Embodiments of the invention generally provide a frame assembly having an integral holding frame/clamp. The frame assembly is typically mounted in a housing of an air handler or other air moving conduit. The holding frame/clamp is coupled to the frame assembly by a hinge. The holding frame/lamp is configured to retain a prefilter. When the holding frame/clamp is to a closed position, the holding frame/clamp urges a final filter sealingly against the frame assembly. The clamp holding frame/clamp is maintained in the closed position by a latch. The latch facilitates removal and replacement of the final ter rapidly without tools, thereby substantially reducing the expense associated with filter change out.

Filter holding frames, such as Type 8 holding frames, may be used with a variety of fasteners, which will allow the installation of various combinations of ASHRAE prefiltration and final filtration into a ventilation system. Type 8 holding frames are available from Camfil Farr, Inc., of Riverdale, N.J. The installation may include any, or combinations of the following:                Any 1″ deep panel or pleated filter        Any 2″ deep panel or pleated filter        Any 4″ deep panel or pleated filter        Any 6″ or 12″ deep rigid filter        Any headered style rigid or pocket filter
In contrast, high efficiency filters, such as 95% DOP filter, HEPA filters and higher efficiency filters, require the use of some type of mechanical clamping mechanism to effectively seal the filter to the filter housing and ensure that any bypass or leakage around that seal is no greater than the maximum penetration of the filter. For example, a HEPA filter with an efficiency of 99.97% has a maximum allowable penetration of 0.03%. Thus, the filter must seal to the filter housing effectively enough so that only a maximum of 0.03% leakage occurs between the filter and the holding frame.
The need to have clamping devices to seal high efficiency filters and various types of fasteners to secure and hold ASHRAE filters results in a very time consuming and costly process when filters must be removed and/or installed. This is particularly true on large filtration systems where dozens, if not hundreds, of filters must be removed and replaced on a regular basis. The use of wrenches, ratchets, or other types of tools is often required in order to loosen nuts, bolts, or other fasteners in order to remove the filters from the holding frames or to loosen the filter clamping mechanisms.
Thus, there is a need for a filter holding frame with a clamping mechanism that does not require the use of tools to operate, that can be used to effectively secure and seal high efficiency filters in a filter housing, while at the same time effectively hold and seal prefilters and lower efficiency filters in the holding frame.

Filter holding frame with clamping mechanism


Electrical power generators incorporating stabilized fuels and methods for the encapsulation of fuels are provided. More particularly, methods for the passivation or encapsulation of water reactive, hydrogen gas generating fuels. The electrical power generators employ water reactive fuels encapsulated in a water vapor permeable, liquid water impermeable membrane, or coated with a water vapor permeable, liquid water impermeable substance to control the quantity of water that is permitted reach the chemical fuel. In the event of damage, electrical power generators incorporating the fuels of the invention are protected from explosions that might otherwise result from rapid, uncontrolled hydrogen generation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to stabilized, encapsulated fuels and methods for the encapsulation of fuels. More particularly, the invention relates to the encapsulation of water reactive, hydrogen gas generating fuels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Similar to batteries, fuel cells function to produce electricity through chemical reactions. Rather than storing reactants as batteries do, fuel cells are operated by continuously supplying reactants to the cell. In a typical fuel cell, hydrogen gas acts as one reactant and oxygen as the other, with the two reacting at electrodes to form water molecules and releasing energy in the form of direct current electricity. This direct current electricity may then be converted into an alternating current. The apparatus and process may produce electricity continuously as long as hydrogen and oxygen are provided. While oxygen may either be stored or provided from the air, it is generally necessary to generate hydrogen gas from other compounds through controlled chemical reactions rather than storing hydrogen, because storing hydrogen gas requires that it either be compressed or cryogenically cooled. As fuel cell technology evolves, so do the means by which hydrogen gas is generated for application with fuel cells.
Currently, there are various methods which are known and employed for generating hydrogen gas. One method is by a process known as reformation in which fossil fuels are broken down into their hydrogen and carbon products. However, this system is undesirable in the long term because it is dependent upon a non-renewable resource. Another means of generating hydrogen gas is by reversibly adsorbing and releasing hydrogen gas from metal hydrides or alloys through heating. While this method is useful, it is not preferred because the metal hydrides are typically very heavy, expensive and only release small quantities of hydrogen. Yet another means by which hydrogen gas is generated is through reactive chemical hydrides. This process involves chemically generating hydrogen gas from dry, highly reactive solids by reacting them with liquid water or acids. Chemicals especially suitable for this process are lithium hydride, calcium hydride, lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride and combinations thereof, each of which is capable of releasing plentiful quantities of hydrogen. Compared to the above methods, the use of reactive chemical hydrides is highly desirable in the art, particularly for generating power for use by small, portable electronic devices, such as cellular phones. However, it also has its disadvantages. For example, it has been found that the reaction products from the chemical hydride and liquid water typically form a cake or pasty substance which interferes with further reaction of the reactive chemical with the liquid water or acid. Furthermore, the reaction of chemical hydrides with liquid are difficult to control, and typically generally results in the production of much more hydrogen gas than needed to power such small electronic devices.
In order to combat this problem, methods have been introduced wherein a hydrogen fuel can be reacted with only gaseous water vapor, instead of liquid water. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,712 teaches an apparatus for generating hydrogen by the reaction of a metal hydride with water vapor, wherein a water reservoir is provided and the metal hydride is housed in a separate fuel chamber. A liquid water source is provided in a water chamber, and water molecules from the liquid water source are introduced into the fuel chamber by diffusing through a porous membrane. U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,955 also teaches an apparatus for generating gas by the reaction of a metal hydride fuel with water vapor, wherein water vapor from a liquid water reservoir is introduced into a fuel chamber through a pair of spaced porous hydrophobic membranes. In each of these designs, an elaborate power generator system is required in order to regulate the quantity of water vapor that reacts with the chemical fuel and to regulate the reaction rate of water vapor with the chemical fuel.
It would be desirable in the art to provide a method in which the rate of reaction between water molecules and a water reactive chemical fuel can be regulated independently of the apparatus containing the chemical fuel. Further, it has been discovered that hydrogen gas generators that operate based on reactions between a chemical hydride and water can explode or generate hydrogen at an excessive rate if they are damaged and the chemical hydride is exposed to liquid water. Accordingly, it would be further desirable in the art to provide a secure fuel system for a hydrogen gas generator wherein the hydrogen generation rate is limited such that the generator will not explode or rapidly generate hydrogen gas if the generator is damaged.
The present invention provides a solution for this need in the art. The invention provides a stabilized, or passivated, chemical hydride which is encapsulated in a water vapor permeable, liquid water impermeable material, such as Gore-Tex®. Alternately, the chemical hydride may be coated with an oil or rubber substance to passivate the surface of the chemical fuel and prevent liquid water permeation while allowing water vapor permeation.


Techniques for allocating transmission gaps and making cell measurements in asynchronous communication networks are described. A terminal establishes communication with a first communication network (e.g., a W-CDMA network), receives an initial allocation of transmission gaps for making cell measurements, and makes measurements for cells in a second communication network (e.g., a GSM network) during the allocated transmission gaps. The terminal determines the timing of at least one cell in the second network, which is asynchronous with the first network, and sends the cell timing to the first network. The terminal then receives a new allocation of transmission gaps for making cell measurements. The locations of the transmission gaps in the new allocation are determined based on the cell timing reported by the terminal. The terminal makes measurements for the at least one cell in the second network during the transmission gaps in the new allocation.

I. Field
The present invention relates generally to communication, and more specifically to cell measurements in asynchronous communication networks.
II. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, packet data, and so on. These wireless networks may be capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available system resources. Examples of such wireless networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, and Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks. These wireless networks may also utilize various radio access technologies (RATs) such as Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA), cdma2000, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and so on, all of which are well known in the art.
A multi-mode terminal is capable of communicating with multiple wireless networks, such as a GSM network and a W-CDMA network. The multi-mode terminal typically communicates with a serving cell in only one wireless network at any given moment but periodically makes measurements for cells in the other wireless network. The cell measurements allow the terminal to ascertain whether any cell in the other wireless network is better than the current serving cell. This may be the case, for example, if the terminal is mobile and moves to a different coverage area. If a better cell in the other wireless network is found, as indicated by the cell measurements, then the terminal may attempt to switch to the other wireless network and receive service from the better cell.
Each cell in a GSM network periodically transmits a synchronization burst that allows the terminals to make measurements for that cell. Each GSM cell transmits its synchronization burst at specific time instances determined by the timing of that cell. The GSM and W-CDMA networks may operate asynchronously so that the timing of the cells in the GSM network cannot be ascertained based on the timing of the cells in the W-CDMA network, and vice versa. Furthermore, the cells in each network may operate asynchronously of one another. The asynchronous operation at the network and cell levels complicates cell measurement.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to efficiently make cell measurements in asynchronous communication networks.

