In an apparatus and a method for processing a calling tone of a wire/wireless telephone, if an RF signal corresponding to a ring receiving generation control signal is transmitted to a portable device from a fixed device after a ring signal is received in the fixed device of the wire/wireless telephone, the portable device measures the distance between the fixed device and the portable device according to electric field strength of the RF signal transmitted by the fixed device. If the measured distance is less than a preset reference distance, the portable device disables generation of the calling tone and the calling tone is generated in the fixed device only. Thus, when the fixed device is near the portable device, only the fixed device processes the calling tone for receiving a ring signal, and the problem of user inconvenience caused by lack of harmony between melody chords generated in the fixed device and the portable device is solved.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and a method for generating a calling tone of a wire/wireless telephone and, more specifically, to an apparatus and a method for generating a calling tone of a wire/wireless telephone in dependence upon sensed distance between a portable device (wireless telephone) and a fixed device (fixed body or base of a telephone) according to electric field strength of a received ring signal when the ring signal is received in a portable device of the wire/wireless telephone, and for selectively controlling generation of the calling tone according to the sensed distance.
2. Related Art
Generally, a wire/wireless telephone is composed of a fixed device (wired telephone) and a portable device (wireless telephone). The fixed device can directly make a call to the outside by being connected to a wire line, and the portable device can make a call to the outside by wireless communication with the fixed device.
When a call is generated from the outside, the wire/wireless telephone system generates a calling tone in the fixed device, and immediately transmits a ring sensing signal to the portable device, thereby processing a ring calling tone in the portable device. Thus, the ring calling tone simultaneously rings in the fixed device and in the portable device.
In this case, ring calling bell sounds simultaneously occur in both the fixed device and the portable device. If the bell sound of the fixed device is louder than that of the portable device, it may be difficult to locate the portable device when a user wants to answer the phone with the portable device having the relatively smaller ring calling bell sound.
Also, when the wire/wireless telephone is an IT phone having a portable device, it is supposed to produce a higher sound by using a device having more than forty chords. However, since the calling tone of the portable device is designed to have a buzzer or a single-sound bell sound, there may be considerable differences in the sound source.
Therefore, when receiving a ring signal in the wire/wireless telephone system having such a portable device, different sound sources are created since calling tones of the fixed device and the portable device are different from each other. As a result, when the fixed device is located near the portable device, a user may hear unpleasant calling tones owing to the different calling tones.
In a recent telephone using high quality chords, a body or base (the fixed device) has a calling tone composed of a sound source with more than forty chords and the portable device has a single-sounded calling tone. Thus, when the fixed device and the portable device simultaneously ring with the calling tone, a user may hear a very unpleasant calling tone.
To solve the above problem, the present applicant filed a Korean Patent Application No. 10-1996-0045743, entitled METHOD FOR GENERATING RING RECEIVING SOUND IN WIRELESS TELEPHONE, published on 9 Feb. 1999.
A fixed device of the wire/wireless telephone comprises a ring signal detector, a system controller, a display, a storage, a key input unit, a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) generator, first/second/third amplifiers, a wireless modem, a speaker, a microphone, a hook switch, and a voice processor.
The ring signal detector detects a ring signal received from a local line, and supplies the detected ring receiving detection signal to the system controller.
The system controller processes a ring calling tone according to the ring receiving detection signal supplied from the ring signal detector, outputs the ring calling tone to the speaker through the first amplifier, and controls transmission of wireless data for a ring calling tone processing control signal to the portable device through the third amplifier and the wireless modem. The system controller processes a ring calling tone during ring-on time of the ring receiving detection signal, controls output of the ring calling tone through the first amplifier and the speaker, and controls transmission of a ring calling tone processing control signal to the portable device through the wireless modem during a ring-off time (idle period) of the ring receiving detection signal. In addition, the system controller controls processing of a single-sounded ring calling tone or a high-chord ring calling tone with more than forty chords according to the kind of wire/wireless telephone.
The storage unit comprises a read-only memory (ROM) storing various programs and a random access memory (RAM) temporarily storing data generated while performing a program, and has an area for setting various functions.
The key input unit has keys for inputting various functions and control commands and number keys for performing a dialing function, and supplies a key selection input signal from a user to the system controller.
The display displays various processing and operating states in accordance with a key input signal inputted from the key input unit under control of the system controller.
The DTMF generator generates a DTMF signal corresponding to the key input signal inputted through the key input unit by the user under control of the system controller, and supplies the DTMF signal to the voice processor.
The voice processor processes a voice signal from a caller received through the local line to output the voice signal through the speaker, and processes a voice signal inputted through the microphone to transmit the voice signal to the other party through the local line.
The first amplifier amplifies a calling tone processing signal generated in the system controller and the voice signal processed in the voice processor to a certain level, and outputs the amplified signals through the speaker.
The second amplifier amplifies the voice signal of the user inputted through the microphone to a certain level, and supplies the amplified signal to the voice processor.
The third amplifier amplifies the calling tone processing control signal generated in the system controller to a certain level, supplies the amplified signal to the wireless modem, and amplifies a demodulated voice signal and various data supplied from the wireless modem to a certain level to output the amplified signal and the data.
The wireless modem band-modulates a signal inputted through the third amplifier, transmits the modulated signal to the portable device through an antenna, and demodulates a signal transmitted from the portable device to a voice band signal. It then supplies the demodulated signal to the third amplifier. The wireless modem receives a radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted from the portable device by means of an RF transceiving module included therein, modulates the various signals and the data supplied through the third amplifier to an RF signal, and then transmits the RF signal to the portable device.
A portable device of a wire/wireless telephone comprises a wireless modem, a third amplifier, a system controller, a display, a storage unit, a key input unit, first/second amplifiers, a speaker, and a microphone.
The system controller controls overall operations of the portable device, receives the ring calling tone processing control signal from the fixed device, and controls ringing of the ring calling tone during an idle period of a ring signal.
The storage unit stores an identification (ID) of the portable device and various programs, and temporarily stores various data generated while executing the programs under control of the system controller.
The key input unit has number keys for performing various functions and a dialing function, and supplies to the system controller a key input signal inputted according to user selection.
The third amplifier amplifies a voice signal and various transceiving data to a predetermined level, and outputs the amplified signal and the data. The first and second amplifiers amplify a processed calling tone and a voice signal to a certain level so as to output the calling tone and the signal through the speaker, and amplifies a voice signal of a user inputted through the microphone to a certain level in order to transmit the amplified signal to the fixed device through the wireless modem.
The wireless modem modulates a voice signal to be transmitted under control of the system controller by including an RF transceiving module, transmits the modulated signal to the fixed device through an antenna as an RF signal, demodulates various signals received through the antenna, and then supplies the demodulated signals to the third amplifier.
A calling tone processing operation using the wire/wireless telephone in accordance with a configuration such as that discussed above will now be described.
When the fixed device is in a standby state, it is determined whether the ring signal is detected by the ring signal detector.
If the ring signal is not detected through a local line, the fixed device maintains the standby state and continuously checks for reception of the ring signal. If the ring signal is detected, the system controller of the fixed device generates a bell sound or a melody sound as a calling tone during a ring-on time of the detected ring signal in order to inform the user of a ring receiving signal.
While the calling tone is generated, it is determined whether a ring-off time (idle period) is detected from the detected ring signal.
If the idle period of the ring signal is not detected, the calling tone is continuously generated. In this case, the ring signal is received from the local line and has ring-on and ring-off time periods, thereby generating a ring calling tone during the ring-on time period and stopping the generation of the ring calling tone during the ring-off time period. The generation of the ring calling tone is repeated during the ring-on time period so that the user can hear the ring calling tone.
However, if the idle period of the ring signal is detected from the detected ring signal, wireless data for the ring calling tone generating control signal is transmitted to the portable device during the idle period of the ring signal by controlling the RF transceiving module of the wireless modem of the fixed device.
At this point, it is determined whether the hook switch of the fixed device is turned off. If it is determined that the hook switch is turned off, transmission of the wireless data for the ring calling tone generating control signal to the portable device is disabled. Then, a call is made with a caller by connecting a speech path with the caller through the local line.
After that, it is determined whether the hook switch is turned on during telephone conversation. If it is determined that the hook switch is turned on, the call is completed and the fixed device is initialized. In other words, the fixed device is converted into the standby state.
If it is not determined that the hook switch is turned off, the wireless data for the ring calling tone generating control signal transmitted from the fixed device is received through the RF transceiving module of the wireless modem of the portable device, and is supplied to the system controller of the portable device.
Then, the system controller of the portable device controls outputting of a calling tone, such as a bell sound or a melody sound, through the speaker according to a ring receiving control signal transmitted from the fixed device during the idle period of the ring signal.
As in the case above, after ringing of the ring calling tone in the fixed device during the ring-on time period of the ring signal and ringing of the ring calling tone in the portable device during the idle period (ring-off time), the system controller of the fixed device determines whether the hook switch is turned off in the fixed device or the portable device. At this point, if the hook switch is turned on, that is, the user does not answer the phone, the calling tone is continuously generated in the fixed device and the portable device during the ring-on and ring-off time periods.
Finally, a method for processing the calling tone of the wire/wireless telephone processes the calling tone in the fixed device and the portable device with the use of the ring-on and ring-off time periods of the detected ring signal.
However, such a method for processing the calling tone of the wire/wireless telephone has different calling tones between a body (fixed device) and the portable device while an incoming call is generated in the wire/wireless telephone having the portable device, thereby generating different sound sources. Thus, when the fixed device is located near the portable device, a user may hear unpleasant calling tones due to the different calling tones.
Also, in a recent telephone using high quality chords, if the body has a calling tone having forty chords and the portable device has a single-sound calling tone, there is a problem.
Furthermore, when calling tones are generated in the fixed device and the portable device in turn regardless of the distance between the portable device and the fixed device, the fixed device generates a high-chord calling tone and the portable device generates a single-sound calling tone. As a result, the user can become very annoyed by different calling tones.
The following patents are considered to be generally pertinent to the present invention, but are burdened by the disadvantages set forth above: U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,027 to Mauney et al., entitled ENHANCED WIRELESS HANDSET, INCLUDING DIRECT HANDSET-TO-HANDSET COMMUNICATION MODE, issued on Nov. 19, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,628 to Kuno et al., entitled TELEPHONE SET, issued on Oct. 29, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,172 to Weinstein, entitled ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY FOR RANGE FINDING USING RADIO WAVE SIGNAL STRENGTH, issued on Dec. 8, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,722 to Schaible, entitled MOBILE RADIOTELEPHONE STATION TWO-WAY RANGING SYSTEM, issued on Jan. 12, 1982; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,620 to Schaible, entitled MOBILE RADIOTELEPONE STATION TWO-WAY RANGING SYSTEM, issued on Oct. 21, 1980.

