A light-control window covering includes a first sheet of sheer material, and a second sheet of sheer material spaced apart from the first sheer sheet of material. A plurality of vanes having a first face and a second face, a center region and a first and a second longitudinal margin, the first face of each vane being ultrasonically welded to the first and second sheets of sheer material along the respective first and second longitudinal margins. The vanes are welded to the first and second sheer sheets of material, while the first and second sheer materials are spaced apart and parallel to one another. The welded first and second sheets of sheer material and vanes are then shifted from a light-passing position to a light-blocking position and heat set.

The present invention relates generally to the field of window coverings, and more particularly, to a light control window covering and a method and apparatus for its manufacture.
Light control window coverings typically include a front and rear portion made from a sheer material and a plurality of opaque vanes extending between the sheer material. The light control covering is movable from an open, light-passing position in which the vanes are horizontal, to a light-blocking position in which the vanes are substantially vertical.
Numerous methods have been developed to form light control window coverings. U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,519 to Froget discloses a method of welding the marginal edges of a plurality of vanes to two layers of material. First, each vane is welded to one face of the first layer of material. As each vane is welded to the first layer of material, the first layer and the welded vane are wound onto a reel. After all of the vanes have been welded to the first layer of material and wound onto a reel, the combination is then unwound such that the free edge of each vane comes into contact with a second layer of material. The free edge is then welded to the second layer of material. In this manner a light-control window covering is formed with one face of the vane being welded at its marginal edge to the first layer and the second face of the vane being welded at its second marginal edge to the second layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,999 to Colson et al. describes a method and apparatus for forming a light-control window covering, in which one side of individual vanes are attached with adhesive to a first continuous sheet of material and the other side of the vanes are then attached with adhesive to a second continuous sheet of material. The first and second sides of each vane are attached to the first and second sheets in a continuous line. Both the Froget and Colson patents require that the vanes be attached to the first and second sheets individually, one at a time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,936 to Goodhue, describes a method and apparatus for forming a light-control window covering, in which all of the vanes are attached with adhesive to the first and second sheets simultaneously. As in Froget and Colson, one side of each vane is attached to a first sheet and the other side of each vane is attached to a second sheet. Since the vanes are applied to the first and second sheets side by side, the vanes do not overlap when the window covering is in the light-blocking position. As a result, light is likely to pass through the spaces between adjacent vanes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,639 to Green et al. discloses a method and apparatus for forming a light-control window covering formed by continuously welding three substrates of material together to form a three-substrate web having first and second light-control regions and a center vane or opaque region located therebetween. Portions of the three-substrate web are laterally offset from one another and adhesively attached to from a light-control window covering.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,846,360; 5,885,409; and 5,891,208, to Gill, an inventor common to the instant application, disclose a method and apparatus for manufacturing a multilayer filter by attaching first and second filter layers to a plurality of ribbons utilizing ultrasonic welding equipment.
It would be desirable to form a light-control window covering in which all of the vanes are simultaneously attached to the first and second sheets where the vanes of the resultant light-control window covering overlap one another in the open or light-passing position.
One embodiment of this invention relates to a light-control window covering comprising a first sheet of sheer material, and a second sheet of sheer material spaced apart from the first sheet of sheer material. A plurality of vanes is ultrasonically welded to the first and second sheets of sheer material. Each vane includes a first face and a second face, a center region, and a first and a second longitudinal margin. The first face of each vane is ultrasonically welded to the first and second sheets of sheer material along the respective first and second longitudinal margins.
The vanes are movable from a light-passing position in which the center region of each vane is substantially perpendicular to the first and second sheets of sheer material, to a light-blocking position in which the center region of each vane is substantially parallel to the first and second sheets of -sheer material. The second longitudinal margin of each vane is folded over and adjacent the center region of each respective vane in the light-blocking position. The vanes are spaced from one another such that in the light-blocking position the first longitudinal margin of one vane overlaps the second longitudinal margin of an adjacent vane.
Another embodiment of this invention includes a method for manufacturing the light-control window covering comprising feeding along a path a first and a second sheet of sheer material spaced apart from and parallel to one another. Each sheet of sheer material has a longitudinal direction and a cross-wise direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The method further includes feeding a plurality of strips of vane material. Each strip of vane material has a pair of longitudinal edges and a predetermined width as measured between the longitudinal edges, a center region, a first side and a second side, and first and second longitudinal margins. Each strip of vane material is separated from an adjacent strip of vane material by a predetermined distance that is less than the predetermined width of the strip of vane material. The strips of vane material are bonded to the first sheet of sheer material along the first longitudinal margin and to the second sheet of sheer material along the second longitudinal margin.
Still another embodiment includes an apparatus for manufacturing a light-control window covering having a first sheet of sheer material, a second sheet of sheer material and a plurality of vanes. The apparatus includes a plurality of folders spaced apart from one another for folding the longitudinal margins of the vanes. Additionally, the apparatus includes a plurality of first ultrasonic welders for welding a first longitudinal margin of each vane to the first sheet of sheer material, and a plurality of second ultrasonic welders for welding a second longitudinal margin of each vane to the second sheet of sheer material. A plurality of rotary anvils are located between the first and second sheets of sheer material for attaching each respective vane to the second sheet of sheer material. A shifter moves the first and second sheets of sheer material relative to one another such that the center region of the vanes are substantially parallel to the first and second sheets of sheer material. Finally, a presser presses the first sheet of sheer material, the second sheet of sheer material, and the plurality of vanes.
These and other benefits and features of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, presented in connection with the following drawings in which like reference numerals identify like elements throughout.

Light control window covering and method and apparatus for its manufacture


A fluorescence indicator is injected into a living body from a container via an injecting inlet to be chemically reacted with a substance in the living body. Then, an excitation light is irradiated to the living body from an excitation light source. Then, the thus obtained reflected light is reflected multiply at an reflective film formed on the inner wall of the container, and introduced into a detecting section, where a fluorescence response originated from the chemical bond between the substance and the fluorescence indicator and contained in the reflected light is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for measuring the concentration of a substance in a minute region of a living body and a device for measuring the same concentration.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional measuring method and a measuring device of the concentration of a substance in a living body, some tissues are taken out as a sample of the living body, and some fluorescence indicators to be chemically reacted with the living body are added to the sample so that by detecting the fluorescence response from the fluorescence indicators with a CCD camera, the concentration of the substance in the living body is measured. In this case, since the CCD camera is employed so that the fluorescence response can be measured as an image, the concentration distribution of the substance can be measured over the sample.
Generally, the sample is obtained by slicing the living body, but in the use of a confocal microscope, since the focus can be matched to a given depth by controlling the focal length, a bulky sample may be employed without slicing.
In the conventional measuring method and measuring device of the substance concentration, however, since the sample is taken out of the living body, the condition of the sample may be different from the condition that the sample remains in the living body. Moreover, since the fluorescence indicators are added over the sample, the sample can not be held for a long time after the substance concentration measurement, so that the successive measurement of the fluorescence response from the sample can not be performed.
In this point of view, instead of preparing the sample by slicing the living body, such an attempt is made as to insert a measuring probe directly into the living body and to measure the fluorescence response directly from the living body. In this case, however, a complicated optical alignment is required.

Method for measuring the concentration of a substance in a living body and device for measuring the same concentration


Method and apparatus for encoding and decoding prediction residues in a video coding system also disclosed. At the decoder side, a Rice parameter for the target transform coefficient is determined based on a local sum of absolute levels of neighboring transform coefficients of the target transform coefficient. A dependent quantization state is determined and a zero-position variable is determined based on the dependent quantization state and the Rice parameter. One or more coded bits associated with a first syntax element for the target transform coefficient in a transform block are parsed and decoded using one or more codes including a Golomb-Rice code with the Rice parameter, where the first syntax element corresponds to a modified absolute level value of the target transform coefficient. An absolute level value of the target transform coefficient is derived according to the zero-position variable and the first syntax element.

