The present invention provides a method for forming a black electrode by performing sintering at a temperature in the range of 500-600° C. after applying a lead-free black conductive composition to a substrate. The aforementioned black electrode comprises a binder comprising a crystallized glass component. The aforementioned black conductive composition comprises conductive particles of black RuO2, lead-free black ruthenium-based polyoxide, and mixtures thereof in an amount of 4-30 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, a lead-free non-conductive black oxide in an amount of 0-30 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, and a lead-free bismuth-based glass binder in an amount of 10-50 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition.

While the background of the present invention is discussed in terms of plasma display panel (PDP) applications, it is understood that the present invention is useful in flat panel display applications, in general.
The PDP typically comprises a pair of forward and backward insulation substrates arranged in opposition to each other to form a plurality of cells as display elements each defined by the insulation substrates supported with a constant interval and cell barriers arranged between the insulation substrates, two crossing electrodes disposed on internal surfaces of the insulation substrates with a dielectric layer interposed between the electrodes which cause electric discharge in a plurality of cells by application of an alternating current. Due to this application of alternating current, phosphor screens formed on the wall surface of the cell barrier emit light and display images which are passed through the transparent insulation substrate (typically called the front glass substrate or plate).
One area of concern for PDP manufacturers is display contrast, which affects the ultimate picture viewed by the consumer. To improve the display contrast, it is essential to decrease the reflection of external light from the electrodes and conductors arranged on the front glass substrate of the PDP device. This reflection decrease can be accomplished by making the electrodes and conductors black as viewed through the front plate of the display.
Furthermore, another area of concern for PDP manufacturers is environmental in nature and is the lead and cadmium contained in the prior art black conductor compositions and black electrodes of the PDP device. It is desirable to reduce and/or eliminate the lead and cadmium contained in the black conductor compositions and electrodes while still maintaining the required physical and electrical properties of the compositions and electrodes.
For example, in Japanese Kokai Patent No. HEI 10[1998]-73233 and its division Japanese Kokai Patent No. 2004-158456, light-forming black electrode compositions containing conductive particles consisting of at least one substance chosen from ruthenium oxide, ruthenium polyoxide, or their mixture and an inorganic binder, black electrodes using such compositions, plasma display panels using such black electrodes, and a method for making such a plasma display panel are disclosed. These literature references are not directed to lead-free black conductive compositions. In these references, there are no descriptions on lead-free black conductive compositions in terms of properties such as the appearance and strength of black electrodes obtained by sintering the compositions, electrical properties such as resistance, and a balance of all the properties for PDP electrodes.
Japanese Patent No. 3510761 discloses alkali-developable photocurable conductive paste compositions for plasma display panels, easily forming high-precision electrode circuits on large areas by photolithography and firing below 600° C. Such compositions contain (A) copolymer resins obtained by the addition of glycidyl acrylate and/or glycidyl methacrylate to copolymers of methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid and/or acrylic acid; (B) photochemical polymerization initiator; (C) photopolymerizable monomer; (D) at least one conductive metal powder selected from Au, Ag, Ni, and Al; (E) glass frit; and (F) a phosphoric acid compound. Particularly in this literature, a low-melting glass frit is described using lead oxide as the preferred main component, while there are no descriptions of lead-free conductive compositions, especially black conductive compositions.
Japanese Patent No. 3541125 discloses alkali-developable curable conductive paste compositions that have excellent adhesion to the substrate after being fired, with adhesion between layers, suppression of curling, easy formation of high-precision conductive circuit patterns in large areas by photolithography, and are especially useful for forming underlayer electrode circuits of bus electrodes formed on the front substrate of plasma display panel. These compositions consist of: (A) carboxy-group-containing resins; (B) photopolymerizable monomer; (C) photochemical polymerization initiator; (D) silanol-group-containing synthetic amorphous silica fine powder; (E) conductive powder; and if needed (F) heat-resistant black pigment; (G) glass frit; and (H) stabilizer. In particular, this literature has a description of a low-melting glass frit using lead oxide as the preferred main component, while there are no descriptions of lead-free conductive compositions, especially black conductive compositions.
Japanese Patent No. 3479463 discloses photocurable conductive compositions providing excellent adhesion on a substrate in steps involving drying, exposure, development and firing, and resolution, satisfying the need for both a sufficient conductivity and blackness after being fired and discloses plasma display panels (PDP) with formation of the underlayer (black layer) electrode circuit using such compositions. The basic first embodiment of the compositions described in this literature contains (A) black conductive microparticles having a surface area to weight ratio larger than 20 m2/g and containing at least one substance chosen from ruthenium oxide or other ruthenium compound, copper-chromium black composite oxide and copper-iron black composite oxide, (B) an organic binder, (C) a photopolymerizable monomer, and (D) a photochemical polymerization initiator. The second embodiment contains (E) inorganic fine particles in addition to the above components. In this literature, with respect to this composition, the inorganic fine particles (E) contain, as needed, glass powder with a softening point of 400-600° C., conductive powder, heat-resistant black pigment, silica powder, etc. However, in the compositions of this literature, glass powder is not an essential component, and even when a glass component is added, lead oxide is described as the preferred main component, with no disclosure of lead-free black conductive compositions.
Japanese Patent No. 3538387 discloses photocurable conductive compositions having excellent storage stability, providing excellent adhesion on substrates in the different steps of drying, exposure, development and firing, and resolution, and satisfying the need for both sufficient blackness after being fired, and discloses plasma display panels (PDP) with the formation of the underlayer (black layer) electrode circuit using such compositions. The basic first embodiment of these photocurable resin compositions contains (A) tricobalt tetroxide (Co3O4) black microparticles, (B) organic binder, (C) photopolymerizable monomer, and (D) photochemical polymerization initiator. The second embodiment contains (E) inorganic microparticles in addition to the above components. In this literature, with respect to this composition, the inorganic fine particles (E) contain, as needed, a glass powder with a softening point of 400-600° C., conductive powder, heat-resistant black pigment, silica powder, etc. However, the compositions of this literature do not contain conductive materials such as ruthenium oxide, and glass powder is not an essential component. Even when a glass component is added, lead oxide is described as the preferred main component, with no disclosure of lead-free black conductive compositions.
Japanese Patent No. 3538408 discloses photocurable conductive compositions having excellent storage stability, providing excellent adhesion on substrates in different steps of drying, exposure, development and firing, and resolution, and satisfying the need for both sufficient conductivity and blackness after being fired, and discloses plasma display panels (PDP) with the formation of the underlayer (black layer) electrode circuit using such compositions. The basic first embodiment of these photocurable resin compositions contains (A) black inorganic microparticles such as inorganic binder-coated ruthenium oxide or another ruthenium compound, copper-chromium black composite oxide, copper-iron black composite oxide, cobalt oxide, etc., (B) organic binder, (C) photopolymerizable monomer, and (D) photochemical polymerization initiator. The photocurable compositions described in this literature are characterized by containing inorganic binder-coated black inorganic microparticles (A). The inorganic binder-coated black inorganic microparticles (A) are obtained by pulverizing molten materials of inorganic microparticles and an inorganic binder, with an inorganic binder having a softening point of 400-600° C. and glass powder with lead oxide as the main component being described as preferred, but with no disclosure of lead-free black conductive compositions.
Japanese Kohyo Patent Application No. 2003-521092 (Thompson plasma) disclosed a method for forming the face plate of a plasma display panel having a step in which a paste containing a metal powder and a mineral-based coupling agent is used to deposit an electrode, as well as a step in which the deposited electrode is sintered. This invention is characterized by the fact that the composition of the mineral-based coupling agent and sintering conditions are adjusted such that the coupling agent is recrystallized after the deposited electrode is sintered. The subject of this reference is not the lead-free coupling agent and is characterized by the fact that the temperature for sintering the electrode does not exceed 470° C. Also, the purpose of this reference is to eliminate the yellow color forming during the heat treatment of the substrate.
Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. 2002-367518 disclosed a type of electrode material used for an Ag electrode or black stripe, which can prevent blisters during sintering by using a crystallized glass frit that acts as a coupling agent. This invention is characterized by using a fluorine-containing glass frit, but the subject of this invention is not a lead-free glass frit. Therefore, there is also no description regarding the manufacturing method of a lead-free black electrode or the lead-free black electrode itself. In particular, the manufacturing method of a black electrode containing a lead-free crystalline glass binder is not disclosed in these references.
Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. 2002-373592 disclosed a type of electrode material used for an Ag electrode or black stripe, which can prevent blisters during sintering by using a crystallized glass frit that acts as a coupling agent. This invention is characterized by using a lead-containing glass frit, but the subject of this invention is not the lead-free glass frit. Although a lead-free glass frit is mentioned in this reference, there is no description regarding a lead-free black electroconductive composition using a lead-free bismuth-based crystallized glass frit or lead-free black electrode using the aforementioned lead-free black electroconductive composition.
Japanese Kokai Patent Application No. 2003-223851 (patent reference 11) disclosed a type of plasma display substrate structural body and its manufacturing method. For this substrate structural body of a plasma display with an electrode and dielectric layer formed on a substrate, the dielectric layer is formed by a glass layer with a low melting point, the electrode is formed by a metal layer containing crystallized glass, and the electrode and dielectric layer are sintered at the same time. According to this reference, snaking, disconnection, and floating of the bus electrode or black electrode can be prevented by reducing the number of rounds of sintering and by using crystallized glass. However, there is no detailed description regarding the composition, content, etc. of the crystallized glass, and the subject is not a lead-free glass composition. In addition, although it is disclosed that the crystallization peak temperature of the crystallized glass is lower than 560-590° C., the specific temperature is not disclosed at all.
The present inventors therefore desired to provide novel black conductive compositions to be used in flat panel display devices, for forming black electrodes having a desirable balance of all the preferred electrode properties including electrode pattern properties, blackness, resistance, etc. Furthermore, the present inventors desired to provide such compositions and electrodes formed therefrom which are lead-free. Still further, the present inventors desired to provide flat panel display devices comprising such electrodes.

