A method, system and apparatus are described. The apparatus includes a first device to adjust a polarity associated with a thermoelectric (TEC) module. The adjustment is to control the flow of heat. The flow of heat is directed toward a thermal interface material (TIM) in order to melt the TIM up to an acceptable melt level. The apparatus further includes a second device to determine whether the TIM has melted up to the acceptable melt level. The apparatus includes an application device to apply the TIM to a heat sink if the TIM is melted has melted up to the acceptable melt level.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to heat transfer assembly, and more particularly to application and removal of thermal interface material (TIM).
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuit (IC) devices and other electronic components are becoming increasingly faster, smaller, and thinner. Today's IC devices also come with added functionalities and capabilities, resulting in generating greater amounts of heat from the IC devices. As a result, IC packages are also getting smaller and are producing greater amounts of heat. The combination of producing greater heat and consuming greater resources, such as current, often results in lower reliability of the IC devices as maintaining the ideal temperature range becomes increasingly difficult. Furthermore, large amounts of heat produced by increasing number of electronic components, such as IC devices, may potentially damage individual electronic components, the IC package, and the equipment. Thus, many attempts have been made to improve the IC package so as to efficiently dissipate excessive heat.
Heat transfer mechanisms available today provide solutions by, for example, restricting the operation of IC devices to lower power levels, lower data rates, and/or lower operating frequencies. Conventional heat transfer mechanisms also have limited heat transfer capabilities due to size, location, and thermal limitations. Lacking an efficient heat transfer mechanism, the speed and power capabilities of the IC device and other electronic components may be severely limited.
Most heat transfer mechanisms employ heat transfer devices, such as heat sinks, to efficiently dissipate excessive heat. A heat sink is typically used as a conductor to dissipate excessive heat to prevent the IC device, and other heat generating electronic components, from overheating. The heat sink may be placed above the IC device with a thermal gap in between the heat sink and the IC device. The thermal gap may be filled with a TIM, such as grease, to provide the thermal conduction path between the heat sink and the IC device to improve heat transfer and dissipation.
A conventional TIM may include a gel, grease, or polymer-like material. However, the performance and reliability of the conventional TIM is typically not very good because of, for example, inherently low thermal conductivity. None of the conventional methods, apparatus, and systems provide for using a TIM that provides better reliability, performance, and thermal conductivity than the conventional TIM.
Furthermore, conventional methods, apparatus, and systems do not related to providing solutions for the application and removal of the TIM that may require a phase change when introduced to and removed from the heat sink. Conventional methods and apparatus are limited to reducing the current TIM thermal resistance, and requiring very high pressure to be applied on the IC package. The application of such high pressure negatively affects the reliability of the IC package and the TIM, resulting in lack of re-workability of the TIM, higher TIM resistance, and decreased TIM reliability.

Application and removal of thermal interface material


A handy type bar code reader for reading bar codes, including within a body case an LED base for radiating light used for reading bar codes; a condenser lens for condensing the light radiated from the LED base and conducting the condensed light to the bar codes; a focusing optical system for focusing a bar code image based on the light reflected from the bar codes in a predetermined read position, the focusing optical system comprising a reflecting mirror and a focusing lens; and an image sensor for reading the focused bar code image. The LED base and a condenser lens are held within the body case in a non-fixed state with respect to the body case.

The present invention relates to a handy type bar code reader comprising light radiating means for radiating light used for reading bar codes, a condenser lens for condensing the radiated light and conducting condensed light to bar codes, optical means for focusing a reflected light from the bar codes as an image in a predetermined read position, and read means for reading information from the focused image, all of the means and condenser lens being disposed within a body case in a predetermined relation of arrangement.
In a conventional handy type bar code reader, as shown in FIG. 5, an LED base A for the radiation of light and a condenser lens B are fixed rigidly to a body case F in proximity to a light radiation window E using a mounting steel stay C and machine screws D.
The body case F, usually formed of ABS resin or the like, is sometimes distorted physically under an external impart applied thereto upon dropping for example. In the event of such dropping, since a cable is present on the grip portion side, the light radiation window E side strikes against the floor in many cases. Moreover, while the handy type bar code reader is in use, the light radiation window E or the vicinity thereof is struck against a commodity or a work table in many cases. The light radiation window E and the vicinity thereof are not very rigid or sturdy because a large space for receiving reflected light from a bar code label is formed therein.
Therefore, the light radiation window E and the vicinity thereof in the body case F are sometimes distorted under impact caused by such dropping or striking. This distortion directly acts on the mounting stay C which is in a rigid relation to the body case F. This in turn causes deformation of the stay, and also acts as a direct deforming force on the LED base A and the condenser lens B which are in a rigid relation to the mounting stay C, thus causing damage of the base and the lens such as disengagement, bending or cracking. As a result, there arises such a problem as the deterioration of the reading performance or the impossibility of reading.

Handy type bar code reader with a protective component holder


A semiconductor device structure, along with methods of forming such, are described. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device structure is provided. The semiconductor device structure a first source/drain region, a second source/drain region, and a gate stack disposed between the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region. The semiconductor device structure also includes a conductive feature disposed below the first source/drain region. The semiconductor device structure also includes a power rail disposed below and in contact with the conductive feature. semiconductor device structure also includes a dielectric layer enclosing the conductive feature, wherein an air gap is formed between the dielectric layer and the conductive feature.

Semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has progressed into nanometer technology process nodes in pursuit of higher device density. When the size of the device is shrunk, parasitic electrical leakage may appear in the device due to capacitive coupling formed between an input wire and neighboring components, resulting in logic failures and degradation of timing in the device.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved device that solves the above problems.

Semiconductor device structure integrating air gaps and methods of forming the same

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


New morphinane derivatives of the formula (I) ##STR1## their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, a process for their preparation and their use in therapy. The variables in the above structure are as follows: R.sub.1 is selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl and hydrogen;. R.sub.2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; hydroxy; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkyloxy, wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkyloxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyloxy; PA1 R.sub.3 is a C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; PA1 R.sub.4 is a hydrogen; hydroxy; or a C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy; PA1 R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 each and independently are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; and C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; PA1 X is NR.sub.9, wherein R.sub.9 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen; and C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; PA1 and wherein any aryl group in the compound may be unsubstituted or mono-, di-, or tri-substituted independently with hydroxy; halo; nitro; cyano; thiocyanato; trifluoromethyl; C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl; C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkoxy; CO.sub.2 H; CONH.sub.2 ; CO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl); CONH(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl); CON(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl).sub.2 ; CO(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl); amino; (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 monoalkyl) amino; (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 dialkyl) amino; C.sub.5 -C.sub.6 cycloalkylamino; (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkanoyl) amido; SH; SO.sub.3 H; SO.sub.3 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl); SO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl); SO(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl); C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkylthio; and C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkanoylthio.

