In an NoC bus system, data is transmitted between first and second nodes through a router. The data includes performance-ensuring data which guarantees throughput and/or a permitted time delay. The first node generates packets, each including the data to be transmitted and classification information that indicates the class of that data to be determined according to its required performance, and controls transmission of the packets. The router includes a buffer section configured to store the received packets separately after having classified the packets according to their required performance by reference to the classification information, and a relay controller configured to control transmission of the packets stored in the buffer section at a transmission rate which is equal to or higher than the sum of transmission rates to be guaranteed for every first node associated with the classification information by reference to each piece of the classification information.

1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a technology for controlling a network of communications buses (distributed buses) provided for a bus system in a semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
An NoC (Network-on-Chip) is a network of communications buses to be provided on a semiconductor chip which is a semiconductor integrated circuit. In an NoC, buses are connected together via routers and traffic flows are transmitted from a plurality of masters through the same bus shared. As a result, the number of buses to use can be cut down and the buses can be used more efficiently.
In an NoC, however, a bus is shared by traffic flows coming from multiple masters, and therefore, it is difficult to ensure performance (more specifically, to ensure throughput and delay).
Those multiple masters pass traffic flows which require mutually different kinds of performances independently of each other. As a result, a traffic flow which needs to be transmitted with as short a time delay as possible (i.e., a traffic flow of time-delay-guaranteed type), a traffic flow which always needs to be transmitted in a constant transmission quantity for sure (i.e., a traffic flow of throughput guaranteed type) and a traffic flow which needs to transmit a huge size of data at irregular intervals will be transmitted through the same bus as a mix.
As for an NoC, it is important to realize a performance ensuring scheme for satisfying the performance required by each traffic flow (in terms of at least one of throughput and time delay) at a minimum required bus bandwidth. If the performance of an NoC is ensured, the buses can be used more efficiently and the NoC can be designed at the minimum required bus bandwidth to satisfy the required performance. As a result, the hardware design and development of buses can be carried out more easily.
Some conventional routers determine the levels of priority of a given traffic flow. If the data of a traffic flow of a high level of priority is stored in a buffer, then such a router performs transmission processing with the level of priority of that buffer switched to a high level. FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary configuration for a router 301 which outputs the data of traffic flows with high levels of priorities that are stored in buffers 304 and 303 earlier than the traffic flow stored in the other buffer 301. In FIG. 1A, the numerals indicate the respective levels of priorities, and the larger a numeral, the higher the level of priority indicated by the numeral is. The router 301 determines, according to the levels of priorities of the data that are stored at the respective tops of the input buffers, which traffic flows should be provided as output data.
In such a router, however, traffic flows with mutually different levels of priorities can be present in the same buffer. As a result, a traffic flow with a high level of priority will be interfered with by a traffic flow with a low level of priority, which is a problem.
Techniques for coping with such a problem are disclosed in, for example,:                United States Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005/0117589; and        Jean-Jacques Lecler and Gilles Baillieu, "Application Driven Network on Chip Architecture Exploration and Refinement for a Complex SoC", Springer Verlag's Design Automation for Embedded Systems Journal, Volume 15, Number 2, pp. 133-158.
FIG. 1B illustrates a modified configuration for the router 301 shown in FIG. 1A. Specifically, in the router 301 shown in FIG. 1B, the level of priority of each input buffer is determined by the highest level of priority of the messages stored there, and the data is output according to the respective levels of priorities of the input buffers.
In the example illustrated in FIG. 1B, one message, of which the level of priority is Level 3, and three messages, of which the level of priority is Level 1, are stored in the input buffer 302. Two messages, of which the level of priority is Level 2, and two messages, of which the level of priority is Level 1, are stored in the input buffer 303. And one message, of which the level of priority is Level 1, one message, of which the level of priority is Level 2, and two messages, of which the level of priority is Level 3, are stored in the input buffer 304.
The priority level of each input buffer is determined by the highest priority level of the messages stored in that input buffer. That is why the priority levels of the input buffers 302, 303 and 304 become Levels 3, 2 and 3, respectively. Since the messages are sent in the descending order of priorities, the messages stored at the respective tops of the input buffers 302 and 304 are sent as a result.
Thus, the input buffer 302 that stores a message, of which the level of priority is Level 3, can advance the transmission processing preferentially without depending on the levels of priorities of the preceding messages stored. Consequently, the time delay of such a message with a high level of priority can be reduced even if the preceding space of the buffer is occupied with messages with a low level of priority.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A patient-specific instrument for durable resurfacing hip replacement device comprises a head-neck-area receiving inner portion, a top edge portion, an outer portion, one or more distal-head-neck-hole guiding pins, a femoral-shaft-hole guiding pin, and a vertical groove. The head-neck-area receiving inner portion is contoured to fit over a portion of head, neck, and upper shaft body of the femur. The one or more distal-head-neck-hole guiding pins are installed on the top edge portion, so as to work as a first reference line showing a first direction of a long nail portion of the durable resurfacing hip replacement device. The femoral-shaft-hole guiding pin is installed on the outer portion, so as to work as a second reference line showing a second direction of a lag screw portion of the durable resurfacing hip replacement device. The vertical groove is provided on the outer portion and aligned in parallel to the femoral-shaft-hole guiding pin.

The present invention relates to a patient specific instrument for a durable resurfacing hip replacement device. More particularly, this invention relates to a patient specific instrument for durable resurfacing hip replacement device, which helps a surgeon to prepare and operate the medical treatments related to the durable resurfacing hip replacement device.
Joint replacement may provide a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of patients with end stage of arthritis of the hip, but the medical processes are complicated and challenging to the patient and the surgeon in some senses.
Accordingly, a need for a patient specific instrument for a minimal invasive hip arthroplasty device has been present for a long time considering the expansive demands in the everyday life. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need.

Patient specific instrument for durable resurfacing hip replacement device


Methods for providing a user state file enabling interactions between virtual and real world identities include determining a real world identity of a user and determining a virtual world identity of the user. An associated user designation is provided for a first and a second associated user. A real world identity and/or a virtual world identity is determined for the associated users. The first associated user has at least a real world identity and the second associated user has at least a virtual world identity. A communication history is established between the user and the first and second associated users, the communication history including communications in the real world and/or the virtual world. The user state file is generated based on the determined real world and virtual world identities of the user and the associated users and the communication history between the user and the associated users. The user state file is configured to be accessed by the user in both the real world and the virtual world.

The use of electronic devices such as computers and other processor based devices continues to expand. In addition, communication and interaction between such devices is also extensive, using both wireless and wired connections to a world wide network (internet) based on the Internet Protocol (IP).
Various vendors have sought to take advantage of the variety of services offered using this extensive network of connected devices. For example, Apple Corporation has introduced products extending across a "triangle" including portable entertainment devices (iPod/iPhone™); fixed, or at least less-portable, computing device for internet access, collaboration, and content creation (iMac™, PowerBook™); and an internet source for content (iTunes™ for music and videos).
In addition to entertainment uses, such as addressed by Apple Corporation, increasing processor capabilities and memory of server devices coupled to the internet has allowed for the introduction of a variety of "virtual" world environments. Such environments include online gaming environments and the like, where remotely located game participants may participate together in a common game, the state of which game becomes a "virtual" world in which each participant is represented by an "avatar" having a state (e.g., location, armament, health etc.). A variant on such a gaming environment are virtual worlds, such as Second Life® from Linden Labs®. In Second Life®, users may create avatars that may shop, operate businesses, listen to music and the like, while interacting with avatars of other users. It has been proposed that avatars should be provided that may exist in multiple different ones of such virtual worlds. It has further been proposed that virtual mobile terminals should be available for avatars in such virtual worlds that are able to send text messages to recipients in the real world. Thus, such virtual worlds continue to become more sophisticated.

Systems methods and user state files for enabling interactions between virtual and real world identities


A toe link assembly of a suspension system includes a cam sleeve having a first and second end, a first cam plate fixedly attached to the cam sleeve at the first end, and a second cam plate fixedly attached to the cam sleeve at the second end. In addition, the toe link assembly includes a first cam washer rotatably received by the first cam plate, a second cam washer rotatably received by the second cam plate, and a bolt having a head fixedly attached to the first cam washer, a body extending between the first and second ends of the cam sleeve, and a shank fixed for rotation with the second cam washer. Rotation of the bolt causes the first and second cam washers to react against the first and second cam plates to position the bolt relative to the cam sleeve along a first longitudinal axis.

