An interface system couples a fixed impedance device to a receiver for transmitting data signals at different data rates at different times. The interface system includes elements that are connected to provide different time constants of responsiveness to data signals of higher and lower data rates without distorting the data signals beyond usability.

Conventional communications systems typically require an interface system to couple a signal from an output device with low characteristic output impedance (e.g., about 8 to about 500 ohms) to a receiver while producing minimal signal distortion. The low impedance output may be the output of another device, such as a gigabit interface converter (GBIC), or the output of a fixed impedance transmission line, or a serializer/deserializer (SERDES), or the like. Data signals in digital communication systems are typically square waves having at least two voltage levels (e.g. 0V and 5V), transition times between the two levels (i.e. rise time, fall time), and a period that is related to the pulse width. The shorter the period and faster the transition times, the higher the data rate and the frequency of the signal. The interface system commonly provides the necessary signal modifications to the electrical characteristics of the output signal to match the input requirements of the receiver. For example, the maximum input voltage for a certain receiver may be lower than the voltage of the signal of a corresponding output device. Hence, the interface system must attenuate the signal prior to reaching the input terminals of the receiver.
Another common interface mismatch is the DC voltage component of the signal, commonly referred to as the DC offset. For example, a signal traveling through a coaxial cable is typically an AC signal referenced to the static ground or DC voltage level of the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. However, a receiver may require an input signal with a certain DC offset to provide a DC bias voltage and prevent saturation of its input state. Therefore, to overcome DC offset mismatch problems, AC or capacitive coupling interface systems are desired over direct or DC coupling systems.
Some AC coupling interface systems employ a resistive-capacitive network (RC) to couple fixed impedance output devices with receivers. The capacitive and resistive elements of the network are chosen to transmit the signal without distorting the information carried by the signal. In addition, selection of the elements should take into account the modifications to the electrical characteristics of the signal required to match the receiver input requirements. The product of the resistance times the capacitance of the RC network elements provides the RC time constant (TC) that must be selected in relation to the period of the data signal to avoid signal distortion.
Another factor to consider in the design of AC coupling interface systems is the energy transfer between the output device and the receiver. In order to transfer the maximum signal energy through the interface system from the output device to the receiver, the interface system should provide proper impedance matching between the characteristic output impedance of the output device and input impedance of the receiver. For example, in an RC network interface system, the resistive element is chosen to match the characteristic impedance of the output device, e.g. a transmission line, a GBIC, or the like. Proper impedance matching, or termination prevents signal reflections at the interface that may cause distortions (i.e. ringing). Hence, to provide proper matching to a fixed impedance device, the resistive elements of an RC network may be predetermined by the characteristic impedance of the output device. Similarly, the capacitive elements may be determined by the period of the signal, as described above, the capacitive value must be selected to provide a TC that does not cause signal distortion.
A problem arises when the data signals supplied to the receiver recur at data rates that are orders of magnitude apart, the characteristic output impedance of the output device is very low (tens to hundreds of ohms), and the receiver is configured to receive multiple standard digital data rates. For example, a high-speed signal output from an optical GBIC terminal at 2.5 Gbps and a lower-speed RS 232 signal at 9.6 Kbps may be supplied at different times to the input of a wide-band receiver through the same low impedance transmission line. In this situation, an AC coupling interface system must provide matching for the low impedance of the output device while preserving the signal data integrity, i.e. not distorting the signal. Such an interface system including an RC network and operating the very low characteristic output impedance (e.g. 50 to 100 ohms) would require an impractical, prohibitively high value capacitive element to maintain a reasonable RC time constant that does not distort the lower frequency signal beyond practical use.

AC coupling system for wide band digital data with dynamic AC load


A scan conversion method employing a graphical circle generator to calculate a circle having a predetermined radius in the raster domain. The resulting set of (x.sub.i y) points are assigned values from corresponding vector domain points using closest fit and interpolation methods. This process occurs for each value of r in the vector domain. Gaps in the pixel display resulting from quantization errors in the circle generation algorithm are accommodated via a gap interpolation method. In one embodiment, the Bresenham circle generator is employed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to scan conversion systems and, more particularly, to scan conversion systems for use in ultrasound imaging.
2. Description of the Related Art
In ultrasound imaging systems, ultrasound signals are transmitted into a patient's body via a transducer array. Reflected ultrasound signals are received at transducer elements which convert the reflected ultrasound signals back into electronic signals. In a general ultrasound system, the ultrasound energy or received echo intensity data is received as a sector scan of a patient area. The received beam pattern is a group of polar coordinate vectors. Since display devices such as CRTs (cathode ray tubes) are raster (x-y) coordinate devices, the received data must be converted into raster format, i.e., the received data must be converted from a polar coordinate system to an (x-y) coordinate system for display.
In typical systems, raster points on the display are assigned x-y coordinate values. For each raster point, an inverse transformation is performed to identify the polar coordinate input samples closest to the particular raster points. Once the closest polar coordinate points are found, the values associated at that polar coordinate point are assigned to the appropriate raster domain point. Since there are typically more raster points than polar coordinate points, the output raster point does not necessarily exactly coincide with a given input polar coordinate point. Thus, an interpolation must occur between polar coordinate points in order to assign an appropriate point to a raster point of interest. This process must be performed for every point in the raster display.
As is well known, polar and rectangular coordinates conversions may be accomplished using the following relation: ##EQU1## Thus, scan converters (the portions of ultrasound imaging devices which transform the echo intensity from the vector domain to the raster domain) typically require an inverse tangent function to trace back the location of the display pixel in its original azimuth direction and also a square root function to determine the distance R along the beam direction. Whenever the location of the pixel is determined, its value will be calculated from interpolation by using its neighborhood sample points in the polar domain. The arctangent and the square root functions introduce a bottleneck in system performance.
The scan conversion in prior ultrasound devices has been accomplished either through the straightforward coordinates transformation set forth above or through storing precomputed relationships between the raster pixels and a set of vector sample locations while using large memories. Each such method, however, still relies on the computationally intensive arctangent and square root functions.
Accordingly, there is a need for an ultrasound scan conversion method which overcomes these drawbacks of the prior art. There is a still further need for an ultrasound scan conversion method whereby the computationally intensive arctangent and square root functions may be avoided. There is a yet further need for a faster ultrasound scan conversion method.


A method of providing incentives to bidders on an auction item using a database and a system, the method including creating the consumer profile for at least one consumer, choosing at least one of the unsold items from the inventory based on the consumer information in the consumer profile, generating the incentive for the chosen unsold item based on the consumer file, the selection of consumer information of the incentive being substantially similar to the consumer information in the consumer profile, and offering the chosen unsold item and the incentive to the at least one consumer to induce purchasing of the chosen unsold item. The database has an inventory file having at least one of detailed descriptions of an inventory, a list of similar items of the inventory, and a list of complementary items of the inventory, and a consumer profile having at least one of bidding history, start bid, bid frequency, bid increment, final bid, winning bid, target product, Internet service provider, zip code, credit card type, and coupon redemption rate. The system has a first memory for storing consumer profiles having consumer information, including at least information relating to bids on the auction items, a second memory for storing unsold items in an inventory, and a third memory for storing a plurality of incentives for each unsold item, each incentive having a value based on a selection of the consumer information.

One method of selling merchandise may be through online auctions. Consumers and retailers may sell merchandise over the Internet where winners may be determined by method of the auction, bid price, bid quantity and bid date. While many consumers may bid on goods at a web site, those bidders willing to purchase merchandise, but having unsuccessful bids, may not purchase any merchandise. It is believed that this causes a loss of potential revenue for sellers having additional inventory available for sale at a price at or below the consumer's reservation price.
It is believed that online dynamic pricing tools are increasingly being used to help move slow-moving or excess inventory faster and at a more attractive price than was possible before the advent of the Internet. Applicants believe that today's online auctions and buying groups, however, do not always create an optimal selling environment. In the perfect world of pricing theory, where buyers and sellers have an infinite amount of time to wait, where product value does not decay over time, and where there are no explicit inventory holding costs, Applicants believe that auctions may be the best inventory disposition option for the seller. In the real world of retail merchandising, however, Applicants believe that these perfect conditions crumble, demanding a more creative approach to selling than simple auctions.
Applicants believe that retailers currently have three principal options for dealing with excess inventory. First, they may accumulate bulk quantities to be sold to liquidators (often for pennies on the dollar) at the end of the product's life cycle. Second, they may advertise a product clearance sale to the general population. Third, they may accumulate bulk quantities and ship the merchandise back to the manufacturer for credit. It is believed that all of these methods reduce the value that retailers are able to capture from these sales. Bulk sales to liquidators, as with any transaction involving a middleman, may result in a transfer of economic value from retailers to liquidators. General price reductions through clearance-style sales may transfer too much economic value from retailers to consumers, as many consumers who may have bought merchandise at a price higher than the promotion sale price in the absence of a sale may instead divert to slow-moving inventory at a lower price point.
Applicants believe that to help solve the problem of lost revenue at auctions and reduce the cost of holding excess inventory, there are many different incentive and award programs to influence consumers to purchase on-line. For example, it is believed that one incentive program allows users to earn points, which are redeemable for products, by reading e-mail offers, shopping, completing surveys, accepting trial offers, referring other users, and reviewing web sites. It is believed that another incentive program allocates monetary amounts available for expenditure through credit instruments issued to program participants when the participants perform to a designated level of achievement. Applicants believe that these systems are generally offered by a single sponsor and are generally limited to offering consumers the ability to participate in incentive programs. It is also believed that the systems are typically not applicable for activity on auction sites.