Apparatus and method for generating a calling tone of wire/wireless telephone


Pre-set maximum-flow metering and mixing valves and methods of their operation, including limiting maximum axial (longitudinal) withdrawal of a valve metering stem corresponding to its minimally outlet-occluding location at fully open valve position. A sleeved member is threaded within a mating threaded end of a valve housing and about a mating end of an axially (longitudinally) adjustable flow-metering stem member to limit its travel (as by rotation) from seated fully closed position to a fully open position, corresponding to maximum withdrawal of its tapered end portion from its occluding insertion within the fluid outlet.

Metering and mixing valves are essential in many uses, in home showers, in industrial processes, and in scientific experimentation. Each variable-flow valve has a maximum flow rate at whatever head pressure it is expected to operate, but desired ranges of flow rates may occupy only a lower part of the valve flow capability and hence may be conducive to careless or even intentional wastage of fluid.
Various metering and mixing valves appear in U.S. Pat. Nos., such as Moen 3,592,229; Redman 4,263,940; Hammett et al. 5,322,645; and Anwaerter et al. 5,697,554. In view of inherent limits on maximum flow in substantially all valve designs, those inventors' principal objectives did not include intentional or readily adjustable maximum flow limitation, and their respective contributions differed also.
Despite the foregoing and other examples of meritorious valves, a need remains for built-in control of maximum flow rate, readily pre-settable but precluding resetting by uninformed users.

Pre-set maximum flow metering and mixing valves


A system and process for producing synthetic crude oil from produced fluids of an oil well is disclosed. The system comprises a separation plant for producing an associated gas stream from produced fluids a membrane unit comprising a plurality of polymer membranes to provide a CO2 enriched permeate stream and a CO2 depleted product gas stream, a gas conversion plant for converting the CO2 depleted product gas stream into a synthetic crude oil and a heat exchanger adding heat to the associated gas stream so that the membrane unit operates at a temperature of at least 80° C. during separation of the associated gas stream using the membrane unit. A process using the aforementioned components, including separation of the associated gas stream using the membrane unit at a temperature >80° C., into a CO2 enriched stream and a CO2 depleted product stream, is also described.

Produced fluids from many offshore hydrocarbon reservoirs contain significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases. For example, some fields offshore Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia and others may produce associated gas along with oil that may contain 30-40 vol % CO2 or more. Consistent with regulations and laws, the oil from wells cannot be produced without proper disposal of associated gases. Pipelines to bring this gas to a nearby market may be prohibitively expensive due to the long distances required. Two current methods for disposal of associated gases are either to flare this gas and vent the flue gas to the atmosphere, or to add gas reinjection equipment on to vessel or platform on which the produced fluids are processed. The gas reinjection equipment reinjects the entire gas stream back into a subterranean reservoir. Besides losing the opportunity to monetize the associated gas along with the oil, these conventional approaches have a number of problems.
Increasingly, flaring of the associated gas stream is being banned due to environmental concerns. Second, in the case of reinjection of the associated gas, extensive compression equipment is needed, as the entire gas stream (hydrocarbons and the CO2) need to be injected. Because the associated gas contains high percentages of light hydrocarbon gases (C1-C5), power to compress the associated gas to reach a dense phase or subcritical phase is much higher, as compared to injection of relatively pure CO2. This means that the associated gases would have to be injected at a much higher pressure, which increases the cost and potential subsurface risks.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary prior art system in which produced well fluids 1 from an underwater hydrocarbon production zone (C) is sent to the topsides of a FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading) vessel located in a body of water (B). The produced well fluids 1 are sent to a production separator (E) which separates out by density differences an associated gas stream (4), an oil stream (2), and a produced water stream (3). After suitable water treatment, the produced water (3) is often discharged back into the body of water (B) or reinjected back into the hydrocarbon reservoir (C) or other subterranean reservoir. The oil product of oil stream 2 is often stabilized, and then stored into the hull of the FPSO (A). Stabilized refers to the removal of light gases such C1-C5 gases leaving an oil product with low vapor pressure. Since there is often no available pipeline to export the associated gas stream from the FPSO to a nearby market, the gas stream (4) is either sent to a flare (F) and burned to produce a flue gas (6) or to gas injection compressors (G). Reinjected gas (8) is sent to a gas injection zone (D) that may be located underneath the hydrocarbon production zone (C).
Suggestions have been to optimize the separation of CO2 from associated gases. For example U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/361,961, entitled Process for Upgrading Natural Gas with Improved Management of Gas, suggests using crosslinked polymer membranes to effectively separate CO2 from natural gas. The CO2 stream may be reinjected into subterranean formations and the natural gas used such as for creating Fischer-Tropsch products. The contents of this application are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/974,337, entitled Process and System for Blending Synthetic and Natural Crude Oils Derived from Offshore Produced Fluids, discloses that associated gas are separated into CO2 enriched permeate stream and a CO2 depleted gas product stream. The gas product stream is converted into synthesis gas (hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO)) by gas reformers and then the synthesis gas is converted by contacting hybrid catalysts in a gas conversion reactor to produce an effluent containing water, gas and hydrocarbons which, preferably, are general free of wax products (C21+) at ambient temperatures and conditions. The wax free product or synthetic crude oil may then be stabilized by removing light gases and blended with the natural crude oil and stored aboard a production platform or vessel. Wax typically causes numerous problems in Fischer-Tropsch operations. Accordingly, wax is often required to be cracked by way of hydrocracker unit back into liquid products at ambient conditions. However, with weight and space being a premium on an offshore platform, producing a generally wax free hydrocarbon liquid or synthetic crude oil does away with the need for such a hydrocracking unit. The contents of this application are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
There are opportunities for improvements in such systems that use polymer membranes to separate CO2 gas from product gases of associated gas and then use the product gas to produce synthetic crude oil suitable for storage or transport on a vessel. The present disclosure describes such improvements.

Process and system for producing synthetic crude oil from offshore produced fluids containing high CO


Embodiments describe an eartip including an eartip body having an attachment end and an interfacing end opposite from the attachment end, and including an inner eartip body and an outer eartip body. The inner eartip body has a sidewall that extends between the interfacing end and the attachment end, and includes a groove formed in an outer surface of the sidewall. The outer eartip body is sized and shaped to be inserted into an ear canal and extends from the interfacing end toward the attachment end of the eartip.

In-ear listening devices can be used with a wide variety of electronic devices such as portable media players, smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, stereo systems, and other types of devices. In-ear listening devices have historically included one or more small components configured to be placed in a user's ear, a driver that outputs sound through the component(s), and a cable that electrically connects the in-ear listening device to an audio source. Other in-ear listening devices can be wireless devices that do not include a cable and instead, wirelessly receive a stream of audio data from a wireless audio source. Such in-ear listening devices can include, for instance, wireless earbud devices or in-ear hearing devices that operate in pairs (one for each ear) or individually for outputting sound to, and receiving sound from, the user. For noise reduction, some in-ear listening devices can include an eartip that at least partially inserts into the user's ear canal. The eartip can direct sound outputted by the in-ear listening device through its sound channel and directly into the user's ear canal.
While eartips for wireless listening devices can improve noise reduction for some users, they also have some potential drawbacks. For example, eartips often improperly fit in a user's ear canal, which can cause discomfort for the user. Improperly fitting eartips can also result in a collapse of the sound channel, which can decrease acoustic performance and require the use of large drivers to compensate for lost performance. Implementing large drivers in wireless listening devices can result in a bulky in-ear listening device with poor battery life.


