An object detection device includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire information indicating a temperature distribution, a storage unit configured to store background information indicating a temperature distribution when no target object exists, a detection unit configured to detect existence or absence of a target object, and an update unit configured to repeatedly update the background information. The update unit performs, with respect to a non-detection region, a first background updating process for the update of the background information based on the acquired information and performs, with respect to a detection region, a second background updating process for the update of the background information using a correction value.

There is conventionally available an object detection device that acquires a thermal image for a detection range from a sensor device and detects a heat source, i.e., a target object, such as a human or the like from the thermal image. As a method of detecting an object using an object detection device, there is known a background difference method of previously recording a thermal image for a detection range at the time when no target object exists in the detection range, as a background image, and detecting a difference between the present thermal image acquired from a sensor device and the background image. The background difference method has an advantage in that it enjoys simple calculation and high detection accuracy under a stable environment.
In an object detection device that makes use of the background difference method, if the background image recorded earlier is continuously used as it stands, there is likelihood that erroneous detection may occur when the temperature within a detection range (hereinafter referred to as an "ambient temperature") is changed by other causes than a target object. It is therefore necessary to update the background image.
In view of this, there has been proposed a device which has a function of updating a background image using an acquired image in case where a target object is not detected from the acquired image (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 62-240823 (JP62-240823A)). Moreover, there has been proposed a device which has a function of acquiring a new image at a predetermined time after a previous background image is updated, calculating an arithmetic mean of the acquired image and the present background image and updating the background image to become a next background image (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-308939 (JP10-308939A)). In the device disclosed in JP10-308939A, the step of calculating the arithmetic mean is not performed if a target object is detected from the acquired image.
In addition, as a device for identifying a human body from an image, there has been proposed a device which has a function of calculating a difference between a background image and a present acquired image, binarizing the difference with a threshold value and updating the background image with the present image with respect to the pixels which are equal to or smaller than the threshold value (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-118916 (JP5-118916A)). The device disclosed in JP5-118916A further has a function of updating the background image with the present image with respect to the pixels which are not determined to be a human body even if the present image has the pixels which are larger than the threshold value (which are detected by the binarization).
In the configurations disclosed in JP62-240823A and JP10-308939A, however, the background image is not updated if the acquired image has a detected target object. For that reason, the update of the background image is not performed during the time when the target object continues to exist in a detection range. This makes it difficult to cope with a change in an ambient temperature. Thus, erroneous detection may possibly occur.
As in the device disclosed in JP5-118916A, even if the background image is updated with respect to the target object (human) non-detection region of an acquired image having a detected target object, the update of the background image is not performed with respect to the target object detection region of the acquired image. This makes it difficult to cope with a change in an ambient temperature. Thus, erroneous detection may possibly occur. For instance, if the ambient temperature goes down in a state that a human continues to exist in the same position, the body temperature of the human is also decreased along with the ambient temperature. However, the background image of the human-existing region is not updated. In this case, the difference between the human body temperature and the background image temperature is smaller than a threshold value. Thus, the object detection device may possibly make erroneous detection (issue an erroneous notice) that there exists no human. Conversely, if the ambient temperature goes up in a state that a human continues to exist in the same position, the temperature of the background image of the human-existing region becomes lower than the actual ambient temperature. Even if the human leaves the human-existing region, the object detection device may possibly make erroneous detection that the human still exists there.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


A circuit breaker contact arm (56) contains a straight elongate through-slot (112) that runs generally lengthwise of the contact arm and is closed at both lengthwise ends. Adjacent each slot, a respective side wall (106, 108) of a cross bar (58) contains a bent slot (114) having a knee (116). A respective cylindrical blow-open pin (118) passes through all three of these slots. A small helical coiled spring (120) occupies the contact arm through-slot and is compressed between the blow-open pin and the end of the contact arm slot that is proximate a cross bar/contact arm hinge pin (110). The spring is laterally confined by the adjacent side walls of the cross bar so as to remain in the contact arm slot about which the contact arm swings. The spring acts between the blow-open pin and the contact arm to bias the blow-open pin in a direction away from the cross bar/contact arm hinge axis. When the blow-open pin is below the knees of the bent slots and the contact arm is closed, completing an interruptable circuit through the circuit breaker, the spring exerts force beneficial to good contact of the contact arm contact (54) with a fixed contact (52). By disposing the spring in the contact arm slot, space is used more efficiently.

One design criterion for a circuit breaker holds that upon occurrence of a load fault which creates an unacceptably large current draw (e.g., a short circuit current) through closed contacts of a circuit breaker, the circuit breaker mechanism must open the contacts in a manner that promptly terminates the current. Certain known circuit breakers that employ one or more pivotally mounted contact arms utilize electromagnetic blow-apart, or blow-open, force to blow open the contact arm(s) upon the occurrence of such a sudden load fault. Although the blow-open force quickly initiates contact arm motion to begin tripping the circuit breaker, current may continue to arc across the contacts as the contact arm(s) swing open. Consequently, further circuit breaker design principles include minimizing (and ideally eliminating) such arcing as the tripping continues. Furthermore, once current flow has terminated, any opportunity for its re-establishment must be foreclosed as the tripping concludes.
In accomplishing prompt arrest of current arcing across blowing-open contacts, it may be desirable for the circuit breaker mechanism to augment the impetus of the blow-open force as the tripping continues toward conclusion. But in doing so, the mechanism's augmentation of the force acting on the swinging contact arm(s) must not induce rebound of the contact arm(s) off of a stop to an extent that could potentially re-establish current flow.
Consider for example a circuit breaker that employs a spring-loaded, over-center toggle mechanism which goes over-center during the trip. As the mechanism goes over-center, an operating spring which had been effectively applying to the contact arm(s), a force resisting, but not preventing, the trip, now suddenly applies its force to aid the trip, driving the swinging contact arm(s) against the stop. That added force must not cause excessive contact arm rebound from the stop.
Circuit breaker design must therefore take into consideration various factors that may conflict. A better circuit breaker design will account for such factors to provide a circuit breaker that will terminate a specified fault current within a specified response time, with better assurance that current will not be re-established once the circuit breaker has been tripped. Moreover, a successful circuit breaker design should be cost and space efficient.
It is toward these and other objectives that the present invention is directed.
A circuit breaker comprises a cross bar and one or more contact arms that are joined together by a cylindrical hinge pin to form an assembly that is mounted within the circuit breaker housing. This hinge pin allows pivotal movement of the assembly about the hinge axis, accompanied by allowance of limited relative movement between each such contact arm and the cross bar. When a fault occurs, a blow-open force acting on the contact arm allows the contact arm to begin swinging slightly before the cross bar begins to move. This feature is intended to promote faster response to a fault since the inertia of the cross bar does not have to be overcome to initiate contact separation.
The cross bar contains spaced apart walls that provide a space for receiving a corresponding contact arm between them. These walls contain bent slots, generally transverse to the length of the corresponding contact arm, and the corresponding contact arm contains a generally straight slot running generally lengthwise of the contact arm and generally transverse to the swinging motion of the contact arm. A cylindrical blow-open pin passes through the walls' slots and the contact arm slot such that motion of the contact arm relative to the cross bar causes the blow-open pin to travel within the respective slots. If there are plural contact arms similarly pivotally mounted on a common cross bar, each one also has a generally straight slot, and the immediately adjacent side walls of the cross bar contain bent slots. A separate blow-open pin passes through each contact arm slot and the bent slots in the immediately adjacent side walls of the cross bar.
In other arrangements the blow-open pin has been spring-loaded by one or more small springs that are disposed between the cross bar and a blow-open pin to bias the blow-open pin away from the hinge axis of the cross bar/contact arm assembly. Once a blow-open pin has traveled in one direction from a first segment of the bent slots, past the knees of the bent slots, and into a second segment of the bents slots during blowing-open, such springs urge the blow-open pin to stay in the second segment of the bent slots. During initial contact arm rebound from a stop, a blow-open pin travels in the opposite direction back across the knees of the bent slots whereupon the springs urge the blow-open pin to stay in the first segments of the bent slots. Such springs have previously been disposed outboard of the side walls of the cross bar that contain the bent slots.
The present invention relates to a construction that provides a more efficient use of space for locating a spring that biases a blow-open pin. Each contact arm comprises a straight elongate through-slot that runs generally lengthwise of the contact arm and is closed at both lengthwise ends. Adjacent each slot, each respective side wall of the cross bar contains a bent slot having a knee. A respective cylindrical blow-open pin passes through all three of these slots. A small helical coiled spring occupies each contact arm slot and is compressed between the blow-open pin and the end of the contact arm slot that is proximate the cross bar/contact arm hinge axis. Each such spring is laterally confined by the adjacent side walls of the cross bar so as to remain in this position in the respective contact arm slot. Thus, each such spring acts between the blow-open pin and the respective contact arm to bias the blow-open pin in a direction away from the cross bar/contact arm hinge axis. It is believed that this construction eliminates the need for space between adjacent pairs of cross bar side walls to accommodate the springs that bias the blow-open pin.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention relates to a circuit breaker comprising a contact arm having a pivot axis, a mounting pivotally mounting the contact arm about its pivot axis for swinging motion to break a circuit, spaced apart side walls which are proximate lateral sides of the contact arm and with respect to which the contact arm can swing, a through-opening in the contact arm that defines a slot whose length is generally transverse to the swinging motion of the contact arm, a pin that passes through the contact arm's slot but is constrained by the slot for travel along the slot's length, the spaced apart side walls comprising slots which receive portions of the pin and which constrain the pin to travel lengthwise of the side walls' slots, a spring disposed in the contact arm slot and confined laterally by the spaced apart side walls to exert a force on the pin urging the pin along the length of the contact arm slot, and wherein relative motion between the contact arm and the side walls causes the pin to travel lengthwise of the contact arm's slot and lengthwise of the side walls' slots, changing the spring force exerted by the spring on the pin.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a circuit breaker comprising a contact arm having a pivot axis, a mounting pivotally mounting the contact arm about its pivot axis for swinging motion to break a circuit, the contact arm having a through-opening whose length is generally transverse to the swinging motion of the contact arm, a pin that passes through the contact arm's through-opening but is constrained by the through-opening for travel along the through-opening's length, a slotted track disposed beside the contact arm and engaging the pin to constrain the pin to travel lengthwise of the slotted track, a spring contained in the contact arm through-opening to exert a force on the pin urging the pin along the length of the contact arm slot, and wherein relative motion between the contact arm and the slotted track causes the pin to travel lengthwise of the contact arm's slot and lengthwise of the slotted track, changing the spring force exerted by the spring on the pin.
Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to an elongate contact arm having lengthwise opposite end portions between which is an intermediate portion, one lengthwise end portion comprising a pivot axis for mounting the contact arm for swinging motion about a pivot axis, the other lengthwise end comprising a contact, and the intermediate portion comprising an elongate through-slot having a length in the same direction as the length of the contact arm.
The foregoing, along with further features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims, which are accompanied by drawings. The description and drawings disclose a presently preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention.

