Disclosed are a method, a system and a terminal apparatus for reproducing content purchased by a user in a plurality of terminals. To this end, a Right Object (RO) is received through an authentication process for content and a service registration process, and is stored in a User Identity Module (UIM). If the UIM is used, a user can use corresponding content in a plurality of terminals through one-time registration. Accordingly, the user having completed the registration can reproduce content in multiple terminals owned by the user based on user identification by means of a license acquired through the registration regardless of a specific terminal, instead of reproducing the content only in a single terminal to which a license has been bound.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, a system and a terminal apparatus for enabling content purchased by a user to be reproduced in a plurality of terminals by means of a User Identity Module (UIM).
2. Description of the Related Art
With the rapid development of wireless Internet technology and wireless communication technology, a mobile communication terminal user can use various services such as data services and Internet services through both a UIM, which is a module proving the user's own identity, and a terminal. However, such services show a tendency to gradually change into charged services. In order to protect such services, Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology has been gradually introduced.
Such DRM technology corresponds to a representative security technique for protecting content, which stipulates use rights for controlling the use of content. Such DRM technology basically permits encrypted content to be freely distributed among users, but a user's Right Object (RO) is required in order to execute corresponding content. Further, with the increase in the use of a content service due to the development of information communication, unexpected damages have occurred due to the increase in inappropriate copying and distribution. In order to prevent such damages, services of DRM technology based on flexibility and convenience for a user's RO have placed an importance on security in which only permitted users can use a corresponding service. In order to accomplish such security, it is necessary to perform an authentication process for verifying that each user terminal is permitted to have access to a given service.
Generally, mutual authentication is performed only between a terminal and a service provider, and the service provider transfers an RO only to the terminal. Such an RO is designated to be used only by a corresponding terminal. When the RO is to be transferred to or shared by other terminals, the RO can be transferred only to or shared only by specific terminals which have been designated in advance.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a general authentication process using a UIM in a Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (MBMS).
Referring to FIG. 1, if authentication is performed between the UIM 30 and a service provider 10, the service provider 10 transfers a Service Key (SK) and a Traffic Key (TK) for decrypting a broadcast service to the UIM 30 through a terminal 20. Then, if the service provider 10 provides the terminal 20 with an encrypted service, the terminal 20 decrypts and executes the encrypted service by means of the keys provided from the UIM 30, so that a user can enjoy multimedia information within the content of the service. The authentication process using the UIM is performed as described above, and the details have been clearly defined in 3GPP TSs 33.220 and 33.102.
As described above, up to the present time, content protection technology has been realized through an authentication process between a service provider and one terminal, etc. However, a detailed method has not yet been proposed for content protection-related standard technology for multiple terminals using a broadcast service in a mobile communication environment. Therefore, a method does not currently exist for reproducing a broadcast service, which a user has joined, in a plurality of terminals by means of a UIM.

Method, system and terminal apparatus for enabling content to be reproduced in multiple terminals


Embodiments of the invention are generally directed to fault testing for interconnections. An embodiment of a fault analysis apparatus includes a test pattern source to provide a test pattern for an interconnection between a transmitter and a receiver, the interconnection having a transmitter end and a receiver end, the interconnection including a first wire and a second wire, the transmitter transmitting the test pattern on the first wire to the receiver. The apparatus further includes a first switch to open and close a first connection for the first wire, and a second switch to open and close a second connection for the second wire. The first switch and the second switch are to be set according to a configuration to set at least a portion of a test path for the detection of one or more faults in the interconnection.

IO (input/output) links for electronic device in communication may be implemented in various forms, including parallel and serial link implementations. Because of cost advantages offered by differential high-speed IO (HSIO) serial link technology, the serial HSIO became an attractive alternative over the conventional parallel IO. Commonly addressed disadvantages of parallel IO may include high pin count, routing resource, and skew among parallel data bits.
An HSIO serial link provides a high-bandwidth communication channel that may match or exceed data rate of parallel IO. A parallel data may be serialized before transmission, and received serialized data may be de-serialized into parallel data at the receiver. The HSIO serial links may reduce pin count and simplify layout issues by eliminating trace match and congestion. Because data is transmitted serially, there is no need to maintain phase relationships among individual data bits.
A serial link may provide for differential signaling. Differential signaling may be used to immunity against certain common noise. The differential interconnection may be utilized to efficiently remove the common noise added during transmission. In operation, the HSIO interconnections may carry the clock signals and the transmitted data, with the clock signals embedded into the data or provided separately.
An HSIO serial link commonly employs a differential signaling scheme. Differential signaling uses a pair of wires: one of the wires carries a signal (which may be referred to as Vp(t)), while the other wire carries the inverse of the signal (Vn(t)). The wires that carry Vp(t) and Vn(t) are referred to as the positive and negative interconnection wires respectively. A receiver may recover data based on the difference between the signals being propagated on the complementary interconnection wires. The difference between the signals, which may be denoted as Vdiff(t), may be defined as Vdiff(t)=Vp(t)−Vn(t). Noise that is added to both Vp(t) and Vn(t) during transmission may be subtracted away, and thus be removed from the Vdiff(t).
The sign of Vdiff(t) may be interpreted as an intended logic value. That is, ideally, the positive or the negative value of Vdiff(t) may be interpreted as logical '1' or '0' respectively. If, for example, Vp(t)=250 mV and Vn(t)=−250 mV, then Vdiff(t)=500 mV>0 may be interpreted as logical '1'. Similarly, Vdiff(t)=−500 mV<0 may be interpreted as logical '0' if Vp(t)=−250 mV and Vn(t)=250 mV. In practice, the minimum value of Vdiff(t) for logical '1' and '0' may be smaller than Vp(t) and Vn(t) respectively. This thus may allow the serial link to be functional and not necessarily to be failed even if one of differential IO lines is defective. However, this may create a potential test problem when defects may be masked during a test, but may cause failure in system application. Thus, detection and proper diagnosis of such defects may be challenging in an HSIO interconnection test.


Handheld communication devices, such as wireless phones, include one or more application programs that permit a person to sell handheld communication products at a point of contact with a potential customer. The methods reward the user of the handheld communication device by providing incentives for selling communication products. By purchasing the handheld communication devices, the customer may then sell other communication products to other customers. The sales of the handheld communication products result in an expanding network of customers and increased revenue for telecommunication companies.