Three major types of opioid receptors, .mu., .kappa. and .delta., are known and characterized. The identification of different opioid receptors has lead to efforts to develop specific ligands for these receptors. These ligands are known to be useful for at least two purposes:
a) to enable the more complete characterization of these different receptors, and PA1 b) to facilitate the identification of new analgesic drugs. PA1 R.sub.2 represents hydrogen, hydroxy, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6, alkoxy; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyloxy; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkyloxy wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkyloxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyloxy; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkenyloxy wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkenyloxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyloxy; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkanoxyloxy, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenoyloxy, C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkanoyloxy wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl, and the alkanoyloxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkanoyloxy; PA1 R.sub.3 represents hydrogen, C.sub.6 -C.sub.6 alkyl; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyl; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkenyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkenyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyl; hydroxy(C.sub.1 -C.sub.6)alkyl; alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy and the alkyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; CO.sub.2 H; CO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); PA1 R.sub.4 is hydrogen, hydroxy; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkyloxy wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkyloxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 akyloxy; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyloxy; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkanoyloxy; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkanoyloxy wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkanoyloxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkanoyloxy; alkyloxyalkoxy wherein alkyloxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyloxy and alkoxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy; PA1 R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 each independently represent hydrogen; OH; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; hydroxyalkyl wherein the alkyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; halo; nitro; cyano; thiocyanato; trifluoromethyl; CO.sub.2 H; CO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); CONH.sub.2 ; CONH (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); CON(C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl).sub.2 ; amino; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 monoalkyl amino; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 dialkyl amino; C.sub.5 -C.sub.6 cycloalkylamnino; SH; SO.sub.3 H; SO.sub.3 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); SO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); SO.sub.2 NH.sub.2 ; SO.sub.2 NH(C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); SO.sub.2 NH(C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 aryalkyl); SO(C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); or R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 together form a phenyl ring which may be unsubstituted or substituted by halo, nitro, cyano, thiocyanato; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; trifluoromethyl; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy, CO.sub.2 H, CO(C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl), amino, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 monoalkylamino, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 dialkylamino, SH; SO.sub.3 H; SO.sub.3 (.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl), SO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl), SO(C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl), and PA1 X represents oxygen; sulfur; CH.dbd.CH; or NR.sub.9 wherein R.sub.9 is H, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyl; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkenyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkenyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyl; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkanoyl, and PA1 wherein aryl is unsubstituted or mono-, di- or trisubstituted independently with hydroxy, halo, nitro, cyano, thiocyanato, trifluoromethyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkoxy, CO.sub.2 H, CONH.sub.2 CO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl), CONH(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl), CON(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl).sub.2 CO(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl); amino; (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 monoalkyl)amino, (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 dialkyl)amino, C.sub.5 -C.sub.6 cycloalkylamino, (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkanoyl)amido, SH, SO.sub.3 H, SO.sub.3 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl), SO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl), SO(C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkyl), C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkylthio or C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 alkanoylthio; PA1 and the pharmacologically acceptable salts of the compounds of the formula (I). PA1 R.sub.1 is selected from hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl or isopropyl; PA1 R.sub.2 is selected from methoxy, ethoxy, n-propyloxy, benzyloxy, benzyloxy substituted in the aromatic ring with F, Cl, NO.sub.2, CN, CF.sub.3, CH.sub.3, OCH.sub.3, allyloxy, cinnamyloxy or 3-phenylpropoxy; PA1 R.sub.3 is selected from hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, benzyl or allyl; PA1 R.sub.4 is selected from hydroxy, methoxy, methoxymethoxy or acetyloxy; PA1 R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 are each and independently selected from hydrogen, nitro, cyano, chloro, fluoro, bromo, trifluoromethyl, CO.sub.2 H, CO.sub.2 CH.sub.3, CONH.sub.2, CONH CH.sub.3, SH, SO.sub.2 NH.sub.2, N(CH.sub.3).sub.2, SO.sub.2 CH.sub.3 and PA1 X is selected from O, NH, NCH.sub.3, N-benzyl, N-allyl. PA1 R.sub.1 is CH.sub.3 ; PA1 R.sub.2 is selected from methoxy, ethoxy, n-propyloxy, benzyloxy or benzyloxy substituted in the aromatic ring with chlorine PA1 R.sub.3 is selected from hydrogen or CH.sub.3 ; PA1 R.sub.4 is hydroxy; PA1 R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 are each and independently selected from hydrogen, CO.sub.2 H, CONH.sub.2, SO.sub.2 NH.sub.2, or SO.sub.2 CH.sub.3 ; and PA1 X is selected from O or NH. PA1 R.sub.2 is hydrogen; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyl C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkenyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkenyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkenyl; alkoxyalkyl wherein the alkoxy is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkoxy and the alkyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl; CO.sub.2 (C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl); PA1 which compounds in turn are reduced by catalytic hydrogenation using a catalyst such as palladium on charcoal and solvents such as methanol, ethanol, or glacial acetic acid to give compounds of formula (V) ##STR7## wherein R.sub.1 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkanoyl, C.sub.7 -C.sub.16 arylalkanoyl wherein the aryl is C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 aryl and the alkanoyl is C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alkanoyl; PA1 which after N-demethylation using for instance chloroformates or cyanogen bromide followed by cleavage of the corresponding carbamates or N-cyano compounds (compounds of formula VIII) ##STR10## wherein R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are as defined above in formula (V) and (VII),
Analgesic drugs having specificity for an individual opioid receptor type have been demonstrated to have fewer side effects (e.g. respiratory depression, constipation, dependence), and in cases in which tolerance to one drug has developed, a second drug with different opioid receptor specificity may be effective. For example the successful substitution of DADLE (intrathecal application), a partially .delta.-selective analgesic peptide, for morphine in a human cancer patient with morphine tolerance has been demonstrated (E. S. Krames et al., Pain, Vol. 24:205-209, 1986). Evidence that a .delta.-selective agonist could be a potent analgesic with less tolerance and dependence liability was presented by Frederickson et al. (Science, Vol. 211:603-605, 1981). The peptide, D-Ala.sup.2,N-MeMet.sup.5 !enkephalin amide or "metkephanuid", was hundred fold more potent than morphine in the hot-plate test for analgesia after i. c. v. (intracerebral ventricular) administration. Naloxone precipitation of withdrawal after chronic administration of metkephamid and morphine in rats showed that metkephamid-treated animals exhibited fewer withdrawal symptoms than those given morphine, scoring only a little above the saline control group. Meltkephamid produced substantially less respiratory depression than morphine.
Another .delta.-selective peptide, D-Pen.sup.2, D-Pen.sup.5 !enkephalin (DPDPE) produces potent analgesic effects while showing little if any respiratory depression (C. N. May, Br.J. Pharmacol., Vol.98:903-913, 1989). DPDPE was found not to produce gastrointestinal side effects (e.g. constipation) (T. F.Burks, Life Sci., Vol.43:2177-2181, 1988). Since it is desireable that analgesics are stable against peptidases and are capable of entering the CNS easily, non-peptide analgesics are much more valuable.


The present invention provides a digital still camera that can read high quality image data from a solid state image pickup device in both the low and the high sensitivity modes. The digital still camera according to the present invention includes shooting mode selecting means for checking and setting a shooting mode and reading mode selecting means for selecting a suitable reading mode in accordance with the set shooting mode. As the reading mode, full-pixel reading mode and two-field reading mode are provided in this invention. The digital still camera also includes a solid state image pickup device having imaging pixels for accumulating signal charges of an image. Since the signal charges are read in the suitable reading mode, it is possible to avoid mixing colors or decreasing signal charges as time go on. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a high quality image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital still camera. In particular, the present invention relates to a digital still camera that can read high quality image data from an image pickup device in both a low sensitivity mode and a high sensitivity mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among the digital still cameras having a mounted image pickup device such as a CCD, there are some for which sensitivity can be altered. One example digital still camera for which film sensitivity can be set has a low sensitivity mode, used for shooting at a low sensitivity corresponding to an ISO standard of from 100 to 400, and a high sensitivity mode, used for shooting at a high sensitivity corresponding to an ISO standard equal to or greater than 800. In the low sensitivity mode, the amount of the signal charges accumulated by each imaging pixel (photodiode) is increased because the period the shutter is open is extended. While in the high sensitivity mode, the amount of the signal charges accumulated by each imaging pixel is reduced because the period the shutter is open is reduced.
The signal charges accumulated by the imaging pixels are read and transmitted along a vertical transfer path. FIG. 8 is a graph showing a transient change in the amount of the signal charges, i.e., the number of electrons accumulated by the individual imaging pixels. After the shutter is closed, the amount of the signal charges is exponentially reduced by thermal diffusion as time elapses. Therefore, if the signal charges are not immediately read from the image pickup device, the quality of the produced image will be degraded.
The signal charges read from the imaging pixels and transmitted via the vertical transfer path pass through potential wells sequentially formed along the vertical transfer path. Specifically, however, each time charges are transmitted tiny numbers of electrons remain in the potential wells. As a result, these electrons are mixed with signal charges read from imaging pixels for the next colors and are transmitted along the vertical transfer path. This is another factor that contributes to the degradation of the image quality.
In the high sensitivity mode, the individual imaging pixels accumulate only a small amount of signal charges. When these signal charges are gradually reduced while being transmitted along the vertical transfer path, the signal charges are mixed with other signal charges for other colors. Therefore, because the original signal charges are small, the effect produced by color mixing is increased and the image quality is degraded. However, as is apparent from FIG. 8, when the signal charges are small (the foot portion of the characteristic line in FIG. 8), likewise, the rate at which the number of electrons is reduced as time elapses is small, so that the effect is reduced, even when it takes time to read signal charges from the image pickup device.
In the low sensitivity mode, a large amount of signal charges are accumulated in the individual imaging pixels. Even when a specifically tiny number of electrons remains in each potential well along the vertical transfer path, and is mixed with signal charges for other colors, image deterioration due to color mixing is so small it can be ignored because the original signal charges are large. However, as is apparent from FIG. 8, when the signal charges are large, there is an increased reduction in the number of electrons as time elapses, and this phenomenon can not be ignored as a factor that can contribute to image deterioration.
As described above, the problems encountered when photographing in the high sensitivity mode or in the low sensitivity mode are the direct opposites of those encountered in the opposing mode, and if both sets of problems are not resolved, the image quality in the two modes can not be improved.

Digital still camera for recording images in high and low sensitivity modes


The present invention relates to a system and method for managing resources, which involve managing a plurality of frequency resources in a communication system including a plurality of systems having no right to use a first frequency band. The system comprises a coexistence manager (CM) which manages, when a frequency band usable by the plurality of systems is found in the first frequency band, the plurality of systems so as to enable the coexistence of the systems and frequency-sharing among the systems in the usable frequency band; a coexistence enabler (CE) which transceives information of the plurality of systems and information of the coexistence manager; and a coexistence discovery and information server which supports the control of the coexistence manager on the plurality of systems. The plurality of systems uses the usable frequency band by means of coexistence and frequency-sharing according to a reference model.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a communication system, and more particularly, to a system and a method for managing resources in a communication system so as to share a plurality of frequency resources in a communication system.
2. Description of Related Art
In a current communication system, research for providing services having various quality of services (hereinafter, referred to as 'QoS') to users at a high transmission rate has been actively conducted. In the communication system, research for providing large-capacity services having various QoS using limited resources, for example, frequency resources has been actively conducted. In particular, due to a development of radio communication technologies and an introduction of wireless communication services, there is a need to more efficiently use limited frequency resources.
As a method for increasing use efficiency of limited frequency resources in the communication system, there are provided methods for maximizing spectral efficiency by optimizing performance of a communication system, for example, multiple access, encoding, modulation, information compression, or the like, and minimizing interference with another type of communication system. In addition, there is provided a frequency sharing method for increasing use efficiency of frequency resources by using an available frequency band among frequency bands that are being used in advance such as a TV band.
Here, the frequency sharing in the available frequency bands among the frequency bands that are being used in advance such as a TV band as described above needs to use a frequency band without providing interference to a primary incumbent having preemptive permission for the TV band. Therefore, it is important to detect the available frequency bands by confirming whether the frequency band of the primary incumbent in the TV band is used. In addition, when there are a plurality of different systems for using the available frequency bands detected in the TV band, there is a problem of coexistence for using the available frequency bands due to a communication type among the plurality of different systems, for example, wireless access schemes, or the like.
In other words, in the current communication system, when there are a plurality of different systems using the available frequency bands detected in the TV band as described above, there is no resource managing method for coexisting the plurality of different systems to efficiently use the detected available frequency bands, in particular, there is no method for coexisting different communication types of systems to efficiently use the available frequency bands so as to efficiently use frequency resources.
Therefore, a need exists for a resource managing method for detecting the available frequency bands among the frequency bands that are being used in advance such as the TV band in the communication system and then, coexisting the plurality of different systems, for example, different communication types of systems so as to efficiently use the detected available frequency bands.

