An object of the present invention is to provide a radio frequency power amplifier of multi stage amplifying method that is designed to reduce instability of output power caused by electromagnetic coupling of bias supply terminals and interconnections of each stage to thereby operate stably. Another object of the present invention is to provide a radio frequency power amplifier that is designed to reduce distortion of output power caused by electromagnetic coupling of bias supply terminals and interconnections of each stage to thereby provide high efficiency. The above objects can be achieved by providing a first interconnection connected to a terminal for supplying a voltage for collector driving to a power amplifying transistor, a second interconnection connected to a terminal for supplying a voltage for collector driving to a second transistor controlling a base bias voltage of the above transistor, and one or more ground parts for electromagnetic shield, wherein the first interconnection and the second interconnection are separated by one or more of the ground parts for electromagnetic shield.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio frequency power amplifier used in cellular phone handset, and more particularly to a voltage power supply method of reducing mutual interference between circuits through a power supply line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, there has been an increasing demand for cellular phone handset as typified by cellular phones to be more compact in size and lighter in weight, and therefore research and development is being vigorously made to satisfy the demand. Conventional power amplifying circuits for transmission used in cellular phone handset require negative voltage power supply or negative voltage power creation circuit, have many part configurations, and cannot therefore meet the demand of being compact in size and light in weight. Accordingly, heterojunction bipolar transistors of Gallium Arsenide compound semiconductor (hereinafter simply referred to as GaAsHBT) are expected as amplifying devices used in radio frequency power amplifiers for transmission because they are capable of single positive voltage power supply and have excellent radio frequency characteristics.
FIG. 12 shows a conventional radio frequency power amplifier employing GaAsHBT, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-75130. The radio frequency power amplifier comprises: an input impedance matching circuit 401; a power amplifying transistor 410; an output impedance matching circuit 402; and a base bias voltage control circuit 403 for the power amplifying transistor 410. The base bias voltage control circuit 403 comprises a transistor 411 and resistors 420 and 421. The reference numeral 430 denotes power supply for driving the collectors of the transistors 410 and 411, and the reference numeral 431 denotes power supply for controlling the gain of the radio frequency power amplifier, which is applied to the base of the power amplifying transistor through the base bias voltage control circuit. The base bias voltage control circuit, by substantially supplying a base current Ibb of the power amplifying transistor from the power supply for collector driving, is generally used to reduce a current Iapc for gain control to be supplied from the power supply for gain control and thereby reduce current supply capacity demanded to external control circuits to generate a voltage for gain control.
With saturation amplifiers complying with the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) system widely used principally in Europe presently, a trade-off relationship between output power and power added efficiency is a major problem in the development of radio frequency power amplifiers.
Moreover, with linear amplifiers complying with the W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system, which is one of third generation mobile communication systems, in addition to the trade-off between output power and power added efficiency, a trade-off relationship exists between distortion and power added efficiency, as described in page 36 in xe2x80x9cElectronic Technology June, 2000xe2x80x9d published by Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun.
Therefore, in the linear amplifiers, reduction in distortion leads to an increase in power added efficiency of radio frequency power amplifiers, which, in turn, leads to an increase in the performance of the radio frequency power amplifiers.
In the above conventional radio frequency power amplifier, the power supply for driving the collector of the transistor making up the base bias voltage control circuit is shared with the power supply for driving the collector of the power amplifying transistor. The above conventional radio frequency power amplifier has no capacitor enough to cut off a high frequency leakage signal of the collector current Icc due to output power of the power amplifying transistor, e.g., capacitor enough to couple a collector line and the ground. Consequently, the high frequency leakage signal of the collector current Icc is fed back to the base current Ibb of the power amplifying transistor through the base bias voltage control circuit, causing the radio frequency power amplifier to operate unstably.
Moreover, the high frequency leakage signal of the collector current Icc is fed back to the base current Ibb of the power amplifying transistor through the base bias voltage control circuit, causing an increase in distortion in the output power of the radio frequency power amplifier.
An object of the present invention is to provide a radio frequency power amplifier of multi stage amplifying method that is designed to reduce instability of output power caused by electromagnetic coupling of bias supply terminals and inter lines of each stage to thereby operate stably. Another object of the present invention is to provide a radio frequency power amplifier of multi stage amplifying method that is designed to reduce distortion of output power caused by electromagnetic coupling of bias supply terminals and inter lines of each stage to thereby provide high efficiency characteristics.
The above objects can be achieved by providing the radio frequency power amplifier of the claims 1 to 7 with the first terminal for supplying a voltage for collector driving to the first transistor for power amplification, the second terminal for supplying a voltage for collector driving to a second transistor controlling a base bias voltage of the first transistor, the first interconnection for connecting the first terminal and the collector of the first transistor, the second interconnection for connecting the second terminal and the collector of the second transistor, and one or more ground parts for electromagnetic shield, wherein the first terminal and the second terminal are separated by one or more of the ground parts for electromagnetic shield, and the first interconnection and the second interconnection are separated by one or more of the ground parts for electromagnetic shield.


The propulsion system includes an internal combustion engine, an electric machine and a double-clutch transmission with a clutch unit and a mechanical gearbox. The gearbox has two coaxial primary shafts intended to be torsionally connected each to a shaft of the internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle by a respective friction clutch of the clutch unit, as well as a secondary shaft and a lay shaft arranged parallel to the two primary shafts. The electric machine is permanently kinematically connected to either of the two primary shafts via a first gear train including a pinion mounted on an output shaft of the electric machine, an intermediate gearwheel mounted on an intermediate shaft and a gearwheel mounted on the primary shaft and acting as driving gearwheel of a second gear train of the gearbox associated to one of the gears, in particular to the second forward gear. The gearbox further includes a casing and the electric machine is inserted and fixed into a seat formed by that casing. An outer surface of a stator of the electric machine forms a spiral-shaped profile which serves as cooling circuit for the electric machine and is closed on the radially outer side by an inner cylindrical surface of the seat, in such a manner that the channels of the cooling circuit are defined between the spiral-shaped profile and the inner cylindrical surface.

The present invention refers in general to a hybrid propulsion system for a motor vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine, an electric machine and a double-clutch transmission provided with a mechanical gearbox. More particularly, the invention relates to the subsystem formed by the electric machine and the gearbox of the double-clutch transmission of the hybrid propulsion system defined above.
US2005/139035 discloses a hybrid propulsion system for a motor vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine, an electric machine and a double-clutch transmission, wherein the double-clutch transmission comprises a clutch unit and a mechanical gearbox having a pair of coaxial primary shafts intended to be torsionally coupled each with a drive shaft of the internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle by means of a respective friction clutch of the clutch unit, as well as a secondary shaft and a lay shaft both arranged parallel to the two primary shafts, and wherein the electric machine is permanently cinematically connected to either of the two primary shafts of the gearbox via a gear train including a pinion mounted on an output shaft of the electric machine, at least one intermediate gearwheel and a gearwheel which is mounted on the aforesaid primary shaft of the gearbox and acts as driving gearwheel of a gear train associated to one of the gears of the gearbox.

Hybrid propulsion system for a motor vehicle


A method and apparatus are provided for inverse transforming a matrix of discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients. The DCT coefficients are processed at least two bits at a time to obtain the vector dot products thereof with a DCT kernel matrix. A matrix of the vector dot products is transposed to obtain a transposed matrix of dot product elements. The dot product elements of the transposed matrix are processed at least two bits at a time to obtain the vector dot products thereof with the DCT kernel matrix. The resultant dot products are interleaved into a proper order and buffered in a series of output registers. Further efficiencies are achieved by implementing a post-add stage of an IDCT flowgraph prior to the output registers.

