A CCD array imager adapted for use as a spatial noise discriminator in confocal scanning microscopy comprises a parallel (vertical) register with a horizontal unmasked imaging row of pixels in tandem with a masked storage array, a serial (horizontal) register for readout, and a means for synchronizing image acquisition in the unmasked row with vertical charge shifting in the storage array such that images are mapped to on-diagonal pixels of the storage array whereas noise is mapped to off-diagonal pixels. A method for using the present invention as a spatial noise discriminator for fluorescence microscopy includes acquiring a fluorescence image in a pixel of the unmasked row of the parallel register, vertically shifting the charges accumulated in the row into the storage array, moving the next fluorescent image horizontally to the next position in the unmasked row, repeating the process to map image information to the on-diagonal pixels of the storage array while segregating noise in the off-diagonal pixels and selectively retrieving image information.

Fluorescent molecules have many applications in the biosciences. They can be incorporated into macromolecular probes for measuring the selective binding of the probes to cellular targets. Fluorescence-based bioassays are routinely used to detect, spatially localize and quantitate diverse analytes in biological and clinical samples.
The major advantages of fluorescence detection for bioassay purposes are specificity, spatial resolution, and sensitivity. The sensitivity of fluorescence detection is potentially very high provided that background noise is adequately suppressed and collection of specimen-emitted fluorescence is efficient. Under optimal conditions, it is feasible to detect single fluorescent molecules using fluorescence microscopy (Mathies and Stryer, 1986, cited in Chapter 13, Methods in Cell Biology 29: Part A, Eds. Y-L.Wang & D. L. Taylor, 1989).
Background noise is the single most important limitation in the quantitative measurement of fluorescence. Noise from any of the following sources may be substantial: sample fluorescence excited by stray light; background fluorescence from materials in the field of view but not in the focal plane; and contamination of emitted fluorescence with stray excitation light. These problems can be managed by using confocal scanning microscopy with a high sensitivity photodetection device (reviewed in Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy (Ed. J. B. Pawley) Plenum Press, NY, 1990; and Electronic Light Microscopy, Chapters 10 and 12, (Ed. D. Shotton), John Wiley, 1992).
In confocal imaging, a point light source is focused on or within the specimen, thus restricting the field of view to a well-defined focussed spot. The spot is imaged onto a point detector, e.g., a photomultiplier tube (PMT) or a charged couple device (CCD). A CCD array is a preferred detection means for confocal imaging because of its signal integration capability, high detection efficiency and potentially high spatial resolution. See, e.g., Aikens, Agard & Sedat, Chapter 16, In: Methods in Cell Biology 29: Part A, Eds. Y-L.Wang & D. L. Taylor, 1989; GJ Brakenhoff and K Visscher (1990), Trans R Microsc Soc 1: 247-250; Scanning 13(Suppl 1): 65-66; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,197.
Because of the restricted field of view of the specimen in confocal imaging, scanning in x and y directions (for 2-D image) or x, y and z directions (for 3-D image) is required obtain a complete image. Commonly used techniques for scanning a fluorescent sample include mechanical stage scanning, beam scanning or combined stage and beam scanning. In stage scanning, the illumination and light collection optics are held fixed while the sample is moved laterally through the confocal point of the point light source, where the light intensity is greatest, and the point detector, where the collection efficiency is greatest. Stage scanning provides a wide field of view but a limited scan rate. In beam scanning, the specimen is held stationary while the illuminating light beam is caused to move laterally in the focal plane by an optical system containing a two-dimensional galvanometer-driven scanning apparatus. The galvanometric scanners can be quite fast by comparison with translation stages, typically between 0.1 and greater than 2 Hz for an image of 512.sup.2 or 512.times.768 pixels (Shotton, ibid), but the image field of view is limited to that of the objective used. For this reason a field flattening lens, or a post-scanner objective may be required. In combined stage and beam scanning, galvanometric scanning of the beam in one dimension is combined with translation of the sample in a second dimension using a linear mechanical stage.
In confocal imaging, out-of-focus information is rejected by spatially filtering the emitted fluorescence at the primary image plane before the light reaches the detector. Typically, the filter consists of a single small on-axis detector aperture. In order to achieve true confocal operation, the confocal detector aperture is ideally very small. This limits the light that reaches the photodetector and can result in a poor signal to noise level with weakly fluorescing specimens. Thus spatial filtering prior to image detection acts to diminish the fluorescence signal intensifying effects of high numerical aperture (NA) confocal imaging lenses. What is needed is a spatial noise discriminator that combines good background noise suppression with high resolution imaging and high detection efficiency without sacrificing the advantages gained by using high numerical aperture lenses.

CCD imager for confocal scanning microscopy


An adhesive composition, an adhesive layer, an optical member, and an adhesive sheet, the adhesive composition including 100 parts by weight of a (meth)acrylic copolymer, the (meth)acrylic copolymer having a weight average molecular weight of about 100,000 to about 2,000,000 g/mol; about 0.05 to about 5 parts by weight of a carbodiimide crosslinker; and about 0.01 to about 0.3 parts by weight of an organic group-containing compound, the organic group-containing compound including at least one selected from the group of titanium, zirconium, and hafnium.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to an adhesive composition, an adhesive layer, an optical member, and an adhesive sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, flat panel displays (FPDs), such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), and organic electroluminescent (EL) displays, have been increasingly used. Thus, an improvement in workability and productivity of adhesives used for FPDs may be desirable.

Adhesive composition, adhesive layer, optical member, and adhesive sheet


A stirred ball mill assembly includes multiple vessels each having a body supporting sets of magnets rotatable with respect to the body. Each vessel defines an enclosed milling chamber, and has a stirring arm assembly extending in the respective enclosed milling chamber and connected for rotation with the respective sets of magnets. The sets of magnets and the stirring arm assembly are completely enclosed within the respective vessel. The vessels are configured to be stacked with one another so that adjacent ones of the sets of magnets are magnetically coupled with one another. A drive motor assembly has another set of magnets magnetically coupled with one of the sets of magnets of the stacked vessels. The drive motor can rotate the stirring arm assemblies within the milling chambers of the milling chambers of the stacked vessels via magnetic coupling of the magnets.

Stirred ball mills (also known as attritors) are commonly used for material processing. They are very flexible machines that can perform mechanical alloying, grinding, particle size control and mixing. They can be configured vertically or horizontally to optimize a particular process. A stirred ball mill works by loading grinding media, which can be spherical, cylindrical, etc., into a vessel along with the material to be processed. This load is then stirred to the appropriate speeds by spinning arms driven by an externally-mounted motor. A typical stirred ball mill is limited to one reaction at a time. This means performing process optimization or running different materials has to be done sequentially, taking a great deal of time.
If the process needs to be carried out under a controlled atmosphere (e.g., with inert or a specific gas to assist the reaction or process), a seal must be made around the shaft from the driving motor to the stirring arms. If this rotating seal fails, the reaction is ruined. Also, for a small reaction, the vessel is loaded in a glove box, and if the seal is not perfect, it will leak before the user can load the cup on the stirred ball mill and connect an external gas source. Often this is prevented by placing the entire stirred ball mill in a controlled atmosphere, an expensive and cumbersome solution.

Stirred ball mill assembly with magnetic drive system


The present application discloses a method and apparatus for generating error reporting content of a deep learning framework, an electronic device and a readable storage medium, which relates to the field of deep learning technologies. An implementation solution adopted by the present application to generate error reporting content of a deep learning framework is: acquiring an error code and error information corresponding to the error code; generating an error file according to the error code and the error information corresponding thereto, and packaging the error file into the deep learning framework; running the deep learning framework, and in response to the deep learning framework receiving an error code returned by a third-party library when an error occurs in calling of a third-party library application programming interface (API), extracting, from the error file, error information corresponding to the received error code; and generating error reporting content according to the error information. The present application can automatically generate error reporting content including richer information.

As a basic research tool in the field of artificial intelligence, a deep learning framework greatly facilitates developers in related fields. However, due to the complexity of the deep learning framework itself, when using the deep learning framework to train a deep learning model, a developer may call a large number of third-party library application programming interfaces (APIs) to implement corresponding functions.
A calling failure may occur when the deep learning framework calls the third-party library APIs. However, in the prior art, after the deep learning framework fails to call the API, only an error code returned by a third-party library may be displayed to the developer, resulting in that the developer cannot learn more detailed error information, thereby increasing the development cost of the developer and reducing the development efficiency of the developer.

Method and apparatus for generating error reporting content of deep learning framework

BEIJING BAIDU NETCOM SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A navigation apparatus for a vehicle includes: a communication device, a memory, a route search processor, and a controller for controlling the communication device, the memory, and the route search processor. The controller for the traveling route to the destination when a request for searching for the traveling route to the destination is received, checks whether new map data of regions located on the traveling route is present when the traveling route is searched for, controls the communication device to receive the new map data of the regions from an external server when the new map data of the regions is present, and updates the map information based on the received new map data.

