A recreational chair converter is disclosed. The chair converter will convert a folding chair with a U shaped rear support leg from its normal use as a chair to a transport cart. The chair converter is provided with a pair of wheels mounted on an axle and has a pair of elongated segments attached to each other by means of living hinges and bolts. Each segment has two lengthwise grooves so that the pair of segments, when attached together, will form two parallel cylindrical openings which receive and hold the axle equipped with wheels and the rear support leg of a recreational chair. The pair of segments are securely attached to and are completely around the rear tubular leg of a recreational chair. There is also provided a tension strap and buckle which holds the chair securely to said pair of segments and allows the converter device to be used as a transport cart when it is desired.

The present invention relates to a uniquely designed device that will allow most U-leg frame recreational chairs to convert to a transport cart and maintain the usual functions of the recreational chair.
There are several devices in the background art but none that will as easily convert and provide the durability and stability of the present recreational chair converter device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,719 shows a wheeled attachment for lawn chairs that allows their use as a cart wherein there is a lower bracket made with a hook shaped segment which holds the rear leg of a lawn chair. There is also an upper bracket and strap to hold and clamp the top of the lawn chair to the lower bracket. One problem with this design is that the lower bracket can drop off and get lost. The present invention is an improvement over this device in that this invention provides a pair of segments that clamp securely to and become a contiguous part of the leg of the lawn chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,112 shows a combination lawn chair and cart wherein the chair is provided with a pair of wheel assembles which are attached to the rear legs of a lawn chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,347 shows a device for attaching wheels to a lawn chair wherein a plate is equipped with an open lip and a closed lip so that the closed lip will hold a pair of wheels and the open lip will removably hold the rear leg of a lawn chair.
Others in the background art have the wheels permanently attached to the structure of the chair to function as a cart and a chair, but this function is limited to that specific use of that chair.
The problems the inventor has observed with the before referenced devices in the background art is that the devices available do not have the capability to securely fasten to the frame of the a recreational chair and they do not provide a reliable and efficient means to convert an existing chair to a transport cart. Devices in the background art that have permanent attached wheels are more expensive and limited to the use of that chair. The recreation chair converter device described herein has many characteristics that allows the user to easily attach the converter device to most U-leg frame recreational chairs for secure and reliable transport of items to a desired location and then use the recreational chair as it was designed, i.e., sitting position(s) and reclining.


The unnecessarily increase of the information amount of subscriber information retained by a local subscriber information management device is prevented even if the number of subscribers increases, so that the limit of the number of subscribers is extended to support the increasing number of subscribers without increasing the capacity of subscriber information retaining means in the local station (local subscriber information management device). Based on information contained in subscriber management information 211, 221 including information representing each mobile terminal 310, 320 acquired by local stations 210, 220 of a mobile communication system 100 and subscriber information corresponding to each mobile terminal 310, 320, the relevant subscriber management information 211, 221 are selected and processed to be prevented from being retained after call control is performed according to the acquired subscriber management information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication system, a local subscriber information management device, and a communication information management method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a mobile communication system constructed to include a subscriber original record information management device which manages subscriber original record information that contains original record information of information representing respective mobile terminals and subscriber information corresponding to these mobile terminals, and a local subscriber information management device which acquires subscriber management information that contains information representing the respective mobile terminal that is a visiting mobile terminal and subscriber information corresponding to the respective mobile terminal from the subscriber original record information management device and manages the acquired subscriber management information.
In a mobile communication system conforming to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Projects) recommendation, an HLR (Home Location Register) scheme and a VLR (Visitor Location Register) scheme are defined as schemes for managing a position of a mobile terminal and subscriber information.
In the HLR scheme, information that is an original record of position information of a mobile terminal and subscriber information is managed in an HLR installed physically independently from a mobile switching center.
In the VLR scheme, on the occasion of location registration of a relevant mobile terminal, subscriber information is downloaded from an HLR (i.e., copied from the above described original record) into a VLR of a respective mobile switching center which the mobile terminal has visited, and manages the position information and subscriber information of the mobile terminal.
Incidentally, there is an increasing number of cases where a wireless terminal device having a function as a mobile terminal is provided in a vending machine such as of beverages or cigarettes and is used for inventory control and user authentication.
In the cases as described above, it is allowed to supply a vending machine with sales items according to a current stock instead of based mainly on experience of an operator in a conventional manner, and the security is ensured to a certain extent.
The application of a mobile terminal (wireless terminal device) as described above tends to spread over general-purpose equipment such as household electrical appliances.
The number of mobile terminals accommodated in mobile communication systems is rapidly increasing partly because such a mobile terminal includes not only a device carried by a user but also a device incorporated in various equipment such as a vending machine and general-purpose equipment as described above. This significant increase is easily predicted to be far beyond the increase of actual data traffic.
Specifically, for example, as a mobile terminal carried by a user moves literally, a corresponding current mobile switching center is frequently changed in succession, and only due to this, traffic of management information frequently occurs. In contrast, with respect to a vending machine or general-purpose equipment, the probability of changing a current mobile switching center is very low in a normal operation or use situation, and therefore traffic of management information regarding this changing rarely occurs.
However, in a design philosophy about conventional mobile communication system operation, the above described local subscriber information management device (VLR in a mobile communication system conforming to 3 GPP recommendation) is assumed to reserve a memory capacity corresponding to the number of mobile terminals.
Toward the forthcoming ubiquitous age, if facilities are added to the local subscriber information management device (VLR) according to the substantial increase of the number of mobile terminals to be accommodated in the mobile communication system, there is a problem that terribly unreasonable excessive facilities are built with respect to actual communication traffic of data.
There has been proposed a technique in which a situation where any more registration into a current mobile switching center (or its VLR) is not allowed is assumed to occur, and when this situation occurs, subscriber information which can be erased without trouble is erased so that free space is reserved.
For example, at a mobile switching center, if subscriber information cannot be newly registered in a first management device for the mobile switching center which manages subscriber information when a location registration signal is received from a mobile terminal, one item of subscriber information currently registered in the first management device for the mobile switching center is deleted to reserve a free space for registration, and subscriber information is registered after the free space is reserved (see JP 2002-320032 A, especially paragraphs 0054 to 0065, FIGS. 9 to 12, and others).
In addition, it has been proposed that at a mobile switching center, if subscriber information cannot be newly registered in a management device for the mobile switching center which manages subscriber information when a location registration signal is received from a mobile terminal, such subscriber information is registered in a management device for another mobile switching center which manages subscriber information.
In this proposal, if subscriber information of a mobile terminal that has sent a transmission signal is not registered in a management device for a mobile switching center which manages subscriber information when the transmission signal is received from the mobile terminal, the subscriber information of the mobile terminal is acquired from a management device for another mobile switching center which manages subscriber information (see JP 2006-5966 A, especially paragraphs 0007 to 0008, 0049 to 0054, 0128, 0248 to 0251, and 0319, FIGS. 6 to 8, and others).
In addition, there has been proposed a technique in which, in a mobile communication system where a plurality of switches manage areas and each mobile switching center retains subscriber information of a mobile terminal visiting in an area managed by the mobile switching center, a communication controller forwards a location registration signal from a mobile terminal to a destination mobile switching center depending on free space of area subscriber information retaining means, and notifies the mobile terminal of the destination mobile switching center which has performed location registration.
In this proposal, it is said that, even if free space of area subscriber information retaining means of one mobile switching center is small, a location registration signal can be forwarded to another mobile switching center so that location registration of a mobile terminal can be performed. And furthermore, since a communication controller notifies a mobile terminal of the destination mobile switching center which has performed location registration, the mobile terminal can send a signal to the destination mobile switching center which retains the subscriber information of the mobile terminal in the area subscriber information retaining means after the location registration, mobile communication service can be provided to more mobile terminals, and connection delay and increase of the amount of signal at sending and receiving can be prevented (see JP 2006-074404 A, especially paragraphs 0020 to 0028, FIGS. 1 and 2, and others).
However, in any of the techniques disclosed in the above patent documents, a situation where any more subscriber information cannot be registered in a current mobile switching center or a subscriber information management device (local station's VLR) is assumed to occur, and when this situation occurs, subscriber information which can be erased without trouble is erased so that free space is reserved and then subscriber information is registered in this mobile switching center or subscriber information management device, or subscriber information is registered in another mobile switching center or subscriber information management device (local station's VLR). Thus, the above-described techniques are not intended to provide a method to prevent or reduce the occurrence of the "situation where any more subscriber information cannot be registered".

Mobile communication system, local subscriber information management device, and communication information management method


A recognition dictionary creating device includes a user dictionary in which a phoneme label string of an inputted voice is registered and an interlanguage acoustic data mapping table in which a correspondence between phoneme labels in different languages is defined, and refers to the interlanguage acoustic data mapping table to convert the phoneme label string registered in the user dictionary and expressed in a language set at the time of creating the user dictionary into a phoneme label string expressed in another language which the recognition dictionary creating device has switched.