System and method for managing resources in a communication system

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An electronic device (102) includes a power supply (114), an amplifier circuit (132), and a power down protection circuit (160). The power supply (114) supplies power to the electronic device (102). The amplifier circuit (132) is powered by the power supply (114) to amplify a signal into an amplified output signal and controllable to vary a power level of the amplified output signal. The power down protection circuit (160) is coupled directly to the power supply (114) to lower the power level of the amplified output signal of the amplifier circuit (132) when the power supply (114) falls below a threshold.

Electronic devices, such as wireless communication devices, have become increasingly popular due, in part, to their portability. Portability is accomplished by equipping the device with a battery. The battery, prior to depletion, supplies power to operate components of the device. Once the voltage of the battery depletes to a low battery threshold below which the components can only operate for a short time, the device initiates a controlled power down.
Most electronic devices have circuitry configured such that without a controlled power down operation, the device continues to operate until the voltage level of the battery reaches a power-on reset (POR) threshold at which the device immediately, and without warning, turns off. Such power down that is immediate and without warning can be problematic if critical operational processes are left incomplete, such as the establishment of communication with a remote device or the internal execution of a function that must be brought to completion once started, such as data storage operations. Also, in such situations, the user of the device will be given no warning that the device will be turned off.
One component of the device that is powered by the battery is a power amplifier. In operation, the power amplifier amplifies signals to an output level sufficient for over the air transmission. During operation, the power amplifier may enter a saturation state in which it cannot amplify signals to the output level demanded of it by the control circuitry of the device. While saturated, the power amplifier draws excessive current from the battery in an attempt to meet the demands of the control circuitry. In circumstances where the power amplifier is saturated while the battery voltage is low, the excessive current drain of the power amplifier can cause the battery to fully deplete before the controlled power down can be executed or cause the controlled power down to be executed prematurely.
One existing way to minimize rapid battery depletion is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,994 by Black et al., entitled "Power Amplifier Saturation Detection and Correction Method and Apparatus," issued on Jan. 11, 1994, and assigned to Motorola, Inc. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,994, the output level of the power amplifier is decreased whenever saturation is detected. In one embodiment, saturation is detected by sensing a slow-down of the control loop response. Once detected, the output level is reduced by an amount based on the level of saturation, which is determined from the loop response time. Because loop response time is not perfectly correlated with the level of saturation, there is a need to slightly over-correct the power level in order to reliably predict depletion of the battery. Such over-correction compromises power amplifier performance.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,994 provides one way to minimize rapid battery depletion, it would be beneficial to be able to maximize amplifier performance and to ensure that the controlled power down is always executed.

Power down protection circuit for an electronic device


A magnetic sensor circuit includes a plurality of magnetic sensors having bias input and bias output terminals and first and second measurement terminals. The circuit includes a diagnostic sensor having bias input and bias output terminals and first and second measurement terminals. The circuit includes a first multiplexer configured to selectively couple a current source to the bias input terminals of the magnetic sensors or to the bias input terminal of the diagnostic sensor and includes a second multiplexer configured to selectively couple the bias output terminals of the magnetic sensors or the bias output terminal of the diagnostic sensor to a first terminal of a switch. The circuit includes a third multiplexer configured to selectively couple the measurement terminals of the magnetic sensors or the measurement terminals of the diagnostic sensor to differential input terminals of an amplifier.

A magnetic sensor such as a Hall-effect sensor is a device used to measure the strength of a magnetic field. The magnetic sensor provides an output voltage that is directly proportional to the magnetic field strength. Magnetic sensors are used for proximity sensing, position and speed detection, and current sensing. A Hall-effect sensor can be combined with a threshold detection circuit so that it acts as a switch.
Due to safety requirements in automotive applications, run time diagnostics are performed on Hall-effect sensors to validate their integrity. A known magnetic field is typically created and isolated from an external magnetic field for run time diagnostics. Current systems include on-chip coils built inside integrated circuits to create a local magnetic field. Current systems require additional on-chip area and consume significant amount of power. Also, current systems typically are not reliable due to challenges associated with isolating the local magnetic field from the external magnetic field.

Methods and systems for diagnosing magnetic sensors


An improved line trimmer and edging unit for lawn and garden use provides a multi-position accessory handle, a roller edge guide having a flange concentrically located about the motor shaft and being of sufficient diameter to maintain a consistent distance between the cutting plane and the object being edged around, symmetrically disposed safety switches, and a battery located symmetrically in-line with the center of the shaft of the unit. The combination lawn trimmer and edger unit may be used in a first, horizontal cutting plane position for lawn and weed trimming, and may be further used in a second, vertical cutting plane position for edging.

For many years, powered line or blade-type trimmers have been offered for the trimming and weeding of lawns in the horizontal plane. Similarly, powered edgers have been offered for the cutting of lawns away from walkways and driveways in the vertical plane.
Consumers, in their desire to purchase and utilize only one tool for these equivalent lawn cutting purposes, have attempted to use trimmers of the aforementioned type, intended for use in a horizontal position for grass and weed cutting purposes, in a rotated, vertical plane to function as a lawn edger.
Most of these units have a control handle, containing the power switches, and an accessory handle, for additional support of the unit's weight and for use in maneuvering the unit in use. Disadvantageously, however, due to the designs of these handles, many units are not convenient or safe to use in such a way. Often only a single accessory handle position is provided, optimized for use in the lawn cutting horizontal plane. Accordingly, when the device is held in the edging position, the accessory handle is generally in an inconvenient and off-balance position.
Further contributing to the inconvenience in use of such devices in the vertical plane edging position, the on/off switch and the activation trigger has been located in an inconvenient position. A switch or trigger that is not in a convenient position raises the dual concerns that the device might be started by accident, resulting in a device that is both difficult to use and unsafe, or might be difficult to stop in an emergency situation.
Recent units have been developed that make it more convenient and comfortable for the operator of the unit to more easily hold the unit in the required vertical edging position. Some such units have devices provided for the rotation of the trimmer head about its shaft, in effect allowing rotation of the cutting plane. Often, however, such rotation devices are cumbersome and inconvenient to use.
For edging use, in addition to the issue of maintaining an adequate control position, devices have been developed to help guide the trimmer with a consistent motion, so as to give the trimmed edge a neat appearance. Many such devices of this type comprise wheel-and-bracket arrangements, rubbing pads, or wire guide loops, configured to hold the trimmer at a relatively uniform height.
Many such devices have been developed to safely hold the trimmer in an edging position, and to guide the trimmer in a linear motion, so as to give the trimmed edge a neat appearance. Most of these are of an A-frame type, with wheels mounted on the frame and the frame clamped to the shaft of the trimmer. Some of these types of devices allow the user to loosen the clamp and rotate the trimmer into an edger position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,694 to Emoto and U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,715 to Murray are examples of this kind of device. Some of these devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,784 to Hansen et al. have the wheels rotated 90 degrees to function as an edge guide. Still other designs have plates clamped to the shaft which held wheels in an edging configuration, such as in U.S. Pat No. 4,981,012 to Claborn. Other devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,276 to Miller, are merely axles which bolt to the trimmer.
Through the additional use of a vertical-plane feature in association with these devices, the orientation of the cutting plane to the adjacent vertical curbing surface can be controlled in a more consistent manner. Unfortunately, these devices are sometimes unwieldy to install, to use, and to store. Such devices do not provide a single tool solution to the problem identified by many consumers.
It is, therefore, readily apparent that there is a need for a, new and improved combination line trimmer and edging device, further providing, in a preferred embodiment, two equally-convenient operating and control positions, a flanged roller edge guide, and dual-action safety switches symmetrically located about the shaft of the device; and, in an alternate embodiment, the above features including a battery located symmetrically in-line with the center of the shaft of the device.
It is, therefore, to the provision of such an improved device that the present invention is directed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of operating a direct weaving apparatus which may include a loop provided with picking nozzles and a weft yarn processing machine having a yarn processing unit for processing yarns, feed rollers and yarn storage drums. The start of the yarn storage drums may be controlled in connection with the start of the weft yarn processing machine. The respective operating speeds of the feed rollers of the weft yarn processing machine may be held constant and the yarn storage drums may be operated in synchronism with the corresponding feed rollers respectively at winding speeds slightly higher than the respective feed speeds of the corresponding feed rollers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a direct weaving apparatus comprising, in combination, a loom, and a weft yarn processing machine for processing yarns and for directly feeding processed weft yarns to the loom and, more particularly, to a method of operating a direct weaving apparatus provided with yarn storage drums.
2. Prior Art
An ordinary loom is not provided with any weft yarn processing machine and weft yarns are processed by weft yarn processing processes separate from a weaving process. Weft yarn processing processes process yarns to produce various weft yarns; for example, weft yarn processing processes twists filament yarns to produce nonstretch textured yarns (Taslan.RTM. yarns) or entangled yarns, dye yarns, false-twist yarns or double yarns. Yarn packages of the weft yarns thus processed are supplied to the loom. Since the yarn is difficult to be unwound from the yarn package thus produced by the weft yarn processing process separate from the weaving process, only limited kinds of processed yarns can be used as weft yarns on the loom. Furthermore, weft yarn packages produced by the weft yarn processing process separate from the weaving process require a winding operation for winding processed weft yarns in yarn packages and the transportation of weft yarn packages from the winding process to the weaving process. Such a method of supplying weft yarn packages to the weaving process is unable to deal with fabric production in a multiproduct small-lot short cycle production system. To deal with fabric production in a multiproduct small-lot short cycle production system, there has been proposed a direct weaving apparatus comprising, in combination, a loom and a weft yarn processing machine and capable of carrying out various weft yarn processing processes and of omitting operations for winding weft yarns in weft yarn packages and the transportation of weft yarn packages.
A weft yarn processing machine is installed beside a loom to feed a weft yarn. The weft yarn processed within the weft yarn processing machine is supplied to a jet nozzle of the loom. A gripper and the jet nozzle are controlled in synchronism with the operation of the loom. A length of the weft yarn is retained in a yarn retaining pipe while the gripper is closed. The gripper is opened and compressed air is supplied to the jet nozzle to insert the weft yarn retained in the yarn retaining pipe, by the jet nozzle.
The direct weaving apparatus retains the weft yarn Y in a free state in the yarn retaining pipe while the gripper is closed. Therefore, it is feared that a highly textured entangled yarn or a Taslan yarn is snarled in the yarn retaining pipe. Accordingly, it is preferable to use a known yarn storage drum instead of the yarn retaining pipe. However, it is feared that an incompletely textured weft yarn is fed after the start of the weft yarn processing machine until the mode of operation of the weft yarn processing machine reaches a steady state. Accordingly, defects will be formed in the fabric in the initial stage of weaving operation if the weft yarn processing machine and the loom are started simultaneously and hence the waste suction pipe is necessary. There has not been proposed any method of starting a direct weaving apparatus provided with yarn storage drums, capable of timely removal of waste yarns.