In general, a driver can receive map information including geographical information, region information linked to the geographical information, and event information using a navigation device installed in a vehicle, thereby receiving services such as route search, restaurant search, lodging search, tourist spot search, and the like.
However, the driver needs to frequently update the map information in order to acquire accurate map information.
To update the map information, as one method, the driver may access a navigation service system using a storage device and download new map information, thereby updating map information.
However, such a map information update method requires a considerable time to download entire updated map information, in addition to inconvenience of using the separate storage device.
In addition, if map information is updated using an over the air programming (OTA) update method, a driver may be responsible for a data fee. If there is a large amount of map information to be updated, a lot of costs may be added for the update.
Accordingly, there is a need for a navigation apparatus for a vehicle capable of efficiently updating necessary map information without updating all map information at once so as to minimize cost and time, and a method of updating map data thereof.

Navigation apparatus for vehicle, method of updating map data thereof and vehicle using the same


A method for measuring fluid flow rates comprises the steps of: (a) creating a non-oscillating magnetic field of a predetermined strength across a flowing fluid; (b) performing the sub-steps of: (i) exposing the flowing fluid to an oscillating magnetic field pulse orthogonal to the non-oscillating magnetic field to generate an NMR signal, and (ii) detecting the NMR signal from the flowing fluid in the form of a free induction decay; and (c) determining the fluid flow rate from the initial magnitude of the free induction decay.

Accurate flow measurement is increasingly important in many fields. For example, in the field of civil aircraft, increases in accuracy in the flow measuring systems used to meter fuel mean that less fuel has to be carried by aircraft to compensate for measuring inaccuracies, which in turn leads to improvements in fuel consumption.
Most mechanical fluid flow measuring devices intrude to some extent into the flow they are set up to measure. This can undesirably affect the flow, expose the measuring device to possibly harmful fluids, and complicate installation of measuring devices into existing fluid systems.
In various industries low resolution NMR machines are used to analyse fluids. For example, the food processing industry uses benchtop NMR systems to detect foreign bodies in production lines. These systems are sometimes enhanced by the addition of special coils which generate one or more field gradients. This technique allows flow cross sections to be imaged. See e.g. Van Dijk, P., (1984), J. Comput. Assist. Tomogr., Vol. 8 (3), 429.
Another known NMR technique for analysing fluid flows (see e.g. Singer, J. R., (1972), Science, Vol. 175, 794) uses a time of flight approach to determine mass flow rates.
Compared with mechanical fluid flow measuring devices, both these NMR techniques have the advantage of no moving parts. However, the gradient coil requires additional (generally heavy and expensive) field gradient amplifiers and control circuits, and the time of flight approach requires a separate detector coil and is limited by the relaxation time of the fluid.
Thus, it would be desirable to have an NMR technique for analysing fluid flows which is accurate, non-intrusive and is capable of providing flow rate information.
It is useful at this point to provide a brief overview of the relevant NMR theory.
Certain atomic nuclei possess angular momentum and the quantum property of "spin". Because the nuclei also carry a charge, specifically a positive charge, there is a magnetic moment associated with this spin. When placed in a magnetic field, these nuclei, which might be referred to as the nuclear "magnets", tend to align with the field direction. Only certain orientations are possible—two in the case of a spin ½ nucleus such as a proton.
The energy difference between the orientations of the nuclei ("Zeeman splitting") depends linearly on the strength of the magnetic field B. Transitions between the two orientations can be induced when the frequency of an applied oscillating magnetic field (normally electromagnetic radiation such as a radio frequency (RF) signal), exactly matches the energy difference. This so called resonance condition, is defined by the Larmor equation:ω=γBwhere ω is the angular frequency of the oscillating magnetic field (electromagnetic radiation) and γ, referred to as the magnetogyric ratio, is a constant for a particular nuclear species.
Different nuclei have different values of γ and so resonate at different frequencies in a magnetic field of given strength. For example, at 11.7 T, resonant frequencies for the following nuclei are: 1H—500 MHz; 13C—125.7 MHz; 27Al—130.3 MHz; 29Si—99.3 MHz; 51V—131.5 MHz; 53Cr—28.3 MHz; 55Mn—123.3 MHz; 59Co—118.1 MHz, 95Mo—32.6 MHz; 107Ag—23.3 MHz and 183W—20.8 MHz.
The magnetic field B in the Larmor equation given above is the actual field strength at the nucleus and includes susceptibility effects arising from the bulk magnetic properties of the sample, local variations in these effects due to sample heterogeneity, and the screening effect of the electrons that surround the nucleus itself. Thus:B=B0(1+χ)where χ is the magnetic susceptibility and B0 is the applied magnetic field.
In traditional high resolution NMR, it is the contribution of the screening electrons to χ that gives the technique its power to analyse chemical structure: the same nucleus (e.g. 1H) will experience different magnetic fields depending on the chemical environment, so that chemically distinct nuclei resonate at slightly different frequencies. The range of these chemical shifts for any particular nucleus is, however, small: 0-10 ppm covers most 1H resonances of interest. In order to resolve them, the main applied magnetic field B0 must be maintained homogeneous over the sample volume. A few parts in 109 are commonplace and a few parts in 1010 achievable with spinning samples under ideal conditions.
Modern NMR machines mostly use so-called pulsed NMR spectroscopy. This involves creating a first, non-oscillating magnetic field of a predetermined field strength across the sample, and intermittently exposing the sample to a second, oscillating magnetic field orthogonal to the first to generate an NMR signal. The relatively short pulse width (typically of the order of μs) of the intermittent field makes it possible to simultaneously detect a range of frequencies in the NMR signal.
The trend in modern NMR spectroscopy is towards pulsed NMR with high non-oscillating field strengths and high resolutions. Largely this has been made possible by developments in the technology of superconducting magnets.
In contrast, EP 1191330 describes an approach for detecting anomalies in fluid systems that is suitable for the performance of pulsed NMR at low non-oscillating field strengths (e.g. 1.5 T or less).
In particular, EP 1191330 proposes that such anomalies can be detected and analysed in two ways. The first way is termed "indirect detection" and involves analysing the influence the anomalies have on a signal from the fluid rather than analysing a signal from the anomalies themselves. This is particularly useful for the detection of inhomogeneities, such as particulates, in the fluid. The approach is possible where the particulates have a different magnetic susceptibility than the fluid, because they will then cause local non-uniformities in the magnetic field. This in turn modifies the NMR signal from the fluid, manifesting itself, for instance, in changes of line-width and/or position of the fluid resonance seen in the NMR frequency domain.
The second way is termed "direct detection" and, to the extent that the NMR signal that is detected and analysed does derive directly from a contaminant or additive in the fluid system, it is closer to traditional NMR techniques. Direct detection can be used to detect inhomogeneities or dissolved species in the fluid.

