Head Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) of an individual are measured in rapid fashion in an arrangement where a sound source is positioned in the individual's ear channel, while microphones are arranged in the microphone array enveloping the individual's head. The pressure waves generated by the sounds emanating from the sound source reach the microphones and are converted into corresponding electrical signals which are further processed in a processing system to extract HRTFs, which may then be used to synthesize a spatial audio scene. The acoustic field generated by the sounds from the sound source can be evaluated at any desired point inside or outside the microphone array.

Humans have the ability to locate a sound source with better than 5° accuracy in both azimuth and elevation. Humans also have the ability to perceive and approximate the distance of a source from them. In this regard, multiple cues may be used, including some that arise from sound scattering from the listener themselves (W. M. Hartmann, "How We Localize Sound", Physics Today, November 1999, pp. 24-29).
The cues that arise due to scattering from the anatomy of the listener exhibit considerable person-to-person variability. These cues may be encapsulated in a transfer function that is termed the Head Realted Transfer Function (HRTF).
In order to recreate the sound pressure at the eardrums to make a synthetic audio scene indistinguishable from the real one, the virtual audio scene must include the HRTF-based cues to achieve accurate simulation (D. N. Zotkin, et al., "Creation of Virtual Auditory Spaces", 2003, accepted IEEE Trans. Multimedia—available off authors' homepages).
The HRTF depends on the direction of arrival of the sound, and, for nearby sources, on the source distance. If the sound source is located at spherical coordinates (r, θ, φ), then the left and right HRTFs Hl and Hr are defined as the ratio of the complex sound pressure at the corresponding eardrum ψl,r to the free-field sound pressure at the center of the head ψf as if the listener is absent (R. O. Duda, et al., "Range Dependence of the Response of a Spherical Head Model", J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 104, 1998, pp. 3048-3058).
                                          H                          l              ,              r                                                      (                          ω              ,              r              ,              θ              ,              φ                        )                          =                                            ψ                              l                ,                r                                                                (                              ω                ,                r                ,                θ                ,                φ                            )                                                          ψ              f                                                  (              ω              )                                                          (        1        )
To synthesize the audio scene given the source location (r,φ,θ) one needs to filter the signal with H(r,φ,θ) and the result rendered binaurally through headphones. To obtain the HRTFs for a given individual, an arrangement such as depicted in FIG. 1 is used. A source (speaker) is placed at a given location (r,θ,φ), and a generated sound is then recorded using a microphone placed in the ear canal of an individual. In order to obtain the HRTF corresponding to a different source location, the speaker is moved to that location and the measurement is repeated. The listener is required to remain stationary during this process in order that the location for the HRTF may be reliably described. HRTF measurements from thousands of points are needed, and the process is time-consuming, tedious and burdensome to the listener. One of the reasons spatial audio technology has been hampered is the unavailability of rapid HRTF measurement techniques.
Additionally, HRTF must be interpolated between discrete measurement positions to avoid audible jumps in sound. Many techniques have been proposed to perform the interpolation of the HRTF, however, proper interpolation is still regarded as an open question.
In addition, the dependence of the HRTF on the range r (distance between the source of the sound and the microphone) is also usually neglected since the HRTF measurements are tedious and time-consuming procedures. However, since the HRTF measured at a distance is known to be incorrect for relatively nearby sources, only relatively distant sources are simulated.
As a result of these inadequacies, HRTF measurement methods suffer from a lack of a complete range of measurements for the HRTF. However, many applications such as games, auditory user interfaces, entertainment, and virtual reality simulations demand the ability to accurately simulate sounds at relatively close ranges.
The Head Related Transfer Function characterizes the scattering properties of a person's anatomy (especially the pinnae, head and torso), and exhibits considerable person-to-person variability. Since the HRTF arises from a scattering process, it can be characterized as a solution of a scattering problem.
When a body with surface S scatters sound from a source located at (r1,θ1, φ1) the complex pressure amplitude ψ at any point (r,θ,φ) is known to satisfy the Helmholtz equation in a source free domain∇2ψ(x, k)+k2ψ(x, k)=0.  (2)
Outside a surface S that contains all acoustic sources in the scene, the potential ψ(x,k) is regular and satisfies the Sommerfeld radiation condition at infinity:
                                                                        lim                                                                                r                                                                                r              →              ∞                                                      (                                                            ∂                  ψ                                                  ∂                  r                                            -                              ⅈ                                                                                k                                                                                ψ                                      )                          =        0                            (        3        )
Outside S, the regular potential ψ(x,k) that satisfies equation (2) and condition (3) may be expanded in terms of singular elementary solutions (called multipoles). A multipole Φlm(x,k) is characterized by two indices m and l which are called order and degree, respectively. In spherical coordinates, x=(r,θ,φ)Φlm(r,θ,φ,k)=hl(kr)Ylm(θ,φ),   (4)Where hl (kr) are the spherical Hankel functions of the first kind, and Ylm(θ,φ) are the spherical harmonics,
                                          Y                          l                                                                                m                                                      (                          θ              ,              φ                        )                          =                                            (                              -                1                            )                        m                                                                                (                                                            2                                            n                                        +                    1                                    )                                                                  (                                      l                    -                                                                                          m                                                                    !                                                        )                                                            4                                                                                π                                                        (                                          l                      +                                                                                                  m                                                                          !                                                              )                                                                                P              l                                              m                                                                                (                              cos                                                                                θ                            )                                                      ⅇ                          ⅈ                                                                                m                                                                                φ                                                          (        5        )            where Pn|m|(λ) are the associated Legendre functions.
In the arrangement, shown in FIG. 1, a representation of the potential in the region between the head and the many speaker locations is sought. Unfortunately this region contains sources (the speaker), and the scatterer, and thus does not satisfy the conditions for a fitting by multipoles (i.e., source free, and extending to infinity.
Therefore it would be highly desirable to provide a technique for rapid measurement of range dependent individualized HRTFs, correct interpolation procedures associated therewith, and procedures which permit development of HRTFs in terms of a series of multipole solutions of the Helmholtz equation.

Method for measurement of head related transfer functions


A J-strip is adapted for attaching an edge portion of a trim cover material to a vehicle seat frame component. An elongated extruded plastic strip includes a substantially J-shaped cross-section with a flat portion and a curved portion extending from the flat portion. The curved portion is configured to cooperate with the frame component for receiving the frame component therein. A plurality of hooks extend from the flat portion and from the curved portion. A plurality of loops extend from the edge portion of the trim cover for engagement with the plurality of hooks in a hook-and-loop fastener arrangement for securing the trim cover to the frame component such that the trim cover is wrapped at least partially around the curved portion when attached. A method of forming a crease in a seat cover using hook-and-loop fasteners is also provided.

Typically, trim covers are attached to seat assemblies by J-strips which are sewn to an edge of the trim cover. The J-strip must be pulled down and flipped up underneath the edge of the seat frame and tucked in behind the frame for attaching the J-strip to the frame. Alternatively, the J-strip must be pulled beneath the frame assembly and attached to a wire within the interior of the frame support.
Such assemblies present significant assembly problems, which result in high assembly costs. Wrapping and tucking the J-strip beneath the seat frame can be a very difficult and time-consuming assembly operation. Also, extra trim cover material is needed in order to allow the J-strip to stretch sufficiently to reach a particular seat frame component to which it is attached.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method of attaching a trim cover to a seat frame component in a manner in which the level of difficulty of assembly is reduced, and the amount of trim cover material required is reduced.
Another aspect of trim cover attachment is the formation of creases on the seat cover. Such creases are typically formed by providing a trench in a foam bun, and providing a wire in the bottom of the trench, and a wire attached to the edge of two trim components. The wires are then hog-ringed together within the trench to form the crease. This hog-ringing and wiring operation is a very expensive assembly operation. Alternatively, a T-shaped slot may be formed in the bun, and a flat plastic insert sewn to the edges of the trim cover, and the insert inserted into the T-shaped slot for securing the trim cover and forming the crease. This too is a difficult and expensive assembly operation.
Another method employs the sewing of two trim components together and wrapping a loop portion of a hook-and-loop fastener around the end portion and sewing the loop portion to the previously sewn trim edges. The hook portion of the hook-and-loop fastener is provided in the bottom of the trench for receiving the loop portion, which is attached to the trim covers for securing the trim cover edges within the trench to form the crease. This operation requires double-sewing, and the loop material which is wrapped around the previously sewn edges of the trim cover is relatively expensive.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method of forming a trim cover crease in a seat cushion in which costs and assembly difficulty are reduced.

