The present invention discloses an apparatus for detecting a faulty antenna among a plurality of antennas contained in a communication device (200), comprising: a measurer (210) adapted to measure signal strengths of signals obtained from the plurality of antennas each; a calculator (220) adapted to calculate differences between each two of the measured signal strengths; a first comparator (230) adapted to compare each of the calculated differences with a first predetermined threshold value; and a first decider (240) adapted to decide, among the plurality of antennas, an antenna to be faulty on the basis of a respective result of the comparison. The present invention provides an efficient and direct way to detect antennas that are not performing according to expectations, without use of extra external or dedicated detection devices, which reduces hardware and software cost. Further, the detection performed according to the present invention only takes advantage of the measured data of signal strengths, and neither extra transmit power nor time slot is needed for the detection. Also, statistical data of antennas for a long term can be obtained according to the present invention.

In current wireless communication systems, faulty antenna(s) may result in loss of diversity gain and thus reduced coverage, even increase number of drops during call set-up and handovers. Hence, detection of faulty antennas is of great importance.
A conventional faulty antenna detecting system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,496B1, wherein the system is adapted to detect a standing wave caused by a reflected wave generated at a trouble point of an antenna system, and comprises a distributing means for branching outputs of the reflected wave for detection, a plurality of detectors connected to respective outputs of the distributing means for detecting voltage value of the standing wave, and a control circuit connected to the detectors for receiving output of each detector to judge fault of the antenna system by processing the detection results.
The main drawback of the above-described conventional technique for detecting faulty antenna(s) is that a plurality of external devices are needed, such as the distributing means, the detectors, and the control circuits. Thus, hardware and software cost will be increased, and extra transmit power and time slots are needed for the detection.

Apparatus and method for detecting faulty antennas


A relay fault detection and correction system includes a signal detector structured to measure primary and secondary signals, and generates a fault output signal if the signals appear to be unterminated due to a relay not connecting the signals to the loads. A cycle circuit is structured to cause a relay controller to cycle a potentially under-performing relay between its states a number of times after the signal detector generates the fault output.

Relays are commonly used to provide switching for signals. If a relay fails with an open circuit, then the system using the signal from the relay will not operate properly because the connection normally closed by the relay remains open. In general this disclosure relates to mechanical relays that continue to pass signal even when power to the relay is removed.
A particular application for such relays include a video device called an Electronic Change Over (ECO) for video signals, such as the ECO422D available from Tektronix, Inc. of Beaverton, Oreg. In an ECO, relays are used to provide backup protection. For instance, a relay or relay network may be connected to two sources of the same video signal, a primary and a backup. In operation, the relay network begins by initially coupling the primary video signal to an output by moving the armatures to the primary state. If the primary input signal should fail, the relays can quickly change to the backup video source with a minimum of delay or interruption by simply changing the states of the relays. Relays are preferred for this application over electronic switches since a relay will continue to pass a signal even if power to the ECO is removed.
The combination of a primary source and a backup source connected to an output makes a channel. In practice ECOs may have ten, twenty or more channels.
It is common that whichever of the primary and secondary signals is not active in the ECO be connected to a load termination, such as a resistor, so that the non-active source is driving a nominal load rather than being connected to an open circuit.
A problem with ECOs exists in that relays have two common failure mechanisms. One failure is that relay contacts wear after a relatively large number of change cycles. This failure is usually not problematic in ECOs since the relays only occasionally or rarely switch to the backup video signal. For instance the ECOs occasionally switch to the backup video signal to test the backup or to allow maintenance on the primary signal delivery system. The second failure mechanism is that the electrical contacts of mechanical relays tend to degrade after a long period without use. This degradation is usually caused by oxidation of the contact material or deposition of organic material on the open contacts of the relay. This second failure mechanism is problematic for ECOs since they may be connected to the primary video input for a very long time, for instance measured in years, before changing to the secondary video input. This long time period may allow degradation of the relay contacts that connect the secondary video input to occur. Having a degraded relay contact may prevent the secondary signal from being able to be switched, or may generate noise or other interference in the secondary video signal.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other issues in the prior art.