Sales in the telecommunication (telecom) industry suffer from problems of generating significant profits due to substantial expenses required for advertising and labor, low customer retention rates, and high turnover rates in telecom company employees. Selling phones, such as wireless phones, is difficult, even for trained professionals. When a salesperson becomes successful, he is often promoted or becomes more involved with his customer care issues, which results in less time devoted to selling, and accordingly, less profits for the telecom company. Highly trained and highly paid experts are needed to service corporate accounts, which results in increased expenses.
In addition, it is difficult to generate sales when competitive products are very similar. For example, and in particular to wireless phones, the primary differences in products are the cost of the phone, the number of minutes per plan, the coverage area, or promotional accessories, such as batteries, cases, and battery chargers. These differences are insubstantial to most consumers, and telecom companies are frequently changing their programs and incentives in attempt to persuade potential customers. The fact that differences in telecom products are insubstantial is reflected in the high turnover rates in customers of companies. The customer turnover rates are high because it is difficult to prove that one particular product (e.g., wireless phone or service plan) or company is better than another.
Customers are also particularly aware of the issue of customer care or customer service. Companies with poor customer service typically have a difficult time retaining their customers.
One attempt to increase profits and decrease expenses in the telecom industry has been to reduce and/or eliminate the number of people involved in making a sale (e.g., disintermediation). Internet web sites have been developed to attempt to reduce advertising and labor costs. However, web sites have become ineffective because they do not attract enough potential customers to override the costs of spectrum acquisition, technology development, and advertising. An "effective" web site (e.g., a web site that generates more profits than the costs to develop and maintain the site) typically requires ongoing development and maintenance costs to streamline the process of ordering goods or services until a sufficient number of customers are familiarized with the products (i.e., goods and/or services) being sold. Because not enough people buy products through the web site, the web site becomes a substantial liability to the telecom company. Referral type incentives have been provided in attempt to increase the number of sales generated by a web site, but these incentives are ineffective because the credits and/or rebate promotions are self-limiting and do not create enough momentum in purchasing. For example, a customer may receive a sign-up bonus or benefit when he purchases a phone, but he will not continue to be rewarded during the length of his contract with the telecom company. Accordingly, the incentive is only as powerful as his own telephone needs.
Another major factor in selling a product is time decay (e.g., the time from the initial point of contact between a salesperson and a potential customer, or the time at which the potential customer is most interested in a product, until the time the potential customer actually purchases the product). Typically, too many negative distractions occur that reduce the likelihood of completing a sale. Examples of distractions include fatigue, lack of time to research and shop, hectic schedule, and no Internet connection. By the time a sales cycle is completed, ninety percent of the potential customers are no longer interested in purchasing the product. For example, if one person were to refer ten people to a web site of a telecom company, and if those ten referred people were later asked how many actually visited the web site, perhaps two or three people would answer that they had visited the web site. Of those twenty to thirty percent, perhaps one person would have proceeded to make a purchase from the web site. This results in only a ten percent efficiency in sales. Most people are not self-directed, and typically require "hands-on" guidance in order to follow through with a potential purchase.
Telecom companies have begun to realize that personal contact and "hands-on" approaches may be a more reliable method of generating profits than mere referral to a web site. Accordingly, these companies have begun developing relationships with multi-level organizations, hoping that word of mouth sales will stimulate sales. Unfortunately, if one were to research the potential sales, they would determine that the major buyers of such telecom products are the distributors themselves, and not the people outside of the distributor network. Consequently, this method is also self-limiting because one has to be a distributor to benefit from the program. Frequently, a sign-up fee adds to the initial cost before any purchasing benefit becomes a reality. The sign-up fee often becomes a major friction point for any potential distributor. In addition, there is a stigma attached to multi-level sales or marketing, and it is typically too difficult and complicated to succeed in selling the goods or services. Typically, distributors are unable to sell beyond their own networks. In addition, very few distributors have the capability or knowledge required to either answer questions about the technology built into the phone, or to explain the benefits of one product over another since no significant difference exists between the products, as mentioned above.
To address problems of retention, telecom companies typically require annual contracts for new customers. The contracts often impose a severe penalty on those customers who cancel the contract early. As a result, the annual contracts create a substantial friction between the telecom company and the customer.
As the third generation (3G) mobile telecommunications system (i.e., universal mobile telecommunications system) is developed and begins to enter the marketplace, the need for a marketing plan that effectively promotes a company's product will dramatically increase if the company wishes to acquire or maintain a significant portion of the market. In addition, in order to maintain a viable customer base when 3G products enter the market, companies will need to ease the transition of their existing customers over to the new type of communication devices and services.
Thus, there remains an unmet need for methods of increasing sales of telecommunication products, decreasing expenses associated with selling the products, and for retaining current customers.

Devices, systems, and methods for solving challenges in telecom and sales marketing


A space-conscious system utilizes a low profile expansion card for providing a physical and electrical interface between a larger scale board, such as a motherboard, and an external component. The expansion card is mounted in a perpendicular orientation relative to the larger scale board, despite dimensional limitations with regard to such an orientation. The expansion card includes an input/output circuit board and a “signal-conduction extender” for enabling coupling to an external wall of the housing in which the expansion card and larger scale board are contained. In one possible embodiment, the housing is compatible with the 1U standard, the expansion card is an Ethernet card, and there is an adapter board at the front wall of the housing for routing connections from the expansion card to an exposed port. The invention allows a number of the expansion cards to be mounted in parallel within the same container.

In some businesses, there is an advantage to utilizing a computer system that allows existing services to be easily increased in capacity and enables new services to be easily introduced. For example, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) may maintain a server farm that is routinely expanded as the ISP gains subscribers. Online software vendors also benefit from the ability to readily expand capacity or capability.
An approach that facilitates capacity expansion and capability extension is rack mounting. FIG. 1 illustrates a rack mounted system 10 in which separate housings 12 contain sub-systems. A rack 14 includes slides which receive the housings on the basis of a particular standard. The sub-systems may be computers, computer appliances, or other cooperative equipment. The appliances may perform tasks such as spam filtering, network packet routing, firewall functions, or other functions that are needed by a particular enterprise.
A known industry standard for rack mounting is to provide measurements in 1U, 2U, 3U and 4U heights. A 1U height is approximately 1.6 inches (40.64 millimeters). The computers and other equipment are stacked on top of each other at a co-location facility, as shown in FIG. 1. The space at the facility can be expensive, so that the organization provided by the system is significant to the enterprise.
Within the various sub-systems, it is desirable to use a standard operating system (OS) and standard personal computer motherboards. The advantage is that application software and circuit boards are readily available from many suppliers in the market, if they are to be employed with the standard OS and motherboard. Thus, it is not necessary to design custom hardware. Only custom application software is needed in order to properly perform the operations required by a particular enterprise.
A difficulty is to provide all of the input/output functions while using standard motherboards. A motherboard typically has one or two Ethernet ports and has the other standard ports for a computer system. Additional ports are often needed for an appliance or for networking equipment. To add the additional ports to the system, an expansion card may be used or a custom motherboard may be designed and built. The custom motherboard is expensive and takes time to test and manufacture. Consequently, the preference is to utilize an expansion card. However, commercially available expansion cards are typically designed for use within a standard desktop computer and are approximately 4 inches (101.6 millimeters) in height (PCI and derivatives). Because the slots of the motherboard are designed to place the expansion cards in a vertical position, the cards cannot be used in a standard 1U chassis. FIG. 2 shows an example of an Ethernet card 16 that includes a port 18 and circuitry 20 that enables signal exchanges between circuitry on a motherboard (not shown) and an external system. An edge connector 22 on the card is mated to a slot of the motherboard. A metal bracket 24 is fixed to the back wall of the housing in which the Ethernet card is connected. Currently, a standard for an input/output card having a vertical orientation and a back-wall accessibility has been set for 2U-compatible chassis, but the standard is limited to such applications.
Riser cards allow the use of a standard-sized expansion card with a motherboard housed within a 1U chassis or a 2U chassis. A riser card is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,587 to Potter et al. The riser card mates with the slot connector of the motherboard and includes a slot connector that permits the expansion card to reside in an orientation parallel to the motherboard, rather than perpendicular to the motherboard. Two such slot connectors may face in opposite directions from the riser card, so that the riser card permits two expansion cards to be located within the chassis.
Riser cards limit the number of expansion cards which may be installed. Because the riser cards place the expansion card or cards parallel to the motherboard, an expansion card may extend over slot connectors on the motherboard, preventing these slot connectors from being used. In addition, reliability and quality may suffer as a result of the need for the extra components and the additional connections. The number of input/output ports (such as Ethernet ports) may be increased by providing a DUAL or QUAD Ethernet adapter card, but these cards are sometimes cost prohibitive, since they require special hardware to multiplex the single expansion slot into the multiple input/output ports.
While known techniques operate reasonably well for their intended purpose, further improvements are desired.


A top entry floating ball valve (10) and method of assembly including a downstream metal seat (62) mounted within an annular recess about a downstream flow passage (22) and an upstream metal seat (80) urged by a Belleville spring (78) into engagement with ball closure member (24). Ball closure member (24) is urged by Belleville spring (78) into sealing relation with downstream metal seat (62). A smooth planar wall surface (16) is defined by valve chamber (14) about the inlet flow passage (20) and Belleville spring (78) may be easily inserted within the valve chamber (14) along smooth planar wall surface (16) behind upstream metal seat (80). Upstream metal seat (80) has an inner spherical surface (82) conforming to the outer spherical surface (26) of ball closure member (24) and may be easily moved manually along the spherical surface (26) for assembly and disassembly.

