Provided is a semiconductor laser including a substrate etched into a mesa structure, an active layer, clad layers, a current blocking layer, an etch-stop, an ohmic contact layer, and electrodes, and a method for manufacturing the same, whereby it is possible to improve a ratio of light output to input current by blocking a leakage current flowing outside an active waveguide in a BH laser.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buried heterostructure and, more particularly, to a semiconductor laser capable of improving a ratio of light output to input current by blocking a leakage current, which flows outside an active waveguide, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Generally, a buried heterostructure (BH) laser has an excellent ratio of light output to input current since currents could be injected only into an active waveguide, restrictively. For preventing currents from flowing outside the active waveguide in the BH laser, two methods for blocking currents have been used, as follow.
According to one method, a thyristor is formed by alternatively stacking two semiconductor layers doped with p type and n type.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,612 ("Method for fabricating a planar buried heterostructure laser diode" by J. K. Lee et al.) proposes a method for growing a semiconductor layer after forming a mesa structure by making use of non-selective and selective etchings.
Referring to FIG. 1, an active layer 2 and a clad layer 3 are formed on an n-InP substrate 1, and then, a mesa structure is formed by making use of a non-selective and a selective etching processes. A p-InP current blocking layer 4 and an n-InP current blocking layer 5 are formed in etched portions of both sides in the mesa structure. A p-InP clad layer 6 is formed all over the upper portion including the mesa structure, and an ohmic contact layer 7 is formed on the clad layer 6.
For currents blocking, a thyristor may be formed by n-p-n-p type semiconductor layers 1, 4, 5, and 6, in the portions where the mesa structure is excluded. At this time, one portion d1, where the active layer 2 of an upper portion in the mesa structure is contacted with the p-InP current blocking layer 4, should be thinner than the other portion d2, where the mesa structure is excluded, in order to have a large resistance, thereby effectively reducing a leakage current through a diode, which is formed by the n type substrate 1 and the p type current blocking layer 4. Meanwhile, the portion except the mesa structure should be thick to serve as the thyristor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,756 ("Method for producing semiconductor laser" by N. Otsuka et al.) proposed a method for optimizing efficiency of a current blocking layer with reliability of a device.
Referring to FIG. 2, an active layer 12 and a clad layer 13 are formed on an n-InP substrate 11, and then, a mesa structure is formed by means of an etching process using a predetermined mask. An undoped InP semiconductor layer 14, a p-InP current blocking layer 15 and an n-InP current blocking layer 16 are formed in etched portions of both sides in the mesa structure. A p-InP clad layer 17 is formed all over the upper portion including the mesa structure, and an ohmic contact layer 18 is formed on the clad layer 17.
Except the portion having the mesa structure, the rest are constituted by a thyristor comprising n-p-n-p type semiconductor layers 11, 15, 16, and 17 to prevent a current blocking. At this time, if the p type semiconductor layer 15 has higher doping concentration, a current blocking of the thyristor becomes more effective. However, since the p type semiconductor layer 15 is formed close to the active layer 12 of an upper portion in the mesa structure, a p type Zn ion doped into the p type semiconductor layer 15 is likely to diffuse into the active layer 12. The diffused Zn ion may affect doping types of the active layer 12 and the semiconductor layers in the vicinity thereof, and thus, change a characteristic of a device. Therefore, before growing the p type semiconductor layer 15, the undoped InP semiconductor layer 14 is formed thin to prevent diffusion of Zn ion. As a result, the p type semiconductor layer 15 could be doped without considering the diffusion of Zn ion into the active layer 12, so that the structure of the thyristor constituted by the p-n-p-n type semiconductor layers could be optimized.
The other method for blocking currents is such a method that a mesa structure is formed by means of an etching process and then a semi-insulating semiconductor layer is grown instead of the p-n-p-n type semiconductor layers. However, in the case of growing the semi-insulating semiconductor layer, there has been a problem that Fe ion is replaced by Zn ion doped into the p type semiconductor layer, so that the semi-insulating semiconductor would be changed into the p type semiconductor. For prevent this, a thin n type semiconductor layer may be grown before the semi-insulating semiconductor layer is grown. At this time, it is preferable that the thickness of the n type semiconductor layer is not too thin or thick. If the thickness of the n type semiconductor layer becomes too thin, substitution of the doped ions cannot be prevented. By contrast, if the thickness of the n type semiconductor layer becomes too thick, a leakage current through the n type semiconductor layer would be generated.
For high-speed operation of a device, a characteristic of a current blocking layer should be enhanced and a capacitance should be lowered. Therefore, it is required to reduce an area of a device composing part in such a structure that the thyristor is formed by employing the semiconductor layers, as described above. In the case of etching the semiconductor layers composing the thyristor, except the active waveguide, the area of the thyristor can be reduced, however, it may deteriorates a heat dissipation, the heat being generated in the active waveguide.
In a paper by G. Pakulski and etc. ("Semi-insulating buried heterostructure laser with PN fence", Electronics Letters IEE Vol. 38, No. 25, pp. 1680˜1682, 2003), a method for etching a p type and an n type semiconductor layers composing the thyristor with only leaving the vicinity of the active waveguide and then filling the etched portions with a semi-insulating semiconductor has been proposed.
Referring to FIG. 3, an active layer 22 and a clad layer 23 are formed on an n-InP substrate 21, and then, a mesa structure is formed by means of an etching process using a predetermined mask. A p-InP current blocking layer 24 and an n-InP current blocking layer 25 are formed in etched portions of both sides in the mesa structure. A p-InP clad layer 26 is formed all over the upper portion including the mesa structure, and an ohmic contact layer 27 is formed on the clad layer 26. In the vicinity of the active waveguide, the ohmic contact layer 27, the clad layer 26, the n-InP current blocking layer 25, and the p-InP current blocking layer 24 are etched, and then a semi-insulating semiconductor layer 28 is formed in the etched portions.
In such a structure, a ratio of light output to current may be improved a little more, as compared to that of the thyristor structure constituted by the semiconductor layers only, and a reduced capacitance could be obtained.
As described above, in the case of employing the method of etching the current blocking layer around the mesa structure and then filling the etched portions with the semi-insulating semiconductor, a characteristic of the BH laser can be enhanced, however, a leakage current may be generated if the current blocking layer does not work sufficiently at a high temperature or a high operation current. In addition, it is difficult to perform processes since the etched depth is deep, and processes would be complicated since the semi-insulating semiconductor layer should be grown. Further, the width of the mesa structure cannot be formed narrowly due to difficulty of a deep etching process and an inter diffusion phenomenon, in which Zn and Fe ions are substituted each other.

Semiconductor laser and method for manufacturing the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A solar receiver has an arrangement of heat transfer surfaces and a heat transfer fluid phase separator, such as a vertical steam/water separator, fluidly interconnected thereto. The receiver includes a plurality of heat transfer fluid filled components, and at least one alternate heat source. When various temperature measurements indicate freezing or solidification of the fluid is possible, the alternate heat source is activated to maintain a temperature of the fluid greater than the freezing/solidification point of the fluid. The application of the alternate heat source further induces natural circulation of the fluid within the components, further providing freeze/solidification protection to the receiver. A controller may be configured to receive sensed temperatures of the fluid, components, ambient air, etc., and use these temperatures relative to a threshold temperature to activate, vary output, and deactivate one or more alternate heat sources.

The present disclosure relates, in general, to the field of solar power generation. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to the protection or inhibition of freezing or solidification of a heat transfer fluid in a solar receiver.
A solar receiver is a primary component of a solar energy generation system whereby sunlight is used as a heat source for the eventual production of superheated high quality steam that is used to turn a turbine generator, and ultimately produce electricity using the Rankine cycle or provide steam for other thermal processes.
Generally, the solar receiver is positioned on top of an elevated support tower which rises above a ground level or grade. The solar receiver is strategically positioned in an array of reflective surfaces, such as a field of heliostats (or mirrors), that collect rays of sunlight and redirect or reflect those rays to the heat absorbing surfaces of the solar receiver. This solar energy is then absorbed by the working heat transfer fluid (HTF) flowing through the solar receiver. The reflective surfaces may be oriented in different positions through the day to track the sun and maximize reflected sunlight to the heat absorbing surfaces.
The solar receiver is an assembly of tubes with water, steam, molten salts, or other heat transfer fluid (HTF) flowing inside the tubes. The HTF inside the tubes of the receiver absorbs the concentrated solar energy, causing the HTF to increase in temperature and/or change phases, so that the HTF captures the solar energy. The heated HTF is then either directly routed to a turbine generator to generate electrical power or is indirectly routed to a storage tank for later use.
A common problem in solar receivers relates to temperature drops that occur during periods of solar inactivity, e.g., dense/continuous cloud cover, nightfall, and the like. During periods where solar activity, e.g., heat, is noticeably absent, the temperature of the heat transfer fluid may drop to temperatures that approach or fall below freezing/solidification. Such periods can occur in varying climates, including desert environments, where concentrated solar power (CSP) plants are primarily located. When using water as a heat transfer fluid, freezing of the fluid within the receiver may occur as external temperatures drop (e.g. winter) and offsetting heat from the sun is unavailable. The evaporator tube panels, which are filled with water, are exposed to ambient conditions and are particularly in danger of freezing. If the receiver is not drained, the heat transfer fluid will expand and could rupture the tube(s).
Current preventive measures include draining the heat transfer fluid from the solar receiver so as to prevent damage to components of the solar receiver caused by freezing. These measures are not practical for commercial plants. There are also other disadvantages, including wasting the drained heat transfer fluid and chemicals, consumption of nitrogen (to displace air for corrosion control) which increases operating costs, the time needed to refill the solar receiver and the resulting increase in startup time (and decreased availability), and the discarding of thermal energy in the heat transfer fluid contained in the steam drum or vertical separator (discussed later). In addition, the receiver is at risk for scaling and corrosion during the time period required to get the water quality back to the proper chemistry. For these reasons, it would be advantageous to leave the solar receiver full of HTF.
Electrical trace heating is a system used to maintain or raise the temperature of some instrument tubing and small bore piping. Generally, an electrical heating element is run in thermal contact along the length of a pipe, and the pipe is then covered with thermal insulation to retain heat losses from the pipe. However, it is not practical or cost-effective to heat trace all of the water-filled solar receiver panel tubes due to their large quantity and small size. For example, there could be several hundred evaporator tubes in a solar receiver. Additionally, there is also a need for a control system for monitoring and activating a freeze/solidification protection system to reduce or prevent damage and enhance the efficiency of a solar receiver.