Method of operating a direct weaving apparatus


The present invention is concerned with deuterium-enriched pyrimidine compounds of formula 1, their derivatives and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and methods of use thereof

Neurotransmitter serotonin or 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is abundantly distributed in the central nervous system, including hippocampus and frontal cortex. 5-HT receptors are a family of G-protein coupled receptors, characterized with 7-transmembrane helices and presently have fourteen known receptor subtypes, some of which exist as multiple splice variants [D. L. Murphy, A. M. Andrews, C. H. Wichems, Q. Li, M. Tohda and B. Greenberg, J. Clin. Psychiatry, 1998, 59 (suppl. 15), 4]. 5-HT influences a number of physiological functions and is implicated in a large number of central nervous system disorders, vascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and others (Childers, W. E., et. al., Ann. Rep. Med. Chem. 2005, 40, 17).
5-HT2B receptors are widely distributed in mammalian peripheral tissues including lung, heart, pancreas, spleen, prostate, liver, vascular and skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, intestine, ovary, uterus, testis, and in the central nervous system (CNS) including brain and cerebral cortex. 5-HT2B receptors are expressed in pulmonary endothelial and smooth muscle cells in humans. 5-HT2B receptors stimulate calcium release in human endothelial cells from the pulmonary artery (Esteve, J. M., Launay, J. M., Kellerman, O., Maroteaux, L., Functions of serotonin in hypoxic pulmonary vascular remodeling. Cell Biochem. Biophys, 2007, 47, 33-44). The receptor was characterized in the rat gastric (fundus) smooth muscle cells initially as the receptor responsible mediating serotonin-induced contraction in this tissue.
Serotonin (5-HT) affects the pulmonary vasculature associated with PAH by vasoconstriction, platelet aggregation, and pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation. Serotonin receptors subtypes, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A and 5-HT1B have shown evidence for playing a role in the pathology of PAH. 5-HT2B receptors are expressed in pulmonary endothelial and smooth muscle cells and stimulate calcium release in human endothelial cells from the pulmonary artery. It has been demonstrated that 5-HT2B receptors are involved in the development of PH by mediating chronic hypoxic responses in wild-type mice compared with the complete lack of PH and vascular remodeling in the 5-HT2B receptor (−/−) knockout mice in the chronic hypoxic mouse model of PH (Launey et. al., Function of the serotonin 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2B receptor in pulmonary hypertension. Nat. Med 2002, 8, 1129-1135).
5-HT2B receptor modulators (antagonists, partial agonists, inverse agonists and agonists) have the potential to be selective for diseased pulmonary trachea, thymus, thyroid, salivary gland vasculature (i.e., vessels affected by hypoxic conditions) compared to normal pulmonary and systemic vessels. Due to this selectivity, 5-HT2B modulators particularly 5-HT2B antagonists offer a possible therapeutic advantage over the available agents for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), right ventricular hypertrophy and related disease of the lung and vascular system.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive, debilitating and often fatal disease that results from an increase in pulmonary blood pressure associated with abnormal vascular proliferation. PH is estimated to affect 100,000 people worldwide. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an increase in the pulmonary vascular resistance due to vasoconstriction and pulmonary vascular remodeling that result in elevated pulmonary arterial pressure. The cause of idiopathic PAH is unknown. PAH can be developed as a consequence of existing diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hypoxia, portal hypertension, or HIV infection. PAH is progressive and fatal. The median survival time without treatment in adult PAH patients is 2.8 years after diagnosis, and is only 10 months in children. Although survival rates have improved with new drugs, the prognosis is still poor and development of safer and more effective drugs is needed. Current treatments include systemically administered intravenous and subcutaneous prostacyclin analogs and orally active endothelin receptor antagonists, which mainly cause pulmonary arterial dilation to relieve symptoms. There is only one approved orally active agent for PH available for patients, a non-selective endothelin A and B receptor antagonist which recquires liver toxicity monitoring.
The role of 5-HT2B in pulmonary hypertension was recognized by the observation that there may be a relationship between the PAH patients taking weight reducing agents such as dexfenfluramine, fenfluramine and aminorex which are 5-HT2B agonists; that the use of these agents may be contributing towards the elevation of pulmonary arterial hypertension (Kramer. M. S., and Lane, D. A Aminorex, dexfenfluramine, and primary pulmonary hypertension, J. Clin. Epidemiol. 1998, 51, 361-364). Both aminorex and fenfluramine elevates 5-HT levels by increasing the release of 5-HT from platelets and inhibiting the metabolism and the reuptake of 5-HT (Maclean, M. R., Pulmonary hypertension, anorexigens, and 5-HT: pharmacological synergism in action? Trends Pharmacology. Sci. 1999, 20, 490-495; Belohlavkova, S., Simok, J., Kokesova, A., Hnilickova, O., Hampl, V., Fenfluramine-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction: role of serotonin receptors and potassium channels. J. Appl. Physiol. 2001, 91, 755-761). Dexfenfluramine has binding affinity for 5-HT2 receptors and its major metabolite, N-deethylated dexfenfluramine is a potent agonist of the 5-HT2B receptor and thus is involved in the development of PAH.
A novel and potent 5-HT2B receptor antagonist, PRX-08066, has been shown to significantly reduce the elevation in pulmonary arterial pressure and right ventricular hypertrophy and also maintains cardiac function. Pulmonary vascular remodeling was also decreased in rats. The 5-HT2B antagonist PRX-08066 was shown to prevent the severity of PAH in the rat model (Porvasnik, S. L., Germain, S., Embury, J., Ganon, K. S., Jacques, V., Murray, J., Byrne, B. J., Shacham, S., Al-Mousily, F., PRX-08066, a novel 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2B antagonist, reduces monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy in rats., J. Pharmaco. Exp. Ther. 2010, 334, 364-372).
The 5-HT2B receptor has also been shown to play a key role in the regulation of neuroendocrine tumor cell proliferation and the modulation of the fibroblast component of the neoplastic microenvironment (Svejda, B., et. al. Cancer 2010, 116, 2902-12). Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) are cancers originating from serotonin-producing enterochromaffm cells in the diffuse neuroendocrine system. The carcinoid syndrome reflects excessive serotonin release. Carcinoid syndrome symptomatology includes bronchoconstriction, flushing, diarrhea, and fibrosis in the local peritumoral tissue and at distant in the heart or lungs. 5-HT shows both mitogenic and fibrogenic effects in fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. These effects are mediated via the G-protein coupled 5-HT receptors, which activate mitogenic pathways through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and JNK activation. Other studies have reported that 5-HT modulates valvular subendocardial cell proliferation. The human heart valves express messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for 5-HT agonists (fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, pergolide, cabergoline, ergotamine) are associated with pulmonary fibrosis and valvular heart disease (Roth, B., Drugs and valvular heart disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 2007, 356, 6-9; Gustafsson, B, Hauso, O., Drozdov, I., Kidd, M., Modlin, I., Cacinoid heart disease. Int. J. Cardio. 2008, 129, 318-324). Significant evidence exists for involvement of 5-HT2B receptors in cellular pathways that culminate in fibrosis. It has been recognized that SI-NETs are often present with fibrosis in the peritumoral tissue, the adjacent mesentery and peritoneum as well as in the right side of the heart or lungs (Modlin, I., Moss, S., Chung, D., Jensen, R., Snyderwine, E., Priorities for improving the management of gastroentero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. J. Natl. Cancer. Inst. 2008, 100, 1282).
The proliferative activity of 5-HT has been shown to be dependent on the expression of 5-HT2 receptor subtypes (Kidd, M., et. al. Inhibition of proliferation of small intestinal and bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine cell lines by using peptide analogs targeting receptors. Cancer. 2008, 112, 1404-1414). Similar proliferation effects have been observed in the 5-HT secreting prostate cancer cell line PC3 (Dizeyi, N., et. al. Expression of serotonin receptors 2B and 4 in human prostate cancer tissue and effects of their antagonists on prostate cancer cell lines. Eur. Urol. 2005, 47, 895-900), 5-HT2A receptor expressing breast cancer cell line MCF-7 (Sonier, B., et. al. The 5-HT2A serotoninergic receptor is expressed in the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line and reveals a mitogenic effect of serotonin. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 2006, 343, 1053-1059), and in human choricarcinoma cell line JEG-3 and BeWO (Sonier, B., et. al. Expression of the 5-HT2A serotoninergic receptor in human placenta and choriocarcinoma cells: mitogenic implications of serotonin. Placenta. 2005, 26, 484-490).