Heretofore, top entry ball valves have been provided in which the valve seats have been inserted about the flow passages and removed from the valve chamber from the access opening to the valve chamber provided upon removal of the bonnet or top cover plate. Thus, upon removal of the bonnet closing the access opening, the seats and ball closure member may be installed in or removed from a seated position about the inlet and outlet flow passages in fluid communication with the valve chamber.
As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,545 dated Nov. 13, 1973, a top entry ball valve is illustrated in which a ball valve member is installed within a valve chamber along with upstream and downstream seats upon removal of the upper cover plate or bonnet. Seat recesses are provided about the inlet and outlet flow passages and the seats are positioned within the seat recesses. As a relatively long length seat is required if the seat is inserted within a recess, a sufficient clearance must be provided between the ball closure member and the valve body adjacent the recess to permit the seat to pass the ball member. For this purpose the valve seats have generally spherical opposed end surfaces for passing the position of the valve chamber body or wall adjacent the recess for the seat. The seat has an inner spherical seating surface which conforms to the outer spherical surface of the ball closure member so that the seat may be easily moved along the outer spherical surface of the ball closure member. The seats shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,345 are two piece seats and are adapted to be slid along the spherical surface of the ball into a recessed position with the seat recesses. The ball valve member is trunnion mounted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,421 dated Jan. 20, 1987 also shows a top entry floating ball valve in which spacer rings are mounted against resilient seats in seat recesses in the valve body. The spacer rings having a concentric inner and outer spherical surfaces with the inner spherical surface conforming to the outer surface of the ball closure member so that it may slide and be easily moved along the surface of the ball closure member for proper positioning. Upstream and downstream sealing members are provided within the seat recesses of the valve body. A relatively large valve chamber is provided to receive the ball closure member and spacers and a large entrance or access opening to the valve chamber is provided by the upper cover plate.

Top entry ball valve and method of assembly


The ballast of the present invention includes a DC power supply, an inverter circuit, a load circuit, and an integrated control circuit. The integrated control circuit controls the switching elements of the DC power supply and the inverter circuit. The integrated control circuit includes a first control unit, a second control unit, and a driver circuit. The first control unit generates a first control signal for control of the switching element of the DC power supply. The second control unit generates a second control signal for control of the switching elements of the inverter circuit. The driver circuit provides drive signals for driving each one of the switching elements of said DC power supply and the inverter circuit in accordance with the first control signal and the second control signal. As mentioned above, control circuits for controlling the DC power supply and the inverter circuit are integrated into a single component, the number of components which are mounted on a printed circuit board is reduced.

Japanese Patent No. 3106592 discloses a ballast for a discharge lamp which includes a DC power supply and an inverter circuit. The DC power supply receives an input voltage and provides a regulated DC output voltage for the inverter circuit. The inverter circuit converts the DC output voltage into a high frequency voltage to apply it to the discharge lamp for driving the discharge lamp. The DC power supply includes an inductor, a capacitor, and a switching element, and generates a predetermined DC output voltage across a smoothing capacitor by turning on and off the input voltage. The inverter circuit includes two switching elements which are connected in series across the smoothing capacitor, and generates a high frequency voltage by turning on and off the two switching elements alternately. This ballast further includes a first control unit which turns on and off the switching element of the DC power supply so as to keep the DC output voltage at a predetermined value, a second control unit which turns on and off the switching elements of the inverter circuit so as to keep the high frequency voltage from the inverter circuit at a predetermined value or change the high frequency voltage, and a driver circuit which receives a first control signal and a second control signal generated from the first control unit and the second control unit, respectively, and generates a signal for driving the switching elements.
In such a conventional ballast, the first control unit which controls the DC power supply and the second control unit which controls the inverter circuit are formed in separate integrated control circuits and are designed so that each integrated control circuit includes a driver circuit. Therefore, a circuit pattern on a printed circuit board on which these two integrated control circuits are mounted is subjected to a restriction, and mounting positions of the DC power supply and the inverter circuit, especially the switching elements used for these, have a low degree of flexibility, so, it is difficult to miniaturize the ballast circuit.

Ballast for a discharge lamp with integrated control circuit for controlling switching element of dc power supply and inverter circuit


An imaging or other sensory reproduction system efficiently converts image or other sensory data between a perceptual color space (e.g., the sRGB color space) and a physical color space (unity gamma) or other perceptual/physical sensory models that are related by an expression involving a computationally expensive exponential function. The imaging system calculates exponential functions that can be composed from computationally inexpensive operations, such as square root, square, reciprocal, as well as multiplications and/or additions and subtractions. These computationally less expensive functions are then combined, such as in a weighted and/or offset mean, summation or difference to approximate the computationally expensive exponential function. The imaging system evaluates the expression using the approximation to efficiently yield the converted image data. The efficient conversion between perceptual and physical color spaces allows operations, such as blending and anti-aliasing, to be performed in the physical color space before display of a perceptual color space image.

