[Problem to be Solved] To provide a property measuring device for measuring a measurement object, which can highly reliably extract an electric signal serving as the measurement object from an electromagnetic field noise or the like generated by an acoustic wave generating source even if the acoustic wave is a continuous wave, while a high spatial resolution is maintained, by using an acoustic wave as a properly measuring means for measuring an object and method thereof.

Non-Patent Document 1 reports that, when magnetization of a ferromagnetic thin film is time-modulated, radiation of a coherent terahertz electromagnetic wave is observed. However, the technique described in Document 1 merely discloses magnetized modulation not by emitting an acoustic wave, but by emitting femtosecond laser light.
In addition, measurement by an acoustic wave (typically, supersonic wave) is also popularly used as a non-destructive inspection of various structures. This is because the acoustic wave has an advantage of having a high internal transmittance for an object such as a metal or a concrete block through which transmission of light is usually difficult. However, the use of such an acoustic wave has been limited to inspections or diagnoses of a mass density distribution and elastic property of a measurement object.
Under the aforementioned circumstances, the inventor of the present invention proposes a property measuring device for measuring a measurement object by an acoustically stimulated electromagnetic field which is applicable to various types of objects as measurement objects, and a method thereof (Patent Document 1).

Property measuring device for object to be measured and property measuring method for object to be measured

Abstract: [Means for Solving the Problem] A property measuring device 100 for measuring a measurement object of the present invention includes: an acoustic wave emitting portion 40 arranged away from a measurement object 90 and emitting an amplitude-modulated acoustic wave; a receiver 50 for receiving an electromagnetic field generated when the acoustic wave is emitted to the measurement object 90; and a measuring portion 60 for extracting at least one type of properties selected from a group consisting of an electric property, a magnetic property, an electromechanical property, and a magnetomechanical property of the measurement object 90, based on at least one measurement selected from a group consisting of measurements of a strength, a phase, and a frequency of the electromagnetic field.

TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY


An antenna (100) has a low reluctance material (140) positioned to influence radiation pattern. The antenna (100) includes a radiator (110), and the low magnetic reluctance material (140) is positioned in close proximity to a particular side of the radiator (110). The low reluctance material (140) has a primary function of providing a preferred path for the magnetic field generated by the radiator (110), thus confining the magnetic energy and reducing radiation along at least one side of the antenna (100).

Planar, microstrip antennas have characteristics often sought for portable communication devices, including advantages in cost, efficiency, size, and weight. A planar antenna is typically formed by disposing a patch radiator on one side of a grounded dielectric substrate. So formed, the antenna is somewhat directional in that its radiation pattern is primarily directed outward from the patch radiator and away from the ground plane. However, some radiation inevitably spills around the ground plane in the opposite direction. This radiation flow is generally undesirable as the associated energy is often dissipated by absorptive materials that may be in close proximity. Such energy dissipation translates into a reduction of antenna efficiency.
Current trends demand a reduction in size, weight, and cost for portable communication devices. Smaller portable communication devices necessitates smaller antennas. Planar antennas show much promise in satisfying the need for antenna size, weight, and cost reduction. However, such smaller antennas are susceptible to efficiency losses from the close proximity of absorptive materials in and around the communication device. Accordingly, an improved design for antennas is needed.

Antenna with low reluctance material positioned to influence radiation pattern


An approval authority registration system 100 which includes terminals 101a1-101an, a personal information database 103, and a server 102 interconnected via a network. The approval authority registration system 100 registers, with the personal information database 103, approval relation information which shows relationships between approval-authorized persons and approval object persons who are both users of the approval authority registration system 100. The server 102 receives, from a user via a terminal, a registration request requesting registration of a piece of approval relation information, judges whether the user who input the registration request matches either an approval-authorized person or an approval object person specified in the requested piece of approval relation information, and registers the piece of approval relation information with the database 103 if it judges that the user matches neither the specified approval-authorized person nor the specified approval object person.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an approval authority registration system which comprises terminals, a database, and a database management apparatus interconnected via a network, and in particular relates to an approval authority registration system that registers, with the database, approval relation information sent from the terminals which shows relationships between approval-authorized persons and approval object persons.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In conventional organizations such as companies, the clerical process of registering information of the correspondence between superiors and subordinates or the clerical process of transferring a request for approval from a subordinate to a superior has been dealt with collectively by a specific department, such as the accounting department or the personnel department, which is indirect to the parties concerned. With such a system structure, the employees can focus their energy on doing their own work, and the specific department can collectively manage the clerical processes of the other departments from an independent point of view. This makes it possible to effectively prevent fraudulent activities such as a fraudulent registration of correspondence between a superior and a subordinate in terms of approvals.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 8-180114
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-315234
However, due to the quickly changing industrial structures in recent years, business operations are often reorganizing or newly creating organization units to go with the flow of the times. This makes it difficult to maintain the collective management of clerical processes of the departments by such an independent department, making it inevitable to transfer at least part of the clerical processes to the other departments.

Approval authority registration system and method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Methods and apparatus for providing statistics on the number, distribution and/or flow of people or devices in a geographic region based on active wireless device counts are described. Wireless devices may be of different types e.g., cell phones, PDAs, etc. Wireless communications centers report the number and type of active devices in the geographic region serviced by the wireless communications center and/or indicate the number of devices entering/leaving the serviced region. The active wireless device information is correlated to one or more targeted geographical areas. Population counts are extrapolated from the device information for the targeted geographic areas. Traffic and/or flow information is generated from changes in the device counts or population estimates over time and/or from information on the number of active devices entering/leaving a region. Reports may include predictions of crowd population characteristics based on information about the types and/or number of different wireless devices being used.

It may be desirable to know the number, distribution, and/or flow of people and/or devices in a given geographic area. This desire may stem from, but is not limited to, security concerns when organizing an outdoor concert, the dispatching of rescue teams in the event of a natural disaster, or the need to measure the flow of cars to detect and possibly prevent traffic jams. Knowing the number of people in a given geographic area may help in the cases mentioned above. For example, the organizers of a concert may use the distribution of the spectators to place their security forces. Information on traffic flow can be used to redirect people around congested areas, etc.
Current techniques for estimating the number of people in a particular geographical area are mainly based on direct visual inspection and counting. This may involve monitoring of an area via video camera, and/or the use of physical counters at gates. Visual inspection and estimation techniques suffer from the subjective nature of human estimates, making the estimate a function of the individual doing the inspection. In addition, visual inspection techniques are stymied in situations where the people are not in plain sight. Another drawback to visual inspection techniques, e.g., where remote cameras are used, is that they can require expensive dedicated infrastructure, such as camera mounts and communications links along a highway. Alternative techniques, e.g., automated techniques for estimating the number of people in an area that do not depend on visual inspection, are desirable.
In particular there is a need for techniques for counting people that eliminates the dependence on visual inspection, and eliminates variations due to the personal judgment of a person doing the counting.

