Reduced voltage swing signal path circuitry is provided that lowers the internal signaling power consumption of the interconnection resources of a programmable logic device. The reduced voltage swing signal path circuitry includes a reversed routing driver circuitry to limit the voltage range of the output signal of the driver circuitry.

The present invention relates generally to programmable logic devices (PLDs), and more particularly to reducing power consumption in such devices.
It should be noted that the term PLD as used herein is intended to cover the broad space of programmable logic. This includes devices commonly known as CPLDs (Complex Programmable Logic Devices) such as MAX 7000® from Altera Corporation of San Jose, Calif., FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) such as Stratix® from Altera, or Structured ASICs (metal programmable logic) such as Hardcopy® from Altera.
Examples of known programmable logic devices are shown in Cliff et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,909,126 and 5,963,049, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. PLDs typically include large numbers of regions of programmable logic and other operational resources such as memory, input/output circuits, etc., that are selectively interconnectable via programmable interconnection resources on the device. For example, each region of programmable logic on a PLD may be programmable to perform any of several relatively simple logic functions on several input signals applied to that region in order to produce one or more output signals indicative of the result of performing the selected logic function(s) on the input signals. The interconnection resources are programmable to convey voltage signals (ranging from a ground voltage VSS (e.g., a "LOW" voltage signal) to a source voltage VCC (e.g., a "HIGH" voltage signal) to, from, and between the logic regions in any of a wide variety of patterns or configurations. For example, the interconnection resources may be used to concatenate several logic regions so that much more complex logic tasks can be performed than any one logic region can perform.
It is typical to use a single conductor for each individual interconnection pathway or path segment in PLDs. Single or multiple MOS pass gates (controlled by programmable memory elements or circuits on the PLD) are used for selectively interconnecting each conductor to other conductors to provide various signal routings through the interconnection resources of the device.
The operation of a typical single-transistor pass gate may be succinctly illustrated by a description of an NMOS pass gate (analogous principles of operation, as understood by one skilled in the art, would apply for a PMOS pass gate). Depending on whether the potential difference between its gate terminal, VGATE, and its source terminal, VSOURCE, exceeds the threshold voltage, VT, an NMOS pass gate acts as an "open" or a "closed" switch. (As is well-known in the art, there is no physical difference between the "source" and "drain" terminals of a MOS device.) When VGATE−VSOURCE is less than VT, the NMOS pass gate is in the "cutoff" state, thereby acting as an "open" switch; when VGATE−VSOURCE is greater than VT, the NMOS pass gate is in the conduction state, thereby acting as a "closed" switch.
As is well-known in the art, VT is not a discrete value for a MOS transistor; it may be considered a range of values that is influenced by a variety of second-order effects, such as substrate bias and subthreshold conduction. However, in order to simplify the illustration of the principles of the present invention, VT will be discussed herein as if it is a discrete value rather than a range of values.
With the current trend in scaling down device geometries (e.g., 0.18 μm process down to 0.13 μm, 90 nm, 65 nm, or lower) and the consequent use of ever-lower operating voltages (e.g., supply voltages, bias voltages, etc.), which are nearing levels comparable to VT, the ability of transistor pass gate structures to function at relatively high speeds while at the same time minimizing leakage current is a difficult design hurdle to overcome.
Moreover, this trend of smaller device geometries and consequent use of lower operating voltages is creating a design tradeoff between speed (e.g., response time for the pass gate transistor to turn ON) and leakage current (e.g., the current that passes through the pass gate transistor when turned OFF) that was not previously experienced with larger device geometries and the consequent use of higher operating voltages. That is, if conventional design techniques are applied to smaller device geometries, high speed pass gate operation is accompanied with high leakage current, whereas low leakage current is accompanied with low speed pass gate operation. High leakage current is undesirable because it results in excess heat, power loss, and poorer performance.
Another problem associated with shrinking geometries is the consequent use of lower operating voltages. This lower operating voltage is typically a nominal voltage supplied to the device, and may be insufficient for certain circuitry, such as configurable memory cells (e.g., SRAM) within the device, to operate properly. For example, as the supply voltage decreases, the soft-error-rate increases because the critical charge needed to flip the cells (from one logic state to another) is reduced.
A large percentage of a device's power is consumed by the capacitive charging and discharging of the interconnection conductors. At lower operating voltages, the VT drop of NMOS pass gates becomes a more significant fraction or percentage of the operating voltage. This can lead to several problems in conventional PLD interconnection circuitry. For example, signaling slows down and the circuitry becomes increasingly susceptible to capacitive cross-talk between parallel conductors.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide improved techniques, systems, and methods for lowering the internal signaling power consumption of a programmable logic device.

Methods of reducing power in programmable logic devices using low voltage swing for routing signals


A stamp unit capable of preventing ink from leaking out of the stamp unit is disclosed. The stamp unit includes a skirt member attached to an ink impregnated body. The skirt member has a substrate formed with a through-hole at its center. A pair of first guides and a pair of second guides are provided on the substrate for guiding corresponding edge portions of a stencil sheet. The first guides extend in a lengthwise direction of the substrate, and the second guides extend in a widthwise direction of the substrate. A pair of third guides are provided on the substrate outside of the second guides. The third guides guide corner portions of the stencil sheet so as to position between the second guides and the third guides. The corner portions guided by the third guides have corners with sharp crease.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stamp unit including a stamp body, an ink impregnated body fitted in the stamp body, and a stencil sheet formed with a stencil image and covering the ink impregnated body.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been proposed a stamp unit including a stamp body, an ink impregnated body fitted in the stamp body, and a thermal stencil sheet covering the ink impregnated body. The stencil sheet is formed with a stencil image. By pressing the ink impregnated body covered with the stencil sheet against a print medium to be printed on, an ink image corresponding to the stencil image is formed on the print medium.
Japanese Patent-Application Publication (Kokai) No. HEI-9-99618 has proposed a stamp unit 100 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The stamp unit 100 enables a stencil sheet to be easily attached to a stamp body, and also prevents ink leaks.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the stamp unit 100 includes a stamp body 101, an ink impregnated body 103, a stencil sheet S, and a skirt member 105. The stamp body 101 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a grip portion 102. The ink impregnated body 103 is attached to a lower portion of the stamp body 101, and is impregnated with ink. The stencil sheet S is formed with a stencil image. The skirt member 105 is detachably fitted to the stamp body 103.
The skirt member 105 is formed in a rectangular frame shape with an inwardly extending lip portion 113 defining an opening portion 106 at its lower surface. The skirt member 105 has a pair of first inner wall surfaces 107 opposing each other and another pair of second inner wall surfaces 108 opposing each other. A first guide portion 109 is provided to each first inner wall surface 107 so as to protrude from the first inner wall surface 107 to an inner edge of the lip portion 113. A second guide portion 111 is provided to each inner wall surface 108 so as to protrude from the inner wall surface 108 to an inner edge of the lip portion 113. The first guide portion 109 and the second guide portion 111 have a top surface 110 and a top surface 112, respectively, to receive and guide the stencil sheet S and the stamp body 101 to which the ink impregnated body 103 is attached. As shown in FIG. 2, an escape portion 114 is formed to each of four internal corners of the skirt member 105 between the first guide portions 109 and the second guide portions 111.
Next, operations for mounting the stencil sheet S to the stamp body 101 will be described. First, the skirt member 105 is fitted to an outer periphery of the stamp body 101 from below while the stencil sheet S clings by viscosity of the ink to a lower surf ace of the ink impregnated body 103. Then, the slanting guide surfaces 110 of the first guide portions 109 guide corresponding lengthwise edge portions of the stencil sheet S into intimate contact with corresponding sides of the stamp body 101. Next, the slanting guide surfaces 112 of the second guide portions 111 guide widthwise edge portions of the stencil sheet S into intimate contact with corresponding sides of the stamp body 101. Corner portions 115 of the stencil sheet S shown in FIG. 3 enter the escape portions 114 as guided by the first and second guide portions 109, 111.
In this way, the stencil sheet S can be easily and reliably mounted to the ink impregnated body 103 without the stencil sheet S peeling away from the ink impregnated body 103.
However, ink may leak out from the corner portions 115 of the stencil sheet S when the stamp unit 100 is laid on its side. Specifically, although the lengthwise edge portions and the widthwise edge portions of the stencil sheet S are in the intimate contact with corresponding sides of the stamp body 101, the corner portions 115 are not, so that the corner portions 115 are open. Ink can leak out through the openings C in the corner portions 115.
Also, as shown in FIG. 4, an upper portion of the skirt member 105 is not in contact with the stamp body 101 so that a space 116 is formed between the upper part of the skirt member 105 and the stamp body 101. The space 116 exposes the escape portions 114, that is, the opening portions of the corner portions 115, so that ink from the corner portions 115 can leak out through the space 116.
Therefore, when the stamp unit 100 with a large amount of ink impregnated in the ink impregnated body 103 is laid on its side, the ink may flow from the ink impregnated body 103 through the corner portions 115 and the space 116 to the outside of the stamp unit 100.
This problem will not happen as long as the stamp unit 100 is handled while kept in an upright posture. However, it is inconvenient and difficult for a user to handle the stamp unit 100 in such a restricted manner.