Black conductive thick film compositions, black electrodes, and methods of forming thereof


A system and method for using a mailing label to be applied to magazines, newspapers, circulars or other mass mailing items, which has a subscriber""s name and address. The label can be removed from the mailed item and applied to a coupon for retail redemption or to a return mailer, so that the subscriber information can be extracted from the coupon or return mailer, and used to generate a database of computer records forming a mailing list of desirable, motivated customers for the product being promoted.

The present invention relates generally to business systems in the field of marketing, and specifically, to systems and methods for creating and maintaining lists of desirable, motivated customers, which lists can be used by a product manufacturer or distributor in targeted marketing directed to customers who are likely to be responsive to advertising or marketing materials.
Sales generating materials, typically discount coupons or sweepstakes prize tickets, have long been distributed by manufacturers to merchandise their products and by retail stores to attract consumers to their particular stores. Both coupon types are typically distributed on a large scale basis as free-standing inserts (xe2x80x9cFSIsxe2x80x9d) in newspapers, direct mail, door to door distribution, and other forms of mass distribution. Such coupons are generally of limited effectiveness in increasing consumer purchases. For example, redemption rates for free-standing inserts are approximately in the range of one to three percent (1-3%) and are decreasing every year.
A further problem of FSIs as a coupon distribution system is the fraud problem known as gang-cutting. In this scheme, the coupons are diverted from the distribution channel, then cut up into individual coupons, then bundled and submitted for redemption by dishonest retailers through the usual redemption channels. The manufacturer then credits the redeeming retailer with the value of the coupons, even though a consumer never actually purchased a product using the coupon, which would warrant the grant of such a credit. This problem is sufficiently significant that coupons distributed through a FSI are usually limited in their dollar value. Even without such fraud, there is still a significant misredemption rate arising from incorrect identification of the coupons.
In order to alleviate these problems, consumer product firms are perpetually seeking ways to identify and target their sales promotions to their core constituencies who will respond to the marketing effort. A series of systems have been suggested for creating coupon systems which identify the consumer who redeems the coupon, but typical systems which require the consumer to fill out a form, or to use computer program to enter data then print coupons, or to use a store identification card, often have low rates of compiling complete data.
As a consequence, numerous firms are in the business of creating and leasing mailing lists to consumer product marketing companies, who will often process these list in various ways in an effort to select customers to receive a coupon, mailing or other advertising or marketing solicitation that are most likely to be responsive to such solicitation. As noted, the typical response rate for an FSI is quite low; the response rate is also very low for uncontrolled mass mailing of coupons or other sales solicitations for consumer products. Typically, such mass mailed items, such as brochures, flyers, and the like contain inquiry cards or product promotion redemptions, which can be returned to so called fulfillment houses for credits or refunds; or they may contain coupons redeemable at retail where a customer will receive price discounts on new product purchases. The coupons redeemed at retail are also returned to fulfillment houses, but do not contain nor are they usually required to have the customer name and address. While millions of such coupons are redeemed at retail annually, the product manufacturer rarely learns the name and address of the redeeming customer. Given the expense of printing and distributing such sales solicitations, there is an exceptional need for methods to create and maintain mailing and other lists of consumers who are likely to be motivated to purchase a particular product.
It is an object of the invention to provide a computer-implemented method and system to identify desirable customers for targeted advertising or marketing, and to use a list of such identified customers as the primary target for coupons and other sales triggering promotions.
A specific object of the invention is to provide a system and method for using a mailing label to be applied to magazines, newspapers, circulars or other mass mailing items, which has a subscriber""s name and address, which label can be removed and used in connection with coupon redemption, in order to generate a mailing list of desirable, motivated customers.
More broadly, the present invention is a computer-implemented method of identifying desirable customers for targeted advertising or marketing, comprising the steps of: (1) applying a removable label, bearing information identifying a subscriber, to a subscription periodical publication delivered to the subscriber; (2) providing a customer benefit program activated by removing the removable label from the publication and applying the removable label to a customer benefit redemption form; (3) creating a computer database record containing information identifying a subscriber who participates in the customer benefit program by removing the label from the publication and applying the removable label to a customer benefit redemption form and submitting the customer benefit redemption form to a redemption agent; and (4) compiling, from one or more of the records, a computer database comprising records of the persons who participate in the customer benefit program, as well as records identifying a product whose sale is promoted by the customer benefit program. The computer database is then used to generate delivery of product information or product offers related to products promoted in the customer benefit program to persons listed in the database. Delivery of such promotional materials may typically be by U.S. Postal Service, but other methods, including personal delivery or electronic mail service may also be utilized, depending on the nature of the information collected.
The subscriber identifying information will typically comprise the name and address of the subscriber. Preferably, this information is embodied in a machine readable text, or codes such as numeric codes, or scannable bar codes.
In order to attract the customer""s attention to the customer benefit program, the removable label further is provided with advertising indicia, such as a logo or slogan identifying a company which is providing the customer benefit program and/or information for locating the customer benefit redemption form in the publication. In one preferred embodiment, an advertising message is imprinted in a substrate below the removable label, so that it becomes visible upon removal of the label.
The customer benefit redemption form may comprise a store discount coupon, or a returnable form, or other benefit to the consumer. In one embodiment, the customer benefit redemption form is a high value store discount coupon. In another embodiment, the customer benefit redemption form comprises a mail in form, which when returned, will trigger delivery of a product or value, such as a store discount coupon.
The foregoing and other features of the present invention are more fully described with reference to the following drawings annexed hereto. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description hereinafter.

