Author: claimsbot

1. A multilayer ceramic capacitor comprising:
an element main body in which a dielectric layer and an inner electrode layer are alternately laminated,
the inner electrode layer comprising: a composite structure having an inner electrode main layer of a base metal; and particles consisting of ceramic particles buried in the inner electrode main layer,
wherein an average particle diameter of the buried ceramic particles is \u2154 or less, not including zero, of a thickness of the inner electrode layer.
2. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein a content of ceramic particles buried in the inner electrode main layer is in a range of 1.0 to 20% in terms of a sectional area.
3. A method of manufacturing the multilayer ceramic capacitor of claim 1, the method comprising:
a step of preparing a dielectric layer forming paste for forming the dielectric layer;
a step of preparing an inner electrode forming paste for forming an inner electrode;
a step of forming a chip laminate which is a work in process of the element main body using the dielectric layer forming paste and the inner electrode forming paste; and
a filing step of firing the chip laminate, the inner electrode forming paste containing base metal particles for forming an inner electrode main layer which functions as an electrode, and ceramic particles,
the step of firing the chip laminate comprising: a first firing step performed at a firing temperature of 200 to 1000\xb0 C.; and a second firing step performed at a firing temperature higher than that of the first firing temperature after the first firing step.
4. The method of manufacturing the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 3, wherein the content of the ceramic particles in the inner electrode forming paste is in a range of 0.1 to 40 wt % in conversion into a solid content with respect to that of a base metal.
5. The method of manufacturing the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 3, wherein an average particle diameter of the base metal particles contained in the inner electrode forming paste is 0.4 \u03bcm or less (which does not include zero), and an average particle diameter of the ceramic particles is 0.1 \u03bcm or less (which does not include zero).
6. The method of manufacturing the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 3, wherein the first forming step is performed in order to fire and to form the inner electrode layer while confining the ceramic particles added mainly to the inner electrode forming paste inside the inner electrode layer, and the second firing step is performed in order to fire and to form the dielectric layer while confining mainly the ceramic particles inside the inner electrode layer.
7. The method of manufacturing the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 3, wherein the first firing step is performed in a reduction atmosphere.
8. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the inner electrode main layer ranges from 0.5 to 5 \u03bcm.
9. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the inner electrode main layer ranges from 0.5 to 2.5 \u03bcm.
10. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic particles comprise a titanium oxide material, a titanate complex oxide, or a mixture thereof.
11. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 10, wherein the titanium oxide material comprises NiO, CuO, Mn3O4, Al2O3, MgO, or SiO2 in a range of 0.001 to 30% by weight.
12. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 10, wherein the titanate complex oxide is barium titanate.
13. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 12, wherein an atom ratio of BaTi is in a range of 0.95 to 1.20.
14. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 13, wherein the barium titanate comprises MgO, CaO, Mn3O4, Y2O3, V2O5, ZnO, ZrO2, Nb2O5, Cr2O3, Fe2O3, P2O5, SrO, Na2O, K2O, Li2O, SiO2, WO3, or combinations thereof in a range of about 0.001 to 30% by weight.
15. The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic particles comprise an oxide compound of a combination of one or two or more of Ba, Ca, Sr, Ti, Zr, Mg, Mn, V, Y, Cr, Nb, Si, K, Na, Li, B, Sc, Hf, Al, W, and a lanthanoid material.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A polyolefin composition comprising
(A) a first propylene-ethylene random copolymer having an ethylene content CMA of 1.0-6 wt % and an MFR(A) measured according to ISO 1133 of 5-40 g10 min and
(B) a second propylene-ethylene random copolymer, wherein the polyolefin composition has an ethylene content CMAB of 2.5-6 wt % and an MFR(AB) measured according to ISO 1132 of 3-20 g10 min with the proviso that CMAB>CMA and MFR(A)MFR(AB)>1.45 and where the polyolefin composition further has a randomness R of the ethylene distribution in the polymer chain of \u22670.945.
2. A polyolefin composition comprising
(A) a first propylene-ethylene random copolymer having an ethylene content CMA 1.0-6 wt % and an MFR(A) measured according to ISO 1133 of 5-40 g10 min and
(B) a second propylene-ethylene random copolymer, wherein
the polyolefin composition has an ethylene content CMAB of 2.5-6 wt % and an MFR(AB) measured according to ISO 1132 of 3-20 g10 min with the proviso that CMAB>CMA and where the polyolefin composition shows a broadness B of 0.67 or more and where the polyolefin composition further has a randomness R of the ethylene distribution in the polymer chain of \u22670.945.
3. A polyolefin composition according to claim 1, having a polydispersity (MwMn) of not less than 4.
4. A polyolefin composition according to claim 1, wherein the polyolefin composition comprises 20-80 wt % propylene-ethylene random copolymer (A) and 80-20 wt % propylene-ethylene random copolymer (B).
5. A polyolefin composition according to claim 1, wherein the melting temperature Tm in \xb0 C., determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), satisfies the relationship Tm\u2266162.5\u22125.4*CMAB, wherein CMAB denotes the ethylene content in wt % of the polyolefin composition.
6. A polyolefin composition according to claim 1, wherein the polyolefin composition has a melting temperature Tm in \xb0 C., determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), of not less than 125\xb0 C. and below 160\xb0 C.
7. A polyolefin composition according to claim 1, wherein, when manufactured into a cast film having a thickness of 80 \u03bcm, the polyolefin composition shows a transparency expressed as \u0394 haze measured as the difference between the haze value, measured according to ASTM D 1003, after sterilisation at 121\xb0 C. for 30 min and the haze value before sterilisation of not more than 10.0%.
8. A process for producing a polyolefin composition comprising,
A) preparing an olefin polymerisation catalyst by
a) preparing a solution of a complex of a Group 2 metal and an electron donor by reacting a compound of said metal with said electron donor or a precursor thereof in an organic liquid reaction medium;
b) adding said solution of said complex to at least one compound of a transition metal of any of groups 4-6 to produce an emulsion the dispersed phase of which contains more than 50 mol % of the Group 2 metal in said complex;
c) agitating the emulsion, optionally in the presence of an emulsion stabilizer, in order to maintain the droplets of said dispersed phase within an average particle size range of suitably 5 to 200 \u03bcm, preferably 10 to 100 \u03bcm, even more preferably 20 to 50 \u03bcm;
d) solidifying said droplets of the dispersed phase; and
e) recovering the obtained solidified particles of the olefin polymerisation catalyst,