Color in color imaging systems generally is represented as vector coordinates in a three dimensional "color space." Common examples include the well-known RGB, YIQ and YUV color spaces. The RGB color space specifies a color using coordinates that represent intensities of red, green and blue light, respectively (also known as "tristimulus" values). The RGB color space is well suited for output devices such as CRT (cathode ray tube) computer monitors, which produce color by exciting red, green and blue phosphors with an electron beam at varying intensity.
A default, standard RGB color space (termed the "sRGB" color space) has been defined to support the unambiguous interchange of color image data between devices with differing color reproduction characteristics (e.g., between scanners, displays, printers, cameras and other imaging devices, which may have different gamut, as well as red, green and blue color reproduction chromaticities and luminance). (See, International Electrotechnical Commission, "Colour Measurement And Management In Multimedia Systems And Equipment," IEC61966-2-1 (1998).)
The sRGB color space is a perceptual color representation, which represents the appearance to a viewer of color on a reference monitor under reference viewing conditions. The coordinates in the sRGB color space have a non-linear relationship to actual luminance in the three respective chromaticities that closely fits a simple power function of exponent 2.2. (This exponent is sometimes referred to as the color space's "gamma" or γ). This perceptual color space is advantageous in that it closely matches the native color space of many devices (e.g., displays, scanners and digital cameras). For example, common CRT displays have a non-linear relationship of electron-gun voltage to phosphor luminance also fitting an exponential function.
It has been shown, however, that perceptual color spaces are not ideally suitable for many standard image-processing operations, such as filtering, anti-aliasing and blending. For best results, these image processing operations ideally should be performed using a physical color representation having a linear relationship to light intensity (i.e., γ=1). (See, e.g., Ward Larson, Greg and Rob Shakespeare, Rendering with Radiance, Morgan-Kauffman (1998).) An example of a physical color space is the scRGB color space, described in IEC 61966-2-2.
As per the sRGB standard, the conversion between the perceptual sRGB color space and a physical color space is defined using the following equations. (The sRGB-color values are integer numbers in the range 0 to 255, whereas physical color values are floating point numbers in the range 0 to 1.)
                                          R            sRGB            ′                    =                                    R                              8                                bit                                      ÷            255.0                                                                                G            sRGB            ′                    =                                    G                              8                                bit                                      ÷            255.0                                                                                B            sRGB            ′                    =                                    B                              8                                bit                                      ÷            255.0                                              (        1        )                                          R          sRGB                =                  {                                                                                R                        sRGB                        ′                                            ÷                      12.92                                                                                if                                                                                R                          sRGB                          ′                                                                    ≤                      0.03928                                                                                [                                                                              (                                                                                R                                sRGB                                ′                                                            +                              0.055                                                        )                                                    /                          1.055                                                ]                                            2.4                                                                            otherwise                                                                                G                sRGB                                      =                          {                                                                                G                            sRGB                            ′                                                    ÷                          12.92                                                                                if                                                                                G                              sRGB                              ′                                                                                ≤                          0.03928                                                                                [                                                                                (                                                                                G                                    sRGB                                    ′                                                                    +                                  0.055                                                                )                                                            /                              1.055                                                        ]                                                    2.4                                                                                otherwise                                                                                B                    sRGB                                                  =                                  {                                                                                B                            sRGB                            ′                                                    ÷                          12.92                                                                                if                                                                                B                              sRGB                              ′                                                                                ≤                          0.03928                                                                                [                                                                                (                                                                                B                                    sRGB                                    ′                                                                    +                                  0.055                                                                )                                                            /                              1.055                                                        ]                                                    2.4                                                                                otherwise                                                                                (        2        )
The inverse transform (i.e., physical color space to sRGB color space) is as follows.
                              R          sRGB          ′                =                  {                                                                                12.92                      ×                                              R                        sRGB                                                                                if                                                                                R                          sRGB                                                                    <                      0.00304                                                                                1.055                        ×                                                  R                          sRGB                                                      (                                                          1.0                              /                              2.4                                                        )                                                                                -                                                                                0.055                                                                            otherwise                                                                                G                sRGB                ′                                      =                          {                                                                                12.92                          ×                                                      G                            sRGB                                                                                if                                                                                G                              sRGB                                                                                ≤                          0.00304                                                                                1.055                            ×                                                          G                              sRGB                                                              (                                                                  1.0                                  /                                  2.4                                                                )                                                                                -                                                                                0.055                                                                                otherwise                                                                                B                    sRGB                    ′                                                  =                                  {                                                                                12.92                          ×                                                      B                            sRGB                                                                                if                                                                                B                              sRGB                                                                                ≤                          0.00304                                                                                1.055                            ×                                                          B                              sRGB                                                              (                                                                  1.0                                  /                                  2.4                                                                )                                                                                -                                                                                0.055                                                                                otherwise                                                                                (        3        )                                                      R                          8                            bit                                =                      255.0            ×                          R              sRGB              ′                                                                                G                          8                            bit                                =                      255.0            ×                          G              sRGB              ′                                                                                B                          8                            bit                                =                      255.0            ×                          B              sRGB              ′                                                          (        4        )
As can be seen from the above equations, these conversions involve calculating power functions with the exponent, 2.4. The calculation of such a power function using a floating-point instruction on conventional microprocessors consumes a relatively long time to compute. Further, given constraints on cache memory during image processing, an implementation of the conversion as a large look-up table also would be slow. Consequently, it becomes impractical to perform the perceptual-to-physical color space conversion for anti-aliasing and like image processing, and the reverse physical-to-perceptual color space conversion during real-time image renderings with such implementations.
A like problem arises with other perceptual color spaces that also ideally would be converted to physical color space representations for some image processing operations. For example, a CRT monitor that has γ=2.5 relationship of electron gun voltage to phosphor luminance would ideally convert images between representations using a device-specific RGB color space (with γ=2.5) and a physical color space (γ=1) for blending and anti-aliasing image processing operations.
The present invention provides efficient conversion between perceptual (γ≠1) and physical (γ=1) color spaces, and like applications involving difficult to calculate exponents. In accordance with the invention, a conversion involving a computationally expensive power function(s) of a variable is implemented by mathematically combining the results of any number of computationally less expensive functions of the variable. Such computationally less expensive functions generally are functions that can be composed of a small number of square roots, reciprocal square roots, reciprocals, multiplications and/or additions and subtractions. The combination of computationally less expensive functions can be an arithmetic mean, harmonic mean, weighted sum or difference, or other mathematical combination of the functions.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the computationally less expensive functions are composed of a small number of single instruction multiple data floating-point (SIMD FP) instruction set operations. Such SIMD FP operations on modern processors allow software to use single instructions to perform a same floating-point operation on packed operands, such as a range of multiple consecutive color values in an image.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention for sRGB/physical color space conversions for example, the power function of exponent 2.4 (i.e., x2.4) in the sRGB to physical color space conversion is approximated utilizing the following weighted harmonic mean:
      x    2.4    ≈      1.285                  (                  0.285          +                      x                          -              0.5                                      )                          x                  -          2                    The expressions x−2 and x−0.5 can be computed quickly with two and one SIMD FP instructions, respectively. Specifically, x−2 is the square of the reciprocal, and x−0.5 is the reciprocal square root.
On the other hand, the inverse power x1/2.4 in the inverse physical-to-sRGB conversion can be approximated with a weighted arithmetic mean of the two functions x0.5 and x0.375, both of which are computationally inexpensive on a processor where the square root is computationally inexpensive. The function x0.375 can be evaluated as three successive square roots.
Alternatively, the function x1/2.4 can be evaluated using a Newton-Raphson iteration for the cube root (x1/2.4=3√{square root over (x1.25)}).
More generally, alternative embodiments of the invention for perceptual/physical color space conversion approximate a conversion involving a power function with exponents in the range between 1.7 and 2.5 (e.g., the sRGB power function x2.4) as a combination of one or more of the computationally less expensive functions. Examples of such computationally less expensive functions include power functions with exponents in the range between 1 and 3 composed from square, square root and reciprocal operations, such as the following:
            x      1.25        =          x                              x                                x      1.5        =          x                    x                        x      1.75        =          x      ·              x        /                              x                                          x      2        =          x      ·      x                  x      2.25        =                  x        ·        x                                    x                                x      2.3125        =                  x        ·        x                                                x                          ·                                                            x                                                                    x      2.5        =          x      ·      x      ·              x
For the conversion from physical back to sRGB or other perceptual color space, the alternative embodiments approximate the inverse power function x−1/2.4 (or other power function with exponent in the range of − 1/1.8 and − 1/2.5) as a combination of one or more inverse power functions in a similar range. Some examples include:
            x      0.25        =                  x                        x      0.375        =                  x            /                                    x                                          x      0.5        =          x
Additionally, the invention can be applied to efficiently approximate computationally expensive power functions in other perceptual/physical conversion applications in addition to imaging, such as perceptual/physical conversion of audio and touch data. Further, the efficient approximation of power functions according to the invention can be employed in applications other than those involving perceptual/physical data conversions that require evaluation of computationally expensive power functions.
Additional features and advantages will be made apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiment, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Efficient perceptual/physical color space conversion


A wheel cover having resin main body obtained by injecting a molten resin into a closed mold consisting of at least two dies, curing the resin, and then separating the dies. Openings are formed through the wheel cover, and inclined decorative faces are formed around each opening. A transfer layer is transferred onto the front face of the main body simultaneously when the resin main body is molded by means of in-mold transferring. The boundary between the decorative faces of the wheel cover and the openings is the parting line where the dies are separated from each other. The inner diameters of the openings are tapered to facilitate die separation and removal.

The present invention relates generally to an in-mold transfer method for simultaneously achieving injection molding and transference of a transfer foil from a transfer film placed in dies onto the surface of an injection-molded product, and more particularly, to a resin wheel cover molded using the method.
An in-mold transfer method for simultaneously achieving injection molding and transference of a transfer layer from a transfer film placed in dies onto the surface of an injection-molded product is known. This in-mold transfer method is carried out in accordance with the following steps.
As shown in FIG. 10A, a transfer film 54 for in-mold transferring is placed in a mold consisting of a first die 51 and a second die 52. The transfer film 54 is composed of a base film 55 and a transfer layer 56. Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, a molten resin is injected from an injection molding machine 57 into the dies 51 and 52. The resin fills the dies 51 and 52 conforming to the configuration of the cavity and core and also presses the transfer film 54. Thus, the transfer layer 56 is separated from the base film 55 and transferred onto the resin 59. The first and second dies 51 and 52 are separated from each other after the resin is cured, as shown in FIG. 10C, to obtain a resin product having the transfer layer 56 transferred thereon.
Meanwhile, wheel covers are resin products that can be produced by this known injection molding method. There are various shapes of wheel covers, and the in-mold transfer method can be used for producing those having substantially flat surfaces. However, some wheel covers have heat dissipation holes for dissipating heat generated by braking. A cross-sectional view of such a wheel cover 61 is shown in FIG. 11. This wheel cover 61 has communicating holes 64, each communicating a front face 62 and a rear face 63, and a decorative face 66 formed on the front face 62 around each communicating hole 64. The communicating hole 64 has a collar 65 extending from the rear face 63. The collar 65 is tapered such that the diameter of the collar 65 is smaller toward its distal end. The collars 65 are formed mainly for giving the impression that the wheel cover 61 is thick, i.e., the wheel cover 61 appears thicker than it actually is, when the collars 65 of the wheel cover 61 are viewed through the communicating holes 64.
The wheel cover 61 is molded by injecting a resin into a first die 68 and a second die 69, as shown in FIG. 12, and, after the resin is cured, the dies 68 and 69 are separated from each other to take the cured resin product out of the dies 68 and 69.
However, it is sometimes difficult to apply the in-mold transfer method to wheel covers like the wheel cover having decorative faces 66 formed around the communicating holes 64. More specifically, the transfer layer 56 is extended on the decorative faces 66 and on the inner wall surface of the communicating hole 64, as shown in FIG. 13. The transfer layer 56 may be broken if the inclination of the decorative faces 66 is steep and the transfer layer 56 is pulled much beyond its critical point of extension, or if it is wrinkled. If the transfer layer 56 is extended too much, even if it is not broken or wrinkled, the transfer layer 56, which is based on an aluminum vapor deposition layer, undergoes whitening and loses its primary metallic luster.
For solving this problem, the parting line (PL face) 70 of the first die 68 and the second die 69 may be shifted toward the front face 62, as shown in FIG. 14. In this case, the transfer layer 56 is merely extended to the Parting line 70, so that the problems attributed to excessive extension are avoided. However, according to this proposal, the tapered collars 65 hinder separation of the first die 68 from the second die 69. if the collars 65 are omitted, the wheel cover 61 does not appear to have greater thickness, and the rigidity around the communicating holes is lowered.