Freeze protection system for solar receiver


A light-emitting device includes a base; a plurality of first electrodes; a partition having a plurality of openings located at positions corresponding to the first electrodes; organic functional layers each arranged in the corresponding openings; a second electrode covering the partition and the organic functional layers; an organic buffer layer covering the second electrode; a gas barrier layer covering the organic buffer layer; and an intermediate protective layer, disposed between the organic buffer layer and the gas barrier layer, having an elasticity which is greater than that of the organic buffer layer and which is less than that of the gas barrier layer. These layers and electrodes are arranged on or above the base.

The present invention relates to a light-emitting device, a method for manufacturing the light-emitting device, and an electronic apparatus including the light-emitting device.
In recent years, flat-panel displays which have low power consumption and which are lightweight have been demanded since various information apparatuses incorporating the displays have been developed. An organic electroluminescent device including light-emitting layers is known as an example of such flat-panel displays. In the organic electroluminescent device, the light-emitting layers are usually arranged between a cathode and anodes. In order to enhance the hole injection efficiency and/or electron injection efficiency, the following organic electroluminescent devices have been disclosed: an organic electroluminescent device including hole injection layers arranged between anodes and light-emitting layers, an organic electroluminescent device including electron injection layers arranged between light-emitting layers and a cathode, and other organic electroluminescent devices.
Most of materials for forming light-emitting layers, hole injection layers, and electron injection layers included in organic electroluminescent devices are usually deteriorated by the reaction with moisture in air. If these layers are deteriorated, non-luminescent regions referred to as dark spots are caused in the organic electroluminescent devices. This leads to a reduction in life. In the organic electroluminescent devices, it is a challenge to prevent damage caused by moisture, oxygen, or the like.
In order to meet the challenge, the following technique has been usually used: a technique in which a sealing member made of glass or metal is joined to a substrate included in an organic electroluminescent device such that moisture and/or oxygen is prevented from penetrating the device. However, in large-screen displays having low thickness and weight, it is difficult to prevent the penetration of moisture and/or oxygen using only sealing members. Since such large-screen displays need to have an area sufficient to arrange driving elements and wires, a top-emission structure in which light is emitted through a sealing member has been disclosed. In order to cope with such a requirement, a sealing structure including a transparent, lightweight thin-film with high strength has been demanded.
In order to cope with large-screen flat displays, a technique referred to as thin-film passivation has been recently disclosed in, for example, JP-A-9-185994 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1), JP-A-2001-284041 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 2), JP-A-2000-223264 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 3), and JP-A-2003-17244 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 4). In this technique, a thin-film serving as a gas barrier layer is formed over light-emitting elements by a high-density plasma deposition process such as an ion-plating process, an ECR plasma-enhanced sputtering process, an ECR plasma-enhanced CVD process, a microwave plasma-enhanced CVD process, or an ICP-CVD process using a transparent ceramic material, such as silicon nitride or silicon dioxide, having good gas barrier properties. This technique is effective in preventing moisture from penetrating the light-emitting elements.
However, even if this technique is used, the penetration of external moisture cannot be completely prevented; hence, sufficient luminescent properties and life cannot be achieved. In particular, steps present around the gas barrier layer or present on partitions for partitioning pixels are easily chipped or cracked and moisture penetrates the chipped or cracked steps.
The gas barrier layer can probably be prevented from being cracked in such a manner that an organic buffer layer of which the upper face is substantially flat is provided under the gas barrier layer. This is because the organic buffer layer can absorb the stress due to the warpage or volume expansion of a substrate. Since the upper face of the organic buffer layer is substantially flat, the gas barrier layer disposed on the upper face thereof is substantially flat; hence, the gas barrier layer has no stress-concentrated portion. This prevents the cracking of the gas barrier layer.
However, if the organic buffer layer is thermally distorted (expanded or shrunk), the gas barrier layer is cracked. Therefore, there is a problem in that the penetration of external moisture cannot be completely prevented.

Light-emitting device comprising an improved gas barrier layer, method for manufacturing light-emitting device, and electronic apparatus


An object tracking method and an object tracking apparatus. Based on two or more frames of images acquired at different time points from an imaging unit, an image changing area is detected between the frames. Based on the image changing area thus detected, the position of an object is detected. The detected position of the object is set as a new detected position of the object in place of the present detected position of the object, thereby detecting and tracking an object intruding into a monitor area.