B) producing a first propylene-ethylene random copolymer (A) having an ethylene content CMA of 0.5-8 wt % and an MFR(A) of 5-40 g10 min by polymerising propylene and ethylene in the presence of an olefin polymerisation catalyst system comprising the
(B1) olefin polymerisation catalyst
(B2) a cocatalyst including an aluminium alkyl compound, and
(B3) an external donor including a silane compound, and

C) producing a second propylene-ethylene random copolymer (B) by polymerising propylene and ethylene in the presence of the olefin polymerisation catalyst system, such that

the polyolefin composition has an ethylene content CMAB of 1-10 wt % and an MFR(AB) of 3-20 g10 min with the proviso that CMAB>CMA and MFR(A)MFR(AB)>1.45 and a randomness R of the ethylene distribution in the polymer chain of \u22670.945.
9. A process for producing a polyolefin composition comprising,
A) preparing an olefin polymerisation catalyst by
a) preparing a solution of a complex of a Group 2 metal and an electron donor by reacting a compound of said metal with said electron donor or a precursor thereof in an organic liquid reaction medium;
b) adding said solution of said complex to at least one compound of a transition metal of any of groups 4-6 to produce an emulsion the dispersed phase of which contains more than 50 mol % of the Group 2 metal in said complex;
c) agitating the emulsion, optionally in the presence of an emulsion stabilizer, in order to maintain the droplets of said dispersed phase within an average particle size range of suitably 5 to 200 \u03bcm, preferably 10 to 100 \u03bcm, even more preferably 20 to 50 \u03bcm;
d) solidifying said droplets of the dispersed phase; and
e) recovering the obtained solidified particles of the olefin polymerisation catalyst,

B) producing a first propylene-ethylene random copolymer (A) having an ethylene content CMA of 0.5-8 wt % and an MFR(A) of 5-40 g10 min by polymerising propylene and ethylene in the presence of an olefin polymerisation catalyst system comprising the
(B1) olefin polymerisation catalyst
(B2) a cocatalyst including an aluminium alkyl compound, and
(B3) an external donor including a silane compound, and

