The invention relates to a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an exhaust gas system, which comprises an exhaust gas line by means of which the exhaust gas can be removed from the internal combustion engine, as well as an exhaust gas recirculation line by means of which the exhaust gas can be recirculated into the internal combustion engine from the exhaust gas line. The exhaust gas recirculation line has an exhaust gas cooler and a condensate line for removing the condensate from the recirculated exhaust gas, wherein the condensate line is connected with a first end to the exhaust gas recirculation line downstream of the exhaust gas cooler in the direction of flow of the exhaust gas and with a second end to the exhaust gas line. When the motor vehicle is running, the back pressure at the first end of the condensate line is equal to the back pressure at the second end of the condensate line, so that any condensation water that accumulates can be removed without the exhaust gas flowing back into the exhaust gas line from the exhaust gas recirculation line. As an alternative, a closure element for closing the condensate line can be provided. Both variants provide a simple method for removing the condensation water without any necessity for expensive condensate traps or collecting tanks.

In order to decrease the emission of nitrogen oxides, modern motor vehicles often have an exhaust gas system with exhaust gas recirculation. In such exhaust gas systems a proportional quantify of the exhaust gas generated by an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle is recirculated to the intake air of the internal combustion engine. The mixture of intake air and exhaust gas has a lower oxygen content than the pure intake air as a result of which the combustion temperature in the internal combustion engine is lowered. The result of the lower combustion temperature is a decrease in the oxidation of nitrogen during the combustion process, thus lowering the production of environmentally harmful nitrogen oxides.
In gasoline engines, exhaust gas recirculation can also result in a redaction in the specific fuel consumption in partial load mode. The lower oxygen content of the mixture in the internal combustion engine allows the throttle valve to stay open longer in partial load mode, so that back pressure losses that reduce the efficiency of the internal combustion engine are eliminated at the throttle valve.
An especially good effect of exhaust gas recirculation is obtained, when the recirculated exhaust gas is cooled by means of an exhaust gas recirculation cooler, because as the exhaust gas cools down, its density increases. Since the combustion of hydrocarbons produces, besides CO2, significant quantities of water vapor, the situation may arise that the vapor condenses as the exhaust gas cools down, so that liquid water collects in the exhaust gas system.
If, additionally, the charge air is compressed before entering into the internal combustion engine, then the condensed water can flow into the compressor from the exhaust gas recirculation line. Owing to the high rotational speeds of modern compressors, the result may be corrosion or total destruction of the compressor.
In order to avoid the aforesaid, the condensed water has to be removed from the exhaust gas recirculation line. EF 1 548 269 A1 discloses an exhaust gas system wherein a condensate trap is used to separate the water from an exhaust gas recirculation cooler of the exhaust gas system. Such condensate traps are complicated in design as well as difficult and expensive to manufacture.
As an alternative to the use of condensate traps, the exhaust gas recirculation line can also have a collecting tank in which the condensed water collects. A drain line can deliver the water from the collecting tank to the environment or can recirculate it into the exhaust gas line. An exhaust gas system with such a collecting tank is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,158. In such an exhaust gas system, not only the collected water but also a sizable portion of the exhaust gas to be recirculated flows through the drain line, so that the effect of the exhaust gas recirculation is reduced.
Thus, the object of the present invention is to provide a motor vehicle that makes it possible to remove the condensed water from the recirculated exhaust gas in an especially simple and efficient way.

Motor vehicle having an exhaust gas system


A sheet feeding mechanism includes a separating member, a biasing member, a detectable portion and a detector. The separating member is mounted on a base portion to be movable between a first position to which the separating member is positioned when being pressed by a sheet feeding member and a second position at a distance from the first position. The biasing member biases the separating member so that the separating member moves from the first position toward the second position. The detectable portion is provided on the separating member. The detector detects the detectable portion at a detection position. The detectable portion is present at the detection position when the separating member is located at the first position and deviates from the detection position when the separating member is moved to the second position.

The present disclosure relates to a sheet feeding mechanism for feeding a sheet and an image forming apparatus provided with the same.
An image forming apparatus represented by a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine or a complex machine provided with these functions generally includes a sheet feeding mechanism for picking up sheets one by one from a sheet stack composed of a plurality of sheets stacked one over another and conveying them to an image forming unit. The sheet feeding mechanism includes a feed roller which rotates while being held in contact with the upper surface of the sheet stack to feed a sheet, and a separating member such as a separation pad which is arranged to face the feed roller. The separation pad has a function of applying a frictional force to the sheets other than the uppermost one and suppressing the feed of unnecessary sheets when the feed roller is about to feed a plurality of sheets from the sheet stack. These feed roller and separation pad tend to be worn down due to contact with the sheets and need a higher frequency of maintenance than other parts.
In recent years, there is an increasing tendency for user-maintainable image forming apparatuses. On the other hand, after maintenance operation, a user may forget to mount a feed roller or a separation pad. If the image forming apparatus is started in such a state, problems such as no feed of sheets and the simultaneous feed of a plurality of sheets occur.
Accordingly, an image forming apparatus provided with a sensor capable of detecting the presence or absence of a feed roller has been proposed as a conventional technology. In this image forming apparatus, unless the feed roller is mounted at a predetermined position, a separation pad which is pressed against the feed roller during a normal operation moves upward and a projecting plate projecting laterally to the separation pad rotates a roller detection arm at that time. By separating a switch flag of a photosensor from the photosensor utilizing a rotational force of this roller detection arm, the presence or absence of the feed roller is detected.
However, the structure of the image forming apparatus as described above has a problem that one photosensor can detect only the presence or absence of the feed roller and cannot detect the presence or absence of the separation pad. That is, if the separation pad is not mounted, a switching operation of separating the switch flag from the photosensor utilizing a movement of the separation pad cannot be performed. Thus, the absence of the separation pad cannot be detected. Further, since the switching operation of the photosensor cannot be performed similarly also when both the feed roller and the separation pad are absent, the absence of both the feed roller and the separation pad cannot also be detected.
Thus, the above structure further requires a sensor exclusively used for the separation pad to detect the presence or absence of the separation pad. However, if the sensors for individually detecting the presence or absence of the feed roller and the separation pad are respectively provided, production cost increases and a large space is necessary to install a plurality of sensors.
The present disclosure was developed to solve the above problem and an object thereof is to provide a sheet feeding mechanism capable of detecting the presence or absence of a feed roller and a separation pad by one detector and an image forming apparatus provided with the same.