The present invention relates to an object tracking system using an imaging unit, or in particular to an object tracking method and an object tracking apparatus for automatically detecting an object within a monitor area by processing an image signal and tracking the object by controlling the universal head of the camera carrying the imaging unit.
An object tracking system such as a remote monitor system using an imaging unit (hereinafter referred to as "the camera") such as a TV camera has been widely used. Many of them are what is called a manned monitor system which is operated by a monitor person watching the image displayed on the monitor. In the manned monitor system, however, a monitor person is required to keep watching the image displayed on the monitor and identify in real time an object such as a man or an automotive vehicle which may intrude into the monitor area. This is a great burden on the monitor person.
The concentration power of the man is limited. In the manned monitor system, therefore, an intruding object may be unavoidably overlooked, thereby posing the problem of low reliability. Also, in the case where an intruding object is found in the image (camera image) picked up by the camera, the camera universal head (electrically operated swivel base) carrying the camera is required to be operated in such a manner as to catch the intruding object within the camera view filed (i.e. the imaging view field). Partly due to the recent explosive extension of ownership of the monitor camera, however, one monitor person often watches a multiplicity of camera images on a plurality of monitors. In the case where a plurality of cameras catch an intruding object at the same point time, the universal heads of the plurality of the cameras cannot be easily operated at the same time. In such a case, the intruding object is liable to be overlooked.
Demand is high, therefore, for what is called a monitor system of automatic detection and tracking type in which an intruding object is detected not by a monitor person but automatically by processing the image picked up by the camera (camera image), and controlling the universal head of the camera to catch the intruding object in the camera view field as required thereby to make a predetermined announcement or alarm.
As a function to realize the monitor system described above, the camera universal head is required to be controlled in such a manner that an object to be monitored and considered an intruding object is detected from an image signal by a predetermined monitor method and caught within the camera view field.
In the conventionally implemented monitor system of this type, an intruding object in the view field is detected by the difference method. In the difference method, an image (input image) picked up by the imaging unit such as a camera is compared with an image containing no image of the object to be detected (i.e. a reference background image prepared in advance), the difference of the brightness value is determined for each pixel or each pixel block including a plurality of pixels, and an area having a large difference (image signal change area) is detected as an intruding object.
The image of the intruding object detected in this way is registered as a template, and the motion of the intruding object within the camera view field is detected thereby to control the camera universal head in accordance with the motion of the object.
The process for this conventional method of detecting an intruding object is explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the process starts with the initialization step 101 in which external devices, variables and an image memory for executing the intruding object tracking method are initialized. Next, in step 102 defined by dotted line, an intruding object is detected by the difference method. Step 102 includes a first image input step 102a for acquiring an input image having 320 row pixels and 240 column pixels, for example, from the camera. Next, in the difference processing step 102b, the brightness value difference for each pixel between the input image acquired in the first image input step 102a and the reference background image prepared in advance is calculated as a brightness value of the difference image. Then, in the binarization step 102c, a binary image is acquired from the pixel value of the difference image (difference value) obtained in the difference processing step 102b in such a manner that the value of each pixel less than a predetermined threshold value Th (say, 20) is regarded as "0" and the pixel value not less than the threshold value Th as "255" (calculated with each pixel as 8 bits in pixel value). Next, in the labeling step 102d, a cluster of pixels having the value "255" is detected in the binary image obtained in the binarization step 102c, and each pixel is discriminated by a number attached thereto. In the intruding object presence determining step 102e, it is determined that an intruding object exists in the monitor area in the case where the cluster of the pixels having the value "255" numbered in the labeling step 102d meets predetermined conditions (for example, a size having 20 row pixels and 50 column pixels) as described above with reference to the difference method.
In the case where it is determined that an intruding object exists in the intruding object determining step 102e, the process branches to the first alarm/alarm display step 103. In the case where it is determined that there is no intruding object, on the other hand, the process branches to the first image input step 102a again thereby to execute the difference method.
Next, in the first alarm/alarm display step 103, the monitor person is informed, for example, by sounding an alarm indicating that an intruding object has been found or displaying an alarm indicating that an intruding object has been found on the monitor. Then, in the template registration step 104, an image of the intruding object is cut out from the input image based on the cluster of the pixels having the pixel value "255" numbered in the labeling step 102d, and registered as a template.
Next, the position is detected where the degree of coincidence (likeliness) becomes maximum between an image sequentially input and the template thereby to detect the position of the intruding object. This method is widely known as the template matching, and is described in detail, for example, in "Digital Picture Processing" published by ACADEMIC PRESS pp. 296-303, 1976 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,983, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The template matching is used by reason of the fact that the execution of the difference method requires the reference background image 602, and in the case where the camera universal head is controlled in such a manner as to catch an intruding object within the camera view field, the optical axis of the camera deviates undesirably, thereby making it impossible to use the reference background image 602 prepared in advance.
Normally, in the case where the position of an intruding object is detected using the template matching, the position change of the intruding object is followed in such a manner that the image at the position of the intruding object detected by template matching is sequentially updated as a new template. This process is executed in and subsequent to the second image input step 105, and explained below.
In the second image input step 105, like in the first image input step 102a, an input image having 320 row pixels and 240 column pixels, for example, is acquired from the camera. Next, in the template matching step 106, an image having the highest degree of coincidence with the template is detected from the input image acquired in the second image input step 105. Normally, the job of comparing the whole input image with the template requires a long calculation time. Therefore, a predetermined range with respect to the template (for example, a range extended 20 column pixels and 50 row pixels with respect to the template) is set as a search area, and an image highest in the degree of coincidence with the template is detected within this search area.
The degree of coincidence can be calculated using the normalized cross-correlation value r(Δx, Δy) described in U.S. patent Ser. No. 09,592,996.
The normalized cross-correlation value r(Δx, Δy) is included in the range −1≦r(Δx, Δy)≦1, and in the case where the input image and the template coincide completely with each other, the value of "1" is assumed. The template matching is a process in which Δx and Δy are scanned within the search range, that is to say, changed in the range −50≦Δx≦50 and −20≦Δy≦20, respectively, thereby to detect the position associated with the maximum normalized cross-correlation value r(Δx, Δy).
Next, in the coincidence degree determining step 107, the degree of coincidence r(Δx, Δy) is determined. In the case where the normalized cross-correlation value is used, and not less than 0.7, for example, it is determined that the degree of coincidence is high, and the process branches to the intruding object position correcting step 108. In the case where the normalized cross-correlation value is less than 0.7, on the other hand, it is determined that the degree of coincidence is low, and the process branches to the first image input step 102a.
A high degree of coincidence is indicative of the presence of an image similar to the template in the input image, i.e. the presence of an intruding object in the input image. In this case, the intruding object continues to be tracked.
A low degree of coincidence, on the other hand, indicates the absence of an image similar to the template in the input image, i.e. the absence of an intruding object in the input image. In this case, the process branches to the first input image input step 102a, and the process for detecting an intruding object is executed again by the difference method.
In the intruding object position correcting step 108 executed in the case where the degree of coincidence is high, the value (x0+Δx, y0+Δy) is corrected as a new position of the intruding object based on the position (Δx, Δy) associated with the maximum degree of coincidence. Next, in the template update step 117, the input image obtained in the second image input step 105 is cut out as a new template image based on the newly determined position of the intruding object.
Further, in the camera universal head control step 118, the camera universal head (i.e. the direction of the optical axis of the camera) is controlled according to the displacement between the position of the intruding object detected in the template matching step 106 and a predetermined reference position of the input image (i.e. a predetermined reference position in the imaging view field) such as the center of the input image. As an example, assume that an intruding object is detected at a position 802 shown in FIG. 6. Assuming that the center position of the intruding object coincides with the center 803 of the template, the displacement dx, dy from the center of the image is calculated.
In the case where the template center position 803 is located leftward of the center 804 of the input image by at least a predetermined amount s (dx<−s), the camera universal head is panned leftward. In the case where the template center position 803 is located rightward of the center 804 of the input image by at least a predetermined amount s (dx>s), on the other hand, the camera universal head is panned rightward. In the case where the intruding object is located at about the center of the image (−s≦dx≦s), the camera universal head is not required to be controlled. Therefore, the position where the camera universal head begins to be controlled can be designated by the predetermined amount s. The predetermined amount s is 50, for example.
Also, in the case where the center position 803 of the template is higher than the center 804 of the input image (dy<−s), the camera universal head is tilted upward, while in the case where the center position 803 of the template is lower than the center 804 of the input image (dy>s), the camera universal head is tilted downward.
As an alternative, the control speed of the pan motor and the tilt motor may be changed according to the absolute value of dx and dy (the control speed is higher, the larger the absolute value of dx or dy).
Finally, in the second alarm/alarm display step 119, an alarm is sounded, for example, to inform the monitor person that an intruding object is being tracked. Alternatively, an alarm indicating that an intruding object is being tracked may be displayed on the monitor.
The method of tracking an intruding object using the template matching described above poses the problem that in the case where the direction of the intruding object to be tracked changes (in the case where the intruding person turns his head to the right or looks back, for example), the displacement between the intruding object and the position detected by the template matching is increased and the accurate and stable tracking becomes impossible.
This is due to the characteristic of the template matching in which a pattern having a high contrast in the template (the part of a large brightness value difference) is matched. Assume that an intruding object is an automotive vehicle which is first directed forward and substantially wholly held in the template. Once the vehicle changes its running direction sideways, for example, other parts than the front part of the vehicle can no longer be held in the template. Unlike during the time when the whole vehicle is held in the template, the center of the template moves to the front part from the center of the vehicle, and therefore the detection position of the intruding object is displaced.
This phenomenon is explained with reference to FIG. 7. In order to simplify the explanation, this figure shows an example where the camera universal head is not controlled. To explain the phenomenon in which an intruding object becomes impossible to hold in the template by the template matching method of tracking the intruding object, the process executed in the case where a vehicle running along a curved road in the imaging view field is tracked as an intruding object is shown in FIG. 7.
Reference numerals 901, 903, 905 and 907 designate template images at time points t1−1, t1, t1+1 and t1+2, respectively, and numerals 901a, 903a, 905a and 907a the template at time points t1−1, t1, t1+1 and t1+2, respectively. Numerals 902, 904, 906 and 908 designate input images at time points t1, t1+1, t1+2 and t1+3, respectively, and numerals 902a, 904a, 906a and 908a the template positions at time points t1−1, t1, t1+1 and t1+2, respectively (the positions of the intruding object at time points t1−1, t1, t1+1 and t1+2, respectively). Also, numerals 902b, 904b, 906b and 908b designate the positions of the intruding object detected by template matching at time points t1, t1+1, t1+2 and t1+3, respectively.

