A digital video signal processing apparatus for reducing the data rate of, and interpolating digital, video signals of a component format. The apparatus comprises a half-band high pass filter having a coefficient profile equivalent to that obtained by setting a center coefficient of an odd-order half-band low pass filter to zero, or a notch filter having a coefficient profile equivalent to that obtained by eliminating a center coefficient and even-numbered coefficients of such a low pass filter, and a delay line for giving a predetermined delay time to the signal supplied thereto, whereby the data rate of multiplexed or time-divided signals can be reduced, or the signals interpolated, in a relatively simple design employing a single digital filter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital video signal processing apparatus adapted for use in a digital video tape recorder (VTR) operating with color video signals that are in a component format.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known, in a digital video tape recorder of the D-1 format (4:2:2format) (hereinafter referred to as D-1 VTR) which is designed to produce component video signals separated into a luminous signal Y and color difference or chrominance signals CB and CR, to have a system clock frequency f.sub.ck and signal sampling frequencies f.sub.sy, f.sub.sb, f.sub.sr as given below, and the numbers of effective samples (data quantities N.sub.sy, N.sub.sb, N.sub.sr per line of the individual signals are in a ratio of 4:2:2 as follows. ##EQU1##
In applying such a D-1 VTR to the recently proposed wide-screen television system, it has been customary heretofore to prevent geometric distortion of a reproduced image merely by compressing or extending the time base.
However, with such compression or extension of the time base, the resolution of the reproduced image is reduced by the ratio Arn/Arw of the standard and wide-angle aspects.
For the purpose of compensating for the reduction of the resolution, it has been proposed to provide a larger number of effective samples per line, as disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 51 (1976)-018418. According to this proposal, video signals are sampled alternately by a pair of sampling circuits and are then recorded on a recording medium in a manner to form multiple channels, and subsequently the multichannel sample signals reproduced from the recording medium are combined with each other to produce a wide-band signal.
However, if the number of effective samples is increased, naturally the quantity of data is also increased so that proper data processing cannot be accomplished by any of the currently available digital VTRs based on the 4:2:2 format.
In an attempt to solve the problem of the data quantity, the present applicant proposed a multichannel digital video signal recording/playback apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 1 (1989)-339231. In this apparatus, high-resolution digital video signals of an 8:4:4 format, where the number of pixels is twice the number in the video signals of a 4:2:2 format, are distributed to two channels alternately per sample in such a manner that the order of distribution is inverted every field, and the video signals are recorded by two digital VTRs of the 4:2:2 format. Thereafter the signals reproduced by such digital VTRs are combined with each other to obtain the original high-resolution digital video signals, whereby the data quantity in each channel is rendered equal to that of the current 4:2:2 format while preventing geometric distortion of the reproduced image and reduction of the resolution.
In distributing and combining the digital video signals in the manner mentioned, it follows that, as seen from the digital VTRs, data rate reduction and interpolation are respective executed with regard to the input and output signals.
Generally, in reducing the data rate of the digital video signals by a half, the signal band is limited to be narrower than a half width by a digital low pass filter so as to prevent aliasing. The filter is of a finite impulse response (FIR) type where the coefficients are symmetrical, and has such characteristic that, if it is a half-band low pass filter capable of satisfying the first Nyquist criterion the center coefficient thereof is 0.5 (to the reference value) while alternate coefficients other than the center coefficient become zero.
The characteristic of such half-band low pass filter is expressed by Eq. (1) as follows: ##EQU2##
The amplitude characteristic is such that a value -6 dB is obtained at 1/4 of the input signal sampling frequency f.sub.s.
In an exemplary case of 10-bit data, the coefficient distribution (coefficient profile) of the filter is symmetrical with respect to the center as shown in FIG. 12 and Table 1, and even coefficients become zero with the exception of the center coefficient k.sub.0.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ k.sub.0 (Half reference value) 512 k.sub.1 k.sub.-1 324 k.sub.2 k.sub.-2 0 k.sub.3 k.sub.-3 -102 k.sub.4 k.sub.-4 0 k.sub.5 k.sub.-5 54 k.sub.6 k.sub.-6 0 k.sub.7 k.sub.-7 -32 k.sub.8 k.sub.-8 0 k.sub.9 k.sub.-9 19 k.sub.10 k.sub.-10 0 k.sub.11 k.sub.-11 -11 k.sub.12 k.sub.-12 0 k.sub.13 k.sub.-13 6 k.sub.14 k.sub.-14 0 l.sub.15 k.sub.-15 -3 k.sub.16 k.sub.-16 0 k.sub.17 k.sub.-17 1 ______________________________________
The above half-band low pass filter is generally so composed as shown in FIG. 13.
In the half-band low pass filter 10L of FIG. 13, a multiplicity of unitary delay lines (registers) 11.sub.1, 11.sub.2 . . . 11.sub.2n ; 11.sub.-1, 11.sub.-2 . . . 11.sub.-2n, whose delay time .tau.s is equal to the input signal sampling frequency, are connected in series between an input terminal IN and an output terminal OF where a point P is at the center. A ROM 13.sub.0 storing the center coefficient k.sub.0 therein is connected to a multiplier 12.sub.0 which is connected to the point P (center tap), and multipliers 12.sub.1, 12.sub.3 . . . 12.sub.2n-1 are connected to the outputs of odd-numbered delay lines 11.sub.1, 11.sub.3 . . . 11.sub.2n-1 arranged from the point P toward the terminal OF, while the output taps of even-numbered delay lines 11.sub.2 . . . 11.sub.2n-2 are left unconnected. Multipliers 12.sub.-1, 12.sub.-3 . . . 12.sub.1-2n are connected to the inputs of the odd-numbered delay lines 11.sub.-1, 11.sub.-3 . . . 11.sub.1-2n sequentially toward the input terminal IN in a manner to be symmetrical to the above with respect to the point P, while the input taps of the even-numbered delay lines 11.sub.-2 . . . 11.sub.2-2n are left unconnected.
ROMs 13.sub.1, 13.sub.3 . . . 13.sub.2n-1, 13.sub.-1, 13.sub.-3 . . . 13.sub.1-2n storing the coefficients therein are connected respectively to the multipliers 12.sub.1, 12.sub.3 . . . 12.sub.2n-1 ; 12.sub.-1, 12.sub.-3 . . . 12.sub.1-2n, and the outputs of all the multipliers 12 are added to one another in an adder 14 and then are delivered to an output terminal OS.
In producing a pair of chrominance signals of the 4:2:2 format by reducing the data rate of the aforementioned video chrominance signals CB, CR of the 8:4:4 format, there is executed, according to a simple concept, a process of limiting the band width for each of the signals CB and CR.
Therefore, two of the above half-band low pass filters are required in the conventional apparatus which tends to complicate the circuit design.
Since chrominance signals of the 8:4:4 format are premised on two-channel distribution as in the cited proposal, a pair of signals CB and CR are multiplexed in two channels as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B which will be described later, so that the band limiting process is executed after such signals are demultiplexed, further complicating the circuit design.
Moreover, in producing a pair of chrominance signals of the 8:4:4 format by interpolating chrominance signals CB, CR of the 4:2:2 format, two digital filters are required as in the case of data rate reduction, leading to further complication of the circuit design.
In addition, to accomplish the two-channel distribution as disclosed in the cited proposal, multiplexing is required before distribution, leading to further complications in the design.

Digital video signal processing apparatus for data rate down-conversion with half-b and filtering and modular design


In a general aspect, a method of protecting a software program against tampering can include: executing, by a processor of a user device, an executable code of the software program, the executable code comprising integrity check code sections; during execution of one of the integrity check code sections of the executable code, computing by the processor an integrity check result applied to a code segment of the executable code; transmitting by the processor to a server a message containing the integrity check result and an identifier of the code segment; and when the integrity check result does not correspond to a reference result for the code segment of a genuine version of the software program, receiving by the processor from the server a signal that prevents an operation of the software program from being executed by the processor.