J-strip with hook-and-loop attachment for trim cover


In accordance with one embodiment, the hollow cathode is comprised of a first tantalum tube, tantalum foil, and a second tantalum tube. The foil is in the form of a spiral winding around the outside of the first tube and is held in place by the second tube, which surrounds the foil. One end of the second tube is approximately flush with one end of the first tube. The other end of the second tube extends to a cathode support through which the working gas flows. To start the cathode, a flow of ionizable inert gas, usually argon, is initiated through the hollow cathode and out the open end of the first tube. An electrical discharge is then started between an external electrode and the first tube. When the first tube is heated to operating temperature, electrons are emitted from the open end of the first tube.

Hollow cathodes are used to emit electrons in a variety of industrial applications. As described in a chapter by Delcroix, et al., in Vol. 35 of Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics (L. Marton, ed.), Academic Press, New York (1974), beginning on page 87, there are both high and low pressure regimes for hollow-cathode operation. In the high-pressure regime, the background pressure (the pressure in the region surrounding the hollow cathode) approaches or exceeds 1 Torr (130 Pascals) and no internal flow of ionizable working gas is required for operation. In the low-pressure regime with a background pressure below 0.1 Torr, an internal flow of ionizable working gas is required for efficient operation. It is for operation in the low-pressure regime below 0.1 Torr, and usually below 0.01 Torr, that the present invention is intended.
An important industrial application of low-pressure hollow cathodes is for electron emission in ion sources. These ion sources are of both gridded and gridless types. The ions generated in gridded ion sources are accelerated electrostatically by the electric field between the grids. Gridded ion sources are described in an article by Kaufman, et al., in the AIAA Journal, Vol. 20 (1982), beginning on page 745. The particular sources described in this article use a direct-current discharge to generate ions. It is also possible to use electrostatic ion acceleration with a radio-frequency discharge, in which case the only electron emitting requirement would be for a neutralizer cathode.
In gridless ion sources the ions are accelerated by the electric field generated by an electron current interacting with a substantial magnetic field in the discharge region, i.e., a magnetic field with sufficient strength to make the electron-cyclotron radius much smaller than the length of the discharge region to be crossed by the electrons. The closed-drift ion source is one type of gridless ion source and is described by Zhurin, et al., in an article in Plasma Sources Science & Technology, Vol. 8, beginning on page R1, while the end-Hall ion source is another type of gridless ion source and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,032—Kaufman, et al.
There are different types of low-pressure hollow cathodes. The simplest is a refractory-metal tube, usually of tantalum. This type is described in the review by Delcroix, et al., in the aforesaid chapter in Vol. 35 of Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics. For hollow cathodes of the sizes, electron emissions, and gas flows of most interest herein, the use of this cathode type results in a high heat loss and a lifetime of only a few tens of hours, even when operating with clean inert working gas. With the working-gas contamination levels often encountered in industrial environments, the lifetime could be reduced to only several hours.
The lifetime of this type of cathode can be extended by the use of radiation shields, which reduces the heat loss, which in turn reduces the energy of bombarding ions within the hollow cathode—see U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0000853—Kaufman, et al. With the proper design of radiation shields, the lifetime with clean working gas can be extended to several hundred hours or more. With contaminated working gas, however, the lifetime could again be reduced to several hours.
Another type of hollow cathode has been developed for electric thrusters used in space propulsion and is described in a chapter by Kaufman in Vol. 36 of Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics (L. Marton, ed.), beginning on p. 265. The distinguishing feature of this type is an emissive insert that emits electrons at a lower temperature, and hence with a lower heat loss, than does the plain metal-tube of the type described above. The major advantage of this type is the long lifetime that is possible, of the order of 10,000 hours. The major disadvantage is the sensitivity of the supplemental emissive material to contamination. This emissive material requires "conditioning" before initial operation and is sensitive to atmospheric exposure after this conditioning. For example, barium carbonate is often used as the supplemental emissive material, which is heated during conditioning to become an oxide. If this emissive material is exposed to air after conditioning, the barium oxide combines with the water vapor in the air to become a hydroxide, which is much less effective as an emission material. Repeated exposure to air is not a problem in the space electric-propulsion application for which these cathodes were originally designed, but is much more serious in industrial applications. The combination of sensitivity to contamination and high fabrication costs make this type of hollow cathode a poor choice for most industrial applications.
What might be called a compromise of the two types of hollow cathodes has been used in industrial applications. In this type, an emissive insert is used, but this insert consists only of tantalum foil. The lifetime is not as long without a low-work-function emissive material such as barium carbonate, but the tantalum-foil insert is less sensitive to atmospheric exposure than an insert that depends on the addition of an emissive material. It should be mentioned that a purge of working gas is normally used for a hollow cathode after exposure to atmosphere and prior to operation. This purge removes most of the impurities from the atmosphere that are adsorbed on the hollow-cathode surfaces, unless they are chemically combined with hollow-cathode material—such as in the formation of barium hydroxide by the water vapor in the atmosphere. However, even with the reduced sensitivity to atmospheric exposure, this type of cathode is still sensitive to impurities (contamination) in the working gas.
Another example of possible hollow-cathode configurations is U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,093—Aston, which differs from other examples given above mostly by additional complexity. There is described a hollow cathode with both multiple radiation shields surrounding a tube through which the working gas is introduced and an emissive insert that is impregnated with an emissive material. Unlike other emissive inserts described herein, this one is directly heated by an electrical current passing through the insert. There are also intervening support structures between both the gas tube and the inner radiation shield and between the inner and outer radiation shields. The contamination-sensitive emissive material and the complicated structure both make it a poor choice for operation with contaminated working gas.
A hollow cathode for industrial applications should have an operating lifetime of at least several hundred hours and be insensitive to repeated exposures to atmosphere between periods of operation. The effect of frequent exposures to atmosphere can be minimized by keeping a flow of clean inert gas through the cathode during these exposures (purging). Shorter lifetimes than several hundred hours would be a problem because the time between maintenance in many industrial applications would then be limited by the cathode lifetime. While longer lifetimes might be of interest for industrial hollow cathodes, the time between maintenance would probably still be limited by other system components. In other words, the cost of a longer-lifetime hollow cathode, together with any special care and handling required, would have to be balanced against the replacement cost of a new hollow cathode of a simpler type.
The best tolerance to atmospheric exposure has been obtained by fabricating the hollow cathode entirely of refractory materials and avoiding the more reactive materials that are used to impregnate or coat an emissive insert. Atmospheric contamination is limited to the surface of refractory materials and is mostly removed by a purge of clean gas before operation. Tolerance to contamination in the working gas, which is usually argon, is a more serious problem. Contaminated working gas reaches the cathode when it is hot and is more likely to react with and/or be absorbed into refractory metals. This contamination results from the use of dirty gas tubing, leaky tubing connections, unsuitable gas regulators, and improper procedures such as opening a new gas bottle without first pumping down the trapped volume between the gas bottle and the regulator. The contaminants involved are usually some combination of oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, and hydrocarbons. Compared to the use of a clean working gas, typically >99.999% argon, such contamination can reduce the lifetime by a factor of ten or more. Controlling the purity of the working gas at all industrial locations is simply not practical. The approach taken herein has been to increase the tolerance of a hollow cathode to contamination in the working gas.


A continuous play broadcast system includes a distributed communications system and a playback control device that is connected to the distributed communications system. The playback control device includes an output device, memory that stores digital media files and a continuous play program, and a controller that outputs the digital media files to the output device according to the continuous play program. The media files include at least one of audio, video and announcements. A computer is connected to the distributed communications system. A web server is connected to the distributed communications system and to a master library of the digital media files. The computer accesses the web server via the distributed communications system to alter the continuous play program for the playback control device. The computer includes a browser module for accessing the web server and the web server transmits executable files to the computer for creating the continuous play program. The executable files are at least one of Active-X® components, Java Applets® and Java Script®. The continuous play broadcast system can also deliver video files and announcement files using the continuous play program. The computer and the playback control device can be integrated.

