An optical scanning apparatus and method for scanning objects, including a focusing lens defining an optical axis and a focal plane, a pivot axis, a scanning mirror defining a scanning mirror plane and located between the focusing lens and the focal plane, wherein the scanning mirror is disposed parallel to the pivot axis and is rotatably attached thereto, a detector located on a detector axis and wherein the detector axis is located between the focusing lens and the scanning mirror, and a mirror motion imparting device operative to translate the mirror such that the pivot axis is translated along a path parallel to the focal plane and to rotate the scanning mirror about the pivot axis as the pivot axis is translated such that the mirror plane at the pivot axis maintains substantial perpendicularity to the detector axis, thereby to scan an object.

Optical scanning systems incorporating scanning mirrors are generally classified into two categories, namely scanners in which the scanning mirror is located between the imaging lens and the object plane, and scanners in which the scanning mirror is located between the imaging lens and its focal plane.
Scanning systems of the first category are generally regarded as more cumbersome as they increase the overall size of the imaging system. Moreover the size of the scanning mirror is determined by the dimensions of the imaging lens aperture and the scanning geometry. In some applications such as the scanning of flat documents, it is necessary to maintain focus over the entire field of view. One such scanning system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,968 to Stark.
Scanning systems of the second category tend to be more compact as they are designed to operate within the enclosed space of the imaging system. Such systems either translate an imaging detector in the focal plane of the optic such as backplane scanners, or scan the field of view using a mirror situated between the optical lens and the image (focal) plane. One such scanning system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,609. A commercially available system of this category is the DPCS 3000, marketed by Minolta.
Backplane scanner systems of the second category translate detectors in the focal plane. In order for such systems to achieve acceptable image quality, they are required to maintain a high level of opto-mechanical detector translation stability and accuracies. As a result, such systems are often limited in the scanning rate which can be achieved, and utilize costly translatory scanning and servo means. Mirror scanner systems of the second category such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,229 by Bellows, are require complicated scanner designs and implementations.
The disclosures of all publications mentioned in the specification and of the publications cited therein are hereby incorporated by reference.


Accurate measurements of the sound pressure level require regular calibration of the microphone. Closed-coupler calibration devices are designed to work with laboratory and working standard microphones, but there are numerous microphones with dimensions that do not fit a standard coupler. For example, micro-electro-mechanical system microphones are very small and widely used due to their size, performance, and cost. Described herein is an acoustical coupler that can accommodate microphones of arbitrary cross-sectional shape. The coupler utilizes a flexible membrane that adapts to the shape of the microphone. In contrast to a rigid enclosure, the permeability of the membrane creates an open system that reduces the sensitivity to fit. The precision and accuracy of the device is demonstrated by calibrating a small, oddly shaped microphone using the substitution method.

Accurate acoustical measurements require regular calibration of the microphone. There are a great many calibration procedures of varying complexity, uncertainty, and cost to accommodate a wide variety of microphone types, characteristics, and applications. An acoustical coupler is a commonly used device for calibrating pressure microphones by both primary methods utilizing reciprocity and secondary methods utilizing comparison techniques. Closed-coupler devices for secondary comparison methods use a transducer to produce sound pressure in a cavity that is "closed" by the microphone i.e. the diaphragm forms part of the wall. The pistonphone is a common example in which a piston is mechanically driven to generate a sinusoidal pressure fluctuation within the cavity. Because the resulting sound pressure is dependent on the cavity volume, static pressure, and temperature in addition to piston displacement, it is sensitive to the fit of the microphone to the coupler walls. Variation in the quality of the seal leads to variation in received pressure, especially at low frequencies. The feedback calibrator, another closed-coupler device, partly addresses these issues by using the signal from an internal reference microphone to adjust the output of an electrodynamic loudspeaker, but an adapter must be used to reliably match the microphone to the coupler orifice.
Couplers and adapters are designed to be used with laboratory and working standard microphones which are generally cylindrical in shape and have a diameter of approximately 23.77 mm, 12.7 mm, or 6.35 mm. However, there are many situations in which a microphone does not fit a standard coupler. The use of a ruggedized environmental housing or housing with attractive acoustical properties can result in a shape that disturbs the fit to a coupler. Furthermore, there are numerous microphones with dimensions other than that of standard microphones. For example, micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) microphones are very small and widely used due to their size, performance, and cost. These and other consumer microphones have been increasingly used in measurement applications and the cost of such equipment is attractive, especially for studies entailing large-scale spatial sampling. Relative to standard microphones, consumer microphones are typically less robust to changing environmental conditions and require more frequent calibration. Alternative systems to accommodate the physical dimensions of a microphone are not uncommon and custom adapters can be machined for a particular coupler and microphone geometry with considerable effort. Alternatively, the free-field response of a microphone can be assessed with an anechoic chamber. However, anechoic chambers are expensive and the lower the frequency, the more difficult it is to create a sufficiently anechoic space. Calibration by an electrostatic actuator is only possible for microphones with an accessible metallized diaphragm.
Therefore, a need exists to address challenges in the art, some of which are described above.

Adaptive coupler for calibration of arbitrarily shaped microphones

Colorado State University Research Foundation


The present invention relates, in general, to a prostate-specific antigen, PCA3. In particular, the present invention relates to nucleic acid molecules coding for the PCA3 protein; purified PCA3 proteins and polypeptides; recombinant nucleic acid molecules; cells containing the recombinant nucleic acid molecules; antibodies having binding affinity specifically to PCA3 proteins and polypeptides; hybridomas containing the antibodies; nucleic acid probes for the detection of nucleic acids encoding PCA3 proteins; a method of detecting nucleic acids encoding PCA3 proteins or polypeptides in a sample; kits containing nucleic acid probes or antibodies; bioassays using the nucleic acid sequence, protein or antibodies of this invention to diagnose, assess, or prognose a mammal afflicted with prostate cancer; therapeutic uses; and methods of preventing prostate cancer in an animal.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the western male population. When this carcinoma has locally or distantly spread, no curative therapy can be offered. Therefore, efforts to control the disease (i.e., to decrease prostate cancer mortality) have focused on increasing detection of the cancer while it is still locally confined and potentially curable. Studies aimed at the early detection of prostate cancer have demonstrated an appreciable increase in the detection of organ-confined potentially curable prostate cancers. However, it has not yet been demonstrated that the increased detection rate will decrease the prostate cancer-specific mortality rates. On the other hand, there is also no evidence that early diagnosis will decrease the mortality rates. Both in the United States and in Europe, discussions on the efficacy and acceptability of screening programs, the issue of overdiagnosis and overtreatment and the chances that early treatment will lead to reduced prostate cancer morbidity and mortality, are still ongoing and make early detection of prostate cancer a controversial issue (Schröder, Urology 46: 6270 (1995)).
Measurements of serum concentrations of prostatic marker enzymes have recognized value in the clinical detection, diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. The two most widely used prostatic marker enzymes are prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Normally, both enzymes are secreted from the prostatic epithelial cells into the seminal fluid, but in patients with prostatic disease they leak into the circulation, where they can be detected by means of immunological assays (Armbruster, Clin. Che. 39: 181-95 (1993)).
Prostatic acid phosphatase, one of the earliest serum markers for prostate, has an as yet undetermined function and is one of the most predominant protein components in human prostatic secretions. The use of PAP as a marker for prostatic tumors is complicated by the reported structural similarities between the prostate-specific acid phosphatase and the lysosomal acid phosphatase occurring in all tissues. Furthermore, there is a tendency towards lower PAP mRNA and protein levels in prostate cancer in comparison with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In recent years, PAP measurements were superseded by serum PSA measurements in the clinical management of prostate cancer.
Prostate-specific antigen was identified by several groups in the 1970's as a prostate-specific protein from the seminal fluid. In 1979, it was purified as an antigen from prostate cancer tissue. Further research showed that PSA is produced exclusively by the columnar epithelial cells of the prostate and periuretural glands. Normal prostate epithelium and benign hyperplastic tissue actually produce more PSA mRNA and protein than does prostate cancer tissue. Furthermore, it was shown that loss of differentiation of prostatic carcinomas is associated with a decrease in the level of intraprostatic PSA.
Abnormalities in prostate architecture occurring as a result of prostatic disease lead to an increased leakage of PSA (and PAP) into the serum and make serum PSA measurements a marker for prostate cancer. Despite the fact that early studies have indicated that diagnostic PSA testing would be hampered by the fact that it lacked specificity in differentiating between BPH and prostate cancer, PSA testing was introduced in 1986 and revolutionized the management of patients with prostate cancer. Increased knowledge on the organ specificity of PSA and the relationship of elevated serum PSA levels to prostate disease as well as improvement of biopsy techniques and histological evaluation, led to a appreciation of the clinical value of PSA testing, a utility not yet achieved by any other (prostate) tumor marker. Cloning of the gene that encodes PSA revealed that it is a member of the human kallikrein gene family and resulted in the development of new approaches to the use of PSA as a marker: the very sensitive reverse transcriptaske polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method is used to detect extremely small numbers of malignant prostate cells in blood samples from prostate cancer patients and might provide a sensitive tool to identify patients with micrometastatic disease (Moreno et al., Cancer Res. 52: 6110-12 (1992); and Katz et al., Urology 43: 765-75 (1994)).
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSM) was originally identified using an antibody developed by immunizing mice with the membrane fraction of LNCaP human prostatic adenocarcinoma cells. Like PAP and PSA, PSM can be detected in normal prostate, BPH and prostate cancer and is absent from most other tissues. Also for PSM, RT-PCR studies have been developed to detect circulating prostate cancer cells, however, further investigations are required to establish the usefulness of PSM as marker for prostatic cancer.
In summary, PSA is currently recognized as the premier marker for prostatic cancer, being useful for screening selected populations of patients with symptoms indicative of prostate cancer and for monitoring patients after therapy, especially after surgical prostatectomy (measurable levels of PSA indicate residual disease or metastasis and increasing PSA concentrations indicate recurrent disease). The significant weaknesses of PSA as a tumor marker are that (1) PSA is not able to always distinguish prostate cancer from BPH; and (2) that its expression decreases with loss of differentiation of carcinomas.
In view of the fact that advanced prostate cancer remains a life threatening disease reaching a very significant proportion of the male population, there remains a need for the development of new treatment and diagnostic modalities for (late stage) prostate cancer.
The present invention seeks to meet these and other needs.
The present description refers to a number of documents, the contents of which are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Stichting Katholieke Universiteit, The University Medical Centre Nijmegen