Sheet feeding mechanism and image forming apparatus provided with the same


A catheter with a spring tip that facilitates atraumatic initial placement and also continues to protect tissue contacted by the catheter device subsequent to the initial placement. The spring tip is shock-absorbing and axially compliant and allows enhanced use of various devices in conjunction with the tip such as bioptomes, electrodes, needles, flushing catheters, delivery catheters, and the like. The atraumatic shock-absorbing tip could include conductive or non-conductive materials.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods to enable medical device delivery into a patient's body, more particularly to systems and methods to protect tissue from injury during manipulation or after implantation of medical devices.
Description of Related Art
Devices such as catheters and leads have long been used in medicine to position within various organs or cavities in the body. Some of these devices cause trauma to the adjacent tissue with which they make contact due to the force with which they are advanced or placed, causing complications and poor outcomes. Perforation of organs by these catheters and probes causes significant morbidity and mortality. Soft material positioned at catheter tips is sometimes used to minimize tissue disruption by the tips of devices. These tips have improved safety, but they provide little spring force or distribution of the loads applied by catheter advancement. In addition, there are cases in which the catheter tips are intentionally applied against tissue, but there is little to no user feedback regarding the amount of applied force at the tip or the proximity of the tip to the tissue with which it is in contact. Additionally, the tips are non-conductive and so are not useful for applications such as cardiac rhythm management or tissue signal recordings.
For example cardiac pacemaker and defibrillator leads are positioned on a temporary or long-term basis in patients with heart disease. The contraction of the heart is controlled by specialized tissue that conducts an electrical wave across the heart muscle. That electrical wave controls and coordinates heart muscle contraction. In certain medical conditions, the conduction system of the heart is abnormal, leading to slow or abnormal heart rhythm. Physicians often need to insert catheters into the heart to correct the problem. These catheters have one or more electrical conductors that are connected to a device that generates rhythmic electrical current to control, or pace, the heart contractions. One conductor is usually positioned at the distal tip of the catheter. The catheter is typically inserted into a heart chamber through a blood vessel. The tip of the catheter is usually pushed up against the inside of the heart chamber to place the electrical conductor is contact with the heart tissue. A current is transmitted through the catheter to the heart muscle, pacing the muscle to contract.
One problem with these pacemaker catheters or leads is that they can perforate the heart tissue. To provide electrical contact to the heart muscle, the catheter or lead must be pushed to provide some level of force against the heart muscle. Contraction of the heart muscle against the catheter or lead may cause the catheter or lead to erode through or perforate the muscle wall. Perforation leads to leakage of blood from the heart to the pericardial sac that surrounds the heart. When the pericardial sac fills with blood, the heart is compressed from the outside and cannot fill with blood. This condition is called cardiac tamponade, which untreated often leads to death. Perforation occurs because the force applied to the tip of the catheter pushes the catheter into the muscle, which in places (such as the right ventricle, the left or right atrium, or the apex of the left ventricle) can be quite thin. Similar erosion may occur when catheters or leads are in contact with other organs. Motion or simple continued force may cause erosion or burrowing of the catheter or lead.
These procedures result in complications such as the aforementioned cardiac perforation in up to 2% of the procedures. Several methods have been used in the past to reduce the possibility of tissue trauma. One embodiment includes combining a catheter with an inflatable balloon tip while others use softer catheter tip materials that are less likely to cause trauma. These have their own limitations related to suboptimal stability and potential migration. Migration of a pacer lead, or loss of capture, results in an immediate inability to pace the heart muscle which can be deadly in a patient that requires pacing to ensure adequate rhythm.
Additional difficulties in positioning the catheter include placing it at the exact place needed or preventing its migration due to the poor ability to secure them at the area of need. There are designs and methods that incorporate deflectable catheters to help with positioning and micro screw-in catheters for securing the catheters into the tissue that have been used in various embodiments.
However, these existing methods have various limitations including the risk of poor contact at the required site, risk of trauma leading to organ perforation, migration away from area of implant or being flimsy or difficult to maneuver.
Determination of the position of the catheter or lead relative to the organ is also important in providing proper, safe apposition of the tip to the organ, in particular the completeness of contact and determination of the proper amount of tip pressure. Location, position and orientation of catheters can be determined by a combination of tactile feedback and visual imaging based on fluoroscopy, which require substantial physician judgment based on experience. Fluoroscopic images provide a general sense of location, but verification of the catheter location relative to internal vessel or cavity margins require injections of contrast media to define a two-dimensional picture of the target space. During a complex procedure in which a catheter is intended to be placed against a target site, a number of contrast injections may be necessary to continually verify that positioning remains adequate. These contrast injections can add to patient risk by increasing the demand on the kidneys of the patient, particularly in patients that are already at risk of kidney failure. In extreme cases, this increased load can result in a condition known as contrast induced nephropathy.
Another catheter example is one used in the heart to record the local intracardiac electrical activity (intracardiac electrocardiogram). Similarly, therapeutic catheters used to delivery energy (such as radiofrequency energy to alter cardiac tissue), alter cardiac temperature (such as cryoablation catheters), or image cardiac tissue (such as ultrasound catheters) require precise placement and inappropriate use can perforate the heart muscle. There are also catheters used to procure tissue samples called bioptomes or biopsy forceps. These catheters are used to navigate to a selected target area and cut a small piece of tissue from the target site for examination. During this tissue extraction, excessive force on the catheter during advancement or actuation can also result in perforation. Other catheters are used to provide for stabilization and positioning of puncture needles to facilitate the crossing of membranous tissue such as the intra-atrial septum.
Additionally, there are systems that are used to deliver contrast or therapeutic agents to the vasculature, the heart or another target site in the body that do not have a mechanism to stabilize the system or protect the tissue from damage. Straight guide catheters and pigtail catheters are often used for contrast injection at a location such as the left atrium. In certain locations, the left atrial wall can be as thin as 0.5 mm between the pectinate muscles which would make it susceptible to perforation or damage during a high-velocity contrast injection if the catheter orifice is too close to the atrial wall when the injection is performed. Similarly, needles are often used to inject stem cells into the wall of the left ventricle with little control over catheter tip position, relying on physician skill to stabilize the catheter tip position during the procedure.
While catheterization is often performed in order to access the vasculature and the cardiac anatomy, it is understood that similar devices are used in a number of other locations within the body. The use of and risks associated with the existing technology as described above certainly apply to these other areas as well, including but not limited to bladder examinations and biopsy, colonoscopy procedures and biopsy, and general endoscopic surgical procedures.
A device that can provide improved tactile or visual feedback related to system proximity to target tissues, as well as catheter tip stabilization and approximation of an expandable surface to distribute the tip apposition force imparted by the catheter across a greater surface area in order to reduce focal pressure would ultimately result in safer system use, reduced patient risk and better patient outcomes.


Aqueous solutions of steroid compounds which have biological activity and have a tendency to oxidative degradation at temperatures between 2 and 8xc2x0 C. on storage in excess of several months are stabilized by the addition of chelators. Aqueous solutions of particular interest are protein containing solutions which mimic the behavior of human bodily fluids such as serum and are therefore suitable as standards for immunoassays for steroids in such bodily fluids. Chelators of particular interest are transition metal chelators especially those which efficiently sequester iron.

Biologically active steroid compounds susceptible to degradation by oxygen in aqueous protein containing media are given enhanced storage stability by the addition of transition metal chelators.
A widely employed method of analyzing the bodily fluids of human beings for the presence or amount of both naturally occurring and synthetic biologically active compounds is by immunoassay. The interaction between the analyte of interest and an antibody which recognizes this analyte is measured. This often provides a relatively fast and inexpensive method of quantitating the amount of a given analyte. The analyte antibody reaction may be measured in a wide variety of techniques. One technique is the competitive assay in which an anti-analyte antibody is immobilized on a solid phase and then reacted with both a known amount of a labeled analyte and a sample suspected of containing analyte. The analyte in the sample then competes with the labeled antibody for binding to the immobilized antibody. The amount of label captured by immobilized antibody is then inversely proportional to the amount of analyte present in the sample.
All analytical techniques require some reference to a standard but such reference is particularly important for immunoassays. The reagents utilized in such assays include biological materials whose reactivity is not exactly reproducible but reproducible only within a given range. In addition the immunological binding between an antibody and its analyte may be influenced by subtle factors which cannot always be controlled. In this regard too rigorous attempts to obtain precise reproducibility are inconsistent with the goal of a fast and inexpensive assay.
Therefore, the practice has developed of providing one or more standards to be included with each run of an immunoassay. For instance the IMx(copyright) instrument manufactured by Abbott Laboratories can analyze in excess of twenty samples per run. It is typical to include several samples having a known amount of analyte in each run to provide a measure of the variability. Such standard samples are commonly known as controls.
In addition it is also typical to provide a number of samples having known amounts of analyte in order to calibrate and from time to time recalibrate the analyzer. Such standard samples are commonly referred to as calibrators.
For both calibrators and controls it is desirable to use a diluent which displays a behavior in the assay similar to that of the bodily fluid which is to be assayed for analyte. For instance, if human serum is to be analyzed the calibrators and controls may both be diluted in appropriately treated normal human serum. Alternatively an aqueous medium having a protein content similar to serum, for instance a buffered solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) may be used.
A class of analytes of interest, the steroids, display a tendency to degrade over time in such buffered aqueous protein containing media. This tendency has been observed in both in charcoal stripped human serum and in aqueous solutions of BSA. In this regard, human serum intended for use as a calibrator or control matrix or carrier is charcoal stripped to remove any steroid which might be present. Thus the initial steroid content can be precisely controlled by simply adding a measured amount to the stripped serum.
Thus there is a need for calibrator and control solutions for steroid immunoassays which display extended storage stability under normal field conditions. In particular there is a need for such solutions which do not degrade significantly when stored for extended periods at temperatures between about 2 and 8xc2x0 C. It is particularly desirable for such solutions to be stable for in excess of six months.
Biologically active steroid compounds which are susceptible to degradation by oxidation in dilute aqueous protein in containing solutions which are suitable for the standardization of immunoassays of human bodily fluids are made more storage stable by incorporating a transition metal chelator in the solution. The steroids of interest include the naturally occurring hormonal steroids such as estradiol and progesterone. The chelators of interest include the tetra and higher dentate amino acetic acid chelators such as diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DETP) and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid. The aqueous media of interest include charcoal stripped normal human serum and aqueous solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA), especially those buffered to a pH between about 6 and 9. The solutions of particular interest include those with a steroid concentration between about 2.5xc3x9710xe2x88x9211 and 1.0xc3x9710xe2x88x927 g/mL and a chelator concentration of greater than about 0.1 mM, preferable between about 0.2 and 50 mM.

Stabilized aqueous steroid immunoassay standards


Disclosed is a method of forming a thick silicon oxide layer upon or internal to a silicon structure. The method is particularly useful in creating isolation regions within a silicon-containing structure, where such isolation regions can withstand high voltages. The electrically isolating thick silicon oxide layer or isolation regions can be shaped, machined, or etched to provide feedthroughs for vertical or horizontal interconnects. The feedthroughs may be coated with metal or filled with metal to provide the interconnect.