Methods and apparatus for extrapolating person and device counts


An analog-to-digital converter according to the present invention comprising a comparator having first and second inputs, and an output, the comparator comparing an analog input voltage at the first input to a tracking voltage at the second input to place a digital output on the comparator output in response thereto, a voltage switching matrix having an input connected to the output of the comparator and an output, an integrator having an input connected to the output of the voltage switching matrix and an output connected to the second input of the comparator to complete a feedback loop and to provide the tracking signal to the second input of the comparator, and a digital filter coupled to the output of the comparator, the digital filter to form a digital output corresponding to the analog input signal at the first input of the comparator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. More particularly, the present invention relates to techniques for A/D conversion using a delta-sigma modulator.
2. The Prior Art
Many techniques are known in the prior art for A/D conversion. Each of these A/D techniques has advantages which correspond to the application in which the A/D conversion is being performed. Choosing the A/D conversion technique to be used in a particular application can depend on the consideration of at least the speed, accuracy, cost, dynamic range and power requirements of the application. The spectrum of A/D conversion techniques available in the prior art generally fall into one of two categories.
In the first category are A/D techniques where the analog input signal is directly compared to a digital reference value. The digital value output from the A/D conversion is equal to the digital reference value which most closely compares to the analog input signal. This category of A/D converters is considered fast, however, to obtain high resolution with A/D techniques in this category is generally expensive. A/D techniques for direct comparison include, for example, parallel encoders and the successive approximation method.
In a parallel encoder, there are a plurality of comparators, each of which has the analog input signal connected to a first input. Comparison of the analog input voltage is made to a reference voltage connected to a second input of each of the comparators. The reference voltages supplied to each of the comparators all have different values. The values of the reference voltages are generally evenly spaced. The reference voltage corresponding most closely to the analog input signal as determined by a priority encoder constitutes the digital output of the A/D converter.
The successive approximation method is essentially a binary search performed by comparing the output of a D/A converter with the analog input signal. The value of the output of the D/A converter is usually set by a most significant bit input to the digital side of the D/A converter. The digital inputs to the D/A converter are changed until the analog output value of the D/A converter matches the value of the analog input signal. In a variation of this method, an up/down counter is used to generate the reference values presented to the digital side of the D/A converter. As the analog input changes, the up/down counter changes the reference values presented to the D/A converter to track the analog input voltage.
In the second category are techniques where the analog input is converted into a second quantity which is then used to represent the digital value corresponding to the analog input signal. The second quantity may be, for example, a pulse train at a frequency which varies to represent the value of the analog signal or a specific count generated for a specified time period, wherein the count is proportional to the analog value of the input signal during the specified time period. These techniques include voltage-to-frequency conversion, single-slope integration, dual-slope integration, and delta-sigma modulation.
In a voltage-to-frequency technique, the analog input controls the frequency of a variable frequency oscillator. The oscillator output charges a capacitor which is compared with the analog input signal. The oscillator frequency is varied until the input levels are the same. The frequency of the oscillator is proportional to the analog input signal.
In a single-slope integration, a ramp voltage is generated, usually by storing charge in a capacitor. During the time period the charge is being stored on the capacitor for comparison with the analog input signal, a counter is operating. When the ramp voltage equals the analog input voltage, the counter is stopped. The value in the counter is proportional to the analog input voltage. In a dual-slope integration, during a first fixed time period a current proportional to the analog input signal charges a capacitor. The charge on the capacitor is then discharged to zero at a constant rate. The length of time taken to discharge the capacitor to zero is proportional to the analog input.
In an A/D converter using prior art delta-sigma modulation techniques, an analog input signal is oversampled and fed into a differential amplifier which operates as a summing junction. The differential amplifier sums the analog input with a feedback signal that is the output of the delta-sigma modulator. The output of the differential amplifier thereby represents the change in the value of the analog input signal from one sample to the next.
By feeding back the output of the delta-sigma modulator into the differential amplifier, the output of the differential amplifier is kept at a zero average signal value. Because of this feature, a delta-sigma modulator is alternatively known in the art as a charge-balancing modulator. The successive outputs of the differential amplifier, which in summation represent a zero average signal value, are fed into an integrator for summation. The output of the integrator is fed into a comparator for comparison with a reference value. The comparators employed in the prior art require both positive and negative power supplies and a very accurate midpoint reference such as ground.
When the integrated value is above the reference value, the output of the delta-sigma modulator is a high value, and a high value is fed back to the differential amplifier. When the integrated value is below the reference value, the output of the delta-sigma modulator is a low value, and a low value is fed back to the differential amplifier. However, because the value of the signal being fed back is either a constant high or low value, the output of the differential amplifier cannot be a full rail-to-rail swing.
The high and low signals are treated as up/down signals which are filtered by a digital filter. The digital filter may be, for example, an up/down counter which accumulates the up/down signals. After processing a selected number of analog cycles, the output of the digital filter is used to determine the digital output of the A/D converter. The digital output is the average value of the analog input signal during the time represented by the selected number of analog samples.
One of the major advantages associated with delta-sigma modulators is that low resolution components can be used to process the analog input signal, and a high resolution digital output can be extracted because the analog input signal is oversampled. However, with the ever increasing use of digital signal processing in many different applications, there exists in delta-sigma modulators a need for greater design simplicity, and lower power requirements.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to perform an A/D conversion which converts an analog input voltage across the full scale of ground to Vdd in a comparator.
It is another object of the present invention to perform an A/D conversion using only a single power supply and a ground potential.
It is yet another object of the present invention to perform an A/D conversion with very low power operations.
It is additional object of the present invention to perform an A/D conversion wherein the accuracy of the capacitors in the feedback loop is not a high precision requirement.

Analog-to digital converter with delta-sigma modulator


An NMR excitation coil includes a plurality of conductive elements having varying lengths and arranged parallel to one another to define cylindrical volume. A planar loop connects one end of the conductive element together with the conductive segments between pairs of the conductive elements. A non-planar loop connects the other ends of the conductive elements with a series of conductive segments between pairs of the conductive elements. Some of the non-planar loop segments are formed by a coaxial cable having a central conductor connected between ends of two conductive elements and a shield the electrically floats. A separate capacitor is located in those segments of the two loops that are not formed by coaxial cables. Each capacitor has a capacitance which is defined by the inductance of the conductive elements connected to that capacitor.

The field of the invention is nuclear magnetic resonance imaging systems; and more particularly, to coils employed in such systems to excite the nuclei and receive electrical signals produced by the nuclei.
Any nucleus which possesses a magnetic moment attempts to align itself with the direction of the magnetic field in which it is located. In doing so, however, the nucleus precesses around this direction at a characteristic angular frequency (Larmor frequency) which is dependent on the strength of the magnetic field and on the properties of the specific nuclear species (the magnetogyric constant .gamma. of the nucleus). Nuclei which exhibit this phenomena are referred to herein as "spins".
When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B.sub.0). the individual magnetic moments of the spins in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. A net magnetic moment M.sub.z is produced in the direction of the polarizing field, but randomly oriented magnetic components in the perpendicular, or transverse, plane (X-Y plane) cancel one another. If the substance or tissue is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B.sub.1) which is in the X-Y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment (M.sub.z) may be rotated, or "tipped" , into the X-Y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment M.sub.t, which is rotating, or spinning, in the X-Y plane at the Larmor frequency. The practical value of this phenomenon resides in the electrical signal which is emitted by the excited spins after the excitation signal B.sub.1 is terminated. There are a wide variety of measurement sequences in which this nuclear magnetic resonance ("NMR") phenomena is exploited.
When utilizing NMR to produce images, a technique is employed to obtain NMR signals from specific locations in the subject. Typically, the region which is to be imaged (region of interest) is scanned by a sequence of NMR measurement cycles which vary according to the particular localization method being used. The resulting set of received NMR signals are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques. To perform such a scan, it is, of course, necessary to elicit NMR signals from specific locations in the subject. This is accomplished by employing magnetic fields (G.sub.x, G.sub.y, and G.sub.z) which have the same direction as the polarizing field B.sub.O, but which have a gradient along the respective X, Y and Z axes. The field gradients are produced by a trio of coils placed around the object being imaged. By controlling the strength of these gradients during each NMR cycle, the spatial distribution of spin excitation can be controlled and the location of the resulting NMR signals can be identified.
The excitation magnetic field near the Larmor frequency is produced by a separate coil placed adjacent the area of interest in the object being imaged. If an image of substantially the entire object is desired a large coil, often referred to as a "body coil" and extending around the entire object, is used to excite the spinning nuclei and receive the resultant electrical signals. In other situations when only a small portion of the object (such as the head of a medical patient) is to be imaged, a smaller radio frequency coil is placed about that portion of the object. The use of localized coils produce a more homogeneous excitation field within the desired portion.
One common type of radio frequency coil is cylindrical with a conductive loop at each end and axial conductive elements connecting the loops at periodic intervals around their circumference, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,680,548 and 4,692,705. In one version, capacitors are placed in the end loops between adjacent axial conductive elements. The coil formed an endless loop transmission matrix that is excited by two signals in quadrature to produce a rotating electromagnetic excitation field within the coil. Heretofore the RF excitation coils were symmetrical so that the electrical signals traveled uniformly around the coil to establish a highly homogeneous excitation field. Because of its shape and appearance, this coil structure is sometimes referred as a "birdcage".
Birdcage coils have been used in full body coils and in localized coils for the head of a patient. For this latter application the coil was slipped over the head until its end rested against the patient's shoulders. As the optimum imaging region is in the central portion of the coil due to field inhomogeneity near the ends, the ability of this type of head coil to image the neck of the patient is limited.

Asymmetric radio frequency coil for magnetic resonance imaging


This invention is directed to methods and compositions for treating hyperproliferative skin disorders utilizing a quinazoline derivative as an active ingredient.

Approximately four and one half million people in the U.S. are afflicted with psoriasis. Psoriasis is a skin disease often confined to localized areas of skin. It is typified by dry, scaly skin, abnormal thickening of epidermis, and rapid cell turnover in the skin. Psoriasis can be exacerbated by external factors including sun exposure, viral infections, and corticosteroid or beta-blocker use. Histologically, it is characterized by abnormalities including keratinocyte hyperplasia, abnormal differentiation sequence of keratinocytes in affected epidermis, and accumulation of leukocytes within the epidermis (Wright and Camplejohn, Eds., Psoriasis: Cell Proliferation, (Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 1983), pp. 147-295; Weinstein, et al., J. Invest. Dermatol., 85:579, 1985).
Other skin disorders characterized by skin cell hyperproliferation include actinic keratoses, seborrheic keratoses and skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma.
Infection with papilloma viruses also causes skin cell hyperproliferation (Zur Hausen, Int. Rev. Exp. Path., 25:307-326 (1983); Pfister, Rev. Phys. Biochem. Pharmacol., 99:111-181 (1984). Infection of cervix by certain papilloma viruses has been strongly linked to a majority of cervical cancers, the second largest cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide (Parkin, et al., Cancer, 41:184-187 (1988); Durst, et al., Oncogene, 1:251-256 (1987); Broker and Botchan, Cancer Cells--DNA Tumor Viruses, New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1986).
Keratinocyte hyperplasia in psoriasis is linked to overproduction of cytokines such as TG.alpha. and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) in affected skin (Krueger, et al., J. Invest. Dermatol., 94:1355-1405, 1990). EGF-R is a 180-kD cell-surface receptor whose activity is regulated by both EGF and TGF.alpha.. In psoriasis vulgaris, EGF-R persists throughout the epidermis from the basal layers to the stratum corneum. Such persistent EGF-R has been shown to be biologically active in vivo in nude mice (Nanney, et al., J. Invest. Dermatol., 98:296-301, 1992).
Suggested treatment for psoriasis includes direct inhibition of keratinocyte growth and inhibition of activated lymphocyte proliferation (Dvir et al., J. Cell Biol. 113:857-865, 1991). Many topical products currently available are irritating, messy or simply ineffective. Topical steroids account for 90% of the psoriasis market in the United States and have many side effects including cutaneous atrophy, telangiectasia, formation of striae and tachyphylaxis.