Conventional independent suspension systems include a plurality of linkages and knuckles supported by a subframe of a vehicle, each knuckle being responsible for rotatably supporting a vehicle wheel and each linkage being responsible for interconnecting each knuckle to the subframe. Each link is generally responsible for the control, steering, and positioning of a knuckle, and thus, the positioning of a vehicle wheel. The wheels are aligned with an adjustment system, which is built into the suspension system.
Conventional adjustment systems are cumbersome and complicated to implement. Furthermore, conventional adjustment systems commonly require many parts, thereby increasing the weight, cost, and complexity of the suspension system.
Therefore, a link assembly, which provides for quick adjustment of a link relative to a suspension system, is desirable in the industry. Additionally, a link assembly utilizing a minimal number of parts, while concurrently providing for adequate positioning of a link relative to a suspension system, is also desirable in the industry.


There is provided an analyzing apparatus including an irradiation unit irradiating a first point with a laser, a convergence unit causing an analysis target to converge at the first point, and a unit analyzing a sample gas including a substance that has been irradiated with the laser at the first point using an ion mobility sensor. One example of the convergence unit includes a unit causing the analysis target to be captured in a carrier substance in a liquid state; and a discharging unit discharging the carrier substance including the analysis target to the first point.

In recent years, attention has been focused on apparatuses called field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometers (FAIMS) as a technology for detecting and analyzing chemical substances with high sensitivity. In such an apparatus, by changing the DC voltage and the AC voltage applied to sensors, it is possible to detect changes in the mobility of ionized chemical substances using a fine filter and to identify chemical substances according to differences in such detection results.
WO2006/013396 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-508693) discloses an ion mobility spectrometer with an ion filter in the form of at least one ion channel that includes a plurality of electrodes. With this ion mobility spectrometer, it is possible for the filler to selectively input ion types according to the potential applied to the conductive layer that changes over time. Such potential has a drive electric field component and a transverse electric field component, and in a preferred embodiment, the respective electrodes contribute to the generation of both the drive electric field component and the transverse electric field component. Such device can be used even without a drift gas flow. In addition, such publication discloses a micromachining technology for manufacturing a microscale spectrometer for the various applications of a spectrometer.


A method and apparatus are provided for capturing paper-based information on a mobile computing device. In one embodiment, the inventive method includes capturing a digital image of the paper-based information, where the digital image comprises text (and in some cases non-text) components of the paper-based information. At least a portion of the paper-based information is then categorized based on the content of the text components and stored accordingly in either a local or remote database.

The storage of information such as contact information in a digital format offers several advantages (e.g., ease of searching, synchronization between multiple digital devices) over paper-based storage. However, in many cases, the information to be stored is distributed in a paper-based format. For example, paper business cards are still the predominant means of distributing contact information. Manual entry of such paper-based information into a computing device is time-consuming, especially as the volume of information conveyed on business cards (e.g., multiple phone numbers or email addresses, multiple languages) increases.
Existing methods for digitally exchanging traditionally paper-based information, such as business card information, typically require both the sender and receiver devices to support specific file formats and communication protocols. Moreover, such methods typically exchange solely ASCII text strings, and are not capable of capturing critical non-text information, such as the design or presentation of the information to be captured. This information may be selected by a corporation or an individual in order to convey a desired image, e.g., as embodied in a corporate logo. Other methods involve using purpose-built devices (e.g., comprising scanners and character recognition software) that connect to a computing device but are not portable and thus do not allow a user to immediately update previously stored information.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for capturing paper-based information on a mobile computing device.

Method and apparatus for capturing paper-based information on a mobile computing device


A two spool environmental control system includes a low pressure spool subsystem having a low pressure turbine. A high pressure spool subsystem is in air flow communication with the low pressure spool subsystem, while the high pressure spool subsystem is capable of conditioning compressed air prior to the low pressure spool subsystem conditioning the compressed air. The high pressure spool subsystem includes a high pressure turbine which is mechanically operable independently of the low pressure turbine.

The present invention generally relates to air cycle Environmental Control Systems (ECSs). More specifically, the invention relates to an improved two spool ECS and improved method of conditioning water vapor compressed air by utilizing two spool subsystems in series with one another while increasing efficiency and flexibility.
ECSs are used to provide a supply of conditioned air to an enclosure, such as an aircraft cabin and cockpit. In the past, an air cycle ECS has typically operated on a flow of bleed air taken from an intermediate or high pressure stage within a jet engine having multi-compression stages. The bleed air has usually been pre-cooled within a primary heat exchanger with heat being dumped to RAM air and then flowed to a compressor. After compression, the air has been routed through a series of heat exchangers and condensers. Then, the air has typically been expanded by a turbine which is mechanically engaged to the compressor. Finally, the air can be sent to the cabin.
Past air cycle ECS designs have included 2, 3 and 4 wheel bootstrap, high pressure water separation cycles. The general distinction among the three designs relates to the number of so-called wheels which are mechanically engaged to one another. All three of the bootstrap designs typically utilize a reheater and a condenser heat exchanger to respectively pre-cool the bleed air and then condense the water vapor in it. After condensation, the condensed water is removed by a water extractor. The resulting dehumidified air flows to the reheater where the remaining water droplets are evaporated, leaving the residual moisture in the vapor phase. The dry air then flows to a turbine for expansion and consequent cooling. The expansion will typically cool the air to below freezing temperature and thus the vapor particles form ice nuclei and crystallize into snow, which are swept downstream. The expanded air from the turbine can then be used to cool and condense water in the condenser heat exchanger.
For the 2 and 3 wheel system, the expanded air which has been warmed in the condenser can then be directly supplied to a cabin. However, the differentiating feature between those two systems is that the 2 wheel typically has the turbine engaged to a compressor, while the 3 wheel has the turbine engaged to the compressor as well as a fan which pulls RAM air through the system. In the 4 wheel design, shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,622, the expanded air which has been warmed in the condenser is then further expanded by another turbine for eventual supply to the cabin. That design has the two turbines engaged to the compressor and fan, i.e., 4 wheels. Also, the design in U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,622 does not flow the dehumidified air through a reheater prior to entering the first turbine. That presents a disadvantage since the residual condensed water droplets in the first turbine inlet stream impinge on the cold turbine blades and outlet walls and freeze out if the metal temperatures are much below freezing. Ice then quickly accumulates and must be rapidly melted to avoid clogging the cycle.
A common disadvantage to the 3 and 4 wheel bootstrap systems is that it creates an "off-design" limitation. In particular, the fan is forced to operate at the same speed as the compressor and turbine(s), even though the fan typically finds optimal performance at a speed lower than the compressor and turbine(s). Thus, a compromise is made in design optimization, which has usually been balanced in favor of the compressor and turbine(s). The 2 wheel system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,830 partially ameliorates the "off-design" limitation by incorporating a 2 spool design. In other words, the fan is engaged to a turbine by one spool and another turbine is engaged to the compressor by another spool. The spools operate independently of one another by having bleed air separately routed to each spool. Accordingly, the spools can be said to be operating in "parallel" to one another. Thereby, the fan can operate at a speed independent of that of the compressor and its related turbine, which has often been about one-fourth the speed of the compressor/turbine.
Yet, having spools parallel to one another in the 2 wheel bootstrap system creates energy inefficiencies. With the parallel design, the fan and its related turbine operate off the bleed air before it is compressed and conditioned. In contrast, the compressor and its related turbine(s) operate off the bleed air upon being compressed and conditioned. Thus, during auxiliary power unit operation, while a majority of the bleed air (perhaps about 87%) is subject to being conditioned, it is not all of the bleed air. The consequence is that, among other things, the cooling capacity is reduced. Also, if only a small portion of the bleed air (perhaps about 13%) is going to turn the fan, there is less fan power as compared to a situation where all of the bleed air is used. Less fan power translates into requiring larger RAM air heat exchangers. Another energy inefficiency in the prior 2 wheel system is that the heat of condensation and sensible cooling is lost to the supply air. That is due to the fact that the supply air typically comes directly from the condenser, with no downstream means of recovery. Furthermore, the past 2 wheel system has typically provided no means for utilizing the spool containing the fan as an alternative conditioning spool in the event of a failure by the other spool.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved two spool ECS and method of conditioning high pressure water vapor bearing air which effectively increases cooling capacity by decreasing the required size of heat exchangers. There is an additional need for such a system and method which increases efficiency by recovering the heat of condensation and sensible cooling that might otherwise be lost to the supply air, for example. A further need is a two spool ECS and method which provides flexibility in use, including the ability to still provide conditioned air when one of the two spools is non-operational.


A method of transmitting selected regions of interest of digital video data at selected resolutions, including: capturing digital video; compressing the digital video into a sequence of individual high resolution JPEG 2000 frames and simultaneously extracting from the compressed high resolution JPEG 2000 frames a lower resolution; storing the individual high resolution JPEG 2000 frames in a storage device; creating a video sequence of the lower resolution representation; transmitting the video sequence of the lower resolution representation to a user; creating one or more video sequences of selected regions of interest at selected resolutions greater than the resolution of the video sequence of the lower resolution representation; transmitting one or more video sequences of selected regions of interest at selected resolutions; and repeating the prior two steps at incrementally increased resolutions until a desired resolution of the selected region of interest is reached according to a viewing objective.