Contact arm with internal in-line spring


A time display device which utilizes light beams to display time is disclosed. The time display device at least comprises a timetable panel, an illuminant module, a counter unit, and a control unit. When the counter unit sends a counting result to the control unit, the control unit controls the illuminant module to respectively emit three color light beams projected on the timetable panel through the shielding of at least one shielding structure to form three color image areas with different distances to represent a second, a minute and a hour corresponding to the counting result.

As time passed, the exhibition of displaying time becomes a great of diversities. People try to know the present time through various ways. At the beginning, there were primitive sundials, sandglasses, then mechanical clocks, and now digital clocks or watches.
In FIG. 1, it is a perspective diagram showing the structure of the main body portion of a clock in the prior art. The main body portion of the clock in FIG. 1 comprises a timetable panel 12, at least one pointer 13 positioned above the timetable panel 12, and a time display housing 11 containing the timetable panel 12 and the pointer 13 wherein the pointer 13 contains at least one hour pointer 14, one minute pointer 15 or one second pointer 16. The length of the hour pointer 14 is shorter than that of the minute pointer 15, and the thickness of the second pointer 16 is thinner than that of the minute pointer 15 wherein the combinations of these pointers have various forms to show the time information.
In the early stage, the pointers can not be seen in the dark. However, with modifications made by people, the combinations of the pointers can be seen in the dark as the example represented in FIG. 2 which includes a perspective diagram and a dissection diagram showing the structure of the main body portion of a clock able to show time information in the dark in the prior art. The time display main body in FIG. 1 housing a timetable panel 12 and a pointer 13 positioned above the timetable panel 12. In the cooperation with the time display device structure in FIG. 1, adding florescent materials 21 into the pointer 13 to form a pointer 22 containing florescent materials 21. Furthermore, the pointer 22 contains an hour pointer 23, a minute pointer 24 and a second pointer 25 wherein the length of the hour pointer 23 is shorter than that of the minute pointer 24, and the thickness of the second pointer 25 is thinner than that of the hour pointer 23 and that of the minute pointer 24. With the florescent pointers 22, the time information can be seen in the dark. However, the time period of light emitting is only temporary and limited by the characteristics of florescent materials. After a while, the light emitted from the pointers vanishes and becomes one of the disadvantages of the clocks utilizing the florescent materials. Moreover, the annoying tick of clocks or watches is another disadvantage of clocks or watches with pointers.
It is an objective of the present invention utilizing at least one illuminant module projecting light beams on a timetable panel to show the present time to overcome the disadvantages of the examples in prior art including the light vanishment of florescent materials and the annoying sounds from the pointers of clocks.


A semiconductor device and a method for fabricating a semiconductor device involve a semiconductor layer that includes a first material and a second material. The first and second materials can be silicon and germanium. A contact of the device has a portion proximal to the semiconductor layer and a portion distal to the semiconductor layer. The distal portion includes the first material and the second material. A metal layer formed adjacent to the relaxed semiconductor layer and adjacent to the distal portion of the contact is simultaneously reacted with the relaxed semiconductor layer and with the distal portion of the contact to provide metallic contact material.

Continuous improvements in the fabrication and design of semiconductor transistors used in integrated circuit devices have permitted ever greater area densities of transistors. Development of materials and processing for interconnects and contacts plays a large role in transistor development.
Materials and processes for forming conductive contacts and interconnects must accommodate, for example, dimensional requirements, processing temperatures, reliability needs and materials compatibility. Traditional aluminum-based interconnects have gradually given way to copper interconnects for fine dimensions; cobalt silicide and other metallic materials are gradually supplanting titanium silicide source and drain contacts and titanium silicide caps on doped polycrystalline silicon gate contacts.
Another avenue for improvement in device performance involves the use of newer types of substrates as replacements for traditional silicon wafers. For example, wafers that have a silicon-germanium (SiGe) layer can provide improved channel layer performance in a strained-silicon layer grown on the SiGe layer.
Mobility enhancements obtained from strained silicon, in combination with source-drain and gate silicidation techniques, provide the opportunity to increase speed, reduce power consumption, and provide the basis of other advances in microelectronics, such as analog and digital device integration.
The use of substrates that include a SiGe layer, however, can increase fabrication complexity relative to that for conventional silicon wafer-based devices. For example, formation of source and drain contacts through reaction of a metal layer, such as titanium or cobalt, with SiGe in the substrate has preferred process conditions that are different from silicide formation with relatively pure silicon.

Methods of forming reacted conductive gate electrodes


A phase detector produces a pulsed tri-state output signal representing a phase difference between first and second input signals. The pulse width of the output signal indicates the magnitude of the phase difference while the sign of the output signal pulses indicates whether the first input signal leads or lags the second input signal. The first and second input signals drive D and clock inputs, respectively, of a type D flip-flop, and also drive separate inputs of an XOR gate. An output of the flip-flop provides a signal input to a tristate buffer while an output of the XOR gate drives a tri-state control input of the tristate buffer. The tristate buffer produces the phase detector output signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to phase detectors and in particular to a phase detector providing output pulses of width proportional to a phase difference between two input signals.
2. Description of Related Art
A phase detector compares two input signals and generates an output signal indicative of their phase difference. Phase detectors are commonly used in phase-locked loop (PLL) circuits as illustrated in FIG. 1. The PLL circuit of FIG. 1 produces an output signal (OUTPUT) having a magnitude proportional to the frequency of an input signal INPUT. A phase detector 10 produces a signal LEAD/LAG indicating whether the INPUT signal leads or lags a signal VCO produced by a voltage-controlled oscillator 12 controlled by the OUTPUT signal. The LEAD/LAG signal tells a charge pump 14 whether to add or remove charge from a capacitor within a low pass filter 16, thereby raising or lowering the voltage of the PLL output signal OUTPUT. The OUTPUT signal controls the frequency of oscillation of the VCO signal. When VCO lags the INPUT signal, phase detector 10 drives LEAD/LAG high telling charge pump 14 to add charge to the capacitor in filter 16. This increases the OUTPUT voltage, thereby increasing the frequency of oscillation of the VCO signal. Conversely, when VCO leads the INPUT signal, phase detector 10 drives LEAD/LAG low telling charge pump 14 to remove charge from the capacitor in filter 16. This decreases the OUTPUT voltage, thereby decreasing the frequency of oscillation of the VCO signal. The OUTPUT signal magnitude stabilizes at a level that frequency locks the VCO signal to the INPUT signal, and is thereby indicative of the frequency of the INPUT signal.
A prior art "type I" phase detector, such as a simple exclusive or (XOR) gate, produces an output LEAD/LAG signal that is always either high or low. Thus charge pump 14 must always be either adding charge to or removing charge from filter 16, even when INPUT and VCO are in phase. Thus the OUTPUT signal tends to jitter. The amount of jitter in the OUTPUT signal can be reduced by increasing the size of the capacitor in filter 16, but a large capacitor can add expense and bulk to the PLL circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,274 issued Sep. 22, 1981 to Suzuki et al illustrates a prior art "type II" phase detector. A type II phase detector produces a tri-state output LEAD/LAG signal that tri-states when its two input signals are in phase with one another. The type two phase detector otherwise produces a sequence of pulses in its output LEAD/LAG signal with the sign of the pulses indicating which of its two input signals leads the other and with the width of the pulses indicating the amount of phase difference between the two signals. When phase detector 10 of FIG. 1 is implemented by a type II phase detector, the LEAD/LAG signal spends progressively more of its time in tri-state condition as the frequency of the VCO signal approaches that of the INPUT signal. Thus charge pump 14 spends progressively less of its time pumping charge into or out of filter 16. This greatly reduces jitter in the OUTPUT signal.
While the type II phase detector of the aforementioned patent reduces jitter in the VCO signal, it is substantially more complex than a type I phase detector employing only a single XOR gate. What is needed is a circuit that provides the benefits of a type II phase detector while employing fewer components.