A roller coaster ride includes a pair of spaced apart parallel tracks and a car assembly. The car assembly includes a superstructure with wheels which engage the track and a passenger compartment which is coupled to the superstructure but force-isolated from it by force controlling devices. According to the presently preferred embodiment, the force controlling devices include springs and pneumatic cylinders. The pneumatic cylinders are preferably controlled by an electrically operated pump/valve in response to signals from the roller coaster operator and/or a computer. The passenger compartment is preferably provided with a plurality of sensors for sensing velocity and acceleration as well as the condition of doors and restraints. According to one embodiment of the invention, the outputs from sensors are transmitted to the roller coaster operator and the operator manually activates pumps/valves to alter the forces acting on the passenger compartment. According to a second embodiment, the outputs from sensors are transmitted to a central computer which sends signals to the pumps/valves in response to a program which responds to the sensor signals. According to a third embodiment, the outputs from sensors are transmitted to an onboard computer which sends signals to the pumps/valves in response to a program which responds to the sensor signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to amusement ride systems, and in particular, roller coasters. More specifically, the invention relates to a roller coaster car having a passenger compartment which is isolated by force controlling devices such as springs and pneumatic cylinders.
2. State of the Art
Roller coasters have enjoyed immense popularity in the United States and elsewhere for over one hundred years. These rides often consist of a passenger carrying vehicle, or collection of vehicles joined together, which traverse along a track system. Historically, the track system typically comprised a pair of parallel rails which exhibit steep upward and downward gradients in elevation, and sharp left and right banking turns. Aside from supplying the passenger with a pleasing panoramic view from high elevations, the main objective of the roller coaster ride was to thrill the passenger by traversing the track at the fastest possible speed while maintaining an acceptable degree of safety. The thrill experienced by the passenger thus arose through the sensations of rapid acceleration, brought about through rapid changes in vertical and horizontal direction of movement.
Innovations in roller coaster design have sought to enhance and intensify passenger thrill by substantially increasing the speed of movement along the track system, and hence, the resulting forces of acceleration experienced by the passenger. These innovations were greatly facilitated by technological advances in materials engineering, a direct result of which enabled the construction of stronger and lighter track systems and passenger vehicles. However, attendant with ever increasing speeds of the passenger vehicles is the ever increasing risk of catastrophic failure of the ride. As a result, other innovations sought to enhance and intensify passenger thrill by incorporating increasingly complex geometries into the track system itself. Two of the more common track geometries which have thus evolved are the loop and the helix.
In parallel with the aforedescribed track system geometries, there also exist innovations in passenger vehicle configurations for enhancing and intensifying passenger thrill. These innovations typically depart from the conventional roller coaster in that the passenger vehicle no longer assumes the standard railway car configuration. For example, Achrekar (U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,943) discloses a suspended passenger vehicle configuration whereby individual passenger units are rotated and translated in a multiplanar manner as the carriage assembly proceeds along a Mobius strip, or one-half section of helical track. A more recent departure from the conventional passenger vehicle configuration is disclosed in Bolliger et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,984). The invention disclosed in Bolliger enables passengers to be suspended from a bogie moving along a horizontal track system, so that a seated passenger""s head is in closer proximity to the bogiexe2x80x94and hence the track railsxe2x80x94than are the passenger""s body and limbs. This configuration results in a passenger vehicle being designed so that each passenger is suspended with his legs in mid-air without a wall or a floor around him.
Although advancements in roller coaster technology allow the passenger vehicles to experience higher speeds and accelerations than ever before, there are biological limits to the speed and acceleration which can be sustained by a person of ordinary health. Moreover, except for the advances described above, the essential roller coaster experience has remained unchanged over the years.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved roller coaster ride.
It is also an object of the invention to provide methods and apparatus for a new type of roller coaster experience.
It is another object of the invention to provide methods and apparatus for providing a visual roller coaster experience which is different from the force and acceleration experience.
In accord with these objects which will be discussed in detail below, the roller coaster of the present invention includes a pair of spaced apart parallel tracks and a car assembly which is adapted to ride on the tracks. The car assembly includes a superstructure with wheels which engage the track and a passenger compartment which is coupled to the superstructure but force-isolated from it by a plurality of force controlling devices. According to the presently preferred embodiment, the force controlling devices include springs and pneumatic cylinders. The pneumatic cylinders are preferably controlled by an electrically operated pump/valve in response to signals from the roller coaster operator and/or a computer. The passenger compartment is preferably provided with a plurality of sensors for sensing velocity and acceleration as well as the condition of doors and restraints. According to a first embodiment of the invention, the outputs from sensors are transmitted to a central computer which sends signals to the pumps/valves in response to a program which responds to the sensor signals to alter the forces acting on the passenger compartment. According to a second embodiment, the outputs from sensors are transmitted to an onboard computer which sends signals to the pumps/valves in response to a program which responds to the sensor signals. According to a third, less preferred embodiment of the invention, the outputs from sensors are transmitted to the roller coaster operator and the operator manually activates pumps/valves.
The invention provides a new kind of roller coaster experience by altering the forces sensed by passengers so that the force sensation differs from what would be expected from the visual sensation. It also permits the car assembly to experience forces which are higher than the forces experienced by the passenger compartment.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures.