Object tracking method and object tracking apparatus


A method and apparatus that can generate two frequencies separated by the atomic hyperfine frequency separation needed to excite resonance in a Cs atom. In the present invention a coherent light source is frequency modulated with a modulation frequency having a sine wave to generate a lightwave. The lightwave comprises the two coherent optical fields having the frequency separation needed to excite resonance in the Cs atom. The modulation frequency can then be adjusted in order to fine-tune the frequency separation of the two coherent optical fields. The present invention also provides a method for localizing about 50% of the power in the lightwave at the two coherent optical fields by frequency modulating the light source with a square wave.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating a lightwave comprising several frequencies from a fundamental RF frequency. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for generating a lightwave with at least two frequencies having a frequency separation equal to the atomic hyperfine frequency of an atom.
2. Description of Related Art
Precise timekeeping is important in communications and navigation satellite systems. As a result atomic clocks can play an important role in such systems because of their long-term accuracy in monitoring time. Similarly, timekeeping is critical for the Global Positioning System (GPS), where atomic clocks are deployed on satellites, because small time errors can lead to significant positioning errors. Because these clocks are often deployed on satellite systems, it is also very desirable to reduce the power consumption of the clock.
Atomic clocks are based on transitions between atomic energy levels. In one particular type of clock, cesium (Cs) atoms are exposed to a lightwave having two different frequencies that stimulate two different transitions. These transitions are separated in frequency by the atomic hyperfine frequency of Cs (approximately 9.192 GHz).
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) teaches one approach for generating two frequencies separated by the atomic hyperfine frequency separation of Cs. In the NIST approach a laser is amplitude modulated with a modulation frequency equal to half of the Cs atomic frequency, about 4.596 GHz. In order to generate the modulation frequency, NIST takes a fundamental frequency that can be easily generated and accurately measured, typically around 100–200 MHz, and uses frequency multipliers, amplifiers, mixers, filters, and dividers to generate the modulation frequency. The modulation frequency is then used to amplitude modulate a laser source.
Amplitude modulating the laser at 4.596 GHz creates a lightwave in the frequency domain, as shown in FIG. 1. The lightwave contains a center frequency f0 which is typically about 352.112 THz (corresponds to a 852 nm wavelength) and a sideband pair having an upper sideband f12 and a lower sideband f23. It is well known that the upper and lower sidebands produced by amplitude modulating a laser are separated from the center frequency f0 by a frequency equal to the modulation frequency. This results in the upper sideband f12 and lower sideband f23 having the necessary hyperfine frequency separation f13 of 9.192 GHz needed to stimulate Cs atoms.
The NIST approach provides an all-optical atomic clock that does not use the injection of separate microwave signals at the Cs atomic frequency into a microwave excitation cavity, as required by other prior art atomic clocks. A drawback with the NIST approach is that the RF-circuitry needed to generate the modulation frequency requires too much power (5–20W) and space to be used for lower power applications. That is, as noted above, several frequency multipliers, etc. are needed to upconvert the fundamental frequency to the modulation frequency of the amplitude modulated signal.
As a result, there is a need for a method and apparatus which can generate a lightwave or lightwaves having two frequencies separated by the atomic hyperfine frequency of an atom species, without using power consuming RF-circuitry.

Method and apparatus for generating two frequencies having a frequency separation equal to the atomic frequency of an atomic species


The invention relates to a method and a device for separating blood using a centrifuge in order to obtain different blood fractions. The aim of the invention is to eliminate the risk of contamination during the supply of blood and the removal of blood fractions. To achieve this, the separation container is filled with blood via a feed connection that can be aseptically connected to the container, the relevant blood fraction is removed from the separation container via a removal connection that can be aseptically connected to the container and both the feed device and the removal device form a respective closed system during the sterile connection to the separation container. The separation container (4) has at least one feed connection (5, 6) that can be aseptically connected to the container and at least one removal connection (7) that can be aseptically connected to the container, to which hermetically sealed feed and removal devices (8, 9, 10) can be aseptically attached in a sterile manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for separating blood using a centrifuge in order to obtain different blood fractions.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a device for separating blood using a centrifuge comprising a rotor and at least one separation container, in particular to carry out the method.
2. Description of Related Art
Blood can be separated into different blood fractions by means of a centrifuge in that the centrifuge is rapidly rotated at defined revolutions and over a defined period of time. After the centrifugation, the blood in the separation container has changed. The individual constituents have separated into blood plasma, which consists primarily of protein and water, white blood corpuscles and solid blood constituents.
The preparation of the blood before and after the separation process is very time consuming and is generally done in the atmosphere—that is, in an open system that is, by definition, contaminated. It is precisely in the case of umbilical cord blood preparation, but also in the case of other kinds of blood, that the contamination is not desired. For more comprehensive preparations, the white blood corpuscles are the most relevant.
Working on the basis of the prior art known from practical application, the object of the invention is to provide a method and a device of the type under discussion that eliminates the risk of contamination during the filling with blood and during the extraction of blood fractions.

Method and device for separating blood using a centrifuge


An electronic apparatus includes: an input unit that inputs data for imaging conditions for each of a plurality of imaging regions included in an image capturing unit, different imaging conditions being set for each of the imaging regions; and a recording control unit that correlates the data for imaging conditions inputted from the input unit with the imaging regions and records correlated data in a recording unit.

An electronic apparatus that is provided with an image sensor in which an image capturing chip of the backside illumination type and a signal processing chip are laminated (hereafter, referred to as a laminated type image sensor) has been proposed (refer to Patent Document #1). In such a laminated type image sensor, the image capturing chip of the backside illumination type and the signal processing chip are laminated together so as to be connected together at each of predetermined regions via micro bumps.

Electronic apparatus, reproduction device, reproduction method, recording medium, and recording method


This method of producing an amorphous transformer for electric power supply comprises forming and shaping an iron core by laminating amorphous alloy thin bands and forming a winding, subjecting the iron core, after forming and shaping, to an annealing treatment in which a temperature of a center portion of the iron core during annealing is 300 to 340° C. and a holding time is not less than 0.5 hr, and applying a magnetic field having a strength of not less than 800 A/m to the iron core while subjecting the iron core, after forming and shaping, to the annealing treatment.

Conventionally, an amorphous transformer using an amorphous alloy as the material of the iron core is known. In this amorphous transformer, amorphous alloy foil bands are laminated and bent in a U-shape, and both ends of the amorphous alloy foil bands are butted or overlapped to provide a wound iron core, and the iron loss can be smaller than that of transformers using conventional electromagnetic steel sheets.
However, in the wound iron core structure, stress to worsen the magnetic properties occurs when the material is bent. Therefore, it is necessary to subject the iron core to annealing treatment in a magnetic field to release the stress in order to improve the above magnetic properties. By performing annealing treatment, recrystallization starts inside the material to lead to embrittlement. This applies not only to amorphous alloys but also to electromagnetic steel sheets. At this time, the annealing conditions have a connection with the composition of the alloy, and for Metglas® 2605SA1 of a conventional material, annealing is performed at a temperature of more than 330° C. for 30 minutes or more. Also, in Patent Document 1, the annealing conditions are decided using an original formula.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-58-34162

Method of producing an amorphous transformer for electric power supply

HITACHI INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT SYSTEMS CO., LTD.


A zero power decoder/driver circuit for high performance array chips dissipates zero power when in the deselected state. The decoder/driver circuit is a complementary bipolar circuit comprising a first bipolar transistor of a first conductivity type having its base connected to a down level decoded output of a first level decoder and its emitter connected to an up level decoded output of said first level decoder. The decoder/driver circuit is selected by a predetermined voltage differential across the base/emitter circuit of the first transistor. A diode-connected second bipolar transistor of a second conductivity type is connected to the collector of said first bipolar transistor. A line driver third bipolar transistor of the second conductivity type is connected to a load resistor and mirrors current flowing in said second bipolar transistor. When the second state decoder is deselected, no current flows in the second bipolar transistor of second conductivity type and, therefore, no current is mirrored into the third bipolar transistor of second conductivity type, thus resulting in zero power dissipation. Since only one word line and one bit column are selected at a time, total power dissipation can be substantially reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to high performance array chips, such as random access memories, and, more particularly, to an improved decoder/driver circuit which reduces the overall chip power.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High performance array chips, such as Static Random Access Memories (SRAMs) and Dynamic Random Access Memories (DRAMs), are being fabricated in ever higher densities. Power dissipation in array word line and bit column decoder/driver circuits is a critical problem because their power dissipations can be a large portion of the total chip power. It is therefore important to minimize overall chip power in these high performance array chips.

International Business Machines Corporation


A system and method for prevention of erosion utilizing a sub-tidal platform designed to be lodged at a beachhead. The sub-tidal platform will be placed under water and will contain at least one or a plurality of main trusses exhibiting a curvilinear convex shape and containing a plurality of gates and at least one or a plurality of intermittent trusses exhibiting a curvilinear convex shape and containing a plurality of gates which, when in their closed position, decelerate material entrained with liquid and allow for deposit of said material in the spaces formed by the trusses.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of beachhead preservation and particularly to methods and devices designed for prevention of beach erosion.
2. Related Art
Erosion of beaches due to waves displacing sediment has been an enduring problem, threatening coastal communities throughout the world. Apparatuses for preventing erosion of beaches, the bottoms and/or banks of rivers or streams, and/or for producing material deposits under water, are well-known in the art. Various techniques to prevent erosion are known in the art, as illustrated by the myriad of invention discussed herein. U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,020 details an apparatus including only a single truss system with gates, but fails to encompass the novel features of the instant invention, including multiple trusses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,327 details an apparatus utilizing vertically stacked tiers of halved tires in order to reduce erosion as the tires allow water to pass through while causing solid matter present in the water to become trapped and build up over time. One of the disadvantages of this apparatus is the fact that it requires an entire array of tires for the trapping effect to work and this makes the apparatus more cumbersome. U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,099 discloses an apparatus that uses mesh flaps that will open when water is flowing toward a beach but will close when flowing the other direction. The mesh allows water to flow through but the holes in the mesh are small enough that sand cannot get through. The same disadvantage exists with this apparatus because it is also cumbersome as several mesh flaps connected together are the only way for the apparatus to work effectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,151 reveals an apparatus and method using a system consisting of rungs and viscous drag elements to trap sediment. Once again, this apparatus is cumbersome because it involves an entire system to be effective. U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,796 details a concrete mat that has non-abrasive surfaces for trapping sand. The disadvantage with this is that concrete is heavy and may cause damage to the beach that is different in nature from erosion.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,655,790 to Daley discloses a vertical permeable barrier wall formed in sections and mounted on a horizontal platform. The wall includes a series of flexible vanes fixed at their lower ends on horizontal axes and free to flex in either direction in response to wave or current flow, so that water flows through the wall in both directions upwardly to reduce the water's velocity, causing it to drop sediment at the base of the wall on both sides thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,316 to Wilson discloses a breakwater having a pair of spaced-apart fences each with a plurality vanes, hingedly connected between posts so that they extend along horizontal axes. The purpose of Wilson's breakwater is to dissipate waves along the shores of bodies of water where the waves have a normal tendency to wash away the beach. The vanes are provided for dissipating waves traveling towards the beach.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,916 to Martin discloses a vertical wall assembly with gates hinged at their upper ends on horizontal axes on a beach side of the wall. The gates open toward the beach in response to incoming waves or current, and close in response to outgoing waves or current, to cause deposition of sediment between the wall and the beach. The wall is mounted on embedded posts and each gate carries a pivoted locking bar which embeds in accumulated deposits as they build up adjacent the bottom of the gate, thereby preventing the gate from thereafter opening in response to incoming waves or current and washing away the accumulated deposits.
Disadvantages of the systems described herein include expense in construction, structural failure due to the stress created by flow of water over time and starvation of sand from their downward drive, thereby negatively impacting the environmental sanctity of the marine life between the systems and the beaches, which they protect. Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