The present invention relates to the communication of digital video signals, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for implementing an inverse discrete cosine (IDCT) processor to recover transform coefficients.
Television signals are conventionally transmitted in analog form according to various standards adopted by particular countries. For example, the United States has adopted the standards of the National Television System Committee ("NTSC"). Most European countries have adopted either PAL (Phase Alternating Line) or SECAM (Sequential Color And Memory) standards.
Digital transmission of television signals can deliver video and audio services of much higher quality than analog techniques. Digital transmission schemes are particularly advantageous for signals that are broadcast by satellite to cable television affiliates and/or directly to home satellite television receivers. It is expected that digital television transmitter and receiver systems will replace existing analog systems just as digital compact discs have largely replaced analog phonograph records in the audio industry.
A substantial amount of digital data must be transmitted in any digital television system. This is particularly true where high definition television ("HDTV") is provided. In a digital television system, a subscriber receives the digital data stream via a receiver/descrambler that provides video, audio, and data to the subscriber. In order to most efficiently use the available radio frequency spectrum, it is advantageous to compress the digital television signals to minimize the amount of data that must be transmitted.
The video portion of a television signal comprises a sequence of video "frames" that together provide a moving picture. In digital television systems, each line of a video frame is defined by a sequence of digital data referred to as "pixels." A large amount of data is required to define each video frame of a television signal. For example, 7.4 megabits of data is required to provide one video frame at NTSC resolution. This assumes a 640 pixel by 480 line display is used with 8 bits of intensity value for each of the primary colors red, green and blue. High definition television requires substantially more data to provide each video frame. In order to manage this amount of data, particularly for HDTV applications, the data must be compressed.
Video compression techniques enable the efficient transmission of digital video signals over conventional communication channels. Such techniques use compression algorithms that take advantage of the correlation among adjacent pixels in order to derive a more efficient representation of the important information in a video signal.
One of the most effective and frequently used classes of algorithms for video compression is referred to as "transform coders." In such systems, blocks of video are linearly and successively transformed into a new domain with properties significantly different from the image intensity domain. The blocks may be nonoverlapping, as in the case of the discrete cosine transform (DCT), or overlapping as in the case of the lapped orthogonal transform (LOT). Systems using the DCT are described in Chen and Pratt, "Scene Adaptive Coder," IEEE Transactions on Communications, Vol. COM-32, No. 3, March 1984, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,598 entitled "Two-Dimensional Discrete Cosine Transform Processor" to Liou, et al., issued Dec. 13, 1988. A system using the LOT is described in Malvar and Staelin, "The LOT: Transform Coding Without Blocking Effects," IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Vol. 37, No. 3, April 1989.
Video transforms are used to reduce the correlation that exists among samples of image intensity (pixels). Thus, these transforms concentrate the energy into a relatively small number of transform coefficients. Most common transforms have properties that easily permit the quantization of coefficients based on a model of the human visual system. For example, the DCT produces coefficients with amplitudes that are representative of the energy in a particular band of the frequency spectrum. Therefore, it is possible to utilize the fact that the human viewer is more critical of errors in the low frequency regions of an image than in the high frequency or detailed areas. In general, the high frequency coefficients are always quantized more coarsely than the low frequencies.
The output of the DCT is a matrix of coefficients which represent energy in the two-dimensional frequency domain. Most of the energy is concentrated at the upper left corner of the matrix, which is the low frequency region. If the coefficients are scanned in a zigzag manner, starting in the upper left corner, the resultant sequence will contain long strings of zeros, especially toward the end of the sequence. One of the major objectives of the DCT compression algorithm is to create zeros and to bunch them together for efficient coding.
Coarse quantization of the low frequency coefficients and the reduced number of nonzero coefficients greatly improves the compressibility of an image. Simple statistical coding techniques can then be used to efficiently represent the remaining information. This usually involves the use of variable length code words to convey the amplitude of the coefficients that are retained. The smaller amplitudes which occur the most frequently are assigned short code words. The less probable large amplitudes are assigned long code words. Huffman coding and arithmetic coding are two frequently used methods of statistical coding. Huffman coding is used in the system of Chen and Pratt referred to above. Arithmetic coding is described in Langdon, "An Introduction to Arithmetic Coding," IBM Journal for Research Development, Vol. 28, No. 2, March 1984.
In order to reconstruct a video signal from a stream of transmitted coefficients, it is necessary to perform the inverse of the transform (e.g., DCT) that was used to encode the signals. Typically, the transform coefficients are communicated in n.times.n blocks of coefficients, such as 8.times.8 or 16.times.16 blocks. In order to build a practical system, it is advantageous to implement the IDCT processor on a integrated circuit chip, such as a very large scale integration (VLSI) design. Ideally, the VLSI design will calculate the IDCT quickly, accurately and with minimal hardware. In reality, the size of the VLSI hardware increases as the speed and accuracy of the IDCT circuit go up. Thus, trade-offs must be made to provide a compact VLSI design that provides sufficient speed and accuracy.
Previously noted U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,598 discloses a DCT processor that can be used as part of a video bandwidth or image compression system. A first one-dimensional DCT processor simultaneously computes an entire row or column of vector inner products by using distributed arithmetic and decimation-in-frequency to reduce the amount of memory capacity required. Partial sums are used to further reduce the memory size. The one-dimensional transformed matrix from the first processor is stored in a transposition memory and the transpose of the stored matrix is applied to a second one-dimensional DCT processor of similar circuitry which computes the desired two-dimensional DCT of the input data matrix. The DCT processor can be implemented on a single chip.
A disadvantage of the DCT processor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,598 is that it requires two separate one-dimensional DCT processors. The DCT processor disclosed in the patent also processes coefficient data only one bit at a time, rendering real-time processing difficult.
It would be advantageous to provide an inverse discrete cosine transform processor that provides real-time operation and can be implemented in a straightforward manner in VLSI. It would be further advantageous to provide an IDCT implementation in which a plurality of bits from each coefficient are processed during each clock cycle, to facilitate the throughput of data and enable real-time operation with a reasonable hardware size. It would be still further advantageous to implement the IDCT processor using bit serial arithmetic.
The present invention provides an IDCT processor having the aforementioned advantages.

Inverse discrete cosine transform processor


A tube for the circulation of a flammable fluid, adapted to be mounted in a structure, made at least partially of electrically insulating material, capable of being subjected to electrical disturbances of atmospheric origin. Tube (3) comprises two endpieces (5) for joining made of electrically conductive material and a body (6). Tube body (6), of which at least the inner surface is electrically conductive over the major part of its length, presents at least one electrically insulating section (10). The tube particularly applicable as fuel conduits for aircraft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tube for the circulation of a flammable fluid, as well as to a conduit made from such tubes.
2. Background Art
The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to the tubes for the circulation of fuel in aircraft of which numerous structures, such as the tanks, are made at least partially of insulating composite material.
When a metallic fuel circuit is installed in a totally or partially insulating structure, such as a fuel tank made of composite material, and when said structure is struck by lightning, a considerable current of lightning risks circulating in the conduit which is a better conductor of electricity than the surrounding structure. This phenomenon presents considerable risks due to overheating or to sparks which may be produced at the different joints between conduit elements, during passage of the current.
Furthermore, the conduit of the fuel circuit must satisfy two requirements. The first is that of withstanding the mechanical efforts produced by the fuel or the deformations of the structure in which it is mounted. The second is that of evacuating the static electricity created by the circulation of the fuel - electrically insulating - at high speed in the conduit. These two functions are generally ensured when the tube is made of metal, which, on the other hand, presents, as has been seen hereinabove, risks in the event of the aircraft being struck by lightning.

Tube for the circulation of a flammable fluid, and conduit made from such tubes

Aerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle


An apparatus and method for monitoring the movement of eyeball comprises collecting an image frame of pupil; extracting a pupil pixel set (S); extracting a boundary value of the pupil pixel set; setting a center point based on the boundary value and dividing the pupil pixel set into four quadrant sets (S1, S2, S3 and S4); calculating the coordinate of cross points of the two straight lines and traversing points in the four quadrants, wherein the cross points form a pupil center coordinate set (S5); and calculating an average value of horizontal and vertical directions according to the pupil center coordinate set (S5).

