A waterblown urethane foam base having a flat seat portion and a raised front portion with angularly directed valleys and a raised pommel. The area beneath the front portion is made more flexible and reduced in weight and is defined by a series of hollowed out areas separated by ribs which support the top surface of the front portion along with the front and side walls of the front portion.

This invention relates in general to cushions for seating, and, more particularly, to a modular wheelchair cushion having a shaped waterblown foam base.
The foamed base of this application is for use with the modular cushion shown in Ser. No. 07/839,305 now abandoned in favor of continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 08/053,551, and the disclosure of Ser. No. 07/839,305 now abandoned is incorporated herein by reference as if Ser. No. 07/839,305 now abandoned were set forth in its entirety herein. The base is adaptable for use with pads with upstanding air cells such as those shown in Graebe U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,136, preinflated cells as shown in Graebe U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,023 and co-pending Graebe design application Ser. No. 29/000,120 filed Oct. 5, 1992, and any of the variations shown in Ser. No. 07/839,305, now abandoned the hollow dome shaped pads shown in Sias, et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,673,305, 4,605,582 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 294,212 "T-foam", molded domes, or arch elements as shown in Graebe U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,854.
The base of this invention also can be used with the cover shown in Ser. No. 07/839,305 now abandoned or Graebe U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,544.
The base shown and claimed in Ser. No. 07/839,305 now abandoned is fluorocarbon blown and this created a skin on the molded surfaces which gives the base rigidity and firmness combined with its being light in weight because a low density composition can be used. The skin that forms on the outer surface gives stability even to a lightweight low density product.
However, environmental standards now require that no fluorocarbons be used in making foamed plastic parts. Therefore, water based blowing agents must be used. These generate Co.sub.2 as the blowing agent which is not as harmful to the environment as the fluorocarbons. Unfortunately, CO.sub.2 blown foam does not have an outer skin and therefore is relatively more flexible and less stable than fluorocarbon blown foam of the same density.
It therefore is a primary object of the present invention to provide a waterblown urethane foam cushion base which is relatively light in weight and still has the required rigidity and soft feel to the user.


The present invention relates to a system and a method for a mobile broadcast service, a controller, and a method for driving the controller. The system for a mobile broadcast service forms an MBS zone only with base stations having user demand for an MBS. For example, when there is a request for an MBS from a base station, if an MBS zone already exists which is providing the requested MBS, then the corresponding base station is included in the previously generated MBS zone. In contrast, if there are no more users using an MBS via a base station that is part of an MBS zone, then the base station in question is excluded from the MBS zone. Thus, an MBS zone can be dynamically formed by including or excluding a base station, forming an MBS zone, on the basis of an existence of an MBS user.

Wireless broadcast service has gained popularity as one of the most typical mobile communication services. The mobile broadcast service may be unicasted from a broadcast server to a subscriber through 1-to-1 communication, or may be multicasted/broadcasted from a broadcast server to a number of subscribers through 1-to-N communication.
When compared to a wired communication service, a mobile communication service allows only a small amount of resources to be allocated among subscribers, and thus a communication fee is much more expensive than the wired communication service. Hence, it may be desirable for a mobile communication system to employ a multicast/broadcast service (MBS) that enables to deliver the same broadcast content to many users in parallel by use of one resource.
To this end, standardization specifications, such as IEEE802.16e, IEEE802.16m, 3GPP/LTE and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) forum, suggest an MBS which is named an Enhanced-MBS (E-MBS), a Multicast Broadcast Multimedia Service (MBMS), an Enhanced-MBMS (E-MBMS), or a MultiCast BroadCast Service (MCBCS) in a single-frequency network environment.
According to MBS specifications provided by IEEE802.16e or IEEE802.16m, a plurality of base-stations are included in one broadcast service area and all base-stations in the same broadcast service area deliver broadcast content to terminals using the same wireless resource. IEEE802.16e or IEEE802.16m defines this MBS broadcast area as an MBS zone or an E-MBS zone. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of MBS zones specified by IEEE 802.16e or IEEE802.16m.
For the implementation of MBS, all users within the same cell should be able to receive service data. Thus, a base-station that delivers the MBS needs to generate an MBS data signal by taking into consideration users' locations, for example, a boundary of each cell, where the proper reception of the MBS data signal is difficult. Accordingly, it may not be possible to provide the MBS at a service quality as provided by a unicast service. However, to overcome these drawbacks, the standardization specifications define enhancement of an MBS reception quality by use of macro-diversity. The effects of macro-diversity increase as more adjacent base-stations are transmitting the same signal.
As discussed above, it may be understood that it is difficult to create an MBS zone that completely meet a service request by a user that is moving in a fixed MBS environment. Especially, in a fixed MBS environment, wireless resources for the MBS are always needed to be allocated to access nodes or base-stations, which are not connected to MBS users, and this significantly wastes the wireless resources. Further, a single base-station (BS) MBS specified by IEEE 802.16e forms an MBS zone by a single base-station and thus can use wireless resources most efficiently, but cannot obtain macro-diversity effects so that a quality of the MBS is deteriorated. Hence, there arises a need for a new method to enhance a quality of MBS while reducing an amount of wireless resources used by a base-station for the provision of the MBS.

System and method for mobile broadcast service, controller and method for driving controller

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An inline skate with changeable length has an inner boot, an adjusting device, an outer boot and a wheel assembly. The adjusting device is attached to the inner boot and comprises a block and a key. The block has a longitudinal adjustment slot and a transverse slot communicating with the longitudinal adjustment slot. The key is mounted through the transverse slot and selectively extends into the longitudinal adjustment slot. The outer boot has an outer toe and an outer heel. The outer toe has a rear edge and a tongue formed on and protruding from the rear edge, mounted slidably in the longitudinal adjustment slot and having multiple adjustment slots. The adjustment slots selectively align with the transverse slot in the block and are engaged by the key. A wheel assembly is mounted under the outer heel. Hence, adjusting the length of the inline skate is easy and convenient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inline skate and, more particularly, to an inline skate with a length that can be adjusted.
2. Description of Related Art
An inline skate with multiple wheels in a row is very popular with young people, because use of the inline skate is not limited by seasons and site conditions. A conventional inline skate is comprised of an integral boot and an inside lining with a soft material to make a user's feet comfortable. However, the length of the boot is fixed such that the skate is not sensible for young users with quickly developing feet. Additionally, when a user skates with the conventional inline skate that is too large, controlling the inline skate is difficult and readily results in sports injuries.
Therefore, the invention provides an inline skate with and adjustable length to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


An apparatus that treats salt-containing water by reverse osmosis, in which the salt-containing water is separated into a permeate stream and a concentrate stream, includes an inlet for the salt-containing water; an outlet for the permeate; an outlet for the concentrate, and a reverse osmosis device, wherein the inlet and the outlets are integrated into a base unit adapted for installation in a positionally fixed manner, and the reverse osmosis device is an exchangeable unit detachably connected to the base unit.

In many areas of industry and numerous commercial areas, desalinated water is required, for example, in power plants that produce steam, in baking ovens that fill the baking space with steam, in air-conditioning systems for evaporation cooling and in commercial dishwashers that avoid limescale deposits on the washware.
Technically, desalinated water is usually produced by reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis is a membrane separation method in which a salt-containing untreated water stream, often also referred to as a feed stream, is guided along a semipermeable membrane under pressure. The pressure is usually generated by a pump, the so-called feed pump. Some of the water penetrates through the membrane, whereas a large portion of the salts dissolved in the water is kept back by the membrane. The water desalinated by reverse osmosis is referred to as permeate. The salt-containing residual water is referred to as concentrate.
Reverse osmosis generally produces a permeate with an electrical conductivity of 5 μS/cm to 50 μS/cm. According to the membrane type used and in dependence on the parameters (pressure, temperature) under which the method is carried out, permeate that is salt-free to a greater or lesser extent is obtained.
Conventional apparatuses that carry out reverse osmosis require not only a feed pump but frequently also a controller to automatically carry out backflushing processes. To prevent fouling and scaling processes, it is frequently also necessary for technically complex measures, for example, the addition of complex-forming chemicals or other pre-treatment steps, to be carried out. For these reasons, the use of reverse osmosis apparatuses in private households has hitherto been the exception rather than the rule.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a universally usable solution for treating salt-containing water, in particular tap water and should be able to be used both in industry and the commercial sector and in private households and should be based on the reverse osmosis principle. It could also be helpful to achieve a reduction in the salt content of the water to be treated of more than 90% and a variation in the quality of the water treated.

Device and method of preparing salt-containing water by reverse osmosis


The present invention is a composition composed of a therapeutic agent encapsulated in a copolymer of an N-alkylacrylamide, a vinyl monomer, and a polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugate and a method for using the same in the treatment or prevention of a disease or condition.