In releasing a software application for execution on end users' hardware, a program developer is effectively providing users a complete access to the program code of that application. Unfortunately, some users will attempt to compromise the software application in order for example, to obtain illegal copies, gain unlicensed access to certain features, steal intellectual property from the application, or inject malicious code. Indeed, free access to executable code by unauthorized users can often result in loss of intellectual property, and provide the user with an easy means for probing the application for security vulnerabilities. Also, application code may be modified after being reversed-engineered to remove metering or usage controls before being recompiled, resulting in a loss of revenue for the application publisher. Thus, the environment into which application publishers release their applications can be considered to be hostile. There is therefore a need to protect software programs from tampering or misuse, which may involve unauthorized modification or copy of the software program.
A number of anti-tamper techniques have been previously proposed for protecting software applications from being modified and/or copied. For example, it is known for software applications to utilize copy protection techniques or to insert encoded limitations into them, which, for example, require password or serial number access, prevent copying, or restrict the use of the application in some way.
Techniques for obfuscating software program code have also been proposed. Obfuscated code is a type of executable code, which is intentionally made very difficult to read and understand. Although obfuscated code can deter reverse engineering, there is still a possibility that the code could be read and understood, and therefore modified. As such, obfuscated code provides only low-level security means, and it is often necessary to use it in conjunction with additional security means, such as encryption. Additionally, common software reverse engineering attacks target copy protection schemes. These schemes generally rely on existing operating system procedure calls, making basic code obfuscation easily bypassed using the same tools used with unobfuscated code. Furthermore, obfuscated code is not only a problem for hackers but also for the software developers of the software applications themselves, as obfuscated code is inherently very difficult to debug. As a result, it is often necessary to maintain two versions of the same program code: an unobfuscated code version for debugging and an obfuscated code version for distribution. Due to the low level of security provided, this additional constraint is often considered to outweigh the benefits of obfuscation and therefore alternative methods are required.
Other known anti-tamper techniques are called "integrity checks". These techniques verify during runtime that the application code has not been tampered with, where tampering includes code and/or data modification, changes of the execution environment, or any other measure which changes the behavior of the application. For example, during its normal running, the application checks the integrity of its own code by computing one or more checksums (or hash or signature) of a part (target code) or all the application executable code. The results of these checksum computations are compared with expected values that are embedded within the application code. Such checking approach can be extrapolated by constructing an interconnected web of checks, such that any modification to the application code can be detected. These code integrity checks can be inserted into any existing program code. If a modification is detected by such an integrity check, a defensive action can be taken, such as calling a response function which exits the application or goes into an infinite loop. More generally the response function can be destructive when it prevents the application from being normally executed, or non-destructive when it leaves control back to the application.
However, some applications can be recompiled a trusted party other than the application providers, which changes the final form or executable code of the application. Generally the third party is not aware of the presence of integrity checks in the application or does not have a dedicated tool that can update the integrity check expected results in the application executable code. Therefore, such a recompilation of an application invalidates the integrity checks, as the checksum computed by one or more of the integrity checks can no more correspond to the expected results in the application code. Thus the application appears as being tampered with. More generally other authorized processes can alter a final or published form of an application without the consent or awareness of the application provider. For example, the application could be resigned or a manifest file could be embedded or modified in the application code.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of detecting a modification of an executable program code, which can distinguish between authorized and unauthorized modifications.

Protecting a software program against tampering


An electromagnetic actuator includes a coil, which is formed in an annular shape, a plunger, and a stator, which receives the coil inside the stator and forms a magnetic circuit along inner and outer circumferences of the coil through the plunger. The stator includes first and second stators. The first stator includes a magnetic attraction portion that attracts the plunger in an axial direction of the plunger by magnetic force generated by the coil, and a first yoke portion that covers the outer circumference of the coil. The second stator includes a radial direction magnetism delivery-receipt portion that delivers magnetism in a radial direction of the plunger to and receives magnetism in the radial direction from the plunger, and a second yoke portion that covers the outer circumference of the coil. The first yoke portion and the second yoke portion overlap in the axial direction and are magnetically joined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator.
2. Description of Related Art
An electromagnetic actuator includes a coil, a plunger, and a stator. The coil generates magnetic force when energized. The plunger is driven by magnetic force generated by the coil. The stator forms a magnetic circuit. A driven object (e.g., valve) is driven by displacement of the plunger (e.g., JP2003-97756A).
The stator forms the magnetic circuit along inner and outer circumferences of the coil through the plunger. The stator is formed by combining components to receive the coil inside the stator.
More specifically, a conventional stator described in JP2003-97756A, for example, is formed by joining a magnetic attraction portion, a radial direction magnetism delivery-receipt portion, and a cylindrical yoke. The magnetic attraction portion attracts the plunger in its axial direction. Magnetism in a radial direction of the plunger is delivered and received between the plunger and the radial direction magnetism delivery-receipt portion. The yoke covers an outer circumference of the coil.
In the stator in JP2003-97756A and the like, magnetism is delivered and received at a joining portion of the magnetic attraction portion and the yoke, and magnetism is delivered and received at a joining portion of the radial direction magnetism delivery-receipt portion and the yoke. That is, in the conventional stator, magnetism is delivered and received at two joining portions.
Since magnetic loss by a contact resistance is caused at the joining portion, magnetic force generated at the stator decreases due to the joinings at two portions. Accordingly, there is a problem that attraction of the plunger is decreased.
The magnetic attraction portion and the yoke are joined by joining an outer circumferential portion of a flange portion having a disc-like ring shape, which is formed at the magnetic attraction portion, and an inner circumferential surface of the yoke, respectively. The radial direction magnetism delivery-receipt portion and the yoke are joined by joining an outer circumferential portion of a flange portion having a disc-like ring shape, which is formed at the radial direction magnetism delivery-receipt portion, and the inner circumferential surface of the yoke, respectively. That is, in the conventional stator, the components are joined at the respective outer circumferential portions of the flange portions, which are small areas.
Magnetic loss is large because of a small joining area, so that magnetic force generated at the stator decreases and attraction of the plunger is decreased. Furthermore, magnetic saturation is easily reached because of a small joining area, so that magnetic flux of the stator is difficult to increase and attraction of the plunger is prevented from increasing.
Thus, due to the small joining area as well as the joinings at two portions in the conventional stator of the electromagnetic actuator, magnetic loss is large and attraction of the plunger is prevented from being improved.


This specification provides an information read/write method and apparatus based on a blockchain. The information read/write method based on a blockchain includes: receiving a service request from a project member, wherein the service request comprises a to-be-processed service material of the project member; sending a service file in the to-be-processed service material to an object storage server and receiving a file storage identifier returned by the object storage server; processing service information in the to-be-processed service material to generate a service identifier; and writing the service identifier and the file storage identifier into the blockchain, and saving a hash value that is returned by the blockchain and that corresponds to write success information.

With the development of the Internet-based insurance services, mutual insurance projects are launched on the market. In this insurance mode, an insured person may join in the insurance service after meeting an admission condition stipulated by the insurance mode. The insured person in the insurance mode may claim settlement if having an illness or an accident during the period of the insurance service. The indemnity may be shared among other insured persons. The fees may be deducted by the insurance service company or paid by other insured persons except the person who obtains the indemnity. This type of insurance is popular among users due to the advantages such as low premium, a large user base, and being fairer.
In the existing solutions, if claim settlement of a case occurs, large files such as medical file photos may need to be uploaded to a blockchain. A platform, a supervising party, and a mutual corporation may query the successfully uploaded information about the claim settlement of the case in the blockchain.
However, the size of uploaded information permitted by the blockchain each time is within 512 KB, and an upload frequency is controlled at second-level. Generally, information related to the claim settlement of a case is relatively large. As a result, uploading to the blockchain may fail, which greatly increases the processing time of the case.

Information read/write method and apparatus based on blockchain


Oral dosage form of droperidol are provided and a method for treating migraine using such oral formulations. The dosage forms include tablets, capsules, powders, effervescent formulations and syrups.

The prevalence of migraine is said to be approximately 6% of the male population and 18% of the female population. Treatment for many patients having the occasional migraine usually involves simple analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, or specific agents such as ergotamines or triptans. Approximately 10% of migraine sufferers have three or more attacks per month and warrant prophylactic treatment. Preventative agents such as beta-blockers, tricyclic antidepressants and divalproex sodium can reduce but not eliminate migraine attacks in some patients. Thus, there remains a need for migraine specific medications such as sumatriptan. In the remaining population of migraine sufferers, and in those with intolerable side-effects from available drugs, there is a lack of conventional pharmaceutical preparations that exhibit therapeutic effect, without severe side-effects.
Droperidol presently is marketed by Akorn, Inc. under the trademark Inapsine, as an injectable formulation used in anesthesia for preoperative surgery. It has never been approved for use in the treatment or management of migraine attacks.
A limited, uncontrolled, non-blinded, use of droperidol lactate (2.5 mg/ml droperidol) to treat migraine attacks was attempted and the results published in Headache, Apr. 1996, p.280. In that publication it was reported that 20 patients received from 2.5 to 7.5 mg droperidol intravenously, in increments of 2.5 mg every 30 minutes until the patient was headache free or until a total of three doses had been administered. All of the patients received prior treatment with migraine therapies. Eighteen of the patients reported to be headache-free by the last dose. Although the article reports on apparently encouraging results in treating migraine attacks with droperidol, no definitive conclusions can be reached from the results reported in that article as the number of patients treated was small, the study was not blinded, all patients received other agents to treat the migraine episode prior to receiving droperidol, and there was no placebo control. Also, there was no attempt to repeat the results with the patients. Further, no attempt was made to prolong therapy beyond the initial treatment to a headache-free state and most patients had continuing symptoms to some degree within 24 hours after the last droperidol treatment.
Additionally, the aforementioned study and article only used intravenous droperidol. Others also have used intramuscular droperidol in uncontrolled studies for treatment of migraine. The use of droperidol by injection raises several issues, not the least of which is inconvenience to the patient, caused by the need to have the droperidol administered by a health care professional.
Accordingly, a need exists for a means to treat patients who suffer from, or are at risk of, a migraine episode, that does not require the use of injections of droperidol.

