system to a predesignated host computer for ultimate exchange of data between the card reader and the specific host computer that contains data for a card being read by the card reader. As a result, access to data bases on host computers other than the predesignated host computer is prohibited or made difficult. For example, in such networks, access of a point-of-sale terminal is restricted to only one provider of credit card verification services through the predesignated host computers. In addition to restricting data base services, such networks have processed transactions to link with their respective host computers with a requirement for excessive and costly computer hardware and with excessive communication network loading and excessive processing cost.
The present invention accordingly is directed to linking data terminals or point-of-sale terminals such as card readers having an integral or external modem to a WAN without use of telephone circuitry and thereafter to a host computer through the WAN with improved efficiency and economy.

Communication system and method for linking data terminals and their host computers through a satellite or other wide area network


A lens barrel includes: a first optical element group that has an optical element disposed on a first optical axis; a second optical element group that has an optical element disposed on a second optical axis extending along a direction different from a direction along which the first optical axis extends; and a bending portion disposed between the first optical element group and the second optical element group, that bends image light having passed through the first optical element. At least part of the first optical element group can be housed inside a first space formed as the bending portion moves further away from the first optical axis.

The lens barrel in a camera in the related art may include a bending optical system with a bending portion for changing the direction in which the optical axis extends, installed over an intermediate area in the photographic optical system. The bending optical system is used to achieve a lower profile for the camera. For instance, there is a photographic lens barrel known in the related art that includes a reflecting mirror functioning as a bending portion and installed over a middle area in the photographic optical system and lens groups disposed on the objective side and the image side relative to the bending portion to be engaged in a zooming operation or the like (see patent reference literature 1).
Patent reference literature 1 Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H11-258678


A display housing a sound element and a driving circuit that may be built in on the same substrate as the display panel. Thin-film transistors PTFT constituting pixels and a sound wave generation device SPO1 having a laminated structure of a heat generation layer 700, a heat insulation layer 701 and a heat radiation layer 702 are formed on a thin-film transistor (TFT) substrate 500 on which polysilicon thin-film transistors PTFT are formed.

Active matrix-type displays (or active matrix-type drive imaging displays, or simply called display devices) in which the active element of thin-film transistor and the like is used as the driving element of pixels arranged in matrix are widely used.
Many of displays of this type can display good picture images by arranging a large number of pixel circuits formed by active elements such as thin-film transistors (TFT) formed by using silicon films as semiconductor films, and a drive circuit for supplying these pixel circuits with display signals on the insulating substrate.
On the other hand, the prior art relating to a display incorporating a speaker system, a mobile terminal and an electronic appliance incorporating a speaker system is disclosed in JP-A No. 2003-179988. FIG. 23 is a sectional view describing a mobile terminal on which the traditional display incorporating a speaker system is mounted. This mobile terminal 1000 is a speaker system disclosed in JP-A No. 2003-179988. As FIG. 23 shows, the mobile terminal includes a display panel 21 for displaying the image, a transparent panel 24 disposed in such a way that the image displayed in the display panel 21 may be visible transparently, an electromechanical sound transducer 22 having a diaphragm for emitting sound by oscillating the diaphragm in response to electric signals, a elastic body 25 connected with the peripheral edge of the transparent panel 24, and a structure 20 for supporting the transparent panel 24 and the display panel 21.
An acoustic transmission member is provided in the space 26 formed between the display panel 21 and the transparent panel 24 to transmit the sound emitted from the electromechanical sound transducer 22 through a sound hole 23, and the transparent panel is made vibratile by the sound transmitted to the space from the electromechanical sound transducer by the acoustic transmission member. The display panel 21 and the electromechanical sound transducer 22 are respectively formed on separate substrates.
The JP-A No. 2005-73197 proposes a sound wave generation device including a thermal conductive substrate, an insulation layer made of Porous silicon on which a large number of holes are formed on one surface of the substrate, and a heating element thin film constituted by a metal film formed on the insulation layer and driven electrically. This is a device for generating sound wave by creating a difference in the degree of compression of air by heating air, and provides a new sound wave generation device useful for ultrasonic sound sources, speaker sound sources, actuators and the like and the method of producing the same.

Display with integral sound wave generation device


A computer system coupled to a network is disclosed which provides multiple paths for each serial input/output connection. In the receive mode, the current invention separates serial data frames which are composed of sub-functions/channels into sub-function data streams. The sub-function data streams can then be transferred out one at a time. In the transmit mode, the current invention forms data load patterns from the sub-function data streams. Each data load pattern is formed by selecting the appropriate binary bits from the sub-function data streams and arranging the binary bits selected in the sequence desired. The binary bits of each data load pattern are transmitted serially.

In the world of data communications, communications networks provide the connections necessary to link together communications nodes located anywhere in the world. Each communications node generally provides multiple connections thereby allowing multiple users to connect to the same communications node. A communications node typically includes a remote access server such as router or an integrated services digital network (ISDN) switch to allow remote connection to the node. A communications network, known as the "network cloud" that is capable of covering a geographical area ranging from a few miles to thousands of miles, couples the remote access server to individual users.
Prior Art FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a communications network connection. At one end of the communications network connection is remote access server 100. Remote access server 100 typically includes serial I/O (SIO) controller 105. SIO controller 105 interfaces with network cloud 102 through modem bank 101. Modem bank 101 consists of multiple U and/or S/T interface chips which take a network connection such as an ISDN connection and converts the ISDN connection into a standard four-wire computer communications interface. In turn, network cloud 102 provides connections to individual users 103 and 104.
For ISDN connections, the interface standard for a connection between an SIO controller and a modem bank is either general circuit interface (GCI) or interchip digital link (IDL). In both GCI and IDL interface standards, an ISDN frame is composed of serialized digital signals which are categorized as individual sub-functions/channels such as B1, B2, D, and etc.
Referring now to Prior Art FIG. 2 in which an exemplary format of ISDN frame 200 using GCI interface standard is shown. As illustrated, ISDN frame 200 using GCI interface standard consists of B1, B2, Monitor, D, C/I, A, and E sub-functions/channels in this sequential order. Briefly, the B1 and B2 sub-functions may carry either voice or data. The Monitor sub-function carries out-of-band channel signaling. The D sub-function is used to monitor changes in the ISDN line. The C/I sub-function carries control and indication signals. Finally, the A and E sub-functions are the acknowledgment and enable signals for handshake purposes. Each of the B1, B2, or Monitor sub-functions is eight bits wide. The D sub-function is two bits wide, the C/I function is four bits wide, and each of the A and E sub-functions is one bit-wide. The D, C/I, A, and E sub-functions make up what is known as the signaling and control octet. The bandwidth for each of the B1, B2, and Monitor sub-function is 64 Kbps. The bandwidth for the D sub-function, C/I sub-function, and combined A and E sub-functions is 16, 32, and 16 Kbps, respectively.
In the prior art, an SIO controller assigns a communications channel to each sub-function thereby making inefficient use of this scarce resource. Take, for example, the MC68360 QUICC, an SIO controller manufactured by Motorola Corporation of Schaumberg, Ill. Reference is now made to Prior Art FIG. 3 which illustrates an ISDN connection to the MC68360 QUICC chip. In Prior Art FIG. 3, an ISDN connection having IDL interface standard is provided to S/T interface chip 304. As discussed earlier, IDL serialized digital signals are categorized into B1, B2, and D sub-functions. S/T interface chip 304 routes sub-function B1 to voice compression/decompression (codec) circuit 302 and sub-functions B2+D to MC68360 QUICC SIO controller 300. More specifically, sub-functions B2+D are routed to a time slot assignment (TSA) circuit 301 which is part of MC68360 QUICC SIO controller 300. TSA circuit 301 then routes B2 sub-function and D sub-function to two different SIO ports, also known as serial communications controllers (SCC), 306 and 307. As such, TSA circuit 301 and SCCs 306 & 307 are separate from each other. As shown in Prior Art FIG. 3, a separate SIO port is used for each ISDN sub-function. Such inefficient use of SIO ports is exacerbated when multiple ISDN connections are involved. Moreover, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) standard I.460 allows for further sub-division of B sub-functions such that a single B sub-function of 64 Kbps can be further divided into sub sub-functions of 8 Kbps increments. Therefore, as many as eight (8) separate SIO ports may be required to accommodate a single 64 Kbps B sub-function. Hence, it can be seen that conventional systems can rapidly exhaust available SIO ports. Thus, a need exists for a single SIO port which can handle multiple sub-functions of an ISDN frame.

