Systems, methods, and devices for facilitating insertion of an endotracheal tube and/or for verifying the position of the endotracheal tube within an airway of a patient with respect to an anatomical landmark of a patient are disclosed. Systems, methods, and devices for facilitating removal of debris from the distal airways of a patient under direct visualization are also disclosed.

During an intubation procedure, endotracheal tubes can be placed in patients who are unable to effectively maintain life-sustaining ventilation and respiration on their own. Use of an endotracheal tube is appropriate when the integrity of the airway is, or may become, challenged due to trauma or pathology, or if a patient cannot otherwise breathe unaided. Often the endotracheal tube is coupled to a mechanical ventilator to aid the patient's respiration, and can be expected to remain in situ for an extended time until the patient is once again able to breathe on his or her own. The endotracheal tubes can be inserted within a patient's native airway for short periods of time (e.g., for a matter of hours during anesthesia for surgery) or the endotracheal tubes can remain in place to provide ventilator-assisted breathing for days or weeks.
The institution of mechanical ventilation can result in increased production of secretions within the patient's native airway. The insertion of an endotracheal tube within the patient's airway removes the normal cough mechanism for clearing of secretions. The secretions, therefore, can pool in dependent portions of the lung over time due to gravity and, if not removed in a timely manner, can result in ventilator-acquired pneumonia (VAP) or other undesired conditions or ailments. Because the cough mechanism is not intact, invasive removal is required to remove the pooled secretions with a suction catheter.
The insertion of endotracheal tubes is often performed in emergency situations, which can result in inappropriate placement of the endotracheal tube. Inappropriate placement of the endotracheal tube within the patient can result in severe clinical compromise of the intubated patient and, in some instances, can lead to severe injury or death if not corrected. The most commonly reported errors in positioning include positioning the tube in the esophagus, introducing the endotracheal tube beyond the carina with the tip in the right main stem bronchus, and not introducing the tube far enough such that the endotracheal tube balloon is inflated at the level of the vocal cords or just proximal thereto.

Visualized endotracheal tube placement systems


For the production of form fitting dental castings an imprint or impression is made from a pre-formed test body with phantom tooth stumps using the imprint material used by the dentist. Using this imprint, the dental laboratory produces a plaster test model. On this plaster model a test casting is modeled and cast. The casting matrix used for the casting is imperically so adjusted, that the test cast object achieves an optimal form fitting precision upon the test body. Future patient castings are produced using the determined value of the casting matrix.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a process for manufacturing precisely fitting dental castings.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of dental castings, such as crowns, bridges and other dental prosthesis, after preparation of the tooth stumps, the dentist produces an impression of the tooth stumps. This impression is given to a dental laboratory, where the impression is filled in with a modeling material, generally plaster. The resulting model is used by the dental technician upon which to model and cast the cast objects (castings). For this the castings are modeled out of wax on the model of the tooth stumps. The wax models are embedded in a matrix, so that after melting out of the wax a hollow shape for the pouring of the castings is formed. This process is described, for example, in DE 94 12 336 U1.
If the castings made in this manner are then seated upon the tooth stumps of the patient, fitting imperfections are frequently discovered. These fitting imperfections can have numerous causes. For example, many imprint materials are available in the market with varying chemical compositions, such as for example silicones, polyether rubbers and hydrocolloids. These various materials exhibit various shape changes, usually shrinkage, during hardening or setting. Also, the utilization of varying hardeners and varying mixture relationships influence the physical properties of the imprint material. Further, the dimensions of the cast object are influenced by the various plaster model materials used for filling in the impression or negative. Thereby variations of between approximately 0.2 and 0.06 vol.% are produced in the setting or hardening expansion of the model material. Also, the mixing relationship of water to plaster powder, and the selection of distilled water or tap water with mineral contents, influences the setting or hardening relationship in the manufacture or production of the model. The largest influence on the dimension of the cast object is the mold matrix. The conventionally available mold matrix materials exhibit an expansion of between approximately 0.5 and 3.5 vol.%, wherein these expansions can be controlled or influenced by the mixing relationship and the utilization of distilled water or special mixing fluids.
In the hitherto known procedures the dental technician attempts by exercising control over the embedding matrix to produce cast objects which have an optimal form fitting precision with respect to the plaster model produced by him. The form fitting precision to the plaster model for the above discussed reasons does not however necessarily mean a corresponding form fitting precision to the tooth stumps of the patient. Thus, as a rule, there occurs a further follow-up working of the casting by the dentist or as the case may be the dental laboratory. This is associated with a high labor expenditure for the dentist and the laboratory. The multiple follow-up grindings and fittings of the casting is also inconvenient and time consuming for the patient. Finally, the follow-up working of the casting does not always lead to an optimal occlusion, which must be compensated for by larger cement fisures, which increase the vulnerability to secondary cavities.

Process for manufacture of precisely fitting dental castings and test models for carrying out the process


Disclosed is an ammonia sensor element for detecting ammonia in a gas under measurement, including two mixed-potential-type ammonia detection cells that respectively include first and second ammonia detection electrodes. The first ammonia detection electrode has a metal composition containing Au as a predominant component. The second ammonia detection electrode has a metal composition containing Au as a predominant component. The metal compositions of the first and second ammonia detection electrodes are different from each other.

In recent years, attention has been focused on urea selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems as a technique to purify nitrogen oxides (NOx) contained in exhaust gases of internal combustion engines such as diesel engines. The urea SCR system is configured to purify nitrogen oxides (NOx) contained in the exhaust gas by converting the nitrogen oxides to nitrogen (N2) through chemical reaction of the nitrogen oxides with ammonia (NH3). There is a possibility that, when an excessive amount of ammonia is supplied to the nitrogen oxides in the urea SCR system, unreacted ammonia remaining in the exhaust gas will be released to the outside. In order to prevent such ammonia release, the urea SCR system is equipped with an ammonia sensor element to measure the concentration of ammonia in the exhaust gas as disclosed in e.g. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2015-34814, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-75546, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2013-221931 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-62541.


A translinear variable-gain amplifier. The translinear variable gain amplifier receives a differential input voltage and produces a differential output current having a selected gain. The amplifier comprises a buffer amplifier that receives the differential input voltage and produces a differential input current. The amplifier further comprises a translinear gain cell coupled to receive the differential input current and produce the differential output current. The gain cell includes a first adjustable bias source that operates to set a linear input range of the gain cell, and a second adjustable bias source that operates to set a gain value of the gain cell.

The signals received and transmitted in wireless communications systems often vary in strength and thus require the use of variable gain amplifiers in the radio transceiver. These variable gain amplifiers operate to remove fluctuations in the received signal and to compensate for path losses in the transmitted signal.
Ideally, the variable gain amplifier (VGA) provides amplification at low noise levels, adds little distortion, and consumes very little power. This is important because distortion produced by the receiver VGA limits its ability to reject interfering signals, while distortion produced by the transmitter VGA spills power into adjacent communication channels and thereby reduces system capacity. To minimize distortion, the bias current in the VGA and other circuits is typically high—an unwanted attribute for portable devices.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a VGA with low distortion and low power consumption.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


In an optical distance measuring apparatus, a transmitter has a light-emitting device emitting an optical signal synchronized with a modulating signal having a predetermined repetition frequency, and a modulating signal generator outputting the modulating signal to the light-emitting device. A receiver has a photodetector receiving an optical beam reflected by an object to be measured and converting it to an electrical signal, a switch receiving the signal from the modulating signal generator and alternately choosing two channels for the electrical signal with a predetermined timing, and first and second storage sections storing electrical signals on the two channels. A signal processing section has a differential operation section performing a differential operation on electrical signals stored in the first and second storage sections, and a distance determining section determining a distance to the object on the basis of the result of the differential operation of the differential operation section.