Business system and method of compiling mailing list of interested customers


A liquid hydrocarbon gasoline is provided by removing both the volatile and non-volatile components from C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 gasoline to yield either a C.sub.6 -C.sub.9 or a C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 intermediate gasoline. The intermediate gasoline of this invention can be combusted in a standard carbureted engine with less C.sub.4 and/or C.sub.5 priming than in required in standard C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 gasoline, and thus provides adequate cold engine starting ability with lower Reid Vapor Pressure. The C.sub.6 -C.sub.9 and C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 fuel can be combusted in a modified engine without any priming by gasifying the fuel. The fuel is gasified by heating it in a chamber in the absence of air; mixing the gas with air and then combusting the mixture. The gasified fuel is advantageous because it doesn't condense into droplets and thereby is combusted more completely in the gaseous state enhancing combustion efficiency. The fuels of this invention better facilitate alcohol addition than current gasolines because of their lower Reid Vapor Pressures.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new automotive gasolines having intermediate carbon ranges, and their improved use in internal combustion engines. In particular the invention relates to new gasoline for use in improved gasified carburetion systems.
2. Background Information
Present day automotive gasoline consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons which range from C.sub.4 to about C.sub.12. The lower molecular weight fraction, such as butane isomers, is more volatile and it has always been the practice to include substantial portions of these volatiles in the fuel to insure proper engine performance. This practice, however, is at best a compromise since the presence of the volatiles, on the one hand, causes an undue risk of explosion during storage and handling; and the inherent evaporative end emission losses contribute to pollution; but, on the other hand, the volatiles have always been considered necessary for good cold engine starting. Thus, a certain amount of the volatiles have been incorporated in gasoline. The exact amount of the volatiles may vary according to the climate where it is sold. In fact, industry has set voluntary limits so that each area will have a motor fuel having sufficient volatility for the prevailing climate. High levels of volatile components assure satisfactory starting and warm-up at the lowest temperature expected, and low levels of volatile components protect against vapor-lock in high temperature climates.
Generally current gasolines exhibit high levels of volatiles measured in terms of Reid Vapor Pressure. Reid Vapor Pressure is the accepted measurement of gasoline volatility and it represents the vapor pressure at 100.degree. F. Current fuels require a relatively high amount of volatile components which raises the Reid Vapor Pressure to undesirable levels. It is highly desirable to formulate a fuel which satisfies the volatility requirements without raising the Reid Vapor Pressure to the undesirable level found in the prior art fuels.
The use of these volatiles in prior art fuels is associated with several problems. One such problem is that because present day engines depend on the volatiles, the spontaneous loss of them in storage results in a the fuel which is of inferior quality after a period of storage. Thus, because of varying storage times, the consumer can never be certain if the gas he is purchasing contains the required amount of volatiles at the time of purchase. Naturally, therefore, a fuel whose efficiency and dependability is less dependent on the presence of volatiles is more desirable.
Another problem arising out of the use of these volatiles is the evaporative loss of gasoline which can occur in the gas tank. Industry has been hard pressed to solve this problem for quite some time. While this problem has been recognized for some time, industry has always been reluctant to solve the problem by reducing the volatility of the gasoline because in doing so they would lose the benefits of the compromise (i.e., engine performance). In fact, this point has been expressed in the publication titled Effects of Automotive Emission Requirements on Gasoline Requirements; Symposium, American Society for Testing and Materials; 1971. Here it is stated on page 111 that "Severe volatility reduction could produce other problems. A more effective method than volatility reduction can be seen to be the elimination of evaporative losses by some mechanical device". This invention, however, seeks to reduce volatility or Reid Vapor Pressure and still maintain a fuel which can perform well.
Present day gasoline also contains, in addition to the volatile light-weight and the intermediate-weight components, a heavy-weight component which, like the volatile component, is also associated with several disadvantages. For example, the gasoline of today, when used as a fuel in present day short stroke engines, results in incomplete combustion because there is insufficient time or temperature to burn the heavy hydrocarbon components. This results in a certain amount of gasoline being wasted and this contributes to pollution. Conventional C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 has too much energy in it for conventional internal combustion engines in that if combusted with enough air (stoichiometric or slightly above) it will burn too hot for the engine or it will produce high levels of nitrous oxides. Yet, in spite of these shortcomings, the heavy components are left in present day fuel because their presence is considered necessary to provide a fuel having suitable properties for automotive use.
The presence of these heavy components in conventional C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 gasoline requires considerable front end priming with light components (C.sub.4 and/or C.sub.5) to achieve adequate front end volatility for starting engines equipped with standard carburetion systems. In addition, conventional C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 gasoline which contains these heavy components (C.sub.11 and C.sub.12) cannot be easily gasified and maintained in the gaseous state without recondensing. Consequently, conventional C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 gasoline has limited utility in a more efficient carburetion system of the type which requires gasification in the absence of air before mixing the gasified fuel with air for combustion. Therefore, in view of the shortcomings associated with the heavy weight hydrocarbons, especially C.sub.11 and C.sub.12, it would be highly desirable to formulate the gasoline without these heavy components being present while also avoiding the problems associated with the absence of these components.
The use of conventional C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 fuels in standard carbureted internal combustion engines requires that the volatility of the fuel be adjusted to achieve a Reid Vapor Pressure of at least 9 in the summer and 12 in the winter. If the Reid Vapor Pressure of conventional C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 gasoline falls below the above limits, starting and running the engine is severely impaired. The fuels of the present invention will easily start and operate identical engines yet these fuels have a reduced Reid Vapor Pressure in comparison to the above-mention conventional C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 gasoline. Thus the summer fuels of the present invention may have a Reid Vapor Pressure less than 9 and the winter fuels may have a Reid Vapor Pressure of less than 12. In particular, it is been discovered that the fuel of the present invention having a Reid vapor Pressure as low as 6 in the summer and 9 in the winter will easily start and operate identical engines which require conventional fuels having a Reid Vapor Pressure of 9 in the summer and 12 in the winter. The Reid Vapor Pressures can be reduced even further by using the fuels of the present invention in combination with the improved carburetion system of the present invention.
The ideal combustion mixture for internal combustion engines consists of gasoline in the vapor or gaseous state thoroughly mixed with adequate air to support combustion. In this condition, fuel-rich pockets, which are responsible for detonation or "knock," are eliminated and carbon deposits responsible for preignition are minimized due to more complete combustion. Because detonation or preignition can damage or ruin an engine, current gasolines have octane boosters such as aromatics contained therein to reduce "knock" since current engines have fuel and air intake systems which produce droplets of fuel that contribute to fuel rich pockets in the combustion chambers of the engines. Slowing the burn with octane boosters lowers the combustioncy efficiency of the engine and increases the exhaust pollution. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to provide a fuel which avoids octane boosters, is rated at a lower octane value but which has highly desirable burning characteristics so that the fuel does not produce engine knock.
Automotive and aviation gasolines have always had an ASTM average octane number (.sup.R+M /.sub.2) of 80 or higher; wherein R represents the research octane number and M represents the motor octane number. Current engines generally require an average octane number in excess of 85.


A Lombard voice recognition method for recognizing a voice input in a noisy background includes a step of matching and a step of warping. The step of matching matches a frequency spectrum of a feature pattern derived from the input voice to a frequency spectrum of a standard pattern. The step of warping warps a lower frequency spectrum of the feature pattern than a lower frequency side with respect to a frequency axis in case that a noise level of the background in higher than a predetermined noise level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Lombard voice recognizing method and apparatus for recognizing an input voice in a noisy background.
2. Description of the Related Art
The inventors of the present invention know a voice recognizing method which is capable of achieving a high recognition ratio of a voice input by a particular person even in a noisy background. The above-mentioned voice recognizing method utilizes a method for weighting a peak (formant) of a frequency spectrum derived from a voice waveform, the peak point keeping a relatively excellent sound to noise (S/N) ratio.
In the "Evaluating performance of an amending method by movement of formants against the transformation of a voice in a noisy background", reported by Takizawa and Hamada, Proceedings of Japan Acoustic Society, 1-8-9 (September, 1990), it is reported that the transformation of voice in a noisy background (Lombard effect) adversely effects on the voice recognition ratio. This report says that in a noisy background the formants located in a lower region than 1.5 KHz is forced to be shifted toward a higher frequency region by 120 Hz on an average whatever phoneme the input voice has. Hence, the foregoing voice recognizing method known by the present inventors may degrade its essential effect because of the shift of the formants in the noisy background.
The above-mentioned report by Takizawa, et. al. states that a cepstrum coefficient used in a linear predictive coding (LPC) method is amended by using an amending formula (1) in a noisy background. The amending formula (1) makes use of a presumed formant frequency and a band width of the presumed formant as shown below. EQU Cn=Cn+.gamma.n(1)
where Cn denotes an amended cepstrum coefficient of the LPC, Cn denotes an n-th degree cepstrum coefficient of the LPC about the transformed voice, and .gamma.n denotes amendment of Cn. ##EQU1## wherein .DELTA.f denotes a difference between a formant frequency of an actual voice and that of a transformed voice and fi denotes the presumed frequency of the i-th formant about the transformed voice. ##EQU2## wherein bi denotes a band width of the i-th formant and K denotes a sampling frequency
Hence, EQU (.differential.Cn/.differential.fi)=(-4/K)exp(-n.pi.bi/K).multidot.sin (2.pi.fin/K)
As will be understood from the above, the foregoing voice recognition method reported by Takizawa, et. al. needs to presume the formant frequency fi. In the noisy background, however, it is difficult to presume the formant freqency fi from the waveform of the input voice.
Hence, an error takes place in the presumed formant frequency fi. Thereby, by using the reported voice recognition method, it is difficult to amend the cepstrum coefficient of the Linear Predictive Coefficient (LPC) accurately.

Lombard voice recognition method and apparatus for recognizing voices in noisy circumstance


This invention generally relates to a reflection-photometric analytical system having a measuring head comprising a source of radiation and a radiation detector for the reflection-photometric analysis of a target surface of a test object arranged at a distance from the measuring head and in particular of a test strip for body fluids such as urine or blood. A triangulation unit operating on the basis of optical triangulation is proposed for contact free checking of the distance in order to monitor or regulate the measuring distance.

The invention concerns a reflection-photometric analytical system having a measuring head comprising a source of radiation and a radiation detector for the reflectometric analysis of a target surface of a test object arranged at a distance from the measuring head and in particular of a test strip for body fluids such as urine or blood. The invention also concerns a corresponding measuring method.
Systems of this type are used particularly in the field of clinical analysis in order to determine the presence and concentration of certain analytes in a sample liquid by means of test strips. A spectroscopic analysis of radiation reflected from irradiated test fields of the test strips is carried out in automated instruments. A critical factor for reflectometric measurement is a constant measuring distance where it is necessary to take into account that the test fields can have different heights and that absorption of the sample liquid can result in different degrees of swelling. It has been attempted to reduce the distance dependency by using a receiving optical system having a long focal length and a greatly reduced optical aperture which is aligned perpendicularly to the target surface. However, this requires a large space and the signal currents of the photodetector are small and thus require complicated measurement instrumentation to process them.
A sensor for distance measurement and a control unit for adjusting the measuring distance has already been proposed in JP-A 03-166738 (publication number 10948/1993) in a similar context. However, it does not disclose anything about the operating principle of the distance detection. A general problem is that the surface properties of test strips can vary greatly due to the application of sample liquid since almost dry, rough surfaces as well as wet and hence shiny surface may be present.
This was the starting point for the invention whose object is to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art and to improve an analytical system and a method of the type described above in such a manner that a high measuring accuracy is achieved even when the target surface has a variable height profile. In particular it should enable a reliable control of the measuring distance.
The combination of features stated in the claims are proposed to solve this problem. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are derived from the dependent claims.