A ring electrode for an implantable medical device includes a conductive tubular member adapted to be attached to a lead body and having a continuous generally helical slot formed therein to form a coil thereby enabling omni directional bending. The coil is of flattened cross section and in one embodiment, the coil is shaped as a spiral of uniform pitch. In another embodiment, a plurality of uniformly spaced dovetail joints connect a plurality of first and second adjacent loops. Each dovetail joint includes a plurality of uniformly spaced wedge-shaped tenons projecting longitudinally from a first loop, a plurality of uniformly spaced wedge-shaped mortises longitudinally indented into a second loop, the wedge-shaped mortises being similarly shaped and sized in relation to the wedge-shaped tenons, the plurality of wedge-shaped tenons being fittingly received by the wedge-shaped mortises at all locations between the proximal and distal ends of the ring electrode.

A variety of medical electrode leads are available today for the diagnosis and treatment of various disorders of the cardiovascular and neurological systems. These electrode leads can be used to sense electrical activity within the body and to deliver different forms of energy to stimulate, ablate, cauterize or pace. The core electrode technology common to all of these lead designs is the application of one or more metallic bands on a lead body. Examples of medical leads using metallic banded electrodes include permanent and temporary cardiac pacing leads, electro-physiologic (EP) leads, electrocautery probes and spinal stimulation leads. The use of pre-formed metallic band electrodes manufactured from noble metals, such as gold or platinum and various other conductive alloys has found widespread application despite their functional design and performance limitations.
Metallic band electrodes possess distinct steerability problems. The steerability problems arise from the inflexible nature of the circular rings or bands. These inflexible bands of metal are typically adhesively bonded, crimped or otherwise attached to the exterior surface of the lead body. The bands are electrically coupled to electrical conductors that typically extend through one or more lumens in the lead body. The bands tend to be relatively thick and are therefore rigid. For neurological applications, the bands are typically about 3 millimeters wide. When it is considered that often multiple ring electrodes are employed at spaced locations along the distal end portion of the lead body, they significantly impact the ability of the distal end portion of the lead to flex and conform to tissue structures.
As noted above, band electrodes placed on a flexible lead stiffen the lead and thereby reduce its steerability. As such, leads having band electrodes are often restricted to applications where steerability and selective placement are not required and affect a variety of applications.
In cardiac therapies, such as for example ablation therapy, precise steerability and placement of a lead is necessary. Ablation therapy requires that a lead having sensing/ablation electrodes on the distal end is steered through the patient's vascular system and into a predetermined chamber of the heart. The lead is manipulated so as to place the electrodes into direct contact with the myocardial tissue that is sensed and/or to be ablated. The aberrant path and/or ectopic foci is first located using a mapping technique in which cardiac depolarization signals picked up by the electrodes are transmitted over electrical conductors in the lead to a suitable monitor/analyzer. Once located, the aberrant conductive pathway or the ectopic foci is ablated. This procedure requires the ability to precisely control the lead over the surfaces of the heart. Therefore, a need exists for a lead that provides precise control and steerability to accurately locate the electrodes in the heart.
The process of terminating an arrhythmia such as ventricular fibrillation is accomplished by means of a high energy shock to the myocardium. When using defibrillation leads placed inside the heart (endocardially), the most accepted method to deliver the shock is through a helical wound coil electrodes placed inside the heart.
The method of using helical wound coils to terminating atrial or ventricular fibrillation is satisfactory in principle. Coils do however have large gaps and spaces between the windings which encourage fibrotic growth to intertwine. This effectively locks the lead into the myocardial tissue. The lead then becomes extremely difficult if not impossible to remove without invasive surgery. Furthermore, coil electrodes can stretch, unwind, expand, or contract. This can give the implanting physician an unreliable sense of feel when implanting the lead. The lead can also build up a torque load (similar to winding up a spring) if the lead is twist or turned.
Another disadvantage to coil windings is that the coils are positioned on the outer lead body. This increases the overall diameter of the lead significantly. Furthermore, the coil windings result in a stiffer lead since the coils restrict the bending of the lead.
There is a problem regarding low voltage bradycardia ring electrodes. Traditionally, ring electrodes for low voltage applications use a solid tube (or ring) for creating the electrode. Historically, this design has been utilized for all low voltage applications. However, it can become difficult when placing LV leads with ring electrodes in the left side of the heart via the coronary sinus. The ring electrodes are a hindrance because of the stiffness they incur on the lead. Since the ring is a solid tube of metal, the lead stiffens in the region of the ring. This stiffness makes the lead very difficult if not impossible to place in the left side of the heart through the coronary sinus.
Also, an RV or RA ring electrode can hinder placement of a lead by creating a stiff section which can create drag or jamming in an introducer sheath or within the vein when implanting the lead.
A number of patents typify the prior art in regard to lead constructions for cardiac pacing, for example, intended to be placed in the chambers of the heart or the coronary venous system and thereby subjected to a series of tortuous bends, the leads having the flexibility to follow these bends but having enough structural support to allow them to be pushed and twisted in order to navigate within these veins.
In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,511 to O'Neill discloses a ring electrode for a pacing lead in which the electrode is secured to a conductor coil by soft metal disposed in a slit in insulation covering the conductor coil. U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,629 to Baudino et al. discloses a lead in which ring electrodes are constructed according to a novel technique in which the body of the lead is etched or milled to provide notches and the ring electrodes are formed by enplacing a C-shaped conductor over the notch and closing it into place to provide an isodiametric lead construction. U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,590 to Wessman et al. discloses a lead construction provided for use in stimulating body tissue or an organ that has a flexible band electrode including at least one slot configured to provide increased flexibility.

Electrode design for defibrillation and/or sensing capabilities


A method for preventing wrong-patient errors includes receiving a selection of a current imaging subject. The current imaging subject is selected for a current image acquisition session comprising capturing one or more current images of the current imaging subject utilizing at least a first image sensor system of a first imaging modality. The method includes accessing one or more previous images of a previous imaging subject. The one or more previous images depict the previous imaging subject according to at least a second imaging modality that is different from the first imaging modality. The method includes presenting the one or more previous images on a display system and, in response to determining that the previous imaging subject matches the current imaging subject based upon the one or more previous images, performing the current image acquisition session.

Advances in computing technology have resulted in a concomitant advance in medical device technologies, including within the field of diagnostic medicine. Particularly, the past century has demonstrated significant advances in medical imaging devices. Such advances have been hallmarked by the improvement and advent of new radiologic devices, such as radiography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other radiologic imaging systems that allow for the non-invasive viewing and exploration of internal structures of the body. These medical imaging technologies allow physicians and clinicians to better document, diagnose, and treat pathologies.
Unfortunately, medical imaging studies are prone to mislabeling, such as associating the wrong demographic information (e.g., a different patient's name and medical record number) to a patient's imaging examination. Patient misidentification errors in medical imaging can result in serious consequences, such as the misdiagnosis of a disease state or the application of an inappropriate treatment regimen. Furthermore, the failure to properly associate a medical image study and patient identification may propagate to future imaging studies and negatively affect patient management decisions.
For example, an exemplary wrong-patient error case is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The radiograph illustrated in FIG. 1A is a radiograph obtained from a 43-year old black male following coronary artery bypass grafting and who has a left ventricular assist device and an implantable defibrillator. The patient presented with heart failure, and the healthcare personnel recruited to evaluate this radiograph presumed the radiograph illustrated in FIG. 1B to be a radiograph from the same patient captured at an earlier timepoint. However, the radiograph of FIG. 1B is actually a radiograph of a 64-year old white male who had undergone bilateral lung volume reduction surgery for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The radiograph of FIG. 1B was intentionally mislabeled as an earlier radiograph of the patient illustrated in the radiograph of FIG. 1A. When presented to seasoned radiologists for diagnosis, 4 out of 4 readers failed to identify the mislabeling error and assumed that the patient had suffered a myocardial infarction and complications from surgery in the interim. In general, the nature of radiologic planar and cross-sectional images makes it difficult to correctly correlate radiologic medical images with patient details absent other identifying characteristics. As in the foregoing example, obvious age and racial differences between the patients of the mislabeled radiographs were completely lost or unobservable within the radiologic images, making it difficult for radiologists to identify the error.
Accordingly, there is a need to minimize or prevent mislabeling of radiologic images.
The subject matter described herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

Systems and methods for preventing errors in medical imaging


A digital-to-analog converter comprising a digital input; a first thermometer coder for generating a set of first control signals based on a first portion of the digital input; at least one fractional-bit DAC cell controlled by one or more of the first control signals for providing a fractional-bit current based on the first portion of the digital input; at least one second thermometer coder for generating a set of second control signals based on a second portion of the digital input; and at least one multi-bit DAC cell controlled by one or more of the second control signals for providing a multi-bit current based on the second portion of the digital input, wherein the fractional-bit current and the multi-bit current are combined to form an output of the DAC corresponding to the digital input.

