Provided are methods for estimating a Reserve Strength Ratio in a segment of a blood vessel or a lymphatic vessel. In some embodiments, the methods include providing a multiphase Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) stack of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) images of a blood vessel or a lymphatic vessel to software, wherein the stack of DICOM images is organized by phase; providing the output from the software to a Model Segmentation procedure in which the first phase of the DICOM stack (1st phase) is segmented to create the Geometric Model and finite element mesh of the 1st phase and a map of Local Thickness Measure; uploading a mesh created for the first phase onto the DICOM image volume; mapping each voxel position of the mesh for the first phase to all the subsequent meshes using an optical flow (OF) algorithm; creating deformed meshes at all phases from the maps of displaced nodes; estimating local curvature at each node location for all the phases using a finite difference method; evaluating the local deformation at each phase from the meshes corresponding to all the phases using an element approach; calculating local thickness at each node for all the phases using the deformation calculation at each phase and the thickness measured at the first phase and using the assumption of incompressibility for the aortic wall; and calculating the local principal stresses for each element from an extension of Laplace's equation applied to the local principal directions of curvatures, whereby the Reserve Strength Ratio in a segment of a blood vessel or a lymphatic vessel is estimated. Also provided are methods for predicting an increased risk of rupture of a blood vessel or a lymphatic vessel, methods for identifying subjects as being at risk for rupture of a blood vessel or a lymphatic vessel, and computer program products with computer executable instructions embodied in computer readable medium for performing the methods disclosed herein.

Aortic aneurysms (abdominal and thoracic) are generally asymptomatic and indolent. If left untreated, an aneurysm will gradually expand until rupture; an event that carries a mortality rate of 90%. The commonly used maximum diameter criterion is based on a statistically-derived cut-off value and when used alone to provide indication for surgery is prone to false positives and false negatives. Surgery treatments, both open and minimally invasive endovascular approaches, present immediate as well as long term risks to the patient and should be reserved to the cases where the risk of complications outweighs surgical risks. Thus, methods to improve risk assessment for life-threatening events such as aortic rupture and dissection would be desirable, particularly where a treatment itself can have its own complications and is reserved for those aneurysms at highest risk of rupture.

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for evaluating risks associated with vascular pathologies


A method for classifying objects into obstacles and non-obstacles for a vehicle is described. The vehicle comprises a sensor for covering the surroundings that detects stationary and moving objects in a scene in front of a vehicle. Where required, the path of the motion of the objects is tracked. The method provides one or several observers, wherein one observer classifies an object according to predetermined features and contributes to an overall classification result when there are several observers. An observer detects the path of the motion of vehicles in the surroundings of at least one stationary object and classifies the stationary object in dependence thereon.

Motor vehicles are being increasingly equipped with driver assistance systems that cover the surroundings by means of sensor systems, detect traffic situations and support the driver, e.g., by a braking intervention or a steering intervention or by outputting a warning. The correct classification of surrounding objects for ensuring that the driver assistance system only reacts to real obstacles is particularly important.

Method for classifying an object as an obstacle


A portable work platform is provided having a height adjustable platform work surface and leg assemblies which may be locked into an open, use-position and unlocked to fold into a collapsed storage position.

In the area of automotive auto body work it is frequently necessary to perform auto body damage repairs on the roof and upper portions of a vehicle. This locus of work has increased with the popularity of vans for family use and with the popularity four wheel vehicles. These vehicles present a high roof-line, in comparison to the standard passenger car or sedan, which is difficult to reach.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a lightweight, collapsible, height-adjustable work platform which can be positioned near such a vehicle to allow a worker to perform auto body procedures on the upper sidewalls of such vehicles as well as the roof. In the past it has been the common practice to utilize a step ladder for elevating a worker. However, these types of apparatus are limited in that the worker is unable to move a sufficient distance laterally to work on nearby damaged areas. The worker must dismount the ladder and reposition it each time a new area is to be worked. Further, as ladders are constructed in a triangular fashion the worker may be several feet distant from the automobile by the time the appropriate height is reached. If the ladder is situated sideways and adjacent to the vehicle the worker must turn at an inconvenient angle to operate on the roof of the vehicle. Most importantly, the worker has little freedom of movement and can easily loose balance and fall from the ladder.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a work platform which may be positioned closely to the side of a vehicle while situating a worker at an appropriate preselected height to permit convenient work on the roof and upper sidewalls of the vehicle;
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight, easily moveable work platform which may be moved and operated by a single individual;
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible work platform which may be stored conveniently when not in use;
Another object of the present invention is to provide a work platform which is height adjustable without moving or dismantling the work platform;
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a work platform which permits a worker access to nearly the entire length of a van or four wheel vehicle roof without repositioning the work platform; and
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a height adjustable work platform having stable support legs which may be locked into an upright position for stability while permitting vertical adjustment of the platform height.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention.


A store system comprises: store controller 21 incorporating programs for executing sales and sales management tasks; display 27 for displaying a screen for the execution of a task specified by each of the programs; first input means for inputting data to store controller 21 based on an instruction displayed on the screen produced on the display 27; and second input means for inputting handwritten or voice memo information to store controller 21. Store controller 21 requests an operator to select key information to be appended to the memo information when the operator inputs the memo information via the second input means, and stores the memo information, together with the appended key information, in a storage device within the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a store system to be used, for example, in a convenience store or the like and, more particularly, to a store system improved so as to enable store employees to efficiently communicate with each other in a store or the like where a plurality of employees are working in staggered shifts.
2. Prior Art
In a large-scale retail system, for example, a convenience store system, tens to hundreds of stores (convenience stores), each equipped with basically the same store system, are linked to the headquarters via communication lines. Not only the computer system (store system) but also the work operation is basically the same in each of these stores.
Many such convenience stores operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the store manager or like person cannot be expected to be in the store around the clock. Besides, as the store employees are working in staggered shifts, it is difficult to maintain communication between the employees (including the store manager) in the store.
Among the matters to be communicated within the store, those concerning the work operation must be conveyed smoothly from the store manager going off shift to an employee coming on shift and from the employee going off shift to another employee coming on shift or to the store manager coming on shift. If this communication is not done properly, trouble may occur in the progress of work.
Traditionally, such in-store communication has been carried out by means of a handwritten memo. For example, the store manager going home would leave a memo for the employee coming on shift, and the employee who came to the store after the manager left would see the memo and do the work in accordance with the manager's instructions. The same method is also used when the employee going home reports problems, etc. encountered during the work to the manager.
However, such a memo often tends to be misplaced or lost; furthermore, since the memo is not one presented at the appropriate stage of the work operation, the employee may forget to carry out the instructions written on the memo. For example, consider the case where the store manager has left a message saying "The cherry-blossom season has come. Be sure to order a little more 1.5-liter PET bottles and rice balls than usual" to the employee coming to the store after the manager leaves. In this case, there is no guarantee that the employee who arrives at the store after the manager leaves will see the memo upon arrival, because such a handwritten memo tends to be misplaced somewhere. Furthermore, if the employee did see the memo upon arrival at the store, there is no guarantee that the employee will recall the contents of the memo without fail when he or she orders the merchandise, that is, the PET bottles and rice balls.
In this way, as there is no guarantee that the instructions written on the memo will be communicated to the intended person and carried out without fail, the traditional in-store communication method replying on handwritten memos has not been reliable enough as a means for smoothly carrying out the work operation.
Furthermore, if such memos are accumulated for each store or for all the stores, and the contents of the memos are classified and analyzed at a suitable time, they can provide important know-how information for sales and store management, etc. However, in the prior art, means for accumulating such memos as information has not been available, and the memos have been used only as a temporary information-communication means among employees.


Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method and an apparatus for automatic switching between networks, a wireless access device, and an intermediate device. The method includes: receiving, by the wireless access device, after a connection between the wireless access device and the intermediate device is established, an instruction message sent by the intermediate device, where the instruction message instructs the wireless access device to switch from a currently connected wireless network to a wired network; connecting, by the wireless access device, according to the instruction message, the wired network through the intermediate device, and breaking the connection with the wireless network; and switching, by the wireless access device, from the wired network to the wireless network when a connection between the wireless access device and the wired network is broken. The present invention is applicable to the automatic switching between the wireless network and the wired network.