An imaging apparatus includes a plurality of detector assemblies disposed for rotation about an imaging region. The detector assemblies may be adjusted between at least two relative angular orientations about the imaging region. The relative angular orientations are selected based on the size of an object within the imaging region. The center of the transverse fields of view of the detectors may be offset from the axis of rotation. Gamma radiation generated by positron annihilation events is detected and used to generate tomographic images.

The present invention relates to the field of diagnostic imaging, and specifically to the field of positron coincidence imaging.
In nuclear imaging, a radiopharmaceutical such as .sup.99m Tc or .sup.201 T1 is introduced into the body of a patient. As the radiopharmaceutical decays, gamma rays are generated. These gamma rays are detected and used to construct a clinically useful image.
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a branch of nuclear medicine in which a positron-emitting radiopharmaceutical such as .sup.18 F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is introduced into the body of a patient. Each emitted positron reacts with an electron in what is known as an annihilation event, thereby generating a pair of 511 keV gamma rays. The gamma rays are emitted in directions approximately 180.degree. apart, i.e. in opposite directions.
A pair of detectors registers the position and energy of the respective gamma rays, thereby providing information as to the position of the annihilation event and hence the positron source. Because the gamma rays travel in opposite directions, the positron annihilation is said to have occurred along a line of coincidence connecting the detected gamma rays. A number of such events are collected and used to reconstruct a clinically useful image.
Various detector systems have been used in PET imaging. One class of PET systems can be termed non-rotating systems. The most common non-rotating systems have one or more rings of detector elements disposed in a circle about the patient. Other non-rotating systems include cylindrical shell detector systems and hexagonal multi-plate systems. In each of these systems, the detector surrounds or nearly completely surrounds the object to be scanned. Since coincidence events at substantially all transverse angles within a slice can be detected, system sensitivity is does not vary much between locations in a transverse slice.
Another class of PET systems can be termed rotating systems. Partial ring systems and dual or triple head gamma camera systems with coincidence detection capabilities fall into this category. One type of partial ring system includes two arcs of radiation sensitive detectors disposed on a generally circular rotating gantry. The arcs of radiation detectors are fixed with respect to each other so that their centers are generally diametrically opposed, with a slight angular offset. Rotating systems have partial transverse angle coverage such that it is necessary to rotate the detectors about the patient (or vice versa) in order to sample the transverse angles needed to reconstruct fully tomographic images. The sensitivity of these systems thus varies across the detector field of view. This variation in sensitivity is taken into account during processing of the coincidence data.
Nonetheless, the variations in sensitivity which are characteristic of rotating systems are undesirable for a number of reasons. Larger objects are not well covered because the transverse extent of the detector field of view is limited. Count statistics also vary significantly across the field of view, causing a variation in image quality. Also, with relatively fewer true counts available at various locations in the field of view, correction of random and scatter counts is complicated. The present invention addresses these problems, and others.

Positron emission tomography with variable detector geometry


A multilevel inverter includes a first half bridge in series with a second half bridge, each comprising a switch having a channel. The switch is configured to block a substantial voltage in a first direction during a first mode of operation, to conduct substantial current through the channel in the first direction during a second mode of operation, and to conduct substantial current through the channel in a second direction during a third mode of operation. During the third mode of operation, a gate of the switch is biased relative to a source of the switch at a voltage that is less than a threshold voltage of the switch. The inverter may also include a third half bridge. The inverter can be configured such that in operation, switches of the third half bridge are switched at a substantially lower frequency than the switches of the first and second half bridges.

Compared to a simple two-level inverter, multilevel inverters can provide higher operating voltage for a given device rating, lower voltage distortion because of smaller voltage steps, and reduced interference signals. A typical prior art three-level inverter circuit is shown in FIG. 1. The inverter circuit includes four switches 101-104, each switch being formed of an insulated gate bipolar transistor or IGBT (111-114) and a diode (121-124). Diodes 121-124, which carry freewheeling currents through the switches 101-104 during times that the switches conduct in the reverse direction (i.e., when current flows from source to drain), are included to prevent conduction through the intrinsic parasitic diodes that are inherent in IGBT devices and are anti-parallel to the channels of the IGBT devices.
The inverter topology shown in FIG. 1 is referred to as a neutral-point clamped (NPC) inverter, because diodes 125 and 126 serve to clamp their respective switched nodes to the neutral point, here represented as the midpoint of voltage supply 130, which supplies a voltage Vs1. There are three possible output voltages at output node 140: +(Vs1)/2 (when IGBT transistors 111 and 112 are ON and IGBT transistors 113 and 114 are OFF), 0 (when IGBT transistors 112 and 113 are ON and IGBT transistors 111 and 114 are OFF), and −(Vs1)/2 (when IGBT transistors 113 and 114 are ON, and IGBT transistors 111 and 112 are OFF). To permit current flow in either direction, the 0 level is normally achieved by turning on both IGBT transistors 112 and 113. During operation of this circuit, none of the four transistors (111-114) or six diodes (121-126) ever blocks a voltage in excess of about (Vs1)/2, even though the output voltage at node 140 swings across the entire range of Vs1 [i.e., the minimum output voltage is −(Vs1)/2, and the maximum output voltage is +Vs1)/2].
As shown in FIG. 1 and previously described, the transistors 111-114 are insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). These IGBTs could be devices rated to operate at voltages up to 600V, for example, and Vs1 could be as high as 1200V, which is two times the rated voltage of each of the IGBTs. Although 1200V rated devices exist, the cost and performance of 600V devices is often superior. In the simplest mode of operation, the output voltage at node 140 is switched between the three possible output voltage levels in sequence which repeats at the desired fundamental frequency of the output, such as 60 Hz, for example. In the case where a sinusoidal output is desired, lower distortion can be achieved if a pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique is employed to apply the switching voltages to the gates of each of the transistors 111-114. During the half cycle where the output voltage at node 140 should be positive, the gate of transistor 111 is pulsed ON and OFF at some switching frequency which is appreciably higher than that of the desired output. A PWM switching frequency of 10 kHz, for example, could be used to generate a 60 Hz output.

Multilevel inverters and their components


System and method for interactive video game fitness equipment. Fitness hardware (e.g., an exercise bicycle, a stair machine, treadmill, elliptical trainer, rotary climbing wall, or other fitness equipment) interacts with a video game, optionally via various devices, e.g., a PC, gaming console, or other hardware and/or software device or system capable of implementing an interactive application), for an immersive hybrid exercise/game user experience.

