A multi-mode gain fiber is provided which affords substantial improvements in the maximum pulse energy, peak power handling capabilities, average output power, and/or pumping efficiency of fiber amplifier and laser sources while maintaining good beam quality (comparable to that of a conventional single-mode fiber source). These benefits are realized by coiling the multimode gain fiber to induce significant bend loss for all but the lowest-order mode(s).

The present invention relates to fiber amplifiers, and more particularly, to a multimode fiber amplifier which discriminates against higher-order modes (e.g., discriminates against all but the fundamental mode).
Single-mode (SM), rare-earth-doped fiber lasers and amplifiers are finding widespread use in applications requiring compact, rugged optical sources with diffraction-limited beam quality. The advent of double-clad fibers has allowed these sources to be scaled to average powers of  greater than 100 W. (See V. Dominic, S. MacCormack, R. Waarts, S. Sanders, S. Bicknese, R. Dohle, E. Wolak, P. S. Yeh, and E. Zucker, in Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (Optical Society of America, Washington D.C., 1999), paper CPD11). For applications requiring high-energy pulses, such as nonlinear frequency conversion (see J. P. Koplow, D. A. V. Kliner, and L. Goldberg, IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 10, 75 (1998)), pumping of optical parametric oscillators/amplifiers (see P. E. Britton, H. L. Offerhaus, D. J. Richardson, P. G. R. Smith, G. W. Ross, and D. C. Hanna, Opt. Lett. 24, 975 (1999)), Iidar, and materials processing, the use of fiber-based systems has been limited by the relatively low pulse energies available compared to bulk lasers. Similarly, for continuous-wave (cw) applications requiring narrow linewidth, fiber sources are restricted to relatively low power.
These limitations arise from two factors: low energy storage and the onset of nonlinear processes in the fiber. The maximum pulse energy that can be attained with a fiber amplifier (i.e., the amount of energy that can be stored in the gain medium) is limited by amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). The peak- and average-power-handling capability of fiber sources is determined by the onset of nonlinear processes that occur inside the fiber. Both of these limitations are briefly reviewed here.
Energy Storage: The primary loss processes for energy deposited into the gain medium are spontaneous emission (fluorescence) and amplified spontaneous emission. The vast majority of spontaneous emission, which is emitted equally in all directions, escapes out the side of the fiber. However, a small fraction of this light is captured in the core and amplified as it propagates down the length of the fiber (ASE). When the population inversion in the gain medium is relatively low (i.e., at low pump power), spontaneous emission is the dominant loss process. In this low power limit the stored energy increases linearly with pump power. At sufficiently high pump power, the gain in the fiber becomes large enough that the power lost to ASE is comparable to the power lost to spontaneous emission. As ASE starts to take over as the dominant loss process, the stored energy as a function of pump power begins to level off. Eventually, a high power limit is reached in which the stored energy increases logarithmically (rather than linearly) with pump power. For this reason the maximum amount of energy that can be stored in the gain medium is determined by ASE.
Nonlinear Processes: Nonlinear processes that occur at high optical intensities impose an upper limit on the amount of power that can be transmitted through a given length of fiber. The most important of these nonlinear processes are stimulated Brillioun scattering (SBS), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), and self-phase modulation (SPM). (See Nonlinear Fiber Optics, G. P. Agrawal, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif, 1995.) These processes are characterized by a threshold power, above which a significant portion of the energy in a high-power pulse is converted to different (unwanted) wavelengths. The relative importance of these processes depends on pulse duration and spectral bandwidth.
Two approaches to overcoming these limitations have been reported. Taverner et al. developed large-mode-area, Er-doped SM fibers with numerical aperatures (NA) of 0.066 to 0.08 and core diameters of 14 to 17 xcexcm. (See D. Taverner, D. J. Richardson, L. Dong, J. E. Caplen, K. Williams, and R. V. Penty, Opt. Lett. 22, 378 (1997); G. P. Lees, D. Taverner, D. J. Richardson, L. Dong, and T. P. Newson, Electron. Lett. 33, 393 (1997)) Decreasing the NA (relative to standard telecommunication values of xcx9c0.15) allows the core size to be increased while maintaining SM operation. The resultant increased mode-field area raises the threshold for nonlinear processes. In addition, the lower NA reduces the fraction of spontaneous emission captured by the fiber, thereby increasing energy storage. (See J. Nilsson, R. Paschotta, J. E. Caplen, and D. C. Hanna, Opt. Lett. 22, 1092 (1997)) Several groups have used multimode fiber amplifiers and have obtained varying levels of suppression of high-order modes by adjusting the fiber index and dopant distributions (See H. L. Offerhaus, N. G. Broderick, D. J. Richardson, R. Sammut, J. Caplen, and L. Dong, Opt. Lett. 23, 1683 (1998); J. M. Sousa and O. G. Okhotnikov, Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 1528 (1999)), cavity configurations (See U. Griebner, R. Koch, H. Schonnagel, and R. Grunwald, Opt. Lett. 21, 266 (1996); U. Griebner and H. Schonnagel, Opt. Lett. 24, 750 (1999)), and/or launch conditions of the seed beam. (See O. G. Okhotnikov and J. M. Sousa, Electron. Lett. 35, 1011 (1999); C. C. Renaud, R. J. Selvas-Aguilar, J. Nilsson, P. W. Turner, and A. B. Grudinin, IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 11, 976 (1999); M. E. Fermann, Opt. Lett. 23, 52 (1998); M. Hofer, M. E. Fermann, A. Galvanauskas, D. Harter, and R. S. Windeler, IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 11, 650 (1999); I. Zawischa, K. Plamann, C. Fallnich, H. Welling, H. Zellmer, and A. Txc3xcnnermann, Opt. Lett. 24, 469 (1999).)
An object of the present invention is to provide a multimode fiber amplifier having maximum pulse energy, peak power, and average power capabilities greater than those of conventional single-mode fiber amplifiers while maintaining beam quality comparable to such single-mode fiber amplifiers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fiber amplifier comprising a multimode fiber for supporting the fundamental mode (LP01) while suppressing higher-order modes so as to produce an output beam having a beam quality that is diffraction-limited (or near diffraction-limited).
It is a further object of the invention to provide a multimode fiber amplifier that discriminates between the fundamental mode and higher-order modes, i.e., attenuates the latter to a significantly greater extent than the former.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a multimode fiber amplifier which discriminates comparably between the + and xe2x88x92 helical polarities of the undesired higher-order modes.
These and other objects are achieved by the provision, in accordance with the present invention, of a multimode fiber amplifier configured to have a bend loss providing greater suppression of higher-order fiber modes than of a preselected fiber mode of lower-order than the higher-order fiber modes.
Preferably, the fiber amplifier comprises a multimode fiber that is coiled to achieve the aforementioned mode-filtering effect.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provided the multimode fiber amplifier system providing discrimination between a fundamental mode and undesired higher-order modes, the amplifier system comprising: a light source for producing a light beam, and a multimode fiber amplifier for receiving said light beam and comprising a multimode optical fiber, capable of supporting a fundamental mode and higher-order modes, having a radius of curvature such that the higher-order modes experience substantially increased bend losses as compared with the fundamental mode.
Preferably, the fiber comprises a coiled fiber. The coiled fiber preferably has a constant radius of curvature but, in useful embodiments, the coiled fiber can have a non-constant radius of curvature.
In one preferred implementation, the light source comprises a continuous wave light source while, in another, the light source comprises a pulsed light source.
The multimode optical fiber preferably comprises a double-cladding structure. Advantageously, the multimode optical fiber comprises a core having a diameter of between 3 xcexcm and 100 xcexcm (although a core diameter in excess of 100 xcexcm is also possible).
In an important implementation, the multimode optical fiber is coiled onto two mandrels, comparable in diameter, whose longitudinal axes are mutually perpendicular, where the length of fiber wound onto each mandrel is approximately equal.
The multimode fiber amplifier preferably has an M2 value less than 1.2, where M2=1 denotes diffraction-limited beam quality. In some applications, however, operation at an M2 value greater than 1.2 may prove advantageous.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a multimode fiber amplifier is provided which comprises: a cylindrical support member, and a multimode optical fiber having a core diameter such that the fiber is capable of supporting a fundamental mode and a plurality of higher-order modes, the fiber being wound onto the support member having a radius such that said higher-order modes experience substantially increased bend losses as compared with the fundamental mode.
As above, the coil of fiber preferably has a constant radius of curvature, although, in useful implementations the coil of fiber can have a non-constant radius of curvature.
Also as above, the multimode optical fiber beneficially comprises a double-cladding structure, and advantageously comprises a core having a diameter of between 3 xcexcm and 100 xcexcm (although a core diameter in excess of 100 xcexcm is also possible).
In a beneficial implementation, the amplifier comprises a second cylindrical support member having a diameter equal to that of the first-mentioned cylindrical support member, the second support member having a longitudinal axis extending perpendicular to that of the first support member.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in, or apparent from, the detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof which follows.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A cigarette packing machine for producing rigid, hinged-lid, short-hinge packets of cigarettes; the packing machine has a fourth packing wheel which receives wrapped groups of cigarettes from a third transfer wheel at a third transfer station, receives collars from a first feed line at an input station upstream from the third transfer station, and folds each collar into a tube about a respective wrapped group of cigarettes; the packing machine also has a fifth packing wheel which, at a fourth transfer station, receives each wrapped group of cigarettes and the respective collar together with a respective blank supplied by a second feed line, folds the blank about the wrapped group of cigarettes to form an outer package, and releases the packets of cigarettes at a fifth transfer station.