With the popularity of the 3rd-generation mobile communication technology (3G) network, the rate of uploading and downloading data through a wireless network is increasingly high, and the bearer of the wireless network is limited, and therefore, the wireless local area networks (WLAN) technology is widely adopted as a cell hotspot. On one hand, the tariff of a user can be reduced, and on the other hand, the network loads can be reduced to a great extent, thereby providing the user with more efficient network services.
At present, the user may access a network through the wireless network or a wired network. When the user accesses the 3G network through the wireless network, the wide area network (WAN) port dialing function can be directly mounted onto a wireless protocol stack of a baseband chip, and a WLAN user is mounted as a local area network (LAN) interface to an Internet Protocol (IP) layer through a network bridge, so as to achieve that multiple persons can simultaneously share a bandwidth that is applied for by an account. The solution, to a certain extent, alleviates the defect that only a limited number of users can access a cell of the 3G network, but being limited by the mobile network, a mobile device has defects of an unstable bandwidth, relatively high tariff, and limited standby time.
When the user accesses the network through the wired network, the network bridge is mounted to the IP layer through the LAN interface, and the other side of the WAN interface interconnected with the IP layer is connected to the wired network, thereby enabling the LAN user to access the network through the wired network. The solution can only enable the user to fixedly access the network at a certain place, and the user cannot experience the convenience of mobile network access.
During an implementation process of the present invention, the inventor finds that the prior art has at least the following problems:
In the prior art, a same user can only choose to access the network through either the wired network or the wireless network, and therefore, it is difficult for the user to not only enjoy the convenience brought by the wireless network but also enjoy the stable bandwidth of the wired network.

Method and apparatus for automatic switching between networks, wireless access device, and intermediate device


An optical biosensor is provided for detecting a bio-molecular sample by Goos-Hänchen (GH) enhancement of Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman (AAV) amplification to a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detector. The sensor includes pre- and post-selection polarizers respectively upstream and downstream of a right-isosceles prism with a metal film and a liquid medium disposed on a diagonal side of the prism. Laser light passes through the first polarizer, reflects at the film, passes through the second polarizer and is detected with a shift determined by a pointer estimator to indicate the sample.

The invention relates generally to a biosensor based on amplification by weak quantum measurements. In particular, the, biosensor uses the Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman (AAV) effect to amplify the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) enhanced Goos-Hänchen (GH) effect (hereafter, this biosensor can be referred to as the hybrid SPR/GH/AAV biosensor, or more simply as the hybrid biosensor.
The GH effect constitutes the small undetectable splitting of a polarized laser beam in response to total internal reflection of the beam. A thin gold film, disposed upon the surface of a total internal reflection prism, provides an SPR enhancement of the GH effect, i.e., the film increases the splitting of the incident laser beam. This splitting is proportional to the concentration of bio-molecules adhering to the gold film, i.e., the greater the concentration, the greater the splitting. Although this splitting is small for low concentrations of bio-molecules, application of the AAV effect can amplify the splitting. The hybrid sensor thereby enables the detection of extremely small heretofore undetectable concentrations of bio-molecules.
Optical biosensors are used to identify unknown biological hazards to facilitate effective mitigation upon discovery. A summary of such conventional devices is presented by X. Fan et al., "Sensitive Optical Biosensors for Unlabeled Targets: A Review", Analytics Chemica Acta 620, 8-26 (2008), available at http://www.bme.umich.edu/labs/fanlab/files/prj13 2008/sensitive_optical_biosensors_for_u nlabeled_targets_a_review.pdf.
Signal amplification by the Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman (AAV) effect, has been used for measurement augmentation based on the weak value Aw of a quantum mechanical observable operator Â. The AAV effect is described by Y. Aharonov at al., "How the Result of a Measurement of a Component of the Spin of a Spin— 1/2  Particle Can Turn Out To Be 100", Phys. Rev. Lett. (1988) 60, 1351- 1354, available at http://www.tau.ac.il/˜vaidman/lvhp/m8.pdf or else http://prl.aps.org/pdf/PRL/v60/i14/p1351—1 for details.
Further information on the AAV effect can be found in Y. Aharonov et al. "Properties Of A Quantum System During The Time Interval Between Two Measurements", Phys. Rev. A 41, 11-20 (1990) available for example at http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/2385221/367896748/name/Aharonovweaknessmeasureme ntPhysRevA.41.11.pdf, and A. Parks, D. Cullin, and D. Stoudt, "Observation and Measurement of an Optical Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman effect", Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 454, 2997-3008 (1998), available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/53338 and at http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/454/1979/2997.full.pdf.
Optical sensors using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) have been used for the direct detection of bio-molecules at surfaces since the mid-1980s. Such SPR sensors are generally comprised of three integrated portions: the optical detection component (ODC), the liquid management component (LMC), and the collection surface component (CSC). More specifically, typical SPR sensors are total internal reflection devices with a thin gold or silver film deposited upon the surface of a high dielectric medium. This represents the front interface, and that associated with the other side of the film is the rear interface.
When a beam of monochromatic transverse magnetic light is incident from the high dielectric medium upon the metallic film interface at an angle θ greater than or equal to the critical angle such that the light's magnetic field vector is parallel to the interface surface, an optically induced longitudinal oscillation of free electrons in the metal film resonantly transfers energy from the light to the surface plasmon wave propagating along the interface. This interaction is sensitive to changes in the reflective index of the medium at the rear interface (e.g., produced by bio-molecules introduced by the LMC that adhere to a metallic film which serves as the CSC) and yields a reduction in the intensity of the reflected light as a response to changes in the reflective index.
Consequently, the presence of bio-molecular species at the rear interface is heralded by changes in the light intensity reflected at an angle at or near θ. Such optical SPR sensors are generally referred to as attenuated total reflection (ATR) devices. The SPR phenomenon is described by B. Liedberg et al., "Surface Plasmon Resonance for Gas Detection and Biosensing", Sensors and Actuators 4, 299-304 (1983).

The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Compositions comprising an inorganic particulate mineral and an antimicrobial metal, methods of making said compositions, use of said compositions in a coating composition or in a polymeric article, use of said compositions to inhibit the growth of one or more microbes and use of said compositions to eliminate one or more microbes, for example from a liquid.

Inorganic particulate minerals are used in a wide variety of applications. For example, inorganic particulate minerals may be used as a filler or extender in numerous materials such as adhesives, sealants, glass, ceramics, films, rubber, paints, papers and plastics. The inorganic particulate mineral may provide advantageous properties such as colour, opacity, gloss, rheology, hardness, chemical resistance, thermal resistance and thermal conductivity. The inorganic particulate mineral may also be used to reduce the amount of another component in a composition, for example, to reduce the toxicity and/or cost of the composition.
Inorganic particulate minerals are often stored, sold and transported as dry mineral or in aqueous suspensions. The inorganic particulate mineral is often kept for days or weeks before it is used in its intended application. The inorganic particulate mineral may be combined with various additives that assist in providing or maintaining favourable properties. The additives may also assist in imparting these favourable properties on the materials and products into which the inorganic particulate mineral is incorporated.
The inorganic particulate mineral may be subject to contamination by microbes such as bacteria, which over a period of time multiply. This can negatively affect the properties of the inorganic particulate mineral, for example by causing discolouration or malodour. It may also result in the contamination of further materials and products into which the inorganic particulate mineral is incorporated. It is thus desirable to reduce the number of microbes (e.g. eliminate) in compositions comprising inorganic particulate mineral and/or to prevent of limit the growth of microbes in these compositions.

