An image processing apparatus includes a plurality of addition means and an image processing means. The addition means performs addition processing of adding pixels of a differential image at a second resolution representing a difference between an inputted image at a first resolution and an image at the second resolution higher than the first resolution as pixels of an inputted image at the second resolution. The image processing means is configured to perform second and subsequent addition processing, and generate an image of the second resolution as a processing result by performing the addition processing for a predetermined number of times. The addition processing is performed with inputs of an image at the first resolution and an image at the second resolution obtained by an immediately preceding addition processing, which are different from each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program, and particularly to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program that attain high-speed process for generating a high-resolution image.
2. Description of Related Art
As a technique for generating a high-resolution image from a low-resolution image, there is super resolution.
Super-resolution is a technique in which a pixel value of each pixel in one frame of high-resolution image is found from a plurality of low-resolution images having overlap to thereby reconstruct an image at a resolution beyond a resolution of an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). For example, the super-resolution is used when generating a high-resolution satellite photograph, or the like.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing a principle of super-resolution.
Reference characters a, b, c, d, e, f shown in the upper parts of FIGS. 1 and 2 denote pixel values of a high-resolution image (SR (Super Resolution) image) to be found from low resolution images (LR (Low Resolution) images) obtained by imaging a subject, that is, pixel values of respective pixels when the subject is pixilated at the same resolution as that of the SR image.
For example, in the case where a width of one pixel of an imaging element is equivalent to a width of two pixels constituting the subject, and thus, the subject cannot be captured at the resolution at it is, as shown in FIG. 1, in a left pixel among three pixels of the imaging element, a pixel value of A obtained by mixing pixel values of a and b is captured, in a central pixel, a pixel value of B obtained by mixing pixel values of c and d is captured, and in a right pixel, a pixel value of C obtained by mixing pixel values of e and f is captured.
Reference characters A, B, C denote pixel values of pixels constituting LR images obtained by imaging.
When the subject in a position shifted by a width of 0.5 pixel of the pixel constituting the subject with respect to a position of the subject in FIG. 1 due to camera shake is captured as shown in FIG. 2 (captured while being shifted) together with the subject of FIG. 1, in the left pixel of the three pixels of the imaging element, a pixel value of D obtained by mixing pixel values of half of a, entire b, and half of c is captured, and in the central pixel, a pixel value of E obtained by mixing pixel values of half of c, entire d, and half of e is captured. Moreover, in the right pixel, a pixel value of F obtained by mixing half of e and entire f is captured. Reference characters D, E, F also denote pixel values of pixels constituting LR images obtained by imaging.
The following formula (1) is given from the imaging results of the above-described LR images. By finding a, b, c, d, e and f from formula (1), respectively, an image of a resolution higher than that of the imaging element can be obtained.
                                          (                                                            1                                                  1                                                  0                                                  0                                                  0                                                  0                                                                              0                                                  0                                                  1                                                  1                                                  0                                                  0                                                                              0                                                  0                                                  0                                                  0                                                  1                                                  1                                                                                1                    /                    2                                                                    1                                                                      1                    /                    2                                                                    0                                                  0                                                  0                                                                              0                                                  0                                                                      1                    /                    2                                                                    1                                                                      1                    /                    2                                                                    0                                                                              0                                                  0                                                  0                                                  0                                                                      1                    /                    2                                                                    1                                                      )                                          (                                                            a                                                                              b                                                                              c                                                                              d                                                                              e                                                                              f                                                      )                          =                  (                                                    A                                                                    B                                                                    C                                                                    D                                                                    E                                                                    F                                              )                                    (        1        )
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an existing image processing apparatus 1 that generates an SR image by super-resolution processing using Back Projection.
The image processing apparatus 1 of FIG. 3 is provided in a digital camera, for example, to perform processing of a still image obtained by imaging.
As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing apparatus 1 is composed of super-resolution processors 110 to 112, a summing circuit 12, an addition circuit 13, and an SR image buffer 14.
LR0, which is an LR image obtained by imaging, is inputted to the super-resolution processor 110, and LR1 is inputted to the super-resolution processor 111. LR2 is inputted to the super-resolution processor 112. LR0 to LR2 are images obtained by continuously imaging, and have overlap in imaging ranges thereof, respectively. When imaging is continuously performed, normally, the ranges of the subject caught on the images of the imaging results are slightly deviated from each other due to camera shaking or the like, and thus, do not completely coincidence with each other, thereby resulting in partial overlap.
The super-resolution processor 110, based on LR0 and an SR image stored in the SR image buffer 14, generates a differential image representing a difference between them, and outputs a feedback value to the summing circuit 12. The feedback value is a value representing the differential image at the same resolution as that of the SR image.
In the SR image buffer 14, an SR image generated by the super-resolution processing performed immediately before is stored. If the processing has just started, and thus, no frame of SR image has not been generated, for example, an image obtained by upsampling LR0 to an image at the same resolution as that of the SR image is stored in the SR image buffer 14.
Similarly, the super-resolution processor 111, based on LR1 and the SR image stored in the SR image buffer 14, generates a differential image representing a difference between them, and outputs a feedback value representing the generated differential image to the summing circuit 12.
The super-resolution processor 112, based on LR2 and the SR image stored in the SR image buffer 14, generates a differential image representing a difference between them, and outputs a feedback value representing the generated differential image to the summing circuit 12.
The summing circuit 12 averages the feedback values supplied from the super-resolution processors 110 to 112, and outputs an image at the same resolution as that of the SR image, which has been obtained by averaging, to the addition circuit 13.
The addition circuit 13 adds the SR image stored in the SR image buffer 14 and the SR image supplied from the summing circuit 12 and outputs an SR image obtained by the addition. The output of the addition circuit 13 is supplied outside of the image processing apparatus 1 as a result of the super-resolution processing, and at the same time, is supplied to the SR image buffer 14 to be stored.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the super-resolution processor 11n (super-resolution processor 110, 111 or 112).
As shown in FIG. 4, the super-resolution processor 11n is made of a motion vector detecting circuit 21, a motion compensating circuit 22, a downsampling filter 23, an addition circuit 24, an upsampling filter 25, and a reverse-direction motion compensating circuit 26.
The SR image read from the SR image buffer 14 is inputted to the motion vector detecting circuit 21 and the motion compensating circuit 22, and LRn obtained by imaging is inputted to the motion vector detecting circuit 21 and the addition circuit 24.
The motion vector detecting circuit 21 detects a motion vector with the SR image used as a reference, based on the inputted SR image and LRn, and outputs the detected motion vector to the motion compensating circuit 22 and the reverse-direction motion compensating circuit 26.
The motion compensating circuit 22 applies the motion compensation to the SR image based on the motion vector supplied from the motion vector detecting circuit 21, and outputs an image obtained by applying the motion compensation to the downsampling filter 23. The position of an object caught on the image obtained by applying the motion compensation becomes closer to the position of the object caught on LRn.
The downsampling filter 23 generates an image at the same resolution as that of LRn by downsampling the image supplied from the motion compensating circuit 22, and outputs the generated image to the addition circuit 24. Finding the motion vector from the SR image and LRn, and converting the image obtained by the motion compensation using the found motion vector into the image at the same resolution as that of LR image corresponds to simulating the image obtained by imaging based on the SR image stored in the SR image buffer 14.
The addition circuit 24 generates a differential image representing a difference between LRn and the image simulated in such a manner, and outputs the generated differential image to the upsampling filter 25.
The upsampling filter 25 generates an image at the same resolution as that of the SR image by upsampling the differential image supplied from the addition circuit 24, and outputs the generated image to the reverse-direction motion compensating circuit 26.
The reverse-direction motion compensating circuit 26 applies motion compensation in the reverse direction to the image supplied from the upsampling filter 25, based on the motion vector supplied from the motion vector detecting circuit 21, and outputs a feedback value representing an image obtained by applying the motion compensation in the reverse direction to the summing circuit 12. The position of the object caught on the image obtained by the motion compensation in the reverse direction becomes closer to the position of the object caught on the SR image stored in the SR image buffer 14.
There has been developed to try and address the known issues with image processing (See, e.g., "Improving Resolution by Image Registration", MICHAL IRANI AND SHMUEL PELEG, Department of Computer Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel, Communicated by Rama Chellapa, Received Jun. 16, 1989; accepted May 25, 1990).

Image processing apparatus, image processing method and program


Assay system including assay apparatus and handheld single use assay devices for ElectroMagnetic Radiation (EMR) examination of a specimen. The assay devices include a housing, a specimen slide for elevation from an initial lowermost specimen introduction position to a final uppermost specimen examination position and a built-in liquid reagent dispensing arrangement for dispensing liquid reagent on the specimen slide. The assay apparatus automatically actuates an assay device and includes an imaging arrangement for obtaining specimen images.