Restenosis is a complex process which is believed to be triggered by blood vessel wall injury following an intervention to relieve an arterial obstruction (e.g., angioplasty, atherectomy, or stenting). Mechanisms contributing to restenosis include elastic recoil, smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation, enhanced extracellular matrix synthesis vessel wall remodeling, and thrombus formation (Haudenschild (1993) Am. J. Med. 94:40S-44S; Lovqvist, et al. (1994) J. Intern. Med. 233:215-226; Koster, et al. (1995) Angiology 46:99-106; Wilcox (1991) Circulation 84:432-435; Wilcox (1993) Am. J. Cardiol. 72:88E-95E; Wilcox and Blumenthal (1995) J. Nutr. 125:631S-638S). Restenosis after an initial successful angioplasty of an atherosclerotic plaque remains the major limitation of coronary angioplasty in humans.
Therapeutic approaches for the prevention of restenosis have focused on either intervening in early events, such as platelet deposition or thrombus formation, or preventing later events, i.e., proliferation of smooth muscle cells and matrix formation. Several classes of therapeutic agents have been used experimentally in animal studies. These have included anticoagulants, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-platelet agents which can block initial events, and antiproliferative agents which inhibit the later events in the pathogenesis of restenosis (Herrman, et al. (1993) Drugs 46:18-52, 249-262; Marmur, et al. (1994) J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 24:1484-1491; Mathias (1991) Semin. Thromb. Hemostat 17:14-20). Other approaches to treat restenosis have involved the use of antisense oligonucleotides to block transcription of certain cytokines or proto-oncogenes, such as c-myc or c-myb (Wilcox (1993) supra; Bennett, et al. (1994) J. Clin. Invest. 93:820-828; Epstein, et al. (1993) Circulation 88:1351-1353; Edelman, et al. (1995) Circ. Res. 76:176-182) Gene therapy strategies have also been investigated (Wilcox (1993) supra; Muller (1994) Br. Heart J. 72:309-312; Nabel, et al. (1990) Science 249:1285-1288; Nabel (1995) Cardiovasc. Res. 28:445-455; Bennett, et al. (1994) supra; Epstein, et al. (1993) supra; Edelman, et al. (1995) supra; Feldman and Isner (1995) J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 26:826-835).
Modification of the restenosis process by conventional pharmacologic or mechanical approaches (e.g., stenting) (Wilensky, et al. (1993) Trends Cardiovasc. Med. 3:163-170) have been used in the clinical setting. Drug therapies have included antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents, calcium channel antagonists, inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme, corticosteroids, and fish oil diet (Herrman, et al. (1993) supra). Mechanical approaches include deployment of metallic or polymeric stents in the artery to inhibit elastic recoiling which usually occurs within hours following angioplastic procedure and results in renarrowing of the artery lumen (Herrman, et al. (1993) supra; De Scheerder, et al. (1995) Atherosclerosis 114:105-114; De Foley, et al. (1993) Am. Heart J. 125:686-694; Kuntz, et al. (1993) J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 21:15-25; Lambert, et al. (1994) Circulation 90:1003-1011; Mitchel and McKay (1995) Cathet. Cardiovasc. Diagn. 34:149-154; Buchwald, et al. (1993) J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 21:249-254). Other approaches include atherectomy, local treatment of arterial lesions with laser, thermal energy, and β- and γ-radiations following interventional procedures (Buchwald, et al. (1992) Am. Heart J. 123:878-885; Kouek, et al. (1992) Circulation 86:1249-1256; Israel, et al. (1991) J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 18:1118-1119).
Administration of therapeutic agents at the site of arterial injury rather than by systemic administration has been discussed (Labhasetwar, et al. (1997) Adv. Drug Del. Rev. 24:63-85). Experimental studies in animal models of restenosis have been used to investigate local delivery of therapeutics for the prevention of restenosis (Lambert, et al. (1994) supra; Garcia, et al. (1990) Surg. Gynecol. Obstet. 171:201-205; Edelman, et al. (1990) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 87:3773-3777; Edelman, et al. (1993) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 90:1513-1517; Edelman and Karnovsky (1994) Circulation 89:770-776; Nathan, et al. (1995) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 92:8130-8134; Okada, et al. (1989) Neurosurgery 25:892-898; Villa, et al. (1994) J. Clin. Invest. 93:1243-1249; Villa, et al. (1995) Circ. Res. 76:505-513). Adventitial drug implants (Edelman, et al. (1990) supra; Villa, et al. (1994) supra; Simons, et al. (1992) Nature 359:67-70; Simons, et al. (1994) J. Clin. Invest. 93:2351-2356), stents (Lincoff, et al. (1994) J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 23:18A; Jeong, et al. (1994) Circulation 92:I37), and catheter-based delivery systems (Steg, et al. (1994) Circulation 90:1648-1656; Fernandez, et al. (1994) Circulation 89:1518-1522) have been disclosed. Further, Lanza, et al. ((2002) Circulation 106:2842) teach targeted paramagnetic nanoparticles containing paclitaxel for the prevention of restenosis after angioplasty.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/847,945 teaches methods for treating hyperplasia in a subject by delivering at least one drug in nanoparticle form and dispersed in a biocompatible protein. This reference discloses the use of paclitaxel, rapamycin, steroids, and the like, as suitable candidates to inhibit proliferation and migration of cells. This reference does not teach block co-polymer nanoparticles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,817 teaches a pharmaceutical formulation of paclitaxel, wherein the paclitaxel is entrapped into nanoparticles comprising at least one type of amphiphilic monomer which is polymerized by adding an aqueous solution of cross-linking agent. This reference discloses a preferred combination of amphiphilic monomers comprising vinyl pyrrolidone, N-isopropylacrylamide, and monoester of polyethylene glycol maleic anhydride cross-linked with a bi-functional vinyl derivative such as N,N′-methylene bis-acrylamide useful in the treatment of pathological conditions arising out of excessive proliferation of cells such as rheumatoid arthritis or cancer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,431 discloses methods for treating or preventing diseases associated with body passageways by delivering to an external portion of the body passageway a therapeutic agent such as paclitaxel, or an analogue or derivative thereof encapsulated in polymeric carriers.
Intravenous or oral delivery of agents for preventing disease or conditions is generally ineffective because these routes of delivery do not provide a therapeutic dose of the agent to the target site for a prolonged period of time. Therefore, there is a need in the art for site-specific therapeutics to prevent the localized pathophysiologic process of select disease or conditions. The present invention meets this long-felt need.

Sustained-release nanoparticle compositions and methods for using the same

Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska by and Behalf of the University of Nebraska Medical Center


An information processing device includes a storage unit configured to store a predetermined motion of a user who uses an operating device and an attribute of the predetermined motion per role of the user in association with each other; an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of a predetermined area including a projection area on which a projecting device projects an image; an identification unit configured to identify the attribute associated with the predetermined motion corresponding to a motion of light emitted to the predetermined area from the operating device based on the motion of light and an operation signal, referring to the storage unit; a synthetic image generation unit configured to generate a synthetic image by reflecting the attribute of the predetermined motion in the image projected; and a history record unit configured to generate history data including the synthetic image, the role, the attribute.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a projecting system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, at conferences at which a plurality of participants attend, participants perform variously pointing out with respect to presentation materials used in presentation of a presenter. Further, at such a conference, minutes may be created to review development of the conference including, for example, pointing out to a presentation material later or tell the content of the conference for people who did not attend the conference. There is a difference in quality of minutes to be created depending on a skill level of a participant who is in charge of creating the minutes. When, for example, the skill level of a participant who is in charge of creating the minutes is low, the minutes become unuseful and therefore the minutes are corrected by another participant of a higher skill level in some cases and time efficiency to create the minutes decreases. Hence, a presenter of a high skill level may create the minutes.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,451 discloses a technique of associating and collectively managing different position information per application, and assigning an association between a plurality of applications used upon a review. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,505 discloses a technique of creating files representing importance of conferences in time series based on, for example, frequency information of keywords and statements made during a conference.
However, conventional techniques have a problem that it is difficult to easily create conference minutes without decreasing a proceeding speed of a conference. With regard to creation of minutes, suitable minutes are preferably created by a person in charge of creating the minutes during a conference irrespectively of the degree of a skill level. In this regard, no conventional technique is suitable for use in creating minutes during a conference. Further, when a presenter of a high skill level creates minutes during a conference, the presenter needs to create the minutes while making a presentation, and therefore the proceeding speed of the conference becomes slow. As a result, the conventional techniques have difficulty in easily creating conference minutes without decreasing a proceeding speed of a conference.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an information processing device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a projecting system which can easily create conference minutes without decreasing a proceeding speed of a conference.

Information processing device, computer-readable storage medium, and projecting system


Eye-tracking systems and methods utilize transparent illumination structures having a plurality of IR μLEDs distributed within the transparent viewing area of illumination structures. The μLEDs are small enough (<100 μm) that they are not visible by a user during use of an HMD or other mixed-reality device, for example, such that they can be positioned within the line-of-sight of the user through the illumination structure and without visibly obscuring or interfering with the user's view of the mixed-reality environment by the mixed-reality device.

