A display control system for a portable computer drives, from a single frame buffer, both a built-in flat panel (LCD type) display as well as a separate external CRT display or an NTSC/PAL television monitor. Either identical or different images may be displayed simultaneously on the CRT display or television and on the flat panel display. Independent clocking is provided to each display to enable this simultaneous display of different images as well as simultaneously display of identical images. The display control system is suitable for use with a wide variety of CRT displays and flat panel displays by means of internal programmable controls.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems and more specifically to a computer display controller especially suitable for use in portable computers having a flat panel-type display.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable computers, i.e. notebook computers and other types of portable computers, typically include an LCD-type display, also referred to herein as a flat panel display. This is in contrast to the CRT (cathode ray tube) type display typically used for larger desk top computers. These flat panel displays come in various types, including TFT (thin film transistor) active matrix type and STN (super twisted nematic) passive matrix type. Both of these support color imagery. Flat panel displays variously have 8 bit, 9 bit, 16 bit, 18 bit, 12 bit, or 24 bit per pixel etc. interfaces and have various screen resolutions in terms of numbers of pixels and characters, as well as various refresh rates. Passive matrix type (STN) flat panel displays are dual scan, i.e. they typically include two displays which are physically vertically contiguous to each other, one being the upper panel and the second being the lower panel, each requiring its own driver circuitry. A controller drives these two half-displays and provides all parameters in terms of screen resolution, bits per pixel (number of colors), refresh rate and horizontal scan rate. A computer display/graphics subsystem includes a controller and a frame buffer where the image is stored and manipulated, independent of the computer's main memory.
The other type of computer display, which is the CRT-type display, also has its own parameters in terms of screen resolution, number of colors/shades, horizontal scan rate, and refresh rate. Such CRT-type displays include a CRT display and a television-type monitor.
For a portable computer, it is desirable in addition to the built-in flat panel display to connect an external CRT-type display or television. This is typically done when at one's office to use two displays, or for instance during a presentation when the presenter is using his portable computer to drive a video projector or monitor for viewing by an audience, while the presenter looks at the computer flat panel display and thereby can face the audience.
In these applications either identical or different images are presented on the two displays, i.e. the flat panel display and the CRT. A prior art product is the Apple Powerbook.TM. portable computer which in order to support two such displays, projecting different information simultaneously and independently, includes two separate display controller systems, one driving the flat panel display and the second driving the CRT display. Thus there are two display controllers and two frame buffers, i.e. two complete display subsystems, one dedicated to each display. This is expensive in terms of circuitry and also consumes more power than is desired. Other prior art portable computers, while they can simultaneously provide images both on the built-in flat panel display and on the connected external CRT display, can display only a single identical image on both, since they include only a single display controller system. Thus the prior art solution to providing a dual image mode is a `brute force" approach requiring expensive and power consuming circuitry as in the Apple Powerbook product. Dual image mode refers to the capability where the image on each display is independent and can be separately manipulated.


A semiconductor integrated circuit device with a high voltage detection circuit comprises a high voltage step-down circuit for stepping down a high voltage input and outputting the stepped-down voltage, a reference voltage generator for generating plural reference voltages, a reference voltage selector for selecting one of the plural reference voltages, a high voltage detection circuit for comparing the stepped down voltage with the selected reference voltage to detect a high voltage and a control circuit for controlling the voltage drop of the high voltage and selection of the plural reference voltages to set the high voltage to be detected by the high voltage detector. There is also disclosed semiconductor integrated circuit having a high voltage step-down circuit for outputting plural stepped-down voltages having a fine tuner for fine-tuning each of the plural stepped-down voltages wherein a stepped-down voltage having been tuned finely is compared with a reference voltage given by a reference voltage generator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and relates particularly to a high voltage detection circuit for detecting high positive and negative voltages input to a semiconductor integrated circuit device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flash memory is one type of nonvolatile semiconductor memory device capable of storing data without being continuously supplied with current, a task which is accomplished by holding a charge in the floating gate inside the memory cell at which data is stored. Data is stored by charging or discharging the appropriate floating gate using the Fowler-Nordheim tunnel effect or channel hot electrons to store values of 1 and 0. A voltage that is higher than the operating voltage of the device is generally needed to charge or discharge the floating gate.
FIG. 8 is a simplified circuit diagram of a conventional high voltage detection circuit for detecting a high positive voltage. As shown in FIG. 8 the high voltage detection circuit 200 comprises a current mirror load differential amplifier circuit 201, an n-channel MOSFET (nMOS transistor) 202 for controlling the differential amplifier circuit 201, resistors 204 and 205 for voltage dividing the high positive voltage input from a high voltage input terminal 203, an inverter 206 and a reference voltage generator 207. The high voltage input terminal 203 is grounded through resistors 204 and 205.
Note that the reference voltage Vref generated and output by the reference voltage generator 207 is supplied to one input terminal of the differential amplifier circuit 201. The other input terminal is connected between the resistors 204 and 205, and is supplied thereby with the voltage-divided high positive voltage Vh (voltage Vdiv) input from the high voltage input terminal 203.
The output of the differential amplifier circuit 201 is input to the inverter 206, and the output of the inverter 206 is the output of the high voltage detection circuit 200. The high voltage detection circuit 200 outputs to a high voltage generator 208, which comprises a charge pump circuit and outputs the high positive voltage Vh.
The output of the high voltage generator 208 is supplied to a particular circuit, not shown in the figures, and to the high voltage input terminal 203. A digital signal is supplied to the gate of the nMOS transistor 202. When the nMOS transistor 202 is on, the differential amplifier circuit 201 operates, and when the nMOS transistor 202 is off, the differential amplifier circuit 201 stops operating.
With the high voltage detection circuit 200 thus comprised, the divided voltage Vdiv voltage-divided by the resistors 204 and 205 is EQU Vdiv=Vh.times.Rb/(Ra+Rb)
where Ra is the resistance of resistor 204 and Rb is the resistance of resistor 205.
The differential amplifier circuit 201 compares the divided voltage Vdiv and reference voltage Vref. When Vdiv<Vref, the differential amplifier circuit 201 outputs LOW. The inverter 206 thus outputs HIGH, which causes the high voltage generator 208 to drive the charge pump and step up the high positive voltage Vh. When Vdiv>Vref, the differential amplifier circuit 201 outputs HIGH, the inverter 206 thus outputs LOW, and the high voltage generator 208 stops driving the charge pump. Because Vdiv=Vh.times.Rb/(Ra+Rb), the high voltage detection circuit 200 outputs LOW when Vh.times.Rb/(Ra+Rb)>Vref, i.e., when Vh>Vref.times.(Ra+Rb)/Rb, and can therefore detect whether the high positive voltage Vh is less than or equal to Vref.times.(Ra+Rb)/Rb.
The high voltage detection circuit 200 shown in FIG. 8, however, divides the high positive voltage Vh using two resistors 204 and 205, and therefore can only detect one divided voltage Vdiv. As a result, this high voltage detection circuit 200 obviously cannot detect plural high positive voltage values. This problem is resolved by replacing the one resistor 204 with a series circuit of n (where n is a natural number) resistors R1-Rn and nMOS transistors T1-Tn with a sufficiently small gate parallel connected to the corresponding resistors R1-Tn.
Each of the nMOS transistors T1-Tn is connected to a control circuit 211. The control circuit 211 controls the on/off state of each nMOS transistor T1-Tn to control the total resistance of the series circuit comprising the n resistors R1-Rn. It is therefore possible for the control circuit 211 to control the divided voltage Vdiv, and thereby detect plural high voltage values.
A conventional detection circuit for detecting high negative voltage values is described next with reference to the circuit diagram shown in FIG. 10.
The high voltage detection circuit 220 shown in FIG. 10 comprises a current mirror load differential amplifier circuit 221, a differential sense amplifier 224 comprising an inverter 223 and nMOS transistor 222 for controlling the differential amplifier circuit 221, a level converter 227 comprising p-channel MOSFETs (pMOS transistors) 225 and 226, and nMOS transistors 228, 229, and M1-Mn.
The source is connected to the back-gate terminal in pMOS transistors 225 and 226 and nMOS transistors 229 and M1-Mn to use the back-gate effect preventing variation in the threshold value Vth. pMOS transistor 226 and nMOS transistors 228, 229, and M1-Mn are diode connected.
nMOS transistors 228, 229, and M1-Mn are serially connected to create a series circuit connected between the high voltage input terminal 230 to which the high negative voltage V1 is input and the power supply terminal 231 to which the power supply voltage Vdd is input. The reference voltage VrefA generated by the reference voltage generator 232 is supplied to the gate of nMOS transistor 228. nMOS transistor 229 is connected between nMOS transistor 228 and the power supply terminal 231.
The pMOS transistors 225 and 226 forming the level converter 227 are connected in series. The gate of pMOS transistor 225, which is connected between the power supply terminal 231 and the ground on the power supply terminal side, is connected between nMOS transistors 228 and 229.
One input to the differential amplifier circuit 221 of the differential sense amplifier 224 is connected between the pMOS transistors 225 and 226 of the level converter 227, and the other input is connected to the reference voltage VrefB generated by the reference voltage generator 232. The differential amplifier circuit 221 outputs to the inverter 223, which outputs the output of the high voltage detection circuit 220 to the high voltage generator 233. The high voltage generator 233 comprises a charge pump circuit to generate and output a high negative voltage V1.
The output of the high voltage generator 233 is supplied to a particular circuit, not shown in the figures, and to the high voltage input terminal 230. A digital signal is supplied to the gate of the nMOS transistor 222. When the nMOS transistor 222 is on, the differential amplifier circuit 221 operates, and when the nMOS transistor 222 is off, the differential amplifier circuit 221 stops operating.
The series circuit comprising the diode-connected nMOS transistors M1-Mn and nMOS transistor 228, to the gate of which is input the reference voltage VrefA, passes current according to the voltage difference between the reference voltage VrefA and the high negative voltage V1. This current flows from the diode connected nMOS transistor 229, producing a voltage Va between the source and drain of the nMOS transistor 229. All of the nMOS transistors 228, 229, and M1-Mn have gates of the same size, and the following equation [1] is true when all are on. EQU (VrefA-V1)/(n30 1)=Va [1]
The level converter 227 converts the input voltage Va to a voltage Va referenced to the ground potential, and the differential amplifier circuit 221 compares the voltage Va converted by the level converter 227 with the reference voltage VrefB. As a result, reference voltage VrefB is compared with (VrefA-V1)/(n+1), V1 is compared with {VrefA-(n+1)).times.VrefB}, and high negative voltages can be detected by using a high integer value for n.
The problem with the high positive voltage detection circuit 210 shown in FIG. 9 is that the number of resistors R1-Rn must be increased to adjust the divided voltage Vdiv in fine increments. This increases the number of outputs from the control circuit 211, which increases the size of the circuit. The chip size also grows as the number of resistors increases, and both factors increase device cost.
With the high negative voltage detection circuit 220 shown in FIG. 10 the large number of circuit elements invites a drop in detection precision while also increasing cost and current consumption. This thus also conflicts with the constant desire to reduce current consumption in semiconductor devices.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device with adjustable high voltage detection circuit