The High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) (Rec. ITU-T H.265|ISO/IEC 23008-2 version 3: High efficiency video coding, April, 2015) standard is developed under the joint video project of the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standardization organizations, and is especially with partnership known as the Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC). In HEVC, one slice is partitioned into non-overlapped square block regions represented by coding tree units (CTUs). A coded picture can be represented by a collection of slices, each comprising an integer number of CTUs. The individual CTUs in a slice are processed in a raster scanning order. A bi-predictive (B) slice may be decoded using Intra prediction or inter prediction using at most two motion vectors and reference indices to predict the sample values of each block. A predictive (P) slice is decoded using Intra prediction or inter prediction using at most one motion vector and reference index to predict the sample values of each block. An Intra (I) slice is decoded using Intra prediction only.
FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary adaptive Inter/Intra video coding system incorporating loop processing. For Inter/Intra prediction block 110 generates prediction signal using Inter or Intra prediction adaptive for each coding block (e.g. a CU). The Inter prediction signal may use the current block from the Input video and one or more reference pictures from the Frame Buffer 134 to derive motion estimation. On the other hand, the Intra prediction signal uses the current block from the Input video and neighboring blocks of the currently reconstructed picture from the reconstruction block (REC) 128 to derive Intra prediction signal. The prediction signal is subtracted from the original signal using the subtractor 116 to generate the residual signal. The residual signal is then processed by transform block (T) 118 and quantization block (Q) 120 to generate quantized-transformed residual (i.e., quantized coefficients), which is further processed by Entropy encoder 122 to be included in the output bitstream. At the encoder side, when an Inter-prediction mode is used, a reference picture or pictures have to be reconstructed at the encoder end as well. When an Intra mode is used, the reconstructed neighboring blocks will be used. Therefore, an Intra coded block needs to be reconstructed for later use by subsequent blocks coded in the Intra mode. Consequently, the transformed and quantized residues are processed by Inverse Quantization (IQ) 124 and Inverse Transformation (IT) 126 to recover the residues. The reconstructed residues are then added back to prediction signal by the REC 128 to reconstruct video data. The reconstructed video data may be stored in Reference Picture Buffer 134 and used for prediction of other frames.
As shown in FIG. 1A, incoming video data undergoes a series of processing in the encoding system. The reconstructed video data from REC 128 may be subject to various impairments due to a series of processing. Accordingly, Deblocking filter (DF) 130 is often applied to the reconstructed video data before the reconstructed video data are stored in the Frame Buffer 134 in order to improve video quality. Beside deblocking filter, other loop filters (referred as Non-deblocking filters, NDFs) 132, such as Sample Adaptive Offset (SAO) may be used. The system in FIG. 1A is intended to illustrate an exemplary structure of a typical video encoder.
FIG. 1B illustrates a corresponding decoder structure, where most blocks are already used in the encoder. However, at the decoder side, an Entropy Decoder 140 is used instead of the Entropy Encoder 122. Furthermore, the Inter/Intra Prediction Block 150 for the decoder side is different from that at the encoder side since the motion compensation is performed at the decoder side.
A CTU can be partitioned into multiple non-overlapped coding units (CUs) using the recursive quadtree (QT) structure to adapt to various local motion and texture characteristics. One or more prediction units (PU) are specified for each CU. The prediction unit, together with the associated CU syntax, works as a basic unit for signaling the predictor information. The specified prediction process is employed to predict the values of the associated pixel samples inside the PU. A CU can be further partitioned using the residual quadtree (RQT) structure for representing the associated prediction residual signal. The leaf nodes of the RQT correspond to the transform units (TUs). A transform unit is comprised of a transform block (TB) of luma samples of size 8×8, 16×16, or 32×32 or four transform blocks of luma samples of size 4×4, and two corresponding transform blocks of chroma samples of a picture in 4:2:0 color format. An integer transform is applied to a transform block and the level values of quantized coefficients together with other side information are entropy coded in the bitstream. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the block partitioning 210 and its corresponding QT representation 220. The solid lines indicate the CU boundaries and the dashed lines indicate the TU boundaries.
The terms coding tree block (CTB), coding block (CB), prediction block (PB), and transform block (TB) are defined to specify the 2-D sample array of one color component associated with CTU, CU, PU and TU, respectively. A CTU consists of one luma CTB, two chroma CTBs, and associated syntax elements. A similar relationship is valid for CU, PU and TU. The tree partitioning is generally applied simultaneously to both luma and chroma, although exceptions apply when certain minimum sizes are reached for chroma.
Joint Video Expert Team (JVET) of ITU-T SG16 WP3 and ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 are currently in the process of establishing the next-generation video coding standard. Some promising new coding tools have been adopted into Versatile Video Coding (VVC) Working Draft (WD) 6 (B. Brossey et al., "Versatile Video Coding (Draft 2)," Joint Video Expert Team (JVET) of ITU-T VCEG (Q6/16) and ISO/IEC MPEG (JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11), Doc. JVET-02001, 15th Meeting: Gothenburg, SE, 3-12 Jul. 2019). In VVC WD 2 (i.e., JVET-K1001), each coding tree unit (CTU) can be partitioned into one or more smaller-size coding units (CUs) by a quadtree with nested multi-type tree using binary and ternary split. The resulting CU partitions can be in square or rectangular shapes.
In HEVC, the coded block flag (CBF) is utilized to signal if there is any non-zero transform coefficient in a transform block. When the CBF is equal to 0, the associated transform block is not further coded and all the coefficients in the current transform block are inferred to be equal to 0. Otherwise, the associated transform block contains at least one nonzero transform coefficient. A nonzero transform block is further divided into non-overlapped subblocks. A syntax element, coded_sub_block_flag may be signaled to indicate whether a current subblock contains any nonzero coefficient. When coded_sub_block_flag is equal to 0, the associated transform subblock is not further coded and all the coefficients in the current transform subblock are inferred to be equal to 0. Otherwise, the associated transform block contains at least one non-zero transform coefficient. The values of the transform coefficient levels in the associated subblock are entropy coded using multiple subblock coding passes. In each coding pass, the individual transform coefficients are visited once according to a pre-defined scanning order.
In HEVC, a syntax element, sig_coeff_flag is signaled in the first subblock coding pass to indicate whether the absolute value of a current transform coefficient level is greater than 0. A syntax element, coeff_abs_level_greater1_flag is further signaled in the second coding pass for a current coefficient with sig_coeff_flag equal to 1 to indicate whether the absolute value of the associated transform coefficient level is greater than 1. A syntax element, coeff_abs_level_greater2_flag is further signaled in the third coding pass for a current coefficient with coeff_abs_level_greater1_flag equal to 1 to indicate whether the absolute value of the associated transform coefficient level is greater than 2. The sign information and the remaining level values are further signaled by syntax elements, coeff_sign_flag and coeff_abs_level_remaining in the fourth coding and fifth subblock coding passes, respectively.
For VVC WD 6 as specified in JVET-02001, the transform coefficients may be quantized by dependent scalar quantization using two quantizers of different deadzone sizes. The selection of one of the two quantizers is specified by a state machine with four states (represented by a quantization state, Qstate). The state for a current transform coefficient is determined by the state and the parity of the absolute level value for the preceding transform coefficient in scanning order. The transform blocks are partitioned into non-overlapped sub-blocks. The transform coefficient levels in each subblock are entropy coded using multiple sub-block coding passes. The syntax elements, sig_coeff_flag, abs_level_gt1_flag, par_level_flag and abs_level_.gt3_flag are signaled in the first subblock coding pass. The syntax elements abs_level_gt1_flag and abs_level_.gt3_flag indicate whether the absolute value of the current coefficient level are greater than 1 and greater than 3, respectively. The syntax element par_level_flag specifies the party bit of the absolute value of the current level. The partially reconstructed absolute value of a transform coefficient level from the first pass is given by:AbsLevelPass1=sig_coeff_flag+par_level_flag+abs_level_gt1_flag+2*abs_level_gt3_flag.
Context selection for entropy coding, sig_coeff_flag is dependent on the state for the current coefficient. Syntax, par_level_flag is thus signaled in the first coding pass for deriving the state for the next coefficient. The syntax elements abs_remainder, and coeff_sign_flag are further signaled in the second, and third coding passes, respectively. The fully reconstructed absolute value of a transform coefficient level is given by:AbsLevel=AbsLevelPass1+2*abs_remainder.
The transform coefficient level is given by:TransCoeffLevel=(2*AbsLevel−(QState>1?1:0))*(1−2*coeff_sign_flag),where QState indicates the state for the current transform coefficient.
For achieving high compression efficiency, the context-based adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) mode, or known as regular mode, is employed for entropy coding the values of the syntax elements in HEVC and VVC WD 6. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of the CABAC process. Since the arithmetic coder in the CABAC engine can only encode the binary symbol values, the CABAC process needs to convert the values of the syntax elements into a binary string using a binarizer (310). The conversion process is commonly referred to as binarization. During the coding process, the probability models are gradually built up from the coded symbols for the different contexts. The context modeler (320) serves the modelling purpose. During normal context based coding, the regular coding engine (330) is used, which corresponds to a binary arithmetic coder. The selection of the modeling context for coding the next binary symbol can be determined by the coded information. Symbols can also be encoded without the context modeling stage and assume an equal probability distribution, commonly referred to as the bypass mode, for reduced complexity. For the bypassed symbols, a bypass coding engine (340) may be used. As shown in FIG. 3, switches (S1, S2 and S3) are used to direct the data flow between the regular CABAC mode and the bypass mode. When the regular CABAC mode is selected, the switches are flipped to the upper contacts. When the bypass mode is selected, the switches are flipped to the lower contacts as shown in FIG. 3.
In HEVC, the values of the syntax elements, coded_sub_block_flag, sig_coeff_flag, coeff_abs_level_greater1_flag, and coeff_abs_level_greater2_flag in a transform subblock are coded in the regular mode. The values of the syntax elements coeff_sign_flag and coeff_abs_level_remaining in a transform subblock are coded in the bypass mode. In order to limit the total number of the regular bins (or said context-coded bins) for entropy coding transform coefficient levels in a sub-block under the worst-case scenario, each subblock only allows to code up to eight coeff_abs_level_greater1_flag values and one coeff_abs_level_greater2_flag value. In this way, the maximum number of the regular bins in each subblock can be limited to 26.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus for simplification of coding residual blocks


A surgical laser system is provided with improvements to allow it to operate at higher power levels without beam divergence. The improvements include a beam expansion telescope in the optical path of the beam and modifications to the optical cavity and the lasing medium. The modifications include imposing a negative curvature on one or both ends of the rod, configuring the optical cavity as a positive-branch unstable resonator, and providing at least one intra-cavity shutter.