Background media systems are generally used by commercial enterprises to create an environment that enhances a customer's experience while in a facility run by the commercial enterprise. For example, the owner of a diner with a 1960's theme typically decorates the diner with memorabilia from the 1960s and plays music, announcements and/or video that reflects that era. In contrast, the owner of an upscale clothing store in New York would choose a different décor and would play a more contemporary mix of music and video. As different commercial enterprises attempt to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, demand increases for customization of media such as background audio, announcements, and video that are presented to customers within the premises.
Franchise owners spend a lot of time and money generating good will in their business names through advertising, quality control, and efforts to present a consistent and positive experience for customers who visit their locations. Franchise owners typically create strict rules relating to the appearance of the franchise facility. Franchise owners may also wish to strictly control the music, video and announcements that play within their franchise facilities.
Most conventional background media systems typically include only background music. In some systems, music formats are sent to the users on a regular basis in the form of tapes, compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs). The music formats are played on proprietary systems that may include devices for storing the music formats for future use. Other systems transmit background music via a satellite broadcast or a frequency modulated (FM) sub-carrier frequency to specially-designed receiving equipment that is located in the enterprise's facility. While providing a relatively inexpensive way to receive the background music, these background media systems are generally limited in that the commercial enterprise cannot tailor the formats beyond those provided by the background media system vendor. If custom music formats or playlists can be obtained, they generally cost too much for small or medium sized commercial enterprises. While satellite systems offer different audio formats on different channels, the number of available channels is limited. As customers request more highly customized audio and video environments for their facilities, the demand for additional channels will exceed the available bandwidth. Generally theses systems also require that the video, announcements and other media be handled with separate systems.
The conventional background media systems also have a disadvantage in that when specialized announcements are mixed into the background music and video, the background music and video is abruptly interrupted for the announcements.

Continuous media playback system controlled over a distributed communication system


There is provided a method for manufacturing a double-chamber container including an agent storage chamber and a solution storage chamber separated from each other by a weak seal portion, the method including the steps of: preparing a first sheet-like member including a first agent storage chamber forming portion and a first solution storage chamber forming portion whose one sides are joined to each other, as well as a second sheet-like member including a second agent storage chamber forming portion and a second solution storage chamber forming portion whose one sides are joined to each other; and forming the agent storage chamber and the solution storage chamber by joining the first and the second sheet-like members. The weak seal portion is formed by joining the one side of the first medical solution storage chamber forming portion and the one side of the second medical solution storage chamber forming portion.

Generally, a double-chamber container is used in the medical field. The double-chamber container includes partitioning means for allowing a medical agent storage chamber and a medical solution storage chamber to communicate with each other when used. During storage of the double-chamber container, the medical agent storage chamber and the medical solution storage chamber are separated from each other by the partitioning means.
In use of the double-chamber container, the medical agent storage chamber and the medical solution storage chamber communicate with each other. A dried medical agent contained in the medical agent storage chamber and a medical solution contained in the medical solution storage chamber are mixed. The dried medical agent and the medical solution can thus be administered as a mixed drug to a patient and the like.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 08-215285 (PTD 1) and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 08-257102 (PTD 2) disclose a double-chamber container that does not take troubles in manufacturing, in which a medical agent storage chamber and a medical solution storage chamber can be separately sterilized.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 04-364850 (PTD 3) and Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 04-364851 (PTD 4) disclose a double-chamber container that allows a desiccant to act only on a hygroscopic liquid medicine, powder medicine or solid medicine during preservation of the liquid medicine, powder medicine or solid medicine. U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,161 (PTD 5) discloses a double-chamber container including a port for filling an IV solution without intrusion of any foreign substances.

Double-chamber container and method for manufacturing same


A radio communication system (100, 200) employs a method of providing communication services to a communication unit (104, 105) having a plurality of service requirements. The radio communication system (100, 200) further includes a plurality of service providers (101-103) for which the communication unit catalogues (506, 512) service attributes as part of the inventive method. Further, for each of the service requirements, the communication unit (104, 105) selects (514) one of the plurality of service providers (101-103) to facilitate that service requirement.

Radio communication systems are known to include a plurality of communication service providers that are accessed by a plurality of communication units requiring such communication services. In such a system, communication units (e.g., portable and mobile radios) typically require one or more communication services such as talkgroup calls, telephone interconnect, fax, high speed data, or low speed data. Further, advanced communication units are also capable of transmitting and receiving video and multimedia information over the air. In order to facilitate communications involving these types of resources, the communication unit must be able to access a service provider that is equipped with hardware (i.e. specialized equipment for each such resource) to complete the call.
There are several problems associated with the typical configuration described above. First, in order to meet all of a set of service requirements for a particular communication unit, the communication unit must find a service provider that can facilitate each of these types of communication. Assuming that there are some communication units that have extensive communications capabilities, and further assuming that these communication units roam throughout a large coverage area, this would require that each of the service providers within that coverage area be suitably equipped to handle all of these services. Such a configuration, particularly in high density areas requiring many service providers, is both cost prohibitive and resource inefficient. That is, because each of these communication services require expensive hardware, large scale redundancy results in system that is far too expensive to build and maintain. Further, while the radios roaming throughout the coverage area are capable of using these extensive resources, the lesser used of these resources remain idle for a high percentage of the time, thereby making for inefficient utilization.
A second problem with the foregoing configuration occurs after a particular service provider has been selected by a communication unit to provide communication services. As the communication unit roams throughout the coverage area, the signal quality or congestion of a particular service resource may degrade to an unacceptable level. Thus, the communication unit would need to re-affiliate with another service provider in order to establish a more reliable connection. This added step of having to re-affiliate can be quite problematic, particularly in areas where the signal quality and congestion are at or near threshold levels, resulting in undesired chatter.
When a communication unit cannot find a single service provider capable of supporting all of its service requirements, then the communication unit may still affiliate with a service provider that provides some portion of the set of service requirements. Thereafter, the communication unit has the supported services available to it, but is incapable of using the unsupported service requirements. That is, when the communication unit determines a need for one of these unsupported services, it must search for a suitable service provider to support this service requirement, potentially at the expense of losing support for other service requirements of that communication unit.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved method of providing communication services to roaming communication units that is not constrained by the shortcomings of the prior art. In particular, such a system that could economically and efficiently utilize the available communication service resources would be an improvement over the prior art .

Communication services needs of a communication unit supplied through simultaneous affiliation with multiple service providers in a communication system


Topically applicable, solid UV-photoprotecting compositions suited for the UV-photoprotection and/or makeup and/or care of the lips and/or the face, advantageously shaped as sticks, contain a) at least one fatty phase, a UV-photoprotecting amount of b) at least one organic UV-screening agent and c) a fraction of metal oxide mineral nanopigments, and d) an SPF-increasing amount of at least one octenylsuccinic anhydride-esterified starch salt, formulated into a physiologically acceptable medium therefor.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to solid photoprotective compositions comprising, formulated into a physiologically acceptable medium:                a) at least one fatty phase,        b) at least one organic UV-screening agent,        c) at least a fraction of metal oxide-based mineral nanopigments, and        d) at least one octenylsuccinic anhydride-esterified starch salt.
The present invention also relates to the use of at least one octenylsuccinic anhydride-esterified starch salt in a solid photoprotective composition comprising at least one fatty phase, at least one organic UV-screening agent and at least a fraction of metal oxide-based mineral nanopigments, with the aim of increasing the sun protection factor.
2. Description of Background and/or Related and/or Prior Art
It is well known that light radiation with wavelengths of between 280 nm and 400 nm permits tanning of the human epidermis and that light rays with wavelengths of between 280 and 320 nm, which are known as UV-B, cause skin burns and erythema that may be harmful to the development of a natural tan; this UV-B radiation should thus be screened out.
It is also known that UV-A rays with wavelengths of between 320 and 400 nm, which cause tanning of the skin, are liable to effect impairment therein, especially in the case of sensitive skin or of skin that is continually exposed to sunlight. UV-A rays in particular cause a loss of elasticity of the skin and the appearance of wrinkles, leading to premature aging. They promote triggering of the erythemal reaction or amplify this reaction in the case of certain individuals and may even be the cause of phototoxic or photoallergic reactions. It is thus desirable also to screen our UV-A radiation.
Many cosmetic compositions for photoprotecting the skin are known to this art.
They generally contain, in varying concentrations, one or more standard liposoluble organic screening agents and/or standard water-soluble organic screening agents capable of selectively absorbing the harmful UV rays, these screening agents (and the amounts thereof) being selected as a function of the desired sun protection factor, the sun protection factor (SPF) being expressed mathematically by the ratio of the dose of UV radiation required to reach the erythema-forming threshold with the UV-screening agent to the dose of UV radiation required to reach the erythema-forming threshold without UV-screening agent.
To provide antisun/sunscreen compositions with high sun protection factors in order to render same more effective and to reduce the contents of organic UV-screening agents for reasons of skin tolerance, it is common practice to include screening systems containing organic UV-screening agents combined with mineral agents for screening out UV radiation, such as nanopigments of metal oxide (TiO2 or ZnO)
The formulation forms most commonly used for antisun products are emulsions. Mention may be made firstly of direct emulsions of oil-in-water type (i.e., a cosmetically and/or dermatologically acceptable support comprising an aqueous dispersing continuous phase and a fatty dispersed discontinuous phase) or inverse emulsions of the water-in-oil type (aqueous phase dispersed in a continuous fatty phase), which contains, in varying concentrations, one or more standard liposoluble organic screening agents and/or standard water-soluble organic screening agents. In such emulsions, the hydrophilic screening agents are present in the aqueous phase and the lipophilic screening agents are present in the fatty phase. In such emulsions, the metal oxide nanopigments, depending on their hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature, are dispersed in the aqueous or oily phase.
These emulsions are generally in the form of creams, lotions or milks. They are difficult to spread and to deposit on the lips or on certain sensitive areas of the face such as the contour of the eyes, the nose, the cheekbones or scars due to the fact that the product may run onto the area to be protected at the time of use.
To solve this problem, numerous products in solid form are known in the cosmetics industry in the field of care of the lips or of these sensitive areas of the face. Mention may especially be made, in the field of lipcare, of lip-repairing pencils, antisun sticks and moisturizing sticks. Specifically, it is particularly advantageous to have products in solid form, since such products are very practical to use and easy to transport. They allow good spreading and good deposition on the lips or other areas of the face.
The current sticks for photoprotecting the lips and the face contain as antisun/sunscreen emulsions screening systems containing both organic UV-screening agents and mineral screening agents.
There is an ever-increasing need to obtain in this type of support high sun protection factors without increasing the content of UV-screening agents present in the composition, for reasons of skin tolerance.