In the medical field of otoneurology and vestibular function examination, benign positional paroxysmal vertigo (BPPV) pertains to a momentary dizziness induced when the head is moved to a specific position and also a self-limited peripheral vestibular disease. The BPPV has a relatively high incidence which is about 17-20% in all peripheral vertigo. Canalith repositioning procedure of the BPPV is mature and the success is in terms of accurate location on otolith and semicircular canal. Till now, both localization diagnosis and repositioning of the existing BPPV are based on eye movement of the patient through visual inspection of the doctor.
The localization diagnosis and repositioning of the existing BPPV have the following shortages:
1. In many cases, the eye movement is subtle and is neglected by naked eyes easily.
2. Results obtained by observing the eye movement directly by the naked eyes are rough, accompanied with the subjective judgment of the doctor and lacking in quantitative analysis method.
3. Image data of the eye movement of the patient during examination cannot be stored.
4. Without sufficient data during examination, preoperative and postoperative effects cannot be analyzed quantitatively.
5. Due to complex structure, the device cannot be used by the patient conveniently and is not applicable to clinical use.
Above-mentioned shortages in conventional method are easy to affect the localization diagnosis and repositioning of the BPPV. Therefore, a special method and a special device are required urgently to help doctor implement diagnosis and treatment accurately.

Eyeball movement monitoring method and device


A rotating electric machine comprises a stator having stator salient poles, three-phases windings wound around said stator salient poles, a rotor rotatable held inside the said stator, and permanent magnets inserted into said rotor and positioned opposite to said stator salient poles, wherein said three-phase windings are concentratively wound around each of said stator salient poles, said windings of each phase are wound around at more than one stator salient pole, and said windings of each phase have a phase difference of voltage between at least one of the windings and the other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a permanent magnet rotating electric machine and an electrically driven vehicle employing same.
2. Description of Related Art
Motors used in electrically driven vehicles, in particular, driving electric cars must ensure a sufficient running distance with a limited battery capacity, so that they are desired to be small, light-weight, and highly efficient.
For a motor to be small and light weight, it is required to be suitable for high speed rotation. In this regard, permanent magnet motors are advantageous over direct-current motors and induction motor.
Permanent magnet rotors are classified into a surface magnet rotor which has permanent magnets positioned along the outer periphery of the rotor and a so-called internal magnet rotor which has a permanent magnet holder within a core made of silicon steel or the like having a higher magnetic permeability than permanent magnets.
The surface magnet rotor is advantageous in ease of control, less influences by reactive magnetic flux of a stator winding, low noise, and so on. However, the surface magnet rotor also has several disadvantages such as requirement of reinforced magnets for high speed rotation, a narrow speed control range due to difficulties in field weakening control, a low efficiency in high speed and low load operations, and so on.
The internal magnet rotor, in turn, has advantages such as the capability of high speed rotation by field weakening control using magnetic pole pieces positioned along the outer periphery of magnets, the capability of highly efficient rotation in high speed and low load operations, utilization of reluctance torque, and so on.
Prior art internal magnet rotors are described, for example, in JP-A-5-219669, FIG. 5 of JP-A-7-39091.
Within large-size permanent magnet motors used in electric vehicles and so on, those having an internal permanent magnet rotor employ a distributed winding stator for their stator structure.
However, permanent magnet motors described in the prior art have a disadvantage that pulsating torque based on high frequency components of permanent magnets or auxiliary magnet poles is produced. Also, cogging torque is produced by influence of roughness and fineness of magnetic flux of stator salient poles and roughness and fineness of magnetic flux of permanent magnets, and smooth rotation of permanent magnet motors cannot be obtained. Further, since the distributed winding stator has elongated winding ends, this causes a limitation to reduction in size and weight of rotating electric machines employing a distributed winding stator.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a permanent magnet rotating electric machine which has small pulsating torque and cogging torque, and can be obtained smooth rotation thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a permanent magnet rotating electric machine having shortened winding ends, and having stator construction being capable to be small, light-weight.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect, the present invention provides a permanent magnet rotating electric machine comprising a stator having stator salient poles, three-phases windings wound around said stator salient poles, a rotor rotatably held inside the said stator, and permanent magnets inserted into said rotor and positioned opposite to said stator salient poles, wherein said three-phase windings are concentratively wound around each of said stator salient poles, said windings of each phase are wound around at more than one stator salient pole, and said windings of each phase have a phase difference of voltage between at least one of the windings and the other.
Preferably, the permanent magnet rotating electric machine satisfies M:P=6n:6nxc2x12, where M is the number of the stator salient poles, P is the number of the permanent magnets, and n is a positive integer.
Preferably, the permanent magnet rotating electric machine satisfies M:P=3n:3nxc2x11, where M is the number of the stator salient poles, P is the number of the permanent magnets of the rotor, and n is a positive integer.
Preferably, in the permanent magnet rotating electric machine, the number of poles of the permanent magnets is eight or more.
Preferably, in the permanent magnet rotating electric machine, a magnetic pole piece area of the rotor is projected toward the stator.
Preferably, in the permanent magnet rotating electric machine, a magnetic material having a higher magnetic impermeability than the permanent magnets is disposed between adjacent ones of the permanent magnets.
To achieve the above object, according to a second aspect, the present invention provides a permanent magnet rotating electric machine comprising a stator having stator salient poles, three-phases windings wound around said stator salient poles, a rotor rotatable held inside the said stator, and permanent magnets inserted into said rotor and positioned opposite to said stator salient poles, wherein said three-phase windings are concentratively wound around each of said stator salient poles.
To achieve the above object, according to an aspect, the present invention provides an electrically driven vehicle comprising a permanent magnet rotating electric machine being coupled to drive wheels comprising a stator having stator salient poles, three-phases windings wound around said stator salient poles, a rotor rotatable held inside the said stator, and permanent magnets inserted into said rotor and positioned opposite to said stator salient poles, and control means for supplying a voltage to said three-phase windings, wherein said three-phase windings are concentratively wound around each of said stator salient poles, said windings of each phase are wound around at more than one stator salient pole, and said control means supplies voltage which has a phase difference between at least one of the windings and the other among each phase of three-phase.

Permanent magnet rotating electric machine and electrically driven vehicle employing same


A cylinder lock system employing a key having a projection extending from each opposing parallel edge of the key blade, the projections respectively operating an auxiliary pin tumbler stack and cooperating with a groove in the lock shell to retain the key in the lock after plug rotation from the key insertion position. The key retaining projection also cooperates with the driver pin of the auxiliary pin tumbler stack to prevent key trapping, i.e., the presence and size of the retaining projections keeps the auxiliary driver pin from engaging the keyway. The cooperation between the key retaining projection and the auxiliary driver pin is permitted by providing the lock with two shear lines, located on different diameters, which are simultaneously operable by a single key.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pin tumbler-type cylinder locks and associated keys. More particularly, this invention is directed to enhancing the security afforded by cylinder locks and especially to enhancing the ability of such locks to resist operation by a key obtained from an unauthorized source. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved apparatus and methods of such character.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,575 discloses a novel cylinder lock and an associated key. The patented key, in addition to conventional bitting, is provided with a pair of projections on the opposite edges of the blade. These projections perform the dual function of operating an auxiliary pin tumbler stack, to permit rotation of the key and plug relative to the shell, and retaining the key in the keyway. The unique manner of implementation of the key retention function also reduces key and lock wear when force is imparted to the inserted key to move the door in which the lock is installed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,575 depicts a key wherein the bitting is in the form of depressions formed in the key blade, i.e., the patent depicts a "Kaba" type key. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, however, that the patented invention is equally applicable to a key wherein the bitting is, again by way of example only, in the form of conventional serrations in one or both edges of the key blade. Additionally, the patent depicts a reversible key, i.e., a key wherein the bitting is symmetrical and the two projections are of substantially the same size and shape. It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that the patented invention is applicable to a key and lock combination where the pin tumbler arrangement is not symmetrical and where the projections serve separate and discrete functions, i.e., one projection operates the auxiliary pin tumbler stack while the other projection is intended for key retention only.
The lock and key of U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,575 have enjoyed significant commercial success. The patented combination, however, lacks a capability which many purchasers of high security locks desire. This capability is known in the art as "trapping". With trapping capability, should an attempt be made to operate a lock with an unauthorized key, such key is captured in the lock if the attempt to rotate the plug relative to the shell proves successful. A "trapped" key may not be withdrawn from the keyway without disassembly of the lock and trapping will prevent further plug rotation.

Key unlocking and retaining method and apparatus


An apparatus and method for 3D rendering of a canvas and at least a first background in a ZUI environment are disclosed herein. Within a viewing window, display at least a portion of the canvas and at least a portion of the first background in parallax. Receive a user action taken on the viewing window that triggers a change in the displaying of the canvas and the first background. Calculate a first transform value and a first transparency value for the first background, in response to the received user action. Update the display of the canvas and the first background in response to the received user action, the canvas updated in accordance with the received user action and the first background updated in accordance with the first transform value and the first transparency value.