The present invention relates to a surgical laser system and, more particularly, to a solid-state laser system characterized by high average power and by near- to mid infra-red range of wavelengths.
A widely used class of surgical laser systems that operate in the near IR range is characterized by a solid-state laser and an articulated-arm beam transmission means. Solid-state lasers are described and explained in many publications--for example in "Solid State Laser Engineering" by Walter Koechner (2nd edition), Springer Publishing Co., 1988, which is incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Articulated-arm beam transmission is well-known in the art.
In this class of surgical laser systems the laser medium usually consists of Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (YAG), in which are imbedded rare earth dopant ions--typically Neodymium (Nd), Erbium (Er) or Holmium (Ho), respectively producing wavelengths of approximately 1, 3 or 2 microns. A typical articulated-arm beam transmission means (to be referred to, for brevity, as an arm) is about two meters long, includes seven mirrors to deflect the laser beam past the articulations, and has an internal diameter of 15 to 18 mm.
Input (or pumping-) power is usually supplied to the laser medium by radiation from an external light source, such as an arc lamp (in which case the input power and the laser beam are continuous) or a flash lamp (in which case the laser operates in pulses).
The optical efficiency of the laser medium, that is, the ratio of laser power generated in the optical cavity to the light power fed into the laser medium, is relatively low--generally in the range of 0.1-5% and typically 1%. The excess input light power is converted to heat and acts to raise the temperature of the laser medium. Thus, for example, for a laser beam power level of 5 watts, the thermally absorbed power level is typically 5/0.01=500 watts. In order to keep the temperature at acceptable levels, the generated heat is conducted away from the laser medium rod--typically by means of a jacket of flowing water surrounding the rod. In the laser medium rod, heat is absorbed from the pumping light about evenly over any cross section, while heat loss to the cooling water takes place over the outer surface of the rod. Since the thermal conductivity of the rod material is low, this causes a very pronounced temperature gradient radially across the rod, which in turn causes differential elongation of the rod--the region near its axis being longer than the peripheral region--resulting in convex end surfaces of the rod, which thus function as positive lenses. This phenomenon is called "thermal lensing".
Because of this thermal lensing, the optical cavity mirrors must be placed as close as possible to the laser rod in order to maintain a stable optical resonator. The resulting relatively short optical cavity has a high Fresnel number, and therefore supports a high number of transverse modes. As a result, the beam of coherent light that emerges is highly divergent. The beam diameter at the tool end of the articulated arm therefore becomes large, possibly exceeding the internal aperture and causing vignetting of part of the beam and loss of power delivered to the target. The following numerical illustration is offered as a typical example: The exit beam is 6 mm in diameter and diverges at an angle of 20 milliradians; at the end of a 2-meter-long arm, the beam diameter becomes 6+0.02*2000=46 mm, which greatly exceeds the maximum internal diameter of a practical arm, which, as noted above, is about 18 mm.
In addition, when the laser is turned on, before the rod reaches thermal equilibrium, it may focus the beam on the optical cavity mirrors, thereby damaging those mirrors.
The effects described hereabove limit the practical operating power level of surgical laser systems of prior art, resulting in a maximum beam power of about 5 to 10 watts at the exit aperture of the articulated arm.
In surgical laser systems of prior art, alleviation of the problem of beam divergence has been attempted by simply shortening the length of the articulated arm. This has a severe disadvantage in that it limits the range of tool motion and of patient placement available to the surgeon. Alternatively widening the diameter of the last sections of the arm makes them heavy and more cumbersome. Another way suggested to alleviate the problem is to place a mode filter in the optical cavity, thus reducing the resultant beam divergence; this will, however, further reduce the efficiency of the laser.
One obvious solution of the problem of thermal lensing is to introduce a strongly negative lens into the optical cavity near each end of the rod, such that will nullify the positive thermal lens effect. This will, however, work only at one particular power level. In contrast, surgical laser systems are typically operable at widely varying power levels. If the negative lens is strong enough to nullify the effect of the thermal lens at maximum power level, then at lower power levels the optical divergence introduced by the negative lens will tend to decrease the efficiency of the laser and to raise the power input threshold at which lasing will occur at all.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a surgical solid-state based laser system that delivers through an easily manipulatable articulated arm a beam of 2-3 microns wavelength at varying power levels reaching well above those hitherto achievable, without damaging internal parts.


A novel analogue to digital (A/D) converter semiconductor integrated circuit intended for digitizing signals generated by a physical stimulus sensing electronic apparatus, and more particularly, for digitizing signals generated by an array of photo-integrator circuits of an active pixel sensor (APS) imaging device. The A/D converter is a modified single slope integration type, wherein the reference ramp signal exhibits predetermined nonlinearity and offset. The nonlinearity and offset of the reference ramp signal track the nonlinearity and offset components in the signal being digitized, the latter being nonlinearity and offset components contributed by sources appearing in advance of the A/D conversion point in the signal acquisition and processing path of a digital camera system. In particular, the ramp generator for an A/D converter intended for an APS imaging array is partly a replica of the active photo-integrator circuit used in the APS pixel array fabricated on the same semiconductor substrate as the APS array. The ramp generator differs from a photo-integrator in that it produces output by responding to input provided by a current source rather than a photo-sensing device. As the ramp generator and the signal path nonlinearities and offsets track regardless of manufacturing variations and variations in operating conditions, the A/D conversion process successfully linearizes and removes offsets from the signal path, self calibrating against manufacturing variations and self adjusting against variations in operating conditions. The A/D converter further provides white balancing and gamma correction functionality for APS imager cameras. White balancing is performed by using different valued current sources in the ramp generators providing A/D conversion reference ramp for each different color in the color space sampled by the APS array. Gamma correction is performed by clocking the counter of the A/D converter with a clock frequency varying with time. The A/D converter replaces costly and technically less effective digital signal processing (DSP) means which were previously required.

Charge Coupled Device (CCD) imaging arrays have made possible the high quality imagers now used in consumer camcorder equipment, scanners for FAX machines, and video cameras for a wide range of applications including video-conferencing and portable equipment for professional TV broadcasting. However, the quality of signal produced by such imagers is known to deteriorate as the size of the imaging array increases because of limitations that are inherent to CCD signal handling. The size of an imaging array determines the resolution capability of the array. High resolution arrays are needed for studio quality TV production, for professional quality still photography, for cinematography, and for HDTV (High Definition TV) which is about to be deployed as a new broadcast standard around the world.
APS (Active Pixel Sensor) imaging arrays, which are proposed as an alternative to CCD imaging arrays primarily because they are compatible with standard VLSI technologies, are free of limitations with respect to scaling and to attaining very large sizes. The potential for using APS arrays for building large imaging arrays for many products of the future is however hampered, because the response of APS imagers can be prohibitively nonlinear. Nonlinearity distorts the gray scale response of an imager, and complicates signal offset cancellation. Signal offset cancellation is necessary for accurate color imaging. So far, all efforts to linearize and offset justify the response of APS arrays have been based on using DSP (Digital Signal Processing) techniques. These have proven too costly and also to a large degree technically ineffective. DSP based linearization, and offset cancellation are ineffective because they cannot be made to self calibrate against manufacturing variations, and because they cannot be made to continuously adjust to variations in an application's operating conditions.
Additionally, all APS imaging systems generally require means for color balancing and gamma correcting the imaging array. These requirements further increase the complexity of the DSP resources that must be devoted to the APS arrays implemented using currently known techniques.