Digital imagery has been shown to contain a great deal of useful information that can be utilized in many disparate applications. The challenge has been to provide a way to deliver this wealth of digital image information to an end user in an effective, efficient, and practical manner; one that meets the user's needs and objectives with as little excess data as possible. Digital imagery, both still and motion, includes a great deal of information since each picture element (or pixel) comprising the image must eventually be individually represented to the end user through the display device as a color, and as many as 16 million possible colors (or more) are required for a true to life, full color image. The volume of information required to digitally represent a true to life image can become staggeringly large; so large that manipulation of such images on digital devices, such as computers can become impractical. Transmission of these images between devices becomes even more problematic given the generally limited bandwidth of common transmission methods. Aggravating this issue is the fact that in many cases only a part of the image, sometimes a very small part, contains information that is of interest and value to the end user. Much of the source image is unneeded and/or distracting, taking up valuable transmission bandwidth and complicating the user's interaction with and analysis of the image and of the information held within. Digital image delivery and exploitation is, therefore, hindered by the sheer bulk of the information involved.
In most cases, these problems are addressed by reducing the size of the digital image—a process called image compression. Image compression reduces the size of the data required to store the image. With digital video, compression of the individual digital image frames is usually coupled with some type of frame-to-frame processing and potentially a reduction in frame rate. No matter what the specific technique, the end result is to reduce the amount of data required to represent the image(s), thus enabling faster transmission and frequently faster processing.
Many image and video compression techniques are commonly found in the art, such as the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) ISO standard 10918 for still images and the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) for motion video images, which reduces image data size to facilitate transmission through limited bandwidth connections. Using such compression techniques, digital still and motion video can be manipulated, transmitted across networks, and displayed to an end user in a usable and somewhat effective manner.
However, many limitations and constraints can be found in such systems. Imagery that is delivered to the user across a given connection is limited to a single resolution at a time, although additional requests from the user might cause a new transmission at some new resolution. Storage formats limit each image file to storing only a single resolution, though multiple files may be used to store multiple resolutions of the same source image. Images are transmitted and stored in their entirety, regardless of whether the user or application requesting the image needs the entire image or only a limited region of interest. User interaction with the image information stream is limited to selecting which images are to be transmitted. Even when an image is displayed to the user and zoomed in to a subset area of the same image, the entire image must be transmitted to the user.
On a fundamental level, all such compression methods address only one of the problems found in digital imagery—the size of the images themselves. Although such reductions do greatly alleviate the difficulties of dealing with digital imagery, they offer no way to extract from the imagery only the portions that the user ultimately wants to see. Compression, by itself, will result in a smaller representation of essentially the same data set, and not extraction of the useful regions of interest from the data set.
Prior art does exist that addresses some of these issues. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,535 issued Jun. 16, 1998 to Navin Chaddha, et al., and titled "Software-Based Encoder For A Software-Implemented End-To-End Scalable Video Delivery System," a system is presented that provides a continuous stream of image data from a server (encoder) to clients (decoders), allowing each client side decoder to extract only the resolution(s) applicable to the user. The server in this case streams all resolutions to the clients and allows the clients to process only the desired resolution(s). Within the server's data stream, clients drop packets in response to limited transmission bandwidth. No provision is made for selective transmission from the server to the clients of only a region of interest from the source imagery; nor is there any method described by which a client can specify and request high resolution still frames of individual video frames. The client/server model in this system provides little interaction between the user and the server (outside of initiating and regulating the transmission stream) since the client side decoder is the component that extracts the desired data from the server stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,874 issued Aug. 28, 2001 to Zohar Sivan, et al., and titled "Method And System For Downloading Graphic Images On The Internet" describes a system in which low resolution still images are first transmitted to the client who then selects on the image a region of interest which is then sent to the client as a high resolution image. This system reduces network bandwidth demands and delivers high resolution information for the area of interest. However, it deals exclusively with still images and does not utilize any progressive resolution display. Furthermore, no image analysis is described for the discovery of image components that might aid in the identification of regions of interest, nor is any client control over the delivered resolution(s) described.
Some of the limitations are inherent to the particular image compression and storage formats. A relatively new image format put forth by the Joint Photographic Experts Group called JPEG 2000 addresses many of these storage and transmission limitations. JPEG 2000 images are stored in a wavelet compressed representation that includes multiple resolutions within a single data stream, allows for extraction of only a specified region of the image, and allows for the embedding of non-image information. The multiple resolutions are represented by a data code stream in which the data for a base, low resolution image can be streamed first, followed by data that enhances the base resolution image to increasingly higher levels of resolution. This data code stream can also be trimmed to include only the data representing a region of interest comprised of a subset of the entire image. An additional JPEG standard, the JPEG 2000 Internet Protocol (JPIP), couples the JPEG 2000 standard with a transmission protocol that permits the JPEG 2000 capabilities to be experienced across a standard transmission protocol.
Although relatively new, JPEG 2000 technologies and standards can be commonly found in the art. Said technologies do offer the JPEG 2000 advantages of multiple, selectable resolutions and selectable regions of interest. In U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0051583 A1, by Craig Matthew Brown, et al., published May 2, 2002, and titled "Image Transfer Optimisation," a system is described in which multiple resolutions of wavelet based (i.e. JPEG 2000) images are transmitted to a user in an optimized manner. Furthermore, the system provides for the specification of a region of interest and the selective transmission of only that region's information to the user. However, only still frame images are described, both as the low resolution "thumbnail" initial representation, and as the higher resolution delivered image. No provision is made for utilizing video representations, at any resolution or of any portion of the source images, in the presentation of the image data or selection of the region of interest. Additionally, no provisions are described for region of interest selection based upon automated feature recognition or other image analysis methods.
In the World Intellectual Property Organization international publication number WO 00/65838 by Tony Richard King, et al., published Nov. 2, 2000 titled "Conversion Of A Media File Into A Scalable Format For Progressive Transmission," a system is described wherein multiple source image formats are converted to a universal layered file format, supporting incremental resolution transmission, as well as selection and transmission of regions of interest. Although motion video formats such as MPEG are addressed, the focus of the system is towards the creation of a generalized bit stream transmission that can be decoded by generalized tools regardless of the original image format. This system does not utilize low resolution motion video imagery in the selection of higher resolution motion and still imagery, nor does it specify a method of delivering high resolution still images based upon selections made against low resolution motion video.
In the World Intellectual Property Organization international publication number WO 00/49571 by Meng Wang, et al., published Aug. 24, 2000, and titled "Method and system Of Region-Based Image Coding With Dynamic Streaming Of Code Blocks," methods are presented for encoding JPEG 2000 images such that regions of interest can be efficiently specified and transmitted. The methods apply to the creation and storage of JPEG 2000 images and as such are focused on only a small part of the present invention. No provisions are made for the selection of regions of interest and/or resolutions based upon the content of low resolution motion video.
All such prior art focuses on the presentation of existing, static imagery to multiple users in an efficient or bandwidth-optimized fashion. Although the amount of binary information that is transmitted is reduced, no attempt is made to reduce the amount of visual information to which the user is exposed and which the user must analyze. Region of interest and image resolution selections are limited to a few predetermined ranges, mostly as a reflection of the static nature of the source imagery. In the prior art, the user interaction with the imagery is minimal at best and the user is forced into limited image choices.
Real users typically utilize digital imagery in the context of some objective—some condition the user wishes to detect or monitor. Objectives generally are the visual observation of some scene, detection of specific changes and/or objects in that scene, visual analysis of the parts of the scene that contain the changes and/or objects, and the arrival at some decision or determination regarding those changes and/or objects in particular and regarding the scene in general. Only portions of the complete imagery will typically contain information that is useful within the context of a given objective and resolutions less than the source's true resolution will typically be sufficient to achieve such objectives. As one visually analyzes a scene, a user might want to get a higher resolution view of part of an image which they would then further analyze; deciding at times that an even higher resolution view of part of the image is required, while at other times being able to reach their objective concerning the scene with the already delivered imagery. By interacting with the delivered imagery, a user would be able to select areas upon which they wish to focus their attention, further refine those areas, make decisions or determinations, and then move to other parts of the image holding information of interest.
No prior art allows a user to get just enough information in the form of digital imagery for the user to satisfy such objectives. No prior art allows a user to perform a repeated, iterative selection of image areas and resolutions in search of just enough information to make a decision. No prior art allows for imagery to be analyzed before being sent so that only imagery containing information of interest to the user need be transmitted. These capabilities remain unavailable to users today. Furthermore, no prior system provides for the delivery to an end user of high resolution JPEG 2000 images of a region selected from a video sequence, at selected resolutions.