A golf club head with a deep aft cavity is disclosed herein. The body has a striking plate wall, a crown section, a sole section and a rear wall. An area of interest preferably has less than 12% of the mass of the golf club head. The golf club head preferably is a driver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club head with high moments of inertia. More specifically, the present invention relates to a golf club head with a high moment of inertia achieved through the use of a deep aft cavity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf club companies have been increasing inertia properties of drivers to increase their performance particularly off center ball speed. The conventional shape of a driver limits the inertial values for a given head weight that can be attained within the dimension rules set by the USGA. Designs such as the FT-i® Driver from Callaway Golf Company have used non traditional shapes to increase inertia but the volume rule limits the potential efficiency of the location of discretionary weight placement. Designs that make use of light sections or light material to increase the amount of discretionary mass usually do not or can not (because of shape inefficiencies) place the discretionary mass in locations that provide the highest inertial benefit. Callaway Golf's FUSION® technology allows weight to be placed for high inertia by reducing the amount of weight tied up in the body of the club where inertia value is low.
The Rules of Golf, established and interpreted by the United States Golf Association ("USGA") and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews, set forth certain requirements for a golf club head. The requirements for a golf club head are found in Rule 4 and Appendix II. A complete description of the Rules of Golf are available on the USGA web page at www.usga.org. One such limitation is the volume of the golf club head.
Existing driver heads are generally bulbous shaped bodies with a distinct striking face, crown and sole surfaces that are blended into a contiguous enclosed volume. These existing head shapes may be pear shaped, square, triangular or the like when viewed from above. Further, the shapes generally have a continuous perimeter outline consisting of face, heel, toe and aft edges. These heads can achieve reasonably high levels of inertia (Iyy and Izz) by placing discretionary weighting in the aft corners or aft center of these shapes. However, these shapes have a common deficiency in that they all have shell mass, area and volume in the center and back center regions (shaded area in views below) of the head that is relatively inefficient from an inertial standpoint.
Some drivers have been designed to address this issue by using aft concavities to reduce the amount of shell mass in this inefficient location. However, these drivers had other shortcomings. The Nassau driver, for instance, had a shallow face-aft dimension and little aft volume for aft weighting; it also had a low over-all head volume, both contributed to relatively low inertia. The hollow point driver was deeper and had more aft volume for weighting but was still relatively small volume. Further, it had an "extreme concavity" rendering the design visually unappealing and non-conforming to the USGA and R&A rules of golf.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A core component for a base of a tower assembly includes a body of the core component and a flange. The body has an arcuate outer sidewall and an arcuate inner sidewall. The body includes a hole extending from the outer sidewall to a bottom of the body. The flange extends from the arcuate inner sidewall of the body. The flange includes at least one bore hole configured to receive a post-tensioning tendon.

Construction of towers for support of various items has been practiced for many years. Various towers of various materials, including wooden, steel, and, more recently, concrete, have been provided to support, for example, electrical transmission lines. In like manner, wind driven apparatus including windmills and wind-driven power generators in various forms and designed for many purposes (including for example pumping of water from wells as well as, more recently, generation of electrical power) have also been developed.
Various systems and methods are known in the tower construction and support arts for erecting tower structures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,107 to Houck discloses a process for erecting a vertical rising mast. U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,125 to Willis et al. discloses a method and means for mounting a wind turbine on a tower. U.S. Pat. No. 7,877,934 to Livingston et al. discloses a lifting system and apparatus for constructing wind turbine towers. U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2010/0281819 to Thompson discloses a slip formed concrete wind turbine tower. U.S. Pat. No. 2,036,771 to Pfistershammer discloses a tubular pole. U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,787 to Milbright discloses a pole construction having a lower steel section and an upper wooden section. U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,058 to Foust et al. discloses a multiple-part pole. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0006541 to Seidel discloses a tower foundation. Further examples of erection methods and apparatus are disclosed in Zavitz et al. (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0307998), Zavitz et al. (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0308006), and Knox et al. (U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0308019).
The subject matter of each of the herein-referenced published patent-related documents is fully incorporated herein by reference, and for all purposes.
Some known tower structures are relatively expensive and time consuming to erect. For example, the cost of the materials for molding certain tower structure designs formed from concrete may be relatively significant. Further, because such known concrete tower structures generally require significant time and labor to erect, certain systems and methods for erecting the tower structures similarly may be relatively slow and often cumbersome.
Additionally, as the size and weight of tower structure designs continue to increase, suitable structural reinforcement of such tower structures is required. It may thus be generally desirable that reinforcement members are included in various structural components that are capable of additionally reinforcing neighboring structural components.
Accordingly, improved methods and apparatus for assembling tower structures are desired in the art. In particular, methods and apparatus that facilitate efficient and structurally sound tower base structure assemblies would be advantageous.

Core component and tower assembly for a tower structure


A glass unit includes an energy collecting layer attached to a light directing device for collecting a light energy from the light directing device, and an energy converting layer electrically coupled to the energy collecting layer for converting the light energy into an electric energy, and the light directing device includes a number of nanometer particles to direct the light energy toward the energy collecting layer. The light directing device includes one or more glass layers, and a light collecting panel attached to the glass layer with a bonding layer and made of polymer materials which are mixed with the nanometer particles to form the light collecting panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a glass unit, and more particularly to a glass unit including an energy collecting structure for collecting the solar or light energy and for converting the solar or light energy into the electric energy and for storing the electric energy and for providing the electric energy to energize various electric facilities of families, schools, plants, or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical glass units, safety glasses, or glass laminates comprise two or more glass laminates or layers and one or more adhesive or bonding layers disposed or engaged between the glass layers for solidly securing or bonding the glass layers together and for increasing the strength of the typical glass units, safety glasses, or glass laminates.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,580 to Mannheim discloses one of the typical shatterproof glass laminates comprising at least one heat tempered or heat strengthened glass layer, at least one internal combination elastic shock absorbing adhesive plastic layer of polyvinyl butyral material, and at least one antilacerative plastic layer of polyester or polycarbonate material, and/or a polyester material having a scratch-resistant or self healing coating engaged therein.
However, the typical shatterproof glass laminates may only be used to keep out the wind and rain, and to shelter or obstruct from the sun shine, but may not be used to collect the solar or light energy.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional glass units, safety glasses, or glass laminates.


The present invention provides constructs including a tubular biodegradable polyglycolic acid scaffold, wherein the scaffold may be coated with extracellular matrix proteins and substantially acellular. The constructs can be utilized as an arteriovenous graft, a coronary graft, a peripheral artery bypass conduit, or a urinary conduit. The present invention also provides methods of producing such constructs.

There is a considerable need for vascular grafts when the patient's own vasculature is either unavailable because of prior harvest or unsuitable secondary to disease. Instances when a vascular graft might be needed include peripheral arterial disease, coronary artery disease, and hemodialysis access for patients with end stage renal disease. To date, the most successful vascular conduit for coronary or peripheral vascular surgery is the patient's own blood vessel, obtained from elsewhere in the body, often the greater saphenous vein in the leg. For patients requiring hemodialysis, the ideal access is a fistula, or a connection between the patient's own artery and vein.
When autologous vessels are not available, synthetic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts are often utilized for large diameter (≧6 mm) applications, such as arteriovenous access for hemodialysis (U. S. Renal Data System, "USRDS 2009 Annual Data Report: Atlas of Chronic Kidney Disease and End-Stage Renal Disease in the United States" (National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2009) or above the knee peripheral arterial bypass. However, arteriovenous PTFE grafts for hemodialysis have a poor median patency of only 10 months because of infection, thrombus, or intimal hyperplasia-induced occlusion at either the distal anastomosis or outflow vein (U. S. Renal Data System; Schild, et al., J Vasc Access 9, 231-235 (2008)). Other types of grafts, such as decellularized bovine internal jugular xenografts and human allograft vessels from cadavers, are prone to aneurysm, calcification, and thrombosis, and therefore have not gained widespread clinical acceptance (Sharp et al., Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg 27, 42-44 (2004). Dohmen et al., Tex Heart Inst J30, 146-148 (2003); Madden et al., Ann Vasc Surg 19, 686-691 (2005)). In situations where small diameter (i.e., 3-4 mm) vessels are required, such as below the knee and coronary artery bypass grafting, the patient's own vasculature (i.e., internal mammary artery, saphenous vein) is predominantly used because synthetic grafts and allografts have unacceptably low patency rates (e.g., patency is <25% at 3 years using synthetic and cryopreserved grafts in peripheral and coronary bypass surgeries, compared to >70% for autologous vascular conduits) (Chard, et al., J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 94, 132-134 (1987); Albers, et al., Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg 28, 462-472 (2004); Laub, et al., Ann Thorac Surg 54, 826-831 (1992); Collins, et al., Circulation 117, 2859-2864 (2008); Harris et al., J Vasc Surg 33, 528-532 (2001); Albers, et al., J Vasc Surg 43, 498-503 (2006)). Thus, a readily available, versatile vascular grafts with good patency that resists dilatation, calcification, and intimal hyperplasia would fill a substantial and growing clinical need.
To date, tissue engineered vascular grafts formed by seeding autologous bone marrow cells onto a copolymer of L-lactide and ε-caprolactone (Shin'oka, et al., J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 129, 1330-1338 (2005)), or culturing autologous fibroblasts and endothelial cells (ECs) without a scaffold (McAllister, et al., Lancet 373, 1440-1446 (2009)), have shown promising functional results in early clinical trials. Thus far, only the latter has proven physically strong enough for use in the arterial circulation. This patient-specific graft requires a 6-9 month culture period in which the autologous fibroblasts produce sheets of tissue. The sheets are fused together around a stainless steel mandrel (4.8 mm diameter), inner fused layers are dehydrated, and the graft lumen is seeded with autologous ECs (McAllister, et al., Lancet 373, 1440-1446 (2009)). Because of high production costs (≧$15,000 per graft (McAllister, et al., Regen Med 3, 925-937 (2008)) and long wait time (up to 9 months) for patients that require expeditious intervention, it is unlikely that this approach will become standard clinical practice.
Thus, there is a need in the art for effective, rapidly available, reliable and cost-effective tissue engineered constructs that can function long term, with minimal to no side effects, in vivo.