Currently people are forced to exercise indoors on fitness equipment without any interactivity, resulting in a boring experience that requires significant willpower to start and continue, resulting in considerable lack of motivation to keeping in shape, much less form healthy exercise habits. In the preferred embodiment the problem is solved by turning exercising on a piece of fitness equipment into an interactive, exciting, and motivating video game experience.
Another existing problem is active or fitness games have yet to penetrate the home in any significant degree; while an arcade game can be successful enough to support a proprietary solution, no single game, or even small set of games, is sufficient to motivate the consumer to make a substantial hardware purchase. Industry-wide support must be shown before most consumers will adopt a platform.
The current market solutions are inadequate. Proprietary solutions generally target niche markets and may consist of a proprietary hardware device, such as a bicycle or treadmill, an interface, and some proprietary software that runs the application; the user is require to supply the platform, usually a personal computer (PC). These solutions are closed, meaning there is absolutely no support for their devices other than from a few choice partners, and their costs force pricing high far above the mass-market.
Other approaches rely on the use of existing games that do not work off-the-shelf as fitness games. Further, because the devices do not provide a way to equally compare the effort put forth by two competitors, these devices can't be used for head-to-head competition or even friendly training.
In prior devices, there is no feedback from the device, so they cannot be used for interactive games or competitive events, and the settings of speed and incline or resistance are absolute, not relative, which means that a given workout is only good for someone within a narrow fitness range. Someone more fit than that range will find the workout too easy; for someone less fit the workout is too hard.
The preferred embodiment is based in part on two observations: most people find aerobic exercise boring and active games are very popular in arcades.


An embodiment of a medical imaging system is proposed. The system includes means for providing a sequence of recorded input images each one offering a digital representation at a corresponding instant of a body part being perfused with a contrast agent, each input image including a plurality of visualizing values each one representing a corresponding portion of the body part, and means for associating each sequence of corresponding sets in the input images of at least one visualizing value with a model function of time; the system further includes means for generating a sequence of computed images at further instants, each computed image including a plurality of further visualizing values each one being determined by an instantaneous function-value which is calculated from the associated model function at the corresponding further instant, and means for displaying the sequence of computed images.

Medical imaging is a well-established technique in the field of equipment for medical applications. Particularly, this technique is commonly exploited for the assessment of blood perfusion, which finds use in several diagnostic applications and especially in ultrasound analysis. For this purpose, an ultrasound contrast agent (UCA), for example, consisting of a suspension of phospholipid-stabilized gas-filled microbubbles, is administered to a patient. The contrast agent acts as an efficient ultrasound reflector, so that it can be easily detected by applying ultrasound waves and recording a resulting echo signal. As the contrast agent flows at the same velocity as the blood in the patient, its tracking provides information about the perfusion of the blood in a body part to be analyzed.
Typically, the flow of the contrast agent is monitored by acquiring a sequence of consecutive images representing the body part during the perfusion process. More in detail, the value of each pixel of the images indicates an intensity of the recorded echo signal for a corresponding portion of the body part. In this way, the sequence of images depicts the evolution over time of the echo signal throughout the body part. Therefore, the analysis of this sequence of images (for example, displayed on a monitor) provides a quantitative indication of the blood perfusion in the body part.
However, the quality of the images that are displayed is often quite poor. Indeed, the value of each pixel of the images exhibits large variations in time. Moreover, the inevitable presence of speckle grains in the images produces distracting patterns. The quality of the images is also adversely affected by any motion of the body part during acquisition. Another factor that hinders an effective analysis of the images is the background echo signals that are superimposed to the useful information. All of the above makes it very difficult to establish a correct assessment of the perfusion process; in any case, the results obtained are strongly dependent on the skill of an operator who acquires and/or analyzes the sequence of images.
Some attempts have been made to improve the quality of the images in specific applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,606, which is incorporated by reference, proposes a solution for facilitating the identification of tiny blood vessels in the body part. For this purpose, the images are processed to reduce the contribution of pixels that are the same from image to image (for example, associated with stationary tissues) and to make persistent the pixels that instead change from image to image (for example, due to a moving microbubble). This enhances the visualization of micro-vascular structures.
On the other hand, a quantitative assessment of the perfusion process is provided by parametric analysis techniques. In this case, the intensity of the echo signal that is recorded over time (for each single pixel or group of adjacent pixels) is fitted by a mathematical model function. The model function can then be used to calculate different perfusion parameters, which are indicative of corresponding morphological characteristics of the respective portion of the body part. This technique has been proposed for the first time in Wei, K., Jayaweera, A. R., Firoozan, S., Linka, A., Skyba, D. M., and Kaul, S., "Quantification of Myocardial Blood Flow With Ultrasound-Induced Destruction of Microbubbles Administered as a Constant Venous Infusion," Circulation, vol. 97, 1998, which is incorporated by reference. For example, in a so-called destruction-replenishment technique (wherein the contrast agent is destroyed by a flash of sufficient energy, so as to observe its reperfusion following destruction), a commonly accepted model is defined by a mono-exponential function I(t) of the intensity of the (video) echo signal against the time, with a general form:I(t)=A·(1−e−βt)where A is a steady-state amplitude and β is a velocity term of the mono-exponential function (with the time origin taken at the instant immediately following the destruction flash). In this case the perfusion parameters are the values A and β; these values have commonly been interpreted as quantities proportional to a regional blood volume and a blood velocity, respectively, while the value Aβ has been interpreted as a quantity proportional to the flow.
Parametric imaging techniques are also commonly used for graphically representing the result of the above-described quantitative analysis. For this purpose, a parametric image is built by assigning the corresponding value of a selected perfusion parameter to each pixel. Typically, different ranges of values of the perfusion parameter are coded with corresponding colors; the pixel values so obtained are then overlaid on an original image. The parametric image shows the spatial distribution of the perfusion parameter throughout the body part under analysis; this facilitates the identification of possible portions of the body part that are abnormally perfused (for example, because of a pathological condition).
However, the parametric image simply provides a static representation of the values of the perfusion parameter. Therefore, it does not allow a direct visual perception of the perfusion process, which is normally provided by the playback of the original sequence of images.
A different approach is proposed in US Publication No. 2003/0114759, which is incorporated by reference. In this case, multiple single-phase sequences of images are built; each single-phase sequence is obtained by assembling all the images that were acquired at a corresponding phase of different cardiac cycles. For each single-phase sequence of images, the corresponding pixel values (or groups thereof) are fitted by a model function as above; a parametric image is again built by assigning the corresponding values of a selected perfusion parameter (calculated from the model function) to each pixel. The sequence of parametric images so obtained (for the different phases of the cardiac cycle) may be displayed in succession. The cited document also hints to the possibility of using the same technique for other organs that are not strongly related to the heart cycle (such as the liver, the kidney, a transplanted organ or a limb of the body). In this case, the above-described procedure is applied to different periods of the diagnostic process; for each period, a distinct parametric image is likewise generated from the corresponding sub-sequence of images (with these parametric images that may again be displayed in succession). In any case, the perfusion parameters are still formed using the values A, β and their combinations (such as A*β or A/β); alternatively, it is also possible to base the perfusion parameters on the error or variance of the corresponding model function.
The above-described solution provides some sort of indication of the perfusion changes at the different phases of the heart cycle (or more generally of the diagnostic process). Nevertheless, each parametric image is still based on fixed perfusion parameters representing the corresponding model function statically.

Perfusion assessment method and system based on animated perfusion imaging


A motor damper arranged in a passage in a refrigerator through which the cold air flows comprises a frame constituting a part of the passage, a cold air gate formed at the center of the frame, a baffle rotatably secured on a rotation shaft formed on the frame for opening and closing the cold air gate and a rotation mechanism for swinging the baffle between open and closed positions of the cold air gate. The baffle is arranged to enclose a neighboring region by the frame at the position it closes the cold air gate. The rotation mechanism includes a motor arranged outside the frame and in the vicinity of the rotation shaft of the baffle. The motor damper also includes an output shaft of the motor which is rotatably secured to the rotation shaft of the baffle.