The present invention relates to an optical distance measuring apparatus for measuring a transit time of light between a time when the light is emitted and a time when the light reflected by an object to be measured is detected by a photodetector, to detect the distance to the object.
A so-called time-of-flight (TOF) method which is a method of measuring a time required for light to travel to an object and back to calculate the distance to the object has been widely known as a distance measuring method. This distance measuring method is a method of measuring a time Δt required for light to travel to an object and back and calculating the distance L to the object using the following Eq. (1) where the speed of light c is known as 3.0×1088 m/s.L=(c·Δt)/2  (1)
various specific signal processing methods in the TOF method have been proposed. For example, in a distance measuring apparatus disclosed in JP 6-18665A, a start pulse (synchronized with the operation of a light-emitting device) is used as a starting signal, electric charges are continuously stored in (or released from) an integrator until a stop pulse (received optical signal) is detected, and a round-trip time of light is obtained from the amount of increase (or decrease) in electric charge. Methods of measuring a time between the start pulse and the stop pulse include, for example, a method as used in the distance measuring apparatus disclosed in JP 7-294642A wherein counting the number of pulses of a reference clock is started simultaneously with the start pulse, and a round-trip time of light is obtained based on the number of pulses at a time when the stop pulse was detected.
However, in any of these methods, a current signal produced by a photodetector is converted to a pulse (voltage) signal, and signal processing is carried out with time information added to the pulse waveform. In general, an object to be measured is not specified, and the dynamic range of the amount of reflected light from an object to be measured or the like is very wide, so that in many cases there may be more noise components attributable to background light such as natural light than signal components. Under such a circumstance, it is very difficult to eliminate the noise attributable to the background light to extract the signal light pulse appropriately. Furthermore, a voltage waveform easily delays in phase under the influence of an environment (mainly a temperature environment), etc. For this reason, variation of a voltage waveform on the time axis becomes very large, and some time-correction means is thus required. In this case, the circuit configuration becomes very complicated, and will eventually lead to increase in manufacturing cost.
In contrast to this, R. Miyagawa et al. disclose that with using a photogate having a typical charge coupled device (CCD) structure, distance information can be obtained by processing a photoelectric current before converting a received optical signal to a voltage ("CCD-Based Range-Finding Sensor" IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 44, No. 10, October, 1997, pp. 1648-1652). FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a photodetector having a photogate structure proposed by R. Miyagawa et al. FIG. 18 is a timing chart depicting the operation of the photogate structure.
In FIG. 17, the reference numeral 101 denotes a p-type semiconductor substrate, the reference numeral 102 denotes an n-type semiconductor layer forming a light-receiving section together with the p-type semiconductor substrate 101, the reference numeral 103 denotes an n-type semiconductor layer forming an electric charge storage section on a channel A (Ach), and the reference numeral 104 denotes an n-type semiconductor layer forming an electric charge storage section on a channel B (Bch). Furthermore, the reference numerals 105 and 106 each denote a gate having a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structure. The n-type semiconductor layer 102, the electric charge storage section 103, and the gate 105 constitute a switching MOS transistor 107 on Ach. Likewise, the n-type semiconductor 102, the electric charge storage section 104, and the gate 106 constitute a switching MOS transistor 108 on channel Bch.
A light-emitting device (not shown) applies light to an object to be measured according to the timing shown in FIG. 18(a). An optical signal reflected by the object is detected by the light-receiving section constituted by the p-type semiconductor substrate 101 and the n-type semiconductor layer 102 in FIG. 17, and becomes a received optical signal as shown in FIG. 18(b). As shown in FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b), the received optical signal is delayed from the emitted optical signal by a time (t1) required for the light to travel to the object and back. The gate 105 of the switching MOS transistor 107 on Ach is turned on and off in synchronization with the emitted optical signal, and the gate 106 of the switching MOS transistor 108 on channel Bch is turned on at a time when the gate 105 is turned off. In this case, the duration of the level "H" of the gate signals GA and GB which are input to the gates 105 and 106 is equal to the duration t0 of the level "H" of the emitted optical signal.
Switching operations of the switching MOS transistors 107 and 108 are carried out with the above timing, so that electric charges from the n-type semiconductor 102 for the period of time of (t0-t1) shown in FIG. 18(e) are stored in the electric charge storage section 103 on Ach, and electric charges from the n-type semiconductor 102 for the period of time of (t1) are stored in the electric charge storage section 104 on channel Bch. These operations are repeated to increase signal components (in other words, stored electric charges) stored in the electric charge storage section 103 and 104, and then the signals on both of the channels are read out. The distance to the object can be measured by, for example, calculating the ratio between both of the signals.
According to the photogate structure shown in FIG. 17, information about the amount of the phase delay corresponding to the round-trip time of light is processed as the amount of stored electric charges (intensity). For this reason, even if there is any temperature change or the like for example, it is not necessary to consider variations in phase at signal processing. Thus, steady distance measurement is possible.
Under a typical environment, there is some kind of background light such as sunlight or illumination light (light from a fluorescent lamp or the like). When there is background light, the background light is superimposed on the received optical signal wave shown in FIG. 18. The modulating frequency of background light varies between zero (DC light) (in the case of sunlight) and several tens of kHz (in the case of light from an inverter-controlled lamp), but is of the order of some kHz at most under a typical living environment. In contrast to this, the TOF method generally uses a high frequency of the order of several tens of MHz because of a delay time measuring method using the speed of light. For this reason, the frequency of background light is sufficiently low as compared with the pulse wave of the received optical signal, and may be assumed to be zero (DC light) within one cycle of the pulse wave. FIG. 19 is a timing chart in the case that there is background light. As shown in FIGS. 19(e) and 19(f), in the case that there is background light, the amount of electric charges stored in the electric charge storage section 103 on Ach increases by an amount of the background light received for the period of time when the gate 105 is on, and the amount of electric charges stored in the electric charge storage section 104 on channel Bch increases by an amount of the background light received for the period of time when the gate 106 is on. For this reason, the delay time t1 cannot be obtained using the amounts of electric charges stored in the electric charge storage section 103 on Ach and the electric charge storage section 104 on channel Bch.
As opposed to such a problem, in a distance image sensor disclosed in JP 2004-294420A, an additional electric charge storage section (not shown) different from the electric charge storage sections 103 and 104 is provided to a structure similar to that in FIG. 17, and the background light only is monitored in the third time period, whereby the reflected light only is extracted from the Ach output and Bch output. FIG. 20 is a timing chart for this distance image sensor. A switching MOS transistor (not shown) on Cch having a gate (not shown) which is turned on by a gate signal GC having the pulse width t0 subsequent to the gate signal GA on channel Ach and the gate signal GB on Bch as shown in FIG. 20 is provided around the light receiving section. In this case, there is no pulse signal based on the reflected light in the period of time when the gate signal GC is on, so that electric charges based on the background light only are stored and the intensity of the background light is monitored. Consequently, the distance to an object to be measured can be obtained from the three storage carriers (intensities) using the following Eq. (2) even under an environment where background light exists.
                                                                                A                  -                  B                                                  A                  +                  B                  -                                      2                                                                                C                                                              =                                                                            (                                                            t                                                                                0                                        -                                          2                                                                                t                                                                                1                                                        )                                                  t                                                                                0                                                                                →                                  t                                                                                1                                            =                                                                                t                                                                                0                                    2                                                                  (                                      1                    -                                                                  A                        -                        B                                                                    A                        +                        B                        -                                                  2                                                                                C                                                                                )                                                                                (        2        )            In Eq. (2), A is the amount of electric charges stored in the electric charge storage section 103 on a channel Ach, B is the amount of electric charges stored in the electric charge storage section 104 on Bch, and C is the amount of electric charges stored in the electric charge storage section (for background light) on Cch.
However, the distance image sensor disclosed in JP 2004-294420A has a problem as described below. That is, the brightness of background light as described above is up to several hundred thousands of luxes under sunlight outdoors, for example, and is several thousands of luxes even indoors such as in an office lighted relatively well. As is easily calculated, a photoelectric current obtained from such strong background light becomes the order of milliamperes or larger when an ordinary photodiode is used as the photodetector, although it depends on the optical system or the light-receiving area of the photodiode. In contrast to this, the amount of light reflected by an object to be measured is heavily dependent on the state of reflection at the surface of the object and the distance to the object, so that, for example, even if a high-power laser diode (LD) (several hundreds of milliwatts) is used as the light-emitting device, there is a case that when the distance to the object is of several meters, the amount of light incident to the photodetector becomes small to the order of nanowatts.
Under such an environment, the SN ratios of electric charges stored in the storage sections 103 and 104 in FIG. 17 are very low, and a trace amount of signal components thus exist among noise components which make up the major portion of the received optical signal. Since the capacities for electric charges of the storage sections 103 and 104 are limited, the number of repetitions of storage operations of electric charges is limited by the noise components, so that the lower the SN ratios, the larger the error of a measured distance becomes.