A device for detecting and identifying wearable identification units (20) for users at a predetermined distance around a central station (2). The central station (2) has a transmitter (4) and a receiver (6) for electromagnetic signals and a control unit (8), which initiates the sending of a polling signal at predetermined time. The time may be based on multiples of intervals. Furthermore, there are a plurality of wearable identification units (20), which have a transmitter (22) and a receiver (24) for electromagnetic signals and a control unit (26), which is designed to initiate the sending of an identification unit-specific response signal by the transmitter (22) upon the reception of the polling signal after a time delay which is specific of the particular identification unit (20), wherein the identification unit-specific time delays of the plurality of identification units (20) are selected to be such that the response signals of no pair of identification units (20) will overlap when the pair of identification units (20) receives the polling signals of the central station (2). The control unit (8) of the central station (2) is designed to analyze the signal received after the sending of the polling signal and to determine the time between the sending of the polling signal and the reception of a signal in order to detect the presence of an identification unit (20) and to identify it based on the identification unit-specific response signal and based on the identification unit-specific time delay.

Such devices and processes are needed, e.g., to detect the presence of certain care personnel at medical workplaces, such as intensive care units or operating rooms in order to control the medical devices depending on the presence of certain persons, e.g., to permit a change in certain settings of devices only in the presence of certain authorized persons. Other examples of application are found in the area of user identification in computer systems, e.g., to authorize data entry, which shall be performed by certain, identified persons only. Other examples of application are in the determination of the time during which personnel is present at certain workplaces, e.g., at intensive care units or hospital beds.
The authorization to operate a device or to control the behavior of a device proper as a function of the presence of a person usually requires an action by that person directed to this authorization. This authorization has been associated in the past with the entry of passwords or the insertion of machine-readable identification cards. The use of transponders in electromagnetic fields is an approach to the contactless transmission of information. The problems with these techniques are the relatively high cost of a detector, the usually large size of the antennas, the fault liability depending on the environment of the installation, and the like.
A second approach, which has found wide acceptance among consumers, is the use of infrared transmitters, which send a coded signal as a "key" to a device in order to activate or otherwise set this device. Such infrared transmitters are widespread in automobiles to trigger locking. The problem with this technique is that the user must hold the transmitter in his hand and must trigger it while directing it toward the receiver, which would be undesirable in many fields of application. Furthermore, the safety of such infrared keys against misuse is not sufficient.
An identification system, in which persons who wear a badge are tracked and identified, has been known from WO 93/18476. Each badge is provided with an infrared transmitter and a microprocessor, which ensures that an infrared signal unambiguously identifying the badge is sent periodically, e.g., every 10 sec. A plurality of receiver stations are distributed over the area to be observed, and the receiver station which has received the identifying infrared signal sends it to a central station. The location of the person in question can thus be tracked (based on the location of the receiver station) over time. The drawback of this process is that each identification unit or badge must continually send identification signals, which makes the identification unit to be worn by the user unwieldy because of the energy storage means it needs. Furthermore, sufficient safety against misidentification is not guaranteed, especially if a plurality of users are located in the vicinity of a receiver station.

Device and process for detecting and identifying wearable user identification units


An echo canceller comprising a digital filter having adaptive coefficients which are updated to simulate an echo response, a temporary register for storing default coefficients, and a controller for monitoring ERLE and in the event the ERLE is greater than a first predetermined threshold then enabling the digital filter and replacing the default coefficients in the temporary register with the adaptive coefficients, and in the event the ERLE is less than a second predetermined threshold then disabling the digital filter and replacing the adaptive coefficients with said the default coefficients from the temporary register.

Echo cancellers (ECs) are well known in the art for providing cancellation of echoes resulting from imperfect impedance matching by hybrids in two-to-four wire signal conversion or in the case of Acoustic Echo Cancellers, providing cancellation of echoes resulting from acoustic coupling from the handsfree speaker to the handsfree microphone. Prior art adaptive line echo cancellers (LECs) and acoustic echo cancellers (AEC) employing the Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm are useful in quickly adapting to changes in the echo path response. However, such echo cancellers suffer from poor performance in the presence of "double talk" (a condition that occurs when the near end and far end speakers are talking at the same time). Several approaches have attempted to overcome the problem of poor echo cancellation in the presence of "double talk" by incorporating a dual-H architecture wherein a first filter having non-adaptive coefficients simulates the echo response in conjunction with a second adaptive filter. Both filters provide filtering and the residual echo generated by both filters is compared. If the residual echo from the second filter is smaller than the residual echo from the first filter then the adaptive filter coefficients are transferred into the first filter. Examples of such prior art systems are described in the following patents:    U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,418: Adaptive dual filter echo cancellation method; Eriksson; Anders, Karlsen; Johnny; Telefonaktiebolaget LM Erricsson, Stockholm, Sweden; Apr. 17, 2001;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,181,793: Echo canceller employing dual-H architecture having improved coefficient transfer; Laberteaux; Kenneth P., Younce; Richard C., Tellabs Operations, Inc., Lisle, Ill.; Jan. 30, 2001;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,908: Echo canceller employing dual-H architecture having variable adaptive gain settings; Laberteaux; Kenneth P., Younce; Richard C., Dunne; Bruce E., Farrell; David S.; Tellabs Operations, Inc., Lisle, Ill., Feb. 29, 2000;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,929: Echo canceller employing dual-H architecture having improved non-linear echo path detection; Laberteaux; Kenneth; Tellabs Operations, Inc., Lisle, Ill.; Feb. 22, 2000;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,955: Echo canceller system with shared coefficient memory; Iyengar; Vasu; Lucent technology Inc, Allentown, Pa., Sep. 2, 1997; and    U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,011; Echo canceller with adaptive and non-adaptive filters; Crochiere; Ronald Eldon, Iyenegar; Vasu; Lucent Technology Inc. Murray Hill, N.J.; Sep. 2, 1997.

Echo canceller employing H-register and storage register


The invention includes a method of determining the level of Type I collagen fragments in a biological fluid using an antibody which is immunospecific for an epitope contained in one of the following sequences:. (1) Ala-Hyp-Gly-Asp-Arg-Gly-Glu-Hyp-Gly-Pro-Hyp-Gly-Pro-Ala, or PA0 (2) Gly-Asn-Ser-Gly-Glu-Hyp-Gly-Ala-Hyp.. under conditions effective to allow determination of the level of collagen fragments in the sample which contain the epitope. The method is useful for assessing the level of bone collagen degradation, particularly in humans. Also disclosed are antibodies and kits which can be used in the method.