A rigid, hinged-lid packet of cigarettes comprises a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet of foil; and a rigid outer package housing the group of cigarettes. The outer package comprises a cup-shaped container housing the group of cigarettes and having an open top end; and a cup-shaped lid hinged to the container along a hinge to rotate, with respect to the container, between an open position and a closed position respectively opening and closing the open end. A collar is normally folded and fitted inside the container to project partly outwards of the open end and engage a corresponding inner surface of the lid when the lid is in the closed position.
The outer package is parallelepiped-shaped, and is bounded by a horizontal top wall, a horizontal bottom wall opposite and parallel to the top wall, a vertical front wall, a vertical rear wall opposite and parallel to the front wall, and two opposite, parallel, vertical lateral walls; the lid hinge is horizontal and located on the rear wall; and the collar is U-shaped and contacts the inner surface of the front wall and lateral walls.
In almost all currently marketed rigid cigarette packets, the front and rear walls are larger than the lateral walls. Rigid, so-called "short-hinge" cigarette packets have also been proposed, however, in which the front and rear walls are smaller than the lateral walls, and in which the collar is preferably tubular and therefore contacts the inner surface of both the front and lateral walls and the rear wall.
A cigarette packing machine normally comprises a packing assembly, which receives a succession of foil-wrapped groups of cigarettes, and folds a blank about each group of cigarettes to form a rigid outer package. More specifically, a cardboard blank is fed, together with a foil-wrapped group of cigarettes, into a pocket on a packing wheel, which rotates through a number of folding stations where the blank is gradually folded about the group of cigarettes to form the rigid outer package.
Packing machines for producing packets of the above type are known and employed throughout the tobacco industry. Known currently marketed packing machines, however, are designed to produce standard rigid cigarette packets, in which the front and rear walls are larger than the lateral walls, but not rigid, short-hinge cigarette packets, in which the front and rear walls are smaller than the lateral walls, and which feature a tubular collar.
At present, rigid, short-hinge cigarette packets are produced on special packing machines which differ considerably from the standard packing machines described above. In particular, the special packing machines employ flattened tubular blanks, which are "opened" along a packing line to receive respective axially-fed groups of cigarettes. Though producing good-quality packets of cigarettes, special machines of the above type are expensive to produce, have a low output rate, and, above all, employ flattened tubular blanks which are much more expensive and difficult to process than ordinary flat blanks.

Cigarette packing machine for producing rigid hinged-lid packets


A system controls access to a group of media items. A client device is operable by a user. A media server is coupled to at least one media data source, wherein the at least one media data source stores one or more media items for supply, by the media server, to the client device over a network. An authorization server is coupled to an authorization data source. The authorization data source stores data identifying a group of media items of fixed group size N that are accessible by the user, each media item in said group having a different associated availability parameter value indicating a number of time periods M within which access to the media item is available, wherein the authorization server is arranged to authorize the media server to supply a media item to the client device if said media item belongs to the group of media items.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to controlling access to a media item. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for accessing a group of media items. This method and apparatus may, for example, be applied to a video streaming service that operates over a network.
2. Description of the Related Technology
With the growth of high-speed network connections, the streaming of audio-video data has become a viable option for the supply of media to a user. This audio-video data may comprise, amongst others: movies, television programs, Internet programming, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), radio programs, music videos and/or audio tracks, user-generated content and so-called "podcasts". Typically, audio-video data is stored on a video server and delivered to a client device over one or more intermediate network connections. For a residential user, these network connections may be provided using a variety of physical communications media, for example a fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or cable connection from a property to a local exchange which is then coupled to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or a cable provider's network system. Alternatively, wireless telecommunications systems such as those using the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or any of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards may provide a communications medium for fixed or mobile client devices. These latter network systems may in turn be connected to a series of one or more networks that may comprise servers, routers and other networking equipment that communicate using protocols such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). These systems are often collectively referred to as the "Internet". The video server is also connected to the same systems. Hence, audio-video data may be said to be delivered to a client device over the "Internet".
The trend towards high-speed network connections that can support the streaming of audio-video data has progressed in parallel with an increase in the quantity of digitized media content. For example, it is not uncommon for newly released movies to be available as a digital download as well as being available as a digital file on a conventional storage medium such as a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD). Furthermore, many content owners and suppliers are digitalizing catalog movie titles. With the communication capabilities of the Internet and so-called social media technologies, e.g. messaging and publishing technologies, the cultural awareness of consumers is also growing. This is driving a demand for more obscure media items that may have had a foreign and/or limited public release. There will thus soon be a point where most movies that have been released to the public in the last century will be available in a digital form suitable for delivery over the aforementioned high-speed network connections.
The increased viability of digital delivery over the Internet and an ever increasing library of media items lead to technical challenges for media suppliers. The growing library of available media items requires large-scale storage systems. At the same time, an increasing number of users seeking access to content requires fault-tolerant systems that can cope with high traffic rates. Large and complex systems that meet these requirements are expensive and require full time maintenance from one or more engineers. These requirements are also compounded by user's expectations. Users often look for, and expect, quality-of-service (QoS) and picture or sound quality equivalent to broadcast networks, such as terrestrial television or radio, or DVD playback. This requires high picture resolutions, so-called high definition (HD) formats having resolutions of 1280 by 720 pixels (720p) or 1920 by 1080 (1080i/1080p), and/or high bit rate or lossless audio compression technologies. Meeting these expectations requires an increase in the size of the digital files and thus the storage demands are more onerous. This needs to be traded-off with caching and access strategies that allow streaming, for example, some compression formats require complex encoding and decoding algorithms that introduce unacceptable delays into streaming services.
Media suppliers that are not content owners also have to implement technical systems that can accommodate the requirements of the content owners. Licensing arrangements for digital content often require the recordal of media-supply metrics. For example, copyright provisions may mean that a license limits the number of downloads of a particular media item, e.g. 200,000 user downloads, or that the license requires geographical limitations, e.g. users in country C are not allowed to download the media item.
There is thus a need for an approach to accessing media items such as audio-video data in applications such as video streaming that overcomes at least a number of the aforementioned requirements, for example that supplies high-quality data over networks such as the Internet while minimizing the cost and complexity of the supply systems.
There is yet a further need for a workable approach to accessing a near infinite library of media items that does not overwhelm a user yet allows serendipitous discovery of new content.

Method and apparatus for accessing media


A method and apparatus operable for displacing an image, which is transmitted by electromagnetic radiation, perpendicular to the direction of radiation by use of a rotatably disposed radiation-refracting body, located in the path of an imaging beam, having a refractive index that differs from the surrounding medium with regard to the radiation used. The method allows for precise image displacement. The rotation of the radiation-refracting body causing the displacement is measured, and the change of the optical path length caused by the angular change in a further electromagnetic beam utilized for the measurement is determined by evaluating the superimposition of the radiation reflected by a planar reflecting surface with the incident electromagnetic radiation. Part of the electromagnetic measurement beam, which is reflected on the surface of the radiation-refracting body, strikes a measurement unit, which supplies an electrical signal as a function of the incident position of the electromagnetic radiation.

The invention relates to a method for displacing an image transferred using electromagnetic radiation and to an apparatus for performing the method.
A known method and an apparatus for using electromagnetic radiation to transfer images or reproductions corresponding to a mask onto a photo-sensitive layer of a substrate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,436. In accordance with the disclosure, are bodies that are arranged rotatable about axes and the refraction index of which is different from the refraction index of the ambient air are present in the beam path between the mask and the substrate, and which are embodied as planar glass plates. These bodies can be adjusted by means of suitable drives corresponding to the provided image displacement.
As is known, an electromagnetic beam that strikes, at an angle, the beam refracting body or a medium having a different density that is embedded in a surrounding medium and that has a planar surface is, in particular, refracted when it enters the medium. If the opposing interface of the body or medium is parallel to the incident surface, when the beam exits the medium, it is refracted again at the same angle in the opposing direction because of symmetry. Thus, the beam is offset, and the magnitude of the offset is a function of the angle between the beam and the body or medium, the latter which is embodied, in particular, as a plane parallel glass plate. This property is used for adjustably laterally displacing the reproduction generated by means of an electromagnetic beam, wherein the medium, in particular the plane parallel plate, is arranged rotatable in the aforesaid beam. The accuracy with which the reproduction position can be adjusted in this manner is a function of how precise and reproducible is the angle of adjustment of the bodyor medium, for example, the plate.
Furthermore an apparatus for optically measuring the inclination of a surface of a wafer is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,415, in which a light beam is reflected on the surface of the wafer. The beams reflected in different directions corresponding to the inclination of the wafer are aligned parallel to one another by a lens and supplied to a unit for determining the angle of inclination.
Moreover, sensors that are embodied as interferometers and that contain a radiation-refracting body are known from laid-open specification DE 38 20 170 A1 and patent specification DD 239 658 A1. The beam refracting body is arranged in the beam path of a reference radiation such that the angle of incidence of the radiation onto the surface of the radiation-refracting body can be changed based on its movements. Signals that correspond to the movements of the aforesaid body are generated by overlaying the radiation that penetrates the aforesaid body and the reference radiation due to the resultant interference.
Proceeding from this point, the object of the invention is to refine the method and the apparatus of the aforesaid type with low complexity such that an optimized and/or precise image displacement is attained. Moreover, a high resolution adjustment of the image position and/or a high resolution control of the rotation of the radiation-refracting body provided for the image displacement is also to be provided. The method should be simple to perform, it should be possible to perform the method with reproducible values, and the apparatus should not be structurally complex.

