A phase difference delay control system is provided that enables distance measurement between a reference position and a terminal at the time of recovery after a line has been disconnected as a result of fluctuation of phase difference of clock crossover units. In a system for measuring the distance between a reference position and the terminal, first and second interface units comprise respective clock crossover units for sending to a transmission line a signal to which an overhead including phase information for matching the phase of a redundant signal is added, or for sending to the terminal or the reference position the signal from the transmission line, wherein one of the clock crossover units that operate according to the reference clock signal is notified of a fluctuation amount of the phase difference between write and read operation in the other of the clock crossover units and, upon initialization of the phase difference, an initial phase difference is adjusted taking the fluctuation amount into account.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase difference delay control system in a distance measuring system in WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and other cellular phone communication systems and the like. In particular, it relates to a phase difference delay control system that has a transmission line between a reference position and a terminal and that accommodates fluctuation of phase difference occurring in clock crossover units when the distance between the reference position and the terminal including the transmission line is measured.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the distance between a reference position and a terminal has been measured at the reference position for the distance measurement by recognizing the distance based upon a difference between the time when a signal is transmitted from the reference position to the terminal and the time when a signal from the terminal in response to the transmitted signal is received at the reference position.
However, when a section of the transmission line between the reference position and the terminal is made longer by using fiber-optic cables, a plurality of transmission channels may be used to transmit the signal and an optimal transmission channel may be selected when the signal is received. In this case, clock crossover units may be needed at both the transmitting and receiving parties in order to match phases of the received signal through the plurality of transmission channels at the receiving party, to create a transmission frame, and to add additional information such as an overhead and the like.
Conventionally, a system that comprises such clock crossover units and measures a distance by transmitting and receiving a signal did not exist.

Phase difference delay control system for accommodating fluctuation in phase difference in distance measuring system


In some embodiments, an electrical power delivery system including: (a) a base having: (1) a first surface; and (2) a second surface spaced apart from the first surface by a first sidewall; (b) a platform extending away from the second surface of the base, the platform having a third surface spaced apart from the second surface by a second sidewall; (c) a first electrical power outlet at the third surface; (d) a second electrical power outlet at the second sidewall; and (e) an electrical power cord. The first electrical power outlet and the second electrical power outlet are electrically coupled to the electrical power cord such that the first electrical power outlet and the second electrical power outlet receive electrical power from the electrical power cord when the electrical power cord receives electrical power.

Electric devices require electric power in order to function, and electrical power delivery systems of many descriptions have been developed for the purpose of delivering such power. Electrical power delivery systems include wall outlets, wall adapters, power strips, and surge protectors that deliver electric power in the form of alternating current (AC). Wall outlets are perhaps the oldest of the mentioned systems, but wall outlets typically provided no more than two electrical power outlets. At least part of the motivation for the development of wall adapters, power strips, and/or surge protectors was the provision of multiple electrical power outlets in the same space or area where there originally were only one or two. It is now quite common for a wall outlet, perhaps a wall outlet near a computer desk, for example, to have plugged into it a power strip or the like, whereby a single electrical power outlet supplies power to as many as twelve or more electrical power outlets in the surge protector.
Existing surge protectors, power strips, wall adapters, and the like work well as far as the provision of multiple electrical power outlets is concerned, but in other ways they are less than ideal, including their use of space and their cord management abilities. Accordingly, there exists a need for an electrical power delivery system that is neat and compact, easy to use, and allows cables and cords to be managed.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprise," "include," "have," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term "coupled," as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in an electrical, mechanical, or other manner.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electrical power delivery system and method of manufacturing same


In a method for manufacturing a three-dimensional shaped object in which layers formed by ejecting and curing ink including a curing resin are laminated, the method includes a layer forming process of forming the layers by using a composition for three-dimensional shaped object including powder for three-dimensional shaped object, and an ink ejecting process of ejecting an object formation ink and a sacrificial layer formation ink to the layers. In the ink ejecting process, the object formation ink and the sacrificial layer formation ink penetrate into the layers while forming a boundary between a region where the object formation ink penetrates in the layers and a region where the sacrificial layer formation ink penetrates into the layers.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a three-dimensional shaped object and a three-dimensional shaped object.
Related Art
A technology in which a three-dimensional object is formed by solidifying power by using coupling liquid is well-known (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 6-218712 as an example). In this technology, the following operations are repeated to form the three-dimensional object. Initially, a powder layer is formed by thinly spreading the powder with uniform thickness, and the power is coupled by ejecting the coupling liquid in a desired part of the powder layer. As a result, the powder is coupled in only the part of the powder layer where the coupling liquid was ejected, and a thin plate-shaped member (hereinafter referred to as "cross-section member") is formed. After that, on the powder layer, an additional powder layer is thinly formed, and the coupling liquid is ejected to the desired portion. As a result, in the portion of the newly formed powder layer where the coupling liquid was ejected, a new cross-section member is also formed. At this point, the coupling liquid ejected on the powder layer penetrates to reach the previously formed cross-section member so that the newly formed cross-section member is bonded to the previously formed cross-section member. By repeating such operations, the thin plate-shaped cross-section members are laminated one-layer by one-layer so as to form the three-dimensional object.
With such three-dimensional shaped object forming technology, an object can be immediately formed by coupling the powder as long as the three-dimensional shape data of the object to be formed is provided, and it is not required to make a mold for forming the object in advance so that the three-dimensional object can be promptly formed at low cost. Also, a thin plate-shaped cross-section member is laminated one-layer by one-layer to form the object so that even if the object has a complex inner structure, the object can be integrally formed without separating into a plurality of components.
However, the coupling liquid ejected to the powder layer does not directly penetrates from an impact position to the inside of the powder layer so that in a conventional method for manufacturing the three-dimensional shaped object, there is a problem that a part corresponding to the outer surface of each layer of the three-dimensional shaped object is unevenly formed due to the ink spread. Further, there is a problem that by laminating such layers, it causes irregular steps (unevenness) formed on the outer surface of the three-dimensional shaped object.

Method for manufacturing three-dimensional shaped object


The invention describes a computer-implemented method and an optimized implant site simulation system which performs a simulation of a damaged oral cavity of a patient and defines an implant site adapted to receive a dental implant to repair the damage observed. The invention further describes the optimized implant site simulated (SI) and a dental implant (ID) couplable to the optimized implant site (SI) simulated. The invention further describes a computer program to perform the steps of the method and an optimized implant site (SI) simulation system.

At present, dental implants are designed and prepared based on the dentist's instructions basically deriving from the experience gained.
Some guidelines recommend rather trivial criteria for defining the characteristic parameters of dental implants to be applied to patients.
Purpose of the present invention is to provide an exact simulation method of the implant site in terms of conformation of the site itself and in accordance with existing guidelines.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a simulation method of the implant site ensuring durability of the dental implant to be installed in particular upon changing of specific simulation parameters.

Simulation method and system for an optimized implant site


Using an existing system of formatting for RF message transmission and receiving, additional information can be sent to an alarm control panel to sort classes of messages (and hence equipment) without changing hardware, RF or baseband timing, power levels, etc., and therefore not affect FCC rules and registration of many individual products. A plurality of security devices are programmed with a unique identification number by generating a series of initial serial numbers, and then applying a masking algorithm to the serial number. Only if the masking application provides a true result will the security device be programmed with that serial number. At installation, the serial number is obtained from the security device, and the masking algorithm is applied to the serial number. Depending on its use in the security system, registration is allowed only if the masking algorithm application provides a true result.

Random or sequential serial numbers have been used to set up unique identification codes for various radio controlled appliances such as garage door openers, and security systems devices such as intrusion detectors, smoke alarms, PIR sensors, etc. These identification codes are embedded in each security system device and registered or "learned" at the time of their installation by the control panel that operates the security system. Once registered with the control panel, the device will be able to communicate with the control panel as required (e.g. send and receive status messages, etc.) A device that has not been properly registered will be unable to communicate with the control panel.
It may be desirable for a security system to register security devices manufactured at a certain location, but not from others, even if the serialization and other communications protocols would otherwise render the device registrable. As such, the present invention relates to the use of an encoding algorithm utilizing the existing serial number formats to allow or disallow registration of particular security devices, depending on the implementation of the algorithm.

Security system with serial number coding and methods therefor


The present disclosure provides a light bulb for use in a lamp housing of a vehicle. The light bulb includes a bulb body assembly having one or more light sources fixedly attached thereto, and a mounting assembly configured to mount on the lamp housing. The bulb body assembly and the mounting assembly are connected by a rotatable joint such that positions of the one or more light sources can be adjusted after the mounting assembly is mounted on the lamp housing. In some embodiments, a key portion is attached to the bulb body assembly to rotate the bulb body assembly relative to the mounting assembly.