Inorganic particulate containing antimicrobial metal


An electromagnetic transponder intended to draw the power necessary to its operation of from a field radiated by a terminal of transmission of a carrier at a first supply frequency and to back-modulate the received signal at the rate of a sub-carrier at a second frequency lower than the first one, and comprising means capable of demodulating and decoding signals modulated by said sub-carrier, as well as a system of communication between such transponders.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems using electromagnetic transponders, that is, transmitters and/or receivers (generally mobile) likely to be interrogated contactless and wireless by a unit (generally fixed), called a read and/or write terminal. The present invention more specifically relates to transponders with no autonomous power supply, for example of contactless card or electronic tag type. These transponders extract the power supply required by the electronic circuits included therein from the high-frequency field radiated by an antenna of the read/write terminal. The present invention applies to such transponders, be they read-only transponders, that is, capable of operating with a terminal only reading the transponder data, or read/write transponders which contain data that can be modified by the terminal.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 very schematically and functionally shows a conventional example of data exchange between a read/write terminal 1 (STA) and a transponder 10 (CAR).
Terminal 1 is essentially formed of an oscillating circuit formed of an inductance L1, in series with a capacitor C1 and a resistor R1, between an output terminal 2p of an amplifier or antenna coupler 3 and a terminal 2m at a reference voltage (generally the ground). Amplifier 3 receives a high-frequency transmission signal Tx, originating from a modulator 4 (MOD). The modulator receives a reference frequency, for example from a quartz oscillator 5 and, if need be, a signal DATA of data to be transmitted. In the absence of any data transmission from terminal 1 to transponder 10, signal Tx is only used as a power source to activate transponder 10 if said transponder enters the field. The data to be transmitted generally originate from a digital system, for example, a microprocessor 6 (μP).
The connection point of capacitor C1 with inductance L1 forms, in the example shown in FIG. 1, a terminal of sampling of a data signal Rx received from a transponder 10, intended for a demodulator (DEM). An output of the demodulator communicates (possibly via a decoder 8 (DEC)) the data received from transponder 10 to microprocessor 6 of terminal 1. Demodulator 7 generally receives from oscillator 5 a clock or reference signal for a phase demodulation. The demodulation may be performed from a signal sampled between capacitor C1 and resistor R1, and not across inductance L1. Microprocessor 6 communicates (BUS) with different input/output circuits (keyboard, screen, means of exchange with a server, etc.) and/or processing circuits. The circuits of the read/write terminal draw the power necessary to their operation from a supply circuit 9 (ALIM) connected, for example, to the electric supply system.
On the side of transponder 10, an inductance L2, in parallel with a capacitor C2, forms a parallel oscillating circuit (called a resonant receive circuit) intended to sense the magnetic field generated by series oscillating circuit L1, C1 of terminal 1. The resonant circuit (L2, C2) of transponder 10 is tuned on the resonance frequency of the oscillating circuit of terminal 1.
Terminals 11 and 12 of resonant circuit L2, C2 which correspond to the terminals of capacitor C2 are connected to two A.C. input terminals of a rectifying bridge 13 having their rectified output terminals 14 and 15 connected across a capacitor Ca of power storage and smoothing of the rectified voltage provided by bridge 13. Bridge 13 is a halfwave or fullwave bridge.
When transponder 10 is in the field of terminal 1, a high-frequency voltage is generated across resonant circuit L2, C2. This voltage rectified by bridge 13 is smoothed by capacitor Ca, which provides a supply voltage to electronic circuits of the transponder via a voltage regulator 16 (REG). These circuits generally comprise, essentially, a microprocessor 17 (μP) associated with a memory not shown, a demodulator 18 (DEM) of the signals possibly received from terminal 1, and a modulator 19 (MOD) for transmitting information to terminal 1. The transponder is generally synchronized by means of a clock (CLK) extracted by a block 20 from the high-frequency signal recovered across capacitor C2 before rectification. Most often, all the electronic circuits of transponder 10 are integrated in a same chip.
To transmit data from transponder 10 to terminal 1, modulator 19 controls a stage of modulation (back modulation) of resonant circuit L2, C2. This modulation stage is generally formed of an electronic switch (for example, a transistor T) and of a resistor R, in series between terminals 14 and 15.
Transistor T is controlled at a so-called sub-carrier frequency (for example, 847.5 kHz), much smaller (generally with a ratio of at least 10) than the frequency of the excitation signal of the oscillating circuit of terminal 1 (for example, 13.56 MHz). When switch T is on, the transponder's oscillating circuit is submitted to an additional damping with respect to the load formed by circuits 16 to 20, so that the transponder draws a more significant amount of power from the high-frequency magnetic field. On the side of terminal 1, amplifier 3 maintains the amplitude of the high-frequency excitation signal constant. Accordingly, the power variation of the transponder translates as an amplitude and current phase variation in antenna L1. This variation is detected by demodulator 7 of the terminal which is either a phase demodulator, or an amplitude demodulator.
In certain cases, the back-modulation stage (transistor T, resistor R) is located upstream of bridge 13, that is, on the side of its A.C. inputs.
The terminal generally does not transmit data while it receives some from the transponder, the transmission occurring alternately in one direction, then in the other.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional example of a data transmission from terminal 1 to a transponder 10. This drawing shows an example of the shape of the excitation signal of antenna L1 for a transmission of a code 0101. The modulation currently used is an amplitude modulation with a 106-kilobits-per-second rate (1 bit is transmitted in approximately 9.5 microseconds) much smaller than the frequency (for example, 13.56 MHz) of the carrier originating from oscillator 5 (period of approximately 74 nanoseconds). The amplitude modulation is performed either in all or nothing or with a modulation rate (defined as being the difference of peaks amplitudes (a, b) between the two states (0 and 1) divided by the sum of these amplitudes) smaller than one, due to the need for supply of transponder 10. In the example of FIG. 2, the carrier at 13.56 MHz is modulated, with a rate of 106 kilobits per second, in amplitude with a modulation ratio tm of, for example, 10%.
FIG. 3 illustrates a conventional example of a data transmission from transponder 10 to terminal 1. This drawing illustrates an example of the shape of signal VT of control of transistor T, provided by modulator 19, and of the corresponding signal Rx received by terminal 1. On the transponder side, the back modulation is generally of resistive type with a carrier, called a sub-carrier of, for example, 847.5 kHz (period of approximately 1.18 ms). The back modulation is, for example, based on a BPSK-type coding (binary phase shift keying) with a rate on the order of 106 kilobits per second much smaller than the sub-carrier frequency. In FIG. 3, signal Rx has been shown "smoothed", that is, without showing the ripple of the high-frequency carrier (at 13.56 MHz). In the example of FIG. 3, it has been considered that each of the three shown bits was different from the previous bit. Thus, a code 010 is being transmitted.
Whatever the type of modulation or of back modulation used (for example, of amplitude, phase, frequency) and whatever the type of data coding (NRZ, NRZI, Manchester, ASK, BPSK, etc.), the modulation is performed digitally, by shift between two binary levels.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, signal VT is formed of a pulse train at the sub-carrier frequency, a phase shift occurring for each state switching from one bit to the next bit.
If several transponders are present in the field of a same terminal, different communications may be initiated between each transponder and the read/write terminal. Most often, the transponders transmit identifiers which enable the terminal to individualize messages respectively intended for them.
In the transponder-to-terminal direction, the transponders determine whether messages are respectively intended for them based on their identifier contained in the message, that they detect after demodulation.
However, a problem may arise when several transponders simultaneously transmit to a same terminal, while they are in the field of this terminal. Such conflicts may be wrongly detected by the read/write terminal, which adversely affects the system reliability.
Further, in some applications, it may be desired for transponders to exchange information. In such a case, the terminal is used as an intermediary for this communication by receiving the information from one transponder to transmit it back to another one, having previously demodulated, then remodulated it.

Communication between electromagnetic transponders


A magnetic memory device includes a magnetic tunnel junction having a free magnetic layer having a magnetization orientation that is switchable between a high resistance state magnetization orientation and a low resistance state magnetization orientation and a memristor solid state element electrically coupled to the magnetic tunnel junction. The memristor has a device response that is an integrated voltage versus an integrated current.

Fast growth of the pervasive computing and handheld/communication industry has generated exploding demand for electrical devices including high capacity nonvolatile solid-state data storage devices. Current devices using flash memory have several drawbacks such as slow access speed (˜ms write and ˜50−100 ns read), limited endurance (˜103−104 programming cycles), and the integration difficulty in system-on-chip (SoC). Flash memory (NAND or NOR) also faces significant scaling problems at 32 nm node and beyond.
Magneto-resistive or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is a promising candidate for future memory. One basic component of MRAM is a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ). Data storage is realized by switching the resistance of MTJ between a high-resistance state and a low-resistance state. MRAM switches the MTJ resistance by using a current induced magnetic field or current induced spin torque transfer to switch the magnetization of the MTJ. In operation, the MRAM can be read by measuring the resistance and inferring the magnetization state of the MTJ. Electrical devices including those incorporating MRAM can be dependent on power utilization. The need exists for more efficient ways to monitor the power utilization of an electrical device.
As the MTJ size shrinks, magnetization fluctuation signature increases as the MTJ and MRAM devices scale down in size. Quantifying the magnetization fluctuation signature at nanometer length scale and monitoring power use is a challenge.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Magnetic tunnel junction and memristor apparatus


In an optical disc drive, signals from two satellite spots are used to cancel DC offset from a tracking error signal, and for generating a quadrature signal for determining direction of radial movement. The two satellite spots generate signals that are out of phase with the main tracking error signal by about one-fourth period.