A sample data reliability evaluation method includes a first calculating step of calculating a representative distance between samples of a same cluster, which is a representative distance between the sample and the sample belonging to the same cluster to that to which the sample belongs, a second calculating step of calculating a representative distance between samples of different clusters, which is a representative distance between the sample and the sample belonging to the different cluster from that to which the sample belongs, a third calculating step of calculating a reliability evaluation index, which is an index for evaluating reliability of the sample data based on the representative distance between samples of the same cluster and the representative distance between samples of different clusters, and an evaluating step of evaluating the reliability of a subset of the sample data set or the whole sample data set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an evaluation of reliability of sample data to classify samples and quality control of sample data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a polymorphic analysis of samples derived from a living body, the rate of progress of a polymorphic identification reaction is different from sample to sample depending on concentrations of the sample and presence/absence of inhibitors. Thus, polymorphic data having a wide distribution is obtained from polymorphic analysis.
Conventionally, the polymorphic analysis has been performed by using a statistical technique or genetic technique on signals of sample.
However, particularly for polymorphic analysis concerning genetic polymorphism, there are some kinds of polymorphism that are present only in several samples among several hundreds of samples, and thus statistics based on the conventional statistical technique may be meaningless.
Therefore, for polymorphic analysis concerning genetic polymorphism, reliability of polymorphic data obtained by the polymorphic analysis is generally evaluated genetic-statistically by using the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Also, Kevin L Gunderson, Frank J Steemers, Grace Lee, Leo G Mendoza, and Mark S Chee, "A genome-wide scalable SNP genotyping assay using microarray technology", NATURE GENETICS, VOLUME37, NUMBER 5, MAY, 2005 is disclosed as a technology to evaluate reliability of polymorphic data obtained by polymorphic analysis concerning genetic polymorphism. More specifically, the evaluation index "CSS" disclosed by Kevin L Gunderson, Frank J Steemers, Grace Lee, Leo G Mendoza, and Mark S Chee, "A genome-wide scalable SNP genotyping assay using microarray technology", NATURE GENETICS, VOLUME37, NUMBER5, MAY, 2005, uses statistics for each cluster.
However, these conventional evaluation techniques assume that polymorphic data obtained from samples sampled from a group of random crossing is evaluated, and thus, for example, polymorphic data obtained from samples sampled only from specific samples such as family samples and patient samples are not appropriate for evaluation. If, for example, polymorphic data having only one genotype "BB" shown in FIG. 10 is selected for evaluation, no distribution/average corresponding to clusters of genotype "BB" is obtained, and thus it is difficult to calculate an evaluation value by the above conventional evaluation techniques.
That is, when a group is not obtained from random crossing or polymorphic data containing polymorphism whose frequency is small is obtained from polymorphic analysis concerning genetic polymorphism, it is difficult to evaluate reliability of such polymorphic data by the conventional evaluation technique.
Thus, conventionally, skilled operators have subjectively evaluated reliability of polymorphic data containing polymorphism whose frequency is small to extract error samples or decide the threshold of type classification.

Sample data reliability evaluation method and sample data reliability evaluation apparatus


A lid assembly for a container with a top portion that defines a container opening area includes a bottom lid member sized to fit over the top portion of the container. The bottom lid member includes an extension portion configured to mechanically engage the bottom lid member with the top portion of the container and to provide a peripheral structure with a peripheral structure area larger than the container opening area. The lid assembly also includes a top lid member configured to mechanically engage with the bottom lid member such that a premium storage space is provided therebetween.

A variety of lid assemblies to which premiums (e.g., digital media disks, CD-ROM business cards, phone cards, coupons, booklets, advertising materials, etc.) can be attached are known. It would be helpful if a lid assembly or apparatus could function as a secure cover for a container opening while also holding, protecting and displaying a media disk (or other premium) which is larger in size than the container opening.

Cover and media disk display apparatus for a container


A light fixture mount capable of securing an outdoor light to a support surface. The device includes a first support that is adapted to co-act with a second support so as to hold the light fixture in a stable and supported position until the light fixture is secured to the support surface in a permanent relationship. This is accomplished by providing on one of the supports at least one catch that engages the opposing support so as to support the weight of the fixture in a stable position while fasteners are installed to secure the fixture to the support surface.

The invention relates to a novel device and method for securing an outdoor light fixture to a support surface. More particularly, the device and method of the present invention uses first and second supports to hold a light fixture to be installed in a temporary stable and secure position until a user fixedly installs the fixture through the use of fasteners and the like.


A mulching mower is provided which is capable of cutting grasses finely without leaving uncut grasses and which is capable of discharging the cut grass clippings onto the cut grass path so as to be evenly dispersed. A pair of cutter blades are arranged to the right and to the left of the mulching mower in a cutter housing which opens downwardly. A guitar-shaped or figure 8 shaped enclosure wall hangs down from an under surface of an upper wall of the cutter housing to completely surround the periphery of the right and left cutter blades along tip end rotation loci of the blades at a slight distance therefrom. The enclosure wall is formed by side wall portions ar right and left outsides of the cutter housing and front and rear enclosure wall portions hang down from the under surface. The cutter blades rotate in opposite directions from each other so that tip ends of the cutter blades move from front to rear at right and left outsides, respectively, of the mulching mower. A plate-like separator member extends from a position on the approximate center of the rear enclosure wall portion to a vicinity of a rotary shaft of the cutter blade which is across the direction of rotation of the cutter blade.

The present invention generally relates to a rotary mower having a pair of cutter blades which are arranged in a cutter housing for horizontal rotation and more particularly, to a mulching mower in which grass clippings, mown and then cut finely by cutter blades, are discharged to the cut grass path and are submerged as mulch under the grass surface at the cut grass path.
Hitherto, a mower, which has a pair of horizontally rotating cutter blades arranged to the right and to the left in a downwardly opening cutter housing has been known, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 6-75445 (1994) (hereinafter "JP '445").
In the mower disclosed in JP '445, right and left cutter blades are arranged so as to be staggered in front and rear directions so that the loci of rotation of the right cutter blade overlaps the loci of rotation of the left cutter blade in the vicinity of the longitudinal center line of the mower, when viewed from the front. Further, the cutter blade on the right side, with respect to the running direction, rotates clockwise and the cutter blade on the left side, with respect to the running direction, rotates counterclockwise. In this way, grasses, which have been trampled down ahead of the mower by the front wheels thereof, can be mowed surely by the right and left cutter blades.
The mower of JP '445 is of a rear discharge type having a discharge port provided in a rear wall section of the cutter housing and discharge scroll guide plates for guiding grasses, mown by the right and left cutter blades, to the discharge port. The mown grasses are received in a grass bag or discharged directly on the cut grass path to the rear of the mower. When the mown grasses are received in a grass bag, the cut grass clippings must be emptied from the grass bag. When the mown grasses are discharged directly on the cut grass path, discharged grass clippings fall on the cut grass path unevenly to deteriorate the appearance of the cut grass path and grasses discharged at a place where the grass clippings become piled up are apt to be blasted due to poor air ventilation.
Compare with this, in the mulching mower of the present invention, grass clippings cut by the cutter blade are discharged comparatively evenly onto the cut grass path directly below the cutter housing from the upper side so that such inconveniences as mentioned above can be avoided.
In FIG. 5 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,176 (hereinafter "the '176 patent"), a mulching mower is shown, which has a plurality of horizontally rotating blades arranged to the right and left in a downwardly opening cutter housing. The rotating blades are staggered to the front and to the back to overlap similarly to the rear discharge type mower of JP '445.
The mulching mower of the '176 patent has a cutter housing with a side wall which hangs down along the peripheral edge. Within the cutter housing, shrouds hang down which surround three cutter blades arranged to form circular cutting chambers. The shrouds are connected to each other through opening portions so that the circular cutting chambers communicate with each other and the shrouds form an enclosure wall completely surrounding an outer periphery of the three cutter blades in the arrangement.
The three cutter blades are arranged to rotate in the same direction within the enclosure wall. In each of the cutting chambers, kickers are provided which are projected from an under surface of an upper wall so that grass clippings, cut by the cutter blade and circulating within the cutting chamber, are deflected downwardly by the kickers to be discharged directly below and onto the cut grass path.
In the conventional mulching mower of the '176 patent, since the enclosure wall, which completely surrounds an outer periphery of a plurality of cutter blades in the arrangement, must be independently formed within the cutter housing, the cutter housing becomes large compared with the range of rotation of the cutter blades and accordingly, the weight is increased.
In addition, since all of the cutter blades rotate in the same direction, the grass clippings are apt to be biased to the right side or to the left side in the enclosure wall surrounding the cutter blades in the arrangement, and it is difficult to discharge the grass clippings so as to be dispersed uniformly over the entire area under the cutter housing. In order to ensure uniform dispersion of the grass clippings, it is necessary to provide kickers for each of the cutter blades for dropping grass clippings, cut by a cutter blade, beneath the same cutter blade. Therefore, the construction of the mulching mower becomes complicated.
Generally, the mulching mower has no discharge port at the side wall section. Therefore, mown grass clippings are circulated along the inner surface of the enclosure wall, which surrounds the outer periphery of the cutter blade. The mown grass clippings are dispersed evenly and discharged downwardly, out of the cutter housing by downwardly directed wind at the outer periphery of the cutter blade caused by rotation of the cutter blade.
However, at a juncture portion where tip end rotation loci of adjacent cutter blades approach each other, and where the enclosure wall cannot be provided, a communicating opening is formed as described above, and the grass clippings are not guided by any enclosure wall. Therefore, an especially large quantity of grass clippings fall down at the juncture portion. As the result, the grass clippings do not fall on the cut grass path so as to be dispersed evenly and unsightly clumps of mown grass clippings are left on the lawn.
Further, at the juncture portion, the wind blows out downwardly to cause uncut grasses to lay down before the cutter blade passes over them, so that the uncut grasses are apt to be left behind.
Since grasses to be cut by the cutter blade contain a large amount of water, the cut grass clippings will adhere to the inner surface of the enclosure wall. The grass clippings which adhere to the enclosure wall are scraped off by outer ends of the rotating cutter blade, but if the scraping off of the grass clippings from the enclosure wall is not carried out sufficiently, large clumps of the grass clippings fall down periodically or the grass clippings which adhere to the enclosure wall lock the cutter blade so that sometimes continuation of the mowing function by the mower becomes impossible.
By the way, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. Hei 4-55226 (1952) (hereinafter "JP '226") discloses a mower having upper and lower cutter blades, rotating approximately horizontally, provided on a lower end portion of an approximately vertical rotary shaft, in which a cutting edge of the upper cutter blade is positioned ahead of the cutting edge of the lower cutter blade in the direction of the blade rotation so that tip end parts of the grasses are cut by the upper cutter blade first and then, lower parts of the grasses are cut by the following lower cutter blade, and the grasses are thereby finely cut.
In the mower of JP '226, the width, in the rotational direction of the cutting edge portion of the lower cutter blade, is made wider than the width of the upper cutter blade to form a ventilating passage between the upper and lower cutting edge portions. The cutting edge portion of the lower cutter blade is provided with a rising portion, at the rear side with respect to the direction of rotation, for changing the direction of the wind within the ventilating passage upwardly.
Generally, a rising portion (feather portion) such as is formed on a rear side of a cutting edge portion of a cutter blade, is provided for generating a pulsatile wind within the cutter housing by rotation of the cutter blade. Grasses are raised by pulsation of the wind and cut by the cutter blade. Therefore, the grasses can be mown simply with a good finish.
Further, in the mulching mower of JP '226, finely cut grass clippings are dispersedly discharged onto the lower cut grass path from the cutter housing by the pulsation of the wind and pushed under the grass surface of the cut grass path. Therefore, it is unnecessary to dump the cut grass clippings in a suitable place in order to maintain the pleasing aesthetic look of the cut grass path.
In order to generate wind pulsation sufficient to dispersedly discharge the grass clippings within the cutter housing, the rising portion must be of a considerable height. Particularly, in the mower of JP '226, while grasses are cut by tow upper and lower cutter blades, the wind pulsation is generated by the rising portion formed on the lower cutter blade only, so that it is difficult to obtain the amount of wind necessary for raising the grasses.
If the rising portion is made of a considerable height, the necessary amount of wind can be obtained. But in this case, because air resistance and resistance by grass clippings acting on the rising portion are increased, the strength of the cutter blade must be increased. Thus, the lower cutter blade becomes robust and heavy and the cost thereof is also increased.
In addition, since the upper and lower blades are very different in shape and construction, different upper and lower blades must be provided in the manufacture of the mower and also, two kinds of cutter blades must be prepared for use of the mower. This is disadvantageous in respect of both production and maintenance.