During the investigation of signal transduction pathways involved in the antiproliferative effect of 5-HT2B receptor antagonist, by investigating phosphorylation of ERK, direct role of 5-HT2 receptor subtypes has been demonstrated in vascular and tracheal smooth muscle cell proliferation. The mechanism involves coupling of 5-HT2A receptors and the ERK pathway, while 5-HT2B receptors activate ERK through the RAS pathway (Nebigil, C. G., et. al. 5-hydroxytryptamine 2B receptor regulates cell-cycle progression: cross-talk with tryrosine kinase pathways. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2000, 97, 2591-2596); Hershenson, M. B., et. al. Histamine antagonizes serotonin and growth factor-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in bovine tracheal smooth muscle cells. J. Biol. Chem. 1995, 270, 19908-19913); Banes, A., et. al., Mechanisms of 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in vascular smooth muscle. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 1999, 291, 1179-1187).
Fibrosis is an important key feature of small intestinal neuroendocrine tumor (SI-NETs) both in local peritumoral tissue and systemic (cardiac) sites. 5-HT is a well known inducer of fibrosis. The growth factors regulating fibrosis and proliferation in the tumor microenvironment and mechanisms are unclear. It has been shown that blocking 5-HT2B receptors on tumor cells inhibit SI-NET 5-HT release and in turn fibroblast activation in the tumor microenvironment. In the 5-HT2B expressing SI-NET cell line, KRJ-1, the 5-HT2B antagonist PRX-08066 has been shown to inhibit proliferation and 5-HT secretion and decreased ERK1/2 phosphorylation and profibrotic growth factor synthesis and secretion (transforming growth factor beta-1 {TGFβ1}), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF2). The 5-HT2B antagonist PRx-08066 was also found to significantly decrease 5-HT release, TGFβ1, CTGF, and FGF2.
Blocking the 5-HT2B receptor with a 5-HT2B antagonist is an effective antiproliferative and antifibrotic strategy for SI-NETs because it inhibits tumor micronvironment fibroblasts as well as NET cells. Use of 5-HT2B receptor antagonists offers a possible effective therapeutic intervention to prevent tumor progression, fibrosis, and metastasis in the neuroendocrine neoplasia. It may also have therapeutic use in other fibrotic processes associated with neuroendocrine cell dysregulation such as Crohn's disease (Kidd, M., et. al. IL1beta- and LPS-induced serotonin secretion is increased in EC cells derived from Crohn's disease. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2009; 21, 439-450).
The compounds of this invention represented by formula I are valuable in the prevention and treatment of various disease conditions regulated directly or indirectly by the inhibition (by serotonin receptors antagonist of compounds of formula I) or activation (by serotonin receptors partial or full agonist of compounds of formula I) of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT). These diseases include cancer such as brain cancer, breast cancer, blood cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreas cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, testicular cancer, uterus cancer, intestinal cancer, skin cancer, and other forms of cancer; tumor progression, metastasis and fibrosis in the neuroendocrine neoplasia, fibrotic processes associated with neuroendocrine cell dysregulation for example Crohn's disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), right ventricular hypertrophy, pulmonary vascular remodeling, asthma, cystic fibrosis, hypertension, ischemic stroke, angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, arterial fibrillation, neurodenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, cognition impairment, memory decline, schizophrenia, dementia associated with Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, Pick's disease and Jacob disease.
These compounds may also have applications in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, Crohn's disease, gastric emptying disorders, gastritis, emesis, nausea, vomiting, prokinesia, non-ulcer dyspepcia, urinary incontinence, feeding disorders, bulimia, anorexia, obesity, constipation, constipation, and respiratory depression, stress disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, delirium, anxiety, depression, biopolar depression, epilepsy, Down's syndrome, pain, migraine, panic disorders, social phobia, animal phobias, and obsessive compulsive disorders.
The compounds of formula I may also be valuable in substance-related disorders including dependence and abuse, intoxication, withdrawal, and delirium arising from the use of alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, nicotine, opioids, hypnotics, and anxiolytics.
These compounds of formula I may also be useful for the prevention and treatment of demyelinating diseases including multiple sclerosis, ALS, peripheral neuropathy, postherpetic neurolegia, cerebral vascular disorders, acute or chronic cerebrovascular damage, cerebral infarction, subarachanoid hemorrhage, and cerebral edema.
In addition, compounds of the invention may be used for the treatment of bronchoconstriction, vasodilation, smooth muscle contraction, brain disorders, vascular disorders, blood flow disorders as a result of vasodilation and vasospastic diseases such as angina, vascular headache, Reynaud's disease, pulmonary hypertension, and systemic hypertension; neuropathological diseases such as Alzheimer's diseases, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease; cardiovascular system regulation, prophylaxis and treatment of cerebral infarct, stroke, cerebral ischemia; as well as the treatment of diseases of the intestinal tract.
The compounds of the present invention may also be useful in the treatment of stress-related somatic disorders, bladder function disorders such as cystitis, stress-related urinary incontinence, urinary incontinence post prostate cancer-surgery, reflex sympathetic dystrophy including shoulder/hand syndrome, bladder function disorders such as cystitis, and any nociception, pain or migraine associated with the above mentioned conditions.

Deuterium-enriched pyrimidine compounds and derivatives

Abstract: for the prevention and treatment of neuroendocrine neoplasia including metastasis and fibrosis, fibrotic processes associated with neuroendocrine cell dysregulation for example Crohn's disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), right ventricular hypertrophy, pulmonary vascular remodeling, asthma, cystic fibrosis, hypertension, ischemic stroke, angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, arterial fibrillation, neurodenerative diseases, gastrointestinal disorders , stress disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, demyelinating diseases, cereberal vascular disorders, bronchoconstriction, vasodilation, smooth muscle contraction, brain disorders, vascular disorders, neuropathological diseases and cardiovascular system regulation.


A quick draining air valve comprises a first valve having an air inlet device for inputting high pressure air; a second valve having at least one channel which is extended to a surface of the second valve; a distal end of the channel extending with a tube which is connected to the air inflation tube; the second valve being connected to the first valve so that high pressure air enters into the tube through the channel and then into the air inflation tube; and a cover plate being openable, high pressure air providing by the first valve being drained out with a high speed from the second valve; by the channel of the second valve, residue air in the air inflation tube connected to the tube of the second valve is drained out from the second valve.

With referring to FIG. 9, an air inflation bed for patients is illustrated, where the bed has a plurality of transversally arranged air inflation tubes 9 which are formed as a bed surfaces. A periphery of the tubes 9 are enclosed by air inflation strips 92 so as to prevent from getting bedsore. The air inflation tubes have the effect of air inflation and releasing.
Referring to FIG. 9A, the tubes 91 includes an upper air chambers 91a and a lower air chambers 91b. The upper air chambers 91a can be inflated with air and air therein can be released. The lower air chambers 91b is retained with sufficient air. To retain the health of the patients, the upper air chambers 91a are used to inflate air, and the lower air chambers 91b serve to release air, referring to the arrows in the drawing. The air inflation and releasing are performed regularly and alternatively so that the skins of the patient are comfortable.
An air valve 94 with three holes is connected to an air compressor 93. The air inflation tube 94a is retained with high pressure air and is communicated with the lower air chambers 91b and the air inflation strips 92. The right and left air inflation tubes 94b and 94c are connected to the upper air chambers 91a. Furthermore, by an air distributor in the air valve 94, the releasing of air is controllable.
However when it is desired to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation for an emergency, the residue air in the bed must be drained out. Conventionally, the pipes connected to the valve 94 is removed so that air in the bed is released naturally, but it is too slow to perform the cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The time required is about one minute. Thus it is possible that the patient can not be rescued.