a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a motor damper that is arranged in a passage for cold air in a refrigerator and actuates a baffle using a motor as a driving source to control the cold air supply.
b) Description of the Related Art
A conventional motor damper is disclosed in, for example, Japanese patent laid open H6-109354 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,239.
FIGS. 13 and 14 show a damper 500, disclosed in the above mentioned Japanese patent H6-109354, comprising a baffle 52 for controlling the cold air supply and a driving mechanism 53 such as a motor which drives the baffle 52.
The baffle 52 is controlled by the driving mechanism 53 such that it swings with a journal 51 as a fulcrum and opens or closes a cold air gate 54 by contacting and retracting from it.
The motor damper 500 is arranged in a passage 67 for cold air in a refrigerator 60 as illustrated in FIG. 15, so that the cold air flows into the refrigerating chamber 62.
Also, FIGS. 16(a) and (b) illustrate a motor damper 500' disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,239.
The damper 500' is comprised of a cam 57' which rotates integrally as the motor 53' spins, a pin 58' arranged eccentrically from the rotational center of the cam 57', and a wall 59' formed on the baffle 52', sandwiching the eccentric pin 58'. As the eccentric pin 58' contacts and retracts from the wall 59', the baffle 52' pivoting around the journal 51' converts the movement into a swinging movement at the cold air gate 54' for closing and opening the cold air gate 54'.
The conventional motor damper 500 opens/closes the baffle 52 pivoting around the journal, so it does not open up to a position parallel to the cold air flow in the passage 57. As FIG. 15 shows, the slanted position becomes the position to open the cold air gate 54, and opens no further.
In the same manner, in the conventional motor damper 500', a distance between the journal 51' of the baffle 52' and the eccentric pin 58' is so long and the rotational distance of the eccentric pin 58' is so short that the baffle 52' does not swing very much.
For this reason, in the conventional motor damper 500 and 500', the baffle 52 and 52' resists the flow of cold air, thus providing the inefficient structure for prompt diffusion of the cold air.
In order to swing the baffle 52 over a large distance in the damper 500 illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, the rotational distance of the rack of the driving mechanism 53 needs to be long.
Also, in the damper 500' illustrated in FIG. 16, the moving distance of the eccentric pin 58' needs to be long. Thus, both dampers 500 and 500' are large.
In addition, due to the above mentioned structure as illustrated in FIG. 15, the inward projection width M of the refrigerator 60 is naturally large, thus providing a factor which reduces the capacity of the refrigerator 60.


A headwear piece having a crown defining an opening for reception of the head of a wearer, structure for varying the effective diameter of the crown opening to accommodate different size wearer heads, and an actuator for operating the crown opening varying structure. The actuator includes a switch which, in one form, is a dial that is rotatable about an axis to operate the crown opening varying structure to thereby effect the variation in the effective diameter of the opening in the crown. In another form, the switch is translatable to effect a variation in the diameter of the crown opening.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to headwear, such as caps, hats and visors and, more particularly, to a headwear piece that can be configured to accommodate a plurality of different head sizes.
2. Background Art
To accommodate different wearer head sizes, purveyors of headwear have the option of either stocking a range of fitted headwear pieces or incorporating a size adjustment capability into the headwear. While fitted headwear has the advantage that it does not expose unsightly adjustment structure, it has the drawback that it will fit only one head size. Consequently, it is necessary to stock a full range of sizes. It is generally difficult to control inventory to meet the size demands.
Conventional size adjustment structures for headwear have taken a wide range of forms. Most commonly, in baseball-type caps, or other caps with a flexible crown, an inverted, U-shaped cutout is provided at the rear of the cap. The size adjustment structure is operable to selectively control the width of the "U" to thereby alter the effective diameter of the opening defined by the crown.
It is known, for example, to use an elastic band to control the crown opening diameter. An exemplary structure is shown in U.S. Pat. 4,131,953, to Kimotsuki.
One problem with an elastic band is that, with a pliable crown, the elastic tends to collapse the crown and distort the shape thereof. Further, with the elastic band, the crown embraces a smaller head a lesser holding force than it would a larger head.
It is known to use buckles to cooperate with a strap that surrounds a crown and is manipulated through the buckle to alter the effective diameter of a loop defined by the strap. An exemplary structure in shown in U.S. Pat. 4,864,662, to Frank. A buckle is undesirable from the standpoint that the buckle and associated strap must be fully exposed externally of the crown to allow the user to hold the buckle and push in or draw out the free end of the strap.
It is also known to use a two-part strap including selectively Joinable ends. One of the strap parts has a series of through holes with the other having studs which can be pressed through, and frictionally held within, the holes. Placing the studs in different holes effects size adjustment for the crown. Exemplary structures are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,192,017, to Fay, and U.S. Pat. 4,481,681, to Hankin. One problem associated with this type of structure is that the studs are prone to falling off in normal use and/or after repeated adjustments are made to the headwear piece.
A still further prior art structure is shown in U.S. Pat. 4,993,079, to Johnson. Johnson employs a sweatband that can be tied snugly around a user's head using a drawstring. The drawstring is tied in a position to cause the sweatband to closely fit the user's head. While Johnson discloses a sweatband that is preattached, the prior art structures commonly utilize such a drawstring within a retaining sleeve.
Generally, these structures require the user to take the headwear piece off, tie the drawstring ends, and replace the headwear piece. This becomes an inconvenient, trial and error exercise for the wearer. Additionally, the drawstring normally hangs down at the back of the hat and may be unsightly and/or an unwanted, obtrusive addition to the headwear.
Most prior art structures have the drawback that the user must take the headwear off to effect size variation. Repeated attempts might have to be made to achieve a desired fit. Frequently, a user will settle for less than the desired fit to avoid the inconvenience of the repetitive, and oft times inconvenient, adjustment steps.
This last problem is overcome by the structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,246, to Kronenberger, assigned to the assignee of this invention.


A magnetoresistive magnetic head comprises a first magnetic shielding layer formed on an underlying layer, a first nonmagnetic insulating layer formed on the first magnetic shielding layer, a magnetoresistive device formed on the first nonmagnetic insulating layer, first and second leads formed on the first nonmagnetic insulating layer to be connected to both sides of the magnetoresistive device respectively, a second nonmagnetic insulating layer formed to cover the first and second leads and the magnetoresistive device, a second magnetic shielding layer formed on the second nonmagnetic insulating layer to be positioned over the magnetoresistive device, and a resistor element buried in at least one of the first and second nonmagnetic insulating layers to electrically connect the first lead to either the first magnetic shielding layer or the second magnetic shielding layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head and a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus and, more particularly, to a magnetic head employing a magnetoresistive effect and a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus equipped with such magnetic head.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a magnetic disk drive, magnetic information are written/read into/from a magnetic disk by virtue of the magnetic head.
As shown in FIG. 13, for example, the magnetic head installed in the magnetic disk drive has such configuration a that both a magnetoresistive (MR) head 110 and an induction type head 120 are placed on a head substrate 101. In this configuration, the induction type head 120 is used to record the magnetic information into the magnetic disk, and the MR head 110 is used to reproduce the magnetic information from the magnetic disk.
A configuration as illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B and FIG. 15 has been employed as the MR head 110. FIG. 14A shows a planar placement of respective layers of the MR head 110 other than nonmagnetic insulating layers. FIG. 14B shows a layer structure of the MR head 110 except for the nonmagnetic insulating layers. FIG. 15 shows an end surface of the MR head 110, wherein a portion encircled with a broken line corresponds to a portion encircled with a broken line in FIG. 14B.
In FIGS. 14A, 14B and 15, a substrate protection insulating layer 102 is formed on a head substrate 101. Then, a lower magnetic shielding layer 111, a lower nonmagnetic insulating layer 112, a magnetoresistive device 113, an upper nonmagnetic insulating layer 114, and an upper magnetic shielding layer 115 are formed on the substrate protection insulating layer 102.
The magnetoresistive device 113 is formed to have a three-layered structure consisting of, for example, a soft magnetic layer, a magnetic separating layer, a magnetoresistive layer made of NiFe. First and second hard magnetic layers are formed respectively on both sides of the three-layered structure. Both the first and second hard magnetic layers are magnetized along the direction from the first hard magnetic layer to the second hard magnetic layer. First and second leads 116, 117 are formed between the lower nonmagnetic insulating layer 112 and the upper nonmagnetic insulating layer 114 and are connected to both sides of the magnetoresistive device 113 respectively.
In such a magnetoresistive head 110, when a sense current (constant current) is supplied to the magnetoresistive device 113 via the first and second leads 116, 117, a change in the electric resistance caused by a change in the magnetization direction by an external magnetic field is transmitted to a signal processing circuit (not shown) via the first and second leads 116, 117. Such change in the electric resistance appears as a change in voltage between the first and second leads 116, 117.
Accordingly, the first and second leads 116, 117 formed on both sides of the magnetoresistive device 113 have a function of supplying the sense current to the magnetoresistive device 113 and a function of applying a detected voltage.
The first and second leads 116, 117 are formed to have sufficiently large areas and thicknesses but small electric resistivity rather than the magnetoresistive device 113. For this reason, a total sum of the electric resistance of the first and second leads 116, 117 and the magnetoresistive device 113 can be substantially determined by the electric resistance value of the magnetoresistive device 113. Such electric resistance is set to about 20 to 40.OMEGA..
In FIG. 13, a reference numeral 105 denotes a magnetic disk.
The magnetoresistive magnetic head having the above configuration, before being mounted on a magnetic disk drive, is easily destroyed by static electricity. Reasons for this phenomenon will be put forth in the following.
First, when large static electricity is applied to the first lead 116, the static electricity moves from the first lead 116 toward the second lead 117 due to their potential difference, as indicated by an arrow I in FIG. 14A. In this event, the static electricity passes through the magnetoresistive device 113 as an electric route, and therefore the magnetoresistive device 113 becomes easily destroyed by the static electricity since it has larger electric resistance than the two leads 116, 117.
Then, as shown in FIG. 15, since the first and second leads 116, 117 and the lower and upper magnetic shielding layers 111, 115 may serve as electrodes while the lower and upper nonmagnetic insulating layer 112, 114 may serve as dielectric substances between them, parasitic capacitances may be formed. If the static electricity that is larger than an allowable value of the parasitic capacitance is accumulated between these electrodes, sometimes dielectric breakdown of the lower and upper nonmagnetic insulating layer 112, 114 may be caused by discharge of such static electricity. Discharging directions of the static electricity are indicated by arrows in FIG. 15.
In this manner, the reason why the static electricity enters into the first and second leads 116, 117 is that at first the static electricity enters into electrode pads (not shown) which are arranged on the magnetic head to be exposed to the outside, and then the static electricity moves to the first and second leads 116, 117 via wirings which are connected to the electrode pads.
As has been shown in Figures of Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) 6-243434, it may be thought out that a resistive film is coated on overall exposed ends of the magnetoresistive device in the magnetoresistive magnetic head, and then the leads are connected to the lower and upper magnetic shielding layers via the resistive film. However, according to such configuration, the static electricity accumulated in the leads is always discharged to the resistive film via the magnetoresistive device. Hence, such configuration is not preferable since it is likely that the magnetoresistive device is destroyed upon discharge of the static electricity.