Solid photoprotective compositions comprising octenylsuccinic anhydride-esterified starch salts


The invention relates to a ball screw (10) with a threaded spindle (12), a nut (14), rolling bodies (16) and at least one deflecting device (18, 20), wherein the threaded spindle (12) is displaceable by rotation, and wherein the deflecting device comprises an inner first body part (18) and an outer second body part (20), which body parts together form a deflecting channel (22), wherein the deflecting channel (22) has two tubular ends (24, 26) which are connected to each other via a transfer region (28), wherein the tubular ends (24, 26) of the deflecting channel are in each case formed by mutually complementary partial tubular sections (30, 32, 34, 36) of the body parts (18, 20), and wherein a sleeve (40) surrounding the nut (14) is provided, the deflecting device (18, 20) sits in an opening (42) in the nut (14), the deflecting device (18, 20) projects radially beyond the outer lateral surface of the nut (14) in a relaxed state when the sleeve (40) is absent and, in the presence of the sleeve (40), said sleeve exerts a radially inwardly directed force on the deflecting device (18, 20).

The invention relates to a ball screw comprising a threaded spindle, a nut, a plurality of rolling bodies and at least one deflection device.
Ball screws of this type are used to convert a rotational movement into a longitudinal movement, or vice versa. In the process, the ball screw functions with little friction, low wear, and potentially at high speeds and high positional accuracy. Great forces can also be transmitted by means of conventional ball screws, as occur, for example, in the motor vehicle sector in brakes, clutches or steering.
Since the balls or, in general terms, the rolling bodies of the screw drive constantly roll in the thread when said drive is being operated, said bodies need to be recirculated. For this purpose, a ball screw contains a deflection device which receives balls on one side and transports them through a channel to another point on the thread, from where said device releases them again.
EP 2 221 506 B1 discloses a ball screw, in which the deflection device is formed in two parts and is equipped with latching devices.


An auxiliary heating and air conditioning system has an output for selectively delivering warm air and cool air to the passenger area of a motor vehicle. The auxiliary system includes a thermo-electric cooler, which is a solid state device having a hot side and a cold side. Heat exchangers are disposed in connection with the hot side and cold side of the thermo-electric cooler to facilitate the transfer of thermal energy away from each side of the thermo-electric cooler. Two fans are disposed in fluid communication with the first and second heat exchangers to transfer air across the exchangers and to the output for selectively heating and cooling the passenger area of the motor vehicle. Interposed between the first and second heat exchangers and the output, are first and second arrays of energy storage panels. Preferably, these panels contain phase change material which is charged during the operation of the motor vehicle to change phase and therefore store thermal energy. When the motor vehicle is shut down, the thermal energy stored within the first and second arrays of energy storage panels is utilized to provide warm and cool air (as carried by the blower) to the internal passenger space of the motor vehicle. Similar heating and air conditioning systems are also provided that, rather than a thermo-electric cooler, utilize a vortex tube or sorption refrigeration technology.

1. Field of the Art
The present invention relates to heating and air conditioning systems, and more particularly, to a relatively low power auxiliary heating and air conditioning system for a motor vehicle, configured to operate when the vehicle is shut down.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As is known, large over-the-road vehicles such as tractor-trailer trucks are used for transporting a wide variety of items. Often, the transport routes of these vehicles are extremely long, frequently extending cross-country. On such long routes the drivers of these vehicles frequently sleep within the vehicle. Accordingly, and as is known, the passenger area of a large tractor-trailer truck is typically divided into a cab area and a bunk area; the cab area being the forwardmost area, and the bunk area (also known as the sleeper) located just behind the cab area. Frequently, the bunk area is separated from the cab area by a curtain or other divider, and includes a cot on which the driver can sleep.
It can certainly be appreciated that on hot summer nights or cold winter nights, the driver will operate the air conditioning system or heating system, at least in the bunk area, to maintain a comfortable sleeping climate. Presently, this is done in any of several ways. First, the driver may leave the truck running in idle to maintain power to the heating and air conditioning system, so that the appropriate temperature in the bunk area may be maintained. Since the drivers typically sleep for several hours at a time, this approach is undesirable in that it wastes fuel and places undue wear on engine components that are left running. Furthermore, the constant engine noise is distracting, not to mention the release of carbon monoxide and other pollutants into the environment.
Another approach taken by drivers is often to superheat or supercool the bunk area, just before shutting the engine down. In this regard, the driver may direct the heating and air conditioning system to the bunk area and either overheat the area in the wintertime or cool it to an extremely low temperature in the summertime. Since the truck body provides some insulating characteristics, it takes a certain amount of time for the indoor and outdoor temperature to equalize. By superheating or supercooling the bunk area, (i.e., increasing the temperature differential), the driver can extend the time period time before the temperatures have equalized and the bunk area is uncomfortably cool or hot. Certainly, in mild climate areas, this approach is sufficient. However, in extremely harsh climates, this approach does not provide a sufficient time period of comfortable climate before the driver must restart the engine. Moreover, this approach tends to result in an uncomfortably hot or cold climate immediately after the driver shuts off the engine (i.e., the superheated or supercooled climate).
Another approach has been to utilize a self-contained heating and air conditioning system. That is, systems are known, that are independent of the vehicular heating and air conditioning system, to provide heating and air conditioning to the passenger space, and more particularly, to the bunk space of a tractor-trailer vehicle. These systems employ a small generator sufficient to power a small scale heating and air conditioning system that is directed to heat and cool the small bunk area of a tractor-trailer vehicle. Advantageously, these systems do not consume the large volume of fuel required to maintain the vehicle engine in idle. Nor do they result in the engine component wear or pollutant and noise output that result from running the engine in idle to maintain the vehicular heating and air conditioning system. These systems, however, do impose cost and space requirements that are often deemed excessive and undesirable.
Another approach known for heating and cooling the bunk space of a tractor-trailer vehicle employs the use of thermal storage media to store thermal energy during the normal operation of the vehicular heating and air conditioning system and utilize this stored energy during the down time of the vehicle to heat and cool the passenger compartment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,038 discloses a thermal storage reservoir adapted for either cool thermal storage or warm thermal storage. A stated object of the invention described in the '038 patent is to provide additional cooling and/or heating from a thermal storage system, and to release the cooling or heating at a desired time, such as prior to entering the vehicle or during vehicle startup. Thus, the thermal storage system of the '038 patent is only directed to providing heating and cooling for temporary periods.
Indeed, it is appreciated from the architecture of the system in the '038 patent that the additional heating and cooling provided by the thermal storage reservoir is directed for providing auxiliary heating and cooling for generally short periods of time. To be sure, a prohibitive large mass of thermal storage would be required to provide extended periods of operation. This limitation is due in part to another stated object of the invention therein, which seeks to provide a system that is readily retrofit to existing vehicles with minimum modifications to the vehicle. In this regard, and as described in the '038 patent, the thermal storage means is charged for cool storage by circulation of cool air directed across a heat exchanger. This cool air is the same air utilized in the vehicle's air conditioning system, which is typically about 55.degree. F. It is known that the thermal storage capability is proportional to the product of the mass of thermal storage medium and the temperature of that medium. Thus, if the medium is charged to approximately 55.degree. F. by utilizing the existing vehicular air conditioning system, then the mass of the thermal storage system will determine the thermal storage capabilities of the system.