Mixed-reality systems, including virtual-reality and augmented-reality systems, have recently received significant interest for their ability to create immersive experiences for users. Conventional augmented-reality (AR) systems create an augmented reality scenario by generating holograms that are rendered in the user's line-of-sight to objects in the real world. In contrast, conventional virtual-reality (VR) systems create a more immersive experience because a user's entire view is obstructed by a virtual world.
As used herein, AR and VR systems are described and referenced interchangeably using the umbrella term "mixed-reality system(s)." Unless specifically stated or unless specifically required, as understood by one of skill in the art, the descriptions herein apply equally to any and all types of mixed-reality systems, including AR systems, VR systems, and/or any other similar system capable of displaying virtual objects to a user. Accordingly, from this point forward, the disclosure will use the term mixed-reality system to describe any of the systems referenced above.
Of note, many mixed-reality systems use one or more on-body devices, such as a head-mounted display (hereinafter "HMD"), to render a virtual environment for a user. Continued advances in hardware capabilities and rendering technologies have greatly increased the realism of virtual objects displayed within a mixed-reality environments, particularly with the use of HMDs. For example, as the user moves their head during a mixed-reality session, the rendered mixed-reality environment is automatically updated, with the holograms being repositioned, relative to the user's movement, and such that the user is provided with a proper perspective and view of the virtual objects in the mixed-reality environment.
Recent advances in this technology space also relate to the use of eye tracking systems to track a movement of the user's eyes. As a result, a mixed-reality system can also respond to a user's eye movements, in addition to their general head and body movements. In particular, by tracking a user's eye movements and the direction of the user's gaze, it is possible to position the holograms rendered by the user's HMD in such a manner that they are properly positioned in the mixed-reality environment relative to the user's gaze.
One technique for tracking eye movement and for determining the directionality of a user's gaze includes the analysis of infrared (IR) light signals that are directed towards and reflected off of a user's eyes. For instance, an HMD can be equipped with one or more IR light sources that emit IR light at the user's eyes from different directions. The HMD is also equipped with IR camera(s)/sensor(s) that are positioned at known locations relative to the IR light sources. The IR light that is reflected off of the user's eyes, referred to herein as glints, can be detected by the sensors and used to determine the XYZ location and gaze direction of the user's eyes, which correspond with the user's gaze direction in the mixed-reality environment. This is possible, for example, by analyzing position of the glints relative to the positioning of the pupil center of the eye.
To enhance the accuracy and processing performed by IR eye tracking systems, it is often desirable to position several different IR light sources around the user's eyes to create different glints off of the cornea. In some instances, multiple IR cameras/sensors can also be used for each eye, although this is not necessarily required.
Unfortunately, conventional mixed-reality systems are somewhat limited in regard to where the IR light sources can be positioned. In particular, conventional systems have historically positioned the IR light sources along the peripheral rims or other mounting structures of the HMD where the actual display lenses and screens are mounted. This peripheral placement of the IR light sources is not always optimal and can require the utilization of more light sources and/or larger and more powerful light sources than would otherwise be required if the light sources could be positioned closer or more optimally relative to the iris of the user's eyes.
Some AR systems have attempted to position IR light sources away from the peripheral rim of the display screen, closer to the user's eyes and within the user's field of view. However, these types of existing systems are problematic in that they can create visual obstructions to the user's perspective of the mixed-reality environment. In particular, existing IR light sources are typically sized in the 1.0 mm to 4.0 mm diameter/width range. Such sizes are very noticeable, particularly when positioned within the user's field of view. For at least this reason most conventional systems have only positioned the IR light sources in a suboptimal location along the peripheral rim of the lenses/displays.
In view of at least the foregoing issues, there is an ongoing need and desire for improved systems and techniques for performing IR eye tracking in mixed-reality devices, particularly for AR devices.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

Infrared microled based invisible illumination for eye tracking


A method, receiver and program for processing a signal received using a wireless communication channel by a receiver in a wireless cellular network. The method comprises: receiving signal samples of a signal to be processed from a serving cell; identifying a set of dominant interfering cells generating an interfering signal above a level; using the number of cells in the set to select an interference scenario; and using the selected interference scenario and at least one parameter related to the serving cell and the interfering cells to select a processing function for processing the signal.

As is well-known, a cellular communications system includes mobile radio receiver devices which can communicate with each other via base stations in the system. The system is set up as a cellular network, with each base station serving one or more cells depending on the cell structure. The mobile radio receiver devices include analog radio frequency (RF)/intermediate frequency (IF) stages which are arranged to receive and transmit wireless signals carrying data via one or more antennas. The output of the RF/IF stages is typically converted to baseband, where an analog to digital converter (ADC) converts incoming analogue signals to digital samples, which are then processed for signal detection and decoding of the data, e.g. in the form of logical values. The analog to digital converter may alternatively operate directly at IF, in which case the conversion to baseband is performed in the digital domain. A number of different types of front end processing of the digital samples are known to implement signal detection, including rake receiver processing and channel equalisation processing.
In code division multiple access wireless systems, different physical channels are multiplexed in the code domain using separate spreading sequences. In the case of orthogonal spreading code words, the original data symbols can then be effectively separated at the receiver by despreading. In a wideband CDMA (WCDMA) cellular system, downlink code multiplexing is performed using orthogonal variable spreading factor (OVSF) codes. However, the OVSF code words are orthogonal to each other only under the condition of perfect time alignment. In the presence of multi-path propagation, the code orthogonality is lost and the operation of despreading is effected by multiple access interference (MAI).
Conventional CDMA receivers based on rake processing (as described for example in J. G. Proakis, "Digital Communications", published by McGraw & Hill, 1995) are subject to performance degradation due to loss of orthogonality between channelisation codes in the presence of multi-path propagation. For synchronous CDMA transmission, as in the case of the forward link of the third generation partnership project (3GPP) WCDMA standard, an effective approach to solve this problem is to use a chip level channel equaliser (for example as described in the paper by A. Klein "Data Detection Algorithms Specially Designed for the Downlink of CDMA Mobile Radio Systems", in Proceedings of IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, vol. 1, Phoenix, Ariz., May 1997, pp. 203-207). The use of channel equalisation processing generally produces a significant performance advantage over conventional rake processing, but at the cost of an increased implementation complexity.
The performance advantage provided by chip level equalisation is especially important for high data rate transmission, as in the case of the 3GPP high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) standard.
Chip level equalisers for HSDPA receivers are typically linear equalisers based on a transversal filter structure.
The computation of the equaliser coefficients for implementing equaliser processing can be based on the Minimization of the Mean-Square Error (MMSE) at the equaliser output. In principle, this can be achieved by block processing, as mentioned for example in A. Klein, "Data Detection Algorithms Specially Designed for the Downlink of CDMA Mobile Radio Systems", in Proceedings of IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, vol. 1, Phoenix, Ariz., May 1997, pp. 203-207, or by means of an adaptive algorithm, as mentioned in K. Hooli, M. Latva-aho and M. Juntti, "Performance Evaluation of Adaptive Chip-Level Channel Equalisers in WCDMA Downlink", in Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Communications, vol. 6, Helsinki, Finland, June 2001, pp. 1974-1979.
With respect to the calculation of the equaliser coefficients, the conventional MMSE criterion has the disadvantage of relying on specific assumptions on the statistics of the input disturbance (noise-plus-interference). An HSDPA MMSE equaliser typically assumes that the inter-cell interference can be modelled as an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) process. From this point of view, a more robust approach is to compute the equaliser coefficients based the Least-Squares (LS) criterion, where the calculation of the equaliser coefficients relies directly on the sample statistics of the input signal, without making any assumption on the statistics of the interference, as discussed, for example, in S. Haykin, Adaptive Filter Theory, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2001.
For both MMSE and LS equaliser, the processing relies on input signal samples collected from a suitable time interval, which should be selected in order to realize the best trade-off between the conflicting requirements of reducing the estimation errors by averaging over a wider time window, and of tracking the time variations of the propagation channel by averaging over a narrower time window for higher mobile speed.
International Application Publication No. WO 2009/0565505 discloses selecting a specific equaliser implementation based on different channel conditions, for example, on estimates of cell geometry and Doppler frequency. A particular method of performing cell geometry for this purpose is recited in International Application Publication No. WO 2009/056503.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Method and system for establishing a call to a communication device in a packet-switched communication network is described. In one example, the system receives a call from a calling device at a server in a packet-switched communication network, where the call is a request for assistance pertaining to a technical field. The system then identifies at least one specific user from a plurality of specific users based on whether the specific user(s) is an expertise in the technical field in question. The system subsequently identifies at least one activated endpoint device from a plurality of activated endpoint devices that are associated with the previously identified specific user(s). Lastly, the system routes the call to the identified endpoint device(s) belonging to the specified user(s).