An application which employs voice recognition registers a user's uttered voice and uses this voice as a word to be recognized in some cases. Hereinafter, this operation will be referred to as creation of a user dictionary. As examples of creation of a user dictionary from a voice, there are a case in which a radio station name corresponding to a frequency of a radio is registered by voice, and a case in which the name of a person or a place name corresponding to a telephone number is registered by voice.
Further, a language switching function is required of voice recognition mounted in equipment which can be used over a plurality of countries, such as a car navigation system and a mobile terminal.
As a related conventional technology, for example, patent reference 1 discloses a using language switching method of determining a language which a user desires to use when switching between using languages for an electronic dictionary by comparing character data which is acquired by performing voice recognition on the user's uttered voice with words stored therein.
Typically, voice data are collected for each language, and the user's uttered voice is recognized by using a voice-recognition algorithm and a voice standard model which are configured by using the collected voice data. Therefore, when switching between languages is performed, it is necessary to change the voice recognition unit itself and the sound standard model.
Conventionally, a voice recognition device which creates phoneme label strings each of which expresses a user's uttered voice best for each language by using a typically-known voice recognition technique, and then storing the phoneme label string as a user dictionary, thereby making it possible to perform voice recognition on the user's uttered voice even if switching between languages used for voice recognition is also proposed.
A problem is, however, that because voice utterances are stored in a memory and are processed when creating phoneme label strings every time when the language is changed, a large-volume memory which can allocate a storage area to the voice utterances is needed.
Further, in a case in which voice utterances cannot be stored in a memory, phoneme label strings must be created for each of all the languages which are assumed to be used. However, because it takes much time to create phoneme label strings even for a single language, the processing time required to create phoneme label strings for each of all the languages which are assumed to be used becomes huge. In addition, a large-volume memory which can store phoneme label strings for all the languages is also needed.
The present invention is made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a recognition dictionary creating device which does not have to have a large-volume memory for storing voice utterances or create phoneme label strings for all languages in advance, and which can shorten the time required to create phoneme label strings for each language, a voice recognition device using this recognition dictionary creating device, and a voice synthesizer using the recognition dictionary creating device.

Recognition dictionary creating device, voice recognition device, and voice synthesizer


Disclosed is a terminal including at least two terminal bodies each having a plurality of wire receiving holes, and a plurality of hinge shafts rotatably supported by each of the bodies, a plurality of wire connecting engagement members respectively coupled to the hinge shafts so that they are rotated in accordance with the rotation of the hinge shafts, separation walls formed inside of each of the bodies and adapted to limit the rotation of associated ones of the wire connecting engagement members, a link strip adapted to come into contact with wires received in the wire receiving holes, respectively, thereby electrically connecting the wires together, a plurality of springs each arranged between an associated one of the wire connecting engagement members and the body associated with the wire connecting engagement member and adapted to urge the associated wire connecting engagement member toward the link strip, wherein the link strip comprises a plurality of inverted U-shaped bent portions maintained to be in contact with respective outer surfaces of the separation walls, and connecting portions formed integrally with the bent portions and adapted to connect adjacent ones of the bent portions to each other, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal with a link strip, and more particularly to a terminal which includes a link strip manufactured by simply upwardly and downwardly bending a copper sheet having a strip shape with a desired width.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known, terminals are configured to receive several strands of conductive wires so that they enable an electrical connection or conduction of those conductive wires. Such terminals are widely used because they have a large conductive current capacity.
Such terminals are used in multiple in such a fashion that a plurality of terminals are laterally laminated together in accordance with a required number of connections. Typically, terminals each having two or four wire receiving holes are mainly used.
Referring to FIG. 1, an example of such terminals is illustrated, which is a four-hole type terminal having four wire receiving holes. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal includes a body 10, and four loop-shaped wire connecting engagement members 12, 13, 14, and 15 fitted in the body 10. Each wire connecting engagement members 12, 13, 14, or 15 is bent into a b shape to define a hole 12a, 13a, 14a, or 15a. The terminal also includes a link strip 20 for electrically connecting the wire connecting engagement members 12, 13, 14, and 15 together.
However, the link strip 20 conventionally used is fabricated by punching a metal sheet into a desired strip shape, and pressing the strip to bend desired portions of he strip in forward, backward, left and right directions, and then bending again the bent portions of the strip. Due to such processes, there is a drawback in that a relatively large amount of blanks are generated after the pressing process. This results in an increased waste of the material, thereby causing an increase in the manufacturing costs. Furthermore, there is a degradation in productivity because the fabrication process used are complex.
Where a plurality of terminals are laterally laminated together, their link strips 20 cannot be connected together. This results in a problem in that it is necessary to individually machine the bodies of the terminals for the connection of the link strips 20.
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above mentioned problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a terminal which includes a link strip capable of reducing the waste of the material occurring in the fabrication thereof while reducing the number of processing steps involved in the fabrication thereof.
In accordance with the present invention, this object is accomplished by providing A terminal including at least two terminal bodies each having a plurality of wire receiving holes, and a plurality of hinge shafts rotatably supported by each of the bodies, a plurality of wire connecting engagement members respectively coupled to the hinge shafts so that they are rotated in accordance with the rotation of the hinge shafts, separation walls formed inside of each of the bodies and adapted to limit the rotation of associated ones of the wire connecting engagement members, a link strip adapted to come into contact with wires received in the wire receiving holes, respectively, thereby electrically connecting the wires together, a plurality of springs each arranged between an associated one of the wire connecting engagement members and the body associated with the wire connecting engagement member and adapted to urge the associated wire connecting engagement member toward the link strip, wherein the link strip comprises a plurality of inverted U-shaped bent portions maintained to be in contact with respective outer surfaces of the separation walls, and connecting portions formed integrally with the bent portions and adapted to connect adjacent ones of the bent portions to each other, respectively.

#101 Dongkyo Villa, 153-6, Dongkyo-dong, Mapo-ku


The present invention is directed to a recombinant vector capable of directing the synthesis of gas vesicles in a non-floating cells. Cells transformed by the vector of the invention are also provided. The present invention is further directed to a method for conferring buoyancy to non-floating cells. The method of the instant invention is useful in harvesting cells, for example in fermentation processes, and in bioremediation, for example in conferring buoyancy to hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria.

Gas vesicles are buoyant intracellular organelles found in many aquatic bacteria including halobacteria, cyanobacteria and methanogens. Gas vesicles have the form of central cylinders with conical end caps and are synthesized bidirectionally from the apices of the cones, with elongation proceeding by growth of the cylindrical region. The vesicle membrane is impermeable to water, and accumulation of gases in the vesicle interior is thought to be a consequence of passive diffusion of gases across the membrane and exclusion of water during the synthetic process. Accumulation of gas vesicles increases cell buoyancy and facilitates movement of cells to the surface of liquid cultures. For Halobacterium halobium, an aerobe with a photophosphorylation system utilizing the light-driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, the consequence of gas vesicle accumulation is the increased availability of oxygen for respiration and light for photophosphorylation.
H. halobium contains two varieties of gas vesicles, a major type that is shorter and wider and a minor form that is longer, more slender, and observed in small amounts in cultures of gas vesicle defective mutants. H. halobium displays extreme genetic instability for the gas vesicle phenotype (Vac) apparent upon visual inspection of colonies on agar plates. Inflated gas vesicles diffract light, giving an opaque appearance to Vac.sup.+ colonies, whereas Vac.sup.- mutants form translucent colonies. Spontaneous Vac.sup.- mutants are observed at a frequency of about 1%, and analysis of mutants has demonstrated that gas vesicle formation is determined or controlled by plasmid genes. Horne et al. (1988) Mol. Gen. Genet. 213, 459, have demonstrated that a plasmid gene encodes an 8.7 kD protein (GvpA, a constituent of the gas vesicle), and a chromosomal gene encodes a homologous 9 kD protein. The smaller plasmid encoded protein is constitutively produced in high amount while the chromosome encoded protein is produced only in the stationary phase, and probably accounts for the morphologically distinct gas vesicles observed in Vac.sup.- mutants.
Cloning of the major gas vesicle protein (GvpA)-encoding gene, gvpA, and analysis of Vac.sup.- mutants of H. halobium has resulted in the identification of a region of a 200-kb plasmid, pNRC100, which is important for gas vesicle synthesis. The nucleotide sequence of an 8520-bp region of pNRC100 has been reported which, including gvpA, contains a cluster of twelve genes organized into two divergent transcription units (Jones et al. [1991] Gene 102, 117, "Jones et al."). Analysis of spontaneously occurring mutants that are caused by the integration of insertion elements has suggested that several genes are involved in gas vesicle synthesis, but the role of the putative gene products in H. halobium is unclear.
Functional tests of cells transformed with vectors containing genomic DNA fragments of H. halobium have failed to identify the genetic information sufficient to direct gas vesicle formation. Blaseio et al. (1990) Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. 87, 6772 ("Blaseio et al."), have analyzed DNA fragments containing p-vac, a gene present on a 150-kb plasmid (pHH1) endogenous to H. halobium. The p-vac gene reportedly encodes a major structural protein of gas vesicles in H. halobium. H. halobium P03, a strain which lacks the p-vac region but contains a chromosomal c-vac, was transformed with a plasmid containing a 4.5-kb region of PHH1. The 4.5-kb region contained the entire p-vac region and 4-kb of flanking region. Transformants contained p-vac mRNA, but gas vesicles were not synthesized, indicating that expression of p-vac is not sufficient for gas vesicle formation. Blaseio et al. further report that transformation of Haloferax volcanii with a vector having an 11-kb fragment containing the mc-vac chromosomal gene from Haloferax mediterranei resulted in transformation to Vac.sup.+ phenotype as measured by the presence of light refractile bodies under phase-contrast microscopy. There is no evidence that gas vesicles were synthesized, or that the transformed cells were capable of flotation. The phase bright-inclusions observed by phase-contrast microscopy are not evidence of gas vesicles, and could result from production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (Garcia-Lillo et al. [1990] Applied and Environmental Microbiology 56, 2517). Horne et al. (1991) Mol. Microbiol. 5, 1159 ("Horne et al.") report the transformation of Haloferax volcanii with the vector of Blaseio et al. modified by deletions in the mc-vac fragment. None of the transformed cells synthesized gas vesicles. Horne et al. further report that transformation of Hf. volcanii with a construct containing a 6.8-kb fragment of the H. halobium plasmid pHH1 containing the p-vac gene and significant amounts of flanking sequence failed to enable gas vesicle synthesis.
In accordance with the present invention, all of the genetic information necessary to direct the synthesis of gas vesicles has been identified. Furthermore, a method is provided for directing synthesis of gas vesicles in non-floating cells, and for transforming non-floating organisms to a floating phenotype.