System for storing each of streams of data bits corresponding from a separator thereby allowing an input port accommodating plurality of data frame sub-functions concurrently


In some embodiments, apparatus and systems, as well as methods, may operate to acquire data representing a plurality of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) echo trains associated with a material, such as a geological formation. Additional operations may include inverting a model of at least one of the plurality of NMR echo trains to provide an estimated distribution of transverse relaxation time constants, inverting models of selected ones of the plurality of NMR echo trains using the estimated distribution of transverse relaxation time constants to provide an estimated diffusion distribution, and inverting a model of selected ones of the plurality of NMR echo trains, using the estimated distributions of transverse relaxation time constants and diffusion, to provide an apparent and an intrinsic probability density function to identify fluid types in the material.

Fluid types (e.g., oil, water, gas) may exist in a variety of materials, including geological formations, and can be identified using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) diffusion modulated amplitude (DMA) data to compute a probability density function, which may be expressed as a graph illustrating porosity as a function of diffusion in cm2/sec and transverse relaxation time in milliseconds (e.g., using a what is known to those of skill in the art as a "T2-D map"). Interested readers may refer to U.S. Pat. No. 6,512,371 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) describing how nuclear magnetic resonance DMA data are acquired.
Due to the huge amounts of data typically involved in calculating the function, reduction algorithms are commonly applied to reduce the computational intensity of the problem, which may take the general form: M(tD,t)=∫∫κ2(t,T2)·ƒ(D,T2)·κ1(tD,D)dDdT2. Interested readers may refer to U.S. Pat. No. 6,462,542 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) describing how T2-D maps may be calculated using a compression algorithm.
For example, incorporating the singular value decomposition of kernel matrices K1 (the discrete diffusion kernel) and K2 (the discrete relaxation kernel) into a compression algorithm, along with selecting a threshold condition number for the matrix K0=K1K2, yields a projection of the data onto the range space while preserving the Frobenius norm of the data matrix. Unfortunately, once the original data is compressed, the original values are lost. In addition, this method is limited to using a zero-order regularization matrix for the probability density function, and independent regularization of the transverse relaxation time constant distribution and diffusion distribution is not possible.

Estimating T2-diffusion probability density functions from nuclear magnetic resonance diffusion modulated amplitude measurements


Provided are a system and method for processing sensing data from a sensor network. The system includes: a data processing condition managing unit for storing sensing data processing conditions; a data processing function managing unit for storing sensing data processing function information; a processed data managing unit for storing processed sensing data; a data pattern managing unit for storing sensing data pattern information; an acquired data managing unit for storing sensing data; a data acquisition condition managing unit for storing sensing data acquisition conditions; a user requirement acquiring unit for acquiring the sensing data acquisition conditions; a data acquiring unit for acquiring sensing data; a data pattern extracting unit for extracting the pattern of sensing data; a data generating unit for processing the sensing data; and a data processing unit for processing the sensing data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for processing sensing data from a sensor network; and, more particularly, to a system and method for processing sensing data from a sensor network, which extracts/generates sensing data from sensing information (or data) acquired from a ubiquitous sensor network using information about a sensor node and the sensor network and the pattern of sensing data that have been acquired so far, processes the extracted/generated sensing data according to a sensing data processing procedure (function and algorithm) set by a user and an application service, and provides a new application service to the user according to the processing results.
This work was supported by the Information Technology (IT) research and development program of the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) and/or the Korean Institute for Information Technology Advancement (IITA) [2007-S001-01, "Development of Telematics Application Service Technology based on USN Infrastructure"].
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, since a variety of sensor networks are installed and used, it is very important to process data, which have been collected and acquired from the sensor networks, and to provide the processed data to an application service.
Depending on the types of sensing data and the types of application service, methods for acquiring data from sensor networks can be broadly classified into a push-type data acquiring method and a full-type data acquiring method. In the push-type data acquiring method, a sensor network provides sensing data to an application service when predetermined conditions are satisfied, which is performed asynchronously in general. In the full-type data acquiring method, an application service requests sensing data from a sensing network at a predetermined time by transmission of an inquiry. A procedure for acquiring/processing sensing data in a system managing a sensor network varies structurally depending on whether the data acquiring method is of the push type or the full type.
Extensive research is being conducted to develop technologies for sensing data in a sensor network and managing/transferring (routing) data in a sensor node of the sensor network, in conjunction with the sensing network system and service. However, research to develop technology for data processing in the system managing the sensor network after acquisition of sensing data from the sensor network are not extensive.
What is therefore required is a scheme for acquiring/processing sensing data according to user settings in order to provide the optimized new application service to the user in the system and service using the push-type data acquiring method.