A side impact air bag mounted in a door of a motor vehicle in an unfurled, deflated position for reducing deployment time and providing reliable orientation of the air bag upon deployment. The air bag is mounted in an upper portion of the door, and an actuable inflator is mounted in the lower portion of the door. The inflator is in communication with the air bag via a connecting air bag or flexible duct, which provides added padding to the door upon inflation. A soft flexible material overlies the air bag to hide the air bag from the occupant's view as well as retain the air bag in the unfurled position. The soft flexible material is adhesively attached or stapled to an inner trim panel of the door and becomes detached from the inner trim panel upon the air bag inflating and pushing the soft flexible material away from the inner trim panel so that the air bag reaches its inflated position. A second embodiment provides the soft flexible material with a weakened portion that tears upon the air bag inflating and pushing the soft flexible material away from the inner trim panel of the door.

It is well known in motor vehicles to provide an inflatable air bag to cushion an occupant.
The prior art has recognized that such an air bag may be mounted on a vehicle door to provide such cushioning in a side impact situation. Such air bags are typically folded or furled in a compact position requiring the air bag to unfurl and unfold upon deployment and assume an inflated position.
It would be desirable to mount a side air bag in an unfurled, deflated position in order to reduce deployment time and provide reliable orientation of the side air bag upon inflation.


The present invention relates to a preparing method of polyols, polyurethane and polyurethane foams using the same. Polyester, polyamide and polyurethane are depolymerized with the polymeric fatty acid mono(polyhydroxyl alcohol)ide composition and additionally reacted with the polybasic acid, polyol and amine to prepare acid value of 05-˜1 mgKOH/g, hydroxyl value of 10˜500 mgKOH/g, and amine value of 1˜50 mgKOH/g in polyol. This is to transform the double bond of the unsaturated fatty acid from the component of the oils and fats into a conjugated double bond to induce the Diels-Alder reaction, and with the improvement of the reactivity to form a stable combination in the chemical structure to prevent the separate leaching appearance of fat and fatty oil from the final product. In particular, by recycling waste edible oil and waste synthetic resin that can be employed as industrially useful material, the invention provides environment advantages.

In the past, polyester polyols have been prepared by reacting the polybasic acid and polyhydric alcohol in a condensation-polymerization reaction to reach an appropriate acid value and a hydroxyl value. The synthesized polyols do not have good compatibility with polyether polyols and others that are mainly used for polyurethane forms. The polyols are not transparent at the room temperature or too high of viscosity to use at the temperature of 60° C., incurring inconvenience. Also, low stability and storage capability of the polyol has generated substantial limitations in use. Furthermore, it has many problems in mechanical property of the forms and decline in insulation, so that there has been steady demand for improvement.

Polyols and polyurethanes, polyurethaneforms using the same


A speckle-free display system using coherent light is disclosed. The light is directed through a spinning diffusing element to illuminate a spatial light modulator. The spinning element is operable to move the interference patterns around the screen at a speed where it is undetectable to the human eye. The diffusing element is more than likely comprised of ground glass.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to display systems, more particularly to display systems using coherent light sources.
2. Background of the Invention
Laser illumination in displays has many advantages of standard lighting schemes, especially in color displays. Lasers produce high power light with good color purity. The mixture of red, green, and blue, laser light can be achieved relatively simply by standard optical components, including fold mirrors. Unfortunately, the use of one laser causes an interference problem, and that problem is compounded with the use of more than one laser.
Because each laser is coherent, having a continuous relationship between phases, when lasers are diffused using beam splitters and lens systems, the phase pattern results in a particular pattern of interference called speckle. A speckled picture cannot be viewed very clearly, if at all, since the interference patterns often cancel each other, resulting in a noisy, blurry picture. Putting three lasers together increases this problem to the point that the noise almost completely eliminates the desired picture.
Lasers are desirable for use with spatial light modulators, which normally have relatively small active areas, because of the increased illumination power. Many attempts have been made to overcome the speckle problem such as vibrating screens, acoustic waves, and very complex optical schemes of many components. These ideas result in very high costs, or extremely complex systems. Therefore, there exists a need for a low cost, simple solution that eliminates laser speckle in displays.

Speckle-free display system using coherent light


A method for managing and assessing a set of risks relative to a financial product, wherein said method is accessed through a data processing system. The data processing system comprises a series of nodes operatively connected with each other. The method begins by performing an application processing procedure, comprising a check of the creditworthiness of one or more selected customers; and issuing a financial product to the selected customer if that customer is determined to be creditworthy; and, declining the application if the customer is determined to be not creditworthy. After the card has been issued to a customer, the use of the card is assessed whenever the card is presented for payment of goods or services or to obtain a cash advance. The assessment is made as the result of a credit authorization request from a merchant or a system user and utilizes a predictive modeling routine to perform the assessment. The credit authorization is accepted or rejected as based upon an outcome of the assessment. The assessment results are then downloaded to the data processing system for transfer to a database accessible by one or more remote nodes of the system. Any of the transactions, assessments, or determinative calculations can be retained as a means of continually refreshing the pool of data available for credit determinations.

Within the financial industry in general there is a marked propensity for fraud which thus associates a certain degree of risk with each transaction or financial product introduction. This is particularly true in the credit card portion of the industry. Case history supports this conclusion. Fraud can, and does, originate both internally to the organization issuing the financial product, and externally, with customers, vendors, merchants, or criminals that intercept the communication of credit card information, electronically, or physically. Thus, fraud in this industry is expected.
Fraud is inherent in how credit cards are issued and handled. There is, for example, a significant threat to the issuer of a card from someone finding a lost credit card and using it to purchase gas in an automated gas station; and, telephone and mail orders may be made by criminals illegally possessing credit account information. In the same category, a fraudulent merchant may be operating fraudulently by selling merchandise on unequal consideration. On a larger scale, however, fraud rings are particularly active and include many players in their networks that defraud issuers of billions of dollars. Rogue employees and questionable merchants account for a significant part of skimming activity, which involves the illegal acquisition of account information in order to produce counterfeit cards or make fraudulent transactions. The sophistication of skimming is quite advanced in that criminals may wait up to eighteen to twenty (18-20) months after skimming a card before they use it. This category of fraud which originates at the point of sale is expected to be a twenty-five billion dollar ($25,000,000,000) problem in 1999.
Recent security conference statistics show that distinct trends emerge from studies of fraud. The top fraud types are lost, stolen, or counterfeit credit cards or accounts. Fraud losses resulting from lost and stolen credit cards (plastic) represent nearly sixty percent (60%) of all losses, with the fourth (4th) quarter of any year being the top fraud period. The hours of 12:00 Noon to 10:00 PM are the peak fraud activity times; California, Florida and New York are the top fraud states; and, Los Angeles, New York City, and Las Vegas are the top fraud cities. Telemarketing, phone use, and gas purchases are the top fraud industry groups.
While it is evident that fraud exists, and that it is extremely difficult to eliminate, even in the current technological environment, actions can be taken to control the impact of fraud.
The credit card industry is not totally defenseless when it comes to fraud. It is evident that acquirers (merchants), issuers (banks), the major credit card associations (i.e., VISA® and MasterCard®), and third party vendors are making their best efforts to stay on top of the issue. The theme of fraud management is currently one promoting early detection and warning and loss mitigation as close as possible to the point of sale. There are a number of industry tools that are being employed to manage fraud and risk accordingly.
Applications for credit cards undergo scrutiny from such industry watchdogs and utilities as the VISA ICS (Issuer's Clearinghouse Service), from general information validation procedures, and from credit bureau fraud screen products such as SAFESCAN from Equifax, HAWK from TransUnion, or FACS from Experian. Transaction processing too, undergoes scrutiny from such industry methods as: the Fair Isaac Consumer Score (FICO); the Falcon—Neural Network Model (HNC); NESTOR—Neural Network Model; Queue Based Fraud Detection (TSYS DFS); the VISA Consumer Risk Score (CRIS); and, the VISA Magnetic Code Verification (CVV/CVC).
While the industry has taken steps to safeguard against fraud, it is recognized that the existing fraud detection technology (such as making calls to cardholders when a fraud is suspected) can impact desired customer service and convenience. Therefore, a balance is required in the state of fraud management that will allow the industry to protect itself while remaining commercially viable.
One aspect of progressive fraud management is the development of a concept, structure and effective method for allowing fraud to be identified, measured, and proactively managed at the task level. Another requirement for effective fraud management is the development of an ability to benchmark against the industry.