The present invention relates generally to digital-to-analog converters and more particularly to a system and method for a high-precision digital-to-analog converter using thermometer coding and fractional-bit DAC.
Digital-to-analog conversion is a process for converting information from a digital signal into an analog signal such as a voltage or a current. The digital signal can usually be represented as a binary number. A binary number system represents numeric values using two symbols, typically 0 and 1. Binary numbers are characterized by their having different weighting for each digit (or bit), such that each bit represents an order of magnitude greater value. For a binary number, the weighting of the bit, often referred to as the significance of the bit, doubles for each digit. For example, bit 1 is twice the value of bit 0 and bit 2 is twice the value of bit 1.
In view of the foregoing, one means for converting a binary number to an analog signal is to couple the digital signal to a logic circuit that would, in turn, control multiple current sources. Each bit of the digital signal would control a current source to provide a current proportional to the weighting of the bit. For example, the least significant bit would control one unit of current, whereas the second least significant bit would control 2 units of current. The output of each of the current sources would be coupled to a resistive network such that a voltage corresponding to the digital input signal would be generated according to the weighting of the input bit patterns. This methodology is referred to as an "R-2R" DAC because resistance R and 2R are used to construct a telescope resistance network. The R-2R DAC has several limitations when put into practice. One of these limitations is the output impedance matching for the resistive network. Another limitation is that device mismatches make it difficult to achieve high precision with monotonicity. And a third limitation to the R-2R DAC is that there may be an increased in noise as the input signal changes to a more significant bit. For example, from "0111" to "1000". In this example, the noise is caused by turning off the current to bits 1, 2 and 3 while turning on the current to bit 4. Because of these limitations, binary coded DACs are often limited to 8 bit applications.
To overcome the limitations of the binary coded DAC described above, a "thermometer coder" may be used to convert a digital signal to an analog equivalent. Each bit of the thermometer coded signal would control a current source of equal weight, thus providing a current proportional to the fully decoded signals. Thermometer coders are used because the number of DAC cells are turned on proportional to the value of the input data. Thus, monotonicity can be ensured. This provides a lower noise analog output because there is less switching noise. The drawback to a thermometer coder is that they require a relatively large amount of area to implement on an integrated circuit. Therefore, to increase resolution, a combination of a thermometer coder combined and a conventional binary-coded DAC may be used to create a "segmented" DAC.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional segmented DAC 100. The segmented DAC 100 includes a binary input signal (b0-b9) coupled to latches 116. A first portion of the latches provides a signal that is coupled to the switches 118 and to a thermometer coder 114. The switches 118 are weighted to provide a current proportional to its respective bit (I0-I6). The thermometer coder also provides a signal to a second portion of the switches 118, which are weighted to provide substantially equal amounts of a current (I7-I13). The output of the switches 118 is coupled to a resistive network for providing a voltage (Vout) that is proportional to the binary input signal (b0-b9).
Higher level resolution may be achieved with this combined "segmented" method; however, it also requires a more sophisticated layout scheme, a relatively large integrated circuit area, and the output impedance needs to match the resistive network. Additionally, segmented DACS may also require trimming to correct for manufacturing variations and nonlinearity. For these reasons, it is desirable to have a digital-to-analog converter that uses less integrated circuit areas and provides a better quality analog output signal.

High precision DAC with thermometer coding

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides hydrochlorofluorocarbons having 3 to 5 carbons atoms, 1 to 2 chlorine atoms, and an OH rate constant from about 8 to about 25 cm.sup.3 /molecule/sec.times.10.sup.-14. The hydrochlorofluorocarbons are useful as solvents and blowing agents.

The present invention relates to a class of hydrochlorofluorocarbons which have 3 to 5 carbon atoms, have 1 to 2 chlorine atoms, and have OH rate constants from about 8 to about 25 cm.sup.3 /molecule/sec.times.10-14.
Vapor degreasing and solvent cleaning with fluorocarbon based solvents have found widespread use in industry for the degreasing and otherwise cleaning of solid surfaces, especially intricate parts and difficult to remove soils.
In its simplest form, vapor degreasing or solvent cleaning consists of exposing a room-temperature object to be cleaned to the vapors of a boiling solvent. Vapors condensing on the object provide clean distilled solvent to wash away grease or other contamination. Final evaporation of solvent from the object leaves behind no residue as would be the case where the object is simply washed in liquid solvent.
For soils which are difficult to remove, where elevated temperature is necessary to improve the cleaning action of the solvent, or for large volume assembly line operations where the cleaning of metal parts and assemblies must be done efficiently and quickly, the conventional operation of a vapor degreaser consists of immersing the part to be cleaned in a sump of boiling solvent which removes the bulk of the soil, thereafter immersing the part in a sump containing freshly distilled solvent near room temperature, and finally exposing the part to solvent vapors over the boiling sump which condense on the cleaned part. In addition, the part can also be sprayed with distilled solvent before final rinsing.
Vapor degreasers suitable in the above-described operations are well known in the art. For example, Sherliker et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,918 disclose such suitable vapor degreasers comprising a boiling sump, a clean sump, a water separator, and other ancilliary equipment.
Cold cleaning is another application where a number of solvents are used. In most cold cleaning applications, the soiled part is either immersed in the fluid or wiped with rags or similar objects soaked in solvents.
In cold cleaning applications, the use of the aerosol packaging concept has long been found to be a convenient and cost effective means of dispensing solvents. Aerosol products utilize a propellant gas or mixture of propellant gases, preferably in a liquefied gas rather than a compressed gas state, to generate sufficient pressure to expel the active ingredients, i.e. product concentrates such as solvents, from the container upon opening of the aerosol valve. The propellants may be in direct contact with the solvent, as in most conventional aerosol systems, or may be isolated from the solvent, as in barrier-type aerosol systems.
Chlorofluorocarbon solvents, such as trichlorotrifluoroethane, have attained widespread use in recent years as effective, nontoxic, and nonflammable agents useful in degreasing applications and other solvent cleaning applications. Trichlorotrifluoroethane has been found to have satisfactory solvent power for greases, oils, waxes and the like. It has therefore found widespread use for cleaning electric motors, compressors, heavy metal parts, delicate precision metal parts, printed circuit boards, gyroscopes, guidance systems, aerospace and missile hardware, aluminum parts and the like. Trichlorotrifluoroethane has two isomers: 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (known in the art as CFC-113) and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (known in the art as CFC-113a). CFC-113 has a boiling point of about 470.degree. C. and has been found to have satisfactory solvent power for greases, oils, waxes, and the like.
Another commonly used solvent is chloroform (known in the art as HCC-20) which has a boiling point of about 630.degree. C. Perchloroethylene is a commonly used dry cleaning and vapor degreasing solvent which has a boiling point of about 121.degree. C. These compounds are disadvantageous for use as solvents because they are toxic; also, chloroform causes liver damage when inhaled in excess.
Although chlorine is known to contribute to the solvency capability of a compound, fully halogenated chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons are suspected of causing environmental problems in connection with the earth's protective ozone layer. Thus, the art is seeking new compounds which do not contribute to environmental problems but yet provide the solvency properties of CFC-113.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS) such as CFC-113 are suspected of causing environmental problems in connection with the ozone layer. Under the Clean Air Act, CFC-113 is being phased-out of production.
In response to the need for stratospherically safe materials, substitutes have been developed and continue to be developed. Research Disclosure 14623 (June 1978) reports that 1,1-dichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (known in the art as HCFC-123) is a useful solvent for degreasing and defluxing substrates. In the EPA "Findings of the Chlorofluorocarbon Chemical Substitutes International Committee", EPA-600/9-88-009 (April 1988), it was reported that HCFC-123 and 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (known in the art as HCFC-141b) have potential as replacements for CFC-113 as cleaning agents.
The problem with these substitutes is that they have a long atmospheric lifetime as determined by their reaction with OH radicals in the troposphere. Table I below contains the OH rate constants and corresponding atmospheric lifetimes for these substitutes. In Table I, Exp K.sub.OH stands for experimental K.sub.OH rate constant, Est K.sub.OH stands for estimated K.sub.OH rate constant, Exp Life stands for experimental lifetime, and Est Life stands for estimated lifetime. The unit on the rate constant is cm.sup.3 /molecule/sec.times.10-14 and the unit on the lifetime is years.
TABLE I ______________________________________ Exp Est Exp Est Number Formula K.sub.OH K.sub.OH Life Life ______________________________________ HCFC-123 CHCl.sub.2 CF.sub.3 3.7 2.96 2.0 2.6 HCFC-124 CF.sub.3 CHClF 1.0 1.00 7.5 7.5 HCFC-141b CFCl.sub.2 CH.sub.3 0.75 2.10 10.1 3.6 HCFC-142b CF.sub.2 ClCH.sub.3 0.38 2.10 19.9 6 HCFC-225ca CF.sub.3 CF.sub.2 CHCl.sub.2 2.49 3.30 2.3 2.3 HCFC-225cb CClF.sub.2 CF.sub.2 CHClF 0.91 3.86 2 1.96 HCC-140 CCl.sub.3 CH.sub.3 1.2 1.21 6.3 6.3 ______________________________________
It would be desirable to have substitutes with OH rate constants of at least about 8 cm .sup.3 /molecule/sec.times.10.sup.-14 which equates to an atmospheric lifetime of 12 months or less.
If the OH rate constant of a compound is too high, the compound is a VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) because it is so reactive that it forms carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. Thus, it would be desirable to have substitutes with OH rate constants of 25 cm.sup.3 /molecule/sec.times.10.sup.-14 or less which equates to an atmospheric lifetime of at least 4 months.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,881 teaches a method of cleaning using hydrochlorofluoropropanes having 2 chlorine atoms and a difluoromethylene group. European Publication 347,924 published Dec. 27, 1989 teaches hydrochlorofluoropropanes having a difluoromethylene group. International Publication Number WO 90/08814 published Aug. 9, 1990 teaches azeotropes having at least one hydrochlorofluoropropane having a difluoromethylene group.
A wide variety of consumer parts is produced on an annual basis in the United States and abroad. Many of these parts have to be cleaned during various manufacturing stages in order to remove undesirable contaminants. These parts are produced in large quantities and as a result, substantial quantities of solvents are used to clean them.
Thus, substitutes having OH rate constants between about 8 and about 25 cm.sup.3 /molecule/sec.times.10.sup.-14 and which are useful in many applications including as solvents are needed in the art.