Linearizing offset cancelling white balancing and gamma correcting analog to digital converter for active pixel sensor imagers with self calibrating and self adjusting properties


Zero-power logic cells are implemented in CMOS technology for forming part of programmable logic devices with minimized static power dissipation. The zero-power logic cells are implemented with stacked P-channel and N-channel field effect transistors. The respective gate of each of such P-channel and N-channel transistors are coupled to one of a first input signal, a second input signal, an output of a first memory cell, or an output of a second memory cell. The output node of the logic cell is one of a logic cell input signal, a complement of the logic cell input signal, the logical high state, or the logical low state depending on the outputs of the memory cells in a functional mode. In addition, such zero-power logic cells may be used to verify the respective output of each of the first and second memory cells in a verify mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to programmable logic devices, and more particularly, to zero-power logic cells implemented with field effect transistors for use in programmable logic devices having minimized static power dissipation.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, an example programmable logic device is a programmable AND gate 100 of the prior art. The programmable AND gate 100 includes a first input node 102 for inputting a first input signal, A, and a second input node 104 for inputting a second input signal, B. The first input signal, A, is coupled through a first inverter 106 and a second inverter 108 to the gate of a first NMOSFET (N-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) 110. The complement of the first input signal, designated as A*, (i.e., the output of the first inverter 106) is coupled to the gate of a second NMOSFET (N-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) 112.
Similarly, the second input signal, B, is coupled through a third inverter 114 and a fourth inverter 116 to the gate of a third NMOSFET (N-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) 118. The complement of the second input signal, designated as B*, (i.e., the output of the third inverter 114) is coupled to the gate of a fourth NMOSFET (N-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) 120.
A first programmable switch 122 is coupled between the drain of the first NMOSFET 110 and an output node 130, and a second programmable switch 124 is coupled between the drain of the second NMOSFET 112 and the output node 130. Similarly, a third programmable switch 126 is coupled between the drain of the third NMOSFET 118 and the output node 130, and a fourth programmable switch 128 is coupled between the drain of the fourth NMOSFET 120 and the output node 130. In addition, a current source 132 is coupled to the output node 130 for charging the output node 130 when the output signal at the output node 130 turns to a logical high state.
For operation of the programmable AND gate 100 of FIG. 1, the first, second, third, and fourth switches 122, 124, 126, and 128 are programmable to be switched open or closed. One of the first and second programmable switches 122 and 124 is programmed to be open, and the other is programmed to be closed. Similarly, one of the third and fourth programmable switches 126 and 128 is programmed to be open, and the other is programmed to be closed.
The output node 130 of the programmable AND gate 100 provides an AND operation of one of the first input signal, A, or the complement of the first input signal, A*, and one of the second input signal, B, or the complement of the second input signal, B*. If the first switch 122 is programmed to be closed with the second switch 124 being programmed to be open, then the programmable AND gate 100 provides an AND operation with the complement of the first input signal, A*, instead of the first input signal, A. On the other hand, if the first switch 122 is programmed to be open with the second switch 124 being programmed to be closed, then the programmable AND gate 100 provides an AND operation with the first input signal, A, instead of the complement of the first input signal, A*.
Similarly, if the third switch 126 is programmed to be closed with the fourth switch 128 being programmed to be open, then the programmable AND gate 100 provides an AND operation with the complement of the second input signal, B*, instead of the second input signal, B. On the other hand, if the third switch 126 is programmed to be open with the fourth switch 128 being programmed to be closed, then the programmable AND gate 100 provides an AND operation with the second input signal, B, instead of the complement of the second input signal, B*.
Thus, in the example illustration of FIG. 1, since the first switch 122 is programmed to be closed while the second switch 124 is programmed to be open, the programmable AND gate 100 provides an AND operation with the complement of the first input signal, A*, instead of the first input signal, A. Also, since the third switch 126 is programmed to be open while the fourth switch 128 is programmed to be closed, the programmable AND gate 100 provides an AND operation with the second input signal, B, instead of the complement of the second input signal, B*.
Thus, the output node 130 provides an output signal=A*xc2x7B. Referring to FIG. 1, only in the case when the first input signal, A, is a logical low state and the second input signal, B, is a logical high state, all of the first, second, third, and fourth NMOSFETs 110, 112, 118, and 120 do not conduct current away from the output node 130. Thus, the current from the current source 132 charges up the output node 130 to a logical high state in that case. For any other logical states of the first and second input signals, A and B, at least one of the first NMOSFET 110 and the fourth NMOSFET 120 conducts current out of the output node 130 to couple the output node 130 to ground such that a logical low state is formed at the output node 130.
In the prior art programmable AND gate 100 of FIG. 1, a constant amount of current from the current source 132 is dissipated when at least one of the first NMOSFET 110 and the fourth NMOSFET 120 conducts current out of the output node 130 to couple the output node 130 to ground. Such constant current flow results in disadvantageous power dissipation. In addition, device dimensions are constantly scaled down with advancement of IC (integrated circuit) technology. However, as supply voltages are further scaled down along with device dimensions, the noise margin of the prior art programmable AND gate 100 of FIG. 1 disadvantageously decreases to deteriorate the performance of the AND gate 100. In addition, the steady state current of the current source 132 does not necessarily scale down with device dimensions such that the prior art programmable AND gate 100 of FIG. 1 still has disadvantageous steady state power dissipation even with scaling down of device dimensions.
Thus, a mechanism is desired for implementing programmable logic devices such as programmable AND gates and programmable OR gates with minimized static power dissipation and with further scalability of device dimensions and supply voltages.
Accordingly, in a general aspect of the present invention, zero-power logic cells are implemented in CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology. Such zero-power logic cells advantageously form part of programmable logic devices such as programmable AND, OR, NAND, or NOR gates with minimized power dissipation.
In a first embodiment of a zero-power logic cell of the present invention, a first pair of stacked P-channel field effect transistors are coupled between VCC1 and an output node, and a second pair of stacked P-channel field effect transistors are coupled between VCC2 and the output node. A first pair of stacked N-channel field effect transistors are coupled between VSS1 and the output node, and a second pair of stacked N-channel field effect transistors are coupled between VSS2 and the output node.
A gate of a first P-channel transistor of the first pair of P-channel transistors is coupled to an output of a first memory cell, and a second P-channel transistor of the first pair of P-channel transistors has a gate coupled to a first input signal and has a drain coupled to the output node. A first N-channel transistor of the first pair of N-channel transistors has a gate coupled to the first input signal and has a drain coupled to the output node, and a gate of a second N-channel transistor of the first pair of N-channel transistors is coupled to a second input signal.
In addition, a gate of a third P-channel transistor of the second pair of P-channel transistors is coupled to an output of a second memory cell, and a fourth P-channel transistor of the second pair of P-channel transistors has a gate coupled to the second input signal and has a drain coupled to the output node. A third N-channel transistor of the second pair of N-channel transistors has a gate coupled to the output of the first memory cell and has a drain coupled to the output node, and a gate of a fourth transistor of the second pair of N-channel transistors is coupled to the output of the second memory cell. The drains of the second and fourth N-channel transistors are coupled together.
The logic cell is programmable when the first and second memory cells are electrically erasable and programmable. In a functional mode, an input selection circuit couples a logic cell input signal as the first input signal and the complement of the logic cell input signal as the second input signal. In that case, the output signal at the output node is one of a logical low state, a logical high state, the logic cell input signal, or the complement of the logic cell input signal, depending on the outputs of the memory cells.
Such a logic cell is used to particular advantage as part of a programmable logic device, and such a first embodiment of the zero-power logic cell is especially advantageous for forming part of a programmable OR gate or a programmable NOR gate during a verify mode. During the verify mode, the input selection circuit couples a first logic state as the first input signal and a second logic state as the second input signal with the first logic state being independent of the second logic state for verifying the outputs of the memory cells within the logic cell.
In a second embodiment of the zero-power logic cell of the present invention, the gate of the first P-channel transistor of the first pair of P-channel transistors and the gate of the third N-channel transistor of the second pair of N-channel transistors are coupled to the second input signal (instead of to the output of the first memory cell). In addition, the gate of the second N-channel transistor of the first pair of N-channel transistors and the gate of the fourth P-channel transistor of the second pair of P-channel transistors are coupled to the output of the first memory cell (instead of to the second input signal). Furthermore, the drains of the first and third P-channel transistors are coupled together.
With such a second embodiment of the logic cell, in the functional mode, when the input selection circuit couples the logic cell input signal as the first input signal and the complement of the logic cell input signal as the second input signal, the output signal at the output node is one of a logical low state, a logical high state, the logic cell input signal, or the complement of the logic cell input signal, depending on the outputs of the memory cells.
Such a logic cell is used to particular advantage as part of a programmable logic device, and such a second embodiment of the zero-power logic cell is especially advantageous for forming part of a programmable AND gate or a programmable NAND gate during a verify mode. During the verify mode, the input selection circuit couples a first logic state as the first input signal and a second logic state as the second input signal with the first logic state being independent of the second logic state for verification of the outputs of the memory cells within the logic cell.
Such first and second embodiments of the logic cells are implemented in CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology when the first and second pairs of P-channel transistors are comprised of PMOSFETs (P-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors), and when the first and second pairs of N-channel transistors are comprised of NMOSFETs (N-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors).
In this manner, the logic cells of the present invention are implemented in CMOS technology without use of any current source. Rather, the logic cells of the present invention operate to provide logic levels with zero power dissipation. In addition, the logic cells in the present invention are further scalable.
Furthermore, with such first and second embodiments of the zero-power logic cells of the present invention, the verification of the outputs of the memory cells is advantageously performed directly through such logic cells such that a separate verification unit is not needed. A separate verification unit may disadvantageously require additional chip space. Rather, with use of the first and second embodiments of the logic cells of the present invention for implementing programmable AND, NAND, OR, or NOR gates, verification of the outputs of the memory cells for each of the logic cells may be performed with just the programmable gates without any separate additional verification unit, to save chip space.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by considering the following detailed description of the invention which is presented with the attached drawings.