Motor vehicles contain numerous lighting devices for both interior and exterior illumination. Typically, there are various standards and requirements by government or insurance agencies to regulate these functions for safety reasons. For example, government standards require a headlamp to form certain illuminating patterns for driving safety. The illuminating patterns are realized using specific optical devices in the vehicle, such as reflectors and/or lenses and by aligning a light bulb with the optical devices.
Because light bulbs, such as LED light bulbs, are sometimes directional or nonsymmetrical, when installing or replacing a light bulb in a vehicle light, the orientation of the light bulb may need to be adjusted or fine-tuned to align with the optical device in the vehicle light. Conventional adjusting and tuning processes may need to repeatedly pull the light bulb out of the vehicle to make adjustments and insert the light bulb back into the vehicle.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved vehicle light bulb for easy installation.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplified for clarity. It is contemplated that elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation.


Observer tracking is provided in an autostereoscopic 3D display, for instance of the type including an LCD panel 2 behind a parallax barrier. An infrared sensor such as a position sensitive detector is provided on the LCD panel. The parallax barrier extends over the detector so as to form an image of the observer or of a reflective target worn by the observer on the detector. The parallax barrier is moved so as to keep the image at a constant position on the detector. The viewing zone thus track the observer.

Observer tracking autostereoscopic 3D displays are disclosed, for instance, in EP 0 656 555, EP 0 726 482, EP 0 404 289 and in "Eye-Position Tracking Stereoscopic Display Using Image Shifting Optics", H. Imai et al, SPIE Vol. 2653, pp 49-55, February 1996. In such displays of the autostereoscopic 3D type, viewing zones are formed such that, when an observer is disposed so that left and right eyes are in adjacent viewing zones, a 3D image is perceptible. In order to allow the observer more freedom of movement while maintaining the 3D effect, the position of the observer may be measured, for instance by the technique disclosed in British Patent Application No. 9616190.6, and this information may be used to control the display so that the viewing zones move with or track the observer. In the case of EP 0 726 482, observer tracking is performed by changing the two dimensional (2D) images provided in the viewing zones as the observer moves laterally with respect to the display.
"Stereoscopic liquid crystal display I (General description)", T. Hattori et al, Pmroc. SPIE vol. 2177, pp 143-149, February 1994 discloses an autostereoscopic 3D display in which 2D images displayed by spatial light modulators are illuminated by a 2D display which acts as a backlight and co-operates with a converging optical system to direct the different 2D views into the different viewing zones. An observer is illuminated by an infrared source and monitored by an infrared video camera. The image from the video camera is effectively displayed by the 2D monochrome display so as to provide observer tracking by forming on the 2D display a bright patch which follows movement of the observer.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a mechanically tracked autostereoscopic 3D display comprising a backlight 1 which illuminates a spatial light modulator (SLM) in the form of a liquid crystal device (LCD) 2. A movable lenticular screen 3 is disposed between the observer and the LCD 2 and comprises a plurality of cylindrically converging lenticules such as 4. Each lenticule 4 is optically aligned with two columns of picture elements (pixels) such as 5 and 6. Alternate columns of pixels display vertical strips of a respective 2D image and the lenticules 4 direct light from the backlight passing through the columns 5 and 6 into two viewing zones 7 and 8 for the left and right eyes of an observer.
An observer tracking sensor (not shown) detects the position of the observer and the lenticular screen 3 is moved laterally with respect to the LCD 2 in response to the observer measured position so that the left and right eyes of the observer are maintained in the viewing zones 7 and 8, respectively.
The display shown in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings differs from that shown in FIG. 1 in that the lenticular screen is replaced by a parallax barrier 3. The parallax barrier 3 comprises a plurality of parallel evenly spaced vertical slits such as 4 which form the viewing zones 7 and 8 in essentially the same way as the lenticules of the display shown in FIG. 1. The parallax barrier 3 is movable laterally with respect to the LCD 2 as indicated by arrows 9 and 10 so as to track lateral movement of the observer as indicated by an arrow 11.
As shown in FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings, the moving optic 3, which may be the lenticular screen or the parallax barrier shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is mechanically connected to an electromechanical actuator 12, such as a voice coil stage. The stage 12 is controlled by a stage controller 13 in the form of a servo having positional feedback indicated at 14.
A tracking sensor 15 measures the position of the observer 16 and supplies the measurement signals to an arrangement 17 for converting the signals from the sensor 15 into a measurement of the position of the observer 16 relative to the display. The measured position is then compared with a display calibration 18 so as to determine the appropriate position of the moving optic 3 relative to the LCD 2. The calibration comprises information stored in a look-up table determined as a result of calibrating the display. The required movement of the moving optic 3 is determined at 19 and supplied to the stage controller 13. The moving optic 3 is thus moved so that the observer eyes remain in the viewing zones.
The tracking sensor 15 may comprise a video camera connected to an image processor for detecting the position of the head of the observer. However, such systems are expensive because of the cost of the camera and, in particular, the cost of the image processor.
Another known type of tracking sensor uses a magnetic position detector. However, such systems are prone to magnetic interference and require the user to wear a detector attached to the display by a cable.
Another type of tracking sensor relies on detecting the position of the head of the observer by means of reflection of infrared by the observer or by a retro-reflective spot, for instance stuck on the forehead of the observer. The reflected infrared radiation is imaged by a lens on to a position sensitive detector (PSD) as shown in FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings. An infrared light emitting diode (LED) 20 emits infrared light which is supplied via an illumination lens 21 to illuminate a region in front of the display where an observer may be tracked. The infrared light reflected from the retro-reflecting dot or target 22 is collected by a collection lens 23 and is imaged through an infrared-passing filter 24 on the PSD 25. The PSD 25 may be of known type and supplies data indicating the position on the light-sensitive surface thereof of the "centre of gravity" of illumination "or centre of illumination".
These known arrangements suffer from various disadvantages. Firstly, for mechanically tracked systems, the alignment of the observer tracking sensor and the mechanics controlling the position of the parallax optic has to be highly accurate and robust since, otherwise, the display would lose calibration and the observer would start to lose the 3D image. This places severe requirements on the complexity and tolerance, and hence cost, of the display. Further, calibration data have to be generated during assembly of the display so as to account for differences in the alignment of the tracking sensor with respect to the remainder of the display. This substantially increases assembly cost. Further, the actual position of the actuator 12 may differ from the position indicated by the positional feedback 14, for instance because of backlash, inaccuracies in positioning and system lags.

Observer tracking directional display and observer tracking illumination system


A process for manufacturing integrated circuit devices includes providing a set of original color rules defining an original color rule space and defining a design space. The improvement involves applying a perturbed color rule space to the router processing engine to expose double pattern routing odd cycle decomposition errors, and reconfiguring the router processing engine in accordance with the exposed decomposition errors.

There is a continuing trend within the microelectronics industry to incorporate more circuitry having greater complexity on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. Maintaining this trend generally entails shrinking the size of individual devices within the circuit by reducing the critical dimensions (CDs) of device elements along with the pitch (the CD of such an element plus the spacing between elements). Microlithography tooling and processing techniques play an important role in resolving the features necessary to fabricate devices and, accordingly, are continually under development to meet industry milestones relating to the CD and pitch characteristic of each new technology generation.
High numerical aperture (NA) projection stepper/scanner systems in combination with advanced photoresist processes now are capable of routinely resolving complex patterns that include isolated and dense resist features having CDs and pitches, respectively, well below the exposure wavelength. However, to meet the requirements of device design rules which continue to push the resolution limits of existing processes and tooling, other more specialized techniques have been developed to further enhance resolution. These include double patterning technology (DPT) techniques in which device patterns having potentially optically unresolvable features are decomposed into two or more complementary, and more easily resolvable patterns, each containing features with larger CDs and/or a relaxed pitch.
A router is an electronic design automation (EDA) tool used to convert logical designs into manufacturable layouts, and to connect the physical devices in the layout with metal lines. In DPT processes, a double patterning compliant router may be configured with a processing engine, including appropriate software, to decompose patterns and features into separate patterns, with each pattern being implemented in its own mask. In order to comply with manufacturing requirements, each pattern must satisfy its own single patterning rules, also called "same mask rules" or "same color rules", that is, a set of rules defining the limit of single pattern resolution for critical dimensions manufacturable by the foundry.
The same color rules are also called color rules for simplicity. A typical same color rule set includes minimum spacing requirements for tip-to-tip, tip-to-side, and side-to-side critical dimensions. The same color rules are determined by the manufacturing technology used by the foundry.
In accordance with a typical IC manufacturing process, if a particular design input includes two structures or features which result in a layout in which the two features are spaced apart by less than the CD specified in the color rule space, the router ensures that the generated routing structures can be decomposed into two masks, where the space between each pair of structures in the same mask is equal to or larger than the critical spaces specified by the same color rules.
Double patterning technologies necessitate a zero odd cycle requirement on double patterning routing layouts rendered by DPT compliant routers in order to ensure the manufacturability of the underlying IC designs. To accomplish this, a router must be capable of generating a decomposable layout for all IC design components and features. Ideally, a DPT compliant router should theoretically be qualified for every possible design configuration for each color rule set.
As a practical matter, routers are typically qualified, or stress tested, based on a specified color rule space and a specified design space. In this context, the term "color rule space" typically refers to a set of color rules associated with a particular manufacturing technology or methodology, and includes a specific numerical value for each color rule parameter such as tip-to-tip spacing, side-to-side spacing, and other critical physical dimensions. The term "design space" refers to a limited set of predetermined test designs useful in assessing the robustness of a router's DPT compliance and decomposition processing software and architecture.
When a router's processing engine generates (or "exposes") decomposition errors during the qualification, the errors are fed back to the development team to reconfigure the processing engine until an odd cycle clean output condition is achieved; that is, until application of the color rule space to the design rule space yields zero odd cycles (decomposition errors). However, given the relatively limited scope of the design space vis-à-vis the universe of possible design configurations encountered in the ordinary course of manufacturing IC devices, the confidence level associated with presently known router qualification processes is unsatisfactorily low.