This invention relates generally to optical disc drives used for data storage, and more specifically to signals used for determining radial position of an optical head.
In optical disc drives, for example drives for Compact Discs (CD) and Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), one or more light beams (typically from a laser diode), illuminate one or more spots on the disc, and are reflected back into an optical head. For optical media with lands and grooves, the reflectivity of the disc surface changes when the laser illuminates a land, versus a groove. Similarly, for optical media with pitted data, the reflectivity of the disc surface changes when the laser illuminates the data tracks, versus space between data tracks.
Typically, an optical detector assembly in the optical head provides multiple signals. It is common for an optical detector to have multiple segments, and for multiple signals to be generated as sums or differences of signals from individual segments. It is also common to have multiple detectors, each of which has multiple segments, within one assembly.
In general, the following signals are required: a data signal, a focus error signal, and a tracking error signal. The tracking error signal indicates whether the laser spot is centered on a data track. In general, a drive must also be able to detect track crossings as the optical head sweeps radially across tracks. One inexpensive approach is to detect peaks or zero-crossings of the tracking error signal as the optical head sweeps radially. If errors occur, a re-seek may be required. To reduce errors, it is desirable to have a signal that indicates direction of radial movement.
It is common in control systems to generate two periodic signals, each having the same period, that are out of phase by one-fourth of a period (called quadrature), and to combine information from the two signals to provide both position information and direction of movement. It is common in optical disc drives to generate two quadrature signals as a function of radial movement. Typically, the tracking error signal is approximately a sinusoidal waveform, which has a magnitude of zero when the spot is centered on a data track, and increases when off-track in one direction and decreases when off-track in the other direction. As one alternative for generating a separate radial tracking signal for quadrature, one can differentiate the tracking error signal to provide a signal that is out of phase by one-fourth period. However, differentiation is frequency dependent, sensitive to noise, and does not work well with slow radial movement. Another alternative for generating a separate radial tracking signal for quadrature is to use a low-pass filtered version of the data signal (also known as a tracking contrast signal). For some media, when the optical head is swept radially across tracks, the tracking contrast signal is also approximately a sinusoid, with a peak magnitude when centered over data, and decreasing when off-track from the center of data. If the center of a data track is the reference position for radial movement, then the tracking error signal is approximately a sine wave, and the tracking contrast signal is approximately a cosine signal. Accordingly, the tracking error signal and the tracking contrast signal can be used as two quadrature signals for determining radial position and direction of movement. However, for phase-change rewriteable media, if no data has been written, a tracking contrast signal may not be suitable.
Within the optical head, a radial position adjuster may provide fine movement of a lens to radially adjust the position of the focused laser spot. When the objective lens is displaced from a nominal center position, it may result in a DC offset in the tracking error signal (one common term for the phenomena is xe2x80x9cbeamwalkxe2x80x9d). Radial tilt of the disc may also cause a DC offset in the tracking error signal. There may also be other contributors to a DC offset in the tracking error signal.
One known solution to the problem of DC offset in the tracking error signal is 3-spot tracking (also called differential push-pull, or DPP), in which two satellite illumination spots are positioned so that each of the satellite spots provide a signal that is 180 degrees out of phase with a main spot. The satellite spots are also subject to DC offset. Signals from the satellite spots are added together, the sum is multiplied by a suitable multiplier, and the result is subtracted from the signal from the main spot. As a result, the DC offsets from the signals from the satellite spots are subtracted from the DC offset of the signal from the main spot. In the following example equations, it is assumed that the signal magnitude from the main spot is ten times the signal magnitude from the satellite spots.
Main spot signal=MS=sin(xcfx89x)+Offset
(where x is a radial distance and xcfx89 is a function of track pitch)
Right satellite spot signal=RS=0.1[xe2x88x92sin(xcfx89x)+Offset]
Left satellite spot signal=LS=0.1[xe2x88x92sin(xcfx89x)+Offset]
MSxe2x88x925(RS+LS)=
sin(xcfx89x)+Offsetxe2x88x925{0.1[xe2x88x92sin(xcfx89x)+Offset]+0.1[xe2x88x92sin(xcfx89x)+Offset]}=
2 sin(xcfx89x)
From the above, DPP can provide a tracking error signal with no DC offset.
It is also known to provide two satellite spots positioned to provide a signal that is out of phase with a track crossing signal by one-fourth of the period. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,589 (Ohsato). In Ohsato, the main spot provides a sine signal, the satellite spots provide cosine signals, and the sine signal is divided by a sum of the cosine signals, resulting in a tangent function. The quotient of the two signals eliminates amplitude sensitivity because amplitude changes affect both the sine and cosine signals by the same proportion.
There is a general need, for elimination of DC offset in a tracking error signal, and for generating a signal that provides direction of movement for radial track crossing. There is a particular need for elimination of DC offset and generation of quadrature signals for phase-change rewriteable media, which may not have any data written on the disc.
In drives in accordance with the invention, signals from two satellite spots are used to cancel DC offset from a tracking error signal, and for generating a quadrature signal for determining direction of radial movement. In contrast to DPP, the two satellite spots generate signals that are out of phase with the main tracking error signal by approximately one-fourth period, as in Ohsato. In contrast to Ohsato, the signals from the satellite spots are used to provide DC offset information and a quadrature signal.

Optical disc drive with satellite beams for generation of quadrature error signals for radial position detection

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A device including a protecting material encapsulated metallic beam and a method of encapsulating the metallic beam using the protecting material layer are presented. The device includes a cantilever beam that includes at least about 90 Wt % of a metallic beam material, and 10 Wt % or less of a protecting material. The method of forming an encapsulated metallic beam includes the steps of depositing a first layer of protecting material over a substrate, depositing a second layer of protecting material over the first layer, depositing a metallic beam material over the second layer of protecting material, and encapsulating the beam material with a coating of the protecting material.

This invention relates generally to an encapsulated beam and method of encapsulating the beam. Particularly the invention relates to a device including a protecting material encapsulated metallic beam and method of encapsulating the metallic beam using the protecting material layer.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are electromechanical devices that generally range in size from a micrometer to a millimeter in a miniature sealed package. A MEMS device in the form of a microswitch has a movable electrode called a beam that is moved toward a stationary electrical contact by the influence of a gate electrode positioned near the beam. The movable electrode may be a flexible beam that bends under applied forces such as electrostatic attraction, magnetic attraction and repulsion, thermally induced mismatch that closes a gap between a free portion of the beam and the stationary contact. One form of a movable flexible beam is a cantilever beam. In another form the movable beam is fixed at two ends.
Introduction of contaminants such as moisture, particulates, or oxygen into the area surrounding the device can cause sticking, contamination, or interference of the metal contacts, leading to device failure. MEMS cantilever beams are often manufactured during the MEMS device formation by depositing the beam material and then releasing the beam material by dicing or etching out the layer below the beam structure. This dicing or etching procedure during manufacturing may lead to the device degradation during operation.
Therefore, methods of protecting the beam structure from attack and degradation during release and operation, preventing the device failure by particle generation and/or performance alteration are needed.


At a social network server, a request is obtained from a first user to upload a digital visual medium (digital photograph or digital video). The digital visual medium is marked for identification thereof. At the social network server, a request is obtained from a second user to upload the digital visual medium. Based on the marking, it is determined whether the request from the second user to upload the digital visual medium is inappropriate.

There are a variety of instances of the unauthorized use of images. For example, to gather material for creation of so-called sock puppet accounts (on-line identities used for inappropriate purposes such as deception), scripts harvest images from real user's profiles. Other reasons for unauthorized use of images include cyber-bullying, impersonation, and the like. The unauthorized use of an image can cause harm to the innocent owner of the image.