There are numerous disease states in humans which are characterized by a high level of bone resorption and/or an abnormal balance between bone formation and bone resorption. Among the more common of these are osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and conditions related to the progress of benign and malignant tumors of the bone and metastatic cancers that have migrated to bone cells from elsewhere in the body, e.g., from prostate or breast initial tumors. Other conditions associated with changes in collagen metabolism include osteomalacial diseases, rickets, abnormal growth in children, renal osteodystrophy, and drug-induced osteopenia. Further, abnormalities in bone metabolism are often side effects of thyroid treatment and thyroid conditions per se, such as primary hyperparathyroidism and thyrotoxicosis as well as Cushing's disease.
The organic matrix of bone consists of approximately 90% of type I collagen, which contains two .alpha.1 and one .alpha.2 chain coiled around each other to form a triple helix. The helical domain of each chain is preceded by a short N-telopeptide and is followed by a short C-telopeptide. The biosynthetic pathways leading to formation and maturation of Type I collagen have been described (e.g, Alberts et al., 1989; Eyre, 1987). Collagen chains are initially synthesized as procollagen chains which associate to form trimeric, triple helical complexes. Following secretion into the extracellular space, the trimeric molecules are cleaved to release the propeptides from the N- and C-termini to form collagen (also known as tropocollagen) molecules. The collagen molecules associate to form rod-shaped fibrils in which the molecules are packed in parallel, staggered arrays. Formation of various intra- and intermolecular crosslinks within and between adjacent collagen molecules impart increased stability.
In mammals, the formation and maintenance of bone collagen tissues is understood to be a dynamic process mediated by bone forming cells (osteoblasts) and bone degrading cells (osteoclasts). An imbalance between the rates of bone formation and bone degradation, and particularly elevation in bone degradation, can result in serious pathological conditions deleterious to health.
Over the past several decades, various methods for diagnosing or monitoring abnormalities of bone collagen degradation have been proposed. For example, hydroxyproline, a major constituent of collagen polypeptides, was proposed as a possible marker in urine many years ago. There are, however, several disadvantages with the use of measurement of hydroxyproline as a marker, including the need for a lengthy acid-hydrolysis step, a lack of specificity for Type I collagen (from bone), and the substantial metabolism of free hydroxyproline in the liver. In summary, hydroxyproline has been rejected as a clinical marker for bone resorption conditions.
Hydroxylysine and certain glycosylated forms thereof have been proposed, but use of these markers has been limited due to the lack of a convenient assay method suitable for general clinical use, as well as by the need for an acid hydrolysis pretreatment step, like hydroxyproline.
Certain terminal fragments of collagen have also been investigated for possible diagnostic applications. Prior to the applicants' present invention, it was generally believed in the art that peptides originating from the helical regions of collagen could not be used as indicators of bone resorption because of substantial degradation caused by endogenous proteases in the extracellular space, blood circulation, and urine. Accordingly, practitioners in the art have focused on measuring fragments from the telopeptide regions of collagen that contain crosslinking species such as pyridinoline crosslinks, which presumably protect associate collagen chain regions from proteolytic degradation (e.g., Risteli, 1992). Methods for measuring such telopeptide fragments have been described, for example, in WO 89/04491 (Eyre), WO 95/08115 (Qvist), and WO 94/14844 (Baylink). Methods have also been described for measuring telopeptide crosslinks themselves, without attached collagen chains (see Robins, WO 91/10141; Cerelli et al., WO 94/03814; and Kung et al., WO 94/14072).
Telopeptide fragments have been reported to be useful in connection with bone resorption conditions. However, procollagen peptide species have been reported to be useful for measuring of bone formation (e.g., Taylor, 1994), a process that is irrelevant to most bone resorption-related diseases.
Accordingly, there remains a need to develop new markers which are useful for diagnosing and monitoring abnormal bone resorption conditions. Ideally, such a marker should be measurable in biological fluids such as urine and serum, conveniently by immunoassay. The marker should be useful in diagnosing the presence of bone resorption disorders which are characterized by above-normal levels of bone degradation. In addition, the marker should be useful for detecting changes in the status of bone degradation in the subject over time, particularly in response to therapeutic treatment.


A system for performing digital correlated double sampling in an image sensor includes a memory for storing most significant bits of the digital image data and reset data produced by an analog-to-digital convertor. The system further includes least significant bit latches for each of the digital image data and reset data. The most significant bits are recombined with the least significant bits in respective recombined latches for each of the digital image data and reset data. A correlated double sampling stage then performs correlated double sampling and stores the correlated double sampled data in memory.

Image sensing devices commonly utilize Charged-Coupled Devices (CCD) or Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors to capture image data of an imaged scene. CCD and CMOS devices include an array of photosensing devices, or pixels, that are exposed to light irradiated from the scene for a particular amount of time. This exposure time allows the individual pixels to "charge" or "integrate" until the pixels have a particular signal voltage value (also known as the pixel grey value.) These individual signal voltage values then may be correlated into digital image data representing the imaged scene.
Image quality is very important, and can vary based on a plurality of variables. For example, increasing the number of pixels within the array provides more image data, thus higher quality. Additionally, it is desirable to eliminate as much noise in the image data as possible. One known way to reduce noise (for example Fixed Pattern Noise) is correlated double sampling (CDS), particularly in CMOS imaging sensors. Correlated double sampling may be done in analog or digital domain.
CDS reduces the noise in the signal by calculating the difference between the signal voltage value (grey value), and a reset signal for the given pixel. Implementing CDS reduces the fixed pattern noise and other temporal noise from the image data.

System and method for digital correlated double sampling in an image sensor


A ferroelectric memory device includes a memory cell array having memory cells arranged in a matrix form. Each of the memory cells includes a cell transistor and a ferroelectric capacitor. It further includes a first dummy bit line arranged outside a bit line arranged on an end portion of the memory cell array and separated from the bit line arranged on the end portion of the memory cell array with an interval which is the same as a pitch between the bit lines in the memory cell array and having the same width as the bit line, and a first dummy memory cell connected to the first dummy bit line and having the same structure as the memory cell.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ferroelectric memory device which stores data in a nonvolatile fashion by use of a ferroelectric capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A ferroelectric memory device stores binary data in a nonvolatile fashion according to the intensity of residual dielectric polarization of a ferroelectric capacitor. A memory cell of a conventional ferroelectric memory device is configured by connecting the ferroelectric capacitor and a transistor in series as in the case of a DRAM, for example. However, unlike the DRAM, since data is held depending on the intensity of residual dielectric polarization in the ferroelectric memory device, it is necessary to drive a plate line in order to read out signal charges onto a bit line. Therefore, in the conventional ferroelectric memory device, a plate line driving circuit is required to have a large area.
In order to cope with the above problem, a cell array system of the ferroelectric memory device which can reduce the area of the plate line driving circuit has been proposed by Takashima et al. (D. Takashima et al., "High-density chain ferroelectric random memory (CFRAM)" in Proc. VSLI Symp., June 1997, pp. 83–84). In the above cell array system, a memory cell is configured by respectively connecting two ends of the ferroelectric capacitor to the source and drain of a cell transistor, and a plurality of memory cells with the same configuration as described above are serially connected to configure a memory cell block. In the series connected TC unit type ferroelectric RAM, since the plate line driving circuit can be commonly used by eight memory cells, for example, the memory cell array can be integrated with a high integration density.
In the series connected TC unit type ferroelectric RAM with the above configuration, it is a common practice to arrange a dummy bit line outside the memory cell array and use the dummy bit line as a shield line by fixing the dummy bit line at ground potential, for example, so as to prevent occurrence of noise from the exterior of the memory cell array.
Further, a ferroelectric memory device in which a dummy bit line is arranged on the exterior of the memory cell array to compensate for capacitive coupling of the bit line on the end portion of the memory cell array has been proposed (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication 10-200061).
It is known that the influence of noise (hereinafter referred to as coupling noise) caused by parasitic capacitance between wirings occurs when data which is read out onto the bit line arranged in the memory cell array is sensed. When two bit lines are arranged on both sides of a bit line with the same pitch and if the amount of coupling noise given to the bit line from one of the two bit lines is δ, the amount of coupling noise 2δ occurs by taking the coupling noise δ given from the other bit line into consideration.
However, in the case of the bit line arranged on the end portion of the memory cell array, no coupling noise is given to the bit line from the dummy bit line fixed at the ground potential. Therefore, only the coupling noise δ from one bit line is given to the bit line arranged on the end portion of the memory cell array. For example, when data is sensed in a two transistor-two capacitor (2T2C) system and if "1" is read out onto the bit line arranged on the end portion of the memory cell array and "0" is read out onto the adjacent bit line, the difference between the readout potentials is reduced by δ and, as a result, the sense margin is reduced by δ.
Thus, there occurs a problem that the sense margin is reduced due to an imbalance of coupling noise between the bit lines arranged on the end portion of the memory cell array, the retention characteristic is degraded and the yield rate is lowered.


Aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus and method for modem-assisted video telephony. As one example, a user equipment (UE) utilizes a modem to perform video telephony (VT) communication with a remote device through a wireless network. The UE determines a network metric indicative of congestion in the wireless network based on modem information obtained from the modem, independent of feedback information received from the remote device. The UE dynamically adjusts a data rate of the VT communication by an amount proportional to a quantity based on the network metric.