Auxiliary heating and air conditioning system for a motor vehicle


A method is provided for enabling users to control an electronic apparatus such as a television signal receiver, multimedia device, and/or other device in an easy and convenient manner using a single key of a user input device. According to an exemplary embodiment, the method includes steps of enabling each of the plurality of modes to be displayed for a first time period in response to a first occurrence of a control signal, enabling one of the modes currently being displayed to be selected in response to a second occurrence of the control signal, and enabling each of a plurality of options associated with the selected mode to be displayed for a second time period in response to the second occurrence of the control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to control techniques for an electronic apparatus such as a television signal receiver, multimedia device, and/or other device, and more particularly, to a method for enabling users to control such an electronic apparatus in an easy and convenient manner using a single key of a user input device.
2. Background Information
Electronic apparatuses such as television signal receivers, multimedia devices, and/or other devices are often controlled by user input devices, such as hand-held remote control devices or other data entry devices/elements. Such user input devices typically include a keypad/keyboard having a relatively large number of keys to accommodate the various functions capable of being performed by the electronic apparatus. At a minimum, such user input devices usually include at least ten keys (e.g., for digits 0 to 9). Some user input devices may, for example, include specific keys that are dedicated to controlling certain functions.
With the aforementioned types of user input devices, it may be difficult for users to control an electronic apparatus, particularly in certain environments. For example, it may be difficult for users to control an electronic apparatus with such user input devices in a dark room or at night, without first turning on a light. Moreover, even with adequate lighting, users may be required to look directly at the keypad/keyboard of the user input device in order to provide an input. These prerequisites for operating a user input device may, for example, be particularly annoying and inconvenient for users watching television.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method for enabling users to control an electronic apparatus such as a television signal receiver, multimedia device, and/or other device that avoids the foregoing problems, and thereby enables users to control various functions of an electronic apparatus in an easy and convenient manner using a single key of a user input device. The present invention addresses these and/or other issues.

Method for controlling electronic apparatus


A shaving blade assembly (10) comprises a plurality of parallel blades (20) including a first blade (20) and a first rack-and-pinion mechanism (50) with a rack (51) coupled to the first blade (20) to actuate the first blade (20) in a first direction (M) orthogonal to a cutting edge (21) of the first blade (20). The shaving blade assembly (10) may be part of a razor (100,100′) and the position of the first blade (20) may be adjusted in the first direction (M) using a method comprising a step of actuating the first blade (20) in the first direction (M) through the rack-and-pinion mechanism (50).

According to the personal preference, hair growth and/or anatomy of razor users, they may desire to shave more or less boldly. By "bold", we must understand shaving wherein the cutting edge of each shaving blade is pressed with a stronger pressure and/or angle of attack against the user's skin, thus cutting the protruding hairs closer to the skin, but at a higher risk of irritating the skin itself. The same user may even prefer or require more aggressive shaving of certain areas, and more sensitive, that is, less aggressive, shaving of others.
Shaving heads or blade units comprising a plurality of blades with adjustable exposure mechanisms are already commonly known in the art. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2016/0346944 A1 disclosed shaving blade assemblies with blades that can be pivoted around axes parallel to their cutting edges. Similar pivoting blade arrangements were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,313,706 and 4,345,374. Such pivoting blade arrangements present however some drawbacks: firstly, the pivoting blades cannot be individually sprung, and secondly, pivoting the blades towards the shaving plane to obtain more sensitive shaving simultaneously narrows the space between adjacent parallel blades, which decreases the shaving efficacy, while rendering cleaning more difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,277, on the other hand, disclosed a shaving assembly with two blades arranged to slide, perpendicularly to their respective cutting edges, with respect to a blade guard, so as to adjust their exposure, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,121 disclosed a razor with a movable blade cap for adjusting the blade exposure. These mechanisms, however, also appear to be incompatible with individually sprung blades.
In another example, German Patent Application Publication DE 10 2004 020 650 A1 disclosed a shaving blade assembly and razor with a plurality of parallel blades and at least one of a blade pivoting mechanism and a blade sliding mechanism. The blade sliding mechanism in this shaving blade assembly and razor is a cam or a screw mechanism for sliding the plurality of blades in a first direction orthogonal to their cutting edges, so as to increase or decrease the blade exposure out of a blade housing, and thus achieve a more or less bold shave. Even without the blade pivoting mechanism, however, these proposed blade sliding mechanisms still have the drawback of a relatively low adjustment precision.

Adjustable shaving blade assembly and razor


A portable leveling device capable of supporting any types of ladders, scaffolds, and other objects requiring leveled support regardless of object size when a plurality of the devices is used. The device may be deployed by one hand automatically and instantly quick over a terrain of virtually any profile. The device is capable of projecting an extension ladder position eliminating human error and reducing deployment time when the ladder is actually positioned. The device is capable of indicating deployment faults before use and allows visual inspection of the parts at fault without disassembling. The device is lightweight, can be easily carried with one hand, and stored compactly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ladder leveling platforms where, specifically, an ability for instantly quick deployment regardless of ground profile is required.
2. Background of the Invention
The present invention is a ladder support device which can be leveled and which can be deployed on a solid surface of virtually any type and profile instantly quick and, metaphorically speaking, with a push of a button.
Numerous embodiments of ladders with integrated leveling means are found in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Application No. 20080078616 filed on Apr. 3, 2008 by Ursitti discloses a self leveling ladder system which comprises a ladder with a hydraulic leveling system and Japanese Patent Application No. JP2005061033(A) filed on Aug. 12, 2003 by Tatsuya Kenji discloses a leg length adjusting device for trestle comprising a stepladder with adjustable legs. However, integrated leveling means add weight to the ladder making it more difficult to carry it between locations, can not be reused with different ladders multiplying costs by each additional ladder, occupy extra storage space multiplied by each additional ladder; if the ladder is stored overhead, additional weight may require more than one person for handling; one should also consider extra weight since storing overhead creates an ideal arm position for tearing a bicep muscle (arms raised and bent at about 120 degrees); back problem is also probable. In addition, adjusting relatively heavy and/or large ladder may take too much time and tire a user, especially if user is a contractor readjusting the ladder often.
Despite that numerous ladder support platforms have been provided in prior art, none can deployed instantly quick. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,929 issued on Apr. 4, 2000 to Wishner, discloses a ladder leveling platform comprising a frame and adjustable legs. However, Wishner's ladder leveling platform has the following limitation: the adjustment of legs is not simultaneous and, therefore, is time consuming.
Consequently, there is a need for a ladder leveling platform which can automatically adjust to ground of any type and profile instantly quick.


A memory device using a nonvolatile ferroelectric memory cell stores processing results of various programs with a nonvolatile state in a nonvolatile ferroelectric register, and processes multiple data using a multi-port. In the memory device, various program processing results with a nonvolatile state are stored in a FeRAM register in a processing operation of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), thereby preventing destruction of the stored data even in a power-off mode. In addition, the multiple data are processed using a multi-port register, thereby improving reliability and operation speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a nonvolatile ferroelectric memory cell and a memory device using the same, and more specifically, to a technology for storing processing results of various programs of a system in a nonvolatile ferroelectric register and inputting/outputting data stored in a cell through a multi port.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a ferroelectric random access memory (hereinafter, referred to as 'FeRAM') has attracted considerable attention as next generation memory device because it has a data processing speed as fast as a Dynamic Random Access Memory DRAM and conserves data even after the power is turned off.
The FeRAM having structures similar to the DRAM includes the capacitors made of a ferroelectric substance, so that it utilizes the characteristic of a high residual polarization of the ferroelectric substance in which data is not deleted even after an electric field is eliminated. The technical contents on the above FeRAM are disclosed in the Korean Patent Application No. 2002-85533 by the same inventor of the present invention. Therefore, the basic structure and the operation on the FeRAM are not described herein.
A central processing unit (CPU) comprising a control device, an operation device, an input/output device and a memory device performs an operation for data processing or controls data input/output operations. However, since the conventional CPU stores data based on a volatile SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), the program processing results are stored in the cell with volatile data.
In a power-off mode of the system, various data stored in a register are destroyed. As a result, since the program restarts from the initial stage although the power of the systems is restored, the efficiency for data storage is degraded, and power consumption is increased.
As the capability and the performance of the system becomes complicated and improved, the performance of system register files is required to be improved. Specifically, with the development of a superscalar structure and simultaneous/multiple/thread technologies, the embodiment of a multi port register for processing multiple data simultaneously is more required rather than a single port register.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Nonvolatile ferroelectric memory cell and memory device using the same