A method and composition for enhancing retention of carbon dioxide in carbonated bottled beverages indicates the addition of a carbonic acid ester such as propylene carbonate, 1,3-butylene carbonate, diethyl carbonate, neopentylene carbonate and propylene carbonate or mixtures thereof. The carbonic acid ester in the aqueous medium of the beverage undergoes slow hydrolysis thereby releasing CO.sub.2 to maintain the CO.sub.2 level in the container.

This invention relates to a method of retention of carbonation in beverages in containers and more particularly, plastic containers made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) by adding a carbonic acid ester to the beverage. The present invention further relates to a composition for maintaining the desired level of carbonation in a container.
Plastic and metal containers have been replacing glass in bottling beverages where easy handling, low weight and non-breakability are needed. However, in the case of carbonated beverages in plastic containers such as PET, there is a loss of CO.sub.2 through the walls of the container and carbonation is not retained. Once a carbonated beverage product loses too much carbonation (e.g. 17.5%), it is unacceptable to sell to a consumer. A carbonated beverage as used herein is an aqueous solution having a pH in the range of about 2 to 4, and preferably of about 3, in which carbon dioxide gas in the range of 2 to 5 vol CO.sub.2 /vol H.sub.2 O, preferably 3.3 to 4.2 vol CO.sub.2 /vol H.sub.2 O has been dissolved. Flavor and sweeteners may also be added.
British Patent Specification 970,376 to Kaiser discloses a beverage with an added bactericide which decomposes to form CO.sub.2 and alcohol which are compatible with the beverage. A suitable bactericide is pyrocarbonic acid diethlylester which hydrolyzes completely in an aqueous solution to form ethyl alcohol and carbonic acid. Beverages treated with the bactericide exhibit extended shelf life. However, the rate of release of carbon dioxide is very rapid relative to the shelf-life of the beverage. Therefore, use of these agents in carbonated beverages result in a rate of carbon dioxide release substantially greater than the rate of carbon dioxide loss via permeation, and result in a pressure rise in the containers above the acceptable levels required for high quality product.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,417 to Feldman et al. discloses a dry beverage composition adapted to be reconstituted with water to form an effervescent beverage. An essential carbonating ingredient of the composition is an organic compound having a carbonic acid anhydride group capable of controlled hydrolysis in water to release CO.sub.2 over a period of 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
It is therefore the object of this invention to add a carbonating agent to the carbonated beverage that undergoes slow hydrolysis in the acidic aqueous medium and releases the CO.sub.2 to constantly replenish CO.sub.2 that is lost through the walls or top of the container (e.g. plastic container), thereby extending the shelf life of the beverage.

Method to retain carbonation in carbonated beverages and composition therefor


A pneumatic compliant tape guidance device for pneumatically applying a biasing load to a passing tape media. The tape guidance device includes at least one guide button and associated cylinder in which the guide button travels. It also includes a supply port which provides the input for a pressure and/or a vacuum to a pressurized chamber which couples the supply port with the cylinder. The guide button position and its applied pressure are controlled by a compressor which controls the amount of air pressure applied to the guide button through the supply port. The pneumatic compliant tape guidance applies pressure to the top edge or bottom edge of the tape media. The guide button may be configured to travel over a support tube which transfers the pressure/vacuum applied at the supply port to the guide button. The amount of pressure the guide button applies to the passing tape media is determined by the pressure/vacuum which is applied by a pneumatic source to the supply port. The pneumatic compliant tape guidance device enables the present invention to apply a predetermined pressure to the tape media, to change the amount of pressure quickly and easily, and can be used in multiple configurations to apply a specific customized pressure profile to a traveling tape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tape guidance devices and, more particularly, to a pneumatically controlled and compliant tape guidance mechanism.
2. Related Art
Recording data on magnetic tape media requires precise alignment of the media to the read/write head. This alignment is most commonly achieved by mechanically biasing the tape media against a reference edge with some form of spring loaded guides.
One conventional technique which applies the biasing load to the edge of the tape media employs mobile flat springs which contact the edge of the tape. Mobile flat springs are flexible, finger-like extensions which have one end secured in a stationary position and the other end unsecured and extending flexibly from the base.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a prior art tape guidance device utilizing such a technique is illustrated. As mentioned above, the device of FIGS. 1A and 1B maintains pressure on the top edge 103 of tape media 102 with a mechanically induced bias, forcing it to maintain contact with reference edge 104 with its bottom edge 105. FIG. 1A illustrates the prior art device without magnetic tape media present. FIG. 1B illustrates the flat spring 106 applying pressure to tape media 102. The tape media 102 travels along what is referred to in the art as an "air bearing." Air bearing 112 supplies a cushion of air along which the tape media 102 travels. This cushion of air causes the tape 102 to travel past the air bearing 112 at a certain distance 101 away from air bearing 112. This distance 101 is referred to as the "tape flying height."
One of the disadvantages with this conventional approach is that the accuracy of the biasing load which is applied to the tape media 102 is determined by the flatness of the steel spring 106. The flatness of the spring controls some of the spring's final tape edge loading. Typically, the tolerance of the spring flatness can be held within 0.005 inches. This in turn causes large variations in the tape edge loading. This also results in less control over the amount of force applied to the tape edge and generates more debris than may be necessary due to the increased wear on the contacting components.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1B, the flat spring 106 is bent when the tape 102 is present. This results in a non-perpendicular application of force to the top edge 103 of tape 102. As a result, the control over the tape media is reduced, since the load which is applied to the tape is reduced according to the angle at which it is applied. In addition, tape flying height 101 may be altered. It may be unintentionally increased if the guide button 108 pushes the tape media 102 away from the air bearing 112 or the tape flying height may be reduced if the guide button 108 pushes the tape media 102 towards the air bearing 112. In addition, this non-perpendicular force may alternate among multiple guide buttons should more than one be used.
Recently, there has been a great demand for increasing the amount of data which is written to or retrieved from the tape media 102. To satisfy this requirement without changing the size of the tape, the thickness and width of the tapes are reduced so as to increase the amount of tape accumulated on a single reel. However, reduction in the thickness of the tape greatly reduces its strength. In addition, the speed at which the read/write heads are capable of writing and retrieving information has also increased. As a result, control over the bias loading which is applied to the tape to maintain it against its reference edge has become even more critical to prevent damage from occurring to the tape.
These advances have identified additional problems with the conventional techniques: the sensitivity of the guidance device and the inability to adjust the biasing according to the application. For example, when changing the tape media 102 from a standard film (1 mil thick) to thin film (0.5 mil thick), a reduction in tape edge load would reduce tape wear. This cannot be accomplished with the conventional techniques without removing the tape media 102 and changing the flat spring 106 and guide button 108.
Another drawback of the conventional techniques described above is that the guide buttons 108 may roll along the axis of flat spring 106. This also reduces the loading control over the tape guide mechanism. In addition, as the guide buttons 108 `roll` along the axis of the spring, they introduce vibrations into the tape media 102. These vibrations result in shock waves which travel along the length of the tape media 102. Excessive vibrations can result in read and write errors at the read/write head. In addition, flat spring 106 may generate resonant vibrations at certain media speeds. Due to the flexible nature of the flat springs, these vibrations can cause the problems discussed above.
Another conventional tape guidance technique applies the biasing load to the edge of the tape media without the aid of guide button 108. Though this reduces the assembly costs, the steel spring causes more wear to occur to the tape media 102 than the ceramic guide buttons which are used in the above conventional technique. It also does not solve the problem of poor loading control.
What is needed is a tape guide device which can provide accurate tape edge loading. This tape edge loading must be applied at right angles to the media. In addition, the tape guide mechanism must be able to change the biasing load easily to accommodate different types of tape media.