System and method for prevention of beach erosion


A method is described in which a composite tape or sheet is processed such that it has an improved drapability when applied to a former having a complex geometrical form. The tape or sheet is selectively perforated across its width as it is dispensed, with a suction force being subsequently applied over the tape's surface to thereby cause stretching of the tape. The degree of stretching varies across the width of the tape in proportion to the degree and local density of the selective perforations.

Composite materials in which load bearing fibres are embedded within a polymeric matrix material are commonly used for high performance structural applications.
In such a composite material, the fibres carry the majority of the applied load and therefore a good design aligns the fibres of the composite with the load path through the component. In reality, there are often multiple load paths and therefore the fibres must be oriented in multiple directions. Therefore a fibre lay-up may have a majority of fibre plies oriented in a primary direction, with additional plies oriented at other angles, say 30° or 45°, to the primary direction. If a component experiences a range of different load paths, or if the load paths are unknown, the lay-up of the composite may comprise a number of 0, 90°+45° and −45° angled plies which allow the composite to withstand load paths in any direction.
The fibre lay-up of the composite material may be carried out manually or by an automated process. Manual fibre lay-up is simple and cost effective for smaller part quantities. However it is slow and requires a skilled operator in order to ensure that each fibre ply is correctly placed onto the shaped former or mould.
Alternatively an automated process may be used to construct the fibre lay-up. In such a process, a fibre or tape laying machine can be used to place layers of composite fibre onto the shaped former in different orientations to construct the part.
Automated fibre or tape lay-up can be readily applied, using a range of tape widths, to surfaces having simple curvatures. However for surfaces having more complex curvatures, it becomes necessary to limit the width of the tape laid by the machine in order to ensure correct fibre placement on the shaped former. For highly complex curvatures, it becomes necessary to limit automated lay-up techniques to use with fibre tows in order to be able to steer the fibre over the highly curved surfaces.
While lay-up using a single tow placement machine over a complex former geometry is easier, the fibre lay-up rates are usually very much lower than for tape laying. To overcome this multiple tow placement heads have been developed which makes the machine more complicated and also decreases the amount of control that a user has over the tows during the lay-up process. This in turn can result in defects such as gaps and overlaps being generated during the lay-up process which becomes a significant concern when making high performance parts without incurring a weight penalty.
Due to the limitations of an automated single tow placement machine, the design of the composite component, and specifically the fibre path definitions, becomes more complex and time-consuming. In addition, the complex curvatures of the shaped former makes the repeatability of the tow path placement more difficult because the machine has limited control over the tows between the cutting step and before they are laid down. This necessitates a higher specification, and therefore more costly, machine.
Furthermore, manufacturing induced defects in the composite parts become unavoidable which requires a higher safety factor. This results in an increase in the weight of the part and makes its manufacture more costly.


A method and system of transferring data rate and state information of mobile nodes between access and home networks is provided. A mobile node may register with a foreign agent on a foreign network, by sending mobile node information, such as a data rate at which the mobile node operates and a dormancy status of the mobile node, to a radio access network, which forwards the information to the foreign agent. The foreign agent may then contact a home agent on the mobile node's home network to setup a call. The foreign agent may send the mobile node information, such as the data rate or the dormancy state, to the home agent during call-setup or during the call as well.

Wireless telecommunications can be divided into two broad categories; mobile wireless communications and fixed wireless communications. Each category has its own unique market in terms of customer needs and technology requirements. Mobile wireless communications requires non-tethered communications and typically allows roaming, i.e., the ability to provide service to a mobile node while the mobile node is outside it's home system. On the other hand, fixed wireless communications simply provide an alternative to wired communications or an alternative system of providing service. A fixed wireless device does not need mobility. Instead, the fixed wireless device needs cost effective telecommunications from fixed locations.
The Internet offers access to information sources worldwide and the increasing variety of wireless devices and wireless systems offering Internet protocol (IP) connectivity, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cellular telephones, increases the ability to access the Internet. Fixed points of attachment to the Internet, such as fixed wireless connections, do not offer the flexibility afforded by mobile points of attachments to the Internet. The IP routes data packets of information for fixed points of attachment to their destinations according to IP addresses that are associated with a fixed network location much as a non-mobile telephone number is associated with a physical jack in a wall.
Mobile points of attachment, referred to as "mobile computing and networking," allow a user to change a wireless device's point of attachment to the Internet and not disrupt connectivity. Instead, a reconnection may occur essentially automatically and non-interactively. For example, in a wireless local area network (LAN) office environment, where the boundaries between attachment points are not sharp and are often invisible, a user may change points of attachment to the Internet substantially transparently. The mobile Internet protocol (Mobile IP) allows mobile nodes to transparently move between different IP networks and receive IP data packets accordingly. The mobile node is assigned to a particular network or home network and is also assigned a static IP address or home address associated with this home network. The mobile node may communicate with the home network through a device referred to as a "home agent." The mobile node may move to another network or foreign network and register with the foreign network through a device referred to as a "foreign agent." The foreign agent may assign a care-of address that is unique to that point of attachment.
In mobile IP, the home address is static and is used, for instance, to identify transmission control protocol (TCP) connections. The care-of address changes at each new point of attachment and can be thought of as the mobile node's topologically significant address. The care-of address identifies the mobile node's point of attachment with respect to the overall network topology.
The home address makes it appear that the mobile node is continually able to receive data on its home network through the home agent. Whenever the mobile node is not attached to its home network, the mobile node is attached to a foreign network and registered to a foreign agent. The mobile node may then communicate with its home network through the foreign network. Whenever the mobile node moves, it registers its new care-of address (i.e., point of attachment) with its home agent.
The home agent typically maintains a mobility binding record (MBR) for each mobile node. The MBR is used to keep track of mobile communications information such as a home address of the mobile node on the home network, a care-of address for the mobile node on a foreign network, and a lifetime timer for the association between the home address and the care-of address. Similarly, the foreign agent may maintain communication records of mobile nodes. For example, the foreign agent typically maintains records indicating assignment of care-of-addresses for visiting mobile nodes.
In addition, the foreign agent may have access to additional information that the home agent does not have access. This information may be useful for the home agent, especially if applications reside on the home network rather than the foreign network.

Method and system of transferring session speed and state information between access and home networks


A system and method for configuring access to an electronic mailbox based on limited configuration parameters received from a user. A database stores configuration conventions for a mail domain. A mailbox interface module receives configuration information from a user that is limited in the configuration parameters required for accessing the electronic mailbox. The module retrieves configuration conventions for the mail domain from the database and generates sets of potentially valid configuration parameters based on the retrieved configuration conventions and user supplied configuration information for accessing the mailbox.