A method for operating a terminal in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes determining a candidate group of serving distributed small base stations and determining feedback bits for maximizing an expected average rate when a service is provided from a distributed small base station that belongs to the candidate group of serving distributed small base stations.

Because channel characteristics change over time in a wireless communication system, a transmitter knows channel information of a receiver and applies the channel information of the receiver depending on a situation, thereby improving performance of a communication system.
In particular, in a Multi-User (MU)—Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communication system or a cellular communication system in which the performance of the communication system is considerably affected by interference, a transmitter uses interference information of respective terminals, thereby considerably improving the performance of the system.
Generally, the transmitter may need to receive feedback information of a down link from a terminal in order to know the channel information of the down link.
Because the performance of the communication system is also considerably affected by interference from respective terminals in a virtual cellular network communication system, the transmitter needs to reduce performance degradation caused by the interference by using channel information of the respective terminals.
In contrast to an existing communication system according, according to the related art, because several distributed small base stations serve a plurality of terminals through sharing in the virtual cellular network communication system, a base station from which a terminal receives a service is not determined and an interference source varies in real time depending on the distributed small base station from which a service is provided. In addition, because each of the distributed small base stations uses imperfect channel information received from terminals when selecting terminals to be served by the distributed small base stations, there is a need for a feedback method considering such characteristics of a communication system.
However, an existing technology for improving the performance of a communication system relates to a system in which a base station that provides a service and an interference source are fixed for respective terminals. Therefore, the existing technology is not suitable to be applied to a virtual cellular network communication system in which respective base stations are not fixed with respect to whether to transmit signals or act as an interference source.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

Method and apparatus for feedback transmission in wireless communication system


According to one embodiment, a first processing module adds, to a first queue, output sound data output from a first task, with a time stamp attached thereto. A second processing module adds, to a second queue, input sound data received from a microphone, with a time stamp attached thereto. A controller fetches first output sound data as reference data from the first queue, the first output sound data having a time stamp whose time difference from a time stamp of first input sound data in the second queue falls within a predetermined range. An echo canceller performs echo cancelling processing to cancel an echo component in the first input sound data based on the reference data.

In general, in communication systems, such as video conferencing systems and teleconferencing systems, hands-free telephones are widely utilized. To realize hands-free telephones, an echo canceller for cancelling echoes (acoustic echoes) is important.
As a communication system provided with an echo canceller, a system which executes processing for cancelling echoes within an apparatus such as a base station is known.
In information terminals, such as smartphones, PDAs and personal computers, an echo canceller is applicable to various applications that require processing of a sound signal received through a microphone, as well as a call application.
In conventional information terminals, sound signals used to be processed by hardware such as dedicated LSIs and DSPs. In many recent information terminals, however, sound signals are processed by software.
Echoes are caused when the sound output from a loudspeaker fed back to a microphone. To cancel an echo component from an input sound signal which input from the microphone, it is necessary to detect an output sound signal corresponding to the echo component. However, since in many information terminals, a non-realtime OS is used, it is difficult to accurately synchronize a task for sending an output sound signal to the loudspeaker with a task for acquiring an input sound signal through the microphone. Therefore, there is a case where the input and output sound signals cannot be synchronized, thereby making echo cancelling operation unstable.

Signal processing apparatus and signal processing method


Methods and apparatus are provided for discriminating high rate polymorphic QRS complexes from high rate monomorphic QRS complexes to increase the specificity of detection of polymorphic VT and VF employing wavelet transform signal processing of the QRS complexes are disclosed. Wavelet transforms are applied to the sampled amplitude values of a sequence of QRS complexes to develop wavelet transform coefficient (WTC) data sets. At least selected ones of the WTC data sets are processed and comparisons are made to determine a wavelet match score. A determination is made as a function of the wavelet match scores of the series of successive QRS complexes that characterizes the most recent QRS complex as more or less likely to signify polymorphic VT or VF.