Commonly owned PCT International Application No. PCT/IL2018/050671 entitled Assay Devices and Assay Apparatus for Use Therewith published as PCT International Publication No. WO 2018/235073 A1 discloses assay devices for EMR examination of a specimen along one or more lines of examination through the assay devices. The assay devices include a housing having a specimen slide for placing a bodily specimen thereon. The specimen slide is designed to be urged from a lowermost specimen introduction position to an uppermost specimen examination specimen in which the specimen slide presses the bodily specimen against the housing top face's underside. A bodily specimen is preferably reacted with one or more liquid reagents, for example, saline, potassium hydroxide, and the like, after being placed onto a specimen slide before examination. A pH detection surface is also preferably smeared with a bodily specimen for providing a pH reading for diagnostic purposes.
There is a need for assay systems for diagnostic purposes of bodily specimens.

Assay system including assay apparatus and handheld single use assay devices for use therewith


The present invention relates to disposable elastic thermal uniaxial joint wraps having an elastic laminate structure formed from a polymeric mesh and two fabric carrier layers, and one or more heat cells, preferably one or more thermal packs comprising a plurality of individual heat cells, wherein heat is applied to specific areas of the user's body, preferably for the knee and/or elbow, preferably for pain relief. These wraps provide good conformity to user's body to deliver consistent, convenient and comfortable heat application.

A common method of treating temporary or chronic pain is by application of heat to the afflicted area. Such heat treatments are used as a means of therapy for conditions which include aches, stiffness in muscles and joints, nerve pain, rheumatism and the like.
The human knee and elbow are two of the most vulnerable joints of the human body to overstress injury. While elastic compression bandages have been used to help stabilize knee movement during injury healing, heating pads, whirlpools, hot towels, and hydrocollators have been commonly used to apply heat to the knee to relieve the pain of knee injury. These pain relieving and stabilization devices, however, typically provide either one function or the other, but not both.
In general, the beneficial therapeutic effects from the administration of heat diminish after the heat source is removed. Therefore, depending on the temperature, it is desirable to provide a sustained heat source to the afflicted area for as long as possible to achieve the desired therapeutic benefits. Many of the current heating devices which require the thermal source to be replenished, such as the devices mentioned above or those employing reusable thermal packs containing water and/or microwaveable gels, are inconvenient to use on a regular and extended basis because the heat energy may not be immediately available when needed or released in a controllable manner.
Disposable heat packs based on iron oxidation, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,366,804, 4,649,895, 5,046,479 and Re.32,026, have been developed, however, such devices have proven not totally satisfactory. Many of these devices are bulky, cannot maintain a consistent and controlled temperature, and/or have unsatisfactory physical dimensions which hinder their effectiveness, and hence, deliver inconsistent, inconvenient and/or uncomfortable heat application to the body.
Proper positioning of the thermal energy also may not be maintainable during knee or elbow flexure with current heating devices. Elastic laminate structures have previously been used in a variety of products including elastic absorbent structures such as sweat bands, bandages, diapers, and incontinence devices. Several methods for producing these laminate structures, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,522,863, 4,606,964, and 4,977,011, also currently exist. However, while these elastic laminate structures may be suitable for the purposes for which they were intended, they have strands which protrude on cut sides of the structure such that they can be a source of irritation when worn next to the body. Further, if an elastic laminate structure having a large modulus value (i. e., the ratio of stress to strain) is desired, elastic strands having a large cross-sectional area are generally required. Large strands of this type, however, can produce a rough or "nubby" feeling when placed in contact with the body.
The present inventors have developed disposable elastic thermal uniaxial joint wraps which maintain proper positioning during use on a user's knee or elbow while providing both compression and thermal energy in a controlled and sustainable manner. These wraps comprise one or more thermal bonded elastic laminate structures, which preferably comprise two carrier layers and an elastic member integrally thermal bonded therebetween, and one or more heat cells, preferably one or more thermal packs, wherein each thermal pack comprises a plurality of individual heat cells, which typically comprise an exothermic composition, preferably comprising a specific iron oxidation chemistry and specific physical dimensions and fill characteristics, spaced apart and fixedly attached across the thermal pack. The thermal bonded elastic laminate structures, when incorporated into the knee and/or elbow wraps of the present invention, substantially reduce delamination of the composite structure of the wraps during use, substantially reduce the rough and "nubby" feeling and irritation caused by strands protruding from cut edges, and provide the knee and/or elbow wraps with excellent conformity to the user's knee and/or elbow for uniform heat coverage and enhanced comfort.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide disposable elastic uniaxial joint wraps having excellent conformity to the user's knee and/or elbow for uniform heat coverage and enhanced comfort, which comprise one or more thermal bonded elastic laminate structures and one or more heat cells, which provide a controlled and sustained temperature and which reach their operating temperature range relatively quickly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide disposable elastic uniaxial joint wraps, which comprise one or more thermal bonded elastic laminate structures, which comprise two carrier layers and an elastic member integrally bonded therebetween and one or more thermal packs comprising a plurality of individual heat cells. Such elastic laminate structures substantially reduce delamination of the composite structure of the wraps, substantially reduce the rough or "nubby" feeling and irritation caused by strands protruding from cut edges, and provide consistent, convenient, and comfortable heat application while deterring easy access to the heat cell contents.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide disposable elastic uniaxial joint wraps, preferably for the knee and/or elbow, which comprise one or more thermal bonded elastic laminate structures, which preferably comprise two carrier layers and an elastic member integrally bonded therebetween, and one or more thermal packs having a unified structure of at least one continuous layer of semirigid material, which has different stiffness characteristics over a range of temperatures, and a plurality of individual heat cells, spaced apart and fixedly attached across the unified structure of the thermal pack providing good overall drapability while maintaining sufficient rigidity to maintain structural support of the heat cells and to prevent unacceptable stretching of the continuous layer or layers during processing or use.
These objectives and additional objectives will become readily apparent from the detailed description which follows.

Disposable elastic thermal uniaxial joint wrap


Presented herein are techniques for using uplink transmissions from devices (e.g., wireless tags, clients, etc.) to determine a path loss between neighboring access points. In one example, a wireless controller obtains receive signal strength information of uplink transmissions received at neighboring access points in a wireless network. The wireless controller determines an effective path loss between the neighboring access points based on the receive signal strength information for the uplink transmissions received at the neighboring access points. The wireless controller also performs radio resource management operations in the wireless network using the effective path loss determined based on the uplink transmissions received at the neighboring access points.

Wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi™) networks are local area communication networks that enable electronic devices to wirelessly exchange data or to wirelessly connect to network resources, such as the Internet. Wireless networks are becoming increasingly popular and are installed in a large number of homes, offices, public locations, etc. In a typical wireless network, one or more access points are present. Access points are devices that include a radio transmitter/receiver (transceiver) that is used to bridge the wireless and wired (e.g., Ethernet) network communication media.
In certain circumstances, wireless connectivity may be available to a large number of electronic devices (clients) within a certain area. Such environments, sometimes referred to as high-density wireless environments, may include, for example, stadiums, movie theaters, malls, convention centers, or other locations. In a high-density wireless environment, the wireless network may include numerous access points deployed in a relatively small area (in comparison to traditional home or enterprise wireless deployments) in order to support a high density of clients.

Uplink-based wireless radio resource management


A production messaging node in a messaging environment registers a subscription to itself (registers a self-subscription) with a central repository. The self-subscription enables the production messaging node to detect and identify a clone of itself in the messaging environment. The self-subscription ensures that a configuration change applied to the clone triggers a notification that is sent to the production messaging node. The notification enables the production messaging node to determine that the clone is active in the messaging environment. The production messaging node may then respond in various ways depending on the prevailing circumstances. Self-subscribing a messaging node to a central repository enables detection and identification of a cloned messaging node which if left un-marshalled, may disrupt the functioning of the messaging configuration.

The present invention relates generally to the field of asynchronous messaging, and more particularly to detecting when a production node in the messaging system has been cloned and the clone is functioning in parallel with the production node.
Within an enterprise messaging system, messaging nodes generally have both a name and a unique identifier to differentiate them from one another. The name would primarily be used when referring to the specific messaging node.
When the nodes are part of a semi-autonomic system (or cluster), a combination of the name, unique identifier and other data, is used to distinguish the nodes. This enables the cluster automatically to provide and manage its own disaster recovery (DR) configuration options. Particularly in the event of a problem or disaster involving a production node, a new node can be created with the same name as the production node which the new node is replacing. The new node has an identifier that is unique from all other identifiers in the system including the original 'instance' (the production node).
These mechanisms enable multiple enterprise messaging systems to coexist. For example, in a multiple enterprise messaging system, a production environment can coexist with a standby system that is configured for disaster recover and used as a testing environment. The production and standby systems can each all have the same node names within their independent configurations.

Detecting cloned members of an enterprise messaging environment

International Business Machines Corporation


An egg-based material that includes an egg-based substance, a water-absorbent thickener distributed throughout the egg-based material, and pieces of supplemental food distributed throughout the egg-based material, where the egg-based substance includes a natural liquid egg component and the water-absorbent thickener is effective to maintain distribution of the pieces of supplemental food throughout the egg-based material.