Content, such as text, images, video, graphics, or visual information, is created and/or displayed on two-dimensional (2D) screens. Background may be added to the content in order to facilitate overall visual presentation (e.g., provide a theme, add visual interest). When displaying content and background together in a 2D screen, there is a need to visually distinguish the content from the background. Otherwise the content and background may appear to be commingled together, and users have difficulty focusing on the content.
It would be beneficial to apply a three-dimensional (3D) effect for the content and background to visually distinguish the content from the background. It would be beneficial to apply one or more backgrounds at the same time to the content at anytime during creation or presentation of the content. It would further be beneficial to selectively apply a fade effect to the background(s). It would also be beneficial for 3D display of content and background to be automatically updated as content, background, and/or display parameters is updated. It would further be beneficial for computations to provide 3D display of the content and background to be quick and simple while providing a realistic 3D effect.
The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used.


A method of shaping a substrate in one embodiment includes providing a first support layer, providing a first shaping pattern on the first support layer, providing a substrate on the first shaping pattern, performing a first chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process on the substrate positioned on the first shaping pattern, and removing the once polished substrate from the first shaping pattern.

Semiconductor substrates are used in a wide variety of applications. One such application is in the formation of micromechanical electrical system (MEMS) devices. As the need for increased complexity of the physical structure of MEMS devices has increased, a number of different shaping processes have been developed. Three major categories of shaping processes are bulk micromachining of silicon, surface micromachining, and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). Each of these processes has unique benefits and capabilities. For example, DRIE processes provide very steep sidewalls which are useful in minimizing device footprint.
Typically, the processes used in shaping a substrate allow for highly complex shapes to be defined in the plane of the substrate. For example, circles, squares, and lines can be defined by processes such as lithography on a substrate surface and then etching processes can be used to remove material not covered by the lithographic layer. The shape of the substrate in a cross sectional plane, however, is constrained by the particular material removal process. Thus, DRIE provides substantially vertical sidewalls while chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) provides a substantially horizontal surface.
Curved shapes in the cross sectional plane, however, are less deterministic. For example, etching can be used to generate a curved shape. Control of the etching process, however, is difficult. Thus, precise location and shape of a curved sidewall using an etching process is problematic.
What is needed, therefore, is a method for providing a curved shape in a cross sectional plane of a substrate. A method that can be used to provide precisely positioned and dimensioned curved shapes in a cross sectional plane is also needed.

Method of forming non-planar membranes using CMP


Methods and apparatus for forming devices using nanotubes. In one embodiment, an apparatus for depositing nanotubes onto a workpiece comprises a vessel configured to contain a deposition fluid having a plurality of nanotubes including first nanotubes having a first characteristic and second nanotubes having a second characteristic. The apparatus further includes a sorting unit in the vessel configured to selectively isolate or otherwise sort the first nanotubes from the second nanotubes, and a field unit in the vessel configured to attach the first nanotubes to the workpiece. For example, the field unit can attach the first nanotubes to the workpiece such that the first nanotubes are at least generally parallel to each other and in a desired orientation relative to the workpiece.

Nanotubes have one or more sheet-like matrices of carbon atoms configured into cylinders having one or more walls. Different types of nanotubes can have different properties. For example, nanotubes can be conductive, dielectric, or semiconductive. Nanotubes can accordingly be transistors, emitters, interconnects, or other components used in memory devices, displays, or other products. One challenge of using nanotubes is depositing the desired type of nanotubes onto a workpiece so that the nanotubes are in a desired configuration.
One process for depositing nanotubes onto a workpiece is to suspend the nanotubes in a solution, immerse the workpiece in the solution, and then remove the workpiece. After the workpiece is removed from the solution, the liquid evaporates and the nanotubes remain on the surface of the workpiece. The surface of the workpiece can have hydrophilic regions where the solution preferentially remains on the workpiece surface after removing the workpiece from the solution to deposit the nanotubes only on the hydrophilic regions. One drawback of this process is that the nanotubes are typically in a random configuration on the workpiece. Another problem with this process is that all the different types of nanotubes in the solution are typically deposited onto the surface of the workpiece. As such, this process may not provide the desired arrangement and/or types of nanotubes on a workpiece.
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) processes similar to those used to deposit materials in the fabrication of semiconductor devices can be used to deposit nanotubes. CVD processes, however, also typically deposit the nanotubes in a random configuration. As such, one drawback of this process is that the nanotubes may not be arranged in the desired configuration on the workpiece.
Still another process for depositing nanotubes is to electroplate the nanotubes onto a workpiece. One such process immerses a workpiece in an electrolyte having a plurality of nanotubes and establishes an electrical field between the workpiece and a counter-electrode. The electrical field attaches the nanotubes to the workpiece such that the nanotubes are generally parallel to the direction of the electrical field. As a result, the nanotubes are typically parallel to each other and perpendicular to the workpiece. Although electroplating nanotubes onto workpieces can arrange the nanotubes in a desired configuration (e.g., parallel to each other), different types of nanotubes in a plating solution are generally plated onto the workpiece. As a result, undesired nanotubes may be deposited onto the workpiece along with desired nanotubes.

Methods and apparatus for sorting and/or depositing nanotubes


A method of stimulation therapy and an apparatus for providing the therapy which addresses cardiac dysfunction including heart failure. The therapy employs atrial pacing pulses delivered to a heart after the atrial refractory period and timed so that they will not cause a ventricular contraction. These atrial pacing are timed to achieve beneficial effects on myocardial mechanics (efficacy) while maintaining an extremely low level of risk of arrhythmia induction. These methods may be employed individually or in combinations in an external or implantable ESS therapy delivery device.