Method for increasing the robustness of a double patterning router used to manufacture integrated circuit devices


The invention relates to a system for generating synthetic digital data, comprising: a receiver configured to receive at least one measured signal, in particular an RF signal or a sensor signal, a converter configured to convert the at least one measured signal to a digital dataset representing signal characteristics of the at least one measured signal, at least one trainable neural network encoder, wherein, during a training routine, the neural network encoder is configured to receive the digital dataset and to generate a compressed representation of the digital dataset, a processing unit configured to analyze the compressed representation and to detect a correlation between the digital dataset and the compressed representation, wherein the processing unit is configured to generate decoder input data based on the detected correlation, and a trained neural network decoder which is configured to receive the decoder input data and to generate synthetic digital data representing signal characteristics of the at least one measured signal based on the decoder input data.

New measurement and communication equipment is often tested before its implementation to evaluate the behavior and performance of the equipment. Such tests can be performed by feeding the equipment with data that is provided in the form of test sets or simulation sets. In this way, for example, the response of automotive sensors or communication devices to different environmental conditions can be tested before installing or implementing these devices.
The test and simulation sets are typically based on measurement data that was recorded by real world measurements or comprise such data. However, the measurement data that is provided by different measurement or communication equipment is often interdependent. For example, the measurement result of two sensors can depend on each other, even if both sensors are adapted to detect different parameters.
However, the amount of available measurement data for generating the test set is often limited and does not take all interdependencies into account. For instance, not all possible sensor combinations can be used when generating test data for individual sensors of an autonomous driving application.
It is known to generate artificial data based on a limited number of known data via machine learning techniques. Possible techniques for generating artificial data are principle component analysis, general adversarial networks (GAN), or variational autoenconders (VAE).
A general advisory network (GAN) usually comprise two neural networks that are trained simultaneously. One neural network tries to generate better artificial data while the other neural network tries to distinguish the generated data from the real data. This results in a competition between the two neural networks, which leads to the artificially generated data becoming more and more similar to real world data.
The document KR 101843066 B1, for instance, discloses the use of a modified GAN for generating and labeling data. A generator and a discriminator of the modified GAN are taught with real data and with information on a label to which the real data belongs. The modified GAN can generate similar artificial data and estimate a specific label for this data. The document WO 2019/031794 A1 also discloses teaching a generator and a discriminator of a modification GAN with information of a label and with actual data in order generate similar artificial data.
The document CN 108053454 A disclose a method for generating graph-structure data based on deep convolutional generative adversarial networks (DCGAN). The document KR 101975186 B1 discloses the use of a GAN with a generator for generating a fake image based on input data, and a discriminating for identifying whether an image is fake or real.
It is also known to use GAN networks in the context of wireless communication technology. Examples for such uses can be found in: Shi, Yi, Kemal Davaslioglu, and Yalin E. Sagduyu, "Generative adversarial network for wireless signal spoofing", Proceedings of the ACM Workshop on Wireless Security and Machine Learning, 2019; Davaslioglu, Kemal, and Yalin E. Sagduyu, "Generative adversarial learning for spectrum sensing", 2018 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), 2018; and Roy, Debashri, et al., "Detection of Rogue RF Transmitters Using Generative Adversarial Nets", IEEE WCNC, 2019.
In contrast, variational autoencoders (VAE) learn to distribute input data and to generate new data from the input data. They usually comprise of an encoder neural network, which is trained to encode input data, and a decoder neural network, which is trained to decode the encoded input data. For VAEs training data is required to cover the underlying parameter space. For example, VAEs can be used to generate artificial images based on a training set of real images.
A further application of VAEs is shown in T. O'Shea and J. Hoydis, "An Introduction to Deep Learning for the Physical Layer," in IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 563-575, 2017. Here, the VAE is used to optimize transmitter and receiver components in a communication system.
Thus, it is an objective to provide an improved system and an improved method for generating synthetic data, as well as an improved test method for physical entities, which avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages. In particular, it is an objective to provide a concept for generating synthetic data resembling data attained by real world measurements with multiple interdependent sources.

System for generating synthetic digital data of multiple sources


An accommodating intraocular lens is provided having optical parameters that are altered in-situ, wherein an optic portion of the lens includes a lens piston that alters the shape of a lens element of the lens to alter the optical power of the lens, responsive to forces applied to a haptic portion to the lens by contraction of the ciliary muscles. Forces applied to the haptic portion are concentrated by the lens piston to provide a greater dynamic range, and may be further augmented by the use of haptic pistons disposed in the haptic portion of the lens.