The present invention generally relates to an egg-based material. Additionally, the present invention relates to a cooked egg-based food product that exhibits freeze/thaw stability upon being frozen and reheated.
Eggs, especially eggs produced by chickens, are a main food staple in the diets of many people. Eggs are often used as a main course for breakfast and may be prepared in a variety of ways. For example, eggs may be scrambled, fried, boiled, and poached. Cooked eggs are nutritious and contain significant amounts of beneficial protein.
One challenge is cooked eggs traditionally cannot be held or stored for extended periods of time after being cooked while maintaining the desirable organoleptic properties of freshly cooked eggs. When eggs are heated during cooking, the proteins within the eggs form a coagulated mass of protein. Besides containing coagulable proteins, eggs typically contain between about 75 weight percent and about 80 weight percent water, based on the total weight of the eggs. Much of this water contained in eggs prior to cooking is free water that is not chemically bound to any particular component of the eggs. When eggs are heated during cooking, at least some of this free water is trapped within the coagulated mass of protein.
When cooked eggs containing the coagulated mass of proteins are frozen, the free water trapped within the coagulated mass forms ice crystals. When the frozen eggs are thawed and the ice crystals trapped within the coagulated mass thaw along with the coagulated mass, much of the free water resulting from thawing of the ice crystals typically does not remain entrapped within the coagulated mass. Instead, free water resulting from thawing of the ice crystals formerly entrapped within the frozen coagulated mass has a tendency to separate and "sweep" away from the thawed coagulated mass.
Loss of the entrapped free water upon thawing of the frozen cooked eggs adversely affects the organoleptic properties of the thawed coagulated mass. Loss of entrapped free water from the thawed cooked egg tends to cause the thawed coagulated mass to become tough, chewy, and less palatable to human beings. The thawed coagulated mass may also be visually unappealing because of the visible escape of free water from the thawed coagulated mass.
One potential approach to solving the problem of free water escape from the thawed coagulated mass entails removing moisture from raw eggs prior to cooking the eggs. If all of the free water is removed from raw eggs, only egg solids, possibly with some bound amount of water, remains. Egg solids, also known as powdered eggs, that remain following free water removal from raw eggs have a long shelf life and may be reconstituted by combining the egg solids with water. However, the reconstituted eggs, upon heating to cook and form the coagulated mass, do not have the same organoleptic properties, such as taste, texture, or visual appearance, of freshly cooked eggs formed by cooking raw eggs that have not been subjected to moisture removal. Consequently, a need continues to exist for a better solution to the problem of free water escape from the thawed form of frozen, previously-cooked eggs and similarly from the thawed form of frozen, previously-cooked egg-based products.


An arrangement and an associated method are described in which a boring tool is moved through the ground within a given region along a path in which region a cable is buried. The boring tool and the cable transmit a boring tool locating signal and a cable locating signal, respectively. Intensities of the boring tool locating signal and the cable locating signal are measured along with a pitch orientation of the boring tool. Using the measured intensities and established pitch orientation, a positional relationship is determined to relative scale including at least the boring tool and the cable in the region. The positional relationship is displayed to scale in one view. The positional relationship may be determined and displayed including the forward locate point in scaled relation to the boring tool and the cable. Cable depth determination techniques are described including a two-point ground depth determination method.

The present invention relates generally to a system including a locating arrangement for tracking a boring tool and one or more buried lines such as, for example, pipes, cables, conduits or other conductors and, more particularly, to a locating arrangement configured for receiving a boring tool locating signal and at least one cable locating signal for determining at least one scaled positional relationship based, at least in part, on the received locating signals.
The installation of utility lines underground is increasingly popular for reasons of aesthetics and for practical reasons such as, for example, protecting these lines from the effects of severe above ground weather conditions. In areas where buried lines have previously been installed, however, it is undesirable to excavate an entire pathway for the purpose of installing additional lines since such excavation many times results in the unintentional damage of an existing utility line. Areas which include buried fiber optic cables are particularly problematic for several reasons. First, a fiber optic cable is difficult to repair once it has been severed or damaged. Second, because a fiber optic cable is capable of simultaneously carrying a vast amount of information, downtime can be quite costly.
In the past, various horizontal drilling systems, including locating and monitoring systems, have been developed which advantageously eliminate the need for excavating the entire pathway in which a utility line is to be installed. The attendant locating and monitoring systems serve in tracking the position of the boring tool and may further serve in tracking the position of one or more buried obstacles such as, for example, utility lines. While these prior art systems are generally suited for their intended purpose, it is submitted that a majority of prior art approaches do not integrate boring tool and cable locating data. That is, the prior art generally views cable locating and boring tool tracking as entirely separate activities wherein, for example, a handheld portable locator operates in a selected one of a cable locating mode or a boring tool tracking mode. See, for example, a conference paper describing a cable locating technique based on the so-called gradient method as reported by C. A. Young ("Measuring the depth of buried cables", Bell Laboratories Record, Vol. 43, No. 10, November 1965).
One approach that does integrate cable and boring tool locating signal data is described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/641,006, entitled FLUX PLANE LOCATING IN AN UNDERGROUND DRILLING SYSTEM which is commonly assigned with the present application and which is incorporated herein by reference. While this approach is highly effective and provides sweeping advantages over the state-of-the-art as of its filing date, it is submitted that still further enhancements are possible.
Another concern with regard to the prior art resides in locator configurations useful in depth determination of buried cables. In particular, the prior art locator includes a wand which extends below the locator when held by an operator. A lowermost end of the wand may be placed on the surface of the ground during a depth measurement. The configuration of the wand includes antennas at spaced apart positions within the extension of the wand and directed to the task of depth determination. It is submitted that the need for the wand provides a locator having an unwieldy, oversized configuration. See, for example, a technical paper entitled "Alternating Magnetic Field technology for Locating Buried Utility Lines and for Providing Information for No Dig Techniques", presented in April 1985 at the NO Dig Conference in London, UK, showing a "wand" locator configured for a 2 point height determination having separate, spaced apart antennas in the wand.
The present invention provides a highly advantageous enhanced locating arrangement and associated method configured for cable and boring tool locating in a way that has heretofore been unknown and which provides still further advantages, for example, related to cable depth determination, as will be described.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Locating arrangement and method using boring tool and cable locating signals


A system (100) and method for remotely monitoring and controlling time variant data in an industrial plant (400). The system (100) includes a local server (102) and at least one remote server (104). The local server (102) includes a local server cache (206), a local controller (308), and a local operator station (1001). Each remote server (104) includes a remote server cache (901) and a remote controller (903). Wherein the local server cache (206) stores a plurality of data units (304), and the local controller (308) provides updated units (902) to the local server cache (206). Each remote server cache (901) stores a plurality of data units (902), and each remote controller (903) provides updated data units (902) to its corresponding remote server cache (901). The method operates such that each cache (206, 901) buffers controllers (308) and other servers (104) from unnecessary data requesting transactions, minimizing the data traffic in the system (100). A communication network hardware in the form of a Wide Area Network (WAN) (106) interconnecting all the servers (102, 104), and a unique data point identifier (204) associated with the at least one remote server (104) are also disclosed.

Remote monitoring of data from centralised observation areas is frequently used in industrial and manufacturing situations where it is desirable to closely monitor and, ideally, control, various systems and systems elements within those situations. The type of data to be monitored varies, and can include pressures, flow-rates, temperatures, items processed per unit time, or even access and security associated with a controlled area. The use of one or more central observation areas reduces the need for direct observation of individual system elements by human operators. Moreover, the collection of data from multiple sources within a particular system enables instantaneous detection of faults or error conditions, as well as allowing processing of data from multiple sources to obtain better information about system operation at a higher level.
Remote monitoring of data requires considerable infrastructure development. For example, in the case of a gas production plant, it is typically necessary to provide many or even all major valves with transducers that measure desired information such as temperature and gas flow rates. The transducers are in turn connected to controllers that can filter or otherwise manipulate the raw transducer data into a form useable by a remote monitoring server. The manipulation can include, for example, amplification and analog to digital conversion of the data from the transducer.
Frequently, the controllers are also used to control the components about which the transducers are measuring data. For example, a controller can filter, amplify and analog to digital convert data provided from a flow rate sensor adjacent a valve, whilst controlling throttling of the valve in accordance with instructions from a remote server. Other components within the system to be monitored will similarly require appropriate transducers to provide data to a central observation area.
Typically, the data is supplied to one or more data servers in digital form, the controller output representing the transducer being sampled periodically by the server and the resultant data values being stored in memory. In some cases, a predetermined number of samples are buffered by the server to ensure some historical data is available at all times to an operator. The data can be stored as a "point" on the server, the point simply being a structured object, containing accessible data. Usually, a point is stored in random access memory ("RAM") or on a hard disk drive associated with the server.
Frequently, it is desirable to use a relatively large-scale centralised control room to monitor (and sometimes control) many different areas of plant or even many plants at once. Where the different areas or plants are remote from each other, it may be necessary to implement one or more remote servers to collect data from them all. A coordinating server can then be used to collect data from the remote servers by means of a Wide Area Network ("WAN") or direct data link, for example.
A major disadvantage with this system is the need for complete duplication of information on both the coordinating and remote servers. As each remote server is brought into the system, all of the information about each and every point on that server must be supplied to the coordinating server. This enables the coordinating server to handle a request from an operator to monitor a particular point or points on the remote servers. The coordinating server knows the correct address and parameters of each and every point on the network and can therefore access them as required.
Unfortunately, to ensure correct access to a point requested by an operator, it is necessary for the coordinating server to maintain current information in relation to each and every point in the system. This means that for every new point and for every point for which a parameter changes, it is necessary to update the coordinating server so that it is aware of the change to the system. In a large system involving many components or even many remote plants, this can result in a relatively large amount of duplication of information on both the remote and coordinating servers, requiring correspondingly large inputs of time on behalf of system administrators and programmers. In addition, the communication links between servers require high bandwidths in order to handle the increased traffic flow.
With a traditional system any node requiring data refers directly to the node that owns that data. The result is that nodes typically interrogate the owning node independently, even if many nodes require the same data. When this scenario is extended to a connected sister system, or systems via a gateway or via other means, the situation just gets worse because there are simply more requesters of data.
An additional disadvantage of these prior art arrangements is that they require significant manual configuration of static data connections. Each time it is discovered that a system needs new data from another system, additional connections must be manually configured, resulting in increased engineering and maintenance. This also places a resource burden on each system, which has to mirror the full complement of all data required from other systems. While creating a bad situation with just two systems, connecting three or more systems becomes very unmanageable.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or at least substantially ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention described in the detailed description provide other advantages over prior monitoring and control systems.