Zero-power logic cell for use in programmable logic devices


This disclosure provides an method for reconstructing a multi-channel magnetic resonance image (MRI), comprising: measuring k-space data at each channel of a multi-channel MRI system coil array; reinforcing the consistency of the k-space data to suppress the noise in the k-space data by a linear relationship among the k-space data at different channels; and reconstructing a magnetic resonance image by the multi-channel k-space data wherein the consistency of the k-space data is reinforced.

MRI has become an indispensible resource in clinical medicine because of its non-invasiveness and excellent contrast between soft tissues without using ionizing radiation. From the clinical perspective, MRI still faces significant challenges. First, a strong magnet is usually required to generate a sufficient magnetization to be detected by NMR techniques. The price of a strong magnet (1.5 T and above) constitutes a major part of the cost of an MRI system. Its weight also excludes MRI applications in a mobile or remote setting, such as ambulance, space station, or battlefield. Obese patients cannot obtain MRI due to the limitation of the bore size of the magnet (the maximal bore diameter is around 70 cm). Second, because of potential mechanical or electrical hazards, taking MRI from patients with metallic or electronic objects is difficult. However, imaging patients with wounds caused by metallic objects or with interventional devices (for example, in the intensive care unit or the emergency room) is clinically desirable.
Ultra low field (ULF) MRI has been developed as a potential solution to mitigate the above-mentioned challenges; ULF-MRI systems use magnetic field strength in the range of microteslas to milliteslas, making possible instrumentation at low cost, light weight, and open access. ULF-MRI systems have the advantages of metal compatibility and high T1 contrast; however, one major technical challenge of ULF MRI is its low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To address this issue, it has been suggested to separately use a stronger pre-polarization magnet (in the range of tens of milliteslas) for magnetization generation while a weaker signal detection magnet (in the range of tens of microteslas) is used for magnetization precession. Additionally, highly sensitive superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) are typically used to detect the weak magnetic fields; a SQUID array with up to tens and even hundreds of sensors can be used in an ULF-MRI system for signal detection. Even with the two above-mentioned techniques, the signal to noise ratio of the measurement of an ULF MRI is still needed to be improved. Therefore, by means of signal processing, the present invention intends to suppress the noise in the measurement from a multi-channel MRI system and reinforce the consistency of the measured data.

Method for reconstructing images of a multi-channel MRI system


An AC/DC input power converter including only a single input cable such that a user will never have to switch cabling, regardless if the cable is connected to an AC voltage source or a DC voltage source.

Power converters that are adapted to receive both an AC input voltage and a DC input voltage typically require two different input cables. Thus, the power converter user is required to carry both power cables with them as they transition from home to car, and from car to aircraft. The AC cable and DC cable may be removable so that the user can unplug an AC cable and plug in a DC cable, and vice versa. Since the cables are removable, they can be easily lost and the user is forced to replace them.
One prior solution is an AC/DC input power converter having a Y connection permanently attached to the input of the converter, with one leg of the Y connection adapted to receive a DC input voltage, and the other leg adapted to receive an AC input voltage. However, when the AC/DC voltage input is connected in a Y configuration, the user is still forced to manage both cables regardless of which one is in use. Thus, the manufacturer is also forced to incur the same costs as producing two individual cables.
An AC/DC input power converter is desired that utilizes only a single input cable, eliminating the need to manage multiple cables which also facilitating the transition from one environment to another.

AC/DC converter having single detectable input


Embodiments relate to collecting extended error data from units within a programmable device. A pointer is accessed that points to a region of memory that contains a list of entries that references the extended error data. The list of entries is walked by adjusting a read pointer to obtain the extended error data. The referenced extended error data is moved to an event log.

The present invention relates generally to computing technology, and more specifically to a collection of register data in a programmable device.
Extended error data registers are provided in a programmable device. The registers may be used during boot-up, debug, and maintenance activities. Data or values stored in the registers may be collected by, e.g., software or firmware. The data may be stored in one or more logs, such as an event log.
The software used to collect the data from the registers is typically coded specific to a unit or device. The registers may be present within the programmable device at scattered or various locations based on a specification associated with the programmable device. The specification may be unique to the programmable device and may be updated to reflect device changes. A level of collaboration is therefore required between coders throughout the programmable device product's lifetime for purposes of register data collection.

Dynamic definition of error information in a programmable device

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a hand-held implement for transferring a film (25) from a backing strip (7) wound on a supply real (5) onto a substrate, the said implement having a housing (2), a pressure-exerting part (16) projecting therefrom, and two bearing and/or carrier devices for the supply reel (5) and a take-up real (6) for the backing strip (7) guided around the pressure-exerting part (16), the housing being able to be opened for the purposes of replacing the reels (5,6). In order to be able to load such a hand-held implement simply and quickly without the costs and material expenditure involved in a replaceable cassette, a loading aid (30) provided for loading the opened housing (2) with the reels (5,6) is proposed in a mutual arrangement of these reels (5,6) that is substantially identical to that of the bearing and/or carrier devices, the loading aid having at least one guide element (34) associated with the guide surface (16b, 18) of the pressure-exerting part (16), which element is designed to ensure that the backing strip (7) extending between the two reels (5,6) rests against the latter in such a way that when the loading aid (30) is in place it at least partially surrounds or envelopes the pressure-exerting part (16).

The present invention relates to a hand-held implement for transferring a film of e.g. an adhesive, coating or colored material from a supporting strip wound on a supply reel onto a substrate, the said implement having a housing, a pressure-exerting part protecting therefrom and two bearing and/or carrier devices arranged in the interior of the housing for the supply reel and a take-up reel for the supporting strip unwound from the supply reel and guided round the pressure-exerting part, the housing being able to be opened for the purposes of replacing the supply reel and the take-up reel.
With such a hand-held implement the length of the film and thus also the capacity of the hand-held implement is predetermined by the length of the supporting or backing strip, which forms a supply arranged in the hand-held implement. This supply accordingly has to be replaced after the film has been used up. One possibility of doing this, namely replacing exclusively the supply reel and the take-up reel together with the backing strip is impracticable since it is difficult to handle the reels without winding the backing strip and, in particular, to incorporate them in the housing. Although it is relatively simple to remove the spent backing strip together with the associated supply and take-up reels, since these parts can simply be thrown away, it is nevertheless difficult to incorporate these replacement parts and further incorporation errors may arise that could put an end to the proper correct functioning of the hand-held implements One possible way of solving this problem is to arrange the supply reel, the take-up reel and the backing strip in a replacement cassette that can simply be replaced after the supply has been used up. Such a hand-held implement is described for example in DE 36 44 946 C2. With this known design the replacement cassette includes not only the supply reel and the take-up reel together with the backing strip, but also an application device for pressing the backing strip onto the substrate, which device projects forwardly from the housing of the hand-held implement and around which the backing strip is drawn when the film is transferred to the substrate.
This known design is material-consuming since each time the materials are replaced not only the supply reel and the take-up reel together with the backing strip, but also the replacement cassette, including the application device together with the associated retaining parts, are replaced and consequently lost.
The object of the invention is to provide a hand-held implement of the type described at the beginning that enables the supply reel and take-up reel together with the backing strip to be replaced with less expense and effort.

Hand-held implements for transferring a film from a backing strip onto a substrate


Systems and methods for adjusting a broadcast pattern of an intrusion detector are provided. Such systems and methods can include a microwave sensor of the intrusion detector broadcasting a detection signal into a secured area in the broadcast pattern, a communication module of the intrusion detector wirelessly receiving a signal adjustment command from a remote device, and a processor and executable control software of the intrusion detector parsing the signal adjustment command and instructing a signal adjuster of the intrusion detector to adjust a sensitivity of the microwave sensor or an amplitude of the detection signal to alter the broadcast area of the broadcast pattern based on information contained in the adjustment command.

Known systems and methods for adjusting a signal broadcast pattern of an intrusion detector rely on manual actuation of an internal component. For example, FIG. 1 is a cutaway view of a known intrusion detector 10 including a manually activated signal adjustment mechanism 12. In some known configurations, the manually activated signal adjustment mechanism 12 can include a standard analog potentiometer that varies a circuit gain to adjust the signal broadcast pattern of the intrusion detector 10. However, such manual adjustment mechanisms and methods suffer from several problems. First, manually actuating the signal adjustment mechanism 12 to achieve a desired broadcast pattern can require multiple rounds of adjustment followed by verification of the signal broadcast pattern. Furthermore, intrusion detectors are often deployed in hard to reach locations within a secured area, which makes manual adjustment of the signal broadcast pattern inconsistent and time consuming.
In view of the above, there is a continuing, ongoing need for improved systems and methods.