Efficient gap allocation for cell measurements in asynchronous communication networks


Disclosed herein is an apparatus for testing switching of a power semiconductor module, including: a power semiconductor module including a plurality of power semiconductor devices corresponding to a plurality of phases to test a switching operation of a corresponding power semiconductor device; a power supply unit supplying power to the power semiconductor module; a relay switching unit including a plurality of relay switch devices that connects or disconnects between the power semiconductor module and the power supply unit according to a relay control signal; and a control unit controlling the relay switching unit to test on/off characteristics of at least one of the plurality of power semiconductor devices individually or simultaneously, By this configuration, the on/off operations of the plurality of power semiconductor devices are tested individually or simultaneously by the control of the plurality of relay switch devices, thereby improving the user convenience and reducing the test time.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for testing switching of a power semiconductor module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a failure of a switch device has become a core issue in a power semiconductor, in particular, a power semiconductor module, such as an insulated gate bipolar mode transistor (IGBT), an intelligent power module (IPM), and the like.
A switch device for the power semiconductor module is heated and cooled due to a repetitive on/off operation, and thus a thermal stress due to a mismatch of coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) occurs, such that failures, such as peeling, cracking, etc., occur in the products.
An example of variables for determining durability of the power semiconductor module may include a bonding wire material, a bonding process, a die material, a substrate material, a solder kind, a solder shape, a base plate material, and the like, all of which have a close relationship with thermal resistance, such that it is difficult to select a material selection and establish a process.
Reliability of the power semiconductor module under the high-temperature or low-temperature operation becomes relatively stable with a development of a manufacturing technology. In particular, main operation characteristics in the fields of home appliances, electric car, and the like, having the use range expanded repeatedly perform the on/off operation, and thus power consumption is increased and a size of individual components is large. As a result, a change in temperature has been more focused as important factors, as compared with the existing low power semiconductor module.
Patent Document disclosed in the following Citation List discloses an apparatus for testing switching of a single, high-speed power semiconductor device as an apparatus for testing switching of a high-speed power semiconductor device.
The existing apparatus for testing switching of a power semiconductor module can test only the single switch device. Therefore, when a plurality of switch devices for a power semiconductor module is used, it may take a lot of time to test each of the switch devices.
Therefore, a new test apparatus capable of testing a plurality of switch devices for a power semiconductor module with a simple configuration of circuit is required.

Apparatus for testing switching of power semiconductor module


The present invention relates to an integrated circuit adapted to perform the function of a diode of the DIAC type, the circuit having an input terminal and an output terminal. The circuit includes a first input transistor having a first terminal connected to a fixed voltage reference, a second terminal, and a control terminal coupled to the input terminal of the circuit. The circuit further includes second and third transistors in a current mirror configuration, each having a first terminal for coupling to the input terminal of the circuit, and a second terminal, and associated control terminals connected together and coupled to the second terminal of the first input transistor, the second terminal of the second transistor being connected to the control terminal of the first transistor. Finally, the circuit includes a fourth output transistor connected, with first and second terminals, between the output terminal and the input terminal of the circuit, the fourth output transistor also having a control terminal connected to the second terminal of the third transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an integrated circuit adapted to perform the function of a DIAC diode.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As is known, there are many applications, especially where oscillations are required to be triggered in a system of the oscillating type (e.g. an auto-oscillating half-bridge system for so-called "lighting" applications), for which diodes of the DIAC (Diode Alternate Current) type are useful. These diodes are multi-junction bipolar devices, e.g. of the NPNPN type, which are used in applications either as discrete components or integrated components.
Current integration technologies for electronic devices have, however, a disadvantage in that they do not allow of a simple and inexpensive integration of DIACs. As applied to oscillating systems, the DIAC has to produce a pulse for triggering the system oscillations, which then deactivates itself.
Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a graph of a voltage-current characteristic of a diode of the DIAC type, it can be seen that this diode has a very high impedance until the value of a voltage Vd thereacross attains the value of a predetermined diode-triggering voltage indicated at V1 in FIG. 1. Upon the voltage Vd reaching the triggering voltage V1, the diode becomes conductive and behaves almost as a short circuit, the current through it being only limited by its intrinsic resistance.
Again with reference to FIG. 1, it can be seen that as the value of the voltage Vd drops below the value of a so-called sustaining voltage, indicated at Vs on the graph, the diode is no longer conductive and reverts to a condition of high impedance.
Shown in FIG. 3 is an example of application of a diode of the DIAC type to an electronic device for driving a fluorescent lamp. This device, known to the skilled in the art as the "lamp ballast", is an auto-oscillating half-bridge device.
Referring to FIG. 3, the electronic device, indicated at OSC, comprises a transformer having a primary winding P connected in series to a fluorescent lamp TUBE, an inductive load L, and a first capacitor C1. The device OSC further comprises first SW1 and second SW2 switches connected in series between first and second terminal of a supply voltage generator Vr. The two switches SW1 and SW2 are connected in series together through a first intermediate node A. The first switch SW1 and the second switch SW2 are also connected in parallel respectively to first S1 and second S2 secondary winding of the transformer.
The device OSC further comprises a trigger circuit INN including first R1 and second C2 circuit elements which consist of a resistor R1 and a second capacitor C2, respectively, connected in series between the first and second terminals of the supply voltage generator Vr. The resistor R1 and second capacitor C2 are connected in series together through a second intermediate node B. The trigger circuit INN also comprises a first diode D1 of the DIAC type having a first terminal connected to the second intermediate node B and a second terminal connected to the switch SW2 to perform a triggering function for the oscillations of the device OSC. A second diode D2, connected with first and second terminals to the first A and second B intermediate nodes, respectively, functions to disable the first diode D1.
In practice, the device OSC is triggered by the first diode D1 receiving a current from the series connection of the second capacitor C2 and the resistor R1, and produces a first pulse which is received by the switch SW2.

IC for implementing the function of a DIAC diode


A non-polarizing beam splitter has a first prism; one or more ground layer(s) made of a dielectric material which is (are) formed on a slant face of the first right angle prism; an Au layer having thickness of 13 to 35 nm which is formed on the ground layer; one or more protective layer(s) made of a dielectric material which is (are) formed on the Au layer; and a second prism which is jointed to an outermost layer of the protective layer via adhesive. The non-polarizing beam splitter divides light at wavelength of 640 nm to 820 nm into transmission light and reflection light by a predetermined ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-polarizing beam splitter. More specifically, the invention relates to the non-polarizing beam splitter having an Au layer to be used in an optical device such as an optical pickup.
2. Description of the Related Art
Non-polarizing beam splitters branch incident light into transmission light and reflection light by a predetermined ratio regardless of a polarized light state, in a certain incident angle and wavelength. Such non-polarizing beam splitters can be manufactured by forming dielectric layers in a laminating manner, but dozens of dielectric layers should be laminated. For this reason, productivity is not good and it is technologically difficult to form dozens of layers with high accuracy. Further, it is difficult that reflectance is made to be approximately 50% or more by the laminated structure of the dielectric layers in a state that reflectance and transmittance of P polarized light and S polarized light are not changed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-113203, therefore, proposes a non-polarizing beam splitter where a first dielectric layer, an Ag layer and a second dielectric layer are formed on a slant face of a right angle prism and layer structures of the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer are symmetrical with respect to the Ag layer. Ag, however, easily corrodes, and thus it changes in quality due to water or the like to be used in the step of manufacturing non-polarizing beam splitters. For this reason, non-polarizing beam splitters using the Ag layer have a problem of decay durability.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-11701 proposes a non-polarizing beam splitter using an Au layer instead of an Ag layer. Since Au is certainly a stable material which does not corrode, the problem of the decay durability is resolved. Since Au, however, is soft, it is easily scratched at the time of handling and machining. Au absorbs light in a visible light range, and it is used limitedly to the light in infrared regions in the non-polarizing beam splitter of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-11701.
The present invention is devised in view of such conventional problems, and its object is to provide a non-polarizing beam splitter using Au which prevents the Au layer from being scratched at the time of handing and machining, prevents peeling of the Au layer from a prism, and can cope with light in a visible range of wavelength of 640 nm to 820 nm to be used in DVD (wavelength: in the vicinity of 650 nm, 640 nm to 680 nm) and CD (wavelength: in the vicinity of 780 nm, 760 nm to 810 nm).


A switching device, in particular an electrical power circuit breaker, is disclosed for protecting an electrical circuit. The switching device includes two pole terminals, a switching mechanism for automatically interrupting the electrical connection of the two pole terminals in the event of an overload, electrical components for controlling the switching device and a pole cassette in which the switching mechanism is disposed in a switching chamber. The pole cassette includes at least one gas duct which is connected to the switching chamber in a gas-communicating manner and is designed to discharge gas from the pole cassette past the electrical components to the environment.