Method of upgrading third party functionality in an electronic fraud management system


Disclosed is a computer implemented method of displaying an architecture visual model in a symbol based table, the architecture visual model including a plurality of visual objects. Each of the visual objects is at a level relative to other visual objects and linked to at least one other object and is capable of inheriting information from other linked visual objects. Visual links indicate relationships among the plurality of visual objects. The level indicates the number of objects through which one object is linked to another object. Some of the visual objects are grouped into a first a group and a second group based on object types. The objects are arranged in the first group and the second group into a two dimensional table. The objects in the first group are in the first dimension and the objects in the second group are in the second dimension based on the linkages and levels between the objects. A visual symbol is denoted in the symbol based table to indicate a relationship between an object in the first dimension and another object in the second dimension at an intersection within the two dimensional table.

The present invention relates generally to a method for planning and designing object-oriented systems, and more specifically, to a method for planning and designing IT (Information Technology) strategies and architecture plans based on which an Information Technology infrastructure can be built.
The present application is related to Ser. No. 08/814,179 filed Mar. 10, 1997, now abandoned; Ser. No. 08/812,889 filed Mar. 10, 1997, now abandoned; Ser. No. 08/814,493 filed Mar. 10, 1997, now abandoned; Ser. No. 08/814,180 filed Mar. 10, 1997, now abandoned; Ser. No. 08/815,408 filed Mar. 10, 1997, now abandoned; Ser. No. 08/914,747 filed Aug. 19, 1997, pending; Ser. No. 08/914,415 filed Aug. 19, 1997, pending; Ser. No. 08/914,559 filed Aug. 19, 1997, pending; Ser. No. 08/914,562 filed Aug. 19, 1997, pending; Ser. No. 08/914,542 filed Aug. 19, 1997, pending; and Ser. No. 08/814,181 filed Mar. 10, 1997; pending, which are incorporated into the present application by reference.
With the development of the modern technologies prevalent in today's IT infrastructures--such as client/server systems, data warehouses, massively parallel systems and highly distributed networking, it is well acknowledged that Information Technology (IT) can help an enterprise manage its operational business environments, delight customers, predict customers' future needs, increase market shares, and enhance profits. Information Technology can also enable an enterprise to better use its resources and improve coordination among different organizations within the enterprise, thus improving its efficiency and competitiveness.
Information Technology (IT) infrastructures are the platform on which IT-enabled business systems can be implemented. However, designing and building a high quality IT infrastructure solution for an enterprise is a complex task, because it involves business knowledge about the industry in which the enterprise operates, the organizational and operational knowledge of that enterprise, and the technology knowledge to build the IT infrastructure. An infrastructure solution design may involve an evolving decision process from various parties, including executive officers, managers, IT system users, designers, and builders.
To cope with the complexity of an IT infrastructure solution, an IT architecture plays a role to break down a complex task into smaller and simpler components, and allows the various parties to view the IT infrastructure solution with different perspectives and objectives. Based on a business-aligned IT architecture, an IT architecture consultant can develop IT strategy and plan deliverables for an enterprise. Based on the IT strategy architecture planning deliverables for the enterprise, the various parties, including executive officers, managers, users, designers, and builders, can analyze the investment, risk, feasibility, effort, etc. An IT architecture visual model (which is created by a graphical-based or symbol-based tool) is very effective to present an IT architecture deliverable.
Usually, the elements in an IT architecture can be classified into several categories, such as business, operational (or procedural), technical, etc. Many times the rationale or justification of making a decision to build the elements in one category are based on the elements in another category. For example, the rationale or justification for making the decision to build the elements in a technical category is based on the elements in business category. Thus, within an IT architecture, it is crucial to define the relationships among the elements in the two concerning categories and arrange them in a fashion that is suitable for making such decisions. In addition, as business and IT undergo rapid and sometimes extreme changes, it is a necessity to make such a decision in a fast paced and dynamic fashion.
Therefore, there has been a need to provide a method for arranging the elements in an IT architecture in a fashion that is suitable for making decisions based upon a potentially large number of diverse rationale and to view these decisions and rationale in an easy to use visual model.
There has been another need to provide a method for providing a visual model that allows immediate visual interpretation of relationships between, information about, and knowledge of, the elements in the different categories thereby allowing better understanding for the IT architecture visual model user as to the nature of these relationships.
The present invention provides such a method to meet these needs.

Method for displaying an IT (Information Technology) architecture visual model in a symbol-based decision rational table


A circuit includes: a portion for performing a logical operation based on a binary modulated signal and a cyclic signal; serial-to-parallel converter for sampling a operation output for parallel output; correlation filter having multiple digital filters for allowing the parallel signal values to pass therethrough; maximum difference detector for detecting a maximum difference in a period during which a difference between the maximum and minimum output signal values from digital filters is greater than a threshold; timing detector for detecting the inversion timing of each output signal value; and decision timing exterminating portion for determining decision timing based on the maximum difference and the detected inversion timing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to decision a timing synchronous circuit and a receiver circuit, and more particularly, to a decision timing synchronous circuit and a receiver circuit which extract the optimum decision timing in generating a demodulated signal from a signal that is oversampled at a frequency higher than the modulation rate of a received signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) receivers in a Bluetooth system or a wireless communication system employ 2.4 GHz band radio signals. Such a Bluetooth receiver includes a RFIC (Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit) transceiver for extracting a baseband signal at a 1 MHz symbol transmission rate from the aforementioned 2.4 GHz band radio signals, and a baseband receiver circuit for assembling a packet from the extracted baseband signal (digital serial signal).
Transmission of the baseband signal is initiated at a time slot boundary at every 625 μs, allowing first a 4-bit-length preamble, then a 64-bit-length synchronization word, and finally a variable-length payload to be transmitted.
The baseband receiver circuit in a Bluetooth receiver performs oversampling at a frequency higher than the modulation rate of the received signal to extract the received signal at intervals of the number of times of sampling corresponding to the modulation rate of the received signal for comparison with a predefined preamble pattern. After it is determined that the comparison result (correlation value) is equal to or greater than a desired expectation value, a location at which the maximum correlation value is obtained exceeding a threshold value is recognized as the optimum decision timing for demodulation.
The conventional baseband receiver circuit reproduces a clock signal simply by detecting only the rising edge and/or the falling edge of a received baseband signal, allowing the clock signal to be used for sampling the baseband signal to reconstruct symbols.
However, the aforementioned decision timing recognition method that employs the conventional baseband receiver circuit has the following problems.
For example, assuming that "b" is the number of symbols of a preamble and "n" is the number of times of oversampling per one symbol, the conventional decision timing synchronous circuit requires (b−1)×(n+1) or more shift register stages. Accordingly, this leads to a tremendous increase in the scale of the circuit for determining decision timing.
Additionally, as described above, decision timing is conventionally recognized based on the maximum correlation value between a signal obtained by oversampling at a frequency higher than the modulation rate and the preamble pattern. However, when a received signal is provided in an environment without so much noise, a plurality of maximal correlation values appearing successively may make it uncertain where the optimum timing is available, thus causing it difficult to recognize the optimum decision timing simply with the correlation value.
Furthermore, an offset can occur in the output from a signal detector though it depends on the mechanism of demodulation of the receiver circuit. For example, the FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) can be employed possibly with a frequency offset, while the BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) can be employed possibly with a DC offset. Conventionally, before a decision timing synchronization is accomplished to obtain proper decision timing, it was necessary to compensate for and thereby cancel an offset, e.g., by AFC (Automatic Frequency Control) or the like.

Decision timing synchronous circuit and receiver circuit


A spa cover lifting device that easily lifts and stows the removed cover out of sight below the upper edge of the spa is disclosed. When closing, the lifter assists the cover up out of its hidden stowage, and guides the cover back into position on the spa. One difference in this design from current art is that the spa cover when stowed disappears out of sight to those in the spa, below the top edge of the spa. Current spa cover lifters generally all park at least part of the stowed cover above the top edge of the spa, blocking views and reducing apparent roominess. Fourteen exemplary methods are shown to accomplish such a spa cover lifter, accommodating different size spas and cover designs, but it could also be done in other ways.