A method for operating a near field communication system, including a plurality of participating near field communication devices, the method comprising repeatedly changing, for each of the plurality of participating near field communication devices, an operational mode of the respective participating near field communication device between a target operational mode and an initiator operational mode until communication is established between the respective participating near field communication device and another one of the plurality of participating near field communication devices, or until an interruption condition is fulfilled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for operating a near field communication system. The present invention in particular relates to a method to increase the probability of best fitting NFC device type selection during NFC initial start up phase in order to save power.
2. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, near field communication becomes more and more important. Examples for near field communication systems or NFC systems are for instance based on the interaction between an intelligent device which in many cases is a so-called intelligent card reader, a card which is capable of carrying and transmitting information from a storage means to the intelligent device or card reader. The interaction between the card reader and the card is for example realized by radiation or radiation connection, for instance by using so-called contactless chip cards. An intelligent device is referred to be a device which has a certain degree of processing and/or calculation power in order to comply with higher services.
A basic aspect of a near field communication is the usage of electromagnetic waves in radio frequency range and that the transmission of the information content is realized over a short distance only, for instance in the range of several centimeters only.
This principle of short range information exchange by exchanging electromagnetic waves in the radio frequency range might be used in order to establish a communication between two intelligent devices for short range communication. However, no general concept is known how to establish the respective communication in an easy and reliable manner and further without the burden of user interaction. It is a particular problem that establishing a communication connection without user guidance might be difficult as participating near field communication devices are with reasonable probability in a same operational state, so that a communication can hardly be established.

Method for operating a near field communication system


A module includes a reservoir having at least three chambers for storing compressed air for a vehicle air supply system, and a mounting assembly for supporting the reservoir on the vehicle. The chambers are separate from each other internally. The reservoir includes external connections, such as air lines or piping, for interconnecting the three chambers. The mounting assembly includes a bracket having a support surface. A bracket liner is received on the bracket between the support surface and the outer side surface of the reservoir. The reservoir may also include a purge chamber and an air dryer, as one unit, supported on the vehicle by the mounting assembly.

The present invention relates to an air supply system for a vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to a module including a reservoir and a mounting assembly for mounting the reservoir on a surface such as a portion of a frame of a vehicle.
Many vehicles, such as buses, trucks, and tractors, use compressed air for braking and other vehicle applications. The braking system on such vehicles typically includes several reservoirs, or tanks, for storing compressed air. The reservoirs are typically cylindrical in shape and mounted on a structural portion of the vehicle, for example, a portion of the frame such as a frame rail. The reservoirs must be supported firmly on the vehicle without moving relative to the support surface, to avoid damage to the fittings and air lines that are connected to the reservoirs. The air supply system also typically includes other items, such as an air dryer, connected with the reservoir by air lines. All these items are installed separately and interconnected when the vehicle is assembled.

Air system module including reservoir and mounting structure


An electronic device (e.g., computer system, etc.) employing dynamic power management of the present invention adjusts power consumption in accordance with an analysis of parameters and events occurring over one or more time-periods. Preferably, the electronic device monitors microprocessor, operating system, peripheral and/or device-level events and adjusts run-time parameters, such as microprocessor clock frequency and voltage, to reduce power consumption with minimal perceived degradation in performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processing systems or devices and, more particularly, to adjustment of power used during operation of those devices.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Portable and autonomously powered electronic devices (e.g., computer systems, telephones, PDAs, etc.) are becoming more and more sophisticated, while at the same time, becoming smaller. These devices, whether powered by batteries, fuel cells, solar power, or some other power source, are capable of performing functions that have been traditionally relegated to large desktop and server computer systems.
While the technology for portable electronic devices has progressed rapidly, improvements in battery capacity and energy density have not been as rapid. As a result, a gap has developed between the processing capabilities of portable electronic devices and the battery life of those devices. This gap has constrained the "autonomy" of portable electronic devices, reducing the amount of time between battery recharge or replacement, and thus limiting the true portability of these devices. Often, designers of portable electronic devices must delicately balance battery parameters such as size, weight, and cost against the portability and operational characteristics of the device.
In an attempt to overcome these problems, computer electronics manufacturers have incorporated many features into their hardware and software designs to extend battery life. A feature that has been introduced is frequency and voltage adjustment for microprocessors. Various companies, such as Intel, IBM, Texas Instruments, Motorola, and Transmeta, have introduced microprocessors that include the run-time capability to increase or decrease the frequency and voltage at which the microprocessor core operates. Since power consumption is directly proportional to the clock frequency of the microprocessor and to the square of the corresponding applied voltage, reductions in both parameters can have a cubic effect on overall power consumption of the device. However, reducing clock frequency may also reduce instruction-processing performance.
The related art provides several practices of understanding performance appropriately and adjusting performance in attempt to overcome this problem. For example, when activity of a computer system is below a threshold for a certain period of time, hardware components of the computer system are shut off or deactivated to conserve power. By way of example, a display backlight may be turned off or the computer system itself may be disabled in response to a user not providing any input to the computer system for several minutes. Alternatively, the microprocessor core may be placed in a non-processing low-power state with the clock stopped. Examples of such approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,386,577, 5,493,685, 5,983,357 and/or 5,991,883, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Further, the clock frequency of a microprocessor may be reduced when activity of a computer system is below a threshold for a certain period of time, and subsequently increased in response to increased computer system activity. Examples of such approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,369,771, 5,628,001, 5,752,011 and/or 5,983,357, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
In addition, the types of activities that a computer system performs may be monitored to determine whether clock frequency and voltage are to be reduced or increased. Examples of such approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,504,908, 5,625,826, 5,892,959, 5,996,084 and/or 6,427,211, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The related art suffers from several disadvantages. In particular, the related art techniques provide some straightforward capabilities to reduce power consumption through various optimizations; however, the power reduction achieved is limited. Further, the related art techniques monitor individual or a few basic parameters to reduce power, thereby providing a simplistic approach that may enter a power conserving state at an inopportune time and consequently adversely affect performance.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned problems and provides several advantages. In particular, the present invention significantly reduces power consumption (effectively increasing battery life by a factor of two or more), while not appreciably affecting electronic device performance. These power consumption reductions are achieved through a combination of optimizations, aggregated together and analyzed over plural time-periods. The optimizations are based on very low-level system parameters related to the microprocessor hardware and operating system software, and high-level parameters related to the application and end-user operating environment.

Method and apparatus for optimizing performance and battery life of electronic devices based on system and application parameters


Protective devices and systems for covering surgically implanted ports are provided. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to protective devices and systems configured to protect a surgically implanted port from damage during daily physical activities, daily athletic activities and in the unfortunate event of an accidental impact to the body area where the port is implanted.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to protective devices for covering a surgically implanted port. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to protective devices configured to protect a surgically implanted port from damage during daily physical activities, daily athletic activities and in the unfortunate event of an accidental impact to the body area where the port is implanted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Patients undergoing the treatment of certain medical conditions may be required to endure repeated needle sticks to aid in the treatment of the patient. For example, patients with certain medical conditions endure repeated injections of drugs to treat the condition, or repeated drawing of blood samples to ensure the treatment is working. To ease patient discomfort associated with repeated needle sticks, patients may elect to have a port, or combined port and catheter, also called a "portacath," surgically implanted beneath the skin. Other terms commonly used in the medical field for ports and portacaths include "totally implantable venous access system" and "central venous access devices." For the present disclosure, reference to "ports" includes ports, portacaths, totally implantable venous access system and central venous access devices. Ports have many different uses, such as total parenteral nutrition, delivery of chemotherapy, delivery of coagulation factors, the withdrawing of blood from patients requiring frequent blood tests, delivery of antibiotics, and the delivery of various medications.
As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a port 10 has a housing 12 with an interior reservoir compartment (or portal) 14 that has a silicone bubble (or septum) 16 for needle insertion, and a catheter or an attached plastic tube 18. The septum 16 is made out of a self-sealing silicone rubber and can be punctured many times before it weakens significantly.
The port 10 is surgically implanted just beneath the skin 20, typically in the upper chest (as seen in FIG. 3) or in the aim, and appears as a bump under the skin. However, the port may be implanted in other areas of the body, such as the upper leg. The catheter 18 runs from the portal 14 and is surgically inserted into a vein, usually the jugular vein, the subclavian vein, or the superior vena cava. Referring to FIG. 2, to administer treatment or to withdraw blood, the port 10 is located and the area is disinfected. The port 10 is then accessed by puncturing the overlaying skin with needle 22 and inserting the needle into a septum 16. This can be done many times with less patient discomfort. When the port 10 is no longer needed, the port can be removed through a surgical operation.
Since the port is surgically implanted under the skin, there is a risk that patients may damage the port during the course of routine daily activities, physical activities, especially for sports activities, or even in the event of an accidental fall. During such activities, people who have a port sometimes experience pain when physical contact is made with their port. Persons with a port are also at a risk of rupturing the structural sutures that hold the port in place. It is also possible that the catheter may be ruptured or torn loose, or that the port itself may be damaged upon impact.
It would be advantageous to have a protective device for a port that is shaped and sized to protect the port from damage, and that is capable of being located at any position on the body of a patient with such a port. It would also be advantageous, to have an article of clothing to position and hold the protective device in place while also allowing access to the port during treatment.