Electronic mail (email) has become a very important means of communication. Users of email may have one or more mailboxes that they may need to access from a variety of devices or systems and a variety of locations. Various services may also access the mailboxes. For example, some services provide a unified mailbox that allows the user to access one or more mailboxes through the unified mailbox.
Services such as Yahoo™ now provide mailbox services that automatically poll a predefined list of mailboxes to determine if new email has been received. New emails that have been received in any of the polled mailboxes are retrieved into the requesting mailbox. As a result, the user only has to check the requesting mailbox to determine if new email has arrived in any of the other mailboxes. This reduces the number of mailboxes that are required to be checked periodically. Other services allow a user to access their mailboxes through a plurality of devices such as, but not limited to, mobile phones, mobile computing devices, for example, personal digital assistants (POA's) and other communications devices.
In order to access a mailbox, a valid set of configuration parameters must be specified. An essential parameter is the mailbox protocol through which access to the mailbox is achieved, since there are many different mailbox protocols in existence, such as Post Office Protocol (POP) and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). Other parameters might include a mailbox server name or a mailbox login name. Each unique combination of these parameters defines a different configuration that can be used to access the mailbox. In some cases, there are multiple unique configurations that can be used to specify access to a single mailbox, whereas in other cases, only one specific configuration can be used. Typically, the user would have to determine these configuration parameters for each of the mailboxes and configure manually a web service associated with a web server to access each of the mailboxes.
One proposal in U.S. patent application publication no. 2002/0174194 provides a single web-based interface that gives the user access to a plurality of different message accounts on different message servers. This proposal allows email clients to access only a subset, namely messaging, of an IMAP server, and requires a user to establish all configuration parameters for the IMAP server functionality. Other similar proposals that require a user to determine and manually configure a web service for configuration parameters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,117 and U.S. published patent application no. 2002/0112007, where message sources are established during setup and a technical support can be called. U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,114 discloses the use of an agent that searches a user database to determine a list of messaging systems the user subscribes. The agent recalls from an application database any procedures for accessing the messaging systems and logs onto each messaging system to retrieve new messages.
These various services that access the user's mailboxes require configuration parameters, such as a mail host and a protocol, to access the mailbox. The vast majority of users only know their email address and password, and do not know the values of the remaining configuration parameters. If all the configuration parameters had to be specified by the user, and the user was unable to provide the configuration parameters, the web service would not be able to access the user's mailboxes and the user would be denied the service. As a result, it is important that the configuration parameters for the user's mailboxes be determined based on the limited information that the user is able to provide to the email provider or other service.

System and method for configuring access to electronic mailboxes


An information processing apparatus is provided that inputs and outputs images of different resolutions. When a resolution of a line drawing input via an interface is lower than the resolution of the monitor and the resolution of an image input via the interface is higher than the resolution of the monitor, the line drawing is provided to an interpolation circuit and the image is provided to a low-pass filter. The line-drawing is interpolated in the interpolation circuit and the image is pixel thinned by the low-pass filter. The line drawing and the image are displayed after being converted to the resolution of the monitor.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as an information processing apparatus that can efficiently perform input and display of images of different resolutions.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, electronic cameras have come to be used in place of cameras using film such that images of objects are photographed using a CCD and are converted into digital data and stored in internal memory and removable memory cards. The photographed images can be reproduced and displayed on an LCD (or CRT screen) without undergoing development and printing as in conventional cameras. The photographed images can be transferred to a personal computer, displayed on the screen and stored on the hard disk of the personal computer.
Images of photographs and film can be input using a scanner and subsequently displayed on an LCD or CRT screen or can be read into a personal computer and displayed on the screen and stored on the hard disk of the personal computer.
Many pixels are required to represent landscapes and the like. For example, approximately one million pixels are required to photograph an ordinary "cabinet" sized photograph. On the other hand, not as many pixels are required to represent characters that are input into the same cabinet size area, for example, by a pen.
Consequently, there is a problem when inputting line drawings by pen along with inputting images and having the images and line drawings displayed superimposed at the same resolution. This becomes an inefficient system due to the different resolutions of the images and the line drawings.
For example, when line drawings of characters input by hand are to be superimposed on images read in by electronic cameras and scanners, wasteful memory space may be used to input the line drawings beyond the necessary resolution.


In a sliding roof for automobiles, comprising a non-slidable, front wind deflector, pivotal at its front edge in a roof opening, and a rear sliding lid, slidably guided in the roof opening, the roof opening is filled by the mutually adjoining surfaces of wind deflector and sliding lid when the roof is closed. For creating a ventilation gap of high effectiveness between the rear edge of the wind deflector and the front edge of the sliding lid in conjunction with an aerodynamically favourable small pivoting out angle of the wind deflector, it is provided that the sliding lid, starting from its closed position, is pivotally journalled about a pivot axis provided in the vicinity of its rear edge, in the sense of lowering its front edge. For the opening displacement, the sliding lid is also lowered at its rear edge, with the result that, with low overall depth of the roof construction, the lid is displaceable approximately in a parallel orientation to the roof surface beneath a rear roof surface. A threaded cable drive assembly can be used to provide the actuating movements both of the wind deflector and of the sliding lid.

This invention relates to a sliding roof for an automobile.
Such a roof is known which comprises a non-slidable, front wind deflector, pivotal at its forward edge in a roof opening, and a rear sliding lid, slidably guided in the roof opening, which sliding lid when the roof is closed, together with the wind deflector, the rear edge of which it then adjoins with its own front edge, fills the roof opening and, when the wind deflector is pivoted outwards, can be displaced after its rear edge has been lowered entirely or partly underneath the rear, fixed roof surface, the same threaded cable drive assembly being used for the adjusting movements both of the wind deflector and also of the sliding lid.
In a known sliding roof of this type (DE 34 35 791 C2), starting from the closed position of the wind deflector and of the sliding lid, by means of a manual or electric motor drive acting via an actuating cable and lifting-out elements with constant rotational direction of the drive, firstly the wind deflector is pivoted out, and then the rear edge of the lid is lowered and, finally, the sliding lid is pushed in an inclined orientation, the wind deflector still remaining pivoted out, underneath the rear, fixed roof surface. The drive can be stopped when the various individual positions are reached. With this movement sequence, and with the wind deflector pivoted out and sliding lid closed, a draught-free ventilation of the vehicle interior can be achieved. The roof opening can be exposed almost completely by pushing the sliding lid underneath the rear roof surface.
In order to achieve adequate ventilation of the vehicle interior when the sliding lid of this known sliding roof is closed, the wind deflector must be pivoted upwards at its rear edge through a large angle, in order to obtain a sufficiently large ventilation gap relative to the front edge of the closed sliding lid. Thus the wind deflector rear edge projects by a considerable amount above the lid surface, flush with the roof surface, and this not only leads to an increase in the air resistance of the vehicle but also to air current noises that decrease travelling comfort. Furthermore, in this known sliding roof, the sliding lid, pivoted downwards about a pivot axis located in the vicinity of the front edge of the lid, must be slid in an inclined orientation under the fixed roof surface during the opening displacement. For this purpose, a considerable distance is necessary between the fixed roof surface and the bottom of the lid housing box facing towards the vehicle interior. In this way the height of the vehicle interior is reduced and headroom is limited.


An improved apparatus for roasting raw coffee beans includes a main housing (10) having an air inlet (24). A blower assembly (18,20,22) is disposed within the housing (10) and is in fluid communication with the inlet (24). The blower assembly has a discharge location (32) whereat an electric heater (34) is located. A coffee bean receiving vessel (12) is removably mounted on the main housing (10) and in turn, a hull collector (14) disposed on the vessel (12). A control (FIG. 3), including a sensor (38,136), is located in the air stream upstream of the inlet (56,58) to the vessel (12) and downstream of the electric heating element (34).