Method and system for remotely monitoring time variant data


According to embodiments of the invention, an apparatus for moving a diseased portion of an anatomical structure with respect to a healthy portion of an anatomical structure includes a first vacuum section adapted to apply vacuum force to and hold the healthy portion, and a second vacuum section adapted to apply vacuum force to and hold the diseased portion, wherein the second vacuum section is adapted to withdraw within the first vacuum section.

Current therapies for intestinal-tract lesions such as carcinomas, inflammatory lesions, obstructing lesions, and vascular lesions, to name several examples, use a surgical incision for exploration of the abdominal cavity, or a surgical incision large enough to accommodate a surgeon's hand in the case of a laparoscopically assisted resection. Many such procedures involve open/endoscopic surgery and are significantly invasive, requiring general anesthesia and hospitalization. Significant trauma to e.g. the pelvic or abdominal region can result.
Existing known devices to perform an anastomosis on e.g. the colon require a surgeon to dissect the diseased portion of the colon, secure the separable ends of the anastomosis device into the healthy portions of the colon with purse string sutures, bring the device ends together, and perform the anastomosis. Such devices are potentially complex to operate and provide other disadvantages. Additionally, many resection and anastomosis procedures potentially cause contamination of e.g. the abdominal cavity. If an intestinal lesion to be resected is cancerous, for example, spillage of cancer cells into the abdominal cavity is extremely disadvantageous. Introduction of bacteria or lumenal contents outside of the colon or other anatomical structure, into the abdominal cavity or other region or organ, also is undesirable.

Resection and anastomosis devices and methods


A CMOS image sensor includes a first conductive type semiconductor substrate defined by a photodiode area and a transistor area, a trench formed in the semiconductor substrate corresponding to a transfer transistor of the transistor area, a gate electrode of the transfer transistor, formed in the trench, a second conductive type impurity ion area formed in the semiconductor substrate of the photodiode area, and a first conductive type impurity ion area formed on a surface of the second conductive type impurity ion area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor and a method for fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a CMOS image sensor and a method for fabricating the same in which a dead zone and a dark current are simultaneously reduced.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, an image sensor is a semiconductor device that converts optical images to electrical signals. The image sensor is classified into a charge coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor.
The CCD has drawbacks in its fabricating process as a result of a complicated driving mode, high power consumption, and multistage photolithographic processes. Also, it is difficult for a control circuit, a signal processing circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter to integrate in a chip of the CCD. This results in a difficulty in obtaining a slim sized product.
Recently, the CMOS image sensor has been proposed to overcome the drawbacks of the CCD.
The CMOS image sensor employs a switching mode that sequentially detects outputs of unit pixels using MOS transistors corresponding to the number of the unit pixels on a semiconductor substrate using the CMOS technology that uses a control circuit and a signal processing circuit as peripheral circuits.
The CMOS image sensor has advantages in that power consumption is low because of CMOS technology, and the fabricating process is simple because of a relatively small number of photolithographic process steps. Further, since the CMOS image sensor allows a control circuit, a signal processing circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter to be integrated in its chip, it has an advantage in that a slim sized product can be obtained. Therefore, the CMOS image sensor is widely used for various application fields, such as digital photo camera and digital video camera.
A general CMOS image sensor will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a layout illustrating a unit pixel of a 4T type CMOS image sensor having four transistors, and FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram illustrating the unit pixel of the CMOS image sensor shown in FIG. 1.
In the unit pixel of the 4T type CMOS image sensor, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a photodiode 20 is formed in a wide portion of an active area 10, and gate electrodes 110, 120, 130, and 140 of four transistors are formed to respectively overlap the other portions of the active area 10. In other words, a transfer transistor Tx, a reset transistor Rx, a drive transistor Dx and a selection transistor Sx are respectively formed by the gate electrodes 110, 120, 130 and 140.
Impurity ions are implanted into the active area 10 of each transistor, except portions below the gate electrodes 110, 120, 130 and 140, so that source and drain areas of each transistor are formed. Thus, a power voltage Vdd is applied to the source and drain areas between the reset transistor Rx and the drive transistor Dx, and a power voltage Vss is applied to the source and drain areas at one side of the selection transistor Sx.
The transfer transistor Tx transfers optical charges generated by the photodiode to a floating diffusion (FD) layer. The reset transistor Rx controls and resets the potential of the floating diffusion layer. The drive transistor Dx serves as a source follower. The selection transistor Sx serves as a switching transistor to read a signal of the unit pixel.
A method for fabricating the aforementioned related art CMOS image sensor will be described with reference to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3G. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3G are sectional views taken along line I-I of the unit pixel of the CMOS image sensor shown in FIG. 1.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a lightly doped P type (P-) epitaxial layer 2 is formed on a P type semiconductor substrate 1 defined by an active area and a device isolation area using a mask. Then, the lightly doped P type epitaxial layer 2 is etched at a predetermined depth by exposing and developing processes using the mask to form a trench. An oxide film is formed on the epitaxial layer 2. The trench is filled with the oxide film by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process so as to form a device isolation film 3 in the device isolation area.
Impurity ions are implanted into the surface of the epitaxial layer 2 corresponding to the active area to form a P type impurity ion area 4. The P type impurity ion area 4 is used to control a threshold voltage in a channel area of the transfer transistor and to pin a surface voltage in the photodiode.
As shown in FIG. 3B, a gate insulating film and a conductive layer are sequentially formed on the entire surface of the substrate and then selectively dry-etched to form a gate insulating film 5 and a gate electrode 6 of the transistors, including the transfer transistor.
As shown in FIG. 3C, a photoresist film is coated on the entire surface and then removed by exposing and developing processes to form a photoresist pattern 7 that exposes the photodiode. In other words, the photoresist pattern 7 is formed to partially cover the active area adjacent to the device isolation film 3 and partially expose the gate electrode 6. N type impurity ions are implanted into the epitaxial layer 2 of the exposed photodiode by high energy ion implantation to form an N type impurity ion area 8 of the photodiode. The photoresist pattern 7 is then removed.
As shown in FIG. 3D, when the N type impurity ion area 8 is formed, a photoresist pattern 9 is formed to expose the photodiode. Afterwards, P type impurity ions are implanted into the surface of the N type impurity ion area 8 to form a second P type impurity ion area 10 of the photodiode. The second P type impurity ion area 10 may be formed as follows.
As shown in FIG. 3E, when the N type impurity ion area 8 is formed, an insulating film is deposited on the entire surface and then etched back to form insulating film spacers 11 at sides of the gate electrode 6 and the photoresist pattern 9 that exposes the photodiode. Then, P type impurity ions are implanted into the surface of the N type impurity ion area 8 to form the second P type impurity ion area 10.
As shown in FIG. 3F, after the photoresist pattern 9 is removed, a source and drain area (floating diffusion layer) 12 of each transistor is formed by heavily implanting N type impurity ions into the drain area at one side of the gate electrode 6 using a mask,
Afterwards, although not shown, color filter layers and microlenses are formed. Thus, the CMOS image sensor is completely fabricated.
In the aforementioned conventional CMOS image sensor, the photodiode converts signals of light into electrical signals to generate optical charges. The generated optical charges move to the floating diffusion layer to gate the drive transistor Dx if the transfer transistor Tx is turned on. However, as shown in FIG. 3D, if the P type impurity ions are implanted before the spacers are formed, the epitaxial layer below the spacers is pinned. In this case, dark current characteristics are improved, but the P type impurity ion doping level increases. As the P type impurity ion doping level increases, a potential barrier of the source area of the transfer transistor increases to reduce transfer efficiency of the optical charges. For this reason, a problem occurs in that a dead zone is formed, in which no signal is generated for a certain time period after light enters the sensor.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3F, if the P type impurity ions are implanted after the spacers are formed at the sidewalls of the gate electrode, a transfer efficiency of the optical charges is improved. However, the surface of the photodiode is damaged during the dry-etching process for formation of the spacers, thereby increasing the dark current.