By way of definition, the heart is said to be in normal sinus rhythm (NSR) when the atria and ventricles beat in synchrony at a heart rate lower than a defined tachycardia heart rate that provides sufficient cardiac output of oxygenated blood to the body at rest and during exercise or stress. The term bradycardia refers to an abnormal slow rate of one or more heart chamber that inappropriately provides insufficient cardiac output at rest or during stress or exercise. The term "tachyarrhythmia" refers to any abnormal fast rhythm of one or more heart chamber that reduces cardiac output and may be amenable of conversion to NSR by "cardioversion" or "defibrillation" or the application of certain anti-tachycardia pacing therapies to the heart chamber as described further herein. Atrial tachyarrhythmias include atrial tachycardia (AT) and atrial flutter or fibrillation (AF) originating from one or more ectopic sites in the right or left atria. Ventricular tachyarrhythmias include ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular flutter or fibrillation (VF) originating from one or more ectopic sites in the ventricles. Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) can also result from high rate atrial tachyarrhythmias or junctional depolarizations conducted to the ventricles including AV re-entrant tachycardia, which usually conducts down the AV node and up through left postero-lateral bypass tract is considered an SVT. Individuals whose hearts go into VF or into high rate, polymorphic VT can suffer sudden cardiac death (SCD) unless the rhythm terminates either spontaneously or therapeutically within a very short time after onset of such high rate VT or VF.
AF and VF are characterized by chaotic electrical activity that exhibits highly variable depolarization wavefronts that are propagated in directions that differ from the directions of propagation during NSR and more rhythmic tachycardias. The depolarization waves traversing the atria during AF and the ventricles during VF do not follow normal conduction pathways and can vary in direction from beat to beat. During AF and VF episodes (particularly at onset and during the initial phase before cardiac activity diminishes), the depolarization waveforms are irregular in amplitude and hence in appearance when viewed on an electrocardiogram strip or display and are characterized as "polymorphic". In addition, the atrial or ventricular EGM does not exhibit a characteristic baseline of little electrical activity separating P-waves or QRS complexes, respectively.
The QRS complexes of rhythmic atrial and ventricular tachycardia episodes typically exhibit a regular or "monomorphic" P-waves or QRS waveforms that simply become narrower as heart rate increases from NSR and that are separated by a baseline interval. However, the QRS complexes during certain VT episodes can be polymorphic, particularly from one beat to the next. Such polymorphic VT episodes may be due to reentry conduction through diseased tissue, which results in QRS depolarization wavefronts that are also typically propagated in directions that differ from those prevalent during NSR or monomorphic VT or SVT episodes.
In the field of automatic implantable arrhythmia control devices, particularly ICDs (also referred to as pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillators or PCDs), the terms "cardioversion" and "cardioverter" and "defibrillation" and "defibrillator" generally refer to the processes of and devices for discharging relatively high energy electrical shocks into or across cardiac tissue to arrest a life threatening tachyarrhythmia. In practice, the conversion of AT or VT or low rate AF or VF to normal sinus rhythm by a relatively low amplitude cardioversion shock delivered in timed synchrony with a sensed atrial or ventricular cardiac depolarization (P-wave or R-wave) is typically referred to as "cardioversion". The conversion of malignant AF or VF by the same or higher energy shock delivered without requiring such synchronization is typically referred to as "defibrillation". Synchronization can be attempted, but therapy is delivered without synchronization if synchronization is not possible in a short time. Cardioversion shocks that may or may not be synchronized with a cardiac depolarization or rhythm and may be applied to arrest a VT with a lower range energy pulse of around 1–15 Joules or VF with a medium to high energy pulse of 7–40 Joules, nominally. In the following description and claims, it is to be assumed that the terms cardioversion and defibrillation are interchangeable, and that use of one term is inclusive of the other, unless specific distinctions are drawn between them in the context of the use. For convenience, cardioversion and/or defibrillation shocks or shock therapies are referred to herein as C/D shocks or shock therapies.
Bradycardia cardiac pacing functions are also currently incorporated into ICDs to supplant some or all of an abnormal heart's natural pacing function by delivering appropriately timed pacing pulses to cause a chamber or chambers of the heart to contract or "beat", i.e., to "capture" the heart. Either single chamber (atrial or ventricular) pacing functions or dual chamber (atrial and ventricular) pacing pulses are applied to the atria and/or the ventricles in response to bradycardia or dissociation of the atrial and ventricular heart rates at a pacing rate to restore cardiac output that is appropriate to the physiologic requirements of the patient. Most recently, synchronized right and left heart pacing, particularly synchronized pacing of the right and left ventricles, has been incorporated into ICDs for heart failure patients who are also susceptible to tachyarrhythymias.
In addition, anti-tachycardia pacing capabilities have been incorporated into ICDs for delivering bursts of pacing pulses or single overdrive pacing pulses to the atria and/or the ventricles to counter and convert certain slow AT or VT episodes to normal sinus rates. The number, frequency, pulse amplitude and width of burst pacing pulse therapies can be programmed by remote programming and telemetry equipment to meet physiologic needs of the particular patient and power conservation requirements.
Among the most important functions of such ICDs are to detect tachyarrhythmias, to correctly identify the tachyarrhythmia, to supply an appropriate cardioversion/defibrillation or burst pacing therapy, and to determine whether or not the supplied therapy was effective.
The typical VT and VF detection criteria that have been employed in commercially released ICDs employ rate/interval based timing criterion and duration or frequency criterion as a basic mechanism for detecting the presence of and distinguishing between tachyarrhythmias. To this end, the intrinsic heart rate is measured on a beat-to-beat basis by timing the R—R interval between successive ventricular sense (VSENSE) event signals output by an R-wave sense amplifier. The measured R—R intervals are compared to a fibrillation detection interval (FDI), a fast tachycardia detection interval (FTDI) and a slow tachycardia detection interval (TDI), and respective VF, fast VT or slow VT counts are accumulated depending on the result of the comparison. One of VF, fast VT or slow VT is declared when a count matches a particular number of intervals required for detection (referred to herein as "NID"). Each rate zone may have its own defined NID, for example, "VFNID" for fibrillation detection, "FVTNID" for fast VT detection, and "VTNID" for slow VT detection.
For example, the measured R—R intervals are compared to the FDI criterion, and the ventricular sensed event is declared a VF event or a non-VF event depending upon the results of the comparison. VF is provisionally declared when the count meets (i.e., equals or exceeds) the VFNID frequency criterion. Similarly, the ventricular sensed event can be declared a fast VT or a slow VT depending on the results of the comparison to the FTDI and the TDI.
Often, SVT episodes causing the ventricles to beat at a rate that meets the FDI and can be inappropriately detected as VF episodes. In ICDs having dual chamber, atrial and ventricular, sensing capabilities, further strategies have been generally followed to detect and classify atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Algorithms have been developed that identify atrial sensed events from P-waves and/or ventricular sensed events from R-waves and derive atrial and/or ventricular event intervals and/or rates therefrom. Various detection and classification systems have been proposed as set forth in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,342,402, 5,545,186, 5,782,876, and 5,814,079, that invoke a hierarchy of prioritization rules to make a decision as to when a cardioversion/defibrillation therapy is to be delivered or withheld. These rule-based methods and apparatus have been incorporated in dual chamber ICDs to distinguish atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmias employing "PR logic" in dual chamber MEDTRONIC® GEM® DR ICDs.
Single chamber ICDs for distinguishing VF from VT or SVT and providing ventricular C/D shock therapies and/or burst pacing therapies do not have the capabilities of sensing P-waves to detect atrial sensed events and analyzing the relationship between atrial sensed events and ventricular sensed events based on detected R-waves. Therefore, many other proposals have been made to examine electrogram (EGM) waveform characteristics, particularly unique waveform characteristics of the QRS complex during NSR, VT, VF and SVT.
One method of discriminating between VF and NSR EGM waveforms as set forth in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,441, for example, is based on measurements and comparisons of the width of the QRS complex to VF width criterion. A normal QRS complex is generally narrower than the abnormal QRS complex during VF, and so QRS width can be employed to distinguish the normal QRS complex from the abnormal QRS complex during VF. However, there are cases when an abnormal QRS complex during VT will have a different morphology than the normal QRS complex while remaining narrow. Conversely, the QRS complex during certain SVT episodes can also be wide. In those cases, a more sensitive and selective method is needed to discriminate between different waveforms.
As noted above, ORS depolarization waves traversing the ventricles during VF do not follow normal conduction pathways and can vary in direction from beat to beat, whereas QRS depolarization waves during SVT that follow normal conduction pathways or during VT emanating from stable ectopic depolarization sites do not vary significantly in direction of propagation. Therefore, various proposals have been made to distinguish VF from a stable VT or SVT as a function of the QRS wave propagation direction on a beat-to-beat basis.
The VT/VF discriminator disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No 5,193,535 employs two sense electrode pairs, e.g., a near field or bipolar electrode pair and a far field or unipolar electrode pair, that are coupled to detection circuitry for identifying the points in time when the sensed electrical signals resulting from the passage of a depolarization wavefront (ORS complex) meet certain predetermined criteria, hereafter referred to as the first and second "fiducial points", that may or may not be the same. The cumulative variability of the time intervals separating the occurrence of the first and second fiducial points over a series of R—R intervals that satisfy VF or VT detection criteria is determined. In general terms, the cumulative variability of a series of true VF QRS complexes resulting in satisfaction of VF detection criteria is higher than the cumulative variability of a series of stable VT QRS complexes or SVT QRS complexes satisfying the VF detection criteria. The cumulative variability value or index is used to distinguish VF from high rate VT to trigger or withhold delivery of a C/D shock therapy. Similar techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,739.
A further approach to the discrimination of normal heart beats from abnormal heart beats employing the morphology of the QRS complex is based on making a comparison of the waveform of the QRS complex during tachyarrhythmia with the waveform of a "template" recording of a QRS complex in NSR and optionally, other template recordings made during VF or VT. An ICD is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,519 that discriminates between monomorphic ventricular tachyarrhythmias, particularly VT, from polymorphic ventricular tachyarrhythmias, particularly VF. A fiducial point of each successive QRS complex is detected (e.g., a VSENSE) prompting the storage of sampled and digitized waveform amplitude data within a timing window bridging the point in time of fiducial point detection. Stored sets of such sampled wave shape data are compared data point to data point resulting in a sampled morphology index value for each compared set. The magnitude of the sampled morphology index value or a series such index values are analyzed to determine the presence of a single or a progression of beat-to-beat waveform changes indicative of a polymorphic single transition or progression of QRS complexes from monomorphic to polymorphic waveforms indicative of an arrhythmia that should be treated with aggressive C/D shock therapies. The ICD is preferably provided with a closely spaced and widely spaced pairs of electrodes for sensing each QRS complex as in the above-referenced '535 patent. The closely spaced electrode pair is coupled to sense detect circuitry for identifying the fiducial point and to counting and comparison circuitry for developing rate and onset data. The widely spaced pair of electrodes is coupled to sense and digitizing circuitry for developing the sampled waveform amplitude data from which the morphology index values are derived.
The common approach for such morphology analysis is Correlation Waveform Analysis (CWA) or its less computationally costly counterpart, so-called Area of Difference (AD) analysis. Both require minimization of a function describing difference between two signals (sum of squared differences of wave data points for the case of CWA, and the sum of absolute values of the differences for AD analysis). However, such computations, as typically performed, are more computationally costly and consume more power to carry out than is generally desirable within ICDs.
As set forth in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,483, a great deal of information for characterizing the EGM signal, particularly the ORS complexes, if the information can be extracted and analyzed employing mathematical transforms. The Fourier transform is most commonly employed in waveform analysis to find the probability of any individual frequency occurring in the waveform. In this way, a time varying signal is represented as the sum of its frequencies. A large amount of data from a signal may be compressed, and certain information that may be hidden in the data may be viewed from a different perspective. The power of this representation diminishes when the signal that one is trying to represent changes its character unpredictably during the course of the signal. Essentially, local information is lost when the global representation of a Fourier transform is attempted.
As asserted in the '483 patent, an improved method of performing this type of transform is known as the windowed Fourier transform, wherein the time series is divided into small windows in time or in space depending on the nature of the data. The transform is performed to obtain the Fourier spectra of the data at various windows. The problem with this technique is that the uncertainty principle begins to set in. The smaller the window, so designed to better handle the localization of the data, the worse its frequency information becomes. The uncertainty principle can be minimized using the Gabor transform, which makes use of the theorem that the minimum uncertainty is achieved with the Gaussian window. Thus, a Gaussian function is used instead of performing the transform to break the signal down into its basic frequencies represented by a time series of sine and cosine functions. This improves the Fourier transform but still cannot give the detailed information of the time series.
Uses of the Haar wavelet transform for performing morphologic analysis and discrimination of normal and abnormal QRS complexes is described in the above-referenced '483 patent and in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,316. Wavelets represent a signal in a way that provides local frequency information for each position within the signal or digitized sample of the signal amplitude, as described in detail in the '316 patent. Thus, the wavelet transform can be used to extract information of the time series that is not restricted to the sine or cosine functions of the Fourier transform. Essentially, any function can be chosen that is appropriate for obtaining the relevant information of the time series. The advantage is that the signal can be observed at any time scale, i.e., the technique can zoom in on the signal, up to its finest resolution. As set forth in the above-referenced '316 patent, the wavelet transform is a representation of a signal as a sum of so-called wavelets or little waves. The wavelets are highly localized in time or, in the mathematical language, have compact support. The main difference between the wavelet functions used in wavelet transforms and the sine and cosine functions used in the Fourier transform is that families of wavelets have limited time support that scales exponentially.
There are certain computational advantages of using wavelet transforms instead of Fourier transforms as described in detail in the above-referenced '316 patent. The wavelet transform applied to digitized QRS amplitude sample values will yield a set of wavelet transform coefficient (WTC) data, and a selected sub-set of the WTC data can be employed to accurately represent the QRS complex, and thus will achieve a high degree of information compression. This can be especially important for IMDs because the information compression provided can be employed to substantially reduce the number of required computations. The ORS signal can also be efficiently filtered and de-noised by keeping a number of large amplitude wavelet coefficients and deleting lower amplitude wavelet coefficients. Thus, the use of a wavelet transform-based morphology analysis method significantly reduces the amount of computation necessary to perform the task and performs de-noising of the signal at no additional computational cost.
The above-referenced '483 patent discloses a system and method for characterizing the "seriousness" of a VF episode using wavelet transforms of each QRS complex in a series of QRS complexes, so that a C/D shock may be delivered to the ventricles with an appropriate amount of energy. A wavelet transform of the second derivative of the time series of a fibrillation event is performed on digitized QRS complexes in the EGM to provide spectral functions of the QRS complexes. In the algorithm disclosed in the '483 patent, the results are analyzed for "missing peaks" in the data. The more serious the VF, the more peaks will be missing from the data. This information may then used to modify the energy of the C/D shock as a function of the estimated seriousness of the VF.
The above-referenced '316 patent discloses a method and apparatus for reliable discrimination between ventricular depolarizations resulting from normal and abnormal propagation of depolarization wavefronts through the chambers of a patient's heart by means of a Haar wavelet transform-based method of analysis of QRS complexes of the EGM. Several embodiments are described in the '316 patent that involve the development of WTC templates of NSR as well as SVT QRS complexes and comparison of current high rate QRS complexes satisfying VT or VF rate criteria to the stored WTC templates. A first disclosed embodiment compares template and unknown waveforms in the wavelet domain by ordering WTC data of the template and unknown waveforms by absolute amplitude and comparing the resulting orders of the WTC data. The second and third disclosed embodiments perform analogs of CWA and AD computations in the wavelet domain. All three methods produce good discrimination of QRS complexes during VT episodes from normal QRS complexes during SVT episodes and may be readily implemented in the embedded environments of ICDs. It is asserted that the disclosed embodiments may also be usefully applied to discriminate between other cardiac waveforms in the EGM, including normal atrial P-waves and those associated with atrial AF and AT episodes. Certain features of the wavelet morphology algorithms disclosed in the '316 patent are employed in the single chamber MEDTRONIC® Marquis® VR ICDs.
Both the complexity and the indications for implantation of the above-described ICDs have increased remarkably over the years. Patients who receive such ICDs are typically identified as survivors of SCD secondary to VF that may originate as VT. In such cases, the cost and complexity of such ICDs is deemed warranted. However, many patients likely to suffer SCD are presently un-diagnosed and do not survive their first VF episode. It is believed that certain patient populations exist that could be identified from other indicia and could benefit from a "prophylactic", low cost, limited function, ICD that simply provides protection against SCD due to VF. To minimize cost of the ICD and the implantation procedure, such a prophylactic ICD would necessarily have limited functions and the capability of delivering only a limited number of high-energy C/D shocks in response to a detected VF episode.
In a prophylactic ICD application, there is concern that the selected patients will exhibit nearly the same frequency of SVT episodes but far fewer polymorphic VT or VF episodes than is exhibited by the conventional ICD patient population. Therefore, it is feared that the use of the current VF detection algorithms will result in a higher percentage of inappropriate VF shock therapies than in the conventional ICD population. This is expected because Bayes' theorem teaches that detection performance depends not only on the detection algorithm's intrinsic performance, but also depends on the population of tachyarrhythmias that the algorithm processes.
In the prophylactic ICD application, AF episodes that conduct rapidly to the ventricle (rapidly conducted AF) are of particular concern. The ventricular rate of such AF events is often similar to that of VF and very hard to discriminate from simultaneous AF and VTNF on the basis of intervals alone. Wilkoff et al. identified rapidly conducted AF as one of the primary algorithmic causes for inappropriate VTNF detection in dual-chamber ICDs. In a single chamber detection scenario for a wider population, as in the case of prophylactic ICDs, it is expected that rapidly conducted AF that conducts at ventricular rates that overlap with the VF zone will also be a primary algorithmic cause for inappropriate detection. See, Wilkoff B. L. et. al., "Critical Analysis of Dual-Chamber Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Arrhythmia Detection: Results and Technical Consideration", Circulation, 2001; 103:381–386.
The QRS morphology during rapidly conducted AF often differs from the QRS morphology during NSR rendering algorithms that rely on a finding of similarity between the current QRS complex morphology and an NSR QRS complex morphology to distinguish SVT from VF much less effective. Although the QRS morphology during AF episodes differs from NSR QRS morphology, there is often a characteristic QRS complex morphology during AF that is relatively stable over short periods of time.
Therefore, a need remains for a robust and computationally efficient VF detection capability of discriminating a true VF episode from high rate VT or SVT that is not life threatening particularly for use in prophylactic ICDs to avoid the unnecessary delivery of a C/D shock therapy. Such a VF detection capability would, of course, still be beneficial in more complex single chamber, dual chamber and multi-chamber ICDs. Such a robust VF detection capability may also find utility in an implantable heart monitors (IHM) having a sense electrode array (SEA) implanted subcutaneously for monitoring, processing, and storing data from the EGM sensed across one or more selected far field sense vector as described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,966, for example.
Moreover, a need remains for a robust and computationally efficient AF detection capability of discriminating a true AF episode from high rate AT.