An inventive rotatable optical short-range transceiver has: a support which is rotatable around a rotation axis, an optical receiver which is arranged at the support on the rotation axis to receive an optical reception signal from a first direction, an optical transmitter which is arranged at the support to be adjacent to the optical receiver to emit an optical transmission signal in a second direction, and an optical transmission/reception unit which is configured to allow interruption-free rotatable optical data communication, wherein the optical transmission/reception unit is arranged at the support above the optical receiver and extends over the optical receiver and the optical transmitter, and wherein the optical transmission/reception unit has a support structure for mounting at the support, which is implemented integrally with the optical transmission/reception unit.

The present invention relates to the field of signal transmission, in particular to the optical data transmission via two components which are arranged to be rotatable to each other. Embodiments relate to a rotatable optical short-range transceiver for optical wireless data transmission.
Different approaches for allowing signal transmission are known in conventional technology, for example data transmission between two components which are arranged to be rotatable to each other. Either, both components are supported to be rotatable or one of the components is arranged to be rotatable relative to the other one. Conventional approaches solve the problem of data transmission via two mutually rotatable components by using cables, wherein slip rings or contact brushes are used for transmitting the electrical signals at the position of rotation. Such contact-entailing signal transmission approaches are of disadvantage since, due to the contact-entailing transmission technology, the lifetime of the position of rotation and, consequently, the lifetime of the entire system is reduced or limited, in particular due to contact wearing. In addition, the all-around signal propagation of the electrical signal on the slip ring causes multipath propagation, which may result in run time differences of the individual electrical signals, which may cause a limitation of the transmission bandwidth.
Other approaches known in conventional technology for avoiding the disadvantages of contact-entailing transmission technologies when transmitting signals via a position of rotation use optical wireless data transmission using optical transmission/reception units or transceivers provided in the components which are arranged to be rotatable relative to one another. This optical approach is of advantage in that there is no wear and, consequently, the lifetime of the entire system is not limited. In addition, multipath propagation of the signal as mentioned above is avoided so that a limitation of the transmission bandwidth using such optical wireless data transmission systems is avoided, thereby achieving data rates of up to 100 Mbit/s and more, for example.
FIGS. 1A and 1B shows a schematic illustration of a conventional signal transmission device comprising two optical wireless transmission/reception units, FIG. 1A representing a position of the two optical transmission/reception units with an intact data link between the same and FIG. 1B representing the two transmission/reception units twisted relative to each other, the result being an interruption in the data link.
FIG. 1A shows first transmission/reception means 100a comprising an optical transmitter 102a and an optical receiver 104a. In FIG. 1A, a rotation axis 106 is also illustrated around which the first transmission/reception unit 100a can be rotated. The optical transmitter 102a and the optical receiver 104a are arranged to be spaced apart from the rotation axis 106 in the transmission/reception unit 100a. For optical data transmission, the optical transmitter 102a generates a first transmission beam 108a which is directed towards a second transmission/reception unit 100b. The second transmission/reception unit in turn comprises an optical transmitter 102b and an optical receiver 104b which are arranged on both sides to the rotation axis 106. The second transmission/reception unit is arranged to be rotatable around the rotation axis 106, as is indicated by the arrow 106b. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1A, the two transmission/reception units 100a, 100b are oriented relative to each other such that the optical transmitter 102a in the first transmission/reception unit 100a is opposite the optical receiver 104b in the second transmission/reception unit 102b and that the optical transmitter 102b of the second transmission/reception unit 100b is arranged opposite the optical receiver 104a in the first transmission/reception unit 100a. The transmission beams 108a and 108b emitted by the optical transmitters 102a and 102b, respectively, are directed towards the opposite optical receivers 104b and 104a, respectively. When the two transmission/reception units 100a, 100b are oriented in correspondence with the illustration in FIG. 1A, bidirectional data transmission or unidirectional data transmission when using only one of the optical transmitters is possible. In other words, the data link between the two transmission/reception units 100a, 100b is intact.
The disadvantage of the conventional device for optical wireless data transmission via a position of rotation, as illustrated in 1A, is that the corresponding transmitters/receivers of the two rotatable or mutually twistable transceiver units are to be oriented to one another so that, in other words, the transmitter and the receiver are in visual contact. However, when the transmission/reception units 100a, 100b are twisted from the position as illustrated in FIG. 1A, for example when rotating the first transmission/reception unit 100a relative to the second transmission/reception unit 100b by 180°, for example, as is illustrated in FIG. 1B, the transmitter and the receiver are no longer opposite each other. Rather, as can be recognized, the corresponding transmitters and the corresponding receivers in the two transmission/reception units 100a, 100b are arranged to be opposite. In other words, there is no visual contact between the transmitters and the receivers in the two opposite transmission/reception units, or visual contact disappears, so that the data link will be interrupted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,360 A describes an optical slip ring for optical communication between a pair of elements which can be rotated freely relative to each other. These elements may be a pair of optical fibers, an electrical conductor and an optical fiber or a pair of electrical conductors. One element is attached to a first mounting device and the other element is mounted to a second mounting device. The optical receiver is positioned in the center of the first mounting device on a common rotation axis relative to the second mounting device. The other optical receiver is arranged on the second mounting device on the common rotation axis. An optical emitter is attached to the first mounting device eccentrically and the other optical emitter is mounted to the second mounting device eccentrically. The optical transmitter mounted to the first mounting device is directed towards the optical receiver mounted to the second mounting device and the optical transmitter mounted to the second mounting device is directed towards the optical receiver mounted to the first optical device.
Starting from the conventional technology described above, the object underlying the present invention is providing an improved and compact rotatable optical short-range transceiver allowing reliable data transmission irrespective of a relative rotation position relative to another transmission/reception unit.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Rotatable optical short-range transceiver


The present invention discloses high yielding enantioselective process for synthesis of Oseltamivir from readily available starting material, cis-1,4-butene diol. The process features incorporation of chirality using sharpless asymmetric epoxidation (AE) and diastereoselective Barbier allylation and construction of cyclohexene carboxylic acid ester core through a ring closing metathesis (RCM) reaction. Further also disclosed herein is synthesis of (−)-methyl 3-epi-shikimate.

Influenza, commonly referred to as flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). Influenza spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics, resulting in the deaths of between 200,000 and 500,000 to people every year, up to millions in some pandemic years. The development of effective antiviral medicines is hampered by the exceptionally high mutation rates of influenza virus. Therefore, in order to be successful, new drugs should target the molecular mechanisms specific to the proliferation of the virus.
Antiviral drug such as Oseltamivir is an orally active neuraminidase inhibitor, which has been widely used for the treatment of H5N1 avian influenza as well as a recent outbreak of H1N1 swine flu. The drug is sold under the trade name Tamiflu, and is taken orally in capsules or as a suspension. It has been used to treat and prevent influenza A virus and influenza B virus infection in over 50 million people since 1999. The anti-influenza drug was initially discovered by Gilead Sciences and subsequently licensed to Roche for production.
The initial synthesis of Tamiflu, developed by Gilead Sciences, employs (−)-quinic acid as the starting material, alternatively, shikimic acid was used for the commercial production. Large quantities of (−)-shikimic acid are obtained by extraction from star anise plant which is grown in China by a biocatalytic process which uses glucose as carbon source. The process is described below in Scheme 1:

However, the supply of (−)-shikimic acid of consistent purity is problematic due to seasonal and geographical constraints.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,531,687 (Applicant—Roche) relates to a process for the conversion of Shikimic acid to oseltamivir (I), and optionally to an acid addition salt, via the intermediate phosphoramide VII. The process is described in Scheme 2 below:

The process comprises the steps of (step 1) converting an alkyl shikimate ester (III) to the corresponding tris-mesylate IV by reacting III with methanesulfonyl chloride the presence of an aprotic organic solvent and an organic base; (step 2) stereoselectively displacing the mesyloxy substituent on C-3 with azide in an organic solvent optionally in the presence of water and a phase transfer catalyst to afford V; (step 3) contacting V with a trialkylphosphite in an inert organic solvent to induce a Staudinger reaction and provide the aziridine (VI); (step 4) opening the aziridine by contacting VI with a Lewis acid in the presence of a first alcohol to form VII; (step 5a) contacting VII with a strong acid in a second alcoholic solvent to hydrolyze of the phosphoramidate and afford the amine VIII-1; (step 6a) contacting VIII-1 with an acylating agent and a base to afford VIII-2; (step 7a) contacting VIII-2 with a azide in a second organic solvent and in the presence of a third alcohol to displace the remaining mesyloxy group to afford IX and (step 8) contacting IX with a reducing agent to afford oseltamivir (I) which is optionally converted to a pharmaceutically acceptable salt.
Article titled "The Synthetic Development of the Anti-Influenza Neuraminidase Inhibitor Oseltamivir Phosphate (Tamiflu®): A Challenge for Synthesis & Process Research" by Karf, Trussadi et. al in CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry (2004), Volume: 58, Issue: 9, Pages: 621-629 discloses synthesis of Oseltamivir Phosphate from naturally available (−)-shikimic acid as a chiral pool starting material. The process is depicted in Scheme 3 below:

An article titled "Short Enantioselective Pathway for the Synthesis of the Anti-Influenza Neuramidase Inhibitor Oseltamivir from 1,3-Butadiene and Acrylic Acid" by E. J. Corey published in J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128 (19), pp 6310-6311 discloses synthesis of Oseltamivir from 1,3-Butadiene and acrylic Acid as shown in Scheme 4.

Article titled "Second Generation Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Tamiflu: Allylic Substitution Route" by Masakatsu Shibasaki et. al in Org. Lett., 2007, 9 (2), pp 259-262 discloses Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of Tamiflu. After the catalytic enantioselective desymmetrization of meso-aziridine 3 with TMSN3, using a Y catalyst (1 mol %) derived from ligand 2, an allylic oxygen function and C1 unit on the CC double bond are introduced through cyanophosphorylation of enone and allylic substitution with an oxygen nucleophile (Scheme 5).

Article titled "A Practical Synthesis of (−)-Oseltamivir" by Fukuyama et. al (Part I) in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 5734-5736 discloses preparation of Oseltamivir from pyridine and acrolein. The asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction with acrolein 3 is carried out with the McMillan catalyst to the aldehyde 4 as the endo isomer which is oxidized to the carboxylic acid 5 with sodium chlorite. The process is given below in Scheme 6

In the article "A Concise Synthesis of (−)-Oseltamivir" by Barry M. Trost, Ting Zhang in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 1-4, synthesis of Oseltamivir is disclosed which is given below in Scheme 7:

Since control of stereochemistry is important, as the molecule has three stereo centers, the prior art processes use costly chiral reagents or catalysts to obtain the desired enantioselectivity. Furthermore, the commercial production of Oseltamivir from the biomolecule shikimic acid or from its enantiomer is restricted by limited supply of the plant worldwide.
Due to the limited supply of shikimic acid, searches for alternative synthetic routes preferably skipping shikimic acid are underway. Further, though Oseltamivir is not a complex molecule yet its practical synthesis on a large scale, enough to guard against an influenza pandemic, presents a formidable challenge.
In view of the above, there remains a need to provide a high-yielding enantioselective approach towards the synthesis of Anti-Influenza Agent Oseltamivir from readily available and less expensive starting materials.

Process for the preparation of oseltamivir and methyl 3-epi-shikimate

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


A video transmitting system including a plurality of video cameras, a plurality of video monitoring apparatuses, a plurality of local storage devices, a data transmission subsystem, at least one video data collecting and transmitting apparatus, at least one collecting storage device, and at least one interface apparatus is presented. Video data from the video cameras are stored in the local storage devices and transmitted through the data transmission subsystem to be stored in the collecting storage device and to be transmitted to users.

The International Patent Application WO2008107686 discloses a system arranged to display upon request video imagery together with audio signal and comprising a plurality of cameras able to capture video images, a video monitoring apparatus comprising a video compression module adapted to compress video images received from the cameras, a video archiving programming module arranged to process video signals compressed by the compression module, a video archiving storage device arranged to store the said compressed video signals, a secondary video compression module linked to the storage device and adapted to compress video imagery received from the said storage device into a format selected from a mobile device format, a web video format and a TV video format, a video data transmitting apparatus (server) adapted to the said format and arranged to interrogate the said storage device and capable of communication with a remote mobile device, a web browser or a TV display controller and with a gateway payment appropriate to the said format, and wherein archived video images are compressed and relayed to the said server and subsequently to the said mobile device, web browser or TV display controller upon demand from the said server when triggered by a request from any of the said remote mobile device, the web browser or the TV display controller for specific video imagery once authorized by said payment means.
This video transmitting system enables the data to be captured and transmitted from several video cameras installed at location where the event would take place, for example, at a stadium or in a concert hall, to a plurality of users. At the same time, in case the system operates at a plurality of locations arranged for simultaneous video monitored events at a significant distance from each other, for example, one kilometer to several thousand kilometers apart, the said system cannot be used or requires significant material or financial costs due to the fact that if such events take place in different towns or different districts of a town, there is required a high capacity dedicated data transmission channel to transmit the video image data to the storage device, because the amount of the video image data both compressed and uncompressed is large. To provide the high capacity dedicated data transmission channel for transmission of the large amount of the data, there is required some high performance equipment to be installed or rented, which leads to significant financial costs.
Another limiting factor in the usage of the video transmitting system for simultaneous video monitoring events at the plurality of locations disclosed in WO2008107686 is that being transmitted from video cameras installed at different locations, the data on the video images may be lost due to, for example, the camera failure, a data transmission channel break or the interference that causes video image deterioration on receiving the data. The data transmission channel of sufficient capacity cannot be always provided for an entire time period of video data transmission, if the locations where the monitoring video cameras are installed are geographically broadly distributed. When an event at one location, for example, a concert or a sport match, is being video broadcast, in case a signal from one camera being lost or deteriorated, the transmitted video image may be replaced with the image from another video camera installed at the same event location. However, if there being video monitored some geographically separated events such as government or municipal elections, a signal from one camera cannot be always replaced with an image from another camera, because of some difficulties associated with preparing and maintaining the data transmission channel from each location for video capturing there may be installed either only one camera or few ones with each of the cameras transmitting images of different sectors and objects of and at, for example, a polling station in case of video broadcasting aimed at monitoring government or municipal elections.
If a video record from the same video camera is serially requested to be viewed by a plurality of users, the data transmission subsystem of the video transmitting system of WO2008107686 is subjected to an increased load, because the video record stored in the storage device for video record archiving is required to be transmitted several times (according to a number of request sent by the users to the server) in order to be transmitted from the server to the mobile devices, web-browsers or controllers of TV devices of users. The technical solution of the International Patent Application WO2008107686 supposes that the storage device is installed close by or inside the video monitoring apparatus and transmits the video data to the server through the data transmission subsystem, for example, the Internet. If the storage device was installed close by the server or was a part of the server, the load of the data transmission subsystem would be decreased, but in that case the risk to lose the video data from the video cameras and the video monitoring apparatus would increase, because in that case they are required to be transmitted through the data transmission subsystem, which or interface devices of which may failure or have insufficient data transmission rates.