Method of transmitting selected regions of interest of digital video data at selected resolutions


A balloon catheter device that provides radial delivery of visible or near-infrared radiation. The radial delivery of visible or near-infrared radiation to the pulmonary vein is particularly effective in creating transmural, continuous, and circumferential lesions in the pulmonary vein. Creation of these lesions electrically isolates the pulmonary veins from the left atrium of the heart and, thus is a particularly suitable method for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

The sinus node is known as the heart's "natural pacemaker". The sinus node sends out electrical signals to the lower chambers of the heart (ventricals), causing the chambers to contract at a steady rhythm of about 60 to 100 beats per minute.
When the heart is not beating at a steady rate, the irregular heartbeats are called arrhythmias. The most common type of sustained arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a rapid, irregular heart rhythm caused by abnormal electrical signals from the upper chambers of the heart (atrium). AF may increase the heart rate to and in excess of 100 to 175 beats per minute. As a result, the atria quiver rather than contracting normally, which can result in blood pooling in the atria, the formation of blood clots and strokes.
Recent studies suggest that the pulmonary veins (PV) are a major source of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) (Haissaguerre M, Jais P. Shah DC, Takahashi A, Hocini M, Quiniou G. Garrigue S. Le Mouroux A, Le Metayer P. Clementy J. Spontaneous initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating in the pulmonary veins. N Eng J Med 1998;339:659–66).
One method for treating AF is to burn out, freeze or surgically excise the tissues and pathways from which the abnormal signals arise (ablation).
Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of arrythmogenic sites inside the pulmonary veins (FIG. 1a) has proven successful in eliminating recurrence of AF. However, difficulty in locating arrythmogenic foci and complications during RF ablation such as thrombus formation and pulmonary vein stenosis have limited the efficacy of this procedure. (Robbins IM, Colvin EV, Doyle TP, Kemp WE, Loyd JE, McMahon WS, Kay GN. Pulmonary vein stenosis after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. Circulation 1998;98:1769–1775; Chen SA, Hsieh MH, Tai CT, Tsai CF, Prakash VS, Yu WC, Hsu TL, Ding YA, Chang MS. Initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating from the pulmonary veins: electrophysiological characteristics, pharmacological responses, and effects of radiotrequency ablation. Circulation 1999;100: 1879–86; Shah DC, Haissaguerre M, Jais P. Catheter ablation of pulmonary vein foci for atrial fibrillation: PV foci ablation for atrial fibrillation. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;47 (Suppl 3):352–6; Hsieh MH, Chen SA, Tai CT, Tsai CF, Prakash VS, Yu WC, Liu CC, Ding YA, Chang MS. Double multielectrode mapping catheters facilitate radioirequency catheter ablation of focal atrial fibrillation originating from pulmonary veins. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 1999; 10:136–44).
For example, Shah et al. reported a 69% success rate in 110 patients, with 4% of the pulmonary veins showing stenosis after 8±4 months. (Shah DC, Haissaguerre M, Jais P. Catheter ablation of pulmonary vein foci for atrial fibrillation: PV foci ablation for atrial fibrillation. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;47 (Suppl 3):352–6). Chen et al. reported similar success rates of 86% in 68 patients, but with a much higher frequency (42%) of pulmonary vein stenosis after 6±2 months. (Chen SA, Hsieh MH, Tai CT, Tsai CF, Prakash VS, Yu WC, Hsu TL, Ding YA, Chang MS. Initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating from the pulmonary veins:electrophysiological characteristics, pharmacological responses, and effects of radiotrequency ablation. Circulation 1999;100: 1879–86). In a case study involving 18 patients, Robbins, et al. found pulmonary stenosis with severe pulmonary hypertension in 2 patients (11%) after 3 months, and concluded that the use of standard catheter technology for RF ablation of the pulmonary veins should be avoided. (Robbins IM, Colvin EV, Doyle TP, Kemp WE, Loyd JE, McMahon WS, Kay GN. Pulmonary vein stenosis after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. Circulation 1998;98: 1769–1775).
Another limitation of RF focal ablation is its inability to produce conduction block in a single application. Frequently, it is difficult to locate and effectively ablate the arrythmogenic foci. For example, Haissaguerre et al. reported the need for 5±5 RF ablation applications of from 60–120 seconds for each focus (Haissaguerre M, Jais P. Shah DC, Takahashi A, Hocini M, Quiniou G. Garrigue S. Le Mouroux A, Le Metayer P. Clementy J. Spontaneous initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating in the pulmonary veins. N Eng J Med 1998;339:659–66), while Chen et al. reported the need for 7±3 RF ablation applications of from 20–40 seconds. (Chen SA, Hsieh MH, Tai CT, Tsai CF, Prakash VS, Yu WC, Hsu TL, Ding YA, Chang MS. Initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating from the pulmonary veins: electrophysiological characteristics, pharmacological responses, and effects of radiotrequency ablation.Circulation 1999;100: 1879–86).
The limitations of RF focal ablation (FIG. 1a) have elicited the exploration of alternative ablation strategies.
One alternative approach is to electrically isolate the pulmonary veins from the left atrium by creating a circumferential line of conduction block at the PV ostia. RF energy has been used to create a contiguous line of conduction block from a series of discrete circular RF lesions, or 'spot welds' (FIG. 1b) (Schwartzman D. Circumferential radiobrequency ablation of pulmonary vein orifices: feasibility of a new technique. PACE 1999;22:711). However, spot welding may be tedious and ineffective because the creation of a contiguous circumferential lesion from a series of precisely placed individual RF lesions is difficult to achieve under the current imaging limitations of x-ray fluoroscopy. Furthermore, even in cases when good electrode-tissue contact can be achieved, RF heating produces superficial direct heating due to a rapid attenuation of the electrical current density with tissue depth, resulting in a steep temperature gradient in the subsurface tissue layers. The combination of poor electrode-tissue contact due to imaging limitations and steep temperature gradients may increase the probability of complications such as tissue vaporization, endothelial disruption, and coagulum formation. Endothelial disruption may be responsible for incidents of pulmonary vein stenosis which have been reported during previous pulmonary vain ablation studies using RF energy. (Robbins IM, Colvin EV, Doyle TP, Kemp WE, Loyd JE, McMahon WS, Kay GN. Pulmonary vein stenosis after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. Circulation 1998;98:1769–1775; Chen SA, Hsieh MH, Tai CT, Tsai CF, Prakash VS, Yu WC, Hsu TL, Ding YA, Chang MS. Initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating from the pulmonary veins: electrophysiological characteristics, pharmacological responses, and effects of radiotrequency ablation. Circulation 1999;100: 1879–86; Shah DC, Haissaguerre M, Jais P. Catheter ablation. of pulmonary vein foci for atrial fibrillation: PV foci ablation for atrial fibrillation. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;47 (Suppl 3):352–6; Hsieh MH, Chen SA, Tai CT, Tsai CF, Prakash VS, Yu WC, Liu CC, Ding YA, Chang MS. Double multielectrode mapping catheters facilitate radioirequency catheter ablation of focal atrial fibrillation originating from pulmonary veins. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 1999; 10: 136–44).

Circumferential pulmonary vein ablation using a laser and fiberoptic balloon catheter


A positive-working photosensitive composition comprising one or more polybenzoxazole precursor polymers, a diazonaphthoquinone photoactive compound which is the condensation product of a compound containing from 2 to about 9 aromatic hydroxyl groups with a 5-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl compound and a 4-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl compound, and at least one solvent, and the use of such compositions to form a relief pattern on a substrate thereby forming a coated substrate.