Millions of patients in the U.S. have been diagnosed with heart failure. Heart failure (HF) is not a specific disease, but rather a compilation of signs and symptoms, all of which are caused by an inability of the heart to appropriately increase cardiac output during exertion. HF may be caused by chronic hypertension, ischemia, tachyarrhythmias, infarct or idiopathic cardiomyopathy. The cardiac diseases associated with symptoms of congestive failure include dilated cardiomyopathy, restrictive/constrictive cardiomyopathy, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The classical symptoms of the disease include shortness of breath, edema, and overwhelming fatigue. As the disease progresses, the lack of cardiac output may contribute to the failure of other body organs, leading to cardiogenic shock, arrhythmias, electromechanical dissociation, and death.
Delivering pacing during the refractory period is a type of non-excitatory stimulation (NES) that causes the release of catecholamines such as norepinephrine within the tissue of the heart. This chemical release results in an increased contractility of the cardiac tissue, which in turn, results in increased cardiac output, fewer symptoms of heart failure and improved exertional capacity.
The treatment of severe cardiac dysfunction and decompensated heart failure may include inotropic drug therapies such as the catecholamines dopamine and dobutamine or phosphodiesterase inhibitors milrinone or aminone. Although these agents may be beneficial in specific settings, they require administration of a drug, often by intravenous route, with systemic side effects and the time-consuming involvement of skilled clinicians. Electrical stimulation therapies are attractive alternatives because they may be administered by implanted or external devices very shortly after dysfunction appears or worsens and because their actions may be confined to the heart.
Delivering stimulation during the refractory period is a type of non-excitatory stimulation (NES) also denoted herein as refractory period stimulation (RPS) causes release of catecholamines such as norepinephrine within the tissue of the heart. This chemical release (modulated or regulated as described herein) results from selective electrical stimulation of innervated portions of the myocardial substrate. Because the electrical stimulation is delivered during the non-excitatory or refractory period wherein the discrete myocytes cannot contract, only the interstitial nerve fibers effectively receive stimulation. This results in increased contractility of the cardiac tissue which, in turn, results in increased pressure or flow, fewer symptoms of heart failure, and improved exertional capacity. NES neurostimulation employs one or more pulses applied shortly after a sensed depolarization or an initial pacing pulse is delivered and a resulting ventricular contraction occurs. These NES pulses are delivered during the refractory period of the cardiac tissue such that they do not result in another mechanical contraction or electrical depolarization.
Another type of electrical stimulation can be provided during the nonrefractory period of the cardiac cycle. This type of stimulation results in an additional electrical depolarization and, when appropriately timed, results in post extrasystolic potentiation (RPS). The additional depolarization, coming shortly after a first depolarization, is likely not associated with a sizable mechanical contraction. The contractility of subsequent cardiac cycles is increased as described in detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,098. The mechanism is understood to depend on calcium cycling within the myocytes. The early extrasystole tries to initiate calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) too early and as a result does not release much calcium. However, the SR continues to take up further calcium with the result that the subsequent cardiac cycle causes a large release of calcium from the SR and the myocyte contracts more vigorously. Excitatory RPS stimulation requires an extra electrical depolarization that is accompanied by a small mechanical contraction.
Another known treatment for HF patients involves using atrioventricular (AV) synchronous pacing systems, including DDD and DDDR pacing devices, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices, and defibrillation systems, to treat certain patient groups suffering heart failure symptoms. These systems generally pace or sense in both the right atrium and right ventricle to synchronize contractions and contribute to ventricular filling. Cardiac resynchronization devices extend dual chamber pacing to biventricular pacing to achieve better filling and a more coordinated contraction of the left and right ventricles. These pacing therapies result in greater pulse pressure, increased dP/dt, and improved cardiac output. However, determining the appropriate pacing parameters is difficult. For example, optimizing the length of the AV delay requires obtaining pressure data involving an extensive patient work-up as set forth in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,623. These pacing systems may also include atrial and ventricular defibrillators or other therapies for tachyarrhythmias. As a direct result of a tachycardia or as a sequela, cardiac function may deteriorate to the point of greatly reduced cardiac output and elevated diastolic pressure. Rapid termination of tachycardias prevents worsening of heart failure.
The above-described therapies, including pacing, CRT, NES, and defibrillation capability, may be used alone or in combination to treat cardiac dysfunction including HF. However, prior art systems have not achieved a comprehensive therapy regimen that coordinates these mechanisms in a manner that is both safe and effective. Delivery of electrical stimulation as the heart tissue is becoming non-refractory can trigger a tachyarrhythmia. This is particularly true if multiple high-amplitude pacing pulses are utilized. A second problem may be a shift in the magnitude of resulting potentiation or refractory interval due to the course of disease or medication. These may lead to unacceptable levels of potentiation performance, or loss of effect altogether. Therefore, readily obtaining the appropriate timing parameters associated with this type of therapy is essential.
What is needed is a system and method that combines the known therapies available for treating cardiac dysfunction including HF in a manner that optimizes mechanical function or cardiac output, while also minimizing any risks associated with possibly inducing an arrhythmia.
As discussed herein and in the related, incorporated-by-reference applications, an RSP therapy involves providing one or more pulses (e.g., one to a plurality of electrical pulses having programmable values, such as for instance 50 Hz pulse(s) with a pulse amplitude of 4-10 volts, nominal pulse width of 1 to 3 ms) during the refractory period of at least one ventricle. The pulses are delivered such that the ventricles do not experience a second depolarization following delivery of the pulse(s). The RPS therapy increases contractile function and stroke volume on subsequent contractions. The magnitude of the enhanced function is dependent on simulation timing, location, waveform characteristics, duration and frequency of RPS therapy delivery and the like. The delivery location can include multi-site locations within one or both ventricles (or via a coronary vein, a pericardial location, and/or single ventricular sites. The pulse or pulses can be bi-polar or uni-polar and the vectors of said pulse(s) can vary between any available electrodes.

Secure and efficacious therapy delivery for a pacing engine


[Object] To easily search a plurality of captured images for a captured image in which a subject to be imaged that has once appeared in a captured image appears again is desired.

There is a service of taking a commemorative picture in which a visitor at a facility appears and providing the picture for the visitor, such as a service of taking a commemorative picture in a recreational facility, for example. In such a service, in order to easily associate many visitors and many commemorative pictures having been taken, a technology for issuing electronic tags for visitors in advance and performing association with generated pictures utilizing the electronic tags has been proposed (see Patent Literature 1 below, for example).

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract: [Solution] An information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: a reading unit configured to read, from a recording unit configured to record radio wave information concerning a radio wave, a captured image, and a time at which the captured image is taken in correlation with one another, the radio wave information; and a searching unit configured to search a plurality of the captured images recorded in the recording unit for a captured image that satisfies a search condition on a basis of at least one of a number of radio waves included in the read radio wave information and an intensity of the radio waves.


A medium feeding system for a hardcopy apparatus comprising: a revolving arrangement for supporting a roll of medium, the revolving arrangement comprising a friction ring, the friction ring rotating around a friction ring rotation axis; and a braking element comprising two pivotally arranged jaws, whereby the friction ring is bitten by said jaws; whereby the braking element is rotatable around the friction ring rotation axis; and means to push the jaws against the friction ring; and means to pull the jaws away from the friction ring; whereby the means to pull the jaws away from the friction ring are triggered by the rotation of the friction ring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hardcopy apparatus, such as copiers, printers, scanners, and facsimiles, and more particularly to improved media advancing devices for such apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In hardcopy apparatuses and particularly in apparatuses handling media of large size, such as large format printers, a printed medium is fed to the printer from a roll of medium, the roll of medium being submitted to a braking force in order to ensure that a back-tension is maintained on the medium in order to avoid misalignments which may be caused by loose medium feeding. Conventional braking devices use a friction torque for this purpose, employing for example a braking shoe applying a predetermined braking force such as disclosed in EP 0 905 072 A1 in order to apply such a friction torque.
The friction torque is dependent on the amount of braking force applied, but also on the coefficient of friction at the zone of friction considered. The coefficient of friction itself is highly dependent on the type of medium used as well as on the conditions at the zone of friction. During use, it is for example common that dirt gets deposited at the zone of friction, for example. The consequence is that the friction torque varies which in turn means that the back-tension on the roll of media can become inappropriate.
An object of the present invention is to achieve a braking effect which remains significantly constant over time and usage and hence provide a predictable tension of the medium regardless of the variation of the coefficient of friction at the zone of friction on the roll.
The present invention provides an improved method of feeding a medium as well as an improved medium feeding system.

Method of feeding a medium and medium feeding system

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Compositions and methods are provided for loop mediated isothermal amplification in which single stranded binding proteins are shown to protect primers from non-specific extension and to stimulate the rate of threshold amplification.

Amplification of target nucleic acids is a fundamental method in modern molecular biology and diagnostics. Factors that adversely affect the outcome of amplification reactions include: extension of primers due to non-specific template annealing during amplification, resulting in false positives (Schlotterer and Tautz, Nucleic Acids Research, 20 (2):211-215 (1992); Ogata and Miura, Nucleic Acids Research, 26(20):4657-4661 (1998); Brukner, et al. Analytical Biochemistry, 339:345-347 (2005)); reduced amplification reaction efficiency and rate due to primer or template secondary structure; and variability of amplification due to primer dimer formation. The effects of these factors are enhanced by room temperature (RT) incubation of complete reaction mixtures prior to placement at specified reaction temperature. This would occur, for example, when large numbers of samples are prepared at one time necessitating a certain amount of sample incubation at RT. Therefore, high-throughput and diagnostic applications are often negatively impacted by reaction set-up at RT. This is a significant issue for molecular diagnostic applications, which, demands a high level of consistency and accuracy.
Various amplification methods are currently utilized in molecular diagnostics. A popular isothermal amplification diagnostic method is loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) (Notomi, et al. Nucleic Acids Research, 28(12):e63 (2000)). Typically, LAMP employs a DNA polymerase and a set of four to six synthetic primers that recognize a total of six distinct sequences on the target DNA. Recognizing six distinct sequences makes LAMP extremely specific for a target sequence. Despite the specificity of LAMP, it is adversely affected by unwanted, non-specific primer extension reactions during reaction set-up at RT.