Cataracts are a major cause of blindness in the world and the most prevalent ocular disease. Visual disability from cataracts accounts for more than 8 million physician office visits per year. When the disability from cataracts affects or alters an individual's activities of daily living, surgical lens removal with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation is the preferred method of treating the functional limitations. In the United States, about 2.5 million cataract surgical procedures are performed annually, making it the most common surgery for Americans over the age of 65. About 97 percent of cataract surgery patients receive intraocular lens implants, with the annual costs for cataract surgery and associated care in the United States being upwards of $4 billion.
A cataract is any opacity of a patient's lens, whether it is a localized opacity or a diffuse general loss of transparency. To be clinically significant, however, the cataract must cause a significant reduction in visual acuity or a functional impairment. A cataract occurs as a result of aging or secondary to hereditary factors, trauma, inflammation, metabolic or nutritional disorders, or radiation. Age related cataract conditions are the most common.
In treating a cataract, the surgeon removes the crystalline lens matrix from the lens capsule and replaces it with an intraocular lens ("IOL") implant. The typical IOL provides a selected focal length that allows the patient to have fairly good distance vision. Since the lens can no longer accommodate, however, the patient typically needs glasses for reading.
More specifically, the imaging properties of the human eye are facilitated by several optical interfaces. A healthy youthful human eye has a total power of approximately 59 diopters, with the anterior surface of the cornea (e.g. the exterior surface, including the tear layer) providing about 48 diopters of power, while the posterior surface provides about −4 diopters. The crystalline lens, which is situated posterior of the pupil in a transparent elastic capsule supported by the ciliary muscles, provides about 15 diopters of power, and also performs the critical function of focusing images upon the retina. This focusing ability, referred to as "accommodation," enables imaging of objects at various distances.
The power of the lens in a youthful eye can be adjusted from 15 diopters to about 29 diopters by adjusting the shape of the lens from a moderately convex shape to a highly convex shape. The mechanism generally accepted to cause this adjustment is that ciliary muscles supporting the capsule (and the lens contained therein), move between a relaxed state (corresponding to the moderately convex shape) to a contracted state (corresponding to the highly convex shape). Because the lens itself is composed of viscous, gelatinous transparent fibers, arranged in an "onion-like" layered structure, forces applied to the capsule by the ciliary muscles cause the lens to change shape.
Isolated from the eye, the relaxed capsule and lens take on a spherical shape. Within the eye, however, the capsule is connected around its circumference by approximately 70 tiny ligament fibers to the ciliary muscles, which in turn are attached to an inner surface of the eyeball. The ciliary muscles that support the lens and capsule therefore are believed to act in a sphincter-muscular mode. Accordingly, when the ciliary muscles are relaxed, the capsule and lens are pulled about the circumference to a larger diameter, thereby flattening the lens, whereas when the ciliary muscles are contracted the lens and capsule relax somewhat and assume a smaller diameter that approaches a more spherical shape. This mechanism, called the "ciliary process" increases the diopter power of the lens.
As noted above, the youthful eye has approximately 14 diopters of accommodation. As a person ages, the lens hardens and becomes less elastic, so that by about age 45-50, accommodation is reduced to about 2 diopters. At a later age the lens may be considered to be non-accommodating, a condition known as "presbyopia". Because the imaging distance is fixed, presbyopia typically entails the need for bi-focals to facilitate near and far vision.
Apart from age-related loss of accommodation ability, such loss is innate to the placement of IOLs for the treatment of cataracts. IOLs are generally single element lenses made from a suitable polymer material, such as acrylics or silicones. After placement, accommodation is no longer possible, although this ability is typically already lost for persons receiving an IOL. There is significant need to provide for accommodation in IOL products so that IOL recipients will have accommodating ability.
Although previously known workers in the field of accommodating IOLs have made some progress, the relative complexity of the methods and apparatus developed to date have prevented widespread commercialization of such devices. Previously known these devices have proved too complex to be practical to construct or have achieved only limited success, due to the inability to provide accommodation of more than 1-2 diopters.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,506 to Garabet describes an accommodating fluid-filled lens wherein electrical potentials generated by contraction of the ciliary muscles cause changes in the index of refraction of fluid carried within a central optic portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,031 to Pfoff discloses an IOL with a hard PMMA lens separated by a single chamber from a flexible thin lens layer that uses microfluid pumps to vary a volume of fluid between the PMMA lens portion and the thin layer portion and provide accommodation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,966 to Christie et al. discloses an intraocular lens comprising a thin flexible layer sealed along its periphery to a support layer, wherein forces applied to fluid reservoirs in the haptics vary a volume of fluid between the layers to provide accommodation.
Although fluid-actuated mechanisms such as described in the aforementioned patents have been investigated, accommodating lenses currently nearing commercialization, such as developed by Eyeonics, Inc. (formerly C&C Vision, Inc.) of Aliso Viejo, Calif., rely on ciliary muscle contraction of the IOL haptics to move the optic towards or away from the retina to adjust the focus of the device.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods that restore appropriate optical focusing power action to the human eye.
It further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus wherein a dynamic lens surface may be effectively manipulated by the ciliary muscular mechanisms within the eye.
It still further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus that utilize pressure applied by the accommodating muscular action to obtain a volumetric mechanical advantage in deflecting an optical surface of the IOL. In particular, it would be desirable to provide an IOL in which muscular pressure may be applied through one or more actuators to obtain such volumetric mechanical advantage.

Accommodating intraocular lens system and method


A tracking error signal generation device includes a splitting and convergence section for splitting an optical beam into a main beam and a sub beam; a two-portion main beam detection section for detecting the main beam; a main beam push-pull signal generation section for generating a main beam push-pull signal; a two-portion sub beam detection section for detecting the sub beam; a sub beam push-pull signal generation section for generating a sub beam push-pull signal; a displacement amount detection section for detecting a displacement amount of the main beam push-pull signal from a reference value based on the main beam push-pull signal and the sub beam push-pull signal; and a tracking error signal generation section for generating a tracking error signal by correcting either the main beam push-pull signal or the sub beam push-pull signal based on the displacement amount.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tracking error signal generation device, an optical disc apparatus, a tracking error signal generation method, and a tracking control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been conventionally known to use a tracking error signal generation device for generating a tracking error signal in an optical disc apparatus for recording information on or reproducing information from an optical disc. A tracking error signal is a signal for indicating whether or not a beam is moving along a track provided in an optical disc.
A conventional tracking error signal generation device generates a tracking error signal as follows.
An optical beam emitted by a laser is split into a main beam, a first sub beam and a second sub beam by diffraction grating. The main beam, the first sub beam and the second sub beam are converged onto an optical disc by an objective lens. The main beam, the first sub beam and the second sub beam are reflected by the optical disc, and the reflected main beam, first sub beam and second sub beam are detected by a light detector.
In more detail, the light detector includes a two-portion main beam detector, a two-portion first sub beam detector, and a two-portion second sub beam detector. The two-portion main beam detector detects the main beam and generates a differential signal. The two-portion first sub beam detector detects the first sub beam, and generates a differential signal. The two-portion second sub beam detector detects the second sub beam and generates a differential signal.
A main beam push-pull signal generator generates a main beam push-pull signal based on the differential signal generated by the two-portion main beam detector.
A sub beam push-pull signal generator generates a sub beam push-pull signal based on the differential signal generated by the two-portion first sub beam detector and the differential signal generated by the two-portion second sub beam detector. In more detail, the sub beam push-pull signal generator generates a sub beam push-pull signal by adding the differential signal generated by the two-portion first sub beam detector and the differential signal generated by the two-portion second sub beam detector.
Next, the sub beam push-pull signal is amplified at an appropriate gain ratio as necessary, and the amplified sub beam push-pull signal is subtracted from the main beam push-pull signal. Thus, a tracking error signal is generated.
The conventional tracking error signal generation device generates a tracking error signal in this manner. Accordingly, even if the objective lens is displaced and thus the main beam push-pull signal and the sub beam push-pull signal each obtain a DC offset, the DC offset is deleted from the tracking error signal by subtracting the sub beam push-pull signal from the main beam push-pull signal as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 61-94246.
However, the amplitude of the tracking error signal may undesirably fluctuate.
For example, when an optical disc is eccentrically provided, the amplitude of the tracking error signal is reduced.
When the objective lens is displaced, the main beam push-pull signal is also displaced from the reference value.
Hereinafter, the case where the optical disc is eccentrically provided will be described.
An optical disc, which is rotated by a spindle motor, has a hole at the center thereof to which the spindle motor is attached. The hole is provided such that the center of the hole matches the center of the optical disc, namely, the center of a plurality of tracks formed spirally or concentrically.
However, the center of the optical disc may be undesirably deviated from the center of the hole, in which case the optical disc is rotated eccentrically.
Hereinafter, a tracking error signal when the optical disc is rotated normally, i.e., not eccentrically, will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B. Then, a tracking error signal when the optical disc is rotated eccentrically will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B.
FIG. 9A shows a schematic view illustrating the relationship between the tracks and the scanning direction of a main beam M, a first sub beam S1 and a second sub beam S2 when the optical disc is rotated normally.
The optical disc has tracks concentrically or spirally formed. The tracks are provided such that adjacent tracks are parallel to each other.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the distance between the center of the optical spot formed of the first sub beam S1 and the center of the optical spot formed of the main beam M is ½ of the track pitch. Similarly, the distance between the optical spot formed of the center of the second sub beam S2 and the center of the optical spot formed of the main beam M is ½ of the track pitch.
The first sub beam S1 is directed to a position at the center between the track irradiated by the main beam M and a track which is adjacent and outer to the track.
The second sub beam S2 is directed to a position at the center between the track irradiated by the main beam M and a track which is adjacent and inner to the track.
A center line 900 represents the direction in which the main beam M scans the optical disc. In FIG. 9A, the center line 900 and the tracks are parallel to each other.
FIG. 9B is a waveform diagram illustrating the main beam push-pull signal and the sub beam push-pull signal as the main beam M moves along the tracks in the case where the optical disc is rotated normally.
In FIG. 9B, "Mpp" refers both to a main beam push-pull signal based on the main beam M and an amplitude thereof, "Spp1" refers both to a differential signal generated by the two-portion first sub beam detector and an amplitude thereof, and "Spp2" refers both to a differential signal generated by the two-portion second sub beam detector and an amplitude thereof. Spp1+Spp2 is the sub beam push-pull signal. The horizontal axis represents the position of the main beam M.
A tracking error signal TE is obtained by the following expression.TE=Mpp−K×(Spp1+Spp2)where K is a prescribed constant.
When the optical disc is rotated normally, the phase of the differential signal Spp1 generated by the two-portion first sub beam detector is the same as the phase of the differential signal Spp2 generated by the two-portion second sub beam detector. The two signals are not deviated in phase from each other. In this state, the sub beam push-pull signal, i.e., Spp1+Spp2, has an amplitude of E.
The tracking error signal is generated by multiplying the sub beam push-pull signal by the prescribed constant K and then subtracting the multiplication result from the main beam push-pull signal.
Next, with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B, a tracking error signal when the optical disc is rotated eccentrically will be described.
FIG. 10A shows a schematic view illustrating the relationship between the tracks and the scanning direction of the main beam M, the first sub beam S1 and the second sub beam S2 when the optical disc is rotated eccentrically.
As shown in FIG. 10A, when the optical disc is rotated eccentrically, the first sub beam S1 is deviated from the center between the track irradiated by the main beam M and the track which is adjacent and outer to the track in accordance with the rotating angle of the optical disc. Similarly, the second sub beam S2 is deviated from the center between the track irradiated by the main beam M and the track which is adjacent and inner to the track in accordance with the rotating angle of the optical disc.
In FIG. 10A, a center line 1000 is not parallel to the tracks, and a portion of the first sub beam S1 and a portion of the second sub beam S2 are directed to a track 1001.
FIG. 10B is a waveform diagram illustrating the main beam push-pull signal and the sub beam push-pull signal in the case where the optical disc is rotated eccentrically.
In FIG. 10B, Mpp" refers both to a main beam push-pull signal based on the main beam M and an amplitude thereof, "Spp1" refers both to a differential signal generated by the two-portion first sub beam detector and an amplitude thereof, and "Spp2" refers both to a differential signal generated by the two-portion second sub beam detector and an amplitude thereof. Spp1+Spp2 is the sub beam push-pull signal. The horizontal axis represents the position of the main beam M.
In the case where a portion of the first sub beam S1 and a portion of the second sub beam S2 are directed to a track 1001 as shown in FIG. 10A, the phase of the differential signal Spp1 is deviated with respect to the phase of the differential signal Spp2 as shown in FIG. 10B.
Here also, a tracking error signal TE is obtained by the following expression.TE=Mpp−K×(Spp1+Spp2),where K is a prescribed constant.
When the optical disc is rotated eccentrically, the phase of the differential signal Spp1 is deviated with respect to the phase of the differential signal Spp2. Accordingly, where the amplitude of the sub beam push-pull signal, i.e., Spp1+Spp2, is R, the amplitude R is smaller than the amplitude E of the sub beam push-pull signal described-above with reference to FIG. 9B.
As described above, a tracking error signal is generated by multiplying the sub beam push-pull signal by the prescribed constant K and then subtracting the multiplication result from the main beam push-pull signal. Therefore, when the amplitude of the sub beam push-pull signal is smaller, an appropriate tracking error signal cannot be generated.
When the amplitude of the sub beam push-pull signal is reduced, the open loop gain of the tracking control system is reduced, which makes the tracking control system unstable.
The conventional tracking error signal generation device has the following problem in addition to the problem that the amplitude of the tracking error signal fluctuates.
Recently, it has been desired to increase the memory capacity of optical discs. In order to meet this desire, it has been proposed to provide an optical disc with a plurality of information faces. In such an optical disc, information can be recorded on or reproduced from the plurality of information faces by directing an optical beam from a prescribed direction.
When the information recorded on a prescribed information face is reproduced, focusing control is performed such that the optical beam is converged onto the prescribed information face. Tracking control is performed such that the optical beam moves along the tracks of the prescribed information face.
While the information recorded on the prescribed information face is reproduced, an optical beam passing through the prescribed information face may be undesirably reflected by an information face different from the prescribed information face and is incident on the light detector.
Generally in a tracking error signal generation device, a light amount of a sub beam is about 1/10 of the a light amount of a main beam. A light amount of the sub beam reflected by a prescribed information face is smaller than a light amount of the main beam reflected by the prescribed information face. Therefore, when a main beam passing through the prescribed information face is reflected by an information face different from the prescribed information face and is incident on the light detector, the light amount thereof which is incident on the two-portion first sub beam light detector and the two-portion second sub beam light detector is not negligible.
The light amount of the main beam which is incident on the two-portion first sub beam light detector and the two-portion second sub beam light detector varies in accordance with, for example, the distance between the prescribed information face and the different information face being changed. The distance between a track or portions thereof of the prescribed information face and the corresponding track or portions thereof of the different information face of the optical disc varies. Therefore, while the optical disc is rotating, the light amount of the main beam reflected by the different information face changes by a cycle of several hundred hertz.
A portion of the main beam reflected by the different information face acts as an external disturbance to the sub beam push-pull signal, resulting in the tracking error signal including an offset component. Therefore, the tracking cannot be appropriately controlled, which may undesirably deteriorate the recording and/or reproduction quality.

