A system and method are provided for processing audio and speech signals using a pitch and voicing dependent spectral estimation algorithm (voicing algorithm) to accurately represent voiced speech, unvoiced speech, and mixed speech in the presence of background noise, and background noise with a single model. The present invention also modifies the synthesis model based on an estimate of the current input signal to improve the perceptual quality of the speech and background noise under a variety of input conditions. The present invention also improves the voicing dependent spectral estimation algorithm robustness by introducing the use of a Multi-Layer Neural Network in the estimation process. The voicing dependent spectral estimation algorithm provides an accurate and robust estimate of the voicing probability under a variety of background noise conditions. This is essential to providing high quality intelligible speech in the presence of background noise.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to speech processing, and more particularly to a parametric speech codec for achieving high quality synthetic speech in the presence of background noise.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Parametric speech coders based on a sinusoidal speech production model have been shown to achieve high quality synthetic speech under certain input conditions. In fact, the parametric-based speech codec, as described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/159,481, titled "Scalable and Embedded Codec For Speech and Audio Signals," and filed on Sep. 23, 1998 which has a common assignee, has achieved toll quality under a variety of input conditions. However, due to the underlying speech production model and the sensitivity to accurate parameter extraction, speech quality under various background noise conditions may suffer.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system for processing audio signals which addresses these shortcomings by modeling both speech and background noise simultaneously in an efficient and perceptually accurate manner, and by improving the parameter estimation under background noise conditions. The result is a robust parametric sinusoidal speech processing system that provides high quality speech under a large variety of input conditions.

Parametric speech codec for representing synthetic speech in the presence of background noise


A method, computer system, and computer program product for selecting a next-hop component for a packet from a group in a service function chain (SFC) enabled domain. The method may include receiving a request for selecting a next-hop component for a packet from a group in an SFC-enabled domain. The method may include collecting a delay measurement for packets of each of the plurality of components from a measurement agent in the SFC-enabled domain. The method may include selecting at least one component from the plurality of components based on the delay measurement for packets of each of the plurality of components. The method may include returning an indicator indicating at least one component.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to network services, and more specifically, to a method, system and computer product for selecting a next hop for a packet along a service function path in a service function chain (SFC) enabled domain.
The delivery of end-to-end services often requires various service functions. A non-exhaustive list of abstract service functions may include, but is not limited to, firewalls, wide area network (WAN) and application acceleration, Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), Lawful Intercept (LI), server load balancing, Network Address Translators (NATs), HOST_ID injection, Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Header Enrichment functions, and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) optimizer, as well as application-specific functions.

Next-hop component selection along a service function path

International Business Machines Corporation


Oxidation resistant crosslinked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is described, wherein at least two different additives in the manufacture synergistically increase the oxidation resistance of crosslinked UHMWPE. This allows the manufacture of oxidation resistant crosslinked UHMWPE using lower levels of additives and/or lower levels of crosslinking irradiation or chemicals. The lower levels of additives and/or crosslinking produce crosslinked UHMWPE having desired physical properties not possible without the synergistic interaction of the additives. This crosslinked UHMWPE may be used in medical prostheses such as in bearing components having desired physical properties such as wear resistance and oxidation resistance not possible without the synergistic interaction of the additives.

Prosthetic implants in arthroplasty, such as artificial knee and hip implants, typically involve the articulation of either a metal or ceramic ball shaped component, which is typically part of one half of a joint, against a polymer, such as UHMWPE, which is typically the other half of a joint, and is in the shape of a concave receptacle for receiving the articulation of the ball shaped component. More than a decade ago, it was discovered that exposure of the UHMWPE to ionizing radiation crosslinks the material and results in dramatically improved wear resistance. In contrast, the ionizing radiation also results in chain scission of the polymer chains and the creation of long-lived free radicals in the material. If these free radicals are not extinguished, they react with oxygen and result in oxidation of the polymer and subsequent degradation of the mechanical and tribological properties. To extinguish the free radicals, a post-irradiation heat treatment is commonly conducted.
Heating the crosslinked polymer above the melting temperature (i.e., re-melting) has been shown to extinguish all of the measurable free radicals in the crosslinked material and stabilize it against oxidation. On the other hand, re-melting also results in a decrease in crystallinity because the reduced mobility of the crosslinked chains inhibits the folding of the chains into crystalline lamella, which results in decreased yield and ultimate tensile strengths.
Alternatively, the crosslinked polymer can be heated to a temperature below the melting temperature (i.e., sub-melt annealing). Because the larger crystalline lamella are not melted during sub-melt annealing, the crystallinity is typically either maintained or increased, which typically maintains or improves the yield strength and leads to less of a decease in the ultimate tensile strength of the resultant material. In contrast, the choice of a sub-melt heat treatment leaves a measurable amount of free radicals in the unmelted crystalline regions of the material that can migrate out and oxidize with time.
As a result of these trade-offs, a method of stabilizing the highly crosslinked UHMWPE against oxidation without compromising the mechanical properties is desirable.
The blending of a UHMWPE resin with an antioxidant has been used to negate the need for a post-irradiation heat treatment and the subsequent trade-offs inherent to those methods. This approach blends a single antioxidant with the resin, and the blend is then consolidated by standard techniques, such as by compression molding or ram extrusion. This consolidated blend is then exposed to ionizing radiation to crosslink the material and improve the wear resistance. The blended antioxidant operates as a free-radical scavenger and interrupts the oxidation pathway by readily donating a hydrogen (H) atom to the damaged polymer chain and, in turn, taking on the free radical to form a stable free radical that it does not react with oxygen. Because a post-irradiation heat treatment may not be necessary for the removal of free radicals with this particular method, the mechanical properties are not degraded to the same extent.
On the other hand, there are two problems inherent to this blending method. First, each antioxidant molecule is capable of donating a finite number of hydrogen atoms/quenching or extinguishing a finite number of free radicals. For example, it has been theorized that each vitamin E molecule is capable of quenching two free radicals. As a result, the consumption of the antioxidant during the scavenging of free radicals could limit the effective time of protection against oxidation. For example, if the concentration of the antioxidant is too low, all of the free-radical-quenching ability could be consumed prior to the extinguishing of all of the free radicals, which would result in remaining free radicals that could react with oxygen and cause oxidation. From this prospective, it is preferable to have a high concentration of antioxidant to insure that all of it is not consumed prior to the capture of all of the free radicals and to maximize the long-term oxidation resistance. On the other hand, increasing the concentration of the antioxidant beyond a certain limit can result in a supersaturation that can cause elution or diffusion of the antioxidant out of the polyethylene. The result of this elution could be undesirable interactions of the antioxidant with the human body or depletion of the antioxidant remaining at the surfaces of the material.
Second, the improved wear resistance of the irradiated polymer is dependent upon the generation of free radicals by ionizing radiation and the subsequent combination of the free radicals to form chemical bonds (i.e., crosslinks) between polymer chains. The presence of an antioxidant during irradiation scavenges some of these free radicals and results in an undesired inhibition of crosslinking. As a result, higher irradiation doses are necessary to produce an equivalent level of wear resistance compared to an antioxidant-free polymer. As a consequence of increasing the irradiation dose to overcome the inhibition of crosslinking, the ductility and the toughness of the crosslinked material decrease even further. From this prospective, it is preferable to minimize the concentration of antioxidant to minimize the inhibition of crosslinking and the necessary irradiation dose to achieve a given wear resistance.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,431,874 and 7,498,365, each patent herein incorporated by reference, disclose a method to avoid these problems with blending. According to this method, the UHMWPE is consolidated and irradiated prior to the introduction of vitamin E (Vit E) into the material through diffusion. Because the material does not contain an antioxidant at the time of irradiation, there is no inhibition of crosslinking. Because inhibition is not a concern, the concentration of Vit E in the polymer can be increased to insure that there is a more than adequate amount of antioxidant to quench all of the existing free radicals and provide long-term oxidation resistance.
The negative aspects of this diffusion method are related to the time and expense necessary to diffuse a sufficient quantity of Vit E into the material and homogenize the concentration throughout the component. In addition, the higher concentrations of Vit E typically utilized in this process lead to a large concentration gradient, which could result in elution or diffusion of the Vit E out of the polyethylene and depletion of the antioxidant at the surface.
The combination of synergistic antioxidants and their effects on free-radical quenching and antioxidant "regeneration" or "recycling" has been considered in the past, but never related to medical uses, including in medical prostheses. For example, it has been demonstrated in the literature that the regeneration of Vit E takes place in vivo through chemical reactions with other molecules such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C). As a result of this interaction, the Vit E molecule is "recharged" and can theoretically quench 2 more free radicals. This process could proceed ad infinitum to provide long-term oxidation resistance with a low concentration of an antioxidant. Similar in-vivo regeneration of curcumin by a synergistic molecule has been theorized based on oncology research. In the polymeric sciences, the combinations of Vit E with a phosphate antioxidant or Vit E with polyhydric alcohol both reduce changes in color and promote higher retention of the Vit E during melt processing of polypropylene through a similar synergistic mechanism.
All of the efforts in the prior art related to UHMWPE have been to blend only one antioxidant into the UHMWPE. Moreover, EP Published Patent Application No. EP2047823 A1, for example, specifically states that "one antioxidant is preferred" for "economical and efficiency sake." The problem with the incorporation of a single antioxidant is that it is at least partially consumed during processing, during the quenching of free radicals after processing and during use/service. As a result, the prior art composition requires a higher concentration of antioxidant to insure that there is enough antioxidant to protect the medical device against long-term oxidation for the duration of the service life. This need for a higher concentration of a single antioxidant also results in inhibition of crosslinking, the need for higher irradiation doses to achieve a given wear resistance and, ultimately, leads to degraded mechanical properties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Synergistic effects of blending multiple additives in UHMWPE