Psoriasis treatment with quinazoline compounds


The present invention provides a printing apparatus which is capable of estimate an amount of remaining ink with high accuracy by using ejection of ink from a printing head while restraining a consumption of ink during the estimation of the remaining ink amount, and also provides a method for estimating an amount of ink. An amount of ink ejected per unit time during the ink ejection for estimation of the remaining ink amount is set to be larger than an amount of ink ejected per unit time during printing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that is capable of estimating an amount of ink available for supply to a printing head, and a method for estimating an amount of ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in the field of printing apparatuses, such as printers, copiers and facsimiles, an ink-jet printing system employing a printing head capable of ejecting minuscule droplets of ink in response to a high-frequency driving signal has been widely used. In an ink-jet printing system which requires a user to replace an ink tank, it is important to notify the user of depletion of the ink in the ink tank. Especially, for devices, such as facsimiles, which do not allow transmitted data to be kept by a user, it should be avoided to perform a printing operation with no ink being ejected from the printing head (empty printing) due to depletion of ink. For this reason, it is desired to enhance the accuracy in estimating an amount of ink available for supply to the printing head (hereafter also referred to as "remaining ink amount").
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 03-259662 discloses a method for estimating a remaining ink amount on the basis of the temperature of a printing head and the value of a current flowing through the printing head. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 07-032608 discloses a method for estimating a remaining ink amount on the basis of vibration of a vibration plate which is being sprayed with ink. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 09-094947 discloses a method for estimating a remaining ink amount on the basis of a change in the current value caused when ejected ink is passing between optical elements. The common point among these methods is to detect whether or not ink has actually been ejected from a printing head by using some method while causing the printing head to operate in response to a signal instructing the printing head to eject ink. Moreover, another common point is to determine that the remaining ink amount is zero when ink is not ejected from the printing head. Being capable of detecting whether or not ink is actually ejected from the printing head, these methods for estimating an amount of ink achieve high accuracy in estimating a remaining ink amount.
However, although a remaining ink amount can be estimated with high accuracy in these methods, it is required that ink be actually ejected from the printing head in order to estimate the remaining ink amount. As a result, the amount of ink available for printing is reduced by that consumption needed for the estimation process.

Printing apparatus and method for estimating amount of ink


Disclosed are a structure for providing electrical isolation in a semiconductor substrate and an associated method for the structure's fabrication. The structure includes a deep trench isolation loop having a first depth disposed in the semiconductor substrate. A dielectric material is disposed in the deep trench isolation loop and one or more through silicon vias (TSVs), having a second depth, are disposed in the semiconductor substrate and within a perimeter of the deep trench isolation loop. A portion of the semiconductor substrate surrounding the deep trench isolation loop may be doped. A metallic filler may be disposed within the one or more TSVs and the metallic filler may be in direct electrical contact with the semiconductor substrate.

Integrated radio frequency (RF) technologies require low resistance, low inductance, and low capacitance paths from active components to ground for proper operation. However, as the frequency of operation increases, the inductance of certain interconnection structures, such as bond wires, significantly limits performance. Conventional solutions include through wafer vias (TWVs) extending to a backside ground connection of the wafer. To reduce intrinsic device capacitances, high resistivity silicon substrates having resistances of greater than 10 Ω/cm, for example, may be used. However, the use of grounded TWVs and high resistivity substrates within the same integrated technology may result in inadequate isolation between the devices within the substrate and the TWVs. For example, a heavily doped planar junction biased at 20V with respect to a 500 Ω/cm P-type substrate will result in a depletion region around the junction having a width of approximately 30 μm. Further increasing the bias voltage or the resistivity of the substrate will increase the width of this depletion region. If the TWV is located within this depletion region, the TWV will provide a source of carriers and recombination centers, resulting in excessive leakage current between the devices and the TWV.
To isolate the depletion region around the TWV, conventional solutions have utilized PN junction isolation. However, junction isolation requires the addition of a costly lithography step and long diffusion thermal cycles, which may not be compatible with the rest of the process sequence. In addition, diffusion of dopants from the junction may compromise the effectiveness of the high resistivity substrate unless very wide exclusion zones are maintained around the TWV.

Isolated through silicon vias in RF technologies


A functional garment comprises a first breast cup and a first cross strap, two opposite ends of which are attached to the inner and outer edges of the first breast cup, respectively. The functional garment can be used to simultaneously provide both orthopedic and breast augmentation benefits. A plurality of countervailing forces simultaneously provide force on the shoulders, to bring them back and/or the shoulder blades closer together, and the breasts, to bring them closer together and/or lift them.

An increase in visual appearance leads to many well-known benefits. Such benefits include an increase of self-esteem and confidence, which results in further physiological and physical benefits. Because of such cascading benefits, many garments have been developed and produced to increase one's physical appearance. One such class of garments is the push-up brassiere. The push-up bra elevates and draws the breasts together. This results in outlining the breast by way of creating cleavage and gives the appearance of an increased breast size.
Though currently known push-up bras increase visual appearance, they decrease physical health. The laws of physics state that every action leads to a counteraction. The design of a typical push-up bra includes a pair of cups, a pair of shoulder straps statically fixed to each cup, and a back strap statically fixed to each strap and shoulder strap. With the strap as the primary or only option for placing force on the breasts, the upward force lifting the breast must be counteracted by the shoulder straps pulling the shoulders downward. These countervailing forces lead to increased static and dynamic pressure or load on the shoulder girdle, back, and neck. This increased load leads to the wearer developing incorrect posture and stoop. Further disadvantaged results of wearing a typical push-up bra are protruding the thoracic section of the spine backwards, bending the head forward, flattening the chest, bringing the shoulders together, rounding the back, protruding the stomach forward, and protruding the shoulder-blades from the back. Incorrect posture can lead to alterations in one's overall skeletal structure, motor apparatus disorder, headaches, and malfunctions of the respiratory, nerve, and cardiovascular systems. Stoop leads to a droopy abdomen, spine aches, weakening of the sural and hip muscles, reduced waist mobility, flaccid face skin, appearance of a second chin, etc.
To improve posture and combat stoop, orthopedic bras have been developed. These orthopedic bras bring the shoulders back and shoulder blades together, thereby decreasing the pressure on the shoulders, back, and neck. Though an orthopedic bra has physical benefits, it results in reduced breast aesthetics. One result of pulling one's shoulders back is that the appearance of cleavage is greatly reduced and one's breasts begin to point outward, rather than forward.
Based on the problems given above and other problems, there is a need to correct one's posture and prevent stoop while also accentuating and increasing one's visual appearance.


An ophthalmologic photographing apparatus includes a light source having two or more types of light-emitting-diode (LED) light emitting elements configured to emit light of different wavelengths, an illumination optical system configured to illuminate a fundus of a subject's eye with light emitted by the light source, an imaging optical system configured to form a fundus image from light reflected from the fundus of the subject's eye illuminated by the illumination optical system, and a control unit configured to control the light source to emit light of different wavelengths, with which the fundus of the subject's eye is illuminated, between when the formed fundus image is observed and when the formed fundus image is captured as a still image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ophthalmologic photographing apparatus for photographing a fundus of a subject's eye.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fundus cameras are roughly classified into non-mydriatic fundus cameras and mydriatic fundus cameras. The non-mydriatic fundus camera captures an image of a fundus of a subject's eye with visible light after the subject's eye is observed with near-infrared light. The mydriatic fundus camera captures an image of a fundus of a subject's eye with visible light after the subject's eye, whose pupil is dilated with a mydriatic, is observed with visible light.
In the mydriatic fundus camera, a visible light cut-off filter is inserted in front of a halogen light source in order to prevent a pupil of a subject's eye from being narrowed with observation light. Consequently, only an infrared component of light emitted from the halogen light source is transmitted by the visible light cut-off filter and is irradiated on a fundus of a subject's eye. When photographing a fundus of a subject's eye, the fundus is photographed with visible light by causing a xenon light source to emit light.
Japanese Patent No. 3,004,276 discusses a non-mydriatic fundus camera using a light source for both observation and photographing, which can emit two types of light, i.e., visible light and infrared light, in order to simplify the light source unit employed.
The fundus camera discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3,004,276 switches between photographing light, which is visible light, and illumination light, which is infrared light, by insertion and removal of wavelength selecting filters, such as a visible light cut-off filter and an infrared light cut-off filter, into and out of the optical path of an illumination optical system. Thus, the fundus camera selects a wavelength of light, which is transmitted by the cut-off filter inserted into the optical path. However, the fundus camera using two types of filters, i.e., a visible cut-off filter and an infrared light cut-off filter, has a drawback in that the optical system is complicated and is increased in size.
With recent increases in the intensity of light emitted from light-emitting-diodes (LEDs), fundus cameras using an LED light emitting element as an illumination light source have been proposed. However, the emission wavelength band and the intensity of light emitted from an LED light emitting element are limited. Thus, it is difficult to configure a fundus camera to use a light source for both observation and photographing and to switch between visible light and infrared light using wavelength selecting filters, as discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3,004,276. Thus, a separate illumination light source optical system and observation light source optical system are needed. Consequently, it is difficult to reduce the system in size.