Video transmitting system for monitoring simultaneous geographically distributed events

OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY LONG-DISTANCE AND INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS


To be used in a vertical blind assembly, a carrier assembly including a plurality of carrier members, each member having a carrier frame with an axial bore extending therethrough, a transverse gear track tangentially disposed beneath the axial bore and a generally C-shaped attachment member perpendicularly disposed along a lower edge of the carrier frame, and a stem member having a vane holder portion and a drive gear rotatably disposed within the generally C-shaped attachment member. The vane holder portion and the drive gear portion being interconnected with one another such that each is independently rotatable and the vane holder portion is further adapted to have a limited range of rotation relative to the drive gear, thereby enabling complete alignment of all vanes. The carrier assembly further includes an axial pinion rod extending through the axial bore of each of the carrier members so as to engage a first set of gear teeth disposed along a top edge of a horizontal rack gear slidably positioned within the transverse gear track of the carrier frame. The horizontal rack gear is prevented from vertically tilting within the gear track upon rotation of the pinion rod by a protruding ridge along a rear face thereof which is slidably disposed within an elongate groove in the transverse gear track, thereby assuring that movement is fluid and uninterrupted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carrier assembly for use in a vertical blind assembly adapted to enable facilitated alignment of all vanes of a blind assembly and smooth and uniform rack gear movement within, thereby providing a carrier assembly which is longlasting, enhances the appearance of a vertical blind assembly as a result of the proper orientation of all vanes, and is easily maneuverable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known in the art are numerous types of vertical blind assemblies, each using a plurality of carriers to hold individual vanes of the vertical blind. Generally, these carriers serve the dual function of spreading the vanes out along a surface to be covered and providing a pivot upon which the individual vane may turn between an open and closed position. The pivotal movement of all of the vanes is generally achieved through the use of a pinion rod which passes through all of the carriers. This pinion rod is normally one of two types, one which when turned, activates a worm gear within the carrier, and a second which includes a plurality of ridged protrusions disposed about the periphery thereof to engage a rack gear. The second type is the more commonly used, however, a primary difficulty encountered with the second type of pinion rod is that during manufacturing, the extrusion process utilized to make the rods often leads to a deviation or "twist" in the ridges on the periphery of the rod. As a result of this "twist," when the vanes are opened and closed, those vanes towards an end of the pinion rod tend to be misaligned relative to the remaining vanes, thereby detracting the uniform appearance of the blind assembly and providing gaps through which vision or light is not obstructed. Accordingly, it would be highly beneficial to provide a carrier assembly which enabled facilitated alignment of the individual vanes such that use of a twisted pinion rod will not result in misalignment. Additionally, most carriers which utilize the pinion rod and rack gear are susceptible to vertical tilting of the rack gear as only a small portion of the rack gear is contacted by the pinion rod which when turned tends to make the rack gear tilt. This tilting of the individual rack gears, although seemingly small, when affecting a number of carriers, results in a difficulty of pivoting all the vanes, and results in increased wear to the individual assembly. Accordingly, it would also be highly beneficial to have a carrier assembly which enables the rack gear to be effectively utilized while maintaining the gear properly aligned so as to facilitate the movement thereof.
The present invention specifically provides for facilitated alignment of all of the vanes should a twist in the pinion rod result in an initial misalignment, and for the protection of the mechanism if one or more of the vanes become overlapped or entangled with each other or with an outside factor. Further, by providing the rack gear with a ridge and groove engagement, the movement of the gears is uniform and not unnecessarily difficult. The combination of a slip clutch-type assembly, to enable alignment, stop means on the stem whereon the vane is supported, to assure that over compensation will not occur, and a ridge and groove engagement of the rack gear with the carrier frame, to assure smooth, fluid movement and added stability, provide a needed improvement in the field of vertical blind assemblies with an easy to activate, cost-effective, and alignable carrier assembly.

Carrier assembly for use in a vertical blind assembly


A straw includes a tube (11), a stopper (13) arranged in the tube and having a passage (35) extending through it, and an emptying needle (14) having a first portion (31) protruding from the stopper as far as a distal end (19) situated in the tube, and a second portion (32) situated in the passage (35) of the stopper, the needle and the stopper forming an insert (12) entirely disposed in the tube and having an internal conduit (24) fluidically connecting the internal spaces of the tube that are situated to either side of the insert, the internal conduit being formed at least in part by the needle. A method for emptying the straw includes establishing a fluidic communication between the needle and a receptacle, and making an opening in the tube in order to connect the dose of liquid-based substance to the atmosphere and allow it to flow.

It is known that such a straw comprises a tube and a stopper disposed in the tube. The stopper is usually of the three-part type originally described in French patent 995.878, corresponding to British patent 669,265, i.e. formed by two plugs made from a fibrous substance enclosing a powder which, on contact with a liquid, transforms into an impermeable paste or gel adhering to the wall of the tube so that the stopper is liquid-tight. Similar but improved stoppers are described by the French patent applications 2 824 255 and 2 824 256, corresponding to the U.S. patents 2002/0183653 and 2002/0188222. Stoppers of another type are also known, for example a stopper comprising or associated with an insert described by French patent application 2 771 284 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,300,125, by French patent application 2 771 285 corresponding to U.S. patent 2001/0014376, by French patent application 2 784 572 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,611 and by French patent application 2 932 064; or for instance a stopper made from a one-piece cylinder of hydrophobic microporous material described by European patent application 0 873 726; or lastly a stopper made from a one-piece cylinder of sintered self-sealing microporous material described by PCT application WO 2010/070533.
In the initial state, the stopper is disposed in the neighborhood of one of the ends of the tube and it is provided that in the filled state, the dose of liquid substance which must be preserved in the straw is disposed between the stopper and the other end of the tube (the end furthest from the stopper). To fill the straw, the end closest to the stopper is placed in communication with a vacuum source while the end furthest from the stopper is placed in communication with a vessel containing the substance to be introduced into the straw. The air initially contained between the stopper and the end of the tube furthest from the stopper is sucked through the stopper while the substance moves forward into the tube until it meets the stopper.
If necessary, after filling, the straw is welded close to one or both of its ends and is stored cold. The straw and in particular the material of the tube are provided such that this cold storage can be implemented by plunging the straw into a liquid cryogenic agent such as liquid nitrogen.
To empty the straw, if necessary after cutting the welded end portions and thawing, there is inserted into the tube by the end closest to the stopper a rod which comes to bear against the stopper. Using this rod, the stopper is made to slide in the manner of a piston towards the end furthest from the stopper, which causes the expulsion of the dose of substance which had been introduced into the straw. When the straw is used to preserve diluted animal semen, in particular bovine semen, the emptying of the straw is carried out to perform an artificial insemination.
A similar straw has already been proposed (see French patent application 3 036 954 to which corresponds international application WO 2016/193630) which is similar but of which the stopper:                is fixed relative to the tube;        comprises a male connector tip extending between a first end facing towards the first end of the tube and a second end facing towards the second end of the tube, having a frusto-conical external surface in accordance with a standard increasing in diameter from the first end of the tip towards the second end of the tip, the tip being configured in order that a syringe needle having a female connector tip with a frusto-conical internal surface in accordance with a standard can be connected to the stopper by engagement of the female connector tip of the needle on the male connector tip of the stopper with the internal frusto-conical surface of the female tip in contact with the external frusto-conical surface of the male tip; and        comprises an internal duct extending between the first end of the tip and the second end of the stopper.
The internal duct of the syringe needle can thus be placed in communication, via the internal duct of the stopper, with the internal space of the tube situated between the second end of the stopper and the second end of the tube.
This internal space of the tube is provided, as in conventional straws, to receive the predetermined dose of liquid-based substance.
If a syringe needle (for example an injection needle) is connected onto the tip of the stopper and the dose of substance contained in the straw is drawn towards the stopper, the substance will pass through the internal duct of the stopper then the internal duct of the needle and it will be possible for it to be expulsed at the distal end of the needle, that is to say the pointed end situated at the opposite end to the female tip of the needle.
Such a straw can thus play not only the role of a member for packaging the dose of substance enabling it to be preserved, including at cryogenic temperatures (conventional role for a straw), but also the role of a syringe body to which may be directly connected a syringe needle and of which the content may be ejected through the distal end of that needle.