Reducing template independent primer extension and threshold time for loop mediated isothermal amplification


The present application discloses a modular broadband light source and includes at least one lamp housing defining at least one lamp body receiver having at least one outlet port formed on the lamp housing, at least one lamp body insert positionable within the body insert receiver and configured to detachably couple to the lamp housing, at least one thermal managing assembly coupled to the lamp body insert and defining a lamp receiving area, at least one Xenon arc lamp positionable in the lamp receiving area and in communication with the outlet port on the lamp housing, at least one processor device coupled to at least one of the at least one lamp housing, the at least one lamp body insert and the at least one Xenon arc lamp.

Broadband, incoherent or low-coherence light sources are presently used in a wide variety of applications. One common application is renewable energy research such as photovoltaic testing and characterization, where these broadband sources operate as solar simulators configured to replicate the broad spectral output emitted by the Sun. In addition, solar simulators are also used to test sunscreens, protective coatings, and eyewear. Other applications for these devices are absorption and fluorescence spectral scanning.
Many of these light sources utilize Xenon arc lamps, Mercury arc lamps, Xenon-Mercury arc lamps, Deuterium arc lamps and other broadband sources, depending on the end use application. While the use of arc lamps as broadband sources has proven useful, a number of shortcomings have been identified. For example, the operating lifetime of these arc lamps is limited, thereby requiring replacement of the arc lamp on a regular basis. Installation of new arc lamps into the lighting system can be both difficult and time consuming. Also, arc lamp failure can happen without warning, making anticipation of replacement difficult.
In light of the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for a modular arc lamp insert with a cumulative lamp run-time tracker and pre-aligned optics that is easily replaceable.

Modular broadband light source with lamp insert and methods of use


The invention relates to an apparatus for finding a parked vehicle again. According to the invention, a portable unit is provided with a pressure sensor whose signals can be evaluated by an evaluation and control unit in order to determine the current air pressure, with the evaluation and control unit evaluating the determined air pressure in order to determine altitude, and storing a first air pressure value as a reference value at a predeterminable first time, which reference value represents an instantaneous altitude of a geographic position of the parked vehicle, with the evaluation and control unit estimating a height difference between a current geographic position of the portable unit and the geographic position of the parked vehicle at a second time, and/or continuously from a pressure difference between the determined current air pressure value and the reference value.

The invention relates to an apparatus for finding a parked vehicle again, as claimed in the preamble of patent claim 1.
The subject matter of the invention application is the relatively daily problem which occurs when someone has parked a vehicle in a large multistory car park and cannot find it again after visiting a supermarket, a cinema, after work or after traveling. A similar search can arise with car rental companies, company transport pools and large car workshops with a multistory car park.
Laid-open specification DE 10 2004 023 939 A1 describes a key for locking a lock, by means of which the lock can be found again after a relatively long time. The described key has a device for storage of the position of the lock, as well as an output apparatus for outputting the position. The position data is preferably determined using a global positioning system (GPS). A communication link with a satellite system must be ensured for this purpose.
DE 10111552 A1 discloses a mobile transponder which contains a GPS receiver by means of which this determines the position at which the transponder is located. Direction information is determined from the comparison of this position with the position of the vehicle, and is indicated.
DE 198 20 921 A1 discloses a mobile transponder for vehicles which receive a signal originating from the vehicle and use this to identify direction information about the location of the vehicle with respect to the mobile transponder. This direction information is indicated on a display in the mobile transponder.
Laid-open specification DE 34 39 644 A1 describes an altimeter for motor vehicles. The described altimeter has an air-pressure measurement device which supplies a corresponding electrical measured value, with this measured value being linked in an evaluation circuit with a reference variable that is stored in a memory, and with a drive signal, which corresponds to the current altitude value, being derived from this for a display unit. An altitude value that has been entered via a keyboard or the current altitude value most recently displayed on the display unit can be written as a reference variable to the memory, so that greater measurement accuracy can be achieved by repeated adjustment.
The object of the invention is to specify an apparatus for finding a parked vehicle again, which in particular makes it possible to find a floor level in a multistory car park or in an underground garage in which the vehicle is parked.
The invention achieves this object by the provision of an apparatus for finding a parked vehicle again, having the features of patent claim 1.
Advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.
According to the invention, an apparatus for finding a parked vehicle again comprises a portable unit with a pressure sensor whose signals can be evaluated by an evaluation and control unit in order to determine the current air pressure, with the evaluation and control unit evaluating the determined air pressure in order to determine altitude, and storing a first air pressure value as a reference value at a predeterminable first time which reference value represents an instantaneous altitude of a geographic position of the parked vehicle. The evaluation and control unit estimates a height difference between a current geographic position of the portable unit and the geographic position of the parked vehicle at a second time, and/or continuously from a pressure difference between the determined current air pressure value and the reference value. The apparatus according to the invention advantageously makes it possible to determine the floor level in a multistory car park and/or in an underground garage in which the vehicle being looked for is parked. Furthermore, the apparatus according to the invention can be implemented at low cost and in a physically small manner by the use of appropriate pressure sensors.
In a refinement of the apparatus according to the invention for finding a parked vehicle again, a vehicle-end unit is provided with a pressure sensor whose signals can be evaluated by a vehicle-end evaluation and control unit in order to determine the current air pressure. The vehicle-end evaluation and control unit evaluates the determined air pressure in order to determine the altitude, and stores a first air pressure value as a reference value, relating to the predeterminable first time, which reference value represents the instantaneous altitude of the geographical position of the parked vehicle. A communication path is advantageously set up between a portable unit in the vehicle in order to interchange information between a communication unit and the portable unit and a vehicle-end communication unit.
In a further refinement of the apparatus according to the invention for finding a parked vehicle again, the portable unit and the vehicle-end unit are matched to one another via the communication path at the first time such that the same first air pressure value is stored as the reference value at the first time in the evaluation and control unit in the portable unit and in the vehicle-end evaluation and control unit. The evaluation and control unit in the portable unit receives the reference value, which is stored in the vehicle-end evaluation and control unit, at the second time via the communication path to determine the altitude difference. The vehicle-end evaluation and control unit can update the first air pressure value stored as the stored reference value as required and/or continuously by renewed evaluation of the signals from the vehicle-end pressure sensor. This makes it possible to compensate in an advantageous manner for weather-dependent air pressure fluctuations in the altitude determination.
In a further refinement of the apparatus according to the invention, the evaluation and control unit in the portable unit determines a floor-level difference in a multistory car park from the altitude difference determined at the second time, and emits the determined altitude difference. The evaluation and control unit in the portable unit uses, for example, an average value for the altitude of a multistory car park floor level to convert the determined altitude difference to the floor level difference. By way of example, the portable unit is in the form of an electronic vehicle key. The first time may, for example, be defined by a locking process of the parked vehicle. The second time may, for example, be defined by a control action which can be carried out via the portable unit. The control action comprises, for example, a predeterminable number of operations or one operation for a predeterminable time period of at least one control element which is arranged on the portable unit. In order to ensure that the vehicle can be found only by the person with the key, the communication path can, for example, allow only coded information transmission between the vehicle-end unit and the associated portable unit.
In a further refinement of the apparatus according to the invention, the vehicle-end unit and/or the portable unit have/has means for temperature compensation. This advantageously makes it possible to avoid temperature influences affecting the measurement of the air pressure.
In order to determine the precise vehicle position on the correct floor level once that floor level has been found, the apparatus according to the invention can be combined with means which allow two-dimensional location of the vehicle in a large parking lot or on one floor level of a multistory car park or an underground garage.
There are now various possible ways to refine and to develop the teaching of the present invention in an advantageous manner. For this purpose, reference is made on the one hand to the dependent claims and on the other hand to the following explanation of embodiments. The advantageous refinements which result from any desired combination of the dependent claims should also be included.

Arrangement for locating a parked vehicle


The arrangement uses a portable data carrier in the form of a plastic card, which has several magnetic tracks for containing data. The stored data can consist of the degree of correlation between a fingerprint of the authorized individual and a stored and selected reference signal image and the code number of this reference signal image. Further, use of a so-called characteristic number is possible. A fingerprint detection terminal with a sensor contains a memory in which the selected reference signal image is stored. The sensor compares the actual fingerprint of an individual to be checked with the corresponding reference signal image identified on the plastic card and stored in the fingerprint detection terminal. The thus determined degree of correlation is, in turn, compared to the degree of correlation stored on the plastic card and, as a function of the result of this comparison, an appropriate decision signal is released. The data are written on the plastic card in such a way, that based on the data alone no unambiguous conclusion concerning the identity of the individual is possible.