A dental crown removal apparatus is provided, including a handle for placement in an operator's hand, an elongated post projecting along a first axis, the post being connected for reciprocal motion with respect to the handle, a motor in the handle for moving the post, a tool adapter connected with the post opposite the handle, the tool adapter having an extension arm extending away from the handle with a pivot arm connected with the extension arm and spaced from the handle, and first and second opposing jaws having claw ends spring biased together, the first and second jaws having independent and unitary pivotal connection with the pivot arm.

Vibrating dental tools and, in particular, ultrasonic dental tools are known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,532 (Farzin-Nia et al.) teaches an ultrasonic tool for fracturing the interface between dental structures and, specifically, for the removal of orthodontic bands or brackets from teeth after the completion of treatment. The working tip of the tool may be wedge-shaped, flat or needle shaped. In one embodiment, a pair of spaced projections are disposed on either side of an engaging surface to provide a receiving area for the bracket to minimize slipping off. In use, the tip of the tool is placed against a bracket and ultrasonic energy is transferred through the bracket to the adhesive layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,119 (Carr) teaches a microsurgical drill bit, which can be connected to an ultrasonic transducer. The drilling tips are angled and may have bent end portions to permit the tool to be held at a comfortable angle.
While drilling devices and simple devices for the removal of adhesively connected dental structures are known, there is a need for a dental tool adapted for the removal of crowns and bridges.
The crowning and bridging of teeth is a common practice in dentistry. There are a number of indications for crowns and bridges. Some of the more common indications are: heavily restored teeth with little of the original teeth left; following root canal treatments; and bridges for the replacement of missing teeth. Crowns and bridges may also be used for aesthetic reasons.
When a tooth is prepared for a crown, the practitioner removes or shaves off the surface of the tooth to a depth of approximately 1.5 millimeter (mm). The practitioner generally then cements a temporary crown to the tooth. The practitioner then generally awaits lab work on the tooth, before cementing in a permanent crown.
There are many instances where a practitioner must remove a crown or bridge. One common instance is the removal of a temporary crown. This may prove particularly challenging where the temporary crown fits tightly over the original tooth. Another common instance is the removal of a permanent crown that has been temporarily cemented. This might occur, for example, where the practitioner wishes to obtain approval of the crown from the patient before permanently securing it. This might also occur where the practitioner wishes to ensure that tooth sensitivity will subside before permanently securing a crown.
Other common instances may arise after a crown has been permanently secured. For example, removal of a crown is required where there is a cavity underneath it and the practitioner does not wish to cut the crown to provide treatment. Similarly, a crown may need to be removed where it is necessary to perform a root canal on the underlying tooth. Yet another instance might be where one crown of a bridge becomes loose and the practitioner must remove the other crowns of the bridge in order to re-cement the bridge.
Existing crown removal tools generally involve the application of a blunt force to the crown, which often results in broken or fractured crowns or teeth. This can add complexity and expense to a dental procedure and, in addition, may cause additional discomfort to a patient. The inventor is aware of an ultrasonic crown removal tool, the ATD Automatic Crown & Bridge Remover by J. Morita, USA, Inc. This tool consists of ultrasonic steel string arranged as a loop and a pneumatic hook that attaches to a hand piece that causes slow movement of the hook. The steel string, while designed to assist with separating the crown from the root, suffers from a number of drawbacks. The steel string is difficult to position if the teeth are close together. Further, if the crown-tooth interface is smooth, the string will not catch at this position. The string also has trouble penetrating the crown-tooth junction. Finally, due to the application of pressure on one side of the crown or tooth-crown junction, the crown almost invariably breaks during the removal procedure, which adds to the complexity and expense of the procedure.
In the most recent chronicles of development of dental crown removal tools, U.S. Pat. No. 8,162,661 (Pona) brought forth a dental crown removal with substantial advantages over the prior art. Pona provides a dental crown removal tool with superior vertical grip on the crown on the tooth, while at the same time minimizing the transverse (or horizontal) force placed on the crown. Explained in a different manner, the Pona dental crown removal tool can apply superior pull force on the crown without slipping off the dental structure without horizontally crushing the underlying tooth underneath the crown.
It is desirable to provide a dental crown removal tool that exceeds the advantages brought forth by Pona and other dental crown removal tools currently known.


The invention pertains to a polyaryl ether sulfone polymer solution [solution (SP)] comprising: —at least one sulfone polymer [polymer (PSI)] having recurring units, wherein more than 50% moles, with respect to all the recurring units of polymer (PSI), are recurring units (RPSI) selected from the group consisting of those of formulae (RPSI-1) and (RPSI-2) herein below: (RPSI-1) (RPSI-2) wherein: —each of E′, equal to or different from each other and at each occurrence, is selected from the group consisting of those of formulae (E′-1) to (E′-3): (E′-I) (E′-II) (E′-III) —each R′ is independently selected from the group consisting of halogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, ether, thioether, carboxylic acid, ester, amide, imide, alkali or alkaline earth metal sulfonate, alkyl sulfonate, alkali or alkaline earth metal phosphonate, alkyl phosphonate, amine and quaternary ammonium; and —j′ is zero or an integer of 1 to 4; is a bond or a divalent group optionally comprising one or more than one heteroatom; preferably T is selected from the group consisting of a bond, —CH2—, —C(O)—, —C(CH3)2—, —C(CF3)2—, —C(═CCI2)—, —C(CH3)(CH2CH2—COOH)—, and a group of formula: (A) —at least one polar organic solvent [solvent (S)]; and —at least one mixture of polyhydroxyl aliphatic alcohols having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms or derivatives thereof [mixture (PHA)], said mixture (PHA) comprising at least one ethylene glycol compound [compound (EthyGly)] and at least one glycerol compound [compound (Gly)], to its use for manufacturing membranes, and to membranes obtained therefrom.