Roller coaster car having a force-isolated passenger compartment


An implantable medical device is operable in a normal mode of operation, including a test mode, as well as in at least one other mode of operation outside of the normal mode. The device has a signal detector that is responsive to an external activation and a timer that can be programmed with a specified time period. If the external activation is detected by the signal detector during the programmed time period, the medical device is operated in a mode outside of the normal mode. The medical device enters into the test mode, within the normal mode, if the external activation is detected by the signal detector outside of the time period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an implantable medical device according to the preamble of the independent claim.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the field of implantable heart stimulators or pulse generators to use a magnet to change the pacemaker to a predetermined test mode, for indication of e.g. battery condition. Other predetermined modes may for instance be threshold tests or diagnostic data storage etc. When such a test is performed a magnetically strong test magnet is held at the skin of the patient in order to activate a detector. An activation of the detector results in a "magnet ON" detection, which in turn results in a change to the predetermined mode. Such a pacemaker is for instance disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,020.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,998 discloses an implantable medical device including a GMR sensor that inter alia is used to detect the presence of a magnetic field from a permanent magnet. When a magnetic field is detected the sensor causes the operation of the implantable device to revert to a magnet mode (also referred to as safe mode) of operation in which a predetermined, typically asynchronous, ventricular pacing rate is emitted.
However, some medical interventions might interfere with the function of an implantable pulse generator such as a pacemaker. Examples are electrosurgery, diathermal treatment etc. In these cases one possibility is to program the IPG into a safe mode during the entire intervention. The device according to the '998 patent of course allows this, but at the cost of not allowing the device to be provided with a magnet test mode, since the magnet mode is reserved for the safe mode. The device according to the '020 patent does not allow a safe mode, but does allow the magnet test mode. To obtain a safe mode the device according to the '020 patent the device would have to be extensively reprogrammed by a cardiologist both before and after the medical intervention.