Oral droperidol compositions and method for treating migraine


An insurance payment distribution system is disclosed for distributing data representative of money from a central station to selected individuals to be used at selected locations. The system includes a plurality of distribution payment cards and a remote card processing unit. The distribution payment cards are useable at the selected locations. Each payment card is capable of receiving information representative of a certain amount of money, and is capable of receiving information representative of permitted locations at which the each card may be used. The remote card processing unit is in communication with a computer network including a central computer system. The remote card processing unit is for modifying the information receivable on the cards responsive to information received via the computer network.

The invention relates to systems and processes for dispensing value to a cardholder in response to an authorization over an electronic data network. A variety of cards are available to enable a customer to electronically interfere with a financial institution. Credit cards (plastic cards having a magnetic stripe with an encoded account number), are a well known example of such cards and card systems. These cards may be read by special terminals at a merchant's site, commonly referred to as point-of-sale (POS) terminals. The account number may then be transmitted over a network, such as the Mastercard or Visa network. In addition to the account number, the amount of the transaction, card expiration date, and merchant information are also transmitted for authorization. A remote computer checks a database to determine whether the credit card customer is still within their credit limit before authorizing the purchase.
Another type of card is a debit card, which is not used to extend credit but rather to withdraw cash or pay a merchant immediately. The amount of the transaction is deducted from the customer's checking account, which the customer may periodically replenish. The customer must have the money in the account before the transaction is approved, rather than having to pay the money on credit extended, as with a standard credit card.
A further type of card is an automated teller machine (ATM) card. These cards are typically issued by a financial institution or a bank, allowing a customer to access the customer's checking or savings account for withdrawal from a remote ATM. The remote ATM is connected through an ATM interchange to various banks subscribing to a particular ATM network. This causes an immediate deduction from the customer's account, similar to a debit card. The immediate deduction is actually a same day or same night deduction, since the amount of the transaction is typically recorded and then actually processed in batch mode at night with other transactions. One potential shortcoming of the ATM system is if the ATM card is lost or stolen, and used by another person. The use of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) that is known only to the customer, eliminates much of the risk. Another control is imposing a daily limit (e.g., $200), on any withdrawals by a particular card during any day.
Further types of cards store the account amount directly on the card. An example would be a transit card, such as cards for the California's Bay Area Transit (BART) district. When BART cards are purchased, the dollar amount of the card is magnetically recorded on the card. Each time the card is used by passing it through an access terminal, the fare is deducted from the amount on the card, and a new card value is magnetically recorded on the card itself. An advantage of such a card is that if it is lost or stolen, the potential loss value is only the amount recorded on the card itself. A disadvantage is that there is no ability to contact the issuer and freeze the remaining account balance.
Other than these types of cards, and currency itself, a further conventional device for obtaining cash is a traveler's check. Traveler's checks are generally desirable as compared to currency because of the signature authorization required and the ability to report them as stolen or lost and identify them by serial number. In addition, traveler's checks are issued in limited amounts, which may limit possible exposure. Unlike debit cards or credit cards or even ATM cards, there is no account number that may easily be verified online to see if the account has been closed.
None of these card or payment systems, however, provides the multiple types of control over the distribution, use, and authorization that is sometimes desired in an insurance payment systems. For example, in an insurance payment system, it is sometimes desirable to control the type of goods that may be purchased, the types of stores at which an insurance payment may be used, and/or the specific identities of the stores at which an insurance payment may be used.
There is a need, therefore, for a payment system for insurance industries in which improved control over such payment may be employed.

System and processes for dispensing value to cardholder in response to an authorization over an electric data network


A broadcast receiver is provided which can prevent recording of uncopyable contents without failing to record copyable contents. A copy information detecting unit (4) detects copy control information attached to contents. A discriminating unit (5) discriminates the copyability or uncopyability. The contents recorded in a user-unreadable recording unit (6) is transferred to a user-readable recording unit (7) only if copyable.

With the development of recent digital technologies, fraud copies of video and/or audio contents in digital broadcasting have been increased. Therefore, the copyright protection has become important.
Conventionally, in order to prevent the fraud, Macrovision (where Macrovision is a trademark of MacroVision in the U.S.), CGMS (Copy Generation Management System)-A and so on exist as copy control systems for analog interfaces.
Macrovision is a copy guard system broadly used for commercially available video sources, satellite broadcasts and so on. Macrovision adopts a copy control method for preventing an output source from being normally recorded by causing AGC (Automatic Gain Control) of a video deck to malfunction.
CGMS-A adopts a copy control method for outputting contents having copy control information such as "copyable", "only one generation copyable" and "uncopyable".
On the other hand, for digital outputs to a digital video, for example, DTCP (Digital Transmission Copy Protection) is used, for example.
DTCP is a standard for encoding and exchanging data between digital devices connected by using IEEE-1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) and has a function for exchanging copy control information. Thus, controls for inhibiting copies and/or permitting the copy of one generation only are allowed.
Contents include copy control information thereof. The copy control information is detected by a copy control information detecting circuit of the broadcast receiver. Copyability and uncopyability thereof can be judged by a microcontroller. Signals output from a player such as a VTR (Video Tape Recorder) may also include copy control information.
However, a certain amount of time is required from the detection of copy control information to the judgement of copyability/uncopyability in order to prevent false detection due to noise, for example. When contents during the period is recorded in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), uncopyable contents may be also recorded before a result from the judgement regarding copy control information is confirmed, which is a problem. On the other hand, once the recording starts after the judgement result is confirmed, video scenes and/or audio and data contents that a user needs to record may be missed, which is another problem.
Multiple copy control systems such as the CGMS-A and Macrovision may exist. In this case, the uncopyability is detected by one of copy control information detecting circuits and is judged by the microcontroller. Thus, the other copy control information detecting circuits are not required. However, due to the communication of detected data between the copy control information detecting circuits and the microcontroller, the processing performance of the microcontroller is reduced. In addition, in order to continue the detection, extra power is consumed in the copy control information detecting circuits, which is another problem.
When multiple copy control systems exist, priority may not be given to copy information detection. In this case, all of detection and judgement are always performed, and the processing becomes redundant thereby, which is another problem.
The present invention was made in view of these points. It is an object of the present invention to provide a broadcast receiver, which cannot play broadcast contents until the permission for copying thereof is determined.


A tunable optical filter includes an array of optical fibre located within a capillary tube and mounted on a solenoid movable support and positioned in front of a lens and diffration grating. The filter provides simultaneous tuning filtering between fibres. By coupling fibres to a ring laser and fibre to an optical receiver simultaneous tuning of a laser and receiver is possible. The filter finds particular application in passive optical networks.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to optical filters and is of particular, but not exclusive, application to passive optical network transmission systems.
2. Related Art
One approach to providing communications links between stations is to employ a passive optical network between a central station, or exchange, and the stations.
A potential strategy for the evolution of passive optical splitter networks providing customer access in the local loop is as follows. Telephony and low data-rate services could initially be provided over a fibre-lean passive optical network (TPON) at a single operating wavelength, such as 1300 nm. Broadband services could then be added in two separate stages. Firstly, coarse-grained wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) could provide a few wavelength channels in the 1300 nm window: 20 nm spacing has been demonstrated, but a closer spacing of perhaps 10 nm is quite feasible. Just three additional wavelengths, 1280 nm, 1320 nm and 1340 nm, would be sufficient to provide a range of early broadband services such as ATM-based high-speed data, 32-channel broadcast digital video and 32-channel dedicated (switched) video. A fourth wavelength might be used to provide several HDTV channels. This approach would leave the 1500 nm window free for high density WDM (HDWDM) to be used in the longer term, when large numbers of channels are needed, in combination perhaps with the use of erbium-doped fibre amplifiers, or to provide two-way broadband customer services by wavelength multiplexing in the upstream direction. A nominal wavelength spacing of 1 nm has been demonstrated for HDWDM.
A major difficulty, however, of employing tunable lasers at customers' premises is that of accurate referencing of the laser wavelengths, particularly for HDWDM, where channels may be spaced as close as 1 nm or less. For broadcast services such as cable TV, tunable filters are key components for selecting wavelength channels.
Many tunable filter technologies have been demonstrated offering various tuning ranges and bandwidths including DFB laser amplifiers, etalons, acousto-optics, and variable-pitch, position-tuned devices based on reflection holograms in dichromated gelatin.
For a device to be suitable for installation in customers' premises, it must employ a technology that lends itself to low cost mass production.