Heidelberg Instruments Mikrotechnik GMBH


The present disclosure provides an overlay metrology method, an overlay control method and an overlay control system. The overlay metrology method includes capturing a current layer image of a current overlay mark on a current layer with a current focal length and capturing a previous layer image of a previous overlay mark on a previous layer with a previous focal length. Then, the overlay metrology method further includes combining the current layer image with the previous layer image to form an overlay mark image and determining an overlay error between the current overlay mark and the previous overlay mark based on the overlay mark image.

The present disclosure relates to overlay metrology.
As technology advances, the integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in layering, patterning and doping operations have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density, such as the number of interconnected devices, has generally increased while geometry size has decreased. Meanwhile, a wafer size has increased for manufacturing more ICs on one single wafer. Thus during fabrication of semiconductor devices, each patterned layer has to be aligned with a previous patterned layer.
Currently, the alignment precision is measured as overlay offset or overlay error. The overlay is the relative position between two or more layers of a wafer. As semiconductor processes evolve to provide for smaller critical dimensions, and devices reduce in size and increase in complexity including number of layers, the alignment precision between layers becomes increasingly more important to the quality, reliability, and yield of the devices. Misalignment of layers can cause performance issues and even potentially causing a device to fail due to, for example, a short caused by a misaligned interconnect layer.

Overlay metrology method and overlay control method and system

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


The present invention relates to the optimization of human visual function by correcting and/or optimizing high-order optical aberrations in high performance optical devices. The optimization is particularly useful for high performance devices used under low light conditions such as binoculars, rifle scopes, telescopes, microscopes, night vision goggles and laser eye protection devices.

The wavefront error of the human eye is analogous to the surface of a drum. The diameter of the drum represents the diameter of the pupil of the eye. If there were no aberrations, the surface of the drum would be flat. However, in almost any normal eye there are optical errors represented by leads or lags in the wavefront, and in the analogy, hills and valleys in the drum surface. Any smooth surface over a circular aperture can be described as a sum of coefficients multiplied by Zernike polynomials. Optical aberrations in the human eye are now almost exclusively described in this manner. The lowest order Zernike aberrations are shown in FIG. 1. Not shown in the "Zernike pyramid" are the first two lines (radial orders) which include the Zernikes piston, tip and tilt. Conventional glasses include prism, sphere and cylinder correction. Prism is simply tip and tilt, while sphere and cylinder are linear combinations of defocus and astigmatism.
Shown in FIG. 1 are the 2nd to 4th order Zemikes.1 Astigmatism, sphere, tip & tilt are considered "low-order" aberrations. All other aberrations of higher radial order are known collectively as "high-order" aberrations. Conventional glasses attempt to provide the best possible low-order correction.
Average pupil size significantly decreases with age. Persons of age 18 yrs-40 yrs have pupil diameters in the neighborhood of 6.5 mm for lighting conditions typical of evening on an overcast day (44 cd/m2).2,3 Average high-order root-mean-square (RMS) wavefront error in a 6.5 mm pupil is of the order of 0.38 microns.4 Many people have greater levels of high-order aberration. For comparison, to achieve a similar RMS wavefront error in a 3 mm daytime pupil requires a 1.2-diopter sphere error, which is considered large. Whereas residual sphere error can be nullified via the variable focusing power of the lens through the process of accommodation, the eye has no mechanism for changing the amount of high-order aberrations.
Visual acuity characterizes the ability to resolve small objects. Acuity measures only a portion of visual ability. It is, however, one of the more well known measures of vision. Population averages of visual acuity versus age for normal healthy eyes are summarized in FIG. 2 which shows the logMAR VA of 223 subjects ranging from 18 to 80 years of age. The best linear and bilinear fits to the data are shown.5 The subjects used the best possible conventional low-order correction for the measurements.
In the graph of FIG. 2, 6/6 is the metric equivalent of 20/20. 6/3 is the metric equivalent of 20/10 and represents approximately the predicted Nyquist resolution limit due to the cone density in the human fovea.6 Theoretically, if there were no optical aberrations, the human eye should be capable of seeing approximately 20/10, although the exact value probably varies from person to person. Until recently, the world's record was 20/8. Young people of age 25-29 typically have the best acuity, and vision generally worsens with increasing age after about age 30. The reason for the decline with age is a topic of debate. The three main theories include increases in high-order aberrations and concomitant reduction in pupil size, increases in intraocular scatter and transmission loss, and loss of cones and/or ganglion cells. Published reports tend to support the first two theories for normal healthy eyes.
The reason for the scatter in the data at any given age, especially for the younger eyes, is probably mostly due to the presence of high-order aberrations. One theory is that if a person was never exposed to good vision when young, the neural development may preclude seeing at or near the Nyquist resolution limit later in life, a condition referred to as refractive amblyopia.7 Nevertheless, when high-order aberrations are corrected using adaptive optics, the visual acuity of all subjects significantly improves8. In a recent study, half of the high-order-corrected subjects consistently demonstrated an acuity exceeding 20/8.9 Therefore, vision benefit from correction of high-order aberrations is not just theoretical.
One of the largest anticipated benefits of high-order aberration correction is an improvement in contrast sensitivity. In low-light conditions when the pupil diameter and the level of high-order aberrations both increase, contrast sensitivity begins to degrade. This has two deleterious effects. One is that it may no longer be possible to detect certain low-contrast objects which are important in for example driving, hunting and military applications. The very definition of camouflage is to reduce contrast by better matching the surrounding conditions. The other problem is that even if an object can be detected, the detection and recognition process will take longer. Studies consistently show that reaction times are increased when contrast sensitivity is degraded.10,11
The three major higher-order aberrations affecting typical people include coma, trefoil and spherical aberration. Coma is a non-symmetric aberration capable of causing significant loss of contrast sensitivity. FIG. 3 shows a high-contrast eye-chart optical simulation for a subject with 0.19 microns RMS of coma in a 6.0 mm pupil.12 This is within a standard deviation of the average value.13 The simulation assumes that all other aberrations are fully corrected. The top line is 20/100.
In a low contrast situation, the letters would be even more difficult to recognize, and of course, there are many other possible aberrations besides coma. For comparison, an unaberrated (no aberrations) eye chart simulation based on a 6.0 mm pupil is shown in FIG. 4.
The modulation transfer function (MTF) characterizes how well an optical system preserves contrast versus spatial frequency. The MTF of a diffraction-limited eye having no aberrations with a 6.0 mm pupil is shown in FIG. 5.
The MTF graph with the introduction of just the 0.19 microns of coma in a 6.0 mm pupil is seen in FIG. 6.
The MTF curve is severely depressed at all spatial frequencies, due to the single aberration of coma. If sphere and cylinder are not also optimally corrected, there will in addition be severe contrast losses due to low-order aberrations.

High-order aberration correction for optimization of human visual function


A surgical clip forming apparatus includes an unformed surgical clip having a head section including an upper portion and a lower portion separated from each other to define a first space therebetween in a first configuration, a left leg section including a proximal end and a distal end and a right leg section including a proximal end and a distal end. The surgical clip forming apparatus includes an anvil configured to engage the head section of the surgical clip and a pair of forming pins positioned adjacent the proximal ends of the left and right legs for securing the head section of the unformed surgical clip against the anvil. When a force is applied to the anvil, the upper portion compresses toward the lower portion. The unformed surgical clip transforms into a “T-shaped” clip or a formed clip in a second configuration, after the force has been applied to the anvil.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to minimally invasive surgery, and more particularly, to a system and method for forming a T-shaped surgical clip for occluding a blood vessel.
Background of Related Art
Minimally invasive surgery has grown in popularity in the past decade. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) allows a surgeon to treat a patient while making only tiny incisions in the patient's body, through which surgical devices called cannulae are inserted. A cannula is essentially a thin, hollow tube through which other surgical tools may be inserted into and withdrawn from the patient's body. Because only a small incision is made in the patient's skin for insertion of a cannula, the patient heals faster and experiences less pain than in the aftermath of conventional surgery, in which larger incisions and tools are used.
In several minimally invasive procedures, blood vessels in a patient are permanently occluded. Two common procedures involving blood vessel occlusion are saphenous vein harvest, in which a vein and its branches are occluded so that a portion of that vein can be removed from one location in the body and used in another, and subfascial endoscopic perforator surgery, in which perforator veins are permanently occluded. In recent years, malleable metal clips or surgical hemostatic clips have been used for permanent occlusion. These clips typically have an opening at one end that is at least as wide as the blood vessel to be occluded. A surgical instrument is inserted through the cannula which places these clips, often serially, in desired locations on blood vessels, then squeezes them shut to achieve permanent occlusion. Such surgical instruments have in the past been bulky enough to require a cannula having an internal diameter of 10 mm or even 12 mm in order to insert them through the cannula to reach the operative site.
Certain factors are important to the performance of a surgical hemostatic clip to achieve proper tissue exudation and occlusion. The clip should not slip or become dislodged from a vessel after it has been applied. If the clip is not securely positioned, blood or other bodily fluid may begin flowing into the surgical site through the unclamped vessel. As a result, a surgeon locates and reclamps the vessel. Depending upon the type and location of the surgery, reclamping the vessel may be difficult, and reduce an overall productivity of the procedure. A clip should fully and completely close about a vein, artery, vessel or other conduit and completely stop the flow of blood or fluid therethrough. A clip that does not completely occlude the blood or fluid flow may have to be removed, thus requiring application of a second clip.
Some surgical hemostatic clips are U-shaped or V-shaped. These clips have a pair of legs joined at one end by an apex or crown and spaced apart at the opposed ends to define a gap between the legs. The desired vessel is introduced in the gap and the legs are compressed. The clip thus occludes the vessel using the legs. The legs have surfaces that contact tissue. These "tissue gripping surfaces" of the hemostatic clip may be made in a manner to improve the occluding functions of the hemostatic clip. The surfaces may also restrict dislocation of the hemostatic clip after it has been applied to the target blood vessel.
However, the legs often have a relatively small tissue gripping surface. Care must be taken when designing such tissue gripping surfaces to ensure that the most productive use of the relatively small tissue gripping surface is made to accomplish the occlusion. A significant aspect of the tissue gripping surfaces is this retention of the hemostatic clip on the tissue. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved surgical hemostatic clip to provide an optimum vessel occlusion and optimal clip retention on tissue during a surgical procedure.