Implantable medical device operable in a special mode upon activation during a programmed time


A circuit arrangement for driving a group of relays includes a voltage regulator for supplying a normal holding voltage and for supplying a briefly increased pick-up voltage upon connection of each additional relay. An ammeter recognizes the increase in current as the result of the connection of each additional relay and generates a control signal to the voltage regulator for increasing the voltage. Simple and effective control of the relays without high heat loss is thus achieved without requiring individual sensor lines and the like.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a circuit for operating a group of relays which are driven by a common drive voltage.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electromagnetic relays which have a winding for attracting an armature, there is a general problem in that the windings require a relatively high pick-up excitation signal, particularly given temperature fluctuations and given fluctuations in the supply voltage. Once the armature of the relay is attracted, a significantly lower holding excitation signal is adequate to maintain the relay in the "on" condition. Thus, if the high pick-up voltage also termed pick-up voltage is applied during the continuous operation of the relay, an unnecessarily high amount of energy is consumed and the relay is undesirably heated.
To drive individual relays, it has long been known to lower the pick-up voltage to a lesser holding voltage after the attraction of the armature. This may be accomplished, for example, through the use of a mere time control which switches to the holding voltage after a pick-up pulse of a defined duration. Instead, the successful attraction of the armature can be positively identified and, thus, the switch to the lower holding voltage may be undertaken only after the armature is successfully attracted. According to German Patent Document DE 36 15 908 A1, a decrease in the current at the moment the magnetic circuit of the armature closes is identified and evaluated for switching to the lower voltage. In another German Patent Document DE 39 25 726 A1 is disclosed the sensing of the excitation current as well as of the excitation voltage and then increasing or reducing the current through the relay winding dependent upon these two values. The known drive circuits, however, are each designed only for operating an individual relay so that the entire circuit must be repeated for each relay given the operation of a number of relays at different times.
Although German Patent Document DE 33 31 678 C2 discloses a circuit arrangement for driving a number of relays which are optionally operable in parallel, a separate drive module is again required. The separate drive module applies the attraction pulses and holding pulse sequences which are generated in a common drive means to the respective relay winding. Here, too, a considerable circuit outlay is involved which is increased with each additional relay used.
The foregoing problem is particularly acute in relays operated in motor vehicles due to the high temperature differences which prevail and the wide fluctuations of battery voltages in such applications.

Circuit arrangement for driving a group of relays


A crimp tool is provided for crimping a workpiece. The crimp tool includes a crimp head having a crimp jaw. The crimp jaw includes opposing upper and lower jaw members arranged along a crimp axis. The lower jaw member is movable along the crimp axis relative to the upper jaw member. A handle is mounted to the crimp head. The handle includes a frame and a lever rotatably mounted on the frame for rotation relative to the frame between an open position and a closed position. A cam is operatively connected between the lever of the handle and the lower jaw member of the crimp head. The cam is configured to translate rotational movement of the lever relative to the frame into movement of the lower jaw member along the crimp axis.

The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to crimp tools, and more particularly, to hand-operated crimp tools.
Crimp tools are widely used for crimping a wide variety of workpieces. For example, crimp tools are used to crimp electrical terminals onto electrical conductors. Crimp tools include a crimp jaw having opposing jaw members for crimping the workpiece. One or both of the jaw members is driven toward the other to close the crimp jaw against the workpiece. Some crimp tools are manually operated using a user's hands. Such hand-operated crimp tools typically include a handle having a pair of arms that are squeezed together to close the crimp jaw of the tool. A user must exert a predetermined amount of force on the arms of the handle to squeeze the arms together; such force being commonly referred to as a "handle force". As the arms of the handle are squeezed together, crimp tools often begin with a relatively low handle force when the arms are rather spread apart and build to a higher peak handle force as the arms come together to complete the crimp. In some circumstances, it may be desirable that a hand-operated crimp tool be capable of being operated using only a single hand of the user. For example, the user may need the other hand to perform other tasks and/or hold other items. Moreover, two-handed tools may be difficult to use in confined spaces.
The peak handle force of at least some known hand-operated crimp tools is undesirably high. For example, some peak handle forces require that a user use two hands to squeeze the arms of the handle together. Moreover, and for example, too high of a peak handle force can cause the user discomfort and/or injury. Hand injuries that may be caused by too high of a peak handle force include, but are not limited to, fatigue, stress-related injuries, repetitive motion injuries, joint and musculature injuries, and/or the like. One solution for reducing the peak handle force of crimp tools is to lengthen the arms of the handle and thereby provide a longer lever arm. But, the longer handle arms result in a larger and/or bulkier crimp tool, which may be difficult to use in confined spaces, carry around, and/or stow away. Moreover, the increased distance between the ends of the longer arms of the handle may make it difficult or impossible to use the crimp tool with only a single hand.
There is a need for providing a crimp tool with a lower peak handle force while maintaining or reducing the length of the arms of a handle of the crimp tool.