A non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery employing a positive electrode active material containing a compound represented by the general formula LixMyPO4, where 0<x≦2 and 0.8≦y≦1.2, with M containing a 3d transition metal, where LixMyPO4 encompasses that with the grain size not larger than 10 μm. The non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery has superior cyclic characteristics and a high capacity.

Recently, with the marked progress in a variety of electronic equipment, researches in a rechargeable secondary battery, as a battery that can be used conveniently and economically for prolonged time, are underway. Typical of the known secondary batteries are a lead battery, an alkali storage battery and a lithium secondary battery.
Of these secondary batteries, a lithium secondary battery has advantages in high output and in high energy density. The lithium secondary battery is made up at least of positive and negative electrodes, containing active materials capable of reversibly introducing and removing lithium ions, and a non-aqueous electrolyte.
Nowadays, a compound having an olivinic structure, such as, for example, a compound represented by a general formula LixMyPO4, where x is such that 0<x≦2 and y is such that 0.8≦y≦1.2, with M containing a 3d transition metal, is retained to be promising as a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery.
It has been proposed in Japanese Laying-Open Patent H-9-171827 to use e.g., LiFePO4, among the compounds represented by LixMyPO4, as a positive electrode for a lithium ion battery.
LiFePO4 has a theoretical capacity as high as 170 mAh/g and, in an initial state, contains electro-chemically dopable Li per Fe atom, so that it is a material promising as a positive electrode active material for a lithium ion battery.
Up to now, LiFePO4 was synthesized using a salt of bivalent iron, such as iron acetate Fe(CH3COO)2, as a source of Fe as a starting material for synthesis, and on sintering the starting material at a higher temperature of 800° C. under a reducing atmosphere.
However, it is reported in the above publication that, in the battery prepared using LiFePO4, prepared by the above method for synthesis, as the positive electrode active material, the real capacity only on the order of 60 mAh/g to 70 mAh/g may be realized. Although the real capacity of the order of 120 mAh/g has been reported in Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 144, 1188 (1997), this real capacity cannot be said to be sufficient in consideration that the theoretical capacity is 170 mAh/g.
If LiFePO4 is compared to LiMn2O4, LiFePO4 has a volumetric density and an average voltage of 3.6 g/cm2 and 3.4 V, respectively, whereas LiMnPO4 has a volumetric density and an average voltage of 4.2 g/cm2 and 3.9 V, respectively, with its capacity being 120 mAh/g. So, LiFePO4 is smaller by approximately 10% in both the voltage and the volumetric density than LiMn2O4. So, with the same capacity if 120 mAh/g, LiFePO4 is smaller than LiMn2O4 by not less than 10% in weight energy density and by not less than 20% in volumetric energy density. Thus, for realizing an equivalent or higher level in LiFePO4 with respect to LiMn2PO4, a capacity equal to or higher than 140 mAh/g, is required, however, such a high capacity has not been achieved with LiFePO4.
On the other hand, with LiFePO4, synthesized on sintering at a higher temperature of 800° C., there are occasions where crystallization proceeds excessively to retard lithium diffusion. So, with the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, sufficiently high capacity has not been achieved. Moreover, if the sintering temperature is high, the energy consumption is correspondingly increased, while a higher load is imposed on e.g., a reaction apparatus.

Positive electrode active material, non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery and method for producing positive electrode active material


The alkalophilic bacteria (DSM 5853) possesses a maltopentaose producing amylase. The maltopentaose producing amylase, and its derivatives modified by gene manipulation, can be expressed in E. coli. These amylases facilitate the production of maltopentaose.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a maltopentaose (G5) producing amylases and derivatives thereof.
2. The Prior Art
Apart from glucose (glucoamylases) and maltose (.beta.-amylases), only very few maltooligosaccharides can be obtained directly in sufficient purity by hydrolysis of starch using amylases. On hydrolysis of starch, as a rule, .alpha.-amylases produce mixtures of glucose and lower molecular weight maltooligosaccharides (G2-G9). Purification of individual components from such mixtures is elaborate and costly. However, individual .alpha.-amylases have sufficiently high product specificity to enable the industrial production of defined oligosaccharides. To date, 3 G5 forming amylases have been disclosed:
(a) Bacillus licheniformis: U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,383, issued Aug. 2, 1977; Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 155, 290-298, (1973)
The enzyme from the thermophilic organism Bacillus licheniformis has a temperature optimum of 70.degree. C. and is active in a wide pH range of pH 4.0-10.0. Its molecular weight (MW) is 22.5 kDa. The initial products of amylose hydrolysis are long chain maltooligosaccharides (G5-Gn) which are, however, further degraded as the reaction progresses to the main product G5 and, in relatively large amounts, also to G1-G4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,383 of Aug. 2, 1977, describes a process for the hydrolysis and solubilization of amylose (a substrate of low solubility in water). The dissolved amylose is then used as substrate for the purified amylase to produce G5. Because of the many byproducts, the mixture of products after the enzyme reaction must be purified by chromatography.
(b) Bacillus cereus NY-14: Japanese Patent No. 158,099, of Sep. 13, 1982, Which Corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,561, of May 27, 1986; Japanese patent No. 142,330, of Aug. 3, 1983; Agric. Biol. Chem., 49 (12), 3369-3376, (1985) (ABC)
The indicated citation (ABC) describes the purification and characterization of a 55 kDa amylase from Bacillus cereus NY-14, which shows maximal activity at pH 6.0 and 55.degree. C. The enzyme cleaves starch initially into the maltooligosaccharides G3-G8. The long chain sugars are then subsequently degraded to G1-G5. Japanese Patent No. 158,099, of Sep. 13, 1982, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,561, of May 27, 1986, describes the production of G5 by culturing a Bacillus strain (NY-14 in this case) in a medium which contains a substrate (starch, amylose, etc.) which can be cleaved into maltooligosaccharides by enzymes which are produced by the organism used. In this process, defined oligosaccharides are obtained by filtration of the culture broth and subsequent chromatography. Japanese Patent No. 142,330 of Aug. 3, 1983, describes the G5-specific enzyme from Bacillus cereus NY-14. There is a contradiction in the description of the enzyme to the description in ABC, because the stated MW of the enzyme is 90 kDa in the patent, but is 55 kDa in the publication.
(c) Pseudomonas sp. KO 8940: Japanese Patent No. 44,069, of Mar. 9, 1984; Japanese Patent No. 44,070 of Mar. 9, 1984; Japanese patent No. 253786-87 (Div ex 44069-84); Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 25, 137-142, (1986); Agric. Biol. Chem., 54 (1), 147-156. (1990)
The authors of the Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. describe primarily the Pseudomonas isolate KO 8940 and the conditions necessary for production of a G5-amylase. The most recent publication (Agric. Biol. Chem. 54 (1), 147-156 (1990)) describes the purification and biochemical characterization of probably this G5-amylase. The amylase from the Pseudomonas isolate KO 8940 is, however, not expressly mentioned. The purified enzyme has a high initial G5-forming activity. Shorter hydrolysis products occur only after prolonged incubation times. Japanese Patent No. 253786-87 describes the enzyme from Pseudomonas KO 8940 and its use for producing G5. According to this Japanese patent, the amylase has an optimum temperature of 45.degree. C. to 55.degree. C. and an optimum pH of pH 6.0-7.0. Its MW is 72.5 kDa.
Japanese Patent No. 44,070 of Mar. 9, 1984, discloses the amylase producer Pseudomonas KO 8940.
To obtain maltopentaose using the known enzymes, either elaborately purified enzymes are used, or the maltopentaose is elaborately purified from the culture substrate.

Biologically pure culture of maltopentaose forming amylase producing alkalophilic bacteria

Consortium fur elektrochemische Industrie GmbH


A push-pull amplifier having low output impedance and low crossover distortion is provided. A least one of a current through a sourcing current path of an output stage and a current through a sinking current path of the output stage is determinative of a quiescent current control signal produced for controlling a quiescent current of the amplifier. The quiescent current is controlled by symmetrically controlling a bias voltage applied to a sourcing active output device and a bias voltage applied to a sinking active output device in response to the quiescent current control signal. An output stage sourcing control signal for controlling the sourcing active output device is referenced directly to a shared terminal of the sourcing active output device, and an output stage sinking control signal for controlling the sinking active output device is referenced directly to a shared terminal of the sinking active output device.