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, video telephony, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. One example of such a network is the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various air interface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communications protocols, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which provides higher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks.
As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, research and development continue to advance wireless communication technologies (e.g., UMTS technologies) not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications such as improved video telephony.
Due to tight delay constraints, video telephony (VT) applications typically track the bandwidth available in a network to ensure that data rates of the VT applications do not exceed the available bandwidth. VT applications also may monitor the delay from one end of the call to the other (e.g., from one mobile terminal to another mobile terminal). By tracking and controlling the data rate of the VT application, occurrence of disturbances such as frame freezes, drops, and blurs may be reduced. In the related art, VT applications that operate over internet protocol (IP) typically monitor various network metrics such as bandwidth, round-trip time (RTT), jitter at the transport layer (e.g., TCP/UDP) or higher layer, etc. A VT application running at a device relies on the other end of the video call to inform the VT application of the network metrics being monitored. This end-to-end feedback mechanism arrangement introduces an undesirable reaction delay when congestion is detected in a data packet path, especially when the congestion is on the uplink of the sender.
Furthermore, end-to-end feedback mechanisms generally do not indicate how much more bandwidth is available for the video telephony call. When congestion occurs, the data path between the sender and receiver does not provide sufficient uplink and/or downlink bandwidth for transmitting data without causing undesirable effects such as queuing delay and/or packet loss. Lack of congestion simply indicates that bandwidth is available, but no useful information is provided as to how much more bandwidth is available. In wireless communication, tracking the available bandwidth of wireless channels is even more challenging because the available wireless bandwidth is often time-varying. Therefore, due to the lack of available bandwidth information, end-to-end feedback-based rate adaptation algorithms for video communication are unable to aggressively utilize the available bandwidth.

Apparatus and methods for modem assisted video telephony


A remote control device controls a medical device or a medical control device for controlling the medical device by infrared light communication, and includes: an infrared light emission unit for emitting infrared light for performing infrared light communication; a control unit for allowing the infrared light emission unit to emit first infrared light for conveying control information for control of the medical device, and second infrared light conveying predetermined information and having a frequency different from that of the first infrared light; and an infrared light reception unit for receiving the infrared light emitted from the infrared light emission unit. The control unit determines whether or not the infrared light received by the infrared light reception unit is the second infrared light.

Recently, surgery is performed using an endoscope operation system having a plurality of medical devices. In an endoscope operation system, when an organization of a living body is removed using an insufflation device for expanding a visceral cavity and a treating device etc. for treating an affected part, or hemostasis is performed using a high frequency cautery device, these treatments can be performed while watching images captured by an endoscope.
The endoscope operation system includes a plurality of medical devices for an endoscope operation, a system controller for controlling the medical devices, and a display operation device, etc. Thus, since the endoscope operation system is configured by a plurality of devices, it is necessary to use a common communication protocol to enable communications among the devices. However, manufacturers of medical devices adopt different communication methods and/or communication protocols for their own medical devices. Therefore, a communication converter is used to convert the communication methods and/or communication protocols to enable communications between them.
The communication system refers to a system of communications based on the physical or electrical configuration of communications such as infrared light communications, USB (Universal Serial Bus) communications, RS-232C communications, Controller Area Network (CAN), or Ethernet communications, etc. A difference in communication system refers to a difference in physical or electrical standards in various communications such as a difference between wireless communication and cable communication, a difference in shapes of a connectors, etc. (therefore, the difference disables a physical or electrical connection to be performed). A communication protocol refers to a normally adopted communication protocol, that is a logical connection as compared with the physical or electrical connection in the above-mentioned communication system.

Remote control device and remote control system


A faucet includes a mounting unit and a valve unit. The mounting unit includes a fixed seat and a rotatable seat rotatable relative to the fixed seat. The fixed seat is formed with a plurality of inverted L-shaped retaining hooks. The valve unit includes a housing, a coupling member disposed in the housing, a valve seat, an electromagnetic valve, and an infrared sensor. The coupling member includes a plurality of L-shaped retaining grooves engaging respectively the retaining hooks. The retaining hooks can be removed from the retaining grooves to allow for maintenance and replacement of the valve unit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a faucet mounted on a deck, and more particularly to an easy maintenance faucet that can be removed easily from a deck.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, an easy maintenance faucet disclosed in French Patent Number FR2835005 B1 includes a fixed member 1, a valve block 2 rotatable on the fixed member 1, a valve body unit 3, and a bolt 4. The valve body unit 3 includes a bottom housing 301 covering and attached fixedly to the fixed member 1 by the bolt 4, a valve seat 302 fixed on the bottom housing 301, a connecting member 303 disposed in the valve seat 302 and co-rotatable with the valve block 2, a controlling member 304 disposed in the valve seat 302, and a lever 305 operable to activate the controlling member 304. The housing 301 can be removed easily from the fixed member 1 by removing the bolt 4 to allow for maintenance and replacement of the valve block 2 and the valve body unit 3.
However, such an easy maintenance structure cannot be applied to a sensing type automatic faucet, such as a position sensing faucet, since an electromagnetic valve, a sensor, and water seals used for waterproofing of the electromagnetic valve and the sensor are difficult to be mounted therewithin.

Easy maintenance sensing type automatic faucet


The invention relates to a system of shaft sealing for a turbine engine. Carbon-ring seals placed on pressurized bearing compartments are adapted to operate on ceramic runners which are cooled by lubricating fluid. The runners are closed at one end so that fluid does not enter an interface between the runner and the seal. The seal is held in place in a cylindrical seal housing with an inwardly projecting seal retention wall.

This invention generally relates to apparatus and methods for controlling temperature of portions of a turbine engine and more particularly, to apparatus for and a method of cooling a seal housing of a bearing compartment of such an engine.
In the construction of turbine engines, there is a need to provide robust shaft bearing systems that can tolerate operation in adverse environmental conditions. Typically, these bearing systems are exposed to high temperature environments that develop from heat produced by operation of the engine.
Turbine engines run at high rotational speeds. A lubricating fluid circulation system is employed to maintain a proper operating environment for bearings that support shafts of such engines. This fluid circulation technique mandates that bearings are housed in a sealed bearing compartment. Shaft exit regions of such bearing compartments are subject to heat buildup with a potential for deleterious coking of lubricating oil.
This re-circulating oil has an obvious beneficial effect of providing lubrication for the bearings. But, there is also a cooling function that is performed by the re-circulating oil. This cooling function prevents deterioration of the bearings which would otherwise occur at high temperatures.
In a typical aircraft turbine engine, lubricating oil is circulated through a bearing compartment at rates that exceed a gallon per minute. The oil must be pressurized in order to achieve the desired re-circulation.
In order to prevent escape of the pressurized oil from the bearing compartment, the compartment must be sealed at points where a rotating shaft passes through the compartment. It is common practice to employ a carbon-ring shaft seal to perform this sealing function. While carbon-ring shaft seals are quite effective for this sealing function, they suffer from a temperature build-up problem. Frictional interaction between the carbon-ring seal and the shaft produces localized heat. That heat, if left uncontrolled, produces coking of the lubricating oil in the region near the seal. Coking cannot be tolerated in an engine that must operate reliably for long periods of time.
This coking is a well-recognized phenomenon which has been addressed in the prior art by directing the re-circulating oil to the region where frictional heat is produced. Typically, the re-circulating oil is sprayed onto the seal-shaft interface to produce localized cooling of that region.
In some instances, additional mechanisms are used to propel fluid into a seal-shaft interface region. For example, US Application Publication 2004/0179935 A1 describes a shaft seal configuration in which a fluid jet propels fluid towards a carbon-ring seal. The fluid gathers in a weir pool and is distributed from the pool by scatter deflection and controlled leakage from the weir pool into the shaft-seal interface.
In other instances, seal supports are provided with fluid passageways that allow fluid to be pumped onto contacting surfaces of a seal. This technique is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,438.
These prior art approaches to heat control have some counterproductive effects. As oil is driven directly at the interface, an increased risk of oil loss develops. When a portion of the oil is diverted to flow to the seal, there is an increase in turbulence and churning. Such churning diminishes the effectiveness of the oil as a lubricant.
As can be seen, there is a need for a bearing system that reduces deleterious effects of oil loss and oil churning encountered in the prior art. More particularly, there is a need for a structure and method that provides for fluid cooling of a seal housing without directing unconstrained lubricating oil onto a shaft-seal interface.

Internally-cooled seal housing for turbine engine

Abstract: An internally cooled seal housing is provided having an enclosed annular cooling groove is formed in the wall. Fluid is circulated through the groove to provide cooling of the seal housing and the carbon-ring seal. The circulated fluid is provided from the same source as fluid that is circulated to lubricate bearings on the engine. However, a separately controlled fluid delivery system is employed so that a rate of flow of fluid to the seal housing can be specifically controlled. Cooling effects of circulated fluid are made available to the seal housing even though there is no fluid directed at a shaft-seal interface. Undesirable churning and fluid loss also may be reduced.