A control system and method for controlling a temperature and molten metal height in a gas-fired metal melting furnace whereby metal height and temperature may be more reliably maintained. The control system includes a controller that receives information on metal temperature and metal height. The controller controls metal melting burners so as to operate at different settings between a high output and a low output based upon sensed metal height.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to metal melting furnaces and, more particularly, toward a method and system for controlling a metal melting furnace based upon sensed molten metal heights and temperatures to permit more efficient operation of the furnace.
2. Description of Related Art
Gas fired metal melting furnaces are well known in the art. One such type of furnace, illustrated in FIG. 1, includes a charging tower 10, a melting area 12, a molten metal holding area 14, and a launder 16 that leads to a ladle or dispensing area 18.
The charging tower 10 is vertically above the melting area 12, and includes a removable cover such that new charging material (i.e., ingots and scrap) to be melted can be introduced into the charging tower 10. Since the charging material is disposed in the tower 10 and vertically above the melting area 12, the charging material is pre-heated prior to reaching the melting area 12, and is thereby brought to the melting temperature more quickly and efficiently.
The melting area 12 disposed at the bottom of the charging tower 10 includes a series of melting burners 20 (only one shown) that heat and melt the charging material. The melting burners 20 are operated at either a high or a low setting. The high setting is matched to the furnace capacity, and essentially corresponds to full-on operation of the melting burners 20 and the furnace. The low setting is a holding setting. Thus, the melting burners 20 are operated either full on, to melt metal as quickly as possible, or at a low setting. It will be appreciated that the furnace is most efficiently operated when the rated capacity is equal to the load, in which case the melting burners are continuously operated at their high or full-on setting. It will further be appreciated that due to varying metal demands, operation at the rated capacity is discontinuous or intermittent. Operation of the melting burners 20 in either the high or low setting is controlled based upon sensed level of the molten metal in the metal holding area 14 or the launder 16, as described hereinafter.
Melted metal flows from the melting area 12 at the bottom of the charging tower 10 into the molten metal holding area 14. The molten metal holding area 14 defines an enclosure including a refractory brick-lined bath that holds a volume of molten metal 22. A holding burner 24 is disposed above the molten metal bath, and is controlled so as to maintain the temperature of the molten metal in the molten metal bath at a predetermined temperature, typically around 1380° F. The holding burner 24 output is adjustable, within limits, based upon sensed metal temperature so as to maintain the molten metal temperature within predetermined desired limits.
Molten metal level is sensed by a series of probes 26. The probes 26 have different lengths so as to project downwardly different amounts. As shown in FIG. 3, the probes typically include a high-high level probe (HH), a high level probe (H), a low level probe (L), a low-low level probe (LL), and a ground probe (G). Such an arrangement of probes 26 is well know to those skilled in the art.
The high-high level probe (HH) senses a condition in which the level of metal in the bath is too high, and in which the melting burners 20 are turned off (i.e., e-stop the melting furnace) to prevent overfilling the molten metal bath. Essentially, the high-high level probe (HH) is a failsafe probe to help prevent overflowing the bath with molten metal.
The high level probe (H) senses a high-normal level of molten metal in the bath. The high level probe (H) is thus a control probe, and signals from the high level probe (H) are used by the controller 28 to control operation of the melting burners 20, i.e., to turn the melting burners 20 to the low setting or condition.
The low level probe (L) senses a low level of metal in the bath. The low level probe (L) is a control probe, and signals from the low level probe (L) are used by the controller 28 to control operation of the melting burners 20, i.e. to turn the melting burners to the high setting or condition. The low metal signal from the low level probe (L) also indicates an initial low metal level, which the controller uses to generate warning signal for the operator.
The low-low level probe (LL) is the corollary of the high-high level probe (HH), and indicates that the level of metal in the bath is too low, evidencing a problem in the charging tower 10 that requires attention from the operator. Such a problem could be a blockage of charging material, preventing the charging material from reaching the melting burners 20, or simply that the charging tower 10 is empty.
The ground probe (G) is typically identical in length to the low-low level probe, and provides a reference point against which other length measurements are judged. More specifically, electrical current is supplied to the probes and, when the ground probe (G) and a particular level probe (L-HH) are touching the molten metal, completes a circuit that generates a signal identifying the level of metal in the bath.
Thus, the level of metal ordinarily fluctuates a distance (X) between the low level (sensed by the low level probe (L)) in which the melting burners 20 are operated full-on, and the high level (sensed by the high level probe (H)) in which the melting burners 20 are operated on low. Unfortunately, repeated cycling or rising/falling of the metal level in the bath between the high level and the low level erodes the refractory lining (RL) of the metal holding area 14 and, over time, requires rebuilding of the metal holding area lining. Such erosion (E) is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1B. Naturally, rebuilding the refractory lining (RL) is expensive and requires the metal melting furnace to be taken off-line for an extended period of time. Accordingly, it is desirable to reduce erosion of the refractory lining (RL) and thereby extend the time between rebuilding of the refractory lining.
With respect to FIG. 2, the melting furnace includes a control system including the controller 28, an air blower 30, a series of air valves 32, 34 (only two shown), a series of diaphragm-type gas valves 36a, 36b (only two shown), a temperature sensor (thermocouple; TC) and the probe-type level sensors 26, described previously. The air valves 32, 34 are butterfly type valves including a motor that is operable to drive the butterfly valves open and closed. The melting burner air valve 34 is a two position valve that is moved into a either a full-open position, corresponding to the high or full-on setting of the burner, or a closed position (slightly open) corresponding to the low setting of the burner. The holding burner air valve 32 is a proportioning valve that may be moved to a position between the full open and closed (low) positions. Each of the air valves 32, 34 is associated with one of the gas valves 36a, 36b and with one of the melting or holding burners 20, 24.
Thus, the holding burner 24 has its own dedicated holding burner air valve/holding burner gas valve combination. Similarly, each melting burner 20 has its own dedicated melting burner air valve/melting burner gas valve combination. The controller 28 receives signals from the temperature sensor (TC) for controlling operation of the holding burner air valve/gas valve, and from a charging tower atmosphere temperature sensor (not shown) with interlocks from the level sensing probes 26 for controlling operation of the melting burner air valves/gas valves, and for operating various alarms and indicators in response to high-high and low-low molten metal conditions, described briefly hereinbefore.
The air blower 30 is continuously operated, and supplies air to each of the air valves 32, 34. The melting burner air valves 34 are two positions valves, and are either in a low open or a high open setting, corresponding to low and high operation of the melting burner 20, respectively, as noted previously. In either case, an air stream flows from the melting burner air valves 34 to the associated melting burner 20. Part of the air stream flowing to each melting burner 20 is tapped off to the associated melting burner gas valve 36a, which is a diaphragm valve, and serves as a pneumatic or air signal that controls opening of the diaphragm valve and communication of gas to the melting burner 20.
As is known in the art, the diaphragm valve 36a opens an amount that corresponds to the air signal provided to it. Thus, when a low amount of air is provided (corresponding to the air valve 34 being at the low setting), the diaphragm valve 36a opens a first amount so as to supply a first, low amount of gas to the melting burner 20. The first, low amount of gas is tuned to the air flow (i.e., air flowing to the melting burner 20 from the melting burner air valve 34) and, thus, the correct air/gas ratio is supplied to the melting burner 20, and the melting burner 20 is efficiently operated in the low setting. Similarly, when a high amount of air is provided to the diaphragm valve 36a (corresponding to the air valve 34 being at the high setting), the diaphragm valve 36a opens a second amount so as to supply a second, high amount of gas to the melting burner 20. The second, high amount of gas is tuned to the air flow (i.e., air flowing from the air valve 34 to the melting burner 20) and, thus, the correct air/gas ratio is supplied to the melting burner 20, and the melting burner 20 is operated in the high setting.
The holding burner air valve/gas valve may be operated identically to the melting burner air valve/gas valve, described above. However, and as noted previously, it is also known in the art to use a fully proportioning butterfly valve for the air valve 32, and to adjust the opening/closing amount of the air valve 32 via a motor that is actuated by the controller in response to sensed metal temperature. Such a known air valve actuating mechanism includes a link rod assembly (not shown) that is secured to the air valve 32 and mechanically establishes the high and low open positions for the air valve 32. In any event, the air stream flows from the holding burner air valve 32 to the holding burner 24. Part of the air stream flowing to the holding burner 34 is tapped off to the holding burner gas valve 36b, which is a diaphragm valve, and serves as an air signal for the diaphragm valve 36b.
The holding burner diaphragm gas valve 36b receives the air signal tapped off from the output of the holding burner air valve 32 and opens a corresponding amount, and the correct air/gas mixture is supplied to the holding burner 24. Unfortunately, adjusting the link-rod type assembly is a manual operation that is imprecise and problematic. Notably, manually adjusting one of the high or low setpoint changes the other setpoint (i.e., low or high) and requires repeated readjustment and re-checking with each change. Improper adjustment of the link rod assembly causes the high and low setpoints or limits to deviate from the actual high and low opening positions of the air valve 32, and may result in undue cycling of the metal temperature between the high and low limits. Such cycling is believed to cause undue oxidation of the melted metal, and is therefore to be avoided. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an improved and simpler control over the holding burner output, and resulting better control over the temperature of the molten metal.

Molten metal level burner output control for aluminum melt furnace


The present invention provides battery storing device (100) that can easily suppress temperature increase in a battery and a battery storing section in high-temperature using environment, without damaging excellent heat retaining function of the battery that is required for low-temperature using environment. Battery storing device (100) has battery storing box body (2), battery storing section (30) in the box body, and battery group (1) stored in battery storing section (30). Battery storing box body (2) is made of heat insulating material and has a heat retaining function of battery group (1). Battery storing device (100) further has lid body (3), opening/closing lid body (6) for opening and closing opening (5) for releasing the heat retaining function, magnetic material (7) disposed at an end of opening/closing lid body (6), electromagnet (8), and electromagnet (9).