Tracking error signal generation device, optical disc apparatus, tracking error signal generation method and tracking control method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method of applying a skin peel formulation or product that includes providing a skin peel formulation or product containing at least 10% of the total weight of the skin peel formulation or product being vitamin A. Also provided is vitamin C present in at least 20% of the total weight of the skin peel formulation or product, wherein the vitamin C is in oil soluble form. The skin peel formulation is applied to a region of the body without any acid pre-treatments. After application of the skin peel formulation the user waits at least 25 days before reapplying the skin peel formulation again.

There are currently several skin peel formulations or products out on the market today. Most formulations use acids that are used to exfoliate or "peel" the skin layers away. The active ingredient used in such formulations can take many forms including phenolic acid, lactic acid, glycolic acid, mandelic acid, salicylic acid and an acid form of vitamin A called retinol. Typical skin peel formulations using retinol are used daily and exfoliate the outer layers of the skin over a long period of time. The retinol content of these formulations is often quite low in a range of 1% to 5% of the total volume of the formulation. The low percentage of vitamin A is necessary to make the product suitable for daily use and also to prevent unwanted irritation of the skin that occurs when greater percentages of vitamin A are present. While vitamin A is a desirable for use in skin peel formulations, use in greater percentage has resulted in unwanted or painful exfoliation of the skin. Where formulations having greater percentages of vitamin A are used, they typically are not single use applications and are used in connection with other skin peel formulations.
It is an object of the invention to provide a formulation that is designed for monthly use, that will effectively exfoliate the skin. It is further desirable to provide a formulation that will protect the skin from too much irritation during the exfoliation process. It is further desirable to provide a skin peel formulation that acts faster than that of known skin peel formulations, reduces pain and discomfort, but can be applied without any pre-treatments apart from water.

Face peel formulation and method of application


A fishing tackle box is disclosed having an insulated, substantially cylindrical main container provided with a ventilated well for accommodating a bait bucket. A plurality of substantially cylindrical tackle trays are mounted to the upper portion of the main container and provided with a water-tight seal to prevent contamination of the tray contents from spillage from the bait bucket. A substantially cylindrical seat lid is mounted to the upper portion of the uppermost tackle tray.

Heretofore a great variety of tackle boxes have been available to the sport fisherman. These boxes have used segmented trays for holding hooks, lures, weights, knives, extra fishing line and the myriad implements that the sport fisherman at one time or another may find useful in landing his elusive quarry. While much thought and effort has been expended in enabling the fisherman to organize and obtain easy access to his equipment, scant consideration has been paid to thoughts of the fisherman's own comfort after arriving at the scene of action. Whether in a boat or on shore after standing a while it would be nice to sit down. Most tackle boxes make very uncomfortable seats. One exception perhaps is the fishing box disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,182 issued Oct. 12, 1982 to Junkas, et al. This box incorporates a number of built-in features including life-preserver, fishing rod carrier, bait compartment and fish compartment. While the tackle box of the foregoing patent appears to be roomy and may even provided a comfortable seat, its considerable bulk may be a drawback to some fisherman.


The disclosed portable terminal device is provided with: a first display unit (20A) having a first display screen (21A); a second display unit (20B) having a second display screen (21B) juxtaposed to the first display screen (21A); an enlargement frame display control unit that controls the first display screen (21A) in a manner so as to display a frame to be enlarged on one of a plurality of areas within the first display screen (21A); an enlarged information display control unit that controls the second display screen (21B) in a manner so as to display in an enlarged manner on the second display screen (21B) information from the first display screen (21A) displayed within the enlargement frame; and a plurality of area selection keys disposed corresponding to the plurality of areas of the first display screen (21A).

In a conventional portable terminal device, from the aspect of usage of the device, portability was considered to be the most important, and so as a necessity, the display has been designed to be more compact. However, depending on the information to be displayed, a small screen may be very difficult for users having reduced vision or for elderly users to see. Therefore, in order for such users to be able to view the displayed information, the user typically has to use glasses or a magnifying glass. In order to improve this situation, technology for enlarging the displayed information on a portable terminal device has been disclosed, such as described below.
In the case of the portable terminal device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, when a cursor is placed on a menu or image that is being displayed, the location being focused on is enlarged, and when compared with the information before being focused on, the information is displayed in more detail. In the case of the portable terminal device disclosed in Patent Literature 2, a few characteristic coordinates of the displayed information, such as the contrast of the data, are taken, and based on these, the range to be enlarged is automatically extracted, enlarged and displayed in a partitioned display area on the same display screen. In the case of the portable terminal device disclosed in Patent Literature 3, a touch panel is used on the display screen, and the displayed information that is located inside the area to be enlarged that corresponds to the coordinates touched by the user is enlarged and displayed in another area on the same screen. When doing this, operability is improved by setting which hand is the user's dominant hand. Moreover, control is performed in order that overlapping of the area to be enlarged or the enlarged display area, which is caused by movement of the touched area, can be avoided. Furthermore, by assigning an order of display priority for the enlarged screen display area, the enlarged display area is located in an area where there is a smaller amount of information, and where displaying the enlarged display area will not be a problem.