There are numerous patented and produced spa cover lifter designs on the market. But all the existing designs stow the folded spa cover stack so it protrudes above the top of the spa, blocking the view of occupants in or near the spa. Reading spa owner's comments in on-line spa forums, and conversations with spa store personnel, reveal that many spa owners and prospective owners do not want the cover protruding above the top edge of the spa when folded and stowed. They want the cover to disappear. Brochures from spa manufacturers show all their spas uncovered with no cover in sight, despite the fact that virtually all spas are sold with and use covers—for safety, cleanliness and thermal efficiency. They picture them without the covers because with their lifters, the covers, when open, stick up and intrude on the serene atmosphere of the open spa, and block views.
Owners reclining in their spa usually have their head and eye level close to the top edge of the spa. So a stowed cover that sticks up even a few inches blocks the vision completely in that direction. A cover that sticks up even one foot above the spa top seems like a wall, drastically decreasing the open feeling of the spa environment. Spa owners need and want the cover—they must have one—but they want it to disappear when open, without hauling the 40-60 lb. cover into another room. When they are ready to use the spa, they want the cover to quietly, quickly and easily disappear. A wife should be able to uncover the spa by herself, without struggling with the heavy weight of the cover, and make the cover disappear. She should be able to quickly and effortlessly lift the heavy cover back up from its hidden stowage, back onto the spa, in precisely the correct aligned position. This can be even more crucial for elderly or disabled owners with limited strength.
Some prior efforts disclose lifting mechanism for spa cover lifters that purport to stow the folded cover stack below the top edge of the spa. One stows a divided and folded cover on both sides of the spa—U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,600, entitled "Spa cover" discloses a split bi-folding cover and cover lifters for a spa. The cover consists of two equal members mounted on both sides of the spa, each having two panels outwardly foldable. The inner panel of each panel member can be folded or pivoted outwardly in opposite directions onto the outer panels to expose the central portion of the spa. The folded panel members can then be folded outward to expose the entire spa, then each lowered to be out of sight. The bi-folding configuration stores below the top edge of the spa, but requires the panels to be stored on two sides of the spa, so there are two independent and duplicate opening and closing procedures, one on each side, and entry to the spa is restricted by folded cover stacks on two sides of the spa. The lowering mechanism is highly complicated and requires the user to exit the spa to lower the folded cover stacks, then again to raise them when it is time to close the cover.
Two other prior efforts illustrate impossible vertical adjacent stowages of a single-fold cover above the pad and below the top edge of the spa. Virtually all current spas sold are more than twice as wide as they are tall, meaning that a single-fold spa cover that is wide enough to cover the entire spa width, when folded, would be wider than the spa is tall. So if this folded cover is stored on the pad vertically adjacent to the spa, the cover stack must protrude above the upper edge of the spa.
One such is U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,238, entitled "Spa cover lift" which discloses an apparatus attachable to the side of the spa for receiving and retaining the spa cover. The device includes a movable frame that is pivotably attachable to the spa such that the movable frame can be displaced between extended and retracted positions with respect to the side of the spa. The cover must be slid from the top surface of the spa onto the supportive surface. This is not actually a spa cover lifter in that the user must man-handle the folded spa cover off the spa and into the carrier. The user then must exit the spa to fold the carrier down beside the spa, and out of his view. Then, before covering the spa, the user would have to again exit the spa to access the handles to unfold the carrier back to level, then get back into the spa to man-handle the folded cover stack off the carrier and back onto the spa, then exit the spa to finish unfolding the cover. The spa illustrated is freakishly narrow and tall. Although the illustrations show the folded cover stowed vertically adjacent to the spa, and below the top edge of the spa, this would not be dimensionally possible with normal spa sizes and a single-fold cover (see Table II).
Another, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,153, entitled "Spa cover lift mechanism" discloses a spa cover lift frame comprising a single-fold cover mounted on the spa using a frame which includes left and right mounting brackets configured to be mounted to the respective left and right spa side walls adjacent the storage-side wall. Each of the left and right mounting brackets consist of an elongated bracket flange configured to be mounted flush against a side wall of the spa with the second end adjacent the spa storage-side wall. Pivots are situated on the mounting brackets, as are pivot stops. A "U" shaped reinforced carrier, including opposed substantially parallel support arm members and a cross member extending between the support arm members, is mounted to the brackets for pivotal motion about a lift axis. The left and right mounting brackets and the carrier are configured to be mounted on the spa side walls with the carrier pivotably on the lift axis between a down position where the cross member is positioned against the spa cover adjacent the hinge such that the spa cover may be folded over the cross member, and a raised position where the folded spa cover is supported on the cross member and is substantially upright and adjacent to the spa end wall. Although the illustrations, with a freakishly narrow and tall spa, show the folded cover stowed vertically adjacent to the spa above the pad and below the top edge of the spa, this would not be dimensionally possible with normal spa sizes and a single-fold cover (see Table II). The folded cover stack is only supported near the hinge line and freely pivots near the hinge line, until freely suspended in the stowed position. Unless another person is available to support the storage side of the cover stack during opening and closing, the cover stack would rub heavily on the storage-side upper lip of the spa when opening and closing, causing drag, and likely damaging the gelcoat finish of the spa and the underside of the spa cover. Such underside spa cover damage can allow water invasion and resultant increased weight, accelerating the damage.
This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summary and Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended to be an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor be viewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above.

System and method for a disappearing spa cover lifter


Various embodiments provide systems, methods, devices, and instructions for performing simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) that involve initializing a SLAM process using images from as few as two different poses of a camera within a physical environment. Some embodiments may achieve this by disregarding errors in matching corresponding features depicted in image frames captured by an image sensor of a mobile computing device, and by updating the SLAM process in a way that causes the minimization process to converge to global minima rather than fall into a local minimum.

A SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) process (e.g., algorithm) can be used by a mobile computing device (e.g., mobile phone, tablet, wearable augmented reality (AR) device, wearable, autonomous aerial or ground vehicle, or a robot) to map the structure of a physical environment surrounding the mobile computing device and to localize the mobile computing device's relative position within that mapped environment. A SLAM process can usually map and localize, in real-time, as the mobile computing device moves about within its physical environment.
Although not exclusively image-based, some SLAM processes achieve mapping and localization by using images of the physical environment provided by an image sensor associated with the mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone's built-in camera. From the captured images, such SLAM processes can recover the mobile computing device position and construct a map of the physical environment surrounding the mobile computing device, by recovering both the image sensor's pose and the structure of the map without initially knowing either.
SLAM processes that use captured images usually require several images of corresponding physical features (hereafter, features), in the physical environment, that are captured by an image sensor (e.g., of a mobile computing device) at different poses. The images captured from the different camera locations permit such SLAM processes to converge and start their localization and mapping processes. Unfortunately, the localization problem in an image-based SLAM process is usually difficult to solve due to errors in matching corresponding features between captured images—these errors tend to move the local result of the minimization problem of the SLAM process to a local minimum rather than a global minima, which provides a specific location.

Systems and methods for simulatenous localization and mapping


The invention is directed to a programmer for communication with different medical devices that utilize different telemetry communication techniques. The programmer receives telemetry signals from a given medical device, and selects an appropriate communication mode, which can be pre-programmed into the programmer as one of a plurality of possible communication modes. The programmer can configure itself for communication with a given medical device based on the telemetry signal it receives. Specifically the programmer is implemented as a software based, power efficient receiver/transmitter based upon an inexpensive, simple motor-controller DSP.

Telemetry generally refers to communication of data, instructions, and the like between a medical device and a medical device programmer. For example, the programmer may use telemetry to program a medical device to deliver a particular therapy to a patient. In addition, the programmer may use telemetry to interrogate the medical device. In particular, the programmer may obtain diagnostic data, event marker data, activity data and other data collected or identified by the medical device. The data may be used to program the medical device for delivery of new or modified therapies. In this manner, telemetry between a medical device and a programmer can be used to improve or enhance medical device therapy.
Telemetry typically involves wireless data transfer between a medical device and the programmer using radio frequency (RF) signals, infrared (IR) frequency signals, or other electromagnetic signals. Any of a variety of modulation techniques may be used to modulate data on a respective electromagnetic carrier wave. Alternatively, telemetry may be performed using wired connections, sound waves, or even the patient's flesh as the transmission medium. A number of different telemetry systems and techniques have been developed to facilitate the transfer of data between a medical device and the associated programmer.
Many implantable medical devices (IMDs) support telemetry. Examples of an IMD include implantable cardiac pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, implantable pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillators, implantable muscular stimulus devices, implantable brain stimulators, other implantable organ stimulation devices, implantable drug delivery devices, implantable monitors, and the like. Telemetry, however, is not limited to communication with IMDs. For example, telemetry may also be used to communicate with non-implanted medical devices in substantially the same way as it is used with IMDs.
The evolution and advancement of telemetry has yielded a number of advances in the art including, for example, improved communication integrity, improved data transmission rates, improved communication security, and the like. Moreover, as new therapeutic techniques are developed, telemetry allows the new techniques to be programmed into older medical devices, including devices previously implanted in a patient. Unfortunately, the evolution of telemetry has also resulted in proliferation of a wide variety of different systems and communication techniques that generally require a unique programmer for communication with each type of device. Consequently, different types of medical devices, medical devices manufactured by different companies, or even similar medical devices manufactured by the same company, often employ different telemetry techniques. Accordingly, a wide variety of different programmers are needed to communicate with different medical devices in accordance with the different telemetry techniques employed by the medical devices.
A proposed solution to the large and diverse number of programmers required in a hospital and/or follow-up clinic environment to program, interrogate or follow patients with IMDs is a "universal programmer" as proposed, for example, by P Stirbys in "A Challenge: Development of a Universal Programmer", PACE, Vol. 16, April 1993, pg 693–4 and by R Fortney, et al in "Activation Times for "Emergency Backup" Programs", PACE, Vol. 19, April 1996, pg 465–71. As pointed out in these articles, the difficulty of implementing the required multiple up/down link formats for even a subset of the programmers currently in use and applying all the various formats in a single programmer is formidable.
Prior art programmers have included optimized and customized bandpass filters and demodulators for demodulating and detecting the telemetered data signal from an IMD from a particular manufacturer. It would be prohibitively expensive, large and complex to incorporate the required amplification, filtering and demodulation of all manufacturers' IMDs in a single programmer.
Although such typical present day programmers have performed generally effectively, they are considered to be unduly complex and bulky, requiring a lot of shelf space to store programmers from several manufacturers in a typical clinic. There is a need for an energy efficient programmer apparatus of this kind that is configurable to receive and demodulate data telemetered from a variety of implantable devices according to many different modulation schemes, with reduced complexity, size and cost. The present invention fulfills this need.

Multi-mode programmer for medical device communication