System and method for forming a T-shaped surgical clip


The present invention is concerned with chemokine analogs, including IL-8 analogs, IP-10 analogs, MIP-1α analogs, RANTES analogs, I-309 analogs, MCP-1 analogs, and CCL28 analogs, that are useful for the treatment of a variety of diseases and disorders, and as an adjunct to the treatment of a variety of diseases and disorders. A therapeutically effective amount of the chemokine analog may be administered to a patient in need of such treatment.

Chemokines (chemoattractant cytokines) are a family of homologous serum proteins of between 7 and 16 kDa, which were originally characterized by their ability to induce migration of leukocytes. Most chemokines have four characteristic cysteines (Cys), and depending on the motif displayed by the first two cysteines, they have been classified into CXC or alpha, CC or beta, C or gamma, and CX3C or delta chemokine classes. Two disulfide bonds are formed between the first and third cysteine and between the second and fourth cysteine. In general, it was thought that the disulfide bridges were required, and Clark-Lewis and co-workers reported that, at least for IL-8, the disulfide bridges are critical for chemokine activity (Clark-Lewis et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269:16075–16081, 1994). The only exception to having four cysteines is lymphotactin, which has only two cysteine residues. Thus, lymphotactin manages to retain a functional structure with only one disulfide bond.
In addition, the CXC, or alpha, subfamily has been divided into two groups depending on the presence of the ELR motif (Glu-Leu-Arg) preceding the first cysteine: the ELR-CXC chemokines and the non-ELR-CXC chemokines (see, e.g., Clark-Lewis, supra, and Belperio et al., "CXC Chemokines in Angiogenesis," J. Leukoc. Biol. 68:1–8, 2000).
ELR-CXC chemokines, such as IL-8, are generally strong neutrophil chemoattractants while non-ELR chemokines, such as IP-10, and SDF-1, predominantly recruit lymphocytes. CC chemokines, such as RANTES, MIP-1-alpha, MCP-1, generally function as chemoattractants for monocytes, basophils, eosinophils, and T-cells but not neutrophils. In general, chemokines are chemotactic agents that recruit leukocytes to the sites of injuries.
Specific Chemokines
IL-8
Interleukin-8 (IL-8 or CXCL8) was first identified in 1987 as a chemokine with the ability to specifically activate neutrophils. Upon exposure to IL-8, neutrophils are activated, and change their shape. Neutrophils are activated by a process that is probably mediated by an increase in intracellular calcium levels. This activation allows neutrophils to migrate across the vascular wall. Secretion of IL-8 can occur from a wide variety of cells, including other leukocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and epithelial cells in response to ischemia and trauma.
IP-10
Interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10 or CXCL10) is induced by interferon-gamma and TNF-alpha, and is produced by keratinocytes, endothelial cells, fibroblasts and monocytes. IP-10 is thought to play a role in recruiting activated T cells to sites of tissue inflammation (Dufour, et al., "IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10; CXCL10)-deficient mice reveal a role for IP-10 in effector T cell generation and trafficking," J Immunol., 168:3195–204, 2002). In addition, IP-10 may play a role in hypersensitivity. It may also play a role in the genesis of inflammatory demyelinating neuropathies (Kieseier, et al., "Chemokines and chemokine receptors in inflammatory demyelinating neuropathies: a central role for IP-10," Brain 125:823–34, 2002).
MIP-1α
Macrophage inflammatory protein-1-alpha (MIP-1α, MIP-1-alpha or CCL3) is a factor produced by macrophages in response to their stimulation by bacterial endotoxins. It activates neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils and appears to play a role in inflammation. Additionally, it is especially potent as a basophil agonist, and appears to act through a rapid rise in intracellular calcium, and causes the release of histamine, sulfido-leukotrienes, and also plays a role in chemotaxis. MIP-1α may also act to inhibit stem cell proliferation.
RANTES
RANTES (Regulated upon Activation, Normal T-cell Expressed, and presumably Secreted or CCL5) is a chemokine that acts on T-cells, eosinophils and basophils and assists in recruiting leukocytes to inflammatory sites. In particular, it increases the adherence of monocytes to endothelial cells, and selectively supports the migration of certain types of leukocytes. In some cases, RANTES has been shown to activate basophils and causes the release of histamines. It may also be involved in the proliferation and activation of certain types of killer cells.
I-309
I-309 refers to the name of a cDNA clone encoding a chemokine (Miller, et al., "A novel polypeptide secreted by activated human T lymphocytes," J Immunol., 143(9):2907–16, 1989). I-309 is chemotactic for human monocytes, and additionally activates them. However, it appears to have no effect on neutrophils.
MCP-1
Monocyte chemoattractant (or chemotactic) protein-1 (monocyte chemotactic protein-1, MCP-1 or CCL2) is another CCL chemokine. It is expressed by monocytes, endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and certain types of epithelial cells in culture. The expression of MCP1 is induced in human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes by phytohemagglutinin (PHA), lipopolysaccharide, and IL1. MCP-1 functions as a chemoattractant for monocytes but not neutrophils. There have been reports that two point mutations are sufficient for MCP-1 to become chemotactic for neutrophils. MCP-1 activates monocytes and macrophages in vivo, as well as basophils. Additionally, it can induce the proliferation and activation of certain types of killer cells.
CCL28
CCL28 (hMEC) is a recently described CC chemokine which may play a particularly important role in homeostasis or inflammatory responses in the gastrointestinal system (Wang et al., J. Biol. Chem. 275:22313–23, 2000).
SDF-1
Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1 or CXCL12) is a CXC chemokine that demonstrates in vitro activity with respect to lymphocytes and monocytes but not neutrophils. It is a highly potent in vivo chemoattractant for mononuclear cells. SDF-1 has been shown to induce intracellular actin polymerization in lymphocytes, and to induce a transient elevation of cytoplasmic calcium in some cells.
Chemokine Receptors
The receptors for chemokines are G-protein coupled seven-transmembrane receptors. Based on the chemokine class they bind, the receptors have been named CXCR1, CXCR2, CXCR3, CXCR4, and CXCR5 (all of which bind CXC chemokines); CCR1 through CCR9 (all of which bind CC chemokines); XCR1 (which binds the C chemokine, Lptn); and CX3CR1 (which binds the CX3C chemokine, fractalkine or neurotactin (See Table 1)).
The chemokines and their receptors have received increasing attention in the last few years. In addition to their role in HIV pathogenesis, it is now clear that chemokines participate in many pathological conditions such as inflammation and diseases or conditions associated with autoimmune responses. They also play a very important role in normal homeostasis, including lymphoid development and migration, and the growth of bone. As a result of their role in various physiological processes and pathological conditions and diseases, chemokines have important potential therapeutic applications.
TABLE 1Chemokine receptorsHuman chemokine ligandsCXCR1IL-8, GCP-2CXCR2IL-8, GCP-2, Gro α, Gro β, Gro γ, ENA-78, PBPCXCR3MIG, IP-10, I-TACCXCR4SDF-1/PBSFCCR1MIP-1 α, MIP-1 β, RANTES, HCC-1, 2, 3, and 4CCR2MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, MCP-4CCR3Eotaxin-1 eotaxin-2, MCP-3CCR4TARC, MDC, MIP-1 α, RANTESCCR5MIP-1 α, MIP-1 β, RANTESCCR6MIP-3 α/LARCCCR7MIP-3 β/ELC, 6Ckine/LCCCR8I-309CCR9TECKCCR10CCL27, CCL28(hMEC)

Chemokine analogs for the treatment of human disease


The invention provides a chute system (C1,C2,C3) for a sorting system arranged for transporting objects, e.g. for use for discharging luggage from a conveyor system. The chute system has one or more chute sections with an inlet (IL) in one end and an outlet (OL) in the opposite end. Displacement means, e.g. a pneumatic actuator, is arranged to adjust an angle of inclination of the one or more chute sections (C1,C2,C3) by displacing the chute section (C1,C2,C3) in a motion comprising pivoting around a pivot point positioned downstream of the inlet (IL). E.G. the pivot point can be positioned at the outlet, e.g. by means of a hinge. The adjustment of the angle of inclination may be controlled by a processor in response to various position and/or speed sensors and/or information about incoming objects from a vision based system or from the associated sorting system, e.g. identification of poly wrapped objects. The angle of inclination can be increased in case an object stops on the chute section, or the angle of inclination can be decreased in case an object moves too fast, even if a simple gravity chute is used. A cascade of two or more chute sections (C1,C2,C3) with adjustable angles of inclination can be used to control batches of objects and to control back pressure of objects on the chute.