System and method for processing sensing data from sensor network

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


The retractable sunshade is a motorized pulley-operated sunshade for the front windshield of a motor vehicle that operates in a similar manner to a drapery rod. This product would protect the interior of the vehicle from intense heat build-up while the vehicle is parked outside in direct sunlight and could also serve as a theft deterrent by obstructing the view of the interior of the car from would be thieves. The unit primarily consists of a reversible electric motor, a flexible opaque shade, two guide tracks, four pulleys, a control switch, and mounting hardware. The rectangular shade would be scented with a fragrance to provide a pleasant smell for the interior of the vehicle while making it more comfortable to enter after being parked in the sun.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retractable sunshade for use in connection with the front windshield of a motor vehicle. The retractable sunshade has particular utility in connection with protecting the interior of the vehicle from intense heat build-up and the subsequent damage to interior components and belongings in the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automobiles that are parked in the hot sun tend to experience an intense build-up of heat that can be dangerous to individuals entering the car and can cause damage to the interior of the vehicle as well as to any belongings inside the vehicle. Car owners have turned to such solutions as placing towels over the dashboard and seats to placing sunshades in the windshield to help alleviate this problem. However, these solutions require the manual placement and removal of these items each time the car is parked and then reentered. Therefore, a motorized device that allowed the user to deploy or retract a sunshade on the vehicle's windshield while protecting the interior of a vehicle from the intense heat build-up experienced when parked in the hot sun would be extremely useful to vehicle owners.
The use of automobile sunshades is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,206 to Roy J. Middleton discloses an automobile shade that consists of flexible rectangular shade with a cable inserted in a hem along the upper edge and a second cable inserted in a hem along the lower edge of the shade. The cables are connected on one end to a supply housing and on the other end to a take-up housing. An electric power source and a two way switch are employed to deploy and retract the sheet of material. However, if either of the cables were to kink and not play out or wind up smoothly, the Middleton '206 device would not operate correctly and could cause the cable to snap. Moreover, due to the location of the cables in the Middleton '206 device, a broken cable would be difficult and tedious to replace. Finally, if the shade material were to wear around the cable or if the hem were to fall out, the cables would droop, rendering the Middleton '206 device inoperable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,544 to Carmel Hubeshi discloses an electromechanical sun visor for motor vehicle windows that includes a sunshade screen rolled onto a spring-loaded takeup roller and a roller housing attachable to the interior of the roof of the vehicle adjacent to the window upper side. A rotatable shaft is driven in forward and backward directions with a bidirectional electric motor connected to the car battery to retract and extend the sun shade screen. Support strips of flexible metal are incorporated into the edges of the sun shade. However, the flexible metal support strips of the Hubeshi '544 device are highly susceptible to bending and kinking, which would render the device inoperable. Furthermore, since there are no guide cables or channels for the Hubeshi '544 device, the shade might not deploy in the correct fashion for a variety of reasons, leaving portions of the car open to damage from the harmful UV rays of the sun. In addition, the lack of guidance supports for the Hubeshi '544 device prevents its usage in a horizontal application and limits its placement to the top of the windshield.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 369,998 to Ezra D. Eskandry discloses the ornamental design for a quilted reflective automobile window shade. However, the Eskandry '998 patent is a manual shade that would need to be placed on the interior of the windshield each time the driver parked the car and retrieved from the windshield each time he returned to the car. Additionally, the driver would need to store the Eskandry '998 device once it was removed, leaving it susceptible to bending, tearing, and other damage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,488 to Craig Michael Wade discloses a motorized sunscreen for motor vehicles that has telescoping sections, a nylon cord, a reversible electric motor that extends and retracts sections of the sunscreen, and a stationary storage compartment located beneath the motor vehicle's dash. However, placement of the Wade '488 sunscreen under the dash requires substantial permanent modification to the vehicle. In addition, should the telescoping sections of the Wade '488 device become dented or bent for any reason, the entire device would be inoperable.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,721 to Yung-Ching Lin discloses a motorized sunscreen for covering a vehicle window that has a base unit with spring-controlled pivot arms that are attached to a screen unit and allow the screen to be deployed through the use of an electrical motor. The sunscreen also has a solar collector and associated converter for use of the solar energy to which it is subjected. However, the Lin '721 device is complex and the solar collection panel and converter would drive up the price of the unit. Furthermore, the operation of the Lin '721 device precludes its use in a horizontal deployment. Finally, due to the size of the base unit of the Lin '721 device, major modifications to the vehicle's dash would be necessary for installation.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,601 B1 to Joseph E. LaFrance discloses a motor driven sunshield that attaches to the roof of the vehicle and operates either in a manual or semi-automatic manner by deploying when the transmission is placed in PARK and the ignition is turned off and retracting when the ignition is on and the transmission is not in PARK. The drive and retraction unit are installed on the roof of the vehicle, and guide tracks are installed along the side edges of the windshield to confine the movement of the sunshade to the proper area. However, the LaFrance '601 B1 patent requires major modification to the roof of the car during installation. As such, the LaFrance '601 B1 would not be suitable for use in convertibles or jeeps having canvas style coverings. In addition, the reliance of the LaFrance '601 B1 device on the transmission mode precludes its use in vehicles with a standard transmission. Finally, the nature of the LaFrance '601 B1 device precludes its deployment in a horizontal fashion.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a retractable sunshade that can be easily deployed to protect the interior of the car from damaging sunlight and heat while requiring a minimum amount of modification to the vehicle. The Middleton '206, Hubeshi '544, and Wade '488 devices would be rendered inoperable due to bending, kinking, or denting of the metal portions of the devices. Moreover, since the cables of the Middleton '206 are secured within hems along the edge of the shade, they would be extremely difficult to replace and any unraveling of the hem would cause the cable to droop and not operate correctly. Since there are no guide cables or channels for the Hubeshi '544 device, the shade might not deploy in the correct fashion for a variety of reasons, leaving portions of the car open to damage from the harmful UV rays of the sun. The Hubeshi '544, Lin '721, and LaFrance '601 B1 sunshades can not be configured in a horizontal deployment. Furthermore, the Wade '488, Lin '721, and LaFrance '601 B1 devices would requires major modifications to the vehicle for installation. The LaFrance '601 B1 can not be used in convertibles, jeeps with canvas coverings, or vehicles operating with a standard transmission. In addition, the Lin '721 device is complex and the solar collection panel and converter would drive up the price of the unit. Finally, the Eskandry '998 device requires the driver to manually deploy, retrieve, and store the sunshield each time it is used. Improper storage of the Eskandry '998 device could cause bending, soiling, tearing, and other damage.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved retractable sunshade that can be used for easy vertical or horizontal deployment across the windshield of a vehicle to protect the interior of the vehicle from damage due to heat buildup and sunlight. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the retractable sunshade according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting the interior of the vehicle from intense heat build-up and the subsequent damage to interior components and belongings in the vehicle.


Skew compensation apparatus for compensating for skew of a multi-beam scanning source, comprises: delay commencement detector(s) for detecting the start of a beam scanner position, position detectors for detecting the position of the multiple beams at a predefined interval following the commencement, so that the position indicates skew of the respective beam, and compensating electronics for automatically inserting a compensation for the skew by altering a delay into a timing signal for switching the respective beam. The commencement detector can be an existing start of scan detector and the apparatus can be built into the writing head, particularly at the conjugate location to the focal plane or at the focal plane of a laser printer or the like to provide a self-calibrating printer.