Recombinant vector and process for cell flotation


A modular desk system may include, a plurality of configurable components including a top panel, an all-purpose hook, a cup hook, a storage shelf, a connecting shelf, a connecting planter box, a connecting divider, a connecting platform, a desktop organization member, a channel, a kickstand base, a support frame, and methods of forming configuration assemblies from such components. The configuration assemblies of the modular desk system may be paired with and coupled to other desk units and/or furniture.

Conventional desk systems typically have a fixed construction that, inhibits adaptability to various uses, and such systems are generally standalone units that cannot readily pair with or couple to other desk units or furniture. Moreover, conventional desk systems typically comprise standard, flat desktops of limited space, having a leg supporting each corner of the desktop.


The plasma-generating apparatus includes a treatment vessel 509 containing to-be-treated water 510, a first electrode 504 and a second electrode 502 within the treatment vessel, a bubble-generating part which generate a bubble 506 such that a surface where conductor of the first electrode 504 is exposed to the to-be-treated water is positioned within the bubble 506, a gas-supplying apparatus 505 which supplies gas to the bubble-generating part, a pulsed power supply 501 connected to the first and the second electrodes 502 and 504, a control apparatus 520 which controls one or both of the gas-supplying apparatus and the power supply such that the voltage is applied between the first and the second electrodes 502 and 504 when at least surface where the conductor of the first electrode 504 is exposed is positioned within the bubble.

A conventional liquid-treating apparatus using a high-voltage pulse discharge is described in, for example, JP 2009-255027 A. FIG. 10 shows a configuration view of a conventional sterilizing apparatus described in JP 2009-255027 A.
The sterilizing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 10 comprises a discharge electrode 6 including a pair of a columnar high-voltage electrode 2 and a plate-shaped ground electrode 3. The high-voltage electrode 2 is covered with insulator 4 except for an end face of a tip portion 2a, to form a high-voltage electrode portion 5. The tip portion 2a of the high-voltage electrode 2 and the ground electrode 3 are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap, being immersed in to-be-treated water 8 within a treatment vessel 7. The high-voltage electrode 2 and the ground electrode 3 are connected to a power supply 9 which generates high-voltage pulses. The discharge is made by applying negative high-voltage pulses of 2 kV/cm to 50 kV/cm and 100 Hz to 20 kHz between both electrodes. Bubbles 10 of steam and a jet flow 11 caused by bubbles 10 are generated by evaporation of water with energy of discharge and vaporization involved by a shock wave and a jet flow 11 is generated by the bubbles 10. Plasma generated around the high-voltage electrode 2 generates OH, H, O, O2−, O−, and H2O2 to destroy microorganism and bacteria.
Similarly, JP 2007-207540 A proposes a method for purifying liquid wherein the liquid is boiled and vaporized to form bubbles and ionize the vaporized substance (generate plasma) within the bubbles to form ions and the ion species in the plasma are penetrated and diffused in the liquid. JP 2007-207540 A describes that, in order to generate plasma, high-voltage pulses having a maximum voltage of about 1 kV to 50 kV, repeated frequencies of 1 kHz to 100 kHz and a duration of 1 μs to 20 μs, are applied to an electrode pair of high-voltage electrodes.
Another conventional liquid-treating apparatus is described in JP 2000-93967 A. JP 2000-93967 A discloses that a liquid-treating apparatus described in this document can reduce an applied voltage by interposing bubbles, which are supplied from outside, between electrodes in liquid, whereby power consumption can be reduced. Similar techniques are disclosed in JP 2003-62579 A and JP 2010-523326 A and JP 3983282 B.

Plasma generating apparatus and plasma generating method

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A method for detecting blood flow in the retina and choroid uses a scanning laser ophthalmoscope and a lipophilic fluorescent dye contained in carrier. The fluorescent dye in one embodiment is able to fluoresce in the visible and near infrared spectral range. The carrier can alternatively contain dye that fluoresces in the visible range and a dye that fluoresces in the infrared spectral range. The fluorescent dye enables the carrier to be visualized in the retina and the choroid.

The measurement of blood flow and blood velocity in vessels is an important diagnostic tool for determining blockage in the vessel as well as other vascular disorders. Measurement of retinal blood flow is particularly valuable for providing information relating to circulation of blood through the numerous submicron size blood vessels in the eye. Retinal vascular disorders can be diagnosed by monitoring blood flow through the retina.
A number of methods of measuring vascular blood flow and in particular retinal blood flow use a fluorescent dye, such as fluorescein, which can fluoresce when exposed to light within a narrowly defined wavelength. The fluorescent dye is injected into the blood stream in a predetermined site. A sharp, easily visible wavefront of the dye, referred to as a bolus, is obtained by controlling the injection of the dye in the vessel. A bolus cannot be obtained repeatedly because the previously injected dye accumulates in the vessel and causes background interference thereby preventing precise identification of the bolus. Another disadvantage of injecting the dye directly into the bloodstream is that the concentration of the dye is diluted as the dye passes through the different vessels. As the dye is diluted, the bolus is more difficult to detect. Furthermore, a bolus in micro-circulation, such as that in the optic nervehead, cannot be readily detected.
Efforts to overcome some of the deficiencies of injecting dyes directly into the bloodstream include the use of lipid vesicles to encapsulate the dye. The lipid vesicles have also been used to encapsulate drugs. The lipid vesicles can be injected into the bloodstream where they rupture to release the encapsulant, designated areas of the body can be subjected to microwave or laser energy causing the lipid vesicles to rupture. One example of releasing drugs or other encapsulants by subjecting a designated area of the body to laser energy to rupture the encapsulant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,043 to Zeimer et al.
Numerous devices have also been developed to observe the fundus of the eye. Many of these fundus cameras require high light intensities which result in ocular damage. To overcome the risk of damage caused by high intensity light, laser scanning techniques have been employed. An example of a digital laser scanning fundus camera is described in Plesch et al., Digital Laser Scanning Fundus Camera, Applied Optics, Vol. 26, No. 8, pp. 1480-86, Apr. 15, 1987. This device uses a collimated laser beam focused by the eye to a spot of 10-15 microns diameter for illumination of a single point of the retina. The light scattered back from the retina, normally 3-5% of the incident light, is collected through the outer 95% of the pupil. Angular scanning of the illuminating laser beam sweep the spot across the retina and results in time resolved sequential imaging of the retina. The device is connected to a digital image buffer and a microcomputer for image storage and processing.
The above noted methods of introducing fluorescent dyes into the bloodstream have experienced some success in producing images of blood vessels and determining blood flow and blood velocity. These methods do not always produce accurate measurement of blood flow in the retinal macrocirculation and macular microcirculation. Furthermore, these methods are not able to measure blood flow in the small vessels of the optic nervehead. There is, therefore, a continuing need in the art for a method of directly and accurately measuring and detecting blood flow in the optic nervehead, retinal microcirculation around the macula, retinal macro circulation of the major vessel and choroid.

Method of visualizing particles and blood cells containing a fluorescent lipophilic dye in the retina and choroid of the eye


A patient support apparatus comprises a base, and a patient support assembly coupled to the base for pivotable movement about a pivot axis generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly. A pivot mechanism is coupled to the patient support assembly to rotate the patient support assembly about the pivot axis. A controller is coupled to the pivot mechanism to control rotation of the patient support assembly about the pivot axis at a selected rate of rotation and to a selected angle of rotation to provide rotational therapy to the patient.