Electronic amplifiers have found their way into applications such as e.g. audio reproduction. Audio may be represented by a low-level electrical signal. In the process of transforming such a signal into sounds perceivable by the human ear, it is amplified in terms of voltage and/or current and forwarded to an electromechanical transducer, i.e. a loudspeaker. Electrical amplification is accomplished by using a so-called power amplifier.
The vast majority of power amplifiers today for linear applications such as audio reproduction are push-pull amplifiers. Such amplifiers employ disparate first and second circuitry for sourcing and sinking current respectively to a load such as a loudspeaker. Henceforth, the first circuitry will be referred to as sourcing circuitry, and the second circuitry will be referred to as sinking circuitry. Their constituent parts will be denoted correspondingly.
The sourcing circuitry thus sources current and therefore is connected to a positive voltage supply terminal of a power supply, while the sinking circuitry sinks current and therefore is connected to a negative voltage supply terminal of the power supply. Each of the sourcing and sinking circuitry has one or several power handling output devices connected serially or in parallel.
Active power output devices, i.e. valves or power transistors are inherently non-linear, particularly when currents are low. In push-pull amplifiers, this causes crossover distortion. Crossover occurs when load current switches direction, i.e. when handling of load current switches from one or a set of sourcing output devices to one or a set of sinking output devices or vice versa.
A means to lower the impact of non-linearity inherent in active output devices, and subsequently to lower crossover distortion, is to traverse a quiescent current through the sourcing and sinking output devices. By properly drawing a quiescent current through the output devices, they are forced to operate in a more linear region when load current is low. This is called biasing. Amplifiers that operate in this way are traditionally said to operate in class A or class AB.
Traditional class A amplifiers are biased to provide through-conduction of quiescent current at all times while the amplifier is in operation, for all permissible loads. A drawback is that the quiescent current often becomes very large, with resulting large internal power dissipation. In traditional class AB amplifiers, the quiescent current is much lower but load currents above some generally quite low level force the active output devices that do not carry the load current at any given point in time to cut off, thereby causing some crossover distortion.
In the art, it is known to prevent cut off while keeping the quiescent current in the same order of magnitude as for a traditional class AB amplifier, thus overcoming traditional class A amplifier shortcomings without introducing significant crossover distortion.
In some applications it is important that power amplifiers have very low output impedance. For example, designers of high performance loudspeakers generally model power amplifiers as perfect or near perfect voltage sources. Thus, the output of a model power amplifier substantially maintains a voltage proportional to the input signal, irrespective of impedance variations caused by reactive components of the loudspeaker. This means that parts that together constitute a loudspeaker, i.e. cabinets, speaker elements, ports, crossover filters and so fourth are designed to produce a desired sound when a power amplifier connected to the loudspeaker has low output impedance. Accordingly, power amplifiers suitable for high performance loudspeakers generally have low output impedance. Achieving low output impedance is however by no means trivial, or has substantial drawbacks.
Global negative feedback is often employed in power amplifiers. Global negative feedback lowers the output impedance. The impedance reduction that can be achieved through global negative feedback is however dependent on the amount of feedback that can be applied. A certain amount of global negative feedback usually has its merits and is often even quite necessary, but extensive negative feedback compromises stability. If loop gain, being the product of forward and feedback gain is too high with respect to available bandwidths and other stability criteria, distortion increases and self-oscillation may even be induced.
Paralleling of power handling output devices also brings down output impedance. Depending on design and types of output devices, paralleling may cause various well-known implications such as difficulties in achieving appropriate current sharing between the paralleled output devices.
In solid-state amplifiers, so-called degeneration resistors, also known as emitter or source resistors, are often fitted in the amplifier's output stage, at the amplifier's power handling transistors. This is particularly so in discrete designs where current sensing can not easily be carried out on the active output devices because of process variations, thermal variations and difficulties in achieving thermal proximity with other components. Current sensing is generally required for efficiently controlling the quiescent current.
Reduced impedance degeneration resistors lower the output impedance of the amplifier. Biasing however generally becomes more difficult, since control of quiescent current becomes more critical.
Low output impedance can also be accomplished by employing local positive feedback, though stability and biasing may be detrimentally affected.
Some applications require Direct-Current (DC) amplification. Such a requirement rules out amplifier designs that implicitly carry out high-pass filtering or designs that otherwise degrade signals that have a DC offset voltage.
In some applications, including quality audio reproduction, measures are sometimes taken to eliminate or reduce unwanted DC voltages being present at the output of intrinsically DC coupled amplifiers. Even so, internal DC amplification is often advantageous since control of low-frequency response can be simplified and made more precise e.g. through DC servo arrangements that provide low frequency negative feedback. Conversely, lack of ability to amplify DC signals may be disadvantageous.
Examples from the prior art pertinent to output impedance and/or biasing are shown below.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,894, Ryat discloses a power amplifier comprising an input amplifier gain stage, a bias circuit for enabling class AB operation and a sourcing and a sinking output transistor in a push-pull output stage. The gain stage supplies a signal drive current only to the sourcing output transistor, while the sinking output transistor receives its drive current from the bias circuit. Thus, the signal drive current from the gain stage to the sourcing transistor is separate from the drive current from the bias circuit to the sinking transistor. The object is to provide high drive capability, high voltage swing, and an amplifier that does not suffer from high output impedance under high current conditions.
The power amplifier disclosed by Ryat employs design principles that presuppose close thermal coupling and closely matched components. Such an environment is generally found in monolithic integrated circuits. Discrete designs on the other hand generally have to cope with significant parameter spreads due to differing reciprocal temperatures and process variations.
For example, to sense currents through the output transistors, Ryat uses second transistors that share Vbe-voltages with the output transistors, for generating second currents proportional to the currents through the output transistors. Thus, current sensing is carried out on the output transistors. As previously said, this is not easily done in discrete designs, particularly with some types of output devices such as MOSFETs where process and temperature variations have gross impact on the electrical properties.
Moreover, the bias control and the output transistor drive circuitry are asymmetric. Asymmetry is generally known to cause problems, e.g. distortion, DC voltage operating point offset or drift with changing temperature.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,797, Chater discloses a push-pull power amplifier having automatic bias control. Output currents from sourcing and sinking output transistors of the output stage of the amplifier are determined by sensing voltages across sourcing and sinking sensing resistors, the sensed voltages being proportional to the output currents. The sensed voltages are added and the resulting sum signal is operated upon for extracting a signal proportional to a peak minimum value. The signal being proportional to the peak minimum value is used in a negative feedback loop for controlling the quiescent current of the amplifier. The object is to provide a method of bias control that is not dependent on thermal variations of the output transistors, is unaffected by the presence or absence of an output signal, and that accordingly reduces crossover distortion.
The biasing scheme of Chater has little effect on output impedance. Furthermore, the amplifier is not DC coupled. If it were, it would be insufficiently biased for DC signals since the peak minimum value would not unconditionally represent the quiescent current in the presence of a load current.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,743, a biasing circuit is shown for reducing distortion in power amplifiers caused by non-linear amplifying elements. This is accomplished by excluding output transistors in the signal transmission path of the biasing circuit.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,283 there is disclosed a power amplifier having a fixed and a variable biasing circuit. The variable biasing circuit enables full cycle conduction of power-amplifying elements. This is achieved by sensing control voltages (Vbe) of the power amplifying elements and in response thereto providing calibration currents used for controlling the power amplifying elements in such a way as to prevent cut-off during a full signal cycle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,829, an amplifier having a variable quiescent current is shown. At low output power levels, a biasing circuit provides a reduced biasing current to the input stage of the amplifier, while at higher output power levels the biasing current is augmented in order to reduce distortion.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,269 there is disclosed a rail-to-rail amplifier having a bias-current that is substantially independent of process variations, temperature and supply voltage. A sub circuit mimics an idle output stage. A bias voltage is generated in response to a current through the sub circuit. The bias voltage in turn controls the quiescent current through an output stage.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,288 there is disclosed an emitter-follower type push-pull output stage in which a bias circuit prevents cut-off of output transistors, thereby decreasing crossover distortion.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,674 there is disclosed a load-independent switch-mode power converter. The invention features a positive current-feedback loop that compensates for varying voltage drops caused by load variations.
In the prior art there are thus known various biasing schemes and methods to lower output impedance of an amplifier and to prevent cut-off. However, there is yet room for substantial improvement.
A problem in the art is to devise a push-pull amplifier that has a simple mechanism for reducing output impedance without introducing the disadvantages previously discussed.
A further problem is to devise a push-pull amplifier that has a simple mechanism for enabling conduction of a quiescent current at high load currents, for preventing active output device cut-off and associated crossover distortion, without introducing the disadvantages previously discussed. Further problems will become clear from the detailed description of the invention.


In a terminal location specifying system, landmark information of a landmark located within a specified distance from an approximate position is retrieved based on approximate position information of a mobile terminal, and the retrieved landmark information is transmitted to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal can thereby acquire the landmark information about the landmark located in the vicinity of the mobile terminal. Further, because the landmark information pre-stored in a server is transmitted to the mobile terminal, it is possible to reliably specify the position of the mobile terminal based on the landmark image. Then, the photographing position of the image is analyzed based on the landmark image, and the photographing position is managed as the located position of the mobile terminal and used for position correction, and it is thus possible to accurately specify the position of the mobile terminal.

In recent years, a service using AR (Augmented Reality) technology has been developed and provided. For example, a technique that acquires an object placed in the vicinity of the located position of a mobile terminal and displays an object including various information and images superimposed on an image acquired by a camera included in the mobile terminal is known. In this technique, an object to be superimposed is selected based on the located position of the mobile terminal. Further, the mobile terminal displays an object based on a positional relationship between the located position of the terminal itself and the position of the object. It is thus important in this technique to accurately detect the located position of the mobile terminal. For example, a technique that acquires the position of an arbitrary landmark object captured by a camera included in a terminal device from a database that pre-stores the positional information of landmark objects and calculates the position of the terminal device based on the acquired position of the landmark object is known (for example, see Patent Literature 1).