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to telecommunications systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for routing a call in a packet-switched network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, telecommunications systems provide the ability for two or more people or machines (e.g., computerized or other electronic devices) to communicate with each other. A telecommunications system may include various networks for facilitating communication that may be generally organized into packet-switched networks and circuit-switched networks. Exemplary packet-switched networks include internet protocol (IP) networks, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, frame-relay networks, and the like. An exemplary circuit-switched network includes a plain old telephone system (POTS), such as the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN). Although circuit-switched networks have traditionally been used to provide an effective means for voice communication, packet-switched networks are currently being utilized on a more frequent basis. One advantage afforded by packet-switched networks is the fact that various modes of communication may utilize this type of network, such as wireless phones, IP phones, and computers. The various methods and modes enable users to be contacted in different ways and are currently being used in several industries and computing environments.
Customer care agents or network operators responsible for the upkeep and operation of a network system occasionally need to escalate a service problem to specialized personnel in the event a complex technical problem arises. These specialized personnel are subject matter experts who possess the technical background and expertise to resolve difficult service problems, but whose job descriptions do not necessarily include this responsibility. In addition, these subject matter experts may be difficult to locate since they may be traveling or "roaming" between office buildings. They may also be working in test or development laboratories where wireless phone access is unreliable. Similarly, these subject matter experts may be vendors, and due to the nature of their position, are typically occupied working with other customers. Although these personnel frequently wear pagers, these devices do not provide a real-time immediate communication channel.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for routing escalation calls from customer care agents to mobile subject matter experts which traverse a packet-switched network.

Method and apparatus for routing a call in a packet-switched network


The invention relates to a device for controlling the movement of a plurality of moveable furniture parts which can be moved in a driven manner relative to a stationary furniture part by means of a drive unit via a monitoring unit for monitoring the movement of the moveable furniture parts. According to the invention, the monitoring unit is designed such that, as long as one moveable furniture part is being moved in a driven manner on a predetermined movement section, none of the other furniture parts which can be moved in a driven manner are moveable in a driven manner. The invention also relates to a piece of furniture and to a method for configuration of a device for controlling the movement of moveable furniture parts.

Devices for controlling the movement of furniture parts which can be moved relative to a stationary furniture part are known from the prior art, in which case the moveable furniture part can be moved in a driven manner with the aid of a drive unit and a monitoring unit for monitoring the movement of the moveable furniture parts.
By way of example, furniture parts which are guided such that they can be moved or can be pivoted on fittings, for example drawers, hatches, doors and the like, are moved with respect to a furniture housing with purely mechanical and/or electrical assistance, for example driven via an electric motor. Particularly in the case of modern pieces of furniture, which may provide additional functions or a relatively high level of control convenience, particular account must be taken of the installation and setting-up effort. This depends essentially on the number of furniture parts which can be moved in a driven manner and on the complexity of movement options to be set up for moveable furniture parts.

Device for controlling the movement of a plurality of moveable furniture parts, and a method for configuration of a device such as this, and piece of furniture


An LCD panel includes an array substrate, an opposite substrate and a liquid crystal layer. The opposite substrate is opposite to the array substrate, and the liquid crystal layer is disposed between the array substrate and the opposite substrate. The array substrate includes a substrate, an array, a sealant and a stop structure. The array disposed on the substrate is a thin-film transistor array or a color filter array. The sealant has a first end and a second end, and the first and second ends form an inlet. The stop structure is placed at least between the first end of the sealant frame and a side of the substrate.

(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and the array substrate thereof, and more specifically, to an LCD panel and the array substrate with a sealant-stop structure of a liquid crystal inlet.
(B) Description of Related Art
LCDs have many advantages such as thin panel, light weight, low power consumption and low radiation, and therefore are widely used in current display applications. An LCD display mainly includes an LCD panel and a backlight unit. The backlight unit serves as illumination source to the LCD panel, and the rotations of the liquid crystals are controlled by electrical signals so as to display images.
FIG. 1 shows the top perspective view of an LCD panel 100, wherein the color filter (CF) array substrate 104 is placed above the thin-film transistor (TFT) array substrate 102. For the LCD cell manufacturing, a sealant frame 108 is formed around the perimeter of the CF array substrate 104 or the TFT array substrate 102 to be a boundary after the CF array substrate 104 and the TFT array substrate 102 are assembled. A liquid crystal inlet 110 is formed between the two ends of the sealant frame 108, and liquid crystal 106 is injected into the space confined by the sealant frame 108, the TFT array substrate 102 and the CF array substrate 104.


A novel variety of the maple tree Acer truncatum was discovered in North Texas. It has a smaller mature size than typical Shantung maple mature size, and its leaves have an unusually deep cut between lobes, extending about two-thirds (⅔) of the distance from tip to base, with a distinctively elongate and narrow (almost thread-like) unfurling central lobe that widens as it matures. It exhibits consistent yellow-green leaf color throughout the spring, summer and fall, developing striking red-orange and yellow-pink coloration variations in the fall. Its coloration contrasts sharply to its lighter yellow-green veins which appear almost white and enhanced as the leaf darkens somewhat during summer. The variety known as ‘Super Dragon’ also is extremely tolerant to direct summer sun and drought conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a new and distinct variety of decorative maple tree known generally by the scientific name Acer truncatum. I discovered it growing in a cultivated area in my nursery in Fort Worth, Tex., in 2006. I have given it the name 'Super Dragon' because of its noticeable and distinctive yellow-green leaves and orange and pink-to-red new growth colors.
No federally sponsored research or development was involved in this invention.
2. Background
Maple trees provide desirable shade from spring to fall and typically shed their leaves for winter, thereby providing useful surrounding vegetation where summer sunlight may be excessive and winter sunshine is desirable. Displaying striking colors, maple trees are characteristically ornamental and provide pleasing and varying visual effects throughout their foliage period.
The Acer truncatum maple tree, commonly called "Shantung" maple, is a newly introduced tree in the United States which does exceptionally well in the Midwest in hot climates and heavily alkaline soils. Typical fifteen year old Shantaung maple trees stand upright and are twenty-eight to thirty-four feet tall, with a spread of twenty to twenty-six feet. Shantung maple leaves generally are characterized by having truncated base lobes near the leaf petiole and by having a prominent central lobe, giving the leaf a distinctly ovate-truncate shape. Fall foliage appears yellow, with occasional areas of lesser reds or orange mixed with yellow, though the latter seldom is repeated in subsequent years.
The instant novel variety of maple tree now discovered exhibits striking yellow-green colors throughout its growing season, along with red, orange and yellow spring colors and pink to orange and red summer growth. Other Acer truncatum species are prone to exhibit green or reddish-purple new growth in warm weather, but the instant novel variety has never done so.
The instant novel variety of maple tree also thrives in full sun, even Texas summer sun, whereas other yellow-leaf maples cultivars easily burn in direct summer sunlight during heat waves, even in northern climates.