In general, the present invention relates to a method creating thick thermal oxide layers on silicon. Also, the present invention relates to a method of separating high voltage areas within a silicon chip, wafer, or stack of silicon chips, or stack of silicon wafers. The present invention also relates to a method of integrating and connecting vertical feedthroughs in a stack of silicon layers.
Various processes have been developed to create isolation regions in silicon. One of the popular methods of creating isolation regions within a silicon substrate is through thermal oxidation of areas of silicon itself. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,176 to Liou et al., issued Apr. 25, 1995, the inventors describe a method for forming isolation structures in an integrated circuit. First step is masking all the active regions on the silicon. After masking recesses are etched into the exposed silicon to a depth on the order of the final thickness of the insulating isolation structure. Sidewall spacers of silicon dioxide, or another insulating amorphous material are disposed along the side walls of the recess, with silicon at the bottom of the recesses exposed. Selective epitaxial growth of silicon is then used to form a layer of silicon within the recesses, preferably to a thickness on the order of half of the depth of the recess. The epitaxial silicon is thermally oxidized, filling the recesses with thermal silicon dioxide, having a top surface which is substantially coplanar with the active regions of the surface.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,826 to Wu et al., issued Jan. 26, 1999, the inventors disclose a method for forming field isolation regions in multilayer semiconductor devices comprising the steps of masking active regions of the substrate, forming porous silicon in the exposed field isolation regions, removing the mask, and oxidizing the substrate. A light ion impurity implant is used to create pores in the substrate. Substrate oxidation proceeds by rapid thermal annealing because the increased surface area of the pores and the high reactivity of unsaturated bonds on these surfaces provides for enhanced oxidation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,501 to Kawamura et al., issued Feb. 23, 1993, the inventors describe an isolator for isolating semiconductor devices, components of an integrated circuit, on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the isolator is delimited by walls of a trench formed on a top surface of the semiconductor substrate, where the trench filled with a silicon oxide layer deposited by a chemical vapor deposition method. A small ditch created in the middle of a top surface of the silicon oxide layer in the trench is filled with silicon, and at least a top surface of the silicon is thermally oxidized to form another silicon oxide layer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,142 to Kurtz et al., issued Jan. 31, 1995, the inventors describe a semiconductor structure having environmentally isolated circuit elements disposed thereon. The semiconductor structure has a first semiconductor wafer having a semiconductor element such as a piezoresistive element or any integrated circuit located on a top surface thereof. The first wafer is bonded to a second semiconductor wafer so that the semiconductor element on the first wafer is received in a cavity sealed from the outside environment. The bottom surface of the second wafer is prepared by etching it about a mask pattern so that the pattern projects from the bottom surface, thereby forming a cavity and defining projecting surfaces which are bonded to corresponding projecting areas on the first wafer to create a hermetic seal there between. The second wafer is electrochemically etched to produce porous silicon with regions of non-porous monocrystalline silicon extending between the top and bottom surfaces. The porous areas are thermally oxidized to convert them to silicon dioxide while the nonporous regions bonded to bond pads of the resistive pattern on the first wafer act as extended contacts.
Applicants"" review of the background art in general has indicated that in order to handle high voltages the silicon oxide layer needs to be thick. Two micron of silicon oxide layer thickness is needed to handle a voltage of about 1 kV. In order to handle a voltage of 3-5 kV, the silicon oxide layer thickness should be in the range of 6-10 xcexcm. Generally a thickness of 3 xcexcm silicon oxide layers can be formed by long wet thermal oxidation. However 3 xcexcm thickness is not sufficient to handle a voltage of 3-5 kV reliably since pinholes and other artefacts in the oxide can lower the breakdown voltage.
In the field of semiconductor device fabrication, particularly with the continuing trend toward smaller device feature sizes, micromachining technology compatible with semiconductor processing is a necessity. Microcolumns which are miniaturized electron optic devices facilitate smaller device fabrication. Generally, microcolumns are made of pyrex and silicon. But, pyrex can not be machined with as high a precision as silicon. Therefore, it would be advantageous to find a method enabling fabrication of microcolumns out of silicon alone. However to handle high voltages, portions of the silicon need to be converted to silicon oxide which has a thickness in the range of 6-10 xcexcm. As stated above, with the general methods available today a silicon oxide thickness which can be generated within a reasonable time by wet thermal oxidation is about 3 xcexcm (which is generated in about approximately 18 hours at a temperature of 1100xc2x0 C.).
Often, isolation regions are created within silicon structures for various purposes, for example, to often protect circuit elements within one region from interfering with the functions of circuit elements in another region. Some of these isolation regions need to provide insulation from high voltages. In order to accomplish high voltage insulation, it would be useful to be able to partition silicon structures with thick silicon oxide layers having a thickness in the range of about 2 xcexcm/kV of applied voltage.
Therefore, there is a need to create thick silicon oxide layers within as on the surfaces of silicon structures. For many semiconductor devices, thickness ranging from greater than 3 up to about 10 xcexcm are particularly useful.
One of the embodiments of the invention involves a method of forming a thick silicon oxide layer upon or internal to a silicon structure. This embodiment includes a step of etching a plurality of trenches in or openings through a silicon structure. For example, the etching may be conducted by deep dry silicon etching. With respect to the of the plurality of trenches each trench is separated from an adjacent trench by a trench wall. The silicon is then oxidized. During oxidation the silicon expands. Normally, 1 micrometer of silicon is converted to about 2 xcexcm of silicon oxide. In other words, during the oxidation process a lateral expansion takes place. The invention takes advantage of this phenomenon. By appropriately selecting the thickness of the walls between trenches and the trench opening width, each trench can be entirely filled with silicon oxide by oxidizing the trench walls. The number of trenches required to oxidize a large area is based on time considerations since the oxidation process is a diffusion limited process. The depth of an oxide layer on a silicon structure surface can be determined by fixing the depth of the trenches (the height of the trench walls). The trench walls will be consumed to form a layer of silicon oxide at the surface of the silicon. Deeper trenches can be etched by increasing the aspect ratio during the etch process.
Another embodiment of the invention, pertains to a method of creating isolation regions within a silicon structure, which isolation regions can withstand high voltages. This embodiment involves etching of a trench or opening of desired shape or shapes into the silicon structure creating an opened shaped portion. If a shape is etched completely through the silicon structure then the shaped portion may be severed from the silicon and drop out. In order to prevent the shaped portion from dropping out, bridges of silicon are maintained across a through-opening at nominal distances during the etching process. The exposed silicon surfaces and the silicon bridges are oxidized. The oxidation causes the silicon to expand, enabling filling of an open space with an oxide layer. The oxide layer separates the shaped portion from the rest of the silicon structure, thus creating a shaped region isolated from the rest of the silicon structure. During the oxidation process, the silicon oxide layer is formed not only in the trenches but also on the surfaces of the silicon. The oxide layer can be etched and removed from areas where it is not desired. Isolation regions of various shapes and sizes can be created using this method.
The present invention also relates to a method of integrating and connecting vertical feedthroughs and of providing vertical interconnects in a stack of silicon structures. This embodiment involves at least two silicon structures. The two structures could be silicon layers within a silicon chip or a wafer, or a stack of silicon chips, or stacks of wafers. Isolation regions can be generated within the silicon structures using the methods described above. Electrical and/or mechanical connections are established through the semiconductor regions in each of the structures. These isolated semiconductor regions can act as feedthroughs for electrical connections which connect different layers within a silicon chip or wafer. Mechanical and electrical connections of stacked chips or wafers can be achieved through fusion bonding, anodic bonding or eutectic processing, for example, but not by way of limitation.
Yet another embodiment of the invention involves a method of creating semiconductor regions of various shapes separated by oxide layers or oxide layers in combination with vacuum which is an excellent insulator. This embodiment involves etching a trench or opening of desired shape or shapes into the silicon structure creating a shaped portion. If a shape is etched completely through the silicon structure, then the shaped portion may be severed from the silicon and drop out. In order to prevent a shaped portion from dropping out, bridges of silicon are maintained across the trench. These bridges give support to the shaped portion. The exposed regions are then oxidized. Once again, the silicon oxide formed expands and fills a portion of the opening or trench. A space is left between the silicon oxide layer covering the shaped portion and the silicon oxide layer covering the surface of the remainder of the silicon structure. A vacuum may be maintained in the space separating two of the oxide layers to provide improved electrical insulation.