Portable terminal device having an enlarged-display function, method for controlling enlarged display, and computer-read-enabled recording medium


An apparatus and method for measuring impedance of a fuel cell stack capable of accurately measuring the impedance even when a DC current of the fuel cell stack is changed depending on fluctuation of a load, by compensating for an AC voltage (or AC current) used to measure the impedance of the fuel cell stack based on a DC current of the fuel cell stack.

A fuel cell is a kind of power generation device which converts chemical energy. In fuel into electrical energy by an electrochemical reaction within a fuel cell stack without converting the chemical energy to heat by combustion. This type of power generation device may be used not only to supply power for an industry, a household, and vehicle driving but also to supply power to small electric/electronic products, in particular, portable devices.
Currently, as a power supply source for driving a vehicle, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) having the highest power density among the fuel cells have been most researched, because these cell types have a rapid starting time and a rapid power conversion reaction time due to a low operating temperature.
The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is configured to include a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in which catalytic electrode layers where the electrochemical reaction is generated are attached to both sides of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane in which protons move, a gas diffusion layer (GDL) which serves to uniformly distribute reaction gases and transfer generated electrical energy, a gasket and a fastener which maintain air tightness and proper fastening pressure of the reaction gases and cooling water, and a bipolar plate which moves the reaction gases and the cooling water.
In assembling the fuel cell stack using such unit cell components, a combination of the membrane electrode assembly and the gas diffusion layer which are main components is positioned at the innermost portion of the cell. Here, the membrane electrode assembly is provided with the catalytic electrode layers, i.e., an anode and a cathode which are applied with a catalyst to provide a reaction of hydrogen and oxygen at both surfaces of the polymer electrolyte membrane, and an outer portion where the anode and the cathode are positioned is stacked with the gas diffusion layer, a gasket, and the like.
An outer portion of the gas diffusion layer is supplied with reaction gas (hydrogen which is fuel and oxygen or air which is an oxidizer) and is provided with a bipolar plate formed with a flow field through which cooling water passes.
A plurality of unit cells are stacked by setting the configuration as a unit cell, and then the outermost portion thereof is coupled with a current collector, an insulating plate, and an end plate for supporting the stacked cells. The unit cells between the end plates are repeatedly stacked and fastened, thereby configuring the fuel cell stack.
To obtain necessary potential in a vehicle, the unit cells need to be stacked as much as necessary. Since potential generated from one unit cell is about 1.3 V, a plurality of cells are stacked in series to produce power required to drive a vehicle.
In a fuel cell vehicle, the impedance of the fuel cell stack is used to measure an AC voltage of the stack.
The typical apparatus for measuring impedance of a fuel cell stack applies an alternating current (AC) (e.g., sinewave) to a fuel cell stack and then measures an AC voltage of the fuel cell stack and uses the measured AC voltage and AC to measure the impedance of the fuel cell stack.
The typical apparatus for measuring impedance of the fuel cell stack measures the impedance of a fuel cell stack while ignoring the fact that the impedance of the fuel cell stack changes when the DC current of the fuel cell stack chances depending on fluctuation of a load.

Apparatus and method for measuring impedance of fuel cell stack


An apparatus for and method of providing user exits, including dynamic installation of associated software, within the kernel portion of an operating system. An initializer replaces existing system call pointers, in the system services table located in the kernel portion of an operating system, with new pointers to user supplied code. System calls that are hooked, when issued by a user application, are intercepted by a kernel level intercepter which generates a query to a database interface. The database interface sends database requests based on the received query to a database engine. A database manager allows a user to add, delete, edit, etc. records in a database included in the database engine. A method of dynamically inserting user supplied code into the kernel space of an operating system is also disclosed. A communications channel is opened and its associated buffer location is found. A bootstrap loader module is then written into the communications channel buffer. The installed bootstrap loader code calls a kernel level memory allocation system call which allocates a memory buffer in kernel memory. User supplied code, for establishing user exits, is written into the kernel memory buffer. Pointers in the system services table are modified to point to the newly allocated kernel memory buffer.

Many operating systems (OS) today do not include a built in mechanism, called user exits, to divert program control from the operating system or related services to user supplied functions. In many programming instances it is desirable to divert or intercept system calls, issued from a user application, and execute user supplied code instead. The code supplied by the user might bypass the entire original system function call or it might perform a function in conjunction with the original system function call. One application of such a system might include a security system whereby operating system calls issued by a user application are not permitted to execute unless the calling process has the requisite authority or privileges. Another application of this system of providing user exits might include a system profiler whereby any or all operating system calls issued by an application are tracked and used to generate statistics about the behavior of the user application. Yet another application of the system is a system used for enhancing operating system services where it is not desired to permanently modify the internal kernel functions built into the operating system.
User exits are used extensively on mainframe computers. They provide a mechanism to allow a system routine to be executed when a rug program arrives at certain points. The system routine, however, might contain code supplied by the user for performing a particular function. For example, user supplied system code might function to determine whether a process should be granted or denied permission to use certain system services or resources. The security example presented above is similar in that user exits are employed to deny or allow user applications access to system services such as communications channels, access to devices or other system resources.
Implicit in the concept of providing user exits on an operating system platform, is that the supplied user exit code itself is able to be inserted and installed within the operating system where it can be accessed. Some operating systems provide the capability of inserting user supplied code into kernel space. Kernel space refers to the area of memory that contains the core operating system software including associated system calls and various data structures needed to manage and operate the computer platform on which the operating system is installed. Other operating systems, however, do not provide a capability of inserting user code into kernel space.

Apparatus for and method of providing user exits on an operating system platform


The present invention is a wall lift which includes a base, lifting arm, wall attachment bracket and at least one safety strap as the main components. Each main component includes its own individual components which aid in the operation of the wall lift. The wall lift raises a prefabricated wall by lifting at a top of the wall so that the wall rotates about a bottom of the wall. The lifting arm is rotatably attached to the base. The lifting arm includes a motor and starts in a vertical position. The motor includes a cable attached to a wall movement unit. The wall movement unit attaches to the top of the wall and is also slidably attached to the lifting arm. The lifting arm rotates in the direction that the wall is being lifted as the motor retracts the cable. The cable pulls the wall movement unit towards a top of the lifting arm during retraction. The wall is lifted due to its attachment to the wall movement unit as the wall movement unit is pulled by the cable.

For the construction of buildings, especially housing, contractors employ the prefabrication of walls at the site. This includes the mounting of the first layer of exterior surface to the wall, which is usually plywood or particle board. The walls are built in a horizontal plane or flat position on a level surface. The level surface is usually the subfloor of the building to which the bottom of the wall will be mounted. This technique is employed due to the ease of assembling the components of the wall. The wall is maintained in a squared orientation due to the mounting of the exterior surface, which retains the position of all four corners of the wall. Once fabricated, the wall is lifted at the top of the wall and rotated about the bottom of the wall into an upright position on the subfloor by workmen on the job. The wall is then secured to the subfloor and any other walls as called for in the construction plans. The problem arises in that the walls are heavy due to length, addition of the exterior surface and any insulation between the wall and exterior surface. The increased weight requires more workmen then normally staffed by the contractor to lift the wall without risk of injury. The lack of staffing of workmen is due to the fact that there would be no work for the extra workmen except for the lifting of the walls. The contractor tends to incur costs for injury claims from workmen hurt during the lifting of walls. Most of the reported injuries are to the workmen's back, which can be quite costly to the contractor. Therefore, it would be advantageous for the contractor to remove the workmen from the physical labor of lifting walls, whenever possible.
There are various devices on the market to aid in the lifting of a wall during the erection of a building. Some of these devices employ some sort of power to lift the wall. The powered devices tend to be cumbersome to transport and setup. This adds to the cost of construction due to the additional time needed to transport and setup. The non-powered devices are simpler to use, but still require manual force by workmen to lift the wall. Therefore, the use of the non-powered device does not remove workmen from potential injury when lifting the wall. What is required in the construction industry is a wall lifting device which is easy to transport, easy to setup, simple to operate, and removes the workmen from physically lifting the wall.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wall lift which removes workmen from physically lifting the wall.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wall lift which is easy to transport, easy to setup and simple to operate.