CMOS image sensor and method for fabricating the same


There is provided a method to protect applications running in a hostile environment, including against trampoline based attacks which use dll injection and code modification. The method includes protecting an application when access is performed from injected dll, and protecting the application when access is performed from modified codes.

In a hostile environment one of the most widely used way for malware to get access to protected application is to open target process with read/write access, then read its private data in memory, modify its data/codes or launch threads.
Since some system processes running as system components (e.g. svchost.exe) need to access protected application as well for some basic application features like privilege management and skin painting, it is necessary for protection suite to distinguish accesses from legal application and malicious ones.
Traditional way is to set up callbacks to intercept all requests to open process, check if they are from legal process by verifying process context of intercepted calls.
However nowadays attackers are becoming smarter. They can make use of legal system process as a trampoline to perform attacks in a "legal" context. Since the dll resides in context of system process, traditional solution cannot detect it.
Thus there is a need in new method that would provide an efficient solution to defense applications against indirect attacks and to differ accesses from legal application and malicious applications.

Method to protect application running in a hostile environment


An ATD pulse generator circuit (20) provides an ATD pulse at CMOS logic levels in response to a single-ended ECL level input signal transition. An emitter-follower input portion (21), a differential amplifier (23), and emitter-follower portion (25) converts the single-ended input signal to intermediate level differential signals. P-channel transistors (51 and 52) receive the intermediate level differential signals and provide complementary CMOS level outputs signals. Cross-coupled delay portion (29) prevents the N-channel transistors (55 and 56) from switching on until after a delay, causing both of the CMOS level output signals to remain at logic high levels for a predetermined time. Cross-coupling the N-channel transistors (55 and 56) also results in reduced power consumption. A NAND gate (31) receives the logic high levels and provides a CMOS level ATD pulse, the duration of which is adjustable.

Integrated circuit memories, such as static random access memories (SRAMs) require increasingly short access times. SRAMs are often used in the portion of a processing system where speed is very important, such as in a cache. Address transition detection (ATD) is one method that has been used to decrease access times. ATD is generally used to provide data line precharge and equalization signals in an integrated circuit memory. However, ATD may also be used for other purposes, such as word line driving, bit line driving, data line sensing, and for data outputting. ATD decreases memory access times by preconditioning the above mentioned circuits, thus allowing a memory access to begin as soon as a change in the address is detected.
In a memory using ATD, an address transition detector provides a pulse in response to an address change. This pulse is used to perform the desired function in the memory, such as precharge and equalization. It is typical to have a separate address transition detector for each address signal for which transitions are to be detected. For example, if a transition of the row address is to be detected, then an address transition detector is commonly used for each row address signal. The output pulses of these detectors are then summed to provide a single pulse. This single pulse is provided when a change in any row address signal is detected.
The access time of a memory using ATD is related to the time it takes to generate an ATD pulse after an address change. The more rapidly an ATD pulse can be generated, the earlier a memory using ATD can be accessed, thus increasing the speed of the memory. However, increasing the speed of the memory usually results in increasing power consumption of the memory as well.

ATD pulse generator circuit with ECL to CMOS level conversion


The invention provides a method for genetically transforming a plant so that it expresses a glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase that is feedback-defective. The feedback-defective enzyme raises levels of glycerol and glycerol-3-phosphate in comparison to the wild-type, leading to increased osmotic stress tolerance, and altered fatty acid content in glycerolipids.

Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) (EC 220.127.116.11) is an essential enzyme for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. It catalyzes the reduction of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) to glycerol-3-phosphate (G-3-P) using NADH as reducing equivalent. Plant cells possess at least two isoforms of GPDH, one located in the plastids and the other in the cytosol.1 The purification of the cytosolic GPDH from spinach has been reported. The product of the reaction catalyzed by GPDH, G-3-P, is a precursor for the synthesis of all glycerol lipid species, including membrane and storage lipids. The biosynthetic role of this enzyme in bacteria was established in vivo by the isolation of glycerol and G-3-P auxotrophs of E. coli mutant strains deficient in its activity.3 These mutants could not synthesize phospholipid in the absence of supplemental G-3-P.
There are no reports of plant mutants defective in GPDH activity.
In addition to being essential for lipid biosynthesis, GPDH is involved in several other important biological processes. Most notably, GPDH, through consuming NADH and regenerating NAD+, plays an important role in maintaining cellular redox status. The NAD+/NADH couple plays a vital role as a reservoir and carrier of reducing equivalents in cellular redox reactions. For catabolic reactions to proceed, the ratio NAD+/NADH should be high. Under normal aerobic conditions, excessive NADH is channeled into mitochondria and consumed through respiration. Under anaerobic conditions, GPDH reactions serve as a redox valve to dispose of extra reducing power. In this way, the cellular NAD+/NADH ratio can be maintained at a level allowing catabolic processes to proceed. The expression of the GPDH gene is subject to redox control and induced by anoxic conditions in Saccaromyces cerevisae. Deletion of the GPD2 gene (one of the two isoforms of GPDH) results in defective growth under anaerobic conditions.4
GPDH has also been shown to play an important role in adaptation to osmotic stress in Saccaromyces cerevisae. GPDH exerts its role in osmotic and salinity stress response through its function in glycerol synthesis. Glycerol is a known osmo-protectant. It is produced from G-3-P through dephosphorylation by a specific glycerol 3-phosphatase. To respond to a high external osmotic environment, yeast cells accumulate glycerol to compensate for differences between extracellular and intracellular water potentials.5 The expression of the GPDH gene, GPD1, has been demonstrated to be osmo-responsive.6 A strain of Saccaromyces cerevisae in which the GPD1 gene has been deleted is hypersensitive to NaCl.7 Accumulation of glycerol as an osmo-regulatory solute has been reported in some halophilic green algae including Dunaliella, Zooxanthellae, Asteromonas and Chlamydonas reinhardtii.8
The sequence of a cDNA encoding GPDH activity has been reported for the plant Cuphea lanceolata.9 The encoded protein was tentatively assigned as a cytosolic isoform.
To date, there has been no report on the genetic manipulation of plant GPDH.

Transgenic manipulation of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate and glycerol production with a feedback defective glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenese gene


A defect inspection method for inspecting a defect on a semiconductor wafer, using plural inspection methods includes: merging hot-spot coordinates as coordinates on the semiconductor wafer, designated by a user, or coordinates where a systematic defect can occur, with detected defect coordinates on the semiconductor wafer, acquired from inspection information, after information indicating the type of coordinates are added thereto; deciding an inspection sequence of the coordinates merged with each other; and defect inspection for executing selection using the information indicating the respective types of the coordinates merged with each other, and executing an inspection by selecting an inspection method for every coordinates to be inspected.

The present invention relates to a method for observing and inspecting a defect that has occurred during the manufacture of a semiconductor product, and a defect inspection device using the same.
In order to secure earnings in the manufacture of a semiconductor wafer, it is important to quickly start up a manufacturing process thereof to thereby cause transition to a high-yield mass production system to take place at an early stage. For this purpose, various types of inspection • measurement devices are introduced into a production line. For the purpose of deciding a process condition enabling a desired circuit pattern to be formed at an early stage, a procedure has been in practice whereby a plurality of wafers or chips are prepared by intentionally varying, for example, a process condition in a process startup stage, an inspection is performed against the wafers or the chips, and a process condition is decided on the basis of a result of the inspection. Meanwhile, an inspection on a wafer in a mass production stage is performed for the purpose of process monitoring. More specifically, a sampling inspection of a wafer is performed in a stage halfway through the manufacture of the wafer to thereby examine whether or not a defect has occurred to the surface of the wafer, or whether or not abnormality is present on a circuit pattern formed on the surface of the wafer. If a defect or abnormality of the circuit pattern is detected as a result of the inspection, the cause thereof is looked into, and a necessary countermeasure is taken.
A defect observation device is a device for capturing a high-resolution image of detect coordinates of a wafer, using the output of the other inspection device, thereby outputting the image. Since progress has since been made in the miniaturization of a semiconductor manufacturing process to be accompanied by a defect size reaching to the order of several tens of nm, resolution on the order of several nm is required in order to observe a defect in detail. For this reason, an observation device (hereinafter referred to as a Review SEM) using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has lately been in widespread use. A method for detecting a defect by comparing a captured-image of a defective site with an image of a non-defective product is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-189358. Further, a method for detecting a defect from one sheet of an image that has captured a defective site, is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-40910.
A method for deciding coordinates on a wafer, the coordinates being those to be reviewed between defect reviews, in an inspection device having not less than two inspection systems, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,904,845.

Defect inspection method and defect inspection device


An approach is provided for creating a digital representation of an analog sound. The approach retrieves a number of digital sound data streams with each of the digital sound data streams corresponding to an orientation angle of the digital sound data streams with respect to one another. The digital representation of the analog sound is generated by processing the digital sound data streams and their corresponding orientation angles.