In microelectronic applications, polymers that demonstrate high temperature resistance are generally well known. Precursors of such polymers, such as polyimides and polybenzoxazoles can be made photoreactive with suitable additives. The precursors are converted to the desired polymer by known techniques such as exposure to high temperatures. The polymer precursors are used to prepare protective layers, insulating layers, and relief structures of highly heat-resistant polymers.
Conventional positive-working photosensitive polybenzoxazoles (PBO) contain an alkaline soluble PBO precursor and a diazoquinone photoactive compound as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,685. The diazoquinone compound inhibits the solubility of the PBO precursor in an aqueous base. After exposure to light, the diazoquinone compound undergoes photolysis and converts to indenecarboxylic acid, which promotes the aqueous base solubility of the PBO precursor. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,177,225 and 6,127,086 teach the use of a PBO precursor, which contains diazoquinone moieties attached to its backbone along with a diazoquinone photoactive compound in positive-working photosensitive polybenzoxazole (PBO) compositions. Recently U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/793337 disclosed a composition containing a polybenzoxazole precursor backbone mixed with a PBO precursor, which contained diazoquinone moieties attached to its backbone and at least one photoactive compound such as a diazoquinone compound. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/796587 disclosed a composition based on a PBO precursor, which contained diazoquinone moieties attached to its backbone and had the amines at the end of the polymer chain capped by various moieties and a diazoquionone photoactive compound. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/793341 discloses photosensitive polybenzoxazole precursor compositions that contained diazoquinone moieties attached to its backbone and contained diazoquinone compounds without active hydrogen in their structures. Such compositions provided light color films upon curing. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/796587 also disclosed a composition containing a PBO precursor, which contained diazoquinone moieties attached to its backbone and had the amines at the end of polymer chain capped by various moieties and had at least one photoactive compound (PAC) without active hydrogen to produce a light color film upon curing. In the art described above, the diazoquinone moiety employed in the photoactive compound was of a single type. Mixed diazoquinone compounds were not considered.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,658 disclosed a photoactive compound that was the reaction product of curcumin with 5-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl compounds and 4-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl compounds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,164 disclosed a positive photoresist comprising a trihydroxyphenylethane containing both 5-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group and 4-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group, and a trihydroxybenzophenone containing both 5-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group and 4-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group. German Patent No. DD 289,265 disclosed a photoactive compound containing both 5-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group and a 4-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group. U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,764 disclosed positive-type photosensitive polyimide and polybenzoxazole precursor compositions with photoactive compound containing both 5-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group and 4-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group. The 5-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group and 4-naphthoquinone diazide sulfonyl group could be in the same molecule or in a mixture of two photoactive components.

Fujifilm Electronic Materials U.S.A., Inc.


A balloon endoscope device having a shaft with a distal end that allows for blunt dissection is provided. The shaft utilizes a plurality of separately inflatable balloons that alone or together with exterior functional channels (e.g., instrument channels, air channels, water channels, suction channels) circumferentially surround the distal end of the shaft to better position and maneuver the distal end as it advances through tissue planes and once it reaches a target working space or operative site.

Endoscopes have been used for many years for viewing within a desired region of a patient's body through the patient's airway, other natural orifices, or a surgical incision. An endoscope typically has an elongated flexible shaft with a control head at its proximal end. The flexible shaft is equipped with one or more functional channels (e.g., instrument channels, air channels, irrigation channels, suction channels) that extend along the length of the flexible shaft from the distal end to the control head. The control head is connected to a light source, air/water supply and suction via an "umbilical" cord.
For fiber-optic endoscopes, the flexible shaft is also equipped with a channel holding optical fibers (i.e., an image guide) for carrying an image from the distal end of the shaft to the control head, where it can be viewed through an eyepiece by a physician.
For video-endoscopes, a Charge Coupled Device (CCD), which serves as an image-capturing means, is located at the distal end of the endoscope. Captured images are compressed and recorded on, for example, a hard disk, a removable memory device, an optical disk, or a magneto-optical (MO) disk.
The tip of the endoscope is controlled using pull wires attached at the tip just beneath the surface of the flexible shaft, and passing back through the length of the shaft to angling controls in the control head of the endoscope. Two angling wheels or knobs located on the control head for up/down and right/left movement incorporate a friction braking system, so that the tip can be fixed temporarily in any desired position.
Surgeons in the past have used blunt-tipped instruments as well as balloons in connection with endoscopic surgery to dissect tissue in order to develop a working space in the interior of the body. Balloon type surgical instruments have been developed to assist in this regard. Several of these prior art instruments are described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,604 describes a surgical instrument that utilizes an inflatable, transparent balloon. The instrument serves to dissect and form a dissected viewing space within the interior of the body to provide adequate depth of field for endoscopic viewing. The instrument includes a transparent tipped dissector-guide 5 having a guide member 10 with an interior lumen (cavity) 14 (dimensioned to accommodate a viewing scope or endoscope 22) as well as a working channel 34 (for an elongate trocar). The guide member 10 affords the surgeon contemporaneous vision through the far end of the guide 10 as the instrument navigates the interior of the body. Metal band 132 and balloon constraining sleeve 133 are employed to constrain balloon 120 in a first collapsed position around guide member 10. The constraining sleeve 133 is provided with a weakened, perforated surface that will give way and burst when an inflation medium is introduced into balloon chamber 122 allowing the balloon to deploy to the inflated position. As the balloon inflates, tissue is dissected by the balloon generally applying forces perpendicular to the tissue being dissected or separated. When balloon 120 is inflated, it is disposed in a "hot dog bun" shape around the guide 10, offering increased depth of field in all directions around lens 32 of endoscope 22. Procedures are described in this patent as being performed on an outer surface of the inflated balloon. See e.g., Cols. 7 to 8, lines 60 to 3, of the '604 patent.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,607,441 and 5,707,382 both describe a surgical instrument that includes an assembly 10 consisting of two primary components, namely, a balloon dissector 11 for the dissection of internal bodily tissue to form an operative space during a surgical procedure, and an endoscope 12 for providing simultaneous visualization during the surgical procedure as the dissector is advanced through tissue and the operative space is formed. The balloon dissector 11 basically comprises a conventional trocar cannula 13, an extension assembly 14 (with transparent tissue-contacting element 24), and an inflatable balloon 15. Tubular sleeve 17 connects trocar cannula 13 and extension assembly 14 and is sized to receive an endoscope. An endoscope would be inserted distally in assembly 10 through tubular sleeve 17 until it abuts ring 23 at the distal end of the extension assembly 14. Use of assembly 10 is described in Cols. 5 to 6, lines 55 to 19, of the '382 patent, and is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, of this patent. To summarize, once the assembly 10 is positioned parallel to adjacent tissue layers with the aid of the endoscope, the balloon 15 is inflated to form an operative space. The balloon 15 is then deflated, and the assembly including the balloon dissector 11 removed and another trocar cannula 35 introduced into the operative space.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,938,585 and 6,277,065 both describe an anchoring and positioning balloon device shaped like a cradle that is deployed using a side-view type endoscope 10. Endoscope 10 includes an illumination device 20, a viewing device 22, and a working lumen or channel 24, all contained within window section 18. A cradle shaped inflatable balloon 30 is attached to the distal end section 12 of the endoscope 10. During operation of the endoscope 10 with the balloon 30 inflated, the cradle portion 34 spaces the window section 18 from the examining area, thus providing a good view of and a sufficient working space relative to the body cavity wall 27 (see Cols. 3 to 4, lines 59 to 7, of the '065 patent).
US 2005/0159645 A1 describes a sheath for use with a medical device such as an endoscope, that comprises: an elongated body having a proximal end and a distal end; a main lumen extending through the elongated body from the proximal end to the distal end; and one or more inflatable balloons mounted on an outside surface of the elongated body proximate to the distal end. Embodiments employing multiple balloons mount the balloons 16, 18, 52, 54, 56 in isolated fashion on the distal end of the elongated body (see FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C), or along the length of the elongated body (see FIGS. 4A and 4B).
Unfortunately, the use of single balloons or multiple isolated balloons on the distal end of these prior art devices renders the positioning and advancement of the devices between/through natural tissue planes difficult to control.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope device capable of blunt dissection that allows for improved control over the positioning of the distal end of the device's shaft between natural tissue planes (e.g., subcutaneous, subfascial, intraperitoneal, intrathoracic, intracranial tissue planes) and further allows for improved control over the shaft's advancement through these tissue planes.
The present invention therefore provides an endoscope device that comprises a shaft having a distal end and a plurality of separately inflatable balloons that alone or together with exterior functional channels (e.g., instrument channels, air channels, water channels, suction channels) circumferentially surround the distal end of the shaft.
In a preferred embodiment, the inventive endoscope device comprises: a shaft made up of a flexible or partially flexible tubular member having a distal end, and interior optical and inflation channels extending there through; functional channels adapted to extend along an outer surface of the tubular member; and a plurality of separately inflatable balloons, where the balloons together with the exterior functional channels circumferentially surround the distal end of the tubular member.
The present invention further provides a method of dissecting layers of tissue to form a working space between the tissue layers and then performing an endoscopic procedure within the newly formed working space, which method comprises:                providing an endoscope device as described hereinabove, wherein the balloons located on the distal end of the device's shaft are fully deflated;        inserting the distal end of the shaft between the layers of tissue;        advancing the distal end of the shaft between the tissue layers by sequentially inflating and deflating various balloons until a desired length of dissection has been completed;        inflating all or some of the balloons to form a working space between the tissue layers; and        repositioning the distal end of the shaft within the newly formed working space, as necessary, while performing an endoscopic procedure therein by inflating and deflating various balloons.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. All publications, patent applications, patents and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.