British Telecommunications Public Limited Company


A probe having an actuation handle made from springy material having a memory. Squeezing the handle causing the actuation device to elongate, thereby causing movement in the probe tip. The probe handle of the present invention may be held and actuated in any position.

This invention relates generally to the field of surgical probes and, more particularly, to ophthalmologic surgical probes.
During ophthalmologic microsurgery, it is often necessary to dissect, cut, delaminate or otherwise manipulate delicate tissues within the eye. Microsurgical tools, such as microscissors, micro forceps and other devices generally are used for such manipulations. Many of these devices require some sort of actuation (i.e., the blades of a scissors must be rotated across each other in order to cut, the grasping tips of a forceps must be bought together in order to grasp, etc.).
Many prior art devices use plunger-like devices actuated by a finger operated levers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,716 (Sutherland)). Other prior art devices use a handle that is squeezed to operate the probe tip (U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,687 (Burke, et al.).
These prior art devices all require a relatively expensive drive mechanism, making the cost of these devices prohibitive for a single-use, disposable device.
Therefore, a need continues to exist for a simple, inexpensive actuator handle for microsurgical probes.
The present invention improves upon the prior art by providing a probe having an actuation handle made from springy material having a memory. Squeezing the handle causes the actuation device to elongate, thereby causing movement in the probe tip. The probe handle of the present invention may be held and actuated in any position.
Accordingly, one objective of the present invention is to provide a simple probe actuation handle.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive probe actuation handle.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a probe actuation handle that may be held and actuated in any position.
These and other advantages and objectives of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description and claims that follow.


An inside air control apparatus includes: a gas supply device that performs a gas supply operation for supplying low oxygen concentration air into a container; and a controller that controls an operation of the gas supply device so that the inside air has desired composition. The controller is configured to be able to execute, if an oxygen concentration of the inside air is higher than a target oxygen concentration, a carbon dioxide concentration controlling operation for controlling composition of the inside air to be desired composition by causing the gas supply device to perform the gas supply operation, while allowing the gas supply device to change the amount of gas supply such that the carbon dioxide concentration of the inside air falls within a predetermined reference concentration range.

There has been proposed a technique for controlling the composition of air in a storage containing plants, such as fruits and vegetables, to be composition suitable for keeping the plants fresh.
Patent Document 1 discloses an inside air control apparatus that controls the air in a storage containing plants, such as blueberries and asparaguses, which are preferably stored in an environment with a low oxygen concentration and a relatively high carbon dioxide concentration to keep them fresh.
According to Patent Document 1, the inside air control apparatus is provided for the storage. The inside air control apparatus includes a gas supply device that performs a gas supply operation for supplying low oxygen concentration air having a higher nitrogen concentration and lower oxygen concentration than the air into the container, and an exhaust portion that exhausts the air out of the storage. In Patent Document 1, carbon dioxide priority control is performed. Specifically, after carbon dioxide is introduced into the storage in advance, the inside air control apparatus performs the gas supply operation to substitute the inside air into the low oxygen concentration air in order to lower the oxygen concentration of the inside air, and stops the gas supply operation if the carbon dioxide concentration of the inside air is lowered to a critical concentration which is lower than a target carbon dioxide concentration through the gas supply operation. Further, if the carbon dioxide concentration of the inside air reaches a resuming concentration which is higher than the target carbon dioxide concentration through the breathing of the plants, the gas supply operation is resumed to lower the oxygen concentration of the inside air again. Through this carbon dioxide priority control, the oxygen concentration is lowered while maintaining the carbon dioxide concentration of the inside air around the target carbon dioxide concentration.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Inside air control apparatus and container refrigeration apparatus including the same


A scrambled word game includes a plurality of cards forming a card set. Each card has printed thereon a scrambled version of a word. The scrambled word game also includes a plurality of blank letter tiles for each player and a plurality of blank Word-Sticks of varying word length. Each player forms as many permutated words from the displayed scrambled word and writes each of the permutated words on one of the blank Word-Sticks.

The invention relates to word games and in particular to a scrambled word game utilizing a plurality of cards with each card having imprinted a scrambled version of a word and its word permutations.
The prior art is replete with various types of word forming and scrambled word games. Some scrambled word games allow as few as two or as many as an entire classroom of children to compete against one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,765 teaches a scrambled word game that utilizes a plurality of cards. Two or more players may play the scrambled word game. Each card has imprinted a plurality of words with a scrambled version of the word's letters next to each word. To begin a round of the scrambled game a player selects and presents the selected scrambled version of the word to the other player or players who then attempt to unscramble the letters to form the correct word within the given time limit. Points are awarded to the player who is the first to form a word. A player wins when his score reaches a pre-determined value. The method of playing a word scramble game for two or more players includes the steps of providing a plurality of cards forming a card set wherein each card has printed thereon a plurality of correctly spelled words opposite a scramble version of each such word, providing each player with paper and a writing instrument, providing a timing mechanism, a die, starting a round by each player drawing a card from the card set and positioning the card such that the words on the card are not in clear view of the other players, providing a mechanism for determining which player should be selected to choose and verbally present the scrambled letters to the other player or players, providing a mechanism for presenting the scrambled letters to the other player or players, activating the timing mechanism, each player as quickly as possible, writing on their own paper attempts to unscramble the given letters and form the correct word within the time period, a mechanism for player recognition when the player has formed a word from the given scrambled letters, providing point values to the player who provides the correct word from the scramble letters within the time period, providing point values to the player who first provides a word formed from the given scrambled letters and such word is not the same word provided from the given card selection, providing point values to the player who presented the scramble letters to the other player or players and which no player provided a correct unscramble version of the word. There are subsequent rounds that are played until one of the players wins by reaching a predetermined number of total points. The objective of this word scramble game is to be the first player to unscramble the given scramble letters and form the given word. Each player draws a card from the card set concealing the printed words from other players. Each player rolls the die and the player with the high die number will be the first "teacher". If the die roll results in a tie between players those players roll the die again until the "teacher" is determined. Once play has started the "teacher" role is past clockwise around the table to the other players. The teacher selects a word from his or her word card hoping that the other players will not be able to unscramble the letters and form the word. The teacher reads carefully the letters of the scrambled word in the order as printed on the card. The other players write down the scramble letters on their paper. When the teacher has completed reading the scramble letters the timing device is immediately activated. The amount of time given to play each round should vary and correspond to the degree of difficulty. The degree of difficulty is increased by the use of cards with more letters per word. After the timing device is activated each player races his or her opponent attempting to be the first to unscramble the word correctly. When a player has unscrambled the word he or she gives a signal for recognition from the teacher. The signal for recognition may be the player raising his hand or verbally indicating that he has formed the word. The teacher acknowledges whether or not the given word is correct. If the player's given word is correct the player is awarded one point. If the player gives an incorrect word, that player loses a point and play continues until the correct answer is given or until the time period expires. If no players give a correct answer during the play period then the teacher is awarded a point. After each play period the teacher role is past clockwise to the next player. The new teacher again selects and presents the scrambled letters to the other players and activates the timing device. New cards are drawn from the card set after the player has used all word choices on the given card. Play is continued until a player reaches a predetermined score thereby winning the game. As an option, after a player forms a word that is not the correct word however the word is found in a dictionary containing the same letters and if such unscramble version is the first answer that is given by any player that player is awarded a point. Play is then continued for the remainder of the time period and if that same player or another player forms the correct word, that player also is awarded a point. Again, play is continued until a player reaches a predetermined score thereby winning the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,435 teaches a game for play between two or more players/teams with a deck of clue cards. Each clue card has a set of scrambled words imprinted thereon and an unsolved main word that is represented only by blank spaces and its first and possibly second letters to serve as a clue. The players/teams take turns drawing clue cards and attempting to unscramble the scrambled words and solve the main word with a set time period. The main word is a synonym or the name of a category of which the scrambled words are like synonyms or elements of the category, respectively. A second deck of cards having only one scrambled word thereon are provided to play bonus and challenge rounds. Points are awarded according to how many words are solved by each player/team and the first player/team to reach 100 points wins the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,753 teaches a knowledge game that is played with categories of scrambled words. The players unscramble the words. The first player that completes unscrambling in a category that is being played calls for a STOP. Points are allocated for correctly unscrambling every word as well as for unscrambling less than all the words. Rounds of play are repeated until a winning score is obtained. The method of playing a game includes defining one topic category which is intelligible and communicated to a player of the game, providing to a player a plurality of correct scrambled answer words each of which pertains to the topic category, unscrambling the words pertaining to the topic category, awarding a point value to the player for each correctly unscrambled word, playing successive rounds of play until a predetermined winning point total has been accrued.
The inventor incorporates the teachings of the above-cited patents into this specification.