The present invention relates to a downhole tool (102) for selectively opening and closing a lateral borehole extending from a primary borehole. The tool (102) comprises a body (104) incorporating a wall provided with an opening (116) extending therethrough; a deflector member (106) slidably mounted in the body (104) and having a deflecting surface (126) for deflecting, in use, downhole equipment laterally within the body (104). The deflector member (106) is slidable between an open position, in which the deflecting surface is located adjacent and facing towards said opening so that, in use, downhole equipment laterally deflected by the deflecting surface is directed through said opening, and a closed position, in which the deflecting surface is oriented relative to said opening so as to prevent downhole equipment from being laterally deflected through said opening during use. In either position, equipment may pass into the primary borehole downhole of the primary/lateral junction. The tool (102) also comprises constraining means (138, 140) for restricting movement of the whipstock relative to the body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for opening and closing lateral boreholes and particularly, but not exclusively, to a method and apparatus for selectively opening and sealingly closing a lateral borehole.
2. The Prior Art
It is well known in the oil and gas drilling industries to provide a primary borehole with one or more lateral boreholes. The deflection of downhole equipment from the primary borehole into a lateral borehole may be readily achieved through location of a deflector/whipstock downhole of the primary/lateral borehole junction. It is also known for the types of deflector/whipstock used in this manner to be provided with an axially extending bore for allowing access to the portion of primary borehole located downhole of said junction. In this way, use of the primary borehole or an associated lateral borehole may be selected. However, if use of the lateral borehole is no longer required or not required for considerably long periods of time, then it can be desirable to close the opening in the primary borehole which extends into the lateral borehole. However, closing the opening in the primary borehole requires removal of the deflector so that specialist closing equipment can be employed. This is time consuming, costly and inconvenient.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for controlling access to a lateral borehole.

Apparatus and method for opening and closing lateral boreholes


A control unit for activating an occupant protection unit includes, at least one analyzer circuit and at least one other component causing the activation. The at least one analyzer circuit transmits a signal to the at least one component as a function of an error event. The at least one other component performs a setting and at least one reset as a function of the signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control unit and a method for activating occupant protection means in a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known from published German patent document DE 10 2004 056 416 A1 to provide a processor, e.g., a microcontroller in a control unit, and to provide another component, e.g., an acceleration sensor, these components being connected to each other for data transmission. The microcontroller and the acceleration sensor system activate the occupant protection means.

Control unit and method for activating occupant protection means


A four wheel drive powertrain control for an automotive vehicle is disclosed. It includes a torque transfer case that distributes power from an engine-powered transfer case mainshaft to a secondary driving axle through a friction clutch as power is distributed directly from the engine-powered mainshaft to a primary driving axle. The friction clutch capacity is sufficient to mechanically lock the transfer case in a four wheel drive mode. If the clutch torque capacity is exceeded, a control algorithm will strategically ramp down engine torque requests by a powertrain controller to eliminate clutch slip.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for truncating engine torque in a four-wheel drive vehicle powertrain to regulate maximum vehicle wheel traction.
2. Background Art
In a typical automatic four-wheel drive vehicle powertrain, engine torque is transmitted to vehicle traction wheels through a transmission and through a torque transfer case situated at the torque output side of the transmission. Such vehicles have two driving axles, one at the rear of the vehicle and one at the front. The transfer case divides driving torque proportionally between the front axle and the rear axle in accordance with a control algorithm residing in a four-wheel drive vehicle system control module.
During one operating mode, the control module will condition the powertrain for torque transfer from the torque transfer case to the rear axle through a rear wheel driveshaft, thus establishing normal rear-wheel drive operation. In another operating mode, the driving torque is divided into a first torque component distributed through a front wheel driveshaft to the front axle and a second torque component distributed through the rear wheel driveshaft to the rear axle.
The control module, which receives input data from speed sensors that measure the speed of each axle, as well as other input variables, uses those measurements as input data to execute the control algorithm to determine how much torque should be distributed to each axle. The controller will cause a transfer of additional torque to one axle and reduce torque at the other axle depending upon the traction wheel torque loads.
It is known design practice to effect a four-wheel driving mode by locking the rear traction wheels to the front traction wheels using a positive drive locking clutch in the torque transfer case. Typically, when the positive drive locking clutch is engaged, provision is made for changing the driving speed ratio between a direct drive speed ratio and an under-drive speed ratio.
It is known design practice also to eliminate the positive drive locking clutch and to establish instead a positive driving connection between the driving axles using a friction clutch with torque input friction elements connected driveably to one driving axle and companion torque output friction elements connected driveably to the other driving axle. The friction clutch, under normal operating conditions, can be commanded to achieve its maximum torque transmitting capacity to effect a locked driving connection of one axle to the other. If the transfer case is not sized to reach a traction wheel skid torque, however, it is possible under some rare operating conditions for the clutch to slip and to damage the clutch friction elements. This could occur, for example, if the vehicle is operating on an off-road terrain or during certain winter driving events when the output speed of the rear axle will exceed the output speed of the front axle, thus creating a clutch slip condition that can cause clutch failure if the slip condition continues, even for a short time. Operation of the vehicle under this condition causes the rear traction wheels to spin when the front traction wheels do not spin. This typically would occur, furthermore, when the engine throttle is at an advanced setting.
If the clutch were to be designed with sufficient capacity to effect a positive lock between the driveshafts for the front traction wheels and the rear traction wheels under all four-wheel driving conditions, the required geometry of the clutch, of necessity, would make it difficult, if not impossible, to meet the packaging constraints of a contemporary four-wheel drive vehicle powertrain. Further, each of the components that distribute torque from the engine through the transfer case to the front axle would be required to accommodate the peak torque associated with a locked up friction clutch. This would require a design upgrade for the torque transmitting components of the transfer case that would be in excess of the design requirements for normal operating conditions of the vehicle even though skid torque of the front traction wheels is rarely experienced.

Engine torque truncation method for a four-wheel drive vehicle


An active antenna system and algorithm is described that provides for improved performance from LTE communication systems operating in Category 1 mode, where one antenna is used. For the LTE SISO case (category 1), a modal antenna capable of generating multiple radiation patterns will provide improved throughput due to improved resistance to fading. Modal (Null Steering) antenna technology is implemented in a multi-antenna system to provide for single and multiple antenna operation wherein one or more antennas have two or more radiation modes. An algorithm has been developed that determines when to switch from SISO to MIMO operation.