Aromatic polysulfones having para-linked diphenylenesulfone group as part of their backbone repeat units are a class of thermoplastic polymers characterized by high glass-transition temperatures, good mechanical strength and stiffness, and outstanding thermal and oxidative resistance. By virtue of their mechanical, thermal, and other desirable characteristics, these polymers enjoy an increasingly wide and diversified range of commercial applications, including notably coatings and membranes for wide field of use.
Polyarylene ether sulfones derived from bio-based feed-stocks have been described in the art, as part of efforts oriented towards reduction of the amount of petroleum consumed in the chemical industry and to open new high-value-added markets to agriculture; 1,4:3,6-dianhydrohexitols are examples of such chemicals used as bio-based feed-stock, which because of their bicyclic constrained geometry, and their oxygenated rings can deliver advantageous features when incorporated into poly aryl ether sulfone structures. Also the innocuous character of the molecules opens the possibility of applications in packaging or medical devices, e.g. for haemodialysis membranes.
Depending on the chirality, three isomers of the 1,4:3,6-dianhydrohexitols sugar diol exist, namely isosorbide (1), isomannide (2) and isoidide (3):
The 1,4:3,6-dianhydrohexitols are composed of two cis-fused tetrahydrofuran rings, nearly planar and V-shaped with a 120° angle between rings. The hydroxyl groups are situated at carbons 2 and 5 and positioned on either inside or outside the V-shaped molecule. They are designated, respectively, as endo or exo. Isoidide (1) has two exo hydroxyl groups, whereas for isomannide (2) they are both endo, and for isosorbide (3) there is one exo and one endo hydroxyl group. It is generally understood that the presence of the exo substituent increases the stability of the cycle to which it is attached. Also, exo and endo groups exhibit different reactivities since they are more or less accessible depending on the steric requirements of the studied reaction. The reactivity also depends on the existence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds.
Within this frame, Kricheldorf et al. first reported the preparation and characterization of poly(ether sulfone)s containing isosorbide moieties in 1995 (H. Kricheldorf, M. Al Masri, J. Polymer Sci., Pt A: Polymer Chemistry, 1995, 33, 2667-2671), although of limited molecular weight and through complex synthetic routes. More recent developments have made available poly ether sulfones comprising isosorbide groups through simpler and more effective synthetic methods, so delivering materials of higher molecular weight through an approach which can be scaled up to industrial level. Hence, WO 2014/072473 (SOLVAY SPECIALTY POLYMERS USA, LLC) 15 May 2014 provides for an improved method of making poly(arylether sulfone) polymers from 1,4:3,6-dianhydrohexitol and certain dihaloaryl compounds which enables obtaining polymers having increased molecular weight. Polysulfone isosorbide materials described therein are taught as notably useful for the manufacture of membranes, although no specific example of the actual manufacture of membranes, and more specifically of hollow fiber membranes, is provided.
Manufacturing techniques for industrial production of membranes generally include the preparation of solutions of polyaryl ether sulfone polymers in suitable solvents, possibly in combination with specific pore forming agents. According to these techniques, a clear polymer solution, often referred to as a dope or a dope solution, is precipitated into two phases: a solid, polymer-rich phase that forms the matrix of the membrane, and a liquid, polymer-poor phase that forms the membrane pores. Polymer precipitation from a solution is generally induced by contacting the dope with a non-solvent, causing hence polymer to coagulate.
In these techniques, it remains nevertheless key to provide for dope solutions of polymer, which are able, when exposed to precipitation conditions, as above detailed, to coagulate in an uniform and regular manner, so as to deliver a structure characterized by high porosity in the form of very small pores, homogeneously distributed throughout the entire membrane section.
The present invention thus provides an advantageous dope solution which enables manufacturing membranes, in particular hollow fiber membranes, possessing high porosity achieved through spongy-like morphology (made of micro-voids), good water permeability and good mechanical properties, yet deprived of large pores/macro-voids of size exceeding 3-5 μm, whose presence is detrimental in certain types of operations, in particular when membranes are intended for use under pressure.
Further, in addition, the hereby provided dope solution is able to deliver the said advantageous spongy-like porosity through the use of water as coagulation bath, with no need of using softer fluids (e.g. alcohols) in the said coagulation bath.

Composition and method for manufacturing sulfone polymer membrane


The present invention relates to an assembly for the improved connection or termination of one or more minerally insulated cables, the assembly comprising an electrically insulating plate comprising one or more channels to accommodate and support one or more inward cables; one or more channels to accommodate and support one or more outward cables; one or more recesses to accommodate one or more electrical components; one or more terminal studs arranged to connect said at least one inward and outward cable; and a protective cover comprising one or more protective plates locatable over the electrically insulating plate and cables and further comprising one or more recesses located so as to provide access to each of the one or more terminal studs.

In the case of a typical connector and/or terminal for electrical applications, shaped conductors such as terminal tags are often clamped to a standard wire. As such, it is typical for connectors and terminals to use multiple connecting methods within a given assembly. Such methods typically include one or more of mechanical and/or electrical connecting means, wherein connectors or terminals project from an article for subsequent electrical connection. Accordingly, terminal tags provide a traditional means of mechanical and/or electrical connection.
Most typically, wires are mechanically and/or electrically connected to terminal tags via soldering or crimping methods to provide a mechanical and electrical contact. As such, the terminal tags are shaped, for example, at one end to mechanically and electrically receive and prevent the withdrawal of a wire, whilst being shaped at the opposing end for mechanical and electrical interaction with a terminal or connection point. In use, the tag ensures that the wire is electrically connected to the connector and/or terminal via a means which is of increased reliability than via direct attachment of the wire. Thus, through insertion of the female portion of the terminal tag into the male portion of the connector and/or terminal, a reliable electrical contact may be established.
In high temperature electrical applications, it is most typical for "Minerally Insulated" cable, also known as MI cable, to be used. Therein, a flexible metal tube/casing is typically filled with one or more wires, the wires of which are often prevented from coming into contact with both each other and the casing by filing the tube with a mineral powder to provide both an electrical- and heat-insulating portion. In particular, the incorporation of a heat-insulating portion makes MI cable particularly suitable for use in high-temperature environments or applications.
Of particular difficulty when using MI cable is connection and termination of the cable within a given electrical system. In particular, pot seals are known as a viable means for both connecting and terminating MI cable. It is most typical for MI cable to be fed into a casing, which is most typically metal and thereby referred to as a pot. However, MI cable is notoriously difficult to terminate and/or connect to other components using these methods, and these terminations are easily damaged, rendering the connections unreliable. When using MI cable in a high temperature attachment, and wherein there exists a need to terminate and/or connect electrical applications, a pot seal may be used in conjunction with a terminal tag in order to provide a sufficient mechanical and/or electrical connection. It may also be required that the MI cable be subsequently welded, braised or soldered to the terminal tag in order to provide additional strength and or connectivity.
In particular, it is well known that MI cable is notoriously difficult to terminate and/or connect whilst maintaining resistance to high temperature operating environments. In this regard, it will be appreciated that connecting or terminating MI cable in a high temperature environment exposes the delicate internal cabling to high temperatures, thus removing the benefit of the insulating portion. Furthermore, it is known that MI cable is notoriously prone to damage due to its brittle nature. In particular, damage often occurs to exposed MI cabling and/or pot seals through external interaction. For example, damage may occur through articles being dropped on to the cabling or terminating/connecting means or, for example, through differential vibration within the structure.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an improved connector suitable for the connection or termination of MI cable without the aforementioned disadvantages.


A Gaussian blur approximation is applied to an image by repeated down-sampling operations followed by an up-sample operation. By using a truncated Gaussian filter as the down-sample filter, the frequency spectrum removed during down-sampling operations closely approximates the frequency spectrum lost during a true Gaussian blur operation. While any “good” up-sample filter may be used, up-sampling via linear interpolation may be especially beneficial in systems having a dedicated graphics processing unit. One benefit of the described technique is that it is computationally less costly to implement than a Gaussian blur. Another benefit is that this computational benefit increases as the size of the blur increases—becoming significant even for small blurs. Yet another benefit of the invention is that a judicious selection of pixel address to convolve with the filter leads to substantially reduced number of texture lookups required to effect a convolution.

The invention relates generally to the field of computer graphics processing and, more particularly, to an improved means for generating a Gaussian blur. The subject matter of the invention is generally related to the following jointly owned and co-pending patent applications: "Improved Blur Computation Algorithm" by Mark Zimmer, Ser. No. 10/826,596; and "System for Optimizing Graphics Operations" by John Harper, Ralph Brunner, Peter Graffagnino, and Mark Zimmer, Ser. No. 10/825,694, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In the object-oriented programming context of most modern graphics processing systems, there are generally five types of objects available to a programmer: images; filters; contexts; vectors; and textures. An image is generally either the two dimensional result of a rendering operation (a bitmap or raster image) or a vector representation of the same. A filter is generally a collection of one or more high-level functions that are used to affect images. A context is a space, such as a defined place in memory where the result of a filtering operation is stored. A vector is a collection of floating point numbers, for example, the four dimensional vector used to describe the appearance of a pixel (red, blue, green and transparency levels). A texture is a representation or description of an object's surface and may describe properties such as, for example, the surface's smoothness, coarseness, regularity, color, brightness and transparency. Each of these definitions is somewhat exemplary in nature, and the foregoing definitions should not be considered exclusive or otherwise overly restrictive.
Most relevant to the purposes of the present invention are images and filters. A relatively common filter applied to images is a blur. Blur filtering is used to generate shadows, depict cinematic motion, defocus an image, sharpen an image, render clean line art, detect edges and many other professional photographic effects. Well-known blur filters include, but are not limited to, the: Gaussian blur (simulates shooting a subject with an out-of-focus lens); box blur (changes the color value of each pixel based on the pixels next to it in the vertical and horizontal directions to quickly create a blur effect); channel blur (used to produce a blur in one or more individual image channels—i.e., red, green, blue and transparency channels); dolly blur (creates blurs that increase radially outwards from a defined center point); roll blur (simulate the blur created when a camera or object is spun on its own axis); and motion blurs (simulate the blur created by fast-moving objects).
In practice, the Gaussian blur provides the most realistic (highest quality) and visually pleasing blur effect. For these and other reasons, Gaussian blurs are among the most popular image processing operations used. Unfortunately, implementation of Gaussian blurs in a conventional manner are computationally intensive operations, requiring approximately 2 w multiply-adds per pixel, where "w" represents the radius of the blur. To avoid this computational cost, it is common to use repeated box or IIR (infinite impulse response) blurs—both of which are computationally less expensive.
Many modern computer systems include dedicated graphics hardware—programmable graphics processing units ("GPUs"). One type of GPU program, referred to as fragment programs, allow programmers to directly compute an image by specifying the program that computes a single pixel of that image. This program is run in parallel, operating on many pixels at once, by the GPU to produce the result image. Because multiple pixels are processed at a single time by dedicated hardware, GPUs can provide dramatically improved image processing capability (e.g., speed) over methods that relied on a computer system's central processing unit ("CPU") which is also responsible for performing other system and application duties.
Because Gaussian blurs form the cornerstone of many image processing algorithms, it has become important to compute them efficiently. As noted above, one means of generating a Gaussian-like blur is to cascade a series of box blur operations. Unfortunately, cascading box blurs cannot be efficiently implemented by GPUs because such operations require the ability to sum values across a number of rows and/or columns—current GPU architectures do not inherently support such operations and, as a result, are inefficient to implement. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a mechanism to efficiently approximate Gaussian blurs using GPU hardware.