Chutes are used in sorting systems typically for discharging objects from a conveyor system. For example, chutes are used in luggage sorting and transporting systems in an airport, however chutes are also used for objects larger than luggage or for objects smaller than luggage. Often, a chute system is implemented using simple plates or passive rollers or the like, set up with an angle of inclination so as to allow objects to slide thereon by means of gravity. However, it is a problem with such chute systems that objects, e.g. pieces of luggage, can have significantly different surface properties. Some objects have a surface with a high stick and slip effect, e.g. poly wrapped items, that cause the objects to stop on the chute if driven only by gravity. A chute system may also just be referred to as a chute. In that a chute is a destination from which objects moved by the sorter is to be discharged into at a discharge position, an object stopped unintentionally in the chute, or an object not moving with a certain range of speed in the chute, e.g. moving too slow in the chute, may, e.g., cause unwanted recirculations in the sorting system. This is due to the chute then no longer being able to receive one or more further objects from the sorter, at least not at a given point or period of time. Thus, such further objects will, as examples, have to be directed to another chute or recirculated in the sorting system until the chute is again ready to receive objects. On the other hand, other objects may provide only a small friction with the chute and thus may obtain a rather high speed on the chute. This can cause dangerous situations at an end of the chute, if heavy objects at high speed reach areas with persons handling the objects at the end of the chute.
To avoid problems with objects having a too high speed, e.g. undriven rollers with a brake system can be used to limit the speed. To avoid problems with sticky objects stopping on the chute, a driven belt, or the like, can be used. However, such chute systems are complex and thus expensive and require additional maintenance.

Chute system with adjustable angle of inclination


Disclosed is a system and method for extraction of information of within sample distribution of fiber quality from high-volume instrument (HVI) fibrogram to better predict yarn quality than the standard HVI output. The present invention allows for information on fiber quality to be obtained while avoiding testing samples with more expensive techniques. The disclosed system and method extracts HVI data for collecting a respective set of initial fibrograms from a set of fiber samples and representing them as a distance matrix to form a matrix of transformed fibrogram data, said matrix of transformed fibrogram data comprising a vector of scores to represent each sample and thereafter explaining variation in yarn quality by extracting all of the information available from the fibrogram.

In the textile industry, fibers need to be tested for different qualities including length, strength, fineness, and color in order to determine where they would be the most useful. The U.S. textile industry consumes around 718,490 metric tons of cotton per year. Also, about 80% of the U.S. cotton crop is now exported to surrounding countries. The quality and types of fibers that come from cotton are numerous. Cotton fiber with certain quality characteristics are more suitable for certain applications, and the wrong quality of fiber could lead to bad quality products being produced,
There are different types of machines that are able to assess the quality of fibers, with the most common being the high volume instrument (HVI). HVI systems take parallel bundles of fibers and report on the mean length and uniformity index of the bundle. However, there is very little data reported concerning individual fiber metrics of the distribution of fiber lengths. Without these added fiber qualities, the ability to accurately predict yarn quality becomes much harder. One way around this lack of information is to use a different method of fiber analysis known as Advanced Fiber information System (AFIS). AFIS is able to provide a more detailed report about individual fiber qualities; however, AFIS testing is costly, takes more time, and is not as widely distributed as HVI,
New cotton germplasm is needed that is capable of producing cotton fiber with a within sample distribution of fiber length competitive on demanding international spinning markets. Current methods of measuring the within sample distribution, the Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS), are too slow and expensive for widespread implementation in germplasm development. The High Volume Instrument (HVI) provides Upper Half Mean Length (UHML) and Uniformity Index (UI), and is in widespread use in many breeding programs. However, HVI length parameters do not capture enough information about the within sample distribution of fiber length. These HVI length parameters provide only a portion of the information about fiber length measured by the instrument.
It is therefore a need in the art to develop an economically feasible system for assessing fibrogram information within a sample of fiber,

System and method for fibrogram fiber quality evaluation


An image processing apparatus includes a correction parameter calculation unit for calculating a motion blur correction parameter for motion blur correction on the basis of motion information indicating a motion of an image between unit images, the unit images forming image data, and shutter speed information obtained at the image capturing of the image data, and a motion blur correction processing unit for correcting a motion blur quantity contained in the image data by performing at least a process of reducing a motion blur in accordance with the motion blur correction parameter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus, method and program for processing an image and, in particular, to an image processing technique for obtaining a high-quality image taking into consideration a motion image blur on the image.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a moving image taken at a high-speed shutter or an animation is displayed on a display device such as a projector or a display, the motion of a moving object contained in an image can be displayed in a discontinued fashion. This leads to frequent image degradation in which a user sees multiple images of the moving object. The degradation of the moving image due to motion unnaturalness is generally referred to as motion jerkiness. On the other hand, when a moving image taken at a low-speed shutter such as with an open shutter is displayed, the image of an object may lack detail or an edge of the image becomes blurred because of the effect of motion blur. This phenomenon is referred to as motion blur, which is also one of the image degradations.
The principle of the generation of jerkiness and blur is described with reference to FIGS. 26-28. In accordance with vision characteristics, humans are known to visually recognize a light ray incident on the eyes as a value that results from integrating the light ray for a predetermined period of time. FIGS. 26-28 diagrammatically illustrate the way an object is viewed by a viewer in accordance with the vision characteristics.
FIGS. 26A and 26B illustrate how a still object and a moving object look in the real world.
FIG. 26A illustrate chronological movement of a still object 71 and a moving object 72 with the abscissa representing position (x) and the ordinate representing time (t). FIG. 26B diagrammatically illustrates the vision of a viewer who views the still object 71 and the moving object 72. The viewers views the objects in two vision conditions, i.e., a tracking vision tracking the moving object 72 and a fixed vision not tracking the moving object 72, respectively illustrated as (a) tracking vision and (b) fixed vision.
If the moving object 72 is tracked by the viewer in (a) tracking vision as illustrated in FIG. 26B, the moving object 72 looks like moving object vision information a72. This is identical to fixed object vision information b71 in which the still object 71 looks in (b) fixed vision in FIG. 26B. If the viewer views the moving object 72 in the tracking vision in this way, the moving object 72 looks in the same way as the still object 71 looks in the fixed vision. If the viewer views the moving object 72 in the fixed vision as in (b) fixed vision illustrated in FIG. 26B, the moving object 72 looks like moving object vision information b72 in FIG. 26B. The viewer visually recognizes the moving object as a continuously moving object, and is free from any discomfort viewing.
FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate the principle of the generation of jerkiness viewed by the viewer when a moving image taken at a high-speed shutter or an animation is displayed on a display device such as a projector or a display device. Jerkiness is a phenomenon in which the motion of a moving object contained in an image is displayed in a discontinuous manner, causing the viewer to visually recognize multiple images of the moving object.
A moving object in the real world in FIGS. 26A and 26B is imaged at a high-speed shutter, and then displayed on a display device at a refresh rate of 60 Hz. FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate the way the viewer visually recognizes the moving object. FIG. 27A illustrates a change in the display positions of a display still object 81 and a display moving object 82 on a display device. In FIG. 27A, the ordinate represents time (t) and is graduated in refresh periods of the display device (each period being 1/60 second), and the abscissa represents display position (x). FIG. 27B diagrammatically illustrates the vision status of the viewer who views the display still object 81 and the display moving object 82 displayed on the display device. The vision status of the viewer includes (a) tracking vision in which the viewer views the image with the display moving object 82 being tracked, and (b) fixed vision in which the viewer views the image with the display moving object 82 not tracked but with the vision of the viewer fixed.
When the display moving object 82 displayed on the display device is viewed by the viewer in (a) tracking vision as illustrated in FIG. 27B, an image a82 looks in the same way as the image a72 looks in (a) tracking vision in FIG. 26B. The viewer visually recognizes the image in the same way as the viewer views a still object in the fixed vision.
When the display moving object 82 displayed on the display device is viewed by the viewer in (b) fixed vision as illustrated in FIG. 27B, the display moving object 82 looks like images b82 not continuously moving but discontinuously moving in a manner different from the real world in the viewer's vision. As a result, the viewer visually recognizes as multiple images the moving object displayed on the display device based on the human vision characteristics. In human vision characteristics, humans visually recognize a light ray incident on the eyes as a value that results from integrating the light ray for a predetermined period of time.
The viewer thus views a single object as multiple objects. This phenomenon is called jerkiness. In principle, an object moving at a high speed suffers more from jerkiness. The lower the frame rate of the display device, the more jerkiness takes place, and the higher the frame rate, the less jerkiness takes place. Furthermore, jerkiness takes place more in a portion of an image where a change in spatial luminance is large, i.e., where a spatial contrast is high.
FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate how a blur viewed by the viewer is generated when a moving image taken at a low-speed shutter such as with an open shutter or an animation is displayed on a display device such as a projector or a display. The blur is a phenomenon in which the image of an object may lack detail or an edge of the image becomes blurred because of the effect of motion blur.
FIGS. 28A and 28B diagrammatically illustrate how the moving object in the real world illustrated in FIGS. 26A and 26B looks to the viewer when the moving object is imaged at a low-speed shutter and then displayed on the display device at a refresh rate of 60 Hz. FIG. 28A illustrates a change in the display positions of a display still object 91 and a display moving object 92 on the display device. In FIG. 28A, the ordinate represents time (t) and is graduated in refresh periods of the display device (each period being 1/60 second), and the abscissa represents display position (x). FIG. 28B diagrammatically illustrates the vision status of the viewer who views the display still object 91 and the display moving object 92 displayed on the display device. The vision status of the viewer includes (a) tracking vision in which the viewer views the image with the display moving object 92 being tracked, and (b) fixed vision in which the viewer views the image with the display moving object 92 not tracked but with the vision of the viewer fixed.
When the display moving object 92 displayed on the display device is viewed by the viewer in (b) fixed vision as illustrated in FIG. 28B, an image b92 looks in the same way as the image b72 looks in (b) fixed vision in FIG. 26B. The viewer visually recognizes the moving object as a continuously moving object, and is free from any discomfort viewing.
When the display moving object 92 displayed on the display device is viewed by the viewer in tracking vision, an image a92 looks to the viewer as a blurred image as illustrated in FIG. 28B in a manner different from the case in which the still object is viewed in fixed vision. When the display moving object 92 in FIG. 28A is imaged, the motion of the moving object during a long exposure of a low-speed shutter is recorded within one frame, and the moving object is thus displayed as a band in one frame. Such a phenomenon is referred to as blur.
In principle, there is a trade-off between jerkiness and blur with respect to the imaging shutter speed. Mere shutter control causes either the degradation of jerkiness or the degradation of blur to be pronounced. More specifically, if an image taken at a relatively high shutter speed with respect to the frame rate of the moving image is displayed as a still image, high sharpness is provided. If the image is displayed as a moving image, the motion of a moving area within the image, in particular, a moving area at a high speed is not smooth. Such an image looks unnatural to the vision of humans. If an image taken at a relatively low shutter speed with respect to the frame rate of the moving image is displayed as a moving image, high sharpness is provided. If the image is displayed as a moving image, the motion of a high-speed moving area within the image is smooth, but the entire image lacks sharpness.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-274299 (WO07/114220), assigned to the same assignee of the present invention, discloses a jerkiness reducing technique intended to be used on an image taken at a high shutter speed. In accordance with the disclosed technique, a motion blur is added through image processing. An added amount of motion blur is controlled through analysis of image processing so that the excessive addition of the motion blur does not cause blur degradation. A technical approach of reducing the motion blur through image processing performed mainly on an input image taken at a low shutter speed is widely studied. For example, image processing techniques for correcting blur of an image include mainly an inverse convolution technique based on a blur model, and a technique not using no blur model, such as a peaking technique or a shock filter technique. For example, the technique disclosed in the paper entitled "Extension of Coupled Nonlinear Diffusion to Motion De-blurring—Introduction of Anisotropic Peaking," Takahiro SAITO, Hiroyuki HARADA, and Takashi KOMATSU, The Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers Vol. 58, No. 12 pp. 1839-1844 (2004) is related to the blur-model-based inverse convolution technique as motion blur reduction means. The technique disclosed in the paper entitled "Motion De-blurring Using a Blur Model," Takahiro SAITO, Hiroyuki HARADA, Taishi SANO, and Takashi KOMATSU, The Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers Vol. 59, No. 11, pp. 1714-1721 (2005) is related to the technique not using no blur model as motion blur reduction means.