Transmission in DCS1800, PCS1900, and WCDMA1900 is performed by a common second RE power amplifier. In DCS1800 and DCS1900, transmission power is set in a high transmission power mode at 33 dBm by a high-gain input amplifier to activate an internal voltage follower of a bias circuit, and in WCDMA1900, in a low transmission power mode at 28 to 29 dBm by a low-gain input amplifier to inactivate the voltage follower. Switching of the high and low transmission power modes and controlling the voltage follower are performed according to a mode signal. In an RF power amplifier module that transmits frequencies of GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900, and WCDMA1900, it is possible to reduce the number of power amplifiers and, for ramp-up and ramp-down of the GSM standard, to perform high-speed control of an input bias voltage and reduce noise of a transmission power of a wideband WCDMA.

An ability of communication terminal equipment such as a cellular phone terminal for performing communication by radio anywhere in the world, i.e., ubiquitous coverage, is not realistic today but is now under development.
According to Earl McCune, "High-Efficiency, Multi-Mode, Multi-Band Terminal Power Amplifiers", IEEE microwave magazine, March 2005, PP. 44 to 55, these mobile systems include cellulars of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution; Enhanced Data for GPRS), and WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), networks such as IEEE 803.11-b, -a, -g, and the like, and personal area networks such as Bluetooth and ZigBee. Characteristics of these systems cover a wide range of combinations of signals of a fixed envelope and an envelope change, multiplexes of time division and code division, and a transmission power ranging from high (several watts) to low (microwatts). As a result, there are increasing demands for RF power amplifiers applicable to a multimode.
On the other hand, in Shuyun Zhang et al, "A Novel Power-Amplifier Module for Quad-Band Wireless Handset Applications", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 52, No. 11, NOVEMBER 2003, PP. 2203 TO 2210, an RF power amplifier module that transmits a quad-band including frequency bands of GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, and PCS1900 is described. DCS is the abbreviation of Digital Cellular System and PCS is the abbreviation of Personal Communication System. This RF power amplifier module includes a first power amplifier that amplifies a first RF transmission input signal having a first frequency band of GSM850 and GSM900 and a second power amplifier that amplifies a second RF transmission input signal having a second frequency band of DCS1800 and PCS1900.
In the communication in GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, and PCS1900, the TDMA system that is capable of setting each of plural time slots in any one of an idle state, an operation for reception from a base station, and an operation for transmission to the base station in a time division manner is adopted. TDMA is the abbreviation of Time-Division Multiple Access. As one type of the TDMA system, the GSM system is known in which only the phase modulation is used. A system for improving a communication data transfer rate compared with the GSM system is also known. As this improved system, an EDGE system in which the amplitude modulation is used together with the phase modulation also attracts attention recently.
The WCDMA system in which a communication data transfer rate is improved by using the amplitude modulation together with the phase modulation as in the EDGE system also attracts attention. In this WCDMA system, rather than the TDMA system, the frequency division CDMA system in which a frequency of 2110 MHz to 2170 MHz is used for an operation for reception from a base station and, on the other hand, a frequency of 1920 MHz to 1980 MHz is used for an operation for transmission to the base station is adopted. CDMA is the abbreviation of Code Division Multiple Access.
In Gary Hau et al, "High Efficiency, Wide Dynamic Range Variable Gain and Power Amplifier MMICs for Wide-Band CDMA Handsets", IEEE MICROWAVE AND WIRELESS COMPONENTS LETTERS, VOL. 11, No. 1, JANUARY 2001, PP. 13 to 15, since a wide control range and high linearity are required in power control of an RF power amplifier of the WCDMA system, a variable gain amplifier formed by a variable attenuator is connected to an input of the RF power amplifier.
In JP-A-2001-168647, in order to cause an RF power amplifier to cope with a maximum power of 36 dBm of GSM (a nonlinear operation) and a maximum power of 29 dBm of EDGE (a linear operation), a gain control voltage is applied to a first gain close to a drain of a dual-gate field effect transistor and a bias voltage, which is obtained by dividing the gain control voltage with a voltage divider controlled by a mode switch, and an RF input signal are applied to a second gate close to a source. In a mode of GSM of the nonlinear operation, the mode switch is controlled to be on and a shallow bias voltage generated by the divided bias voltage is applied to the second gate. In a mode of EDGE of the nonlinear operation, the mode switch is controlled to be off and a deep bias voltage generated by the gain control voltage not divided is applied to the second gate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,639 corresponds to this patent document.
In Elliot R. Brown, "RF-MEMS Switches for Reconfigurable Integrated Circuits", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES, VOL. 46, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 1998, PP. 1868 to 1880 (hereinafter referred to as Non-Patent Document 4), an RF-MEMS switch based on MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) is introduced. It is reported that this switch shows an excellent high-frequency characteristic and is designed and manufactured by a technique similar to VLSI.


A subject component removed signal is obtained from an image signal representing an image by performing, with respect to a first direction and/or a second direction that is different from the first direction, one-dimensional filtering processing using a subject component removal filter that removes a low frequency component including a subject component of the image to roughly remove the subject component. Further, frequency components corresponding to the periodic pattern in the subject component removed signal are detected with respect to both of the first direction and the second direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, method and program that suppresses a spatial frequency component corresponding a periodic pattern in an image signal. In particular, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, method and program that suppresses a periodic pattern in a radiographic image caused by a grid used in radiography.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, storable phosphors (photostimulable phosphors) have been used. When a storable phosphor is irradiated with radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, an electron beam, ultraviolet rays or the like), apart of radiation energy is stored in the storable phosphor. After then, when excitation light, such as visible light and a laser beam, is output to the storable phosphor, the storable phosphor emits photoluminescence corresponding to the radiation energy stored therein. For example, a radiographic image readout apparatus using the storable phosphor is widely used in CR (Computed Radiography). A storable phosphor sheet, in which the storable phosphor is deposited on a substrate, is irradiated with radiation that has passed through a subject, such as a human body, and radiographic information is temporarily stored and recorded on the storable phosphor sheet. Excitation light, such as a laser beam, is output to the storable phosphor sheet to induce photoluminescence. Further, photoelectric conversion is performed on the photoluminescence to obtain an image signal.
Here, when a radiographic image of a subject is imaged and recorded on the storable phosphor sheet or the like, imaging is performed by placing a grid between the subject and the sheet in some cases so that radiation scattered by the subject does not irradiate the sheet. In the grid, lead or the like, which does not pass radiation therethrough, and aluminum, wood or the like, which tends to pass radiation therethrough, are alternately arranged at a narrow pitch of 4 line/mm. When radiography is performed by using the grid, radiation scattered by the subject does not tend to irradiate the sheet. Therefore, it is possible to improve the contrast of the radiographic image of the subject. However, when the size of the image including this grid image is enlarged or reduced, aliasing due to folding occurs depending on the magnification or reduction ratio. Further, when aliasing overlaps with the spatial frequency of the grid image or the like, a narrow stripe pattern (moire) is generated, and observation of a regenerated image becomes difficult. Therefore, there is a demand for a method for detecting the direction of a periodic pattern, such as a grid image and a moire, and a spatial frequency component corresponding to the periodic pattern, and removing the spatial frequency component corresponding to the periodic pattern in the detected direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,818 (Patent Document 1) discloses, as a method for removing such a periodic pattern from an image, a method in which filtering is performed in two directions of a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of the image by a high-pass filter, and variance values of the result of filtering are calculated with respect to the two directions of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and a direction in which a grid image is present is detected based on the ratio of the variance values.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-233818 (Patent Document 2) discloses a method in which peaks of frequency patterns are detected with respect to a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. When the peaks of the frequency patterns have been detected in both of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, a direction in which the magnitude of the peak is greater than a predetermined threshold is judged as the direction of a grid image.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 8,097,839 (Patent Document 3) discloses an image processing method. In the method, two-dimensional Fourier transformation is performed on image data to detect a spatial frequency component corresponding to a periodic pattern. Further, filtering is performed by using a filter that removes only the detected spatial frequency component.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method and image processing program


A lighter weight, more flexible coaxial welding cable assembly, and a system and method for constructing same. An embodiment of the coaxial welding cable assembly comprises a central electrical conductor length having a first cross-sectional area and a first insulating jacket surrounding the central electrical conductor length. The coaxial welding cable assembly also includes a plurality of peripheral electrical conductor lengths surrounding the insulated central electrical conductor length, where a total cross-sectional area of the plurality of peripheral electrical conductor lengths is approximately the same as the first cross-sectional area of the central electrical conductor length. The central electrical conductor length is electrically insulated from the plurality of peripheral electrical conductor lengths only by the first electrically insulating jacket. A second electrically insulating jacket surrounds the plurality of peripheral electrical conductor lengths to contain the insulated central electrical conductor length and the plurality of peripheral electrical conductor lengths.