In a clutch engaging and disengaging operation at the time of a shift change, a state in which the clutch position of the clutch is at a specific value between a first clutch position at which a half clutch state finishes and a second clutch position at which the clutch is in a mechanical maximum disengaged state is maintained until completion of a gear change is detected by a gear position sensor. Therefore, even if a dog abutment state occurs between first gears with engaging projections and second gears with engaging recesses, the dog abutment can be resolved properly.

1. Field of the Inventions
The present inventions relate to an automatic shift control device for performing a shift change automatically, and a vehicle, such as a saddle-type vehicle, provided with the automatic shift control device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, vehicles with electronically actuated manual transmissions have become commercially available. These transmissions are largely the same as any conventional manual transmission, except electronic actuators have been added to allow the otherwise manual transmission to be operated electronically.
The actuators are used to automate certain operations so that the system can automate a series of start, stop and shift change operations (clutch disengagement, gear change, and clutch engagement) based on the rider's intention or the state of the vehicle. In at least one such known automated transmission controller, the torque of the shift actuator is temporarily reduced and then increased when the respective gears cannot engage with each other, i.e., during a so-called "dog-contact condition" occurring at the time of shift change. In the manner, the dog-contact is rectified and the gears then properly engage with each other. For example, Japanese Patent Document No. JP-A-11-082710 discloses such a controller.

Automatic shift control device and vehicle


A dispenser is provided which is adapted for dispensing from a table top and it is convertible to dispense from a conventional rolled product fixture. The dispenser includes a housing having a compartment configured to hold sheets. The housing also has a dispensing opening. The housing is configured to be positioned on a table top for dispensing sheets therefrom, and the housing includes a hanging port which permits the housing to be coupled to a conventional rolled product fixture. The hanging port is masked when the dispenser is positioned for dispensing from a table top. The hanging port is easily unmasked and configured to releasably couple the housing to a fixture in a bathroom for dispensing sheets therefrom.

The use of single sheets provided as interfolded sheets for bath tissue has been widely accepted. Such single interfolded sheets often provide less waste than traditional rolled bath tissue. Similarly, the use of premoistened or "wet" sheets has gained wide acceptance for a variety of uses, particularly premoistened bathroom applications. The dry sheets and premoistened sheets are generally formed from an absorbent material such as a paper or a polymeric web, or combinations thereof, and may contain a disinfectant, medicant, deodorant, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, cleansing agent, and so forth, in one or more combinations, on a dry sheet, or in a "wet" formulation on a premoistened sheet. Premoistened sheets are generally stored and dispensed from a sealable container to prevent the sheets from drying out.
Various dispenser designs for dry and/or premoistened sheets have been used with existing bathroom fixtures, such as fixtures for conventional rolled products. These separate or combined dispensers are often cumbersome and bulky, and they are problematic with regard to space and mounting considerations. Refilling one or both dispensers can also be difficult.
In addition, in a hospital or medical setting, rolls of toilet tissue are frequently disposed of after a patient leaves a hospital room. This is because toilet tissue in a roll has every edge of every sheet exposed; if contamination via liquid and/or particulate matter occurs, it could be passed on to the next patient. Such disposal results in a significant waste.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a dispenser capable of dispensing dry and/or premoistened sheets, and so forth, from a table top. Such a dispenser would quickly and easily convert into a dispenser configured to couple to a conventional rolled product fixture and dispense sheets, such as toilet tissue, therefrom. Such a dispenser would also be desirable for use in a hospital room, where the outside of the dispenser may be easily cleaned and/or disinfected, and the dispenser acts to shield all but the exposed sheet extending therefrom. The dispenser would not need to be disposed of after a patient left, and only the exposed tissue would be removed to make the dispenser available for the next patient.

Convertible dispenser for sheet material


The specification describes photonic integrated circuit structures, and methods for making structures in which the active and passive waveguides are coplanar, and further in which all the layers of both the active and passive device regions are essentially coplanar, resulting in a planar surface and design flexibility for contact pad and metallization placement. The fabrication strategy eliminates the deep etch used in conventional processing to form laser devices, and thereby eliminates the step between the laser mesa and the passive waveguide sections.

Lightwave technology is evolving through development stages that in many ways mirror those of semiconductor electronics. The discrete device stage is largely over for lightwave technology, and it is proceeding rapidly to sophisticated levels of integration in what might be regarded as the lightwave phase of hybrid integration. Optoelectronic integrated circuits have the true characteristics of hybrid integrated circuits, and with the development of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) the elements of monolithic semiconductor ICs are emerging. PICs are single substrate ("chip") devices with integrated optical waveguides interconnecting active devices. Prominent among the active devices are lasers, which are the basic elements of most PIC devices.
Problems encountered in designing and fabricating PICs can be divided into two groups: optical engineering problems and optoelectronic-electronic engineering problems. An example of the former is the fabrication of low-loss optical waveguides with the associated constraints on doping types and levels. Another important optical problem is the design and fabrication of low-loss longitudinal coupling between active and passive portions of various guided-wave devices. Another optical problem is the requirement of strictly single-mode guides in the passive sections of the device. Lasers, being non-linear thresholding devices, are often fabricated without strictly fundamental-mode guides. In addition to the dimensional constraints introduced in making buried heterostructure guides strictly fundamental mode, the waveguides typical to most lasers are unsuitable for passive couplers or active waveguide switches due to their sensitive phase characteristics. This can result in large fluctuations in device properties due to the unavoidable fabrication tolerances encountered using presently available technology. For this reason, buried rib guides are preferred in non-thresholding devices such as couplers, switches, and filters. One must then devise a means of coupling between different guide types, i.e., buried heterostructures for lasers and buried rib waveguides for passive waveguides, in a self-aligned and low-loss fashion. It is also required, for low-loss coupling, that the waveguides being coupled are essentially coplanar.
A problem in the aforementioned optoelectronic-electronic category is the requirement for current blocking in lasers. As a consequence of this requirement, the typical laser device in PIC technology has a mesa structure. An example of this type of laser structure is a semi-insulating planar buried heterostructure (SIPBH) type laser as described by B. I. Miller, U. Koren, and R. J. Capik, Electron. Lett. 22,947 (1986). The use of mesa structures recalls a parallel stage of development in semiconductor technology that was, for a time, incompatible with the goal of surface planarity. Not surprisingly, there is now a similar compatibility issue in PIC technology between the planarity requirement of the waveguides, the mesa configuration of the laser, and goal of surface planarity.
The original approach in the art toward these goals was to form the active and passive regions separately and butt couple the two sections. Achieving effective coupling was difficult, and later attempts were made to integrate both sections on a common substrate. One approach along this line was to form the active layer stack over the whole circuit area, then remove the active stack in the passive regions, and regrow the passive layers adjacent the active layers. However, again, acceptable coupling of the waveguides between the two sections was difficult to obtain, and manufacturing yields were low.
In summary, the two planarity objectives described above can be relatively easily realized separately, but to date achieving both in a reliable, and cost effective process, and one that yields a truly integrated planar structure, has been elusive. Since the requirement for a planar optical interface cannot be compromised, the current processing sequence used to form the mesa (laser) structure and the buried rib waveguide of current PIC devices results in a severely stepped surface. A PIC device design, and a processing sequence, that produce a planar device surface, without compromising the device requirements outlined above, would be a major advance in PIC technology.

Manufacture of planar photonic integrated circuits


A receiver (10) is provided where an information signal (11) is received (12) and examined to determine (20) its signal strength. When the signal strength is at least equal to a threshold, an unmodulated signal (40) is added to the received signal to improve the sensitivity of the receiver.

One measure of a receivers performance is its ability to reject noise while providing a clear desired signal. Typically, this performance is rated by a signal-to-noise ratio. The higher the signal-to-noise ratio, the better the sensitivity (and performance) of the receiver.
Others skilled in the art have used complicated detector and compensation arrangements that attempt to improve the receivers sensitivity. However, existing receiver sensitivity improvement techniques (such as "click swallowing") do not function well when the desired information signal has a received amplitude that is near the noise level. This noise barrier resides approximately below a 3 dB signal-to-noise ratio, which is often called the noise range. Therefore, a need exists for a simple method to improve the receiver's sensitivity below the noise range.

Receiver sensitivity threshold extended with the combination of an unmodulated signal with the received signal


A device for preventing the loss of a hearing aid, which includes a chain, a device for attaching one end of the chain to the hearing aid, and a device for attaching the other end of the chain to an earring or other device worn by the wearer of the hearing aid.

Modern hearing aids are worn on the outer ear and are placed on the external auditory canal. They remain in place solely by the "snug fit" achieved between the ear and the hearing aid. However, this "snug fit" is not always efficient for keeping the hearing aid in place, and the hearing aid will fall out of the ear on occasion. This may result in loss of the hearing aid, which is an expensive item to replace.
In the past, devices have been designed to conceal the use of a hearing aid with covers or earrings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,619 has a safety device that prevents loss of the hearing aid. In that patent, the hearing aid is actually fastened to the pierced lobe of an ear. The type of hearing aid shown has long since been outdated by more modern devices.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a safety device which will prevent the loss of modern hearing aids by the wearer.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system that includes a chain and a modified hearing aid with a chain attaching-device. This can be attached to an earring and thereby prevent the loss of the hearing aid if it falls out of the ear.


