1984 results about "First pass" patented technology

An anchor is provided for placement in or against tissue. The anchor includes a fibrous construct and at least a first filament. Each filament passes through the construct in at least three passing locations including a first location nearest a first end of the construct, a last location nearest a second end of said construct, and at least one intermediate location between said first passing location and said last passing location. In an undeployed state, each filament extends a first length between said first location and said last location. In a deployed state, each filament extends a second length between the first location and the last location. The second length is shorter than said first length.

Apparatus, systems, and methods for forming a photovoltaic cell from a common layer on a substrate are provided. A first pass is made with a first laser beam over an area on the common layer. The first pass forms a groove in the common layer. The first pass forms within the common layer a first edge and a second edge. The first edge is separated from the second edge by the groove. The groove provides a first level of electrical isolation between the first edge and the second edge. A second pass is made with a second laser beam over approximately the same area on the common layer. The second pass provides a second level of electrical isolation between the first edge and the second edge. The second level of electrical isolation is greater than the first level of electrical isolation.

The present invention involves the dynamic loading and unloading of relatively small text-string vocabularies within a speech recognition system. In one embodiment, sub-databases of high likelihood text strings are created and prioritized such that those text strings are made available within definable portions of computer-transcribed dictations as a first-pass vocabulary for text matches. Failing a match within the first-pass vocabulary, the voice recognition software attempts to match the speech input to text strings within a more general vocabulary. In another embodiment, the first-pass text string vocabularies are organized and prioritized and loaded in relation to specific fields within an electronic form, specific users of the system and/or other general context-based, interrelationships of the data that provide a higher probability of text string matches then those otherwise provided by commercially available speech recognition systems and their general vocabulary databases.

Controlling a multimedia software application using high-level metadata features and symbolic object labels derived from an audio source, wherein a first-pass of low-level signal analysis is performed, followed by a stage of statistical and perceptual processing, followed by a symbolic machine-learning or data-mining processing component is disclosed. This multi-stage analysis system delivers high-level metadata features, sound object identifiers, stream labels or other symbolic metadata to the application scripts or programs, which use the data to configure processing chains, or map it to other media. Embodiments of the invention can be incorporated into multimedia content players, musical instruments, recording studio equipment, installed and live sound equipment, broadcast equipment, metadata-generation applications, software-as-a-service applications, search engines, and mobile devices.

An automated name searching system incorporates an automatic name classifier and a multi-path architecture in which different algorithms are applied based on cultural identity of the query name. The name classifier operates with a preemptive list, analysis of morphological elements, length, and linguistic rules. A name regularizer produces a character based computational representation of the name. A pronunciation equivalent representation such as an IPA language representation, and language specific rules to generate name searching keys, are used in a first pass to eliminate database entries which are obviously not matches for the query name. The methods can also be implemented as a callable set of library routines including an intelligent preprocessor and a name evaluator that produces a score comparing a query name and database name, based on a variety of user-adjustable parameters. The user-controlled parameters permit tuning of the search methodologies for specific custom applications.

The present invention provides a continuously tunable external cavity laser (ECL) with a compact form factor and precise tuning to a selected center wavelength of a selected wavelength grid. The ECL may thus be utilized in telecom applications to generate the center wavelengths for any channel on the ITU or other optical grid. The ECL does not require a closed loop feedback. A novel tuning mechanism is disclosed which provides for electrical or mechanical tuning to a known position or electrical parameter, e.g., voltage, current or capacitance, with the required precision in the selected center wavelength arising as a result of a novel arrangement of a grid generator and a channel selector. The grid generator exhibits first pass bands which correspond to the spacing between individual channels of the selected wavelength grid and a finesse which suppresses side band modes of the laser. The channel selector exhibits second pass bands that are wider than the first pass bands. In an embodiment of the invention the second pass bands have a periodicity substantially corresponding with the separation between the shortest wavelength channel and the longest wavelength channel of the selected wavelength grid and a finesse which suppresses channels adjacent to the selected channel. The broad second pass bands of the channel selector reduce the sensitivity of the ECL to tuning variations about the selected channel, thus avoiding the requirement of a closed loop feedback system to control the channel selector.

A multiple-pass synthesis technique improves the performance of a design. In a specific embodiment, synthesis is performed in two or more passes. In a first pass, a first synthesis is performed, and in a second or subsequent pass, a second synthesis or resynthesis is performed. During the first synthesis, the logic will be mapped to for example, the logic structures (e.g., logic elements, LUTs, synthesis gates) of the target technology such as a programmable logic device. Alternatively a netlist may be provided from a third party. Before the second synthesis, a fast or abbreviated fit may be performed of the netlist to a specific device (e.g., specific programmable logic device product). Before the second synthesis, the netlist obtained from the first synthesis (or provided by a third party) is unmapped and then the second synthesis is performed. Since a partial fit is performed, the second synthesis has more visibility and optimize the logic better than by using a single synthesis pass. After the second synthesis pass, a more detailed fit is performed.

Multiple passes of the loop of program verify and programming steps are performed for minimizing the effects of FG—FG coupling during programming a flash memory device. In one embodiment of the present invention, for programming a group of at least one flash memory cell of an array, a first pass of program verify and programming steps is performed until each flash memory cell of the group attains a threshold voltage that is at least X % of a program verify level but less than the program verify level. Then, a second pass of program verify and programming steps are performed until each flash memory cell of the group attains substantially the program verify level for the threshold voltage.