Recently, for addressing environmental issues and energy problems, an automobile that uses output from a secondary battery as the driving source and at least partially has an electrically driven device has received attention.
Such an electric automobile uses output from the secondary battery as the entire driving source, and is run by driving force of a motor. A so-called hybrid car system that concurrently uses a motor and an engine and a so-called idle stop system car proceed toward commercialization in some manufacturer. Here, the so-called idle stop system car means a car where idling is stopped at parking time and the electric power of the motor assists the engine power at a restart time
In the electric automobile, instead of a special battery such as a fuel cell or a sodium sulfur battery operated in a special high-temperature region, a lead acid storage battery, a nickel-hydrogen storage battery, or, recently, a lithium secondary battery including organic electrolyte is employed in a relatively many cases. That is because these batteries can be operated in a normal temperature region, and is safe, easy-to-handle, and economical.
While, the characteristic of a secondary battery and the reliability including the lifetime and safety largely depend on the battery and its environmental temperature, and affect the characteristic and reliability of the vehicle to which the battery is mounted.
It is preferable to place the battery in an environmental condition where ambient temperature is higher than 30° C. in view of the output power characteristic. When the ambient temperature decreases, the output power largely decreases comparing with that in the preferable temperature region and a traveling characteristic of the vehicle decreases.
In view of the lifetime characteristic of the battery, it is preferable that the ambient temperature is lower than 40° C. When the ambient temperature exceeds 40° C., the self-discharge increases. Especially, the lithium secondary battery remarkably depends on temperature, the output characteristic and safety thereof are apt to be affected by the ambient temperature.
When the lithium secondary battery is used for example, the energy obtained under the environment at 0° C. is 60% to 70% of the output energy at ambient temperature of 30° C. to 40° C., and the energy obtained at −20° C. is about 10%. When the lithium secondary battery is used or left for a long time at a higher ambient temperature of 60° C., the organic electrolyte from a safety valve dissipates, or the sealing mechanism breaks. These phenomena cause inconvenience in safety of the characteristic and reliability. The other normal-temperature-type batteries such as a lead acid storage battery and a nickel-hydrogen storage battery have a similar tendency more or less.
A conventional cooling mechanism such as a compressor has a complex mechanism and requires much energy. In the electric automobile, therefore, emphasis is generally laid on heat retaining property at a low temperature, and a configuration considering securement of a battery characteristic is employed. However, practical application to a high temperature environment is kept at a distance, and the general purpose property is apt to be restricted.
In a vehicle that uses output from a normal-temperature-type battery as the power supply and has an electrically driven system in any way, a design for optimizing the output from the battery during traveling especially in a low temperature environment is employed. For example, a battery storing box having an insulating function as high as possible is produced and temperature of the battery or in the battery storing box is controlled using various heat sources.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. H8-22845 (pages 3-7, FIG. 1 or the like), for example, discloses the following configurations:                a battery is surrounded by a double outer wall including a vacuum layer;        a combustion heater or the like is installed in a circulation route of radiator water, and a battery is heated or cooled using the heater; and        the temperature of the battery is controlled using a panel heater that is installed on a heat retaining member wall and has a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) device or a nichrome wire.Here, the PTC device is used as a heating mechanism and has resistance variation coefficient having a positive characteristic with respect to temperature.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-7356 (pages 4-7, FIG. 1 or the like) discloses a mechanism where a thermal converting device having Peltier effect is disposed on a wall surface of a battery box made of vacuum heat insulating material, and heats and cools the battery in the battery box.
An electric automobile including an electrically driven device has a battery storing box, and controls environmental temperature of the battery and the battery storing box with any means. Furthermore, it is considered that an output characteristic of the battery is especially important for controlling the environmental temperature, and the battery storing box includes a heat retaining box having high heat retaining property that is obtained by employing heat insulating material having high heat insulation property.
It is conventionally known that a vacuum heat insulating material has high insulating effect as the heat insulating material. Various vacuum heat insulating materials having high practicality are developed, and each of the materials is formed of a core material and an exterior package such as plastic laminated film. Here, the core material is formed of the following materials:                a hollow body of polyurethane foam, glass, or a metal plate;        a hollow body including a resin molded body as the wall material;        powder or fiber such as glass wool or silica; or        continuous foam such as polyurethane foam.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2001-317686 (pages 3-4, FIG. 1 or the like) discloses a new manufacturing method of heat insulating material using the core material and the plastic laminated film. In this manufacturing method, decompression and sealing are established by laminated film having thermally welded resin on mutually facing surfaces. Thus, spaces having lightweight and high heat insulation property can be formed in various forms, and the vacuum heat insulating material is easily applied to the battery storing box for an electric automobile. When the electric automobile is required to be applicable to widespread temperature environment and quality of the heat insulating material and the manufacturing technology are improved, however, a new issue becomes apparent related to high temperature control of the battery or the battery storing box.
The battery storing box having high insulating and heat-retaining property exerts a preferable insulating characteristic, especially in low temperature environment. However, the battery itself is a heating element having high heat capacity, and generates heat by charge or discharge. When high output is continued for a long time, temperatures in the battery and the battery storing box rapidly increase.
The temperature in the battery storing box, after rising to a high temperature, does not easily decrease because the inside has high insulating characteristic. The battery is therefore left in an undesired high temperature state. When the temperature in the using environment of the automobile becomes high and the heat retaining function becomes high, the heat retaining function works reversely and the battery storing box hardly releases heat. Therefore, even when the electric automobile stops, the high temperature state is kept for a long time. When the battery left in the high temperature state is discharged, the temperature increase accelerates and the temperature inside the battery storing box further increases.
When the battery is left in the high temperature state, a problem arises in the stability of the characteristic or securement of the safety of the battery. Especially, it is not preferable that the lithium secondary battery having organic electrolyte containing many vaporization components is left in the high temperature environment.
A conventional cooling mechanism using a compressor cannot be applied to an electric automobile during parking. A mechanism employing an electric compressor or a thermal converting device having Peltier effect consumes much energy, and is therefore inefficient.
For controlling temperatures in the battery and the battery storing box of the electric automobile, a new temperature controlling means capable of effectively avoiding danger at high temperature with less energy while keeping high heat retaining characteristic at low temperature is desired to be developed instead of the conventional cooling mechanism.
The present invention addresses the problems discussed above. The present invention provides a battery storing means capable of easily suppressing temperature increase in the battery storing section and the battery in high temperature environment without damaging the high heat retaining function required in low temperature environment.

Battery receiving device, power source device using the same, and electric motor vehicle using the devices


Disclosed are a system and method to detect RFID tags in electronic article surveillance systems using frequency mixing. The system includes an RFID module that includes an energy coupler to receive transmitted energy that includes a first signal at a first frequency and a second signal at a second frequency, and a mixing element to mix the first and second signals, to generate a third signal at a third frequency, and the energy coupler to transmit the third signal to an EAS detection system. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems are used to control inventory and to prevent or deter theft or unauthorized removal of articles from a controlled area. The system establishes an electromagnetic field or "interrogation zone" that defines a surveillance zone (typically entrances and/or exits in retail stores) encompassing the controlled area. The articles to be protected are tagged with an EAS security tag. Tags are designed to interact with the field in the interrogation zone. The presence of a tag in the interrogation zone is detected by system receivers and appropriate action is taken. In most cases, the appropriate action includes the activation of an alarm.
EAS security tags may be affixed to any article, such as, for example, an article of merchandise, product, case, pallet, container, and the like, to be protected, monitored, retained, sold, inventoried, or otherwise controlled or distributed in some manner. The tag includes a sensor element adapted to interact with the electromagnetic field in the interrogation zone. In operation, an EAS system transmitter interrogates the tag by radiating a first signal at the tag's tuned resonant frequency. Some tags also respond to a second radiated field that is outside of the tag's tuned resonant frequency. The interaction of the first and/or second fields with the sensor element causes a change in the tag's characteristics that establishes the presence of an additional detection signal in the interrogation zone. The generation of harmonic frequencies, the generation of mixing side bands, or the re-radiation of the first signal modulated by the second signal, among other effects. Accordingly, if an article tagged with an EAS security tag traverses the interrogation zone, the EAS system recognizes the detection signal as an unauthorized presence of the article in the controlled area and may activate an alarm under certain circumstances, for example.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) utilizes interrogation and reply frequencies in the radio frequency (RF) band to perform electronic article identification (EAI) functions. An RFID tag is attached to an article to be identified. The RFID tag responds to an RF interrogation signal and provides the identification information in the form of an RF response signal. The identification information may comprise article identification information, pricing information, inventory control, and can receive and store information such as the date and place of sale, sales price, and article manufacturing authenticity information, for example. RFID tags comprise an integrated circuit (IC) and an antenna connected thereto. The IC may comprise a variety of architectures and the item identification code may be stored in a variety of code formats.
A transceiver and an RFID tag form an RFID system and communicate with each other over a wireless RF communication channel. The transceiver may comprise a hardware device to interrogate the RFID tag and initiate reading the article identification code. The transceiver may comprise an RFID transceiver adapted to communicate (e.g., read and write) information with the RFID tag. In operation, the transceiver sends a request for identification information to the RFID tag over the wireless RF communication channel and the RFID tag responds accordingly.
Conventional RFID tags, however, are typically not well suited to EAS applications because of its limited detection range due to the threshold effects. Presently, to obtain EAS and electronic article interrogation (EAI) functionality, EAS tags and RFID tags both are usually attached to an article if identification and protection of the article are desired. In some applications, RFID and EAS functions may be integrated within the same tag housing. The RFID and EAS functions, however, are usually electrically separate, discrete functions that are co-located within one enclosure.
It is sometimes desirable to have the EAS and RFID functionality present in the same tag housing. In some implementations, an RFID IC may include EAS as an auxiliary function. The combined EAS and RFID functions may be accomplished by physically packaging separate RFID and EAS tags together in a single housing. In some implementations, an RFID tag may be modified to simulate an EAS function by sending special codes when a reader interrogates the RFID tag. Physically packaging two separate RFID and EAS tags in a single housing, however, may be expensive because it may require two separate devices, a large bulky package, and the interaction between the two tags may degrade the detection range of both the RFID and the EAS functions. Using the RFID function with special codes to simulate the EAS function also is inferior. Typically an RFID IC requires a turn-on voltage of 1.3 volts or greater in order to operate. This turn-on voltage threshold requirement may limit the overall detection range if the interrogation signal received by the RFID is not sufficient to overcome the turn-on voltage threshold in order to provide an adequate amount of power to the IC.