Apparatus, method, and program for processing image


Systems, methods and computer readable media for mobility integration with fabric-enabled networks are described. Some implementations can include a method comprising terminating, using one or more processors, an access tunnel at an edge switch of a fabric-enabled network, and establishing, using the one or more processors, a mobility tunnel with the edge switch. The method can also include mapping, using the one or more processors, a mobility network to a service identifier associated with the mobility network. The method can further include forwarding, using the one or more processors, traffic for the mobility network from the edge switch to another edge switch across the fabric enabled network, wherein the traffic includes the service identifier.

In some current mobility deployments within fabric based networks such as shortest path bridging networks with MAC and MAC encapsulation access points terminate access tunnels on wireless switching plane. The wireless switching plane attaches to a fabric enabled network and establishes a mobility tunnel with peer wireless switching planes over the fabric enabled network.
Wireless switching planes advertise services to peer wireless switching planes over mobility tunnels. Mobility tunnels provide seamless mobility by extending the client networks with the help of a signaling plane. Within the wireless switching planes, client traffic is encapsulated using a header and the fabric network may apply policies to the encapsulated frame. Mobility services offered using the fabric enabled network may include transport only (e.g., establishing mobility tunnels over an SPBM network).
A need may exist for a signaling plane to extend a client network whenever a client roams. A fabric enabled network may need to apply policies to encapsulated tunnel frames. When traffic is roaming across the network, it may be required to traverse one extra hop through a VLAN server to reach the roaming client. Also, traffic disruption may occur during the VLAN server fail over as the signaling plane has to reelect a VLAN server and reprogram the new VLAN server in the data path.
Embodiments were conceived in light of the above-mentioned problems and limitations, among other things.

Mobility integration with fabric enabled network


An electrical device for generating a multi-rate pseudo random noise (PN) sequence. A sequence generator is adapted to output a plurality of sequence values based on a step control signal (St). A selection system is adapted to select one of a plurality of sequence values based on a select value (Mt). A step control is adapted to provide the step control signal (St). Also disclosed is a method of generating a multi-rate PN sequence.

Pseudo random noise sequences (PN sequences) are used in many cryptographic and communications applications to provide randomly appearing symbols. Typically, cryptographic applications are methods to provide confidentiality of transmitted information through the use of stream ciphers. In communications systems, PN sequences may be used for example as spreading sequences in spread-spectrum communications systems where they determine the hop sequence and/or the direct spreading sequence.
In general a receiver of a spread-spectrum communications system will receive a digital signal/bit stream transmitted over a single carrier frequency which is combined from a digital signal/bit stream containing information such as a digitized voice and from a PN sequence used to code or encrypt the transmission. Typically, the length of the PN sequence stream is much larger than the length of the information stream thereby, complicating identification of ciphers containing the actual information.
In prior art, the PN sequences are sometimes derived by using a maximal length polynomial. Constructions, whether hardware or software implemented, which form PN sequences, in this manner are sometimes referred to as m-sequence generators. It is well known that the randomness properties of the sequences generated by the m-sequence generators are very limited as a result of a linear relationship between the symbols of the sequence. This enables prediction of the next symbol given sufficiently many but small number of previous symbols. This is not desirable in various applications, and hence there is a need for efficient techniques to enhance the unpredictability.
Clock control of the m-sequence generator is a well-known method that can be used to increase the unpredictability of m-sequence generators. The most frequent method of clock control is that of introducing two modes of operation in an m-sequence generator. In one mode the generator outputs the previously produced symbol, and in the other mode the generator outputs the next symbol from the m-sequence. The current mode can advantageously be determined by another PN sequence. Output bits generated by a clock controlled m-sequence generator form the PN sequences which are used, inter alia, to encrypt or spread an information signal.
The abovementioned method of clock control, also sometimes referred to as the stop-and-go method, is especially used in hardware applications where it is easy to implement this stop-and-go method. However, the randomness properties of the resulting sequence, although less predictable, are impaired by the fact that the output sequence contains repetitions of previous symbols. This may obviated by using a step-once or step-twice ((1,2)-step) scheme, i.e. a basic m-sequence generator generates the next symbol (mode 1) or the symbol after the next symbol (mode 2), instead of the stop-and-go scheme. When implementing such a clock controlled generator, the basic m-sequence generator is required to produce symbols at twice the rate of the rate needed for output symbols. Known solutions for this depend on the use of a higher internal clock rate for the basic m-sequence generator or on the use of a very complex hardware applications of clock controlled basic m-sequence generators.
EP 0905611 A2 discloses a pseudorandom number generating method and pseudorandom number generator where a selector selects a pseudorandom number Xj (a single bit) from either one of two function generator outputs on the basis of a previous pseudorandom number Xj−1. The two function generators generate data composed of a plurality of bits corresponding to state data held in a register. Another selector selects one of the data outputs of the function generators on the basis of the previous pseudorandom number Xj−1 and stores this in the register as state data.
The abovementioned pseudorandom generator in EP 0905611 A2 does not disclose a clock controlled multi-rate generator and is subject to the abovementioned deterioration of unpredictability, since a clock rate twice as high as the needed output rate is needed because only one symbol is output at a time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,075 discloses a method of and an apparatus for generating a pseudorandom noise sequence (PN sequence), where a bit sequence of pseudorandom numbers is augmented by an extra bit in order to comply with the Interim Standard IS-95 for implementation of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), where a sequence of 215 bits is required.
Prior art methods and systems for generating PN sequences all require elaborate hardware and consequent expenditure of electrical power. There is therefore a need for a method and system for generating a PN sequence without the disadvantages of prior art.