A muffler assembly for muffling noises associated with a compressor. The muffler assembly includes an air intake having a hollow interior for receiving air from the ambient environment when the compressor is operating. A baffle is located within the interior of the intake for restricted passage of the air through the intake. A fluid portal is defined within the baffle for enabling fluid to pass from one side of the baffle to the other side of the baffle and subsequently through said air intake. An attenuator is disposed within the fluid portal for attenuating noise and the attenuator disturbs the soundwaves associated with the operation of the compressor.

This invention relates to a muffler system in general, and more particularly to an integrated muffler system for decreasing the noise level of a compressor and for manipulating the frequency of the soundwaves associated with the operation of a compressor to produce a more tranquil environment.
Compressors are utilized for compressing air at atmospheric pressure to a higher pressure for subsequent use. One such application is the use of a compressor with an oxygen concentrator where air is drawn in from the surrounding environment through the inlet port of the compressor and then compressed and passed through an outlet to the molecular sieves of the oxygen concentrator.
A compressor includes a housing which houses a fan assembly which draws air from the ambient environment to a piston assembly which compresses the air. Typically, the fan blades are exposed to the ambient environment. The piston assembly generally consists of a compressor head connected to a valve plate, a piston sleeve connected to the valve plate, and a piston within the piston sleeve which moves in an up and down cycle. The compressing of the air generates noise from a variety of sources. Typically, running of the fan is not muffled and also the sucking of air into the compressor by the downstroke of the piston generates noise through the intake port. Many pistons utilize a reed valve in the valve plate for directing the airflow in and out of the compressor. The air flowing through the reed valve generates a sound which is continually repeated as a result of the reciprocating motion of the piston. Furthermore, the compression of air by the upstroke of the piston generates a noise which travels back through the intake port while the turbulent flow of the air as it travels at high velocity into an output cylinder also generates acoustic noise in a pulse setting fashion. Accordingly, a muffler is generally connected somewhere in the compressor system for muffling the noise of the compressor.
Several attempts have been made to develop a muffler for compressors. Previously, some efforts have included placing foam filters within enclosed chambers forcing the air through the filters. While such mufflers generally filter very high frequencies, they have little affect on lower frequency sounds. Furthermore, these assemblies require numerous parts and typically occupy a large amount of space which impact the desirability of the muffler. Such an assembly is shown in FIG. 1. Another possible disadvantage with such a design is that a trade-off exists between adequately muffling the noise and producing a pressure drop across the muffler which decreases the efficiency of the compressor.
Other attempts to reduce compressor noise have utilized non-dissipative mufflers for reducing sound within a specific frequency range. Such mufflers utilize a resonator which are tuned to maximize the amount of attenuation by adjusting the length and diameter of the outlet with respect to the sides of the cylinder chamber. While these types of resonators are effective, they generally require extensive design work on the particular compressor size and then only work on soundwaves of a particular frequency.
While many of these mufflers do reduce the compressor noise, they are generally either difficult to design, only effectively reduce the sound associated with a particular wave frequency, or require many components which result in an increase cost of the muffler in both materials and assembly labor.
Therefore there is a need for an improved compressor muffler for a pneumatic compressor and especially for a compressor which is utilized in the home environment for establishing a sound spectrum which is not intrusive to the hearing of individuals.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a muffler assembly which is easy to manufacture;
Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a muffler assembly which decreases the overall decibel level of the compressor and also improves the sound quality of the noise associated with the compressor;
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a muffler assembly which includes a suspended attenuator for reducing the overall decibel level of the compressor by manipulating the amplitude and frequency of the soundwaves associated with a pneumatic compressor;
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an effective muffler which does not significantly effect the overall size of a compressor or the cost of manufacturing the compressor;
It is also an object of the present invention of the present invention to provide an effective muffler which does not create a sufficient pressure drop reducing the efficiency of the compressor.


An apparatus and method for joining an Internet of Things (IoT) network are provided, the apparatus including a communicator configured to receive, from an electronic device, an encrypted auto-onboard configuration data associated with the IoT network, a sensor configured to detect a user command, and at least one processor configured to generate a decryption key based on features extracted from the user command, decrypt the encrypted auto-onboard configuration data using the decryption key, and join the IoT network.

The disclosure relates to device authentication and onboarding of devices in an Internet of Things (IoT) network.
The above information is presented as background information only to help the reader to understand the present disclosure. Applicants have made no determination and make no assertion as to whether any of the above might be applicable as Prior Art with regard to the present application.

Method and an apparatus for onboarding in an IoT network


The invention relates to a process for producing high purity isobutene from a hydrocarbon cut essentially comprising olefinic hydrocarbons containing 4 carbon atoms per molecule including isobutene, also butene-1 and butene-2 compounds in a ratio which substantially corresponds to the thermodynamic equilibrium. The process comprises passing the cut into a distillation zone (3) associated with a hydroisomerization reaction zone, the bottom product of the distillation zone comprising butene-2 compoundw being passed into a second distillation zone (4), preferably an extractive distillation zone, to obtain a first effluent comprising butene-2 compounds as its major portion and a second effluent comprising normal-butane as its major portion, the major portion of the first effluent being passed into a skeletal isomerization zone (2) where the linear butenes are at least partially isomerized to isobutene, at least part of the principal effluent from the skeletal isomerization zone being recycled upstream of the reactive distillation zone (1).

Isobutene for polymerisation must be more than 99% pure and can contain only traces of butene-1 and butene-2 compounds (several tens of parts per million, ppm). If the degree of impurities in the isobutene is too high, the quality of the polymers obtained is poorer and the polymerisation yield is lower. The other olefinic hydrocarbons containing 4 carbon atoms per molecule must therefore be eliminated from a hydrocarbon cut containing isobutene. Since the boiling points of butene-1 and isobutene are very close, it is not possible to separate them by distillation unless considerable means are used. The other olefinic hydrocarbons containing 4 carbon atoms can be separated from the isobutene by distillation.
The principal problem in the production of high purity isobutene is thus separating butene-1 from isobutene. A number of routes can be used to carry out this separation.
The first route consists of extracting using sulphuric acid: isobutene is selectively hydrated and then regenerated by treating the aqueous phase. If the temperature and concentration are properly controlled, this process can produce high purity isobutene. However, the yield normally does not exceed 90% as extraction is not complete and dimers and oligomers are formed, leading to the formation of toxic acid mud.
The second route consists of cracking methyl tertio-butyl ether (MTBE): isobutene is extracted from the C.sub.4 cut by reacting it with methanol to form MTBE. The MTBE is thus cracked to methanol and isobutene using an acid catalyst. The yield on recovery can be at least 96%. The isobutene produced is of high purity but it has to be freed of the dimethylether which can form during cracking.
The third possible route is dehydration of tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA). In the previous operation, methanol can be replaced by water, leading to the production of TBA. The isobutene is then recovered by dehydrating the TBA. This route is not used in practice, mainly because TBA is closely linked to the propylene oxide market. TBA can be a by-product of propylene oxide from those processes.
The butene-1-isobutene separation problem has existed for a long time. A variety of solutions have been proposed but none is completely satisfactory in terms of efficiency of separation without the appearance of by-product(s). U.S. Pat. No. 2,403,672 describes a process for separating isobutene from an isobutene-butene-1 mixture which comprises introducing the mixture into an isomerisation zone and fractionating it, wherein the isomerisation catalyst also acts as a packing to allow distillation. This solution has the major disadvantage of not being very efficient in distillation and thus has a mediocre capacity for separating isobutene from butene-1.

Process for the production of high purity isobutene combining reactive distillation with hydroisomerization, distillation and skeletal isomerization


Circuit interrupter positioned between supply circuit and load circuit includes fault detection circuit that senses wave forms to the load circuit, fault processing circuit that detects presence of fault and generates fault output signal when fault detected, and control circuit switch connected to fault processing signal output, wherein control circuit switch is opened by presence of fault output signal, thus isolating load circuit from supply circuit. Preferably fault processing circuit and control circuit are optically linked, such that when fault is detected, control circuit switch is opened by optical fault output signal, thus isolating load circuit from the supply circuit. Circuit interrupter may couple another circuit interrupter via power distribution control unit, optionally manageable remotely via automated control interface.