Systems and methods for adjusting a signal broadcast pattern of an intrusion detector


In one embodiment, a non-volatile memory includes a first buffer that receives notification of power-down and outputs a first signal changed from a first value to a second value based on the notification, a first controlling unit that receives and outputs a command signal, a second controlling unit that generates and outputs a basic signal that has a third value when the command signal output from the first controlling unit indicates an active command and has a fourth value when the command signal indicates a command corresponding to a write back instruction or the first signal has the second value, a memory cell array in which memory cells are arrayed, and a sense amplifier circuit that reads data from the memory cell.

As a ferroelectric random access memory that reduces the area of a plate line driving circuit, a ferroelectric random access memory of a cell array type, a TC parallel type, and a unit series-connected type has been proposed (e.g., see D. Takashima et al., "High-density chain Ferroelectric random memory (CFeRAM)" in proc. VLSI Symp. June 1997, pp. 83-84). Both ends of a ferroelectric capacitor (C) are connected to the source and the drain of a cell transistor (T) to configure a unit. A plurality of unit cells is connected in series to configure a cell block.
The ferroelectric random access memory is a data destructive read type memory that takes out and reads the electric charge of the capacitor. To hold read data, as in the refresh operation of a DRAM, the data are required to be rewritten (written back) to a memory cell. However, in the event of power-down before performing rewrite during read of the data, the data remains destroyed and is lost.

Ferroelectric random access memory and memory system


Rotorcraft lighting equipment includes a plurality of lighting devices configured to be mounted to an exterior of a rotorcraft, wherein each of the lighting devices comprises a plurality of individually controllable lighting modules which are configured for emitting light into different spatial directions; and a lighting control device configured for individually controlling the operation of the plurality of lighting modules for generating a desired light distribution of the light emitted by the plurality of lighting modules.

Rotorcraft are often equipped with exterior lights, such as landing lights and search lights, which are configured for emitting one or more light beams for enhancing the visibility of objects, such as obstacles and human beings, in the vicinity and/or in the flight path of the rotorcraft.
The options of adjusting the distribution of light emitted by conventional exterior lights, however, are limited. In consequence, it may not be possible to adjust the distribution of the emitted light to the respective needs under a wide range of environmental and operational circumstances in a satisfactory manner.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide improved rotorcraft lighting equipment, providing more flexibility for adjusting the distribution of the light emitted by the rotorcraft lighting equipment.

Rotorcraft lighting equipment, rotorcraft comprising such equipment, and method of illuminating an environment of a rotorcraft


The present invention provides methods, kits, and compositions for detecting mutations in transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 4 (TRPV4). In particular, mutations are detected in TRPV4 to detect diseases such as scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy (SPSMA) and hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type IIC (HMSN IIC) or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C (CMT2C).

Scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy (SPSMA) and hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type IIC (HMSN IIC) or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C (CMT2C) are phenotypically heterogeneous disorders involving topographically distinct nerves and muscles. Scapuloperoneal syndromes can resemble facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSH) due to scapular weakness or HMSN (or CMT) due to atrophy of peroneal muscles. In a large New England kindred of French-Canadian origin, Delong and Siddique identified 20 individuals in five generations affected with a neurogenic scapuloperoneal amyotrophy (DeLong and Siddique, 1992; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The disease is transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait and is characterized by congenital absence of muscles, developmental abnormalities of the bones, progressive scapuloperoneal atrophy and weakness, and laryngeal palsy eventually requiring permanent tracheostomy. On account of the distinct topographical distribution of muscle weakness and atrophy, it was considered a form of scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy (SPSMA) (DeLong and Siddique, 1992; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Using genetic linkage analysis of this kindred, Isozumi et al. and mapped the SPSMA locus to chromosome 12q24.1-q24.31 within a 14 Mb interval between D12S338 and D12S366, with a two-point lod score of 6.67 and multipoint lod scores of 7.38 (Isozumi et al., 1996; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
HMSN or CMT is the most common inherited peripheral neuropathy. It includes a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous hereditary neuropathies that share clinical characteristics of progressive distal muscle weakness and atrophy, foot deformities, distal sensory loss, and depressed or absent tendon reflexes. It can be categorized according to its clinical, electrophysiological or pathological features, transmission patterns, age of disease onset, and molecular pathology. It may appear as HMSN if muscle weakness is predominant with mild sensory deficits; distal hereditary motor neuropathy (dHMN) if the motor deficit is dominant; and hereditary sensory neuropathy (HSN) or hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) if sensory deficits and/or autonomic dysfunctions predominate (Dyck et al., 1993; Barisic et al., 2008; herein incorporated by reference in their entireties). HMSN or CMT is associated with more than 30 loci and at least 20 causative genes (see web sites for molgen.ua.ac.be/CMTMutations/; and neuro.wustl.edu/neuromuscular/time/hmsn.html; herein incorporated by reference in their entireties). Two kindreds were described with an autosomal dominant inherited disorder characterized by a variable degree of muscle weakness of limbs, vocal cords, and intercostal muscles and by asymptomatic sensory impairment in some cases (Dyck et al., 1994; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Life expectancy in the patients was shortened because of respiratory failure or complications. Because nerve conduction velocities were normal and the disorder represented an inherited axonal neuropathy, this condition was classified as a form of HMSN type II. Linkage analysis using the large Kinship 1, an American kindred of English and Scottish descent, excluded the loci of CMT1A (HMSN IA) and the CMT1B (HMSN IB) in this pedigree (Dyck et al., 1994; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). This new form of autosomal dominant HMSN was assigned as HMSN IIC or CMT2C. The relationship of Kinship 1 was reexamined and 5 additional affected members were identified (Klein et al., 2003; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Using a genome wide scan approach and linkage analysis, it was established the locus of the HMSN IIC, or CMT2C to a 5.7 Mb region between D12S105 and D12S1330, with a lod score of 5.17 (Klein et al., 2003; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Subsequently, the CMT2C locus was further refined to a 4 Mb region between S12S105 and S12S1340, with a combined lod score of 2.1 using two relatively small families (McEntagart et al., 2005; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
The diagnosis of SPSMA and CMT2C is made qualitatively based on an assessment of clinical, electrophysiological and/or pathological features, transmission patterns, and age of a disease onset. What is needed is a molecular genetics tool available for a definitive diagnosis.

Allelic disorders caused by mutations in TRPV4


A protective package for pagers and similar products has a protector on which the pager is mounted. The pager protector has a formed plastic mounting panel having raised lands which are spaced from each other by a center section which forms a cradle for the pager with the raised lands. The pager is mounted on the panel by inserting the spring loaded clip of the pager through a notch in the center section of the panel to slip the center section of the panel between the head of the clip and the pager body until the clip head seats into an indentation in the panel. The notch may have sections of different widths and the indentation may have portions of different depth and periphery so that the insert can be used with pagers of several different standard sizes. The protector with the pager mounted may be enclosed within an outer container that conforms to the general dimensions of the protector to provide a secure, protective packaging structure around the pager and insert. The protector may also have a multi-part structure with the pager mounted on a mounting panel to which a cover panel is joined by an integral hinge. The cover panel is rotated about the hinge to enclose the pager between the cover panel and the mounting panel. A base panel may be joined by a hinge to the cover panel to fold over and be engaged with the bottom of the mounting panel to complete the package.

Significant efforts are specifically made to support and cushion electronic products within the packages in which they are shipped from the manufacturer through the distribution chain to the ultimate customer. Because of the relatively high expense and the vulnerability of such products, some type of protective or cushioning packaging is generally essential. Typical cushioning inserts for electronic products include molded foam plastic inserts in which the electronic product is tightly cradled, custom formed cardboard inserts which tightly hold the product, or loose cushioning materials typically made of foamed plastic.
While foamed plastic inserts and cushioning, or formed cardboard, can provide effective packaging protection for electronic products, such packaging materials add cost and bulk to the packaging. Foamed plastic inserts, in particular, add a significant amount of volume to the overall package in which the electronic product is transported to the customer, and add expense to the overall packaged product by the cost of the production of the inserts and the cost of transportation of the foamed plastic material from the manufacturer to the point at which the electronic products are packaged. Because of the relatively large volume of the foamed plastic inserts compared to their value, transportation costs significantly add to the cost of using such inserts. Alternatively, the foamed plastic inserts may be produced at the point at which they are packaged by the electronic equipment manufacturer, but with the attendant disadvantage that the equipment manufacturer must invest in packaging production equipment which may not be efficiently utilized. In addition, some foamed plastic products are not readily recycled or are not recyclable at all, and when disposed of can contribute to the rapid filling of landfills.