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons having OH rate constants which do not contribute substantially to ozone depletion and global warming


Power restoration to blade servers including maintaining a list of blade server identifications and a value of power saving for each capped blade server; identifying losing power to the capped blade servers; restoring power to the previously capped blade servers in order of the values of power savings.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, apparatus, and products for power restoration to blade servers.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely complicated devices. Today's computers are much more sophisticated than early systems such as the EDVAC. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware and software components, application programs, operating systems, processors, buses, memory, input/output devices, and so on. As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer higher and higher, more sophisticated computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
One of the areas in which progress has been made is in the administration of numbers of blade servers in blade environments. A typical blade environment may include a dozen or so blade servers or other types of computers in the blade form factor, while a data center taken as a whole may include hundreds or thousands of blade servers. As the number of blade servers in a blade environment increases their consumption of power can also increase. Because a given blade environment often has a certain amount of power capacity there can be a limit to the number of blade servers that can power on. In order to resolve this limitation blade servers must be prevented from exceeding a particular power consumption threshold. Such blades are said to be power capped. Upon loss and restore of power to the entire blade environment, power to each individual blade servers must be restored. It would be desirable to restore power to the blade servers and also ensure that the blade servers are power capped in the same manner as they were prior to losing power to the blade environment.

International Business Machines Corporation


Described are methods of manufacturing a semiconductor device with tungsten contacts between two conductive layers on different interconnect levels. A barrier adhesion layer is formed over interconnect openings followed by a tungsten nucleation film being deposited at a nucleation temperature and a tungsten bulk deposition film being deposited at a bulk deposition temperature, wherein the nucleation temperature is higher than the bulk deposition temperature such that the difference between the nucleation temperature and the bulk deposition temperature improves tungsten gap-fill capability.

As the demands for multi-functional integrated circuits increase, more and more levels of metal interconnects are required to satisfy such increase in device complexity. Tungsten has become the metal interconnect of choice because of its low contact resistance and its ability to be deposited onto the semiconductor substrate by a variety of methods, such as sputtering, physical vapor deposition, and chemical vapor deposition. Chemical vapor deposition is a process in which chemical reactions between gaseous molecules react within a chamber thereby resulting in the formation of thin metallic films, and has been particularly favored for the formation of tungsten contacts because of its excellent gap-filling property. Such gap-filling property, or the ability to provide complete step coverage of the feature size, becomes even more critical as semiconductor devices challenge the sub-micron regime with ever-shrinking feature sizes.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,635,965, 6,593,233, 6,271,129, and 5,371,041 disclose conventional techniques for forming tungsten contacts within the layers of semiconductor wafers by chemical vapor deposition. Unfortunately, such conventional techniques typically result in the formation of voids within the metal contacts, which can detrimentally affect the overall performance of the contacts. In many cases, these conventional techniques have been resulted in voids in upwards of about 25 nm to 30 nm, which can seriously affect overall device performance. Accordingly, what is needed is a technique for forming metal contacts within semiconductor layers that does not suffer from the deficiencies of conventional techniques.

Methods of forming tungsten contacts by chemical vapor deposition

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


There is provided a medical image processing apparatus including an image-extracting section extracting a frame image from in vivo motion picture data picked up by an in vivo image pickup device or a plurality of consecutively picked-up still image data, and an image analysis section analyzing the frame image extracted by the image-extracting section to output an image analysis result. The image analysis section includes a first biological-feature detection section detecting a first biological feature, a second biological-feature detection section detecting, based on a detection result obtained by the first biological feature detection section, a second biological feature in a frame image picked up temporally before or after the image used for detection by the first biological feature detection section; and a condition determination section making a determination for a biological condition based on a detection result obtained by the second biological feature detection section to output the determination.

In general, in conventional endoscopic examinations using an endoscope, in vivo image data picked up by an endoscopic apparatus or an endoscopic observation apparatus are immediately displayed on a display device such as a CRT and externally stored as motion picture data. A physician views the motion pictures or views frame images in the motion pictures as still images, during or after examinations for diagnosis.
Further, in recent years, swallowable capsule endoscopes have been used.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-645, image data picked up in vivo with an in-capsule endoscope is sequentially externally accumulated as motion picture data by radio communication. The physician views the motion pictures or views frame images in motion pictures as still images for diagnosis.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-188026 discloses an apparatus that applies an image analysis process on still images to display the results of the analysis on endoscopic images or in another display area.
The image analysis results allow the physician to make diagnosis on the basis of image analysis values for IHb, vessel analysis, and the like, which are objective determination criteria, without recourse of the physician's subjective.
However, when the physician views motion pictures after endoscopic examinations or views motion pictures picked up by an in-capsule endoscope, the enormous number of frame images contained in the motion pictures results in the need to make much effort in finding a point on the motion pictures at which a suspected lesion is shown, extracting each frame image showing the lesion and apply an image analysis process to the image, and making diagnosis on the basis of each image analysis result.
To solve this problem, a system can be implemented which uses the above image analysis apparatus for still images to apply the same image analysis process to all the frame images contained in the motion pictures and to then store the results.
However, the application of the same image analysis process to all the frame images increases processing time, resulting in the need to wait a long time until processing results are obtained. Further, a long time is required until appropriate processing results are obtained even if the image analysis process is applied with parameters changed. Another disadvantage is that this method increases the amount of data needing to be stored until appropriate processing results are obtained.
Furthermore, screening in examinations with an endoscopic apparatus determines whether or not the Barrett mucosa or the Barrett esophagus is present. The Barrett mucosa is developed when at the junction between the stomach and the esophagus (EG junction), the squamous epithelium forming the esophagus is replaced with the mucosa of the stomach under the effect of the reflux esophagitis or the like. The Barrett mucosa is also called the cylindrical epithelium. If the Barrett mucosa extends at least 3 cm from the mucosal boundary all along the circumference of a cross section of the lumen of the esophagus, the patient is diagnosed to have a disease called the Barrett esophagus.
The incidence of the Barrett esophagus has been increasing particularly among Americans and Europeans. The Barrett esophagus is very likely to develop into the adenocarcinoma and thus has been a major problem. Consequently, it is very important to discover the Barrett mucosa early.
Thus, medical image processing apparatus are desired to objectively determine biological feature values for the Barrett esophagus, the Barrett mucosa, or the like and to provide determinations to the operator.
Further, as described above, in the medical field, observation and diagnosis of the organs in the body cavity are widely performed using medical equipment having an image pickup function.
For example, in the diagnosis of the esophageal disease, in the case of the disease diagnosis of the Barrett esophagus near the EG junction (junction between the stomach and the esophagus) in the upper part of the cardia, which corresponds to the boundary between the stomach and the esophagus, endoscopic examinations are important for the diagnosis of the esophagus because the Barrett esophagus may develop into the adenocarcinoma as described above. An endoscope is inserted into a patient's mouth, and the physician makes the diagnosis of the esophageal disease while viewing endoscopic images displayed on a monitor screen.
Further, as described above, in recent years, capsule-like endoscopes have been developed which allow the physician to make the diagnosis of the esophageal disease while viewing images obtained with the capsule-like endoscope. A system has been proposed which detects the disease on the basis of biological images obtained with a capsule-like endoscope (see, for example, WO 02/073507 A2).
However, even the above proposed system does not disclose the detection of the cardia or the vicinity of the cardia boundary based on images showing an area extending from the esophagus to the stomach.
For example, enabling the cardia or the boundary of the cardia to be detected allows the physician to observe biological tissue images of the detected cardia or cardia boundary in detail. This enables the disease such as the Barrett esophagus to be quickly diagnosed.