The invention provides an adaptive turbo decision feedback equalizer for executing an adaptive turbo decision feedback equalization method in response to a reception a packet including samples transmitted to the adaptive turbo decision feedback equalizer via a channel. The adaptive turbo decision feedback equalizer generates a first set of soft estimates of bits based upon a computation of a first feed-forward filter and a first feedback filter as a function of an estimation of the channel. The adaptive turbo decision feedback equalizer subsequently generates additional sets of soft estimates of the bits and a set of hard estimates of the bits based upon a computation of additional feed-forward filters and additional feedback filters as a function of a plurality of additional soft symbol estimates.

The capacity of a cellular system operating with a multi-path channel can be limited by a demodulator's ability to mitigate the degradations of the received signal due to the multi-path channel. One receiver known in the art for receiving coded transmissions over a multi-path channel is a maximum likelihood sequence estimator ("MLSE") that operates to jointly demodulate the channel and the error correction code. However, the complexity of an MLSE is proportional to PL+K, where P is the number of points in a signal constellation, K is the number of stages in a convolutional code shift register, and L is the number of symbol spaced taps of the multi-path channel. Such complexity impedes an implementation of the MLSE into a cellular system.
Another known receiver for receiving coded transmissions over a multi-path channel is a turbo decision-feedback equalizer ("TDFE") having feed-forward filters and feedback filters that are based upon an estimation of the multi-path channel. While the complexity of the TDFE does not impede the implementation of the TDFE into a cellular system, a problem with the TDFE is the computation of the filters assumes perfect feedback that is not attained in practice.
Therefore, there is a need for an adaptive TDFE. The present invention addresses this need.

Adaptive turbo decision feedback equalization method and device


Disclosed herein is a method of delivering a bioactive compound to an organism that involves growing individual cells in vitro under conditions that allow the formation of an organized tissue, at least a subset of the cells containing a foreign DNA sequence which mediates the production of the bioactive compound; and implanting the organized tissue into the organism, whereby the bioactive compound is produced and delivered to the organism. Also disclosed herein is an in vitro method for producing a tissue having in vivo-like gross and cellular morphology that involves providing precursor cells of the tissue; mixing the cells with a solution of extracellular matrix components to create a suspension; placing the suspension in a vessel having a three dimensional geometry approximating the in vivo gross and cellular morphology of the tissue and having attachment surfaces coupled thereto; allowing the suspension to coalesce; and culturing the cells under conditions in which the cells form an organized tissue connected to the attachment surfaces. Also disclosed herein is an apparatus for producing in vitro a tissue having in vivo-like gross and cellular morphology. This apparatus includes a vessel having a three dimensional geometry approximating the in vivo morphology of the tissue and tissue attachment surfaces coupled thereto.

This invention relates to the delivery of bioactive compounds to an organism, and in particular to methods and apparatus for the delivery of bioactive compounds by implanting into the organism an organized tissue producing the compounds.
One of the primary therapies used to treat disease is the delivery of bioactive compounds to the affected organism. Bioactive compounds may be delivered systemically or locally by a wide of variety of methods. For example, an exogenous source (i.e., produced outside the organism treated) of the bioactive compound may be provided intermittently by repeated doses. The route of administration may include oral consumption, injection, or tissue absorption via topical compositions, suppositories, inhalants, or the like. Exogenous sources of the bioactive compound may also be provided continuously over a defined time period. For example, delivery systems such as pumps, time-released compositions, or the like may be implanted into the organism on a semi-permanent basis for the administration of bioactive compounds (e.g., insulin, estrogen, progesterone, etc.).
The delivery of bioactive compounds from an endogenous source (i.e., produced within the organism treated) has also been attempted. Traditionally, this was accomplished by transplanting, from another organism, an organ or tissue whose normal physiological function was the production of the bioactive compound (e.g., liver transplantation, kidney transplantation, or the like). More recently, endogenous production by cells of the affected organism has been accomplished by inserting into the cells a DNA sequence which mediates the production of the bioactive compound. Commonly known as gene therapy, this method includes inserting the DNA sequence into the cells of the organism in vivo. The DNA sequence persists either transiently or permanently as an extra-chromosomal vector (e.g., when inserted by adenovirus infection or by direct injection of a plasmid) or integrates into the host cell genome (e.g., when inserted by retrovirus infection). Alternatively, the DNA sequence may be inserted into cells of the host tissue or an another organism in vitro, and the cells subsequently transplanted into the organism to be treated.