A system includes a first MODEM configured to generate a first data packet (including a first virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance identifier associated with a first service, a first user group, or both) based on a first radio-frequency (RF) signal and a second MODEM configured to generate a second data packet (including a second VRF instance identifier associated with a second service, a second user group, or both) based on a second RF signal. The system includes a network device configured to receive the first data packet, transmit a first packet (including a first header that includes a first indicator associated with a first VRF instance) to a first device via a network, receive the second data packet, and transmit a second packet (including a second header that includes a second indicator associated with a second VRF instance) to a second device via the network.

Cellular network providers, also referred to as Tier-1 mobile network operators (MNO), are able to use cellular systems to provide telephone, data, and other services to subscribers via wireless devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, etc. A cellular network provider has a designated frequency spectrum (e.g., frequency range) from which the network bandwidth (measured in Hertz (Hz)) and capacity (measured in bits per second (bps)) used in providing cellular services to the subscribers is derived. This bandwidth and capacity may be larger than needed to provide the services offered by the cellular network provider. In order to increase revenue, the cellular network provider may sell a portion of the bandwidth, the capacity, and services to Tier-2 operators, also known as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) or virtual network operators (VNOs). In this model, the Tier-1 operator is referred to as a Value-Added Reseller (VAR) that resells bandwidth, capacity, and services that would otherwise be "stranded" (i.e., not used to provide revenue to the VAR). The cellular system is then used to provide access to designated cellular or network services to subscribers of the Tier-2 operators. Although the cellular system is able to process traffic for different Tier-2 operators, in certain systems, the traffic associated with a first Tier-2 operator and a first service is not isolated from traffic associated with a second Tier-2 operator and a second service, which can pose a potential security risk to the Tier-2 operators (e.g., a risk that traffic associated with a particular Tier-2 operator or a particular service is processed with and provided to a device associated with a different Tier-2 operator or a different service).

System and method for network traffic processing based on federated services and user groups


A phase modulation method with a polar transmitter. A target frequency is first designated by comparing the RF signal with a reference frequency and the phase sample. An oscillator control word is generated based on the target frequency. A digital oscillator can modulate from a first phase to a second phase to synthesize a preliminary RF signal based on the oscillator control word. When the target frequency exceeds the modulation capability of the digital oscillator, the oscillator control word is generated based on the target frequency minus 180 degrees, and the preliminary RF signal is shifted by 180 degrees to be the RF signal having the target frequency. When the target frequency does not exceed the modulation capability of the digital oscillator, the oscillator control word is generated solely based on the target frequency to output the preliminary RF signal to be the RF signal having the target frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to a polar transmitter, and particularly to a phase modulator in the polar transmitter and a phase modulation method implemented therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
A polar structure radio frequency (RF) transmitter is a highly developed technology for and a core technology of telecommunication systems. The polar structure radio frequency (RF) transmitter assists power amplifiers to exhibit better performance. In the polar structure, original inphase/quadrature (I/Q) signals are polarized into a pair of magnitude signals and phase signals. Theoretically, significant bandwidths are required to render amplitude and phase signals without degrading the original signal quality. The bandwidth, however, is physically limited, thus undesirable error vector magnitude (EVM) and spectral regrowth problems are induced. It is therefore desirable to develop a simple and cost effective approach to increase the utilization of bandwidths for polar structure radio frequency (RF) transmitters.

Polar transmitter, method and apparatus for phase modulation

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A system and method used to deliver a therapeutic device to a target treatment site in the heart includes a cable percutaneously introduced a cable into a vasculature of a patient and positioned to run from a femoral vein, through the heart via a transseptal puncture, and to a femoral artery. The therapeutic device is passed over an end of the cable at the venous side and is secured to the cable. The therapeutic device is pushed in a distal direction while the second end of the cable is pulled in the proximal direction to advance the therapeutic device to the target treatment site. A left ventricle redirector aids in orienting the therapeutic device and preventing migration of the cable towards delicate mitral valve structures and chordae tendoneae during advancement of the therapeutic device.

Considerable attention has been directed towards attempting to replace or repair mitral valves using transvascular techniques. More than 40 such novel mitral valve therapeutic devices (MVTDs) that are intended to be delivered using transvascular interventional techniques have been described at this time. Many MVTDs are delivery devices for use in delivering a mitral valve prosthesis. In order for these devices to be considered minimally invasive, interventional cardiology based procedures, they must cross from the right side of the heart to the left side across the inter-atrial septum in a well-established technique known as transseptal catheterization. Because of the size and odd shape of the mitral valve carried by the replacement MVTDs, this route has proven to be extremely difficult.
All current transseptal mitral valve delivery systems rely on the traditional interventional approach that requires that these large devices be pushed over a 0.035 in. guidewire that has been previously introduced across the interatrial septum, through the left atrium then across the mitral valve and into the left ventricle. This guidewire, used in all currently available transseptal interventional devices, provides a "rail" over which these large devices can potentially be forced into position. Unfortunately, the MVTDs generally are simply too big and too rigid to negotiate the tight bends that are required when crossing into and navigating through the left atrium. As a result, they can become "stuck" when attempting to negotiate the multiple turns required for positioning within the mitral valve ring. In some instances, physicians have attempted to force these devices over the guidewire, while using the wire and the device itself to deflect off of delicate cardiac tissues, in order to achieve proper positioning within the mitral valve ring. This use of force is best avoided to prevent damage to the cardiac tissue.
In the embodiments described in this application, guidewires are not utilized to drive movement of the MVTDs into their target position for treatment (e.g. repair or replacement) of the mitral valve. Instead, protected, coordinated and synergistic forces are used to safely position the MVTDs into place. These forces include a pulling force, a pushing force, and a steering force helping to safely advance the MVTD through the vasculature into position and properly orient it relative to the mitral valve.
Attempts have been made to facilitate guidewire delivery of MVTS's by using commercially available "snare devices" delivered retrograde from the aorta through the left ventricle and left atrium in an unprotected fashion to help direct the tips of the delivery systems. These efforts were abandoned when it was found that pulling on the MVTD with a snare resulted in pulling the snare with great force up (superiorly) and across both the aortic and mitral valve leaflets leading to simultaneous wide open insufficiency of both valves and loss of blood pressure in the patient. The disclosed system eliminates this problem, allowing maximum application of force to deliver any mitral therapeutic device safely into precise position within the mitral valve ring.

Guidewireless transseptal delivery system and method


The present invention relates to a siloxane-oxyalkylene copolymer surfactant having the formula MD.sub.x D'.sub.y M wherein M represents (CH.sub.3).sub.3 SiO.sub.1/2 or R(CH.sub.3).sub.2 SiO.sub.1/2, D represents (CH.sub.3).sub.2 SiO.sub.2/2, D' represents (CH.sub.3)RSiO.sub.2/2, and the value of x+y is from 48 and 220, and the ratio x/y is from 5 to 15 inclusive. In the above formulae for M and D', R is a polyether-containing substituent selected from the group consisting of (1)--C.sub.n H.sub.2n O(C.sub.2 H.sub.4 O).sub.a (C.sub.3 H.sub.6 O).sub.b R' moieties having weight average molecular weights of from about 2300-3200 and wherein n is 3-4, the ratio a/b is from 0.5 to 1.3 inclusive, R' represents hydrogen, an alkyl group of 1-4 carbon atoms or --C(O)CH.sub.3 and (2)--C.sub.n' H.sub.2n' O(C.sub.2 H.sub.4 O).sub.a' (C.sub.3 H.sub.6 O).sub.b' R' moieties having weight average molecular weights of from about 1150-1400 and wherein n' is 3-4, a' is a number such that the ethylene oxide residues constitute 30-100% by weight of the alkylene oxide residues of the polyether, b' is a number such that the propylene oxide residues constitute 0-70% by weight of the alkylene oxide residues of the polyether, R' represents hydrogen, an alkyl group of 1-4 carbon atoms or --C(O)CH.sub.3, and the blend average molecular weight of the overall polyether-containing substituents R in the compositions is from about 1500 to 2200 and the overall EO/PO molar ratio is from about 0.65 to 1.2. The siloxane-oxyalkylene copolymer surfactants are useful in producing flexible polyurethane slabstock foams.

In polyurethane foam manufacturing, surfactants are required to stabilize the foam until the polymer-forming chemical reactions are sufficiently complete so that the foam is self-supporting and does not suffer objectionable collapse.
Silicone polyether surfactants for polyurethane foam manufacture are typically materials having siloxane backbones and pendant polyether groups. They are of two types, nonhydrolyzable and hydrolyzable. The nonhydrolyzable surfactants, in which the pendant polyether groups are attached to the siloxane backbone via Si--C bonds, are generally believed to provide high efficiencies but poor processing latitudes. Hydrolyzable surfactants, in which the pendant polyether groups are attached to the siloxane backbone via Si--OC bonds, are generally believed to have poor efficiencies but wide processing latitudes.