Stamp unit having stencil sheet and skirt member


A piezoelectric vibrator has a laminated structure where silicon oxide films having substantially the same thickness are disposed at both faces of piezoelectric plate as dielectric films. Using the structure discussed above, because dielectric films are formed at the both faces of the piezoelectric plate a difference of internal stress, which is caused by a difference of stress relaxation in a long term and affects the piezoelectric plate or the dielectric film, becomes small. Therefore, a warp can be considerably small. As a result, a change, which is caused by the warp of the piezoelectric vibrator, in a resonance frequency of the piezoelectric vibrator can be small.

As a piezoelectric element using a bulk wave which travels through a solid, a piezoelectric vibrator used as a source of clock signals for various electronic instruments or a piezoelectric filter used for sampling frequencies of communication instruments is known. Recently, the piezoelectric element has been used at a high frequency. Most of the piezoelectric elements employ thickness shear vibration or thickness longitudinal vibration as principal vibration, and a resonance frequency of the principal vibration is inversely proportional to a thickness of a piezoelectric plate. Therefore, the piezoelectric element is attempted to be used at a higher frequency by forming the piezoelectric plate with a thin film or the like.
The conventional piezoelectric element is disclosed in "Properties of Aluminum nitride thin films for piezoelectric transducers and microwave filter applications", written by Marc-Alexander Dubois and Paul Murant, on pp. 3032-3034 of Applied Physics Letters in May 17, 1999.
As shown in conventional piezoelectric element 901 of FIG. 9, aluminum nitride thin film 91 is used as the piezoelectric plate, and exciting electrodes 92 are formed on its front and back. A dielectric film formed of a laminated layer of silicon nitride film 93 and silicon oxide film 94 is disposed at one surface of film 91. In addition, the whole piezoelectric vibrator is disposed on silicone substrate 95 so that very thin piezoelectric vibrator is treated easily.
In the conventional structure discussed above, an elastic constant of the piezoelectric film and the dielectric film and a size thereof are determined in a manner that a temperature coefficient of the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric vibrator becomes zero at an initial stage after deposition. However, in the conventional structure, long-term reliability for stress relaxation of each film is not considered. Therefore, according as time passes, a warp, namely a change in size, of the whole piezoelectric vibrator becomes larger than that at the initial stage because of a difference of the stress relaxation of the piezoelectric film and the dielectric film. As a result, this warp brings a change in resonance frequency.

Piezoelectric vibrator, filter using the same and its adjusting method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A composite, prestressed structural member, such as a bridge unit and methods of forming such a member. The apparatus includes a plurality of longitudinally extending girders which are transversely spaced and a plurality of adjacent composite units disposed on the girders. Each composite unit has a plurality of beams with a molded deck portion formed thereabove. The beams are positioned transversely with respect to the girders and attached thereto. Additional, longitudinal beams are disposed between the transversely extending beams over the girders. The longitudinal beams are attached to the girders and by connectors to the molded deck. The structure is formed by positioning the girders on a construction support adjacent to a center portion of the girders such that the free ends of the girders cantilever and deflect downwardly. The beams of the composite units are attached to the girders in this construction position. Any gaps between adjacent composite units are filled with a non-shrink, high strength grout. When moved to an operating position wherein opposite ends of the girders are supported, the natural deflection of the unit due to its weight imparts a compressive prestress longitudinally in the molded deck units. Each molded deck unit may be formed such that it is also transversely prestressed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to prestressed structural members and methods of forming such structural members, and more particularly, to a composite, prestressed structural member, such as a bridge unit, which has pre-compression of the deck concrete in at least one direction and to methods of forming such a structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art there are a wide variety of structural members, both prefabricated and fabricated in place. These structural members include single element members, such as steel beams, and composite element members with molded materials reinforced with, or supported by, metal bars or support beams and elements. A typical molded material is concrete.
In forming structural members which include concrete or other moldable elements, or which are entirely made of concrete, it has often been found desirable to prestress the concrete to reduce tension loads thereon. It is well known that concrete can withstand relatively high compression stresses but relatively low tension stresses. Accordingly, wherever concrete is to be placed in tension it has been found desirable to prestress the concrete structural member with a compression stress which remains in the structural member so that a failing tension stress is not normally incurred.
Conventional prestressing, as performed in the past, involves stretching a wire or cable through a mold and placing this cable in tension during hardening of concrete which has been poured into the mold. When the concrete has hardened the tension-loaded cable is cut, placing a compression load on the hardened concrete. The compression force from the severed cable remains with the element once it is removed from the mold.
A problem with conventional prestressing is that it requires careful calculations to avoid overstressing the cables because it is usually desirable to stretch the cables to near failure to achieve a sufficient prestressing. The apparatus necessary to achieve this prestressing is also complex. Further, cutting the cables can be a dangerous procedure and can ruin the prestressed structural member if not performed correctly.
In forming structural members for spanning between two supports, it has often been found desirable to utilize a steel structural support beneath a molded concrete surface. Because steel can withstand a much higher tensile stress, these composite structural members are formed with the steel sustaining most of the tensile stress which is placed on the member.
To form composite members of the type having an upper concrete surface and a metal structural support underneath, a metal piece form mold typically is utilized. First, the steel supports, such a wide flange beams, are placed beneath a mold assembly having two or more mold pieces disposed around the beam or beams. Next, the concrete is poured into the mold such that the concrete fills the mold and extends over the beam. When the concrete is hardened, the mold pieces are disassembled from around the beams such that the concrete rests on the beam. In most instances, these wide flange beam supported concrete structural members are formed in place. This is usually advantageous so the concrete surface can better fit into the finished structure. Some types of composite structural members, however, are prefabricated. The prestressing of such composite members may be carried out in a number of ways. One preferred method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,177 in which the structure is formed in an inverted position.
A problem with large prefabricated structures is that they are difficult to move, and particular problems arise if the location is somewhat remote, as is frequently the case for bridge or building sites in developing countries. In these remote locations it is also difficult to utilize large cranes because of the difficulty in moving them to these locations. The present invention solves this problem by providing a bridge which is easily constructed at the desired location by using relatively small prefabricated panels or composite units which are transversely attached to a plurality of longitudinally extending girders. When the structure is in position, the concrete portion thereof is substantially always in compression. By using fewer longitudinal girders to support the bridge, the present invention also reduces the total weight of structural steel required.
Reduction in the weight of structural steel is also accomplished by the reverse stressing of the girders as they are loaded with the composite units. The bottom flange of each girder, which will have tensile stress when the structure is in its final position, receives and retains compressive stress during the construction process. This prestressing of the girders allows reduction of their weight.

Composite, prestressed structural member and method of forming same


The invention supposes the use of an integrated services digital network (102) which has a function of communicating the number of a source communications terminal (101) as source number information. A source number information identifying section (104) in a central unit 103 identifies source number information from the integrated services digital network (102). Communications processing sections (105) in the central unit (103) process arriving channels for which source number information is recognized as being identical, as arriving channels from the same communications terminal. As a result, the central unit (103) identifies arriving channels from a plurality of communications terminals (101) individually and then processes them without communicating source number information with the communications terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a technique for identifying and processing arriving channels from multiple points individually in an integrated services digital network.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent spread of integrated services digital networks (ISDNs), center services, such as multipoint television conferencing, multipoint voice graphic conferencing, and the like, are being implemented.
In order to implement these various services, the communications capacity is required to be several times the capacity of the basic channel (B channel) of the current integrated services digital networks. For these services, therefore, a plurality of basic channels on a line are used simultaneously.
When the connection is set up between communications terminals that provide various services and a multipoint central unit, the central unit is required to identify arriving channels from a plurality of points individually in an efficient manner for subsequent processing.
As a first prior art to implement such a function, there is a technique in which, when each terminal makes a request for connection to the central unit, it informs the central unit of its terminal number using the B channel after the connection has been established by the central unit.
With this prior art, however, actual communications commence after each communications terminal (terminal number) has been identified using control communications data on the B channel. The problem with the first prior art is therefore that it takes long time to the commencement of communications. In addition, each terminal is required to have a function of sending its own terminal number as control communications data over the B channel and the central unit is also required to have a function of receiving and identifying control communications data on each B channel. This makes the system configuration complex.
As a second prior art, a central unit is provided with lines, the number of which corresponds to the maximum number of communications terminals. Each terminal is allocated an individual line number and makes transmissions using the line allocated to it. The central unit recognizes a plurality of arriving channels originating on each line as incoming channels from the communications terminal corresponding to that line.
The problem with the second prior art is that the central unit has to be provided with lines, the number of which corresponds to the maximum number of communications terminals.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a multipoint/multichannel connection device which is implemented by simple connection processing and is simple in system configuration.
A first mode of the present invention supposes the use of an integrated services digital network which has a function of communicating the number of a source communications terminal as source number information.
A source number information identifying section in a central unit identifies source number information from the integrated services digital network.
Communications processing sections in the central unit process arriving channels for which source number information is recognized as being identical as arriving channels from the same communications terminal.
As a result, the central unit identifies arriving channels from a plurality of communications terminals individually and then processes them without communicating source number information with the communications terminals.