A display driving circuit including a color correction unit and a driving unit is provided. The color correction unit receives a digital video signal and a polarity signal, and outputs a color corrected video signal according to the received digital video signal and the polarity signal, wherein the polarity signal represents the polarity of the driving polarity applied on the display apparatus. The driving unit receives a color corrected video signal and accordingly has the received color corrected video signal converted into an analog driving voltage. The display apparatus displays the frame on the display panel according to the received analog driving voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a display apparatus, and more particularly to a display driving circuit and the method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display apparatus, which converts digital video signals of a computer into a visually recognizable image, serves as an interface between a user and a computer. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a familiar display apparatus. Display apparatus 100 uses a liquid crystal display apparatus as an example here. The display apparatus 100 includes a display driving circuit 110 and a display panel 180. The display driving circuit 110 includes a color correction unit 120, a data inversion unit 140 and a driving unit 160. The color correction unit 120 receives a digital video signal PD and performs color correction on the digital video signal PD, then outputs the color corrected video signal PD′ to the data inversion unit 140. The data inversion unit 140 either selectively inverts or maintains the color corrected video signal PD′, then outputs a polarity digital video signal PD″ accordingly. After receiving the polarity digital video signal PD″, the driving unit 160 performs digital-to-analog inversion on polarity digital video signal PD″, then outputs an analog driving voltage Vpd. After that, the display panel 180 displays a frame on the display panel according to the analog driving voltage Vpd.
Color correction is for correcting the characteristics of the inputted digital video signals to achieve a better color quality when the digital video signals are displayed on the frame. Take the liquid crystal display panel for example: the relationship between the gray value of an ordinary liquid crystal display panel and the driving voltage is non-linear, so color correction is needed. The non-linear curve is also called a 'color corrected curve' or a 'gamma curve', while the 'color correction' is also called 'gamma correction'.
FIG. 2 is a diagram of a familiar color corrected curve. The x-axis is the inputted digital video signal PD while the y-axis is the outputted color corrected video signal PD′. The digital video signal PD generates a corresponding color corrected video signal PD′ in accordance with the color corrected curve. The driving unit 160 outputs an analog driving voltage Vpd according to the received color corrected video signal PD′ so that the display panel 180 displays a correct frame on the display panel.
The liquid crystal molecules of a liquid crystal display apparatus will be easily electrically inferior when exposed to the driving voltage of the same polarity for long. To resolve the inferiority problem, a familiar technology uses the positive driving voltage alternating with the negative driving voltage to drive the liquid crystal molecules. The data inversion unit 140 is for determining the driving polarity of the polarity video signal PD″. After having been processed by the driving unit 160, the positive video signal PD″ is outputted as a positive analog driving voltage Vpd, while the negative digital video signal PD″ is outputted as a negative analog driving voltage Vpd.

Display driving circuit and a display apparatus using the display driving circuit and the method thereof


Systems and methods are provided for coordinating the partial reconfiguration of a region of a configurable device (e.g., a SDM/CNoC/LSM system or device) through an interface that coordinates the stopping of the current persona in that region, the resetting of the new current persona, and the starting of the new persona in a manner that does not corrupt the memory of the affected region. The interface further provides signaling that the static region can use to protect itself during the partial reconfiguration, and disallows multiple partial reconfigurations of the same region at the same time.

The present disclosure relates generally to integrated circuits, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). More particularly, the present disclosure relates to providing a processor-based control interface for designing partial-reconfiguration (PR) regions and associated PR personas, such that recompilation of personas and/or static logic may be reduced.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Integrated circuits are used in numerous electronic devices and for numerous purposes. Some integrated circuits include programmable logic, such as field programmable gate array (FPGA) fabric, that can be programmed to support a variety of circuit designs after manufacturing. These programmable logic devices may contain programmable logic circuitry that can be programmed to perform a variety of functions.
Some programmable logic devices support a form of programming referred to as "partial reconfiguration." Partial reconfiguration involves programming an initial programmable logic design into the programmable logic device that can be rapidly reconfigured during runtime. Thus, while the initial programmable logic design may take a substantial amount of programming time (e.g., on the order of hours), partial reconfiguration during runtime may be faster (e.g., on the order of seconds). The initial programmable logic design may include a number of logic elements that can be rapidly reprogrammed during runtime. This allows the initial programmable logic design to support many different partial reconfiguration implementations, known as "personas," to be rapidly reprogrammed during runtime.
Thus, partial reconfiguration allows a programmable logic device to switch personas faster than the time it would take to fully reprogram the programmable logic device with a new initial programmable logic design. Despite this, even the short time involved in switching personas may present undesirable latency for some use cases. The impact of this latency may be compounded for use cases that involve switching personas relatively often.

Partial reconfiguration control interface for integrated circuits


A method for facilitating the sequential verification of loop-free circuits by reducing the sequential verification problem to combinational verification, by constructing and comparing Timed Binary Decision. Diagrams (TBDDs) and Timed Binary Expression Diagrams (TBEDs). The TBEDs can be compared by using both BDDs and SAT solvers.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention generally relates to formal equivalence verification tools and analyzing logic circuit models within a mathematical framework and more particularly, to an efficient method for performing sequential verification of loop-free circuits.
2. Background of the Related Art
Formal Equivalence Verification (FEV) tools are used to establish the equivalence of logic circuit models by analyzing them within a mathematical framework, thereby eliminating the need to resort to computationally intensive simulation of the circuits with very large numbers of inputs.
The logic design process can be viewed as a series of circuit model transformations that proceed from abstract Register Transfer Level (RTL) descriptions down to transistor level netlists. One of the factors upon which the correctness of the final, low level, implementation of the circuit depends upon, is the establishment of the equivalence of circuit models at differing levels of abstraction. Abstraction refers to the different levels of partition and hierarchy that may be used to model a circuit or a system under test. Two examples of different levels of abstraction are RTL and schematic levels.
FEV tools help to establish the equivalence of logic circuit models by analyzing them within a mathematical framework, without resorting to simulating a large number of input patterns. Frequently, the tools compare sequential logic circuit models that differ in terms of the number and placement of the state elements they contain. This is a direct consequence of the requirement to raise the level of abstraction for circuit descriptions and to improve the productivity of the front-end design activities. The performance of the classic formal equivalence verification algorithms drops significantly, as the number of state elements increases. As a result of this performance penalty, specialized algorithms have been developed that have increased performance for certain common categories of circuits. One such category of circuits includes pipelined loop-free circuits. The claimed embodiments of the present invention are concerned with the verification of pipelined loop-free circuits.
The related art approaches to verification of pipelined loop-free circuits has several disadvantages. The Boolean formulas that model circuit behavior are represented using binary decision diagrams (BDDs). Therefore, these approaches suffer from the well known limitations of BDDs (e.g. memory explosion). Furthermore, related art clocking schemes are rather simplistic (see R. K Ranjan, V. Singhal, F. Somenzi, and R. K Brayton, "Using Combinational Verification for Sequential Circuits" in Proceedings of Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference, 1999).
Also, some related art approaches can only accommodate circuits with edge-triggered flip-flops (see G. P. Bischoff, K. S. Brace, S. Jain, and R. Razdan, "Formal Implementation Verification of the Bus Interface Unit for the Alpha 21264 Microprocessor" in Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Computer Design; VLSI in Computers and Processors, 1997 and R.K Ranjan, "Design and Implementation Verification of Finite State Systems", Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1997). The exemplary embodiments of the present invention address many of these aforementioned problems.
In the claimed embodiments of the present invention, the Boolean formulas that model circuit behavior are represented using Binary Expression Diagrams. These Boolean formulas are called Timed Binary Expression Diagrams ABED). As a result of using this type of Boolean representation, the functionality of very complex circuits can be modeled without suffering from exponential memory requirements associated with the use of binary decision diagrams (BDDs). The comparison of formulas represented as Binary Expression Diagrams is performed with a satisfiability (SAT) solver.
The combinational properties on the circuit inputs as well as on internal nodes are processed, and these properties are taken into account during the construction of TBEDs.
The new algorithm for TBED computation operates in a computationally efficient manner. During a test of one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a 120× average speedup on complex circuits with respect to older versions employing TBED construction algorithms was achieved. One reason for the increased performance is that only one traversal of the latches is needed in the verified circuits, and for each latch, two relatively simple operations (a restrict operation and a shift operation) are performed. This means that it is not necessary to compute TBEDs with non-empty event lists.