Straw for cryogenic preservation of a dose of liquid-based substance, assembly comprising same, and method for empty this straw


A stereotactic neurological instrument placement guide is utilized to facilitate ventriculostomy procedures, or other neurological procedures such as biopsy, radioactive seed placement, and lesion generation. The guide has a pair of point members disposed on a common linear axis. The proposed position of a burr hole in the patient's skull is marked, the location of a target point (e.g. ventricle) within the patient's skull is decided upon, and the patient is given a CT or MRI scan. Utilizing data from the scan, a coordinate line is calculated between the burr hole proposed position and the target point. Utilizing the calculated coordinate line, a fixing point on the patient's skull opposite the proposed position of the burr hole is determined, and the fixing point is marked. The instrument guide is placed into operative association with the patient's skull so that the opposed point members engage the burr hole and the fixing point, and then a neurological instrument is passed into the burr hole positively guided by the instrument guide until the instrument reaches the target point at which a neurological procedure is performed. Calculations establishing the coordinate line are obtained by vector parameterization, utilizing a programmable scientific calculator.

There are many neurological procedures which require the accurate placement of a neurological instrument, including for biopsy, radioactive seed placement, and lesion generation. One of the most common neurological procedures requiring accurate placement is a ventriculostomy procedure in which a cerebral ventricle drain or shunt is installed. Such a drain or shunt is utilized for ventricular drainage when a patient manifests hydrocephalus resulting from congenital brain malformations, acute or chronic infections, tumors, intraventricular hemorrhage, or normal pressure hydrocephalus.
Conventional procedures for the placement of ventricular drains or shunts rely heavily on the skill of the neurosurgeon, and/or are relatively expensive and time consuming. After a CT scan, or other imaging, the neurosurgeon forms a burr hole in the skull, and then the neurosurgeon guides a catheter through the burr hole toward landmarks on the opposite side of the patient's head. It is necessary that the neurosurgeon be able to completely accurately visualize the internal tomography of the brain when performing this procedure, and it is presumed that the catheter is properly located when the surgeon obtains fluid returned through the catheter. In some circumstances, the neurosurgeon feels it advisable to check the location of the catheter, and for that purpose the patient must be subjected to another CT scan of the brain in order to verify proper location of the catheter. Since each separate, individual, CT scan is expensive, and since the prior art procedures are time consuming both for the neurosurgeon and the anaesthesiologist, there has long been a need for procedures more regularly and inexpensively accurately placing ventricular drain or shunt catheters, which will result in longer shunt patency and decreased morbidity due to shunt malposition.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a stereotactic neurological instrument placement guide is provided that may be utilized in numerous different types of neurological procedures, and which has ideal suitability for use in ventriculostomy procedures. The guide according to the invention is simple to construct and to utilize, and can readily enhance accuracy, reduce time, increase confidence, and reduce cost for a given level of confidence, in ventriculostomy procedures and other neurological treatment methods.
The stereotactic guide according to the invention has only first and second skull engaging point members, which have a common central axis. A frame mounts the skull engaging point members for controlled movement with respect to each other along the central axis. Means are provided defining a linear guide passage in the first point member, a straight line extension of the linear guide passage extending along a common central axis, and the linear guide passage is large enough for the passage of a neurological instrument (e.g. catheter or shunt) through it. The termination of the first point member coaxial with the linear passageway and common central axis provides for stabilizing the first point member in a burr hole; for example the termination may comprise a truncated cone.
The point members may be attached to arms, which in turn are attached to a guide sleeve and a guide element (bar or rod) which are movable with respect to each other. A locking screw can lock them in a position to which they have been moved, or they may be biased toward each other by an elastic band, spring loading, or the like. The means defining a linear passage may comprise a slotted sleeve rigidly fixed to the frame arm, with a slotted tubular element received within the sleeve and rotatable from one position in which the slots of the sleeve and tubular member are not aligned, to a second position in which the slots are aligned. When the slots are not aligned, the guide passage is closed and provides positive guiding of the catheter therethrough. When the slots are aligned, the placement guide may be removed from contact with the patient's skull, and the catheter.
According to the present invention, the key to proper utilization of the stereotactic neurological instrument placement guide is the proper location of the fixing point on the opposite side of the patient's skull from the burr hole. The positive location of the fixing point, which will receive the second point member of the placement guide, opposite the proposed site for the burr hole is determined utilizing a CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or another type of coordinate multiplanar tomographic imaging of the patient's skull. Utilizing X, Y, and Z coordinates for the burr hole (marked by a nipple marker or the like), and determining the coordinates of the particular portion of the ventricle, or other location within the brain, desired to be acted upon by the neurosurgeon, the data from the imaging can be used to calculate the loci of points along a straight line between the burr hole and the target area, which loci can be extended to the patient's skull on the opposite side thereof from the burr hole, and that part of the patient's skull can be marked with a nipple marker, oil, or the like. The calculations are preferably provided by vector parameterization, utilizing a programmable scientific calculator, and the gantry angle of the imaging equipment can be automatically accommodated.
Desirably the distance of the target point from the burr hole is also calculated according to the invention, so that the neurosurgeon can use indicia on the catheter to determine when the catheter has been inserted the distance necessary to properly position it at the target. Practicing the method according to the invention, since the placement of the fixing point is accurately determined, there is no necessity for a second CT scan, or the like.
While the invention will be described herein primarily with respect to ventriculostomy procedures, it is to be understood that both the apparatus and procedures according to the invention may be applied to a wide variety of neurological practices. In fact, the basic positioning facilitating features according to the invention are applicable not just to neurosurgery, but in general to determining the position of a line between two points on or within a human patient's body utilizing data normally determined from a coordinate multiplanar tomographic imaging (CT, MRI, etc.) of the patient's body during which the patient is disposed at an angle, and is incrementally advanced between images. Utilizing the present invention it is possible to practice procedures not heretofore contemplated, or to maximize the accuracy of present procedures, since according to the invention it is possible to accurately locate and determine the coordinates of two or more points on or within a human body (e.g. within the brain).

Stereotactic instrument guided placement

both c/o University Medical Ctr., 655 W. 8th St.


A shared resource access priority encoding/decoding and arbitration scheme takes into account varying device requirements, including latency, bandwidth and throughput. These requirements are stored and are dynamically updated based on changing access demand conditions.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to control of access to a shared resource and, in particular, to a complex-memory-core priority and arbitration scheme to enhance burst performance to and from a common (shared) hardware resource, e.g., DRAM, arbitrating multiple bus devices supporting DMA (direct memory access), including bus devices supporting real-time data transfers, to one memory resource control and data path.
The invention further relates to a priority architecture that allows for the determination of latency and bandwidth requirements of all supported bus devices, and the storing of the results in hardware registers. The registers are programmable, and may be changed based on bandwidth requirements, e.g., a change in video resolution or for enabling a faster SCSI device on a PCI bus.

Priority encoding and decoding for memory architecture


A gaming machine having a multipoint sensing device capable of sensing a multipoint gesture, which includes at least two simultaneously touched points. One or both of the points can serve as an initial starting point for a gesture, which represents a continuous movement across the multipoint sensing device. The multipoint sensing device produces data representing a multipoint gesture, which data is analyzed to determine a wagering-game function to be executed. For example, the wagering-game function may be selecting a payline by touching two distinct points in a slot-type wagering game. Another function may be increasing a bonus award by dragging two fingers in opposite directions. Yet another function may be selecting a bonus award amount by holding one finger while dragging another finger to aim at a target representing multiple bonus award amounts, one of those amounts being revealed to the player upon release of the other finger.

Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Therefore, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to continuously develop new games and improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is the concept of a "secondary" or "bonus" game that may be played in conjunction with a "basic" game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome in the basic game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and may also be accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio. Bonus games may additionally award players with "progressive jackpot" awards that are funded, at least in part, by a percentage of coin-in from the gaming machine or a plurality of participating gaming machines. Because the bonus game concept offers tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop gaming machines with new types of bonus games to satisfy the demands of players and operators.
Gaming machines have also utilized a variety of input devices for receiving input from a player, such as buttons and touch screen devices. However, these input devices are limited in that they can receive only one input at a time from the player. For example, if a player touches a singlepoint sensing device such as a singlepoint touch screen device at two distinct points simultaneously, only one coordinate is provided by the touch screen driver corresponding to one of the distinct points only or to a single average point between the two points. The inability of the player to interact with the gaming machine by providing multiple inputs simultaneously is a significant disadvantage to gaming machines heretofore.
Thus, a need exists for an improved apparatus and method. The present invention is directed to satisfying one or more of these needs and solving other problems.

Wagering game with multi-point gesture sensing device