Multipoint/multichannel connection device in integrated services digital network


A door frame for a vehicle includes a main member formed by one sheet and having a first supporting portion with an opening, a second supporting portion which has an opening oppositely arranged to the opening of the first supporting portion, a decorative portion which has a sloped edge portion that changes the width of the decorative portion, and a submember formed by one sheet and fixed to the main member so as to form an enclosed space between the main member and the submember. The cross-sectional area of the enclosed space gradually changes along the longitudinal direction of the door frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a door frame for a vehicle and a method for forming the door frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
A door frame and a method for forming the door frame is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model laid-open publication No. 6(1994)-32139.
In this publication, a one-piece sheet is formed into a door frame which includes a first supporting portion, a second supporting portion, a decorative portion and an enclosed space.
The first supporting portion has an opening and supports a weather strip which seals the opening between the door frame and a window glass. The second supporting portion has an opening which is oppositely arranged to the opening of the first supporting portion and supports a weather strip which seals the opening between the door frame and a vehicle body. The decorative portion has a gradually changing edge portion in one side edge thereof formed along a longitudinal direction so as to change the width of the decorative portion, and is arranged parallel to the direction of the openings of the first and second supporting portions. The enclosed space is oppositely arranged to the decorative portion through the first support portion and the second support portion. The cross-sectional area of the enclosed space is constant along a longitudinal direction of the door frame.
However, as so designed, the rigidity of the door frame is constant at any portion in the longitudinal direction of the door frame. Therefore, the door frame is heavy.
The method for forming this door frame includes a roll-forming step, a cutting step and a hemming step.
In the roll-forming step, the sheet is bent to form the first supporting portion, the second supporting portion, the decorative portion and the enclosed space. In the cutting step, one slat of a piled portion of the sheet at one side edge of the decorative portion is cut into a shape which gradually changes its slope. In the hemming step, the other slat of the piled portion of the sheet is hemmed along the cut line of the one slat. The cutting step and the hemming step form the gradually changed edge portion on the one side edge of the decorative portion. However, the process of forming the door frame is complicated by the cutting and hemming steps.

Door frame and method for forming a door frame


An implementation of streaming video in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) Web pages combines video signals in MPEG digital television format with Internet World Wide Web pages in HTML format. Internet streaming video is transcoded into MPEG-2 digital video format and multiplexed along with other MPEG-2 digital video signals for transport within a multiple channel digital video system. A navigational control map, transmitted from the headend to the CATV set-top box in a fixed location i n the MPEG-2 video data steam, permits the CATV set-top to find the requested video clip in a predetermined Packet Identifier of the MPEG-2 data stream. The viewer controls the video clip (e.g., play, pause, resume, restart etc.) during the session. In the two-way embodiment, the set-top transmits control commands to the headend, which implements the command in MPEG-2 video. The disclosed arrangement allows the available MPEG-2 decoder hardware in the CATV set-top box to be used to display streaming video without requiring additional hardware or additional RAM memory.

Many World Wide Web sites on the Internet host pages which contain streaming video. When the user (viewer) clicks on an icon indicating a video clip, the Web server delivers a digital video data stream representing the requested video clip.
In order to play the streaming video, the video data is typically stored (cached) at the user (client) location, and run using a compatible software plug in module. One well known format for video streaming is Quicktime by Apple Computer Corporation of Cupertino, Calif. USA. Using the Quicktime software decoder, a locally stored video clip may be played, paused, resumed or replayed from the beginning. Streaming video in HTML Web pages has the potential to present video clips lasting several seconds or minutes, or even to feature length movies lasting several hours.
The Quicktime software decoder is adapted to run on a standard compatible PC or an Apple Computer Macintosh. A typical PC uses a central processing unit (CPU) based on a microprocessor from Intel Corporation running the Windows operating system from Microsoft Corporation. The Quicktime software decoder needs a computing environment having substantial resources in terms of hard disk storage, RAM memory and microprocessor speed. For example, a PC equipped to run Quicktime encoded video clips would include a Pentium class Intel microprocessor and substantial RAM memory.
Many households do not have a PC and therefore have limited access to the Internet. However, many households do have a television receiver and access to a cable television (CATV) connection. For those viewers with access to CATV, Internet connectivity can be provided over the CATV system in conjunction with the television receiver. The interface between the CATV subscriber and the CATV system is typically a CATV set-top box.
However, CATV set-top boxes are cost sensitive consumer items that use an inexpensive microprocessor and a minimum of RAM memory. As a result, most CATV set-top boxes are resource poor and ill equipped to locally store or run Quicktime encoded video clips. Video clips larger than the available RAM memory may have to be displayed in segments resulting in a wait period during which successive segments are swapped in memory. The performance of a typical CATV set-top box when running Internet delivered Quicktime streaming video is at times so slow as to be wholly inadequate.

System for transporting MPEG video as streaming video in an HTML web page


A network system includes a plurality of terminals classified into a plurality of groups, a network for selectively connecting the plurality of terminals to each other, and a control part for receiving a call indicating one of the groups from a source terminal which is one of the plurality of terminals and for coupling, through the network, the source terminal to a destination terminal which is one terminal included in one of the groups which has an attribute identical to that of the source terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a network system having different attributes of terminal equipment devices, such as telephone sets, personal computers, G3 (group 3) facsimile machines and G4 (group 4) facsimile machines. More particularly, the present invention is directed to improvements in a network system having extension lines to which different attributes of terminal equipment devices are coupled.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, there is a trend in which different attributes of terminal equipment devices other than telephone sets, such as personal computers, G3 facsimile machines and G4 facsimile machines are coupled to extension lines of a network system such as a network control unit (NCU), network terminating equipment or a digital service unit in an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) system. In such a system, an identification number (address) such as a telephone number is provided for each terminal equipment device. For example, when an operator inputs an identification number, only a corresponding terminal equipment device is called. In other words, it is impossible for the calling operator to call a different terminal equipment device or a plurality of terminal equipment devices by the above identification number. This is inconvenient to users. Thus, there is a demand to eliminate the above-mentioned inconvenience be eliminated.
A network system has been proposed in which an identification number such as a telephone number identifies a group of terminal equipment devices and one of the grouped terminal equipment devices having the same attribute as the calling terminal equipment device is called.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a conventional network system in conformity with an ISDN user/network interface recommended by the CCITT. A plurality of extension lines 30, 70 and 80 are coupled to a network 100 such as a line terminating equipment. The frequency range on each of the extension lines 30, 70 and 80 is divided into two information channels (B channels) and a signal channel (a D channel). Each B channel transfers communication data such as voice data or facsimile data. The D channel transfers either call control information such as dial information which may be necessary for each terminal equipment device to be coupled to the network 100 or answer information which is sent to each terminal equipment device.
In FIG. 1, a G4 facsimile machine 3 is connected to the extension line 30. A digital telephone set 7-1, a personal computer 7-2 and a G4 facsimile machine 7-3 are connected to the extension line 70. A digital telephone set 8-1, a personal computer 8-2 and a G4 facsimile machine 8-3 are connected to the extension line 80. An identification number or telephone number is determined for each of the extension lines 30, 70 and 80.
It is now assumed that a telephone number representative of the extension line 70 (pilot, agent or representative telephone number) is sent to the network 100 through the G4 facsimile line 3 which is currently a calling terminal equipment device. The network 100 changes the extension line 70 from an idle state to a called state in which call setup information and attribute information about the G4 facsimile machine 3 are sent to the extension line 70. Assuming that the attribute information about the G4 facsimile machine 3 is "0003", each of the terminal equipment devices 7-1, 7-2 and 7-3 connected to the extension line receive the call setup information and the attribute information, and determines whether its own attribute coincides with the attribute of the G4 facsimile machine 3. When a terminal equipment device determines that its own attribute coincides with the attribute of the G4 facsimile machine 3, the terminal equipment device having the same attribute responds to the call setup.
The conventional network system shown in FIG. 1 is disadvantaged by the fact that it is not possible to call each terminal equipment device by a plurality of pilot (representative) telephone numbers. For example, the G4 facsimile machine 8-3 can be called by only a pilot telephone number indicative of the extension line 80 and thus cannot be called by another pilot telephone number such as a pilot telephone number indicating the extension line 70. Also, when the G4 facsimile machines 7-3 and 8-3 are used in common by two sections of a company which are separately assigned the extension lines 70 and 80, it is desired that the G4 facsimile machine 7-3 can be called by not only a telephone number indicative of the extension line 70 but also a telephone number indicative of the extension line 80.