Use of plastic cards as badges for entering and leaving access controlled areas or as "substitute money" in the form of check cards, bank cards, credit cards etc. is widespread and still increasing because of the automation of financial transaction methods. For storing data these cards in general contain magnetic strips. A significant problem associated with the use of cards of this nature is their unlawful use and the high monetary losses arising as a consequence of this unlawful use. In order to prevent such unlawful use, it is necessary to confirm that the person actually in possession of the card is the person authorized to have it.
It is known to use fingerprint verification systems for identity checks as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,670 or in German Patent No. 27 40 483. In the identification process, the fingerprints are examined for certain characteristics of details of skin structures (island crossings of the dermal grooves, vortices, etc.) and the characteristic sequence of the features compared with a stored quantity and sequence and the identity of an individual determined as a function of them. To this end, terminals with fingerprint sensors are used, which are connected to a central numerical processor because of the large quantity of data involved.
Use of terminals connected to central numerical processors makes widespread use of such an identification system less feasible. In addition, a system using a central numerical processor is susceptible to interferences, expensive and difficult to handle.
A further problem is data security. Thus, when using plastic cards, precautions must be taken to make the stored data inaccessible to unauthorized personnel.
The fact that fingerprint identification systems in use until now attempted to determine the identity of the individual i.e. to derive from the fingerprints themselves the identity of the individual, these identification systems, therefore, ran counter to the desire for data protection in the application of the fingerprint identification systems for check cards, credit cards, etc.
It is therefore one object of the invention to make available an arrangement and a procedure of a high rate of accuracy for determining whether individuals are authorized users of information carrying cards by checking fingerprints independently of a central data processing facility. Another object is that, for reasons of data protection, the arrangement and the process should be such that unambiguous identity determination solely on the basis of fingerprints is not possible.

Arrangement and procedure for determining the authorization of individuals by verifying their fingerprints


Methods, apparatus, and systems for using multiple one-time passwords (OTPs) to authenticate a user to access goods or services provided by a single service provider. An electronic computing device associated with the user may include multiple OTP generators for generating multiple OTPs, where each OTP is associated with an OTP identifier that uniquely identifies the OTP from other OTPs. The electronic computing device sends OTP information including the generated OTP and OTP identifier to an authentication server which determines whether a stored OTP corresponding to the received OTP identifier matches the received OTP and, if there is a match, authenticates the user to access goods or services from a single service provider.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to authentication of users of computing devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to authentication using one-time passwords (OTPs) where multiple OTPs (or OTP Tokens) are issued to a user from a single service provider.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the rapid rise of network threats has exposed the inadequacies of static passwords as the primary form of authentication over the Internet. As an alternative, OTPs are emerging as a popular form of authentication for securing network access.
OTPs avoid a number of shortcomings that are associated with traditional (static) passwords. Most importantly, the OTPs are not vulnerable to replay attacks. On the downside, OTPs cannot be memorized by human beings. There are different ways to make the user aware of the next OTP to use. Some systems use special electronic tokens (e.g., a key fob) that the user carries and that generates OTPs and displays them to the user on a small display. Other systems consist of software that runs on the user's mobile telephone, computer, PDA, or other computing device that generates and displays the OTPs to the user. Still other systems generate OTPs on the server-side and send the OTPs to the requesting user using an out-of-band channel, such as SMS messaging. An application accesses the OTPs received out-of-band and presents or displays them to the user. Finally, in some systems, OTPs are printed on paper that the user is required to carry with him or her. Regardless of the approach used, the term "token" as used herein indicates the user-side component that generates, displays, and/or presents the OTPs to the user, irrespective of whether the component is implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
OTP technology relies on coordination or synchronization between the device generating the OTP for the user and the server that is verifying the OTP. Typically, in cases where the OTP is being generated at the user side (e.g., on or using the token) and the server side independently, the coordination consists of a secret and a current counter value. The counter value is what changes each time a new OTP is generated. The OTP is generated in a cryptographically secure manner using both the secret and the counter value.
The passwords themselves may be generated in one of two ways: either as time-synchronized passwords or counter-synchronized passwords. Time-synchronized OTPs use the current time to derive the counter and are subject to problems caused by clock skew. That is, if the authentication server and the user token don't keep the same time, then the expected OTP value won't be produced and the user authentication will fail. So, this technique requires a reliable time source at the user end which is difficult in the case of software implementations running on hand-held devices or computers that are not time-synced accurately. A counter-synchronized OTP solution synchronizes a counter between the electronic computing device and the server. Each time an OTP is generated, the token increments the internal counter value by one. On the server, for each successful authentication, the server also increments its counter value by one. In this way, the token's and the server's counter values stay synchronized in lock step and will typically generate the same one-time password. Counter based tokens may get out of sync if the token is asked to generate several OTPs that are never actually used in authentication attempts. Then the token's counter value is increased while the server's counter value is not increased, leading to a synchronization problem. When a synchronization problem occurs, a token-generated OTP may fail an authentication attempt because the server doesn't recognize the token-generated OTP.
Regardless of how passwords are generated, OTPs today are deficient in that they are typically suitable only for use in scenarios where an issuer (such as a bank) issues a single OTP to a user, and the user may then use that single OTP to access goods or services provided by that issuer. In some cases, a user may have multiple OTPs, but each OTP is only operable to access goods or services provided by one service provider. None of the known techniques for generating OTPs consider situations where an issuer desires to issue multiple OTPs to a single user for accessing goods or services from a single service provider, nor do they consider the problems that arise in such situations or potential solutions for addressing such problems.

Authentication using one-time passwords and associated indicia for plural sequences


An autofocus actuator is provided with a yoke 320 that comprises an inner cylindrical portion 321 defining an insertion bore 35 through which a hollow body portion of a holder is adapted to be received and an outer cylindrical portion 322 provided outside of the inner cylindrical portion with a predetermined spacing left between the inner cylindrical portion and the outer cylindrical portion by a connecting portion 324. Four tab-shaped portions 325 are integrally formed with an end surface of the outer cylindrical portion 322 of the yoke in such a manner that the tab-shaped portions remain flush with the end surface of the outer cylindrical portion and extend outwardly from the outer cylindrical portion. The tab-shaped portions 325 are so formed as to leave a concave portion 327 between the adjacent tab-shaped portions. This assures that the tab-shaped portion 325 can make contact with a leaf spring in a broader area, thus enabling the leaf spring to be reliably bonded to the yoke 320. Moreover, the yoke 320 can be aligned with ease by disposing a part of a support frame within the concave portions 327 formed between the adjacent tab-shaped portions 325.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an autofocus actuator, and more specifically to an autofocus actuator that can be employed in digital cameras or other small-sized electronic apparatuses equipped with a camera, e.g., cellular phones.
2. Description of the Related Art
In digital cameras, an actuator that can displace a lens in an optical axis direction is employed for the sake of autofocusing and zooming operations. This type of actuator is adapted to displace the lens in the optical axis direction by virtue of an interaction between the magnetic field generated by the electricity flowing through a coil and the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. In recent years, a need exists for the function of autofocus even in a camera mounted to cellular phones, because the number of pixels of a picture-taking element for use in the cellular phone camera tends to increase up to the order of mega pixels greater than one million.
One example of conventional autofocus actuators is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-295033. This autofocus actuator is comprised of a front lens, a front support frame for supporting the front lens, a front coil attached to the front support frame, a front spring affixed to the front support frame, a rear lens, a rear support frame for supporting the rear lens, a rear coil attached to the rear support frame, a rear spring affixed to the rear support frame, a magnet, a magnet support member and a yoke. The front coil is disposed in the outer gap between the magnet and the yoke, while the rear coil is located in the inner gap between the magnet and the yoke. Applying electric current to the front coil enables the front lens to move into a position where the front lens keeps in balance with the resilient force of the front spring. Likewise, applying electric current to the rear coil can bring the rear lens into a position where the rear lens keeps in balance with the resilient force of the rear spring.
The conventional actuator referred to above is of such construction that electricity is supplied to the coils via the front spring and the rear spring. This means that electrode portions for the coils and the power source should be provided on the front spring and the rear spring, respectively. In order to form such electrode portions, the front spring and the rear spring have to be subjected to bending process. A need of such bending process reduces the yield rate or productivity of the springs.
Furthermore, it is necessary to insulate the springs from other components due to the fact that coils or lead wires are directly soldered to the springs themselves for electric connection. This poses a drawback in that the number of parts of the actuator is increased.
Moreover, the front spring and the rear spring are of mutually different shape, which disadvantageously leads to an increased manufacturing cost of the springs.
In order to solve the problems noted above, the inventor of the subject application has conceived an autofocus actuator as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 14.
The problems existed in the conventional actuators can be overcome by the actuator shown in FIGS. 1 through 14. This actuator uses a pair of leaf springs (gimbal springs) that are respectively sandwiched between the opposite end surfaces of a yoke and the corresponding support frames and bonded thereto with an adhesive. However, as will be described later in details, one of the end surfaces of the yoke is formed from an end surface of an outer cylindrical portion of the yoke, and thus its bonding area to which the leaf spring is to be bonded is extremely small. Therefore, sufficient bonding strength can be not be obtained between the yoke and the spring. In case that a shock is inadvertently applied to the autofocus actuator, the leaf springs may be detached or dislocated. Therefore, it would be desirable to avoid such problem as far as possible.
In addition, the actuator referred to hereinabove requires the use of a gig or the like in the process of assembly to align the yoke with the support frame, thus making the assembly process troublesome. Therefore, it would also be desirable to avoid such a problem.