A semiconductor device of this invention is a single-layer gate nonvolatile semiconductor memory in which a floating gate having a predetermined shape is formed on a semiconductor substrate. This floating gate opposes a diffusion layer serving as a control gate via a gate oxide film and is capacitively coupled with the diffusion layer by using the gate oxide film as a dielectric film. The diffusion layer immediately below the dielectric film is insulated from the semiconductor substrate by an insulating film such as a silicon oxide film. A pair of diffusion layers are formed in surface regions of the semiconductor substrate on the two sides of the floating gate extending on a tunnel oxide film. This invention can realize a reliable semiconductor device which is a single-layer gate semiconductor device by which a low-cost process is possible, has a control gate which can well withstand a high voltage applied when data is erased or written, and can prevent an operation error by minimizing variations in the threshold value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same and, more particularly, to semiconductor device suitably applicable to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory in which a floating gate and a control gate are formed via a dielectric film.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM which holds stored data even when disconnected from a power supply has attracted attention as a semiconductor memory. In this nonvolatile memory, a floating gate is formed on a semiconductor substrate via a tunnel insulating film, and a control gate is so formed as to oppose this floating gate via a dielectric film.
One example of this nonvolatile semiconductor memory is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-85279. This element is obtained by turning the above nonvolatile semiconductor memory upside down. More specifically, this nonvolatile semiconductor memory is fabricated by sequentially stacking a gate insulating film, a floating gate, and a tunnel insulating film in an insulating film formed on a semiconductor substrate, and forming a semiconductor layer having a source and a drain on top of the resultant structure. Since contacts can be extracted from the upper surface side, this element facilitates arranging word lines and is suited to increase the degree of integration.
The structure, however, of this nonvolatile semiconductor memory is complicated because the memory has a stacked gate structure, and this extremely increases the accuracy requirements when the element is to be formed. In addition, to lower the write voltage, it is necessary to increase the area of the overlap of the control gate and the floating gate. This not only increases the number of fabrication steps and the fabrication cost and lowers the reliability but also interferes with an increase in the degree of integration.
To solve the above problems, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-155968 or Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-112018 has disclosed an EEPROM which has a small cell area and includes a single-layer polysilicon film. This EEPROM includes a first element active region formed by forming a source and a drain on a semiconductor substrate and a second element active region formed adjacent to the first element active region via an element isolation structure by forming an impurity diffusion layer. A single-layer polysilicon film is patterned to form a floating gate which is formed by patterning on a channel between the source and the drain via a tunnel insulating film in the first element active region. This floating gate is so formed by patterning to oppose the impurity diffusion layer via a gate insulating film in the second active region. The impurity diffusion layer in the second element active region functions as a control gate.
In the above single-layer gate EEPROM, however, it is necessary to apply a high voltage of 20 (V) or more to the control gate, i.e., the impurity diffusion layer when data is erased or written, especially when data is erased. Consequently, an enough breakdown voltage becomes difficult to ensure between the control gate and the semiconductor substrate, leading to a serious problem of an operation error.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-147340 has disclosed an EEPROM which has a diffusion layer serving as the control gate separated from other semiconductor area to apply a high voltage to the diffusion layer.
However, it is difficult to minimize variations in the threshold value of the EEPROM and stably perform write and read operations.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a reliable semiconductor device which is a single-layer gate semiconductor device by which a low-cost process is possible, has a control gate which can well withstand a high voltage applied when data is erased or written, and can prevent an operation error, and a method of fabricating the same.
A semiconductor device of the present invention is a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor substrate in which a first and a second element active regions are demarcated by means of element isolation structure, said structure having a shield plate electrode formed on said semiconductor substrate via a first insulating film, a first and a second conductive regions formed on a surface region of the semiconductor substrate in the first element active region, a first electrode formed on the semiconductor substrate between the first and the second conductive regions via a second insulating film, a third conductive region formed in the surface region of the semiconductor substrate in the second element active region, and a second electrode formed on the third conductive region via a dielectric film, wherein said first electrode and the second electrode are electrically connected.
Another aspect of the semiconductor device of the present invention is a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor substrate in which a first and a second element active regions are demarcated by means of element isolation structure, a first and a second conductive regions formed on a surface region of the semiconductor substrate in the first element active region, a first electrode formed on the semiconductor substrate between the first and the second conductive regions via a second insulating film, a third conductive region formed in the surface region of the semiconductor substrate in the second element active region, and a second electrode formed on the third conductive region via a dielectric film, wherein said first electrode and the second electrode are electrically connected and a third electrode is connected to the semiconductor substrate to impress a predetermined electric potential to the semiconductor substrate in said first element active region.
A method of fabricating a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises the first step of defining first, second, third, and fourth element active regions by forming an element isolation structure on a semiconductor substrate having an insulating layer in a predetermined depth and covering a region from side surfaces to a lower surface of at least said first element active region with said insulating layer and said element isolation structure the second step of forming a first diffusion layer by doping an impurity into said first element active region, the third step of forming a diffusion layer region by doping an impurity having a conductivity type opposite to a conductivity type of said semiconductor substrate into a surface region of said semiconductor substrate in said second element active region, the fourth step of forming first, second, third, and fourth insulating films on said semiconductor substrate in said first, second, third, and fourth element active regions, respectively, the fifth step of forming a conductive film via first, second, third, and fourth insulating films on an entire surface of said semiconductor substrate in said first, second, third, and fourth element active regions, respectively, the sixth step of patterning said conductive film to leave a predetermined pattern in at least one of said first and third element active regions and form gate electrodes in said second and fourth element active regions, the seventh step of doping an impurity into said third and fourth element active regions to form a pair of second diffusion layers and a pair of third diffusion layers in surface regions of said semiconductor substrate on two sides of said conductive film in said third and fourth element active regions, the eighth step of doping an impurity having a conductivity type opposite to a conductivity type of said diffusion layer region into said second element active region to form a pair of fourth diffusion layers in surface regions of said semiconductor substrate on two sides of said conductive film in said second element active region, the ninth step of forming a fifth diffusion layer by doping an impurity into said semiconductor substrate near said third element active region, and the 10th step of forming an electrode connected to said fifth diffusion layer to apply a predetermined voltage to said third element active region via said fifth diffusion layer.
Another aspect-of the method of fabricating a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises the first step of defining first and second element active regions by forming an element isolation structure on a semiconductor substrate having an insulating layer in a predetermined depth and covering a region from side surfaces to a lower surface of at least said first element active region with said insulating layer and said element isolation structure, the second step of forming a first diffusion layer by doping an impurity into a surface region of said semiconductor substrate in said first element active region, the third step of forming a first insulating film on said semiconductor substrate in said first element active region and a second insulating film on said semiconductor substrate in said second element active region, the fourth step of forming a conductive film on an entire surface including said first and second element active regions and patterning said conductive film to leave a predetermined pattern in at least one of said first and second element active regions, the fifth step of doping an impurity into an entire surface including said second element active region to form a pair of second diffusion layers in surface regions of said semiconductor substrate on two sides of said conductive film in said second element active region, the sixth step of forming a third diffusion layer by doping an impurity into said semiconductor substrate near said second element active region, and the seventh step of forming an electrode connected to said third layer to apply a predetermined voltage to said second element active region via said third diffusion layer.
Still another aspect of the method of fabricating a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises the first step of forming a first trench in a surface of a nearly flat semiconductor region, the second step of forming a first film having a film thickness lager than a depth of said first trench on an entire surface of said semiconductor region to bury said first trench, the third step of forming a second trench in a portion of said first film above said first trench, said second trench being formed to make a bottom surface of said second trench lower than said semiconductor substrate except for said first trench and not to reach the surface of said semiconductor substrate in said first trench, the fourth step of forming a second film having a film thickness larger than a depth of said second trench on an entire surface of said first film to bury said second trench, and the fifth step of polishing at least said first and second films by using said semiconductor substrate as a stopper, thereby planarizing the surface.
Still another aspect of the method of fabricating a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises the first step of forming a first insulating film on a semiconductor substrate, the second step of doping a first impurity to form a first diffusion layer in a predetermined range of a surface region of said semiconductor substrate, the third step of forming a first conductive film on said first insulating film, the fourth step of selectively removing said first conductive film until said first insulating film is exposed, thereby forming a first island conductive film on said first diffusion layer and a shield plate electrode having a first hole and a second hole which surrounds said first island conductive film and is wider than said first diffusion layer, the fifth step of forming a second insulating film on an entire surface to bury said first island conductive film and said shield plate electrode, the sixth step of defining an element active region by removing said second insulating film and said first insulating film present in said first hole until said semiconductor substrate is exposed, the seventh step of sequentially stacking a third insulating film and a second conductive film on said semiconductor substrate in said element active region, the eighth step of selectively removing said second conductive film to form a second island conductive film via said third insulating film on said semiconductor substrate in at least said element active region, the ninth step of doping a second impurity into an entire surface including said element active region to form a pair of second diffusion layers in surface regions of said semiconductor substrate on two sides of said second island conductive film in said element active region, and the 10th step of forming an integrated floating gate electrode by electrically connecting said first and second island conductive films.
Still another aspect of the method of fabricating a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises the first step of forming a first insulating film on a semiconductor substrate, the second step of doping a first impurity to form a first diffusion layer in a predetermined range of a surface region of said semiconductor substrate, the third step of forming a first conductive film on said first insulating film, the fourth step of selectively removing said first conductive film until said first insulating film is exposed, thereby forming a first island conductive film on said first diffusion layer and a shield plate electrode having a first hole and a second hole which surrounds said first island conductive film and is wider than said first diffusion layer, the fifth step of forming a second insulating film on an entire surface to bury said first island conductive film and said shield plate electrode, the sixth step of defining an element active region by removing said second insulating film and said first insulating film present in said first hole until said semiconductor substrate is exposed, the seventh step of forming a third insulating film on said semiconductor substrate in said element active region, the eighth step of forming a hole which exposes said first island conductive film in said second insulating film, the ninth step of filling said hole by forming a second conductive film on an entire surface including said element active region, the 10th step of selectively removing said second conductive film so as to leave a pattern extending from said hole to said element active region, thereby forming a floating gate electrode integrated with said first island conductive film, and the 11th step of doping a second impurity into said element active region to form a pair of second diffusion layers in surface regions of said semiconductor substrate on two sides of said second conductive film in said element active region.
Still another aspect of the method of fabricating a semiconductor device of the present invention comprises the first step of forming a first insulating film in a predetermined region on a semiconductor substrate and a second insulating film on said semiconductor substrate not covered with said first insulating film, the second step of doping a first impurity to form a first diffusion layer in a surface region of said semiconductor substrate below said second insulating film, the third step of forming a first conductive film on said first and second insulating films, the fourth step of selectively removing said first conductive film until said first or second insulating film is exposed to form a first island conductive film on said first diffusion layer and a second island conductive film on said first insulating film, and simultaneously forming a shield plate electrode having holes surrounding said first and second island conductive films, the fifth step of forming a floating gate electrode by electrically connecting said first and second island conductive films, and the sixth step of doping an impurity into said hole surrounding said second island conductive film to form a pair of second diffusion layers in surface regions of said semiconductor substrate on two sides of said second island conductive film.
In the present invention, a conductor layer which functions as the control gate of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory is formed in a surface region of a semiconductor substrate, and a region from the side surfaces to the lower surface of this conductor layer is completely covered with an insulating film. Therefore, even when a high voltage is applied to the control gate to erase data, a high breakdown voltage can be held in the outer portion of the conductor layer. Also, a pair of diffusion layers are formed in surface regions of the semiconductor substrate on the two sides of a tunnel oxide film of the nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and an electrode is formed to apply a predetermined substrate potential to an element active region including these diffusion layers. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize variations in the threshold value and stably perform write and read operations.
The present invention can realize a reliable semiconductor device which is a single-layer gate semiconductor device by which a low-cost process is possible, has a control gate which can well withstand a high voltage applied when data is erased or written, and can prevent an operation error.

Semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same


An image-coding format converting apparatus comprising an MPEG2 image decoder 30, a resolution/frame rate converter 31, a motion vector converter 32, and an MPEG4 encoder 33. The MPEG2 decoder 30 decodes a bit stream of MPEG2 image codes, generating an image signal. The resolution/frame rate converter 31 converts the image signal. The MPEG4 encoder 33 encodes the output of the resolution/frame rate converter 31, generating a bit stream of MPEG4 image codes. In the resolution/frame rate converter 31, pixels are added or extracted in accordance with the start position of a macro block, thus adjusting the input image signal to one than can easily be encoded to MPEG4 image codes. The motion vector converter 32 generates an MPEG4 motion vector from parameters such as an MPEG2 motion vector. The MPEG4 encoder 33 uses the MPEG4 motion vector to encode the output of the resolution/frame rate converter 31.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for converting signals. More particularly, the invention relates to the technique of converting a signal encoded in the first format, into a signal encoded in the second format.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional apparatus for converting an image-coding format. The apparatus is designed to convert an input bit stream of image codes into a bit stream of a different image-coding format. More specifically, the image-coding format converting apparatus of in FIG. 1 converts an input bit stream of MPEG2 (Moving Picture image coding Experts Group: ISO/IEC13818-2) image codes, into a bit stream of MPEG4 (ISO/IEC14496-2) image codes.
In the image-coding format converting apparatus shown in FIG. 1, an input bit stream of MPEG2 image codes is supplied to the MPEG2 image decoder 210.
The MPEG2 image decoder 210 decodes the input bit stream of MPEG2 image codes, in accordance with the MPEG2 image-decoding scheme, thus generating an image signal. The image signal is input to the resolution/frame rate converter 211.
The resolution/frame rate converter 211 converts the image signal to an image signal that has different resolution and frame rate. The signal the converter 211 has generated is supplied to an MPEG4 image encoder 212. It should be noted that the converter 211 reduces the resolution of the decoded image signal to half the original value in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.
The MPEG4 image encoder 212 encodes the image signal supplied from the resolution/frame rate converter 211, in accordance with the MPEG4 image-encoding scheme, thereby generating an MPEG4-encoded bit stream. The MPEG4-encoded bit stream is output from the image-coding format converting apparatus of FIG. 1.
The MPEG4 image encoder 212 detects a motion vector from the image signal generated by the MPEG2 image decoder 210 and predict a motion from the motion vector, in the same way as in the ordinary encoding process.
The amount of data processed to detect the motion vector in the course of encoding the input image signal occupies about 60 to 70% of all data processed in the conventional method of converting an image-coding format. Consequently, it is difficult to process the image signal in real time. This will inevitably result in a time delay. Further, the image-coding format converting apparatus needs to be large and complex.
In the image-coding format converting apparatus described above, the resolution/frame rate converter 211 changes the resolution and frame rate of the image signal that the MPEG2 image decoder 210 has generated by decoding the bit stream of MPEG2 image codes in accordance with the MPEG2 image-decoding scheme. Then, the MPEG4 image encoder 212 encodes the image signal thus processed by the converter 211, in accordance with the MPEG4 image-encoding scheme, and generates an MPEG4-encoded bit stream.
Therefore, the resolution and frame rate of the image signal output from the resolution/frame rate converter 211 may not be appropriate, making it difficult for the MPEG4 image encoder 212 to perform MPEG4 image encoding correctly.

Apparatus and method for converting signals


A cable guide is configured to be detachably attached to a detection device having a cable lead-out portion from which a cable extends in a predetermined direction. The cable guide includes a guide portion configured to change a lead-out direction of the cable with respect to the cable lead-out portion, and an attachment portion configured to attach the guide portion to the detection device.

The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a cable guide and a detection device with the cable guide, the cable guide configured to guide a direction of a cable led out from the detection device.
A long cable is used for a detection device configured to be attached to a body of a subject to detect physiological information. A related art cable guide is a shape retainer for holding this type of cable onto the subject (see, e.g., JP2015-073784A). The shape retainer has lower flexibility than the cable to which the shape retainer is attached. The shape retainer attached to the cable is deformed into a bent shape that fits for example an ear of the subject, and is attached to the subject to hold the cable onto the subject.
In accordance with recent downsizing of detection devices, there are increasing options as to a location of placing a detection device for detecting physiological information, and it is sometimes desired to change a cable lead-out direction from a cable lead-out portion of the detection device. The cable lead-out direction is a direction in which a cable is led out from the cable lead-out portion. The cable lead-out portion is a portion at which the detection device and the cable led out from the detection device are connected to each other.
However, the related art shape retainer is provided at a location distant from the cable lead-out portion. Therefore, even if the shape retainer is used in a bent and deformed manner, the cable lead-out direction with respect to the cable lead-out portion cannot be changed.

Cable guide and detection device with cable guide


Provided is a method for arranging a protective coating for a thermally stressed structure, having at least one layer of alpha-aluminium oxide or of element-modified alpha-aluminium oxide, and wherein the protective coating is applied by reactive cathodic arc vaporization. A protective coating produced by the method and a component having a protective coating is also provided.

For the protection of components which are exposed to high temperatures thermal barrier coatings (TBC) are used in order to lower the material temperature during high-temperature use. Thermal barrier coatings are required for example in gas turbines which are exposed to very high operating temperatures. However, in modern gas turbines with high efficiency hot gas components which are coated with thermal barrier coatings, such as blades and combustion chamber parts, a temperature field is frequently formed, which temperature field enables coatings with constituents such as calcium, magnesium, aluminum and silicon to be deposited during operation. These deposits as generally referred to as CMAS, which is derived from the chemical symbols Ca, Mg, Al and Si. These coatings or parts of these coatings can chemically react with ceramic material of the thermal barrier coating and/or can penetrate into the thermal barrier coating. In this case, the thermal barrier coating is destroyed in the course of operation, e.g. of the corresponding gas turbine. Other coatings, which are formed from nickeliferous or ferriferous deposits from oil impurities, contaminated pipes or connections from the compressor, can also destroy the thermal barrier coating by hardening and/or embrittlement.
The forming of a CMAS liquid phase, for example by lining the thermal barrier coating with aluminum particles and direct interaction, is conventionally avoided by forming high-melting phases so that no product of the melt can penetrate into the pores of the thermal barrier coating. This type of coating usually requires an aftertreatment and requires a number of process steps.

Protective coating for a thermally stressed structure


A telecommunications network comprises an access network and a core network. The access network is a packet switched oriented access network. A user equipment comprises or is able to access the local emergency service information. The local emergency service information is provisioned or provided to the user equipment by the telecommunications network or by another telecommunications network. A packet switched emergency call is initiated, by the user equipment, while the user equipment is connected to the telecommunications network, and an emergency uniform resource name is transmitted, by the user equipment, to a network node of the telecommunications network. The emergency uniform resource name comprises: country and/or network information; and emergency type information and/or emergency call telephone number information. The packet switched emergency call is transferred or routed to a public safety answering point. The public safety answering point is chosen based on the transmitted emergency uniform resource name.

Usually, emergency services and emergency call telephone numbers are defined locally by numbering plans following national regulations. It is possible to provision local emergency call telephone numbers and optionally category information related to the emergency call telephone numbers to a user equipment (3GPP TS 24.008). If such category information is included, the user equipment (UE) can create an emergency uniform resource name (URN) (sos-URN). However, category information is only used for circuit switched emergency calls and only seven categories are available (i.e. fire, ambulance, police, mountain rescue, sea rescue, automatic eCall, manual eCall). All other provisioned emergency call telephone numbers are translated to the top level sos-URN, wherein the specific emergency service (that the user is trying to reach) cannot be distinguished by the network and the call is not automatically routed to the specific public safety answering point which is responsible for the specific category/type (e.g., fire, ambulance, police, etc.) that the user is trying to reach. Thus, the emergency call procedure, especially for packet-switched emergency calls, is time and resource consuming. If an emergency number is not provisioned to a user equipment (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) user equipment or generic session initiation protocol (SIP) user equipment, etc.) and the user dials such an unknown emergency call telephone number, the user equipment will initiate the call setup as a normal call using the dialed number, which requires a high effort in network provisioning by the home network operator.