Gaussian blur approximation suitable for GPU


A system for displaying images employing an organic electroluminescent device is provided. The organic electroluminescent device includes a first substrate with an inside surface; an organic electroluminescent pixels array disposed on the inside surface of the first substrate; a second substrate with an inside surface, wherein the inside surface of the second substrate is opposite to the inside surface of the first substrate; a color filter layer disposed on the inside surface of the second substrate; and an opaque frit sealing layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, wherein the opaque frit sealing layer is separated from the organic electroluminescent pixels array by a dummy region and is encapsulating the organic electroluminescent pixel array between the first substrate and second substrate, and wherein the dummy region is filled up with a black matrix material, a frit sealing layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image display system, and in particular relates to an image display system having an organic electroluminescent device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) use an organic electroluminescent layer. The trend in organic electroluminescent display technology is for higher luminescent efficiency and longer lifetime. As a result, an active matrix organic electroluminescent device with thin film transistors has been developed. The active matrix organic electroluminescent device has panel luminescence with thin and lightweight characteristics, spontaneous luminescence with high luminescent efficiency and low driving voltage, and advantages of increased viewing angle, high contrast, high-response speed, and full color. However, since the organic electroluminescent device is easily damaged by ambient humidity and air penetration, the organic electroluminescent device has poor stability in general.
Therefore, in the fabrication of the organic electroluminescent device, a sealing process for protecting the organic electroluminescent pixels array of the organic electroluminescent device from the outside may be performed. For example, a sealant such as an epoxy resin is disposed on the edges of am encapsulating cover for encapsulating the organic electroluminescent device, and the encapsulating cover has a cavity for containing an absorbent. However, since it is not possible to completely prevent moisture and oxygen from permeating from the outside into the organic electroluminescent device by the above-described methods, the organic electroluminescent device may be deteriorated after operating for a period of time.
In order to solve the aforementioned problem, an organic electroluminescent device 10 sealed with a low-melting sealing glass has been disclosed. Please referring to FIG. 1, the organic electroluminescent device 10 has a substrate 12, and an organic electroluminescent pixels array 14 is formed on the substrate 12. A package substrate 16 is disposed opposite to the substrate 12, and a low-melting sealing glass 18 is used to seal the substrate 12 with the package substrate 16, defining a space containing the organic electroluminescent pixels array 14. It should be noted that, since the low-melting sealing glass is cured by a laser curing process, the low-melting sealing glass 18 should be separated with a predetermined distance D from the organic electroluminescent pixels array 14 (forming a gap 15) in order to prevent the organic electroluminescent pixels array 14 from the heat generated during the laser curing process. Further, the organic electroluminescent device 10 must have a polarizing film 12 disposed on the package substrate 16, in order to prevent the reflective ambient light (incident from the gap 15 and passed through the low-melting sealing glass) from degrading the display performance of the organic electroluminescent device 10. However, the additional process for forming the polarizing film results in a longer manufacturing time and higher cost and reduces the yield of the organic electroluminescent device.
Therefore, a novel organic electroluminescent device which overcomes the above problems is desired


A system and method for streaming whiteboard content to computing devices in a networked environment. The invention is an extension of whiteboard image generation technology to provide network-based collaboration of a target meeting. In one aspect, each networked client can receive audio content and whiteboard content (video images). In another aspect, each networked client can transmit audio content and annotation content which is displayed separately or generated on the whiteboard image. The streaming content is built on external collaboration frameworks.

1. Technical Field
This invention is directed toward a system and method for method for streaming whiteboard content to computing devices in a networked environment. More specifically, the invention is directed toward a system and method for sending a sequence of enhanced whiteboard images to one or more remote meeting participants in real-time to allow network-based collaboration for all meeting participants during a meeting
2. Background Art
Meetings constitute a large part of many workers' working time. Making more efficient use of this time spent in meetings and the time and money spent traveling to and from meetings translates into a big increase in productivity and large cost savings.
Many meeting scenarios use a whiteboard extensively for brainstorming sessions, lectures, project planning meetings, patent disclosures, and so on. Note-taking and copying what is written on the board often interferes with many participants' active contribution and involvement during these meetings. As a result, some efforts have been undertaken to capture whiteboard content in some automated fashion.
Every business depends on the free flow of information and ideas to improve their products and services. Effective collaboration between people both inside and outside an organization increases product quality, improves product or project development lead times, and reduces costs. However, effective collaboration is often difficult. One issue that hinders effective meetings is that often people are not physically co-located. Traveling to meetings can be very time-consuming when considering lengthy travel times, and can be expensive. For a two or three hour meeting people often will travel a day to the meeting and a day back, especially if the meeting is across country or located in another country or on another continent.
Hence, there exists a great need to improve the ease of having a meeting with many participants that are not physically co-located that allows such remote participants to participate in the meeting in real time and share their ideas.

System and method for real-time whiteboard streaming


The system and method herein adjust tempo of an audio recording to match audio events to video events or other audio events in an audio-visual recording. The process of fitting an audio segment to a video or audio segment can include receiving a reference indicating a location in a recorded signal where the reference indicates a desired audio tempo change location in the recorded signal and providing a tempo for an audio recording to be at least partially included in the recorded signal. The tempo is provided to fit the audio recording to a section of the recorded signal marked by the reference.

A wide variety of computer systems have been used to create, edit, deliver, and store recorded digital signals, such as, music and video. Such computer systems generally include commercially-available computer program products which allow people to create music and/or videos from multiple recorded signals, edit the music and/or videos in a variety of ways including combining and changing multiple recorded signals, and store the music and/or video in some medium that allows the user to deliver the music and/or video in some fashion. Examples of such computer program products include programs, such as, ACID™, VEGAS® Video and Vegas Audio, and SIREN™ Juke Box software programs developed and sold by Sonic Foundry, Inc., of Madison, Wis. These exemplary programs are described and can be purchased on the Internet at http://www.sonicfoundry.com.
Such computer-readable recorded signals (of music and/or videos) can be stored in a variety of different computer storage formats. A wide variety of computer file formats can be used to store recorded signals, depending on the software application used and file format selected. Example file formats include the Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 Audio (MP3) audio file format, MICROSOFT wave (WAV) audio file format, Windows Media Audio (WMA) audio file format, QUICKTIME audio-video format, or audio video interleave (AVI) format.
Heretofore, music and/or videos have been produced using computers and other electronic devices. Therefore, such music or videos can include rhythms which repeat at very precise intervals. Disc jockeys, for example, count on the precision of such rhythms to synchronize playback and create new mixes of music. Producers of videos, as another example, utilize the effects of changing musical rhythms, volume, and other such effects to achieve a variety of results in videos. Computer systems can be particularly helpful in the synchronization and manipulation of such music and/or videos because of the capacity of computers to combine and process audio and video signals, maintain large libraries of songs and visual images, and store such creations for later delivery.
One of the challenges in matching audio and video is the need to adjust the tempo of the audio as to have it coincide with the video or other audio. For example, when a video scene changes from a slow moving pastoral scene to a series of action shots, a video producer or composer may want the style and tempo of the music to reflect this change. Arranging the music such that the downbeat (i.e., the strongest beat in a measure of music) of the musical phrase is synchronized with a change in scene can emphasize or complement the video, making for a better experience for the viewer. Nevertheless, computer programs have not heretofore provided for the adjustment of tempo to match audio and video or other audio.
Thus, there is a need to synchronize audio and video changes such that music changes with the accompanying video in a way that makes sense visually and audibly. Further, there is a need to determine the tempo of a portion of music such that one phrase ends and another begins at a frame of video or portion of audio that the producer or composer wants to emphasize or complement. Even further, there is a need to automate the process of calculating and creating a musical tempo map to facilitate the synchronization of audio to video or other audio.
The teachings hereinbelow extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned needs.

System for and method of adjusting tempo to match audio events to video events or other audio events in a recorded signal


This invention relates to a machine for insertion of plastic helical bookbinding coils in the aligned holes at the edge of a book for binding the book. The machine comprises a platen for receiving the collated book; a coil engagement roller for engaging the coil at the edge of the platen and a coil drive roller for rotating the helical coil.