A conventional circuit interrupter serves to interrupt power connections to electrical loads. However, conventional circuit interrupters, particularly those designed using electro-mechanical relays with air gaps, suffer unreliable operation due to various environmental interferences, for example, from oxidation, dust, dirt and other physical interferences. There is a need, therefore, for an improved circuit interrupter solution characterized by arc-free and fast switching.
Background publications on solid state circuit interrupters include U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,184 wherein a mechanical toggle control switch is included. U.S. Pat. No. 7,633,727 teaches band pass filters cooperating with a current sensor. U.S. Pat. No. 7,948,719 discloses a solid state device and a control for opening the circuit functioning as a protection switch. U.S. Pat. No. 9,774,182 discloses a solid state series switch positioned between a high voltage, direct current bus and a high voltage DC power source wherein the series switch is configured to establish an open circuit upon receiving an electrical signal. Additional background materials are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,245,185; 6,167,329; 6,788,512; 8,718,830; 9,774,182; 6,141,197; U.S.20080204950; U.S.20100091418; U.S.20100156369; U.S.20100244730; U.S.20100320840; U.S.20130066478; U.S.20130253898; U.S.20140085940; U.S.20150097430; U.S.20160294179; and U.S.20170256934; all cited background literature is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The literature contains no suggestion or reference to the use of optical coupling in a circuit interrupter.

Circuit interrupter with optical connection


A Schottky diode is presented which has reduced minority carrier injection and reduced diffusion of the metallization into the semiconductor. These improvements are obtained by interposing a layer comprising a mixture of silicon and chromium between the anode metallization layer and the semiconductor in a Schottky diode. The layer including chromium acts an effective barrier against the diffusion of the metallization layer into the semiconductor, and at the same time reduces the amount of minority carrier injection into the substrate. The layer including chromium requires no addition photolithograpic masks because it can be plasma etched using the metallization layer as a mask after that layer has been patterned.

This invention relates to Schottky diodes. More particularly, it relates to Schottky diodes in which minority carrier injection, forward voltage, and metal diffusion are reduced with the use of an intermediary layer including chromium at the metallization-semiconductor interface.
One of the desirable features of a diode is that it should switch rapidly from a conducting state to a non-conducting state when the polarity of the voltage applied to it is switched from a forward biasing condition to a reverse biasing condition. However, in practice, a reverse current usually flows for a short time after the diode is switched to the reverse biased condition. The time taken for this current to become negligible is termed the reverse recovery time, and this time is preferably made as short as possible.
One of the causes of the reverse current which flows during the reverse recovery time is the presence of minority carriers near the diode's junction when the diode is forward biased. When the polarity of the voltage applied to the diode is reversed, these minority carriers flow away from the junction to constitute the reverse current. The number of minority carriers generated determines the total charge that must be removed from the junction area during the reverse current flow, and therefore determines the reverse recovery time. This determines the speed at which diodes can switch. Long reverse recovery times, and hence slow switching speeds, are present in diodes having high levels of minority carrier generation.
Schottky diodes are high-speed diodes which, in theory, minimize the minority carrier generation problem by using only majority carrier conduction. This is accomplished by replacing the semiconductor PN junction in a conventional diode with a metal-semiconductor rectifying junction in which minority carrier generation is significantly lower. Such a metal-semiconductor junction ideally reduces the reverse recovery time of Schottky diodes to zero, and the diodes can therefore switch at high speed.
In practice, minority carrier generation and injection is not completely eliminated in conventional metal-semiconductor Schottky diode junctions. For example, in conventional Schottky diode junctions formed by making contact between an aluminum-based (e.g., Al:1%Si or Al:1.5%Cu:1%Si) metallization layer and an underlying silicon surface, reduced numbers of minority carriers are still generated and injected into the depletion region due to the formation by diffusion of a layer of p-type aluminum doped silicon at the metallization/silicon interface. This can lead to recovery times which are still too long, and can also lead to other effects which can be even more serious.
One such serious effect of minority carrier injection is parasitic transistor operation in an integrated circuit in which Schottky diodes are constructed in an n-type well in a p-type substrate. With this configuration, a significant current can flow to the substrate of the integrated circuit. This current flow can cause the voltage of the substrate to rise and disturb the operation of other parts of the integrated circuit. For example, connection of the substrate contact to ground potential is usually made at a substrate contact pad which may be remote from the Schottky diode. If current flows from the collector of the parasitic PNP transistor to the substrate contact, the resistance of the substrate will cause a voltage drop to appear laterally across a path in the substrate from the Schottky diode to the substrate contact pad. This voltage may be large enough to forward bias junctions of other devices which lie near this path, and thus cause those devices to operate incorrectly. Latch-up in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor ("CMOS") circuits is an example of such incorrect operation.
The minority carrier injection of a Schottky diode can be further reduced by using a metallization layer of pure aluminum instead of either of the aforementioned AlSi and AlCuSi alloys, but a pure aluminum metallization layer has disadvantageous electrical and metallurgical properties (e.g., low electromigration resistance).
Another problem with some prior Schottky diodes is that the voltage dropped across them when they are forward biased (i.e., the "forward" voltage) may be too high for certain applications, even though this forward voltage is lower than the forward voltage of conventional semiconductor diodes. For a given current, a diode with a lower forward voltage than a conventional diode will have a lower power dissipation than a conventional diode, and this may be critical, for example, in low power applications or where temperature effects are a problem. Additionally, in many cases, Schottky diodes are used as clamps across silicon diodes to prevent conduction of the silicon diode and to eliminate minority carrier storage effects. In these cases, if the forward voltage of the Schottky diode was to be reduced further, there would be a greater voltage margin before the onset of conduction of the silicon diode.
Still another problem with some previously known Schottky diodes, in which a layer of non-aluminum metal (e.g., titanium tungsten) or metal silicide (e.g., platinum silicide) is formed between the aluminum-based metallization layer and the silicon, is the diffusion of aluminum or other metallization material through the metal-semiconductor interface into the silicon. This can degrade the diode's performance significantly because the junction may revert to a aluminum-semiconductor junction rather than one between the intended metal and the semiconductor.
The metal-semiconductor rectifying junction of conventional Schottky diodes have been formed using aluminum evaporation or sputtering techniques. Aluminum is the most commonly used base metal material because Schottky diodes using this material can be fabricated easily and simultaneously with ohmic contacts for other devices in the integrated circuit. As stated above, other materials such as platinum silicide or tungsten titanium, which have desirable properties, also have been used for the metal-semiconductor interface but, unlike aluminum, these typically require that one or more special process steps be added to a conventional integrated circuit process flow, and thus their use in a Schottky diode significantly increases the complexity of the integrated circuit manufacturing process.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a Schottky diode in which minority carrier injection is minimized.
It would further be desirable to provide a Schottky diode in which the forward voltage is reduced.
It would still further be desirable to provide a Schottky diode in which a layer is formed to reduce the diffusion of metal from a metallization layer into the semiconductor.
It would yet further be desirable to provide a Schottky diode wherein the metal-semiconductor interface is formed using a material which is commonly used in conventional integrated circuit manufacture, is relatively easy to process and may be used to form other device structures simultaneously.

Aluminum alloy/silicon-chromium sandwich schottky diode


A controller for a switched reluctance motor that does not utilize a sensor for detecting the rotational position of the rotor. The inductance of each field winding changes according to the rotational position of the rotor. The rotational position of the rotor of the motor is determined by measuring the inductance of each phase during periods when a minimum level of inductance for the phase is expected to occur. A series of voltage pulses are applied to the appropriate field winding during the appropriate period while the current produced in response to the voltage pulses is measured. The relationship between applied voltage, measured current, and time, is utilized to determine the inductance value as it decreases and then increases between positions of rotor alignment. Commutation to a next phase is performed based upon the measured inductance values. More particularly, a first voltage pulse is applied to an appropriate field winding after a commutation and a level of current induced by the voltage pulse is stored across a capacitor. Then, subsequent current levels produced by subsequent voltage pulses are compared to a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold ensures that the rotor is not stationary during the measurements. Once a current level exceeds the predetermined threshold, subsequent current levels are compared to the stored level. Upon a subsequent measured value which does not exceed the stored value, commutation to a next phase is performed. The number of degrees of rotation between removing the excitation voltage from a phase and alignment of the rotor with the corresponding phase is the phase advance. The phase advance is adjusted by controlling an offset value utilized for comparing the current levels to the stored value.