The present invention relates to skewing compensation in a laser based image forming system, and, more particularly, to a technique for deskewing within a laser-based image forming system comprising a plurality of laser beams.
The formation and development of latent images on the surface of photoconductive materials using liquid or powder developing material is well known. The basic process involves placing a uniform electrostatic charge on photosensitive plate and exposing the layer to a light or to a scanning laser to dissipate the charge on the areas of the plate exposed to the light to form a latent electrostatic image.
An example of the known art is shown in FIG. 1. Generally speaking known art laser based printing system 10 uses a laser source 12 that produces a single beam 13 that is scanned optically over a photosensitive plate 14 using an optical element such as polygon 16. Incidence of the laser beam 13 on the plate discharges the plate 14 at points struck by the beam and a latent image is formed on the plate in accordance with the scanning of the beam. The result is an electrostatic image on the photosensitive plate 14.
In addition to the above, systems are known in which multiple laser beams are scanned simultaneously over the plate.
The resultant latent image is developed by subjecting the latent image to a liquid toner (in case of liquid ink development) comprising a carrier liquid and colored toner particles. Generally , the development is carried out in the presence of an electric field, such that the charged toner particles are attracted either to the charged or discharged areas, depending on the charge on the particles and the direction or the magnitude of the field.
This image is transferred by means of electrical field to an intermediate transfer member (ITM) 20 which is typically covered with a replaceable blanket 22. The blanket is kept at elevated temperature and the carrier liquid is evaporated. The resultant tacky ink film is transferred from the blanket, by thermal forced to a sheet 26 which is located onto impression drum 24. The transferred image is permanently affixed to the substrate by application of heat and pressure.
It should be mentioned that there are also systems which do not use a blanket. Instead they transfer the image directly from the photosensitive plate to the substrate.
A disadvantage of the device of FIG. 1 is that the single beam is required to scan and form the entire image, thereby acting as a limitation on the printing speed. In order to overcome this problem a multi-beam laser source was developed and the writing speed was thereby increased. Such a laser source is illustrated in FIG. 2. A single integrated circuit or chip or other aggregate of lasers 30 provides a multi-beam laser source, having a plurality of individual laser beam sources 32 which scan the image in parallel through polygon 16, forming simultaneously a group of scan lines. Each scan line corresponds to a respective individual laser beam. The laser source may be a diode laser array with individually addressable laser diodes. Such an array may be provided on a single integrated circuit.
Now, in modern high definition printing a typical spot or pixel size is approximately 31 microns, equivalent to a scan time of around 13 nanoseconds, although typically a range of 21 to 42 microns is found, and the scan times have a corresponding variation range. Even if it is physically possible to build the multi-beam laser source such that the individual laser sources are at the corresponding spacing, in our example at a 31/M micron interval or spacing,(M=3÷7 being a typical system optical magnification) but current manufacturing techniques mean that at such a scale the variation in the spacings between the individual sources is likely to be a large and noticeable percentage of the spacings themselves. It is therefore conventional to build a laser source with the spacings much larger than the required 31/M microns so as a result the spacing variations are a relatively small percentage error and then skew the source in the scan direction as shown in FIG. 3 to give the correct inter beam spacing. Typically this spacing is 100 micron. That is to say multi-beam source 40 is skewed against the direction of scan indicated by arrow 42 so that the skew angle effectively cancels out the manufacturing error in the spacings between the laser sources.
Now it will be appreciated that printing a straight vertical line, vertical meaning orthogonal to the scanning direction, using the skewed source in FIG. 3 requires that the successive laser beams are switched with successively increasing delays, since each successive beam reaches the same position in the scan later due to the skew. The process of altering the timing of the beams to compensate for the skew is known as deskewing.
In order to perform deskewing there are numerous factors that need to be taken into account. The delay needed by the different beams due to the physical spacing in the horizontal direction multiplied by optical system magnification, is one issue. Secondly there are electrical switching delays in the circuitry, specifically electronic delay in the driver board, which mean that there is a finite delay between the instant a particular beam is switched electronically and the moment the optical beam is produced. The delay is variable depending on the specific board and is due to factors such as parasitic capacitance that can vary between boards.
The extent to which each factor needs to be taken into account is the extent of the writing resolution accuracy, which is to say that typically the total spot size is equivalent to a scanning time of around 10-20 nanoseconds. In order to achieve such a resolution, issues of an order of magnitude below this should be considered. Such issues should therefore address positioning accuracy equating to a scan time of 1ns or better.
To date there are two methods being used for carrying out deskewing. First of all there is what may be termed "theoretical calculation" and is also referred to as an "open-loop" process. Theoretical calculation means simply building in the delay electronically in advance based on knowledge of the speed of rotation, the spacing between adjacent beams and the optical magnification. However theoretical calculation fails to deal adequately with optical magnification and also fails to deal at all with delays in the driver board since the driver boards are not sufficiently uniform. Two different driver boards can easily give very different delays, depending on parasitic capacitance and other effects as explained above. Thus the use of "theoretical calculation" results in print location errors that result in visual artifacts in the printed image. In particular in color images the visual artifacts come into existence due to interaction between grey scales between different screens.
A second method used to date for calibrating the deskewing involves carrying out a test operation in an optical laboratory, in which an attempt is made to print out an accurate straight line. The method takes advantage of the fact that straightness of a line is relatively easy to determine, simply by measuring using optical equipment. The resulting beam positions are measured in the focal plane of the system, and compensatory delays are applied until the line actually is straight. The Writing Head is then approved by the optical laboratory.
The optical laboratory method is relatively accurate, and it successfully takes into account all of the component parts of the delay in the beam, whether directly connected to the skew or otherwise, however it also has a number of disadvantages. First of all it is slow and costly to have to send each writing head to an optical laboratory and carry out accurate measurements if accurate calibration is needed. Secondly driver boards may be changed several times during the life of the writing head and it is not practical to recall the writing head for calibration every time a driver board is changed.
A third disadvantage of both methods is that parameters of the printer, including delays in the driver board, tend to drift over the lifetime of the printer. Thus even the most accurate determination of the deskew parameters in the laboratory prior to sale cannot be guaranteed to prevent the gradual appearance of artifacts in the printout over the life of the printer.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a skew compensation, or deskewing, system devoid of the above limitations.

Skewing compensation method and apparatus in a laser based image-forming system

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Therapies and compositions for reducing collagen synthesis in mammalian cells and tissues wherein the targets are scleraxis, sclerax-is-binding sites, receptor-regulated Smads, and/or binding sites for receptor-regulated Smads whereby synergistic interactions between scleraxis proteins and receptor-regulated Smads are reduced, inhibited, interfered with, stopped, and/or prevented thereby reducing, inhibiting and/or interfering with the activation of collagen 1α2 promoter thereby inhibiting collagen production in mammalian cells and tissues. Alternatively, the therapies and compositions may reduce, inhibit, interfere with, stop, and/or prevent binding of the collagen 1α2 promoter to DNA thereby inhibiting expression of the collagen 1α2 gene in mammalian cells and tissues.

Fibrosis is a general term used to describe excessive formation and/or development of fibrous connective tissues in mammalian tissues and organs as a consequence of an injury reparative process or a reaction to an abnormal causative agent. Prolonged fibrosis typically results in localized scarring of tissues and/or organs to the point where their physiological functions are impaired. Mammalian tissues and organs commonly affected by fibrosis include skin (e.g., sclerodermic fibrosis; keloid fibrosis), the heart (cardiac fibrosis; endomyocardial fibrosis), lungs (pulmonary fibrosis), liver (cirrhosis), and kidneys (nephrogenic fibrosis) among others. Fibrosis is associated with the over-production of collagen proteins which are the primary protein constituents of connective tissues.
Recent published information indicates that development of cardiac fibrosis resulting from tissue damage that occurs during myocardial infarctions is a consequence of a significant increase in scleraxis proteins in the damaged cardiac tissue areas. The increased scleraxis levels appear to be directly related to the activation of cardiac fibroblasts that are subsequently phenoconverted to myofibroblasts as part of the wound healing response. Concomitant changes occurring in the damaged cardiac tissue include degradation of necrotic myocytes, repopulation of the damaged infarct area by myofibroblasts, and subsequent remodeling of the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) to form scar tissues. Although the mechanisms controlling the phenoconversion of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts are not yet well understood, it appears that this differentiation process is strongly promoted by the fibrotic agent TGF-β1 which in turn, appears to cause increased scleraxis protein levels in the damaged areas. Collagen production is regulated in part by the COL1α2 gene. The proximal COL1α2 gene promoter is responsive to TGF-β1 signaling and to scleraxis. Accordingly, increasing levels of scleraxis proteins directly or in response to TGF-β1 signaling in infarct-affected tissues will promote COL1α2 gene expression and production of collagen.
The activation of the cardiac fibroblasts and their phenoconversion to myofibroblasts significantly increases expression and proliferation of types I, III and V fibrillar collagens in the infarct-damaged areas. However, post-infarct development and proliferation of cardiac scar tissue often extends beyond damaged areas to the point where the cardiac contractility is impaired, and thereby may contribute to heart failure. There is need, therefore, for compositions and therapies that will enable selective inhibition of the expression of COL1α2 genes in damaged tissues.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