An audio classifier for frame based audio signal classification includes a feature extractor configured to determine, for each of a predetermined number of consecutive frames, feature measures representing at least the following features: auto correlation, frame signal energy, inter-frame signal energy variation. A feature measure comparator is configured to compare each determined feature measure to at least one corresponding predetermined feature interval. A frame classifier is configured to calculate, for each feature interval, a fraction measure representing the total number of corresponding feature measures that fall within the feature interval, and to classify the latest of the consecutive frames as speech if each fraction measure lies within a corresponding fraction interval, and as non-speech otherwise.

Audio signal classification methods are designed under different assumptions: real-time or off-line approach, different memory and complexity requirements, etc.
For a classifier used in audio coding the decision typically has to be taken on a frame-by-frame basis, based entirely on the past signal statistics. Many audio coding applications, such as real-time coding, also pose heavy constraints on the computational complexity of the classifier.
Reference [1] describes a complex speech/music discriminator (classifier) based on a multidimensional Gaussian maximum a posteriori estimator, a Gaussian mixture model classification, a spatial partitioning scheme based on k-d trees or a nearest neighbor classifier. In order to obtain an acceptable decision error rate it is also necessary to include audio signal features that require a large latency.
Reference [2] describes a speech/music discriminator partially based on Line Spectral Frequencies (LSFs). However, determining LSFs is a rather complex procedure.
Reference [5] describes voice activity detection based on the Amplitude-Modulated (AM) envelope of a signal segment.


A slot array antenna including a smooth curved surface and planar feed structures which are respectively disposed at two ends of the smooth curved surface and are tangent to the smooth curved surface. The smooth curved surface includes at least two arcs mutually connected by smooth transition. The at least two arcs each includes an upper copper metal layer, a lower copper metal layer, and a dielectric substrate layer between the upper and lower copper metal layers. The upper copper metal layer includes radiating slots, and the adjacent radiating slots in a linear array have opposite offsets along the center line of the slot array antenna. The dielectric substrate layer includes metallic vias symmetrically arranged on both sides of the central line of the antenna to form a substrate integrated waveguide.

This disclosure relates to the field of near-field-focused methods applied to antennas which are used for many near-field applications, such as microwave and millimeter-wave medical and industrial inspection systems, gateway access system, wireless power transmission systems, and RF identification systems.
In general, an antenna operates in the far-field region. However, in some cases, the energy radiated by the antenna is required to concentrate at a certain point in its near-field region, where a near-field-focused antenna is needed. The near-field-focused antenna can generate a focus with high energy in the near-field region, thereby improving the resolution and imaging capability of the detection system. Thus, the near-field-focused antenna has broad application prospects and research value in the fields of microwave wave imaging system, wireless energy transmission system, access control system, radio frequency identification system and microwave radio system. Different from the far-field array antenna, the near-field-focused array antenna has higher demands for the transmission structure in phase control capability. The near-field-focused array antenna needs to generate the quadratic phase distribution. As a result, it will increase the difficulty of the near-field-focused antenna design.
Leaky-wave antennas with frequency scanning ability are commonly used. The basic working principle of this type of antenna is to work in the traveling-wave mechanism with the matched load at the antenna terminal. As a result, the required phase distribution of the desired beam pattern can be achieved by adjusting the distribution of the antenna element. The first existing technique to achieve near-field-focused beam by using a leaky-wave antenna is to modify the width of the transmission line to change its phase constant. However, the phase controlled by the width of the feedline is sensitive to the frequency, which deteriorates the quality of the near-field-focused beam. For example, the focal height changes dramatically with the scanning of the focus. A stable focal height to steer the focus in a plane is significantly required in some application, e.g., non-contact detection and imaging systems. The second existing technique is to adjust the spacing of the radiating elements to achieve the desired phase. However, due to the required quadratic phase distribution of the near-field-focused antenna, the element distribution is sparse and nonuniform for a large aperture design. The sparse element distribution cannot meet the scanning requirements. In addition, for the above two techniques, both of them have a weakness that the height of the focus decreases dramatically during the scanning process, which cannot realize a wide scanning range.
For the standing-wave slot array antenna, a short-circuit is employed at the antenna terminal. At this time, standing-wave is formed inside the waveguide. The radiating elements of the array antenna are excited in the same phase and operate at a resonant state. The standing-wave slot array antenna is a classic antenna. It has a high radiation efficiency with a simple feeding network, which can greatly reduce the array size and cost. However, because of the standing-wave characteristics of the in-phase excitation of each element, the phase control ability is not available, and the quadratic phase distribution on the aperture of the near-field-focused antenna cannot be satisfied. Therefore, the traditional standing-wave slot array antenna cannot be used to generate the near-field-focused beam.

Curved near-field-focused slot array antennas

UNIVERSITY OF ELECTRONIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA


A method and apparatus for stacking zippered plastic bags maintains the top bag of the stack in a generally horizontal relationship by controlling the position of a stacking table which supports the stack. At least a portion of the stacking table which supports the stack is gradually pivoted in the area of the bag zippers as a stack forms. Preferably, the stacking table is controlled to also maintain the top of the stack at a generally constant level while the stack is forming.

The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for stacking non-symmetrical flexible articles. More particularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for stacking zippered plastic bags to maintain the top bag in a generally horizontal relationship.
In the production of individual flexible articles such as plastic bags and containers, zippered bag stock is typically supplied in the form of a continuous web of thermoplastic material having mating zipper elements near opposite edges thereof. The continuous web is folded upon itself to form two plies and to bring the zipper elements into opposing relationship. The folded web is thereafter severed to form individual plastic bags and containers from portions thereof. Typically, severing is achieved by use of hot wires, which simultaneously sever and seal the bag sides. The plastic bags are then stacked, counted, and packaged by packing equipment.
The severing and sealing operation typically takes place on a relatively large diameter rotating seal drum which includes a plurality of hot wire elements disposed in grooves along its outer periphery for severing and sealing. See, for example, Tumminia, U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,449, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. As the seal drum rotates, the heated wires are sequentially raised to the surface to sever and seal a respective portion or the web and form a bag therefrom. The individual bags are retained on the seal drum by a vacuum arrangement as the seal drum rotates.
As the seal drum continues to rotate, the bags formed thereon are released and transferred to a smaller transfer drum, also typically equipped with vacuum capabilities. Transfer is accomplished by relieving the vacuum on the seal drum at an appropriate point to allow the bags to fall onto the transfer drum where they are, in turn, secured by vacuum. As the transfer drum rotates, its vacuum is relieved and the individual bags are stripped therefrom by an orbital packer or similar device. The orbital packer delivers the bags to a delivery point where they are stacked. Stacks of bags are thereafter transferred for packaging.
An orbital packer typically includes a plurality of packer fingers which move in a generally circular path in time with the transfer drum to remove successive bags therefrom for stacking. Typically, the first few bags of a stack are initially stacked on count fingers while the preceding stack is being removed. Thereafter, the stacking table, typically comprised of a plurality of fingers which nest with the count fingers, receives the bags from the count fingers. The count fingers retract and the stack continues to form on the stacking table. When a predetermined quantity of bags is reached, typically 25, the count fingers again fire into the stack to separate the stack just formed from the continuous stream of bags, allowing removal of the stack while the first several bags forming a new stack are received from the orbital packer on the count fingers. The process then continues to repeat, as described above. The stack formed on the stacking table is removed by a horizontal transfer mechanism, such as disclosed by Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,070, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
A number of problems have been encountered in the production of such thermoplastic bags. Stacking problems, such as quality and neatness of stacking, have long been experienced with thermoplastic bags on commercial, high speed stacking machinery, regardless of the manner of production. Bags have been difficult to stack due to their flexibility, and due to their slippery surfaces which are encouraged to aid in extrusion and film forming processes. Non-symmetrical flexible articles, such as zippered plastic bags, add to the difficulty with stacking. For example, a typical stack of 25 zippered plastic bags may be 2.0 inches or more thick at the zippered end (25 times the profile thickness), while being only 0.10 to 0.20 inches thick at the opposite end (25 times the bag film thickness). During stacking, the uppermost bags in the stack are frequently disturbed by the act of stripping bags from the transfer drum and depositing them onto the stack. Gravity and the impact of the bag being stacked typically cause the uppermost bags to slide down the stack towards the end opposite the zipper, producing a stack of shingled, rather than stacked, bags. In addition, where zippered bags are being stacked, due to the height of the stack formed thereby, the count fingers occasionally strike a zipper and attempt to drive the bag ahead, which in turn may crumple the bag and cause jamming.
Some attempts to solve this problem include using a fixed position, two-level stacking table with a lowered region at the zippered end of the stack. This type of table is limited to a height difference of only 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch, while the difference in stack height may be as much as 1.8-1.9 inches. The limitation arises because the stack is lowered onto the table when it is approximately half completed. If the height difference were any greater on such a two-level table, the stack might droop or fall through the table fingers and cause a jam.
Accordingly, the need remains for an improved apparatus and method for accurate high speed stacking of non-symmetrical articles.