Connection device for two furniture parts which have to be interconnected, with a first connection portion which is realized at least as a spreading system and which is intended for being provided in a recess in a first furniture part, with a second connection portion which is intended for extending outside of the recess for cooperating with a second furniture part in this manner, as well as an activation mechanism for activating the spreading system, wherein the spreading system comprises at least two mutually rotatable parts, a first part and a second part, respectively, wherein the mutual rotation of which, in function of the realized mutual angle position, effects a spreading effect.

1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to a connection device for two furniture parts which have to be interconnected, as well as to a piece of furniture applying such connection device. Further, it also relates to a method for interconnecting two furniture parts.
More particularly, it relates to a connection device for two furniture parts which have to be interconnected, of the type consisting at least of a first connection portion which is realized at least as a spreading system and which is intended for being provided in a recess in a first furniture part, a second connection portion which is intended for extending outside of the recess for cooperating with a second furniture part in this manner, as well as an activation mechanism for activating the spreading system.
2. Related art
An example of a device of such type is known, amongst others, from the patent application EP 0.940.587.

Connection device for two furniture parts to be connected to each other, as well as piece of furniture which uses such connection device


Systems and methods for display of information for clinical use. The method is executable by a processor of a computer system and comprises: (i) receiving data, by the processor, from a communication network comprising: a first reader, a second reader and a wireless sensor network (WSN) router, (ii) based on the received data, determining at least one of a position and an orientation of a given element of the plurality of elements, (iii) in response to the determined at least one of the position and the orientation, causing to be displayed, on a display communicatively coupled to the computer system, predetermined information associated with the determined at least one of a position and an orientation.

Typically, in clinical environments such as operating rooms (ORs), one or more users (e.g., clinician, surgeon, surgical assistant, nurse, patient, trainee clinician, etc.) must refer to many different types of visual patient information during a medical procedure. Visual patient information may include images and videos of the patient or body parts of the patient acquired by imaging equipment, such as one or more of magnetic resonance imaging equipment, computed tomography scanning equipment, x-ray equipment, three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound equipment, endoscopic equipment, 3D computer modeling equipment, patient monitoring equipment. Visual patient information may also include test results, such as those printed on paper, or displayed on a screen as retrieved from a medical records database. As well, visual information may also include procedure-related information, such as those printed on paper, or displayed on a screen as retrieved from surgical/medical technique protocol database The visual patient information assists the one or more user (such as the surgeon and the surgical assistant) to plan for and execute the medical procedure.
ORs therefore typically include many displays positioned at various locations for displaying the visual patient information during the medical procedure to the users. For example, there may be one or more displays hung from a ceiling, mounted on a wall, and/or supported on a cart of the OR. However, positioning all the displays for convenient viewing by all necessary users at all time points during the medical procedure is difficult, if not impossible. Furthermore, the necessity, for a single user, to frequently shift their focal reference between remotely located multiple displays as well as the patient often can cause fatigue in that user and have a deleterious effect on quality of the procedure. Moreover, a given display of the patient information may require mental translation between an orientation of an anatomy of the patient information shown on the display and the orientation of the actual anatomy of the patient can be particularly difficult, prone to errors, or inefficiently time-consuming for the users during the medical procedure.
Finally, locating the precise location on the patient from the patient information on the display can also be difficult. For example, it can be difficult for the user to identify where a particular location within a displayed x-ray or other image corresponds to on the patient. Moreover, the user may have used a 3D anatomical model to practice before the medical procedure, but may not be able to effectively use the model during the medical procedure because of the inherent difficulty of relating the model to the patient in real-time.
It is desired to provide alternative and/or improved methods and systems for causing display of information for clinical use.

Systems and methods for displaying predetermined information for clinical use


An implant system comprising a dental implant, a holding element is provided with non-rotational joint means adapted to avoid relative rotation of the holding element with respect to the implant, and a clamping element adapted to steady retain the holding element close to said implant. The system further comprises release means provided on the clamping element and suitable to interact with release means provided on a separating tool, so that acting on the separating tool the implant can be released from the holding element without transferring damaging forces such as torsional, tensile or compressive forces, to the implant.

Generally, implants are used in dental surgery or in bone surgery to reconstruct teeth or bone parts of a human being. Usually, implants are intended to be inserted by screwing or pressing into a receiving bore which has been prepared e.g. in the bone tissue. The preparation consists of a conventional surgical procedure. For applications in the dental sector, usually an incision is made along the gingival tissue at the position where the implant is going to be inserted. Successively, a cylindrical bore is drilled into the bone tissue in order to insert the implant therein.
Implants are mostly provided with a holding element, which usually is fixedly secured to them by a screw or through screwing, and in this case the holding element is provided with an external screw thread.
A holding element for implants can be employed during a number of different production phases of implants, while preparing them for a surgical intervention, and directly during implantation. One primary application of the holding element is to provide the option of attaching a handhold in order not to touch the implants directly and in this manner to keep them sterile. Another application of holding elements is to offer the option of attaching manipulating members thereto for further processing of the implant. This facilitates the handling of the implants even during their production.
In case of an implantation, the holding element permits to extract the implant from a sterile container, for example an ampule, and to implant it without direct contact with contaminating agents by means e.g. of a manipulating tool gripped to the holding element and through the holding element gripped to the implant itself. By operating only on the manipulating tool, the implant is transferred from the sterile sleeve to the site of use and is implanted therein without being directly touched.
Once the implant is driven to the desired depth in the bone tissue, the manipulating tool is removed, leaving the holding element fixedly resting on the implant. To remove the holding element an unscrewing force, e.g. through an unscrewing spanner, must be applied on the assembly composed of holding element and implant. This operation requires generally an amount of space which often is not available. Moreover, if the implant has been placed in particular in soft bone, the torque applied to remove a holding element may also lead to unscrew the entire assembly or to damage the implant surface/bone tissue interface. Transferring unwanted forces to the bone may cause necrosis of the interface bone tissue, and consequently mobilization of the implant may occur.
In order to avoid the negative effect of the unscrewing force, in these kind of implant systems, a counter torque tool is used, if possible, to prevent the torsional force transfer to the implant when the holding element is unscrewed and removed, depending on the implant structure and on the free space available at the implantation site.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,696 discloses a delivery system for implants of the above mentioned kind, comprising a dental implant and a holding element composed of a driving tool and a healing screw. The driving tool is designed to engage the healing screw in order to drive the implant during implantation. For this purpose it has an engagement feature which permits to simply hook or unhook from the healing screw.
The dental implant system disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,696, does not offer the possibility to control the force applied during implantation and particularly while screwing in the implant, so that if a too strong force is applied, the thread of the healing screw may cant in the thread of the implant. After the healing period is completed a prosthesis has to be affixed.