Pneumatic compliant tape guidance device


The present invention provides systems and methods for abstracting a network topology into virtual links and supporting both generic and instantiated virtualized links for linking a virtualized topology with actual resources within a domain, providing security over network topology information, providing control over the allocation of resources, and reducing the complexity of advertising.

In networks that are compartmentalized into independent domains (e.g., Automatically Switched Optical Networks (ASONs) and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)), it is a common technique to virtualize the topology within the domain and then advertise the virtual topology to external domains for path computation purposes. Currently, there are no accepted techniques for linking the virtualized topology with actual resources within the domain, in order to control resource utilization. In fact, the virtual topology is typically assumed to have no relationship to the true topology within the domain, allowing any domain resources to be used regardless of the path computed by the source.
The current approach to virtualization of topology makes it impossible for a carrier to provide meaningful information about the status and utilization of resources within its domain, without advertising the full domain topology. As a result, it is difficult to provide guarantees of connection availability based on the advertised topology. A system and method are needed wherein this meaningful information is provided without advertising the full domain topology.
Interoperability of intelligent optical networks will be enabled by an Exterior Network-Network Interface (E-NNI) with control plane messaging. Standards for this interface are being defined in the ITU-T (Automatically Switched Optical Networks) and the IETF (Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching), where the control plane supports both routing protocol and signaling protocol. E-NNI is a control plane messaging interface for ASON.
The ASON E-NNI allows a particular network or control domain to advertise a virtualized topology to other networks or control domains in order to reduce the complexity of advertising and to allow policy control over the information leaked to other networks about the true arrangement of links and nodes within the network. Other networks can then request services from the domain using signaling messages that request particular paths across a domain based on the virtual topology.
These services may be requested originally from either a client device, set up and released by the customer on demand using signaling and routing protocols (in which case it is called a Switched Connection), or a management system interface, set up and released from the management system, which uses network generated signaling and routing protocols to establish the connection (in which case it is called a Soft Permanent Connection), and the requesting entity may be either part of the domain or part of an exterior network or domain.
While these virtualized topologies allow considerable flexibility in how a domain advertises its resources to other networks or domains, it is still important for the domain to implement policies that support some type of control over how it allocates resources for a connection request from another network or domain. In particular, the advertisement of the virtual topology can be manipulated to control aspects of requests from other networks, for example, to indicate to other networks that some paths are temporarily or permanently unavailable and thereby stop other networks from requesting services that would utilize these paths.
Thus, what is needed is a system and a method for abstracting a network topology into virtual links and supporting both generic and instantiated virtualized links for linking a virtualized topology with actual resources within a domain, providing security over network topology information, providing control over the allocation of resources, and reducing the complexity of advertising. Additionally, a system and method are needed wherein this meaningful information is provided without advertising the full domain topology.

System and method for supporting virtualized links at an exterior network-to-network interface


A catheter ablation system includes: a catheter probe having distal end including: a temperature sensor; a plurality of irrigation holes; and an ablating electrode; a radiofrequency (RF) heating controller coupled to the catheter probe and configured to supply RF energy to the ablating electrode to control the ablating electrode to emit heat at a target power; an irrigation controller coupled to the catheter probe and configured to supply an irrigation fluid at a continuously adjustable irrigation flow rate through the catheter probe to exit through the irrigation holes; and an operating console having a processor and memory, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to control the irrigation controller to set the irrigation flow rate based on the target power and a target average temperature.

Cardiac arrhythmias, and atrial fibrillation in particular, persist as common and dangerous medical ailments, especially in the aging population. In patients with normal sinus rhythm, the heart, which is comprised of atrial, ventricular, and excitatory conduction tissue, is electrically excited to beat in a synchronous, patterned fashion. In patients with cardiac arrhythmias, abnormal regions of cardiac tissue do not follow the synchronous beating cycle associated with normally conductive tissue as in patients with normal sinus rhythm. Instead, the abnormal regions of cardiac tissue aberrantly conduct to adjacent tissue, thereby disrupting the cardiac cycle into an asynchronous cardiac rhythm. Such abnormal conduction has been previously known to occur at various regions of the heart, such as, for example, in the region of the sino-atrial (SA) node, along the conduction pathways of the atrioventricular (AV) node and the Bundle of His, or in the cardiac muscle tissue forming the walls of the ventricular and atrial cardiac chambers.
Cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial arrhythmias, may be of a multiwavelet reentrant type, characterized by multiple asynchronous loops of electrical impulses that are scattered about the atrial chamber and are often self propagating. Alternatively, or in addition to the multiwavelet reentrant type, cardiac arrhythmias may also have a focal origin, such as when an isolated region of tissue in an atrium fires autonomously in a rapid, repetitive fashion.
Electrode catheters have been in common use in medical practice for many years. Diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias by means of electrode catheters include mapping the electrical properties of heart tissue and selectively ablating cardiac tissue by application of energy. Such ablation can cease or modify the propagation of unwanted electrical signals from one portion of the heart to another. The ablation process destroys the unwanted electrical pathways by formation of non-conducting lesions.
Various energy delivery modalities have been disclosed for forming lesions, and include use of microwave, laser and more commonly, radiofrequency energy to create conduction blocks along the cardiac tissue wall.
In use, the electrode catheter is inserted into a major vein or artery, e.g., the femoral artery, and then guided into a chamber of the heart. A reference electrode is provided, generally taped to the patient's skin or provided on the ablation catheter or another catheter. Radio frequency (RF) current is applied to the ablation electrode of the catheter, and flows through the surrounding media, i.e., blood and tissue, toward the reference electrode. The distribution of current depends on the amount of electrode surface in contact with the tissue, as compared to blood which has a higher conductivity than the tissue.
Heating of the tissue occurs due to its electrical resistivity. The tissue is heated sufficiently to cause cellular destruction in the cardiac tissue resulting in formation of a lesion within the cardiac tissue which is electrically non-conductive. During this process, heating of the ablation electrode also occurs as a result of conduction from the heated tissue to the electrode itself. If the electrode temperature becomes sufficiently high, possibly above 60° C., a thin transparent coating of dehydrated blood can form on the surface of the electrode. If the temperature continues to rise, this dehydrated layer of blood can become progressively thicker resulting in blood coagulation on the electrode surface. Because dehydrated biological material has a higher electrical resistance than tissue, impedance to the flow of electrical energy into the tissue also increases. If the impedance increases sufficiently, an impedance rise occurs and the catheter must be removed from the body and the tip electrode cleaned.
In a typical application of RF current, circulating blood provides some cooling of the ablation electrode. Another method is to irrigate the ablation electrode, e.g., with physiologic saline at room temperature, to actively cool the ablation electrode instead of relying on the more passive physiological cooling provided by the blood. Because the strength of the RF current is no longer limited by the interface temperature, current can be increased. This results in lesions which tend to be larger and more spherical, usually measuring about 10 to 12 mm.
RF ablation is typically performed at continuous power levels of the order of 20-50 watts, with a contact force of approximately 10 g, and under irrigation. The time of ablation depends on the size of the lesion to be achieved and is typically approximately 1 minute. In general, higher power levels reduce the time needed for forming a specific lesion. However, large values of continuous power generally cannot be used because of the danger of forming steam pops.

System and method for temperature control in irrigated ablation


A drug that contains chlorogenic acid is effective in treating chordoma. When administered to a patient in need thereof, chlorogenic acid can significantly inhibit the proliferation of chordoma cells, reduce the expression level of multi-drug resistance gene MDR1 of chordoma cells, reverse the multi-drug resistance of chordoma cells, and effectively treat chordoma disease.