Thick thermal oxide layers and isolation regions in a silicon-containing substrate for high voltage applications


A modular system of pillars for constructing rigid frames with flat, projection-free surfaces being the base for workpiece fixtures for numerical control machining is described.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to modular fixturing systems as used in numerically controlled machining for holding workpieces and in particular to the base or sub-base assembly on which other elements are mounted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerical Control (NC) or Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines are expensive capital equipment. Their advantages include precision, repeatability and flexibility but the wide range of operations which they are called on to carry out often requires considerable re-tooling and extensive setting up, including the construction of appropriate fixturing to hold the workpiece firmly in position at the required orientation.
In an effort to minimize NC machine down time during set up and to reduce costs, there has been a move away from dedicated hard fixturing to modular systems. Modular fixturing can be quickly set up and torn down as needed, can be easily adjusted for workpiece variations such as inconsistent casting and may be re-used many times over, all significant features in cost reduction.
A number of modular fixturing systems are commercially available. All feature a range of components which are readily interconnected to construct workpiece fixtures as needed. However, in all cases the starting point for constructing the fixturing is essentially the same; a base plate, cube (also known as a column or tombstone) or angle plate. This attaches to the bed of the NC machine and forms the base for the fixturing. The requirements for this base are rigidity and flat surfaces, free from projections.
Heretofore it has been necessary for manufactures of modular fixturing systems to provide and for users to stock these basic elements in a wide range of sizes so as not to limit the size or type of fixturing that may be constructed. Users of NC machines would therefore find considerable advantage in a system for constructing modular fixturing bases in a wide range of sizes and of various shapes from a single type of element provided in a limited range of sizes.


Compositions and methods for inducing a cardiac muscle phenotype, such as rhythmic contraction and formation of myofibrils, in a cell are described. Disclosed are nucleic acids encoding myofibrillogenesis-inducing RNA (MIR) molecules, RNA molecules (MIR) and RNA-binding proteins that bind to MIR to induce myofibrillogenesis and vectors comprising these nucleic acids. Also included is a method of promoting cardiac muscle differentiation using these compositions.

Establishment and maintenance of normal heart cell function is essential to the survival of all higher organisms. During normal development, cells destined to become cardiac muscle cells undergo a process of differentiation whereby they form highly organized myofibrils capable of constant, rhythmic contraction. Myofibrillogenesis refers to the process whereby these fibrils are formed. In disease conditions affecting heart muscle, such as heart attack, stroke and congenital abnormalities, healthy heart cells fail to develop or are lost. Understanding of the mechanisms underlying control of myofibrillogenesis and cardiac muscle cell differentiation holds promise for restoring damaged heart muscle.
Previous studies have identified a cardiac mutant in a salamander, the Mexican axolotl with a defect in myofibrillogenesis. In this model, a cardiac lethal gene c is expressed in homozygous recessive animals. Matings between heterozygous parents (+/c×+/c) provide 25% mutant embryos (c/c) which are first distinguishable from their normal siblings (+/+ or +/c) at stage 34, when normal embryos develop contracting hearts. Mutant embryos form hearts that fail to beat and subsequently die from lack of circulation. The normal siblings mature to adulthood, exhibiting no obvious abnormalities (Humphrey, 1968).
Embryonic heart development in this species proceeds by a two-step mechanism (Smith and Armstrong, 1990). The first step, occurring during neurulation, is endoderm-dependent and directs early cardiac morphogenesis. This step is apparently normal in cardiac mutant hearts, which undergo early morphogenesis that is indistinguishable from that of normal hearts (Lemanski, 1973; Fransen and Lemanski, 1988). The second step involves myofibrillogenesis and the completion of differentiation into muscle tissue. In the mutant animals, the hearts become distended and thin-walled after heartbeat stage 35. The embryos subsequently develop ascites and survive only to stage 41, about 20 days after the normal time of onset of heart beating. However, mutant embryos swim normally, indicating that gene c does not affect skeletal muscle.
As the elderly population increases, and as larger segments of the population are subjected to high-stress employment situations, cardiovascular disease is becoming increasingly prevalent. The need for development of new therapeutic methods for restoring heart muscle cells continues to rise. Promising technologies of the future, such as replacement of damaged heart cells with cardiac cells grown in culture, are dependent upon finding the molecular keys to inducing a cardiac muscle cell phenotype.


A system and method including deriving a subcarrier frequency from a binary data stream having a clock frequency, wherein the subcarrier frequency is substantially the same as the clock frequency; gating the subcarrier frequency using the data stream to produce a modulated OOK signal; determining a OOK subcarrier center frequency based on the modulated OOK signal with the clock frequency; delaying the modulated OOK signal relative to the binary data stream by a predetermined amount to produce a delayed modulated OOK signal; conditioning the modulated OOK signal and the delayed modulated OOK signal to create a differential transition signal in an I channel and a Q channel to provide a stable amplitude signal level reference at an input to an I and Q vector modulator.

As microelectronics and integrated silicon technologies continue to improve in performance, fully integrated wireless transmitters, receivers and transceivers are now being realized in single chip architectures up through the millimeter wave frequencies (30 to 300 GHz). Vector modulation, comprised of two modulating signals with a quadrature phase relationship between them, is used extensively in advanced single chip transmitter and transceiver designs. The modulating signals are typically AC-coupled to avoid DC bias offsets for the vector modulation inputs. The vector modulation inputs are typically connected to the in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) fully balanced radio frequency multipliers (mixers). The balanced I and Q mixers suppress the main carrier frequency energy when there are no modulation signals present. Millimeter wave spectrum is by nature allocated in large frequency bands which in turn allows the use of very wide bandwidth transmission using simple modulation techniques such as AM or OOK (on-off keying). The use of such simple wideband modulation techniques is desired in order to enable straightforward system level design incorporating receivers that use non coherent demodulation techniques such as square law or envelope detection. What is needed is a simple baseband method that can generate OOK modulation within the constraints of AC-coupled vector modulated transmitter circuit architectures.


One aspect is directed to a method and apparatus for transferring information, through a shared storage system, between first and second processes running on first and second computers, respectively. Both computers are coupled to a data storage system, with the first computer being coupled through multiple paths. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, at least one of the multiple paths is selected through which to transfer the information between the first process and the data storage system, so that communication between the first process and the shared storage system is not constrained to any particular path. Another aspect is directed to a method and apparatus for processing an out of band control command executed by a host computer in a multi-path system and targeting a device. A path is selected for transmitting the out of band control command to the device based upon a selection criteria that enables the selected path to be other than a specific target path identified by the out of band control command.