Application of the retimed normal form to the formal equivalence verification of abstract RTL descriptions for pipelined designs


In a third generation mobile telecommunications network, when a mobile is in a foreign network, packets are addressed to it by a home agent which changes the header so that the source address is the home agent address and the destination address is the Care of Address of the mobile. Identifier codes for the mobile node and correspondent node are included in the packet header, and tables of identifier codes and the correspondent nodes are retained by the home agent and sent to a foreign agent (FA COA working) or mobile node (CO-COA working) which readdress each received packet, to a higher layer or to an application, as appropriate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved method of operating a mobile telecommunications network, especially a method of addressing packets destined for a mobile terminal in a foreign network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In third generation telecommunications networks such as GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data-rate for GSM Evolution), when a mobile terminal moves into a foreign network, network connectivity is optionally maintained by the use of Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP). In the home network, a Home Agent (HA) is set up which maintains the location information of the mobile by use of Binding Updates, i.e., registration of information sent to the HA by the mobile node.
Mobile IP has two working modes. The first is illustrated in FIG. 1; a mobile terminal is currently attached as Mobile Node (MN) 14 in a network different from its home network. The MN 14 is communicating with a Correspondent Node (CN) 12. A Home Agent 16 is set up in the home network by the CN 12, and a Foreign Agent (FA) 18 is set up in the foreign network. The FA 18 allocates a unique IP address for the visiting mobile, a Care of Address (COA) and this address is sent to the HA 16 in a Binding Update.
Packets for the mobile are encapsulated by the HA 16 and tunnelled along tunnel 20 to the FA 18 for transmission to MN 14. In such encapsulation, an extra IP header is added to each packet, including the COA of the MN 14. This is known as FA-COA working mode.
In the second working mode (not illustrated) there is no FA, the MN 14 is allocated a unique COA and encapsulated packets are tunnelled by HA 16 directly to MN 14; this is known as Colocated Care of Address mode of working (CO-COA).
In both FA-COA and CO-COA modes of working, the encapsulation generates extra headers, and possibly only small payloads can be used, which results in inefficient transmission and inefficient use of expensive system and network resources, such as radio links. Further, encapsulation hides the flow identification, and the differentiation of classes of services is thus also disabled, so that Quality of Service (QoS) provision mechanisms, such as RSVP (Resource reservation Protocol) Int Serve, must be changed.
The disadvantages of encapsulation can be avoided by the use of Non Encapsulation Mobile IP technique, as set out in the applicant's co-pending patent application "Non-encapsulation Mobile IP" filed on 26 Feb. 1999 as no. 99301437.2. In this technique, the current COA of the mobile node is used as the destination address, and the original source address, i.e. the CN address, is maintained. For FA-COA working, this deletes a header of length at least 20 bytes and introduces a header of only 2 bytes; for CO-COA mode of working no header is introduced. However a disadvantage is that any firewall or egress filtering in the home network may reject such packets, because they have a source address different from the home network address.

Method of operating a mobile telecommunications network

Abstract: In this non-encapsulated mode of working, packets are not rejected by a firewall or by egress filtering.


A headrest height adjustment device includes a base member fixed on a seatback of a seat body, a pulley rotatably supported by the base member, the pulley being rotatable in a first direction by unwinding a first end of a rope member wound around the pulley and winding a second end of the rope member in conjunction with sliding movement of the seat body, and the pulley being rotatable in a second direction by winding the first end of a rope member and unwinding the second end of the rope member in conjunction with sliding movement, a rotational arm rotatably supported by the base member and rotated by the pulley by a rotation transmission member, and a conversion member engaged with the rotational arm for operating a headrest in an upward or downward direction by converting rotational movement of the rotational arm into linear movement.

Known headrest height adjustment devices are described in DE 196 31 843 A1 (FIGS. 2–3) and DE198 11 688 C1 (FIG. 3). The known headrest height adjustment devices adjust a height of a headrest that performs in conjunction with the sliding movement of a seat body in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle. According to the known headrest height adjustment devices, a user (e.g., a driver) can manually adjust a height of a headrest individually.
Because the known headrest height adjustment devices described in DE 196 31 843 A1 and DE198 11 688 C1 include a mechanism for adjusting a height of a headrest that performs in conjunction with the sliding movement of the seat body as well as a mechanism for manually adjusting a height of a headrest individually, construction of a headrest height adjustment device has become complicated.
Further, with the construction of headrest height adjustment devices described in DE 196 31 843 A1 and DE198 11 688 C1, the tension of a cable is used for operating the headrest in either an upward or downward direction, and the biasing force of a spring is used for operating in the opposite, downward or upward, direction. Thus, the space required for positioning the mechanism used for operating the headrest in an upward direction and downward becomes substantial. In other words, the total amount of space is increased by the amount of space required for positioning the spring used for operating the headrest in either an upward or downward direction. In particular, with the construction described in, DE 196 31 843 A1 because the mechanism for adjusting a height of the headrest individually is itself operated in upward and downward directions, a requirement arises for space in which the locus for the upward and downward directions operation can be released. On the other hand, with the construction described in DE198 11 688 C1, sufficient space is required for covering a joint portion of a double pipe which is configured so as to expand and contract.
Thus, it is extremely difficult to install the known headrest height adjustment devices described in DE 196 31 843 A1 and DE198 11 688 C1 inside a seatback of a general design. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 7, a seatback 91 for a vehicle seat of a general design is configured so as incline towards the back of a vehicle in a longitudinal direction. On the other hand, the operational direction of a headrest 92 is determined to be an approximately vertical direction of the vehicle in order to maintain a predetermined constant distance between the headrest 92 and a human body that is occupying the seat. Further, in order to secure space for the feet F of an occupant of a rear seat, the seatback 91 includes a back 91a that is hollowed out in the most forward direction possible. With the foregoing configurations, when the headrest 92 is operated to the maximum downward position possible, it becomes impossible to secure a sufficient distance between an end 93a of a stay 93 and the back 91a (i.e., design surface). This restriction limits the space that is required for the mechanisms in the operational direction of the headrest 92 in upward and downward directions, that is in an extending direction of the stay 93.
Further, with the known headrest height adjustment devices described in DE 196 31 843 A1 and DE 198 11 688 C1, in order to use a mechanism for adjusting the height of a headrest that performs in conjunction with the sliding movement simultaneously with a mechanism for adjusting the height of the headrest individually, a lock release mechanism for releasing the headrest is connected to an operational system (e.g., slide lever) of a seat slide mechanism. This arrangement is for purposes of stabilizing the adjustment operation of a height of the headrest in conjunction with the sliding movement and involves resetting the height of the headrest to an initial state that has been individually adjusted at the time of a sliding operation. Accordingly, in cases where a headrest height adjustment device is applied to a motor driven (electrically driven type) seat slide mechanism, a dedicated actuator is required for releasing the headrest in synchronization with the timing of activating a motor.
Further, in order to prevent noise caused by oscillation while a vehicle is moving, a clearance between the stay 93 of the headrest and a sliding guide support 94 (shown in FIG. 7) is generally set at a minimum level, and thus sliding resistance between the stay 93 and the sliding guide support 94 becomes substantial. Accordingly, with the construction of the known headrest height adjustment devices described in DE 196 31 843 A1 and DE198 11 688 C1 where a biasing force of the spring is used for achieving either an upward or downward operation of the headrest, there is a danger that, a desired operation may not be achievable because of inadequate biasing force resulting from dispersion of sliding resistance in circumstances where the headrest height adjustment device is manufactured on the basis of large scale production.
A need thus exists for a headrest height adjustment device in which increases in space required for installment can be kept under control and the headrest operated stably in an upward and downward direction, in conjunction with a sliding movement of a seat body.


To provide a mobile terminal device which can perform an operation reflecting the intention of a user when an event, such as the arrival of an incoming phone call or an email, occurs while a television broadcast is being displayed, and which can also improve the operability. A mobile terminal device is composed of: a TV reception unit which receives a television broadcast signal; an output control unit which controls outputs of video and audio of the television broadcast, auxiliary information of the television broadcast, the email, audio of the phone call, and video and audio of a video phone call, to a first display unit, a second display unit, and an audio reproduction unit; a recording control unit which records a television broadcast program onto a recording medium; a reproduction control unit which reproduces the television broadcast program recorded on the recording medium; a control unit which controls an operation performed when the email or the phone call is receives while the television broadcast is being displayed; and an unfold/fold detection unit which detects whether the mobile terminal device is folded or unfolded.

In regard to mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants, recent years have seen the developments in size reduction and multi-functionalization of the devices. Among such devices, there are models coming along that can receive and display a television broadcast. The developments in size reduction and multi-functionalization can also be seen in regard to viewing devices, and there are viewing devices coming along that allow viewing and recording of the television broadcast at the same time.
Among such viewing devices, there is a proposed mobile viewing device that simultaneously receives a terrestrial digital broadcast and records it into a memory card while a user is viewing the broadcast. In this state of things, when the user has to stop viewing due to something else to do, this proposed mobile viewing device records mark information, which indicates the position at which the user stopped viewing, into the memory card (see Patent Reference 1, for example). In the case of this mobile viewing device, when the program reproduction is resumed later from the memory card, the program is reproduced from start of the unviewed portion of the program, on the basis of the mark information.    Patent Reference 1: Japanese Application Publication No. 2003-101921.