Switching devices are well known in principle. They are used as protection for electrical circuitry whereby pole terminals of the switching device are separated from one another in the event of an overload. The breaking of this electrical connection serves to prevent damage to components and devices disposed in the electrical circuit. For this purpose known switching devices often have a switching mechanism of rotary design. The rotatable switching arms of such a switching mechanism can connect and disconnect a fixed contact and a movable contact. Redundancy is often provided, so that a double arm can be brought into contact with two corresponding fixed contacts on both sides of an axis of rotation as a movable contact.
The disadvantage of known switching devices is that, when the contacts are opened in the event of an overload, an arc is often generated. This arc causes gas to be produced which must leave the switching chamber of the switching mechanism.
In known switching devices, a duct implemented in the enclosure or in the pole cassette is basically provided for this purpose. The gas produced by the arc during the switching process can leave the switching chamber via this duct. However, in the case of known switching devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,480,082 B1, for example, protection of the electrical components of the switching device is unknown. Thus the danger there is basically that the gas, which is not or only inadequately discharged, will cause contamination inside the switching chamber, particularly in the vicinity of electrical components.
If, for example, a duct is provided in the switching device enclosure, this enclosure duct must be sealed to the switching chamber. The danger of this seal as a predetermined fracture point at the high switching pressures is that gas and therefore contamination will impair electrical components for controlling the switching device. As this fouling is mainly electrically conductive contamination, this may result in undesirable short circuit situations in the electrical components and therefore damage or even destruction of the switching device.


A radome may include a core and an outer dielectric constant (ODC) adaptation component overlying an outer surface of the core. The radome may have an effective dielectric constant variation profile from an outer surface of the ODC adaptation component, through the ODC adaptation component to an outer surface of the core. The effective dielectric constant variation profile of the ODC adaptation component may be a continuous monotonic function DC(ot), where DC(ot) is the dielectric constant of the ODC adaptation component at the value ot, where ot is a ratio OTL/OTT, OTL is a location within the ODC variation component measured from the outer surface of the ODC variation component, and OTT is the total thickness of the ODC adaptation.

Airborne satcom radomes are generally protective covers for satellite antennas that are placed on an aircraft roof. Such radomes generally include at least one dielectric stack designed to optimize the radome's radio frequency transparency. The dielectric stack is a succession of high and low dielectric index materials and the thicknesses of these layers can be chosen to minimize the transmission losses of the radome at specific incident angle and specific frequencies. An optimal dielectric stack would transmit the entire range of incident electromagnetic waves without any absorption or reflection. Moreover the need for broadband radome designs is growing with the development of broadband antennas in the satcom frequency range (i.e., 1-40 GHz) and radar systems range (i.e., 40-100 GHz).

Continuous dielectric constant adaptation radome design

SAINT-GOBAIN PERFORMANCE PLASTICS CORPORATION


The present invention generally offers a system and a method that allows a vessel to treat water while providing corrosion inhibition. An oxygen stripping gas source produces oxygen stripping gas that may be pumped directly to, preferably but optionally, a venturi injector, or may first be pumped into an empty tank and then delivered to the injector means. Water being pumped through the injector via a transfer piping means comes into contact with the oxygen stripping gas, and dissolved oxygen in the water transfers to micro-fine stripping gas bubbles generated by the injector. The water and the micro-fine bubbles are pumped from the injector and into the tank, where the micro-fine bubbles float to the surface, and the oxygen is released into the tank's headspace. The deoxygenated water may be re-circulated through the system for additional deoxygenation or released from the tank into the surrounding waterways.

1. Field of the Invention
A system and method of water treatment using a venturi injector facilitates the removal of dissolved oxygen from water thereby reducing the population of undesirable aquatic organisms present in the water while inhibiting corrosion. The system and method of water treatment has particular utility for use in connection with a vessel by allowing the vessel to treat ballast water that is being transported from one port area to another, thereby limiting environmentally adverse effects, while inhibiting corrosion. The system and method of water treatment may have other uses, such as in oil production.
For instance, before a ship leaves a port empty, or partially loaded, it takes on water into ballast tanks to maintain stability and adjust buoyancy. In virtually every case, this ballast water will contain living organisms which are affected by levels of dissolved oxygen in the water. When the ship reaches its destination and prepares to load its cargo, it discharges this ballast water, thus introducing potentially invasive species to the aquatic environment of the destination port. Approximately 40,000 major cargo vessels carry billions of tons of ballast water around the world annually and are thus believed to be responsible for the introduction of hundreds of marine invasive species to non-native environments. The total cost of these invasions is indeterminate, but several estimates put it in the billions of dollars.
To address this issue, many national governments and state governments in the United States have passed regulations governing vessel ballast water management. The International Maritime Organization has proposed draft guidelines recommending treatment of ballast water. The United States Coast Guard is presently developing guidelines for potential future ballast water treatment requirements for vessels trading into ports in the United States.
The vast majority of the world's fleet of ships, including naval as well as commercial vessels are constructed of steel. Steel corrodes when exposed to oxygen and water. Corroded steel structures on a vessel decrease seaworthiness, and extensive measures are taken to avoid it, and to repair it. Estimates of the cost to protect against and repair corrosion on vessels runs into the billions of dollars annually worldwide.
One area in a ship where corrosion is of particular concern is in the ballast water tanks. For example, the largest oil tankers may have up to 15,000,000 gallons (57,000 tons) of ballast water capacity. Prolonged exposure of the ballast tank structure to water (often salt water) creates a condition conducive to rapid corrosion. At the time of this writing, the cost to paint ballast tanks is typically $5.00 to $10.00 per square foot while other estimates suggest that the cost to repair corroded areas are approximately $500 per square foot.
Thus, systems that treat water in order to eliminate aquatic organisms while providing corrosion inhibition in a time and cost-efficient manner are desirable. One form of eliminating aquatic organisms in ballast water is through the deoxygenation of the water as the water is taken from the surrounding waterways. The concentration of a solute gas in solution is directly proportional to the partial pressure of the gas above the solution. (This physical phenomenon is governed by Henry's Law, and the dissolved concentration can be calculated using the Henry's Law constant for that solute.) As such, when exposed to a stripping gas (such as nitrogen or other low-oxygen gas mixture), oxygen readily diffuses out of water, which contains between 6 to 10 parts per million (0.001 percent) of dissolved oxygen, in an effort to return to the mixture found in air, which is approximately 79 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. The use of nitrogen gas to remove the dissolved oxygen present in ballast water has been documented as offering an efficient and economically desirable means of treating ballast water while also providing corrosion inhibition effects. See MARIO N. TAMBURRI et al.: Ballast water deoxygenation can prevent aquatic introductions while reducing ship corrosion. Biolog. Conserv. (2002) 103: 331-341. The Henry's Law constants for a variety of potential stripping gases and mixtures thereof show that a variety of gases can be used to deoxygenate water.
Aboard a vessel, an efficient way to expose the dissolved oxygen in water to a stripping is to create micro-fine bubbles of gas in the water. Micro-fine stripping gas bubbles created in water have the capability of transferring dissolved oxygen from the water as the micro-fine bubbles float from the bottom to the top of a tank. A commonly recognized efficient, safe, and reliable way to create micro-fine bubbles is through the use of a venturi injector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Water treatment, and more particularly, ballast water treatment, apparatuses and methods are desirable for allowing vessels to treat water that is being transported from one port area to another. Such treatment limits the environmentally hazardous effects that may result when the water is later released into an environment that is ecologically different from that in which the water was originally obtained.
The use of water treatment apparatuses and methods are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,508 to Browning discloses a method and apparatus for killing microorganisms in ship ballast water. However, the Browning '508 patent does not use stripping gas to deoxygenate the ballast water and consequently fails to disclose any corrosion inhibition properties, and has further drawbacks of using a less efficient vacuum mechanism to remove the dissolved oxygen from the ballast water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,778 to Rodden discloses ballast water treatment that treats ballast water using ozone. However, the Rodden '778 patent does not provide for corrosion, and fails to use the more efficient venturi-injector facilitated means of to treat the ballast water.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,451 to Gill discloses a method for controlling zebra mussels in ship ballast tanks that treats ballast water with a water-soluble dialkyl diallyl quaternary ammonium polymer. However, the Gill '451 patent does not allow for water treatment without the occurrence of a chemical reaction, and does not provide for any corrosion inhibition properties.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,376,282 and 5,578,116 to Chang both disclose the use of a vacuum and agitation to remove dissolved oxygen from water in order to inhibit the survival of zebra mussels. However, neither the '282 nor the '116 patent provides for a more efficient venturi injector-facilitated delivery of stripping gas to deoxygenate the ballast water and have the further disadvantages of failing to provide for corrosion inhibition effects during the removal of dissolved oxygen from the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,842 to Decker discloses a method of low-concentration ozone wastewater treatment that injects a gas mixture of a low-concentration of ozone gas in oxygen into a wastewater stream while mixing to provide a reduction in the wastewater pollutants. However, the Decker '842 patent, although providing an efficient ozone-based treatment system using a venturi injector, does not disclose the treatment of ballast water on a vessel nor does the '842 patent offer the even greater advantages obtained using an oxygen stripping gas such as increased efficiency and corrosion inhibition.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,274,052 to Hartwig discloses the ozonation of pool water that uses a series of venturi injectors for ozone delivery. However, the Hartwig '052 patent does not disclose the injection of an oxygen stripping gas into the water through venturi injectors in order to deoxygenate the water, and has the additional deficiency of failing to provide for any corrosion inhibition effects during the process described.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,111 to Savard discloses an apparatus is provided for treating wastewater biologically and clarifying the biologically treated water. However, the Savard '111 patent does not use an oxygen stripping gas for the deoxygenation of water, preferably but optionally ballast water, further fails to provide for corrosion inhibition.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,983, to Nold discloses an apparatus and method for degassing a liquid using a vacuum chamber and agitation. However, the Nold '983 patent requires cavitation of the liquid and does not use a venturi injector to more efficiently enhance the degassing of the liquid.
While the above-described inventions fulfill their particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a system and method for water treatment which allows a vessel to treat ballast water that is being transported from one port area to another while providing corrosion inhibition.
The aforementioned patents and other water treatment systems and methods currently known in the art make no provisions for the treatment of water using an injector means to facilitate stripping gas deoygenation while also providing corrosion inhibition.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A converter can process image data from input HDR images in real time to compute new metadata about the brightness, contrast, color gamut and/or color volume for the image data to be displayed from each frame. Existing metadata can be ignored. The converter can combine the metadata for a current HDR frame with metadata for a plurality of immediately previous sequential frames to provide parameters for tone mapping. The converter uses these parameters, and characteristics about a lower dynamic range display which will receive output image data, to define a transfer function for converting the input HDR image data into output image data for display. The converter analyzes and tone maps HDR frames at a rate sufficient to allow output video to be generated at a desired frame rate while receiving the image data from frames of the input HDR video at an input frame rate.