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in gourmet coffee products and the interest has not been limited to the purchase of coffee-based beverages from vendors who prepare the beverage on premise and purvey it to consumers over the counter. Similarly, the interest has not been limited to gourmet blends, coffee that may be purchased already ground, and then brewed in the home. Many consumers desire the ultimate in freshness and flavor and have taken to roasting their own beans and then grinding them shortly before the coffee brewing process is initiated.
As a consequence, an increasing market for coffee roasting apparatus that may be used in the home has sprung up. A variety of coffee roasting apparatus have been devised to meet this market. One example of such a coffee roasting apparatus is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,331 issued Oct. 15, 1996 to Song, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. The apparatus works well for its intent and purpose, but further improvement is required to meet the increasingly demanding tastes of coffee beverage consumers.
Coffee roasting is a two-step process. The outside of a bean is covered with a husk which also follows a fold into the center of the bean. As it is roasted, the coffee bean expands and literally "pops" to shed the outer husk. If the bean is properly roasted, the center of the bean further expands and allows some of the internal husk to break free of the bean. Removal of the husk considerably improves the flavor of the coffee.
Desirably, coffee beans are roasted in a heated air stream and there is a delicate balance of temperature and air flow required to properly roast the bean. Optimal roasting allows convective heat from the air stream to easily penetrate the husk and cause the internal mass of the bean to quickly rise to a desired temperature. This causes moisture and oil within the bean to vaporize and expand to apply pressure to the husk, resulting in the popping of the bean. The mass of the bean expands and the husk is freed from the bean.
If a bean is roasted at too low of a temperature, the moisture build-up is sufficiently slowed as to allow the vapor to escape without building up sufficient pressure to pop the bean. When this occurs, the bean will be of smaller size than if proper roasting occurs. Some of the husk on the exterior of the bean may remain and most of the husk on the interior of the bean will likewise remain in place. On the other hand, if a bean is roasted at too high of a temperature, the bean will be burned, i.e., overly caramelized, and taste will suffer. In some cases, high temperature roasting will result in a burning of the husk. As the husk serves as a moisture barrier to allow pressure to build up during roasting, the burning of the husk destroys the moisture barrier and allows the moisture to escape without building up sufficient pressure to pop the bean.
The second stage of roasting occurs once the bean pops. Here, the heating of the oil within the bean results in chemical changes to roast the bean to the taste of a particular consumer. In many instances, continued roasting of the bean after popping causes a further expansion of the bean.
To achieve optimum roasting, it is necessary that the beans be uniformly heated. If the heating is not uniform, some of the beans may pop early in the roasting process and others, not at all. Consequently, uniform flavor cannot be obtained.
Similarly, it is necessary that roasting temperature be properly controlled to assure maximum husk removal, as well as proper flavor development which cannot occur if the roasting temperature is either too low or too high.
Heretofore, coffee bean roasters intended for home use have generally subjected the beans to a heated air stream for a period of time selected by the consumer who is operating the roaster. This does not provide adequate temperature control because of many variables involved.
Specifically, a small quantity of beans to be roasted will attain a desired roasting temperature in a lesser amount of time than a larger quantity of beans with the result that the roasts of the two quantities will be quite different.
Secondly, in a typical home coffee bean roaster, wherein a heated air stream is passed through beans in a vessel, a greater quantity of beans will impede air flow through the beans more than if a lesser quantity of beans were present. As a consequence of the impeded air flow, the residence time of the air in the heating instrumentality will increase with the result that the air stream passing through the beans will be of a higher temperature when the quantity of beans is large as compared to when it is small.
Most home coffee bean roasters also include some sort of means for capturing the separated husks as they separate from the body of the bean during the roasting process. Obviously, more husks will separate when a larger quantity of beans are present, and since the separating process typically employs a filter, such as a fine mesh screen, to capture the husks, the build-up of husks on the screen will be greater for a large quantity of beans than for a smaller quantity. This husk build-up will also impede air flow through the beans, with the consequence that the beans will be subjected to a higher temperature air stream.
Another significant factor is line voltage. Typical home coffee bean roasters are electrically operated, i.e., the heating instrumentality is an electrical resistance heater. Due to differences in service location, electrical loading of the home electrical system as when other electrical appliances are operating or turned off, or simply due to fluctuations in line voltage as a result of transitory conditions within an electrical distribution system for a wide area, line voltage will not untypically vary from 105 volts up to 130 volts or more on a line intended to provide a 120 volt alternating current. When low voltage conditions occur, the heat up of the electrical heating element used to heat the air stream will be slower than would be the case under normal voltage conditions which, in turn, would be slower than would be the case for high voltage situations. As a consequence, line voltage fluctuations have a significant effect on the temperature of the air stream applied to the beans in the roaster and, of course, on the outcome of the roasting process. Low voltage conditions can thus result in an under-roast, including inadequate hull popping, while high voltage conditions can result in over-roasting, including burning or over-caramelizing of the beans to be roasted.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems.


A sub-assembly for a multiple bed unit having an elongate bed rail and a bed end including a pair of spaced, substantially vertical posts affixed to a side of the bed rail. Each of the posts includes a rail connector for receiving a rail of another bed. A multiple bed unit includes a first bed having a pair of bed ends, a side rail and a sub-assembly connected between and supported by the bed ends, and a second bed having a bed end and at least one side rail connected between the bed end of the second bed and the bed end of the sub-assembly of the first bed.

This invention relates to bed frames and supports, and more particularly to modular multiple bed units.
In dorm rooms and other dwelling rooms having limited floor space in which more than one bed is to be placed, it is known to provide loft beds to elevate the mattresses above head level, thereby freeing valuable floor space for other purposes. It is also known to connect beds together at right angles at different levels, with one bed overlapping another. Examples of such prior art beds are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,568,001 to Walsh; 6,018,829 to Rosenquist; 5,572,751 to Brandt and 3,011,180 to Majeski.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multiple bed unit and sub-assembly and method of assembly

J Squared, Inc. d/b/a University Loft Company


Systems and methods are described to address shortcomings in the conventional network storage systems via novel techniques to store offsets of a recorded program in a network digital video recorder (DVR). Storing offsets of a recorded program may be beneficial to users that would like to record media content that is broadcast either prior to a start time of a program, or media content that is broadcast after an end time of a program. This feature may be useful when start times and end times of a program are variable (e.g., in the case of sporting events, or other real-time events). This feature may also be useful for recording content of interest that is scheduled for broadcast prior to a start time of or after an end time of the program.

Conventional network storage systems store media assets, such as real-time broadcast network television, on a server or network of storage devices. These conventional network storage systems facilitate time-shifted viewing of broadcast programs, and allow users to record and watch media assets at their convenience without the requirement of a local digital video recorder device within the user's home. However, these conventional network storage systems face several challenges in their implementations. For example, storing multiple copies of a same media asset at a server requires an amount of disk space that is proportional to a number of users that request to store the media asset. For example, when media assets are stored on a distributed network of servers, distribution of the media assets to multiple user devices may consume an excessive amount of bandwidth within the network. For example, when storing media assets at the server for shared access by a multiple number of a users, violation of copyrights may be implicated if some of the multiple number of users are able to access media content that they are not authorized to access (e.g., because they have not obtained a copyright to access the content). This issue of copyright violation may be compounded when multiple users request to record different offset portions from a media asset (e.g., portions of media content prior to a start time, or after an end time of a media asset). Conventional network storage systems are unable to deal with the process of recording, deleting and accessing offset portions of media assets that efficiently utilize storage resources, network resources (e.g., bandwidth), and avoid copyright violations.

Systems and methods for storing offsets of a recorded program in a network DVR


Provided are an uplink control information transmission method and device. The method is applied to a terminal and includes: determining that there is overlap in time domain between at least two types of UCIs of at least two types to be transmitted, where each type in the at least two types is independently configured with uplink transmission related information; and independently transmitting UCI of the each type in the at least two types according to the configured uplink transmission related information. The method is applied to a network device and includes: sending uplink transmission related information for at least two types of UCIs; determining that there is overlap in time domain between at least two types of UCIs of at least two types to be transmitted; and receiving UCI of the each type in the at least two types according to the uplink transmission related information.

In a New Radio (NR) system, for example, a 5th-Generation (5G) application, there are three major service scenarios: an Enhance Mobile Broadband (eMBB) service, an Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) service and massive Machine Type of Communication (mMTC). A terminal may transmit data of these services on a configured transmission resource according to a service requirement.
Because the three major services have relatively great differences in latency and reliability requirements, for meeting transmission requirements of low latency and ultrahigh reliability for the URLLC service, data transmission for the URLLC service has been partially enhanced and optimized at present.
However, at present, enhancement and optimization of UCI for the URLLC service is also limited and the transmission requirements low latency and ultrahigh reliability for the URLLC service may not be satisfied. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide a UCI control method for improving the UCI transmission reliability of the URLLC service and reducing the UCI transmission latency of the URLLC service, so as to improve the system transmission efficiency.

Uplink control information transmission method and device

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


A pulse Doppler ultrasound system and associated methods are described for monitoring blood flow and hemodynamics. The Doppler ultrasound system includes an ultrasound probe to emit ultrasound signals and detect reflected signals therefrom and further includes a processor coupled to the ultrasound probe and operable to process the detected reflected signals and calculate therefrom blood flow data for a plurality of locations at time intervals, the processor further operable to identify locations at which blood flow having a hemodynamic characteristic is present based on the blood flow data calculated for a plurality of the time intervals. A user interface coupled to the processor provides blood flow information based on the blood flow data, the blood flow information representative of detected blood flow and the presence of the hemodynamic characteristic.