Chordoma is a rare malignant bone tumor originated from the residual chordate tissue in the embryonic period. The incidence of chordoma is about 4/1×106, and it is more common in the elderly. Its growth is relatively slow, and it is prone to sacrococcygeal region, skull base, cervical vertebrae, thoracolumbar vertebrae, and rarely outside the axial bone. Although chordoma is low to moderate malignant, 8%-43% of patients have advanced metastasis and poor prognosis. It is a relapse disease that is very difficult to cure.
Surgery is the main means for treatment of chordoma. Because of the extreme complexity of vertebrae anatomy, it is easy to cause incomplete tumor resection and higher local recurrence rate after operation, while extended resection will lead to related nerve injury and dysfunction, thus resulting in poor prognosis of chordoma, with a low feasibility. Postoperative radiotherapy is also an option for the treatment of the disease, but the effectiveness of this method has not been confirmed currently. Moreover, chemotherapeutic drugs have been considered to have no obvious therapeutic effect on chordoma, because chordoma cells have natural resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs.
According to the research, the failure in drug treatment of human chordoma is mainly due to the presence of MDR1 in human chordoma cells, whose expression rate is more than 10%. Its expression product P-glycoprotein (P-gp) will actively pump the drug out of the chordoma cells, that make the drug not enter the cells to exert its action, thus producing drug resistance. Therefore, it is the main focus of the research in this field to find suitable chemotherapeutic drugs and overcome the chemical resistance of chordoma.
At present, there is no literature report on the treatment of chordoma with chlorogenic acid.

Use of chlorogenic acid in preparation of drug for treating chordoma

SICHUAN JIUZHANG BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Injection molding machine utilizes microwave heating. A microwave oven adapted to receive a microwave absorbent plasticizing vessel is utilized with or incorporated into an injection molding system to form a plasticizing unit for heating polymer granules to an injection temperature and injection of the melt into the cavity of the injection mold. The polymer granules may be preheated by conventional heating systems to a temperature at which the granules become microwave absorbent before heating to the injection temperature in the microwave oven. The injection molding machine also contains a hydraulic actuator for injection of the melt. The ceramic materials forming the plasticizing vessel are selected to provide equal heating rates of mold members and relatively uniform heating of polymer to desired injection temperature.

This invention relates to the injection molding of engineered thermoplastics including fiber reinforced plastics which perform at extremely high temperatures and stresses. The processes and apparatus disclosed herein may also be utilized for injection molding of thermosets.
In previously filed patent applications, including application Ser. No. 10/868,574 entitled Microwave Molding of Polymers, Publication No. US-2004-0222554-A1, and application Ser. No. 10/435,315 entitled Microwave Molding of Polymers, Publication No. US-2003-0224028-A1, I disclosed methods for creating compression molds for use in the compression molding of polymers using microwave energy to heat the polymer to its melting point. The molds and processes disclosed therein are particularly well adapted for molding plastic polymers and composites having a relatively high operating temperature, including such high performance polymers as those sold under the trademarks PEEK®, TORLON®, SEMITRON®, DURATRON®, CELAZOLE®. The use of microwave energy to heat the polymer in the compression molds disclosed therein will result in significant energy savings compared to molding processes using electric, gas or steam heating to heat the polymer to its melting point.
Using the molds formed in the manner disclosed in my prior applications, rapid and uniform heating of thermoplastic and thermoset materials by microwave energy may be achieved due to the volumetric nature of microwave (MW) heating. Polymer material in powder or pellet form is compacted within a mold cavity of the mold assembly which is placed into the resonance cavity of a multimode microwave oven and exposed to microwave radiation. Upon reaching the desired temperature at which the polymer material melts or softened, the mold halves are squeezed together by a hydraulic press to mold the molten polymer into desired shape. The mold is then allowed to cool until the molded polymer solidifies and retains its molded shape. The mold is designed to provide relatively uniform heating of polymer material due to approximately equal heating rates of all of the mold members and polymer or work material resulting in relatively uniform heating of the polymer.
It is believed that the compression molding techniques using microwave energy described in my prior published patent applications provide higher quality finished products, shorter processing times by a factor of approximately 10 or more, and reduced consumption of energy by the same factor. Nevertheless, in spite of significant advantages, microwave compression molding has drawbacks. For example, parts formed from compressed pellets or powders usually have lower mechanical properties than injection molded parts. Also grinding pellets to a fine powder results in increased material and handling costs. Although the use of pellets avoids the additional cost associated with grinding the pellets into fine powder, compression molding of pellets can result in finished product showing visible borders at the interfaces between molten granules. This may be explained by the rheological properties of molten pellets and by the absence of mixing and dispersing mechanisms to obtain homogeneity of the melt. In addition, if the microwave compression molding process is not performed with adequate compression or compaction of the pellets, the resulting product can also have undesirable voids or pores.
Injection molding of plastics from pellets has been widely and effectively used in the plastic industry for decades. In a conventional injection molding machine 1, shown in FIG. 1, a screw 2 rotates in heated barrel 3 in order to melt and inject the plastic material into the mold cavity 4 of mold 5. Pellets of polymer material supplied from hopper 6 into barrel 3 are plasticized by the heat transfer from external heaters 7 through barrel 3 and the heat created by the shear forces generated from rotation of the screw 2 against the pellets in the barrel 3. The molten polymer is forced toward the front of the barrel 3 by the action of the screw 2 such that the molten polymer is forced out of the barrel 3 and injected into the mold cavity 4. Another general type of plasticizing unit is a plunger type plasticizing unit 10 shown in FIG. 2. The plunger type plasticizing unit 10 uses external heaters 11 mounted on the barrel 12 to heat and melt the polymer pellets which are fed into the barrel through hopper 13. Instead of a screw, the plunger type plasticizing unit 10 uses a plunger 14 to force the palletized polymer toward the front of the barrel 12. A torpedo shaped baffle or diverter 15 is positioned in the barrel 12 near the front end thereof which forces the pelletized polymer feed through a relatively thin section to ensure melting of the polymer prior to injection out of a nozzle 16 at the front of the barrel 12 and into mold cavity 17 of mold 18.
At the present time there exist numerous variations of screw and plunger type plasticizing units for injection molding. These injection molding machines utilize conventional heat transfer from the external heaters through the barrel to melt the plastic material in the barrel. Because of their molecular structure, plastics have low thermal conductivities; thus it is difficult to rapidly transmit heat through the polymers by conduction. Known plasticizing units for injection molds therefore incorporate long screws and barrels to increase the internal heating surface area and travel time to allow the polymer to melt prior to injection from the plasticizing unit into the mold.
Due to the low thermal conductivity of plastics, the ratio of the volume of the material injected out of the plasticizing unit to the heating surface area of the plasticizing unit per cycle is relatively small and therefore inefficient. It would be desirable to find a means for significantly increasing the efficiency of heating the pelletized plastic without increasing the size of the plasticizing unit. However, increasing the shot capacity by accumulation of molten plastic in the rear zone of plasticizing unit may cause plastic degradation due to prolonged heating and is not desirable.
Although the use of microwave heating of plastics in a plasticizing unit of an injection molding machine might seem attractive, only a few types of thermoplastics may be effectively heated from room temperature by microwave energy. Conversely, conventional heating techniques employed in current injection molding processes, including electric and steam heating, are capable of processing almost all types of polymers.
The dielectric properties of polymers and their coupling with microwaves are directly related to their molecular structure. Polymers are generally nonpolar, having very regular structures and, therefore, low molecular polarity, so that they exhibit practically no dielectric loss. The negligible dielectric loss of most plastics is the reason why plastic containers do not heat up due to exposure to microwave energy when used to contain items heated in a microwave oven. In contrast to plastics, water molecules have a high polarity which makes water an ideal material for microwave heating and which permits drying of polymers with microwave energy prior to molding. Any water absorbed by the polymers will be heated by the microwave energy and evaporated in a short period of time. After the water has dried out, the polymer will exhibit a true value for its dissipation factor, tanδ, which is the measure of polymer's ability to absorb the microwave radiation. As discussed above, for many polymers the dielectric losses are not sufficient to permit raising of the polymer's temperature from room or ambient temperatures to its melting or softening temperature through microwave heating.
Most of the modern high performance engineering plastics, discussed above, have low or moderate values for their dissipation factors, tanδ. Therefore, microwave processing of such polymers is generally considered impractical, especially for polymers containing glass fillers.
A variety of conveyer belt or drum type systems are available for microwave drying of polymers which may be used to feed an injection molding machine with dry polymer pellets. However, none of these known prior art microwave drying systems are adapted for use in melting or plasticizing the plastic material as part of an injection molding system.
There remains a need in injection molding systems which allow for the rapid and uniform heating of high performance engineered plastics with relatively high operating temperatures.

Injection molding of polymers by microwave heating


A vehicle drive device in which a friction engagement device, a rotary electric machine, and a speed change device are provided on a power transfer path that connects between an input member drivably coupled to an internal combustion engine and an output member drivably coupled to wheels, the elements provided in this order from the input member side.