There are many types of welding systems used for a variety of applications. Typical prior art welding systems include a power supply, such as phase control, inverter and converter based power supplies, and a controller that controls the output of the power supply. Welding systems reside at the core of the modern industrial age. From massive automated automobile assembly operations to manual, portable environments, these systems facilitate joining in ever more complicated manufacturing operations.
One such example of a welding system includes an electric arc welding system. Such a system may involve movement of a consumable electrode, for example, toward a work-piece while current is passed through the electrode and across an arc developed between the electrode and the work-piece. The electrode may be a non-consumable or consumable type, wherein portions of the electrode may be melted and deposited on the work-piece.
In certain arc welding applications, a supply of welding wire is typically pulled from a drum by a wire feeder and pushed through a welding cable and then through a welding gun which is movable along a work-piece. The welding gun typically includes a tubular contact tip allowing a welding current to be conducted to the wire moving through a wire receiving passage in the contact tip so the current between the wire and work-piece melts the wire for deposition of the metal onto the work-piece.
In electric arc welding technology, a power source passes a current between an electrode and a work-piece. Often, the electrode is a continuous welding wire drawn from a supply of welding wire, such as a drum or reel, and passed through a contact tip on its way to being melted and deposited onto the work-piece. In such a welding procedure, the power source of the welder includes a first stud connected to the electrode, usually through the contact tip, and a second stud connected to the work-piece. Connections are by welding cables, which cables may be quite long and include a variety of impedance variables, such as inductive reactance based upon length, position, and shape of the cables.
When performing a welding process, the power supply receives a current command to create a particular pulse wave between the electrode and work-piece. Such a welder must accurately control the pulse shape or waveform by controlling the voltage to a pulse width modulator operated at a frequency typically exceeding about 20 Khz. To assure the desired welding operation constituting specific waveforms between the electrode and work-piece, the command signal is created based upon a feedback from the actual welding operation. The feedback typically involves the arc current and/or arc voltage.
To control the welding process, welding power sources that provide waveform control have been developed. These power sources deliver a series of selectively shaped electrical power waveforms to the weld. The power waveform is optimized for a selected arc welding process, weld metal, wire feed speed, and weld joint.
Prior art controllers use a number of feedback parameters, including output current and output voltage. When output voltage is the feedback parameter, it is known in the prior art to feedback either power supply voltage or voltage from sense leads connected to the work-piece or bench, and the wire feed motor. Power supply voltage, as used herein, includes output voltage in or near the power supply, such as on the output studs. Voltage sense lead, as used herein, includes one or more leads used to sense output voltage remotely from the power supply, such as at the work-piece and/or the wire feeder.
The power supply voltage may differ from a sense lead voltage because of losses in the welding cable. Often, the power supply voltage is sufficient to control the power supply. Other times a more accurate voltage feedback is desired, and sense leads are used.
Sense leads typically connect to a specially designated sensor on the welding power supply. The negative voltage sense lead is typically clamped or clipped onto the work-piece or workbench, and the positive voltage sense lead is typically connected to the wire feed motor. The sense leads often lay on the ground between the welding power supply and the work-piece. Certain non-commercial prior art welding systems use a separate arc voltage sense wire that is clipped to a point near the welding electrode to more accurately measure arc voltage. Prior art commercial systems use a similar work-piece sense lead which is clipped to the work-piece.
Typically, to assure an accurate feedback of arc voltage, it is common practice to use remote voltage sensing leads directed from the controller of the power source to the electrode or contact tip and the work-piece. The voltage of these leads determines the command signal to the power source from the controller.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a cross-sectional view of a coaxial welding cable assembly 100, in accordance with the prior art. Such a coaxial welding cable may be connected between a power source of a welding system and an electrode (or wirefeeder) and work-piece as described above.
The cable assembly 100 includes a central electrical conductor 110 having an outer, electrically insulating layer 115. Positioned around the insulated central conductor 110, 115 is a plurality of peripheral electrical conductors 120, each having an outer electrically insulating layer 125. The entire assembly is then wrapped in an electrically insulating jacket 130. Such a cable assembly, as constructed for welding applications, is typically heavy and stiff because of the multiple conductors and associated multiple layers of insulating material.
Therefore, there remains a need in the art for reducing the weight and increasing the flexibility of such coaxial welding cables.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.


A spacecraft avionics module in which integrated circuit chip packages or chips are mounted in direct contact with the surface of a radiator panel, to enhance dissipation of heat from the integrated circuit and to allow electronics to be packed more densely while still dissipating sufficient heat to allow the electronics to operate at a desirable temperature. Conduction of heat from the electronics to the radiator panel is further enhanced by the use of a thermally conductive adhesive disposed between the integrated circuit chip packages or chips and the radiator panel, which may include heatpipes for more uniform heat distribution across the panel.

This invention relates generally to electronics packaging and cooling techniques and, more particularly, to techniques for cooling integrated circuits in a space environment. There is a trend in the design of electronics for spacecraft toward more densely packed circuits, both at a component level and a chip level. This leads to an increase in power density and a high heat dissipation requirement. Cooling in a space environment must rely on conduction and radiation of heat from the packages, so many of the normal packaging techniques employing natural or forced convection do not work. In the past, spacecraft have simply used lower power densities. Complicated systems using pumped coolant have been proposed, but additional difficulties are likely to be introduced whenever anything other than passive cooling is used. Accordingly, there is still a need for a simpler solution to the cooling problems associated with high power density electronics in spacecraft. The present invention satisfies this need.

Electronics cooling technique for spacecraft modules


A winch powered tire bead breaker has a static support arm for temporarily mounting the bead breaker to a vehicle mountable winch and bracing there against. The bead breaker further has a moveable arm that is pivotally connected to the static support arm which is moveable relative to the static support arm. A working end of the winch can be releasably secured to the moveable arm and the winch actuated for moving the moveable arm from an open position to its closed position. The sidewalls of a wheel mounted tire, positioned between the moveable and static support arms, are squeezed as the moveable arm is actuated into its closed position for breaking a tire bead.

Removal of a tire which is seated on a rim of a wheel is a difficult task without the use of specialized equipment. Probably the most difficult step in the process is the first step which is "breaking the bead" or unseating the tire from the rim of the wheel.
Commonly, a wheel-mounted tire that needs replacing is brought into a workshop and is placed on a bead-breaking apparatus. Such bead-breaking apparatus would then apply a pressure on one side of the tire to break the tire bead on that side, and then the tire is rotated or flipped over and the process repeated to break the bead on the other side, thus allowing removal of the tire from the wheel.
However, many ranchers, farmers, and outdoor enthusiasts may come across situations where they are in a remote geographic location and require the changing out a tire on a wheel. In such circumstances, and without a workshop with the proper equipment readily or conveniently nearby, portable tire bead-breaking apparatus have been useful.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,267 to Warren discloses a tire bead breaker having an elongate bar with two opposing ends, each opposing end having a pad to engage a sidewall of a tire. A central rod, sufficiently long enough to pass through the elongate bar and through the central portion of a wheel, is threadably adapted to receive a locking plate at one end. In operation, the elongate bar is placed over a tire, the central rod placed through the bar and the wheel, and the locking plate is threadably secured to the central rod. Then an operator can manually turn the central rod to cause the locking plate to travel towards the elongate bar, causing a pressure to be applied to the sidewalls engaging the two opposing pads, and thereby break the bead.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,137 to Curtis discloses a tire bead breaker that uses a lever to apply pressure on the sidewalls of a tire to break a tire bead. Curtis' tire bead breaker includes an elongate support having a lever arm at one end. The elongate support is positionable across the diameter of the tire and actuation of the lever arm applies a pressure on the elongate support for breaking the tire bead.
Australian Published Patent Application 1988015187 to Jakens discloses a lever actuated tire bead breaker that is mountable to a trailer hitch on a vehicle.
US Published Patent Serial No. US 2004/0140059 to Wagner teaches a portable tire bead breaker that uses pneumatic power for breaking a tire bead. Wagner's bead breaker has an H-shaped frame having a hinge in the crossing member. An inflatable air bag is positioned within the H-shaped frame at one end, and a tire is positioned at the opposing end of the frame. With the tire in position, the air bag is inflated, causing the opposing end of the H-shaped frame to squeeze the tire therein and break the bead. Wagner's portable tire bead breaker requires a source of pneumatic power to inflate the air bag sufficiently enough to break the tire bead, which may not be readily available in remote locations.