Devices, methods, and kits are provided for suturing an end of a first body duct to a hole in the side of a second body duct. The present devices and methods are used to simplify the suturing procedure and thus reduce operating time. In one embodiment, the present device includes a structure for holding the end of the first body duct and positioning the end adjacent to the hole in the side of the second body duct. The structure of the device is typically a shaft having a surface adapted to receive the first body duct. A plurality of needles are arranged on the structure to be advanced along a plurality of paths. Each needle path first passes radially into and forwardly out of the end of the first body duct and into the hole of the second body duct. The path then everts so that the needles and associated sutures will pass outwardly through tissue peripheral to the hole when the end of the first body duct is on the structure adjacent to the hole in the second body duct. The needles preferably travel along such paths when they are advanced forward. In one embodiment, the device uses a J-shaped tube for guiding one of the needles along the desired path. In another embodiment, shape-memory needles having an arcuate profile are used to create the desired path.

A portable, personal apparatus for treating drinking water comprises a generally tubular or cylindrical filter housing containing filtration media and water-permeable screen or mesh or felt or membrane or netting layer at the top and bottom ends of the filter. The design of the apparatus involves the bottle exterior and interior contouring to the filter and enables the efficient and rapid gravity flow of water in through the filter. The apparatus may be configured such that water is first passed through a top reservoir designed to receive water, followed by a porous mesh, followed by granular filtration and antimicrobial media agitated by turbulent motion of influent water, followed by a porous mesh before reaching a durable and reusable water containment vessel.

A market-based search system uses a digital geometric CAD model as a filter against other digital geometric CAD models that have been used or that may be used to produce actual products and that have real-world cost and other transactional data. Specifically, a digital CAD model is used as an index into market-based data. A geometry based search engine can perform a first pass of comparing indexed parameters derived from the CAD model provided in a search query against index data of an indexed CAD assets database. A transaction search engine can then be used to perform a second pass on the results from the geometric based search in order to match any transactional data, process data, or technical attribute data of the CAD model with real-world transactional data and/or process data associated with CAD models discovered by the indexed data search.

A fiber optic network having a branch cable with a plurality of optical fibers optically coupled to a distribution cable, and first and second optical connection terminals connected in series is disclosed. The first optical connection terminal is adapted to receive a first segment of the branch cable. The first optical connection terminal is configured such that predetermined ones of a first plurality of ports comprise one or more of a first drop port and a first pass-through port. The first drop port is operable for optically coupling a first respective predetermined one of the plurality of optical fibers to a first drop cable. The first pass-through port is operable for optically coupling a second respective predetermined one of the plurality of optical fibers to a second segment of the branch cable extending externally from the first optical connection terminal. The second optical connection terminal is adapted to receive the second segment of the branch cable. The second optical connection terminal is configured such that a predetermined one of a second plurality of ports comprises a second drop port operable for optically coupling the second respective predetermined one of the plurality of optical fibers to a second drop cable.

A method of cutting an article (172) from a chemically strengthened glass substrate (110) includes generating a pulsed laser beam (108) from a laser source (106). The pulsed laser beam (108) may have a pulse duration of less than about 1000 fs and an output wavelength such that the chemically strengthened glass substrate (110) is substantially transparent to the pulsed laser beam (108). The pulsed laser beam (108) may be focused to form a beam waist (109) that is positioned in the same horizontal plane as an inner tensile region (124) of the chemically strengthened glass substrate (110). The beam waist (109) may be translated in a first pass along a cut line (116), wherein the beam waist (109) traverses an edge (111) of the chemically strengthened glass substrate. The beam waist (113) may then be translated in a second pass along the cut line (116) such that a crack (119) propagates from the edge (113) along the cut line (116) ahead of the translated beam waist (109) during the second pass.

A system and method for locating regions in a target image that match a template image with respect to color and pattern information. The method may comprise performing a first-pass search using color information obtained in a color characterization analysis of the template image in order to find a plurality of color match candidate locations. For each color match candidate location, a region proximal to the location may then be searched in detail, based on pattern information obtained in a pattern analysis of the template image.

A significant data rate reduction effect in video coding is acchieved by quantizing the transformed frequency coefficients or components of a pixel block so that thereafter fewer amplitude levels need to be encoded and part of the quantised amplitude values becomes zero and need not be encoded as quantised amplitude values. Many transform based video coding standards use a default quantization matrix to achieve better subjective video coding/de-coding quality. A quantization matrix assigns smaller scaling values to some frequency components of the block if the related horizontal and/or vertical frequencies are believed to be the less important frequency components with respect to the resulting subjective picture quality. The inventive quantization matrix generation starts from default quantization matrices and derives therefrom a perceptually optimum quantization matrix for a given picture sequence. In a first pass the candidate quantization matrix for a given picture sequence is iteratively constructed by simultaneously increasing scaling values for some coefficient positions and decreasing scaling values for other ones of the coefficient positions. In a second pass the generated quantization matrix is applied for re-encoding the picture sequence.