Magnetic head and magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus


A first lens group includes a plano-concave and negative first lens, a catoptric element having a flat object side surface and a flat image side surface, and a first cemented lens, for example. Here, the first cemented lens includes a negative second lens and a positive third lens in order from an object side. A second lens group includes an aperture stop and a positive second cemented lens, for example. The second cemented lens includes a positive fourth lens, a negative fifth lens, and a positive sixth lens in order from the object side. A zoom lens satisfies a conditional expression 1.59<n21<2.20, assuming that a value n21 indicates refractive index of the fourth lens on a side closest to an object in the second lens group.

With recent performance improvement and size reduction of an image pickup device using a solid-state imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type image sensor and the like, a mobile phone and a portable information terminal provided with an image pickup device has begun to spread in recent years. Since restriction on size and cost is extremely strict in these devices, an image pickup device provided with a small-sized solid-state imaging element with the number of pixels smaller than that of a normal digital still camera and the like, and a single focus optical system composed of 1 to 4 plastic lenses is generally used. In rapid progress of higher pixelation and higher functions of the image pickup device mounted on the portable information terminal and the like, a small-sized zoom lens not only capable of handling a high-pixel image pickup element and of picking up an image of an object apart from a photographer but also capable of photographing even if a distance from the object cannot be set away as in indoor photographing and of being mountable on a mobile phone and the like is in demand.
In order to mount a zoom lens on a mobile phone or a portable information terminal, reduction in size or particularly in a thickness direction is in demand. As a zoom lens of this thin type, a bending optical system in which an optical axis is bent by 90 degrees by using a catoptric element such as a prism and the like is used in many cases. Specifically, a variable-magnification optical system with the purpose of size reduction in a thickness direction by using the catoptric element in a first lens group is disclosed in the following Patent Literatures 1 to 4.
In general, a variable-magnification optical system having the first lens group having a negative refractive power and a second lens group having a positive refractive power as in Patent Literatures 1 to 4 is advantageous in points that the thickness of the first lens group can be made small, that the number of constituting lenses can be made small, and that F-number of a wide-angle end can be made bright or fast, but since the first lens group has a negative refractive power, an effective diameter of the second lens group tends to become larger, and there is a problem that an increase in the effective diameter in a bending optical system portion directly leads to an increase of the thickness. Particularly, the second lens group is often accompanied with an aperture stop and is a spot where an axial ray passes thickly, and thus, a thinning method used in the bending optical system portion in many cases in which a lens shape obtained by cutting a area not in use or a so-called oval shape is used instead of a circular shape symmetrical to the optical axis cannot be employed.
Moreover, since the second lens group has a large light beam diameter passing through the lens and moves for a long distance during magnification change from the wide-angle end to a telephoto end, decentration error sensitivity of the second lens group needs to be made as small as possible. Thus, when the second lens group is composed of a plurality of lens elements as in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, axial coma aberration or asymmetrical blur in an image area called one-side blur generated in the second lens group is reduced in many cases by centering a partial lens or lenses in the second lens group. However, since the centering is an action for reducing axial coma aberration or one-side blur by decentering the lens with respect to the optical axis, a space needs to be ensured for centering in the second lens group, and there is a problem of size increase of the second lens group and hence thickening of a variable-magnification optical system.
On the other hand, in Patent Literatures 3 and 4, by constituting the second lens group by one lens element, the total thickness of the lens is reduced, and optical adjustment such as centering is no longer necessary, and thus, the effective diameter of the second lens group can be made small. However, in the variable-magnification optical system in Patent Literature 3, since the second lens group is constituted by one cemented lens of a lens having a positive refractive power and a lens having a negative refractive power, an aberration correcting capacity is low, and as a result, F-number becomes dark or slow. Moreover, in Patent Literature 4, the second lens group is constituted by a cemented lens of a lens having a positive refractive power, a lens having a negative refractive power, and a lens having a positive refractive power in order from the object side, but since freedom of a lens surface is made small due to the cementing, a burden on an optical surface in contact with air becomes large, and the decentration error sensitivity of the surface becomes extremely high.