Network system having different attributes of terminal equipment devices


An organic light emitting display includes a display panel including data lines, gate lines crossing the data lines, and pixels and a panel driving circuit which supplies a data voltage to the pixels of the display panel during a power-on period and then is additionally driven for a predetermined power-on delay duration time delayed from a power-off start time of a power input signal. The panel driving circuit supplies a reverse polarity recovery voltage having a polarity opposite the data voltage to the pixels or supplies a recovery voltage, which is different from a gate voltage of a driving element of each of the pixels, to a source terminal of the driving element of each pixel for the predetermined power-on delay duration time.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to an organic light emitting display supplying a reverse polarity voltage for recovering reliability of pixels to the pixels after power of the organic light emitting display is turned off.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Each pixel of an organic light emitting display includes an organic light emitting diode (OLED) having a self-emitting structure. The OLED is configured through the stack of organic compound layers including a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an emission layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, etc. The OLED emits light when electrons and holes are combined in an organic layer through a current flowing in a fluorescence or phosphorescence organic thin film.
Each of pixels of an active matrix organic light emitting display includes a driving element and a switching element. The driving element and the switching element are thin film transistors (TFTs) having a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) structure and are formed on a substrate of a display panel. When a reverse bias is applied to the OLED, the OLED does not emit light because the OLED has a polarity. The driving element controls a current flowing in the OLED based on data of an input image. A data voltage of the same polarity is repeatedly supplied to a gate of the driving element in a normal drive mode. However, when the data voltage of the same polarity is repeatedly supplied to the gate of the driving element, a threshold voltage of the driving element is shifted because of a gate bias stress of the driving element resulting from characteristics of the MOSFET structure. Also, the driving element is degraded, and thus reliability of the pixels is reduced. The gate bias stress degrades the driving element and thus reduces life span of the organic light emitting display.


A method for sterilizing a drug delivery device may comprise disposing a liquid drug container, a needle conduit and a cap in a sterilization enclosure so that a mouth portion of the liquid drug container is registered with, and spaced apart from, a circumferential lip of the cap; disposing a cover over the liquid drug container, the needle conduit, and the cap, sealing the sterilization enclosure; subjecting the interior of the sterilization enclosure to a sterilization process in which the liquid drug container, the needle conduit, and the cap are exposed to the sterilization fluid and are sterilized; and applying a downward force to the liquid drug container to move the mouth portion into engagement with the circumferential lip of the cap and to snap the cap onto the liquid drug container to seal the cap and needle conduit to the liquid drug container in an assembled configuration.

Drug delivery devices can be provided to a user with a liquid drug pre-filled in a drug container of the device. As will be appreciated, portions of the devices that will be exposed to the liquid drug must be sterilized. When a device is sealed for intended use, (such as a sterile fluid path in a non-sterile device) the options for sterilization become limited. It may not be possible or practical to use gaseous methods such as Ethylene Oxide, steam, vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide, and the like due to the inability of such fluids to penetrate into the sealed environment. It may possible to use radiation or heat to sterilize internal volumes of the sealed device, but such options may not be technically feasible because radiation and heat can have deleterious effects on certain materials of the device. Alternatively, the device could be aseptically assembled, which would allow the individual components to be sterilized by any method and then assembled into a sealed system, however, such an approach may be cost prohibitive.
Thus, it would be desirable to have allow components of a drug delivery device to be sterilized using any of a variety of methods, while eliminating the need for costly aseptic assembly environments and equipment.

System and method for aseptic packaging of a drug delivery device components


A tomato peel material acidification system (10) including a receiving tank (32), a pump (36), acid injection devices (46, 48), mixing devices (38, 39), and a return line (52) for recirculating tomato peel material with an acid level that is too high. PH sensor probes (56, 58, 60) test the pH level of the tomato peel and acid mixture and appropriate controls direct the opening and closing of valves (50, 51, 54, 55) to re-direct the mixture back into the receiving tank.

In automated tomato processing facilities, it is common to process tomato peels after removal from tomatoes by adding acid, such as HCL acid, to the tomato peels and then adding the acidified tomato peel material to a product such as pizza sauce, which needs salt. Tomatoes typically have a pH level of about 4.0, but tomato peel material can have a pH level as high as 13.0 pH when removed by a lye applicator process. It is desirable to lower the pH level, and thus raise the acid level of tomato peel material, closer to approximately the 4.0 pH level of whole tomatoes, so that the peel material is suitable for use in pizza sauces and other commercial food products.
One process for acidifying tomato peels is to introduce batches of tomato peels into an acidification tank, add acid to the peel material, circulate the tomato peels and acid in order to mix the two, and then test the pH of the peel material. If the pH needs adjusting, the appropriate acid level adjustment is made and the material is mixed until the acid level is correct. When the acid level is within an acceptable range, the material is pumped out of the tank and a new batch of tomato peel material is then introduced into the tank to be acidified.
The batch system has several drawbacks, one of which is inconsistent mixing of the tomato peel material and acid, and another of which is a slower than desired processing rate. Full, uniform mixing of the peel material and the acid is not always achieved due to differences in size of peel material chunks and due to the limited extent a circulation system can fully mix the material. In addition, the batch system is inherently slow because the next batch of tomato peel material cannot be acidified until acid level of the current batch is raised to the desired level. The system and process of the present invention seeks to address these problems and provide a continuous system that achieves a quick, uniform acidification rate.


The invention relates to a multilayer electrode with a porous core structure produced by sintering and composed of an electrically conducting material for an electrolysis cell, especially with a solid electrolyte, in which the porous core structure contains at least two layers of spherical bodies made of metal packed densely together, said layers being formed by sintering and connected together, with the layer facing the electrolyte forming the active layer and being made as a fine layer of spherical bodies of the same or approximately the same size and the layer that covers the active layer on the back being made as a coarse layer of spherical bodies that are larger than the spherical bodies in the active layer.

Electrolysis cells equipped with solid electrolytes are used in particular for electrolytic processes such as water electrolysis for producing ozone, HCl and NaCl electrolysis. For example, perfluorinated ion exchange membranes are used as the solid electrolyte and the electrolytes are connected directly with the membrane as porous structures. The porosity of the electrodes is necessary to guarantee the supply of reactants and to remove reaction products from the solid-solid interface between the electrode and the electrolyte (see Dechema Monographs, Volume 94, Verlag Chemie 1983, pages 211 to 223 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,171).
Known electrodes with a porous structure are manufactured by compressing and sintering fibrous powder. The disadvantage of the known porous electrodes is the formation of capillaries in which bath residues can accumulate during the subsequent galvanic coating of the electrodes. The galvanic bath residues can be removed only with difficulty. In addition, the flushability of the known porous structures of the electrodes has not been satisfactory thus far because the sufficient flushing desired is not always provided due to the irregular structures formed by sintering.

Multilayer electrode for electrolysis cell


A transparent conductive material in which the desired resistivity is achieved with a high carrier concentration is provided for use in an OLED. In one embodiment, the transparent conductive material comprises indium-tin-oxide. (ITO) with a high carrier concentration of at least at least 7×1020 cm−3. The high carrier concentration improved the performance of the OLED device.

OLED devices are used, for example, to form displays such as flat panel displays (FPDs). The displays are used in many different products such as pagers, cellular phones, and personal organizers. Typically, an OLED comprises one or more organic functional layers sandwiched between two electrodes. Charge carriers are injected through the electrodes and recombine in the functional layers, thereby emitting visible radiation.
One of the electrodes is formed from a transparent conductive material, enabling the radiation to be seen. The transparent conductive material should possess low resistivity, high optical transmittance, and appropriate work function to produce an OLED device with adequate performance.
A transparent electrode material that is useful in OLED applications is indium-tin-oxide (ITO) due to its high transparency in the visible wavelength range. ITO is commonly used in liquid crystal display (LCD) applications. However, resistivity and work function of the ITO used in LCD applications do not meet the requirements for OLED applications. This leads to lower performance in OLED devices, making portable applications which operate on battery power impractical.
Also, the surface morphology (roughness) of ITO layers used in LCD is not suited for OLED applications. Typically, LCD applications require the surface of the ITO to be rough in order to promote adhesion of the polyimide coating. The rough ITO surface produces high electric fields, which can be detrimental for OLEDs. For example, the high electric fields can induce electrical shorts since the electrodes are only separated by a distance of about 100-200 nm (the usual thickness of the organic functional layer stack).
As evidenced from the above discussion, it is desirable to provide a transparent conductive layer that meets the needs for OLED applications.

Transparent electrode material for quality enhancement of OLED devices

Institute of Materials Research and Engineering


In order to produce an integrated CMOS circuit, a dielectric layer and a silicon layer are applied to a substrate. During the formation of insulation structurers which insulate neighboring active regions in the substrate, the silicon layer is structured in such a way that it has separate sub-regions which are subsequently doped differently. By full-surface deposition of an electrically conductive layer and common structuring of the electrically conductive layer and the structured silicon layer differently doped gate electrodes and a metallization plane, by which the gate electrodes are electrically connected, are formed. Division of the silicon layer before doping prevents lateral dopant diffusion.