Current multi-channel audio compression methods are bulky and processor intensive. Multi-channel audio compression is often used to create "surround sound" where a system produces sound that appears to surround the listener. Speakers are situated around the listener to provide the impression that sounds are coming from all possible direction. Consequently, surround sound often provides a more realistic experience, especially when listening to soundtracks of motion pictures and when engaged in video games.
Current multi-channel audio compression methods require discrete speaker arrangements to output the sound in a quality manner. One approach to current multi-channel audio compression is using "n.n" audio tracks, such as "5.1," "7.1," etc. In a 5.1 system, there are 5 channels of sound (left, right, center, left surround, and right surround) and 1 channel for low frequency effects (LFE), usually produced by a subwoofer. A 7.1 system is similar but provides an additional left rear and right reach channel for seven channels with the same single channel for LFE. Currently, to produce these effects each channel is stored separately and is bandwidth intensive to transmit. The approaches often need matching speaker outputs to produce the sound correctly. These approaches also utilize intensive remixing in which the source is recoded by same style of equipment. These approaches also result in perceptual coding that limits sound fidelity since re-composition of depends on the psychoacoustic model that was used.

Audio compression using vector field normalization


The present disclosure relates to a rotary blood pump with a double pivot contact bearing system with an operating range between about 50 mL/min and about 1500 mL/min, wherein the force on the upper bearing is less than 3N during operating speeds up to 6000 rpm. The disclosure also relates to a method of using a blood pump system for persistently increasing the overall diameter and lumen diameter of peripheral veins and arteries by persistently increasing the speed of blood and the wall shear stress in a peripheral vein or artery for period of time sufficient to result in a persistent increase in the overall diameter and lumen diameter of the vessel.

There are over half a million chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in the United States, with over 100,000 new CKD patients each year. There is a four percent annual increase in projected prevalence population due to such driving factors as, for example, high blood pressure, diabetes, and an aging population.
Hemodialysis is the treatment of choice for 92% of CKD patients, because without hemodialysis or some other form of treatment those CKD patients would die. A typical CKD patient undergoing hemodialysis treatment must have his or her vascular system connected to a hemodialysis machine two to three times per week. For hemodialysis, there are three common vascular access site options. The preferred access site option is an arteriovenous fistula (AVF), which is a direct, surgically created connection between an artery and a vein, preferably in the wrist, or alternatively, in the forearm, upper arm, leg, or groin. Another access site option is an arteriovenous graft (AVG), which is a surgically created connection between an artery and vein using an interposed synthetic conduit. The final major access site option is a catheter inserted into a large vein in the neck, chest, leg, or other anatomic location.
Patients with an AVF have less morbidity, less mortality, and a lower cost of care compared with patients with an AVG or a catheter; therefore, an AVF in the wrist is the preferred form of vascular access for hemodialysis. Patients with an AVG or catheter have substantially higher rates of infection and death than patients having an AVF, with catheter patients having the worst outcomes. In addition, patients having an AVG or catheter have a higher average cost of care, with catheter patients having the highest costs. If a patient is eligible for an AVF, the wrist or forearm is generally preferred over an AVF in the upper arm due to higher rates of hand ischemia and the generally shorter and deeper vein segments of the upper arm.
Unfortunately, about 85 percent of patients are ineligible for an AVF in the wrist, mostly due to vein and artery diameters that are too small. Furthermore, about 60 percent of all AVFs created are not useable without additional surgical and interventional procedures due to an occurrence commonly referred to as "maturation failure," which is correlated with small vein and artery diameter. The availability of veins and arteries with larger diameters is correlated with higher AVF eligibility and lower rates of maturation failure.
Currently, there are few options for permanently and persistently increasing the diameter of a vein or artery. All current methods use mechanical methods of dilation, such as balloon angioplasty, that can lead to vein or artery injury. Since a patient needs to have peripheral veins and arteries of a certain size for a physician to create an AVF, it is desirable to have a method and system for persistently and permanently increasing the size or diameter of peripheral veins or arteries.
Approximately 7 million people in the US suffer from chronic venous insufficiency and hypertension, which can progress to venous ulceration. Lower extremity ulcer is the most common form of chronic wound, with an estimated prevalence of 1% of the US population. About 2.5 million people in the US have a lower extremity ulceration and about 600,000 people seek treatment for a venous ulceration of the lower extremity each year in the US. The incidence of venous ulceration is expected to rise as the population ages.
In a survey of patients with venous ulcers, 81% of patients reported an adverse effect on mobility, 56% reported spending up to 8 hours per week on ulcer care, 68% reported a negative emotional impact, including fear, social isolation, anger, depression, and negative self-image. In the survey, 80% of patients are not working outside the home; and of the 20% employed, leg ulceration correlated with time lost from work, job loss, and adverse effects on finances.
Lower extremity venous hypertension and ulceration is costly to treat and places a substantial burden on health care providers and systems. In a study of 78 venous ulcer patients at the Cleveland Clinic, median ulcer size was 2.8 cm2 (mean=9.4 cm2) and 5% had bilateral ulcers. The median time to ulcer healing was 77 days (mean=108 days) and the mean cost of treatment was $2,400 per month. The mean total cost of treatment to heal an ulcer was $9,685 per patient. For patients requiring more than a year to heal, the average total cost per patient was $18,534.
In a majority of cases, venous hypertension and ulceration results from valvular incompetence secondary to deep vein thrombosis or an unknown cause. In a substantial minority of cases, venous hypertension and ulceration results from femoral or pelvic venous obstruction secondary to deep vein thrombosis, vein injury, or extrinsic vein compression. Chronic tissue exposure to localized venous hypertension leads to dilation of capillaries with increased permeability and leakage of plasma and erythrocytes, trapping, activation of leukocytes in the microcirculation, and the release of free radicals and other toxic products, such as tumor necrosis factors and collagenase, which can promote cell death and tissue damage. Leakage of fibrinogen into surrounding tissues binds or "traps" growth factors and cytokines, and renders them unavailable for maintenance and repair of tissue integrity.
Lower extremity venous hypertension presents clinically as leg redness, swelling, pain, edema, pruritus, scaling, discharge, and lipodermatosclerosis. Ulcers generally develop on the medial aspect of the leg and possess irregular borders and can be associated with severe pain. Venous ulcers are often complicated by superimposed bacterial infection. The arterial circulation is usually adequate. Current treatments for lower extremity venous hypertension and ulcer are often inadequate. Patients are mostly offered palliative treatments, with the goal of healing ulcers and preventing recurrence, including aggressive wound care, compression therapy to decrease lower extremity venous pressure and increase venous return, lower extremity vein stripping or ablation, and skin grafting. However, current treatments often fail to heal ulcers and recurrence rates for healed ulcers are high.
Currently, small "heart pumps" exist; however, such pumps are costly and not designed and dimensioned for use in an extremity or for the uses described herein. As such, there is a need in the art for systems, components, methods, and pump devices that can increase the diameter of peripheral veins and arteries at a reasonable cost. Additionally, there is a need for a systems, components, methods, and pump devices that can increase lower extremity venous return, reduce lower extremity venous hypertension, and heal venous ulcers.


A self supporting golf target device for use in practicing putting and chipping. The target device presents a golf target hole to the golfer with no impediment to a ball entering the hole through a 360.degree. angle. The device has three sidewalls meeting at one arcuately shaped end, each arcuately shaped end forming 1/3 of the target hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to golf; and, more particularly, to a target device to be used to simulate a hole for practicing putting and chipping.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of golf putting devices have been suggested over the years. Many such devices have an edge above ground level that interferes with a rolling golf ball. Some of these devices provide a target hole without such obstructing edge but do not provide a hole or target opening 360.degree. around the target.

Golf putting and chipping practice device


An image forming apparatus of the present invention has a first opening and closing unit that is opened to thereby expose said convey path and a second opening and closing unit that have a recording material stacking section and can open the image forming unit to support intermediate transfer. The second opening and closing unit can be operated be to open or close at the time that the first opening and closing unit is opened.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a full-color copying machine, a printer, etc., which forms an image on a recording material by using an electrophotographic method.
2. Related Background Art
In these days, an electrophotographic multicolor or full-color image forming apparatus includes a so-called in-line type image forming apparatus, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2001-242680, JP-A No. 2003-202728, and JP-A No. 2004-85899. This in-line type image forming apparatus comprises, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a plurality of photosensitive drums 100 of respective colors arranged in one line. The image forming apparatus forms color toner images on the photosensitive drums 100, respectively, sequentially superposes the respective formed color toner images onto an intermediate transfer belt 101 to thereby form a color image, secondarily transfers the superposed toner images onto a sheet being conveyed, heat-fixes the superposed toner images to the sheet using a fixing unit, and then discharges the sheet to an output tray 102. According to the above construction, since an exposing unit is disposed at the bottom surface side, it is capable of decreasing a distance at which the toner images are transferred from image forming unit to the intermediate transfer belt 101 and a location at which the color image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 101 to the recording material, which effectively shortens a copying time of first sheet.
In such an image forming apparatus, each of the image forming unit 100 and the intermediate transfer belt 101 has a life which is shorter than that of the image forming apparatus main body by its nature; therefore, they need replacement in order to complete the life of the main body. Therefore, as disclosed especially in JP-A No. 2004-85899, an upper cover unit 103 having the output tray 102 and the intermediate transfer belt 101 is, as shown in FIG. 5B, swingably adapted to the image forming apparatus main body in order to make the image forming unit 100 and the intermediate transfer belt 101 replaceable. As a result, swinging the upper cover unit 103 toward above the main body (in the direction of an arrow C in FIG. 5B) enables a user to freely access to both the image forming unit 100 and the intermediate transfer belt 101, which improves the maintainability.
On the contrary, in the above constructed image forming apparatus, in order to easily remove a jammed sheet (clogging sheet) from a sheet convey path, it is considered to rotatably construct a front cover unit 104 as a unit containing the sheet convey path, thereby causing the sheet convey path to be constructed openably.
In this construction mentioned above, because the upper cover unit supports intermediate transfer belt, an opening space formed by the movement of the upper cover unit is necessary to be large. If recording material is stacked on the upper cover unit after fixing process, a distance between the fixing and discharging portion and the upper cover unit is small and they interferes each other when the upper cover unit is opened. On the other hand, if the distance between fixing and discharging portion and the upper cover unit is set large for the upper cover unit can be opened easily, the width of the image forming apparatus becomes large. So it is necessary to reduce the interferance between the upper cover unit at an opening position and the fixing and discharging portion without making the width of the image forming apparatus large.