C) producing a second propylene-ethylene random copolymer (B) by polymerising propylene and ethylene in the presence of the olefin polymerisation catalyst system, such that

the polyolefin composition has an ethylene content CMAB of 1-10 wt % and an MFR(AB) of 3-20 g10 min with the proviso that CMAB>CMA and the polyolefin composition has a broadness B of 0.67 or more and a randomness R of the ethylene distribution in the polymer chain of \u22670.945.
10. An article comprising, a polyolefin composition having
(A) a first propylene-ethylene random copolymer having an ethylene content CMA of 1.0-6 wt % and an MFR(A) measured according to ISO 1133 of 5-40 g10 min and
(B) a second propylene-ethylene random copolymer, wherein
the polyolefin composition has an ethylene content CMAB of 2.5-6 wt % and an MFR(AB) measured according to ISO 1132 of 3-20 q10 min with the proviso that CMAB>CMA and MFR(A)MFR(AB)>1.45 and where the polyolefin composition further has a randomness R of the ethylene distribution in the polymer chain of >0.945.
11. Article according to claim 10, which is a blown film or cast film.
12. Article according to claim 10, wherein the article is for food packaging or a medical article.
13. Article according to claim 10, wherein the article is selected from the group consisting of a food wrapping film and a container, e.g. a conduit or a tube, for holding andor storing andor guiding a therapeutic fluid, and an article for holding andor storing andor guiding blood and a constituent thereof.
14. A polyolefin composition according to claim 2, having a polydispersity (MwMn) of not less than 4.
15. A polyolefin composition according to claim 2, wherein the polyolefin composition comprises 20-80 wt % propylene-ethylene random copolymer (A) and 80-20 wt % propylene-ethylene random copolymer (B).
16. A polyolefin composition according to claim 2, wherein the melting temperature Tm in \xb0 C., determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), satisfies the relationship Tm<162.5\u22125.4*CMAB, wherein CMAB denotes the ethylene content in wt % of the polyolefin composition.
17. A polyolefin composition according to claim 2, wherein the polyolefin composition has a melting temperature Tm in \xb0 C., determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), of not less than 125\xb0 C. and below 160\xb0 C.
18. A polyolefin composition according to claim 2, wherein, when manufactured into a cast film having a thickness of 80 \u03bcm, the polyolefin composition shows a transparency expressed as \u0394 haze measured as the difference between the haze value, measured according to ASTM D 1003, after sterilisation at 121\xb0 C. for 30 min and the haze value before sterilisation of not more than 10.0%.