Methods and apparatus for discriminating polymorphic tachyarrhythmias from monomorphic tachyarrhythmias facilitating detection of fibrillation


The wet section of a twin wire papermaking machine is provided with an open forming roll at the lower wire and with the combination of a suction box at the lower wire and a vacuum suction box at the upper wire. Furthermore, by selecting the elevational position or level of the individual wire sections there can be obtained particularly advantageous conditions for the operation of the papermaking machine throughout a wide field of application, especially heavy types of paper at relatively low operating velocities of the papermaking machine. Gap-former and hybrid-former constructions of the papermaking machine are possible.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved wet section of a twin wire papermaking machine.
Generally speaking, the wet section of the twin wire papermaking machine is of the type comprising two revolving endless wires, especially an upper wire and a lower wire, travelling in a predetermined direction of movement. The web-supporting portion of the lower wire has a section which extends in essentially horizontal direction, and at one region the upper and lower wires are guided together. Further, there is provided at least one headbox from which emerges the fiber stock suspension in a wide jet which arrives at the one region between both of the guided together upper and lower wires where there is dewatered the fiber stock suspension and the web formed therefrom.
2. Discussion of the Background and Material Information
As a general rule, such type papermaking machines are employed for the manufacture of a paper or cardboard web --hereinafter sometimes generally simply broadly referred to as a paper web--which is formed by dewatering a fiber stock suspension at a wire or between two wires.
It is well known in the papermaking art that there are available quite a number of different constructions of papermaking machines of the aforementioned type. For example, in the commonly assigned German Patent No. 3,138,133, published Mar. 24, 1983, there is schematically disclosed in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 papermaking machines which, through the use of an upper wire and a lower wire, render possible the fabrication of a paper 3,910,892, published Oct. 11, 1990, there is disclosed the forming region of a twin wire papermaking machine comprising a forming roll located at the lower wire and a section of the twin wire which extends upwardly over a curved forming shoe.
However, the heretofore known papermaking machines of this type are afflicted with the drawback that the operating range thereof is limited in that such papermaking machines can not be operated at velocities below a predetermined value and then only when producing paper products of relatively low basis weight, for example, paper used for printing newspapers. Such prior art papermaking machines possess the feature that the centrifugal force present at the forming roll, at velocities particularly below 500 meters per minute, is too small in order to adequately upwardly propel the water of the stock suspension and to remove such water at a collecting vat or trough provided for such water. This aspect of water removal is additionally made more difficult due to the fact that such papermaking machines exhibit an ascending course of the forming wire as viewed in the lengthwise direction of the papermaking machine, also referred to as the machine direction, in other words, in the direction of travel of the forming wire. Additionally, by virtue of the ascent of the guidance of the forming wire at the sheet forming zone of the papermaking machine there can arise differential velocities between the fiber stock suspension and the forming wire, resulting in alignment of the fibers in the lengthwise or machine direction of the papermaking machine.
This phenomenon is attributable, on the one hand, to a deceleration of the flow velocity of the fiber stock suspension due to having to overcome an increase in height in accordance with Bernoulli's equation. A further reduction in the velocity of the fiber stock suspension is caused by the presence of additional friction and stock turning losses due to the presence of the suction boxes.
The result of all of this is that there occurs a relatively pronounced fiber alignment in the lengthwise direction of the papermaking machine. The tear length ratio, namely L/Q, measured in the lengthwise and transverse directions of the paper web, can lie in the range of 2.5 to 4, which is frequently undesirable, for example, during the manufacture of liner or test liner paper or board or the like. In that case, there is desired a relatively low L/Q ratio in the order of between 1.0 and 1.5.
Furthermore, when there are present relatively high web weights, drawbacks arise by virtue of the small selected wrap angle at the forming roll of the prior art papermaking machines. At the subsequent region of the papermaking machine there also prevails the danger that the paper web is unduly compressed by the action of the forming elements arranged at the upper wire when there is present a high sheet weight or basis weight of the paper web.
A different construction of papermaking machine, as for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,709, granted May 16, 1989, is devoid of any forming roll at the lower wire. Moreover, the first suction box at the lower wire, as viewed in the machine direction, is ascendingly arranged. Consequently, the water effluxing through the upper wire can flow back opposite to the machine direction, especially in the presence of relatively low machine velocities. Also, with this construction of papermaking machine there is not present any upper apex point of the lower wire at the front section or region of the sheet formation.