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for employing multiple paths (e.g., for load balancing and/or fault tolerance reasons) in connection with a utility for transferring information between processes on different computers through the use of an intermediate data storage system.
A file transfer utility employing an intermediate data storage system is described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/723,137, entitled A FILE TRANSFER UTILITY WHICH EMPLOYS AN INTERMEDIATE DATA STORAGE SYSTEM, filed Sep. 30, 1996, (hereafter xe2x80x9cthe FTS applicationxe2x80x9d) which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Referring to FIG. 1, the File Transfer System (FTS) described in the FTS application performs a file transfer operation between two or more host processors 12 that each is coupled to a common data storage system 14 including a shared memory 15 that is accessible to the two or more host processors. According to FTS, a file that is available to only one of the host processors 12 can be copied or transferred, through the shared memory 15, to another storage location wherein it is available to a different one of the host processors 12. Thus, the file transfer occurs through the data storage system 14, which acts as a staging buffer and transport medium for the data. The source and destination for the transferred data each can be located within the data storage system 14. Alternatively, either or both of the source and destination for the transferred data can be located in any other storage medium. Details of how FTS can be implemented are discussed in the FTS application, significant portions of which are reproduced below.
While only a single connection 16 is shown in FIG. 1 between each of the host processors 12 and the data storage system 14, it should be understood that multiple connections can be provided between each processor and the data storage system. Multiple communication paths are typically provided in a computer system for one of two reasons. First, multiple communication paths provide some fault tolerance in the event that one of the communication paths between a host processor 12 and the data storage system 14 experiences a failure. Thus, in some computer systems, only a single communication path is operational at any particular time, but at least one additional path is provided and becomes operational if the primary path experiences a failure. Second, in other computer systems, multiple communication paths are provided to enhance system performance. In such systems, the multiple communication paths are operated simultaneously, so that multiple communication operations between a host processor 12 and the data storage system 14 can be performed simultaneously to enhance system performance.
As described below, the particular manner in which FTS has been implemented precludes it from taking advantage of multiple communication paths provided between any of the host processors 12 and the data storage system 14 in a multi-path computer system. It is an object of one aspect of the present invention to provide such multi-path capability to a file transfer utility (such as FTS) employing an intermediate data storage system.
One illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of transferring information between a first process running on a first computer and a second process running on a second computer, each of the first and second computers being coupled to a data storage system, the first computer being coupled to the data storage system through multiple paths. The method comprises computer-implemented steps of: (A) selecting at least one of the multiple paths through which to transfer the information between the first process and the data storage system; (B) transferring the information between the first process and the data storage system through the at least one of the multiple paths; and (C) transferring the information between the second process and the data storage system.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a computer system comprising a first computer to support a first process running thereon; a second computer to support a second process running thereon; and a data storage system coupled to each of the first and second computers to enable information to be transferred between the first and second processes, the first computer being coupled to the data storage system through multiple paths. The first computer includes a first controller to select at least one of the multiple paths through which to transfer the information between the first process and the data storage system, and to transfer the information through the at least one of the multiple paths. The second computer includes a second controller to transfer the information between the second process and the data storage system.
A further illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of operating a first computer in a computer system that includes the first computer, a second computer and a data storage system coupled to each of the first and second computers and including a shared storage region shared by the first and second computers, the data storage system being coupled to the first computer through multiple paths. The method comprises computer-implemented steps of: (A) requesting a connection through the shared storage region from a first process running on the first computer to a second process running on the second computer; (B) selecting, from the multiple paths, at least one path through which to transfer information between the first process and the shared storage region; and (C) using the connection, through the shared storage region and the at least one path, to communicate with the second process by transferring the information between the first process and the shared storage region.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of operating a first computer in a computer system including the first computer, a second computer and a data storage system coupled to each of the first and second computers and including a shared storage region shared by the first and second computers, the data storage system being coupled to the first computer through multiple paths. The method comprises computer-implemented steps of: (A) detecting that a connection through the shared storage region is being requested, by a second process running on the second computer, to a first process running on the first computer; (B) selecting, from the multiple paths, at least one path through which to transfer information between the first process and the shared storage region; and (C) using the connection, through the shared storage region and the at least one path, to communicate with the second process by transferring the information between the first process and the shared storage region.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a computer readable medium encoded with a program for execution on a computer system including a first computer, a second computer and a data storage system coupled to each of the first and second computers and including a shared storage region shared by the first and second computers, the data storage system being coupled to the first computer through multiple paths. The program, when executed on the computer system, performs a method comprising steps of: (A) requesting a connection through the shared storage region from a first process running on the first computer to a second process running on the second computer; (B) selecting, from the multiple paths, at least one path through which to transfer information between the first process and the shared storage region; and (C) using the connection, through the shared storage region and the at least one path, to communicate with the second process by transferring the information between the first process and the shared storage region.
A further illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a computer readable medium encoded with a program for execution on a computer system including a first computer, a second computer and a data storage system coupled to each of the first and second computers and including a shared storage region shared by the first and second computers, the data storage system being coupled to the first computer through multiple paths. The program, when executed on the computer system, performs a method comprising steps of: (A) detecting that a connection through the shared storage region is being requested, by a second process running on the second computer, to a first process running on the first computer; (B) selecting, from the multiple paths, at least one path through which to transfer information between the first process and the shared storage region; and (C) using the connection, through the shared storage region and the at least one path, to communicate with the second process by transferring the information between the first process and the shared storage region.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a first computer for use in a computer system including the first computer, a second computer and a data storage system coupled to each of the first and second computers and including a shared storage region shared by the first and second computers. The first computer comprises at least one processor to run a first process; a plurality of ports to couple the first computer to the data storage system through multiple paths; and at least one controller. The at least one controller requests a connection through the shared storage region from the first process to a second process running on the second computer; selects, from the multiple paths, at least one path through which to transfer information between the first process and the shared storage region; and uses the connection, through the shared storage region and the at least one path, to communicate with the second process by transferring the information between the first process and the shared storage region.
A further illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a first computer for use in a computer system including the first computer, a second computer and a data storage system coupled to each of the first and second computers and including a shared storage region shared by the first and second computers. The first computer comprises at least one processor to run a first process; a plurality of ports to couple the first computer to the data storage system through multiple paths; and at least one controller. The at least one controller detects that a connection through the shared storage region is being requested, by a second process running on the second computer, to a first process running on the first computer; selects, from the multiple paths, at least one path through which to transfer information between the first process and the shared storage region; and uses the connection, through the shared storage region and the at least one path, to communicate with the second process by transferring the information between the first process and the shared storage region.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of processing an out of band control command executed by a host computer in a multi-path system including the host computer, a device and multiple paths coupling the host computer to the device, the out of band control command identifying a target address in the device, the out of band control command further identifying, from among the multiple paths, a target path for transmission of the out of band control command between the host computer and the device. The method comprises steps of: (A) selecting a selected path for transmitting the out of band control command between the host computer and the device, the selected path being selected from among the multiple paths based upon a selection criteria that enables the selected path to be other than the target path identified by the out of band control command; and (B) transmitting the out of band control command between the host computer and the device over the selected path.
A further illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a computer readable medium encoded with a program for execution on a host computer in a multi-path system including the host computer, a device and multiple paths coupling the host computer to the device, wherein the host computer executes an out of band control command identifying a target address in the device, the out of band control command further identifying, from among the multiple paths, a target path for transmission of the out of band control command between the host computer and the device. The program, when executed on the host computer, performs a method comprising steps of: (A) selecting a selected path for transmitting the out of band control command between the host computer and the device, the selected path being selected from among the multiple paths based upon a selection criteria that enables the selected path to be other than the target path identified by the out of band control command; and (B) transmitting the out of band control command between the host computer and the device over the selected path.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a host computer for use in a multi-path system including the host computer, a device and multiple paths coupling the host computer to the device. The host computer comprises at least one processor to execute an out of band control command identifying a target address in the device, the out of band control command further identifying, from among the multiple paths, a target path for transmission of the out of band control command between the host computer and the device; and at least one controller. The at least one controller selects a selected path for transmitting the out of band control command between the host computer and the device, the selected path being selected from among the multiple paths based upon a selection criteria that enables the selected path to be other than the target path identified by the out of band control command; and transmits the out of band control command between the host computer and the device over the selected path.

Method and apparatus for utilizing multiple paths in a file transfer utility employing an intermediate data storage system


A security mark having multiple optically orthogonal coaligned bar codes is produced using a reflection hologram visible substantially at only a first wavelength that is layered over a wavelength sensitive filter, which blocks light transmission at the first wavelength but transmits light at a second wavelength, and having beneath it an additional bar code visible through the hologram and the wavelength sensitive filter at the second wavelength. A validation means reads multiple holographic bar codes with light at the first wavelength by illuminating the hologram separately from multiple directions, and further reads the bar code beneath the wavelength sensitive filter by illuminating the mark with light of the second wavelength. By suitable choice of multi-directional and multi-wavelength illumination, multiple coaligned bar codes may be read in the same physical location with no mutual interference.