The present invention relates to a hospital bed. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bed which permits rotation of a patient supported on a patient support surface of the bed.
According to an illustrated embodiment of the invention, a support apparatus includes a base, and a support assembly coupled to the base. The support assembly includes a patient support surface configured to support a patient. The bed further includes means for simultaneously rotating the patient support assembly about a first axis generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly, and rotating the patient support assembly about a second axis generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly alternately in a first direction and a second direction to provide rotational therapy to the patient about both the first and second axes.
According to yet another illustrated embodiment of the invention, a support apparatus includes a base, a support assembly coupled to the base for pivotable movement about a pivot axis generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly, a pivot mechanism, and a controller. The support assembly includes a patient support surface configured to support a patient. The pivot mechanism is coupled to the support assembly to rotate the support assembly about the pivot axis. The controller is coupled to the pivot mechanism and is programmable to cause rotation of the support assembly about the pivot axis alternatively in a first direction and a second direction to provide rotational therapy to the patient.
According to another illustrated embodiment of the invention, a proning apparatus includes a proning device having a first surface configured to be located
adjacent a posterior side of the patient to support the patient in a supine position and a proning surface configured to be located adjacent an anterior side of the patient to support the patient in a prone position. The apparatus further includes at least one air bladder located on the first surface, at least one air bladder located on the proning surface, and a controller configured to alternatively inflate and deflate the at least one air bladder located on the first surface and the at least one air bladder located on the proning surface according to a sequence defined by a compression therapy for the patient.
According to yet another illustrated embodiment of the invention, a patient support apparatus includes a base, a patient support assembly coupled to the base, a first drive mechanism, and a second drive mechanism. The patient support assembly includes a patient support surface configured to support a patient. The first drive mechanism is configured to rotate the patient support assembly about a first axis generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly. The second drive mechanism is configured to rotate the patient support assembly about a second axis generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly while the first drive mechanism rotates the patient support assembly about the first axis to provide rotational therapy to the patient about both the first and second axes,
According to another illustrated embodiment of the invention, a patient support apparatus includes a base, a patient support assembly coupled to the base, and an electrical controller. The patient support assembly has a patient support surface configured to support a patient. The controller is coupled the patient support assembly to cause simultaneous rotation of the patient support assembly about a first axis generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly and about a second axis generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the patient support assembly to provide rotational therapy to the patient about both the first and second axes.
Finally, according to another illustrated embodiment of the invention, a method for providing rotational therapy to a patient includes the steps of providing a patient support apparatus having a base and a patient support surface coupled to the base, positioning the patient on the patient support surface, alternately rotating the patient support assembly in a first direction and a second direction about a transverse axis generally parallel to a transverse axis of the patient support assembly.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.


An applicator for fluid products includes a bottle enclosed by a cap having a partition defining in the cap an enclosed chamber. The partition includes an aperture which forms a passage between the enclosed chamber in the cap and the interior of the bottle. Rotating the cap for assembly to the bottle will place this passage in an unoccluded condition. As the bottle is inverted or shaken prior to use, the fluid contents of the bottle will travel through the passage and into the enclosed chamber in the cap. As the cap is rotated for removal from the bottle, a valve element will occlude the passage, trapping the fluid in the cap. Squeezing the cap to deform the sidewalls will force the fluid through a narrow bore in a supply stem leading to a dispensing tip. The restricted passage in the supply stem will enable the fluid to be supplied to the dispensing tip in a controlled fashion, thereby enabling the fluid to be applied to a surface for an extended period of time without having to reimmerse the dispensing tip in the fluid product in the bottle.

Many commercially available fluid products require application by the end user in a controlled fashion. These include, for example, touch-up paint for vehicles, brush-on adhesives, topical medications, shoe polish, liquid cosmetics and the like. These products typically come in bottles or other containers having applicator devices for dispensing and applying the fluids in their intended fashion.
Perhaps the most widely used of these products is nail polish. Nail polish ordinarily comes in a bottle having a cap which includes an applicator brush. As the brush is dipped into the bottle it is coated with an excess of polish. By wiping the brush across the lip of the bottle, the excess polish can be removed from the brush, leaving an amount which can be applied to a nail in a manageable fashion.
One of the most annoying problems in applying nail polish and other similar products is the need to continually dip the applicator in the bottle. That is, since conventional applicators are only able to hold and apply a limited amount of these products at a time, the applicator constantly must be replenished with product by dipping it in the bottle. Not only does this process make the process of applying nail polish messy, but it also lengthens the application time considerably.
Considerable attempts have been made to overcome these negative aspects of applying fluid products, and particularly nail polish, in a controlled fashion. Thus, prior art devices are extant which seek to eliminate the need to continually dip the nail polish applicator in the bottle in order to replenish the applicator with polish.
For example, Ferris, U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,854, is directed to a container and applicator for liquid products, such as nail polish. The container supports an applicator brush at an inclined position. The applicator brush includes a tubular shank having bristles at one end and a squeeze bulb at the other end. Squeezing the bulb with the bristles immersed in the liquid draws the liquid upward into an enlarged recess. Thereafter, as the bulb is squeezed the liquid is forced outwardly onto the bristles for application. The problem with this device is that it provides little control. In other words, since the shank must be large enough in diameter to draw the liquid into the recess relatively quickly, it will permit the liquid to flow outwardly in a similarly rapid fashion. The only way of controlling this outward flow is by the difficult task of regulating the amount of pressure which is manually exerted on the squeeze bulb.
In another such device, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,576 to Torrent, a pipette applicator is connected to a flexible chamber within the bottle cap. As a plunger at the top of the bottle cap is pressed, the chamber is deformed to either draw the liquid product into the chamber or to dispense the liquid product therefrom. Since the liquid product is drawn into the chamber and discharged through the same tubular stem, this device is also difficult to control in terms of accurately dispensing the liquid product. Further, the vapor-tight seal between the chamber and the bottle would make this device impractical for use with liquid products including solvents, such as nail polish, paints and adhesives. That is, since the vapor-tight seal would prevent solvents within the bottle from reaching the chamber, any residue of the liquid product within the chamber would quickly dry out and harden, hampering any further use of the device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,996 to Gueret, liquid product within a bottle is drawn upwardly by capillary action through the bristles of an applicator brush and into a hollow reservoir which surrounds an upper portion of the applicator brush. During application, a continuous amount of the liquid product is supplied to the applicator brush from the reservoir. Not only is this device difficult and costly to manufacture due to its complex configuration and its many components, but it only marginally extends the application time before having to reimmerse the brush in the liquid product in the bottle due to the limited capacity of the reservoir.
Morane et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,759, is directed to yet another device for applying a liquid product, and particularly for applying nail polish. In this device, the applicator brush is connected to one end of a rod which is slidably mounted in a hollow sheath secured to the bottle cap. As the bottle is inverted, the rod slides toward the cap, withdrawing a major portion of the brush into the sheath, and the interior of the sheath fills with the liquid product through inlet apertures. When the bottle is returned to its normal upright position, gravity causes the rod to move downward until an enlarged end of the rod closes the open end of the sheath, thereby trapping the liquid product within the sheath. The device is then used to apply polish to a nail in a conventional fashion. The applicator brush can be replenished with polish when it runs dry by pressing the brush against a surface, such as a nail, thereby displacing the rod upwardly in the sheath so that the polish can drain from within the sheath onto the brush. The flow of polish to the applicator brush is stopped by lifting the brush from the nail to again close the open end of the sheath. There are many significant drawbacks associated with the structure and operation of this device which make the device totally impractical for use as an applicator. One such drawback is the reliance on gravity to seal the open end of the sheath. Thus, the presence of a foreign particle at the sheath outlet or the improper manipulation of the applicator may result in leakage of the liquid product from the sheath outlet and possibly even from the sheath inlet. Further, since it is difficult to regulate the amount by which the rod is displaced upwardly in the sheath, the amount of liquid product flowing onto the applicator brush will be similarly difficult to control. In addition, the relatively large size of the sheath and the relative ease with which the applicator brush can be moved upwardly within the sheath make this applicator device cumbersome and difficult to use.
There therefore exists a need for an applicator which can be replenished with a fluid product in a controlled fashion so that the product can be applied for extended lengths of time without having to continually immerse the applicator in the bottle containing the fluid product. Preferably, such applicator will have a simple construction which can be manufactured easily and inexpensively. Even more preferably, such applicator will look like and be used in much the same manner as conventional applicators such as to be readily accepted by the general public.