Terminal location specifying system, mobile terminal and terminal location specifying method


This invention provides a brewing head unit of a coffee machine for easily inserting or removing the filter (15) and locking the filter and the filter holder (17) into the brewing head of a coffee machine to form a water-and pressure tight connection. The filter and the filter holder can be inserted into the coffee machine of the present invention visually. This invention also provides a cabinet filter holder which can be inserted or placed into the brewing head assembly or unit of a coffee machine by sliding the filter holder into the brewing head unit from the front, to or side or by swinging the filter holder, which is movable attached to the brewing head assembly or unit on a pivot, into the coffee machine. This invention further provides a brewing head assembly or unit, wherein the locking mechanism (13, 20) for placing or orienting the filter holder and securing the filter holder to the brewing head assembly or unit is motor-driven. This invention further provides a cabinet filter design wherein the boiler (19) or heating system is separated from the brewing head assembly or unit.

The locking mechanisms employed or used by most existing pump espresso or steam espresso machines are not very user friendly. It is very cumbersome for the user to locate and to attach the filter holder unit onto the locking mechanism on the brewing head unit of a coffee machine effortlessly. As a general trend, the filter holder units which have so far been in common use for espresso machines have a brewing tray which is provided with a radially projecting handle and has inserted into a pot-shaped filter insert. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,962. With such design, the user would need to put the coffee ground into the stainless steel filter then place or insert the filter into the filter holder. Next, the user would need to find the fitting slot(s) on the brewing head unit, attach the filter unit to the brewing head unit, and turn the filter unit to lock the filter unit onto the brewing head unit. Frequently, the user spends a lot of time attempting to locate the locking position on the brewing head unit.
Moreover, a traditional pump espresso or steam espresso machines use either a boiler or a thermal block heating system which is mounted on top of the brewing head or shower and locking mechanism. With this design, the hot water from the heating system would flow directly to the filter.
The drawbacks relating to mounting the boiler or the thermal block heating system on or above the brewing head unit include design limitations on placement of the locking mechanism. Other limitations or drawbacks of placing the heating system on top of the brewing head unit include:    1. The weight of the heating system on the top will increase the force required to open the brewing head, which is not user friendly.    2. When the heating system is fixed on top of the brewing head unit, it creates a constraint on the design of the locking mechanism. In the present invention, the filter holder (movable part) is placed on the bottom or is separated from the brewing head assembly or unit. Also, in the present invention, the movable part of the locking assembly is on the top and the fixed part is located on the bottom, so the user can slide in or swing-in the filter holder unit into the brewing head unit visually.
The present invention relates to a simpler mechanism for locking the filter holder comprising pivotable upper brewing head section and a lower brewing head section fixedly attached to the brewing head assembly or unit. The said lower brewing head section comprises a housing which can be adapted to receive various types filter holders and/or capsules.
The present invention further relates to the design of a brewing head unit of a coffee machine which has a cabinet filter holder and a boiler or heating system which is not placed on the top of the brew head unit. Another aspect of the invention, the boiler or the heating system as described above is separated from the brewing head unit. In a further aspect of the invention, the boiler or the heating system can be placed side by side with the brewing head locking mechanism.
The boiler and brew head of the invention are operatively connected by Teflon or other suitable hose. The primary advantage of having a boiler or heating system which is separate from the brewing heat unit is that the brew head unit does not have to carry the weight of the boiler so that the design of the locking mechanism is more flexible, versatile and/or dynamic.
Essegielle S.r.1, et al., European Patent Application No. 97118294.4, Filed Oct. 21, 1997 relates to a device wherein the coffee pan is attached to a boiler located above the coffee pan by inserting the coffee pan along a sliding guide and rotating the coffee pan. However, the Essegielle, et al. device still requires the boiler to be place on top of the brew head. Essegielle, et al discloses a two step process for placing or inserting and locking the coffee pan. Essegielle, et al further discloses a coffee pan which slides into the annular body and a handle which is turned with the annular body to lock the coffee pan to the boiler. The present invention only requires the detachable cabinet filter holder to be placed in the coffee machine. A handle is rotated downward to lock the brewing head to form a water- and pressure-tight seal. Moreover, in the present invention, the boiler is not placed on the top of the brew head.
It is another object of the present invention to take away from the user all the hassles of inserting the filter holder into the brewing head unit. The present invention relates to a new design which uses easy to fit cabinet design to act as the filter holder. The user has a very simple task to perform, namely to fit the filter into the filter holder visually. There is no longer any need for the user to search blindly for the locking position. This cabinet design concept can be applied to all types of pressurized espresso machines. There are at least 5 ways to place the cabinets into the machines and they can be performed as follows:    1. Slide the cabinet filter holder into the brewing head unit from the front;    2. Slide the cabinet filter holder into the brewing head unit from the sides;    3. Slide the cabinet filter holder into the brewing head unit from the rear;    4. Swing the cabinet filter holder in or out about a pivot fixed to the brewing head unit; or    5. Insert the cabinet filter holder into the brewing head unit from the top.
In another aspect of the invention, a motor is used to operate the locking mechanism and/or the cabinet filter holder without any manual intervention so that the entire movement of the cabinet filter holder unit or the locking or the opening of the brewing head assembly or unit would require less effort and, thus, more convenient for the user. In a further aspect of the invention, the movement of the cabinet and/or the locking mechanism is provided by a motor which is operated by a remote control.
Table 1 below summarizes the key differences between the filter holder mechanism according to the existing state of the art and claimed cabinet filter holder of the present invention.
TABLE 1DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FILTER HOLDER MECHANISMACCORDING TO THE EXISTING STATE OF THE ARTAND THE CLAIMED CABINET FILTER HOLDERCabinet FilterExisting PressurizedHolder MechanismFilter HolderOf The PresentMechanismInventionBoiler or thermalIt needs to be on topThe boiler or thermalblockof the brew head andblock does not have toabove the filterbe on the top of theholder.brew head.It can even beseparated from thebrewing headassembly or unit orplaced side by sidewith the lockingmechanism.Filter holderThe user would needThe new cabinet can befittingto fumble toslide in from thelocate it and thenfront, side or rear,would need to lock theor swing out, orholder in place byinserted from theturning it from lefttop. The movement ofto right or right tothe cabinet can beleft.automated by a motorto drive/control themovement. The saidmotor can be operatedby remote control.Where to place theInvolves fumblingDirect/immediatelyfilter holderby the user.visibleLocking methodLock by swing fit ofRotate to Lock systemthe filter holder.
Fond et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,472, relates to a system for extracting a substance contained in a sachet, which includes a lower member containing the sachet housing, a water supply member and a locking lever. The lower member and the water supply member are closed or locked by engaging the hooks on the arm of the locking lever on the corresponding rods. The main purpose of the Fond et al is to provide a method and device for extracting substances for the preparation of a beverage contained in a sealing flexible sachet without opening the sachet before placing it in the sachet holder. The present invention can use or brew coffee grounds contained within a sachet or coffee grounds without a sachet having a pre-determined shape. The lower member of the Fond et al device is fixed, whereas the present invention has an upper member, i.e., rotate to lock assembly, which can move upward to allow a lower member, i.e., the filter holder assembly to be retrieved.
Mariller, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,966, relates to a device for extracting the contents in a capsule consisting of two independent and identical clamping elements, where each clamping element contains half of a housing for the capsule, and a lever system for moving both clamping elements simultaneous between open and closed positions. The Mariller device places a capsule in vertical position and therefore requires the clamping members to produce greater clamp force to form a water-tight seal. In contrast, the brewing head of the present invention can use a coffee pod or capsule placed in the horizontal position. The brewing head of the present invention does not require two clamping members. To form a pressure- and water-tight seal, a movable upper member is lowered against the detachable stationery filter holder assembly.
Kollep et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,332, relates to a device for extracting a substance for the preparation of a drink, which includes a fixed piece and a second piece movable relative to the first piece about an axis of rotation lying at the rear to two pieces. The front-end of the two pieces contain a cavity for the substance to be extracted, and the device also includes a system for opening and closing the two pieces. However, the lower part of the Kollep et al device is fixed and cannot be removed for cleaning.
Domel SA/AG et al., European Patent Application No. 93101764, filed Feb. 5, 1993, relates to a drawer device containing a container/filter holder. The container/filter holder can be raised upward with a handle in a non-rotating way against a facing gasket fixed above the drawer device to form a water-tight seal. The drawer in Domel et al is locked by rotating the control body. The movement of the container-filter holder is vertical but the vertical movement requires the rotation of the control body. In contrast, the brewing head of the present invention only moves the upper member, i.e., the rotate to lock assembly. The lower member, i.e., the support base, of the brewing head of the present invention is fixed, but the filter holder assembly containing the filter can be removed completely for cleaning. Furthermore, the Domel et al device is only designed for coffee bags. The present invention is designed to use both ground coffee and coffee bag.
Torriani, U.S. Pat. No. 1,750,068, relates to a device containing a circular filter-carrier adapted to slide in and out of a window. The filter-carrier is locked by rotating a collector below the filter-carrier to force the filter-carrier upward against the upper portion of the brew head. The device in Torriani patent has the design of a traditional espresso machine. The filter carrier can slide in and out, but to lock the filter carrier still requires blindly turning the tread on the collector.
Hatz, U.S. Pat. No. 811,979, relates to a device for preparing coffee, which includes a pressure cooker for forcing heated water to the coffee percolator by stream pressure. The Hatz device uses a different method to prepare the coffee. Hatz uses a pressure cooker instead of a boiler system. Hatz also uses a preculator instead of the filter holder. The pressure cooker requires a stove or heating device to heat up the water. The coffee machine of the present invention uses electricity to bring the water to boil.
The foregoing objects and advantages of the present invention are illustrative of those that can be achieved by the present invention and are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the possible advantages which can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the invention, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variation which may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention resides in the novel methods, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