It is well known that collated books are often bound using a helical coil which passes through aligned holes at one edge of the book. This provides a book which can be easily opened and held at an opened position and is therefore particularly effective for manuals and reference materials.
The helical coil at the edge of the book can be formed from a coiled wire or a coiled strip of plastic material. The coiled wire has the significant advantage that it can be more easily inserted. The helical plastic coil has the advantages that it can be manufactured in different colours and therefore provides a particularly attractive appearance as opposed to the strictly utilitarian appearance of the steel wire.
The major disadvantage of the plastic coil is that it is necessarily thicker and the surface is more resistant to insertion into the aligned holes at the edge of the book so that the plastic coil is significantly more difficult to insert.
This difficulty in insertion has led firstly to an inability to automate the process so that it is normally carried out by hand. Secondly, this difficulty in insertion has led to resistance by the trade binderies to the use of plastic coil due to the difficulty in finding effective skilled labour that can carry out the insertion at a reasonable cost.
Up until now, therefore, there has been no effective commercial machine which provides automation of the insertion process.


An amplifier circuit comprises a first capacitance having one end that communicates with an input of a first amplifier stage. An amplifier has a first gain, an input that communicates with an opposite end of the first capacitance, and an output. A second capacitance has a first end that communicates with the output of the amplifier and an opposite end that communicates with an input of a second amplifier stage. A broadband buffer has an input that communicates with the output of the amplifier and an output that communicates with the one end of the second capacitance.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Referring now to FIG. 1, an amplifier circuit 10 without compensation is shown. A voltage source Vi delivers voltage through an impedance Z1 to an inverting input of an amplifier 16. A non-inverting input of the amplifier 16 is coupled to a reference potential such as ground. The inverting input of the amplifier 16 is coupled through a feedback impedance Z2 to an output of the amplifier 16. A load capacitance CL is coupled to the output of the amplifier 16. An output voltage VO is taken at the output of the amplifier 16. The impedances Z1 and Z2 can be resistive, capacitive and/or short circuits.
Because power supply voltage levels have been reduced to decrease the power dissipation of a host device, it has become more difficult to supply voltage to the required transistors when they are arranged in a single amplifier stage. Therefore, the amplifier 16 is sometimes implemented using two or more amplifier stages. When two or more stages are required, compensation is also typically required to increase the gain and/or bandwidth of the amplifier circuit.
Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a two stage amplifier circuit 18 with Miller compensation is shown. The amplifier 16 includes a first amplifier stage 20 having a first transconductance gm1 and a second amplifier stage 22 having a second transconductance gm2. The output of the first amplifier stage 20 is connected to an inverting input of the second amplifier stage 22. Compensation is provided by a Miller capacitor Cm having one end that is connected to the input of the second amplifier stage 22. Another end of the Miller capacitor Cm is connected to the output of the second amplifier stage 22.
The most relevant characteristics of an amplifier circuit are gain and bandwidth. The following discussion sets forth the open loop DC gain and the bandwidth of the circuit in FIG. 2B both with and without the Miller capacitance Cm. To correctly identify the bandwidth, a parasitic capacitance Cp of the second amplifier stage 22 and internal resistances R1 an R2 of the first and second amplifier stages 20 and 22 are considered as shown in FIG. 2B.
In order to derive the bandwidth, an open loop response technique is used. The open loop response technique provides information relating to the bandwidth and maximum achievable bandwidth of a circuit. The DC gain of the open loop response is determined by opening the feedback loop adjacent to the output of the second amplifier stage and attaching a voltage source to one end of the feedback loop. The output voltage is sensed at the other end of the feedback loop as shown in FIG. 2B.
To derive the bandwidth, the DC gain of the open loop response and the first dominant pole P1 are found. Assuming stable operation, there is only one pole P1 that is located below a crossover frequency. The crossover frequency is the product of the DC gain of the open loop response and the first dominant pole P1. The crossover frequency defines the bandwidth of the closed loop amplifier. The maximum available bandwidth is related to the second non-dominant pole P2.
Referring now to FIG. 3, the response of the amplifier circuit of FIG. 2B without the Miller compensation capacitor Cm is shown. The DC gain of the open loop response is
            Z      1                      Z        1            +              Z        2                    g    m1          R    1          g    m2          R    2  and the circuit has a first pole at
  1            C      P                  R      1      and a second pole at
      1                  C        L                          R        2              .The first and second poles occur at frequencies that are relatively close together. The dominant pole of the first and second poles will depend upon the values of CL, CP, R1 and R2.
Referring now to FIG. 4, the response of the amplifier circuit of FIG. 2B with the Miller compensation capacitor Cm is shown. The DC gain of the open loop response is the same as the amplifier circuit without the Miller compensation capacitor Cm. The circuit has a dominant pole at
      1                  (                              C            P                    +                                    C              m                                                  A              2                                      )                          R        1              =            1                        (                                    C              P                        +                                          C                m                                                          g                m2                                                          R                2                                              )                                  R          1                      .  Multiplying the DC gain of the open loop response with P1 results in the crossover frequency of the circuit arrangement of approximately
            Z      1                  g      m1                  (                        Z          1                +                  Z          2                    )                  C      m      since Cp<<Cmgm2R2. Further the circuit arrangement has a non-dominant pole at
                    A        2                              C          L                                  R          2                      =                                        g            m2                                          R            2                                                C            L                                          R            2                              =                        g          m2                          C          L                      ,which relates to a barrier frequency or maximum achievable bandwidth. The dominant pole has been reduced by approximately Cmgm2R2R1. The non-dominant pole has been increased by approximately
            g      m2              R      2        .As a result, the dominant pole moves to a lower frequency while the non-dominant pole moves to a higher frequency.
While the Miller compensation capacitor Cm increases the bandwidth of the two stage amplifier, additional increases in bandwidth are very difficult to achieve. Increasing the bandwidth involves moving the location of the poles, which are typically in the form of
      1    RC    .The value of the parasitic capacitance Cp of the second amplifier stage cannot be reduced. The value of the resistance R1 usually cannot be reduced without adversely impacting the gain of the first amplifier stage since A1=gm1R1 and the DC gain of the open loop response.
Other performance criteria of multistage amplifiers include slew time, settling time and voltage rejection in power supply implementations. Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, slew time refers to the amount of time that is required for the output voltage to transition within a predetermined percentage of a final value after a change in the input voltage. The settling time refers to the amount of time that is required after the slew time for the output voltage to settle within a predetermined percentage of the final value. FIG. 6 shows exemplary slew and settling times.
In a power supply circuit 50 that is shown in FIG. 7, one end of a Miller compensation capacitor Cm is connected to an output of the first amplifier stage 20 and an input or gate of the second amplifier stage 22. The second amplifier stage 22 is implemented using a PMOS transistor 52 having drain that is connected to a voltage potential Vsup. The source of the transistor 52 is connected to an opposite end of the Miller capacitor Cm. A current source 54 and the load capacitor CL are connected to the source of the transistor 52 as well. The transistor 52 may be implemented using other transistor technologies.
In the circuit in FIG. 7, the slew time of the power supply circuit 50 is dependent upon the charging time of the Miller capacitance Cm. More particularly,
      slew        t    =                              V          i                                  C          m                            I        i              .  The slew time is proportional to the charging time for the Miller capacitance Cm, which is not desirable.
At low frequencies, the Miller capacitance Cm is an open circuit and a feedback signal is fed back to the non-inverting input. At high frequencies, Cm shorts and a voltage divider is created between the load impedance ZL and the transconductance gm2. As a result, the output voltage
      V    O    =                              V          sup                                  Z          L                                      Z          L                +                  1                      g            m2                                .  Therefore, VO is proportional to Vsup. The power supply has relatively poor power supply voltage rejection since the fluctuations of the supply voltage Vsup are also seen in the output voltage VO.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compensation circuit for amplifiers having multiple stages


An electron beam emitted from an electron gun (G) forms a reduced image on a sample (S) through a non-dispersion Wien-filter (5-1), an electromagnetic deflector (11-1), a beam separator (12-1), and a tablet lens (17-1) as an objective lens. The beam separator (12-1) is configured such that a distance by which a secondary electron beam passes through the beam separator is approximately three times longer than a distance by which a primary electron beam passes through the beam separator. Therefore, even if a magnetic field in the beam separator is set to deflect the primary electron beam by a small angle equal to or less than approximately 10 degrees, the secondary electron beam can be deflected by approximately 30 degrees, so that the primary and secondary electron beams are sufficiently separated. Also, since the primary electron beam is deflected by a small angle, less aberration occurs in the primary electron beam. Accordingly, since a light path length of a primary electro-optical system, it is possible to reduce the influence of space charge and the occurrence of deflection aberration.