Digital media data, such as audio and video and still images, are commonly encoded into bitstreams that are transmitted or stored in data files, where the encoded bitstreams conform to specifications for established standards or proprietary formats. Such specifications generally define structures for storing data including metadata about the encoded bitstream and for storing encoded media data. Metadata may be defined by named fields which have values, which may be stored as name-value pairs. The specification for a standard generally defines which structures are required, which structures are optional, and what various structures, fields and field values mean.
Some digital video is produced using high dynamic range (HDR) images. Several standards and proprietary formats are available for storing HDR image data, such as HDR10, HDR10+, DolbyVision, Hybrid Log-Gamma, and SL-HDR1 formats and formats compliant with BT.2020 and SMPTE.2084 standards. The dynamic range of a display can be described in terms of its contrast, which is the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black that can be produced on the display. This difference is typically specified in units of candelas per square meter (cd/m2), also known as "nits". An HDR image is an image that is "mastered" on, or originally produced for, an HDR display. A standard television display generally can produce a few hundred nits, e.g., 300 to 500 nits. High dynamic range displays generally can produce a few thousand nits, e.g., 1000 to 3000 nits, with some producing up to 10000 nits. The pixel data for an HDR image can be within a range of a few hundred nits to several hundred thousand nits.
HDR images can be displayed on a display with a lower dynamic range if the pixel data is appropriately mapped to account for differences in peak brightness, contrast, color gamut, and color volume, between the dynamic range of the image and the lower dynamic range of the display. To enable such mapping to be performed, HDR images generally are accompanied by metadata describing the content of the images as they may appear on a mastering display. Such metadata is defined in standards known as SMPTE-2086 and SMPTE-2094 and its variants. Similar metadata is specified in the DolbyVision format.

Real time tone mapping of high dynamic range image data at time of playback on a lower dynamic range display


A liquid crystal display device includes: a gate driver for sequentially applying a gate signal to a gate line for a horizontal line; a control signal supplier for applying a clock-shaped control signal to a control line provided in parallel to the gate line for the horizontal line; a data driver for applying a video signal to a data line provided in a direction crossing the gate line; a first liquid crystal cell provided at one side of the data line to receive said video signal under control of said gate signal and said control signal; and a second liquid crystal cell provided at an other side of the data line to receive said video signal under control of said gate signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display device and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) controls light transmittance of a liquid crystal using an electric field to thereby display a picture. To this end, the LCD device includes a liquid crystal display panel having a pixel matrix, and a driving circuit for driving the liquid crystal display panel. The driving circuit drives the pixel matrix such that picture information can be displayed on the display panel.
FIG. 1 shows a related art liquid crystal display device. As shown in FIG. 1, the related art LCD device includes a liquid crystal display panel 2, a data driver 4 for driving data lines DL1 to DLm of the liquid crystal display panel 2, and a gate driver 6 for driving gate lines GL1 to GLn of the liquid crystal display panel 2. The liquid crystal display panel 2 includes a thin film transistor TFT at each intersection between the gate lines GL1 to GLn and the data lines DL1 to DLm that define liquid crystal cells arranged in a matrix type. Each of the liquid crystal cells includes a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor TFT of a respective liquid crystal cell.
The gate driver 6 sequentially applies a gate signal to each gate line GL1 to GLn in response to a control signal from a timing controller (not shown). The data driver 4 converts data R, G and B from the timing controller into analog video signals to thereby apply video signals to the data lines DL1 to DLm for one of the horizontal lines during every horizontal period when a gate signal is applied to each gate line GL1 to GLn. More particularly, the thin film transistor TFT applies data from the data lines DL1 to DLm to the liquid crystal cell in response to a control signal from the gate lines GL1 to GLn.
The liquid crystal cell can be equivalently expressed as a liquid crystal capacitor Clc because it includes a common electrode and a pixel electrode opposed to each other with a liquid crystal material therebetween. The pixel electrode is connected to the thin film transistor TFT. The liquid crystal cell also includes a storage capacitor (not shown) connected to a pre-stage gate line in order to keep a data voltage charged on the liquid crystal capacitor Clc until the next data voltage is charged therein.
The liquid crystal cells of such a related art LCD device has vertical lines equal to the number (i.e., m) of the data lines DL1 to DLm because they are provided at intersections between the gate lines DL1 to DLn and the data lines DL1 to DLm. In other words, the liquid crystal cells are arranged in a matrix type in such a manner to make m vertical lines and n horizontal lines. The related art LCD device requires m data lines DL1 to DLm so as to drive the liquid crystal cells having m vertical lines. Therefore, the related art LCD device has a drawback in that a number "m" of data lines DL1 to DLm should be provided to drive the liquid crystal display panel 2. Thus, processing time and a manufacturing cost are large. Furthermore, the related art LCD device has a problem in that, since a large number of data drive integrated circuits (IC's) are included in the data driver 4 so as to drive the m data lines DL1 to DLm, a large manufacturing cost is required.

Liquid crystal display device and driving method thereof


Matte substrates comprising a water based coating composition and a base substrate. The water based coating composition comprises either no or only small amounts of mineral filler, refractory filler and/or organic filler and no other matting agents. The water based coating composition is typically applied to the base substrate at a coating weight of less than or equal to about 3 dry pounds of the water based coating composition per about 3,000 square feet of the base substrate. The matte substrate generally has a 60° gloss less than about 20.

Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to matte substrates comprising water based coating compositions and base substrates. The water based coating composition comprises only small amounts of mineral fillers, refractory fillers and/or organic fillers and may comprise no mineral fillers, refractory fillers or organic fillers. Other matting agents are not used in the invention.
The Related Art
Matte finish, i.e. a dull, no gloss finish having a lack of any or significant luster, is generally achieved by applying a coating material to a substrate. Many different types of substrates can be coated with a material to develop matte finish. One application for such coated substrates is paper stock for books, folders, magazine covers, and coated paper board for containers. Another example is paper that is coated to create matte finish photo paper and printer paper. Matte finishes are also used is in the area of labels, such as package labels.
Matte finish coatings are typically based on polymer resins as the binder and require the use of mineral, refractory and/or organic fillers, or other fillers as agents to lower the gloss. In the prior art, more than 1.0% mineral, refractory or organic fillers, and possibly other fillers, are needed to obtain a matte finish. Matte substrates made with mineral, refractory, organic or other fillers, such as those having more than 1.0% mineral, refractory or organic fillers, and/or other fillers, have disadvantages. These disadvantages include burnish and relatively poor scratch and rub resistance. Burnish resistance and scratch and rub resistance tends to decrease as the gloss of the coated substrate decreases. Moreover, the scratches and burnish marks do not heal such that once the matte substrate is burnished or scratched the wounds are permanent which is particularly disadvantageous when the matte substrate is used for book, folder, and magazine covers or in labeling applications. Further, the coatings in the art are typically high density and, after application to the substrate, cause curl in the coated matte substrate or film which is disadvantageous. Also, films or substrates coated with the conventional materials do not have the desired soft touch feel.
Liquid mineral filled coatings have low solids content and typically at least 12 wet pounds of coating per 3,000 square feet of substrate needs to be applied to achieve a 60° gloss less than 20. Coating at these loadings takes a lot of energy to dry off the volatile material and, also, it takes a lot of heat to laminate these films to another substrate due to heat capacity and heat sink effect of the high loading of mineral fillers.
Further disadvantages include negative effects on processing equipment. For example, conventional films comprising mineral filled matte coatings, such as coatings comprising more than 1.0% mineral, refractory or organic fillers, and/or other fillers, dull the knives that are used to slit the master rolls of coated film down to the correct size. Further, in laminated applications the films comprising conventional material dull the knives used to cut off the films during the lamination step.
In certain applications, use of ultraviolet ("UV") curable topcoats to the matte substrates is desirable. Such top coating materials do not have excellent adhesion to the conventional mineral filled low gloss coatings, including coatings comprising mineral, refractory, organic or other fillers, including coatings comprising more than 1.0% of such fillers.
Coatings made according to the prior art applied various polymeric binders such as acrylic, polyester, nitrocellulose, melamine, polyurethane and others. The low gloss is achieved by the addition of mineral, refractory or organic fillers and/or other matting agents such as nylon, polyurethane, acrylic, methacrylate, wax based powders, carbodiimide, and the like. Coated low gloss substrates available in the art include a coated low gloss polyamide film, EMBLEM™ 1200M, from Honeywell, Morris Township, N.J., U.S.A., low gloss co-extruded films, films that are produced by chemical laser or mechanical etching, and films that are made low gloss by having a rough pattern embossed in them by heat and/or pressure.
The coating formulations and processes described herein and the matte substrates of the invention comprising such formulations do not have the disadvantages of compositions and substrates in the art. The water based coating composition comprising a water base, such as a polyurethane dispersion, an acrylic dispersion and combinations or reaction products thereof, with a cross-linking agent and optional binder can be applied to a base substrate to create a matte substrate without the use of any or significant matting agents. For example, the compositions may comprise up to about 1.0% mineral filler, refractory filler and/or organic filler or no mineral, refractory or organic fillers, and no other matting agent and achieve a matte finish without the drawbacks associated with compositions in the art.
All parts and percentages set forth in this specification and the claims are on a weight-by-weight basis (wet) unless noted otherwise.

ASHLAND LICENSING AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LLC


A vibration structure that includes a film having a first electrode on a first main surface thereof, the first electrode defining a first connection region on the first main surface where the first electrode is not present, and the film is constructed to be deformed in a plane direction when a voltage is applied thereto; a frame-shaped member; a vibration portion surrounded by the frame-shaped member; a first connection member that connects the first main surface of the film to the frame-shaped member at the first connection region; a second connection member that connects the film to the vibration portion; and an extended electrode that is connected to the first electrode.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-126626 (Patent Document 1) discloses a structure in which a film-shaped piezoelectric body is connected to a substrate made of a rigid body in a piezoelectric vibration sensor.
The structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a film-shaped piezoelectric body composed of a piezoelectric body and electrodes that are integrally bonded to both main surfaces of the piezoelectric body using a dielectric adhesive, and a substrate disposed on the main surface of the film-shaped piezoelectric body. The substrate is made of a rigid body such as glass epoxy, and is integrally bonded on the electrode of the film-shaped piezoelectric body.


An analysis apparatus includes processing circuitry configured to obtain quantitative values of a plurality of types of tissue properties relating to a region of interest of a subject, and generate a diagram of the region of interest based on the quantitative values.

In recent years, an application for quantifying tissue properties of a subject with the use of a medical imaging diagnostic apparatus, such as an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, a computed tomography (CT) apparatus, etc., has been developed.
Quantitative values calculated by such an application are presented to a user in the form of image and/or numerical information, and utilized for diagnosis, etc.
Sometimes a single type of tissue property to be quantified is insufficient to conduct accurate diagnosis. For example, quantification of the stiffness of a liver by the use of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and subsequent presentation of an image and numerical information showing the stiffness of the liver to a user is already known; however, there is sometimes a case where identical stiffness is measured for both hepatitis and mild liver cirrhosis. In other words, mere quantification and presentation of a single type of tissue property sometimes fails to lead to identification of disease.


A method of producing droplets from a nozzle provided on a material layer, the method comprising the steps of supplying liquid to an inner end of an array of nozzles, the nozzles being split into M groups of one or more nozzles, generating one or more firing signals, each firing signal causing sufficient movement of a group of nozzles relative to the liquid such that liquid is projected as droplets from the outer face of the respective nozzles, generating one or more sub-firing signals associated with each group of nozzles, the one or more sub-firing signals causing movement of the group of nozzles which is insufficient to project liquid from the nozzles, the sub-firing signals of adjacent groups having a non-zero phase relationship, wherein the sub-firing signal(s) of at least one group of nozzles is independent of the firing signal(s) associated with that group.

In our previous application WO 93/10910 we describe a device for projecting droplets from a nozzle that is excited to project liquid therefrom.
In our previous application WO99/54140 we describe a device and method for projecting liquid as jets or droplets from multiple nozzles formed in a material layer. The nozzles are formed in a transducer that incorporates a finger with liquid being supplied to an inner end of the nozzles. By continuously stimulating excitation of the finger motion at a certain frequency, the nozzle will eject a continuous droplet stream from an outer end of the nozzle.
In the type of device described in WO 93/10910 and WO 99/54140, there is no local chamber and hence no reflected pressure waves of the type found in many other known devices. The invention, as described later, is equally applicable to the devices in either of these documents and indeed to any open-reservoir structure with front-face actuators.
During printing or fluid dispensing from the type of devices described in WO99/54140 and WO 93/10910, debris, dried ink, solute or other unwanted materials ("crud") can form on the material layer, both on the outlet side and the inlet side. It is necessary to periodically clean and remove this debris and this is particularly important when printing biological material (e.g. for diagnostic purposes) or fluids that evaporate easily. With this type of medium, the nozzles through which the material is being ejected get crusty when not in use, even if that use is only for a relatively short period of time.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,827, U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,464 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,656 devices are described that contain a number of dedicated piezoelectric actuators that can be operated to result in ultrasonic actuation of the material layer to loosen debris on the material layer. Although this can be an effective way of clearing the debris, the requirement of piezoelectric actuators solely for the use of cleaning increases the cost and complexity of such devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,293 describes a technique for clearing ink jet heads which uses sub-firing signals in between ejections which are ineffective in causing ejection, and where the sub-firing signals are synchronous with the firing signals, i.e. the sub-firing signal is at a predetermined time after the firing signal. This is applied in the context of standard ink jet heads where the actuators are situated within or so as to form enclosed chambers.
The use of sub-firing signals on their own enable the fluid meniscus to re-suspend or re-dissolve the crud deposited on the outer face of the nozzle as a result of solvent evaporation (or carrier evaporation if it's a suspension), as the meniscus is caused to move back and forth. However, even with such an approach, there is a concentration of the crud in the bulk fluid near the inner face of the nozzle.


An ice thickness/drifting velocity observation of sea ice by using an ice thickness measurement sonar and a current meter moored into the sea and a sea ice observation by a high-resolution airborne SAR are synchronously performed, a correlation between a draft profile of sea ice passing over the sonar and an SAR backscattering coefficient profile is calculated, and an ice draft of desired sea ice is calculated from the relational expression and an SAR backscattering coefficient. As the SAR backscattering coefficient, a backscattering coefficient of L-band HV polarization may be used. A backscattering coefficient of X-band VV polarization is preferably used as the SAR backscattering coefficient to detect thin ice having a thickness of not more than approximately 10 cm.

Many areas (e.g. the Sea of Okhotsk) in the world have seasonal sea ice zones. The extent of the seasonal sea ice zone and the sea ice volume greatly affect the energy exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. For this reason, it is an important factor for meteorological observation to detect a seasonal sea ice zone.
In particular, thin ice having a thickness of not more than 30 cm is of critical significance in controlling the heat, salt, and vapor fluxes at the ocean surface. Thus, detecting and classifying the thin ice using remote sensing technology is of particular importance.
Up to now, many researches for a distribution of sea ice thicknesses or classification of ice types are performed by using a microwave radiometer or a synthetic aperture radar.
However, data obtained from these researches are rarely discussed in relation to actually observed values of ice thicknesses except for comparison with observed values of ice thickness obtained by a submarine-borne sonar in the polar zones.
Especially, the Sea of Okhotsk has few actual measurements of ice thicknesses. The actual measurements have been rarely compared with values obtained by a microwave sensor/radar.
Therefore, the present invention has as object to provide a method of observing sea ice for calculating an ice draft of desired sea ice from data obtained by a synthetic aperture radar.