A method for cleaning probes of a probe card used for testing semiconductor wafers and an apparatus for carrying out the cleaning method. Microwave energy is supplied to and a magnetic field is impressed on a reaction gas to generate a plasma; a magnetic field source generates a magnetic field, funneling and directing the plasma toward a zone opposite a probe card; a baffle funnels the plasma toward a zone where probes of the probe card are present; and a voltage source impresses controlled DC voltages onto the probes so that the energy of ions incident on the probes exceeds a threshold energy for sputtering aluminum but not a threshold energy for sputtering tungsten.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for cleaning a probe of a probe card used for testing semiconductor wafers, and an apparatus for carrying out the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-278438 and shown in FIG. 4, a probe card 1 used for testing semiconductor wafers is connected to a tester 4 through a contact ring 3 with contact pins 2. Further, a plurality of tungsten probes 6 are embedded in the lower portion of the probe card 1 so as to correspond to the number and positions of pads 5a of a semiconductor wafer 5 to be tested. On performing a predetermined test, a stage 7 on which the semiconductor wafer 5 is placed is raised from beneath the probe card 1, and the semiconductor wafer 5 is electrically connected to the tester 4 by contacting the pads 5a of the semiconductor wafer 5 to the probes 6 of the probe card 1, respectively.
When such a test is repeated, for example, aluminum as the material for the pads 5a adheres to probes 6, and the adhering aluminum is oxidized to form insulating surface coatings on the probes, which can render the test less reliable by inhibiting electrical contact. To avoid this, a non-illustrated cleaning apparatus is usually disposed near the testing apparatus, and the probes 6 are mechanically polished with the cleaning apparatus to remove aluminum adhering to the probes.
Hitherto, since probes 6 of such a probe card 1 are cleaned according to mechanical polishing using a cleaning apparatus as described above, the probes 6 are frequently deformed due to the application of forces to the probes 6 during polishing, so the probes 6 do not correspond to the positions of pads 5 of a semiconductor wafer 5 any longer, and, as a result, the electrical contact between the probes and the pads becomes imperfect. Accordingly, reliability in testing wafers is still reduced even if the probes are cleaned.

Method of cleaning probe of probe card and probe-cleaning apparatus


A plasma display panel that can improve a driving efficiency by advancing a structure of at least one of a first electrode and a second electrode in a dummy area or a pad area is provided. The plasma display panel includes a front substrate in which a first electrode and a second electrode in parallel to each other are disposed, a rear substrate in which a third electrode intersecting the first electrode and the second electrode is disposed, and a barrier rib disposed between the front substrate and the rear substrate and for partitioning a discharge cell. At least one of the first electrode and the second electrode includes a plurality of line portions intersecting the third electrode in an active area, and two or more line portions of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode are combined into one in a dummy area at the outer side of the active area.

In general, in a plasma display panel, a phosphor layer is formed and a plurality of electrodes is formed within a discharge cell partitioned by barrier ribs.
A driving signal is supplied to the discharge cell through the electrode.
A discharge is generated by the supplied driving signal within the discharge cell. When a discharge is generated by the driving signal within the discharge cell, a discharge gas filled within the discharge cell generate vacuum ultraviolet rays, and the vacuum ultraviolet rays enable a phosphor formed within the discharge cell to emit light, thereby generating visible light. An image is displayed on a screen of the plasma display panel by the visible light.


In a medium having a restriction on its function which has an extremely low overwrite cyclability as compared with a common one, information is arranged so as to allow restricted write and read operations in a commonly current write and read drive, i.e., the medium is subjected to specific formatting. It is possible to perform write and read operations with security. The specific format can be performed with parameters taking the special-purpose using conditions (i.e., overwrite cyclability) into consideration. Consequently, it becomes possible to provide a low-priced information recording medium.

The present invention relates to the arrangement of recorded data on an information recording medium. More particularly, it relates to an information recording medium including information arranged thereon so as to allow restricted writing and reading in a commonly current write and read drive, and a system for performing restricted write and read operations on and from the information recording medium.
One example of a conventional optical recording system will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 as one example of an information recording system.
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a conventional optical write and read drive. The light beams emitted from a laser 25 (with a wavelength of about 660 nm for a DVD-RAM), which is a part of a head 2, are collimated into a nearly parallel light beam 22 through a collimating lens 24. The light beam 22 is applied onto an optical disk 11 through an objective lens 23 so as to form a spot 21. Thereafter, the reflected light beams are guided through a beam splitter 28, a hologram element 29, or the like, to a servo detector 26 or a signal detector 27. A signal from each detector is subjected to an add/subtraction process to become a servo signal, such as a tracking error signal or a focus error signal, which is then inputted to a servo circuit. The servo circuit controls the positions of a driving means 31 of the objective lens 23 and the whole optical head 2 based on the tracking error signal and focus error signal that has been obtained, so that the optical spot 21 is positioned in an objective writing and reading area. An added signal from the detector 27 is inputted to a signal reproduction block 41. In a signal processing circuit, the inputted signal is subjected to a filtering process and a frequency equalizing process, and then is subjected to a digitization process. The digital signal thus subjected to a digitization process is processed by an address detector and a demodulation circuit. Based on the address signal detected by the address detector, a microprocessor calculates the position of the optical spot 21 on the optical disk 11 and controls a position control means, thereby to position the optical head 2 and the optical spot 21 at an objective recording unit area (sector).
If the instruction from a host to the optical write and read drive is a writing instruction, the microprocessor receives recording data from the host and stores it in a memory, while controlling the position control means to position the optical spot 21 at a position in an objective recording area. The microprocessor checks that the optical spot 21 has been properly positioned in the recording area by an address signal from the signal reproduction block 41, and then controls a laser driver and the like to write the data in the memory on an objective recording area.
An address signal is arranged in every information recording unit area, at the beginning portion of the recording unit area, as shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, it is possible to check the position of the optical spot immediately before writing by detection of the address signal.
FIG. 5 shows an example of the flow of operation of an optical recording system for driving the DVD-RAM disk specified in International Standard ISO/IEC-16824, or the like, which is a rewritable DVD or DVD-RAM representing one example of the optical recording system described above.
When a disk is loaded, or the power of the optical recording system is turned on, first, the optical recording system performs a process for discriminating the types of media. In general, it has a function of reading a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM which is a read-only medium, in addition to the DVD-RAM medium. Therefore, the optical recording system first performs a media type discrimination process to discriminate which one of the types described above the medium corresponds to. Individual systems perform the discrimination process in mutually different ways. For example, some systems discriminate the types of media from the analogue characteristics of the reflectance and the reproduced signal, such as the focus error signal, and other systems read a physical information area provided on a disk substrate and then discriminate the types of media based on the contents (data).
If the optical recording system identifies the type of the medium as a rewritable type, i.e., a DVD-RAM, first, it checks the recorded contents of a defect management information area, and the like, and thereby checks whether the optical disk has been physically formatted. If the optical disk has not been physically formatted, a wait period is initiated until a physical format command is issued from a host or a user.
If the optical disk has been physically formatted, the optical recording system performs a process of preparation for writing, such as a calibration process or logical consistency verification, and then it enters a wait state for a command from a user or host. Upon receiving some command, the optical recording system checks the type of the command. Then, if it is a write command, the optical recording system performs a writing process. For commands of read, format, unloading of the disk, and the like; the optical recording system performs respective corresponding processes. In general, these processes are normally terminated. However, in case of an unsuccessful write operation for an unexpected reason, the system performs an error handling process, such as retry or replacement.
In general, with a DVD-RAM, during the writing process, whether the recording data has been normally written or not is checked by actually reading the recorded data. If required, replacement is performed by using another recording unit area, thereby to enhance the reliability of the recorded data. The management information on the reallocation of recording areas due to the replacement is written in a specific area (defect management area).
Thus, the DVD-RAM is an optical recording system having very high reliability. However, since the recorded data is basically freely rewritable, it is not possible to eliminate the possibility that the important data already recorded is erased or rewritten due to a wrong operation by a user, a malfunction of the host, or the like.
Further, replacement is performed on the following precondition: even if rewriting processes are performed for a sufficiently larger number of times than the number of defects storable in the defect management area, it is possible to perform writing and reading with no problem.
As one method of protection, there is a so-called write protection function. However, the write protection can be freely revoked by a user. Accordingly, it is still impossible to prevent data corruption by the wrong operation of a user.
An example of a magneto-optical disk will be described as a proposal for overcoming such a problem. The magneto-optical disk is a rewritable storage medium that is capable of erasing and rewriting user data with respect to a user data area including user data recorded therein. However, there is a demand for this to be used as a WORM type storage medium not capable of erasing and rewriting user data.
For example, with a CCW method specified in International Standard ISO-1EC11560 (or a MO-WORM method), media type identification data indicative of the type of the magneto-optical disk is included in a control information area provided in an area outside the user data area of the magneto-optic disk. As a result, it is possible to identify whether the magneto-optical disk is of a rewritable type or a WORM type based on the media type information.
The magneto-optical disk drive is so configured that, if the WORM type magneto-optical disk is loaded therein, the erasing operation and the rewriting operation are not to be performed with respect to the user data area including user data already written therein. Namely, the magneto-optical disk, which is originally of a rewritable type, is provided with a write protection function for preventing erasing and overwriting. Consequently, it becomes possible to access a WORM type magneto-optical disk having a write protection function and a rewritable magneto-optical disk with the same magneto-optical disk drive. Accordingly, the magneto-optical disk drive finds a wider range of application, and it is also possible to reduce the media cost.
However, if an attempt is made to apply the same method to an optical disk system with only a rewritable type standard already set therein, such as a DVD-RAM, the following problem occurs.
The standard of the rewritable disk already exists, and such a disk is commercially available. An optical disk system for driving an optical disk in conformity with the standard also already exists. Even if media type data of the media type identification data area is newly defined, as in the example of the magneto-optical disk under such circumstances, it is not possible to change the existing drive. Therefore, it is impossible to control the operation of the existing optical disk drive having no write protection function.
Actually, as described above, all optical recording systems do not utilize media type identification data for discriminating the media types. Further, even if novel encoded data which has been undefined in the art is written to the media type identification data, the operation has been undefined because a conventional optical recording system cannot recognize the meaning of the encoded data.
Namely, in the prior-art example, there has been a risk that the data on the optical recording medium is corrupted by a mistake with the existing recording drive when a medium with a restriction on its function, such as a low-priced medium providing low overwrite cyclability is introduced.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Optical recording medium having inaccessible restricted block(s), and systems incorporating same