Handling of a packet switched emergency call within a telecommunications network and/or enhanced handling of local emergency service information by a user equipment


To improve a spherical bearing including a bearing body with a convex spherical surface, a holder, on which the bearing body is disposed, and a bearing shell with a concave spherical surface, the bearing shell being rotatably mounted on the bearing body, in such a way that the mounting of the bearing body on the holder can be carried out a simple and low-cost way, it is provided that the holder is made of a plastics material, and the holder and the bearing body are held non-rotatably with respect to each other. A device for preventing rotation, which holds the bearing body on the holder to be non-rotatable with respect to the holder, may be provided.

The invention relates to a spherical bearing, comprising a bearing body with a convex spherical surface, a holder, on which the bearing body is disposed, and a bearing shell with a concave spherical surface, the bearing shell being rotatably mounted on the bearing body.
The invention also relates to an electric motor with such a spherical bearing and to a circulation pump with such a spherical bearing.
The bearing body must be fixed on the holder. It is known from DE 36 36 941 A1 to provide the bearing ball with a drilled hole, into which the end of a bearing support facing the ball protrudes as a holder.
DE3744 101 A1 discloses a bearing ball mount, the ball consisting of hard ceramic material and having a drilled hole, by means of which it is mounted on the bearing support by a form fit or frictional engagement.
Bearing bodies, and in particular bearing balls, may have a diameter of 6 mm or less. Correspondingly small holes then have to be drilled in such bearing bodies. This involves great expense, in particular where ceramic materials are concerned. A considerable proportion of the costs of a circulation pump with such a spherical bearing are attributable to the production of a drilled hole in the bearing body.

Spherical bearing, electric motor and circulation pump


A “dead-band” range may be provided for automatically selecting between two-wheel and four-wheel steering for an agricultural machine. When the machine is being steered minimally within a first band (within the dead-band range), such as in a straightaway path, two-wheel steering may be automatically selected. However, when the machine is being increasingly steered thereby reaching a second band (beyond the dead-band range), four-wheel steering may be automatically selected. An operator may monitor the state of the machine steering via a touchscreen Human Machine Interface (HMI) in the cabin. The operator may also adjust the dead-band range by increasing or decreasing sensitivity via the HMI.

Agricultural machines, such as self-propelled agricultural sprayers, may provide conventional two-wheel steering or four-wheel steering options. In a conventional two-wheel steering configuration, a machine may be steered left or right via two or more wheels in the front, while two or more wheels in the rear of the machine are held in a substantially strait direction with respect to the machine. In a four-wheel steering configuration, the machine may be steered left or right via wheels in the front and rear both turning. For example, to turn left, wheels in the front may turn left while wheels in the rear turn right, and to turn right, wheels in the front may turn right while wheels in the rear turn left.
Four-wheel steering provides distinct advantages over conventional two-wheel steering. For example, four-wheel steering generally improves steering response and decreases turning radius. Consequently, it is preferable for agricultural machines to implement four-wheel steering to perform tight turns between crop rows. However, in longer straightaway paths, four-wheel steering is unnecessary and sometimes results in distracting wobbling and/or vibrations of the machine, thereby requiring an operator to continuously monitor and correct steering. As a result, operators oftentimes disable four-wheel steering in straightaway paths while enabling four-wheel steering during turns.

Four-wheel steering adjustable to sensitivity of operator controls


Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and methods of tethering between a mobile device and a network. For example, a first cellular device may include a tethering controller to control tethering between one or more mobile devices and a network server via a wireless local area network (WLAN) between the first cellular device and the mobile devices. The tethering controller may be configured to manage communication of traffic between the mobile devices and the network server via a distributed access path including a first path and at least one second path, the first path including a cellular network link between the first cellular device and the network server, and the second path including a non-cellular link between the first cellular device and a second cellular device.

Some wireless communication devices, for example, mobile devices, e.g., Smartphones, may be configured to perform the functionality of a tethering device, e.g., a soft Access Point (AP), to provide a tethering service to one or more mobile devices.
The tethering device may be configured to enable data connectivity of one or more mobile devices to a network, e.g., to the Internet. For example, the tethering device may be configured to enable the one or more mobile devices to connect to the Internet via a cellular network, e.g., a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN).
For example, a cellular device may maintain an Internet connection via a cellular network, and may communicate with one or more mobile devices via a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). The cellular device may perform the functionality of a tethering device to share the Internet connection with the mobile devices, for example, by serving as a soft AP to the mobile devices.
In order to provide a tethered link between the mobile devices and the network, the cellular device may be required to utilize two or more link connections of different types of wireless media (also referred to as "Radio Access technologies (RATs)"). For example, the cellular device may be required to use a WLAN link to communicate between the cellular device and the mobile devices, and a cellular link to communicate between the cellular device and the Internet. The two or more link connections may have different characteristics. For example, a cellular link connection may utilize a high mobility technology, e.g., supporting speeds of up to 200 Kilometer per hour (km/h), while a WLAN link connection may be configured to support static or nomadic channel conditions. The differences between the characteristics of the two or more RATs may result in an imbalance between the two or more link connections.
A performance of applications, for example, video-streaming applications, may be substantially affected by a weakest link of the tethering link.
Furthermore, the performance and/or capabilities of a cellular radio of the cellular device may be tailored, e.g., for reasons of cost, for specific capabilities of the cellular device, e.g. a screen size of a Smartphone.
Accordingly, the usage of the cellular device as a tethering device may be limited, and may not be able to provide a required level of performance.

Apparatus, method and system of tethering between a mobile device and a network


Multi-tier system for digital radio communication. The multi-tier system has a first-tier base station with relatively long-range radio and has a second-tier base station with relatively short-range, low power and cheaper radios. The system can be more versatilely configured to meet demands of various applications. The application may include data capture using bar code readers, radio frequency readers and other automatic data capture devices. The system may also be used to control hotel door locks, individual room temperature control, remote video monitoring—all without having to wire and with much flexibility given the two types of radios employed.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-tier wireless communications architecture, applications and methods of using wireless units having differing communication functionalities and ranges.
B. Description of the Related Art
Each year more electronic devices are being deployed in a wider variety of commercial areas. In particular, data acquisition devices, such as bar code scanners, hand held terminals and radio frequency identification ("RFID") readers, are being adopted to speed up commercial operations and are a standard fixture in inventory tracking environments, as well as in many consumer businesses. With wide deployment of these electronic devices across manufacturing, inventory, and retail sales areas, there has been an increasingly strong demand for wireless connectivity between the data acquisition units and the corporate local area network ("LAN"). In response, various wireless solution vendors have come up with systems using spread spectrum technologies in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz radio bands. Spread spectrum technologies are widely used in these applications because they can co-exist with other radio devices without causing significant interferences and thus do not require FCC licenses. Various examples and details of spread spectrum communication in these radio bands using base stations, access points and portable terminals are disclosed in the following patents assigned to Symbol Technologies, all of which patents are herein incorporated by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,811; U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,589; U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,803; U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,621; U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,441; U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,812; U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,498; U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,687; U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,550; U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,461; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,183.
Although they have relatively long ranges and are versatile, these spread spectrum radio transceivers, however, have been generally expensive. Furthermore, due to the expensive nature of these radios, the applications have been generally limited to the more expensive data capture devices. However, cheaper and shorter-range radio transceivers, when used in conjunction with longer-range radios (collectively forming a "multi-tier radio communications architecture"), would have much broader applications heretofore unapplied, such as handheld terminals, price checkers, temperature and other sensors, hotel, school, and other door locks, and remote video cameras.
There also have been proposed multi-tier communication systems, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,536, which is herein incorporated by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,536 shows wireless units with relatively long range participating in the "premises" LAN and other wireless units with shorter range participating in the "peripheral" LAN. In such conventional systems the main communications are done through the "premises" LAN, whereas in the "peripheral" LAN, wireless units are temporally formed (and dissolved) on an ad hoc basis for short communications such as for printing. Furthermore, the conventional systems generally require a coordination between the upper-tier radio communication protocol and the lower-tier radio communication protocol. These factors (i.e., need to accommodate ad hoc communications and protocol coordination between different tier units) generally contribute to a more expensive solution for the lower-tier radio transceiver. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,536 discloses only a few specific applications and does not disclose detailed applications of the multi-tier architecture discussed hereinbelow.

Multi-tier wireless communications architecture, applications and methods


The invention discloses a system and methods for quantitating the presence of nucleic acid sequences by evaluation of amplification data generated using real-time PCR. In one aspect, the methods may be adapted to identify a threshold and threshold cycle for one or more reactions based upon evaluation of exponential and baseline regions for each amplification reaction. The methodology used in the analysis may be readily automated such that subjective user interpretation of the data is substantially reduced or eliminated.

1. Field
The invention generally relates to nucleic acid analysis, and more particularly, to a system and methods for evaluating results obtained from quantitative amplification reactions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Quantitative nucleic acid analysis is extensively used in biological research and clinical analysis. Some of the applications which make use of this technology include: measurement of gene expression, monitoring of biological responses to stimuli, genomic-level gene quantitation, and pathogen detection. Typically, these methodologies utilize Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) as a means for selectively amplifying nucleic acid sequences in a manner that allows for their detection. While it is generally desirable to automate the quantitation process, conventional methodologies often require a degree of user input in the form of subjective interpretation and/or approximation. As a result, these techniques may suffer from reduced accuracy and significant user-induced variability. Furthermore, in high-throughput applications where many samples are to be processed simultaneously, it is desirable to provide increased automation capabilities to improve the speed with which the analysis may be conducted. The aforementioned limitations of conventional techniques illustrate the need for an improved method for analyzing data generated by PCR-based quantitation techniques that may increase the potential for automation while improving the quantitative accuracy and reproducibility of the analysis.