In CMOS logic circuits, for example in inverters, use is made of both n-channel MOS transistors and p-channel MOS transistors. In this case, electrical connections between the gate electrodes of p-channel MOS transistors and n-channel MOS transistors are often made in a gate plane which is formed by structuring a layer and which, in addition to the gate electrodes, has connection elements between the gate electrodes. The gate electrodes and the connection elements between the gate electrodes are often produced as a continuous gate line. In CMOS circuits which are operated with a supply voltage of 5 volts, the gate plane is usually made of n.sup.+ -doped polysilicon or polycide.
In CMOS circuits for low-voltage/low-power applications, which are operated with a supply voltage of <3 volts, the MOS transistors are optimized in such a way that they have threshold voltages .vertline.V.sub.th .vertline.< 0.4 volt and at the same time low leakage currents. The gate lengths of these MOS transistors are less than 0.25 .mu.m. The concomitant high requirements on the short-channel behavior of the MOS transistors are satisfied by using a dual work-function gate technology with optimized gate work function. The term "dual work-function gate technology" means the fact that the gate electrodes for the n-channel MOS transistors and for the p-channel MOS transistors are doped differently. In the case of a gate plane with a continuous gate line which connects the various gate electrodes, this different doping in the gate electrodes leads to the danger of lateral dopant diffusion (see, for example, L. C. Parillo, IEDM 85, P 398).
The electrical properties, for example the threshold voltage V.sub.th, of the MOS transistors depends essentially on the gate doping. Lateral dopant diffusion leads to a change in the gate doping, and therefore to undesired, uncontrollable parameter shifts. In the extreme case, this can lead to reverse doping of n.sup.+ -doped or p.sup.+ -doped gate electrodes, and therefore to complete failure of the components. Furthermore, in the connection between n.sup.+ -doped gate electrodes and p.sup.+ -doped gate electrodes, with regard to a low bulk resistance, n.sup.+ -doped regions and p.sup.+ -doped regions must be directly adjacent, since a space-charge region would otherwise form.
To suppress lateral dopant diffusion in dual work-function gate technology, it has been proposed (see, for example, D. C. H. Yu et al. Int. J. High Speed Electronics and Systems, Vol. 5, p 135, 1994) not to use a continuous polysilicon connection in the gate plane between differently doped gate electrodes. Instead of this, the polysilicon gate line is divided and is electrically conductively connected via a metal bridge, for example of aluminum. Contact between the metal bridge and the gate-line segments is then made via contact holes opened in an interposed insulation layer. As an alternative, a suitable metallic conductor, for example TiN, W, Wsi.sub.2, is deposited and structured after division of the gate line. These solutions are expensive processes and to some extent require additional spatial requirements for making contact and metallization.
It has furthermore been proposed (see C. Y. Wong et al., IEDM 88, p 238) to minimize the lateral dopant diffusion in dual work-function gate technology by a reduction in the thermal loading. However, this leads to a narrow process window, for example, for the dopant activation in the gate electrode and for the planarization reflow. Furthermore, this proposed solution has not yet lead to satisfactory results.

Process for the production of an integrated CMOS circuit


Techniques for tracking entities using a single overhead camera are provided. A foreground region is detected in a video frame of the single overhead camera corresponding to one or more entities. It is determined if the foreground region is associated with an existing tracker. It is determined whether the detected foreground region is the result of at least one of a merger of two or more smaller foreground regions having corresponding existing trackers and a split of a larger foreground region having a corresponding existing tracker when the detected foreground region is not associated with an existing tracker. The detected foreground region is tracked via at least one existing tracker when the foreground region is associated with an existing tracker or the foreground region is the result of at least one of a merger and a split.

There is an ever increasing demand for automatic, efficient and reliable means for tracking and counting entities, particularly people, which enter or exit a specified region. Shopping malls and supermarkets may utilize this information to examine hourly people traffic patterns and distribution. This examination allows for an optimization of labor scheduling, as well as a determination of the effectiveness of promotional events and store displays. In addition, the traffic and distribution information is very important for security purposes, as it assists in assigning an accurate number of security workers to key areas, as well as in designing efficient evacuation plans.
The existing approaches for tracking and counting people may be classified into three broad categories: systems using contact-type counters, such as, for example, turnstiles at a gate; systems using sensors, such as, for example, infrared beams and heat sensors; and vision-based systems using cameras.
Systems using contact-type counters, such as turnstiles, can count people only one at a time. Turnstiles obstruct the passageways and cause congestion if there is high-density traffic. In addition, they have the limitation of possible undercounting, since it is possible for two people to pass through a turnstile in a single rotation of the bar.
Systems using infrared beams or heat sensors do not block passageways and do not affect the passing people to the extent that contact-type counters do. However, they suffer from the same limitation of undercounting, since it is difficult for these systems to successfully resolve multiple people. For example, when an infrared beam is interrupted, multiple people may be entering the region simultaneously. Counting systems have been introduced that use thermal images obtained by multi-infrared sensors, see, for example, K. Hashimoto et al., "People Count System Using Multi-Sensing Application," Int'l Conf. on Solid-State Sensors and Actuators, Vol. 2, pp. 1291-1294, June 1997. People are detected by taking the difference between the measured output and the mean output for the floor. The sensing system is valid if the temperature difference is more than 0.4° C. However, errors may be caused in these thermal image systems simply by large movements of person's arms or legs.
Image-based systems have been introduced as an alternative to the systems mentioned above. Earlier attempts at image-based systems were successful for situations having scarce people traffic, but encountered limitations when the traffic density became high or when a large number of image mergers occurred, as it was difficult to resolve groups of people.
In order to deal with multiple people in the specified region, a method using an overhead stereo camera has been introduced, see, for example, K. Terada et al., "A Method of Counting the Passing People by Using the Stereo Images," Proc. of IEEE Int'l Conf. on Image Proc., Vol. 2, pp. 338-42, October 1999. Two measurement lines are set on the floor to detect the direction of the movement. Space-time images at the measurement lines are generated for images, and template matching is applied to these images in order to find the corresponding image coordinates of the same point, thereby obtaining a 3D location of the point. The number of people is determined by counting the number of groups of points in the space-time image. The method performs adequately with multiple people in the camera view as long as people move separately. However, it does not perform adequately with groups of people moving together or with images of people merging into a single group of points.
Additional approaches using an overhead stereo camera have also been introduced; see, for example, D. Beymer, "Person Counting Using Stereo," Proc. of Workshop on Hununi Motion, pp. 127-133, December 2000. After applying real-time stereo and 3D reconstruction, the scene is segmented by selecting stereo pixels falling in a 3D volume of interest (VOI). These pixels are then remapped to an orthographic view termed an occupancy map and people in this map are tracked using a Gaussian mixture model and Kalman filtering. By selecting the VOI, only heads and torsos of people are tracked, which avoids the counting of shopping carts and small children, for example. Although the system has the advantage of estimating object heights, this requires a calibrated stereo camera head and eliminates the flexibility of using a single ordinary camera. Moreover, the calibration of the stereo head requires some expert intervention and can make the system installation cumbersome.
Cameras with non-overlapping fields of view have also been used; see, for example, V. Kettnaker et al., "Counting People from Multiple Cameras," IEEE Int'l Conf. on Multimedia Computing and Systems, Vol. 2, pp. 267-271, June 1999. The observations of people by different cameras are linked so that they show the same person, and this is achieved by combining visual appearance matching with mutual content constraint between cameras. However, the system assumes that the floor topology is known, that people walk with a steady speed, and that there is only one person per observation interval. Two people walking together can cause problems for the system, since they cannot be resolved.
A network of cameras may also be utilized in the tracking and counting of people, see, for example, D. B. Yang et al., "Counting People in Crowds with a Real-Time Network of Simple Image Sensors," Proc. of IEEE Int'l Conf. on Computer Vision, pp. 122-129, October 2003, where the projection of a visual hull, which is a set of polygons, is computed from silhouettes of foreground objects. Upper and lower bounds are projected on the number of objects in each polygon. These bounds are updated as objects move and their history is recorded in a tree. While the method provides an idea about the number of people in the scene and their possible locations, it does not track the people individually.
A people counting system using a single camera has been introduced, which tracks people by analyzing their HSI histogram and uses a box-based corner coordinate checking process to manage image mergers and splits, see, for example, T-H. Chen et al., "An Automatic Bi-Directional Passing-People Counting Method Based on Color Image Processing," IEEE Int'l Carnahan Conf. on Security Technology, pp. 200-207, October 2003. Two virtual base lines are utilized to determine the direction of the movement of the people. Thus, there is a need to track people from first line to the second and these lines cannot be too close in the proposed scheme. However, image mergers and splits that occur on or around the virtual lines can cause tracking and counting difficulties.
Although using stereo or multiple cameras can provide additional information about object heights and the structure of the environment, it does not provide a solution to the people counting problems that arise using only a single camera.

Methods and apparatus for automatically tracking moving entities entering and exiting a specified region

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for reviewing effectiveness of a rules system applying one or more rules to communication traffic of a group of users. The method analyzes a log containing one or more communications reviewed by the rules system to determine if the communications in the log conforms to the communications policy. The method also identifies one or more of the rules of the rules system violated by the communications when the analyzing the log determines that at least one of the communications in the log does not conform to the communications policy. Other methods determine the effectiveness of planned modifications to a rules system.