Current and future communication systems will require MIMO antenna systems capable of operation over multiple frequency bands. Isolation between adjacent elements as well as de-correlated radiation patterns will need to be maintained across multiple frequency bands, with antenna efficiency needing to be optimized for the antenna system.
In many instances, the line of sight between a transmitter and a receiver involved in the communication becomes blocked or shadowed with obstacles such as walls and other objects. Each signal bounce may introduce phase shifts, time delays, attenuations and distortions, which ultimately interfere at the receiving antenna. Destructive interference in the wireless link is problematic and results in degradation of device performance.
A signal quality metric is often used to assess the quality of signals. Examples of such quality metrics include signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), receive signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER) and other metrics, which are called channel quality indicators (CQI). Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems or antenna diversity schemes can be used to improve the quality and reliability of a wireless communication link.
An antenna diversity scheme can mitigate interference from multipath environments by monitoring one or more CQIs. Antenna diversity can be implemented generally in several forms, including spatial diversity, pattern diversity and polarization diversity. Each of these diversity schemes requires one or more processing techniques, such as switching, selecting and combining.
Switching is one of the simple and efficient processing techniques and generally includes receiving a signal from a first antenna until the signal level fades below a threshold, at which point active components such as switches engage the second antenna for communication with the receiver.
Selecting is a processing technique that determines an optimal signal for utilization by the receiver during each predetermined time interval. Both selecting and switching techniques may utilize active components, such as switches, to select the optimal signal based on one or more CQIs. The selecting and switching techniques may be collectively called a switching technique wherein the selection of the signal for utilization is carried out by controlling the switches or other active components coupled to the antennas.
Combining is a processing technique wherein the multiple signals at the receiver are weighted and combined into a signal for communication. The weights are adjusted such that a main lobe of a receiving beam pattern is toward the desired direction and a null of the receiving beam pattern is toward the interference direction. Examples of combining techniques include a minimum mean squared error (MMSE) combining technique, a maximum ratio combining (MRC) technique and an equal gain combining (EGC) technique.
In the diversity scenarios, the different signals received at the different antennas of the receiver are coming from the single transmitting antenna and contain the same message. The selecting or switching schemes may be adapted for Single Input Single Output (SISO) systems while the combining scheme may be adapted for Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) systems.
Different from diversity schemes, a MIMO system can mitigate interference from the multipath environment by using several transmit (Tx) antennas at the same time to transmit different signals, which are not identical but are different variants of the same message, and several receive (Rx) antennas at the same time to receive the different signals. A MIMO system can generally offer significant increase in data throughput without additional bandwidth or increased transmit power by spreading the same total transmit power over the antennas so as to achieve an array gain. MIMO protocols constitute a part of wireless communication standards such as IEEE 802.11n (WiFi), 4G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX and HSPA+.
However, in a MIMO system, each radio link between one of the Rx antennas and one of the TX antennas may still face destructive interferences due to phase shifts, time delays, attenuations, distortions and various other electromagnetic effects as explained earlier. It is possible to improve the overall performance of the MIMO system by improving the quality and reliability of each link by using a selecting or switching diversity scheme, for example.
In Rx diversity for a conventional wireless mobile device, one or more diversity antennas are added in the device to support the diversity scheme. A MIMO system already uses multiple (N) antennas; thus, if each of the Rx antennas in the MIMO system needs one diversity antenna, the system would end up containing 2×N Rx antennas. In such a configuration with multiple antennas, size constraints may become significant, and coupling among the antennas as well as between the antennas and nearby electronics of a communication device may significantly deteriorate transmission and reception qualities. Additionally, efficiency may deteriorate in many instances where multiple paths are energized and power consumption increases. Implementing two, three or more diversity antennas may provide system flexibility, but the volume and area requirements become increasingly severe as additional antennas, associated components and transmission lines are needed. As such, mixing diversity and MIMO techniques has gained limited popularity thus far.
With Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems recently becoming more prevalent in the cellular communication field, the need for two or more antennas collocated in a mobile device are becoming more common. These groups of antennas in a MIMO system need to have high, and preferably, equal efficiencies along with high isolation and low correlation. For handheld mobile devices the problem is exacerbated by antenna detuning caused by the multiple use cases of a device: hand loading of the cell phone, cell phone placed to user's head, cell phone placed on metal surface, etc. For cell phone applications, the multipath environment is constantly changing, which impacts throughput performance of the communication link.
The 3GPP LTE standard specifies five Categories of operation, each Category providing a different data rate for both uplink and downlink communication. The data rate increases as operation progresses from Category 1 to Category 5. Category 1 allows for SISO (Single Input Single Output) operation, which is defined as one antenna on the base station side of the communication link, and one antenna on the mobile side of the link, for example. Categories 2, 3, and 4 specify a maximum of a 2×2 MIMO antenna system, with two antennas on the base station side and two antennas on the mobile side. Category 5 specifies a maximum of 4×4 MIMO antenna system, with four antennas on the base station side and four antennas on the mobile side. It is important to reiterate that though most of the categories of operation for LTE communication systems require a MIMO antenna system, i.e. multiple antennas, Category 1 operation is specified in the standard which allows for single antenna operation if minimum data rates can be achieved. For a majority of cases, such as low signal strength regions, high multipath environments and issues involving deep signal fading, a single antenna will not provide the data rate required for Category 1 operation. In this case, additional antennas and communication ports are activated to improve system throughput.
Category 5 operation allows for a maximum of a 4×4 MIMO antenna system, with this Category providing the highest data rate of the five Categories. The problems associated with implementing four antennas in a mobile device for use in a cellular network are numerous: making volume internal to a mobile device available for four antennas, providing a four port transceiver configured for MIMO operation, the power consumption of a four port solution compared to a two port solution, and the difficulty of integrating four antennas into a mobile device while maintaining high isolation and low correlation between the antennas.

Antenna system optimized for SISO and MIMO operation


In a battery system for a vehicle, a lead battery is connected in parallel to a sub-battery, and a charging resistance r2 of the sub-battery 2 is lower than a charging resistance r1 of the lead battery.

In a conventional vehicle, as an auxiliary battery, a lead battery having a rated voltage of 12V is installed. Further, in a large vehicle, a battery having a rated voltage of 24 V by connecting two of the lead batteries of 12V in series is installed. The lead battery is charged by an alternator in the vehicle, and supplies electric power to auxiliary electrical devices in the vehicle, a starter motor, or the like. This lead battery is heavy and large, and it is necessary to always keep the voltage near the full charge level in order to decrease the degradation and make a life longer. Therefore, the real capacity which is able to be charged and discharged against the rated capacity is small.
Further, when the lead battery is installed in the vehicle having an idle stop function, a life of the battery is remarkably shortened, for example, the life becomes less than a half. Its reason is in the following. In the lead battery charged by power of a regenerative power generation, the voltage of the lead battery is not kept at a constant voltage by an alternator, which is actuated by an engine. The lead battery is charged with very large current at the time of regenerative braking. When the lead battery and alternator supplies electric power to auxiliary electrical devices, the lead battery is not kept at a constant voltage with charging by the alternator. Namely the lead battery does not become in a so-called flouting charge state, the battery voltage is widely varied. As a result, the lead battery is degraded. As a battery system to improve this demerit, a battery system for a vehicle in which the lead battery is connected in parallel to a sub-battery, for example, a nickel hydride battery, a lithium ion secondary battery, or the like, has been developed. (refer to patent literature 1)

Vehicular battery system and vehicle equipped with same


A method for fabricating a semiconductor device having a substrate includes the steps of defining a first region and a second region in the substrate, forming a gate insulator over the substrate at each of the first and second regions, forming a gate electrode over the gate insulator and forming impurity regions in the substrate at adjacent sides of the gate electrode in each of the first and second regions, forming a first insulating layer on top and at sides of the gate electrode in the first region, forming a second insulating layer on the first insulating layer at the first region and on the gate electrode of the second region, removing the second insulating layer by selective etching and forming gate sidewalls at the second region, and forming lightly doped drain areas by injecting ions using the gate sidewalls at the second region and the second insulating layer at the first region as masks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device having two or more optimized regions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The self-aligned contact technique employed in processes for fabricating a semiconductor device, such as a DRAM, is a technique for forming sidewalls of a gate electrode in a cell region with a nitride which has a better selectivity than an oxide to secure an adequate process for contact etching. In this regard, a conventional method for fabricating a semiconductor device will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.
FIGS. 1a-1c illustrate sectional views showing steps for fabricating a conventional semiconductor device. As shown in FIG. 1a, when forming sidewalls according to the conventional method, a nitride is deposited on an entire surface of a semiconductor substrate 1 having a gate electrode 2 formed thereon. The nitride is then dry etched into nitride sidewalls 3 at sides of the gate electrode 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 1b, an oxide film 4 is deposited on the entire resulting surface. Portions of the oxide film 4 on an impurity region at a predetermined part of the semiconductor substrate 1 is selectively etched to form a contact hole. Then, a metal layer is formed on the entire resulting surface including the contact hole. The metal layer is subjected to patterning to form metal wiring.
In the aforementioned conventional self-aligned contact technique using sidewalls, each of the material for forming the sidewalls at sides of the gate electrode 2 and the material for forming an interlayer insulating film for forming the metal wiring has a large etch selectivity with respect to each other. Therefore, even if there is a slight misalignment in the contact etch process, it does not cause any difficulty in the formation of the contact hole.
However, the use of an identical nitride in the formation of sidewalls for an element in a cell region as well as for an element in a peripheral circuit has caused problems as follows.
First, the use of nitride in the formation of sidewalls for an element in a peripheral circuit increases an overlap capacitance of the gate-source electrodes, and causes an adverse effect on the device due to an increase in hot carrier generation. Second, the decrease in sidewall size for obtaining a larger contact hole in the cell region degrades performance of the element in a peripheral circuit. On the other hand, an increase in the sidewall size with a decrease in the contact hole size causes defects in the wiring.

Method for fabricating semiconductor device


The present invention provides a system and method for compensating captured images. Briefly described, one embodiment comprises white balance compensating a strobed image data and a nonstrobed image data using a first white balance compensation value corresponding to supplemental illumination provided by a supplemental illumination source, determining a difference between the strobed image data compensated with the first white balance compensation value and the nonstrobed image data compensated with the first white balance compensation value, white balance compensating the nonstrobed image data using a second white balance compensation value corresponding to ambient light, and combining the difference to the nonstrobed image white balance compensated using the second white balance compensation value.