A method of manufacturing a thick steel product of high strength and high toughness having excellent weldability with minimal variation of material properties, comprises heating a steel raw material to the temperature of Ac.sub.3 to 1350.degree. C., hot rolling and then cooling at the cooling rate of 10.degree. C./sec. or less. The steel raw material has the following composition:. C: 0.001-0.25 wt %; PA0 Mn: 1.0-3.0 wt %; PA0 Ti: 0.005-0.20 wt %; PA0 Nb: 0.005-0.20 wt %; PA0 B: 0.0003-0.0050 wt %; and PA0 Al: 0.01-0.100 wt %. balance substantially Fe and incidental impurities. The composition has a transformation start temperature (Bs) of 670.degree. C. or less. Since the steel product obtained by the method has no variation in physical properties regardless of variation in cooling rate, it is possible to supply steel products of high strength and high toughness which have uniform microstructure and properties along their thickness direction and are excellent in weldability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a steel product such as a thick steel plate, steel strip, shape steel, steel bar and the like io used in the fields of construction, ocean structures, pipes, ship building, reservoirs, civil engineering, construction machinery and the like, and, in particular, a thick steel product of high strength and high toughness having excellent weldability and minimal variation of structure and physical properties.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thick steel product such as thick steel plate has been used in various fields as described above and the characteristics thereof such as increased strength and toughness have been improved. In particular, recently, it is required that these characteristics are uniform in a thickness direction of the product, and less variable among a plurality of steel products.
One reason for that requirement is illustrated by the fact that, as buildings are made increasingly tall, they are designed so that vibration energy resulting from a large earthquake is absorbed by the controlled deformation of a building to prevent its chaotic collapse, as described in "Iron and Steel, 1988, No. 6" ("Testu to Hagane Dai 74 Nen (1988), Dai 6 Gou"), page 11-page 21. More specifically, when an earthquake occurs, the framework of the building is partially collapsed in a predetermined shape so that the total or chaotic collapse of the building is prevented by the plasticization of the framework. However, since this idea is based on the premise that when an earthquake occurs, the framework of a building exhibits a behavior intended by a designer, the designer must know precisely the yield strength ratio of the steel products used for the columns, beams and the like of the building. Therefore, it is indispensable that steel products such as steel plates, H-sections and the like used for the columns, beams and the like are uniform, and variation in the strength of the steel products is a serious problem.
Since it is necessary that steel products used for building and ship building have high tensile strength and high toughness, it is conventional to manufacture this type of steel product by a thermo-mechanical control process (hereinafter referred to as TMCP method). However, when thick steel products are made by the TMCP method, the structure of them is varied because the cooling rate in a cooling process executed after rolling is different along the thickness direction of a given product, or among several such products. This problem occurs because the cooling rate is large in the vicinity of the surface of the steel products when they are cooled, whereas the cooling rate is small at the center of the steel products, in thickness direction thereof. As a result, the material of the thus obtained steel products varies along the thickness direction of a given piece, and/or among a plurality of pieces. The variation of the material appears between the webs and between the flanges of an H-section due to the irregular cooling therebetween or among respective lots; additionally, it appears as a particular problem along the thickness direction of a thick steel plate.
To cope with the above problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-179020 discloses a method of reducing the difference of hardness of the cross section of a steel plate in a thickness direction by controlling components, a rolling reduction ratio, a cooling rate and a cooling finishing temperature. However, when a thick steel plate, in particular, a very thick steel plate having a thickness exceeding 50 mm is made, since a cooling rate inevitably varies along the thickness direction thereof, it is difficult to suppress the difference of hardness of the cross section in the plate thickness direction.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-67717 discloses a method of greatly reducing the difference of strength in a plate thickness direction by greatly reducing a C content. As shown in FIG. 3 of the publication, however, the method cannot correct the variation of strength caused by the change of a cooling rate which inevitably arises particularly in a thick steel plate.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-77528 describes that stable distribution of hardness is obtained by the complex addition of Nb and B. However, since the cooling rate must be controlled to the range of 15-40.degree. C./sec to form bainite, and it is difficult to strictly control the cooling rate at the center of a plate in the thickness direction thereof, there is a problem that a uniform microstructure cannot be obtained in the thickness direction of the plate, strength is variable, and ductility and toughness are deteriorated due to the formation of island-shaped martensite.
Furthermore, it is important that the steel product used for the above applications have high toughness and a tensile strength greater than 570 MPa. For this purpose, a method of obtaining a fine tempered martensitic structure by a process of reheating, quenching and tempering has been mainly used. However, this method has a problem in that high cost is associated with the reheating, quenching and tempering process and further since a weld cracking parameter (hereinafter referred to as P.sub.cm), which is the index of weldability, increases due to an increased quenching property, and weldability is thereby deteriorated.
On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-158817 discloses a method of obtaining a thick steel plate having high strength at a relatively low P.sub.cm by executing a tempering process after rapid cooling while using the precipitation of Nb and Ti. In this method, however, there is a fear that distortion is caused by irregular cooling in addition to the high cost of a quenching and tempering process.
Likewise, although Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 55-100960 discloses steel whose weldability is enhanced by regulating P.sub.cm and limiting the amounts of C, N and S, it is difficult to prevent the significant variation in strength along the thickness direction thereof.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 54-132421 discloses making high tension bainite steel by hot rolling executing at a finishing temperature of 800.degree. C. or less to obtain toughness, and greatly reducing a C content to use the steel as pipeline raw material. However, this method has a problem that since the hot rolling is finished in a low temperature region, when a plate must be slit lengthwise, not only distortion and warping are liable to be caused by the slitting but also variation arises between the strength in a rolling direction (L direction) and the strength in the direction perpendicular to the L direction (C direction) by the rolling executed in the low temperature region.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a steel product free from the above problems, that is, a steel product which is not restricted by the cooling rate after rolling, has minimal variation of microstructure along its thickness direction and among plural products, is excellent in weldability and has high toughness of 570 MPa or more in terms of tensile strength.

Method of manufacturing thick steel product of high strength and high toughness having excellent weldability and minimal variation of structure and physical properties


A circuit includes a transmit path to receive an input signal and generate an output signal to be output at a transmit power level according to a power target signal. The circuit also includes a gain corrector to output a signal for adjusting a power level of the output signal to correspond to the transmit power level. The signal for adjusting is based on the power target signal and a delay for time-aligning a first signal and a second signal.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Wireless telecommunication systems require accurate control of transmit power under a wide range of operating conditions. This includes "3G" systems that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications and "4G" systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Mobile WiMax. Accurate and robust transmit power control is required both in user equipment (UE) such as cellular phone, tablets, computers and mobile hotspots and in service provider equipment such as base stations, eNodeBs, and Wireless Access Points (WAP).
Transmit power control can generally be characterized as either open loop power control (OLPC) or closed loop power control (CLPC). OLPC adjusts the output power based on predetermined calibration data. However, under OLPC, it is difficult to compensate for variations in the characteristics of the transmitter due to part-to-part variations in the components of the transmitter. Similarly, it is also difficult to compensate for changes in the characteristics of the transmitter over time as parts age or under all operating conditions.
CLPC differs from OLPC by using power measurement feedback, which allows CLPC to be potentially more accurate than OLPC.