National Institute of Informantion and Communications Technology, Incorporated Administrative Agency

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology


A technique for permitting tracepoints to be set relative to data elements for the debugging of a procedural program is disclosed. A proxy object is provided for each data element relative to which tracing is desired. The proxy object intercepts messages sent from the program to the data element caused by the execution of logic statements. In accordance with a developer's specified parameters, tracing functions relative to the data element are invoked in response to the receipt of each message dependent upon the nature of the message. The proxy object then forwards the message to the intended data element. Subsequent return of control from the data element to the program may also invoke the proxy object and affect tracing in accordance with parameters supplied by the developer to the debugger.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved tool for debugging software applications. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved tracing function for use in debugging software programs.
2. Description of the Related Art
One critical but often overlooked part of the process of developing software programs is the elimination of errors from the software program. The process of eliminating errors is known as debugging. After one or more software developers writes the code for a software program, the program must be tested to determine what errors exist in the program, and then the program must be debugged to reduce or eliminate the errors. For commercial software, it is imperative that most of the errors or bugs are found and debugged prior to the software being released to the marketplace. The debugging process can be quite extensive, costly and time consuming. Accordingly, software tools and techniques have been developed to assist in the debugging of code and reduce the debugging cycle time.
Additionally, for errors or bugs found in commercial software following the release of the commercial software, software manufacturers must be able to respond rapidly to customer complaints about bugs, and provide fixes in short order.
The software errors or bugs can be categorized into two types. The first type is a logic error, in which logic statements or commands included by the software developer in the program are flawed, such that the desired function is not performed during execution of the program, or is not performed properly, etc. Typically, logic errors cause the program to execute functions or commands within the program which are not desired by the developer. The second type of error is with regard to data being maintained or used by the program, and occurs when the data is somehow corrupted.
A number of debugging functions and techniques are presently employed in currently available software used to debug programs. One set of known techniques are known as testpoints, and include the setting of breakpoints, tracepoints, watchpoints, etc. However, the use of tracepoints has been rather limited. While tools exist which set tracepoints so as to trigger creation of trace information upon the execution of a specific logic unit in a program being debugged, no similar mechanism exists for setting tracepoints so as to trigger tracing relative to specific data components within or utilized by a program. The existing logic-based trace function can create information regarding data movement, but only in the context of data movement that occurs upon execution of a logic unit. Further, information is created relative to all data components. When information is being sought relative to a single component, the logic-based tracepoint procedure is costly in terms of processing time, since information relative to all affected data components is gathered, and in terms of developer time, as the developer must sort through information relevant to all affected data components to find information pertaining to the desired one. The ability to trigger the generation of trace data based upon a specific data component so that information can be obtained relative to the data component during execution of logic units would be a valuable tool for developers in the debugging of programs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,914, which issued to Coplien et al., discloses a method for using breakpoints in the debugging of programs written in an object oriented language. This patent is of interest in that it does address using breakpoints (a form of testpoints which causes a program to halt executing when encountered) in the debugging of object oriented programs. However, the Coplien patent does not address tracepoints, and does not address the problem of or provide a solution for the lack of a trace function relative to data components in the debugging of programs.
IBM's Cross System Product (CSP), Version 4.1, which was released in 1992, provides an object oriented solution for the debugging of procedural programs. However, while that solution does provide debugging with testpoints, it does not enable the setting of tracepoints relative to data components in a program.
A need still exists for a debugging tool which permits a developer to gather trace information specific to designated data components for a program undergoing debugging.

Data triggered trace technique for debugging software programs


The invention relates to method and system for controlling a training plan for a user having a chosen aim for training, where                at least one parameter describing physical characteristics of the user is determined, and        a training plan consists of plurality of days, each day having one or more training sessions or rest, and        each performed and coming session having a training load described by one or more parameters        a training template is determined according to the aim and the said one or more parameters describing physical characteristics, each training template having a cumulative training load target according to the said parameter and the chosen aim and consisting of one or more training sessions or rest in each day, each training session of the template having a pre-selected training load, and        an adapting window is determined, the adapting window consisting of a plurality of days, which include one or more previous sessions and one or more coming sessions according to the training template, and        training loads of each session in the adapting window are combined into a cumulative training load, which is compared relatively to the cumulative training load target in the template, anddepending on the comparison one or more coming sessions in the adapting window are adapted by changing one or more training loads of these so that the performed training load and the training load of the coming sessions as a combination meets the cumulative training load target.

1. Field of the Invention
Invention relates for METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING TRAINING PLAN OF A TRAINING PERIOD OF A USER.
In the method                at least one parameter describing physical characteristics of the user is determined, and        a training plan consists of plurality of days, each day having one or more training sessions or rest, and        each performed and coming session having a training load described by one or more parameters        a training template is determined according to the aim and the said one or more parameters describing physical characteristics, each training template having a cumulative training load target according to the chosen aim and consisting of one or more training sessions in each day, each training session of the template having a pre-selected training load.
2. Description of the Related Art
WO2005021107: PERSONNEL TRAINING SYSTEM AND METHOD (Steffan Klein, 2005); "System and method for virtual personal trainer in fitness training". One database includes primary instructions how to exercise based on which user may start to exercise. Heart rate monitor is used to evaluate fitness/activity level when further instructions, both visually and verbally, can be given from the database (intensity, duration of sets). This system does not plan future training, but rather is focused to the guidance of single training session.
JP2004054591: METHOD OF CREATING HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM AND METHOD OF EXECUTING HEALTH PROMOTION (INST OF TSUKUBA LIAISON CO LTD 2004)
User fills up questionnaires (e.g., food, lifestyle, fitness tests, exercise) based on which computer determined fitness-program. When the prescribed program is completed, execution is inputted in the computer which adjusts the next prescription. This system the prescription is fixed in nature and thus the new prescription is given only after the old one is completed, although conditions could be changed.
AU2002357966: MOBILE FITNESS AID (Siemens 2003)
Document discloses a mobile terminal, which sends information on the body to the receiver on which based on the information training prescription is build and sent back to mobile terminal.
EP1159989: A method of generating and/or adjusting a training schedule (In2sports 2001)
Encloses invention that includes system to give training prescription is based on human expert build database. The training schedule is updated according to electronically obtained parameters during training session. However, document does not disclose, how schedules are created in respect to personal characteristics and how they are changed according to the obtained parameters.
US 2005/0004436 A1: Method and device for weight management of humans.
Creates weight management programs based on initial weight and weight target which is modified with current weight, food intake and energy expenditure. This kind of system is not capable to control fitness training to improve fitness and thus does not present training schedule having training sessions.
EP 0650695 (Polar Electro) "Fitness index"
This document gives teaching about one way to determine individual's level of fitness. This method is based on mean pulse value during whole performance. Mean pulse value can be calculated for predetermined exercise sequences, which exercise sequences have some preferred workload. If a person is able to exercise a given same workload or sequence of workloads with lower heart rate average(s) than before, it means that his/her fitness has improved. Accordingly the patent publication EP 0650695 discloses a method and apparatus for evaluating fitness level of a person. The method can also be utilized to point out that a given level of average intensity has been achieved during a single training session.
WO 2004/016173 (Firstbeat Technologies Oy.) "Method for monitoring accumulated body fatigue for determining recovery during exercise or activity" (=US2006/032315 A1), which is incorporated herein. This document presents more accurate method for deriving information on exercise and physical activity induced changes in body fatigue. Particularly this document presents an accurate connection between the exercise parameters (intensity, duration) and the accumulated body fatigue effect. The accumulated effect is preferably scaled in a physiological quantity, and preferably in EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption [oxygen ml/body weight kg], This kind approach gives possibility to determine the physiological load of a single exercise more accurately.
US2006/0004265 A1 (Firstbeat Technologies Oy.) "System for monitoring and predicting physiological state under physical exercise", which is incorporated herein. This document presents widely a method to monitor physiological state of user during a physical exercise. Document concentrates mainly in real time monitoring and predicting a physiological state in one single exercise. However, it introduces useful terms and connections between them, like a scale for on EPOC based training effect and a practical relation between terms: EPOC, training effect and activity class.
Document refers shortly to Training-Session Planning and Monitoring for three following days in way where a training plan is always fixed in advance. Training plan should be changed manually e.g. in case a user feels session too hard.