Organizations, such as corporations and governmental entities, often are comprised of many users and user groups. These users and user groups may be spread over large physical spaces, or geographic areas, such as in different buildings in the same city, different cities in the same country or region, and even in different countries. Moreover, such users and user groups may also be separated by subject matter, such as different departments in the same or different facilities. The systems, hardware, and software utilized by the different users groups and users to communicate internally and externally may also vary widely from group to group, raising compatibility issues.
Practicing communication governance over such dispersed user groups can be difficult. Many considerations contribute to a comprehensive communications policy, including risk management, compliance with organizational norms, human resources considerations, security issues, regulatory issues, operational policies, and best practices guidelines, to name a few. Moreover, each geographically distinct and/or subject matter distinct group typically operates its own rules system separate from the other groups. Moreover, each distinct group may be governed by different a communication policy implemented by a different set of communication rules forming part of a rules system. Thus, each user group often follows a different communication policy and rules system, without knowledge of the communication policy and rules system of other groups within the organization. As these disparate policies interact with one another, communication rules that once worked well within a small organization may lead to incorrect and even absurd results when applied together.
These conventional systems are effective at enforcing communication policies within a user group of the organization, but are often redundant, wasteful of resources, and may be contradictory when applied together over larger and larger user groups. Moreover, the addition, deletion, and modification of rules may be straightforward with a relatively small set of rules, but with many rules to enforce, the addition of a single rule, coupled with its interaction (e.g., chaining) with other rules may readily lead to unintended prohibitions and allowances of communications. In addition, understanding the impact of changes to the rules system is difficult to predict without simply bringing the changes online and monitoring results in an ad hoc manner. Therefore, a way to easily review the effectiveness of a rules system in implementing a communication policy, suggest modifications to the rules system to better implement the communications policy, and test proposed changes to the rules system would be useful.

Reviewing effectiveness of communication rules system


A configuration module (6) for a video surveillance system (1) having a plurality of surveillance cameras (2 a-d) which are and/or may be distributed throughout a surveillance region (3) including, a model memory (7) which is designed to provide a model (10) of the surveillance region (3), camera data of the surveillance cameras (2 a-d) being entered and/or referenced in the model (10); an input interface (11) for the input of at least one surveillance target (5) into the model (10); a computing device (12) which determines at least one camera-specific surveillance target section (13 a, b) for at least one of the surveillance cameras (2 a, b) based on the surveillance target (5) that was input; and a hidden-region checking device (16) which is designed to a check whether the surveillance target (5) is hidden in front of one of the surveillance cameras (2 a-d).

The present invention relates to a configuration module for a video surveillance system for configuring a plurality of surveillance cameras which are and/or may be distributed throughout a surveillance region, and a related video surveillance system, a method, and a computer program.
Video surveillance systems typically include a plurality of video cameras which are distributed throughout a surveillance region. The image data recorded by the surveillance cameras are combined in a surveillance center, where they are evaluated in an automated manner or by surveillance personnel. In terms of automated surveillance, it is known that certain image regions of a surveillance camera are selected and continually monitored using digital image processing.
For example, WO2005/050971 discloses a video surveillance system comprising a plurality of surveillance cameras for a building or the like, in which a surveillance camera is configured such that an alarm is triggered when a virtual trip wire set up in the image region of the surveillance camera is passed through. In that configuration, the virtual trip wire is input into a single video image of the surveillance camera to be configured.

Configuration module for a video surveillance system, surveillance system comprising the configuration module, method for configuring a video surveillance system, and computer program


Method, apparatus and breathable compositions for protecting a person from reactive oxygen species in the body are described. The invention involves providing a person with a breathing gas composition comprising at least one fuel gas compound. Apparatus and methods for providing such breathing gas compositions are described.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions, methods and apparatus for reducing levels of reactive oxygen species in the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been shown that animals on long-term well nourished, low calorie diets tend to live longer than those on other diets. They have a lower metabolism rate than control animals on normal diets, and with fewer chemical combinations taking place at the sites of energy production in the cells (the mitochondria), their blood sugar levels are lower and there are fewer combinations with proteins to produce plaque. Also, there are fewer byproducts of incomplete oxidation, including reactive oxygen species such as singlet oxygen atoms and hydroxyl radicals.
These reactive oxygen species, including free radicals, can combine chemically with organic molecules they contact (in some cases setting off deleterious chains of free radicals), thereby reducing cell functionality throughout the body and brain, and mutating nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. For the animals on such low calorie diets, it is surmised that energy production efficiency and brain function decline more slowly with age, less cell damage occurs, fewer mutations accumulate in the cells, and less plaque is formed in the arteries and throughout the body. This may be attributable to the lower levels of reactive oxygen species yielding slower formation of plaque.
One possible approach to lowering the levels of reactive oxygen species is to provide levels in the body of compounds which scavenge the reactive oxygen species, that is, which react with and neutralize the reactive species before the reactive species undergo reactions with compounds in the body. However, this approach generally requires the ingestion of scavenging compounds. It may be difficult to achieve and maintain adequate levels of compounds by ingestion. Moreover, some compounds useful as scavengers may not be suitable for ingestion.
Based on my reading of the art, what is needed is an improved method of delivering compounds to the body to lower the concentration of reactive oxygen species.

System for providing protection from reactive oxygen species


A lens-fitted photo film unit is pre-loaded with unexposed photo film for taking an exposure thereon. A photo film roll chamber contains a roll of the unexposed photo film. A cassette containing chamber contains a cassette shell. The photo film is wound into the cassette shell after being exposed. A bottom opening is formed in a bottom of the cassette containing chamber. A bottom lid closes the bottom opening light-tightly, and is opened outwards after the photo film is wound into the cassette shell, to remove the cassette shell from the cassette containing chamber. An ejector projection is moved in response to outward opening movement of the bottom lid, and pushes the cassette shell toward an outside of the bottom opening, to move at least a bottom end face of the cassette shell out of the cassette containing chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens-fitted photo film unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lens-fitted photo film unit from which a photo film cassette can be safely removed after taking exposures.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
There is a lens-fitted photo film unit including a simply constructed exposure-taking mechanism and pre-loaded with a photo film cassette, which contains photo film of the 135 type. The lens-fitted photo film unit has a cassette containing chamber and a photo film roll chamber. The cassette containing chamber contains a cassette shell of the photo film cassette. The photo film roll chamber contains a roll form into which the photo film is externally wound after being drawn from the cassette shell. The lens-fitted photo film unit is characteristically easy to handle and convenient even for amateurs who are unfamiliar to photography.
In the lens-fitted photo film unit, a photo film winder wheel is manually rotated each time after taking one exposure. A spool in the cassette shell is caused to rotate in a direction of winding the photo film, to wind the photo film by one frame. The use of the lens-fitted photo film unit is finished when all the photo film is wound into the cassette shell. The lens-fitted photo film unit then forwarded to a photo laboratory.
In the photo laboratory, the lens-fitted photo film unit is oriented upside down for processing. A bottom lid disposed on the bottom of the cassette containing chamber is opened forcibly to open a bottom opening which provides access to the a photo film chamber. Then the orientation of the lens-fitted photo film unit is changed again to direct its bottom downwards. The lens-fitted photo film unit is shaken up and down strongly to eject the photo film cassette from the cassette containing chamber.
There is a lens-fitted photo film unit in which a photo film cassette of the IX 240 type is contained. The IX 240 type includes a resin cassette shell, and incorporates a cassette shutter, disposed in a photo film passageway, and rotatable between an open position for opening the photo film passageway and a closed position for closing the photo film passageway. In the lens-fitted photo film unit, the cassette shutter is rotated to the closed position in response to an opening movement of the bottom lid, preventing ambient light from entering the cassette shell of the photo film removed from the lens-fitted photo film unit after exposure have been made.
However, there is a problem in that the change in orientation of the lens-fitted photo film unit is required in removing the photo film cassette, so that efficiency in the operation decreases. If an operator fails to catch the photo film cassette which ejected upon shaking the lens-fitted photo film unit, the photo film cassette may forcefully strike a hard surface and be damaged.
In the photo film cassette where the cassette shell of resin contains the cassette shutter, shock of drop of the photo film cassette is likely to open the cassette shutter to cause entry of ambient light into the cassette shell, thereby fogging the photo film. Also an outer shape of the cassette shell is likely to be damaged.


Techniques for generating reference signals for multiple communication systems are described. An apparatus comprises a reference oscillator, a frequency control unit, and a plurality of frequency synthesizers. The reference oscillator generates a main reference signal and may be a crystal oscillator or some other type of oscillator. The frequency control unit estimates the frequency error of the main reference signal and provides a frequency error estimate. The plurality of frequency synthesizers receive the main reference signal and generate a plurality of system reference signals for a plurality of systems. At least one (e.g., each) frequency synthesizer corrects the frequency error of the main reference signal based on the frequency error estimate from the frequency control unit. Each frequency synthesizer may include a sigma-delta modulator used to generate a divider control for a phase locked loop (PLL). The divider control corrects for the frequency error of the main reference signal.