A calibration system for an RF system that includes an RF receiver capable of operating in a normal mode and in a calibration mode. The calibration system includes a phase delay unit provided on at least one of an I channel output and a Q channel output of the RF receiver. The system further includes a phase detector configured to detect a phase difference between the I channel output of the RF receiver and the Q channel output of the RF receiver. The system also includes a calibration control unit configured to provide a digital calibration control signal to the RF receiver based on the phase difference as provided by the phase detector.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to RF receiver mismatch calibration.
B. Background
Recently, the demand for wireless communication has grown significantly, such as for wireless local area networks (LAN), home wireless control systems and wireless multimedia centers. Along with this growth in demand, there has been an increased interest in more bandwidth, more powerful and cheaper chips. For example, the maximum 11 Mb/s bandwidth offered by the IEEE 802.11b standard cannot satisfy the growing demand on higher bandwidth. Rather, 54 Mb/s rate offered by the 802.11g or 11a standards is preferred. To transmit in this bandwidth with just a 20 MHz wide channel, more advanced modulation methods other than simple binary phase shift keying (BPSK) or quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) should be adopted. In the IEEE 802.11a/g wide local area network (WLAN) system, the data is modulated with BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) or 64QAM, and is further mapped onto 52 subcarriers of an orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexed (OFDM) signal.
To take advantage of the high bandwidth, the OFDM-based wireless system and other radio systems with sophisticated modulation methods pose significant implementation challenges. These challenges include requiring low in-band phase noise, high linearity and accurate quadrature matching inside the RF chip. Among them, quadrature matching is the most complicated issue since it arises from the device mismatch and since it varies from chip to chip. Also the requirement for the mismatch is typically very tight. For example, in order to meet the receiver Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) specification for 54 Mb/s mode in a WLAN system with a 3-dB implementation margin, which indicates the quality of the digital modulated signals, system simulation shows that an I/Q mismatch of less than 1°/0.2 dB is required.
An RF receiver used in a wireless system performs RF signal de-modulation, down-conversion of the signal, adjacent interference rejection and baseband signal amplification. Compared with an unchanged transmitter implementation, there are many parameters to be addressed in an RF receiver realization. This is because there are more considerations for a receiver design, such as noise, linearity, interference rejection and band selection. Although the homodyne (direct conversion) receiver architecture has been in use for many years, the heterodyne receiver architecture is the first to be widely used. The heterodyne receiver architecture utilizes a mixer to translate a filtered channel centered at a high frequency to a much lower intermediate frequency, so as to relax the required quality of the channel select filter. Since the local oscillation (LO) frequency of the mixer is different from the input RF frequency, it has to deal with an image problem that occurs during the receiving process. Image rejection filter and other topologies such as dual-IF architecture are exploited to improve the reception. However, the mismatch between the inphase and quadrature (I/Q) branches degrades the receiver performance if the I/Q separation occurs inside the RF chip. A dual IF architecture has the advantage of alleviating this problem because the I/Q separation occurs at a lower frequency path which tends to have smaller mismatch. This is especially true for the phase mismatch as compared with the separation occurring at a higher frequency path.
If the down conversion mixer of the RF receiver converts the high frequency signal directly to the zero intermediate frequency, the RF receiver is called a homodyne wireless receiver, which is also referred to as a "direct conversion" or "zero-IF" receiver. It avoids the image problem in the heterodyne receiver architecture, but it introduces DC offset voltage during receiving, which is generated by the self-mixing between the LO signals and the LO leakage from both the receiver and the transmitter. Moreover, because the I/Q separation in the homodyne receiver architecture occurs at an RF frequency, it suffers from a larger phase mismatch.
The trade-offs governing the utilization of image-reject filters in the heterodyne receiver architecture have motivated RF designers to seek other techniques for suppressing the images. Hartley architectures and Weaver architecture are two such examples. Since these architectures utilize the signals in quadrature branches to do the image rejection, they are more prone to mismatch as compared to the homodyne and the heterodyne receiver architectures. Also, digital IF receivers that perform I/Q separation in the digital domain remove the mismatch in the RF receiver but increase the complexity for the digital processing circuit.
FIGS. 1 to 3 show the above conventional cases. FIG. 1 shows an RF receiver in which the quadrature signals separation occurs at a high frequency domain. This conversion method is adopted by one step direct conversion receiver and image rejection receiver such as the Weaver or the Hartley type. The architecture shown in FIG. 1 is the most sensitive to quadrature mismatches. As shown in FIG. 1, an input RF signal fLO+fs (whereby fs is an input signal that is modulated with a carrier frequency fLO by an RF transmitter, not shown) is received by a receiver antenna 110, and provided to a low noise amplifier (LNA) 120. The output of the LNA 120 is provided to an I/Q mixer 125, whereby the input RF signal is mixed with a local oscillator signal LO output by a local oscillator 127, to provide baseband I and Q signals that are filtered by a filter 130 in order to remove the adjacent interference. Accordingly, the input signal fs is obtained, and is provided to a variable gain amplifier VGA 140, whereby the output of the VGA 140 corresponds to the demodulated RF signal. The demodulated RF signal is then provided to a digital baseband circuit, for additional processing (e.g., digital signal processing).
FIG. 2 shows an RF receiver 200 in which the quadrature signals separation occurs at a relatively lower frequency as compared to the RF receiver 100 of FIG. 1. The RF receiver 200 of FIG. 2 has a lesser quadrature mismatch problem as compared to the RF receiver 100 of FIG. 1, whereby the RF receiver 200 of FIG. 2 is used by either a dual IF direct conversion receiver system or by a heterodyne receiver system. As shown in FIG. 2, an input RF signal fLO1+fLO2+fs (whereby fs is an input signal that is modulated by carriers fLO1 and fLO2 by an RF transmitter, not shown) is received by a receiver antenna 210, and provided to an LNA 220. The output of the LNA 220 is provided to a first mixer 225, whereby the input RF signal is mixed with a first local oscillator signal LO1 output by a first local oscillator 227, to provide an intermediate frequency (IF) signal fLO2+fs (and its sideband image). The sideband image is filtered by off-chip filter 230, and the intermediate frequency signal is then provided to a second mixer (I/Q mixer) 240, whereby I/Q separation occurs at IF. The second mixer 240 mixes the IF signal with a second local oscillator signal LO2 output by a second local oscillator 242, to provide a baseband signal (and its sideband image). A filter 250 filters the adjacent inteference, to thereby provide the input signal fs to a VGA 260, whereby the output of the VGA 260 corresponds to the demodulated RF signal. The demodulated RF signal is then provided to a digital baseband unit (not shown), for further processing of the received data (e.g., digital signal processing).
FIG. 3 shows an RF receiver 300 in which the quadrature signals separation occurs in a digital base band circuit after the RF receiver and after quantization. The approach of FIG. 3 is free of quadrature mismatch (also referred to herein simply as "mismatch"). The difference between the RF receiver 300 and the RF receiver 200 of FIG. 2 is that I/Q separation occurs at the output of the VGA 360 in FIG. 3 (digital I/Q separation), whereby the I/Q separation occurs at the output of the second mixer 240 in FIG. 2 (analog I/Q separation). In the RF receiver 300 of FIG. 3, the second mixer 340 is not an I/Q mixer.
Different calibration methods have been utilized to perform calibration for conventional RF transceivers. Some of calibration methods use a local transmitter, which has already been calibrated, to send the test vectors to the RF receiver and compute the mismatch compensation factor through a digital signal processing (DSP) machine in a digital baseband circuit of the RF transceiver. This is called "local calibration" and typically is performed during a system power up process or during an idle time (e.g., between times when data is sent from an RF transmitter to an RF receiver). Compensation factors can be applied to the RF transceiver if there is mismatch compensation detected within an RF chip of the RF transceiver, or they can be directly applied after analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in the digital domain.
In another type of calibration method, a remote transmitter adds particular information (e.g., predetermined data) in the transmitting sequence to aid in the receiver calibration at the RF receiver. This type of calibration can be done in real time, whereby it results in decreased channel efficiency (due to the extra coding spent performing calibration). This calibration method is typically referred to as "remote calibration".
In terms of mismatch detection and calibration locations, the conventional calibration methods can be categorized into two subtypes. In a first subtype, both the mismatch detection and the calibration are done by a digital baseband circuit of the RF transceiver. As shown in FIG. 4, a digital baseband circuit 410 transmits a pilot sequence to an RF chip (RF transceiver) 420, whereby the pilot sequence is modulated into a high frequency signal by a transmitter (included in the digital baseband circuit 410). The RF chip 420 receives and transmits signals over-the-air to/from a remote RF transceiver, via RF antenna 450. During calibration, the RF chip 420 couples the transmitter output of the digital baseband circuit 410 to its receiver input (by way of an RF switch on chip, not shown). In that way, the local digital baseband can receive the demodulated signal output from the RF chip 420 (by way of an A/D converter 440) at the same time it is providing calibration data to the RF chip 420 (by way of a local loop). An error signal output by the digital baseband circuit 410 is subtracted from the A/D output of the A/D converter 440 in the local loop (which corresponds to a digital representation of the original calibration signal), to thereby provide a correction signal to the digital baseband circuit 410 (which is used to calibrate the RF chip 420).
A powerful DSP machine within the digital baseband circuit 410 is required to calculate the phase and amplitude mismatch of the RF link and generate the "error" signals to calibrate the RF link. Although the calibration is easy to control in the digital domain, it imposes several disadvantages: 1) The DSP machine is complicated and the computation takes a long time to get the desired accuracy; 2) it cannot work without an RF transmitter; 3) the mismatch introduced by the transmitter has to be considered since the transmitter mismatch cannot be completely cancelled; 4) the hardware mismatch is intact and the performance degradation introduced by those mismatches, such as second order inter-modulation, are still there; and 5) the extra connection between the transmitter and the receiver of the RF chip 420 complicates the design.
FIG. 5 shows the second subtype for performing calibration, whereby this system uses a digital baseband circuit to detect the signal mismatch while the circuits inside the RF chip (RF transceiver) 520 perform the calibration (based on information provided by the digital baseband circuit 510). Like the system of FIG. 4, a local loop that includes a D/A converter 530 and an A/D converter 540 is used to provide calibration data to and from the digital baseband circuit 510 and the RF chip 520. The RF chip 520 receives and transmits signals over-the-air to/from a remote RF transceiver, via RF antenna 550 during normal application. During calibration, the RF chip 520 receives the signal sent by itself through an on chip RF switch (not shown). Note that the system of FIG. 5 utilizes a calibration command that is output from the digital baseband circuit 510 directly to the RF chip 520, which is different from the way calibration is performed in the system of FIG. 4.
The disadvantages of this second subtype of calibration are: 1) complicated DSP machine and required substantial computational power; 2) dependence on RF transmitter; 3) introduction of the transmitter mismatch since the transmitter mismatch cannot be completely calibrated out; and 4) extra connection required between the transmitter and the receiver inside the RF chip complicates the design.
Since the mismatch detection or the calibration are done by the baseband digital circuit for both the first and the second calibration subtypes discussed above, even if the mismatch is calibrated out for one single frequency and under particular test vectors; their effects will still show in other frequency bands or with different input signals. To improve the existing calibration methods, different compensation factors are applied to each frequency band and with various input signals, which exploit extra memory such as a random access memory (RAM) or an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), in order to store a compensation look-up table. Also, the calibration period becomes longer accordingly because the mismatches should preferably be calculated under different conditions.
Among all of above conventional calibration methods described above, the phase mismatch and amplitude mismatch are calibrated together, whereby it is difficult to differentiate between them. Actually, in an RF receiver, the phase mismatch is more serious than the amplitude mismatch. The phase mismatch is contributed by the local oscillation (LO) signals and down-conversion mixer and is difficult to minimize. This is because the small device mismatch is converted into a relatively large phase offset in high frequency and the circuit working in the RF domain cannot tolerate too much parasitic capacitance which limits the application of layout optimization method such as crossing or interdigitation. Monte Carlo simulation shows that the LO signals could easily have 1.5 degree phase mismatch at 5 GHz, while the down-conversion mixer contributes 1 degree. Thus, there is a total of at least 2.5 degrees phase mismatch.