Wet section for a twin wire papermaking machine


In a hologram recording and reproducing apparatus including a hologram record element having a record unit formed by a photorefractive single crystal and a pair of electrodes provided on the record unit for applying a voltage to said record unit, and an optical system for impinging light onto an incident surface of the record unit, the record unit is made of a (100) wafer of Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 or Bi.sub.12 GeO.sub.20 optical single crystal belonging to a cubic system, the light is made incident upon the (100) incident surface such that an optical axis of the incident light is inclined with respect to <100> axis of the optical single crystal by an angle .theta. of 30.degree.-60.degree.. The hologram record unit is immersed in an optically transparent and electrically insulating medium having a refractive index which differs from a refractive index of the optical single crystal by not larger than 0.50, the medium being contained in a vessel made of an optically transparent and electrically insulating material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hologram recording and reproducing apparatus comprising a hologram record element including a record unit formed by an optical single crystal having an optically induced refractive effect and an electrode means provided on said record unit for applying a voltage to said record unit, and an optical system for impinging light onto an incident surface of said record unit.
2. Related Art Statement
A holography has been used in various applications such as interference measurement, optical information processing, optical element and three-dimensional display as a unique technique for reproducing a complete wave front. In order to perform hologram recording and hologram interference, a silver salt photosensitive material has been generally used. However, the silver salt photosensitive material requires a developing process, and thus it is impossible to realize a real time hologram. It has been proposed to use a single crystal having an optically induced refraction effect such as Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 as a real time hologram record element. Such a single crystal is also called a photorefractive crystal. The photorefractive crystal has been disclosed in, for instance "Laser Science Study Report", 1990 March pp. 1-9 under a title of "Holography Recording Property of BSO Single Crystal". In this reference, object light and reference light are made incident upon a major surface having a crystal orientation (110) of a Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 single crystal and an electric field of several kV/cm is applied in a direction perpendicular to an interference fringe by means of electrodes provided on both end faces of the (110) surface.
In applications of interference measurement, optical information processing and optical element, a size of hologram record element is limited by a purpose of respective applications, but it is not always necessary to use large hologram record elements. However, in an application of three-dimensional display, it is absolutely required to use a hologram record element having a size larger than a certain limit, because in order to attain a stereoscopic view by utilizing the parallax of a human being, a hologram record element should be not less than a pupil distance between right and left eyes. Usually, a size of the hologram record element should be larger than about 50 mm.
A size of the above mentioned real time hologram record element is physically limited by a size and shape of the Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 single crystal. Usually the Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 single crystal hologram record element has a size of ten and several mm.times.ten and several mm. Due to this limitation on the size, the application of the Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 single crystal hologram record element has been practically restricted to the interference measurement and optical information processing. The real time holography has been earnestly desired to be developed in a near future as an output device of a three-dimensional image display system in a three-dimensional CAD system. Therefore, up-sizing of the real time hologram record element has been strongly desired.
The inventor has studied and conducted various experiments for realizing a large size hologram record element which may be used in the three-dimensional display, and has been encountered the following problem.
In the three-dimensional holography, a viewer stands in front of the hologram record element such that the left and right eyes are faced with the hologram record element perpendicularly thereto and reproducing light is made incident upon the hologram record element from a side opposite to the viewer. During this reproduction, when a room in which the hologram recording and reproducing apparatus is arranged is bright, undesired light emanating from surrounding objects is made incident upon the hologram record element surface and is reflected thereby toward the viewer. Then, the reproduced three-dimensional image monitored by the user might be disturbed greatly.
Now the above problem will be explained further in detail. FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic views for explaining the problem encountered upon viewing the three-dimensional image by using the known hologram recording and reproducing apparatus. In the known apparatus, the hologram record element is formed by (110) wafer of the photorefractive single crystal such as Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 single crystal. It should be noted that the Bi.sub.12 SiO.sub.20 single crystal belongs to the cubic system, and therefore <100> axis, <010> axis and <001> axis are equivalent. In the known apparatus, the hologram record element is formed by cutting a (110) wafer. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, an optical system 6 is installed within a black box 5 and a hologram record element 3 is provided on one side wall of the black box. Reproducing light 4 is made incident upon an incident (110) surface of the hologram record element 3 in a direction substantially perpendicular thereto. A viewer 1 is standing at a point opposite to the optical system 6 with respect to the hologram record element 3. A viewing direction 2 of the viewer 1 is substantially perpendicular to an exit (110) surface of the hologram record element 3, which is opposed to the incident (110) surface of the hologram record element. It should be noted that the viewing direction 2 is opposite to the incident direction of the reproducing light 4 emitted by the optical system 6.
The optical system 6 is provided within the black box 5, so that any undesired light is not made incident upon the hologram record element 3 from the direction of the reproducing light 4. As shown in FIG. 1A, the exit (110) surface of the hologram record element 3 has to be exposed out of the black box 5 such that the viewer 1 can see the reproduced three-dimensional image.
The object light for recording interference fringes in the hologram record element 3 and reproducing light 4 are emitted from laser light sources. However, an amount of light emitted by the laser light source is limited. Particularly, in order not to increase a size of the whole hologram recording and reproducing apparatus, it is necessary to use as small light sources as possible. Therefore, the brightness of the reproduced image could not be made sufficiently high.
When the hologram recording and reproducing apparatus is used to display a three-dimensional image, it is required to see the three-dimensional image by the viewer 1 under a bright lighting condition including a room lighting device 8 as illustrated in FIG. 1B. However, in such case, light 9 directly emitted by the lighting device 8 and light rays reflected by surrounding substances might be made incident upon the exposed (110) surface of the hologram record element 3. Then, the incident light 9 is reflected by the hologram record element 3 and reflected light 10 is made incident upon the viewer 1. At the same time, the reproduced image light is made incident upon the viewer 1 as depicted by an arrow 7. In this manner, the undesired light 10 reflected by the hologram record element 3 is superimposed on the reproduced image light 7. As stated above, the reproducing laser light has a limited intensity and the intensity of the room lighting device 8 is relatively larger than the reproducing light, the reproduced image could not be observed under a good condition.
In order to eliminate the undesired reflection by the hologram record element 3, the inventor has designed a hologram record element shown in FIG. 2. In this hologram record element 11, a record unit 12 is formed by a rectangular flat plate made of the photorefractive crystal, a pair of electrodes 13 are provided on opposite end faces of the record unit, the electrodes being connected to a DC voltage supply source 15 by means of conductors 16. A anti-reflection film 14 is applied on a major surface 12a of the record unit 12 which is to be faced by a viewer.
The anti-reflection film 14 is formed by a dielectric film which has a specific resistance of at most about 10.sup.9 .OMEGA..multidot.cm. The record unit 12 has a very high specific resistance such as on the order of 10.sup.14 .OMEGA..multidot.cm. Therefore, the specific resistance of the anti-reflection film 14 is relatively lower than that of the record unit 12. During the recording and reproducing, it is necessary to apply a very high voltage to the hologram record element 11. When the anti-reflection film 14 having a relatively low specific resistance is applied on the surface of the record unit 12 and a high voltage is applied across the electrodes 13, there might occur undesired breakdown. Therefore, it is impossible to apply a high voltage without causing the breakdown.
Furthermore, in order to mitigate the undesired reflection by the hologram record element, the inventor has designed a hologram recording and reproducing apparatus, in which an hologram record element is inclined with respect to a reproducing light flux. As a result, it was found that a diffraction efficiency might be greatly reduced due to a refraction of an object light flux.

Hologram recording and reproducing apparatus


A method for detecting an analyte comprising 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in a sample comprising: providing an indicator solution, comprising a cation and an anion; bringing in contact and/or interacting the indicator solution and the sample comprising the analyte; photocatalytically induced forming of an anionic TNT sigma complex, comprising the analyte and the anion, by means of exposure of the indicator solution and the sample brought in contact with one another; fluorescence optically detecting the formed anionic TNT sigma complex.