NMR methods for measuring fluid flow rates


Polyesters and polyester containers having a reduced coefficient of friction and improved clarity are produced using an antiblock agent comprising a dried talc having from about 20 to about 300 ppm water or a fatty acid tethered talc. The use of these talcs result in polyesters and polyester containers having a coefficient of less than about 1.0 and a clarity with haze values of less than about 4%.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to polyesters and polyester containers and particularly to polyesters and polyester containers having a reduced coefficient of friction and improved clarity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Problems exist in conveving various types of polyester containers due to the excessive amount of static friction encountered when container surfaces contact. This excessive friction can lead to "process line" or "filling line" interruptions that are economically undesirable. The problem occurs after the polyester polymer has been molded into preforms or stretch blown into various types of containers. The containers are sometimes conveyed directly into a palletizing station and then shipped to a filling plant or they are conveyed to a labeling and filling line contained within the same plant. This problem is more pronounced in the carbonated soft-drink ("CSD") industry due to the high speed of stretch-blow molding conveying and filling lines. The problem is also encountered in other parts of the polyester container industry where the containers are being conveyed under pressures applied from congested areas of the conveying process.
During the process of blow molding or injection molding container preforms, the preforms are fed into a large box (gaylord box) that holds more than 1000 preforms. Given the high coefficient of friction ("COF") that is common between polyester surfaces, the preforms tend to stack on top of one another in a conical shape as viewed from the side of the box. This stacking results in fewer preforms being loaded into a box and therefore higher shipping costs per preform. The high level of friction between the preform surfaces can also cause jams in the feeder bin as the preforms are loaded onto the feed rail. Similarly, jams may also occur on the feed rail due to such friction.
Straight-walled containers such as the two liter bottles used in the carbonated soft-drink ("CSD") industry have a very smooth surface that maximizes the amount of surface area that comes in contact between two adjacent bottles. With the inherently high COF of polyester containers such as PET (PET has a static COF greater than 1.0), the containers become entangled and "tip over" or just stop moving in the conveying line after blowing or during filling. Such tip over and stopage obviously causes undesirable disruptions in the conveying or filling process.
A high COF prevents adjacent containers on a multiple-row conveying line from moving (turning or slipping) during conveying. When the conveying line changes direction, sometimes as much as 90 degrees, the containers may become entangled and either stay upright and stop the feed or tip over and stop the line. In either event, someone has to monitor these problem areas at all times to keep the line moving. Therefore, a container having a low static COF that could slide and rotate against other containers during conveying would minimize or eliminate process downtime and the need for someone to constantly monitor the process. These problems are all related to polyesters having an unacceptably COF.
There is prior art relating to methods for reducing the COF for polyesters. One such method involves the addition of an antiblock agents such as silica, talc, calcium carbonate, calcium stearate, and other inorganic compounds. JP 9272191 discloses a multi-layer sheet containing inert particulates (10 to 5000 ppm at 0.5 to 30 micron size) including silica and talc used to improve the slip properties, scratch resistance, cut properties and adhesive properties of the sheet and articles made from the sheet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,419 discloses multilayer polyolefin films that use cross-linked silicone in combination with inorganic antiblock agents such as talc in amounts of 500 to 5000 ppm with particles sizes from 1 to 6 micrometers to reduce the COF. Neither reference discloses stretch blow molded containers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,271 discloses polyester resins containing a silica selected from the group consisting of fumed silica, colloidal silica and silica beads that is useful for making containers having reduced stickiness relative to containers made from the same resin but without the silica. U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,161 discloses polyolefin films having talc in amounts of 0.05% to 3% by weight as an antiblock agent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,890 disclose a polymer film comprising a polyolefin matrix containing a pumice antiblock agent in amounts of less than about 1 percent by weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,544 discloses poly(ethyleneterephthalate) ("PET") bottles having reduced stickiness due to the addition of amorphous silica at a concentration range of 10 to 100 ppm. The use of additives other than amorphous silica and methods for improving clarity of the bottle containing anti-stick additives are not disclosed. JP Patent Application Heisei 2-307117 discloses the optimization of loading and particulate size of the antiblock on film properties such as haze and COF. The reference does not disclose containers such as plastic bottles nor does it disclose drying an antiblock before processing.
JP Patent Application Heisei 4-180957 discloses mono- and multi-layer sheet and thermoformed moldings formed from PET having 100 to 10,000 ppm talc with particle size less than 10 microns. Suitable thermoformed containers include blister packs that have good clarity. Containers such as plastic bottles, the benefits of drying the antiblock before processing, and the use of fatty acid tethers are not disclosed.
There is prior art relating to polyester films incorporating a variety of inorganic particles to improve crystallinity and slip. JP 7238211 discloses magnetic tape; JP 6065478 discloses magnetic tape, photograph, packaging film; JP5104621 discloses thermoformed sheets; JP 4183718 discloses base film for magnetic tape, photographic film, electrical insulating film, a base material for gold yarn, and packaging material; and JP 4180957 discloses PET w/talc with good slipping and stacking properties with good transparency.
None of the prior art references disclose polyesters or polyester containers having a coefficient of friction of much less than 1.0, particularly polyesters or polyester containers having talc as an antiblock agent. There is, therefore, a need for new and improved polyesters and polyester containers having a reduced COF, particularly high clarity (low haze) containers that have a reduced COF.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Double bent metal wires having a spring loaded configuration forming clasps, devices, apparatus, systems and methods for easily attaching and detaching hooks to fishing lures, feather hooks, jig heads, fishing lines, and the like. The clasp can have screw type threads for being threaded into an end of a fishing lure. The opposite end has a hook with a spring catch for closing the hook and allowing the clasp to attach to a loop end of a fishing hook. The spring catch is formed from two legs each having bent ends attached to a base of the hook by a crimp ring. To open the loop on the clasp, the spring catch can be pushed away from the hook opening, for attachment to loop ends of fishing hooks, and the like. The clasps can be used with attaching jewelry strands such as necklaces, bracelets, chains, and anklets together.

It is quite common for fisherman to have several fishing lures or more with their fishing gear. And often the fishing lures can cost up twenty dollars or more. Problems that can occur can result around the need to disengage the hook from the lure, which usually requires tools, such as pliers and the like. Often the lures can easily break while trying to change the hooks. Having to replace several lures can start to get costly for the fisherman.
Over the years various types of fishing lure hooks have been used. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,522,451 to Hayes; U.S. Pat. No. 1,546,701 to Bailer; U.S. Pat. No. 1,710,102 to Moore; U.S. Pat. No. 1,738,617 to Schauer; U.S. Pat. No. 2,124,822 to Johnson; U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,353 to Minser; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,275 to Lehmann.
However, these types of prior art generally use a single strand of metal wire forming the clasp with usually one end of the single wire strand closing off an end to form a loop which have problems when used.
For example, the end of the strand in the clasp loop can often pull apart when being used in the water, resulting in the loop becoming open and the hook and/or line falling from the clasp loop. When this occurs the fishing lures and fishing hooks can then become lost, resulting in lost gear which can both expensive and time consuming to replace over time. Additionally, the single loop strands can become bent and lose their spring elasticity from having to be bent back and forth overtime. Still furthermore, the prior art clasps sometimes require extra tools, such as pliers to be used, which can further damage the clasp loops over time. Still furthermore, the sharp tips on the single strands of the clasp loops can easily puncture and injure the person trying to attach or detach the clasp loops overtime.
Other types of clasps exist having a single arm with a separate spring for biasing the arm to close off a clasp opening. See for example, U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 79,347 to Hayes; U.S. Pat. No. 1,636,209 to Bergsten; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,330 to Gries. Many of these types of clasps generally require a separate spring such as a coil spring at an end of a lever arm where the opposite free end of the lever arm is biased to close off an opening in an open sided loop clasp.
The extra coil spring can add extra expense and manufacturing costs. Additionally, the open end of the lever is generally required to abut against an edge of the open loop clasp in the closed position. Similar to the other prior art clasps the lever arms can often become snagged when used and pulled apart causing the clasp loop to open, resulting in the fishing lures and/or fishing hooks and the like to become lost.
Additionally most of the clasp loops use metal, that can rust overtime. Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior art.

Hook clasps for fishing lures and jig heads


A hand-held oatmeal product is provided that is ready to eat. The oatmeal product may be packaged in a retortable pouch. Methods of making the oatmeal product are provided.

The nutritional value and health benefits of oatmeal are well known and recognized. The consumption of oatmeal has been shown to reduce total cholesterol concentrations in humans, among other benefits. High concentrations of cholesterol are linked to a higher likelihood of heart attacks. Thus, there is a need for increased consumption of oatmeal. Traditionally, a bowl and spoon have been required to eat hot, prepared oatmeal, preventing oatmeal from being conducive to "on-the-go" consumption.
A need exists for an oatmeal product that has the health benefits of traditional prepared oatmeal yet is convenient and easy to consume "on-the-go." A need also exists for such an oatmeal product to be convenient and not messy to consume and which has good texture and flavor characteristics.