Method and an electrical device for efficient generation of multi-rate pseudo random noise (PN) sequence


A method of analyzing cardiac functions in a subject using a processing system is described. The method may include applying one or more electrical signals having a plurality of frequencies to the subject and detecting a response to the applied one or more signals from the subject. A characteristic frequency can then be determined from the applied and received signals, and at least one component of the impedance (e.g., reactance, phase shift) can be measured at the characteristic frequency. Thus, the impedance or a component of impedance at a characteristic frequency can be determined for a number of sequential time instances. A new characteristic frequency may be determined within a cardiac cycle (e.g., with each sequential time instant) or the same characteristic frequency may be used throughout the cardiac cycle during which instantaneous values of impedance (or a component of impedance) are determined. These instantaneous values may be used to determine one or more indicia of cardiac function.

The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for monitoring biological parameters, and in particular to a method and apparatus for measuring cardiac function in a subject using bioelectric impedance or components of bioelectric impedance.
The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.
It is estimated that coronary heart disease will become the single biggest public health problem in the world by 2020, The treatment of coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases therefore represents and increasingly large health and economic burden throughout the world in the coming years.
Cardiac output (CO), which can be defined as the amount of blood ejected by the ventricles of the heart per minute (measured in liters per minute), is governed by the metabolic demands of the body, and therefore reflect the status of the entire circulatory system. For this reason measurement of cardiac output is an essential aspect of haemodynamic monitoring of patients with heart disease or who are recovering from various forms of cardiovascular disease or other medical treatments.
One existing technique for determining cardiac function which has been developed is known as impedance cardiography (IC). Impedance cardiography involves measuring the electrical impedance of a subject's body using a series of electrodes placed on the skin surface. Changes in electrical impedance at the body's surface are used to determine changes in tissue volume that are associated with the cardiac cycle, and accordingly, measurements of cardiac output and other cardiac function.
A complication in impedance cardiography is that the baseline impedance of the thorax varies considerably between individuals, the quoted range for an adult is 20 Ω-48 Ω at a frequency between 50 kHz-100 kHz. The changes in impedance due to the cardiac cycle are a relatively small (0.5%) fraction of the baseline impedance, which leads to a very fragile signal with a low signal to noise ratio.
Accordingly, complex signal processing is required to ensure measurements can be interpreted.
An example of this is described in international patent publication no. WO2004/032738, In this example, the responsiveness of a patient to an applied current is modelled using the equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 1. The equivalent circuit assumes that:                direct current is conducted through the extracellular fluid only since the reactance of the cell membrane will be infinite;        an applied alternating current is conducted through the extracellular and intracellular pathways in a ratio dependent on the frequency of the applied signal.
Accordingly, the equivalent circuit includes an intracellular branch formed from a capacitance C representing the capacitance of the cell membranes in the intracellular pathway and the resistance R1 representing the resistance of the intracellular fluid. The circuit also includes an extracellular branch formed from resistance RE which represents the conductive pathway through the tissue.
WO2004/032738 operates based on the assumption that the cardiac cycle will only have an impact on the volume of extracellular fluid in the patient's thorax, and therefore that cardiac function can be derived by considering changes in the extracellular component of the impedance. This is achieved by applying an alternating current at a number of different frequencies. The impedance is measured at each of these frequencies and then extrapolated to determine the impedance at zero applied frequency, which therefore corresponds to the resistance RE. This is then determined to be solely due to the extracellular fluid component and hence can be used to determine attributes of cardiac function, such as stroke volume.
However, in practice the impedance at zero frequency would not be due solely to extracellular fluids but would be influenced by a number of other factors. In particular, cells do not act as a perfect capacitor and accordingly, the intracellular fluid will contribute to the impedance at a zero applied frequency.
A further issue in WO2004/032738 is that the process determines the impedance at zero applied frequency using the "Cole model". However, again this assumes idealised behaviour of the system, and consequently does not accurately model a subject's bioimpedance response. Consequently cardiac parameters determined using these techniques tend to be of only limited accuracy.


A computer-assisted inspection system provides computer architectures and software controlled algorithms to automatically provide vehicle inspections and repair recommendations including estimated repair time and cost of depression type damage such as dents. Features provided by a handheld wireless touchscreen based inspection device include flat car part picking, auto grading including seller grading, and automatic calculation of body and bumper dent repair parameters and directions.