Delivery of bioactive compounds to an organism


The image reading device of the present invention comprises a sensor substrate having at least a plurality of photosensors for photoelectric conversion of the light entered in the sensor substrate, wherein the sensor substrate is composed of a material capable of absorbing the light entered in the sensor substrate, thereby preventing formation of stray light which is caused by the reflection of the light entered in the sensor substrate at the surface of the sensor substrate or the back surface of a base member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading device and a radiation image pick-up apparatus, and specifically to an image reading device comprising a sensor substrate having at least a plurality of photosensors for executing photoelectric conversion of the light entered in the sensor substrate and to a radiation image pick-up apparatus utilizing such image reading device. More specifically, it relates to an image reading device formed with a large-area process to enable a large area image reading, and a radiation image pick-up apparatus utilizing such image reading device.
2. Related Background Art
For reading information such as an image for example in an image reader, there are conventionally known a reading device employing a reduction optical system and a CCD sensor, and a reading device employing a television camera.
Also, based on the recent development of a semiconductor material for photoelectric conversion by utilizing a non-single-crystalline semiconductor represented by hydrogenated amorphous silicon, there is recently proposed an image reading device having a plurality of photosensors formed on a large-sized substrate by using this material which can read an image with a large area.
Besides, the non-single-crystalline semiconductor can be utilized not only as the photoelectric conversion semiconductor material of the photosensor but also as the semiconductor material of the thin film transistor. Therefore, signal processing portions can also be formed on the large-sized substrate together with the photosensors. Furthermore, the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer of the photosensor and the semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor can be composed of the same layer.
Furthermore, in case of forming a capacitance element such as a capacitor on the same substrate, a semiconductor layer may be interposed between the opposed electrodes if they are mutually insulated. Based on this fact, it is possible to make common the order of deposition for the films constituting the photosensor, the films constituting the thin film transistor and the films constituting the capacitance element, and the films constituting each element can therefore be made common.
It was therefore rendered possible to produce the image reading device with a large area at a low cost.
As another application of such large-area image reading device, there is also conceived a device for converting a radiation image into a visible image by a fluorescent plate which emits visible light by absorbing a radiation such as X-ray, and reading such visible image. A compact X-ray image pick-up apparatus of high performance is being realized by incorporating such image reading device thereto.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-298287 the present inventor has proposed one of the above-mentioned image reading devices.
FIG. 13A is a plan view of one pixel of the image reading device proposed by the present inventor, and FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 13Bxe2x80x9413B in FIG. 13A. Also, FIG. 14 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one pixel of this image reading device.
One pixel is composed of a MIS photosensor S11, and a driving thin film transistor T11 serving as the driving portion of the photosensor. These drawings show a signal wiring SIG, a gate line gn of the driving thin film transistor T11, the upper electrode S and lower electrode G of the MIS sensor, and capacitances Cgs and Cgd respectively formed by overlapping the gate electrode with the source electrode and by overlapping the gate electrode with the drain electrode. Charges generated in the MIS photosensor S11 by light are accumulated in the capacitances Cgs and Cgd through the thin film transistor T11, and are then read by a reading circuit not shown in the drawings. Though the above is limited to one bit, but in the fact the capacitances Cgs and Cgd are the sum of capacitances connected to other transistors, respectively. Thus the accumulation capacitances utilize Cgs and Cgd.
FIGS. 15A and 15B are energy band illustrations Qf the photosensor showing the operations in a refreshing mode and a photoelectric conversion mode, respectively, wherein numerals 1 to 5 indicate each layer in the thickness direction thereof. In FIG. 15A showing the refreshing mode, the electrode S is given a negative potential with respect to the electrode G, whereby holes represented by black circles (xe2x97xaf) in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3 are guided to the electrode S by the electric field. At the same time, electrons represented by open circles (∘) are injected into the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3. In this time, a part of the holes and a part of the electrons recombine and vanish in an N+ hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 2 and the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3. If this state continues for a sufficiently long time, the holes in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3 are removed from the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3. When next state becomes a state of the photoelectric conversion mode shown in FIG. 15B, the electrode S is given a positive potential with respect to the electrode G, whereby the electrons in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3 are instantaneously guided to the electrode S. However, the holes are not guided to the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3 because the N+ hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 2 functions as an injection inhibiting layer. When light enters the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3 in this state, the light is absorbed and electron-hole pairs are generated. The electrons are guided to the electrode by the electric field, while the holes move in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3 and reach the interface of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride layer 4 but are stopped at the interface and remain in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3. As the electrons move to the electrode S while the holes move in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon layer 3 to the interface with the hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride layer 4, a current flows from the electrode G in order to maintain the electrical neutrality in the device. This current corresponding. to the electron-hole pairs generated by the light is proportional to the incident light.
FIG. 16 shows the entire circuit of the image reading device. Photosensors and thin film transistors for driving the photosensors can be formed on the same substrate by the same process. In the circuit diagram there are shown photosensors S11 to S33, thin film transistors T11 to T33 for driving the photosensors, a reading power source Vs and a refreshing power source Vg connected, respectively through switches SWs and SWg, to the lower electrode G of all the photosensors S11 to S33. The switch SWs is connected through an inverter to a refreshing control circuit RF while the switch SWg is connected directly to the refreshing control circuit RF. The switch SWg is turned on during the refreshing period while the switch SWs is turned on during other periods. The output signal is supplied by a signal wiring SIG to a detecting integrated circuit IC.
In the circuit shown in FIG. 16, nine pixels are divided into three blocks, and the outputs of three pixels in each block are transferred simultaneously and signals are successively converted into outputs by the detecting integrated circuit. For the purpose of simplicity, there is illustrated a two-dimensional image input portion of nine pixels but there are in practice provided a larger number of pixels in a high density. As an example, in case an image reading device of 40xc3x9740 cm is formed with pixels of a size of 150xc3x97150 xcexcm, there are provided approximately 1.8 million pixels.
FIG. 17 schematically shows an X-ray image reading device formed by combining the above-described image reading device with a fluorescent plate, and an X-ray image pick-up apparatus utilizing such image reading. device.
X-ray emitted from an X-ray source 1701 hits an object 1702, and a part thereof enters an image reading device 1705 as the transmitted light, while another part enters the image reading device as the scattered X-ray. A grid 1703 removes the scattered X-ray from the object. Substantially only the transmitted light enters the fluorescent plate 1708, is absorbed therein and is converted into visible light depending on the intensity. This visible light enters the photosensors as an image of 1xc3x97 magnification, and is incorporated as an image. There are also shown a sensor substrate 1704, a case 1706 for the image reading unit, and an image reading unit 1707.
The problems of the conventional image reading device described above will be explained by referring to an image reading device for the X-ray image pick-up apparatus.
In use of the fluorescent plate mainly composed of Gd2O2S:Tl3+ having a high light emitting efficiency, when X-ray enters this fluorescent plate, the light emitted from the plate has a green light having a wavelength of xcex=550 nm with the largest intensity.
The light emitted from the fluorescent plate reaches the sensor substrate while it is scattered, is detected by the photosensors and is outputed as image signals to the outside.
However, in the conventional image reading device in which the photosensors and thin film transistors are generally formed on a transparent insulating substrate such as a glass substrate, the light entered in the interior of the substrate through the gap between the pixels is reflected on the back surface of the substrate because it is transparent, thereby generating stray light and degrading the sharpness of the image reading device.
More specifically, the back surface of the sensor substrate is in contact with the air in an extreme position, thereby showing a large difference in the refractive index. Generally, the light entering in an interface between layers having difference refractive indexes is reflected in a proportion corresponding to the difference in the refractive index. The reflective coefficient R of the reflected light in case of a normal reflection is represented by:
R=(n1xe2x88x92n2)/(n1+n2)
wherein n2 is the refractive index of air and n1 is the reflective index of the sensor substrate.
The reflection intensity is proportional to R2. In case the sensor substrate is composed of glass, n1=1.5, and, for n2=1.0, there is obtained R=0.2 and R2=0.04 so that 4% of light is reflected at the interface.
The actual system includes not only the normal reflection but also the light obliquely entering the interface, and the reflectance for such light becomes larger than the normal reflectance. Also under the condition of total reflection, the incident light is reflected by almost 100%.
Consequently the light entering the interior of the substrate from the surface thereof with an angle reaches the back surface of the substrate, on which at least a part of such light is reflected and is absorbed by the adjacent pixels to generate optical crosstalk, which causes degradation of the sharpness of the image reading device.
The first image reading device of the present invention comprises a sensor substrate having at least a plurality of photosensors for photoelectric conversion of the light entered in the sensor substrate, wherein the sensor substrate is composed of a material capable of absorbing the light entered in the sensor substrate.
The second image reading device of the present invention comprises a sensor substrate having at least a plurality of photosensors and a base member adhered to the sensor substrate via an adhesive layer, wherein the base member is composed of a material capable of absorbing the light entered from the sensor substrate.
The third image reading device of the present invention comprises a sensor substrate having at least a plurality of photosensors and a base member adhered to the sensor substrate via an adhesive layer, wherein the base member has a layer of a material capable of absorbing an entering light on the surface of the base member at the side of the sensor substrate.
The fourth image reading device of the present invention comprises a sensor substrate having at least a plurality of photosensors and a base member adhered to the sensor substrate via an adhesive layer, wherein the base member has a layer of a material capable of absorbing an entering light on the surface of the base member at the side opposite to the side of the sensor substrate.
The fifth image reading device of the present invention is the above-mentioned second image reading device, provided that the sensor substrate, the adhesive layer and the base member have substantially the same refractive index (including the same refractive index).
The sixth image reading device of the present invention is the above-mentioned third image reading device, provided that the sensor substrate, the adhesive layer and the layer of the material capable of absorbing the entering light have substantially the same refractive index (including the same refractive index).
The seventh image reading device of the present invention is the above-mentioned fourth image reading device, provided that the sensor substrate, the adhesive layer, the base member and the layer of the material capable of absorbing the entering light have substantially the same refractive index (including the refractive index).
The eighth image reading device of the present invention is any one of the above-mentioned first to seventh image reading devices, provided that:
the photosensor is formed by stacking a first electrode layer, a first insulating layer for inhibiting the passage of carriers of a first conductivity type and carriers of a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type, a photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer, a second electrode layer, and an injection inhibiting layer for inhibiting injection of the carriers of the first conductivity type into the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer, the injection inhibiting layer being provided between the second electrode layer and the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer;
switching means to be respectively connected to the photosensors are formed on the sensor substrate together with the photosensors;
the switching means in a refreshing operation provide the photosensors with an electric field in a direction of guiding the carriers of the first conductivity type from the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer to the second electrode layer, and the switching means in a photoelectric conversion operation provide the photosensors with an electric field in a direction of retaining the carriers of the first conductivity type generated by the light entering the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer in the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer and guiding the carriers of the second conductivity type to the second electrode layer, the switching means being controlled in the photoelectric conversion operation so as to detect, as optical signals, the carriers of the first conductivity type accumulated in the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer or the carriers of the second conductivity type guided to the second electrode layer; and
the plurality of photosensors are arranged two-dimensionally and are divided into a plurality of blocks, and the switching means are operated for each block to detect the optical signals.
Also the radiation image pick-up apparatus of the present invention utilizes any one of the above-mentioned first to eighth image reading devices.

Image reading device and radiation image pick-up apparatus


The invention concerns a cell support comprising an RGD-enriched gelatine that has a more even distribution of RGD sequences than occurring in a natural gelatine and with a minimum level of RGD sequences. More precise the percentage of RGD sequences related to the total number of amino acids is at least 0.4 and if the RGD-enriched gelatine comprises 350 amino acids or more, each stretch of 350 amino acids contains at least one RGD motif. Preferably the RGD-enriched gelatines are prepared by recombinant technology, and have a sequence that is derived from a human gelatine or collagen amino acid sequence. The invention also relates to RGD-enriched gelatines that are used for attachment to integrins. In particular The RGD-enriched gelatines of the invention are suitable for coating a cell culture support for growing anchor-dependant cell types. Further, the RGD-enriched gelatines of the invention may find use in medical applications, in particular as a coating on implant or transplant material or as a component of drug delivery systems.