Method and apparatus for stacking non-symmetrical flexible articles


A surface maintenance machine includes a cylindrical brush mounted in the machine for rotation about a generally horizontal axis extending transverse to the direction of machine movement. A recirculation flap is attached to the machine and extends generally coextensively with the brush and parallel thereto. The recirculation flap is normally yieldingly urged toward the brush, with contact between the flap and a floor obstacle causing the flap to move, against the force of its mounting springs, away from the brush.

A brush-type sweeper uses a cylindrical brush rotating about a horizontal axis to sweep debris from a surface and throw it into a debris hopper on the machine. The efficiency of this throwing action is never quite 100 percent, though, and a small percentage of the swept debris follows a path around the circumference of the brush, up and over it and into the space behind it. The exact causes of this circumferential travel are not well understood, but the fact that it happens is well known.
Early brush-type sweepers left this overthrown debris behind them in an unsightly fashion on the swept surface. Then it was found that if the rear wall of the brush housing was extended down nearly to the floor and sloped forward under the lower part of the cylindrical brush and as close as possible to it, most of the overthrown debris could be deflected into the brush, whch would recirculate it and throw most of it into the debris hopper. Thus the recirculation flap, as this sloping rear wall was called, substantially improved the sweeping efficiency of the machine. Consequently recirculation flaps have been in common use for many years.
One problem in using sweeping machines is that there are often high areas on floors, such as lifted concrete slabs, speed bumps, ramp crests etc., which project up and can damage machine parts close to the floor. This problem has been especially troublesome with recirculation flaps, because they are not only close to the floor, but they point forward and they extend across nearly the full width of the machine, so they tend to catch on any floor projection anywhere in the path of the machine. They generally consist of a strip of stiff rubber sheet stock extending forward and down from the rear wall of the brush housing, with the rear edge of the flap being bolted to a flange at the lower edge of the housing. This steel flange must be fairly close to the floor to support the flap in a position where it will be effective. When a low floor projection is encountered, the rubber flap may catch on it and bend back without damage, then flip forward into position again after the projection is past. A higher projection, however, will often catch the steel housing flange, with the usual result that the rear brush housing wall is bent out of shape, the recirculation flap is distorted or torn off, and an expensive repair job is needed to restore the machine to good working condition.
From all of this it will be evident that there is a long standing and unsolved need for a recirculation flap and mounting means for it that can withstand floor projections as high as a speed bump without being damaged and remain functional after encountering such projections. The present invention is directed toward that end.


A novel human megakaryocytopoietic factor capable of stimulating the growth and development of colonies of megakaryocytes is provided, including procedures for its purification and use as a pharmaceutical agent.

Megakaryocytes are the hematopoietic cells, largely found in the bone marrow, but also in peripheral blood and perhaps other tissues as well, which produce platelets (also known as thrombocytes) and subsequently release them into circulation. Megakaryocytes, like all of the hematopoietic cells of the human hematopoietic system, ultimately derive from a primitive stem cell after passing through a complex pathway comprising many cellular divisions and considerable differentiation and maturation.
The platelets derived from these megakaryocytic cells are critical for initiating blood clot formation at the site of injury. Platelets also release growth factors at the site of clot formation that speed the process of wound healing and may serve other functions. However, in patients suffering from depressed levels of platelets (thrombocytopenia) the inability to form clots is the most immediate and serious consequence, a potentially fatal complication of many therapies for cancer. Such cancer patients are generally treated for this problem with platelet transfusions. Other patients frequently requiring platelet transfusions are those undergoing bone marrow transplantation or patients with aplastic anemia.
Platelets for such procedures are obtained by plateletpheresis from normal donors. Like most human blood products, platelets for transfusion have a relatively short shelf-life and also expose the patients to considerable risk of exposure to dangerous viruses, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Clearly the ability to stimulate endogenous platelet formation in thrombocytopenic patients with a concomitant reduction in their dependence on platelet transfusion would be of great benefit. In addition the ability to correct or prevent thrombocytopenia in patients undergoing radiation therapy or chemotherapy for cancer would make such treatments safer and possibly permit increases in the intensity of the therapy thereby yielding greater anti-cancer effects.
For these reasons considerable research has been devoted to the identification and purification of factors involved in the regulation of megakaryocyte and platelet production. Although there is considerable controversy, the factors regulating the growth and differentiation of hematopoietic cells into mature megakaryocytes and the subsequent production of platelets by these cells are believed to fall into two classes: (1) megakaryocyte colony-stimulating factors (meg-CSFs) which support the proliferation and differentiation of megakaryocytic progenitors in culture, and (2) thrombopoietic (TPO) factors which support the differentiation and maturation of megakaryocytes resulting in the production and release of platelets. [See, e.g., E. Mazur, Exp. Hematol., 15:340-350 (1987).]
Either class of factors is defined by bioassay. Factors with meg-CSF activity support megakaryocyte colony formation, while factors with TPO activity elicit an elevation in the numbers of circulating platelets when administered to animals. It is not clear how many species of factors exist that have either or both of these activities. For example, human IL-3 supports human megakaryocyte colony formation and, at least in monkeys, also frequently elicits an elevation in platelet count. However, IL-3 influences hematopoietic cell development in all of the hematopoietic lineages and can be distinguished from specific regulators of megakaryocytopoiesis and platelet formation which interact selectively with-cells of the megakaryocytic lineage.
From the studies reported to date, it is not clear whether activities identified as meg-CSF also have TPO activity or vice versa. Many different reports in the literature describe factors which interact with cells of the megakaryocytic lineage. Several putative meg-CSF compositions have been derived from serum [See, e.g., R. Hoffman et al, J. Clin. Invest., 75:1174-1182 (1985); J. E. Straneva et al, Exp. Hematol., 15:657-663 (1987); E. Mazur et al, Exp. Hematol., 13:1164-1172 (1985]. A larger number of reports of a TPO factor are in the art. [See, e.g., T. P. McDonald, Exp. Hematol., 16:201-205 (1988); T. P. McDonald et al, Biochem. Med. Metab. Biol., 37:335-343 (1987); T. Tayrien et al, J. Biol. Chem., 262:3262-3268 (1987) and others].
Although there have been numerous additional reports tentatively identifying such regulatory factors, the biochemical and biological identification and characterization of these factors has been hampered by the small quantities of the naturally occurring factors available from natural sources, e.g., blood and urine. At present there is no identification of a single purified factor useful as a meg-CSF or TPO for pharmaceutical use in replacing serum-derived products or platelets.
There remains a need in the art for additional proteins purified from their natural sources or otherwise produced in homogeneous form, which are capable of stimulating or enhancing the production of platelets in vivo, to replace presently employed platelet transfusions.


An input/output flow control system for a processor system having an input/output request source (e.g., a processor) and a plurality of input/output request targets (e.g., I/O busses) uses a NACKing (negatively acknowledging) scheme to prevent a common I/O path from becoming blocked due to the blockage of one or more I/O buses. The system includes a flow controller associated with each of the targets for receiving input/output requests from the source, for accepting (ACKing) a request if the intended target can accept the request, and for NACKing a request if the intended target cannot accept the request. The system also includes a processor or source interface for resending the NACKed requests to the intended target and for cooperating with the flow controller so that the NACKed requests are accepted by the flow controller in the proper order.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to input/output flow control for a computer system and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling the flow of input/output requests in a distributed shared memory multiprocessor system.
2. Related Art
In multiprocessor computer systems, there may be common input/output (I/O) access paths which enable the individual processors to access a plurality of different I/O interfaces or busses. Sharing of these common I/O access paths is, at times, troublesome. For example, one particularly troublesome problem is when one or more processors begin to overrun one of the I/O busses. This can cause the common I/O access path to become blocked. Once the common I/O access path becomes blocked, all I/O going through the common access path is stopped. I/O requests to other I/O busses will be prevented even through those busses are not busy. Thus, the backup of a single I/O bus will prevent I/O requests from reaching all other I/O busses sharing the common access path.
Overruns occur because one or more processors are accessing a target I/O bus faster than the bus is capable of accepting the transactions. Overrunning can also occur because the I/O bus has a temporary condition which forces a delay in processing one of the posted requests.
It is desirable to minimize the interference by a backed-up or overrun I/O bus to other I/O busses sharing the common I/O access path.

System and method for input/output flow control in a multiprocessor computer system