The present invention provides an optical switch whose operational characteristics do not change, and which is not affected by polarization cross talk, even when the wavelength of a signal light or the ambient temperature of the optical switch varies. The optical switch comprises first and second polarization splitting/combining modules, (10,18), first and second polarization-maintaining single-mode fibers (12, 16), a first polarization plane conversion portion (14), third and fourth polarization-maintaining single-mode fibers (22, 26), and a second polarization plane conversion portion (24).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical switch used in long-distance, large capacity optical fiber communication and the like for switching a controlled light using a control light.
2. Description of Related Art
To realize large capacity optical fiber communication using limited communication line resources effectively, means for increasing the number of channels capable of transmission and reception and means for increasing the communication speed must be provided.
Multiplex communication methods such as time division multiplexing (TDM) are under investigation as such means for increasing the number of channels. TDM is a communication method in which multiplexing/demultiplexing means are used to time-multiplex a plurality of channels (tributary channels), transmit the time-multiplexed channels as a time-division multiplex signal, and then divide the time division multiplex signal into the individual channels (tributary channels) on the reception side by means of a gate signal generated from a clock signal in order to extract and receive the information in the individual channels.
To increase the communication speed of the TDM described above, it is desirable that all of the multiplexing/demultiplexing means be realized by optical means. In other words, it is desirable to realize an optical switch which is capable of executing a switching operation for transmitting or blocking an optical pulse constituting an optical pulse signal, which is a controlled light, using only an optical control signal serving as a control light, rather than electrical means.
The optical Kerr effect that occurs in optical fiber is a phenomenon by which the refractive index of an optical fiber is altered when light of high intensity propagates through the optical fiber. The reaction rate of the optical Kerr effect is several femto-seconds (fs). In other words, if an optical switch is constituted using the optical Kerr effect, an optical switch that is capable of switching optical pulse signals at several hundred Gbit/s or more can be realized. By comparison, a conventional switch, in which an optical pulse signal is first converted into an electric pulse signal serving as an electrical signal, whereupon the electric pulse signal is switched by an electronic device and then returned to an optical pulse signal, is capable of switching an optical pulse signal at a maximum bit rate of approximately 40 Gbit/s.
An optical switch which utilizes the optical Kerr effect generated in a polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber is under investigation as an optical switch utilizing the optical Kerr effect (see "Ultrafast optical multi/demultiplexer utilising optical Kerr effect in polarisation-maintaining single-mode fibres", T. Morioka, M. Saruwatari, and A. Takada, Electronic Letters, vol. 23, No. 9, pp. 453–454, April 1987, for example).
The optical switch utilizing the optical Kerr effect disclosed in "Ultrafast optical multi/demultiplexer utilising optical Kerr effect in polarisation-maintaining single-mode fibres", T. Morioka, M. Saruwatari, and A. Takada, Electronic Letters, vol. 23, No. 9, pp. 453–454, April 1987 employs polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber (also referred to hereafter simply as "optical fiber") as optical fiber for generating the optical Kerr effect. Polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber is constituted such that the effective index in relation to light guided therethrough differs between an optical axis direction known as the slow axis, which is set on a perpendicular plane to the propagation direction of light through the fiber (also referred to as the "optical axis direction of the optical fiber" hereafter), and an optical axis direction known as the fast axis, which is orthogonal to the slow axis.
In other words, a stress-applying portion having a higher refractive index than the refractive index of the cladding, is placed in the vicinity of the core of the optical fiber such that the effective index in relation to light in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector of the light is parallel to the slow axis direction is higher than the effective index in relation to light in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector of the light is parallel to the fast axis direction. As a result of this asymmetry in the effective index, light input into the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber is propagated with a maintained polarization plane. Hereafter, the vibration plane of the electric field vector of linearly polarized light will also be referred to as the polarization plane.
The optical fiber used in the optical switch disclosed in "Ultrafast optical multi/demultiplexer utilising optical Kerr effect in polarisation-maintaining single-mode fibres", T. Morioka, M. Saruwatari, and A. Takada, Electronic Letters, vol. 23, No. 9, pp. 453–454, 1987 has a plane formed by fusing two polarization-maintaining single-mode fibers such that the optical axes thereof are orthogonal, and is constituted such that the birefringence of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber can be canceled out. The optical switch is input with a linearly polarized control light having a parallel polarization plane to the optical axis of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber, and a linearly polarized signal light having a polarization plane inclined by 45 degrees from the optical axis of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber.
When an optical pulse constituting a signal light and an optical pulse constituting a control light are not input into the optical switch in synchronization, the signal light optical pulse is output in the same linearly polarized state as it was when input into the optical switch. On the other hand, when a control light optical pulse and a signal light optical pulse are input in synchronization, the control light optical pulse causes the optical Kerr effect to be generated on the polarization component of the signal light optical pulse that is parallel to the polarization direction of the control light optical pulse. In other words, the optical Kerr effect produces a phase shift in the signal light optical pulse due to a mutual phase modulation effect generated between the signal light optical pulse and control light optical pulse.
This phase shift φ is obtained using the following equation (1).φ=2γPL  (1)
Here, P(W) is the power of the control light, and L(km) is the length of the optical fiber constituting an optical fiber loop. γ(W−1km−1) is a nonlinear optical constant based on the optical Kerr effect. The value of γ(W−1km−1) in relation to normal optical fiber is approximately 1 to 2 W−1km−1, but special optical fiber known as highly nonlinear optical fiber, having a reduced effective sectional area such that the value of γ(W−1km−1) is approximately several ten to several hundred W−1km−1, is also under development.
When the phase shift amount φ is equal to π, the polarization direction of the signal light optical pulse rotates 90 degrees from the time of input into the optical switch. In other words, the polarization direction of the signal light optical pulse is −45 degrees from the optical axis of the optical fiber. By disposing an analyzer at the output side of the optical switch, the signal light optical pulse can be transmitted or blocked by means of the control light. More specifically, by setting the optical axis direction of the analyzer such that the signal light optical pulse is transmitted when the polarization direction thereof is rotated 90 degrees from the time of input into the optical switch and blocked when the polarization direction thereof is identical to the polarization direction at the time of input, only optical pulses whose polarization direction has been rotated by the control light can be transmitted through the optical switch, and thus the signal light optical pulse can be switched by the control light.
To ensure that the switching operation described above is performed reliably, a prerequisite of the optical switch disclosed in "Ultrafast optical multi/demultiplexer utilising optical Kerr effect in polarisation-maintaining single-mode fibres", T. Morioka, M. Saruwatari, and A. Takada, Electronic Letters, vol. 23, No. 9, pp. 453–454, 1987 is that the respective polarization states of the signal light optical pulse and control light optical pulse are maintained during propagation through the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber. In this optical switch, the polarization states of the optical pulses are maintained substantially by providing a constitution (also referred to as "fused portion") in which polarization-maintaining single-mode fibers are fused so as to have orthogonal optical axes in an intermediate position in the optical axis direction of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber.
To describe more specifically the manner in which the polarization state of the optical pulses is substantially maintained, first a first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber extending from the entrance terminal of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber to the fused portion, and a second stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber extending from the fused portion to the exit terminal of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber, are provided. Then, a linearly polarized light having a polarization plane that is inclined 45 degrees from the optical axis of the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber is input. The components of the input light that are parallel to the fast axis and slow axis of the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber at this time are defined as an S component and a P component respectively. The phase difference that occurs between the S component and P component of the input light in the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber is set as φ.
Thus the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber constituting this optical switch is designed such that the phase difference which occurs between the S component and P component of the input light in the second stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber becomes −φ. In other words, the fused portion described above is provided on the path taken by the signal light from the input terminal of the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber, which is the input terminal of the optical switch, to the analyzer, in a position in which the optical path length (a value obtained by multiplying the refractive index by the geometrical length) when the signal light is input onto the path as TM polarization matches the optical path length when the signal light is input as TE polarization.
Hence, to realize the operation described above, the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber and second stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber must have an identical constitution, and the length of the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber must be set equally to the length of the second stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber.
In PANDA (polarization-maintaining AND absorption-reducing) optical fiber, which is used widely as polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber, the difference between the effective index when the vibration direction of the electric field vector of the guided light is parallel to the fast axis and the effective index when the vibration direction of the electric field vector of the guided light is parallel to the slow axis is approximately 3×10−4. Hence, if the wavelength of the guided optical pulse is 1.5 μm, for example, a phase difference of 2π is generated between the component in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the fast axis and the component in which the vibration direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the slow axis by propagating an optical pulse approximately 5 mm through the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber.
In other words, if the difference between the length of the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber and the length of the second stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber cannot be set sufficiently below 5 mm, the polarization state of the optical pulse propagating through the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber cannot be substantially maintained.
The length of the optical fiber used in this type of optical switch is typically between several tens of meters and several hundred kilometers, and it is therefore extremely difficult to set the entire length of such an optical fiber with an accuracy of millimeters or less. Moreover, if the difference between the length of the first stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber and the length of the second stage polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber is not set to a sufficiently small value, it becomes impossible to maintain the characteristics of the optical switch in the face of variation in the ambient temperature of the optical switch and the wavelength of the signal light or control light.
Moreover, the fast axis (or slow axis) direction of a polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber such as a commercially available PANDA optical fiber is not always completely unchanging in the length direction thereof. Therefore, even when an input light input into the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber is a linearly polarized wave having a polarization plane that is parallel to the fast axis (or slow axis) of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber, the output light that is output from the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber comprises a polarization component that is orthogonal to the polarization direction of the input light. This component having an orthogonal polarization direction to the polarization direction of the input light is known as polarization cross talk.
It is known that in commercially available PANDA optical fiber having an average polarization-maintaining capability, this polarization cross talk increases dramatically when the length of the PANDA optical fiber increases beyond several tens of meters (see "Polarization Maintaining Fiber", Arai, Saito, Koyama, Nakamura, Yokomizo, Aiso, Furukawa Electric Information No. 109, pp. 5–10, January 2002, for example).
As described above, an optical switch utilizing the optical Kerr effect is typically constituted with polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber of several tens of meters or more, and therefore considerable attention must be paid to polarization cross talk during design. An optical pulse propagating through the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber constituting the optical switch comprises polarization components in both the fast axis and slow axis directions. Hence, if polarization cross talk occurs, the polarization cross talk interferes with the original polarization direction components of the signal light optical pulse such that the polarization state of the signal light optical pulse differs from a case in which polarization cross talk does not exist. The effect of this polarization cross talk on the signal light optical pulse also varies according to variation in the wavelength of the signal light optical pulse, the ambient temperature of the polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber, and soon. In other words, polarization cross talk causes variation in the operating characteristics of the optical switch, which leads to instability in the switching operation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an optical switch capable of realizing a stable operation, whose the operating characteristics are not altered, and which is not affected by polarization cross talk, even when the wavelength of a signal light serving as a controlled light and the ambient temperature of the optical switch vary.