A ventilator device for artificial ventilation use in infant and pediatric wards, and which may be adapted for use with adult patients as well. The ventilator device comprises a pressure control system having at least two parallel connected exhalation valves, a pressure monitoring system having bar display, optical sensors attached to the bar display, and an alarm system with a "no break" system including a rechargeable battery. One of the exhalation valves is connected at the beginning of the inspiratory airway and this valve is coupled with a moisturizing system. An inspiratory tube connected to the moisturizing system is connected to one branch of a "Y" connector where the other branch of the "Y" connector is connected to an expiratory tube leading to the other exhalation valve at the end of the expiratory airway. These exhalation valves are controlled by electronic control modules and pneumatic control through 3-way 2-position solenoid valves. These devices are capable of controlling pressure, controlling inspiratory and expiratory times, and regulating and monitoring the ratio between the inspiratory and the expiratory times. The ventilator is particularly effective in that it is capable of controlling pressure in the event of an obstruction which often increases the pressure above a safe limit, thus possibly resulting in rupturing of the lungs. The device is capable of providing a continuous flow with timed cycles and pressure control in order to guard against a sudden increase or decrease of pressure in the ventilator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an infant ventilator for artificial ventilation used in different situations in neonatal and pediatric wards, as well as to exhalation valves used in such a device. The invention can be used whenever there is a need to maintain a constant respiratory activity in a patient by means of mechanical ventilation.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Modern ventilators used for pediatric and neonatal care are of continuous flow, with limited time cycles and pressure. In this type of ventilator, a preset mixture of air and oxygen flows continuously and constantly through a tube known as an inspiratory tube until it reaches the patient. This mixture of air passes through a moisturizing system, and from this system, through another tube called an expiratory tube, to an exhalation valve at the end of the expiratory airway. During the inspiratory phase, the valve is opened during expiration and closed during inspiration. This allows a continuous flow of the mixture to pass through the tubes to the patient, or, during the expiratory phase, to the environment when the air accumulated in the lungs during the inspiratory phase is exhaled together with the continuous flow.
While closed, the exhalation valve maintains a closing pressure or an inspiratory pressure which may be adjusted, in order to maintain a constant limited pressure in the patient's system during the inspiratory phase. Thus, while open, it is possible to maintain an expiratory pressure, also adjustable, defining a residual pressure during expiration within desired preset limits.
The duration of inspiratory and expiratory phases is obtained through electronic circuits and/or pneumatic circuits which open and close the exhalation valve. The exhalation valve at the end of the expiratory airway is the active element responsible for the morphologies, pressure levels, and switching of the inspiratory and expiratory phases.
In addition to the essential devices necessary to operate the ventilator, according to the technique hereinabove described, prior art ventilators include systems for monitoring and/or controlling pressure, inspiratory and expiratory times, the ratio between inspiratory and expiratory times, etc. Each model is equipped with an alarm system. These alarm systems range from basic to complex. The basic alarm system is capable of detecting the drop in an inspiratory pressure where the complex alarm system is capable of measuring the minimum and the maximum inspiratory pressure and the time of apnea.
The ventilators currently available have some inherent problems. During the expiratory phase, the patient exhales air accumulated in his lungs during the inspiratory phase, and this air is exhausted together with the air flowing continuously through the system. During expiration, the resistances of the expiratory tube and of the exhalation valve itself result in a residual pressure which is relatively high due to the increased flows employed, to the point of not being able to reduce to atmospheric pressure even during a long expiration. The common solution for this problem is to install a venturi system at the end of the expiratory airway.
To reduce residual pressure, the state of the art ventilators employ an offsetting subatmospheric pressure, promoting a more efficient exhalation through the expiratory airway. In spite of obtaining a baseline with no residual pressure, the use of venturi is known to cause fluctuations in the pressure curves when switching phases. These fluctuations introduce a characteristic noise in the system during the valve's functioning.
As noted, the state of the art ventilators have an exhalation valve placed at the end of the expiratory airway, which effectively controls the pressures in the system. The pressure control is directly affected by the flow and resistance of the respiratory system components, as there already exists a pressure differential between the patient's connection and the end of the expiratory airway, due to the flow and resistance of the expiratory airway. In addition, higher flows generate higher turbulence which affect the valve control.
Another shortcoming of the use of a single valve at the end of the expiratory airway is the total loss of pressure control whenever there is an obstruction in the tubes of the expiratory airway, which will be reflected in an increase of the working pressure over the patient. A severe obstruction will increase the pressure above safety limits capable of rupturing the walls of the lungs, i.e., the occurrence of a pneumothorax. This is one of the most feared problems in neonatal care. In order to solve this problem, the state of the art ventilators use preset or adjustable relief valves which limit the highest pressure in the respiratory system. These valves need to be adjusted before the ventilator is used. However, according to medical statistics, this does not always happen.

Infant ventilator with exhalation valves

Intermed Equipamento Medico Hospitalar Ltda.


An optical fingerprint sensor with spoof detection includes a plurality of lenses; a pixel array including a plurality of first photodiodes, a line between a center of each first photodiode and an optical center of each lens forms an optical axis; at least one apertured baffle-layer positioned between the image sensor and the plurality of lenses, each having a respective plurality of aperture stops, each aperture stop being center-aligned with the optical axis; and a plurality of second photodiodes intercalated with the plurality of first photodiodes; and a color filter layer between the pixel array and the plurality of lenses, said color filter layer includes a plurality of color filters positioned such that each second photodiode is configured to detect electromagnetic energy having passed through lens, a color filter, and at least one aperture stop not aligned along the optical axis.

Fingerprint sensing is becoming an increasingly common tool for authorizing (a) access to electronic devices, such as smartphones, (b) access to confidential electronic records, and (c) electronic transactions such as financial transactions carried out over the Internet. Fingerprint sensing satisfies market demand for an authentication mechanism that eliminates the need to enter (and remember) a passcode, and also eliminates the need to keep track of multiple different passcodes associated with different devices and/or accounts. Fingerprint sensing is a well-established form of biometric identification and optical fingerprint sensors have been used for years, e.g., by law enforcement agencies.
Several different types of fingerprint sensors have been designed for use in smartphones and other mobile devices. Each of these types of fingerprint sensors images a finger to obtain the fingerprint. A camera-based fingerprint scanner captures an image of a fingerprint using an imaging lens and an image sensor. A collimator-based fingerprint scanner senses a fingerprint with a lens array aligned over an image sensor with the addition of a collimator above the image sensor. The collimator helps map light from a specific region of the fingerprint sample to be detected by a corresponding region of the image sensor by forming channels the light must propagate through to reach the image sensor.
One issue with fingerprint image sensing is the possibility of generating fake, or spoof, fingerprints that trick the fingerprint sensor in order to gain access to a device. Spoof fingerprints can be fabricated in a range of ways including printing an image of the fingerprint on paper and forming molded objects that reproduce the desired fingerprint pattern. If created with sufficiently high resolution and fidelity to the real fingerprint, these spoofing methods can trick fingerprint sensors and allow unauthorized access to devices and accounts. Fingerprint sensors based on image sensors struggle to distinguish real fingerprints from spoof fingerprints, thereby making fingerprint sensors a less reliable authentication method.

Anti-spoofing optical fingerprint sensor methods and hardware with color selection


An apparatus is provided that includes a ground plane having a perimeter, at least one support positioned within the perimeter of the ground plane and extending outwardly from the ground plane and at least one multi-port antenna supported by the support at a distance from the ground plane. The multi-port antenna has a different radiation pattern associated with each port. The multi-port antenna operates with a first radiation pattern when a first port is used and operates with a second radiation pattern, different to the first radiation pattern, when a second port, different to the first port, is used. The at least one support defines a slot positioned between the multi-port antenna and the ground plane and/or the ground plane defines a slot.

Radio equipment is equipment designed to transmit radio frequency electromagnetic signals that carry information and/or receive radio frequency electromagnetic signals that carry information.
The radio equipment comprises radio frequency circuitry that operates as a transmitter, receiver or transceiver, and one or more antennas.
An antenna provides part of a carefully designed coupling between the radio frequency circuitry and the air interface. It has a carefully controlled frequency-dependent complex impedance.
An antenna is sometimes designed to resonate with a low Q-factor so that it has a broad operational bandwidth. It can therefore sometimes be difficult to isolate one antenna from another using frequency division.
As an antenna has a frequency-dependent complex impedance it is susceptible to inductive and capacitive effects arising from the presence of conductors and/or flow of electric currents in its vicinity.
It can therefore be a challenging task to have multiple antennas operate simultaneously, particularly in radio equipment, for example mobile radio equipment, where extreme physical separation of the antennas is not possible or not practical.
In this context mobile radio equipment refers to a size of equipment that can be moved by a person and can include smaller base stations, access points, user equipment (UE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, radio modules for vehicles etc.


A card edge connector which could be inserted by an electrical card with a pair of slopes in its bottom edge includes an insulating housing and a plurality of contacts retained in the insulating housing. The insulating housing includes a top surface, an elongated passageway which recesses from the top surface, and a pair of ladder sections or protruding portions which protrude into the passageway for supporting the slopes. Therefore, it can enhance the stability when the electrical card is inserted into the passageway.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to card edge connector, more particularly to a card edge connector with an improved housing.
2. Description of Related Art
China Patent No. 202759077, published on Feb. 27, 2013, discloses a related card edge connector for mating an electrical card, and the electrical card defines at least a notch and a recess. The card edge connector defines an elongated slot downwardly, and the slot defines a key corresponding to the notch. The bottom of the slot defines at least a convex corresponding to the recess and the convex locates at the end of the slot in the elongated direction. When the electrical card is inserted in the slot, the convex gets into the recess and supports the electrical card for preventing the electrical card from skewing.
However, it can not prevent the electrical card from drafting in the elongated direction, and a little draft would cause a poor contact or a dislocation between the contacts and the gold fingers, when the gold fingers are highly integrated.
Hence, an improved card edge connector is desired to overcome the above problems.

Card edge connector with an improved housing


A system and method for communication that could be used in an identification friend or foe system. The method comprises generating a first message by a processor and controlling a beam steerer to deflect transmitted waves toward a first angle. The method further comprises transmitting the first message through an antenna in communication with the beam steerer toward the spatial angle. The method further comprises controlling the beam steerer to deflect waves received from the spatial angle. The method further comprises receiving a responsive wave at the antenna through the beam steerer at the spatial angle, the responsive wave including a second message responsive to the first message.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to millimeter (mm) wave communication and, more particularly, to a system and method for beam steering signals interrogating a target and receiving replies from the target using circularly polarized waves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, in a radar interrogation system 50, a processor 54 sends an interrogation message signal 70 through an antenna 52. An interrogation wave 56 is transmitted by antenna 52 typically in the radio frequency range. Interrogation wave 56 may be steered by a beam steerer 58 so that a transmitted wave 60 is directed toward a particular spatial-direction θ because of phase adjustments by beam steerer 58. Wave 60 tends to be polarized in a particular polarization-direction. These may be linear or circularly polarized. Circularly polarized waves may be represented by orthogonal linear polarizations rotating in space and in time quadrature. That is, the electric field of wave 60 may rotate in a first polarization-direction (circular polarization) as wave 60 travels. As shown in the figure, wave 60 may have right hand circular polarization (RHCP)—i.e. from a frame of reference, the electric field rotates clockwise, looking in the spatial-direction of propagation. When wave 60 hits a target 64, wave 60 is partially reflected back as reflected wave 62 toward beam steerer 58 and antenna 52. Reflected wave 62, because of phase reversal in one of the linear components of the reflection, may have an electric field rotating a second polarization-direction opposite the first polarization-direction, counter clockwise, looking in the spatial-direction of propagation, or left hand circularly polarized (LHCP). In the figure, reflected wave 62 is left hand circular polarized. Reflected wave 62 is received by antenna 52, converted into a received signal (not shown) and processed by processor 54. In this way, processor 54 can determine whether target 64 is near antenna 52 at spatial angle θ. This disclosure relates to an improvement over these prior art technologies.