Cabinet design of filter holder for pressurized espresso machines


The exemplary embodiments provide an imager with dual conversion gain charge storage and thus, improved dynamic range. A dual conversion gain element (e.g., Schottky diode) is coupled between a floating diffusion region and a respective capacitor. The dual conversion gain element switches in the capacitance of the capacitor, in response to charge stored at the floating diffusion region, to change the conversion gain of the floating diffusion region from a first conversion gain to a second conversion gain. In an additional aspect, the exemplary embodiments provide an ohmic contact between the gate of a source follower transistor and the floating diffusion region which assists in the readout of the dual conversion gain output signal of a pixel.

Imaging devices, including charge coupled devices (CCD) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagers, are commonly used in photo-imaging applications.
A CMOS imager circuit includes a focal plane array of pixels, each of the pixels including a photosensor, for example, a photogate, photoconductor or a photodiode for accumulating photo-generated charge a portion of the substrate. Each pixel has a charge storage region, formed on or in the substrate, which is connected to the gate of an output transistor that is part of a readout circuit. The charge storage region may be constructed as a floating diffusion region. In some imager circuits, each pixel may include at least one electronic device such as a transistor for transferring charge from the photosensor to the storage region and one device, also typically a transistor, for resetting the storage region to a predetermined charge level prior to charge transference.
In a CMOS imager, the active elements of a pixel perform the necessary functions of: (1) photon to charge conversion; (2) accumulation of image charge; (3) resetting the storage region to a known state; (4) transfer of charge to the storage region accompanied by charge amplification; (5) selection of a pixel for readout; and (6) output and amplification of a signal representing a reset level and pixel charge. Photo charge may be amplified when it moves from the initial charge accumulation region to the storage region. The charge at the storage region is typically converted to a pixel output voltage by a source follower output transistor.
CMOS imagers of the type discussed above are generally known as discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,630, U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,868, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,366, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,652, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,524 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,205, assigned to Micron Technology, Inc., which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
A typical four transistor (4T) CMOS image pixel 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The pixel 10 includes a photosensor 12 (e.g., photodiode, photogate, etc.), transfer transistor 14, floating diffusion region FD, reset transistor 16, source follower transistor 18 and row select transistor 20. The photosensor 12 is connected to the floating diffusion region FD by the transfer transistor 14 when the transfer transistor 14 is activated by a transfer gate control signal TX.
The reset transistor 16 is connected between the floating diffusion region FD and an array pixel supply voltage Vaa_pix. A reset control signal RST is used to activate the reset transistor 16, which resets the floating diffusion region FD to the array pixel supply voltage Vaa_pix level.
The source follower transistor 18 has its gate connected to the floating diffusion region FD and is connected between the array pixel supply voltage Vaa_pix and the row select transistor 20. The source follower transistor 18 converts the charge stored at the floating diffusion region FD into electrical output voltage signals Vrst, which is produced when the floating diffusion region FD is reset, and Vsig, which is produced after charge is transferred by transistor 14 from the photosensor 12 to the floating diffusion region FD. The row select transistor 20 is controllable by a row select signal SEL for selectively connecting the source follower transistor 18 and its output voltage signal Vout to a column line 22 of a pixel array.
An important performance characteristic of any imager is its dynamic range. A large dynamic range is desirable in applications for sensing low light signals and capturing images with large variations in illuminance or brightness. In particular, the dynamic range of an imager can be defined as the ratio of the minimum illuminance the imager detects under saturation to the illuminance the imager detects at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) equal to one. The dynamic range of a scene can also be expressed as the ratio of its highest illumination level to its lowest illumination level.
Intrascene dynamic range refers to the range of incident signals that can be accommodated by an imager in a single frame of image data. Examples of scenes that generate high dynamic range incident signals include an indoor room with outdoor window, outdoor mixed shadow and bright sunshine, night time scenes combining artificial lighting and shadows, and in an automotive context, an automobile entering or about to leave a tunnel or shadowed area on a bright day.
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a CMOS imager device 308 having a pixel array 240 with each pixel being constructed as described above or in accordance with other known pixel architectures. Pixel array 240 comprises a plurality of pixels arranged in a predetermined number of columns and rows. The pixels of each row in array 240 are all turned on at the same time by a row select line, and the pixels of each column are selectively output by respective column select lines. A plurality of row and column lines are provided for the entire array 240. The row lines are selectively activated by the row driver 245 in response to row address decoder 255 and the column select lines are selectively activated by the column driver 260 in response to column address decoder 270. Thus, a row and column address is provided for each pixel.
The imager 308 is operated by a control circuit 250, which controls address decoders 255, 270 for selecting the appropriate row and column lines for pixel readout, and row and column driver circuitry 245, 260 which apply driving voltages to the drive transistors of the selected row and column lines. The pixel column signals, which typically include a pixel reset signal Vrst and a pixel image signal Vsig are read by sample and hold circuitry 261 associated with the column driver 260. A differential signal Vrst−Vsig is produced and amplified by a differential amplifier 262. The differential signal is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter 275. The analog-to-digital converter 275 converts the analog differential signals to digital signals that are fed to an image processor 280 to form and output a digital image.
The imager 308 is operated by a control circuit 250, which controls address decoders 255, 270 for selecting the appropriate row and column lines for pixel readout, and row and column driver circuitry 245, 260 which apply driving voltages to the drive transistors of the selected row and column lines. The pixel column signals, which typically include a pixel reset signal Vrst and a pixel image signal Vsig are read by sample and hold circuitry 261 associated with the column device 260. A differential signal Vrst−Vsig is produced and amplified by a differential amplifier 262. The differential signal is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter 275. The analog-to-digital converter 275 converts the analog differential signals to digital signals that are fed to an image processor 280 to form and output a digital image.
The illumination-voltage profile of the conventional pixel 10 (FIG. 1) for the photo-charge converted signal Vsig is typically linear as shown in FIG. 3, which illustrates an illumination versus voltage graph of the prior art pixel 10. The pixel's 10 maximum voltage Vmax may be reached at a relatively low level of illumination Imax, which causes the pixel 10 to be easily saturated. When the light captured and converted into charge by the photosensor 12 is greater than the capacity of the photosensor 12, excess charge may overflow and be transferred into the substrate and to adjacent pixels, which is undesirable. Thus, there is a desire and need for an improved saturation response in imager pixels 10 and imagers 308 in general. Improved saturation response will improve the imager's dynamic range.

Dual conversion gain pixel using Schottky and ohmic contacts to the floating diffusion region and methods of fabrication and operation


A method and apparatus for deconstructing video into a hierarchical structure, distributing the deconstructed video and reconstructing the deconstructed video to form a video signal having characteristics that match the capabilities of a user device. The video stream may be deconstructed using a single dimension deconstruction or a multidimensional deconstruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to video distribution systems and, more particularly, to video distribution systems that distribute deconstructed video through communications networks.
2. Description of the Background Art
Video transmission through communications networks such as the INTERNET has become ubiquitous. Typically, the video is encoded using a compression algorithm such as MPEG-2 or Quicktime and transmitted as a single compressed bitstream to the user. The user's equipment comprises a plurality of compressed-video decoders that can decode various forms of encoded video. However, if the user's equipment is of a type that has limited computing power, the decoded image sequence may be distorted, or otherwise have poor quality.
One method that is used to match the quality of the encoded imagery to the capabilities of the user equipment is to encode a plurality of bitstreams where each stream represents a different level of image quality. The user then selects a bitstream from the plurality of encoded bitstreams. The quality of the video encoded into the selected bitstream matches the processing power of the user's equipment, i.e., a small hand-held computing device capable of low resolution video presentation would select a low resolution bitstream. As such, the user receives and decodes the selected bitstream in a manner that matches the capabilities of their device.
Such systems require the user to apriori understand the capabilities of their decoder and select an appropriate bitstream. Many times such selection is not possible or it is accomplished by trial and error, i.e., the user repeatedly selects bitstreams until an appropriate one is found. Furthermore, transmitting a plurality of encoded bitstreams where each bitstream comprises a full representation of an image sequence consumes an enormous amount of bandwidth within the communications network and a large amount of storage space on a server.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus that deconstructs the video in a hierarchical manner, transmits each level of deconstructed video in the hierarchy, and enables user equipment or a network interface device to reconstruct a video stream from select levels of the deconstructed video that is commensurate with the capabilities of the user equipment.

Method and apparatus for generating, distributing and reconstructing deconstructed video