Polymeric multilayer film comprising at least two adjacent layers each exhibiting a random network of strands and connective regions. The polymeric multilayer films are useful, for example, for tape and graphic articles.

There is a desire to make polymeric films and film composites with structures and/or textures to provide additional functionality. Such functionality may include optical effects, and/or increased liquid absorption or solid retention due to the increased surface area of a texture surface vs. a smooth surface.
Textures or structures can be added to polymeric films, for example, via casting molten polymer onto a patterned chill roll. This requires the use of a specific patterned roll for each desired texture or structured film. Alternatively, a non-patterned polymeric film can be embossed after the film-making process by reheating at least a portion of the film surface and passing between a high-pressure nip with at least one of the rollers having the reverse of the desired pattern. This technique requires an additional process step and requires the manufacture and use of a patterned roll for each desired final texture or structure.
Textured films can also be produced coating or laminating a polymeric layer onto a nonwoven web. The nonwoven layer provides the desired texture or structure while the film layer provides other functionality such as a barrier or decorative layer. This process requires multiple process steps to produce the desired end product—producing a non-woven web and at least a second step to provide the lamination or coating of the polymer layer onto the nonwoven.
There remains a need to produce a structured and/or textured polymeric film or film composite that can be produced without the need for unique patterned rolls or without the need for a secondary process to produce the texture or structure.


A board includes: a core structure; one or more first passive components embedded in the core structure; a first build-up structure disposed on one side of the core structure and including first build-up layers and first wiring layers; and a second build-up structure disposed on the other side of the core structure and including second build-up layers and second wiring layers. One surface of a first core layer contacting a first insulating layer is coplanar with one surface of each of the one or more first passive components contacting a first insulating layer, the other surface of each of the one or more first passive components covered with a second insulating layer is spaced apart from a second core layer, and the one or more first passive components are electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of first wiring layers and the plurality of second wiring layers.

Recently, there has been a demand for a high-performance package in order to process data, amounts of which have increased exponentially, and, in addition to such a change, improvements in a performance of a board and passive elements in a package have also been demanded. For example, a capacitor as the passive component is required to have excellent high-temperature reliability, a small size, high capacitance, and a low equivalent series inductance (ESL) value. The ESL value is in close relation to noise and power consumption and a reduction of the ESL value may improve performance of the capacitor. Furthermore, an ESL reduction effect may be significantly increased by decreasing a distance between the capacitor and a semiconductor.
In a high-performance package according to the related art, a capacitor is disposed around a semiconductor (DSC: die side capacitor) or is disposed adjacent to a solder ball of a board below a semiconductor region (LSC: land side capacitor), thereby decreasing a distance between the capacitor and the semiconductor. However, the distance is several to several tens of millimeters and accordingly parasitic inductance may be caused, adversely affecting power noise and power integrity.


To allocate resources in an orthogonal frequency domain multiple access (OFDMA) system, two-dimensional rectangular regions are assigned in a frequency-time space to data bursts associated with mobile stations. At least one data burst does not fit in an available space in the frequency-time space is determined. In response to the determining, the assigned two-dimensional rectangular regions are reshaped.

Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) allows for multiple users to share wireless resources of a wireless communications network in both frequency and time. A standard for OFDMA operation is according to IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.16e. According to OFDMA, different users can be assigned different sets of subcarriers (at different frequencies), where the subcarriers are closely-spaced orthogonal subcarriers, with each subcarrier modulated with a modulation scheme. Each group of subcarriers assigned to a user is referred to as a subchannel.
According to OFDMA, a data region (also referred to as a data burst) that is to be communicated across the forward or downlink wireless link between a base station and a mobile station is provided with a two-dimensional allocation of a group of contiguous subchannels (frequency axis) within a group of contiguous OFDMA symbols (time axis). The allocated data region can be visualized as a rectangle, where the rectangle is made up of a number of subchannels in the subchannel axis (e.g., vertical axis) and a number of OFDMA symbols (e.g., horizontal axis).
An issue associated with allocation of OFDMA resources (including OFDMA symbols and subchannels) is that there is limited flexibility in how OFDMA resources are allocated to data bursts associated with different users in rectangular regions in frequency and time.

Allocating resources in a frequency-time space to mobile station data


Force balancing adjusts hydraulic fluid pressure in an upper piston area of a Rotating Pressure Control Device (RPCD) that has an inner housing rotatably engaged within an outer housing by an upper bearing and a lower bearing. The hydraulic fluid pressure is adjusted to balance net force in a upper piston area and a lower piston area. The fluid pressure adjustment creates a force differential that balances the total load transmitted through the upper bearing and the lower bearing and thereby extends the life of the sealing element and bearings. Additionally, a wear indicator signals the end of the useful life of the drill pipe sealing element.

When the hydrostatic weight of the column of mud in a well bore is less than the formation pressure, the potential for a blowout exists. A blowout occurs when the formation expels hydrocarbons into the well bore. The expulsion of hydrocarbons into the well bore dramatically increases the pressure within a section of the well bore. The increase in pressure sends a pressure wave up the well bore to the surface. The pressure wave can damage the equipment that maintains the pressure within the well bore. In addition to the pressure wave, the hydrocarbons travel up the well bore because the hydrocarbons are less dense than the mud. If the hydrocarbons reach the surface and exit the well bore through the damaged surface equipment, there is a high probability that the hydrocarbons will be ignited by the drilling or production equipment operating at the surface. The ignition of the hydrocarbons produces an explosion and/or fire that is dangerous for the drilling operators. In order to minimize the risk of blowouts, drilling rigs are required to employ a plurality of different pressure control devices, such as an annular pressure control device, a pipe ram pressure control device, and a blind ram pressure control device. If a "closed loop drilling" method is used, then a rotating pressure control device will be added on top of the conventional pressure control stack. Persons of ordinary skill in the art are aware of other types of pressure control devices. The various pressure control devices are positioned on top of one another, along with any other necessary surface connections, such as the choke and kill lines for managed pressure drilling applications and nitrogen injection lines for under balanced drilling applications. The stack of pressure control devices and surface connections is called the pressure control stack.
One of the devices in the pressure control stack can be a rotating pressure control device also referred to as a rotating pressure control head. The rotating pressure control head is located at the top of the pressure control stack and is part of the pressure boundary between the well bore pressure and atmospheric pressure. The rotating pressure control head creates the pressure boundary by employing a ring-shaped rubber or urethane sealing element that squeezes against the drill pipe, tubing, casing, or other cylindrical members (hereinafter, drill pipe). The sealing element allows the drill pipe to be inserted into and removed from the well bore while maintaining the pressure differential between the well bore pressure and atmospheric pressure. The sealing element may be shaped such that the sealing element uses the well bore pressure to squeeze the drill pipe or other cylindrical member. However, some rotating pressure control heads utilize some type of mechanism, typically hydraulic fluid, to apply additional pressure to the outside of the sealing element. The additional pressure on the sealing element allows the rotating pressure control head to be used for higher well bore pressures.
The sealing element on all rotating pressure control heads eventually wear out because of friction caused by the rotation and/or reciprocation of the drill pipe. Additionally, the passage of pipe joints, down hole tools, and drill bits through the rotating pressure control head causes the sealing element to expand and contract repeatedly, which also causes the sealing element to become worn. Other factors may also cause wear of the sealing element, such as extreme temperatures, dirt and debris, and rough handling. When the sealing element becomes sufficiently worn, it must be replaced. If a worn sealing element is not replaced, it may rupture, causing a loss of hydraulic fluids and control over the well head pressure.
Currently, visual inspections or time based life span estimates are used to determine when to replace a worn sealing element. Visual inspections are subjective, and may be unreliable. Time based estimates may not take into account actual operating conditions, and be either too short or too long for a particular situation. If the time based estimate is too conservative, then sealing elements are replaced too frequently, causing unnecessary expense and delay. If the time based estimate is too aggressive, then the risk for rupture may be unacceptable.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/922,029 (the '029 application) discloses a Rotating Pressure Control Head (RPCH) having a sealing element in an inner housing where the inner housing is rotatably engaged to an outer housing by an upper bearing and a lower bearing. The RPCH of the '029 application offers many improvements over the prior art including a shorter stack size, a quick release mechanism for inner unit change out, and a reduction in harmonic vibrations. Further improvements can be sought in ways to extend the life of the components. Wellbore fluid pressure, pressurized hydraulic fluid, and pipe friction against the sealing element exert a net upward or downward force on the inner housing that translates into a load on the upper and lower bearings. The load on the upper and lower bearings generates heat which is the most significant factor in bearing wear and life expectancy. A need exists for a way to balance the net force on the inner housing in order to reduce heat and wear on the bearings. Additionally, a need exists for an objective way to determine when a sealing element is sufficiently worn and needs to be replaced, without causing waste from early replacement, and without increasing the risk of rupture.