Method for fast automatic power control of wireless transmitters


A vending machine for producing beverages. The vending machine presents a user with a number of beverage options and receives the user selection. A plurality of refrigerated containers house various comestibles. An ejection mechanism is disposed within each container for expelling comestibles from the container. Control module selectively actuates the ejection mechanisms to expel comestibles required to make the user-selected beverage. The expelled comestibles slide down along a ramp into a blender pitcher. A liquid is dispensed onto the ramp facilitating movement of the comestibles. The control module actuates the blender apparatus to blend the comestibles and the liquid into a homogenous beverage. The beverage is dispensed into a cup. The ramp and the blender pitcher are automatically rinsed after preparation of each beverage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vending machines. More specifically, it relates to a vending machine for producing beverages by blending comestibles with a liquid.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Vending machines have been around for thousands of years. It is believed that the first vending machine was created in 215 B.C. With the advent of modern technology, companies have been increasingly turning to automation to provide snacks and beverages to consumers. Lower labor costs, lower overhead, and improved user experience, have ignited the spark in vending technology. In fact, since the late 19th Century, vending machines have expanded across the world into a multi-billion dollar industry.
A myriad of various vending machines is known in the art. Most vending machines store prepackaged items—such as candy bars, soda cans, bottled water etc.—and dispose those items responsive to a user depositing funds into the vending machine and selecting an item the user wishes to purchase. Some beverage vending machines—such as the ones commonly placed in fast food restaurants—store packages of syrups, and upon a user request, combine a predetermined amount of user-selected syrup with carbonated water and dispose the resulting mixture.
Comestibles and beverages sold through vending machines are generally perceived as unhealthy, and this perception is substantiated by a plethora of factors. First, comestibles in vending machines are generally not refrigerated and, therefore, must contain preservatives to prolong their shelf life. Beverages sold through vending machines are premade and prepackaged, and generally contain artificial ingredients. The vending machine industry generates billions of dollars within the United States, yet offers few healthy choices.
As the public awareness on ill effects of poor diet increases, many consumers become reluctant to purchase food products that contain excessive sweeteners and artificial ingredients. Consequentially, the public attitude toward vending machines selling sodas and other soft drinks has been rapidly deteriorating. Conventional vending machines are becoming rejected by the general public over concerns about health ramifications of drinking soda, especially the effect that these high-sugar, highly acidic, and artificial beverages have on children. In the United States, under pressure from parents and anti-obesity advocates, many school districts moved to ban sodas, junk foods, and candy from vending machines and cafeterias.
Several healthier alternatives to conventional soda and snack vending machines are known in the art. One such machine is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,817,935. This vending machine extracts juice from a fruit and then discharges a predetermined amount of juice into a cup, while the remainder is deposited into a waste outlet. This machine does not provide the consumer with the ability to consume the content of the whole fruit, but rather, just the juice. Further, this machine does not allow for easy cleaning after each time the juice is dispensed, or an easy way for the waste to be deposited into the sewer system.
Accordingly, there exists an unresolved need for a vending machine capable of quickly and efficiently producing fresh beverages to order from natural fruits and vegetables.

Automated vending machine for producing beverages using comestibles


Co-sensitizers that co-adsorb with a sensitizing dye to the surface of an interconnected semiconductor oxide nanoparticle material increase the efficiency of photovoltaic cells by improving their charge transfer efficiency and reducing the back transfer of electrons from the interconnected semiconductor oxide nanoparticle material to the sensitizing dye.

Thin film solar cells composed of percolating networks of liquid electrolyte and dye-coated sintered titanium dioxide were developed by Dr. Michael Gratzel and coworkers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. These photovoltaic devices fall within a general class of cells referred to as dye-sensitized solar cells ("DSSCs"). Conventionally, fabrication of DSSCs requires a high temperature sintering process (>about 400° C.) to achieve sufficient interconnectivity between the nanoparticles and enhanced adhesion between the nanoparticles and a transparent substrate.
To improve the performance of DSSCs, scientists have focused on enhancing molar extinction coefficients, spectral bandwidths, and charge transfer efficiencies of the sensitizing dyes. An effective method to improve the efficiency of charge transfer from the sensitizing dye to the nanoparticles and to reduce back electron transfer from the nanoparticles to the sensitizing dye has not, as of yet, been demonstrated.

Co-sensitizers for dye sensitized solar cells


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device is provided. Spacers can be formed on adjacent gate structures and used as an ion implantation mask for forming source/drain regions. The spacers can include a nitride layer and an oxide layer. An etch stop layer can be provided between the gate structures, and the oxide layer can be removed from the spacers. A first oxide layer formed below the nitride layer can be protected from being etched away during removal of the oxide layer from the spacers by the etch stop layer. The etch stop layer and the first oxide layer can be removed, and an interlayer dielectric layer can be deposited.

Recently, as a design rule of a semiconductor device becomes smaller, the integration degree of a semiconductor device is largely increased.
As the design rule of the semiconductor device becomes smaller, the chip size and the circuit line width of the semiconductor device become gradually smaller and various problems occur.
As one of the problems, the gap between gate structures included in the semiconductor device become narrow so that the aspect ratio of the gap formed between the gate structures is increased, thereby frequently generating a void between the gate structures when forming an interlayer dielectric layer covering the gate structures.
The problem where a void is generated between gate structures frequently occurs in a NOR-type flash memory device having a cell array area where a plurality of memory cells are connected to one bit line in parallel.
Since the bit line is arranged between a pair of neighboring gate structures, the NOR-type flash memory device frequently generates the void at a position where the bit line is formed.

Fabricating method of semiconductor device


A microfluidic device having a substrate with an electrically conductive element made using a conductive ink layer underlying a hydrophobic layer.

Droplet actuators are used to conduct a wide variety of droplet operations. A droplet actuator typically includes one or more substrates configured to form a surface or gap for conducting droplet operations. The one or more substrates include electrodes for conducting droplet operations. The gap between the substrates is typically filled or coated with a filler fluid that is immiscible with the liquid that is to be subjected to droplet operations. Droplet operations are controlled by electrodes associated with the one or more substrates. Current designs of droplet actuators may have certain drawbacks, as follows. The substrates of a droplet actuator typically include electrodes and/or an electrical ground plane patterned thereon that are exposed to the droplet operations gap. The materials and/or processes for forming the electrodes and/or electrical ground planes may be costly. Consequently, there is a need for less costly materials and/or processes for forming the electrodes and/or electrical ground planes of droplet actuators.


Endothelin-related disorders in mammals can be alleviated by administration to such patients of one or more aliquots of mammalian blood subjected to two or more stressors selected from temperature stressors, electromagnetic emissions and oxidative environments.