Doppler ultrasound has been used to measure blood flow velocity for many years. The well-known Doppler shift phenomenon provides that ultrasonic signals reflected from moving targets will have a shift in frequency directly proportional to the target velocity component parallel to the direction of the ultrasound beam. The frequency shift is the same for any object moving at a given velocity, whereas the amplitude of the detected signal is a function of the acoustic reflectivity of the moving object reflecting the ultrasound. Pulse Doppler ultrasound systems commonly produce a spectrogram of the detected return signal frequency (i.e., velocity) as a function of time in a particular sample volume, with the spectrogram being used by a physician to determine blood flow characteristics of a patient.
Typically, a user of ultrasound equipment finds it rather difficult to properly orient and position an ultrasound transducer or probe on the patient, as well as to select a depth along the ultrasound beam corresponding to the desired location where blood flow is to be monitored. This is particularly true in ultrasound applications such as transcranial Doppler imaging (TCD). The blood vessels most commonly observed with TCD are the middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral arteries, and the vertebral and basilar arteries. The Doppler transducer must be positioned so the ultrasound beam passes through the skull via the temporal windows for the cerebral arteries, and via the foramen magnum for the vertebral and basilar arteries. The user of the ultrasound equipment may find it difficult to locate these particular windows or to properly orient the ultrasound probe once the particular window is found.
A complicating factor in locating the ultrasound window is determination of the proper depth at which the desired blood flow is located. Commonly, the user does not know if he is looking in the correct direction at the wrong depth, the wrong direction at the right depth, or whether the ultrasound window is too poor for appreciating blood flow at all. Proper location and orientation of the Doppler ultrasound probe, and the proper setting of depth parameters, is typically by trial and error. Not only does this make the use of Doppler ultrasound equipment quite inconvenient and difficult, it also creates a risk that the desired sample volume may not be properly located, with the corresponding diagnosis then being untenable or potentially improper.
Once blood flow has been located, it is usually scanned along the course of the vasculature to determine if there are any localized regions in which there are flow abnormalities, which may indicate various diseases. The spectrogram is typically observed for hemodynamic clues indicating disease. However, in conventional Doppler ultrasound systems, regions having abnormal flow may be displayed ambiguously. For example, in some cases, jagged black regions, which may be construed as regions of no detected blood flow, may appear in regions where actual blood flow is indeed present. Additionally, blood flow information for regions having hemodynamic parameters of interest may be displayed in a spectrogram with aliased spectral velocities and with high-amplitude, low velocity clutter signals. The result is a spectrogram indicating blood flow velocities that "wrap around" through a maximum velocity to appear as a negative velocity along velocity axis. Both the aliased velocities and the clutter signals can severely compromise detection of peak blood flow velocity and other hemodynamic parameters.
The previously described issues with conventional Doppler ultrasound systems are often due to artifacts resulting from Doppler signal processing. A possible cause of artifacts is the presence of a bruit signal that often accompanies the pathological condition of vasospasm, a condition that results in a constriction of the vessel lumen and results in high velocity blood flow.
A bruit is a signal that appears on a Doppler spectrogram due to periodic tissue motion having a frequency in the audio range and an excursion distance of less than a wavelength of the ultrasound. In the case of a Doppler carrier frequency of 2 MHz, the wavelength is less than 780 μm. A bruit can easily be much larger in amplitude than the blood flow also present in the Doppler sample volume. For example, the detected power in a bruit signal can easily exceed that in the blood flow by 30 dB. Moreover, a bruit can be accompanied by harmonics that fall off quickly in amplitude, and by definition, bruit signals lack a directional component. The bruit is also generally significantly lower in its Doppler shift than the associated blood flow. These characteristics of bruits imply that the mean velocity estimate for the motion in the Doppler sample volume can be severely biased downward. In conventional Doppler ultrasound systems, the downward biasing will cause black regions to be displayed in regions where normal blood flow is detected since signals that have associated velocity below a clutter threshold are automatically colored black. One remedy for bruit signals is to calculate mean velocity in the spectral domain and exclude the low velocity territory where bruits tend to be present. This approach however is time consuming in that it requires a Fourier transform to be computed at every analyzed depth
Another potential cause of artifacts is high velocity aliasing due to the Doppler shift frequency of detected blood flow exceeding the Nyquist frequency of the Doppler ultrasound system, the result of which is to bias the detected mean velocity to zero. The biasing is potentially significant in that the high velocities in excess of the Nyquist sampling limit are interpreted as high velocities in the opposite direction of the true blood flow and act to negate any high velocity signal data in the true flow direction. Such aliasing is can be remedied by increasing the Doppler pulse repetition frequency (PRF). However, in conventional Doppler ultrasound systems, increasing the Doppler PRF comes with a tradeoff of reducing the maximum interrogation depth, which is limited by the round trip distance an ultrasound pulse can travel before a subsequent ultrasound pulse is launched by the system.
Therefore, there is a need for an Doppler ultrasound system and Doppler signal processing method for displaying regions of blood flow having a variety of possible hemodynamic parameters and indices of interest in a fashion that yields unambiguous understanding of these parameters and where they spatially arise.

Doppler ultrasound method and apparatus for monitoring blood flow and hemodynamics


An apparatus for determining the concentrations of n hemoglobin derivatives in a sample of undiluted, unhemolyzed whole blood provided in a cuvette, employs a device producing a primary light beam formed of at least n substantially monochromatic, narrow-band components of different wavelengths. Further provided is a detection device for measuring of the radiation passing through the cuvette. At least two measuring geometries are provided for spectral detection of a collimated central beam and at least one scatter beam, and detection of the central beam departing from a first measuring location in the cuvette takes place in a first measuring position on the axis of the primary beam, and detection of the scatter beam takes place in a second measuring position if it departs from the first measuring location in the cuvette, or in the first measuring position if it departs from a second measuring location in the cuvette, whereby the axes of the central beam and the scatter beam(s) enclose angles .alpha..sub.i, and the evaluation device includes a unit for calculating the concentrations of the n hemoglobin derivatives from the at least 2n measurement values obtained in the at least two measuring geometries and a predetermined calibration matrix.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining the concentrations of n hemoglobin derivatives in a sample of undiluted, unhemolyzed whole blood provided in a cuvette, including a device to produce a collimated primary light beam with at least n substantially monochromatic, narrow-band components of different wavelengths, and a detection device for measurement of the radiation passing through the cuvette, as well as an evaluation device connected with the detection device.

Apparatus and method for determining the concentrations of hemoglobin derivatives


The present invention uses capacitive, inductive, or resistive impedance to constitute the first impedance, and the capacitive and inductive impedances in parallel connection which will not produce parallel resonance to constituted the second impedance, and is characterized in that the first and second impedance in series connection is configured for inputting pulsed power, thereby to form a bi-directional power in decaying wave shape at the two ends of the second impedance to drive the bi-directional conducting light emitting diode.

(a) Field of the Present Invention
The present invention discloses to use a pulsed power as the power source, whereof the capacitive impedance component (or the inductive impedance component or the resistive impedance component) constitutes the first impedance, and the capacitive impedance and inductive impedance are in parallel connection whereof their parallel resonance frequency is different from the pulse period of the pulsed power, thereby to constitute the second impedance without parallel resonance, whereof the first impedance and the second impedance are in series connection, whereby the two ends of the two after series connection are arranged for inputting a pulsed power, and the voltage of pulsed power from the power source is divided by the series connected first and second impedance; According to the circuit aforementioned, the bi-directional divided alternated power in decaying wave shape is formed across the two ends of the second impedance, whereof it is characterized in that a bi-directional conducting light emitting diode is driven by the divided power, or at least two bi-directional conducting light emitting diode sets which are respectively parallel connected across the two ends of the first impedance and the second impedance are respectively driven by the divided powers across the two ends of the first impedance and the two ends of the second impedance.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The conventional light emitting diode drive circuit using AC or DC power source is usually series connected with current limit resistors as the impedance to limit the current to the light emitting diode, whereof the voltage drop of the series connected resistive impedance always result in waste of power and accumulation of heat which are the imperfections.

Bi-directional light emitting diode drive circuit in pulsed power non-resonance


The disclosure relates to the use of compounds of specific structure as defoaming wetting agents for aqueous coating systems, for example paints and varnishes. The disclosure is more particularly related to methods of reducing the surface tension and/or increasing the density of an aqueous coating system, which methods include adding alcohol propoxylates to an aqueous coating system. The alcohol propoxylates have the general structure R—O—(PO)xH, in which R is a saturated alkyl radical having 7 to 10 C atoms, PO is a propylene oxide unit, and x is a number in the range from 4 to 6. The resulting aqueous coating composition has good wetting properties, but is low in foam, so it does not disrupt processing operations of the coating system.

Substrate wetting agents are interface-active compounds which lower the surface tension especially of aqueous varnish and paint formulations in order thus to promote for example the substrate wetting and also the flow. Substrate wetting agents are especially important for avoiding defects in the coating film when the substrate has a low surface tension (such as polymeric films, for example) or is contaminated with oily substances.
Substrate wetting agents are available in liquid and solid forms and often the commercially available products constitute mixtures of different interface-active compounds. It is considered common general knowledge here that such interface-active compounds have amphiphilic character—that is, they are generally composed of molecules with a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic moiety. Typical hydrophilic building blocks of these amphiphiles are anionic groups or ethylene oxide units. Nowadays use is often made of what are called alkylphenol ethoxylates—which increasingly, however, are preferably avoided on environmental protection grounds. Established alternatives to the alkylphenol ethoxylates include the alcohol ethoxylates, i.e., adducts of ethylene oxide with (hydrophobic) alcohols. A disadvantage of the alkylphenol ethoxylates and also of many alcohol ethoxylates is the frequently foam-stabilizing effect of these substrate wetting agents. The foam which forms during the production and processing of paints and varnishes disrupts the processing operations and interferes with handling, and is therefore suppressed—at cost and inconvenience—using foam-destroying additives.
In order to counter the problem of foam stabilization, a variety of products have been developed in the past. Alcohol alkoxylates are often used, for example, as low-foam wetting agents. Typical commercially available alcohol alkoxylates consist in general of linear or branched alcohols which have been reacted with ethylene oxide (EO) and optionally, additionally, with propylene oxide (PO) or else with higher epoxides (e.g., butylene oxide, BuO). As the skilled person is aware, the purpose of EO units is to construct the hydrophilic moiety of the molecule, while the alkyl radicals (originating from the alcohol building block) and also the PO units form the hydrophobic moiety of the molecule.
Also known (see WO-A-2009/061452 and EP-A-681,865) is the formulation of alcohol propoxylates in combination with other surfactants and the use of such formulations as low-foam cleaners.

Defoaming wetting agents for aqueous coating systems