Switched reluctance motors are characterized in that torque is produced by the tendency of the rotor to align with an excited stator winding, thereby maximizing the inductance of the excited winding. Typically, both the rotor and the stator have unequal numbers of evenly spaced poles. The poles of the stator are wound with field windings, whereas, the poles of the rotor are not wound. Each pair of stator poles positioned opposite each other have field windings that are electrically coupled in series or in parallel so that both field windings are excited simultaneously, thus, comprising a phase of the motor. For producing continuous rotation in a switched reluctance motor, each phase is driven, typically by applying a DC excitation voltage, in an appropriate sequence according to the position of the rotor. This process of driving the phases in sequence is referred to as commutation.
FIGS. 1A-C illustrate a sequence of side sectional views of a switched reluctance motor during counterclockwise rotation of the rotor 10. In FIG. 1A, the rotor poles 1 and 3 are aligned with the stator 12 poles A and A' (phase A). In this position, the windings LA of phase A have a maximum value of inductance. Therefore, to move the rotor 10 into the position illustrated in FIG. 1A, phase A is driven by applying an excitation voltage across the windings LA of phase A, thereby inducing a current in the windings LA of phase A.
If phase A remains excited while the rotor 10 continues to turn past the position of alignment illustrated in FIG. 1A, however, a torque would be produced in a direction opposite the direction of rotation. To avoid this, and because the current cannot instantaneously fall to zero, the excitation voltage is preferably removed from phase A prior to the rotor 10 reaching this position of alignment illustrated in FIG. 1A. The number of degrees of rotation between removing the excitation voltage from a phase and alignment of the rotor 10 with the corresponding phase is referred to as the phase advance.
Upon removing the excitation voltage from phase A, an excitation voltage is applied to the windings LB of the stator 12 poles B and B' (phase B), thus, driving phase B. FIG. 1B illustrates the rotor 10 continuing to turn beyond alignment of the rotor 10 poles 1 and 3 with phase A and towards alignment of the rotor 10 poles 2 and 4 with phase B. Prior to reaching alignment with phase B, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, the excitation voltage is removed from phase B and an excitation voltage is applied to the windings LC of the stator 12 poles C and C' (phase C). Note that as illustrated in FIG. 1C, the inductance of the windings LB of phase B is at a maximum value. Prior to the alignment of the rotor 10 poles 1 and 3 with phase C, the excitation voltage is removed from phase C and an excitation voltage is applied to phase A. This commutation process continues, thereby maintaining continuous rotation of the rotor 10.
Switched reluctance motors, such as the one illustrated in FIGS. 1A-C, differ from brushless DC motors in that switched reluctance motors do not utilize permanent magnets. The use of permanent magnets in the rotor of a typical brushless DC motor tends to increase production costs and can lead to operational problems should the magnets loosen or vibrate. In contrast, the rotor of a switched reluctance motor can be relatively inexpensively manufactured from stamped sheet laminations. In addition, each field winding of a switched reluctance motor is driven independently of the other field windings, whereas, the field windings of a brushless DC motor typically share common terminals, being connected in a delta or wye configuration.
Switched reluctance motors differ from AC induction motors in that AC induction motors generally include field windings in the rotor which tend to increase the cost of producing AC induction motors. As noted above, switched reluctance motors do not have rotor windings.
While switched reluctance motors have relatively low production costs in comparison to other types of motors, they tend to be difficult to control, requiring complicated driving circuitry. This is because the relationships between torque, field current, speed, and optimal phase advance tend to be highly non-linear and also tend to vary with the load.
For driving a switched reluctance motor, knowledge of the rotor position is generally required for appropriately commutating the motor. In prior systems, the rotor position has been determined by position sensors mounted to the rotor shaft. For example, the use of encoders, Hall effect sensors, and sensing transformers are known. These sensors can increase the cost and complexity of such a system and reduce its reliability.
Sensorless control circuits have been developed for switched reluctance motors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,190, entitled, "Rotor Position Estimator For A Switched Reluctance Machine," measures phase flux and phase current to derive rotor angle estimates. This system, however, utilizes complex circuitry in that it requires a microprocessor or a pair of analog-to-digital converters and a look-up table to estimate the rotor position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,302, discloses a drive circuit for a stepping motor. Current through a phase winding that is next in sequence to be driven is allowed to increase for fixed period of time determined by a clock pulse length. Rotor position is detected by comparing a value of current attained at the end of this fixed period of time to a preset value. The preset value is set by adjusting a potentiometer. When the preset value is exceeded, the phase is energized. This technique has a disadvantage in that the current at the end of the fixed period of time must be increasing for each successive clock pulse. The inductance of a phase winding that is about to be energized, however, can also decrease while the previous phase is still being driven. Thus, additional complexity is required in the drive circuit for determining whether the inductance is increasing or decreasing. Another disadvantage of this technique is that the preset value must be calibrated before the motor can be driven. Thus, variations in the observed current values, such as those caused by variations in applied motor voltage, drive current, load and variations in winding values from phase-to-phase, will result in each commutation occurring at various times relative to rotor position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,478, discloses an energizing system for a switched-type reluctance motor. High frequency pulses of short duration are fed to power transistors in the energizing circuit of that phase winding which is next in line for excitation. Commutation to the next phase is performed by comparing observed values to a preset value, similarly to U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,302, described above. U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,478, however discloses that a correction factor is calculated in an attempt to account for variations in the applied motor voltage, drive current and load. Accordingly, this technique does not overcome all the limitations of U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,302. In addition, the expense and complexity of the system disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,478, is increased by its suggested use of a microprocessor.
Despite the advantages of switched reluctance motors, the difficulties encountered in controlling these motors has resulted in their not being as widely utilized as they might otherwise be. Therefore, what is needed is an improved circuit for controlling a switched reluctance motor and that does not require use of a rotor position sensor.

Switched reluctance motor controller with sensorless rotor position detection


A base unit for mounting on a console of a motor vehicle formed by a ventilation device and a control and/or display device. The base unit is arranged on the console so that the control and/or display device can be used by a passenger in a rear seat of a motor vehicle.

The present invention relates to a basic unit having a ventilation device and a display and/or control unit for an electrical device disposed on a console of a motor vehicle.
When setting up display and/or control units, for example so-called multi-functional control units, one not only has to consider safety aspects, but also the requirement for easy viewing and readability and straightforward and easily accessible operation.
The display and/or control units typically are mounted in or on the dashboard for the driver of the vehicle or for passengers seated in the passenger seat. However, it is often difficult for the rear passengers to see those installation positions and to manipulate the control units. For this reason, it is becoming more and more common to provide additional display and/or control units for the rear passengers.
Thus, for example, the German DE 39 27 749, incorporated by reference herein, describes providing a monitor or a video system in a recess of the center console facing the rear passengers.
In addition, video screen arrangements in the backrests of vehicle seats are known, for example, from the German DE 296 08 032. The arrangement of headrests is known, for example, from the German DE 295 18 369.
The present invention provides a display and control unit, which is able to be easily viewed and/or controlled from rear seats of a vehicle, more particularly of an automobile.
The present invention provides a display and/or control unit for at least one electrical device, in particular a comfort and convenience device in motor vehicles, equipped with at least one center console arranged between two fronts seats and includes at least one ventilation device, characterized in that the display and/or control unit and the ventilation unit form one basic unit, which is arranged on the center console.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally arranges the basic unit on the center console in such a way so that at least the display and/or control unit is designed for passengers sitting on the rear seats of the vehicle.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally involves the display and/or control unit as having a video screen mounted in a housing.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally accommodates the video screen in the housing so as to be able to swivel or rotate on at least one axis.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally provides so that the basic unit is arranged in such a way that it is able to be retracted or folded away into the center console.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally provides that the basic unit is arranged in such a way on the center console that it is able to swivel into one or a plurality of working positions.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally provides that the basic unit is joined via a rotatable and/or swivel-mounted joint articulation to the center console.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally provides that the display and/or control unit and the ventilation device are interconnected via a rotational and/or swivel element.
Another embodiment of the present invention additionally provides that the basic unit is arranged so that it is able to slide on the center console in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The present invention, therefore, additionally provides for combining the display and/or control unit with the ventilation unit to form one basic unit, and for arranging the basic unit on the center console. In this context, in one variant of the present invention, the basic unit is configured to be at least viewed or controlled by the rear passengers. The display and/or control unit is located in the direct range of vision or operation of the rear-seat passengers.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the display unit has a video screen, which is mounted in a housing, and is advantageously accommodated so as to be swivel-mounted on one axis or rotatable in the housing, it being possible to improve upon the readability simply by changing the position of the video screen as a function of the seat position, of the incident light, or of occurring reflections.
Moreover, the basic unit, composed of the display and/or control unit, and of the ventilation device, can be designed to be able to be retracted or folded away into the center console.
In addition, one embodiment of the present invention provides for the basic unit to be joined via a rotatable and/or swivel-mounted joint articulation to the center console, and designed to swivel by way of the joint articulation into one or a plurality of working positions. This enables the user to precisely arrange the display and control device in the desired field of view. Another specific embodiment, which makes it possible to align the display and control unit, and the ventilation device independently of one another, provides for both devices to be joined together by a rotational and/or swivel element. Both devices are able to be adjusted completely independently of one another, as desired by the user, when the basic unit is joined via the joint articulation to the center console, and when both devices are interconnected via the rotational and/or swivel element.
Additional degrees of freedom are attained in a design, in which the basic unit is able to slide on the center console in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

Display and/or control unit for at least one electrical device in motor vehicles