Protective packaging for pagers and the like


Means are provided for supplying a liquid surfactant solution, for supplying a gas under pressure, for mixing the liquid surfactant solution and the pressurized gas to form a liquid coarse dispersion of relatively large gas bubbles, and for receiving the liquid coarse dispersion to generate a liquid fine dispersion of relatively small micron-size gas bubbles. The fine dispersion generator mean generally comprises a cylindrical chamber having an inlet for admitting the liquid coarse dispersion into the chamber, and an outlet for discharging a liquid fine dispersion of relatively small micron-size gas bubbles from the chamber; a cylindrical rotor which is mounted within the chamber and has an outer side surface which is provided with means for imparting axial motion components in opposite directions to various portions of the liquid dispersion adjacent to rotor; and a plurality of baffles located between the rotor outer side surface and the chamber inner side wall surface which are spaced apart around the rotor and where each baffle has an inner longitudinal edge which faces the rotor outer side surface and is separated therefrom by a first gap within which the large gas bubbles are sheared into small micron-size gas bubbles.

In recent years, dispersions of micron-size bubbles (microbubbles) have become increasingly important for various applications in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering and microbiological engineering. Improved flotation processes involving fine particulate and oil dispersions are encountered in industrial sanitary and food processing waste waters, and of the fighting of fires.
A microbubble dispersion can consist of very small surfactant-stabilized bubbles, typically formed as a 50% to 65% dispersion of gas in a liquid. The quality of a microbubble dispersion may be defined as the percentage of gas in the gas plus liquid dispersion. Gas bubbles stabilized with a surfactant (soapy) film tend to maintain a small size with or without stirring. Surfactant-stabilized microbubbles also tend to resist coalescence because the surfactant tends to orient at the gas-liquid interface, forming a charged bubble surface that repels other bubbles. The less that a microbubble dispersion coalesces in one minute, the better is its stability. The microbubbles typically have diameters of 15 to 120 microns, but they also may be larger or smaller than these sizes. They often are referred to as colloidal gas aphrons (CGA) to underscore the colloidal properties of these very small bubbles. The word "aphron" has been coined to mean a fluid encapsulated in a thin aqueous shell--a true bubble. A CGA consists of an inner pocket of air surrounded by an aqueous double layer film which is surrounded by the continuous phase. Both the gas interface and the film/continuous phase interface of the film have higher surfactant concentrations than the bulk fluid. This double layer phenomenon stabilizes the CGAs by preventing them from coalescing. First, an electric potential gradient is set up by the orientation of the molecules at the interfaces. CGAs created with the same surfactant will have similar surface charges and will repel each other, preventing contact. Also, the film acts as a slightly springy wall when CGAs come close to each other. The combination of these two effects results in a foam that is stable enough to be pumped, has a very large surface to volume ratio and exhibits a slow rise velocity.
In early studies, CGAs were produced by a venturi device that required large recirculation velocities in order to form a uniform bubble size distribution. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,420 (Sebba). An improved CGA generator was later devised which used a spinning disk bracketed by a pair of baffles to produce 1-2 liters of CGAs per minute. Other devices for microbubble generation also have included close tolerance rotary pumps, packed beds of solid particles including glass spheres, air-sparged hydrocyclones, and a tube reactor using sintered bayonet fingers.
However, the aforementioned spinning disk method to produce microbubble dispersions in small quantities may have limited potential for economical scale-up, and no device to date is believed to provide continuous high volume generation of a fine microbubble dispersion. Low-cost efficient methods and devices for producing high quality dispersions of small microbubbles on a large scale need to be developed to take advantage of many industrial applications where such dispersions could significantly reduce energy consumption and cost in the performance of these applications. For example, enormous electrical costs are incurred in sparging (beating) air into sludge in order for biodegradation to occur in activated sludge processing plants. The present invention provides a novel technique for economically and continuously producing large quantities of high quality microbubble dispersions at the rate of 30 to 50 gallons per minute, and it represents a considerable improvement in generating microbubbles with good stability and small bubble size, minimum void gas and reasonable operating cost.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University


An aquatic exercise device and method of use are described herein. The aquatic exercise device provides for a full body, low impact, and decompressing workout that is unattainable by any existing product on the market. The aquatic exercise device features a buoy, a fastening mechanism, a user attachment mechanism, and a bridge connecting the buoy, the fastening mechanism, and the user attachment mechanism.

The health benefits of exercise are too important to ignore. Physical activity not only builds strength and increases energy, but also prevents the development of certain diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular heart disease. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, "regular physical activity helps improve your overall health and fitness and reduces your risk for many chronic diseases."
Due to the preceding health benefits, the demand for effective fitness regimes has led to a market profusion of exercise equipment, classes, and trends. Despite this, one unmet need still persists: namely, a device that enables a total body, impact free, and decompressing workout. This need represents a long-felt but unfulfilled market gap.
Today, in an effort to reap the health benefits of physical activity, people engage in quintessential exercise forms such as running and using an elliptical machine. However, neither of these activities satisfies the objectives of being a total body, impact free, and decompressing workout.
Running is a high-impact form of exercise that often leads to joint pain, arthritis, shin splints, muscle sprains, and other injuries. While running keeps muscles throughout your body in constant motion, the excessive bodily strain that is characteristic of running leads to spinal, joint, and muscle compression. Spinal compression often results in symptoms including back pain and stiffness and nerve problems that can affect emotional and cognitive processes.
Individuals who recognize the drawbacks of running may see the elliptical machine as a suitable alternative, as it is a low impact fitness activity. However, perhaps the most significant disadvantage of the elliptical machine is that it fails to provide a total body workout. That is, elliptical workouts do not necessarily target one's core or calves, among other muscles.
Accordingly, those interested in exercising all of their muscle groups are forced to supplement their elliptical workout with additional training programs, inevitably increasing the duration of their exercise routine.
Adding further time to one's workout is not a practical option for many Americans. According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, "adults should do at least 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (one hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity." In 2016, 22.5% of adults met this objective. This supports the conclusion that most people do not have excesses of time to dedicate to extending their workout.
Those who recognize the issues associated with running and the elliptical machine may see swimming as a viable replacement. While swimming is impact free and typically does not lead to any drawbacks such as spinal compression, it is a restrictive form of exercise in that swimmers are limited to a finite amount of possible bodily strokes. It follows that there is a fixed amount of ways to workout muscle groups while swimming.
There is a need for a device that expands the finite scope of aquatic exercise, while also enabling a workout that is total body, impact free, and decompressing. Currently, a way for a person to exercise in this way is completely unavailable.
The present invention and its embodiments meets and exceeds these objectives.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act, or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act, item of knowledge, or any combination thereof that was known at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed. It is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.