An LED package is disclosed. The LED package comprises a base contact and a leadframe connected to the base contact. The leadframe includes an annular contact. An LED die is coupled to the base contact and the annular contact. A trim bezel is coupled to the leadframe. In various embodiments the LED package may include a lens, and an optical material disposed over the LED die. The trim bezel may be colored to generally indicate the color of light emitted by the LED die.

A light emitting diode (LED) is a compact semiconductor device that generates light of various colors when a current is passed through it. The color depends primarily upon the chemical composition of the light emitting components of the LED die. LEDs exhibit various advantages over incandescent, fluorescent, and discharge light sources, including smaller size, longer life, lower power requirements, good initial drive characteristics, high resistance to vibration and high tolerance to repeated power switching. Because of these favorable characteristics LEDs are widely used in such applications as indicators and low-power lighting applications.
Recently red, green and blue ("RGB") LEDs having high luminance and efficiencies have been developed and employed as pixel elements in large screen LED displays and signs. This type of LED display can be operated with less power consumption than the prior art, such as incandescent lamps, and has additional favorable characteristics such as light weight and long life. Demand for LEDs as an alternative to prior art display pixel elements is burgeoning.
Although LEDs are more efficient than prior art light sources, they are not 100% efficient in converting electrical energy to light. As a result, a great deal of heat can be produced by the LED die. If the heat is not adequately dissipated, mechanical stress is imposed on various internal components of the LED due to the differing coefficients of thermal expansion of the internal components. This stress can lead to failure of the LED. Therefore, heat sinks are often employed to dissipate heat generated by the LED. The heat sink is usually provided through the metal leadframe of the LED.
The amount of heat generated by the LED becomes an even greater concern as higher-power LEDs are developed for high-brightness applications. Some manufacturers have produced more powerful LEDs having large heat sinks but at a trade-off. First, if an LED with a large heat sink is soldered using conventional methods (i.e. wave solder, reflow solder), the heat from the soldering process is transferred to the LED die, which may cause failure of the LED. Second, if the LED is soldered using non-conventional techniques (i.e. bar soldering or laser soldering), this must generally be performed by the LED manufacturer due to the heat sensitive nature of the process. Therefore, the LED manufacturer often provides a high power LED as a prepackaged component. Unfortunately, the configuration of the package may not be compatible with the physical space requirements of the intended end product design.
In addition, optical coupling of the LED to an associated lens is inefficient. Generally, an LED consists of a semiconductor die adhered to a substrate using an optically clear epoxy. This direct interface of the die (which has a typical index of refraction "n" of about 3.40) to the epoxy (having a typical index of refraction "n" of about 1.56) creates a significant index of refraction gradient between the two materials. As light travels from a medium of high index of refraction to low index of refraction, Fresnel losses are experienced due to the inability of the light to escape the package as a result of internal reflection. Therefore, a material or a layer of material that minimizes the index of refraction gradient is desired to decrease the Fresnel losses that would otherwise occur.
Furthermore, because the epoxy used to encapsulate the conventional LED die is generally rigid when fully cured, thermal expansion of the LED components can cause a degree of shear and tensile stress on the bonds between the bonding wires that connect between the electrical contacts and the LED die. A means of reducing stress on the bonding wires as a result of thermal expansion of the LED components is needed.
It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the various embodiments and features disclosed above with regard to FIGS. 1–17 including, but not limited to, spring contacts having a differing diametral pitch, embodiments wherein the LED die is a plurality of LED dice, a segmented annular contact, LED contact connections, types and styles of base contacts, and coupling of the LED die to the base contact are all equally applicable to LED package 610. Accordingly, those embodiments and features will not be repeated here. Furthermore, in the various embodiments of FIGS. 1–21 the LED package may utilize any of the means disclosed herein for detachably coupling to at least one of a mounting device, a receiving device and a complementary coupling device as detailed above, including, without limitation, one or more of lens protrusions 32 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2, 3 and 5); bayonet protrusions 470 (FIGS. 15A, 15B); and threads 570, 626 (FIGS. 16A, 16B, 18 and 19).


A mounting pad for a disk drive is provided. The mounting pad includes a sealing layer, which is formed on one surface of the disk drive so that a gap between a base and a cover of the disk drive can be sealed; an adhesive layer, which is formed on a surface of the electronic system facing the disk drive; and a vibration attenuation layer, which is interposed between the sealing layer and the adhesive layer to attenuate physical shocks and/or vibrations applied to the disk drive from the outside. Accordingly, it is possible to install the disk drive in the electronic system more firmly, attenuate physical shocks and vibrations applied to the disk drive from the outside, and seal a gap between the base and the cover of the disk drive.