1. A system for delivering a flow of breathing gas to an airway of a patient, the system comprising:
a gas flow generator configured to generate a flow of gas;
a patient circuit coupled to the gas flow generator configured to communicate the flow of gas to an airway of a patient;
a sensor configured to generate output signals related to a characteristic associated with the flow of gas;
a controller configured to selectively control the flow of gas to the airway of the patient from the gas flow generator via the patient circuit by operating in:
1) a first pressure mode responsive to the characteristic being below a first threshold, wherein the first mode comprises providing higher pressure to the patient during inspiration and lower pressure to the patient during expiration; and
2) a second pressure mode responsive to the characteristic being above a second threshold, wherein the second pressure mode comprises providing lower pressure to the patient during inspiration and higher pressure to the patient during expiration.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to detect a predetermined breathing characteristic of the patient based on the characteristic associated with the flow of gas, wherein the controller operates in the second mode responsive to detection of the predetermined breathing characteristic and the characteristic associated with the flow of gas being above the second threshold.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the characteristic associated with the flow of gas is a sleep disorder breathing event.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the controllers alters the first threshold and the second threshold based on a determination that the patient is experiencing a sleep disordered breathing event.
5. The system of claim 3, wherein the sleep disorder breathing event is Cheynes-Stokes Respiration, hypopnea, or apnea.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is Cheynes Stokes Respiration, further comprising an oxygen saturation monitor adapted to output a signal indicative of an oxygen saturation of the patient, and wherein the controller determines whether the patient is experiencing Cheynes-Stokes Respiration based, at least in part, on an output of the oxygen saturation monitor.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a flow rate.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller operates in the second pressure mode, and wherein the pressure provided to the patient during expiration or the pressure provided to the patient during inspiration is at or below atmospheric pressure.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller operates in the second pressure mode, and wherein both the pressure provided to the patient during expiration and the pressure provided to the patient during inspiration are above atmospheric pressure.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first threshold is the same as the second threshold.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a Maximum Average Inspiratory Flow (Qave(max)), wherein the controller compares the Qave(max) to the first threshold and the second threshold, and wherein the controller controls the system based on a result of this comparison.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a tidal volume, and wherein the controller compares the tidal volume to the first threshold and the second threshold, and wherein the controller controls the system based on a result of this comparison.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a minute ventilation, wherein the controller compares the minute ventilation to the first threshold and the second threshold, and wherein the controller controls the system based on a result of this comparison.
14. A method of ventilating a patient, comprising:
delivering a flow of gas to the airway of a patient from a source of breathing gas via a patient circuit;
measuring a characteristic associated with the flow of gas;
determining a first characteristic based on the measured characteristic; and
controlling delivery of the flow of gas to the patient by:
1) providing the flow of gas according to a first pressure mode responsive to the characteristic being below a first threshold, wherein the first mode comprises providing higher pressure to the patient during inspiration and lower pressure to the patient during expiration, and
2) providing the flow of gas according to a second pressure mode responsive to the characteristic being above a second threshold, wherein the second pressure mode comprises providing lower pressure to the patient during inspiration and higher pressure to the patient during expiration.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein controlling the delivery of the flow of gas to the patient comprises detecting a predetermined breathing characteristic of the patient based on the measured characteristic, and the controller provides negative pressure support to the patient if the predetermined breathing characteristic is detected and the first characteristic is above the second target.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the predetermined breathing characteristic is a sleep disorder breathing event.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein controlling the delivery of the flow of gas to the patient comprises altering the first target and the second target based on a determination that the patient is experiencing a sleep disordered breathing event.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the sleep disorder breathing event is Cheynes-Stokes Respiration, hypopnea, or apnea.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein the predetermine breathing characteristic is Cheynes Stokes Respiration, and further comprising monitoring an oxygen saturation of the patient and determining whether the patient is experiencing Cheynes-Stokes Respiration based, at least in part, on the monitored oxygen saturation.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein when negative pressure support is provided to the patient, one of the pressure provided to the patient during expiration and the pressure provided to the patient during inspiration is at or below atmospheric pressure.
21. The method of claim 14, wherein when negative pressure support is provided to the patient, both the pressure provided to the patient during expiration and the pressure provided to the patient during inspiration are above atmospheric pressure.
22. The method of claim 14, wherein the second target is the same as the first target.
23. The method of claim 14, wherein the first characteristic is a Maximum Average Inspiratory Flow (Qave(max)), wherein controlling the delivery of the flow of gas to the patient comprises comparing the Qave(max) to the first target and the second target.
24. The method of claim 14, wherein the first characteristic is a tidal volume, wherein controlling the delivery of the flow of gas to the patient comprises comparing the tidal volume to the first target and the second target.
25. The method of claim 14, wherein the first characteristic is a minute ventilation, wherein controlling the delivery of the flow of gas to the patient comprises comparing the minute ventilation to the first target and the second target.
26. A system for ventilating a patient, comprising:
means to generate a flow of gas:
means for delivering a flow of gas to the airway of a patient from a source of breathing gas via a patient circuit;
means to generate output signals related to a characteristic associated with the flow of gas;