System and method for interrogating a target using polarized waves

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


A high voltage shielding device including a main body having an enclosing outer solid insulating wall, an outer electrode arranged on the solid insulating wall providing a first level of insulation to the outer electrode, and a first inner electrode which is uninsulated or has a coating providing a second level of insulation, which second level of insulation is lower than the first level of insulation. The first inner electrode is oriented relative the outer electrode in such a way that the first inner electrode mainly shields a component of an electric field which is perpendicular to a component of an electric field mainly shielded by the outer electrode.

In very high voltage power systems such as those handling 500 kV and above, proper insulation between different units of the system is important so as to ensure the safe operation thereof.
As one example, the connection between power transformers and bushings, which connection provides a high voltage interface between e.g. a power grid and the power transformer must be insulated for protection against for instance arcing which may occur due to the high voltages involved. Thereby the risk of damaging the power transformer or any other power equipment in the vicinity of the power transformer is reduced.
A bushing guides a high voltage conductor from outside the power transformer through the grounded power transformer housing, whereby the conductor is connected to a winding of a leg of the power transformer core contained in the housing.
In the transformer and in the bushing, typically transformer oil or similar dielectric fluid or gas is provided so as to insulate the power transformer and the bushing.
Typically the bushing conductor and transformer conductor connection is shielded for reducing the stress attained in this area due to the very high electric fields which are present.
WO 2007/111564 discloses a high voltage insulation system where the connection between the bushing conductor and the transformer conductor is shielded by means of a shielding electrode. Several insulation barriers are fastened to the shielding electrode so as to subdivide the oil volume around the electrode. Thereby the concentration of voltage stress due to the restriction of the current flow induced by inter alia the insulation barriers, is divided between the shielding electrode and a cylindrical barrier of the insulating system.
A drawback with the solution presented in WO 2007/111564 is that it may increase the electric field stress in the insulation system.

High voltage shielding device and a system comprising the same


The electronic endoscope device in accordance with the present invention comprises an image pick-up unit capable of acquiring an object image with respect to illumination light employed for illuminating the object for each prescribed wavelength band, an exposure period setting circuit for setting the exposure period of the image pick-up unit corresponding to the each wavelength band, an amplification circuit for amplifying picked-up image signals of the object image obtained with the image pick-up unit corresponding to the each wavelength band, and a control circuit for controlling the amplification circuit such that the picked-up image signals corresponded to the each wavelength band of the object image that are acquired with the image pick-up unit at the exposure period set corresponding to the each wavelength band set by the exposure period setting circuit are amplified at amplification factors computed corresponding to the exposure period that is set corresponding to the each wavelength band.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope device for obtaining images with an image pick-up element which captures an object image by accumulating an electric charge, and to a signal processing unit used in this electronic endoscope device.
2. Related Art Statement
Electronic endoscope devices have been widely used for observing the digestion tract, for example, esophagus, stomach, small intestines, and large intestines, or bronchial tube such as lungs by inserting an endoscope into a body cavity, and, if necessary, conducting a variety of medical treatments by using therapeutic instruments inserted into the dedicated channels.
Electronic endoscope devices of a field sequential system are known as electronic endoscopes in which a rotary optical filter is provided in a light source unit, the object is sequentially illuminated with red, green, and blue light from this light source unit, the light thus obtained from the object is received by monochromatic image pick-up elements, signal processing is conducted in a signal processing unit, and the color image obtained is outputted to a display unit. Because of differences in wavelength characteristics of optical filters or spectral sensitivity characteristics of the image pick-up elements among the electronic endoscope devices of a field sequential system, adjustment of white balance has been conducted by using electronic circuits in typical electronic endoscope devices.
The white balance adjustment is conducted by pushing down a white-balance setting switch in a state that the image of a white body has been picked up. When the switch is pushed down, the white balance adjustment circuit adjusts the color balance such that the ratio of the amplitudes of the B signal and R signal to the G signal comes to a prescribed value. In case of analog circuitry, this adjustment typically involves comparing the outputs of all the signals by a comparator and adjusting little by little the amplification factors so as to obtain convergence to the prescribed color. However, in this case, a large number of frame images are required before the correct white color adjustment is completed and, therefore, the adjustment is a time-consuming procedure.
On the other hand, the adjustment of color balance with digital circuitry is most often conducted by sampling signals of each color within one frame, directly computing the amplification factors of B signal or R signal with a CPU or the like from the intensity ratio thereof, and amplifying each signal by using a digital multiplier. In this case, the adjustment of white balance does not take a long time.
Further, diagnostics employing electronic endoscope devices has recently begun involving auto-fluorescence observations using auto-fluorescence of living-body tissue, in addition to normal observations in which color images similar to those observed by the naked eye are displayed on a monitor.
In the auto-fluorescence observations, diagnostics is conducted according to the fact that spectra of auto-fluorescence emitted from the living-body tissue when it is illuminated with excitation light within a UV to blue range is different between the normal mucous membrane and a tumor. In this case, a lesion portion can be clearly recognized by displaying the image of auto-fluorescence into the reflected light image returned due to reflection from the living-body tissue on a display, the reflected light image having allocation of respective different colors. At this time, the wavelength of the light illuminated is restricted by using narrow-band optical filters (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-95635) such that the spectral distribution in each wavelength band becomes discreet.
Furthermore, in the conventional electronic endoscope devices, the adjustment of color balance is typically conducted by employing a white object as a reference (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-336196), but there are also electronic endoscope devices in which lesion portions in any patient can be observed with a fixed color tone by adjusting the color balance by employing the color of the normal mucous membrane of the patient as a reference during auto-fluorescence observations.
In such conventional electronic endoscope devices, the amplification factor of the amplifier of the signal processing unit has been adjusted for each color (each wavelength band) to adjust the color balance. For this reason, a small difference in the amplification factors between the colors has not caused significant problems, but when the difference in the amplification factors between the colors is large, noise is often increased by a color component of the image with a high amplification factor.
In particular, in electronic endoscope devices for fluorescent observations, the difference in brightness of the fluorescence emitted by mucous membranes of the patients is large among the patients, and the difference in amplification factors between the colors has to be increased to correct the aforementioned difference in brightness which could result in images with a high noise level.
Furthermore, because fluorescence is extremely weak, the quantity of illumination light for obtaining a reflected light image has to be made lower than the quantity of illumination of excitation light. For this purpose, the transmission wavelength band of the filter is narrowed or transmissivity thereof is decreased. This could easily lead to a wavelength error during optical filter manufacture and produce a relatively large negative effect on the image color. For example, in case of a 10 nm error in a filter with a transmission band with a half-width of 100 nm, the error of the transmitted light intensity is about 10%, but in case of a 10 nm error in a filter with a transmission band with a half-width of 20 nm, the error of the transmitted light intensity is about 50%. As a result, the difference in amplification factors between the colors easily became large during color balance adjustment and the probability of obtaining images with a high level of noise is large.
Furthermore, in case of endoscope devices equipped with electronic shutters, color correction can be also conducted by controlling the exposure period. However, in endoscope devices requiring light shielding with a rotary filter plate or the like, the exposure period that is electrically set and the exposure quantity falling upon the image pick-up element do not show a simple linear relationship. This is because the luminous flux crossing the rotary filter is not perfectly converged in one spot but has a certain surface area.
FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating the relationship between the exposure quantity (in case no electronic shutter is used) and time with respect to such a rotary filter. FIG. 12 is a graph illustrating the relationship between the exposure quantity and exposure period with respect to the rotary filter.
The ideal relationship between the exposure quantity and time obtained when one filter in the rotary filter is inserted in the luminous flux is represented by a broken line 91 shown in FIG. 11, but actual relationship is represented by a solid line 92 shown in FIG. 11.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 11, if an assumption is made that an electronic shutter is used and the electric charge sweep is carried out at the point A of time and that the exposure period is ended at the point B of time, then the exposure period will be the A-B period in FIG. 11. The relationship between the exposure period and exposure quantity at this time is shown in FIG. 12. Referring to FIG. 12, ideally speaking, the exposure period and exposure quantity are preferably proportional to each other, as shown by a broken line 93, but in reality they show a complex relationship represented by a solid line 94. Furthermore, the characteristics of the solid line 92 shown in FIG. 11 or solid line 94 shown in FIG. 12 differ depending on the type or individual features of the endoscope or light source unit. For this reason, in the electronic endoscope devices using rotary filter, a strict color balance has been difficult to set only by simple adjustment of exposure period.