Endothelins are a family of 21 amino acid peptides produced by endothelial cells. There are three known isoforms of endothelin, namely endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelin-2 (ET-2) and endothelin-3 (ET-3). Of the three known isoforms, ET-1 is the major isoform produced by the vascular endothelium and is an extremely potent vasoconstrictor, with veins being 3 to 10 times more sensitive to the effects of ET-1 than arteries.
The vasoconstricting effect of endothelin is caused by the binding of endothelin to its receptor on the vascular smooth muscle cells. Thus far, two endothelin receptors have been characterized in mammalian species, known as the ETA and ETB receptors. The ETA receptor, restricted to vascular smooth muscle, is relatively selective for ET-1 and mediates vasoconstriction. The ETB receptor, primarily located in the endothelium, mediates vasodilatation through the production of endothelium-dependent vasodilators, such as nitric oxide and prostacyclin.
A pathophysiological role for the endothelins has been postulated in a large number of human disease states.
One example of such a disease state is primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), a rare condition of unknown etiology which affects mainly young people. PPH causes progressive shortening of breath and most of those affected are dead within 4 years of diagnosis. Patients with PPH have increased circulating endothelin levels which may be caused by increased pulmonary endothelin synthesis, and there is evidence to suggest that increased endothelin production may be directly involved in the pathogenesis of PPH (Ferro and Webb, "The Clinical Potential of Endothelin Receptor Antagonists in Cardiovascular Medicine", Drugs 1996 January; 51(1): 12-27).
Another example of such a disease state is glaucoma, which is a group of vascular disorders characterized by degeneration of the optic nerve which carries images from the retina to the brain. The disease is associated with high intraocular pressure and impaired ocular blood flow. There are reports in the literature that ET-1 plasma levels are elevated in some forms of glaucoma (Cellini et al., "Color Doppler imaging and plasma levels of endothelin-1 in low-tension glaucoma": Acta Ophthalmol Scand Suppl 1997; (224): 11-3). Furthermore, endothelin appears to be involved in the regulation of intraocular pressure and the modulation of ocular blood flow (Haefliger et al., "Potential role of nitric oxide and endothelin in the pathogenesis of glaucoma", 1: Surv Ophthalmol 1999 June; 43 Supl 1: S51-8; and Sugiyama et al., "Association of endothelin-1 with normal tension glaucoma: clinical and fundamental studies" 6: Surv Ophthalmol 1995 May; 39 Suppl 1: S49-56), suggesting that endothelin may be involved in the pathogenesis of at least some forms of the disease.
Endothelin also plays a potential role in the progression of atherosclerosis (Rubanyi and Polokoff, "Endothelins: Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Physiology and Pathophysiology", Pharmacological Reviews Vol. 46, No. 3, 1994, pp. 325-415) incorporated herein by reference. This is supported by a number of factors, including the following: plasma ET-1 levels are elevated in patients with atherosclerosis and in animal models of hypercholesterolemia; expression of the ET-1 gene is induced, synthesis and release of ET-1 peptide is increased, and binding of exogenous ET-1 is enhanced in the atheromatous vascular lesion; ET-1 production by the endothelium and macrophages is stimulated by oxidized LDL and several cytokines involved in the vascular injury process; and ET-1-induced vasoconstriction is potentiated in atherosclerosis.
Endothelin 1 (ET-1) is also a factor in promotion of angiogenesis, the development of blood vessels, a process which, properly balanced, is important in the restoration and maintenance of good health in mammals. Excess angiogenesis, however, can cause serious health problems, e.g. in recovery from cardiac incidents and in restenosis. ET-1 is known to stimulate the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF (see for example Spinella, F. et. al., J. Biol. Chem. 2002 Aug. 2; 277 (31): 27850-5), which promotes angiogenesis. Down-regulation of ET-1 is therefore the basis of potential treatments of conditions involving excess angiogenesis.
Although the symptoms of many endothelin-related disorders can be treated, there is a lack of available treatments which address the underlying role of endothelin in these disorders. Accordingly, the need exists for an effective treatment of endothelin-related disorders.

Treatment of endothelin-related disorders


According to one embodiment, a display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer, wherein the second substrate includes a first light-shielding member in a frame shape having a first opening overlapping an optical sensor, a light-shielding layer having a second opening overlapping the first opening, and a first pixel opening and a second pixel opening, the first light-shielding member has a first outer edge and a second outer edge elongated in a second direction, the first outer edge overlaps the light-shielding layer between the second opening and the first pixel opening in a planar view, and the second outer edge overlaps the light-shielding layer between the second opening and the second pixel opening in a planar view.

In recent years, liquid crystal display devices having a built-in biosensor that detects biometric information, such as a fingerprint sensor and a vein sensor, have been developed. As the biosensor, for example, an optical sensor using a photoelectric conversion element is applied. In order to suppress a degradation in the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of the optical sensor, a light-shielding layer as a collimator that blocks obliquely incident light is disposed on the upper layer of the optical sensor. However, since the light-shielding layer also blocks the light that is obliquely transmitted through the pixels located around the optical sensor, there is a risk that the luminance in the oblique field of view may be degraded and the display light in the oblique field of view may be imparted with an undesired color.


The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for extending a reference signal pattern to define additional reference signals using a phase division multiplexing (PDM) technique. The reference signal pattern can be a predefined reference signal pattern in a wireless communication standard and can be extended to support massive MIMO communication.

Multi-antenna techniques are used in communication systems to improve performance. These techniques rely on multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or receiver and can be grouped into three different categories: diversity, interference suppression, and spatial multiplexing. These three categories are often collectively referred to as MIMO communication even though not all of the multi-antenna techniques that fall within these categories require at least two antennas at both the transmitter and receiver.
To provide a specific example of a multi-antenna technique, it is known that a signal transmitted over a radio channel is corrupted due to time dispersion. Time dispersion occurs when the transmitted signal propagates to a receiver over the radio channel via multiple, independently fading paths with different delays. As shown in FIG. 1, such a time dispersive channel corresponds to a non-flat channel response 102 in the frequency domain.
In the case where the transmitted signal uses a relatively wideband carrier 104, each symbol carried by the signal will be transmitted over frequencies of the time dispersive channel with both good quality (high signal strength) and bad quality (low signal strength). As a result, these symbols are said to experience frequency diversity. On the other hand, in the case where the transmitted signal uses a relatively narrowband carrier 106, such as those used in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission, each symbol carried by the signal will experience comparatively less frequency diversity. As a result, the symbols can be confined to transmission over frequencies of the time dispersive channel with only bad quality (low signal strength), leading to a poor error-rate performance at the receiver.
The multi-antenna technique of diversity can be used to improve performance in such an instance. For example, in at least one application, diversity refers to the different fading experienced by signals transmitted from transmit antennas that are spatially separated. This diversity in fading can be exploited to create artificial frequency diversity by transmitting the same narrowband carrier 106 with different relative delays from the multiple transmit antennas. Importantly, the radio channel needs to be estimated at the receiver to take advantage of the artificially created frequency diversity when decoding the symbols carried by the narrowband carrier 106. In particular, the receiver needs to estimate the radio channel and apply its inverse response to take advantage of the artificially created frequency diversity when decoding the symbols carried by the narrowband carrier 106.
In general, many of the multi-antenna techniques that fall within the three categories mentioned above (i.e., diversity, interference suppression, and spatial multiplexing) need to perform channel estimation to improve performance. Depending on the specific multi-antenna technique implemented, the channel estimates can be required at the receiver and/or the transmitter. Channel estimation is typically performed using a training-based method where known symbols, referred to as reference symbols or pilot symbols, are transmitted to a receiver to aid in its estimation of the channel. When there are multiple transmit antennas, the signal received by a receive antenna is a superposition of the signals transmitted form each of the transmit antennas. Thus, the reference symbols transmitted from each of the multiple transmit antennas generally need to be transmitted such that they do not interfere with each other in order to accurately estimate the channel.
FIG. 2 illustrates three example reference signal patterns 200 that use different multiplexing techniques to prevent interference between reference symbols transmitted from multiple transmit antennas so that accurate channel estimation can be performed. The three example reference signal patterns 200 respectively use a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, and a code division multiplexing (CDM) technique.
Using a TDM technique, reference symbols are transmitted from one transmit antenna at a time over the same frequency. An example reference signal pattern 202 that uses a TDM technique is shown at the top of FIG. 2 for two transmit antennas. During a first symbol time period t1, the top transmit antenna transmits a reference symbol over frequency f2, while the bottom transmit antenna transmits nothing over frequency f2. During a second symbol time period t2, the bottom transmit antenna takes its turn transmitting a reference symbol over frequency f2, while the bottom transmit antenna transmits nothing over frequency f2. Because the reference symbols are respectively transmitted from the two transmit antennas one at a time over frequency f2, the reference symbols are orthogonal to each other in the time domain and do not interfere with each other.
Using a FDM technique, reference symbols are transmitted from transmit antennas at the same time but over different frequencies. An example reference signal pattern 204 that uses a FDM technique is shown in the middle of FIG. 2 for two transmit antennas. During a symbol time period t1, the top transmit antenna transmits a reference symbol over frequency f3 but nothing over frequency f2, while the bottom transmit antenna transmits a reference symbol over frequency f2 but nothing over frequency f3. Because the reference symbols are respectively transmitted by the two transmit antennas over different frequencies during the same symbol time period t1, the reference symbols are orthogonal to each other in the frequency domain and do not interfere with each other.
Finally, using a CDM technique, reference symbols are transmitted from transmit antennas over the same frequency and symbol time periods using mutually orthogonal cover codes. An example reference signal pattern 206 that uses a CDM technique is shown at the bottom of FIG. 2 for two transmit antennas. During a first symbol time period t1 and a second symbol time period t2, both the top and bottom transmit antennas transmit two reference symbols (one per symbol time period) over the frequency f2. The top transmit antenna respectively applies the cover code +1, +1 (labeled as cover code 1 in FIG. 2) to the two reference symbols it transmits, and the bottom transmit antenna respectively applies the cover code +1, −1 (labeled as cover code 2 in FIG. 2) to the two reference symbols it transmits. Because cover codes 1 and 2 are mutually orthogonal, the two reference symbols transmitted from each antenna can be separated from each other, assuming the channel is substantially fixed over the symbol time periods t1 and t2.
Standardized wireless communication systems, such as 3GPP long-term Evolution (LTE), use predefined reference signal patterns to support channel estimation. These patterns typically use some combination of TDM, FDM, and potentially CDM to define some number of reference signals (i.e., signals made up of one or more reference symbols) that can each be transmitted by a different transmit antenna without interfering with one another at a receive antenna. Using the three techniques of TDM, FDM, and CDM alone, the predefined reference signal patterns of these standardized wireless communication systems often cannot be extended to define many (if any at all) additional reference signals without using additional resource elements (where a resource element corresponds to the resource of one available carrier/tone over one symbol period). Using additional resource elements is disadvantageous because these resource elements can no longer be used to carry information symbols and their addition to an existing reference signal pattern can cause backward compatibility issues with older devices operating within these systems.
However, it is expected that new releases of standardized wireless communication systems will continue to increase the number transmit antennas used to perform multi-antenna techniques, causing a corresponding need to extend their predefined reference signal patterns to define further reference signals that do not interfere with each other to perform channel estimation. For example, it is expected that the new releases of the 3GPP LTE wireless standard (release 12 and beyond) will support, for example, 16, 32, 64, or more transmit antennas at a base station for performing multi-antenna techniques, or what has been referred to as massive MIMO given the large number of antennas to be used. It is also possible that in a new release a user equipment (UE) or terminal will support more transmit antennas.
The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Reference signal design for massive MIMO communication