In a brake operating device, a lever ratio changing apparatus interconnects a brake pedal assembly that has a brake pedal lever pivotally connected to a support structure at one end with a brake pedal member connected at an opposite end and a brake booster device. The lever ratio changing apparatus includes a connecting member, a guide member and a pivot pin element. The connecting member is movably connected at a first end to the brake pedal lever between the pivotal connection and the brake pedal member and an opposite second end movably connected to the brake booster device. The guide member is fixedly connected to the support structure. The pivot pin element is connected to the connecting member and is slidably movable within the guide member. As the brake pedal assembly moves from a non-braking position to a braking position, a leverage ratio R/r varies wherein R is defined as a first distance measured between the pivotal connection and the brake pedal member and r is a second distance measured between the pivotal connection and the pivot pin element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brake operating device which operates a brake device for braking a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a brake operating device which operates a brake device of a vehicle includes a brake pedal and a push rod (output member) connecting the brake pedal with a brake booster device. In the brake operating device, when a driver depresses the brake pedal, the swinging of the brake pedal is transmitted to the brake booster device via the push rod so as to operate the brake device.
Among such brake operating devices, a brake operating device provided with a so-called pedal ratio changing device which can vary the pedal ratio of the brake pedal has been proposed (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-301565).
In the brake operating device disclosed in the aforementioned laid-open application, the pedal ratio changing device is provided between the brake pedal and the push rod. The pedal ratio changing device is structured by a link, which is supported at the brake pedal and connected to the push rod by a guide pin, an elongated hole, which is formed in the brake pedal and into which a guide pin is inserted, and a return spring which is connected to the guide pin. In this way, the pedal ratio is changed at the time of normal braking operation and at the time of sudden braking operation, so that optimal braking operation can be implemented.
However, in the conventional brake operating device provided with the above-described pedal ratio changing device, the pedal ratio is changed by changing the position of the guide pin inserted into the elongated hole, in accordance with the swinging (depression) angle of the brake pedal or the depression force. The position of the guide pin is determined by the proportion of force by the brake pedal, the push rod and the return spring. However, frictional force is generated at the brake pedal, the push rod, and the return spring and at other parts as well, and the effect of this frictional force is great. As a result, a drawback arises in that it is difficult to reliably obtain a desired, stable pedal ratio, and it is easy for the input/output characteristic determined by the pedal ratio to become unstable.


A suspension apparatus for steered wheel includes a knuckle as a supporting member for rotatably supporting the steered wheel, two lower arms separately connected to joints as two lower-part connecting points equipped on lower part of the knuckle respectively, and two upper arms separately connected to joints as two upper-part connecting points equipped on an upper part of the knuckle respectively, and, connecting points of the two lower arms and the two upper arms to the knuckle are configured such that a rate of moving amount toward the vehicle inside to moving amount toward the vehicle front of a second extended line AP2 connecting the two joints straightly is more than the rate of a first extended line AP1 connecting the two joints straightly.

A suspension apparatus for a steered wheel provided on a steered wheel of a vehicle is described below in Patent Literature 1. The suspension apparatus has double jointed upper arms and lower arms, and have a structure which switches an outer wheel's scrub radius which controls turning characteristics under turning state from negative to positive for gaining understeer characteristics during braking.


A variant or so-called "escape mutant" HBsAg protein or fragment thereof displaying the antigenicity of hepatitis B virus surface antigen is disclosed, in which the mutant protein or fragment thereof (mHBsAg) comprises a modified `a` determinant in which at least two amino acids are inserted downstream of position 122 of the wild type HBsAg sequence. A vaccine comprising the mHBsAg is provided, as is a kit for diagnostic in vitro detection of anti-mHBsAg antibodies and an antibody preparation comprising anti-mHBsAg antibodies.