Medical image processing apparatus, luminal image processing apparatus, luminal image processing method, and programs for the same


A method for enabling an output device to emulate colors of a target camera includes the following steps: (a) utilizing the target camera to shoot a color chart to obtain a first plurality of output values respectively corresponding to a plurality of color patches of the color chart, (b) utilizing the output device to shoot the color chart to obtain a second plurality of output values respectively corresponding to the plurality of color patches of the color chart, (c) comparing the first plurality of output values with the second plurality of output values to deduce a color transform matrix, and (d) applying the color transform matrix in an image processing pipeline of the output device to enable the output device to emulate colors of the target camera.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to colors of digital cameras, and more particularly, to a method that enables an output device to emulate colors of a target camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Digital cameras are a kind of electrical product that have a great sales volume. There are a lot of types of digital cameras available on the market. When a consumer wants to choose one digital camera from the numerous types, there are some criteria allowing the consumer to make a purchase decision. For example, resolutions and colors of digital colors constitute two different criteria.
Resolutions of digital cameras are a relatively objective criterion allowing consumers to compare different cameras. In short, the resolution of a digital camera referrers to how many image details the digital camera can provide when there is a specific distance between the camera and a photographing target. The better the resolution, the more detail the digital camera can provide. Therefore, digital cameras with high resolutions can be used to take very detailed pictures, while digital cameras with low resolutions can only provide blurred pictures.
Colors of digital cameras are a relatively subjective criterion for consumers to compare. Digital cameras of different brands often have different colors. Briefly speaking, for the same photographing target, for example a color chart under a fixed color temperature, pictures taken by different camera models will have different colors. One consumer may favor the colors of NIKON 4500 digital cameras while another consumer may favor the colors of SONY F828 digital cameras.
With the related techniques, one digital camera is not allowed to emulate the colors of other different cameras. In other words, a user of a NIKON 4500 digital camera cannot use it to take pictures that have colors similar to that of pictures took by a SONY F828 digital camera.

Method for enabling output device to emulate colors of target camera


The present disclosure pertains to a system, a method of using such a system, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions to such a system for generating annotated gene fusion data from processing both a patient's DNA and RNA sequence information thereby filtering out weak candidate gene fusions. Thus the annotated gene fusion data contains clinically relevant information and accurate gene fusion detections (low false-positives) for use in clinical and/or R&D settings. The system, method and computer-readable medium allows a user to generate gene fusion data by detecting breakpoints from a patient's DNA-SEQ and RNA-SEQ, creating candidate breakpoint data by combining matching breakpoints from the DNA-SEQ and RNA-SEQ breakpoint data, determining confidence levels of the candidate breakpoint, identifying corresponding gene fusions, and annotating clinically relevant information about the gene fusions.

Cancer is a genetic disease caused by changes in genetic material. Gene fusion is one type of changes in genetic material involving structural rearrangements of chromosomes that cause exchange of DNA sequences between genes. It is well known that some gene fusions are associated with specific types of cancers (e.g., BCR-ABLE gene fusion is associated with myelogenous leukemia, and TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion is associated with prostate cancer). Furthermore, certain cancer therapies have been developed that specifically target specific types of cancer caused by specific gene fusions. Thus, detection of gene fusions in patients is useful in diagnosing cancer and determining appropriate cancer treatment options.
In cancer diagnostics, gene fusion detection techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction are available. However, these methods require prior knowledge of targeted gene fusions. Next generation sequencing (NGS) technology has the potential to be a powerful tool for detecting gene fusions in clinical settings. However, high false positive rates and low detection specificity in gene fusion data generated by NGS technology has been a problem for using NGS technology in clinical settings. Moreover, lack of clinically-relevant information being provided by NGS further hindered the application of NGS-generated gene fusion data in clinical settings.

System and method for detecting gene fusion


A substantially full-range loudspeaker system for acoustic sound reinforcement can include a woofer section with a first loudspeaker driver configured to reproduce audio signals in a first frequency range and a controlled-directivity horn section configured to reproduce other audio signals in a different second frequency range. In an example, the horn section includes a second loudspeaker driver comprising a cone-diaphragm transducer and a dust dome, an acoustic lens having a first side and an opposite second side, wherein the first side of the lens is coupled to a sound-projecting face of the second loudspeaker driver, and a waveguide coupled to the second side of the lens, wherein the waveguide comprises walls that follow arcuate paths in horizontal and vertical planes.

Sound reinforcement systems can be provided for amplified playback of various sound sources or instruments, such as guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drum machines, various other stringed instruments, or other acoustic sources. In an example, a sound reinforcement system includes a loudspeaker or speaker system that can include multiple enclosures, such as can be stacked, placed side by side, or otherwise used together. In an example, an internal or external power amplifier can be used to power speakers in one or more of the enclosures. In an example, transducers in the enclosures can receive respective input signals from a power amplifier.
In an example, a system includes different enclosures for different bands of audio signals. For example, a first enclosure or section can be a low frequency section and a second enclosure or second can be a mid/high frequency section. Each section can be differently or separately controlled. In an example, response or output characteristics of the low frequency section can be controlled by a tuned port. In an example, response or output characteristics of the mid/high frequency section can be controlled by a phase plug, a horn, or transducer alignment, such as vertical stacking, to control acoustic output of the system.
In some examples that include a horn, an acoustic transformer or phase plug can be used to tune an acoustic output from a loudspeaker. In an example, a phase plug can include an insert configured to be fit at least partially inside of a concavity defined by a loudspeaker cone diaphragm, and can be positioned in proximity to the speaker diaphragm. Such a phase plug can help bring different portions of sound waves generated by the diaphragm into coherence at the loudspeaker outlet.


A method and apparatus for controlling the power of laser diodes are provided. The apparatus includes an output voltage sensor, which senses output voltages of at least two laser diodes and outputs the output voltages to an optical power controller. The optical power controller generates control voltages for controlling the at least two laser diodes by performing proportional-integral (PI) control on error voltages between reference voltages and the output voltages received from the output voltage sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power-controlling device for a laser diode. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling the power of laser diodes in a laser scanning unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, laser printers are devices for printing images on a sheet of printing paper by imaging laser beams emitted from a laser diode in response to video signals of an input image and transferring a latent image formed on a photosensitive drum to the sheet of printing paper.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional apparatus for controlling the power of laser diodes. Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus comprises first and second optical power controllers 110 and 111, first and second laser diode drivers 120 and 121, a laser scanning unit 130, which includes first and second laser diodes 131 and 133 and first and second light receivers 132 and 134, first and second output voltage sensors 140 and 141, and a printer controller 100.
The printer controller 100 preferably provides first and second reference voltages V_ref1 and V_ref2 for driving the first and second laser diodes 131 and 133. More specifically, the optical power of each of the first and second laser diodes 131 and 133 varies depending on the temperature of the laser scanning unit 130. Therefore, in order to provide the first and second laser diodes 131 and 133 with a desired intensity of recording power under any circumstances, that is, regardless of temperature variations, the first and second reference voltages V_ref1 and V_ref2 applied to the laser diodes 131 should be adjusted according to the temperature of the laser scanning unit 130.
The first optical power controller 110 receives a first control voltage, which approximates the first reference voltage V_ref1, by subtracting an output voltage of one of the first and second laser diodes 131 and 133 from the first reference voltage V_ref1 during a non-imaging period. The first optical power controller 110 performs a proportional-integral (PI) control on a subtraction result, such as an error voltage, to obtain the first control voltage. Likewise, the second optical power controller 111 obtains a second control voltage, which approximates the second reference voltage V_ref2, by subtracting the output voltage of the other of the first and second laser diodes 131 and 133 from the second reference voltage V_ref2 during the non-image period. As above, the second optical power controller 111 performs a proportional-integral (PI) control on a subtraction result, such as an error voltage, to obtain the second control voltage. Thereafter, the first and second optical power controllers 110 and 111 output the first and second control voltages, respectively, to the laser diode drivers 120 and 121, respectively.
The first and second laser diode drivers 120 and 121 drive the first and second laser diodes 131 and 133 using the first and second control voltages received from the optical power controllers 110 and 111, respectively.
The first and second light receivers 132 and 134_sense output currents of the laser diodes 131 and output sensing results to the first and second output voltage sensors 140 and 141, respectively.
In a case where the conventional apparatus for controlling the power of laser diodes includes two or more laser diodes, it needs as many optical power controllers and peripheral circuits (such as, light receivers and output voltage sensors) as the laser diodes. Therefore, as the number of laser diodes increases, the size of an entire board on which the conventional apparatus for controlling the power of laser diodes is realized increases, as does power consumption. In addition, since a reference quantity of light has a fixed value, the conventional apparatus for controlling the power of laser diodes cannot appropriately respond to various environmental factors, such as the temperature of the laser scanning unit 130 or the temperature and humidity inside a laser printer.