1. Field of the Invention
An apparatus consistent with the present invention relates to a mounting pad for a disk drive and, more particularly, to a mounting pad for a disk drive that is capable of installing the disk drive in an electronic system, attenuating external vibrations, and sealing the disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
A disk drive, which is one type of data storage device, reproduces data from a disk or records data to a disk. In a hard disk drive (HDD), a read/write head mounted with an actuator records data on or reproduces data from a recording surface of a disk, which is rotating. The read/write head moves to any desired place over the recording surface of the disk while keeping itself afloat from the recording surface of the disk by a predetermined distance.
A small-sized disk drive is used in a portable electronic system, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a camcorder, or an MP3 player. The small-sized disk drive may be classified as either an insertable/separable type disk drive or an embedded type disk drive. An insertable/separable-type disk drive can be easily inserted into or easily separated from an electronic system. On the other hand, an embedded-type disk drive is fixed to an electronic system so that it can be protected by the case of the electronic system. In addition, the embedded-type disk drive has a relatively simple structure.
In general, the embedded-type disk drive is fixed to the electronic system using screws, in which case, external shocks and vibrations are directly transferred to the embedded-type disk drive through the screws. Therefore, the bearings of a spindle motor in the embedded-type disk drive may be damaged or a read/write head may collide with the surface of a disk.
In order to solve the above problems, a variety of vibration attenuators have been developed and one of them is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, a disk drive 10 includes a disk, a spindle motor, which rotates the disk, a read/write head, and an actuator, which places the read/write head over any desired portion on the disk. The disk, the spindle motor, the read/write head, and the actuator are enclosed by a base 11 and a cover 12. A damper 13 is formed at each corner of the base 11 so that external shocks or vibrations can be attenuated. A screw hole 14 is formed in the damper 13. The disk drive 10 can be installed in an electronic system by inserting screws 15 into screw holes 14 and tightening the screws 15.
As described above, the effects of external shocks or vibrations on the disk drive 10 can be attenuated to some extent by the damper 13. However, the disk drive 10 can never be free from external shocks or vibrations so long as it is fixed to the electronic system using the screws 15. In addition, since the disk drive 10 has a very small size, the screws 15 are also designed to be very small. However, small-sized screws are generally very expensive and thus, manufacturing costs of the disk drive 10 will increase. Moreover, it takes a considerable amount of time to fix the disk drive 10 to the electronic system by tightening a plurality of screws 15.
A gap between the base 11 and the cover 12 is hermetically sealed so that the disk, the spindle motor, the read/write head, and the actuator can be protected. More specifically, the gap between the base 11 and the cover 12 is hermetically sealed by installing a gasket between the base 11 and the cover 12 and screwing the gasket using three to five screws 16 or by taping the gap between the base 11 and the cover 12.
As described above, different elements of the disk drive 10 are used for installing the disk drive 10 in the electronic device, attenuating external vibrations, and hermetically sealing the gap between the base 11 and the cover 12 and thus, unit costs of production and assembly increase.


A hydraulic modulator for an anti-lock brake and traction control system for a vehicle in which a brake liquid pressure, produced in a master cylinder during a normal braking operation, is accumulated in an accumulator via a one-way valve, and a gate valve is provided between the master cylinder and the accumulator so as to prevent brake liquid of an unduly high-pressure from being accumulated in the accumulator, thereby enhancing the durability of the device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hydraulic modulator for an anti-lock brake and traction control system for a vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to such a system which is capable of imparting a suitable braking force to wheels at the time of starting the vehicle to prevent drive slippage of the wheels, and which is also capable of controlling the braking force, applied to the wheels, to an optimum level at the time of braking of the vehicle to prevent locking of the wheels.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, anti-lock brake systems have been developed for avoiding locking of the wheels at the time of braking of the wheels, as well as traction control systems which prevent excessive slippage of drive wheels at the time of abrupt start or acceleration of the vehicle (this is called "traction control") so as to improve driving operation, thereby enhancing the starting and accelerating abilities and driving stability. One known hydraulic modulator for such an anti-lock brake and traction control system for a vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,802.
The general construction of the hydraulic modulator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,802 will now be described with reference to FIG. 6. As shown in this Figure, two liquid pressure-generating chambers are formed within a cylinder body of a tandem master cylinder 102, and a reservoir 101 is integrated with the body 102. Lines 103 and 104 are connected respectively to the two liquid pressure chambers, and a liquid pressure can be produced in the lines 103 and 104 depressing a brake pedal 100.
The line 104, connected to one of the liquid pressure chambers, is connected via a cut valve 109 and brake pressure control valves 105 to brake calipers 106 for the drive wheels. As with the drive wheel side, the line 103 is connected via brake pressure control valves to brake calipers of the driven wheels. The cut valve 109 is a two-position (D and E) switch valve, and the brake pressure control valve 105 is a three-port (A, B and C) three-position switch valve.
Lines 120, connected to the brake pressure control valves 105 of the drive wheel side, are connected to a reservoir 108, and the reservoir 108 is connected via a check valve 113 to a suction port of a hydraulic pump 107 driven by a motor. A discharge port of the hydraulic pump 107 is connected to the cut valve 109 via a check valve 113 and a throttle. As shown in the drawings, each check valve 113 comprises a ball and a spring.
The cut valve 109 is connected to a pressure tank 111, and is also connected to a reservoir tank 101 via a relief valve 110. At the time of the traction control, the pressure tank 111 supplies a brake liquid to the brake calipers 106 via the cut valve 109, and has a capacity sufficient to accumulate an amount of brake liquid required for the traction control. With respect to the accumulation in this pressure tank 111, the cut valve 109 is switched to the position E during parking of the vehicle, and when the brake pedal is depressed, the liquid pressure produced in the tandem master cylinder 102 is accumulated in the pressure tank 111 via the check valve 114 and the cut valve 109. Alternatively, during parking of the vehicle, the cut valve 109 and a switch valve 112 are switched to the position E and the position F, respectively, and the hydraulic pump 107 is operated, so that the pressure is accumulated via the reservoir tank 101, the switch valve 112, the hydraulic pump 107 and the cut valve 109, utilizing the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump 107. The relief valve 110 serves to achieve a constant pressure in the circuit, and also serves as a safety mechanism. For example, in the case where the pressure from the hydraulic pump 107 is to be accumulated in the pressure tank 111, when the pressure discharged from the hydraulic pump 107 becomes unduly high, the brake liquid is transmitted back from the relief valve 110 to the reservoir tank 101 via the cut valve 109 disposed in the E position, thereby preventing damage to the equipment.
The operation of the hydraulic brake device of the above construction is as follows. Referring first to the slip control of the drive wheels, for example, at the time of the start of the vehicle, if the vehicle is started abruptly, so that the drive wheels are subjected to slippage of a level greater than a predetermined value because of an excessive engine torque, an electronic control device detects this condition through a wheel speed sensor. The cut valve 109 is then switched to the position E, and brake liquid of a predetermined pressure is supplied from the pressure tank 111 to the drive wheel brake calipers 106 via the brake pressure control valves 105. As a result, the drive wheels are braked, thereby reducing slippage of the wheels.
During this slip control, the brake control valve 105 can take the positions A, B and C under the control of the electronic control device so as to repeatedly increase, hold and decrease the braking force, thereby controlling the drive slip to the optimum condition. Then, when the drive slip becomes almost zero, the electronic control device detects this, and stops the driving of the hydraulic pump. In this manner, the slip of the wheels at the time of the start of the vehicle is controlled, so that the vehicle can be started smoothly. Thereafter, the brake liquid is again accumulated in the accumulator 111 in the above-mentioned manner.
When the brake pedal 100 is abruptly pressed down during the travel of the vehicle to apply an abrupt braking, the wheels tend to lock. Reference is now made to a brake control for such a condition. When the wheels tend to be locked, the electronic control device judges that the brake pressure should first be maintained at a constant level, and sends a signal to the brake pressure control valve 105 to switch this brake pressure control valve to the position B, thereby holding the wheel braking force at the constant level. When the electronic control device judges that it is not sufficient to merely hold the braking pressure at the constant level, and that the braking pressure should be decreased, the brake pressure control valve 105 is switched to the position C, and the pressure liquid of the brake caliper for each wheel is discharged to the reservoir 108 via the brake pressure control valve 105 and the line 120, so that the braking is reduced. The brake liquid, discharged to the reservoir 108, is immediately drawn into the hydraulic pump 107, and the brake liquid discharged from the hydraulic pump 107 is returned to the lines 103 and 104, and is used to again increase the pressure through the brake pressure control valve 105 disposed in the position A. Otherwise, this brake liquid is returned to the tandem master cylinder 102. Consequently, the tendency for each wheel to be locked is overcome, so that the vehicle can be decelerated or stopped in a stable manner.
In the above hydraulic modulator, however, it is necessary to accumulate liquid pressure in the pressure tank 111 after traction control or when this liquid pressure decreases for some reason. This must be done in preparation for the next traction control. Therefore, in order to accumulate pressure in the pressure tank 111, the accumulation has been done by depressing the brake pedal during the parking of the vehicle, or by suitably switching the cut valve 109 during the operation of the anti-lock brake system so as to utilize the pressure discharged from the hydraulic pump 107. Therefore, the switching control of the cut valve 109, the control of the hydraulic pump 107 and so on must be effected by the electronic control device. This has resulted in a complicated and expensive device. In order to overcome such a drawback, a device has been proposed in which a brake liquid pressure, produced in a master cylinder during a normal braking operation, is accumulated in an accumulator via a one-way valve. In this type of device, however, when the brake pedal is depressed many times, the brake liquid pressure accumulated in the accumulator becomes unduly high. As a result, the high liquid pressure acts on seal portions of a traction control hydraulic circuit for a long period of time, which results in premature deterioration of the seal portion. In this type of device, when the brake liquid is supplied to the accumulator, the pedal stroke becomes greater than usual, which undesirably causes the driver to sense a difference.

Hydraulic modulator for anti-lock brake and traction control system for vehicle