The cloning of the genomes of hepatitis B virions of different serotypes is well known in the art (Miller et al). Dane particles which are hepatitis B virions and are isolatable from infected patients have a diameter of approximately 42 nm. Each consists of an envelope comprising the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), a capsid (HBcAg), an endogenous polymerase and a DNA genome. A third polypeptide, `e` antigen (HBeAg) is made by the hepatitis B virus and found in solubilized form in serum.
Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a serious, widespread problem but vaccines for use in mass immunisation are now widely available. Vaccines commercially available against HBV comprise hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) either in native or recombinant form. The authentic (or wild type) hepatitis B virus surface antigen can be recovered from plasma of infected individuals as a particle of about 22 nm comprising of two proteins known as P24 and its glycosylated derivative GP28, both of which are encoded by a 226 amino acid coding sequence on the HBV genome known as the S protein coding sequence or HBV S-gene (Tiollais et al., (1985)). The complete amino acid sequence as well as the nucleotide sequence encoding, HBsAg is given in Valenzuela et al., Nature 280 815 (1979) (SEQ ID NO:1). The numbering system used by Tiollais et al. to define nucleotide and amino acid positions is used herein.
Insertion of HBV S-gene coding sequences under the control of yeast promoters on expression vectors to enable expression of HBsAg in S. cerevisiae for vaccine production has been described by Harford et al. in Develop. Biol. Standard 54 125 (1983), Valenzuela et al., Nature 298 347 (1982) and Bitter et al., J. Med. Virol. 25 123 (1988). Expression in Pichia pastoris has been described by Gregg et al., Biotechnology 5 479 (1987), (see also European Patent Publication No. 0226846) as has expression in Hansenula polymorpha (European Publication No. 0299108).
Vaccines have also been prepared from hybrid immunogenic particles comprising HBsAg protein as described in European Patent Publication No. 0278940. Such immunogenic particles can contain, for example, all or parts of the HBsAg precursor protein encoded by the coding sequence which immediately precedes the HBV-S gene on the HBV genome, referred to herein as the Pre-S coding sequence. The Pre-S coding sequence normally codes for 163 amino acids (in the case of the ay HBV sub type) and comprises a Pre-S1 coding sequence and a Pre-S2 coding sequence. The latter codes for 55 amino acids and immediately precedes the S protein coding sequence (European Publication No. EP-A-0278940).
The surface antigen (the S antigen) open reading frame of HBV-DNA is divided into three regions, pre-S1, pre S-2 and S. It encodes three envelope proteins of HBV termed: large, middle and major proteins. The major protein, HBsAg, consists of 226 amino acids and is encoded by the S gene (Tiollais et al., (1981); Tiollais et al., (1987) and Lau et al.). All three envelope proteins contain HBsAg antigenic sites and are easily detected by conventional immunoassays for HBsAg. These immunoassays are extensively used for diagnosing HBV infection and screening blood donors world-wide. The HBsAg reactivity is dependent on the structural conformation of the hydrophilic region from amino acids 124-147 which is defined as the `a` determinant (Ashton-Rickardt et al. and Brown et al.). This is common to all HBV subtypes and antibody to it confers protection against reinfection with any of the subtypes.
HBV-DNA sequences hybridising under highly stringent conditions with an HBV probe have been shown in the liver, serum and blood mononuclear cells of subjects negative for serum HBsAg (Brechot et al. (1985) and Thier et al). Recent results from different laboratories using dot blot hybridisation or Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) confirm the presence of HBV DNA sequences in serum from HBsAg negative subjects. The development of PCR techniques has permitted the detection of very low levels of HBV replication in many patients and has allowed sequencing of many isolates which have identified genetic variation in some isolates of the virus (Carman et al., (1990); Brechot et al., (1991); Blum et al.). In Taiwan and Sardinia, where HBV is highly endemic, 1.7% and 0.3% of HBsAg negative healthy blood donors had HBV DNA in their sera detectable by dot blot hybridisation (Lai et al., (1989) and Sun et al.) In mainland China, a molecular epidemiological investigation using PCR in anti-HB-positive individuals indicated the existence of HBV carriers with undetectable HBsAg, which accounts for 3% of the Chinese general population (Luo et al.)
Antigenic subtypes of HBV are defined serologically and have been shown to be caused by a single base changes in the region of the genome encoding HBsAg (Okamoto et al.). However, all presently known antigenic subtypes contain the `a` determinant consisting of amino acids 124 to 147 of HBsAg. Antibodies to the `a` determinant confers protection against all subtypes. It has been shown by in vitro mutagenesis that the cysteine at position 147 and the proline at position 142 are important for the exhibition of full antigenicity of the `a` determinant (Ashton-Rickardt et al.).
Additionally, Howard Thomas and William Carman, detailed in WO 91/14703 a variant of an HBsAg fragment in a vaccinated child born to an HBV infected mother. Sequencing revealed a point mutation from guanosine to adenosine at nucleotide position 587 resulting in an amino acid change from glycine to arginine at position 145 in the `a` determinant of HBsAg (see also Carman et al., (1990)). Similar HBV mutants have been reported to replicate in the host under humoral immune pressure, either actively (vaccine) or passively (hyperimmune globulin) induced (Okamoto et al., (1992) and McMahon et al.) However, the persistent presence of both HBsAg and anti-HBs (vaccine induced) detected by conventional immunoassays, in the serum of some of these patients, suggests that the mutation does not result in complete loss of antigenicity (Carman et al., (1990), Okamoto et al., (1992) and McMahon et al.).
From the clinical and epidemiological view, it is more important to investigate the molecular features of HBV from subjects without any HBsAg reacting in standard assays. Sequencing results from a Japanese patient who was HBeAg and HBV-DNA, as well as anti-HBs positive showed that amino acids 9 to 22 of the pre-S2 region were deleted whereas amino acids at position 3 and 8 of the pre-S2, and 126, 131 and 133 of the first loop of the `a` determinant of HBs were substituted (Moriyama et al.). Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence from another isolate revealed substitutions at positions 3, 53 and 210 of the major HBs protein, all of which are outside the common `a` determinant and cannot really explain the absence of HBsAg in serum (Liang et al.).
During the last decade, several putative variants or mutants of hepatitis B virus have been described. For instance, McMahon et al. have described a substitution of arginine for glycine in a putative monoclonal antibody binding domain of HBsAg (as deduced by DNA sequence analysis) in a liver transplant patient treated with anti-HBsAg monoclonal antibody (Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on the Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Viruses, September, 1989).
In an investigation by Carman et al. and the subject of patent application WO 94/26904, a mutant hepatitis B virus having a modified `a` determinant wherein two specific amino acids, asparagine and threonine, were inserted at position 122 of the HBsAg sequence. Further, a mutation at position 145, substituting glycine for the wild type arginine was also detailed in the amino acid sequence listing.
In another report, children and adults were found with circulating hepatitis B surface antigen, indicating viral replication, despite the presence of specific antibody (anti-HBs) after immunisation with one of two licensed hepatitis B vaccines (Zanetti et al.). Analysis of the HBsAg with monoclonal antibodies revealed that the circulating antigen did not carry the `a` determinant or that this determinant was masked. It was concluded that emergence of a variant of hepatitis B virus had been detected, possibly due to epidemiological pressure associated with immunisation in an endemic area of infection. The variant was, however, not characterised further.
From the work of Zanetti et al. it is clear that a great disadvantage with presently available hepatitis B vaccines is that they may, at least in a host with a predisposing immunogenetic make-up, cause the appearance of an `escape mutant`, i.e. a replicating infectious virus that has mutated away from neutralising immunity. Such a variant virus obviously has the capacity to cause disease and may be assumed to be transmissible. The variant virus may therefore give rise to a serious immunisation problem since it is not effectively neutralised by antibodies produced by vaccines based on normal HBsAg. Other mutations have been described in HBV, but their significance in terms of altered antigenicity is unclear (Moriyama et al. and Lai et al., (1990)).

Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine


Apparatus are disclosed that are operable to changes the intensity, per unit surface area, of an irradiation laser light flux. A typical apparatus comprises, on an optical axis, an irradiation laser light source, a stop defining an aperture, and an optical subsystem situated between the light source and the stop. The optical subsystem is operable to change the intensity of the irradiation laser light flux passing through the aperture by changing the diameter of the beam of irradiation laser light flux incident on the stop.

Certain optical systems operable to change the intensity of light applied to a unit surface area are known. A representative system is depicted schematically in FIG. 4, comprising (on an optical axis A) a light source 111, a convex lens 112, and a stop 113 defining an aperture 113a. Light flux is directed onto the surface of a specimen 118. The light flux emitted by the light source 111 is focused by the lens 112 at a focal point FP located between the stop 113 and the specimen 118; downstream of the focal point FP, the light flux diverges. With the FIG. 4 apparatus, the intensity of light per unit surface area of the specimen can be changed by moving the specimen 118 along the optical axis A (i.e., moving the specimen left or right as indicated by the arrows beneath the specimen).
Optical systems such as that in FIG. 4 are conventionally used, e.g., in testing schemes for ascertaining the durability of various materials when exposed to laser light. Such tests are increasingly indicated as lasers become increasingly more powerful. The tests are typically performed by irradiating the specimen with a laser while critically observing and evaluating any damage caused by the exposure. Usual tested specimens include optical components such as lenses and mirrors, as well as coatings applied to such optical components for, e.g., antireflective purposes.
In an apparatus as shown in FIG. 4, as light intensity per unit surface area is changed, the irradiation surface area of the laser light also changes. In other words, one cannot change the intensity of light per unit surface area of the specimen without also changing the surface area of the specimen that is irradiated by the laser light. Consequently, this kind of optical system cannot be used if one wishes to limit or otherwise control the size of the irradiation field on the specimen surface.
Another testing apparatus as known in the art is schematically depicted in FIG. 5. A high-power laser light source 211 produces light that passes through a condensing optical subsystem 220 onto the surface of a specimen 218. A beam splitter 215, situated between the condensing optical subsystem 220 and the specimen 218, reflects some of the laser light toward a power monitor 217. The power monitor 217 measures the intensity of laser light at the specimen surface based on the reflected light. An extinction filter 219 is situated between the laser light source 211 and the condensing optical subsystem 220. The intensity of laser light at the specimen surface can be changed by changing the extinction filter 219 as appropriate for the particular specimen.
Apparatus as shown in FIG. 5 also have substantial shortcomings. First, having to change the extinction filter 219 to change light intensity is extremely troublesome. Second, if the light source 211 is an excimer laser or other laser that emits a very high-energy laser light, extinction filters capable of withstanding such intense light are rare or do not exist. Third, changing light intensity by changing the extinction filter means that the intensity of the light per unit surface area can be changed only step-wise. This makes it impossible to randomly set the value of the light intensity, i.e., to change the light intensity continuously over a range.

Apparatus for producing variable levels of uniform light flux


Methods and systems for processing and tracking employee requests for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are disclosed. One method disclosed includes using servers configured with a database of FMLA forms and employee FMLA data to facilitate the steps of filing a FMLA leave request form, providing to the employee a conditional approval and a medical certification form to a named medical provider, checking the completed medical certification form for a recommendation of a medical care provider, and forwarding a final decision to the employee.