In America, cars are not merely transportation; they are also aesthetic works of art and symbols of freedom, adventure and individuality. As a nation with many more cars than licensed drivers, we Americans love our cars. America's love affair with cars may be based on the size of our country, the independence of our people, our desire for mobility, or perhaps on our love of freedom. These characteristics, which set our country apart from others, have long made the motor vehicle and the open road central fixtures in our lives and our imaginations.
Many Americans make a statement with the car they choose to drive. Many of us are passionate about our cars. Texans love their pickup trucks and SUVs, and Vermonters love their Subarus. When certain cars drive down the street, everyone stops and turns their head. Car designers devote much energy to creating exciting, aesthetically pleasing body styles. One designer has observed that it costs no more to manufacture a car with a beautiful design. Car designers work very hard to develop three dimensional body lines and curves that are striking and pleasing to the eye. Body lines can also strengthen the structure of a car body, increasing safety and reducing weight and cost. Such beautiful car designs have captivated consumers for decades and helped fuel a major consumer industry.
Since most cars are not merely works of art but are also transportation subject to obstacles, traffic and driver error, they can be subjected to accidental damage. Many of us have had the unpleasant experience of returning to our parked car to find that a careless motorist backed into our car or opened their car door in a way that caused body damage. Anyone who has ever accidentally backed into a pole or other obstruction or has been involved in a minor accident knows how disheartening it can be to subject a beautiful and finely crafted automobile to damage. Where before there was mirror-shiny clear coat, sleek lines and curves, there now is an unsightly scratch or dent.
Generally speaking, there is a well-defined process for making most kinds of mechanical repairs to motor vehicles, the list of replacement parts and supplies can be defined in advance, and most repair jobs of that particular type are similar. Often, standard charges may apply. As an example, the mechanic time for removing the engine cylinder head on a particular model of vehicle and replacing it with a reconditioned cylinder head can often be accurately estimated in advance. Similarly, reconditioning worn brake rotors and replacing brake pads is a standard operation, and it is easy for a repair shop to estimate how much time would be involved and the cost of replacement parts.
It is much more challenging to accurately estimate the cost and amount of time it will take to repair body damage to a motor vehicle and to then properly execute on such repair direction. The position, size, shape and severity of each dent on a car's body is unique. Any repair needs to be both structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing. For example, it is important when looking down the length of the vehicle that body lines are unbroken and undeformed. The smallest deformation on a body line can be easily noticed. While a range of standard techniques can be applied to repair dents and other body damage, due to the aesthetic considerations involved, authorizing repair of and properly repairing body damage is a craft that can be art as well as science.
One might think that the cost and amount of effort involved in pulling or hammering out or otherwise repairing a dent would merely depend on the size of the dent. However, it turns out that dents in some places on the vehicle are easier to pull out or otherwise repair than dents in other places. See e.g. FIG. 1 which shows a conventional example vehicle quarter panel 10. The quarter panel 10, as is well known, may be composed of steel, aluminum, fiberglass, plastic or other conventional material. It is cut out and stamped in a three-dimensional shape that allows it to fit easily and properly on a motor vehicle body to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance as well as to protect the vehicle, tire and driver. The quarter panel 10 in this example includes a variety of relatively flat surfaces such as 12 and 14. In addition, quarter panel 10 may include curved surfaces 16 as well as various body lines such as a belt line 24 and additional lines or creases 26, 28, 30. These lines or creases affect the appearance, proportions and stance of the car and add to the strength of the panel. In particular, body lines, creases and bends in the metal of such a panel can add structural strength to the panel, allowing thinner metal to be used and thereby decreasing manufacturing cost, weight and environmental load while increasing fuel economy.
Still additionally, the example quarter panel 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes so-called "work hardened" areas 18, 20, 22 that comprise bent or worked metal. For example, complex shaped portions 18, 20, 22 are typically created by cold working or stamping the metal, which can, as is well known, lead to work hardening. Work hardening, also known as strain hardening or cold working, is the strengthening of a metal by plastic deformation. Auto body parts made of metal such as steel and aluminum when worked to create bend, contoured and/or curved aesthetically-pleasing surfaces such as 18, 20, 22, may be work hardened, strengthening the metal in the places where the metal was worked. Such strengthening by cold working or cold forming adds structural strength to the panel and can produce aesthetically-pleasing 3D surfaces that are stronger than unworked metal but which may become brittle and resistant to further plastic deformation. Damage to such work hardened areas can cause cracking, resulting in loss of integrity of the panel (e.g., cracking, holes, etc.) and can complicate any repair process. Thus, work hardened areas are usually more difficult to repair than flat areas. It can be appreciated from the FIG. 1 example quarter panel that the same point impact administered to different parts of the quarter panel may result in very different damage scenarios requiring different repair solutions that may be more or less time intensive and risky to the integrity of the structure.
Perhaps because of these uncertainties, producing estimates for body damage repair can be challenging. The cost of the same repair can vary radically depending on who you talk to. Three body shops may give three very different cost estimates for repairing the same dent. Insurance adjusters and fleet operators, on the other hand, need to be able to accurately and objectively estimate how much time it will take and how much it will cost to repair particular dents at particular positions on particular cars. It would also be highly desirable for computer-assisted technology to automatically recommend a particular method of repair (e.g., paintless dent repair).
The first step in assessing and estimating a repair is usually to perform a visual and other inspection. In the past, repair inspections were often performed manually using preprinted forms. An inspector would work from a form or check list on a clipboard as he or she visually inspected the item. Defects would be noted on the form. Sometimes, such forms would include schematic illustrations (e.g., line drawings) of the item being inspected so the inspector could note location and type of damage. Such forms could be mailed or transmitted electronically by facsimile or email. Damage assessments could be made by comparing information noted on the form with standard damage assessment information. In the case of motor vehicles, for example, the inspector or other person could consult a standard source to determine the fair market value of the vehicle based on the condition of the vehicle, the options installed and other factors. Unfortunately, because every dent is unique, it is rarely possible to obtain completely accurate dent repair times and costs merely by referencing a book or an historical database.
Yet, an important capability for any motor vehicle or other item assessor is to be able to accurately estimate the cost of repair and amount of time it will take to repair. As anyone who has ever taken a car to a repair shop knows well, being presented with a repair bill that is much higher than what the inspector or technician estimated at the beginning of the process is an unwelcomed surprise. Consumers are also unhappy when the repair is not done on time. On the other side of the coin, it is important for repair facilities to be properly compensated for their time and effort and be given enough time to complete the job. One cannot expect a good job if the body shop or other repair facility is forced to work too fast and/or at bargain rates. Body shops thus have a strong interest in providing accurate cost estimates. Estimating too high can cause the consumer to go elsewhere. Estimating too low can mean the price may not be enough cover the cost of repairs and the shop could lose money on the job. Inaccurately estimating how much time it will take or what will be involved in making a repair can leave everyone dissatisfied.
In most body shops, a well-trained estimator makes an appraisal of the vehicle damage and determines what must be done to repair the vehicle. Generally, this person must be well versed in how cars and trucks are made and repaired, and be good with numbers, computers and communicating with people. Computers are often used to streamline estimating and parts identification and ordering. See e.g., Duffy, Auto Body Repair Technology (4th Ed. 2003). Nevertheless, accurately estimating the amount of labor involved in making a particular repair has in the past relied heavily on the experience and expertise of the human estimator.
The problem is compounded by the variety of different techniques including paintless dent removal that have been developed to repair dents and other body damage. Some techniques may be right for some dents but not others. Some jobs require parts to be removed while other types of damage can be repaired in place. While an experienced body shop can often provide a good cost and labor estimate, inspectors who have never worked in a body shop may have difficulty accurately estimating what it will take to repair particular dent damage. Yet, having to get a separate estimate from one or more body shops or other estimators may take too much time or otherwise be inconvenient, especially in fleet or auction environments where time and efficiency are important. Additionally, it is useful to employ objective rather than subjective standards for assessing damage and recommending necessary repair procedures, costs and work time.
Some in the past including the assignee have proposed to use computers and computer systems to gather automobile inspection information and assess damage. See for example US 20070293997. Various systems and techniques have been developed. However, further improvements are possible and desirable. In particular, it has been found to be a challenge in the past to apply objective standards to what some treat as a subjective, highly experiential process for estimating what it will take to repair depression type damage to items including but not limited to body portions of motor vehicles.
One example non-limiting technology uses programming and data based in part on a significant amount of time and effort analyzing case studies in order to isolate and distill an optimal set of criteria. Such automatic computer-assisted technology can prompt an inspector in a structured manner through a user interface to input such criteria (e.g., by presenting a series of questions with structured possible answers for user selection) to enable a data processing system to automatically, objectively estimate the time and cost involved in repairing dents and other depression damage and the like. The system automatically takes into account that while size (length and width) of the dent are important, there are other objectively observable factors (e.g., number of work hardened areas, number of panel edges, number of body lines in dent, dent depth, and other adjustments) that together can be used to automatically enable a very accurate assessment and calculation of what should be done and how much time it will take for a skilled body repair technician to repair a particular dent.
Exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations provide a data processing system including non-transitory memory storing an integrated software suite and/or operative as a standalone module or application that provides or assists with vehicle inspection or other damage assessment. One exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation includes an inspection application that runs on for example a desktop, laptop, or pen-tablet PC's; a centralized server application that handles data synchronization between the database and the inspection PC's; additional systems to handle reporting and data transfer; and a web front end to allow clients to view vehicle inspection results on the Internet.
Example Seller Grade
Additional example technology enhances the capture of a vehicle's overall condition by improving the current damage values, and adding a new seller grade. The Seller grade can be leveraged at an auction or other live sales environment for simultaneously or simulcast display, and the interface can be robust enough to be used by for quick inspections inside the auction gate.
In one example embodiment, Seller grade may provide the ability to add additional damage information in order to calculate a grade for the vehicle. Based upon the damage information entered by the dealer, a Seller Grade can be provided. The Seller Grade can be rounded to half numbers for example. The example non-limiting system can provide a vehicle grade, and utilize the grading algorithm in a manner that can be used by other industry vendors and clients. One example non-limiting feature provides an external facing Webservice that allows the passing of predetermined information that calculates and returns a vehicle grade.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Computer-based technology for aiding the repair of motor vehicles


Described are shoes, in particular a sports shoe, wherein at least a portion of an upper of the shoe includes a first layer and a functional second layer, wherein the functional second layer is directly printed onto the first layer.

Usually, shoes provide a variety of different functionalities. These functionalities may be distinguished between functionalities of the sole, such as slip resistance, compression strength or cushioning of impacts, on the one hand, and functionalities of the upper on the other hand. For instance, the upper may provide stabilization of the foot, cushioning of movements of the foot, protection from moisture or wind, abrasion protection and/or good breathability. The respective functionalities, therein, often pose different requirements at different zones of the upper. In order to meet these requirements, various approaches are known in the prior art.
Commonly, for zones of an upper, which are supposed to provide different functionalities, individual parts may be formed of different materials, wherein the individual parts are then assembled to form an upper and, ultimately, a shoe. For example, the zones that are supposed to provide an increased stabilization of the foot may be manufactured from stronger material. Typically, the various parts are assembled by sewing, although US 2008/0250668 A1 describes a shoe whose parts are assembled by a gluing method, and US 2007/0022627 A1 discloses stability ribs that are attached to the outer parts of a shoe at desired positions.
However, these approaches known from the prior art require complex manufacturing processes because several parts have to be assembled to form an upper in a quite labor-intensive manner. The efforts required to assemble the parts may lead to the use of fewer parts having relatively larger areas. Thus, the functionality provided by a particular part may only be adjusted on a larger scale and, hence, only in a relatively coarse manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,668 B2 discloses a further approach, and in particular, a shoe, wherein the upper includes a substrate layer and a polymer layer. The substrate layer may, for example, be formed of textiles in the form of a mesh material. The polymer layer may have the general configuration of a web, and its thickness may relate to the relative degrees of wear within the shoe. The polymer layer is deposited on the substrate layer using a casting process. This casting process, however, is energy-intensive, time consuming, and complex.
DE 33 47 237 A1 discloses a method for manufacturing reinforcing elements using a meltable plastic powder. The plastic powder is applied to a supporting element in the shape of the desired reinforcing element via a screen printing method. The plastic powder is then melted in a heating station. The plastic powder is finally glued onto the upper of the shoe and cooled down under application of pressure. This method is also energy-intensive and involves a complex melting process. Due to the granularity of the powder, the melting process may cause shrinking. Also, because the reinforcing element is transferred from the supporting element onto the upper, the precision and applicability of this method is limited.
DE 35 39 573 C2 further discloses a method for producing a three-dimensional reinforcing element. Meltable plastic powder is applied onto a supporting element via a stencil printing method. The plastic powder is then pre-heated until the surface of the plastic sinters. The plastic powder is then transferred to a pressure element, where the plastic powder is compressed using the pressure element and melted onto the pressure element. In a further step, the reinforcing element is transferred from the pressure element and applied to the upper of the shoe which is to be reinforced. In addition to the disadvantages of melting and transfer methods discussed above, additional imprecisions arise due to the double transfer of the element from the supporting element to the pressure element and then to the upper of the shoe. Moreover, this method requires a complex pressure element, which increases the cost of the method.
GB 1 445 781 A relates to an improvement in the manufacture of footwear which incorporates fabric uppers.
US 2011/0258883 A1 relates to a ball control portion which extends from one side to an underside of an article of footwear. The ball control portion includes a lattice with a plurality of protrusions arranged in a grid. The plurality of protrusions includes multiple groups of protrusions arranged with one or more of different orientations, types, and heights.
US 2011/0061149 A1 relates to a fitness sock suitable for being worn in the performance of gymnastic activities. The sock comprises anti-slipping means positioned on a plantar surface of the sock.
DE 601 06 757 T2 relates to an improved structure of ski boots comprising a heating insert for thermoforming and/or heating and drying of the inner part of the boot.
It is therefore desirable to develop a process to overcome at least parts of the specified disadvantages of the prior art and thus to provide a shoe with adjusted functionalities in different zones that may be easily manufactured.