An example of the vehicle drive device described above is described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No, 2012-55039 (JP 2012-55039 A) (Patent Document 1). The device according to Patent Document 1 includes a rotary electric machine [electric motor 1] and a friction engagement device [clutch device 3] provided in a housing portion [motor cover 12] that has a support wall [fixed wall 111] disposed between the rotary electric machine and a speed change device [transmission 4]. A supply oil passage [oil passage 111a] configured to supply oil to the friction engagement device is formed in the support wall. A sensor stator [detector 152] of a rotation sensor [resolver 15] is fixed to a surface of the support wall on the rotary electric machine side in the axial direction.
In general, a control device that controls the vehicle drive device described above receives and outputs a variety of control signals to control operation of various components of the vehicle drive device. For example, the control device outputs current and voltage command signals to a stator coil of the rotary electric machine, receives a signal output from the rotation sensor which detects rotation of a rotor of the rotary electric machine, and outputs a command signal to a hydraulic control device that controls the state of engagement of the friction engagement device. In order to appropriately receive and output such a variety of control signals, it is necessary to appropriately connect the control device, a stator of the rotary electric machine, the rotation sensor, and the hydraulic control device to each other via an electric wiring member.
In this case, a reduction in size of the entire drive device may be hindered if the electric wiring member are not appropriately routed to connect the control device which is external and the rotary electric machine and the rotation sensor disposed in the housing portion. In this respect, Patent Document 1 describes only the arrangement of the rotation sensor in the housing portion, and does not describe a specific method to connect between the external control device and the rotation sensor. In addition, Patent Document 1 does not clearly describe the arrangement of the hydraulic control device, and as a matter of course does not describe a specific method to connect between the external control device and the hydraulic control device.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-109839 (JP 2011-109839 A) (Patent Document 2) also discloses a vehicle drive device with a similar configuration. However, Patent Document 2 also does not describe a specific method to connect between the control device which is external and the rotation sensor and the hydraulic control device. In the device according to Patent Document 2, an electric wiring member [coil wiring member 36] that extends from the stator [stator 31] of the rotary electric machine [electric motor 3] is connected to a terminal block [external connection terminal block 34] provided at the circumferential wall of the housing portion [motor housing 300] by a bolt from the radially outer side. Such a configuration requires that a space for operating the bolt should be secured on the radially outer side of the circumferential wall of the housing portion, which may degrade the mountability of the drive device on a vehicle.


The invention concerns a method and a device for testing the function capacity of an NO oxidation catalyst (5) which is used to reduce nitrous oxides (NOx) contained in the exhaust gas flow of an internal combustion engine (1) operated with air surplus. In the exhaust gas flow which is supplied to the NO oxidation catalyst (5), a change is made in the concentration of a reducing agent and the resulting change in NOx concentration in the exhaust gas flow within the NO oxidation catalyst (5) and/or downstream after the NO oxidation catalyst (5) is determined and used to test its function capacity.

1. Field of the invention
The invention concerns a method and a device for testing the function capacity of an NO oxidation catalyst.
2. Description of Prior Art
Internal combustion engines of motor vehicles operated with air surplus are fitted with catalytically functioning post-treatment systems to reduce pollution, which systems comprise NOx storage catalysts, SCR catalysts and also particulate filters, in order to be able to comply with legally prescribed exhaust emission limits. The common feature of all these systems is that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) constitutes an important component of the reactions proceeding in the post-treatment systems. This nitrogen dioxide is formed by usually platinum-containing NO oxidation catalysts (NO=nitrogen monoxide) and the nitrous oxides (NOx) contained in the exhaust gas, from the nitrogen monoxide emitted by the combustion engine:2 NO+O22NO2   Equation 1
In real operation however the sulphurisation of these NO oxidation catalysts by the sulphur contained in the fuel and/or the engine oil constitutes a considerable problem, Due to combustion, this sulphur leads to the formation of sulphur dioxide (SO2) which is oxidised on the NO oxidation catalyst into SO3 according to the equations below:S+O2→SO2  Equation 22 SO2+O2→SO3  Equation 3
Here it has been found that the quantity of SO3 formed and the quantity of NO2 formed are directly correlated, so that an NO oxidation catalyst which desirably forms large quantities of NO2 at the same time generates undesirably large quantities of SO3. This SO3 with the metal-containing catalyst washcoat forms sulphates, or with water forms sulphuric acid, which are physiosorbed on the surface of the catalyst. Both lead to coverage of the active centre of the catalyst and hence a fall in its activity, which in turn reduces the activity of downstream exhaust gas post-treatment components such as SCR catalysts or particulate filters.
For this reason it is necessary to monitor the state of an NO oxidation catalyst or its oxidation capacity.
For three-way catalysts, a method is known from DE 10 2004 009 615 B4 in which the oxygen (O2) storage capacity is determined using periodic fluctuations between lean and rich engine operation and observation of the catalyst reaction using a downstream lambda sensor, and structured such that in the case of a damped amplitude of residual O2 fluctuation, the catalyst still has an O2 storage capacity, while in the other case it is no longer able to absorb O2. This method cannot be applied to NO oxidation catalysts for two reasons: firstly these catalysts have no pronounced O2 storage capacity, and secondly diesel engines which normally run lean or direct-injection petrol engines cannot easily be run rich. Here, both the soot emissions and the thermal load on the engines would rise undesirably and to an extreme degree.
In so-called diesel oxidation catalysts which serve to oxidise unburnt hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, a second method is known from EP 1 373 693 B2. Here periodically the hydrocarbon oxidation is raised, usually by late post-injection of fuel into the combustion chamber, and the exothermy of the oxidation of these hydrocarbons on the diesel oxidation catalyst is determined using thermo-elements. The temperature rise detected is compared with an expected value determined from the added quantity of hydrocarbons. If the measured and expected values deviate too greatly from each other, damage to the diesel oxidation catalyst can be concluded. The disadvantage of this method is that large quantities of hydrocarbons must be added, since otherwise because of the large thermal mass and the resulting low temperature rise, no system reaction can be observed. This leads to a clear deterioration in the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and hence to a rise in fuel consumption. A further disadvantage lies in the high thermal load of the catalyst which, for the NO oxidation catalysts already described above, can even lead to their damage. In particular in internal combustion engines fitted in vehicles, because of the widely varying ambient conditions and the resulting fluctuating temperature losses of the exhaust gas system, the problem can also arise that temperature detection can be subject to a high measurement inaccuracy.
EP 1 936 140 A1 already discloses a method for monitoring an exhaust gas post-treatment system of an internal combustion engine in which a first lambda sensor to detect the air ratio is arranged in the exhaust gas flow upstream before the exhaust gas post-treatment system, and in which a second lambda sensor to detect the air ratio is arranged further downstream of the exhaust gas post-treatment system. To monitor the function capacity of the exhaust gas post-treatment system, the internal combustion engine is brought into an operating mode in which the exhaust gases extracted from the cylinders contain such a high concentration of unburnt hydrocarbons that the first sensor works defectively, such that this first sensor indicates a higher air ratio in comparison with the air ratio actually present in the exhaust gas, wherein the malfunction of the exhaust gas post-treatment system is assumed if the two air ratios are substantially the same.

Method and device for testing the function capacity of an NO oxidation catalyst


An apparatus, medium, and method for displaying the downloading progress of data on an auxiliary display window when software is downloaded into a digital broadcast receiver (e.g., a set-top box). The apparatus for displaying the downloading progress of data includes a reconstruction unit, which receives broadcast signals from a broadcasting station and reconstructs data from the received broadcast signals, a processing unit, which calculates the downloading progress of the reconstructed data, an auxiliary display unit, which displays the calculation result obtained by the processing unit, and a control unit, which determines whether software to-be-downloaded is included in the reconstructed data, switches a current screen mode of the auxiliary display unit to a download mode if the software is included in the reconstructed data, and controls the auxiliary display unit to display the calculation result obtained by the processing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus, medium, and method for displaying the downloading progress of data, and more particularly, to an apparatus, medium, and method for displaying the downloading progress of software in an auxiliary display window when downloading software to a digital broadcast receiver (e.g., a set-top box).
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, there are two downloading techniques, i.e., a foreground downloading technique and a background downloading technique.
In the foreground downloading technique, a TV receiver is used during downloading, while a user is watching TV. Thus, the user is interrupted while watching TV as the download progresses.
In addition, the foreground downloading technique is implemented in two ways: the downloading status can be displayed on the TV screen when a digital broadcast receiver is in an operating mode; and the downloading status isn't displayed on the TV screen when the digital broadcast receiver is in a standby mode.
In the background downloading technique, even while a user is watching TV, a downloading task is performed without interfering with the user's viewing, and the user doesn't notice that downloading is under way.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional TV screen on which a download progress is displayed. Referring to FIG. 1, when the downloading begins, a message indicating that data is currently being downloaded and a progress bar indicating the download progress are displayed on the TV screen.
However, if the downloading is initiated while a user is not watching TV, the user will not know about the downloading until he or she views the download display window on the TV screen, after turning on the TV.
Accordingly, the user has no option but to watch the download display window until the data download is complete or to check whether the downloading is completed by switching channels while watching a broadcast program of another channel.
Therefore, typically, the user must turn on the TV (or a device connected to a video output port) in order to check whether the data download is complete. When the user watches a broadcast program of a channel other than the channel where the data is being downloaded, he or she must switch channels to see if the data download is complete, which is burdensome.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002-067283 discloses a remote controller having a state indicator which displays the data download progress by way of a vertical bar or a percent indicator. However, the disclosed technique requires that the remote controller be located close to the user, for the user to identify whether the data download is complete. In addition, the disclosed technique also requires that the remote controller include a display device exclusively used for displaying the progress of the data download, and thus, the manufacturing costs of the remote controller may undesirably increase.