RF receiver mismatch calibration system and method


A new and distinct cultivar of Argyranthemum frutescens plant, substantially as herein illustrated and described, characterized particularly as to novelty by its compact rounded plant habit, good field performance, dark green colored leaves, freely flowering with numerous inflorescences per plant, and daisy-type inflorescences with pink double flowered inflorescences, organized in a crumpled way.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Marguerite Daisy plant, botanically known as Argyranthemum frutescens and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Argyminpifi.'
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create new, compact Argyranthemums with early freely flowering habit, which can be grown without growth regulators.
The new Argyranthemum originated from an open pollination conducted in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands in 2000 of a proprietary selection of Argyranthemum frutescens identified as code number 'D0107,' not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Argyranthemum frutescens as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar 'Argyminpifi' was discovered and selected as a single plant within the progeny of the stated open pollination in a controlled environment in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands in August 2001. Asexual reproduction of the new Argyranthemum by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands since August 2001, has shown that the unique features of this new Argyranthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

Argyranthemum frutescens plant named ‘Argyminpifi’


An image forming system includes a document conveying section that reversely conveys documents such that a front side and back side of the documents pass through a reading position, an image reading section for reading images on the documents conveyed to the reading position and generating image data, an image forming section for forming images on recording media, according to the image data, an input section for inputting designation whether the images are to be formed on both sides or on one side of the recording media, and a control section for controlling image reading by the image reading section and image forming by the image forming section, wherein the control section controls the image forming section to form an image according to image data in a condition where a single job includes both single-sided and double-sided image recording, correspondingly to the designation inputted via the input section.

There are image forming devices such as copying machines that read images on both sides of a document sheet while conveying it and generate image data, and then carry out image forming on both sides of a recording sheet based on the image data.
The image reading section (scanner) in an image forming device of this type has a reading device such as a solid image pick-up device of a plurality of pixels along the main scanning direction, and the document is read in two dimensions along the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction by moving the document along the sub scanning direction with respect to the reading device. Such a type that reads a document while transporting it in this manner is called "a static exposure flow type" or "a sheet through type", and this type will be referred to "a sheet through type" in this specification.
In an image forming device provided with an image reading section of this "sheet through type", since it is possible to read a document while an optical mirror and an illuminating lamp are fixed, this type is suitable for reading several document sheets in succession.
Further, in an image forming device of this type, it is possible to read images on both sides of a document by reversing the document, and also, to reverse a recording sheet and form images on both sides of the recording sheet.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2002-223336 (Page 1, FIG. 1)
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2002-359720 (Page 1, FIG. 1)
By the art disclosed in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, it is possible to designate single-sided output or double-sided output, according to read image data for each page, and image forming output is carried out both on a single side and double sides in a mixture, according to designated information. However, nothing has been mentioned about an image reading section, and reading of documents in a mixture of single-sided documents and double-sided documents has not been considered.
For example, it is necessary to insert a blank sheet in documents if it is necessary to insert a blank sheet in an output of image forming. Further, in a double-sided image forming mode, there is a problem of a drop in productivity because even a blank insertion sheet on which no image is formed is necessary to be passed through a double-sided image forming path.
Further, in the art disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the inter-sheet mode of inserting index sheets is designated, and if normal documents and tab sheet documents are present in a mixture, count values during reading are stored, and sheet feeding for image forming is switched, according to the count values. By storing count values in such a manner, it is understood that there is an assumption that a user loads normal documents and tab sheet documents on a document mounting portion in a plural times to read the documents.
Further, in an actual image forming device even if double-sided reading and double-sided image forming are possible with normal documents and recording sheets, the operations will be single-sided reading and single-sided image forming in the case of tab sheets due to the projecting part of the tabs.
In a known image forming device described above, when carrying out double sided copying of documents including tab sheet documents in the inter-sheet mode, if there are N sheets of tab sheet documents, since tab sheet documents are not in a series, the user has to divide the documents into 2N+1 bundles and mount the bundles at the document mounting position alternately in plural times to have them read.
In other words, in this case, operation and control are necessary not as a single continuous job but as a programming job to be handled as 2N+1 multiple jobs. In such a programming job method, as the reading is not for a single integrated bundle, there is a problem that the productivity is sacrificed and the efficiency is low.
Further, there is also a problem that the task is tedious because the user has to load documents in several times.
Further, consideration is not given to carrying out a mixture of double-sided and single-sided image forming in a state where both single-side and double-side documents are present. In other words, also in this case, operation and control were necessary not as a single continuous job but as a programming job to be handled as several jobs. In this programming job method, there is a problem that the productivity is sacrificed and the efficiency is low because reading of documents is not for a single integrated bundle.
The case of a copying machine has been described above. In the case of image forming devices such as printers, etc., that receive image data from outside and carry out image forming, although it is possible to designate various types of settings regarding printing in an application program generating image data, consideration has not been given to operationability for designating a single-sided mode or double-sided mode for insertion sheets.

Image forming system for forming images on one side or both sides of recording media

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


Techniques are described for passive three-dimensional (3D) face imaging based on macro-structure and micro-structure image sizing, such as for biometric facial recognition. A set of images of a user's face is processed to extract authentication deterministic macro-structure (DMAS) measurements. A database includes profile DMAS measurements, profile location definitions for deterministic micro-structure (DMIS) feature regions, and profile DMIS signatures computed for the DMIS feature regions. A first-level authentication determination can be based on comparing the authentication DMAS measurements with the profile DMAS measurements. Authentication DMIS signatures can be computed from sub-images obtained for the DMIS feature regions at the profile location definitions. A second-level authentication determination can be based on comparing the authentication DMIS signatures with the profile DMIS signatures. An authentication result can be output based on both the first-level authentication determination and the second-level authentication that indicates whether authentication of the user is granted or denied.

Many modern electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablets, and laptops, are equipped with biometric security access systems, such as face identification (ID), fingerprint sensors, and the like. For example, face ID may be used to unlock a smart phone, log in to applications and accounts, to authorize mobile payments, etc. Similar face ID techniques are integrated into other access-control devices, such as electronic locks and automated teller machines (ATMs). Effective implementation designs tend to balance various considerations. For example, it is typically desirable to provide rapid and accurate results to a user in a manner that avoids both false positives (which reduce the security of the implementation) and false negatives (which can be frustrating to authorized users).
Conventional face ID systems tend to include relatively rapid, but relatively insecure facial recognition approaches based on identification of a limited number of large-scale structures. Such approaches tend to be relatively easy to spoof, for example, by using a two-dimensional image of an authorized user's face, a three-dimensional wax or latex model of an authorized user's face, or the like. For example, conventional face ID implementations on smart phones are typically designed to minimize usage of battery resources, memory resources, processor resources, etc. Also, conventional face ID implementations on smart phones tend not to be overly concerned with advanced spoofing techniques, or the like; and they tend to err on the side of allowing more false positives than false negatives to avoid frustrating authorized users who are trying to quickly unlock their smart phones. However, for many smart phone and other applications, it can be desirable to provide a higher level of security (including additional protection against spoofing), without excessively impacting battery, memory, processor, and other resources.