The invention relates to the selective detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), optionally also from complex mixtures with other nitroaromatics, in the air, in aqueous solutions and on surfaces.
The majority of systems for detecting TNT offered presently in the market involve ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), gas chromatography (GC) and Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy techniques. In the commercial field, primarily IMS (such as SABRE 4000, Smiths Detection, USA) and Raman devices (such as FirstDefender RM, Ahura, USA) play a role. Moreover, several chemical methods such as chemiluminescent assays or molecular interaction sensors, such as fluorescent conjugated polymers, known as "amplifying fluorescent polymers" (AFPs), have been described. The fluorescence of these AFPs is weakened in the presence of TNT and other nitroaromatics.
The use of fluorescent conjugated polymers for the detection of explosives by means of fluorescence quenching is known. The majority of appropriate detection methods for TNT are based on the non-specific interaction of the AFPs and (non-)fluorescent dyes with substances that have a high oxidation potential.
Colorimetric detection methods of TNT and of trinitroaromatics and dinitroaromatics have a low selectivity and sensitivity with respect to TNT.
Against this background, a method is provided as disclosed herein. Further aspects, details, advantages, and characteristics of the present invention will be apparent from the dependent claims and the description.

Highly selective and sensitive detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene by means of fluorescence enhancement using UV-induced photoreaction with anions

Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Vertreten Durch Den Bundesrepublik Für Wirtschaft Und Energie


A refrigerator is disclosed. The refrigerator includes a refrigerator body having a storage chamber defined therein, a refrigeration cycle device for cooling the storage chamber, a chilling case for receiving a beverage container such that the chilling case surrounds the beverage container in a contact manner, and a rapid cooling device, having a case receiving part for receiving the chilling case, for cooling a coolant using the refrigeration cycle device and spraying the cooled coolant to an outside of the chilling case in a vicinity of the chilling case. A beverage is cooled in a state in which the beverage container is not in direct contact with the coolant, whereby the coolant is not present at the outside of the beverage container, and therefore, the beverage container is kept sanitary.

Generally, a refrigerator is an apparatus that cools storage chambers, such as a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, using a refrigeration cycle device including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator.
In recent years, a rapid cooling chamber has been additionally formed at one side of the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber such that some cool air in the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber is supplied to the rapid cooling chamber for rapidly cooling objects to be cooled in the rapid cooling chamber.
In conventional refrigerators, however, rapid cooling time is considerably long since some cool air in the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber is supplied to the rapid cooling chamber. Also, objects are cooled in a state in which the objects are fixed, with the result that the objects are not moved, and the rapid cooling is delayed.

Rapid cryocooler utilizing spray holes to cool a beverage


The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fiber-reinforced resin material having minimal directionality of strength as well as excellent productivity, a method and device for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced resin material whereby a molded article is obtained, and a device for inspecting a fiber bundle group. A method for manufacturing a sheet-shaped fiber-reinforced resin material in which a paste (P1) is impregnated between cut fiber bundles (CF), the method for manufacturing a fiber-reinforced resin material including a coating step applying a coating of a paste (P1) on a first sheet (S11) conveyed in a predetermined direction, a cutting step for cutting a long fiber bundle (CF) using a cutter (113A), a scattering step for dispersing the cut fiber bundles (CF) and scattering the cut fiber bundles (CF) on the paste (P1), and an impregnation step for pressing a fiber bundle group (F1) and the paste (P1) on the first sheet (S11) and impregnating the paste (P1) between the fiber bundles (CF).

SMC (Sheet Molding Compound) and stampable sheets are known as molding materials which are excellent in mechanical properties of molded articles and suitable for forming complex shapes such as three-dimensional shapes. The SMC is a sheet-shaped fiber-reinforced resin material obtained, for example, by impregnating a thermosetting resin such as an unsaturated polyester resin between fiber bundles obtained by cutting reinforced fibers such as glass fibers and carbon fibers. In addition, the stampable sheet is a sheet-shaped fiber-reinforced resin material obtained, for example, by impregnating a thermoplastic resin into the above-described cut fiber bundle.
The SMC is an intermediate material for obtaining molded articles. When molding the SMC, compressing (pressing) the SMC with heating using a mold is used. At this time, the fiber bundle and the thermosetting resin are filled into the cavity of the mold while flowing together, and after that, the thermosetting resin is cured. Therefore, by using the SMC, it is possible to obtain molded articles of various shapes such as those having partially different thicknesses, those having ribs, bosses, or the like. In addition, molded articles of the stampable sheet can be obtained by heating up to the melting point or more of a thermoplastic resin by an infrared heater or the like and cooling and pressing with a mold at a predetermined temperature.
In manufacturing the above-described SMC (fiber-reinforced resin material), a paste containing a thermosetting resin is applied on a sheet (carrier) to be conveyed, after that, an elongated fiber bundle is cut into predetermined-length fiber bundles, and the predetermined-length fiber bundles are scattered on the paste (refer to, for example, Patent Literature 1).
However, according to the manufacturing method in the related art, the directions of the fiber bundles scattered on the paste tend to be aligned in a certain direction, and thus, directionality may occur in the strength of the manufactured SMC. Specifically, the fiber bundles that are cut by the cutting machine and dropped tend to collapse in the conveying direction of the sheet when landing on the conveyed sheet and tend to be aligned in the direction along the conveying direction of the sheet. In addition, as the length of the cut fiber bundles becomes longer or the conveying speed of the sheet becomes faster, this tendency appears more remarkably.
Therefore, in the SMC obtained by the manufacturing method in the related art, the strength thereof is increased in the conveying direction (longitudinal direction) of the sheet, and the directionality easily occurs such that the strength thereof becomes weaker in the direction (width direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet. Therefore, in manufacturing the SMC, it is necessary to allow the directions of the fiber bundles scattered on the paste to be irregular (random) so that no directionality occurs in the strength of the SMC as described above. For example, although the directionality of this strength can be reduced by decreasing the conveying speed of the sheet, in this case, the productivity of the SMC is deteriorated. The same description is also applied to the case of the stampable sheet.
As a measure for allowing the orientations of the fiber bundles to be irregular, in the following Patent Literature 1, a method of uniformly dispersing the fiber bundles without directionality by tapping fiber bundles that are cut by a cutting machine and dropped with a rotating drum has been disclosed. However, when this method is used, fluff (fiber scrap) is generated from the fiber bundles tapped with the rotating drum. In particular, since the fiber bundles are loosened, the more the rotation speed of the rotating drum is increased, the more fluff occurs. In addition, a drive source for rotationally driving the rotating drum is required.

Fiber-reinforced resin material, molded article, method and device for manufacturing fiber-reinforced resin material, and fiber bundle group inspection device


A user's prior searching and browsing activities are recorded for subsequent use. A user may examine the user's prior searching and browsing activities in a number of different ways, including indications of the user's prior activities related to advertisements. A set of search results may be modified in accordance with the user's historical activities. The user's activities may be examined to identify a set of preferred locations. The user's set of activities may be shared with one or more other users. The set of preferred locations presented to the user may be enhanced to include the preferred locations of one or more other users. A user's browsing activities may be monitored from one or more different client devices or client application. A user's browsing volume may be graphically displayed.

Search engines typically provide a source of indexed documents from the Internet (or an intranet) that can be rapidly scanned in response to a search query submitted by a user. As the number of documents accessible via the Internet grows, the number of documents that match a particular query may also increase. However, not every document matching the query is likely to be equally important from the user's perspective. A user may be overwhelmed by an enormous number of documents returned by a search engine, unless the documents are ordered based on their relevance to the user's query. One way to order documents is the PageRank algorithm more fully described in the article "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Search Engine" by S. Brin and L. Page, 7th International World Wide Web Conference, Brisbane, Australia and U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,999, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference as background information.
Over time, a user will have executed a history of search queries, results which were examined, advertisements that were clicked on, and other various browsing activities which reflect the user's preferences and interests. Oftentimes a user may be interested in examining the user's such prior activities. It would be desirable to permit the user to use the prior activities to enhance the user's searching and browsing experience.

Systems and methods for providing subscription-based personalization


The present invention relates to therapeutically active and selective inhibitors of the enzyme DPP-IV, which are of formula I

Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV), a serine protease belonging to the group of post-proline/alanine cleaving amino-dipeptidases, specifically removes the two N-terminal amino acids from proteins having proline or alanine in position 2. Although the physiological role of DPP-IV has not been completely established, it is believed to play an important role in neuropeptide metabolism, T-cell activation, gastric ulceration, functional dyspepsia, obesity, appetite regulation, impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and diabetes.
DPP-IV has been implicated in the control of glucose metabolism because its substrates include the insulinotropic hormones Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and Gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP). GLP-1 and GIP are active only in their intact forms; removal of their two N-terminal amino acids inactivates them.
In vivo administration of synthetic inhibitors of DPP-IV prevents N-terminal degradation of GLP-1 and GIP, resulting in higher plasma concentrations of these hormones, increased insulin secretion and, therefore, improved glucose tolerance. Therefore, such inhibitors have been proposed for the treatment of patients with Type 2 diabetes, a disease characterised by decreased glucose tolerance. (Hoist, J. J.; Deacon, C. F. Diabetes 47 (1998) 1663–70)
Diabetic dyslipidemia is characterized by multiple lipoprotein defects, including moderately high serum levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, small LDL particles, and low levels of HDL cholesterol. The results of recent clinical trials reveal beneficial effects of cholesterol-lowering therapy in diabetic and non-diabetic patients, thus supporting increased emphasis on treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia. The National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel II advocated this need for intensive treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia.
Obesity is a well-known risk factor for the development of many very common diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension and diabetes. The incidence of obese people and thereby also these diseases is increasing throughout the entire industrialised world. Except for exercise, diet and food restriction no convincing pharmacological treatment for reducing body weight effectively and acceptably currently exist. However, due to its indirect but important effect as a risk factor in mortal and common diseases it will be important to find treatment for obesity or appetite regulation. Even mild obesity increases the risk for premature death, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, gallbladder disease and certain types of cancer. In the industrialised western world the prevalence of obesity has increased significantly in the past few decades. Because of the high prevalence of obesity and its health consequences, its prevention and treatment should be a high public health priority.
At present a variety of techniques are available to effect initial weight loss. Unfortunately, initial weight loss is not an optimal therapeutic goal. Rather, the problem is that most obese patients eventually regain their weight. An effective means to establish and/or sustain weight loss is the major challenge in the treatment of obesity today. Several compounds have been shown to inhibit DPP-IV, but all of these have limitations in relation to the potency, stability, and pharmacodynamic properties.
Such compounds have e.g. been disclosed in WO 98/19998, WO 00/34241, U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,305 (Novartis AG) and WO 99/38501 (Trustees of Tufts University). The compounds of the present invention constitutes a completely novel class of DPP-IV inhibitors, structurally unrelated to any DPP-IV inhibitors known so far. They are furthermore potent and stable and thus offers a solution to the problems associated with the presently known DPP-IV inhibitors.