Apparatus, medium, and method for displaying download status of data


A current impulse (CI) method is provided for converting digital data signals to analog values. First, digital data bits are converted into current impulses. Then, the current impulses are converted into analog currents representing the digital data bits. More typically, the method accepts a k-bit digital word, and converts the k-bit digital word into (k) corresponding current impulses. In one aspect, the method accepts (n) consecutive k-bit digital words. Then, for each bit position in the k-bit digital word, (n) consecutive bits are sampled using (n) consecutive phases of an n-phase clock, creating (n) interleaved current impulses. The (n) interleaved current impulses are converted into an analog current representing the (n) consecutive k-bit digital words. Alternatively, (n) consecutive bits are sampled using (n) consecutive phases of an n-phase clock for each bit position in the k-bit digital word, creating (n) summed current impulses. A CI digital-to-analog converter is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and, more particularly, to a current impulse DAC system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the time of this writing the DACs with the widest signal bandwidth of greater than 50 gigasamples per second (GS/s) have been implemented using indium phosphorous (InP) or silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS [1] technologies. While the availability of such heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) devices helps with the signal bandwidth, these technologies are not well suited for integration with other fast digital logic. Interfacing high speed digital data into the DAC is a major system level challenge, and bringing the DAC into the same CMOS die with the digital signal processing (DSP) blocks is also highly desirable. It has been shown [2] that the most advanced CMOS nodes are suitable for designing DACs with record braking update rates, but signal bandwidth and linearity remain a big challenge.
Time interleaving is a concept widely used in high speed analog-to-digital (A/D) converters (ADCs) to achieve a higher sampling rate than can be obtained using a single ADC core. The technique uses multiple slowly clocked ADCs that operate in parallel, and takes turns sampling the input and converting it to a digital value. With properly aligned sampling clock phases, the composite sampling rate is the sampling rate of the individual ADC core multiplied by the number of the cores used.
The same principle can be applied to DACs as well. The current steering DAC architecture, which is the most common choice in high speed applications, is inherently very fast and has conventionally been able to satisfy the needs of almost all applications. For that reason interleaving is not very widely used in DACs. Another important reason is that one cannot interleave just any kind of DAC because they need to have return-to-zero type output signals to provide the narrow signal pulses needed for interleaving. This means that although the update rate of the DAC core is relaxed due to interleaving, signals must be used with pulse widths similar to the clock period at the full rate.
FIG. 1A is a schematic depicting the general concept of an interleaved DAC, and FIG. 1B depicts associated waveforms (prior art). The waveforms show how four DACs generate quarter period long output pulses that are then added together to form the final composite output signal. The pulsed output signal of the DAC core goes to zero between the pulses, hence the name return-to-zero (RZ). This is necessary; as not zeroing the output would result in inter symbol interference, which manifests itself in the frequency domain as a sin(x)/x response with zeros at fs/N, where N is the number of the interleaved channels.
One of the known problems with the return-to-zero waveform is its jitter sensitivity. Any variation in the pulse width due to clock jitter is translated into an error in the output current. In the interleaving application some but not all jitter sources cancel out, making the situation somewhat better.
It can be argued that achieving a wide signal bandwidth is an even bigger challenge in very high speed DAC design than is realizing a faster update rate. The bandwidth is mainly limited by the capacitance at the output node. It is clear that interleaving, with many parallel DACs connected to the same output, simply increases the capacitance. Techniques such as adding a cascode stage after combining the currents, and design principles borrowed from distributed power amplifiers can be used alleviate the bandwidth issue [1,2]. However, keeping the interleaving factor low and having a DAC core with small output capacitance are both still essential.
FIG. 2 is a schematic depicting a simplified unit cell in a return-to-zero current steering DAC (prior art). The complete DAC consists of an array of these cells connected to the same outputs and controlled with different data bits. The cell has a current source, sized according to the weight of the data bit, followed by a data switch controlled by the data bit and its complement. The switch steers the current either toward the positive or the negative output. A second level of switches, controlled with the clock, is placed between the data switch and the output. These clock switches create the RZ waveform by switching the current either to the load or to a dummy output.
The open loop architecture of the current steering DAC makes it simple and fast. It can directly drive resistive loads and can easily be adapted to deep submicron technologies. A known drawback of the architecture is the fact that its output impedance is signal dependent, as the number of current sources connected to each output changes with the digital input data. At high signal frequencies the capacitive part of the impedance dominates and is the main source of nonlinearity in the DAC.
The differential current switches in the DAC are operated in the saturation region of the transistor's IV curve. This provides isolation between the output and the current sources, and minimizes voltage variation in the common source node. One drawback, however, is that the switches require more voltage headroom, leaving less output signal range. This signal range issue is problematic in advanced technology nodes that use very low power supply voltages. The switch control voltages are not simple CMOS logic levels, but require a certain common mode level and a reduced voltage swing. This means that the switches need a special driver circuit, which often becomes the speed bottleneck in very high speed design. The size of the switch transistor should ideally be as small as possible to minimize its parasitic capacitances, but operation in saturation region with limited voltage headroom forces the use of fairly large switch transistors.
The current source in the current steering DAC is a transistor with its gate biased with a control voltage and the drain usually cascoded with another transistor. This current source is slow to turn on and off and thus the output current is steered in one of two ways instead of being turned on and off.
This is not the only way to implement a current source, though. A resistor can be used as a current source, for instance. Another way, which has some added benefits, is the use of a switched capacitor. A capacitor that is charged to voltage V during one clock phase and then discharged to ground during another, delivers a charge packet C*V in the form of a current impulse in every clock cycle. The average current is fclk*C*V, where fclk is the clock frequency and C the capacitance. What makes this very attractive for high sampling rate operation is that the current grows with the clock frequency, making it practical to implement currents in the range of tens of milliamps with capacitors of just few hundred femtofarads (fF).
FIG. 3 is a schematic depicting a switched capacitor DAC cell (prior art). Switched capacitor (SC) techniques are commonly used in the industry, but typically at much lower frequencies. Whether used in switch-cap filters, delta-sigma modulators, or pipelined ADCs, the switched capacitors are combined with operational amplifiers to provide a discrete-time voltage output. The switched capacitor alone doesn't make a practical current source. It needs a virtual ground to which the capacitor is discharged. Voltage mode SC circuits use opamps for this purpose.
It would be advantageous if a time-interleaved DAC could be realized that overcome the limitations of a current steering return-to-zero DAC, using a fast open loop architecture with a current mode output capable of driving resistive loads without buffering.    [1]A. Balteanu, et. al., "A 6-bit Segmented RZ DAC Architecture with up to 50-GHz Sampling Clock and 4 Vpp Differential Swing", IEEE Int. Microwave Symp. (IMS), 2012 IEEE.    [2]H. Huang, et. al, "An 8-bit 100-GS/s Distributed DAC in 28-nm CMOS for Optical Communications", IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 1211-1218, April 2015.

Current impulse (CI) digital-to-analog converter (DAC)


A method of modeling speech distinctions within computer-animated talking heads that utilize the manipulation of speech production articulators for selected speech segments. Graphical representations of voice characteristics and speech production characteristics are generated in response to said speech segment. By way of example, breath images are generated such as particle-cloud images, and particle-stream images to represent the voiced characteristics such as the presence of stops and fricatives, respectively. The coloring on exterior portions of the talking head is displayed in response to selected voice characteristics such as nasality. The external physiology of the talking head is modulated, such as by changing the width and movement of the nose, the position of the eyebrows, and movement of the throat in response to the voiced speech characteristics such as pitch, nasality, and voicebox vibration, respectively. The invention also describes modeling a talking head on the facial image of a particular individual.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally pertains to the visual modeling of speech, and more particularly to supplemental displays and advanced visualization modes for use with a computer-animated "talking head", and other similar forms of computerized speech modeling which provide a visual component.
2. Description of the Background Art
Visual speech synthesis provides for the visual display of articulators used in the production of speech. Visual speech synthesis has been applied to a number of applications, such as speech therapy, teaching of the hearing-impaired, and realistic facial animations. One preferred method of providing visual speech synthesis is with computer-animated talking heads. These talking heads typically provide a three-dimensional rendering of a generic canonical face whose movements are synthesized in synchronization with a segment of speech so that facial movements and positioning may be associated with the speech being produced. The underlying model for generating the facial features of the talking head typically rely upon modeling the underlying muscles within the head, or the relative movements of the skin on the model. When utilized for teaching speech production articulation, the facial movements are associated with the generated speech. It will be appreciated therefore, that aspects of speech production may prove difficult to comprehend and reproduce given the limited information available from the visual information provided by a conventional talking head. In particular, many of the facial movements can be ambiguous when viewed from the conventional talking head representation, for example, the production of the initial sounds in "bee", "pea", and "me" in the bilabial viseme category. It should be further appreciated that a hearing loss would further compromise the ability of an individual to discern the use of various speech production articulators.
Therefore, a need exists for a talking head that simplifies discerning the use of speech production articulators to reproduce a given segment of speech. The present invention satisfies those needs, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies of previously developed talking head models.