Method and system for controlling training


The estimation and mitigation of swept-tone interferers includes receiving a composite signal comprising a signal of interest and a swept-tone interferer over an observation bandwidth. The estimation of the interfering signal may be based on modeling the interferer over the observation bandwidth as a magnitude periodic signal comprising non-overlapping, contiguous epochs, where each epoch may comprise a common pulse shape and a distinct phase rotation. The period of the magnitude-periodic signal may be initially determined, and the common pulse shape and each of the distinct phase rotations may then be estimated. These estimates may be used to reconstruct an estimate of the swept-tone interferer, which may be subtracted from the composite signal to generate an interference-mitigated signal of interest.

Swept-tone interferers are usually characterized by linear frequency modulations: the instantaneous frequency of the signal sweeps a range of several megahertz (MHz) in a few microseconds, thereby affecting the entire band targeted by the interfering signal. A narrowband system that is subjected to this broadband swept-tone interferer may experience degraded system performance. Furthermore, the fast variations of the instantaneous frequency of swept-tone jammers make the design of mitigation techniques particularly challenging.
In an effort to mitigate swept-tone interferers, previous approaches developed include adaptive notch filters that can track the instantaneous frequency of the swept tone (see, for example, "Tracking and Mitigating a Jamming Sign al with an Adaptive Notch Filter," Daniele Borio et al., Inside GNSS, March/April 2014), joint estimation of the parameters of a chirp signal using a least-squares approach (see, for example, "Parameter Estimation of Chirp Signals," Petar M. Djurić and Steven M. Kay, IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Vol. 38, No. 12, pp. 2118-2126, December 1990), and tone prediction using an adaptive filter structure to enable cancellation of periodic interference signals (see, for example, the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,233 B1).

Methods and systems for estimation and mitigation of swept-tone interferers


Some embodiments regard a circuit comprising: a first circuit configured to lock a frequency of an output clock to a frequency of a reference clock; a second circuit configured to align an input signal to a phase clock of the output clock; a third circuit configured to use a first set of phase clocks of the output clock and a second set of phase clocks of the output clock to improve alignment of the input signal to the phase clock of the output clock; and a lock detection circuit configured to turn on the first circuit when the frequency of the output clock is not locked to the frequency of the reference clock; and to turn off the first circuit and to turn on the second circuit and the third circuit when the frequency of the output clock is locked to the frequency of the reference clock.

The clock-data recovery (CDR) circuitry based on a phase-lock loop (PLL) usually includes two loops. A first loop brings the frequency of the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) (e.g., the CDR frequency) closer to the frequency of the input data (e.g., the input frequency) while a second loop locks the phase of the VCO into that of the input data. In some approaches related to the two-loop structure using the spread spectrum clock (SSC), however, if the input frequency varies at the transition from the first loop to the second loop, the VCO does not lock into the input data. As a result, there is a need to solve the above problem.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


The present invention provides a DNA having promoter activity of Tec tyrosine kinase and a vector having incorporated within it the promoter to thereby enable a high level expression of an exogenous gene in hematopoietic stem cells and hepatic cells.

The present invention relates to the field of genetic engineering, particularly the field of gene therapy.
Gene therapy attempts to treat diseases caused by congenital or acquired genetic defects, namely gene disorders, by substituting or supplementing defective genes with normal genes. Although various treatment methods for gene therapy have been investigated, only a very limited number of the methods to date have met with success, including the treatment of adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. This is mainly because the methods for efficiently introducing a therapeutic gene into target cells and the methods for expressing an introduced gene in the cell have not yet been established. So far, liposomes, HVJ-liposomes, retroviruses, and the like have been employed as carriers introducing the therapeutic gene into target cells. However, none of them are satisfactory in gene introduction efficiency. Various attempts have been made to increase the expression efficiency of the introduced gene, by, for example, improving the promoter. However, in each case the expression efficiency of the desired gene was still poor, and the quantity of the gene product was insufficient to afford gene therapy. Thus, in the field of gene therapy, a vector that enables a high level expression of a therapeutic gene in a variety of target cells has been sought.
In the field of hematology, Tec tyrosine kinase, a protein thought to participate in the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells, is highly expressed in mouse liver, and is also expressed in the kidney, heart, and ovary (Oncogene, 5, 1781-1786 (1990)). In humans, Tec tyrosine kinase is highly expressed in a wide range of blood and lymphoid cells (LEUKEMIA, 8, 1663-1672 (1994)). However, human Tec promoter has not been reported so far, and its function has only been predicted from the study on the corresponding mouse sequence.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a vector having incorporated within it a promoter functioning efficiently in a wide variety of blood and lymphoid cells, and the cells of organs such as the liver, thereby providing a gene therapy technique targeting blood and lymphoid cells.
The present inventors noted that Tec tyrosine kinase, a protein thought to participate in the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells, is highly expressed in a wide variety of blood cells, lymphoid cells, and the cells of organs such as the liver. The inventors isolated the promoter of Tectyrosine kinase from a mouse genomic DNA, constructed a vector with the promoter incorporated within it ligated an exogenous gene adjacently downstream of it, and attempted to express the exogenous gene in the cells. As a result, they found that the exogenous gene was actually expressed in the cells at a high level. However, in view of species specificity and safety, human Tec promoter appears to be more useful than mouse Tec promoter when used in gene therapy for treating humans. Thus, a human genomic library was screened for Tec promoter, and a DNA fragment of 3,129 bp in length was isolated and sequenced (FIG. 3). Thus, the present invention relates to:
(1) a DNA comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:10 and having promoter activity;
(2) an expression vector comprising the DNA of (1); and
(3) a cell carrying the expression vector of (2).
In the present invention, xe2x80x9ca DNA having promoter activityxe2x80x9d means a DNA having activity to induce the transcription of a DNA region adjacent to the DNA. The present invention includes a DNA containing a part or whole of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and having promoter activity as well as the DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1. Preferably, the DNA of the present invention has a length of at least about 50 bp, more preferably at least about 100 bp, even more preferably at least about 200 bp, and most preferably at least about 300 bp. The present invention also includes a DNA containing a part or whole of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9, and having promoter activity as well as the DNA having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. Preferably, the DNA of the present invention has a length of at least about 50 bp, preferably at least about 100 bp, more preferably at least about 150 bp, even more preferably at least about 200 bp, and most preferably at least about 300 bp, for example, at least about 400 bp or at least about 500 bp. The present invention also relates to at least 1 kb sequence located in between approximately 1 kb to 2 kb upstream from the 3xe2x80x2 terminus of the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9. The inventors have studied the promoter activity of this sequence, using a reporter assay in which luciferase luminescence is measured.
According to the present invention, any vector for use in gene introduction can basically be used as a xe2x80x9cvectorxe2x80x9d into which the DNA having promoter activity is to be introduced. Particularly in gene therapy, viral vectors, such as retrovirus vectors, adenovirus vectors, or adeno associated virus vectors, and non-viral vectors such as liposomes should be used.
Any cell is included in the xe2x80x9ccell carrying the expression vectorxe2x80x9d of the present invention. Cells that have been confirmed to actually express the Tec tyrosine kinase gene, including blood cells and lymphoid cells, such as hematopoietic stem cells, myeloid cells, B cells, and T cells, and the cells of internal organs such as the liver, kidney, heart, and ovary should be used.
One skilled in the art may be able to prepare and identify a DNA containing a part of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9, and having promoter activity by digestion with exonucleases such as ExoIII and Bal31 or restriction enzymes and by examining the promoter activity of the DNA as follows. The DNA is ligated upstream of a reporter gene, such as luciferase gene, on an expression vector containing no promoter, for example, pUC00Luc, etc. By introducing the vector into cells highly expressing the Tec mRNA such as BA/F3 cells, test cells for assays of reporter gene activity are prepared. After cultured, the cells are harvested and subjected to the assays. For example, the assays for luciferase can be performed according to the ordinary method (the method according to the manual of xe2x80x9cLuciferase Assay Systemxe2x80x9d (Promega)). As a control, cells into which the same expression vector containing no promoter as mentioned above has been introduced are used without ligating any DNA upstream of the reporter gene. If the expression level of the reporter gene is significantly higher in the test cells than in the control cells, it is confirmed that the DNA has promoter activity.