Force balanced rotating pressure control device


A method for converting two-dimensional video to three-dimensional video. The method includes the steps of comparing at least part of video frame x to a corresponding at least part of video frame y to determine movement therebetween, calculating a movement direction and movement extent based on the determined movement, determining viewing frame L and viewing frame R based on the movement direction, and modifying viewing frame R based on the movement direction and the movement extent to create modified viewing frame R′. One alternative embodiment is a video display device for converting two-dimensional video to three-dimensional video. Another alternative embodiment includes one or more device-readable media storing executable instructions that, when executed, configure a video display device to convert two-dimensional video to three-dimensional video.

The present invention is directed to a method and system for converting two-dimensional (monoscopic) video to three-dimensional '(stereoscopic) video, and, more specifically, to a method and system for converting two-dimensional (monoscopic) video to three-dimensional (stereoscopic) video in real time.
Humans have a binocular vision system that uses two eyes spaced approximately two and a half inches (approximately 6.5 centimeters) apart. Each eye sees the world from a slightly different perspective. The brain uses the difference in these perspectives to calculate or gauge distance. This binocular vision system is responsible for the ability to determine with relatively good accuracy the distance of an object up to approximately twenty feet away. The relative distance of multiple objects in a field of view can also be determined. Using only one eye would significantly decrease the accuracy of this distance determination.
Traditional three-dimensional movies or videos (herein after referred to generically as "videos") are made using two video sources (e.g. cameras) that are mounted side-by-side, about three (e.g. at the same distance as the separation of human eyes) to eight inches apart. This distance is often referred to as the interaxial or interoccular distance. The two video sources actually create two videos; one for the left eye and one for the right eye. Each video is made up of a series of "frames" (referred to as "frames" or "video frames").
Traditionally, projection or display of a three-dimensional video has been accomplished by projecting or displaying a plurality of videos using, for example, a color differentiation system or a polarization system. This can be done using a plurality of projection or display devices (e.g. projectors) that each display one of the videos. This has also been done using single projection or display devices (e.g. the digital or analog display system of a computer, BETAMAX® player, VCR, DVD player, blue-ray player, television) that display the videos in an overlapping or interleaving fashion. The human binocular vision system is able to correlate these overlapping displays automatically because each eye sees only one of the overlapping or interleaving displays.
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary traditional color differentiation system 20 for projecting or displaying three-dimensional video 22 that uses color for differentiation. The first video source 24 projects through a first color filter (e.g. red) and a second video source 26 projects through a second color filter (e.g. blue). The video 22 in this figure is shown with an exaggerated double image. Viewers wear special glasses 28 with corresponding colored lenses 30, 32. For example, the first lens 30 would be a color that is the same color as one of the color filters (e.g. blue—shown as horizontal lines parallel to the bottom of the drawing page) and the second lens 32 would be a color that is the same color as the other color filter (e.g. red—shown as lines vertical lines parallel to the side of the drawing page). The screen display would have both colors (shown as arrows projecting from the screen). The eye covered by the first lens 30 would view the picture projected or displayed by the video source 24 projecting or displaying the opposite color. The eye covered by the second lens 32 would view the picture projected or displayed by the video source 26 projecting or displaying the opposite color. ChromaDepth® produces glasses (using micro prisms with similar two-color technology) that work on the same basic principle.
FIG. 2 shows an exemplary polarization differentiation system 40 for projecting or displaying three-dimensional video 42 that uses polarization for differentiation. The video 42 in this figure is shown with an exaggerated double image. This system takes advantage of the fact that polarized light will pass through polarized glass only if they are both polarized in the same direction. Accordingly, the first video source 44 projects through a first polarized filter (e.g. horizontal) and a second video source 46 projects through a second polarized filter (e.g. vertical). Viewers wear special glasses 48 with corresponding polarized lenses 50, 52. For example, the first lens 50 would have the same polarization as one of the polarized filters (e.g. shown as vertical dashed lines) and the second lens 52 would have the same polarization as the other polarized filter (e.g. shown as horizontal dashed lines). In this example, the eye covered by the first lens 50 would view the picture projected or displayed by the video source 44 projecting the horizontally polarized picture and the eye covered by the second lens 52 would view the picture projected or displayed by the video source 46 projecting the vertically polarized picture.
Another technology that is used for showing three-dimensional movies uses LCD shutter glasses. LCD shutter glasses have lenses that use liquid crystals and a polarizing filter that is transparent until a voltage is applied, at which time they become dark. An IR emitter sends an IR signal to trigger the voltage so that the lenses switch between transparent and dark in an alternating fashion, first one eye and then the other. This transparent/dark alternating is synchronized with the refresh rate of a specialized display screen that alternates between the display of a first perspective for a first eye and a second display for the second eye using a technique called alternate-frame sequencing. Used together, the LCD shutter glasses and the specialized display screen create the illusion of a three-dimensional picture (or at least three-dimensional elements of a picture).
Three-dimensional movies have been around for a long time. But after their heyday in the 1950s, three-dimensional movies as a medium fell into decline and movie producers turned their attention to other technologies. But new technologies (including polarization differentiation systems) have made this medium more attractive and new movies are being made and released as three-dimensional movies. A primary reason for this is that there has been a significant improvement in the quality of three-dimensional movies. Another reason that three-dimensional movies are becoming popular is that the movie viewing public appears willing to pay a premium for this special effect.
Even if movie producers are willing to invest in new technologies for producing new three-dimensional movies, it is significantly more expensive to film a movie using three-dimensional technology as compared to using two-dimensional technology. In addition, there are millions of two-dimensional movies that have already been produced. So there is a need to find a system or method for converting two-dimensional movies to three-dimensional movies.
Seeing this need, inventors have been trying to create methods and 30 systems for converting two-dimensional movies to three-dimensional movies. For example, there are many patents directed to methods and systems for converting two-dimensional movies for three-dimensional viewing. Many of these patents describe some type of analysis to "identify," "cut out," and/or "shift" one or more elements or objects in a scene and then layer the elements or objects to create the illusion of depth. Patents that fall into this category include, but are not limited to U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,267 to Richards and U.S. Pat. No. 7,321,374 to Naske. These prior art methods to convert two-dimensional movies for three-dimensional (stereoscopic) viewing, however, do not work at all (i.e. in theory they might work, but in practice they cannot work because currently available computer technology is not powerful enough to implement these computationally intensive methods), are resource intensive, and/or do not produce acceptable results (e.g. a cardboard cut-out effect). For example, some prior art methods are so computationally intensive that current processors are not powerful enough to handle the computations for more than a few elements or objects in each given scene.