Method and apparatus for controlling power of laser diodes


A portable light having a transmitter configured to emit a signal, a receiver configured to receive the signal from the transmitter, a source of electric light that includes a plurality of light modes, a power source, and a controller connected to a circuit, wherein the transmitter, the receiver, the source of electric light, the power source, and the switch are included in the circuit. The controller is configured to control the switch and a transition between or among the plurality of light modes in response to the signal received by the receiver.

Many conventional flashlights or lamps are turned on and off using a pushbutton that actuates a mechanical switch mechanism that opens and closes one or more sets of electrical contacts in order to turn the flashlight on or off or to transition the light between various modes. For example, the lamp may include multiple beams to provide either a spotlight or a flood light. There are certain applications in which a mechanical switch is burdensome for the user, for example, in situations in which the user requires the use of both hands and does not have a free hand in which to operate the lamp. Such situations are commonly experienced in emergency situations by fire-fighters, first responders, and military/security personnel. In addition to emergency situations, requiring two free hands is a common need in industrial/commercial settings such as utility workers who frequently access high wires or utility poles or miners who work underground. In such situations, the ability to have free hands becomes a critical safety issue.
Accordingly, there is a need to have a source of light that may be easily operated without a mechanical switch in a hands-free fashion.


A method of blocking a lens member having a surface to be manufactured on a lens holding unit, the method comprising: a lens member providing step during which a lens member comprising engraved markings is provided, a contrast providing step during which contrast elements are placed on the engraved markings, a taping step during which the marked surface of the lens member is taped with an adhesive tape over the contrast elements, and a blocking step during which the lens member is blocked on a lens holding unit via the taped surface.

An optical lens is typically made of plastic or glass material and generally has two opposing surfaces which co-operate with one another to provide a required corrective prescription. When the positioning or shape of one of these surfaces with respect to the other is inaccurate, optical errors can occur.
Manufacturing of an optical lens to the required prescription requirements typically includes machining the surface of a semi-finished lens or lens blank. Typically, a semi-finished lens has a finished surface, for example the front surface and an unfinished surface, for example the back surface. By machining the back surface of the lens to remove material, the required shape and positioning of the back surface with respect to the front surface for the desired corrective prescription can be generated.
During manufacturing of the lens it is important that the semi finished lens is securely maintained in an accurate position on a lens holding unit during the various manufacturing operations in order to prevent the generation of optical errors.
Conventionally, a semi-finished lens is provided with engraved markings on the finished surface. The engraved markings define a reference system of the finished surface of the lens.
So as to manufacture accurately the unfinished surface of the semi-finished lens, the semi-finished lens is maintained by blocking the finished surface of the lens on a lens holding unit. Various materials may be employed to secure the semi-finished lens to the lens holding unit. These materials include for example glues or low temperature fusible metal alloys.
The use of such materials requires that the finished surface of the lens be protected prior to being blocked on the lens holding unit. A protective tape is generally placed on the finished surface prior to blocking the semi-finished lens.
The protective tape can make the viewing of the engraved markings, for example trough the semi-finished lens, difficult. Thus, it may be difficult to accurately determine the position in which the semi-finished lens is blocked. An inaccurate estimation of the position of the semi-finished lens on the lens holding unit may introduce an inaccurate position of the manufactured surface relative to the unfinished surface.

ESSILOR INTERNATIONAL (COMPAGNIE GENERALE D'OPTIQUE)


Methods and compositions are provided relating to production of recombinant protein in yeast. A modified PLAC4 is described where one or more mutations may be introduced into the Pribnow box-like sequences in the promoter. The modified promoter when placed upstream of a target gene in a vector causes a significant reduction of target gene expression in transformed bacteria but produces efficient expression of the target gene in yeast.

For over a decade, the budding yeast Kluyveromyces lactis (K. lactis) has been widely used for industrial-scale production of recombinant proteins in the food and dairy industries for reasons that include the following factors: (i) many strains of K. lactis grow rapidly and to extremely high cell densities in culture; (ii) K. lactis efficiently directs proteins to be secreted into the medium; and (iii) K. lactis has GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) FDA status which permits its use for food, agricultural and health-related applications.
A typical K. lactis heterologous protein production strategy involves directing a desired protein to be secreted from the cell into the growth medium. This methodology has a number of advantages over cellular expression methods: (i) the protein is produced significantly pure since K. lactis secretes relatively few endogenous proteins; (ii) post-translational protein modifications found only on secreted eukaryotic proteins are obtainable; and (iii) strategies to harvest protein from the medium of continuously growing cells can be devised.
A strong yeast promoter suitable for directing high levels of transcription in K. lactis is the K. lactis LAC4 promoter (PLAC4) (Dickson, et al. Cell 15:123-130 (1978); Dickson, R. C., and M. I. Riley, Biotechnology 13:19-40 (1989); Dickson, et al. Mol. Cel. Biol. 1:1048-1056 (1981)). This promoter naturally drives expression of the LAC4 gene which encodes a highly expressed lactase (β-galactosidase). Transcription of LAC4 is elevated in response to the presence of lactose or galactose in growth medium where lactase allows the cell to convert lactose to fermentable sugars. Expression of heterologous proteins from PLAC4 may achieve levels greater than 100 mg L−1 of secreted recombinant protein in yeast fermentations.
Unfortunately, in addition to its ability to function as a strong promoter in K. lactis, PLAC4 constitutively promotes gene expression in E. coli cells. This can be particularly problematic when trying to assemble DNA constructs harboring genes that encode a protein toxic to E. coli prior to their introduction into yeast cells. One approach to solving this problem has been reported by Gibbs et al. (FEMS Yeast Research 4: 573-577 (2004)) who utilized yeast introns in the shuttle vector. Unfortunately, this modification abolishes some but not all functional expression of potentially toxic recombinant proteins.


In a method and apparatus for generating musical accompaniment signals corresponding to a musical program, there is provided a recording medium which has an audio storage unit and a lyric storage unit separate from the audio storage unit. The audio storage unit and the lyric storage unit respectively have a plurality of audio music data and a plurality of lyric data corresponding to a plurality of the musical programs stored therein. The lyric data include encoded text data and timing information. In operation, the audio music data and the lyric data corresponding to a selected one of the musical programs are retrieved from the recording medium. The encoded text data and timing information retrieved from the recording medium are decoded to obtain decoded data, and bitmap data are then generated from the decoded data. The bitmap data are synchronized with the audio music data retrieved from the recording medium in accordance with the timing information. The audio music data retrieved from the recording medium are provided to a sound card to obtain an audio output. The bitmap data are provided to a VGA card to obtain a video signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating musical accompaniment signals corresponding to a musical program, more particularly to a method and apparatus which generates musical accompaniment signals at a lower storage space requirement.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus capable of reproducing audio-visual signals which were recorded on a recording medium is known in the art. One example of such an apparatus is a karaoke reproducing apparatus which reproduces audio-visual musical accompaniment signals that were especially prepared for people to sing along with.
In the conventional karaoke reproducing apparatus, the musical accompaniment signals of a musical program include audio music data, video data and lyric data overlaid onto the video data. Currently, the musical accompaniment signals corresponding to one musical program are stored in a single file encoded in the Moving Picture Expert Group (MPEG) standard format. Thus, each musical program takes up a relatively large amount of storage space, thereby resulting in a relatively small number of musical programs that can be recorded on a single recording medium.
While different compression techniques, such as the MPEG Layer 3 standard compression format, are available to reduce the storage space requirement of audio music data, such compression techniques cannot be employed in the conventional karaoke reproducing apparatus in view of the fact that the musical accompaniment signals corresponding to one musical program are stored in a single file. Moreover, synchronization of the lyric data with the audio music data is not possible in the prior art if the audio music data is compressed.

Method and apparatus for generating musical accompaniment signals at a lower storage space requirement


A negative electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery including an active material layer that is disposed on a current collector and that contains a negative electrode active material and a binder, in which the negative electrode active material includes an alloy active material and a carbon active material, and the weight ratio between the alloy active material and the carbon active material in the active material layer is 20:80 to 50:50, and the binder contains 0.1 to 15 wt % of an ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer polymerization unit.