Heterocyclic compounds, which are inhibitors of the enzyme DPP-IV

Abstract: wherein each n is one or two independently and R1, R2, R3, R6, R7, R9, and R10 are defined herein. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compounds of formula I and the use of the compounds for treating diseases that are associated with proteins that are subject to inactivation by DPP-IV, such as type-2 diabetes and obesity.


There is disclosed a method and system for determining packaging preference of a customer by identifying the customer using a customer identifier, and retrieving available packaging preference information using the customer identifier. In an embodiment, the customer's packaging preference information for a particular identified item is retrieved and graphically communicated. In another embodiment, customer packaging preference information based on a quantity of items is retrieved and graphically communicated. Customer packaging preference information based on both the identified items and the quantity of items may also be retrieved and graphically communicated.

In retail locations such as grocery stores, liquor & wine stores, hardware and department stores, customers typically must pass through a cashier station to pay for items they wish to purchase. At the cashier station, the cashier may package the purchased items for the customer so that the customer can conveniently carry the items out of the store. If different packaging options are offered, the customer may have a preference as to the type of packaging desired. However, at conventional retail locations, the customer is likely to be asked for their packaging preference each time the customer passes through a cashier station, resulting in unnecessary inconvenience for both the customer and the cashier.
What is needed is a more flexible system and method for determining packaging preference that overcomes some of these limitations.

System and method for determining packaging preference

International Business Machines Corporation


A disk controller has a channel adapter having a connection interface to a host computer or a disk drive; a memory adapter for temporarily storing data to be transferred between the host computer and disk drive; a processor adapter for controlling operations of the channel adapter and memory adapter; and a switch adapter for configuring an inner network by interconnecting the channel adapter, memory adapter and processor adapter, wherein the channel adapter, memory adapter, processor adapter and switch adapter each include a DMA controller for performing a communication protocol control of the inner network; and packet multiplex communication is performed among the DMA controllers provided in the adapters. The disk controller can realize a high transfer efficiency and a low cost while retaining a high reliability.

A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk controller for controlling a plurality of disk drives, and more particularly to a high reliability disk controller using connection-less type multiplex communication.
B) Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,134 and No. 2003046460 disclose a storage system.
A disk sub-system (hereinafter simply called a "sub-system") using magnetic disk drives as storage media has an input/output performance lower by three to four digits than that of a main storage of a computer using semiconductor storages as storage media. A lot of effort has been put into reducing this difference, i.e., improving the input/output performance of the sub-system. One method of improving the input/output performance of the sub-system is to use a disk controller which controls a plurality of magnetic disk drives into which data is distributively stored.
For example, a conventionally known disk controller such as shown in FIG. 16 has a plurality of channel adapters 2100 which execute data transfer between a host computer and a disk drive; a plurality of cache memory adapters 2300 for temporarily storing data to be transferred between the host computer and disk drive; a plurality of control memory adapters 2301 for storing control information on the operation of the disk controller; and a plurality of switch adapters 2400 for establishing connections between the cache memory adapters and channel adapters. The channel adapters 2100 and cache memory adapters 2300 are interconnected by a data system inner network via the switch adapters 2400. The channel adapters 2100 and control memory adapters 2301 are interconnected by a control system inner network. With these network connections, all the channel adapters 2100 can access the cache memory adapters 2300 and control memory adapters 2301.
Each channel adapter 2100 has: data link engines (DLEs) 2110 for executing packet transfer in the data system internal network; DMA controllers (DMACs) 2120 for executing DMA transfer in the data system inner network; a selector 2115 for interconnecting DLEs 2110 and DMACs 2120; protocol engines (PE) 2130 for controlling communication between the host computer and disk drive; ports 2140 for connection to the host computer or disk drive; DLEs 2210 for executing packet transfer in the control system inner network; DMACs 2220 for DMA transfer in the control system inner network; micro-processors (MPs) 2230 for controlling the operation of the disk controller; and a selector 2125 for interconnecting DMACs 2120 and PEs 2130 or MPs 2230.
The cache memory adapter 2300 and control memory adapter 2301 each have: DLEs 2310 for executing DMA transfer in the data system internal network or control system internal network; DMACs 2320 for executing DMA transfer in each inner network; memory controllers (MCs) 2330; memory modules (MMs) 2340; a selector 2315 for interconnecting DLEs 2310 and DMACs 2320; and a selector 2325 for interconnecting DMACs 2320 and MCs 2330.
The switch adapter 2400 has: DLEs 2410 for executing packet transfer in the data system inner network; DMACs 2420 for executing DMA transfer in the data system inner network; and a selector 2430 for interconnecting DMACs 2420.
Data transfer between the adapters is realized by cooperative operations of DMACs in the respective adapters. As an example of this, with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, description will be made on an outline operation of DMA transfer of data from the host computer to the cache memory adapter 2300 in the disk controller.
When a WRITE request is issued from the host computer via the connection port 2140, MP 2230 calculates an area of the cache memory adapter for temporarily storing WRITE data, and notifies the calculated result to DMAC 2120 in the channel adapter as a DMA list 2600. DMAC 2120 issues requests 2605 for acquiring paths to the cache memory adapters necessary for DMA transfer. Since the WRITE data is stored in a plurality of cache memory adapters (two cache memory adapters having DMAC 2321 and DMAC 2322) in order to improve the reliability, a plurality of path establishing requests are issued. After necessary paths are established, DMAC 2120 transfers the WRITE data to DMAC 2420 at the relay point switch, in accordance with the contents of the DMA list 2600. In this case, the WRITE data is transferred from the host computer by dividing it into a data amount having a predetermined size.
DMA 2420 of the switch adapter 2400 generates DMA sub-requests 2611 and 2612 for DMACs 2321 and 2322 of the cache memory adapters, in accordance with the transfer requests sent from DMAC 2120 of the channel adapter 2100. In response to the requests 2611 and 2612, DMACs 2321 and 2322 return sub-statuses 2621 and 2622 which are the request completion notices. After DMAC 2120 of the channel adapter confirms the sub-statuses 2621 and 2622, it issues the next DMA sub-request. When the sub-statuses of all the DMA sub-requests are returned, DMAC 2120 issues release requests 2625 for the established paths to the cache memory adapters, and returns a completion status 2630 to MP 2230 to thereby complete the process for the DMA list 2600. During the DMA transfer, MP 2230 accesses the control memory adapter 2301 when necessary. In this case, similar DMA transfer is performed between DMAC 2220 of the channel adapter 2100 and DMAC 2320 of the control memory adapter 2301.
FIG. 17 shows the structure of a packet used by DMA transfer. A command packet 2520 has: an address field 2521 for indicating a targeting DMAC; an address field 2522 for indicating an initiating DMAC; memory address fields 2523 and 2524 for indicating memory addresses at which transfer data is stored; and an error check code 2525.
The path establishing request 2605 is issued by using the command packet 2520. A data packet 2530 has: an address field 2531 for indicating a targeting DMAC; an address field 2532 for indicating an initiating DMAC; transfer data 2533; and an error check code 2535. The DMA sub-request is issued by using the data packet 2530.
FIG. 20 illustrates a transfer protocol for the path request command 2605 and DMA sub-request 2610. In order to facilitate a failure recovery process, processes are all executed by non-multiplex communication. Namely, after it is confirmed that the sub-status 2620 for the DMA sub-request 2610 is returned, the next DMA sub-request 2610 is issued.


In accordance with the invention, compositions, devices, and related methods have been developed for medical-related and other applications. In some embodiments, the devices and compositions described herein comprise a triggerable shape memory polymer network. In certain embodiments, the polymer network comprises a covalently crosslinked polymeric material and a non-crosslinked polymeric material associated with the crosslinked polymeric material. In some cases, the polymer network has a first configuration (e.g., as polymerized), and a second configuration (e.g., upon heating and deformation), such that the polymer network can be triggered to recover the first configuration upon heating the polymeric material above a softening temperature of the polymeric material. In certain embodiments, the polymer network comprises a plurality of particles capable of increasing the temperature of the polymer network (e.g., above the softening temperature) in the presence of an external stimulus such as induction, radio frequency, or magnetic resonance, such that the polymer network changes configuration. The polymeric material may be molded into any suitable shape.