I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for generating reference signals for multiple communication systems.
II. Background
A wireless device (e.g., a cellular phone) may be designed to support multiple communication systems. These systems may have different carrier frequencies and chip rates. Each system may also have certain requirements on clock signals used for digital processing and local oscillator (LO) signals used for frequency downconversion and/or upconversion.
Separate clock and LO generation circuits may be used for each system supported by the wireless device and may be designed to meet all requirements of that system. The clock and LO generation circuits for each system may include, e.g., a voltage controlled temperature compensated crystal oscillator (VCTCXO) and one or more phase locked loops (PLLs). The VCTCXO generates a reference signal having an accurate frequency and may be locked to the carrier frequency or the chip rate of the system. The PLL(s) may be locked to the reference signal and used to generate the required clock and LO signals, which would then have the same frequency accuracy as the reference signal.
If the wireless device supports multiple systems, then multiple sets of clock and LO generation circuits may be used for these systems. These clock and LO generation circuits, although effective, increase design complexity as well as cost for the wireless device.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to support multiple communication systems in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Reference signal generation for multiple communication systems


A fixing device adapted for a camera having a threaded hole and for a strap with two opposite ends fixed to the camera is provided. The fixing device includes a main body and a threaded post connected to the main body. The main body is configured to be removably disposed on the strap, and the threaded post is configured to be screwed into the threaded hole of the camera. When the main body is disposed on the strap and the threaded post is screwed into the threaded hole, the fixing device divides the strap into a first section and a second section that respectively form a first area and a second area with the camera.

Neck strap allows a camera to hang conveniently right in front of user's chest without holding it by hand, but the neck strap puts the weight of the camera on the neck and therefore can cause pain in the neck and back after a long day of shooting. Thus, in some cases, users would change the neck strap with a hand strap, the hand strap can hold the camera tight to one hand so as to keep the camera ready for shooting, but the downside of the hand strap is that the user only has one hand to handle other tasks.
Considering the neck and hand strap both have their advantages, thus some users are still willing to buy both, but changing strap involves quite cumbersome and time-consuming detaching and attaching work.


A method for packaging a beverage comprising particulates in a liquid, the method comprising dispensing a first portion of the beverage from a first source into containers, wherein the first portion of the beverage comprises at least a majority of the particulates and a first portion of the liquid, dispensing from a counterpressure filler a second portion of the beverage from a second source into the containers, wherein the second portion of the beverage comprises a second portion of the liquid, and sealing the containers to form packaged beverages. An apparatus for packaging a beverage comprising particulates in a liquid. A method for packaging, in sequence, a first beverage comprising particulates in a liquid and a second beverage comprising a carbonated beverage. A method for packaging a beverage comprising a dairy component and a liquid.

Beverages comprising high quantities of fibers, pulp, or other particulates have generally been dispensed into containers by special fillers. Such fillers are typically designed for non-carbonated beverages NCBs). Correspondingly, the packaging process of carbonated beverages has been carried out on separate, counterpressure fillers such as carbonated soft-drink (CSD) fillers. The packaging of dairy products also has generally been carried out on fillers separate from counterpressure fillers for drinks such as carbonated beverages. Therefore, a bottling plant which produces both non-carbonated beverages comprising particulates and carbonated soft-drinks must utilize both the special fillers for the pulpous beverages and counterpressure fillers for the CSDs. Likewise, a bottling plant which produces both beverages containing dairy components and carbonated soft-drinks must utilize both the fillers for the beverages containing diary components and counterpressure fillers for the CSDs.
Attempts to use counterpressure fillers to dispense beverages comprising particulates having an average size over about 3 millimeters (mm) and comprising particulates in an amount of about 0.5% by weight of the beverage have resulted in particulate buildup inside the counterpressure filling equipment. The particulate buildup clogs counterpressure filling equipment and leads to malfunctioning of the filing equipment. For example, clogged counterpressure filling valve vent tubes dispense unequal volumes of the beverage being dispensed into the beverage containers. Thus, the residual fiber clogs must be removed from the counterpressure filler equipment by cleaning-in-place (CIP) procedures which result in a shorter operational up-time. In addition, the residual fiber clogs result in particulate and product loss.
Accordingly, there is a need for a simple and economically desirable method and apparatus for packaging beverages comprising particulates in a liquid with counterpressure fillers without the above mentioned shortcomings. In addition, there is a need for a simple and economically desirable method and apparatus for packaging beverages comprising dairy components and CSDs.

Devices and methods for packaging beverages


An apparatus and method for improving the VT filter performance for moving pictures by deinterlacing. A VT filter unit receives data of a deinterlacing target field (field #n) and data of forward and backward fields of the target field (fields #n−1 and #n+1). A difference operation unit receives data of two frames including the field #n, and calculates the sum of the absolute values of differences between these frames. A filter coefficient setting unit decides a filter coefficient based on the sum of the absolute values of the differences. The VT filter unit subjects the inputted pixels to the filtering by using the filter coefficient to generate an interpolation pixel, and outputs the generated interpolation pixel. A double-speed converter composes the interlaced image and the interpolation pixel to convert the frame rate to be doubled, and outputs the converted image as a progressive image.