Image forming apparatus with first and second opening and closing units


A method for coating a substrate having a plurality of channels with a coating media in which the substrate is partially immersed into a vessel containing a bath of the coating media with the volume of coating media lying above the end of the immersed substrate being sufficient to coat the substrate to a desired level. A vacuum is then applied to the partially immersed substrate at an intensity and time sufficient to draw the coating media upwardly from the bath into each of the channels to form a uniform coating profile therein.

Catalytic convertors are well known for the removal and/or conversion of the harmful components of exhaust gases. While catalytic convertors have a variety of constructions for this purpose, one form of construction is a catalytically coated rigid skeletal monolithic substrate, or honeycomb-type element which has a multiplicity of longitudinal channels to provide a catalytically coated body having a high surface area.
The rigid, monolithic substrate is fabricated from ceramics and other materials. Such materials and their construction are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,331,787 and 3,565,830 each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The monolithic substrate and particularly the multiplicity of channels are coated with a slurry of a catalytic and/or absorbent material. While various methods are known in the art for coating a monolithic substrate with a catalytic slurry, such methods from the standpoint of cost are deficient in minimizing the amount of coating applied, especially when a costly catalytically active precious metal such as platinum, palladium or rhodium is deposited as part of the coating. Not only is it difficult to coat monolithic substrates, it is also difficult to provide a consistent and reproducible coating pattern within the channels.
One method of coating a prefabricated monolithic substrate is to pump the catalyst slurry into the respective channels and then subject the coated substrate to a drying operation. Such systems have been unsuccessful in providing a uniform coating thickness and a uniform coating profile wherein the catalyst coating is deposited over the same length of each of the channels.
It has been proposed to employ a vacuum to draw the catalyst slurry upwardly through the channels. For example, Peter D. Young, U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,014 discloses the creation of a vacuum over the monolithic substrate to remove air from the channels and then drawing the catalyst slurry upwardly through the channels. The vacuum is then broken and excess slurry is removed, preferably by gravity drainage.
James R. Reed et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,126 disclose the dipping of the monolithic substrate into a slurry and then utilizing subatmospheric pressure to purge the excess coating slurry from the surfaces of the support. The applied vacuum is intended to unplug the channels so that the slurry is drawn over the surfaces of each of the channels.
An improvement in these systems is disclosed in Thomas Shimrock et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,563, incorporated herein by reference. This system encompasses a method of vacuum coating ceramic substrate members with a slurry of refractory and/or catalyst metal components wherein precisely controlled, predetermined amounts of the slurry are metered for application to the ceramic monolithic substrate. The monolithic substrate is lowered into a vessel of preferably predetermined dimensions to a predetermined depth containing the precise amount of slurry which is to be coated onto the substrate. The slurry is then drawn up by a vacuum which is applied to the end of the substrate opposite to the end which is immersed in the bath. No draining or purging of excess coating slurry from the substrate is necessary nor is any pre-vacuum application step required to eliminate air.
The design of the vessel also known as a dip pan which contains the precise amount of slurry in U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,563 is desirably shaped to freely receive but closely conform to the shape of the substrate to be coated. Thus, if the monolithic substrate is in the shape of an oval, the dip pan is in the shape of an oval with slightly larger dimensions than the substrate itself.
While the '563 patent process provides a smooth coating exceeding that of the other reference processes, nonetheless, there is still difficulty in obtaining a uniform coating profile such that the coating covers the same length of each channel. In addition, because the '563 patent process prefers precisely shaped and dimensioned dip pans for each type of monolithic substrate, added expense is incurred by having to inventory a variety of different sized and shaped dip pans. Still further the dimensions of each dip pan is preferably only slightly larger than the substrate. Therefore extra care must be taken to place the fragile substrate in the dip pan so that the substrate does not accidently hit the dip pan.
It would therefore be a significant benefit in the art of coating monolithic substrates and particularly monolithic substrates for use in catalytic convertors if each channel can be coated with the same thickness of coating for the same length so as to provide a uniform coating profile in a cost effective and efficient manner.


An electronic apparatus includes an input line connectable to a supply source for vehicle information, a data transmitting and receiving unit for transmitting and receiving data, a current memory for storing vehicle information from the input line, a last memory for previously stored vehicle information, and a state-change judging unit for comparing vehicle information stored in the current memory and vehicle information stored in the last memory to determine whether the vehicle information has changed. When the vehicle information has changed, state-change data is transmitted to other electronic apparatuses through the data transmitting and receiving unit. The same vehicle information is thus shared by all the electronic apparatuses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle-information sharing system that allows electronic apparatuses having a vehicle-information determining function to share the same vehicle information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic apparatuses installed in automobiles, such as TV sets, navigation systems, audio apparatuses, and audio control units, sometimes function on a standalone basis and sometimes operate according to the state of the vehicle. For example, the display of moving pictures on a TV screen may be prevented during driving for safety, and the backlight for the instrumental panel is brightened when it becomes dark, or conversely, is dimmed when it becomes light. In order to obtain vehicle information that indicates such a state of the vehicle, each electronic apparatus is connected to a supply source for vehicle information. For example, the electronic apparatus is connected to a parking brake (side brake) to determine whether the vehicle is running, and is connected to a dimmer switch (light switch) to judge the ambient brightness.
An electronic apparatus that needs vehicle information has an input line or input terminal through which vehicle information is input. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the connection between electronic apparatuses and supply sources for vehicle information. Electronic apparatuses, namely, a navigation system 100, a TV set 110, an audio control unit 120, and an audio apparatus 130, respectively have input lines 140, 141, 142, and 143 for vehicle information. The input lines 140 to 143 are connected to a dimmer switch 150 and a parking bake 160, so that each electronic apparatus can determine whether the vehicle is running and whether it is dark.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-27163 discloses an example of an electronic apparatus that acquires vehicle information. In this publication, a compact video disc player (master unit) and a cassette deck (master unit) are connected to a car-mounted disk changer through bus lines. When a detection circuit detects that the automobile is running, the compact video disc player is prevented from playing back moving pictures.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-262984 discloses a technique for detecting whether the automobile is running, and preventing the display on a TV screen during driving while permitting a navigation system to display map information even during driving.
However, the known systems for acquiring vehicle information have the following problems. As shown in FIG. 5, it is troublesome and difficult to connect the input lines of all the electronic apparatuses that need vehicle information to the supply sources of vehicle information. In particular, when multiple electronic apparatuses are used, they are installed at different positions, for example, in the trunk, under the seat, and in the dashboard. While it is easy to connect a line, for example, from the lower side of the seat to the parking brake, it is quite troublesome to route a line thereto from the interior of the trunk over a long distance.
In contrast, when vehicle information from an input line is simply transmitted to other electronic apparatuses through a control bus, incorrect information is obtained from an input line that is not connected to the supply source for vehicle information. When the incorrect information is transmitted to the other electronic apparatuses, it is combined with correct information, and the correct information cannot be precisely ascertained. In order to solve this problem, the user may determine the connection of an input line of each electronic apparatus to the information supply source. For example, when the user makes a setting so that the audio control unit is connected to the supply source, but other apparatuses are not connected thereto, only vehicle information from the audio control unit is accepted and transmitted to the control bus, and vehicle information from the other apparatuses is not accepted and not transmitted to the control bus. In this case, the user must determine whether each electronic apparatus is enabled or disabled. This operation is troublesome, and erroneous settings by the user cannot be completely prevented.