A shift control mechanism of a small watercraft for selectively shifting between a forward, a neutral and a reverse drive mode includes a first mounting bracket, a second mounting bracket, and a shift control lever having a grip for operating the shift control lever and first and second sides. The shift control lever is disposed between the first and second mounting brackets. The shift control lever is rotatably connected between the first and second mounting brackets via at least two connecting members, the shift control lever is supported on each of the first and second sides thereof by respective ones of the first and second mounting brackets, and at least one of the first and second mounting brackets is mounted on a deck of the small watercraft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shift control mechanism for small watercraft. More specifically, the present invention relates to a shift control mechanism including a shift control lever for small watercraft which is securely supported by a pair of mounting brackets and a link member for connecting a bowden wire cable to the shift control lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal watercraft have become very popular in recent years. This type of watercraft carries a rider and possibly one or more passengers. A relatively small hull of the personal watercraft commonly defines a rider's area above an engine compartment. An internal combustion engine frequently powers a jet propulsion unit which propels the watercraft. The engine is disposed within the engine compartment in front of a tunnel formed on the underside of the watercraft hull. The jet propulsion unit is located within the tunnel and is driven by the engine.
This type of watercraft offers a wide variety of uses and in order to improve the usability of the watercraft, a shift control mechanism for the watercraft has been provided such that the watercraft can be operated in either a forward direction or a reverse direction. This is accomplished by providing a reverse bucket that cooperates with the discharge nozzle of the jet propulsion unit so as to create a rearward thrust on the watercraft rather than the normal forward thrust. Of course, some type of operator control must be provided so as to permit shifting of the reverse bucket from its normal forward position to its reverse position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815 discloses a conventional type of shift control mechanism including a shift control lever 33 which is mounted on a deck portion 13 of the watercraft 11 in proximity to the bridge 18. As seen in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815, the shift control lever 33 is supported by a mounting bracket on one side of the shift control lever 33 and is rotatably mounted to the mounting bracket by a single mounting shaft or pin. One end of a bowden wire cable 35 is directly attached to the shift control lever 33 and the other end of the bowden wire cable 35 is attached to a reverse thrust bucket 31.
Another conventional type of shift control lever 101, which is similar to the shift control lever 33 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815, is shown in FIG. 14 of the present application. As seen in FIG. 14 herein, the shift control lever 101 is rotatably mounted to a mounting bracket 102 via a pin or mounting shaft 103, and the mounting bracket 102 is mounted to the hull 104 of a personal watercraft.
Since the shift control lever 33 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815 and the shift control lever 101 of FIG. 14 of the present application are supported on only one side thereof by the mounting bracket and are rotatably mounted at only one point by the mounting shaft or pin, the shift control levers 33 and 101 are likely to be deflected in a sideways direction or to be bent in the sideways direction when a force is applied thereto. This causes problems such as inhibiting the shift control lever 33 or 101 from being rotated in the forward and reverse directions, damaging the hull of the watercraft, and preventing proper operation of the shift control 33 or 101.
In addition, since the bowden wire cable 35 is directly connected to the shift control lever 33 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,815, via, for example, a set screw, the bowden wire cable 35 is often damaged and must be replaced. When replacement of the bowden wire cable 35 is required, since the bowden wire cable 35 extends through the deck 13, replacement is difficult and time consuming.

Shift control mechanism for small watercraft

Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America


A frame grabber with switched fabric interface where in varying embodiments the fabric interface may be one of InfiniBand, Star Fabric, or PCI Express or the like.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to methods and devices for acquiring and processing data from frame grabbers or other data grabbing devices.
2. Background Information
Currently, devices called frame grabbers reside in computers for the sole purpose of reading data from a digital camera. At least three forms of the devices currently exist; analog, digital, and camera link. Current problems with frame grabbers today include limited bandwidth, compatibility with the computer, limited slot count within the computer to install a frame grabber, cost, and limited distribution of image data for processing.

Data transfer device with data frame grabber with switched fabric interface wherein data is distributed across network over virtual lane


A focus adjustment apparatus which automatically focuses a camera or other optical equipment. The focus adjustment apparatus predicts complex fluctuations in the image plane position easily and accurately. The apparatus includes a focus detection device which detects a defocus amount, a lens position detection device which detects a lens position of the photographing optical system, and an image plane position computation device. The image plane position computation device computes the image plane position of the object image on the basis of the defocus amount and the lens position. The apparatus further includes an image plane speed computation device. The image plane speed computation device computes the image plane speed on the basis of a change over time in the image plane position. The apparatus also includes a statistical device. The statistical device performs statistical analysis on a sample interval composed of the image plane position and the image plane speed, and determines the undetermined coefficients in a preselected equation of motion. The equation of motion includes the image plane position and image plane speed. The apparatus also includes a predicting device which computes a predicted value of the image plane position on the basis of a solution of the equation of motion. The solution can be a time dependent function. The apparatus also includes a focus control device which controls focus based on the predicted value of the image plane position.