In recent years, digital processing for images has been coming into wide use. As a method for compressively coding image data, high-efficiency coding such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) has been adopted. The high-efficiency coding is a technique for coding image data at a low bit rate so as to increase the efficiency of digital transmission, recording and the like.
In the current NTSC television broadcasts, an interlaced scanning method is adopted. According to the interlaced scanning method, one screen (one frame) is divided into a top field and a bottom field and is transmitted, thereby saving the bandwidth and enabling a high-efficiency transmission. However, line flicker and line crawling is conspicuous in the interlaced scanning method due to the high intensity and enlarged screen of the television receiver. Therefore, in some cases, deinterlacing for converting an interlaced image signal into a progressive image signal is performed by carrying out interpolation by using an image memory.
Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei. 7-131761 (Document 1) discloses an example of a deinterlacing method for converting an interlaced image signal into a progressive image signal. This method is also called a VT filtering method. According to this VT filtering method, pixels in three successive fields, i.e., a field for which an interpolation pixel is generated and forward and backward fields, are subjected to a filtering process so as generate the interpolation pixel, and an interlaced image is converted into a progressive image by using the generated interpolation pixel. Hereinafter, this VT filtering method will be described with reference to FIG. 25.
FIG. 25 is a diagram schematically showing a state of an interlaced image on a time-vertical plane, in which a white dot shows a pixel (scan line). Here, a description is given of a filtering process in a case where a pixel in a position "k′" as shown in FIG. 25 is generated so as to perform interpolation.
In this case, by using the VT filtering method, pixels of three successive fields, i.e., a field including the position "k′" and forward and backward fields, for example 10 pixels "a′"–"j′" as shown in FIG. 25, are subjected to the filtering process, thereby generating the pixel of the position "k′". At that time, a filter having vertical low-pass characteristics for pixels in the same field (pixels "d′"–"g′") and vertical high-pass characteristics for pixels in adjacent fields (pixels "a′"–"c′" and "h′"–"j′") is used in the filtering process. The filter having such characteristics extracts vertical low-pass components from the pixels "d′"–"g′" and vertical high-pass components from the pixels "a′"–"c′" and "h′"–"j′". According to the VT filtering method, the low-pass components and high-pass components which are extracted by the filter are added so as to generate the interpolation pixel.
Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei. 11-331782 (Document 2) discloses another example of the deinterlacing method. The method disclosed in this application is a method for implementing the deinterlacing method by a signal conversion apparatus having a still picture filter, a moving picture filter, a motion detection circuit and a mixer. According to this method, initially, the still picture filter and the motion picture filter respectively generate an interpolation pixel. Next, based on a result of detection by the motion detection circuit for detecting the motion of an image, the mixer mixes the interpolation signals that are outputted from the still picture filter and the moving picture filter so as to generate a final interpolation pixel. Then, by using the final interpolation pixel, the interlaced image is converted into a progressive image. Here, the motion detection circuit calculates a difference between frames and obtains the quantity of motion from the absolute value of the calculated difference.
Hereinafter, this deinterlacing method will be described with reference to FIG. 25. Here, a description is given of the filtering process in a case where a pixel in a position "k′" as shown in FIG. 25 is generated so as to perform interpolation.
According to this method, initially, the still picture filter subjects the pixels "b′", "e′", "f′" and "i′" to the filtering process so as to generate an interpolation pixel "k′", and the moving picture filter subjects the pixels "a′"–"j′" to the filtering process so as to generate an interpolation pixel "k′". Here, the filter coefficient of the still picture filter is set so that weights to the pixels "b′" and "i′" are the heaviest, and the filter coefficient of the moving picture filter is set so that weights to the pixels "d′", "e′", "f′" and "g′" are heavier. Next, the motion detection circuit detects a motion of the image from a difference between frames, and based on the detection result, the mixer mixes the interpolation signal that is outputted from the still picture filter and the interpolation signal that is outputted from the moving picture filter so as to generate the final interpolation pixel.
In the above description, the filtering process is performed for pixels in three fields, while the filtering process may be performed for pixels in two fields. In that case, the still picture filter subjects the pixels "e′", "f′" and "i′" to the filtering process, and the moving picture filter subjects the pixels "d′"–"j′" to the filtering process, thereby generating the interpolation pixel "k′".
As another example of the deinterlacing method, there is a method which detects a motion vector between a field that is subjected to the deinterlacing and its adjacent field, obtains an interpolation pixel from the adjacent field based on the detection result of the motion vector, and converts an interlaced image into a progressive image by using the interpolation pixel. According to this method, since the motion of the image is detected as the motion vector information, the interpolation process which almost matches the motion of the image can be performed, while the detection of the motion vector requires a massive quantity of signal processing.
Thus, Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei. 10-126749 (Document 3) discloses a deinterlacing apparatus which implements a method for performing deinterlacing by using a motion vector, in which the quantity of processing for detecting the motion vector is reduced.
The deinterlacing apparatus disclosed in this application receives an interlaced image signal (MPEG video) that is coded by a coding method such as MPEG, and adaptively changes the interpolation method in the deinterlacing by utilizing information such as a structure of an image which is included in the MPEG video and a motion vector, whereby circuits such as a motion detection circuit and a motion vector detection circuit are omitted. Here, a description is given of a case where the MPEG video that is inputted to the deinterlacing apparatus is coded by a MPEG2 coding method.
The MPEG2 coding process includes an intra-frame coding and an inter-frame coding. When the intra-frame coding is performed to an interlaced image, the interlaced image is subjected to a DCT (Discrete Cosine Transformation) process, for example, in units of block (DCT block) being composed of 8×8 pixels, its spatial coordinate components are converted into frequency components, and thereafter, a variable-length coding is performed.
On the other hand, when the inter-frame coding is performed to the interlaced image, differences between the image of the present frame and reference images of forward and backward frames are obtained as predicted errors, and the predicted errors are subjected to a DCT process, a quantization process and a variable-length coding process. Accordingly, the quantity of codes can be significantly decreased. However, in a case where the motion of the image is large, when the differences between the present image and the forward and backward images are simply obtained, the predicted errors may be large, and therefore, the quantity of codes may be adversely increased. Then, motion vectors between the reference images and the image of the present frame are detected, and the reference images are motion-compensated based on the motion vectors so as to obtain the differences from the image of the present frame, and as a result, the predicted errors are reduced so as to decrease the quantity of codes. Here, in the MPEG2 coding, one image (picture) which consists of one frame or one field is divided into macroblocks, where each macroblock is composed of 16 lines×16 pixels, and then the motion vector is detected in units of macroblock, thereby performing the motion compensation.
Among images which have been coded in the above-mentioned coding process, an intra-frame coded image that is obtained by predictive-coding image data in one frame is called an I picture, an inter-frame forward predictive-coded image that is obtained by coding image data by a predictive coding using a forward frame is called a P picture, and a bidirectionally predictive-coded image that is obtained by coding image data by a predictive coding using any of a forward frame, a backward frame, and bidirectional frames is called a B picture.
The coding of the interlaced image is performed in the following cases: (1) a case where images of top and bottom fields are directly coded, i.e., the coding is performed in states of field structure, and (2) a case where a frame image is made from top and bottom field images and the coding is performed in a state of frame structure. In the coding that is performed in the state of the field structure, the motion compensation prediction and the DCT coding are performed in units of field picture. On the other hand, in the coding in the state of the frame structure, the coding is performed in units of frame picture, and frame prediction, which uses a frame image as a reference image, and field prediction, which uses one of the top field image and the bottom field image as a reference image, are adopted as the motion compensation prediction.
Therefore, by decoding a code sequence of MPEG video which is coded as described above, the deinterlacing apparatus can obtain information such as the image structure at the coding of an interlaced image, the motion vector and the prediction mode. Then, the deinterlacing apparatus judges whether the decoded image data is a static area or a moving area based on the obtained information. When the deinterlacing apparatus judges that the image data is a static area, the deinterlacing apparatus performs the inter-field interpolation, and when the deinterlacing apparatus judges that the image data is a moving area, the deinterlacing apparatus performs the intra-field interpolation, thereby converting the interlaced image signal into a progressive image signal.
However, in the deinterlacing, the vertical resolution of the progressive image can be increased more so than in the case when the inter-field interpolation is employed, as compared to the case where the intra-field interpolation is employed. Therefore, even when the decoded image data is a moving area, the deinterlacing apparatus judges whether the inter-field interpolation can be performed or not. Here, the quantity of motion of the motion vector at the coding which is included in the MPEG video is calculated, and when the quantity of motion is equivalent to even-numbered pixels, it is judged that the inter-field interpolation can be performed. Then, when it is judged that the inter-field interpolation can be performed even in a moving area, the inter-field interpolation is performed based on the motion vector, and as a result, the vertical resolution of the converted progressive image can be increased.
However, according to the VT filtering method described in Document 1, the interpolation pixel is generated regardless of whether the interlaced image is a still picture or a moving picture. That is, the filtering process is always performed to pixels of three successive fields, i.e., a field for which an interpolation pixel is generated and forward and backward fields. Thus, in the case of a still picture, a high-resolution progressive image can be generated. On the other hand, in the case of a moving picture, the correlation between the field for which the interpolation pixel is generated and the forward and backward fields is low, and thus, when pixels of the forward and backward fields are subjected to the filtering process to generate the interpolation pixel, degradation of the image quality may occur. Particularly in a case where video including an oblique edge moves vertically or the like, degradation occurs; for example, the edge looks jagged.
In addition, according to the method described in Document 2, two kinds of filters, i.e., the still picture filter and the moving picture filter, are required for generating an interpolation pixel, and as a result of requiring these two kinds of filters, the circuit scale is adversely increased.
Further, generally, according to the MPEG2 coding method, when an interlaced image is motion-compensated and then predictive-coded, a motion vector between frames which are one to three frames away from each other is detected, and a reference image is motion-compensated by using the motion vector. Therefore, when the deinterlacing apparatus performs the inter-field interpolation by directly using the motion vector that is obtained at the decoding of MPEG video, an interpolation pixel may be obtained from a frame that is several frames apart from the target frame. When a motion vector is used at the motion compensation in the coding, even when its detection accuracy is low, only the coding efficiency is slightly worsened and the image quality is not remarkably degraded. Therefore, there is no problem when the interpolation pixel is obtained from a frame that is several frames apart from the target frame. However, in the deinterlacing that performs interpolation of pixels based on a motion vector, the motion vector should be detected with a higher accuracy. Therefore, in the deinterlacing apparatus described in Document 3, when an interpolation pixel is obtained by directly using a motion vector at the motion compensation in the coding, the interpolation pixel may be obtained from a frame that is several frames apart from the target frame, and thus, an erroneous interpolation pixel may be generated.


A mechanism and method for redefining an application specific integrated circuit's I/O bus structure in real-time. The mechanism includes an address map block, a state machine block, and a bus arbitration block. At initialization, the address map is configured to divide the address space into regions and type of bus structure. When an I/O access is requested by a client (e.g., CPU, DMA controller, etc.), the request is mapped into a region and type of bus structure by the address map block. The region and type of bus structure is used by the state machine. The state machine determines the syntax and protocol for the region and type of bus. The state machine signals the bus arbitration block to grant I/O bus ownership when it is available. Once ownership is granted, I/O bus pins are defined and access is granted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to I/O bus structures. More particularly, the present invention is related to configuring in real time an ASIC I/O bus structure to communicate with multiple external devices having different bus structures.
2. Background Art
Current ASIC architectures have "hardwired" I/O bus structures. In a multi-I/O bus system, the drawbacks of a hardwired I/O bus structure may include requiring: (1) more ASIC package pins; (2) external glue logic; or (3) an external bus bridge IC.
FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having multi-I/O bus structures communicating with two devices having different I/O bus structures. FIG. 1A shows ASIC 102, device 104, device 106, and device 108. ASIC 102 contains two bus structures, a local bus structure 110 (e.g., Expansion Bus Interface, or EBI) for communicating with device 104 and a PCI bus structure 112 for communicating with devices 106 and 108. Thus, ASIC 102 contains pins for a local bus 110 and pins for a PCI bus 112.
FIG. 1B shows additional detail of the ASIC 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the ASIC 102 includes an internal bus 120, a CPU interface 126, other internal resources 128, 130, and two interfaces to external buses, e.g., an EBI bus interface 122 and a PCI bus interface 124, which connect to the EBI bus 110 and the PCI bus 112, respectively.
To support the different interfaces, i.e., EBI bus 110 and PCI bus 112, ASIC 102 is required to have more pins on the package. The more pins required for the ASIC 102, the more costly the ASIC will be to manufacture.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for redefining an ASIC's I/O bus structure in real-time to enable operation in a multi-I/O bus system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.