Visual display methods for in computer-animated speech production models

The Regents of the University of California


The present invention is directed to a tunable, solid state laser utilizing room temperature, stable, color centers of LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ ** material. Also disclosed is a method of lasing. An object of the present invention is to develop and optimize LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ ** thermostabilized active media, to propose a method of pumping, and to realize a room temperature, stable and efficient operation of the color center laser. These and other objects are achieved by introducing special dopants in the crystal at the stage of crystal growing; applying special regimes of ionizing treatment of the crystal, resulting in thermostabilization of the F.sub.2.sup.+ centers in LiF crystals; and utilizing alexandrite laser radiation for color center crystal pumping with a pump radiation frequency which is appropriate for the selective excitation of the F.sub.2.sup.+ color centers. The invention can be used in cases when monochromatic laser emission tunable in the visible-infrared spectral region is required for solving problems in various fields of science and technology such as laser spectroscopy, photochemistry, photobiology, medicine, and the like.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of Quantum Electronics, and more particularly to the element basis of laser technology, and can be used for developing tunable solid state lasers.
Primarily, the invention can be used in cases when monochromatic laser emission tunable in the visible-infrared spectral region is required for solving problems in various fields of science and technology, such as laser spectroscopy, photo chemistry, photo biology, medicine, and the like.
II. Description of the Prior Art
F.sub.2.sup.+ color centers (CCs) in alkali-halide crystals constitute a pair of neighboring anion vacancies (located along the [110] axis), with one captured electron. The fact that the anion vacancies are equivalent was used to compare the energy levels of the F.sub.2.sup.+ centers with those of the hydrogen molecular ion, H.sub.2.sup.+. Such an approach, though not very accurate, provides a satisfactory consistency for the energies of transitions. At a distance R between the anion vacancies in a medium with dielectric constant E, the values of the F.sub.2 +transition energies can be obtained from the equation ##EQU1## where the values .epsilon. and R are fitted to attain better agreement with experimental results.
The F.sub.2.sup.+ CC energy level diagram is presented in M. A. Aegerter and F. Luty, The F.sub.2.sup.+ center in KCL crystal. Part 1. Formation and bleaching kinetics, Phys. Stat. Sol. (b), 43, 227-243 (1971), which is herein incorporated by reference.
The levels are marked analogously with those of the H.sub.2.sup.+ molecular ion. The low-lying optical transition is the transition 1s.sigma..sub.g .fwdarw.2p.sigma..sub.u. The two higher-energy transitions, 1s.sigma..sub.g .fwdarw.2p.pi..sub.u, are in the region of the F absorption band. It should be noted that the quantum yield of the radiational transition from the upper 2p.sigma..sub.u level, presented in the diagram, decreases practically to zero with increasing temperature up to 100 K. At temperatures above 100 K, only emission from the lower excited 2p.sigma..sub.u level can be observed. The quantum yield of this F.sub.2.sup.+ emission, which is observed for all alkali-halide crystals is rather high. For instance, according to I. A. Parfianovich, V. M. Hulugurov, B. D. Lobanov, and N. T. Maximova, Luminescence and stimulated emission of color centers in LiF, Bull. Acad. Sci. USSR, Phys. Ser., 43, 20-27 (1979), which is incorporated herein by reference, for LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ .eta.=0.52 at T=90 K, and .eta.=0.15 at T=300 K.
Some spectroscopic data for pure F.sub.2.sup.+ CCs in LiF are presented below. This medium is one of the most promising among CC crystals for producing laser operation at room temperature. The first most comprehensive studies of the F.sub.2.sup.+ CCs optical properties were performed by J. Nahum, Optical properties and mechanism of formation of some F-aggregate centers in LiF, Phys. Rev., 158, 814-825 (1967), which is incorporated herein by reference. A relative oscillator strength of the optical transition 1s.sigma..sub.g .fwdarw.2p.sigma..sub.u at .lambda..sub.max =645 nm was determined experimentally to be: f.sub.F.sbsb.2 /f.sub.F2 +=1.1. The temperature dependence of the absorption band half-width was determined by the excitation spectrum to correspond satisfactory to formula (2) ##EQU2## with parameters .DELTA..upsilon.(0)=2450 cm.sup.-1, .omega..sub.o =2.pi..multidot.6.8.multidot.10.sup.12 s.sup.-1, S.sub.o =21.1, where .DELTA..upsilon.(0) is the multiphonon band half-width at O K, .omega..sub.o is the effective phonon frequency, and S.sub.o is the effective Huang-Rhys factor.
The luminescence band with .lambda..sub.max =910 nm and half-width 1730 cm.sup.-1 corresponds to the radiational transition 2p.sigma..sub.u .fwdarw.1s.sigma..sub.g of the F.sub.2.sup.+ CCs in LiF at 77 K. The temperature dependence of the luminescence band half-width is determined by formula (2) with parameters .DELTA..upsilon.(0)=1720 cm.sup.-1, .omega..sub.o =2.pi..multidot.7.4.multidot.10.sup.12 s.sup.-1, S.sub.o =8.74. The F.sub.2.sup.+ luminescence band shape in LiF is well described by the Gaussian curve. The measured lifetime of the relaxed excited at 77 K state equals 29 ns.
The ionic configurations of the F.sub.2.sup.+ and F.sub.A (II) CCs are identical in a relaxed excited state. This enabled F. Luty, who studied their properties comprehensively, to suggest to the Bell Telephone group in 1974, their use as a laser active center. W. Gellermann, K. P. Koch and F. Luty, Recent progress in color center lasers, Laser Focus, 71-75 (April 1982), incorporated herein by reference. Lasing on F.sub.2.sup.+ CCs at liquid nitrogen temperature was done for the first time by Mollenauer. L. F. Mollenauer, Dye like lasers for the 0.9-2 .mu.m region using F.sub.2.sup.+ centers in alkali-halides, Opt. Lett., 1, 164-154 (1977); L. F. Mollenauer, D. M. Bloom and A. M. DelGaudio, Broadly tunable cw lasers using F.sub.2.sup.+ for the 1.26-1.48 and 0.82-1.07 .mu.m bands, Opt. Lett., 3, 48-50 (1978), incorporated herein by reference. Later on, it was this medium that enabled state-of-the-art efficiencies (60%) and average power of continuous lasing (up to 1.8 W). However, the problem of fast degradation of the laser output power has prevented the production of the laser commercially. Therefore, it has been available only for highly specialized experts.
Room temperature lasing of F.sub.2.sup.+ CCs in LiF crystal was attained for the first time by Gusev et al. under ruby laser pumping. Yu. L. Gusev, S. I. Marennikov, and V. P. Chebotaev, Lasing effect in the spectrum region of 0.88-1.2 .mu.m using F.sub.2.sup.+ and F.sub.2.sup.- color centers in LiF, Sov. Tech. Phys. Lett., 3, 124 (1977), incorporated herein by reference. The efficiency of the laser was not high (2-6%), and the thermal degradation of F.sub.2.sup.+ CCs at 300 K with a half decay time of 12 h prevented the crystal from being used for more than 24 h.
A group at Irkutsk State University, Russia doped the original crystals with impurities to stabilize F.sub.2.sup.+ CCs. The LiF crystals doped with hydroxyl ions enabled the formation of F.sub.2.sup.+ (OH) CCs that are thermostable up to a temperature of 380 K. However, besides the thermostabilizing effect of the hydroxyl ions, some decline of the laser output characteristics was observed.
LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ crystals have significant advantages as efficient active media for lasers tunable in the 820-1150 nm spectral region. The high quantum efficiency to temperatures above room temperature, the considerable values of absorption and emission cross-sections, and the frequency tuning region exceeding those for the majority of known laser media have roused great interest in this medium. Unfortunately, low thermal stability of F.sub.2.sup.+ centers (half decay time at 300 K is about 12 hours) previously prevented wide use of LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ lasers.
To solve the problem of LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ active media stability a new technique for two-step photoionization of neutral F.sub.2 centers in LiF was proposed. Utilization of the proposed method of F.sub.2 .fwdarw.F.sub.2.sup.+ transformation by the focused pump radiation resulted in an efficient (up to 40%) lasing of unperturbed F.sub.2.sup.+ centers. However, the problem of the active element operational stability has not been solved completely. Each active zone of the crystal pumped by the focused radiation of 532 nm experienced exhausting due to thermal degradation of F.sub.2.sup.+ centers. Thus crystals could be used for 10.sup.2 -10.sup.3 multi-hour cycles before they have to be replaced.
The thermal stability of positively charged F.sub.2.sup.+ centers can be raised by applying suitable anion or cation impurity doping during crystal growth. In this case new F.sub.2.sup.+ like optical centers are formed, which are perturbed by dopant ions or by components of dopant destruction. For example: the F.sub.2.sup.+ *-F.sub.2.sup.+ center, perturbed by Me.sup.++ ions in LiF & NaF crystals; the F.sub.2.sup.+ **-F.sub.2.sup.+ center, perturbed by O.sup.- ions in LiF, NaF, NaCl, KCl, KBr crystals; and the (F.sub.2.sup.+).sub.A -F.sub.2.sup.+ center, perturbed by Li in NaF and KCl crystals.
However, this idea for room temperature thermostabilization of F.sub.2.sup.+ like centers does not always provide appropriate photostability of active medium under powerful laser excitation. For example, pumping of the LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ ** stabilized crystals by the radiation of the second harmonic of YAG:Nd laser results in a significant fading of the color center laser output. This fading is caused by the complex photo-chemical process in the pumping channel of the crystal, which involves two-step photoionization of neutral F.sub.2 centers and trapping of the released electron by the positively charged F.sub.2.sup.+ centers.
In the proposed invention the problems related to photo and thermostability of LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ crystals are solved simultaneously and an efficient room temperature stable lasing of color centers is realized.

Room temperature stable color center laser, LiF:F.sub.2.sup.+ ** material, method of lasing