Lost sales revenue from counterfeit branded goods is a significant problem for the legitimate manufacturers. The use of counterfeit access cards results in significant theft loss from access to otherwise secured accounts, or results in the critical security breeches at secured military or industrial sites. While many forms of security marks have been devised to discourage counterfeiting, the degree of security afforded by any such mark is, of course, dependant on the cost of counterfeiting it relative to the value gained for having done so. Generally, any particular security mark declines in effectiveness over time because the specialty machinery and materials required to produce the security mark become lower in cost and more easily accessible. Eventually new security marks that are more difficult to counterfeit are required, leading to a classical "arms race" scenario between designers of security marks and the mark counterfeiters.
One way to categorize mark authenticity verification is by: a) human verification, or b) machine verification. Common examples of each include a) the human verifiable hologram embedded in the front face of most of today's credit cards, and b) the machine verifiable encrypted codes within the microcontroller chip embedded in the newer so called "smart cards". Another way to categorize mark authenticity verification is by: a) local verification, or b) remote verification. With local verification, the mark must speak for itself. Local verification examples include seeing the holographic NFL label inside a baseball cap, or entering a PIN to match the information read from a magnetic strip by a card reader on a debit card. With remote verification, the validity or authenticity is not known until a remote database verifies the presented information, for example, by confirmation of an account number, a password, and funds available to make a purchase.
Methods used to aid human verification of a mark have primarily centered around the visual qualities of a label or tag. Beyond fancy printing, custom label stock, or molded tags, the most notable visual security mark common today is a custom hologram sticker having a stylized graphic of a company or organization logo to provide clear visual verification of authenticity. The most common type of hologram used is a metalized embossed polyester "rainbow hologram" well known on credit cards, software packages and professional sports branded articles. The rainbow hologram was originally developed by Polaroid Corporation, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,989 granted Jan. 11, 1972 to Benton. Less common is the higher quality image of the volume reflection hologram with its fairly monochromatic images produced with photopolymers, such as the DuPont HRF-700 series, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,120 granted on Feb. 26, 1991 to Smothers et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,112 granted Jul. 17, 1990 to Monroe et al. Unfortunately, the security of the rainbow hologram continues to fall prey to counterfeiters now finding it relatively easy to find companies offshore willing to copy and mass produce any image in a matter of days. However, for now the photopolymer based holograms appear to be relatively secure as the well patented photopolymers are treated as controlled materials. While fancy visual effects and 3-D logos may be helpful to people for evaluating the authenticity of an item, such human friendly security images haven't proven useful as a means for machines with optical scanners to independently determine the item's authenticity.
Numerous attempts have been made to secure documents with machine readable authentication marks. While everyday bar codes do a spectacular job at providing identity information, the mark itself is quite susceptible to duplication with a photocopy machine or with a desktop printer having a scanner, or one of hundreds of software packages available on the market for printing bar codes. Bar code scanners have been designed to detect and decode information from a light intensity pattern, but without any means for knowing if the bar code just scanned was on a box, on a book, printed with black ink, printed with blue ink, printed by a manufacturer in New York, or printed on the moon. A similar problem exists with the magnetic strip reader for credit, debit, and other ID cards. Although the magnetic strip will hold a fair amount of information, and is re-writable, the data on the magnetic stripe is easily copied or altered by hardware and software freely available on the market. Magnetic strip readers have been designed to detect and read a magnetic pattern, but without any means for knowing what card it was read from, if the information is fraudulent, or if the information is a counterfeit copy of the original.
To overcome the weakness in security of both bar codes and magnetic strips, some have incorporated an additional authentication code to help physically or logically machine validate the media or its data through requiring that the two code/data sources tie together in some way. As an example of the later, a card having both a magnetic recording strip and a linear series of diffraction grating patches on a strip, each reflecting light at a specific predetermined angle and requiring precise alignment in a scanner and wherein read data from each data source being compared to determine authenticity, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,211 granted on Jul. 5, 1977 to Horst et al. An identification card having a magnetic strip with reflective marks over the magnetic strip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,279 granted Aug. 9, 1977 to Foote. Similarly, a system of placing infrared reflection elements underlying a magnetic data stripe on a credit card is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,231 granted Aug. 23, 1977 to Beck et al. A card having both a magnetic strip and a reflection hologram with a linear series of reflective patches, each reflecting light at specific predetermined angle and requiring precise alignment in a scanner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,017 granted on Feb. 3, 1987 to Lopata. A card having both a magnetic recording strip and a bar code, wherein read data from each are compared in an algorithm to determine authenticity is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,209 granted on Dec. 11, 2001 to O'Boyle. A label or card having a pattern of fluorescent dots, the locations of which are used to as a time-gate for reading the signature of diffractive/holographic reflections across the face of a card, requiring precise alignment with a scanner, and correlating data read with bar code or magnetic strip data, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,638 granted on Mar. 18, 2003 to McGrew.
With the objective of making a covert code, or making a code copy machine proof, many have proposed systems utilizing the spectral limitations of the human eye in combination with inks that are invisible to the human eye, but fluoresce in the visible range when illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) light. Similarly, others have proposed systems that take advantage of inks that transmit or absorb light in the visible range, and do the opposite in the ultraviolet or infrared range. U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,826 granted Oct. 18, 1966 to Rudershousen describes a card having a UV fluorescent base material laminated with a material transparent in visible light, but which blocks UV light, and which has code markings or words made from or carved out of the UV blocking laminate. U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,662 granted Aug. 13, 1974 to Furahashi describes a card having a visibly black but infrared transparent layer under which is a base layer having a pattern of through holes which can only be detected with infrared light. U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,361 granted Oct. 10, 1978 to Greenway describes a card having a visibly black but infrared transparent layer under which is a linear arrangement of diffraction grating patches. U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,491 granted May 13, 1980 to Suzuki describes a data card containing data recorded with a fluorescent material that emits infrared rays when excited by infrared rays. U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,059 granted Aug. 27, 1985 to Rudland discloses an identification card with concealed coding made by infrared transparent windows of two widths providing binary coding readable by infrared radiation through material opaque to visible light. U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,069 granted Mar. 20, 2001 to Outwater describes a bar code printed in invisible ink that absorbs light in the UV or near-IR, and that has an IR fluorescent mark that emits visible light. U.S. Pat. No. 6,521,038 granted Feb. 18, 2003 to Yanagimoto, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,646 granted Oct. 4, 1995 to Lazzouni discloses visibly black but infrared reflecting inks to make it possible to print information which is not visible to the eye but is readable by infrared bar code scanners.
In addition to the savings of space, coaligned codes help increase the security of the media in two ways. First, in many cases an attempt to alter one of the codes disrupts the second, either physically or logically. Second, the copy resistance of the code is generally improved as at least one of the codes is implemented by an orthogonal technology. There are, for example, numerous methods referenced in prior patents relating to coaligned magnetic and optical codes. Coaligned bar codes utilizing wavelength discrimination also are present in the prior art. A multi-layered bar code made utilizing various non-interfering ink colors and reading them with specific wavelengths of light is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,304 granted Mar. 26, 1996 to Bearson. A bar code having the spaces between dark elements available for a possible UV fluorescent bar invisible to the human eye is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,541 granted Mar. 12, 2002 to Outwater. In matters of authentication, however, the security of colored inks is dubious today as they can be printed by any desktop color inkjet printer.
As various inventors have tried to make cards and labels more secure from copying while improving machine scanner authentication characteristics, the two characteristics of a hologram or diffraction grating used most often to advantage have been a) the ability to have a virtual mirror tilted at any angle while remaining physically flat and thin, and b) the ability to additionally incorporate holographic optical elements, such as lenses and optically encrypting distortion filters. Both of these characteristics require precise alignment of the scanner optics with the label or card to authenticate it, which is fine for a slot card reader, but would be a problem for the common hand-held bar code scanners used in retail and warehousing applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,776 granted Oct. 22, 1991 to Antes discloses a diffractive bar code requiring precise alignment inside a scanner to benefit from the reflective bars. U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,184 granted Mar. 31, 1992 to Antes discloses a card with reflective patches having asymmetric diffraction gratings produced with partial microscopic mirror relief structures, pairs of which are 180 degrees different in the asymmetry and corresponding asymmetric reflection efficiency is used to verify authenticity of the mark. U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,899 granted Apr. 26, 1994 to Marom discloses a holographic correlation filter for examining a holographic image on a card, thus requiring precise position and angle relationships during reading. U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,058 granted Jul. 6, 1999 to Weber et al discloses that a holographic code image can be stored using a coded reference wave to distort the code image and thus hide it from human vision while a transform correlator reading device is able to reconstruct and detect the code image.
Holographic bar codes are known in the art. According to the broad definition of the term chosen for use herein, many of the patents in the foregoing paragraph describe forms of holographic bar codes, unfortunately, none of which are suitable for use with hand-held bar code scanners due to the requirement for precise optical alignment to successfully read the code. One way this has been overcome is to make a holographic image of a standard printed bar code wherein the white spaces have fairly omnidirectional diffuse reflecting characteristics, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,744 granted on Jun. 6, 1995 to Katz et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,899 granted Apr. 26, 1994 to Marom. A card with an optically readable portion is incorporated into a magnetic machine readable stripe on the card wherein the optically readable portion can include a holographic representation of a bar code and wherein a check digit is derived by combining data from both optically and magnetically read portions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,871 granted Aug. 9, 1994 to Colgate. Unfortunately, if the hologram produces a virtual image of a bar code, then even though standard bar code scanners can be easily aligned to read it, the security differentiation of it from a bar code printed on paper has vanished. Conversely, when the bar code is constructed of holographic of diffraction grating facets having very specific reflection angles, the security differentiation from a paper printed bar code may remain. However, the requirement for extremely precise alignment of the scanner precludes any real usefulness for applications requiring hand-held scanners.
Human readable characters have long been associated with bar codes, as exemplified by the ubiquitous UPC bar codes on grocery items (FIG. 1), and are most often used to provide an alternative for data entry when the bar code symbols are partly damaged and the bar code scanner fails to properly read them. In fact, a brief survey of bar coded objects and labels shows that it is more common than not to include a human readable number for these purposes. The more data-dense two dimensional bar codes, such as PDF417, Maxicode, and Datamatrix (FIG. 1), appear to rely heavily on other associated printed material, such as human readable address and order number, to provide sufficient backup should the contents of the bar code become unreadable, as opposed to having direct character per symbol translation. However, the human readable code has not been used as a true security feature in the authentication process.
In the art of bar code reading, utilization of multiple wavelengths has been disclosed by both Bearson and Outwater, as would be expected, for reading their bar codes having wavelength sensitive content. Many bar code reading disclosures include complex optical means to determine if the media on which the code is detected is in fact holographic. However, none have proposed multi-directional illumination as a means of ascertaining the three dimensional character of a hologram. Typically only a single light source is used, and when multiple sources are used from different directions, they still function as a single distributed light source, as opposed to having individual directions illuminated at separate times. For example, a bar code scanner head having a group of illuminating LEDs separately disposed to the right and left of the CCD photosensor optical path is disclosed in three U.S. patents; U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,009 granted on Mar. 1, 1994 to Roustaei, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,116 granted Feb. 4, 1997 to Seo et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,128 granted Aug. 19, 2003 to Schwartz et al. In each of the aforementioned patents, the LEDs are not separately illuminated, but rather are treated as a single extended illumination source.
The prior art holographic/diffractive bar code scanners either a) require precise alignment with the authentication mark to both read it and authenticate its media via detection of its unique holographic/diffractive optical properties, or b) require no special alignment with the authentication mark but are unable to authenticate its media because it is a virtual image replicating a paper and ink bar code. There is therefore an unmet need to both have a hand-held holographic bar code scanner without special alignment requirements to both read a holographic bar code and authenticate its media as being holographic.
The prior art coaligned code marks having magnetic strips and bar codes (of any kind) provide for both security and ID serialization, but are not suitable for hand-held scanner applications. The prior art coaligned wavelength sensitive printed bar code technology provides for ID serialization and hand-held scanner compatibility, but is substantially lacking in security today. Of further note, holographic bar codes are by their very nature heavily tooled and thus are compatible with mass production, but not ID serialization. There is therefore an unmet need to have a hand-held bar code scanner that can read a mark containing coaligned bar codes that provide both true security and capability for ID serialization.
The prior art uses alphanumeric characters adjacent to a bar code to provide a human readable representation of the code for backup when the bar code is damaged. With coaligned bar codes, the prior art presumption that the printed alphanumeric characters and the printed bar code should be directly tied is short sighted at best. There is therefore an unmet need in security applications to change the function of these alphanumeric characters to one of added security as opposed to simple redundancy.