Techniques for detecting RFID tags in electronic article surveillance systems using frequency mixing


A method for delivering a therapeutic substance to a treatment site within a body lumen includes advancing a balloon catheter to the treatment site. A balloon of the balloon catheter is inflated and while the balloon is inflated, a primer that coats the treatment site and attracts the therapeutic substance thereto is delivered through a first fluid delivery lumen of the balloon catheter. The balloon of the balloon catheter is deflated for a predetermined period of time. The balloon of the balloon catheter is reinflated and while the balloon is reinflated, the therapeutic substance is delivered through a second fluid delivery lumen of the balloon catheter. The primer improves adherence of the therapeutic substance to the treatment site.

The field of cell replacement research and tissue engineering currently is one of the major focuses of medical technology. Cell therapy holds great promise for the future, particularly for degenerative diseases including for example heart failure, diabetes, and spinal cord injury. Loss of cells in organs with low regenerative capacity is critical to repair and recovery of function of that organ.
An exciting area of tissue engineering is the emerging technology of "self-cell" or autologous cell therapy, where cells of a given tissue type are removed from a patient, isolated, perhaps mitotically expanded and/or genetically engineered, and ultimately reintroduced into the donor/patient with or without synthetic materials or other carrier matrices. One goal of autologous cell therapy is to help guide and direct the rapid and specific repair or regeneration of tissues. Such autologous cell therapy is already a part of clinical practice; for example, using autologous bone marrow transplants for various hematologic conditions. One of the greatest advantages of autologous cell therapy over current technologies is that the autologous nature of the tissue or cell greatly reduces, if not eliminates, immunological rejection and the costs associated therewith.
In addition, allogenic cell therapy is also under investigation for tissue repair or regeneration. The term 'allogenic cell' refers to a cell that is isolated from a donor and transplanted into a different individual/non-donor. Allogenic cell therapy is sometimes referred to as 'off-the-shelf' therapy, with companies collecting cells from one or more donors, expanding the cells and packaging them for delivery to patients who were not cell donors. The issue of immunological rejection of allogenic cells can be overcome by isolating, expanding and transplanting specific cell types which have been shown to elicit little or no immune response (e.g. mesenchymal cells).
Thus, there has been interest in the delivery of cells to locations within mammalian bodies to effect new growth of tissue in the region of implantation. Various types of tissue may be implanted, including for example, bone, cartilage, muscle and other types. Similar advances are being made with other tissues such as the liver, the pancreas, tendons and ligaments. Cardiac tissue has also been the subject of cell delivery efforts in order to repair regions severely damaged by myocardial infarctions or congestive heart failure. One example of such use includes stem cells delivered surgically into the myocardium of the patient to regenerate damaged tissue, promote revascularization and angiogenesis. Desired volume concentrations of cells per delivery vary according to indications, but it is not uncommon to have tens to hundreds of millions of cells intended to be delivered to one or more sites.
However, a limitation of cell therapy, particularly within the myocardium, is lack of retention of sufficient numbers of delivered cells at the target site. The present invention is directed to a device and method for cell delivery that improves retention of the cells in the vicinity of the luminal wall.

Over-the-wire balloon catheter for efficient targeted cell delivery


A shielded interconnect bus crossover useful in interconnecting MEM devices with control signal sources or the like and a method of fabricating such a shielded interconnect bus crossover are disclosed. In one embodiment, a shielded interconnect bus crossover (10) includes a plurality of base pads (44A-C) and a plurality of support columns (74) extending upward from the base pads (44A-C) through holes formed in an interconnect bus shield (78) overlying a plurality of interconnect bus lines (42). The support columns (74) support a two layer elevated crossing line (92/112) in a spaced relation above the interconnect bus shield (78). The two layer elevated crossing line (92/112) is oriented transverse to the direction of the interconnect bus lines (42) and is located within the perimeter of a two layer rectangular crossing line shield wall (96/116).

The present invention relates generally to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and more particularly to the design and fabrication of interconnect architectures for MEMS.
MEMS can include numerous electromechanical devices fabricated on a single substrate, many of which are to be separately actuated in order to achieve a desired operation. For example, a MEMS optical switch may include numerous mirrors that are each positionable in a desired orientation for reflecting optical signals between originating and target locations upon actuation of one or more microactuators associated with each mirror. In order for each mirror to be separately positioned, separate control signals need to be supplied to the microactuators associated with each mirror. One manner of accomplishing this is to connect each microactuator to a control signal source with a separate electrical conductor (i.e., an interconnect line) fabricated on the surface of the substrate that extends between its associated microactuator and a bond pad at the periphery of the substrate where it can be easily connected to an off-chip control signal source. In this regard, the separate interconnect lines together comprise an interconnect bus and are typically arranged to run parallel with each other for substantial portions of their length.
As may be appreciated, sometimes one of the lines needs to cross the other lines in the interconnect bus in order to connect the line to its associated MEM device. For example, where mirrors are fabricated on both sides of the interconnect bus, a line on one side of the bus may need to be connected to an actuator associated with a mirror on the other side of the interconnect bus, or an interior line may need to be connected to an actuator associated with a mirror on either side of the bus. Where the lines of the interconnect bus are fabricated in the lowest level of electrically conductive material on the MEM chip, then the line must cross above the other interconnect bus.
At the scale of typical MEMS devices, there are several considerations associated with crossing one signal carrying line above the other lines of an interconnect bus. Since the crossing line is only a few microns above the other lines of the interconnect bus, the crossing line may be pulled down into undesirable contact with the other lines due to capillary forces during wet chemistry fabrication process steps or by electrostatic attractive forces during operation of the MEMS device. Also, stray particles on the surface of the MEMS chip may become wedged between the crossing line and the other interconnect bus lines below causing a short circuit. Further, undesirable cross-talk may occur between the crossing line and one or more of the other interconnect bus lines being crossed.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a shielded interconnect bus crossover for MEMS and a method for fabricating such an interconnect bus crossover having one or more electrically conductive lines that cross above one or more other electrically conductive lines of the interconnect bus. The line(s) of the shielded interconnect bus crossover is/are both physically and electrically isolated from the interconnect bus lines being crossed over by supporting the crossover line(s) with strategically located support columns and surrounding the crossover line(s) with a surrounding shield structure. The support columns prevent the crossover line(s) from being pulled down against the line(s) being crossed. The surrounding shield structure substantially reduces the possibility of cross-talk between the elevated crossing line(s) and the other interconnect bus lines and alleviates the possibility of short circuits due to particles and the like getting wedged between the crossover line(s) and the other interconnect bus lines.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a shielded interconnect bus crossover includes a substrate and first, second, and third layers of electrically conductive material overlying and supported by at least a portion of the substrate. In this regard, the first, second and third layers may, for example, be comprised of doped polysilicon. In one embodiment, the second layer is comprised of a thinner lower layer of doped polysilicon and a thicker upper layer of doped polysilicon. The substrate may, for example, be comprised of silicon. There may also be one or more intervening layers of electrically conductive material and/or dielectric layers between an upper surface of the substrate and the first electrically conductive layer. For example, in one embodiment, there is a dielectric stack comprised of a lower layer of thermal oxide and an upper layer of silicon nitride between the upper surface of the substrate and the first electrically conductive layer.
An interconnect bus is patterned from the first and second layers of electrically conductive material. The interconnect bus includes a plurality of interconnect bus lines, a plurality of interconnect bus shield walls, and an interconnect bus shield supported in a spaced relation above the interconnect bus lines by the interconnect bus shield walls. A plurality of base pads patterned from the first layer of electrically conductive material are positioned at locations within the footprint of the interconnect bus along an imaginary line extending transverse to an orientation of the interconnect bus lines. At least one of the base pads is in contact with at least one of the interconnect bus lines. A plurality of support columns patterned from the second layer of electrically conductive material overlie the base pads and extend vertically upward through holes formed in the interconnect bus shield. At least one elevated crossing line patterned from the third layer of electrically conductive material is supported in a spaced relation above the interconnect bus shield by the support columns. In one embodiment, there may also be at least one crossing line shield wall also patterned from the third layer of electrically conductive material that encircles the elevated crossing line and defines an enclosed area within which the elevated crossing line is located.
Where an additional fourth layer of electrically conductive material is available, there may be an elevated crossing line patterned from the fourth electrically conductive layer on top of the third layer elevated crossing line. In one embodiment, there may also be a crossing line shield wall patterned from the fourth layer of electrically conductive material on top of the third layer crossing line shield wall. The third and fourth layer elevated crossing lines together form a two layer elevated crossing line having enhanced rigidity as compared to a single layer elevated crossing line, which may be desirable to reduce the possibility that the elevated crossing line will be pulled down into undesirable contact with the interconnect bus shield by electrostatic or capillary attractive forces where no sacrificial material remains between the elevated crossing line and the interconnect bus shield. Where there is a lower probability that the crossing line can be pulled down against the interconnect bus shield, such as when a sacrificial material remains between the elevated crossing line and the interconnect bus shield, the interconnect bus crossover may include an electrical/particle shield patterned from the fourth electrically conductive layer that covers the enclosed area defined by the third layer crossing line shield wall. Where a fifth layer of electrically conductive material is available, the interconnect bus crossover may include an electrical/particle shield patterned from the fifth electrically conductive layer that covers the enclosed area defined by the third and fourth layer crossing line shield walls.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for making a shielded interconnect bus crossover that crosses at least one interconnect bus line of an interconnect bus over other interconnect lines of the interconnect bus includes the step of depositing a first layer of electrically conductive material (e.g., doped polysilicon) above at least a portion of a substrate. A plurality of base pads are formed from the first layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, the base pads are formed at various locations within the footprint of the interconnect bus along an imaginary line extending transverse to an orientation of the interconnect bus lines with at least one of the base pads contacting at least one of the interconnect bus lines. A second layer of electrically conductive material (e.g., doped polysilicon) is deposited above the first layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, there may be an intervening layer of sacrificial material deposited between the first and second electrically conductive layers. In one embodiment, the step of depositing a second layer of electrically conductive material comprises the steps of depositing a lower layer of doped polysilicon, depositing an intervening layer of sacrificial material, removing the intervening layer of sacrificial material, and depositing an upper layer of doped polysilicon, with the lower and upper layers together forming a single layer (i.e., the second layer) of electrically conductive material. After the second layer of electrically conductive material is deposited, a plurality of support columns are formed from the second layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard the support columns are formed to overlie the base pads and extend vertically upward therefrom through holes formed in the interconnect bus shield.
With the support columns formed in the second layer of electrically conductive material, a third layer of electrically conductive material (e.g., doped polysilicon) is deposited above the second layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, there may be an intervening layer of sacrificial material deposited between the second and third layers of electrically conductive material. At least one elevated crossing line is formed from the third layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, the elevated crossing line is formed to be supported in a spaced relation above the interconnect bus shield by the support columns. If desired, at least one crossing line shield wall may also be formed from the third layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, the crossing line shield wall is formed to define an enclosed area within which the third layer elevated crossing line is located.
Where an elevated crossing line with enhanced rigidity is desired, the method of the present invention may also include the additional steps of depositing a fourth layer of electrically conductive material (e.g., doped polysilicon) above the third layer of electrically conductive material and forming at least one elevated crossing line from the fourth layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, the elevated crossing line formed from the fourth layer of electrically conductive material is formed to overlie the elevated crossing line formed from the third layer of electrically conductive material such that the third and fourth layer elevated crossing lines together form a two layer elevated crossing line. If desired, there may also be the further step of forming at least one crossing line shield wall from the fourth layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, the crossing line shield wall formed from the fourth layer of electrically conductive material is formed to overlie the crossing line shield wall formed from the third layer of electrically conductive material such that the third and fourth layer crossing line shield walls together define an enclosed area within which the two layer elevated crossing line is located. The method of the present invention may also include the further steps of depositing a fifth layer of electrically conductive material (e.g., doped polysilicon) above the fourth layer of electrically conductive material, and forming an electrical/particle shield from the fifth layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, the fifth layer electrical/particle shield is formed to overlie the enclosed area defined by the third and fourth layer crossing line shield walls and to be positioned in a spaced relation above the two layer elevated crossing line. Where a two layer elevated crossing line having enhanced rigidity is not needed, the method of the present invention may include the additional steps of depositing a fourth layer of electrically conductive material (e.g., doped polysilicon) above the third layer of electrically conductive material, and forming an electrical/particle shield from the fourth layer of electrically conductive material. In this regard, the fourth layer electrical/particle shield is formed to overlie the enclosed area defined by the third layer crossing line shield wall and to be positioned in a spaced relation above the third layer elevated crossing line.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon review of the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures.