Electronic endoscopic device having a color balance adjustment system


An ultrasonic probe is provided which includes a piezoelectric vibrator having an earth electrode and a signal electrode on a rear surface, an acoustic matching layer disposed on a front surface side of the piezoelectric vibrator, a packing material disposed on the rear surface of the piezoelectric vibrator, and a flexible printed circuit that is interposed between the piezoelectric vibrator and the packing material to cover the entire rear surface of the piezoelectric vibrator and has an earth wiring layer and a signal wiring layer. The earth wiring layer and the signal wiring layer are exposed from a surface facing the piezoelectric vibrator of the flexible printed circuit so as to be electrically connected to the earth electrode and the signal electrode through an exposed surface of the earth wiring layer and an exposed surface of the signal wiring layer, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe that is connected to an ultrasonic diagnostic instrument so as to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves to and from a sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ultrasonic probe is a device that is used for imaging the internal state of a sample by irradiating ultrasonic waves toward the sample and receiving a wave reflected from an interface having different acoustic impedance in the sample. Such ultrasonic probe is employed to, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic instrument that inspects the interior of a human body.
The ultrasonic probe in the related art is configured of a piezoelectric vibrator, an acoustic matching layer disposed at a front surface of the piezoelectric vibrator, a backing material disposed at a rear surface of the piezoelectric vibrator, and a flexible printed circuit (FPC) connected to the piezoelectric vibrator. The piezoelectric vibrator includes earth electrode and signal electrode each connected to the front surface and the rear surface thereof. The piezoelectric vibrator generates the ultrasonic waves for scanning the sample on the basis of the voltage applied from the earth electrode and the signal electrode.
By this way, two methods are mainly used for the connection between the piezoelectric vibrator and the flexible printed circuit.
As a first technique, by drawing out the earth electrode into the rear surface of the piezoelectric vibrator, earth wiring of the piezoelectric vibrator is connected to the flexible printed circuit at the rear surface of the piezoelectric vibrator through a portion of the earth electrode drawn out into the rear surface of the piezoelectric vibrator (see, for example, JP-A-11-151239).
As a second technique, by forming a plating electrode on the entire surface of the acoustic matching layer, the earth wiring of the piezoelectric vibrator is connected to the flexible printed circuit at the front surface of the piezoelectric vibrator through the plating electrode. The acoustic matching layer having conductive property may be used. In this case, the plating electrode is unnecessary.
In addition, in both of the first and second techniques, the signal electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator and the flexible printed circuit is connected to each other at the rear surface of the piezoelectric vibrator.
By the way, in the first technique, the wiring between the earth electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator and the flexible printed circuit is electrically connected by a soldering process. For this reason, a piezoelectric material used in the piezoelectric vibrator is likely to be deteriorated by the influence of heat.
In addition, in the first technique, a notched portion is formed at the side of the packing material. The flexible printed circuit is inserted into the notched portion. For this reason, the piezoelectric vibrator is floating in the notched portion. As a result, during the joint of the piezoelectric vibrator and the packing material, if the piezoelectric vibrator is pressurized against the packing material, biased pressurization is applied to the piezoelectric vibrator. Therefore, the piezoelectric vibrator may be cracked.
Furthermore, in the first technique, the earth electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator and the flexible printed circuit are connected to each other at one location. For this reason, the electric joint reliability between the earth electrode of the piezoelectric vibrator and the flexible printed circuit is low.
Further, in the second technique, the metal having high acoustic impedance is used as the plating electrode formed on the surface of the acoustic matching layer. For this reason, the conditions of the acoustic matching fall into disorder by the plating electrode existing in a propagation path of the ultrasonic waves. Therefore, acoustic characteristics may be decreased.
Furthermore, in the second technique, since the acoustic matching layer having the conductive property DOES not necessarily have the acoustic impedance of the desire, sufficient acoustic matching conditions may not be obtained by the restriction of materials.


A new cultivar of Hebe, ‘Silver Lady’, characterized by its variegated foliage with olive-gray green centers and thin creamy white margins and its newly emerging leaves with a lower surface that is deep mauve-purple in color.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hebe, botanically of hybrid origin and known as Hebe 'Silver Lady' and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'Silver Lady'. 'Silver Lady' is grown for use as a container plant and as a landscape shrub.
The new cultivar was discovered as a branch mutation of the cultivar 'Orphan Annie' (non patented) in a container in the Inventor's nursery in September of 2005 in Cambridge, New Zealand.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by the Inventor using terminal stem cuttings in Cambridge, New Zealand, in October 2005. It has been determined that the characteristics of this cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A method and apparatus for managing recording of broadcast data is disclosed. In one embodiment, the invention includes providing the broadcast data to a video recording device and delaying the broadcast data that is provided to the video recording device sufficient to allow for the finding of an indicator and the transmitting of a command to the video recording device. The broadcast data is recorded using the video recording device and monitored for a commercial indicator and for a program indicator. If a commercial indicator is found, a command is transmitted to the video recording device to stop recording. If a commercial indicator is not found, recording continues. If a program indicator is found, a command is transmitted to the video recording device to resume recording and if a program indicator is not found, the recording stop continues.

The present invention relates to the field of entertainment systems. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for recording broadcast data without commercials.
Video recording and playback devices are widespread in use and are operable in a record mode to record broadcast data on a recordable medium. In a playback mode, the video recording and playback device is operable to couple the recorded broadcast data to a display device where it may be viewed at the convenience of the viewer. The use of video recording and playback devices has enabled viewers of broadcast data to control their viewing habits.
In the past, it was necessary for a viewer to manually stop and restart the record mode to prevent the recording of undesired portions of broadcast data such as advertising commercials which are typically interspread throughout desired program data. In order to provide an additional degree of convenience, the video equipment industry has attempted to provide devices that control the video recording and playback device in its record mode to automatically inhibit the recording of unwanted advertising commercials.
One technique used in the past to detect commercials was the monitoring of the amplitude of the video and audio signal of the broadcast data for a drop of the video signal to a black level and a drop of the audio signal to a zero sound level. One disadvantage, however, on relying on a drop of the video and audio signals to indicate the broadcast of a commercial is that video and audio signals may also drop during the broadcast of program data, thus falsely indicating the broadcast of a commercial. This produces the undesirable result of taking the video recording and playback device out of the record mode during the broadcast of program data.
A method and apparatus for managing recording of broadcast data is disclosed. In one embodiment, the invention includes providing the broadcast data to a video recording device and delaying the broadcast data that is provided to the video recording device sufficient to allow for the finding of an indicator and the transmitting of a command to the video recording device. The broadcast data is recorded using the video recording device and monitored for a commercial indicator and for a program indicator. If a commercial indicator is found, a command is transmitted to the video recording device to stop recording. If a commercial indicator is not found, recording continues. If a program indicator is found, a command is transmitted to the video recording device to resume recording and if a program indicator is not found, the recording stop continues.

Method and apparatus for recording program data without commercials


An on-person portable device and/or app that allows for constant location monitoring of dementia patients is disclosed. Such a device and/or app also includes automated communication of facial recognition of persons proximally near such a patient as well as possible generation of certain music in response to patient status and/or location. The patient is provided the device and/or app for handling or wearing, such as a phone or pair of glasses, in order to follow location through GPS monitoring, and a reactive program therein that automatically views another person and provides an identification thereof coupled with a voice modulator within an earpiece or like device for memory stimulation pertaining to loved ones or friends, and the like. The same program may also provide the music response to comments, movement, or any other external stimuli to the subject patient, again, to evoke a memory stimulus, as well.