As electron beam apparatuses for inspecting patterns on a substrate for defects and the like for evaluation, there are known a scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and a transmission electronic microscope (TEM) which have ultra-high resolutions using axial chromatic aberration correcting lenses. An electron beam apparatus using an axial chromatic aberration correcting lenses is disclosed in Lecture Preliminary Report of 52-th Applied Physics United Meeting (Spring 2005 in Saitama University), p 812 and p 815. Conventional axial chromatic aberration correcting lenses and spherical aberration correcting lenses have four or twelve electrodes or magnetic poles.
Conventionally, such axial chromatic aberration correcting lenses and spherical aberration correcting lenses have been used to simply reduce the resolution. However, when semiconductor devices are manufactured and/or evaluated using an electron beam apparatus, the processing speed should sometimes be largely increased, inferior to a critical resolution such that the resolution is kept unchanged at several tens of nm. However, since an axial chromatic aberration correcting lens or a spherical aberration correcting lens used in an electron beam apparatus increases a light path length, a space charge effect is increased, which may cause the processing speed increased. Particularly, in the current situation where samples are made increasingly more dense and patterns on the samples are increasingly miniaturized, it is important to solve the problem of space charge and evaluate the patterns at a high throughput. Conventional electron beam apparatuses, however, are incapable of solving such a problem of space charge effect.
Also, conventional multi-pole aberration correcting lenses can cause additional aberration depending on the field of fringes. Moreover, no prior art has been found, which uses an NA aperture member having a large opening, and is capable of increasing a beam current, or reducing the space charge effect, by correcting aberration such as axial chromatic aberration and spherical aberration.
Further, while an electron beam apparatus comprises a beam separator, a place at which the beam separator should be installed is limited to a position conjugate with a sample surface, in order to avoid deflection aberration caused by the beam separator. This leads to such problems as difficulties in down-sizing the electron beam apparatus due to a longer light path length of the apparatus, blurred images resulting from deflection aberration caused by the beam separator, and the like.
Further more, there has conventionally been known an electron beam apparatus which forms a plurality of beams to scan a sample, and detects secondary electron beams emitted from the sample by a plurality of detectors such that a sample image can be captured. However, such an electron beam apparatus has problems of the inability to generate a large beam current and an extremely small throughput, due to aberration, if the resolution is reduced.
In addition, some of conventional electron beam apparatuses employ a high luminance electron gun, reduce a beam into a smaller diameter with a small angular aperture for scanning on a substrate, and capture images. Since such electron beam apparatuses has a small angular aperture and a consequently deep focus depth, the image quality does not exacerbate even if the height of a wafer surface varies in a range of several μm to several tens of μm. However, when patterns on a sample are miniaturized, if axial chromatic aberration is corrected for operation with a large aperture in order to achieve a high throughput, a problem arises in that a large focus depth cannot be provided.


A protector for housing a drug administration needle comprised of a winged hub and a cannula bent substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the hub at a longitudinal central portion of the hub. The protector comprises a tubular cannula-protecting portion having a cannula entrance at one end and a bottom at the opposite end; and a hub-mounting portion for attachment of the winged hub, the hub-mounting portion being coaxially formed on the cannula entrance of the cannula-protecting portion.

The present invention relates to a protector for a liquid drug administration needle used for percutaneous infusion of a liquid drug into an implantable catheter which comprises an infusion catheter attached to a reservoir and is suitable for administration of a liquid drug to a patient over a long period of time.
When a liquid drug has to be administered over a long period of time, it is general practice to use a so-called implantable catheter, which is basically comprised of a reservoir to be implanted just under the skin at an appropriate site in a patient""s body, and an infusion catheter attached to the reservoir for introducing the liquid drug contained in the reservoir into a selected administration site in a patient""s body. The reservoir is provided with a septum of an elastic material, which is capable of being pierced by a cannula of a liquid drug administration needle and of sealing itself when the cannula is taken out thereform. The implantable catheter is implanted in the body so that the septum is situated just under the skin and approximately parallels to the skin surface. Thus, when introducing a liquid drug into the reservoir, it is sufficient to insert the cannula of the liquid drug administration needle connected to a drug container or the like into the reservoir through the patient""s skin and the septum.
The liquid drug administration needle which introduces the liquid drug into the implantable catheter is bent at an angle of 90 degrees to its longitudinal axis to make it convenient for needle penetration to the septum located parallel to the skin surface, i.e., to assure a correct penetration of the cannula at right angles to the skin. The liquid drug administration needles with a 90 degree-bend, made by bending a cannula protruded from a distal end of a needle hub, provide easier use as compared to the straight needles when applied to the implanted catheter, but it is troublesome to insert the cannula in the septum since the piercing position of the cannula is out of alignment with the needle grasp. Further, since the piercing position of the cannula is out of the fixed position of the hub, when the patient moves, deviation can occur between the hub and the reservoir. This causes fluctuations of the puncture depth of the cannula, resulting in increase of the risk of infection at the penetration site of the cannula. Further, with the liquid drug administration needles of the prior art, it is difficult to avoid accidental pricking of user""s finger with a needle when a physician intends to attach a protector on the liquid drug administration needle used for any patient, or to throw out the used liquid drug administration needle.
To solve such problems, a drug administration needle unit has been proposed that comprises a tabular base 120, a raised boss 160 provided on the central part of the base 120, a needle or cannula 140 bent at an angle of 90 degrees in the middle portion of the boss 160 and projected from the base 120, a handle 420 which facilitates inserting needle 140 into and withdrawing it from the patient, and a rigid protective cover 380 for protecting needle 140 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,231). In this needle unit, however, a pad 240 is used for holding the unit on the skin of the patient when the needle unit is inserted in the patient, so that it causes increase in production cost as compared with the conventional winged drug administration needles. In addition, the needle unit becomes large in size as a whole and takes a lot of trouble with attachment or displacement of the protective cover 380 since the protective cover 380 is so designed as to be attached to the base 120 to enclose the needle 140 and the pad 240.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a protector for a liquid drug administration needle, which is relatively compact and advantageous cost and makes it possible to prevent accidental pricking of user""s finger with the needle, which may occur when applying it to an implantable catheter or discarding the used needle.
According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by employing a cannula bent at an angle of 90 egrees in the central portion of a winged hub like as the drug infusion needle of U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,231, aligning the axis of the cannula and an axis of a force applied to the hub by fingers when fitting on or taking out from the protector, and providing means for fixing the winged hub on the protector.
According to the present invention, there is provided a protector for housing a cannula of a drug administration needle, said needle comprising a winged hub and a cannula bent substantially perpendicular to an longitudinal axis of the hub at a longitudinal central portion of the hub, said protector comprising:
a tubular cannula-protecting portion having a cannula entrance at one end and a bottom at the opposite end; and
a hub-mounting portion for attachment of said winged hub, said hub-mounting portion being coaxially formed on the cannula entrance of the cannula-protecting portion.
The hub-mounting portion may be formed directly on the edge of the cannula entrance or on a flange, which has been provided on the cannula entrance to ensure prevention of the accidental pricking with the needle. The hub-mounting portion may comprise a pair of arch-shaped members with hub-engaging means on its inner wall, so that the winged hub for drug administration needle is clamped between said arch-shaped members. The cannula-protecting portion may be provided on an outside thereof with a covering portion to cover the cannula deviated from the cannula entrance.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent form the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific example, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only; since various changes and modifications within the spirit an scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in he art form the detailed description.

Protector for liquid drug administration needle


A soft-bodied crank-bait lure comprising a rigid interior skeleton and a rubbery body molded or formed thereover, where the skeleton includes: a first channel extending downward and rearward from the anterior end of the lure; and a second channel extending downward and forward from the posterior end of the lure. The rearward opening of the first channel is spaced from and substantially faces the forward opening of the second channel, and the first channel and the second channel are angled with respect to each other. Fishing line or leader line is threaded through the first channel and then through second channel, and the hooks are coupled to the line rather than to the skeleton or to the rubbery body. Therefore, the lure will "free-flow" on the line, so that when a fish strikes the lure and becomes hooked, the lure will slide away from the fish. Furthermore, during the ensuing fight, when the line becomes taut, the angled alignment between the first and second channels will cause the lure will become substantially "locked" onto the line away from the fish.

The present invention relates to fishing lures, and more particularly, a fishing lure harness for molding a soft, fleshy or rubbery lure body thereabout to provide a soft bodied "crank bait" lure.
The artificial fishing lure industry has been dominated for several decades by both crank bait lures and soft bodied lures, i.e., "rubber worms". The fleshy or rubbery material of the soft bodied lures are typically soft, flexible synthetic rubber materials, such as polyvinyl chloride plastisol formulations or silicone rubber formulations. Such soft bodied lures can also incorporate many color schemes and/or scented oils or chemicals which help to simulate the looks and smells of live bait. The industry has yet, however, to manufacture a lure which incorporates all of the action and looks of a crank bait lure with the texture and scents of a soft bodied lure.
Standard crank bait lures utilize a system whereby treble hooks are attached to fixed shanks mounted inside the hard bodied (i.e., hard plastic or wood bodied) lure. A disadvantage with incorporating a similar fixed shank system within a soft bodied lure is that the system would subject the soft body material of the bait to severing and tearing when a fish strikes the lure. First, the weight of the fish, when hooked, will likely tear the fixed shanks from the bait's soft body; and second, even if the shanks hold stead fast to the bait, the mouth and teeth of the fish are likely to cause excessive damage to the soft body of the bait during the ensuing fight.
Accordingly, there is a need for a soft bodied crank bait lure which protects the delicate soft bodied material when a fish is hooked and subsequently reeled in; increasing the life and usefulness of the soft bodied crank bait.