Image capture indoors under low ambient lighting conditions typically requires the use of a strobe or flash device to provide supplemental illumination during image capture. Light provided from a strobe or flash device typically has a light characteristic that approximates the characteristics of natural light.
Light characteristics may be described by the color temperature of emitted light. Color temperature corresponds to the temperature of a black-body radiator when light of a certain color characteristic, or hue, is emitted from the black-body radiator. For example, ambient outdoor light on a sunny day at noon exhibits a color temperature of approximately 5,500-6,500 degrees Kelvin (° K.). A burning wax candle exhibits a color temperature of 1,850° K., corresponding to a yellowish hue.
The color temperature of strobes or flash devices are in the 5,000° K. to 6,000° K. range. Incandescent lighting, often used indoors to provide ambient lighting, exhibits a color temperature in the 2,500° K.-2,700° K. range. Incandescent light provides a yellow hue to objects. Fluorescent lighting is another often used indoor lighting source. Fluorescent lighting exhibits a color temperature in the 3,400° K.-4,200° K. range for a "cool white" fluorescent lamp, resulting in a greenish light. Full spectrum fluorescent lamps may exhibit color temperatures to 5,850° K., resulting in more natural light.
When an image is captured indoors in situations wherein ambient light is provided by fluorescent lighting or incandescent lighting, in the absence of supplemental illumination from a strobe or flash device, the captured image will show the objects as having a greenish hue or a yellowish hue, respectively. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide color correction to captured images so that the objects in the captured image appear as they would under natural sunlight conditions.
Filters may be attached to the strobe lens to provide color correction. However, the photographer must have an advanced understanding of lighting theory and image capture techniques to be able to select the appropriate filter for a particular lighting situation.
Special types of film have been developed for film-based image capture devices. Accordingly, the photographer must insert the specialized type of film that is configured to provide color correction for a particular lighting situation. Although such specialized films are easily used by a novice photographer, once loaded, the entire roll of specialized film must be used before lighting conditions change (such that another film type is required). Or if the roll is not used, the roll must be rewound such that the unused film cannot be later used.
Some digital cameras employ color correction algorithms. Such algorithms interpret sensed ambient light conditions at the time of image capture. As the electronic data of the captured image is processed and saved, the captured image data is adjusted to provide appropriate color correction. The correction may be based upon the presence or absence of supplemental illumination provided by a strobe or flash device. Color correction provided by digital cameras is very convenient in that the correction may be automated to a high degree. Accordingly, even a novice photographer can take reasonable quality, color-corrected captured images.
However, none of the above-described techniques of capturing an image using supplemental illumination from a strobe or flash device addresses the effect of the limited distance that the supplemental illumination from a strobe or flash device is cast. Furthermore, with some types of strobes or flash devices, the range of the supplemental illumination is limited in that a lens and/or a reflector is used to project the supplemental illumination in a particular direction.
Accordingly, there may be some regions of the captured image that do not receive any, or relatively little, of the supplemental illumination from a strobe or flash device because these regions are too far away to be lit, or because these regions are not within the projection range of light provided by the strobe or flash device. Such regions will exhibit the hue of the ambient lighting conditions. For example, objects in the background of a captured image may exhibit a yellowish hue when the ambient light on the background region is provided by incandescent lamps. It would be desirable to provide color correction to these regions so that all portions of the captured image exhibit a hue that more closely represents natural lighting conditions.

System and method for dual white balance compensation of images

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A seat back for a motor vehicle having a seat back panel that is forwardly rotated from an upright position to a generally horizontal position to enlarge the cargo carrying capacity of the vehicle by joining the trunk space rearward of the seat assembly with the seating area. The seat back panel is further equipped with an integral child seat assembly containing a restraint means for a child seat occupant including at least one belt attached to the vehicle structure rearward of the seat back at the upper end thereof. The belt is releasably attached to the vehicle structure and, to avoid use of the child seat assembly with the belt released from the vehicle structure, a lock-out mechanism is provided to prevent return of the seat back panel to its upright use position without first resecuring the belt to the vehicle structure.

The present invention relates to a vehicle seat assembly with an integral child seat therein and in particular to such a seat assembly in which the seat back can be folded down, i.e. rotated forward to provide access to the trunk whereby the trunk space is merged with the space of the vehicle rear seat.
With typical vehicle seat assemblies, the seat belt systems, while closely associated with the seat assemblies are anchored directly to the vehicle structure. As a result, the seat assembly does not carry the restraint loads applied by the seat belts. Instead, these loads are applied directly from the belts to the vehicle structure. However, when a seat assembly is equipped with an integral child seat, the restraint loads from the child seat are typically transferred into the seat back of the seat assembly and from there to the vehicle structure. In the case of bench seats for vans and other utility vehicles, the child seat belt loads are generally transferred through the seat assembly structure to the vehicle floor pan. In passenger car vehicles, the child seat belt loads may be transferred to both the floor pan as well as the horizontal shelf extending behind the seat back at its upper end.
The seat back of the present invention is a folding seat back in which the seat back is pivotally attached at its lower end for rotation from its normal upright use position to a generally horizontal forwardly extending position. In the folded down position, the rear seating area is open to the trunk for increased storage capacity and for storage of articles longer than can be stored in the trunk space alone. When a folding seat back is equipped with an integral child seat and the restraint system for the child seat includes belts attached to the vehicle shelf behind the seat back, the child seat belts will present an obstacle in the increased cargo space if left attached to the shelf when the seat back is folded down.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an integral child seat restraint system in which the belts are detachably coupled to the vehicle enabling the belts to be detached from the shelf when the seat is folded forward.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lock out feature to prevent use of the seat assembly, and in particular the integral child seat, unless the belts are attached to the shelf.
The seat back of the present invention includes a rotatable panel that has a normal upright use position in which it forms a portion of the seat back and a forwardly rotated position in which the rear seat area of the vehicle is open to the trunk. The seat back panel also carries an integral child seat having a restraint system that includes belts anchored at their upper ends to the vehicle shelf structure at the top of the seat back and at their lower ends to the vehicle floor pan. To prevent the belts from being an obstacle when the seat back is folded down, the belts are mounted at their upper ends through a mounting plate that is releasably attached to the vehicle structure to enable the mounting plate and the belts to be released and lowered to the folded down seat back panel. When the mounting plate has been released, a lock out mechanism is activated to prevent return of the folded down seat back to its normal upright use position. The seat back panel can only be returned to an inclined position that is unusable for an adult and which also renders the child seat unusable, thereby providing an obvious indicator that the seat back panel is not in its normal position. Only by reattaching the mounting plate to the vehicle shelf structure, thus properly anchoring the child seat belts, can the seat back panel be returned to its normal use position and latched in place.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Folding seat back with integral child seat


Disclosed herein is an ultrasound probe which may adjust curvature of an acoustic lens using a shape memory alloy. The ultrasound probe includes an acoustic lens, a focus adjusting unit installed on the acoustic lens and deforming the shape of the acoustic lens to adjust the focus of ultrasonic waves radiated through the acoustic lens, and a current applying unit applying current to the focus adjusting unit to contract or expand the focus adjusting unit.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an ultrasound probe which generates images of the inside of an object using ultrasonic waves and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus radiates an ultrasound signal to a target region of the inside of an object from the surface of the object, and non-invasively acquires tomographic images or images regarding a blood current of soft tissues using information of ultrasound signals (ultrasound echo signals) reflected by the target region.
As compared to other image diagnostic apparatuses, such as an X-ray diagnostic apparatus, a computed tomography (CT) scanner, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, and a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is small and inexpensive, displays images in real time, and has high safety without X-ray exposure. Due to these advantages, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for diagnosis of the heart, the abdomen, the renal system, and in obstetrics and gynecology.
The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasound probe transmitting an ultrasound signal to an object and receiving ultrasound echo signals reflected by the object so as to acquire ultrasound images of the object.
The ultrasound probe includes a transducer in which a piezoelectric material vibrates and converts electrical signals and acoustic signals into each other, a matching layer reducing an acoustic impedance difference between the transducer and the object so as to maximally transmit ultrasonic waves generated from the transducer to the object, an acoustic lens focusing ultrasonic waves progressing in the forward direction of the transducer at a specific point, and a sound-absorbing layer blocking ultrasonic waves progressing in the backward direction of the transducer to prevent image distortion.

Ultrasound probe and manufacturing method thereof