Difficulties arise as the population ages around the world. With improvements in medical technology, life spans increase leaving a greater number of elderly persons that require a certain degree of attention to assure that everyday activities and general health issues are acceptable for such a population segment. Additionally, such aging members of society do not commonly seek living arrangements in a nursing home facility or communal location. Although some elderly persons are placed in such around-the-clock and/or close-quarter situations, many others desire to live in their own homes or apartments, whether it be for financial, logistical, or other reasons. It has further been well-documented that short-term memory loss may be reduced for patients that remain in familiar surroundings and, even with removal from such an environment for as short as a few days, such a patient may suffer unfortunate consequences in this manner. Thus, the benefits of having elderly or other patients susceptible to short-term memory loss issues staying in their own homes are quite substantial. As such, family and friends generally seek suitable methods of monitoring such self-sustaining elderly, etc., persons to ensure safety and health concerns are properly met.
Furthermore, there are people within a narrower segment of society that face the unfortunate issues of early onset dementia while also desirous of sustaining his or her own household. Such a situation may not automatically cause a caregiver or family member to seek professional help, such as a nursing home or like facility, for constant monitoring and safety issues; actually, with early onset of such a disease or condition (such as, for example, Alzheimer's) a patient may exhibit short-term memory loss or other reduction in mental capacity at that point and certain activities or therapeutic methods utilizing the patient's mental faculties may help to prevent further deterioration. Constant presence of a caregiver for such a purpose may prove too expensive for such an endeavor. As well, the lack of a familial subject to aid in such a mental exercise through voice and visual commands and/or stimulations militates against the utilization of an outside subject for such a purpose in many situations. However, the constant presence of a family member (or like close friend, as one example) may not prove feasible, either, as such a person may not have the time, resources, and wherewithal to provide such around-the-clock attention. Memory stimulation from a suitable source may thus provide the desired therapeutic effect while allowing the patient to remain in their own familiar surroundings.
As such, there exists a definite need to provide a beneficial system, method, and/or device that allows for constant monitoring as well as providing potential therapeutic mental exercises for a patient. Such a device should not rely solely on the patient's input or activity in order to enable a monitoring system to operate. Likewise, such a system should not prove appreciably invasive into the patient's life (through, for example, constant video monitoring). Additionally, any constant video monitoring would prove extremely difficult for a monitor to undertake throughout an entire day, not to mention the privacy issues the patient would not want to lose. As a result, any such system would necessarily allow for an interested and authorized party to elicit a proper response from the patient directly through the system, as well as the capability to either generate on demand a mental exercise program or the ability of such an interested and authorized party to set up a pre-scheduled session (or multiple daily sessions) of such a mental exercise program for the patient's benefit.
In the past, and up to today, the industry that pertains to helping monitor family members has centered on broad tracking, video viewing, and/or self-reporting devices. For instance, personal tracking devices have been found to be useful in locating missing persons. Such tracking devices typically use a network of Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) in low earth orbit that broadcast precise timing signals from on-board atomic clocks. Using triangulation formulas, a device that picks up signals from several satellites simultaneously can determine its position in global coordinates, namely latitude and longitude. Thus, an object and/or person carrying the GPS device may be located provided the appropriate equipment and trained personnel are available for determining the location of the GPS device. Such devices are clearly limited to situations that concern placement of proper reporting/monitoring phones, computer chips, and the like, and offer after-the-fact help once a person has gone missing. Such devices also provide nothing beyond a tracking benefit; therapeutic and/or responsive reporting is unavailable.
There are standard systems in place today that include audio as well as, in some circumstances, audiovisual communications, in nursing homes and like facilities. Such devices are used primarily as communication devices as well as for emergency notification purposes. Beyond that, however, such systems are rather limited in that communications are reliant upon the activity of a patient/tenant and are generally located in specific facilities. Otherwise, the utilization of cell phones and/or computers serve much the same purpose. In terms of providing overall services for patients suffering from dementia, memory loss, or other like symptoms, there is no component within such systems and processes that takes into account such a specialized type of situation. With the potential for decreased mental capacity, a patient's ability to properly operate and/or activate such a device is highly suspect. Such a lack of direction in that respect thus limits the usefulness of such a typical communication system and leaves a rather significant portion of society without suitable offerings to not only help such patients in terms of therapeutic benefits, but do not allow for automatic notifications if lack of communication from a patient occurs.
Likewise, there are devices that patients may keep with them constantly to permit instant notification of health problems. Such devices that are worn by a user for the purpose of instantaneous notification of health or status difficulties have been utilized for many years. Although such devices may provide a certain degree of comfort to both user and family members (or friends) that reports of such problems may be handled quickly and reliably, such may not be the case with patients suffering from certain degrees of memory loss and other dementia maladies. In actuality, the requisite active nature of such self-reporting devices forces the user to remain vigilant, both in terms of remembering the availability, if not presence, of such a signal device on their person, but the failure of activation likewise prevents proper communication with the necessary authorities and/or family members that any problem is at hand. These devices thus fail to permit an outside party from communicating with the user and thus relies solely upon the user's capacity to understand and activate the device itself. Again, in situations with dementia patients, at least, such a requirement is deficient as to the reliability such a system actually provides all parties involved.
As it stands, although certain systems do exist to allow for both communication with patients in homes, rooms, and other like locations, these are limited to communication alone. There is no consideration with the importance that memory stimulating programs, particularly in terms of immediate facial recognition coupled with identification and auditory statement thereof to such a patient, let alone the generation of a musical piece such a patient may associate with certain conditions and/or places, can provide (particularly in a potentially therapeutic environment for early onset dementia patients). Likewise, mere distress reporting devices do not allow early onset dementia patients full potential in terms of reliability that status reports will be made timely and properly. The ability to compensate for such reliability deficiencies, as well as the capability of providing at least a combination of therapeutic memory stimulation programs and status reports from such patients to any number of authorized interested outside parties would be highly beneficial to this growing segment of society. As of today, however, such a system and/or device is unavailable within the remote report/dementia patient treatment industry.

Method and system for monitoring and providing beneficial visual and auditory stimulation for dementia patients


A method and apparatus for smoothing and homogenising the cross-sectional intensity distribution of the output from an excimer laser for improved application of excimer lasers to optical laser surgery to the cornea. The laser beam is focused by means of a cylindrical lens or mirror and then filtered using a narrow gap spatial filter to smooth the intensity distribution by removing high spatial frequencies. The resulting output beam may be collimated by means of a second cylindrical lens or mirror for application to further optical processes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for homogenising an intensity profile of a collimated light source. In particular, the method and apparatus of the present invention is useful for smoothing and homogenising a non-uniform intensity profile of an excimer laser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Excimer lasers currently find use in a wide range of applications which involve etching and shaping by ablation of many types of material. For example, excimer lasers are useful in such applications as semiconductor annealing, microphotolithography, photodeposition, as well as optical laser surgery of the cornea involving area ablations. The advantages of using excimer laser radiation include the precision with which the etching or shaping can be done, and the smoothness and lack of damage to newly exposed material surface. However, this precision and smoothness is limited by the smoothness of the energy or intensity profile of the laser beam. A smooth and even energy distribution is most important for predicting the result of optical surgery, and for the cornea to heal without any scarring. Further, any excimer laser application involving coated optics or mirrors may be compromised by a non-uniform intensity profile since high energy spots in the laser beam can be close to the damage threshold of these coatings and could quickly degrade the coating.
The characteristics of an excimer laser are such that the near field intensity distribution in one cross-sectional dimension is typically quasi-Gaussian in shape, whilst the intensity distribution of the beam in the orthogonal cross-sectional dimension is approximately uniform. Many applications require the intensity distribution to be uniform over the entire cross-sectional area of the beam. Prior art systems have attempted to accomplish this by using cylindrical lenses to expand the beam in the quasi-Gaussian dimension. However, this produces only an approximation to a uniform beam, which is not entirely satisfactory for many applications.
An excimer laser beam generally consists of a plurality of modes, each with its own particular energy distribution and divergence. Intracavity and beam expansion optics cause interference fringes to appear in the expanded beam, resulting in ripples in the intensity distribution, and areas of very high energy at the edges of the beam in the expanded dimension. Further, the output distribution is difficult to predict since, in an excimer laser, the proximity of the electrodes and the shape of the electric field between them have a larger effect on the mode structure than the optical cavity, in contrast to many other laser constructions.
Prior art methods of smoothing the output from excimer lasers have involved some form of optical integration, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,944. These optical integration techniques either involve splitting the input beam into small segments and overlapping the output from each segment, or some kind of randomisation of the laser output beam in either phase or amplitude. Such optical integration is generally aimed at time or space averaging of the fluctuations in beam intensity to produce a substantially uniform distribution. The major disadvantage with this technique is that, after smoothing, the laser beam has lost most of its laser like qualities, and in particular the divergence of the laser beam becomes quite large. This makes applying further optical processes to the smoothed beam very difficult. Further, although optical integration can produce a reasonably uniform intensity distribution, it is not usually very efficient at smoothing the beam, and points of high energy and other inhomogenities can still remain in the integrated output beam. It is also possible that the laser light from different segments in a beam splitting optical integrator could interfere with each other and create an interference ripple pattern in the intensity distribution. Another disadvantage occurs with the time average integration technique in that when only a few pulses of a pulsed excimer laser are required for ablation of the target, the radiation time is generally not sufficient to substantially smooth an inhomogeneous intensity distribution, and the smoothness and uniformity of the cut profile are still dependent on the smoothness and uniformity of the input laser beam.

Method and apparatus for homogenizing a collimated light beam

Lions Eye Institute of Western Australia Inc.