Coaligned bar codes and validation means


A charging device for an eco-friendly vehicle includes a charger having an electronic switching element which reduces an excessive current instantaneously flowing when an external AC power source outside the vehicle is connected to the charger; and a controller configured to control an operation of the electronic switching element.

In general, an eco-friendly vehicle such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), which uses an electric motor as a drive source for driving the vehicle, has a high-voltage battery for supplying electricity to the motor. The high-voltage battery is rapidly charged through a rapid charger or charged by being connected to a general external AC power source through an on-board charger (OBC) mounted in the vehicle.
If external AC power is applied to the vehicle, the OBC converts the AC power into rechargeable DC power, thereby charging the high-voltage battery.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of an OBC of an eco-friendly vehicle. FIG. 2 is a graph showing an AC voltage and an AC current for illustrating an initial operation of the OBC.
As shown in FIG. 1, an OBC 3 includes an input filter 4, a power connector 5, a rectifier 6, a power factor corrector circuit (PFC) 7, and a DC/DC converter 8. These components are controlled through a controller (not shown) mounted in the vehicle.
The power connector 5 is provided between the input filter 4 connected to external AC power 1 to filter and eliminate noise of the AC power 1 and the rectifier 6 for rectifying AC power, thereby reducing an inrush current instantaneously flowing when the AC power 1 in which noise is eliminated is applied from the input filter 4 and reducing voltage loss after the AC power is connected.
Specifically, the power connector 5 includes a resistance element for reducing an inrush current (a phenomenon in which a large amount of current instantaneously flows when AC power is first applied) flowing at a point of time when the AC power 1 is applied to protect internal elements of the OBC 3, and a relay for reducing voltage loss after the AC power 1 is connected to the OBC.
An initial operation of the OBC 3 including the power connector 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. If the AC power 1 is applied to an input terminal of the OBC 3, an inrush current instantaneously introduced with a large value is generated while a current for charging a capacitor inside the OBC 3 is introduced at a point of time when the AC power is applied. The current introduced into the OBC 3 flows through the resistance element of the power connector 5, and the relay is connected after the capacitor is sufficiently charged (charged within a few ms). After the relay is connected as described above, the charging of a high-voltage battery 2 is started.
As known in the art, the PFC 7 performs power factor correction, and the DC/DC converter 8 boosts an output voltage of the PFC 7 to a DC voltage for charging the high-voltage battery 2.
However, as the power connector 5 of the OBC 3 includes the resistance element through which an initial charging current including the inrush current flows before the charging of the high-voltage battery 2 starts, and the relay through which a current not including the inrush current flows by the relay being connected when the charging of the high-voltage battery 2 starts, the volume of the OBC increases, and therefore, it is inadequate to increase the output density of the OBC, which is disadvantageous in packaging.
Since the efficiency of the OBC and the fuel efficiency of the eco-friendly vehicle have a relationship of one to one (the fuel efficiency is increased by 1% when the efficiency is increased by 1%), it is required to maximize the efficiency of the OBC. However, the efficiency of the OBC is reduced due to excessive power consumed in operating a mechanical relay and efficiency reduced by contact resistance when the relay is connected.
Since the relay of the power connector 5 is weak against heat dissipation, additional components (e.g., a thermal pad, a heat pipe, etc.) are required to prevent an increase in temperature, and therefore, an increase in cost is caused.

Charging device for eco-friendly vehicle and control method of the same


A nozzle for a nasal rinse device including a collar that forms a conduit. The collar is configured to attach the nozzle to the nasal rinse device. An outlet aperture defined by the collar is on a top portion of the nozzle. The nozzle also includes a skirt extending outwards and downwards from the collar, and an outer surface of the skirt is faceted.

The benefits of rinsing one's sinus cavities have been well established, and include improving resistance to sinus infections, clogged sinuses, allergies, and general health. Oftentimes, however, the articles which one uses to rinse one's nasal passages make the process unnecessarily difficult and uncomfortable. One of the issues is related to the inability to obtain an effective seal between the nozzle of one of these articles and the user's nasal passage. If the seal is not adequate, during use the fluid can leak from between the nozzle and the nasal passage, thereby making the rinsing process messy.
In addition, the control of the flow from the vessel into the sinus cavity has not been adequate in the past, and users have found it difficult to regulate the volume of flow so as to make the rinsing process comfortable. In one existing product, as shown in U.S. Patent App. No. 2008/0294124, an aperture is formed in the lid of the vessel which can be used to restrict the flow of the fluid in the vessel through the nozzle during the rinsing step. However, because the aperture is positioned in the lid, the user uses one hand to hold the vessel and another hand to control the flow by covering and uncovering the aperture. This proves to be a relatively difficult process when the user is already in an awkward position, such as being positioned over a sink during the rinsing process.
It is to satisfy the above recognized issues that the present invention has been developed.


In a cellular network, randomness is introduced into a transmitted signal at each transmitter, and the resulting received signal, which is the sum of all received signals, fluctuates more in time than a signal transmitted without the introduced randomness. While the introduction of randomness can diminish reception of some parts of the signal at the receiver, the transmitted signal can be encoded using forward error correction coding techniques, which allows the receiver to recover all of the signal information despite some diminished reception. Such randomization provides time diversity so that receivers can have more consistent performance. For broadcasted data, where users with the worst channel condition dictates the overall performance, having consistent performance across users can improve the overall network performance.