Electronic apparatuses having vehicle-information determining function, and vehicle-information sharing system using the apparatuses


Constants {P.sub.b00i, Q.sub.b00j, . . . , P.sub.ak2i, Q.sub.ak2j, P.sub.ci, Q.sub.cj, P.sub.di, and Q.sub.dj } for calculating each of filter coefficients {a.sub.k1, a.sub.k2, b.sub.00, b.sub.k1, b.sub.k2, c and d} for a digital filter 15 by using non-linear polynomials for pass band position data x and pass band width data y are stored in a memory 13. The constants {P.sub.b00i, Q.sub.b00j, . . . , P.sub.ak2i, Q.sub.ak2j, P.sub.ci, Q.sub.cj, P.sub.di, and Q.sub.dj } are determined by using the least square method so that the sum of the square of the errors between the filter coefficients calculated by using non-liner polynomials and the filter coefficients of digital filter having known characteristics becomes the least or the minimum. A CPU 11 calculates the filter coefficients non-linearly by using the constants stored in the memory 13, and sets the results to the digital filter 15 when new pass band position data x or pass band width data y is input at knobs SC and SW.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital filter system, more particularly, to a digital filter system which can change the position of the pass band and/or the width of the pass band.
2. Description of the Related Art
Band Pass type digital filters are adapted to various technical fields, and recently, digital filter systems which can vary the position (the central frequency, and the upper and lower limit frequency) and/or the width of the pass band have been proposed.
For example, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,479,362 and 5,530,660, which is the divisional application of the former patent, disclose a variable central frequency type band pass filter system shown in FIG. 6. As shown, the variable central frequency type band pass digital filter system comprises:
an N order band pass digital filter 121 for filtering an input digital signal in accordance with filter coefficients {a.sub.k1, a.sub.k2 and b.sub.k1 } (k=1, 2, . . . , N/2; N is an even number), and for outputting the filtered signal; PA1 a first memory 113 for storing filter coefficients {a.sub.k1 (f.sub.a), a.sub.k2 (f.sub.a) and b.sub.k1 (f.sub.a)} and {a.sub.k1 (f.sub.b), a.sub.k2 (f.sub.b) and b.sub.k1 (f.sub.b)} of known band pass digital filters having a constant band pass width whose center frequencies are f.sub.a and f.sub.b, and filter coefficients {a.sub.k1 (f.sub.r), a.sub.k2 (f.sub.r) and b.sub.k1 (f.sub.r)} of the known band pass digital filter having a constant pass band width whose center frequency is f.sub.r ; PA1 a second memory 115 for storing linear coefficients K.sub.akj and K.sub.bk1, which are calculated in accordance with equations (1) and (2) by using the filter coefficients stored in the first memory 113; EQU K.sub.akj =a.sub.kj (f.sub.b)-a.sub.kj (f.sub.a)!/(f.sub.b -f.sub.a) EQU k=1,2, . . . , N/2 j=1,2 (1) EQU K.sub.bk1 =b.sub.k1 (f.sub.b)-b.sub.k1 (f.sub.a)!/(f.sub.b -f.sub.a) EQU k=1,2, . . . N/2 (2) PA1 displacement setting means SV for setting displacement m.DELTA.f between target center frequency and the predetermined center frequency f.sub.r of said band pass digital filter 121; PA1 multiplication means 117 for obtaining m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.akj and m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.bk1 by multiplying the displacement m.DELTA.f, supplied from said displacement setting means SV, by the linear coefficients K.sub.akj and K.sub.bk1 stored in said second memory 115; PA1 adding means 119 for obtaining a.sub.k1 (f.sub.r)+m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.ak1, a.sub.k2 (f.sub.r)+m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.ak2, and b.sub.k1 (f.sub.r)+m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.bk1 by adding the products obtained by said multiplication means 117, to a corresponding one of the filter coefficients stored in said first memory 113; and PA1 setting means 111 for setting the central frequency of said band pass digital filter 121 to f.sub.r +m.DELTA.f by setting the values a.sub.k1 (f.sub.r)+m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.ak1, a.sub.k2 (f.sub.r)+m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.ak2, and b.sub.k1 (f.sub.r)+m.DELTA.f.multidot.K.sub.bk1, obtained by said adding means 119, as the filter coefficients {a.sub.k1, a.sub.k2 and b.sub.k1 } of said band pass digital filter 121. PA1 an N order band pass digital filter 121 for filtering an input digital signal in accordance with filter coefficients {a.sub.k1, a.sub.k2 and b.sub.k1 } (k=1, 2, . . . , N/2; N is an even number), and for outputting the filtered signal; PA1 a first memory 113 for storing filter coefficients {a.sub.k1 (B.sub.a), a.sub.k2 (B.sub.a) and b.sub.k1 (B.sub.a)} and {a.sub.k1 (B.sub.b), a.sub.k2 (B.sub.b) and b.sub.k1 (B.sub.b)} of the known band pass digital filter having a constant center frequency whose pass band widths are B.sub.a and B.sub.b, and filter coefficients {a.sub.k1 (B.sub.r), a.sub.k2 (B.sub.r) and b.sub.k1 (B.sub.r)} of the known band pass digital filter having the constant center frequency whose pass band width is B.sub.r ; PA1 a second memory 115 for storing linear coefficients K.sub.akj and K.sub.bk1, which are calculated in accordance with equations (3) and (4) by using the filter coefficients stored in the first memory 113; EQU K.sub.akj =a.sub.kj (B.sub.b)-a.sub.kj (B.sub.a)!/(B.sub.b -B.sub.a) EQU k=1, 2, . . . N/2 j=1, 2 (3) EQU K.sub.bk1 =b.sub.k1 (B.sub.b)-b.sub.k1 (B.sub.a)!/(B.sub.b -B.sub.a) EQU k=1, 2, . . . N/2 (4) PA1 displacement setting means SV for setting displacement m.DELTA.B between target pass band width and predetermined pass band width B.sub.r of said band pass digital filter 121; PA1 multiplication means 117 for obtaining m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.akj and m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.bk1 by multiplying the displacement m.DELTA.B, supplied from said displacement setting means SV, by the linear coefficients K.sub.akj and K.sub.bk1 stored in said second memory 115; PA1 adding means 119 for obtaining a.sub.k1 (B.sub.r)+m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.ak1, a.sub.k2 (B.sub.r)+m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.ak2, and b.sub.k1 (B.sub.r)+m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.bk1 by adding the products obtained by said multiplication means 117 to a corresponding one of the filter coefficients stored in said first memory 113; and PA1 setting means 111 for setting the pass band width of said band pass digital filter 121 to B.sub.r +m.DELTA.B by setting the values a.sub.k1 (B.sub.r)+m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.ak1, a.sub.k2 (B.sub.r)+m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.k2, and b.sub.k1 (B.sub.r)+m.DELTA.B.multidot.K.sub.bk1, obtained by said adding means 119, as the filter coefficients {a.sub.k1, a.sub.k2 and b.sub.k1 } of said band pass digital filter 121. PA1 a digital filter for filtering an input digital signal in accordance with filter coefficients {a.sub.k1, a.sub.k2, b.sub.00, b.sub.k1, b.sub.k2, c and d} (k=1, 2, . . . ,N/2; N is an even number), and for outputting the filtered signal; PA1 calculation means for calculating each of the filter coefficients {a.sub.k1, a.sub.k2, b.sub.00, b.sub.k1, b.sub.k2, c and d} in accordance with equations (5) to (11) by using pass band position data x and pass band width data y; and PA1 setting means for setting the filter coefficients calculated by said calculation means to said digital filter. ##EQU1## PA1 a digital filter for filtering an input digital signal in accordance with filter coefficients FC.sub.h (h=1, 2, . . . , n; n is a natural number), and for outputting the filtered signal; PA1 calculation means for calculating the filter coefficients FC.sub.h in accordance with equation (13) by using pass band position data x and pass band width data y; and PA1 setting means for setting the filter coefficients FC.sub.h calculated by said calculation means to said digital filter. ##EQU3## PA1 a digital filter for filtering an input digital signal in accordance with filter coefficients, and for outputting the filtered signal; PA1 parameter storage means for storing parameters for calculating said filter coefficients defined by a non-linear polynomial for the position and/or the width of the pass band of said digital filter; PA1 filter coefficient calculation means for calculating said filter coefficients, based on said parameters stored in said parameter storage means, and a target position and/or a target width for the pass band of said digital filter; and PA1 setting means for setting the filter coefficients calculated by said filter coefficient calculation means to said digital filter.
The Patent also discloses a variable band width type band pass digital filter system.
This variable band width type band pass digital filter system, as shown in FIG. 6, comprises:
According to the technique disclosed in the above described patent, the position or the width of the pass band of the digital filter can be varied with a relatively smaller memory capacity and less calculation.
According to the digital filter system disclosed in the above described patent, the filter coefficients are obtained by linear approximation.
When the position or the width of the pass band changes relatively large, however, the filter coefficients change non-linearly. Therefore, an error between the calculated filter coefficients and the ideal filter coefficients occurs. Because of the error, the filter characteristics are degraded.
For example, FIG. 5 exemplifies the changes in the filter coefficients when the pass band width is changed. It is apparent from FIG. 5 that the filter coefficients change non-linearly when the pass band width is changed greatly, and the error occurs when the filter coefficients are set by linear approximation.
Further, it is desired that the amount of data and the amount of calculation, necessary for obtaining the filter coefficients, are decreased.
Also desired are a high pass digital filter system which can exactly change lower limit frequencies of the pass band with less calculation, as well as the variable band width type band pass digital filter system, and a low pass digital filter system which can change upper limit frequencies of the pass band.