1. Field of Invention
This non-provisional application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/038,293 filed Feb. 20, 1997, entitled "Focusing Device", by Touru IWANE. The present invention relates to a focus adjustment apparatus which accomplishes automatic adjustment of the focus state in a camera or other optical equipment, and more particularly relates to a focus adjustment camera which easily and accurately predicts the complex motion of the image plane position.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, focus adjustment apparatuses are mounted on optical equipment such as cameras in order to perform automatic focus adjustment of the photographing optical system.
In these focus adjustment apparatuses, the distance between the object image plane and the imaging plane (hereafter, this distance will be referred to as the "defocus amount") is computed using a commonly known phase difference detection method or the like.
The focus adjustment apparatus accomplishes focus adjustment by scrolling the photographing optical system forward and backward in accordance with this defocus amount.
Normally, in this kind of focus adjustment, two operation modes, namely the "single AF mode" and the "continuous AF mode" are used.
That is to say, in the single autofocus (AF) mode, focus adjustment is instantly halted (focus lock) at the point in time when an in-focus determination is made during the focus adjustment period. On the camera side, the photographing operation is started after waiting for this focus lock state. This kind of single AF mode is primarily used in focus-priority photographing.
In contrast, the continuous AF mode continues focus adjustment regardless of an in-focus determination. On the camera side, the photographing operation is executed in conjunction with the operation of a release button by the photographer. This kind of continuous AF mode is primarily used in photography giving priority to shutter opportunities.
However, when the object is moving, the object moves an extra amount during an interval beginning when the release button is completely depressed and ending when the photographing operation is performed (the so-called release time lag), and thus a defocus occurs.
Hence, as one type of the above-described focus adjustment apparatuses, a device has been known which extrapolates the trend of the focus detection information prior to release in the continuous AF mode or the single AF mode and predicts the image plane motion during the release time lag. By performing focus adjustment on the basis of this prediction, it is possible to correct the defocus caused by the release time lag.
Furthermore, the defocus amounts are detected one-by-one via an electric charge accumulation process in the light-receiving element array and a computation process. Consequently, the defocus amounts are data that are detected discretely and time delayed.
This time delay in the data results in useless time (dead time) in the control operation. Consequently, inadequate focus adjustment can easily occur in the subsequent operation of focus adjustment.
Hence, as one type of the above-described focus adjustment apparatuses, a device has been known wherein the image plane position of the current point in time is gradually predicted by extrapolating the trend of the past focus detection information in the continuous AF mode.
By performing focus adjustment continuously in conjunction with this predicted value, inadequate focus adjustment performed in the control operation of focus adjustment is compensated for, making it possible to obtain improved focus adjustment performance.
As described above, accurately predicting the image plane position is extremely important in attempting to improve the performance of focus adjustment.
A method is known for linearly predicting the image plane position (the so-called first-order hold and second-order hold of the discrete value) on the basis of the past data of the image plane position. See, e.g., the disclosure of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 62-263728.
However, in this kind of conventional example, the image plane position is predicted on the basis of the assumption that the image plane speed is a constant or the image plane acceleration is a constant.
Consequently, a problem arises in actual cases, wherein when the image plane speed and image plane acceleration change, it is impossible to predict the image plane position accurately.
In particular, even in the relatively simple motion model where the object moves uniformly on the object space side, the image plane position in a conjugate position moves in a complex manner. Consequently, even for objects having relatively simple motion, it is extremely difficult to accurately predict the motion of the image plane position.
Furthermore, the image plane acceleration is computed from two differences in the image plane position. Consequently, it is easy for phase delays with the image plane position and high-range noise components to adversely affect the prediction of motion of the image plane position. Accordingly, in the conventional prediction method, the problem arises that the accuracy of the predicted value is low, acutely reflecting the effects of detection scattering of the focus detection information.


A vehicle washing apparatus includes a side track extending along a washing bay. A gantry is supported for reciprocal motion along the side track by a gantry motor. Sensors detect the front and rear ends of the vehicle to control movement of the gantry. A retractable carriage extends from the gantry across the washing bay under the control of a carriage motor and a vehicle width sensor. The carriage rotatably supports a spray bar for discharging cleaning fluid. A motor rotates the spray bar to sweep around corners of the vehicle. A cam plate and engagement roller index the spray bar orientation, while limiting spray bar rotation to a single direction. A wheel guide receives the front left vehicle wheel. Treadle switches in the wheel guide, in conjunction with an illuminated display, indicate to the user when the vehicle is properly indexed in the washing bay.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle washing apparatus, and more particularly to vehicle washing apparatus wherein the vehicle to be washed is temporarily parked within a washing bay during cleaning operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
High volume vehicle washers typically move the vehicles to be washed past fixed-location washing devices. The vehicles to be washed are either slowly driven through such equipment, or are towed through such equipment by conveyor systems. While such drive-through washers can handle high volumes of vehicles, they are also relatively expensive and require a significant amount of space.
Less-expensive "rollover" vehicle washers are also known in the art wherein an archway, or bridge structure, rolls back and forth over the vehicle to be washed. In some cases, such rollover vehicle washers roll along a pair of spaced floor rails that extend along opposing sides of the vehicle to be washed. In other cases, a movable overhead carriage is supported for reciprocating forward/backward movement above the vehicle by an overhead framework supported by floor-mounted columns. Examples of such rollover vehicle washers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,300,803 and 3,428,983, both to Seakan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,080 to Dolitzsch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,284 to Schleeter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,662 to Crotts, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,135 to Fratello, et al. Rollover vehicle washers are often used by car dealerships, auto service centers, and other commercial businesses that are not dedicated car wash facilities.
Other washing systems are also known wherein a generally rectangular-shaped overhead guide track (usually having rounded corners) is suspended above a car-washing bay, and a movable washing apparatus is driven around such guide track to encircle the vehicle. Examples of such washing systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,730 to Burchett, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,281 to Hurst, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,906 to White.
Still other washing systems are known wherein an overhead carriage is supported by a floor-mounted frame for reciprocal movement back and forth along the length of a vehicle washing bay, while a further reciprocating trolley moves from side to side along the width of the overhead carriage. The trolley supports one or more L-shaped wash arms to direct cleaning fluid at the vehicle to be washed. Examples of this type of washing system are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,016 to Carlson, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,053 to Belanger, et al. These L-shaped wash arms are rotated through an arc of ninety degrees as the reciprocating carriage approaches the opposing ends of the wash bay; in this manner, the L-shaped wash arms round the corner of the vehicle to reach the front or rear surfaces of the vehicle.
Known vehicle washing systems that employ overhead carriages supported by a floor-mounted frame surrounding the washing bay often require significant floor space. The same is true for rollover machines that require rails on both sides of the washing bay to support the rolling washing archway.
In the vehicle washing industry, there is a current preference for so-called "touch-free" washing apparatus which avoids any physical contact between the washing apparatus and the vehicle, apart from streams of washing/rinsing fluid and/or streams of drying air. Such "touch-free" systems are less likely to damage projecting vehicle components such as side mirrors, antennas and the like. However, touch-free washing systems are more effective if the spray nozzles of the washing apparatus can be maintained in relatively close proximity to the surface of the vehicle. Otherwise, the sprayed cleaning fluid disperses too much before reaching the vehicle surface, and is not as effective in removing dirt and grime. Vehicles can vary greatly in width, and it is a challenge to accommodate vehicles having a range of widths while still maintaining the spray nozzles closely proximate to the vehicle surface for effective cleaning.
On occasion, a spray washing arm will inadvertently contact a projecting portion of a vehicle. This might happen, for example, if an oversized side-view mirror projects from one or both sides of the vehicle. To avoid extensive damage to the vehicle, washing apparatus manufacturers have constructed such washing arms using so-called break-away joints. If a force exceeding some predetermined magnitude is exerted upon such break-away joint, a special breakable pin, or some other frangible element, fractures and allows the joint to swing freely to avoid damage. Once broken, the break-away joint must be repaired to return it to its original condition.
In order for a roll-over type washing system to function at maximum efficiency, the vehicle must be positioned in a known position within the washing bay. It is known to install wheel guide rails in washing bays to form a wheel track for receiving one of the wheels of the vehicle, typically the front left wheel of the vehicle. The guide rails force the vehicle wheel into a fixed lateral (side-to side) position within the washing bay. In order to properly index the forward-rearward position of the vehicle, the wheel track may include a depressed trough which skilled drivers can sense as the vehicle wheel enters the trough. However, the lay driver often has difficulty detecting whether the vehicle wheel has registered with the depressed trough or not. In these instances, the vehicle may not be pulled into the bay far enough, or it might be pulled too far into the washing bay.
Apart from ensuring that the front end of the vehicle to be washed is properly indexed in the washing bay, additional difficulties arise by reason of different vehicles having different lengths. If the washing apparatus is to do a thorough job of cleaning the rear surfaces of the vehicle, then the spray nozzles of the vertical portion of the washing arm must be swept in close proximity to the rear end of the vehicle. On the other hand, assuming that the length of travel of a rollover washing apparatus in the forward/backward direction is fixed at some average length, then the washing arm will not be positioned close enough to the rear surfaces of shorter-than-average cars, and the washing arm may be positioned too close too, and actually impact, the rear surfaces of longer-than-average vehicles.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention is to provide such a vehicle washing apparatus which effectively washes a vehicle and which requires relatively little floor space.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a washing apparatus which easily accommodates vehicles of varying widths while maintaining washing fluid spray nozzles relatively close to the surfaces of the vehicle being washed.
A further object of the present invention is to assist a lay user in detecting whether the vehicle has been pulled into the washing bay by the appropriate distance to properly index the vehicle within the washing bay.
Still another object of the present invention is to maintain the vertical portion of a washing arm essentially vertical during washing operations while still permitting the washing arm to move away from such vertical position in those instances wherein the washing arm actually contacts a portion of the vehicle in order to avoid excessive damage to the vehicle.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a washing apparatus which positions the spray nozzles of the washing arm in relatively close proximity to rear surfaces of the vehicle to be washed, irrespective of the length of the vehicle to be washed.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide such a washing apparatus which is relatively inexpensive but which reliably and efficiently cleans the front, rear, side and top surfaces of a wide range of vehicles.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.