Cell culture of animal cells, in particular mammalian cells, is important for the production of many important (genetically engineered) biological materials such as vaccines, enzymes, hormones and antibodies. The majority of animal cells are anchorage-dependent and require attachment to a surface for their survival and growth.
Routinely, anchorage-dependent cells have been cultivated on the walls of for instance tissue culture flasks and roller bottles. As the necessity has developed to provide large amounts of certain antiviral vaccines, genetically engineered proteins, and other cell-derived products, improvements have been made to develop new systems for larger scale production of cells.
One such an improvement started with the development of microcarriers in 1967 by Van Wezel (Van Wezel, A. L. Nature 216:64-65 (1967)). Van Wezel made microcarriers composed of cross-linked dextran beads charged with tertiary amine groups (DEAE). He demonstrated the attachment and growth of cells on these positively charged DEAE-dextran beads suspended in culture media in a stirred vessel. Thus, in microcarrier cell cultures cells grow as monolayers on small spheres which are in suspension. By using microcarriers it is possible to achieve yields of several million cells per milliliter. Over the years various types of microcarriers have been developed. For instance glass beads and polystyrene beads have been described. Cross-linked dextran, like the first microcarriers, is still the most popular bead material.
Some advantages of microcarrier cultures over other methods of large-scale cultivation are: i) high surface area to volume ratio can be achieved which can be varied by changing the microcarrier concentration leading to high cell densities per unit volume with a potential for obtaining highly concentrated cell products; ii) cell propagation can be carried out in a single high productivity vessel instead of using many low productivity units, thus achieving a better utilisation and a considerable saving of medium; iii) since the microcarrier culture is well mixed, it is easy to monitor and control different environmental conditions such as pH, pO2, pCO2 etc.; iv) cell sampling is easy; v) since the beads settle down easily, cell harvesting and downstream processing of products is easy; vi) microcarrier cultures can be relatively easily scaled up using conventional equipment like fermenters that have been suitably modified.
When developing further improvements the following requirements for an optimum microcarrier should be met: i) the surface properties of the beads should be such that cells can adhere and proliferate rapidly, preferably the contour should be even; ii) the density of the beads should be slightly more than that of the culture medium, so as to facilitate easy separation; conventional culture media are aqueous in nature and have densities ranging from 1.03-1.09 g/cc, however, the density should not exceed a certain limit the optimum range being 1.03-1.045 g/ml; gentle stirring, which will not harm the shear-sensitive cells, should be sufficient to keep them in suspension, if the beads settle cell growth will be prevented; iii) the size-distribution of the beads should be narrow so that an even suspension of all microcarriers is achieved and cells attain confluency at approximately the same time; also, clustering of microcarriers in solution should be prevented; iv) the optical properties should enable easy microscopic observation; v) they should be non-toxic not only for the survival and good growth of the cells but also for cell culture products that are used for veterinary or clinical purposes; vi) the matrix of the beads should be such that collisions, which occur during stirring of the culture, do not cause fragmentation of the beads.
An important modification in the development of improved microcarriers is the coating of core particles with collagen. The advantage of using collagen is that it is a promoter for both cell attachment and cell growth. In addition cells can be easily detached by proteolytic enzymes. Also microcarriers coated with fibronectin, which is a cell adhesion promoter, have been described.
Cell surface receptors that are involved in binding are identified as integrins. More than 20 integrins are known, each having different ligand specificities. Many integrins can recognise the amino acid sequence RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid). The number of proteins known to comprise an RGD sequence is limited, estimated to be approximately 400. Also not every occurring RGD sequence is involved in a binding function. In particular RGDS is known to be involved in cell adhesion. It is known that natural native collagens comprise the amino acid sequence RGD. Examples are for instance murine COL1A1-1, COL1A1-2, COL1A1-3, rat COL3A1, human COL1A-1, COL2A-1, COL3A-1 and COL1A1-2. Cell attachment to collagen follows a highly specific mechanism, as cells secrete the protein fibronectin which has a specific affinity for collagen. After attachment to collagen, the fibronectin binds subsequently to the integrin proteins in the cell.
Gelatine is a degradation product of collagen, and the term truly reflects a heterogeneous mixture of proteins and peptides with MW's ranging from 5,000 up to more than 400,000 daltons. A certain fraction of these gelatine polymers will contain an RGD motive and a certain fraction of hydrolysed molecules will not have such an RGD motif.
Burgess and Myles describe the chemical coupling of RGD containing peptides to type I collagen, which method is complicated and introduces impurities into the target materials and has limited modification freedom (Ann Biomed Eng 2000 January; 28(1): 110-118).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,474 aims at a good cell adhesion by combining cell adhesion factors and positively charged molecules to the surface of a cell culture support. Fibronectin is identified as a cell adhesion intermediate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,581 is concerned with the production of substantially new polypeptides by using automated methods for the chemical synthesis of DNA in combination with recombinant DNA technology. The patent describes non-natural polypeptides which may be of use in commercial applications for which known, naturally occurring polypeptides are not appropriate. Although the artificial proteins could contain an RGD sequence, the resulting bio-polymers have little resemblance with naturally occurring proteins, and will cause immunological problems in case of medical applications.
Cell attachment also plays an important role in medical applications such as wound treatment (including artificial skin materials), bone and cartilage (re)growth and implantations and artificial blood vessel materials. Thus in medical applications often the demand is that a material has a biocompatible coating in terms of cell attachment. In general collagen is preferred over structures like those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,581 since collagen has a low antigenicity and is present in both skin and bone or cartilage. Microcarriers coated with gelatine are applied, but also porous matrixes of collagen are used. An example is collagen coated beads to grow keratinocytes and the subsequent transplantation of the beads containing keratinocytes to promote healing of wounds is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,332. Another area of interest in relation to cell attachment is the blocking of attachment receptors of cells. For instance by blocking the attachment receptors cancer metastasis may be influenced or inhibited. Also smaller peptides with RGD sequences are used to block the binding sites on cells thus preventing unwanted interactions like aggregation or coagulation as described for example in EP 0,628,571.
There is however an urgently felt need for further improvements of materials for use in applications involving cell attachment. The fibronectin-mediated cell attachment mechanism is effectuated to attach cells to natural gelatines. However, natural gelatines are not safe in terms of prion and virus impurities. The RGD mediated mechanism for cell attachment is effectuated by several artificial bio-polymers, produced by chemical or by recombinant DNA technologies. However, these materials have non-natural sequences and have a risk of initiating an immunological response which could result in serious medical problems.
Whereas often the terms 'collagen', 'collagen-related', collagen-derived' or the like are also used in the art, the term 'gelatine' or 'gelatine-like' protein will be used throughout the rest of this description. Natural gelatine is a mixture of individual polymers with MW's ranging from 5,000 up to more than 400,000 daltons. The terms cell adhesion and cell attachment are used interchangeably. Also the terms RGD sequence and RGD motif are used interchangeably.

Drug delivery system comprising an RGD-enriched gelatine


A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming an absorber on a substrate, and supporting a cap layer over the substrate to define a cavity between the substrate and the cap layer in which the absorber is located. The method further includes forming a lens layer on the cap layer. The lens layer is spaced apart from the cavity and defines a plurality of grooves and an opening located over the absorber.

Infrared radiation (IR) sensors are used in a variety of applications to detect infrared radiation and to provide an electrical output that is a measure of the infrared radiation incident thereon. IR sensors typically use either photonic detectors or thermal detectors for detecting the infrared radiation. Photonic detectors detect incident photons by using the energy of the photons to excite charge carriers in a material. The excitation of the material is then detected electronically. Thermal detectors also detect photons. Thermal detectors, however, use the energy of the photons to increase the temperature of a component. By measuring the change in temperature, the intensity of the photons producing the change in temperature can be determined.
Photonic detectors typically have higher sensitivity and faster response times than thermal detectors. However, photonic detectors must be cryogenically cooled in order to minimize thermal interference, thus increasing the cost, complexity, weight, and power consumption of the device. In contrast, thermal detectors operate at room temperature, thus avoiding the cooling required by photonic detector devices. As a result, thermal detector devices can typically have smaller sizes, lower costs, and lower power consumption than photonic detector devices.
One type of infrared thermal detector is a bolometer device. A bolometer device includes an absorber element for absorbing infrared radiation, a transducer element that has an electrical resistance that varies with temperature, and a substrate. In use, infrared radiation incident upon the bolometer device is absorbed by the absorber element, and the heat generated by the absorbed radiation is transferred to the transducer element. As the transducer element heats in response to the absorbed radiation, the electrical resistance of the transducer element changes in a predetermined manner. By detecting changes in the electrical resistance, a measure of the incident infrared radiation can be obtained.
Bolometer devices must first absorb incident infrared radiation to induce a change in temperature. Typically, however, infrared radiation is dispersed on the absorber as well as portions of the bolometer device that are not configured to absorb infrared radiation, such as the substrate. Accordingly, the efficiency of the bolometer device is less than 100% since the absorber is exposed to only a portion of the incident infrared radiation.
It would be desirable to focus the infrared radiation onto the absorber using a focusing device. Known devices for focusing infrared radiation, however, are very expensive and are typically made using germanium. Furthermore, the cost of known focusing devices for infrared radiation typically exceeds the cost of the bolometer by at least an order of magnitude. Accordingly, while known bolometer devices are effective, there is a constant need to increase the efficiency of bolometer devices, simplify the fabrication, and/or to decrease the production cost of such devices.

MEMS infrared sensor including a plasmonic lens