An embodiment of the present invention includes a digital camera system having a digital camera and a computer for transferring pictures of images taken by the digital camera therebetween. The digital camera system includes a card removably and directly coupled, without any intermediary device, between the digital camera and the computer for temporarily storing the images and for transferring the temporarily stored images to the computer for viewing, editing and reproduction thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to digital cameras employed with a computer using an interface for transferring digital images captured by the digital cameras and particularly to employing a digital camera with a computer without the use of a card reader.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, the use of digital cameras has become more prevalent as a consumer product. Whereas previously, digital cameras were used almost exclusively by professional photographers and perceived by the public-at-large as exotic devices, nowadays, digital cameras are used by amateur photographers and seen in many households.
The rising popularity of the digital cameras is due to a number of factors. First, the quality of pictures taken by low price cameras has improved considerably. Second, printers with higher resolution and greater quality have been introduced to the market at increasingly more affordable prices.
However, there has not been a comparative success in the area of connectivity between the digital camera and a computer (personal computer (PC) or Macintosh). Pictures taken by a digital camera, being in digital format, must be transported in some manner from the removable storage media of the camera to the storage media of the computer. Inside of the computer, the pictures may be viewed, edited and ultimately transferred to a printer for printing. Therefore, the need arises to establish communication between the digital camera and the computer without the use of a card reader device or extra circuitry within the digital camera, in the form of a USB port built into the storage media, in order to transport data therebetween while reducing costs associated with establishing such communication.
Inside of the computer, the pictures may be viewed, edited and ultimately sent to a printer for re-production. Thus, there needs to be a transport mechanism, which can establish communication with both the digital camera and the computer in order to transport data therebetween.
At present, there are several different methods of connecting the digital camera to a computer. FIG. 1 illustrates one such mode of connectivity wherein a digital camera 12 is shown to be connected to a desktop computer 19 through a transmission cable 18. Also shown in FIG. 1 are a Personal Computer/Compact FLASH (PC/CF) card 16 as well as a serial or universal serial bus (USB) port 14. Transmission cable 18 connects the serial or the USB port 14 of the digital camera to the serial or USB port of the computer 19.
The pictures taken by the digital camera 12 are stored into the PC/CF card 16 and subsequently transmitted from the serial or the USB port 14 of the camera 12, through the serial or the USB port of the computer 19 and the transmission cable 18, to the computer 19. The main limitation of the type of connection shown in FIG. 1 is that the camera has to stay on while data is being transferred. Thus, not only the camera cannot be used while data is being transferred but the battery of the camera is being drained during the entire transmission process. Another limitation of the method of data transmission shown in FIG. 1 is the additional cost of the digital camera due to the circuitry and software associated with the implementation of the serial or USB port 14. The additional cost may make the camera 12 more expensive than that which is within the reach of the average consumer.
An alternative method of transferring the digital data from a digital camera storage media to a computer is shown in FIG. 2(a). Therein is shown a PC/CF card 28, a card reader 20, a transmission cable 25 and a computer 29. The card reader 20 comprises a housing 24 for the PC/CF card 28 as well as the USB controller circuitry 26 and the USB port 27. The transmission cable 25 connects the USB port 27 of the card reader 20 to the USB port 22 of the computer 29.
The card reader 20 provides a bridge between the computer 29 and the PC/CF card 28. The latter is inserted into the digital camera (not shown in FIG. 2(a)) and stores digital images, enabling it to transfer data between the computer 29 and the camera. The PC/CF card 28 establishes connection with the card reader housing 24 through the PC/CF interface 23. The card reader 20 communicates with the computer 29 through the USB controller circuitry 26.
There are disadvantages associated with employing the card reader 20 in FIG. 2(a) such as the substantial cost associated therewith. In addition, since the card reader 20 acts like a bridge between the USB bus 22 on the one hand and the PC/CF bus 23 on the other hand, it does not utilize either of the busses fully. Neither can the card reader 20 optimize the interface between the computer 29 and the PC/CF card 28 because of its lack of direct communication with the internal circuitry of the storage media of either of the two devices. Finally, the card reader 20 has the disadvantage of duplicating logic in circuitry 26 since it must have a PC/CF interface as well as a USB interface in order to establish communication between the PC/CF card 28 and computer 29. The PC/CF card 28 also includes the PC/CF interface 23, as shown in FIG. 2(a).
Another limitation of the prior art systems employing card readers is illustrated in FIG. 2(b) wherein a computer screen is depicted with icon 31 indicating that a removable disk F is connected to the computer. However, icon 31 is displayed as soon as the card reader is connected to the computer regardless of whether there is any PC/CF card in the card reader or not. Therefore, it is misleading to the user as to whether or not the PC/CF card is actually connected to the computer by that which is displayed by the icon 31.
Thus, the need arises for coupling a digital camera's storage media to a PC by avoiding the need for an intermediary interface, such as a card reader, thereby reducing costs, avoiding duplicate circuitry and allowing for a direct connection between a PC/CF card and the PC and thereby allowing for efficient utilization of the interface busses used for connecting the PC/CF card to the PC.


In one embodiment, the present invention provides a drilling fluid composition that comprises a surfactant-free emulsion comprising an oleaginous fluid, a fluid that is at least partially immiscible with the oleaginous fluid, and a non-surfactant polymeric emulsifier. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of treating a subterranean formation comprising providing a treatment fluid that comprises a surfactant-free emulsion, the surfactant-free emulsion comprising an oleaginous fluid, a fluid that is at least partially immiscible with the oleaginous fluid, and a non-surfactant polymeric emulsifier; and treating the subterranean formation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to emulsion based drilling and well treatment fluids and methods of using such fluids in the oil and gas industry with improved environmental compatibility. More particularly, the present invention relates to surfactant-free emulsions and their use in subterranean applications.
2. Brief Description of Relevant Art
Emulsions usually comprise two immiscible phases. The two immiscible phases include a continuous (or external) phase and a discontinuous (or internal) phase. The discontinuous phase comprises the secondary fluid that usually exists in droplets in the continuous phase. Two varieties of emulsions are oil-in-water and water-in-oil. Oil-in-water emulsions usually include a fluid at least partially immiscible in an oleaginous fluid (usually an aqueous-based fluid) as the continuous phase and an oleaginous fluid as the discontinuous phase. Water-in-oil emulsions are the opposite, having the oleaginous fluid as the continuous phase and a fluid at least partially immiscible in the oleaginous fluid (usually an aqueous-based fluid) as the discontinuous phase. Water-in-oil emulsions may also be referred to as invert emulsions.
Such emulsions have been used widely in oil and gas applications. For instance, emulsion based fluids are widely used in the oil and gas industry for drilling and other subterranean treatment applications, including various drilling, production, and completion operations. These drilling and well treatment fluids may also be referred to as muds. Invert emulsions may be used when oleaginous-based treatment fluids are expected to have superior performance characteristics when compared with water-based muds, as in situations, e.g., where there is an abundance of water reactive materials in a well bore. These superior performance characteristics may include, e.g., better lubrication of the drill strings and downhole tools, thinner filter cake formation, and better hole stability. An emulsification of water-in-oil, without having any emulsifying agent capable of stabilizing the fluid that is at least partially immiscible in the oleaginous fluid typically will undergo a rapid and natural degradation processes including droplet coalescence and Ostwald ripening, until the two phases which are at least partially immiscible separate and the emulsion no longer exists. Having an unstable invert emulsion may be problematic because if the emulsion destabilizes, it may not have consistent, reliable properties. This problem may be exacerbated by the physical forces that the emulsion may undergo when being used in subterranean applications, such as thermal, mechanical, and chemical stresses. Emulsion stabilizing agents, sometimes referred to as emulsifiers, may be useful in invert emulsions (and emulsion based drilling and well treatment fluids) to stabilize the emulsions, especially when used in subterranean applications.
Emulsion stabilizing agents traditionally used in drilling and well treatment fluids are surfactant-based. Structurally, surfactant-based emulsion stabilizing agents usually comprise a hydrophobic portion—a tail—that is attracted to the oil phase and a hydrophilic portion—a head—that is attracted to the water phase. Generally, the hydrophobic portion interacts with the oil and the hydrophilic portion interacts with the nonoleaginous fluid. These interactions generally decrease the surface tension of the interface between the water droplet and the oil, which may slow the natural tendency of the two immiscible phases to separate.
However, surfactant-based emulsion stabilizing agents may be problematic, as they may suffer from problems that include some potential or possible toxicity, limited range of oil to water ratios, thermal destabilization, propensity for droplet coalescence, and intolerance to various salts and other chemical agents. The potential or possible toxicity of the surfactants can create potential dangers for the environment. For example, surfactants may have adverse effects on shrimp and other aqueous species, along with poor biodegradability. Further, a surfactant is typically capable of stabilizing either an oil-in-water emulsion or a water-in-oil emulsion, but not both. Because of the necessity to carefully balance the chemical interactions of the surfactant to the type of micelle formed, typical surfactants generally can be used only with a limited oil to water ratio range. Because they diffuse in and out of the micelles, surfactant-based agents typically form a meta-stable structure around the micelle. This meta-stable structure allows such forces as coalescence, which may result in phase separation and eventual emulsion instability.

Polymer-based, surfactant-free, emulsions and methods of use thereof