Sidetrack vehicle washer with rotating spray arm


An apparatus for non-invasive evaluations and in-vivo diagnostics includes an open magnet, an RF antenna, and an NMR analytics logical circuit communicatively coupled to the RF antenna, wherein the open magnet is shaped to generate a static magnetic field that extends unilaterally into an object or internal organ of a subject when the open magnet is positioned against or in proximity to the object or subject, the static and RF magnetic fields shaped to generate a sensitive volume within a target region. The RF antenna or antenna array is configured to transmit RF pulses into the target region of the object or internal organ and receive sets of NMR signals generated by hydrogen or other elements, and the NMR analytics logical circuit is configured to obtain and analyze sets of NMR signals.

Clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a mature medical imaging technology used for a number of diagnostic procedures. Typically, MRI systems are configured to use cylindrical or C-shaped magnets (i.e., a magnetized enclosure) to create a magnetic field within the enclosure to which Hydrogen atoms line up their nuclear spins. The MRI system may then use a radio frequency (RF) to effectively knock the spinning Hydrogen atoms off their polarization axis, and then detect a radio frequency signal generated by the Hydrogen atoms returning back to their aligned spin position with the magnetic field. Using this technique and controlled space-varying magnetic fields, an MRI can scan a human or animal body in three-dimensions to create an internal image of the subject, which varies in contrast based on Hydrogen content and the characteristics of the tissue surrounding the Hydrogen atoms. MRI can also be used to directly or indirectly measure relative quantities of other elements apart from Hydrogen, e.g., Sodium and Iron. MRI can also be used to quantify the relative amount of Hydrogen in certain molecules of tissues, e.g. Hydrogen in fat, tissues or water.
MRI magnets tend to be large and expensive, and must be housed in specialized facilities with non-standard power and specialized shielding to accommodate the super-cooled magnetic coils and large magnetic fields. The excessive cost and the demand for dedicated facilities makes MRI prohibitive for the majority of preventive medicine procedures, therapeutic efficacy evaluation and periodic checkups. Accordingly, while MRI may be used to facilitate diagnostic and screening procedures aimed at measuring particular target substances within human or animal organs, e.g., liver fat, iron, sodium, etc., the technology is costly, inefficient, and not universally accessible. Other modalities, such as ultrasound, may also be used at a lower cost to measure properties of the target substances, but those modalities tend to be less accurate, specific, and/or reliable than MRI.
With the significant increase in metabolic syndrome incidence, it has become important for internal medicine and specialist practitioners to be able discriminate patients at highest risk for severe complications, such as type II diabetes and liver cirrhosis. These trends suggest the need for tools for safe, non-invasive, and inexpensive assessment of, for example, liver disease. Also, it points to the advantages of performing periodic and accurate monitoring of clinical treatments.
Of particular interest is liver disease diagnostics. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common hepatic disorder in the United States. Some patients with NAFLD develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH, abnormal retention of lipids), leading to cirrhosis, and the eventual need for a liver transplant. Further, a large number of patients with normal weight suffer from multiple aspects of metabolic syndrome, including NAFLD and NASH. Disease recognition is often delayed in these patients, relative to obese patients, leading to more severe complications. Also, since sarcopenia and fatty replacement is a key finding of metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW) subjects, a useful application is tracking fat concentration in limb musculature.
Assessment of hepatic steatosis for clinical care requires diagnosis and grading of severity. The relevant classification threshold may vary, from the standard 5% steatosis threshold defining hepatic steatosis, to a 30% threshold for sometimes used to exclude liver transplantation donors. Accurate quantification is helpful for grading steatosis and for longitudinal monitoring of patients.
If accurate and low cost diagnostics are readily available for quantifying fat content, early indicators could lead to a significantly reduction of the incidence of liver disease.
Additionally, iron overload occurs in liver disease, metabolic syndrome and hereditary hemochromatosis, in hemodialysis patients receiving supplemental iron, and in patients who receive multiple red-cell transfusions for thalassemia, sickle-cell disease (SCD), and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Iron overload can cause death from heart failure, liver cancer, or cirrhosis, as well as diabetes, endocrine deficiency and joint problems. It may increase risks of hepatocellular cancer in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and NASH, exacerbate fibrosis in ALD, affect insulin resistance and liver dysfunction in some patients with metabolic syndrome, and contribute to immune dysfunction and heart failure in hemodialysis. Together, these conditions affect millions of patients.
Traditional methods used to quantify iron overload are ambiguous, invasive, or expensive. Typically, clinicians infer iron status from serum ferritin and transferrin saturation. However, these indicators are inherently ambiguous, because they are affected by liver disease, inflammation, hemolysis and other common conditions. As a result, diagnosing iron overload can be a complicated process that may include genetic tests for hemochromatosis, and integrating multiple clinical signs and serum tests to rule out inflammation, liver disease and other confounding factors. Liver iron measurements by biopsy or MRI are more direct and less ambiguous, but liver biopsy is invasive, while an MRI scan is expensive and not readily available in all locations.

Nuclear magnetic resonance systems and methods for noninvasive and in-vivo measurements using a unilateral magnet


This invention relates to information processing such as coordination of distributed information processing resources, and makes collaboration of distributed information processing resources easy and improves convenience of information processing. A high-speed information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a conversion processing section operable to model a plurality of distributed information processing resources through definition of the plurality of information processing resources by attributes thereof and to assign a collaborative relationship to modeled information processing resources obtained through the modeling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing such as coordination of information processing resources. In particular, the present invention relates to a high-speed information processing apparatus, a high-speed information processing method, and a high-speed information processing program used for information processing, such as collaboration and coordination, of various information processing resources, including CAD (Computer Aided Design) data, existing at remote sites, e.g., another continent, through the modeling and systematization of the information processing resources.
More particularly, the present invention refers to a series of mechanisms for: growing high-speed central processing, for example, at a large-scale machine center; wide-area parallel collaboration with, for example, servers and clients distributed at a plurality of remote bases; simultaneous high-speed data transfer to a plurality of bases that enables a huge amount of data distributed at such remote bases to be manipulated in a collaborated manner through the same operation as when local data is manipulated; and definition and control of base-to-base application collaboration/parallel operation management. In other words the present invention relates to a business model based on these mechanisms functioning as a hyper framework. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a mechanism for transferring three-dimensional coordinate information, mouse events, etc., to a processing server at high-speed to improve responsiveness in server-side dialog processing in an existing environment, such as responsiveness in the ASP (Application Service Provider) method where an application is located at the center and dialog is performed at a remote client.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the main goals in product development is to release high-quality products to the market as soon as possible. To achieve this goal, a large-scale, high-quality processing environment, like one realized with a virtual factory, is required. To build such a processing environment, CAD, CAE (Computer Aided Engineering), and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), which realize virtual development, high-speed simulation, and early-stage evaluation of products, are required.
To build a product development environment, it is also necessary to build, for example, an ASP environment which can provide services for achieving high-speed processing of various applications free of temporal, geographical, and scale restorations. To build an environment to carry out high-speed processing of distributed information processing resources, such a collaborative environment is essential that supports collaboration and dialog with remote sites in the same manner and operational feeling as local operation. The realization of such an environment now extends beyond the product development realm to PLM (Product life cycle management) ranging from product development to product disposal. This PLM activity is ultimately expected to help the conservation of the global environment.
The manipulation of processing resources distributed over a known local network will now be described with reference to FIG. 1, which shows the manipulation of processing resources distributed over a known local network.
Information processing centers A, B, C, . . . X functioning as bases constituting a known local network are interconnected via a network 2. The information processing centers A, B, C, . . . X each include many processing resources. More specifically, the information processing center A includes, for example, resources aa, ab, and ac as the information processing resources. If a client 4 is to use, for example, the resources aa, ab, and ac distributed in the information processing center A, a standard access method is used. No problems arise with the data transfer rate, resource operability, and responsiveness for the utilization of resources within a short range, namely, the utilization of information processing resources within the information processing centers A, B, C, . . . X.
An ASP operating procedure for using information resources between information processing centers will now be described with reference to FIG. 2, which shows a processing procedure between information processing centers.
In a known ASP environment, the user's information processing center A includes a computer 6 that performs information processing and a file (ua) 8. The information processing center B includes a counterpart computer 10 and a counterpart file (ub) 12. As described above, the information processing centers A and B are interconnected via the network 2. ASP server processing 14 is performed in the information processing center A. The ASP server processing 14 includes tool selection and Web (World Wide Web) conversion 16, which includes a file system 18, CAD tools 201 and 202, etc. Information transfer processing includes processing 22 of, for example, various FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and the processing 22 requires a plurality of work files 241 and 242.
Operating procedures for the ASP environment will be described below. Procedures (1) to (3) are shown in FIG. 2 to clarify the relationships.                (1) Required file transmission by a plurality of information processing centers
This file transmission includes, for example, file selection, compression, transfer, decompression, etc.                (2) Selection of a required CAD tool, startup of the tool, start of operation by specifying a file        (3) Reception and updating of a result file after CAD processing, and exiting the tool
Reception of the result file includes file selection, compression, transfer, decompression, etc. and updating includes management of editions, etc.
An Internet-based collaborative design method has been proposed in the form of a system that allows both advisee and adviser to browse and select the latest catalog data free of temporal or geographical restrictions and allows design drawings to be produced in real time (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-195438). In addition, there has been proposed an integrated communication system that provides work files on the Web to allow two parties residing at remote sites from each other to exchange views based on CAD drawings (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-140277). Furthermore, a system that centrally manages distributed data in a common database has been proposed as an example of a system that achieves coordination of information resources (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-269330).
More fast and extent collaboration is required due to a growing amount of processing and consequent demands for high-speed processing and global utilization of resources. With the known access method, however, simultaneous high-speed transfer of data to a plurality of information processing centers is not possible, and consequently practical resource utilization is difficult due to distance and a limited transmission band. With the known access method (FIG. 1), for example, the resources aa and ab, which are limited in their own information processing centers A, B, C, . . . X, are used collaboratively only between one information processing center and another. What is the worse is that the known access method is supposed to transfer only a small amount of data. Moreover, with the known access method, frequently repeated transfer processing cannot be avoided to achieve large-scale collaboration among information processing centers. This repeated transfer processing is time-consuming because it involves pre-processing, post-processing, and transfer operation, making practical operation difficult. Furthermore, individual processing at information processing centers is not efficient.
It is customary that to centrally manage engineering applications, such as large-scale CAD applications, data at clients is transferred to a server, which then carries out high-speed processing, and after the processing, sends back the processed results to the clients. This type of central processing takes a very long time to repeatedly transfer many large files between servers and clients before and after processing, and therefore, is significantly inefficient. Display of results of processing, if it is a long-distance dialog such as a dialog with a site on another continent via the Internet, also suffers from a large loss in transfer time, and a quick response cannot be expected for such processing.
No suggestions or proposals about these problems or about solutions to these problems are found in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-195438, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-140277, or Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-269330.