Drug efficacy is dependent on adherence of a patient to medication. In spite of health risks associated with poor medical adherence, nearly half of patients do not adhere to their prescribed regimen. Delivery devices enabling extended release provide a potential solution to this problem by allowing the administration of a single dose, which would release drugs over a prolonged period of time. However, a key challenge that remains is the on-demand exit from the body and safe passage through the lower gastrointestinal tract when drug administration is no longer required. Accordingly, new materials and methods are needed.

Triggerable shape memory induction devices


A method and apparatus for cutting off a well which includes hydraulic rams, a sharp blade and a supporting structure that surrounds the well and holds it in place while the hydraulic rams and sharp beveled blade shears the well and cuts it off. The entire apparatus is operated with an hydraulic system and can be lifted over any well with a crane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of oil well maintenance and specifically to a means of cutting off a well whose productivity has come to an end.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wells for the drilling of oil have a life. Once the life of the well is over, it is plugged with cement. These wells are formed of concentric circles that are plugged with cement when they are retired. When a well is plugged, it normally involves cutting off of the upper part of the casing string that is not fully cemented and pulling it out of the hole for salvage. Flammable gasses are emitted from these wells, even after their usefulness has expired. Prior art ways of cutting off wells have involved a large fire hazard, using hot torches to perform the task. The instant invention seeks to overcome this shortcoming and provide a safe, effective means for cutting off a well.

Method and apparatus for cutting off a well


An electronic apparatus includes a sensor, a body that is provided separately from and is not incorporated to a shoe worn by a user, and a processing circuit provided on the body. The processing circuit obtains, based on a detection result of the sensor, a number of steps taken by the user during traveling while wearing the shoe, and calculates a wear degree, indicating a degree to which the shoe of the user is worn out, based on the number of steps.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and a program.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-193257, filed Sep. 3, 2012, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Related Art
In the related art, a wristwatch for running is known in which an acceleration sensor detects the movement of a user to detect the number of steps or the traveling distance during traveling (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). Such a wristwatch includes means for measuring the number of steps and the distance per run; and means for accumulating the number of steps and the distance per month. In addition, shoes are worn out when being used, and the unique performance of the shoes gradually decreases when being worn out.


A container of a multilayered structure comprising an inner layer and an outer layer of a low-density polyethylene, and an intermediate layer that includes a gas-barrier resin layer and adhesive layers, wherein the adhesive layers contain an acid-modified polyethylene and a propylene resin, the propylene resin being contained in an amount of 0.5 to 10% by weight in the adhesive layers. The container is obtained by using decreased amounts of resins without impairing properties of the containers.

Owing to their easy formability and inexpensive production costs, plastic containers have been used in a variety of applications. Specifically, the low-density polyethylene has a low crystallinity, and is soft and flexible, and the containers made therefrom permit the contents to be easily squeezed out and, therefore, have been widely used for containing paste-like contents such as ketchup, mayonnaise, paste, honey, shampoo and the like.
Because of their low gas-barrier property, however, the above polyethylene containers are, usually, formed in a multilayered structure including, as an intermediate layer, a gas-barrier layer as represented by an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer. The multilayered structure of this kind uses an acid-modified olefin resin as an adhesive for adhering the gas-barrier resin layer which is the intermediate layer to the inner and outer polyethylene layers (e.g., see patent documents 1 and 2).


According to one embodiment, a drive array apparatus includes a plurality of data storage drives constituting a drive array and a controller. The controller divides all data storage areas of each of the data storage drives into a plurality of logical unit areas and associates and manages each of the logical unit areas and each of the data storage drives. The controller identifies a logical unit area of an error occurrence object based on a notification from a data storage drive where an error occurred, restores data of the identified logical unit area, and performs reconfiguration processing of the drive array.

In recent years, still larger capacities of storage systems managed by, for example, a server are pushed forward. To build a large-capacity storage system, a drive array apparatus capable of realizing high reliability and high performance is indispensable. The drive array apparatus is also called a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) apparatus or a disk array apparatus. The drive array apparatus may be denoted as the RAID apparatus below.
Normally, a RAID apparatus includes a plurality of hard disk drives (HDDs). In recent years, a hybrid configuration using a plurality of HDDs and SSDs (solid state drives) is also developed for a RAID apparatus. Incidentally, HDD and SSD may generically be denoted as the data storage drive.
When a specific storage area of a constituent HDD fails, a RAID apparatus restores data recorded in the storage area and copies all data of the HDD to a spare data storage drive (hereinafter, simply a spare drive). The RAID apparatus can be reconfigured by such rebuilding.
When a RAID apparatus is reconfigured by rebuilding as described above, an HDD in which a failure has occurred in a specific storage area is made unavailable and the HDD is replaced by another HDD. Thus, the execution time needed for rebuilding including the work time for HDD replacement increases, leading to a heavy burden of storage system operation including the cost of HDD replacement. Against such a background, improved RAID apparatuses allowing continued use of an HDD have been proposed.
A conventional improved RAID apparatus uses a management table that manages the storage area (accessed by LBA) for each head of each HDD to perform rebuilding that restores data of the storage area corresponding to a failed head. Such rebuilding allows continued use of HDDs by inhibiting HDD replacement. However, such rebuilding requires a large-capacity management table that manages all LBA corresponding to each head and a great deal of time is needed for processing to reference and update the management table. Therefore, while the continued use of HDDs is possible, the execution time needed for rebuilding may not be reducible in the end.

Drive array apparatus, controller, data storage apparatus and method for rebuilding drive array


A transmitter includes: a first mapping unit to allocate modulation symbols to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing subcarriers; a first differential block coding unit to perform differential block coding on a part of the modulation symbols allocated; a second differential block coding unit to perform, by using output of the first differential block coding unit as a start symbol, differential block coding on a remaining modulation symbol excluding the part of the modulation symbols subjected to differential block coding by the first differential block coding unit; and a second mapping unit to convert output of the second differential block coding unit into a transmit signal that is transmitted from a plurality of antennas.

In the field of wireless communication, transmission diversity is employed in some cases as a technique for improving performance against fading that occurs on a transmission line. The transmission diversity includes a scheme called space-time block coding (STBC) that performs space-time block coding on a transmission sequence, generates a plurality of orthogonal sequences, and transmits each of the plurality of sequences generated from a different antenna.
There has also been studied differential space-time block coding (DSTBC) combining STBC and differential coding that does not require estimation of the transmission line by a receiver. Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which differential space-time block coding is applied to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).

Transmitter, control circuit, recording medium, and subcarrier mapping method


The present invention relates to the control of fuel pressure in a common rail engine in connection with an automatic gearshift procedure. Upon receipt of a primary gearshift command, a fuel pressure in the common rail fuel system is decreased. This decrease is initiated during a time interval prior to reducing engine torque. A gear is released after the engine torque is lowered, thereby enabling a smooth gear release.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to combustion fuel vehicles, and, more particularly, to controlling fuel pressure in a common rail engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Engines with common rail fuel injection systems are becoming increasingly popular. One important reason for this recognition is that varying the fuel pressure in the rail may reduce the average amount of emissions, such that, for each operating condition of the engine, an adequate fuel amount enters the engine. So far, the common-rail types of engines have mainly been developed for passenger cars. Now however, this technology is also introduced in heavy vehicles, such as trucks and busses, which are normally equipped with diesel engines. This places new requirements on the technical solutions.
DE 101 58 547 describes a fuel injection device for an internal combustion engine, wherein a reduced fuel pressure is enabled in a common rail by means of a piezo based actuator and a leak passage. An injected fuel pressure below the current pressure level in the common rail is here accomplished by discharging excessive fuel through the leak passage back to the fuel tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,064 discloses a high pressure fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine, wherein the fuel pressure in a common rail may be reduced electronically according to the engine operating conditions, for example in shifting-up of an automatic transmission.
Although fuel pressure may be reduced in connection with gearshift procedures taught in the prior art, under certain operating conditions, the fuel pressure level may still be too high when the original gear actually is released. One example of such an operating condition is when a vehicle drives uphill and a gearshift should be made to reduce the wheel torque. In order to enable a gear release, the engine torque must be lowered substantially, so that the torque in the gearbox practically attains a zero value. At least in diesel engines, the engine torque is approximately proportional to the amount of fuel injected into the engine's combustion chambers. Thus, if the fuel pressure is relatively high and a low torque is required (i.e. equivalent to a small amount of fuel), the opening time for the fuel actuator must be very short. Such short bursts of fuel often result in loud noises and undesired knockings, inter alia, because the overall opening time is insufficient to allow so-called "pilot injections." Moreover, the interval during which the fuel actuator in the fuel injector feeds fuel into the combustion chamber is associated with certain tolerances, i.e., uncertainties as to the exact timing of the opening and the closure of the actuator. Hence, for short opening times these tolerances are comparatively large, perhaps in the same order as the opening time, and the resulting engine torque, therefore, becomes difficult to predict with a satisfying degree of certainty. In other words, a repeatable torque cannot be guaranteed at low levels of engine torque, for examples when releasing a gear in an automated manual gearbox, or anther type of automatically controlled gearbox. Consequently, sometimes a gearshift may be performed rather smoothly, whereas at other instances with similar conditions, uncomfortable slams and jerks may occur. Of course, this may annoy the driver and the vehicle's transmission system risk to deteriorate.

Fuel pressure control in a common rail system