and
means to selectively control delivery of the flow of gas to the patient by:
1) operating in a first pressure mode responsive to the characteristic being below a first threshold, wherein the first mode comprises providing higher pressure to the patient during inspiration and lower pressure to the patient during expiration; and
2) operating in a second pressure mode responsive to the characteristic being above a second threshold, wherein the second pressure mode comprises providing lower pressure to the patient during inspiration and higher pressure to the patient during expiration.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the means to selectively control delivery of the flow of gas to the patient is configured to detect a predetermined breathing characteristic of the patient based on the characteristic associated with the flow of gas, wherein the controller operates in the second mode responsive to detection of the predetermined breathing characteristic and the characteristic associated with the flow of gas being above the second threshold.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A noise reduction apparatus comprising:
a speech segment determiner configured to detect a speech segment of a voice sound based on a first sound pick-up signal obtained based on the voice sound;
a voice direction detector configured to determine a voice incoming direction of the voice sound using the first sound pick-up signal and a second sound pick-up signal obtained based on a picked-up sound; and
a noise reduction processor configured to perform a noise reduction process to reduce a noise component carried by the first sound pick-up signal by using the second sound pick-up signal,
wherein a noise reduction amount adjusted in accordance with the voice incoming direction is used in the noise reduction process.
2. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction processor includes:
an adaptive filter configured to generate a noise-presumed signal corresponding to the noise component carried by the first sound pick-up signal by using the second sound pick-up signal;
an adaptive coefficient adjuster configured to adjust adaptive coefficients of the adaptive filter based on a result of an arithmetic operation between the first and second sound pick-up signals;
a noise reduction-amount adjuster configured to adjust the noise-presumed signal in accordance with the voice incoming direction; and
an arithmetic unit configured to reduce the noise component carried by the first sound pick-up signal by using the noise-presumed signal adjusted by the noise reduction-amount adjuster and the first sound pick-up signal.
3. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voice direction detector determines the voice incoming direction of the voice based on a phase difference between the first and sound pick-up signals.
4. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the voice direction detector calculates the phase difference based on a cross-correlation value obtained by using a first group of sampled signals each corresponding to the first sound pick-up signal and a second group of sampled signals each corresponding to the second sound pick-up signal, either one of the first and second groups being used as reference signals and the other of the first and second groups being used as comparison signals.
5. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the noise reduction processor reduces the noise reduction amount when at least either one of a first case and a second case is established, the first case being a case in which the phase difference is within a predetermined range and the second case being a case in which a phase of the first sound pick-up signal is more delayed than a phase of the second sound pick-up signal.
6. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voice direction detector detects the voice incoming direction based on a power difference between magnitudes of the first and second sound pick-up signals.
7. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the noise reduction processor reduces the noise reduction amount when at least either one of a first case and a second case is established, the first case being a case in which the power difference is within a predetermined range and the second case being a case in which the magnitude of the first sound pick-up signal is smaller than the magnitude of the second sound pick-up signal.
8. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the voice direction detector detects the voice incoming direction based on a phase difference between the first and second sound pick-up signals and a power difference between magnitudes of the first and second sound pick-up signals.
9. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction-amount adjuster adjusts the noise-presumed signal by multiplying the noise-presumed signal by a noise reduction-amount adjustment value in a range from 0 to 1 in accordance with the voice incoming direction.
10. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the noise reduction-amount adjuster restricts rapid change in the noise-presumed signal when adjusting the noise-presumed signal.
11. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the speech segment determiner determines the speech segment when a feature value that indicates a feature of a voice component carried by the first sound pick-up signal is equal to or larger than a specific threshold value.
12. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the speech segment determiner detects the speech segment when a signal-to-noise ratio between a peak level of a vowel-sound frequency component of a voice component carried by the first sound pick-up signal and a noise level set in each frequency band is at least a specific ratio for at least a specific number of peaks.
13. The noise reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the speech segment determiner detects the speech segment when a spectral pattern of a consonant of a voice component carried by the first sound pick-up signal in each specific frequency band rises as the specific frequency band rises.
14. An audio input apparatus comprising:
a first face and an opposite second face that is apart from the first face with a specific distance;
a first microphone and a second microphone provided on the first face and the second face, respectively;
a speech segment determiner configured to detect a speech segment of a voice sound based on a first sound pick-up signal obtained based on the voice sound picked up by the first microphone;
a voice direction detector configured to determine a voice incoming direction of the voice sound using the first sound pick-up signal and a second sound pick-up signal obtained based on a sound picked up by the second microphone; and
a noise reduction processor configured to perform a noise reduction process to reduce a noise component carried by the first sound pick-up signal by using the second sound pick-up signal,
wherein a noise reduction amount adjusted in accordance with the voice incoming direction is used in the noise reduction process.
15. A wireless communication apparatus comprising:
a first face and an opposite second face that is apart from the first face with a specific distance;
a first microphone and a second microphone provided on the first face and the second face, respectively;
a speech segment determiner configured to detect a speech segment of a voice sound based on a first sound pick-up signal obtained based on the voice sound picked up by the first microphone;
a voice direction detector configured to determine a voice incoming direction of the voice sound using the first sound pick-up signal and a second sound pick-up signal obtained based on a sound picked up by the second microphone; and
a noise reduction processor configured to perform a noise reduction process to reduce a noise component carried by the first sound pick-up signal by using the second sound pick-up signal,
wherein a noise reduction amount adjusted in accordance with the voice incoming direction is used in the noise reduction process.
16. A noise reduction method comprising the steps of:
detecting a speech segment of a voice sound based on a first sound pick-up signal obtained based on the voice sound;
determining a voice incoming direction of the voice sound using the first sound pick-up signal and a second sound pick-up signal obtained based on a picked-up sound; and
performing a noise reduction process to reduce a noise component carried by the first sound pick-up signal by using the second sound pick-up signal, wherein a noise reduction amount adjusted in accordance with the voice incoming direction is used in the noise reduction process.