Aquatic exercise device for full-body workout and method of use


The present invention is to obtain an MIS transistor which allows considerable reduction in threshold fluctuation for each transistor and has a low threshold voltage. First gate electrode material for nMIS and second gate electrode material for pMIS can be mutually converted to each other, so that a process can be simplified. Such a fact that a dependency of a work function on a doping amount is small is first disclosed, so that fluctuation in threshold voltage for each transistor hardly occurs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same, and in particular to a gate electrode using electrically conductive oxide, of an n-type MIS transistor and a p-type MIS transistor.
2. Related Art
A gate electrode a conventional MISFET (Metal Insulator Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor)(hereinafter, called "MIS transistor") is formed of polycrystal silicon. Because of demand for reducing power consumption, it is common to employ a dual gate structure where n-type polycrystal silicon is used for a gate electrode of an n-type MIS transistor (hereinafter, called "nMIS transistor") and p-type polycrystal silicon is used for a gate electrode of a p-type MIS transistor (hereinafter, called "pMIS transistor").
In the dual gate structure, there is a problem about "boron punch through" where boron contained in the p-type polycrysal silicon diffuses into a silicon substrate through a gate insulating film. Further, since the polycrystal silicon produces a depletion layer in an interface between the same and the gate insulating film, a film thickness of the gate insulating film equivalent to an SiO2 film becomes thicker in an amount of about 0.5 nm. In current situation where development is directed for achieving the SiO2 equivalent film thickness of the gate insulating film of 1 nm or less for fineness of a device by such a scheme as advance of film thinning of the gate insulating film or use of a high-k dielectric film in some cases, increase of the above equivalent film thickness causes a much significant problem.
As a method for solving the problem occurring when such polycrystal silicon is used for the gate electrode, it is considered that high melting point metal is used as material for the gate electrode. Since it is unnecessary to introduce boron into the metal gate electrode, the problem about the "boron punch through" does not occur. Since a depletion layer itself is not produced, such a problem that the conversion film thickness becomes larger at an electrode portion is also solved. It is considered that a problem about shift of flat band potential Vfb causing a problem in high-k dielectric HfSiON or the like can be solved by using the metal gate electrode. This is because one of serious causes of shift of the Vfb fluctuated is solved, since a charge trap due to boron disappears.
On the other hand, when gate electrodes for the pMIS and the nMIS are formed in a usual manner using the same metal gate electrode material, there occurs such a problem that a threshold voltage is increased as compared with that of the polycrystal silicon gate electrode. For example, when promising titanium nitride is used as the gate electrode material, it is difficult to lower the threshold voltage down to 0.4V or less, even if an impurity distribution in a surface of the silicon substrate is adjusted. The reason is why, since the work function of titanium nitride is about 4.7 eV and the value is positioned in the vicinity of an central portion of the forbidden band of silicon, a different in work function between the titanium nitride and the pMIS transistor reaches about 0.47 eV and a difference in work function between the titanium nitride and the nMIS transistor reaches about 0.65 eV.
In view of these circumstances, first, such a thought is proposed that the gate electrode of the pMIS transistor and the gate electrode of the nMIS transistor are formed from different kinds of metal materials. For example, this is a thought that iridium or the like which is positioned near an upper limit in the valence band of silicon and whose work function is about 5.2 eV is used as the gate electrode of the pMIS transistor, and zirconium or the like which is positioned near a lower limit of the conduction band of the silicon substrate and whose work function is about 4.1 eV is used as the gate electrode of the nMIS transistor.
1) However, many metals and conductive nitrides themselves are oxidized by bringing them in contact with the gate insulating film which is oxide and an interface property is deteriorated, which causes leakage current. For example, TaN deteriorates at its interface with an insulator in a step conducted at a temperature of 800° C. or higher, which results in increase in leakage current simultaneously with production of oxide. Some oxides develop an insulating property due to material therefor, which results in increase in thickness of the insulating film. For example, in case of Zr, it changes to insulating ZrO2.
2) The metal electrode includes much material with strong catalyst activity. Therefore, there may occur such a serious problem that, when such material, for example, Pt or Ir is used, film peeling-off occurs at another portion (for example, MIM (Metal Insulator Metal) capacitor or the like) in LSI during forming anneal using hydrogen atmosphere.
3) Further, there is a case that a simple metal diffuses in an insulating film or a substrate to distribute unevenly. It is considered that such a metal constitutes a source for destroying insulating property of a gate insulating film. It is to be noted that, when the metal diffuses into the insulating film so as to form metal silicate thereby increasing dielectric constant, properties for an insulating film are improved in some cases. Simultaneously, however, since there is such an indication that electron barrier or hole barrier lowers, the lowering results in slight deterioration in leakage property.
4) Though metal (Ru, Pt, Ir or the like) whose oxide develops electric conductivity is used, the problems described in the above item 2) and 3) still remain. Further, an example where electrically conductive oxide is used for a gate electrode of an nMIS transistor has been known (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-289844 (JP-A)). As described in the next item 5), however, though it is required to select an optimal work function, a combination of these electrically conductive oxides which has work functions suitable for both the nMIS transistor and the pMIS transistor does not exist yet. For example, since the work function of Ru is 4.7 eV and that of RuO2 is in a range of 4.9 to 5.1 eV, an Ru electrode can not be used for the nMIS transistor.
5) Finally, since the work functions must be optimized to the nMIS transistor and pMIS transistor, control based upon nitriding has been tried until now. For example, the work functions of Ti and TiN are respectively 4.1 eV and 4.7 eV, but the work function of TiN is not optimal for the pMIS transistor (for example, refer to Claflin, B; Mater. Res. Soc. Ultrathin SiO2 and High-k Materials for ULSI gate dielectrics 603 (1999)). Further, it is considered that metal post-nitrided is used (Mo, MO2N or the like). In the case, however, there is an indication about a problem that nitrogen can not be present sufficiently stably, and nitrogen is gone out in a heat treatment.
Thus, there is the present situation that a combination of metals or nitrided metals which have optimal work functions as a combination of the nMIS transistor and the PMIS transistor can not be found. There is a trial based upon alloying. For example, regarding a case of using alloy of Ti—Ni, there is a report that a work function thereof can be controlled from 3.9 eV to 5.3 eV (for example, refer to Polishchuk, I; Mater. Res. Soc. Gate Stack and Silicide Issues in Silicon Processing II Symposium PPK511-6 (2002)). In this case, the problems about metals described in the above items 1), 2), and 3) are not solved to remain as they are.

Semiconductor device including MIS transistors


Forming a connector head for a generator of an active implantable medical device by providing a pin (20) having alternating smooth sections (21) for receiving an electrical contact (210) and a profiled section (22); disposing the electrical contacts on the smooth sections; injecting into a first mold a flexibly resilient material around the profiled sections of the pin to produce isolation elements between the electrical contacts; injecting in a second mold a rigid material around the pin to form the connector head with the electrical contacts and isolation elements embedded therein; and withdrawing the pin from the cavity of the connector head thus formed. The material provides precise axial and radial positioning of the different elements, and good electrical insulation.

Active Implantable medical devices generally comprise a housing, designated a "generator", that is electrically and mechanically connected to one or more "leads" provided with electrodes intended to come into contact with the patient's tissues where it is desired to apply stimulation pulses and/or to collect an electrical signal: e.g., the myocardium, nerve, and/or muscle tissue.
There are standardized connection systems to ensure the interchangeability of leads and generators that are produced by different manufacturers. Thus, the standards called "IS-1" and "IS-4" define a number of dimensional and electrical characteristics related to leads used for cardiac pacing and cardiac resynchronization therapy ("CRT"). For defibrillation leads, wherein the electrical stresses are more severe given the higher energy pulses to be conducted from the generator to the lead, the standards known as "DF-1" and "DF-4" apply and define the dimensional and electrical characteristics for that system connection.
The complexity of these leads, which already incorporate the specific constraints in terms of electrical energy associated with the particular use, pacing or shock, is increased with the development of multisite devices and intracardiac sensors, such as endocardial acceleration sensors (EA). As a result, in terms of connectivity, there is a growing number of connection plugs, and moreover different standards depending on the plugs.
The benefit brought by a single plug, subject to a single standard, with a plurality of electrical contacts to ensure simultaneously connections to various terminals of the generator for all energy levels, whether for the collection of depolarization signals, for the application of stimulation pulses or for the delivery of defibrillation shock energy, can be understood.
In this context, it is known to have a single "isodiameter" plug connection, that is to say, with a uniform cylindrical shape, for insertion in a counterpart cylindrical cavity of the connector head of the generator. EP 1641084 A1 and its counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,478 B1 (both assigned to Sorin CRM S.A.S., previously known as ELA Medical) describes such an isodiameter connection plug, with the outer cylindrical surface having a stack of annular electrical contact areas, made of conductive cylindrical rings, and insulating cylindrical zones providing electrical insulation between the conductive rings. To receive such a multipolar connection plug and to connect it to the electrical generator, the connector head of the generator must have a cavity formed similarly (complementary) to the plug itself, in that it also includes a stack of annular electrical contact elements to make electrical contact with the corresponding conductive rings of the connection plug. In this stack, the annular electrical contact elements are alternately separated by annular isolation elements, provided on their inner diameter of sealing rings having a given profile, for application of a radial compression on the insulating cylindrical zones of the connection plug.
Note that, unlike the older embodiments wherein the isolation elements are carried by the lead, they are now arranged in the cavity, which has the advantage of providing new isolation elements each time the generator is replaced.
The term "isolation" used herein applies to both (i) the sealing of the cavity relative to the external environment, vis-à-vis in particular body fluids, and (ii) the electrical insulation, that is to say the low-voltage insulation of the electrical contact areas and elements, as well as the high-voltage insulation of the cavity with the outside environment.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2008/0234778 A1 describes a process for producing a connector head, with a silicone resilient monobloc part, extending all along the cavity. This silicone part is molded around a central pin of appropriate shape. To withdraw the pin after reticulation of the silicone, the part is dipped into a bath of n-heptane, which has the effect of swelling the silicone and radially expands the part, then allowing the withdrawal of the molding pin. This expanded state is also used to insert by the central cavity thus released the electrical contact elements, in housings provided in the silicone part. After evaporation of n-heptane, the silicone part resumes its original definitive dimensions, with the electrical contact elements embedded in it. But, because of the flexibility of the elastomer material, it is capable of compression and relaxation and this known method does not guarantee either the coaxiality of electrical contact elements with the isolation elements, or their axial positioning.
Similarly, EP 2228096 A2 and U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2009/0017700 A1 propose a method for producing an elastomer or epoxy connector head, the cavity of which includes elastomer seals. The electrical contacts are interposed between the seals of the cavity through side windows formed in the connector head, which does not control the coaxiality of the electrical contacts with the elastomer seals or their axial positioning. Moreover, the problem of isolation—sealing and electrical insulation—at the interface of elastomer seals and the head is not resolved.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,630,768 B1 and U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2009/0118778 A1 disclose methods for producing a molded connector head in a hard resin (typically polyurethane), to position and assembly, in a very precise and reliable method, electrical contact elements. However, they do not address in any way the implementation of flexible sealing elements, nor the isolation problems of isolating electrical contact elements from each other and from their environment, and sealing of the cavity, in particular from the body fluids.

Method of making a connector head of a multipolar lead of an active implantable medical device