High-speed information processing by coordination of information processing resources apparatus, including method, and computer-readable recording medium thereof


Disclosed a large-span bulk material conveying system, including a folding arm conveyor and a dike-striding elevation-type feeding conveying device. The folding arm conveyor is mainly composed of an undercarriage mounted on the ground of a stockyard, a tower body mounted on the undercarriage and provided with a gyration apparatus and a hopper, a balance arm provided with a balance trolley, a conveying arm provided with a portal frame I, a portal frame II and an unloading trolley, a tower top and other main components, wherein the balance arm, the conveying arm and the tower top are mounted on the tower body. The folding arm conveyor can rotate horizontally, and the conveying arm can be folded and retracted by controlling the wire rope by the windlass, so that the folding arm conveyor can be prevented from colliding with other devices or buildings during the rotation.

At present, with the rapid development of the economy and society, the demands for sand and gravel are also increasing. How to convey and pile up the sand and gravel in all directions is a problem to be urgently solved. In the prior art, a sand carrier is used. The sand is conveyed by the sand carrier to a dike, and then the sand and gravel are conveyed by a conveying device beside the dike to a stockyard and then piled up. In the large-scale stockyard, a belt-type conveyor is a preferred conveying device. The conveyor can only convey the sand and gravel to places along a conveying belt. Therefore, the existing large-scale stockyard still has the problems of low land utilization rate and low working efficiency of the conveyor. The traditional solution is to use other devices to transfer the sand and gravel, which may inevitably increase the cost and management difficulty.
During the use of the conveyor, there are actually the following problems:
1. In the prior art, a folding conveying arm is used to realize functions of long-distance conveying and storage. However, the folding arm is generally folded in two sections. The folding of three sections is generally assisted by various devices such as a hydraulic cylinder. The complete unfolding cannot be realized only by the hydraulic cylinder, and requires other auxiliary structures.
2. The conveyor in the prior art is single in a balancing form and cannot realize multilevel variable balancing. Especially for a large-sized device, the multilevel variable balancing is more difficult to realize.
3. In the prior art, generally the travel control only adopts one limit part such as a bump, an anti-collision block and the like. However, the limit part is single in structure and cannot realize dynamic travel control. Particularly in the conveyor, the folding and unfolding states of the folding arm are caused by the movement of the large-sized device, so that the dynamic travel control is particularly important, which is not solved in the prior art.
4. In the prior art, after the conveying belt and the hopper has conveyed materials, there may be some materials remaining thereon, so that at the moment, it is not appropriate to start the entire system. The prior art lacks of a flexible solution.
5. In the prior art, there is no stable connection and functional connection between an upstream conveyor and a downstream conveyor, resulting in resource waste and low efficiency.
6. Taking Changsha section of Xiangjiang River as an example, the flood season is from April to September every year, with the highest water level reaching 39.21 m, and the dry season is from October to March of the following year, with the lowest water level reaching 25.15 m. At present, a sand unloading ship of a sand and gravel factory can unload the sand normally in the high water season, but cannot unload the sand in the low flow season. Therefore, it is necessary to design a dike-striding elevation-type feeding apparatus to deliver the sand and gravel to the stockyard.
7. In the prior art, the hopper generally adopts a large-area support, that is, the support is generally a whole panel, so that the support has sufficient strength to support a valve plate below the hopper. There is occasionally a supporting-leg support, and the valve plate is fixed on supporting legs, which leads to large area of the valve plate, thereby increasing the weight and the moving range.
8. In the prior art, the stress on a lower guide rail of overlapping guide rails is a major problem. Especially in the dike-striding elevation-type feeding conveying device, a first telescopic conveyor is located on a second telescopic conveyor, and the stress on the second telescopic conveyor is always a trouble. Generally, for safety, the telescopic conveyor with large volume and solid structure is used.
9. In the prior art, an inclined moving apparatus such as an elevation feeding trolley in the dike-striding elevation-type feeding conveying device generally has a solid structure, which consumes a large number of materials.

Large-span bulk material conveying system

Changsha University of Science and Technology


Meat processing equipment is disclosed that includes a first element having a first face; a second element having a second face. The first and second faces extend parallel to one another and define a common plane between the first and second faces. The first and second elements are relatively movable with respect to one another. Yieldable arresting features are included for yieldably arresting the first and second elements in at least one predetermined position of relative movement, the yieldable arresting features include cooperating first and second permanent magnets associated with at least one of the first and second elements.

Yieldable arresting or indexing arrangements are fairly common in automated meat processing equipment. One well known application is in rotatable carcass hangers for poultry processing conveyors and examples are described in EP 0444782, EP 0786208, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,815. All of these known arresting means rely on ball detents that are biased into recesses by the force of a helical spring. The necessary springs and cavities to house these present a serious hazard of bacterial contamination, which is objectionable in the meat processing industry. Although regular cleaning of the equipment is aimed at minimizing the hazard of bacterial infection, the risk itself could not effectively be eliminated with the known yieldable arresting means. Apart from rotatable carcass hangers, yieldable arresting means can also find application in various other parts of meat processing equipment, including bone holders.
Accordingly it is an aspect of the present invention to propose an improved yieldable arresting means for arresting relatively movable elements of meat processing equipment in at least one predetermined position of relative movement. In a more general sense it is an aspect of the present invention to at least overcome or ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art. It is also an aspect of the present invention to at least provide alternative structures which are less cumbersome in manufacture and use and which can be made and used relatively inexpensively. At any rate the present invention is at the very least aimed at offering a useful choice and contribution to the existing art.

Meat processing equipment having improved yieldable arresting means