An image display device includes: an image generation unit that generates image display light based on an image signal; a projection unit that projects the image display light generated by the image generation unit; a combiner that presents the image display light projected by the projection unit as a virtual image; and a rotating unit that rotationally moves the combiner along at least one rotation surface, wherein the projection unit changes a direction in which the image display light is projected based on the rotational movement of the combiner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display device and, more specifically, to an image display device that is capable of appropriately changing a direction in which a virtual image is presented to a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, so-called head up displays that use LEDs or semiconductor laser light sources have been developed as image display devices. Head up displays are provided with an optical element called combiner. This combiner allows light that enters from outside a vehicle to pass through and displays to a user, as a virtual image, an image related to image display light that is projected. Via this combiner, the user is able to recognize the virtual image while overlapping the virtual image on a landscape the user is actually viewing.
Head up displays such as those described above have received attention as display devices for vehicles in recent years since the head up displays allow a driver to recognize a landscape outside the vehicle and image displaying various types of information almost without changing the line of sight or a focal position of the eyes. Also, technological development has been actively made for presenting an appropriate virtual image in a visual-line direction of a driver or the like.
For example, Patent document No. 1 suggests a method that allows a virtual image to be recognized even when the position of the eyes of the driver changes in the upward and downward directions by adjusting the angle of a mirror that projects an image onto a combiner. Patent document No. 2 suggests a method of adjusting the angle of a combiner and an entire image generation unit in an integral manner.
[Patent document No. 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-229366
[Patent document No. 2] Japanese Patent No. 4847627
Various limitations on a mounting position and a size are required for head up displays. For example, head up displays that are mounted in a vehicle are required to be appropriately installable according to various types of vehicles. Even after installation, head up displays are also required to be able to appropriately present a virtual image even when, for example, there is a change in the position of eyes of a driver in accordance with the sitting height of the driver.
In the method suggested in Patent document No. 1 that adjusts the angle of a mirror that projects an image onto a combiner, the angle of a beam of light that is incident on the combiner is changed for the adjustment. Therefore, if the angle of a beam of light that is changed is large, an image that is recognized as a virtual image on the combiner may become distorted. Also, in a device suggested in Patent document No. 2, it can be expected that an increase in the size of the device for the adjustment of an angle causes a problem that the adjustment cannot be appropriately made in a vehicle with a limited space for installation or that the device cannot be installed in the first place.


Occipital plates and assemblies combining occipital plates with one of several types of spinal rods or cervical plates in a procedure to fuse a portion of a skull to a portion of a spine. An array of different occipital plates are disclosed, including options for making adjustments to the occipital plates by bending thinned portions of the occipital plates. The spinal rods engage polyaxial connector assemblies that are rotated posterior of the bony attachment section that provides an array of screw holes for affixing the occipital plate to the skull using at least one non-angled and non-articulated instrument. One or more holes for securing tensioning cables are provided in the occipital plates. Additional variations of these concepts are disclosed. Methods of using the disclosed components in surgical procedures are disclosed.

The reasons for surgical intervention for fuse the occipital cervical joints are varied, but the reasons can be categorized as falling within one of five fundamental categories.                Neurologic Disorder;        Mechanical Changes to the Spinal Column resulting in pain;        Instability;        Deformity; and        Pathological Reasons-such as tumors or infection.
The skull may be viewed as a continuation of the spinal column. Sometimes surgical intervention is justified to fuse a series of one or more vertebrae in the spinal column. Likewise, there are situations that justify fusing the occipital portion of the skull to at least the C1 vertebra and often to the C2 vertebra or the C2 and C3 vertebrae. Some situations require fusing past the C3 vertebra possibly as far as the upper thoracic vertebrae.
Surgery is only justified when non-operative treatments are either ineffective or not an option. A non-exhaustive list of the specific reasons for surgical intervention that fall within these broad categories includes the following reasons. Instability of the occipitocervical joints may result from, for example, trauma (to the ligamentous structures of the craniocervical junction; fracture, or dislocation); degenerative disease processes (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis with vertical migration of the odontoid; degenerative spondylosis; spondylolisthesis; spinal stenosis); tumor; infection, or congenital malformation. Instability of the cervicocranium may lead to significant pathological translation, longitudinal displacement, or basilar invagination. Cervical cord compression and trauma to the spinal cord or the brainstem can result in respiratory distress, pain, cranial nerve dysfunction, paresis and paralysis, or even sudden death. Therefore, the need for occipitocervical stabilization may exist for patients with pathological instability.
Occipitocervical arthrodesis, or fusion, provides needed biomechanical stability and is a therapy used to treat such instability. Occipitocervical arthrodesis comprises decortication, deployment of appropriate spinal instrumentation and assemblies, and placement of structural and supplemental bone graft around the decorticated bony elements of the cranium and cervical vertebrae. In some instances the therapy may extend beyond the cervical spine to more caudal vertebral levels. The objective is to create a stable biomechanical environment and provide the biological requirements for osseous fusion. Adequate anterior spinal cord support for load sharing with the posterior implant construct is recommended. Adequate decompression of the neurological structures, where indicated, and recreation of normal sagittal and coronal alignment are prerequisites prior to an arthrodesis procedure. Due to the nature and location of this surgical procedure, adverse events can be serious and cause further neurological injury or impairment; vascular injury; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) egress; infection; instrumentation failure; pseudoarthrosis; continued instability, deformity, and pain.
Occipitocervical fixation has been achieved using a variety of techniques to provide stabilization and/or alignment of the base of the skull with respect to the neck, followed by fusion, or arthrodesis by means of bone graft insertion. Existing surgical techniques and assemblies known in the art include posterior wiring/rods (for example, sublaminar and interspinous wires); screws/rods; hooks/rods; screws/plates; wires/plates, and posterior wiring with onlay graft.
Within these groups, there are various construct configurations, including hybrid systems. Initially, methods for achieving posterior occipitocervical stabilization included onlay fusion and simple wire techniques that required periods of traction followed by a halo, and rod and wire assemblies that were more stable, but continued to have difficulty preventing axial loads due to the rods pistoning through the sublaminar wires.
While occipito-cervical-thoracic stabilization procedures, and in particular posterior occipitocervical fusion surgical implants, instrumentation, and techniques, continue to evolve in the pursuit of improvements in clinical outcomes (e.g., the highest fusion rate with the shortest time to fusion and improvement in neurological function), and in simplicity of use, notwithstanding, there remains a need for ongoing advancements in plate, rod and screw assemblies leading to progress in the surgical management of complex cervical disorders, to accommodate an increased spectrum of anatomical variations, to enable simplicity of instrumentation placement, and to avoid certain adverse events such as loss of spinal alignment, in order to achieve more rigid stabilization in a wider variety of spinal diseases.
More particularly, plate and screw assemblies known in the art have multiple limitations, including fixed hole-to-hole or inter-rod distances that may not match patient anatomy and may prevent optimal occipital screw placement, compromising construct strength. These systems also have been known to experience failures (e.g., loosening, breakage, or cutout), including rod failure (breakage or telescoping), plate failure (fracture), or screw failure (breakage, migration or pullout). Moreover, in addition to the need to overcome problems of screw loosening, there exists a need for occipital plate systems for spinal stabilization in which the occipital plate:                does not obscure the surgeon's view as a screw is being inserted,        has a profile that maximizes space for graft material;        can support compression or distraction between the anchored occipital plate and other anchored components; and.        is configured to permit greater flexibility in deployment with the rods by the surgeon to achieve optimum fit.
There are disclosed herein surgical implants, instruments and methods for occipitocervical fusion which allow independent insertion of the screw anchors as well as stable connection to the longitudinal rod, and permit greater flexibility and adjustability during surgery via a universal, polyaxial connection means for securing an occipital plate to a spinal rod or plate. It is believed that the use of the systems disclosed herein will overcome limitations noted above and that will result in improved maintenance of alignment, increased rate of successful arthrodesis, and minimized occurrence of adverse events as evidenced by clinical and radiographic outcomes.
General Comments and Terminology.
In the context of the present disclosure, as used herein the terms "assembly" or "assemblies" are sometimes used interchangeably and refer to implants, implant systems, instruments, or instruments systems which are configured to comprise multiple components, which may or may not be contiguous. It is further understood that individual components may themselves be configured as sub-assemblies, e.g., comprising a plurality of component materials, and that the formation of the components may involve intermediate processes or appliances.
It will also be understood that upon formation of assemblies from multiple components and deployment, individual components of the present disclosure may or may not remain as discernibly distinct. It will also be understood that, for convenience, system components may be packaged and provided either individually, or as in "kits," and either as reusable or disposable.
It will be further understood that the length and dimensions of implant components and instruments described herein will depend in part on the target site selection of the treatment procedure and the physical characteristics of the patient, as well as the construction materials and intended functionality, as will be apparent to those of skill in the art.
In order to make it easier for a reader to find certain sections of this document that are of particular interest to the reader, a series of headings have been used. These headings are solely for the purpose of helping readers navigate the document and do not serve to limit the relevance of any particular section exclusively to the topic listed in the heading.
The sequence of operations (or steps) is not limited to the order presented in the claims or figures unless specifically indicated otherwise.
It will also be understood that as used herein, rod supporting portion of the occipital plate may also refer to, for example, a plate supporting potion, that is, the area of the occipital plate which is configured and adapted to engage a connection assembly that connects the occipital plate to the spinal portion of the skull-vertebral construct.
It will also be understood that as used herein, the terms rod, spinal rod, longitudinal rod, or plate (e.g., cervical) are sometimes used interchangeably and refer to devices within the stabilization construct that connect and align the occipital plate and skull with the cervical (or thoracic) vertebrae.

Occipital plate assemblies with polyaxial head connectors