Automatic threshold setting and baseline determination for real-time PCR


This application describes an overtube device that gives diagnostic and/or therapeutic access to body cavities using natural orifices of the body. The overtube includes an elongate flexible body having a distal portion deflectable in response to activation of a control cable. Proximal features of the overtube include an insufflations port and seals for minimizing loss of insufflations pressure around the shafts of instruments passed through the tube. In some embodiments, retractor elements are including on the distal portion of the overtube.

This application describes an overtube/introducer device that gives access to body cavities using natural orifices of the body (e.g., esophagus, anus, vagina) for a variety of therapeutic and/or diagnostic procedures. In a particular application, the overtube/introducer enables the introduction of devices into the gastrointestinal tract of a patient via the mouth and esophagus. Therapies to be carried out using the introducer can include procedures designed for the treatment of obesity. The disclosed overtube provides in and out access to the targeted procedural site and protects the body tissue during the procedure from trauma.
The disclosed overtube is suitable for use in an exemplary procedure in which the geometry of the stomach is modified and implantable devices are deployed. The procedure is preferably performed entirely through the naturally existing orifice of the mouth, without additional external incisions.
The exemplary procedure is initiated with the introduction of an overtube into the mouth and, at a minimum, past the pharynx of a patient but preferably reaching and sealing against the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). For reference, FIG. 1 shows the anatomy of the human head and stomach, with reference numerals identifying the following features:
1. Body of stomach
2. Fundus
3. Anterior wall
4. Greater curvature
5. Lesser curvature
6. Lower esophageal sphincter (LES) I gastroesophageal junction
9. Pyloric sphincter
10. Pyloric antrum
11. Pyloric canal
12. Angular notch
13. Gastric Canal
14. Rugal folds
The entire exemplary procedure is preferably performed under direct endoscopic visualization, obtained by inserting a flexible endoscope into the overtube prior to its introduction into the patient, though the procedure (or individual steps of the procedure) may also be performed without direct visualization. In cases where an endoscope is used, the endoscope's distal tip may be inserted into a flexible Bougie that incorporates a central lumen allowing direct line-of-sight for the endoscope's illumination and visualization optics. The endoscope with the installed Bougie may then be inserted into the overtube's central lumen until the Bougie protrudes just past the overtube's distal end. This provides a gentle leading edge that facilitates insertion of the Bougie, overtube, and endoscope into the patient's esophagus.
Alternatively the overtube may be inserted over a guide wire; the guidewire inserted under direct visualization using a standard endoscope. A transition member is positioned between the inside diameter of the overtube and the outside diameter of the guidewire providing for a smooth transition. This transition is preferably a long taper, and composed of a soft, flexible material such as silicone.
Once the overtube, endoscope and Bougie have reached the desired position within the esophagus, the endoscope and Bougie are withdrawn from the overtube, and the overtube is left in position. The overtube is now in a position to facilitate the introduction of other tools and devices needed to perform subsequent steps.
With the overtube in the desired position, a special-purpose stapler is inserted which will be used to prepare sites within the stomach wall tissue that will serve as mounting points for implantable devices to be installed in later steps. Staplers suitable for this procedure include those disclosed in the following U.S. applications: U.S. application Ser. No. 11/542,457, filed Oct. 3, 2006, U.S. application Ser. No. 11/900,757, filed Sep. 13, 2007, U.S. application Ser. No. 12/119,329, filed May 12, 2008, U.S. application Ser. No. 12/050,169, filed Mar. 18, 2008.
In one such stapler, the leading distal tip of the stapler mechanism is covered with a compliant, bullet-shaped, Bougie end cap, and incorporates a side-looking window. The smooth Bougie shape of the end cap facilitates introduction of the stapler into the overtube and past the distal end of the overtube into the patient's esophagus or stomach. The side window allows stomach wall tissue to be drawn between the stapler jaws prior to the application of staples. The stapler incorporates a passive flexible length which allows the device to bend freely between the user controls at the proximal end and the stapler mechanism at the distal end. Insertion of the stapler is preferably performed under direct endoscopic visualization, with an endoscope positioned next to the stapler such that its camera optics are located slightly proximal of the stapler's distal end. In this way, the position of the stapler may be visualized at all times, relative to its position within the overtube, esophagus and stomach. However, insertion of the stapler may optionally be performed without using an endoscope for visualization.
With the stapler inserted into the stomach, it may then be positioned relative to the stomach wall near the lower esophageal sphincter as desired. In order to achieve the desired position and visualization, it may be necessary to withdraw or further insert the overtube, or to manipulate certain features of the overtube, in such a way that it advantageously alters the geometry of the tissue and/or the overtube's relative position. When the position of the stapler is judged to be correct, suction is applied to draw stomach wall tissue into the stapler end cap's side-looking window. This positions the stomach wall tissue between the jaws of the stapler, which are then approximated via a physician-controlled actuator to clamp the tissue firmly in position. Once the tissue has been securely fixtured, the suction may be released, as it is no longer needed to retain the stomach tissue. Staples are then deployed by means of a second physician-controlled actuator through the plication, or fold, of stomach tissue between the stapler's jaws to create circular rings about a central point. A hole is created in the plication of stomach tissue at the center of the pattern of stapes simultaneous to the application of the staples. The hole and surrounding circular array of staples create a secure and durable mounting point (e.g., for implantable devices), and will be used in later steps of the procedure. Once the staples have been deployed and the mounting point has been created, the physician releases the plication from the stapler's jaws and any remaining suction. The stapler and endoscope are then withdrawn from the overtube.
For staplers that must be re-loaded prior to the creation of the next mounting point, the stapler is withdrawn from the overtube and the distal stapling mechanism is then reloaded. For self-reloading stapler mechanisms, this step is not required. If reloading is required and has been performed, the reloaded device, Bougie end cap and endoscope are reinserted into the overtube. The process of positioning the stapler mechanism within the stomach described above is repeated so that the next mounting point is identified and created. This process is repeated to produce one or more anchor points, but preferably four mounting points are created. These mounting points may be anywhere within the stomach, but they are preferably located at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock positions, a fixed distance away from the lower esophageal sphincter. If the mounting points are to be used as anchor points for a flow restrictor of the type used to restrict/obstruct passage of food from the esophagus into the stomach, the preferential distance of the mounting points is such that the position of the exit of a restrictor attached at the mounting points will be immediately adjacent the lower esophageal sphincter. Exemplary restrictor devices include but are not limited to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,675,809, 6,845,776, 7,097,665, and 7,146,984, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/345,666, filed Jan. 16, 2003, and U.S. application Ser. No. 12/175,242 (abandoned), Endoscopic Implant System and Method, filed Jul. 17, 2008.
Once the desired mounting points have been created with the stapler, the stapler is withdrawn. Next, highly compliant anchors are installed through the hole at the center of each of the mounting points. The anchors have a rivet-like shape with large retaining heads on either end. The anchors are intended to be installed in the holes at the center of the mounting points, remain in position indefinitely or until removed, and be easily removable. The anchors are configured such that they may be grasped and pullet! from one end (herein referred to as the "leading end"), and the resulting tension causes the leading end retaining head to change profile so that it may be drawn through the hole in a mounting point. The other end of the anchor (herein referred to as the "following end") is designed so that tension resulting from drawing it through the mounting hole does not result in a change to its profile, so it cannot be drawn through the mounting hole. Anchors of this type are described in U.S. application Ser. No. 12/175,242 (abandoned), Endoscopic Implant System and Method, filed Jul. 17, 2008.
Anchors are positioned in each of the mounting holes by means of graspers or similar instruments, which pull them, leading end first, through the mounting holes. Once the anchors are installed, the instruments required to insert them are withdrawn from the overtube.
Finally, a restrictor is inserted into the stomach via the overtube. The restrictor is attached to the anchors, and will remain in the stomach after the procedure for an indefinite period of time, such as the point in time when a physician determines the patient has achieved sufficient weight loss. The restrictor is attached to the anchors by drawing the leading end of the anchors through mounting holes in the restrictor using graspers or other instruments, as appropriate.
When the restrictor is attached to the anchors, the procedure is complete and the overtube may be withdrawn from the patient, along with any tools remaining in the lumen it defines (e.g., endoscope, graspers, etc.).
Upon completion of the procedure, the overtube has enabled the deployment of a restrictor, which is attached to anchors that have been implanted into stapled plications in the stomach wall. The passage of food into the stomach from the esophagus has been restricted, altering the patient's feelings of satiety and eating habits.

Overtube introducer for use in endoscopic bariatric surgery