In a cellular communication system, a geographic area is divided into multiple cells 10, 12, 14 as shown in FIG. 1. At the center of each cell 10, a base station 22 is located to serve mobile stations 28, 30 in the cell. Having small, multiple cells help increase coverage and capacity. Each cell can be further divided into sectors 16, 18, 20 by using multiple sectorized antennas to further increase capacity. Typically three sectors per cell are used. (Both conventionally and in this document, the term "sector" applies even when there is only one sector in a cell). In each cell, a base station serves one or more sectors and communicates with multiple mobile stations 28, 30 in the cell. The communication between the base stations 22, 24, 26 and the mobile stations uses analog modulation (such as analog voice) or digital modulation (such as digital voice or digital packet data) to transmit and receive such analog or digital information. The forward link or downlink refers to the direction of communication from the base station to the mobile station. The other direction, i.e., the direction of communication from the mobile to the base station, is called the reverse link or the uplink.
A certain amount of bandwidth (spectrum) is used for such communication between the base station and the mobile station. Two separate spectrums can be allocated for the forward and reverse links as in the frequency division duplexing (FDD) scheme or one spectrum can be multiplexed in time to carry traffic in both directions as in a time division duplexing (TDD) scheme. The minimum unit of bandwidth needed in a cellular wireless system can be referred to as a carrier. As the amount of data traffic is increased, the number of carriers can be increased to provide more capacity. A carrier in a sector can handle up to a certain amount of data traffic, which is referred to as the capacity per carrier per sector or simply capacity. In general, the capacity is different in the forward and in the reverse links.
A wireless communication link between a transmitter and a receiver can be categorized as line-of-sight (LOS) or non-line-of-sight (NLOS). LOS refers to the case when the receiving antenna sees the transmitter directly, i.e., there is a direct path between the two. In NLOS environment, the transmitting and the receiving antennas do not see each other directly, but have multiple different paths over which radio waves can travel due to reflection from objects such as buildings and trees. In a perfect LOS environment, as in free space, there will be no fading. As the number of objects obstructing a direct path between the transmitter and receiver (called "scatterers") increases, fading increases due to interference from multiple paths.
When a transmitter transmits a signal such as a sinusoidal waveform, the resulting received signal is the sum of multiple copies of the same signal. However, each copy can have different amplitude and phase depending on the characteristic of the corresponding path, where amplitude typically decreases as the length of the path increases and the phase increases linearly in path length. In addition, different materials have different reflection and absorption characteristics that effect amplitude and phase differently. Thus, these multiple paths can create multiple copies which constructively and/or destructively interfere with each other at a receiver.
If there are many scatterers that reflect waves, the resulting signal fading can be modeled as Rayleigh fading where the envelope of the received signal follows a complex Gaussian distribution when the transmitted signal is a pure sinusoid. This technique can be useful in modeling a scattering environment in which there are multiple paths without any dominating path because the sum of independent, identically distributed channel gains tend to have a Gaussian-like distribution as there are many paths. This is a good model of many NLOS environment. However, often real-world RF channels have a mixture of LOS and NLOS components. In this case, fading can be modeled as Rician or Nakagami fading. Rician fading models a mixture of LOS and Rayleigh fading paths. Nakagami fading can model fading that is more severe or less severe than Rayleigh fading.
Multi-path fading can also distort the signal if the delay spread is not negligibly small compared to the symbol duration since the fading becomes frequency selective in such an environment. If the delay spread is negligibly small compared to the symbol duration, the fading becomes flat in frequency and is called the flat fading. Various known equalization techniques can be used to remove inter-symbol interference caused by the frequency-selective fading.
Fading can change over time when the transmitter, receiver, or some surrounding objects move. Since the phase of each path can change 360 degrees when the path length changes by the wavelength, the fading can change in a very small scale. For example, fading can change from constructive to destructive when the receiver moves merely a fraction of the wavelength. In 2GHz Personal Communications Service (PCS) band, for example, this corresponds to only 1 or 2 inches. Therefore, in a mobile communication system, the mobility of the terminal can cause the fading characteristics to change quickly. For example, a mobile terminal moving at a pedestrian speed in the PCS band will see the channel fading characteristics change at a rate of a few times a second. However, if the mobile terminal is in a moving vehicle, the channel fading characteristics can change as often as a few hundred times a second. Even when there is no mobility of a terminal, fading can change over time if there are moving objects in the paths. In a mobile communication system, the main cause of time-varying fading is often due to movement of the terminal. For example, if a mobile terminal stops moving during signal transmission, the fading characteristics of the channel can stay constant for a long time. Accordingly, a user will likely experience bad reception if the user's mobile terminal stops moving when it is in deep fade.
In a cellular communication system, a downlink is a broadcast channel whereas the uplink is a multiple access channel from a single sector's perspective since a sector needs to be able to handle multiple mobile terminals. Therefore, to carry user data in the downlink, multiplexing is used. There are many forms of multiplexing, e.g., time-division multiplexing (TDM), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency-multiplexing (OFDM) and code-division multiplexing (CDM). CDM, FDM, and static TDM (i.e., TDM where channel allocation does not change during the entire duration of a call) are typically used for low and fixed rate communication including voice.
Recently many efforts have been made in standardizing high speed data communication in cellular environment, which includes CDMA2000 and wide band CDMA (WCDMA). For example, 1× Evolution Data Only protocol (1×EVDO) described in "CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification," 3GPP2 C.S0024, which is referred to in this document as "3GPP2" and is fully incorporated herein by reference, supports data rates up to 3.1 Mbps in the downlink and 1.8 Mbps in the uplink. When the data rate becomes higher and higher, it becomes more important to use an efficient multiplexing scheme. An often good choice for such high speed applications is TDM because it can maximize burst throughput for each user and thus minimize latency.
Furthermore, when TDM is used, a smart scheduler in the downlink can take advantage of the time varying channel conditions to give higher scheduling priority to users whose channel condition has temporarily improved. The resulting gain from using such a smart scheduler is referred to as a "multi user diversity" gain since the gain becomes higher as there are more users. Multi user diversity gain is described in more detail in "Information capacity and power control in single-cell multi-user communications", R. Knopp and P.A. Humblet, Proceedings of International Conference on Communications (ICC), 1995, Seattle, Wash., pp. 331-335, June 1995.
There are additional benefits in using TDM for downlink. One benefit is that it simplifies resource allocation since the resource is only one dimensional, i.e., time slots. In other multiplexing schemes, resource management can be a two-dimensional problem since code or frequency space also needs to be shared among users. This adds more complexity and tends to be less efficient than TDM. Another benefit of TDM for downlink is that it allows for dynamic scheduling of different types of contents to different users. For example, it can support mixture of unicast and broadcast services, where a unicast packet is received by a single user while a broadcast packet can be received by multiple users simultaneously.
Broadcasting and multicasting (BCMC) have been recently standardized in 3GPP2 and an enhanced version is being standardized in "Enhanced Broadcast and Multicast," 3GPP2, QUALCOMM™. BCMC allows transmitting the same data from one or more sectors to mobiles. This is useful in sending, for example, TV or radio-like programs to a large number of mobile terminals in a large geographic area. In BCMC, no feedback channel is available on the channel condition. Therefore, adaptive modulation is not possible and the modulation needs to be done for the user who has the worst channel condition. Thus, broadcast typically does not perform as well as unicast in terms of total throughput. However, it is possible to improve the broadcast performance by taking advantage of the fact that multiple sectors can transmit the same information. Unlike in the unicast where each sector transmitter transmits different signals thus creating inter-sector interference to all neighbor sectors, transmitting the same signal from multiple sectors does not necessarily create such inter-user interference. However, the signals from multiple sectors are combined at the receiving antenna, thus creating self-interference. This interference can be either constructive or destructive depending on the phase of the signals.

Modulation for broadcasting from multiple transmitters


Described is a method for synchronizing a client with a server. A document score is calculated for each document in a server database. The document score indicates the importance of the respective document to the client. Documents are transferred from the server to the client if their document scores exceed a threshold value. The calculation of the document score can be determined from time the document was created, the number of times the document has been read, the time the document was last accessed, the author of the document and one or more terms in the document. Relationships between the document and other documents on the server database can also affect the document score.

Information systems often allow users to transfer system data to local devices for off-line work. Some systems permit a user to indicate a database that the user desires to have available on a local workstation, or client. For example, the user may copy the database documents from the system to a laptop or similar client. The user can then make changes at the client to one or more documents in the local copy of the database. Edited documents are later copied from the client back to the information system database.
In some instances, it is not possible to maintain a complete local copy of the database. For example, a server database can contain a large number of documents and the client may not have sufficient data storage capacity to accommodate all the documents. In other instances, the time required to copy the documents into the client database can be prohibitively long, such as when the client is connected to the server over a low data rate link. A user may be able to designate a subset of the documents in the server database for synchronization. However, the process of indicating the desired documents for synchronization can be tedious and may require complicated decisions.
What is needed is a method for managing the synchronization of database documents with client devices that improves automatic synchronizations and does not require complex interactions with the user. The present invention satisfies this need and provides additional advantages.

Method for synchronizing documents for disconnected operation

International Business Machines Corporation


A hardware encryption device comprises: a touch panel controller; and a cryptographic engine in communication with the touch panel controller. The touch panel controller receives co-ordinates from the cryptographic engine corresponding to an area on a touch panel selected by a user. The cryptographic engine is operable to discriminate between a selection in a secure area on a screen and a selection in a non-secure area on a screen, and to action the selection differently depending on whether the selection is in a secure area or a non-secure area.

SSTs are public access kiosks that are suitable for allowing a customer to conduct a transaction or to access information in an unassisted manner and/or in an unattended environment.
Common examples of SSTs include automated teller machines (ATMs), information kiosks, financial services centres, bill payment kiosks, lottery kiosks, postal services machines, check-in and check-out terminals such as those used in the hotel, car rental, and airline industries, retail self-checkout terminals, vending machines, and the like.
Some SSTs (such as ATMs, financial services centres, and the like) require customers to enter secure (or secret) data, such as a personal identification number (PIN). This is typically implemented using a secure hardware device referred to as an encrypting keypad, so that a customer's PIN never leaves the encrypting keypad as plaintext. However, these encrypting keypads are expensive and provided in addition to touch-sensitive displays. It would be preferable to provide a touch-sensitive display with encrypting functionality.
At least one type of encrypting touch-sensitive display has been proposed (U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,386). However, this has the disadvantage that every touch selection made by a customer is encrypted and then subsequently decrypted, even if the selection made by the customer does not relate to private or secure data.
It is among the objects of an embodiment of the present invention to overcome or mitigate the above problem or other problems associated with prior art touch-sensitive displays.