An anti-icing system for a nacelle of a gas turbine powerplant is disclosed. Various construction details have been developed which provide means to exhaust fluid from an inlet shell cavity and into an external medium. In one embodiment, the exhaust means (62) includes a plurality of aerodynamically shaped vanes (66) disposed within the inlet shell cavity (52) and a plurality of exhaust slots (68) wherein each of the vanes is adjacent one of the exhaust slots. The vanes are adapted to turn a portion of the body of fluid flowing within the inlet shell cavity to a direction substantially normal to the direction of flow of the external medium.

A typical aircraft powerplant, such as an axial flow gas turbine engine, includes a nacelle which extends about the engine. The nacelle is the radially outermost structure of the powerplant. The nacelle extends forward of the gas turbine engine to define an inlet for working fluid to enter the gas turbine engine. The gas turbine engine includes a flowpath in communication with the fluid inlet of the nacelle. The flowpath extends sequentially through a compressor section, a combustion section and a turbine section. The compression section and turbine section include many components susceptible to impact damage, such as rotating blades which extend across the flowpath and interact with the working fluid.
Safety is a primary concern in the design of powerplants to be used in aircraft applications. One hazard to be avoided is the build-up of ice on the engine and the structure surrounding the engine. The build-up of ice presents many problems. First, ice may add considerable weight to the engine and to the aircraft. Second, the build-up of ice near the inlet of the nacelle may adversely affect the flow of working fluid into and through the engine.
Another concern with powerplants is the useful life of the powerplant and components. The build-up of ice near the inlet of the engine may lead to large pieces of ice breaking loose from the inlet and flowing into the gas turbine engine. Ice flowing into and through the engine may damage components within the engine, such as the blades, and components attached to the nacelle, such as inlet acoustic panels. The damaged components may then require replacement.
Not surprisingly, anti-ice systems for the inlet area of nacelles have been the focus of a significant amount of research and development within the aircraft industry. An example of this is U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,745, entitled "Swirl Anti-Ice System" and issued to Rosenthal. This patent discloses a system for injecting hot gases into an annular cavity located on the leading edge of the nacelle. The cavity extends circumferentially about the inlet. The hot gases are injected into the cavity in a direction tangential to the circumferential direction. The tangential injection produces a circumferentially flowing body of hot gases within the cavity. Exhaust vents or holes located in a bulkhead of the nacelle allow gases within the cavity to escape into the external medium flowing around the powerplant. The venting of the anti-ice fluid prevents over pressurization of the cavity in the event of an anti-ice fluid flow regulator failure. The exhaust holes lie in a plane parallel to the direction of flow to avoid direct impingement of the body of fluid on the exhaust holes.
The anti-ice system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,745 is effective at reducing the built-up of ice on the inlet of the nacelle. There are, however, drawbacks to the use of this anti-ice system. The exhaust fluid removed through the exhaust holes is typically flowed into a chamber within the nacelle. The exhaust fluid exits the nacelle through a vent and flows into the external medium flowing about the nacelle. Flowing the exhaust gases through the nacelle structure may lead to overheating of the nacelle in the vicinity of the chamber.
Further, the fluid exiting the vent tends to be held against the outer barrel skin by the external medium flowing past the outer skin (the free stream). This may lead to overheating of the nacelle surface downstream of the vent. Overheating of the nacelle is especially significant if the nacelle is made from lightweight composite materials. These composite materials are typically bonded together with an adhesive having a lower melting temperature than traditional metallic materials. The rate of temperature decay downstream of the vent is dependent upon the size of the vent and a blowing parameter. Large values for the area of the vent result in a low rate of decay of temperature downstream of the vent. Small values of the blowing parameter, defined as the ratio of exhaust exit velocity to free stream velocity, also result in a low rate of decay of temperature downstream of the vent. The affects of vent size and blowing parameter or the rate of decay of temperature are cumulative.
The vent also introduces aerodynamic penalties in the form of increased drag of the nacelle when the anti-ice system is shut off. The drag caused by the vent is dependent upon the size of the vent and the axial location of the vent. The larger the exit area of the vent or the closer the vent is to the leading edge of the nacelle, the greater the drag attributable to the vent.
A solution to the overheating of the nacelle caused by the exhaust flow through the nacelle is to duct the exhaust flow from the cavity to the vent. Ducting the exhaust fluid through the nacelle structure reduces the likelihood of overheating of the nacelle in the vicinity of the chamber, but also increases the size and weight of the nacelle structure. Attempts to decrease the bulk of the ducts by moving the exhaust vent forward, and thereby shortening the length of the duct, increases the aerodynamic drag of the vent. In addition, the duct does not prevent overheating of the nacelle surface downstream of the vent.
The above art notwithstanding, scientists and engineers under the direction of Applicants' Assignee are working to develop efficient anti-icing systems for the nacelle of a gas turbine powerplant.