This invention relates generally to government regulation and more specifically to methods and systems for providing compliance with rules under the Family Medical Leave Act.
A company and company employees desire prompt and accurate assessment of leave requests under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Known FMLA assessment and evaluation methods have several disadvantages. For example, FMLA assessment and evaluation methods are largely paper-based. When using such methods, the tracking of granted leaves and leave requests by company and by employee is difficult and labor intensive. Multiple employees provide leave information in the form of leave requests, and the accuracy of the information depends on the experience and knowledge of the employees. In addition, using known methods and systems can be time consuming, requiring a significant amount of human resources personnel time. This is due in part to the fact that known systems and methods do not allow for easy retrieval of archived data and have no reporting capability. Therefore, every leave request involves additional research.
It would be desirable to provide methods and systems that provide guidance and an efficient way to ensure compliance with governmental rules such as those rules of the FMLA without the investment of time and resources commonly needed for known methods and systems.

Systems and methods for tracking employee leaves under the FMLA


A differential in a motor vehicle drive axle includes a barrel shaped case and a ring gear. The case has an outer cylindrical boss and an adjacent smaller inner cylindrical boss. The ring gear has a flat side facing the case, a plurality of self-cutting straight splines around the center of the ring gear, and a counterbore in the flat side concentric with the self-cutting splines. The self-cutting splines have a major diameter corresponding to the diameter of the inner boss so that when the ring gear is forcibly moved to an assembled position on the case, the self-cutting splines form in situ on the inner boss a plurality of mating straight splines in mesh with the self-cutting splines. The depth of the counterbore is coordinated with the length of the inner boss to achieve penetration of the outer boss into the counterbore at the time the self-cutting splines engage the inner bore so that a closed chip trap is defined ahead of the self-cutting splines.

A differential in a final drive axle of a motor vehicle divides engine torque between axle shafts of the vehicle while permitting the shafts to rotate independently of each other. Typically, a case of the differential is rotatably supported on an axle housing with a ring gear on the case meshing with a hypoid pinion on the housing. Torque is transferred from the ring gear to the case through a plurality of bolts which attach the ring gear to a flange on the case. A differential according to this invention features an attachment between the ring gear and the case which affords improvements in manufacturability, assembly, and raw material usage relative to the aforesaid bolt-type attachment.

Differential case with ring gear attachment


An output gear is on an elongate sheath capable of withstanding torsion between its ends. The sheath is equipped with a device for measuring the torque borne by the gear. The device for measuring the torque comprises a bar which extends through the sheath, fixed to the sheath at one end and equipped at the other end with a lever in contact with at least one linear displacement sensor, preferably of the inductive coupling type. The sensor can supply data to a central unit for collecting all data gathered from each output gear. The central unit comprises a computer for determining a mean torque value, and optionally, the weight of the platform to be established, and a controller for automatically controlling the plurality of maneuvering mechanisms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to maneuvering mechanisms for platforms, and in particular to maneuvering mechanisms for marine platforms. The present invention also pertains to a method for controlling a plurality of maneuvering mechanisms and to an apparatus for implementing said method.
2. Background and Relevant Information
Marine platforms are generally used for offshore drilling operations, and are provided with a plurality of supporting jacketlegs which are submerged at a chosen site and which rest on the ocean bottom in order to maintain the platform above sea level.
Control over the marine platform is carried out by means of a plurality of mechanisms which make it possible to raise, lower, and maintain the platform on its jacketlegs. These mechanisms consist of a reduction gear, driven by motorized means in two directions of rotation in order to permit the required movements of the platform and/or the jacketlegs. The gear motor is connected to the structure of the platform by an intermediary framework.
The maneuvering mechanisms comprise an output gear which meshes on a rack on a supporting jacketleg.
On each jacketleg, there are preferably at least two racks associated with different raising mechanisms.
The output gear of the reduction motor, more particularly the teeth of the output gear, receive loads originating from the platform or from the jacketlegs, through the intermediary of the corresponding rack. The output gears frequently work at their elastic limit. Significant variations in forces can lead to a breakdown of teeth on the output gear. Variations in forces can originate from excessive frictional stresses, or from the stripping of the jacketlegs during maneuvering.
Maneuvering mechanisms are known which allow the load applied to each of the output gears to be detected, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,854. These maneuvering mechanisms comprise means for measuring the torque borne by the output gear. The means are arranged directly on this output gear, and are associated with means for transmitting the value of the torque applied to the output gear. The output gear of the maneuvering mechanism is of the shafted type. That is, the output gear comprises a sheath capable of withstanding torsion between its two ends. The downstream end of the sheath comprises the output gear. The upstream end of the sheath is linked to the reduction gear.

Maneuvering mechanisms for marine platforms, method for managing these mechanisms and installation for implementing the method


An inkjet printer further includes a printer main body, and an ink-accommodation unit including a first member and a second member. The first member is configured to accommodate ink to be supplied to the printer main body. The first member includes an injection portion for injection of ink. The second member is pivotably movably connected to the first member. The second member is pivotable relative to the first member between a closed position and an open position. When the second member is at the closed position, the injection portion is covered by the second member. When the second member is at the open position, the injection portion is exposed. Here, an axis of the pivot is parallel to a front-rear direction of the first member, and is positioned at a side of the first member, the side being closer to the printer main body.

An inkjet printer is configured to perform printing by ejecting ink toward a recording target (such as a printing paper). For example, one example is disclosed in a publication under Utility Model Registration No of CN203567356 U.
FIG. 1 attached hereto schematically illustrates an example of such a conventional inkjet printer. As depicted in FIG. 1, an inkjet printer 10 generally includes an ink-accommodation unit 11 and a printer main body 12. For facilitating explanation, a direction in which the inkjet printer 10 in a state to be used faces a user is defined as a frontward direction. When the inkjet printer 10 is viewed from its frontward, the ink-accommodation unit 11 is fixedly attached to a right side surface of the inkjet printer 10. The ink-accommodation unit 11 includes an ink-tank holder (not shown), and an ink tank (not shown) that is accommodated in the ink-tank holder for storing ink. Here, the ink-tank holder and the ink tank will be collectively referred to as an ink-accommodating body 21. The ink-accommodation unit 11 further includes a cover 31 that is slidable in a front-rear direction relative to the ink-accommodating body 21. On the ink-accommodating body 21, an inlet 41 is formed through which ink can be injected toward inside of an ink chamber. When ink should be injected into the ink chamber, first, the cover 31 is slid rearward. Only when the inlet 41 is completely exposed thereafter, ink can be injected into the ink chamber through the inlet 41.