The recent spread of handheld terminal devices such as laptop computers, cellular phones, and PDAs has been remarkable. As the secondary battery power source in these handheld terminal devices, a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, such as a lithium ion secondary battery (hereinafter sometimes referred to simply as a "battery") is often used. Handheld terminal devices need to have a comfortable portability, and thus such devices are rapidly becoming more compact, thinner, and lightweight with better performance. Consequently, handheld terminal devices are now being used in a wide variety of situations. Further, similar to handheld terminal devices, other batteries now used as a power source due to the expansion of how devices are used also need to be more compact, thinner, and lightweight with better performance. Therefore, there is a need for batteries to have a greater capacity.
Therefore, attempts to improve the performance of the various parts and materials in lithium secondary batteries are actively being pursued. Among such efforts, battery capacity improvement resulting from the negative electrode active material is becoming more important.
As the negative electrode active material, currently, carbon active materials such as graphite are mainly employed, whereby a discharge capacity of about 350 to 360 mAh/g, which is close to the theoretical capacity for graphite of 372 mAh/g, is realized. However, it is impossible to exceed the theoretical capacity of graphite. In view of this limit due to the theoretical capacity of graphite, research has been carried out into metals capable of storing Li. As a result, it has been found out that a high theoretical capacity can be achieved with an alloy active material of silicon, tin, zinc, aluminum, gallium, copper, silver, germanium, indium and the like. Among these, silicon has a far greater theoretical capacity of 4,200 mAh/g, although the adhesion strength of the electrode is disadvantageously lowered due to the expansion and contraction that occurs during charging and discharging. Consequently, the negative electrode materials degrade, which shortens the cycle life of the battery. Thus, in order to increase the discharge capacity and improve the cycle property as well, alloy active materials have been proposed which are a mixture of silicon and graphite powder, or are formed by adhering a silicon powder on the surface of a carbon powder or a graphite powder by mixing a carbon powder or graphite powder with a silicon powder, and then coating pitch on the resultant surface.
For example, Patent Document 1 has proposed use of a negative electrode obtained using a slurry obtained by dispersing a silicon compound and a carbon material in a binder such as polyester. In Patent Document 1, the binder offsets the volume changes of the silicon compound negative electrode during doping and undoping of lithium, which suppresses the volume changes of the whole active material layer, thereby suppressing cycle deterioration.
Further, Patent Document 2 has proposed a negative electrode material for a lithium secondary battery that includes silicon particles and a plurality of types of carbonaceous material, and that has voids. As the plurality of types of carbonaceous material, Patent Document 2 discloses a carbonaceous material A having a comparatively high level of electron conductivity selected from graphite, carbon black, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibers and the like, and a carbonaceous material B, which is an amorphous carbon selected from a pitch-based material, a tar-based material, a resin-based material and the like. In Patent Document 2, the carbonaceous material B or a precursor of the carbonaceous material B, silicon particles, and the carbonaceous material A are mixed with a twin-screw heating kneader or the like, and then thermally treating the resultant mixture to obtain composite particles. Using these particles as the negative electrode material, the expansion and contraction of the silicon that occurs during charging and discharging is alleviated, whereby the aforementioned cycle property problem is diminished.

Anode for use in a lithium-ion secondary battery, and lithium-ion secondary battery


The invention provides a method of forming polycrystalline silicon comprising the steps of: forming a layer of amorphous silicon, forming a layer of metal or metal-containing compound on the layer of amorphous silicon, annealing the layer of amorphous silicon and said layer of metal to form a polycrystalline silicon layer, and irradiating the polycrystalline silicon layer with two different harmonics of a pulsed laser. The pulsed laser is preferably a solid-state laser such as a Nd-Yag laser. One harmonic is chosen such that it is preferentially absorbed by defects in the polycrystalline silicon layer, the other harmonic is absorbed by the bulk polycrystalline silicon.

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) are used in the construction of active-matrix liquid-crystal displays, active-matrix organic light emitting diode displays, active-matrix e-ink electronic books and active-matrix image sensors. TFTs based on amorphous silicon suffer from low operating speed and lack of a p-type device, making it difficult to realize peripheral circuits. There has therefore been a move to polycrystalline silicon devices, which can be obtained from amorphous silicon by furnace or laser-induced heating.
Among the important requirements for the realization of thin-film semiconductor devices are (a) quality, (b) uniformity and reproducibility, (c) maximum fabrication process temperature and (4) manufacturing cost. Polycrystalline silicon can be obtained by metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon at a temperature below 550° C. using low-cost conventional furnaces. The resulting material contains large grains with continuous grain boundaries, and uniform and reproducible material and device characteristics. However, better material and device performance is possible if material micro-defects can be reduced.
Excimer laser crystallization of amorphous silicon can be utilized to produce good quality polycrystalline silicon. However, the quality is not uniform and suffers from poor reproducibility. The cost is also high.
Polycrystalline silicon obtained by conventional low-pressure chemical vapor deposition suffers from high process temperature (620-650° C.) and poor material quality. The quality can be improved using high temperature annealing (above 900° C.). However, this is only possible with the much more expensive quartz substrates and not with inexpensive glass substrates.
An alternative technique of obtaining polycrystalline silicon is metal-induced crystallization (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,275,851; 5,879,977; 6,737,674; and U.S. Patent Publication 2001/018224). The resulting material contains large grains with continuous grain boundaries, and uniform and reproducible material and device characteristics. However, improved material and device performance is still possible if material micro-defects can be reduced.
Another technique is excimer laser crystallization of amorphous silicon, which can be utilized to produce good quality polycrystalline silicon (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,352,291; 6,071,796; and U.S. Patent Publication 2004/087116). However, the resulting quality is not uniform and suffers from poor reproducibility. The cost is also high.
Combining metal-induced crystallization and excimer laser annealing has been proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,705,829; 5,893,730; 5,869,362; and U.S. Patent Publication 2003/129853). However, the excimer laser is expensive and complex. Polycrystalline silicon can be obtained using Nd:YAG laser heated conductor layer on amorphous silicon (U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,864). While the laser is relatively inexpensive, this technique suffers from high effective process temperature and the quality of the resulting material is less than adequate.

Method of annealing polycrystalline silicon using solid-state laser and devices built thereon

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology


A device for radar applications includes a computing engine, a radar acquisition unit connected to the computing engine, a timer unit connected to the computing engine, a cascade input port, and a cascade output port. The cascade input port is configured to convey an input signal to the computing engine and the cascade output port is configured to convey an output signal from the computing engine. Further, an according system, a radar system, a vehicle with such radar system and a method are provided.

A fast Fourier transform (FFT) is an algorithm to compute the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and its inverse.
Modern radars perform a significant part of signal processing digitally. A common digital signal processing technique is the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Within radar data paths, this algorithm is used in areas such as beam forming, pulse compression and Doppler processing.
With regard to automotive radar applications, FFT accelerators are getting increasingly popular in order to improve real-time processing and, e.g., adaptively controlling the cruise.

Method and device for radar applications


A paperboard bin for storage and organization of piece parts and similar items is described. The bin is formed from a single piece of paperboard and may be rapidly assembled without the use of tools. The bin comprises an elongated rectangular bottom panel, first and second joined side panels, first and second rectangular outside end panels foldably joined to the bottom panel, first and second rectangular inside end panels foldably joined to the first and second rectangular outside end panels, first, second, third and fourth rectangular end reinforcing panels foldably joined to the first and second side panels and first and second detachable divider panels. The bottom panel includes a pair of tab element receiving slots. The first and second inside end panels each include a bendable tab element sized, shaped and disposed to engage the tab element receiving slots in the bottom panel. The side panels are folded inwardly from the bottom panel, the rectangular end reinforcing panels are folded inwardly from the side panels and the outside end panels are folded inwardly from the bottom panel. The inside end panels are folded inwardly from the outside end panels and over the end reinforcing panels with the bendable tab elements engaging the tab element receiving slots in the bottom panel, thereby forming an open topped bin. The detachable divider panels include a center section and a pair of end flaps. The end flaps are folded inwardly from the center section and the divider panels are inserted into the bin with the end flaps bearing on the side panels of the bin to form up to three compartments within the bin of varying volume. The divider panels may be perforated longitudinally to yield smaller divider panels of reduced height to more clearly display the contents of the bin.

Various types of paperboard boxes, bins and trays have been devised to store and organize piece parts and other small items.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,462,676, issued to Riley et al. is directed to a fiberboard carton cut from a substantially rectangular blank that can be shipped flat. In use partition blanks are separated from the main blank, which is folded to form a carton, and the partitions are installed to separate up to twelve bottles. U.S. Pat. No. 519,005, issued to Reeves discloses a box and partition made from one piece of cardboard or similar material with the blank separated into the box portion and the divider portions. The dividers interlock to form twelve rectangular compartments. U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,592, issued to Gorham, describes a one-piece die cut carton blank that incorporates four cell divider panels formed integrally with the blank. U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,115, issued to Watson, illustrates a novel blank of foldable sheet material such as paperboard which is cut and scored to provide a carton forming section and an integral partition forming section detachably connected to each other.
An effective design for a bin for piece parts and similar items must necessarily be a compromise of various factors. It is an objective of the present invention that the parts bin provides the ability to segregate different parts within the same bin. It is a further objective that the parts bin have compartments that can be varied in size to make maximum use of the space available when differing quantities of different types of parts are to be organized. It is yet a further objective of the invention that the parts bin is economical to produce and simple to assemble. It is a still further objective that the parts bin can be formed from a single piece of paperboard.
While features disclosed in the prior art satisfy some of the objectives of the present invention, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.

Paperboard bin and dividers for storage and organization of piece parts and similar items