Passive three-dimensional face imaging based on macro-structure and micro-structure image sizing


A drive unit includes a motor being a drive source, a velocity reduction gear for reducing the revolution of the motor, an output shaft for connecting the velocity reduction gear to the rotation shaft of a photosensitive drum, and a velocity detection mechanism including an encoder and sensor members and detecting the revolution of the output shaft. The velocity reduction gear and the velocity detection mechanism are placed in a unit housing including a housing body made of a resin with one end opened and a support plate made of metal closing the opening of the housing body, and the output shaft is rotatably supported by the housing body and the support plate.

In image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like, various members to be rotated are used for image forming processing. For example, in an image forming portion of an electrophotographic system, a photosensitive drum is placed, and rotation members such as a transfer roller and a cleaning roller are provided in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum. The photosensitive drum and the members to be rotated are rotatably driven at a predetermined velocity (rpm), and an image is formed through processes such as charging, exposure, toner image formation on the drum surface, transfer of a toner image onto paper, and cleaning of a drum surface.
In order to rotate the above-mentioned members to be rotated at low velocity with a high precision, a rotation drive apparatus having a motor, and a velocity reduction gear for reducing the revolution of the motor, and a velocity detection mechanism for detecting the revolution of the motor is required. As the velocity detection mechanism, a configuration using an encoder and an optical sensor as described in JP 06-327278 A is generally used.
Conventionally, the velocity detection mechanism is attached directly to a drive output shaft and a drive roller outside of a unit without being protected with a housing or the like. Therefore, there is a fear in that foreign matters such as lubricating oil and abrasion powder may adhere to an encoder and a sensor to cause a reading defect of the sensor. Further, the setting space in a direction of the rotation shaft is also required, and hence assembly operability is poor. Further, because the encoder and the sensor are fixed, it is difficult to adjust the gap between the encoder and the sensor. For example, in the case where the members to be rotated are rotated while the encoder and the sensor are in contact with each other, there is a problem in that abrasion of the encoder may occur.
Then, a method of reducing the contamination of the encoder and the sensor, reducing space requirements, and enhancing assembly operability has been proposed, and JP 2003-23755 A discloses a rotation drive apparatus in which a velocity detection mechanism is accommodated in a housing together with a velocity reduction apparatus, and a window portion for adjustment for adjusting the attachment position of a detection unit to the housing is provided.
However, according to the method of JP 2003-23755 A, a housing structure in which a velocity-reducing mechanism is separated from a velocity detection mechanism is used, and support bearings of an output shaft are set on a partition wall surface that separates an outer wall surface of the housing from the inside of the housing. Therefore, the intervals between the support bearings are short, and the tilt of the output shaft may be increased depending on the size error of the support positions of the bearings. Further, the housing is separated into a first member and a second member, and hence it is necessary to enhance a molding precision of the housing as well as an alignment precision, which is inconvenient in terms of production and cost.
Further, in order to prevent contact between the encoder and the sensor, it is necessary to adjust the position of the sensor in the shaft direction. However, the adjustment of the attachment position of the detection unit described in JP 2003-23755 A relates to a position adjustment in the radial direction of the encoder, while a position adjustment in the shaft direction is not described.

Drive unit and image forming apparatus equipped with the same


A facsimile broadcasting receiver comprising an index program detector and a recording means, the detector detecting an index program number from a facsimile signal. The detected index program number is recorded into the recording means so that the corresponding index program will be automatically recorded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a TV facsimile broadcasting receiver for receiving broadcast facsimile signal transmissions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the near future, what is known as facsimile broadcasting is expected to commence. This broadcast involves having the TV broadcast audio signal multiplexed in frequency with a facsimile signal. The facsimile broadcast is to be basically received by reservation. That is, the TV facsimile broadcasting receiver has a program reservation function for receiving broadcast facsimile signals of previously reserved programs. To reserve a desired program requires at least having the receiver input the number representing that program. That in turn necessitates preparation of an index listing the names and numbers of programs that may be received. Thus it is envisaged that an index program will be broadcast every one or two hours. Recording this index program is convenient for TV viewers who may wish to record any of the programs listed in the index.


A step ladder device for improving the safe working elevation of a step ladder is provided. The step ladder device includes a working ladder portion that terminates in a rigid working tray providing a safety grab bar. The step ladder device is dimensioned and adapted to piggyback on to the step ladder so that the working ladder portion slidably moves in a coplanar orientation relative to the underlying step ladder, which enables the working tray to be locked in one of a plurality of selective working elevations relative to the underlying step ladder. As a result, the user can embrace the safety grab bar and balance themselves while standing on the upper rungs of the underlying step ladder or the lower rungs afforded by the working ladder portion.

The present invention relates to ladders and, more particularly, a step ladder device allowing the user to stand and work safely and comfortably on the upper steps of the step ladder.
A step ladder provides more stability than a traditional ladder, but the downside is that the height a user can operably attain by way of the step ladder is more limited than a standard ladder. In fact, step ladder manufacturers prohibit user from standing on the higher steps for safety reason, by writing on the step ladder the warning: "Do not stand above the 2nd step from the top."
Specifically, it is not safe to work from the last rung of the step ladder as there is no means to keep one's balance. Moreover, since the upper body of a user is typically elevated above the top of the step ladder, it may be difficult to hold onto the step ladder while trying to reach away therefrom even though the user is not utilizing the top rung. Furthermore, since the working tray of a step ladder is fixed at its top, as the user goes up the working tray becomes farther and farther away, less handy and less able to aid the user in securing one's balance.
Unfortunately, deaths and injuries happen every day as a result of people ignoring the warning and standing on the highest steps in order to reach further. No products or devices have been invented yet to secure the numerous people standing on the highest rungs of step ladders.
A step ladder can be used as a ladder but the conversion procedure may be complicated. As a result, in order to safely work with the step ladder acting as a ladder, the user has to buy a longer step ladder, which takes more room to transport and to store.
As can be seen, there is a need for a step ladder device allowing the user to stand and work safely and comfortably from the upper rungs of the base step ladder and above. Furthermore, the step ladder device operatively associates with the step ladder so that the combination acts as a ladder.
The step ladder device includes a movable working portion having a series of rungs that terminates with a working tray providing a grab bar. The working portion is selectively movable relative to the base step ladder, allowing a user to elevate the working tray relative to the base step ladder so that the user can utilize the grab bar for stability and balance when working from the upper rungs of the step ladder. Additionally, the step ladder device enables the base step ladder to become a ladder, wherein the step ladder device acts as the upper frame with rungs that the user can climb above the highest rung of the base step ladder.
In short, a six-foot step ladder typically can be used only as a six-foot ladder with approximately four feet of working rungs, while the present invention allows a six-foot step ladder to be used as a ten-foot ladder with eight-feet of working rungs, simply by pushing the movable working portion. As a result, the present invention has the potential to bring more security and more working satisfaction to users through a simpler design.

Step ladder device allowing the user to stand and work safely and comfortably on the upper steps of a step ladder


A plant or vegetation cutting device which comprises a rotary cutting head and at least one cutting filament or string extending radially from the head, such that upon rotation of the head, the string is extended by centrifugal force and cuts through the plants or vegetation. The string is profiled in a generally uniform manner along its length and it comprises a main body whose width/height ratio is between about 1.2 and 2. A co-extruded cutting appendage may be joined along the leading edge and/or the trailing edge of the main body.

This present invention generally relates to plant cutting appliances, in particular brush cutters.
For several years, there have been developed different forms of cutting strings or filaments which are designed to be mounted on a cutting head, driven by an electric or thermal engine, so that the rapid rotation of the head drives the string or strings so that they tend to adopt a rectilinear extension under the effect of the centrifugal force. These strings are typically formed of a polyamide extrusion.
The oldest of these strings have a circular section and are smooth along their entire length, and recently developed strings have various sections, designed to improve the cutting quality (presence of edges, etc.) and/or the longevity of the string, and/or to reduce the noise of the appliance in operation by acting on the turbulences.
Thus the prior strings may include edges, grooves, furrows, or local deformations, along their entire length.
Furthermore, there are strings called aerodynamic strings, for example in the form of an airplane wing profile, water drop, or ellipse (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,816).
Such strings have certain advantages linked to their improved penetration in the air. For example, less power is required for the engine, and they may also provide less operating noise, and overall a better cutting efficiency.
Such strings, which present a limited height, nevertheless present the inconvenience of being fragile. In particular, the accumulated rotation speed of these profiled strings allows increasing the intensity of shocks against the plants, and the small height of the string significantly increases its risk of breaking. The use of such strings for large jobs is therefore limited.
It is an object of this invention to provide new cutting strings that present advantages that are similar to those offered by existing profiled strings in terms of air penetration, but that are more robust and better adapted for large jobs.

Cutting string for plant cutting appliance