Ink-accommodation unit and inkjet printer provided with the same


A method and device for producing subsurface markings in a transparent material body by focusing a pulsed laser beam in the interior of the material body so that the laser beam exceeds the destruction threshold of the material body to produce a permanent marking. Individual markings form a freely selectable internal engraving as a result of a relative movement between the laser beam and the material body. The laser pulse is varied with respect to its pulse energy (P) by means of a discharge pulse (E) that has an adjustable time delay from an excitation pulse (A). Markings that have varying optical properties depending on the pulse energy (P) are produced in this fashion.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a method for producing subsurface markings in a transparent material body, wherein a pulsed laser beam is focused in the interior of the material body in such a way that the laser beam exceeds the destruction threshold of the material body at least in the respective focal point and a permanent marking is produced. Individual markings form a freely selectable internal engraving as a result of a relative movement between the laser beam and the material body.
2. The Prior Art
Methods of this type are generally known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,172 or German Patent No. DD 237 972 A3. U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,244 also pertains to such laser-based methods for producing an internal engraving in a material body. This material body may consist of glass such that an internal glass engraving is produced in this case. Naturally, it would also be possible to utilize plastic materials, e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,518. The internal engraving may be produced in the interior of the material body one-dimensionally, two-dimensionally or even three-dimensionally. This depends on the relative movement between the laser beam and the material body.
In latter-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,244, it was already attempted to change the optical appearance of the internal engraving composed of the individual markings by varying the size of the individual markings. This can be realized, in particular, by utilizing an optical unit for changing the focal length. Markings with a diameter in the range between 0.1 and 0.4 mm can be produced in this fashion. However, this method is associated with a significant constructive expenditure. In addition, the precision in producing the markings and the quality of their appearance leave much to be desired. The invention aims to eliminate all these disadvantages.

Method and device for producing subsurface markings in a transparent material body


A nonvolatile memory device includes at least one switching device and at least one storage node electrically connected to the at least one switching device. The at least one storage node includes a lower electrode, one or more oxygen-deficient metal oxide layers, one or more data storage layers, and an upper electrode. At least one of the one or more metal oxide layers is electrically connected to the lower electrode. At least one of the one or more data storage layers is electrically connected to at least one of the one or more metal oxide layers. The upper electrode is electrically connected to at least one of the one or more data storage layers. A method of manufacturing the nonvolatile memory device includes preparing the at least one switching device and forming the lower electrode, one or more metal oxide layers, one or more data storage layers, and upper electrode.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to nonvolatile memory devices including one or more oxygen-deficient metal oxide layers and methods of manufacturing the same. Also, example embodiments relate to nonvolatile memory devices including one or more storage nodes in which one or more oxygen-deficient metal oxide layers is formed between at least one lower electrode and at least one data layer and methods of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A related art dynamic random access memory (DRAM) consists of a unit cell of 1T/1C (one transistor and one capacitor) structure. As the size of the DRAM decreases, the difficulty of manufacturing the transistor and/or capacitor increases, and thus, high yield manufacturing of DRAM cells is difficult. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a nonvolatile memory that may replace the related art DRAM. Attempts have been made to develop high integration density, low power consumption DRAMs, nonvolatile flash memories, and high operation speed static random access memories (SRAMs) as next generation memories. Such devices include phase change RAMs (PRAMs), nano floating gate memories (NFGMs), resistance RAMs (ReRAMs), polymer RAMs (PoRAMs), magnetic RAMs (MRAMs), and molecular electronic devices.
The ReRAM device may include a Metal Insulating Metal (MIM) structure using a metal oxide, and may show memory characteristics that, when an appropriate electrical signal is applied, the state of the MIM structure may change from a high resistance non-conductive state (i.e., an off-state) to a low resistance conductive state (i.e., an on-state), and vice versa. For the acronym MIM, M means upper and lower metal electrodes, and I means a data storage layer formed of an insulating material.
When switching is repeated in a storage node of a related art MIM memory cell structure, the distribution of the set and reset voltage values (Vset and Vreset) applied to the storage node may demonstrate a large deviation, and the distribution of the resistance values (Ron and Roff) of the storage node according to on and off states is not uniform.

Nonvolatile memory devices including oxygen-deficient metal oxide layers and methods of manufacturing the same


A method of decoding a video through symbol decoding includes parsing symbols of image blocks from a received bitstream; classifying a current symbol into a prefix bit string and a suffix bit string based on a threshold value determined according to a size of a current block; performing arithmetic decoding of the prefix bit string and the suffix bit string by using respective arithmetic decoding methods determined for each of the prefix bit string and the suffix bit string; performing inverse binarization of the prefix bit string and the suffix bit string by using respective binarization methods determined for each of the prefix bit string and the suffix bit string; and restoring the image blocks by performing an inverse transformation operation and a prediction operation on the current block by using the current symbol restored through the arithmetic decoding and the inverse binarization.

As hardware for reproducing and storing high resolution or high quality video content is being developed and supplied, a need for a video codec for effectively encoding or decoding the high resolution or high quality video content is increasing. In a conventional video codec, a video is encoded according to a limited encoding method based on a macroblock having a predetermined size.
Image data of a spatial domain is converted to coefficients of a frequency region by using a frequency conversion method. A video codec encodes frequency coefficients in units of blocks by dividing an image into a plurality of blocks having a predetermined size and performing discrete cosine transformation (DCT) conversion for rapid operation of frequency conversion. The coefficients of the frequency region are easily compressed compared to the image data of the spatial domain. In particular, a pixel value of an image in the spatial domain is represented as a prediction error, and thus, if frequency conversion is performed on the prediction error, a large amount of data may be converted to 0. A video codec converts data that is continuously and repeatedly generated into smaller data to reduce an amount of data.

Method and apparatus for coding video and method and apparatus for decoding video accompanied with arithmetic coding


An image signal processing apparatus having three processing portions. A first processing portion generates a motion class that corresponds to a target position in an output image signal based on an input image signal. A second portion generates a space class corresponding to the target position based on the input image signal and synthesizes the space class and the motion class to generate one class. A third portion selects multiple items of pixel data positioned in a periphery of this target position based on the input image signal and generates pixel data of the target position in the output image signal according to an estimate equation using the multiple items of pixel data and coefficient data corresponding to the class. These processing portions are respectively constituted of integrated circuits (ICs) having the same configuration. These ICs have first and second functional blocks. Each of the functional blocks changes its functionality according to setting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit (IC) and an information signal processing apparatus, and more specifically, it relates to an IC and the like suitable for being well applied to an apparatus for performing conversion of a format of, for example, an image signal, conversion of a scaling factor of an image, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Format conversion has conventionally been proposed by which, for example, a Standard Definition (SD) signal referred to as a 525i signal is converted into a High Definition (HD) signal referred to as a 1050i signal. The 525i signal refers to an interlaced image signal containing 525 lines, while the 1050i signal refers to an interlaced image signal containing 1050 lines.
FIG. 1 shows a relationship in pixel position between the 525i signal and the 1050i signal. In the figure, a large dot indicates a pixel of the 525i signal and a small dot indicates a pixel of the 1050i signal. Further, a pixel position of odd-numbered fields is indicated by a solid line and a pixel position of even-numbered fields is indicated by a broken line. To convert the 525i signal into the 1050i signal, it is necessary to obtain four pixels of the 1050i signal each corresponding to one pixel of the 525i signal in each of odd-numbered and even-numbered fields.
For example, an image signal processing apparatus is conventionally known which utilizes class grouping adaptive processing to convert the 525i signal into the 1050i signal (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-218413). That is, this processing apparatus generates pixel data of a target position in the 1050i signal according to an estimation equation using coefficient data that corresponds to a class to which the pixel data of this target position belongs.
For example, one piece of Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuit may constitute the image signal processing apparatus. In this case, however, a circuit scale increases and also man-hour requirements in design also increase, to deteriorate a yield in manufacturing and increase a unit cost of the LSI.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an Integrated Circuit (IC) that can be also applied to multiple circuit portions and that has no large circuit scale so as to include multiple circuit portions, thereby allowing the IC to be manufactured stably. It is another object of the present invention to provide an information signal processing apparatus that can be configured inexpensively.

Integrated circuit and information signal processing apparatus having multiple processing portions