Two-dimensional video to three-dimensional video conversion based on movement between video frames


An image processing unit decodes coded data that have been coded and synthesizes the decoded moving image with graphics data. In a case where only graphics data are to be displayed, a bypass unit outputs the graphics data to a display device without use of an image processing unit. A control unit performs control of the supplying of a power supply voltage and a clock to a region containing the image processing unit and performs control of the bypass unit. If processing at the image processing unit is unnecessary, the supply of a power supply voltage or the supply of a clock to the region containing the image processing unit is stopped so as to stop the region and enable reduction of wasteful power consumption.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a data processing system comprising a plurality of data processing units that operate independent of each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of a data processing system, comprising a plurality of data processing units that operate independent of each other, include portable terminals, such as portable phones that are enabled to perform moving image communication.
With progresses in the furnishing of a high-speed communication infrastructure for third-generation mobile communication, etc. in recent years, the transmittable amount of information has increased significantly and moving image communication has become possible.
In accompaniment, the display functions of a portable terminal, such as a portable telephone, etc., are changing from those that are mainly for graphics display, such as the display of the time, menus, remaining battery quantity, etc. to those for moving image displays, such as synthesized images of moving images and graphics, etc.
Generally, an enormous amount of data is processed in the data processing of a moving image. Thus, when all processes, including moving image processes, are to be performed by a single data processing unit, such as a general-purpose processor, etc., the data processing unit is required to exhibit an extremely high performance.
Thus, in many cases, a data processing unit that satisfies the required performance either does not exist or the realization of a data processing unit that satisfies the required performance is difficult to attain.
Conventional portable terminals are thus equipped with a separate data processing unit or LSI (large scale integrated circuit) that is dedicated to moving image processing.
As prior-art examples, an arrangement of a display system of a portable terminal that performs only graphics display is shown in FIG. 6, and an arrangement of a display system of a portable terminal that is enabled to perform moving image communication is shown in FIG. 7.
Presently for moving image communication by a portable terminal, MPEG-4, which is an international standard for high-efficiency moving image coding, is most likely to be used.
In many cases, a MPEG-4 moving image data processing unit is equipped with on-screen display (OSD) functions for handling graphics, functions for synthesizing moving image data and graphics data, and functions for outputting image data to a display data processing unit.
Prior-art portable terminal display systems shall now be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
As shown in FIG. 6, a display system that performs only graphics display comprises, in outline, a CPU (central processing unit) 302, a display device 303, a voltage regulating device 311, and a clock generating device 312.
A CPU 302 generates graphics data to be displayed. The display device 303 displays the graphics data output from the CPU 302.
The voltage regulating device 311 supplies optimal power supply voltages from a system power supply 324 to the CPU 302 and display device 303. The clock generating device 312 supplies clocks to the CPU 302 and display device 303.
The CPU 302 operates by a power supply voltage 325, which is supplied from the voltage regulating device 311, and a clock 329, which is supplied from the clock generating device 312.
The display device 303 operates by a power supply voltage 328, which is supplied from the voltage regulating device 311, and a clock 332, which is supplied from the clock generating device 312.
The flow of the processes of the display system of FIG. 6 shall now be described.
The graphics data to be displayed by the display device 303 is output as output data 314 from the CPU 302 to the display device 303.
The graphics data that are output are graphics data concerning a menu display, time display, etc.
These graphics data are input directly as an external input 313.
Alternatively, these graphics data are stored inside the CPU 302 in advance and output to and displayed by the display device 303 in accordance with information input as the external input 313.
As shown in FIG. 7, a portable terminal display system that can perform moving image communication comprises, in outline, an image processing LSI 401, a display device 103, a CPU 102, a voltage regulating device 111, and a clock generating device 112.
The image processing LSI 401 has the functions of decoding coded data that have been coded in accordance with the MPEG-4 coding method and synthesizing the decoded moving image with graphics data.
The display device 103 displays the display image data generated by the image processing LSI 401.
The CPU 102 prepares graphics data to be displayed on the display device 103 and sends these data to the image processing LSI 401.
Also, when a moving image is to be displayed on the display device 103, the CPU 102 sends the coded data of the moving image to be displayed to the image processing LSI 401.
The voltage regulating device 111 supplies optimal power supply voltages from the system power supply 124 to the image processing LSI 401, CPU 102, and display device 103.
The clock generating device 112 supplies clocks to the image processing LSI 401, CPU 102, and display device 103.
The CPU 102 operates by a power supply voltage 125, which is supplied from the voltage regulating device 111, and a clock 129, which is supplied from clock generating device 112.
The image processing LSI 401 operates by a power supply voltage 426, which is supplied from the voltage regulating device 111, and a clock 430, which is supplied from the clock generating device 112.
The display device 103 operates by a power supply voltage 128, which is supplied from the voltage regulating device 111, and a clock 132, which is supplied from the clock generating device 112.
The flow of the processes of the display system of FIG. 7 shall now be described.
The CPU 102 outputs graphics data, concerning the time, menus, etc., as well as bit stream data, which are MPEG-4 coded data, to the image processing LSI 401 as output data 414.
The graphics data and the MPEG-4 coded data, which are moving image data, output to image processing LSI 401 are input into CPU 102 as an external input 113.
Alternatively, these data are stored in the interior of the CPU 102 in advance and output in accordance with information input from the external input 113.
At the image processing LSI 401, the MPEG-4 coded data are decoded and reconfigured as an image at the image processing unit 404.
The process of synthesizing the decoded image data and the graphics data input from the CPU 102 is then performed at the image processing unit 404.
The display data resulting from image synthesis are then output to display the device 103 as output data 418 of the image processing LSI 401.
The display device 103 performs screen display based on the display data.
However, in general, even with a portable terminal that is enabled to perform moving image communication, the displays will mainly be displays besides moving images, such as a time display, menu displays, etc.
In such cases, moving image data processing is not necessary and only graphics data are displayed.
Thus, with a prior-art data processing system having an arrangement such as that shown in FIG., 7, only graphics data will be output from the CPU 102.
In addition, at the image processing unit 404 inside the image processing LSI 401, the decoding of MPEG-4 coded data and the synthesizing of a decoded image with graphics data are not performed and the graphics data are output as they are as display data to the display device 103.
Although the realization of low power consumption is an important theme for battery-driven portable terminals, with the prior-art data processing system shown in FIG. 7, power and clocks are supplied to the MPEG-4 image processing parts (moving image decoding process part and synthesizing process part) inside the image processing unit 404 even when only graphics data are output.
There is thus the problem in that power is consumed wastefully in the form of unnecessary power consumption by the charging and discharging of a clock line and power consumption due to leak currents in the standby state.

Data processing system for reducing wasteful power consumption

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention is directed toward a system, method, and computer-readable medium that scan a file for malware that maintains a restrictive access attribute that limits access to the file. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for performing a scan for malware is provided when antivirus software on a computer encounters a file with a restrictive access attribute that prevents the file from being scanned. More specifically, the method includes identifying the restrictive access attribute that limits access to the file; bypassing the restrictive access attribute to access data in the file; and using a scan engine to scan the data in the file for malware.

As more and more computers and other computing devices are interconnected through various networks such as the Internet, computer security has become increasingly more important, particularly from invasions or attacks delivered over a network or over an information stream. As those skilled in the art will recognize, these attacks come in many different forms including, but certainly not limited to, computer viruses, computer worms, system component replacements, denial of service attacks, even misuse/abuse of legitimate computer system features—all of which exploit one or more computer system vulnerabilities for illegitimate purposes. While those skilled in the art will realize that the various computer attacks are technically distinct from one another, for purposes of the present invention and for simplicity in description, all malicious computer programs will be generally referred to hereinafter as computer malware, or more simply, malware.
When a computer is attacked or "infected" by computer malware, the adverse results are varied, including disabling system devices; erasing or corrupting firmware, applications, or data files; transmitting potentially sensitive data to another location on the network; shutting down the computer; or causing the computer to crash. Yet another pernicious aspect of many, though not all, computer malware is that an infected computer is used to infect other systems.
FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram illustrating an exemplary networking environment 100 over which a computer malware is commonly distributed. As shown in FIG. 1, the typical exemplary networking environment 100 includes a plurality of computers 102-108. all inter-connected via a communication network 110, such as an intranet or via a larger communication network including the global TCP/IP network commonly referred to as the Internet. For whatever reason, a malicious party on a computer connected to the network 110, such as computer 102, develops a computer malware 112 and releases it on the network. The released computer malware 112 is received by and infects one or more computers, such as computer 104 as indicated by arrow 114. As is typical with many computer malware, once infected, computer 104 is used to infect other computers, such as computer 106 as indicated by arrow 116 that, in turn, infects yet other computers, such as computer 108 as indicated by arrow 118. It should be appreciated that the malware 112 may be directed to any one of the computers 104-108 as a result of a request initiated by the computer 102. Clearly, due to the speed and reach of the modern computer networks, a computer malware 112 can "grow" at an exponential rate and quickly disrupt communications between organizations and people.
A traditional defense against computer malware, and particularly computer viruses and worms, is antivirus software. Generally described, antivirus software scans data, looking for identifiable patterns associated with known computer malware. Frequently this is done by matching patterns within the data to what is referred to as a "signature" of the malware. If a malware signature is identified, the antivirus software takes appropriate action, such as deleting the malware/infected file or removing the malware from an infected file. One of the core deficiencies in this malware detection model is that some malware may employ certain techniques to avoid being scanned for malware. Thus, computers remain susceptible to malware, even if antivirus software is installed on the computer. For example, a malware may use mechanisms available from an operating system to "lock" a file or otherwise restrict the ability of other programs executing on the computer to access data in the file. In this instance, data in a file may not be scanned for antivirus software before being "executed" on the computer.
Sadly, when a computer is exposed to the effects of malware, the infected computer costs the computer's owner substantial amounts of money to "disinfect" and repair. This cost can be enormous when dealing with large corporations or entities that may have thousands or hundreds of thousands of devices attached to a network. Such a cost is further amplified by the possibility that the malware may tamper with or destroy user data, which may be extremely difficult or impossible to remedy.

Scanning data in an access restricted file for malware