A photodetector using graphene includes: a gate electrode; a graphene channel layer which is opposite to and spaced apart from the gate electrode and does not have π-binding; a first electrode which contacts a first side of the graphene channel layer; and a second electrode which contacts a side of the graphene channel layer, where the first and second sides are opposite to each other, and where the graphene channel layer includes a first graphene layer and a first nanoparticle disposed on the first graphene layer. The first graphene layer may include a single graphene layer, or the first graphene layer may include a plurality of single graphene layers, which is sequentially stacked and does not have π-binding.

1. Field
The disclosure relates to optical devices, and more particularly, to a photodetector using graphene and a method of manufacturing the photodetector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Graphene has higher electron mobility and higher hole mobility than materials known previously. In addition, graphene may have a high Fermi velocity that is close to about 1/300 of light speed. Graphene may respond to light having a wide wavelength bandwidth from an infrared domain to an ultraviolet domain. Such characteristics of graphene may be applied to various fields, and thus, graphene may be used for various products. For example, if graphene is used as channels of transistors, carrier mobility of the transistor may be much faster than that of silicon transistors. In addition, graphene may be used as channels of photodetectors.
However, a single layer of graphene has relatively low efficiency as well as relatively low photon absorbance compared to other bulk materials. Accordingly, photocurrent generation may be decreased, and photo-responsivity may be also low.
A multi-graphene layer having π-binding may be used to solve such problems of a single graphene layer. However, in the multi-graphene layer, carrier mobility may be lowered due to π-binding between graphene layers and merits of a single graphene layer may not be sufficiently provided.

Photodetector using graphene and method of manufacturing the same


A storage apparatus comprises: a current parameter varying section that can make a write current used for writing information on the storage medium and an overshoot amount corresponding to the write current variable; a detection section that detects an error rate or its corresponding error rate parameter for a plurality of combinations of the write current and overshoot amount varied by the current parameter varying section; a saturation factor calculation section that calculates a saturation factor representing a change in the error rate relative to a unit write current value from the error rate or error rate parameter detected by the detection section; and a current parameter setting section that determines current parameters based on the saturation factor obtained by the saturation factor calculation section for setting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage apparatus, a method of controlling the amount of write current overshoot in a storage apparatus, and a storage medium storing its program and, more particularly, to a storage apparatus, a method of controlling the amount of write current overshoot in a storage apparatus, and a storage medium storing its program capable of controlling a write current and the amount of its overshoot to an optimum value which are proposed as a technique relating to record control, read control of an HDD that has recently been used in various types of products such as a desktop PC, notebook PC, server, audio-visual equipment, and automobile product, and reliability of the HDD.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with improvement in the recording density (surface density) of HDD, linear density (BPI)/transfer rate is improved. In such a circumstance, improvement of write performance is also demanded. In order to enhance the write performance at a higher linear density and a higher transfer rate, rise- and fall-speed of a write current needs to be increased as well as current to be supplied needs to be increased.
However, the rise- and fall-speed are substantially determined by the characteristic of a PreAmplifier IC (Pre Amp) and set write current. Further, with regard to the Pre Amp, one that has an auxiliary function of determining the rise and fall characteristic, i.e., a function of controlling the amount of overshoot at the rise time of the write current, becomes popular.
Under the above situation, control of write current overshoot that influences the write performance has been widely demanded.
For example, there is known a method of controlling a write current comprising: a step that checks error rate while changing recording parameters under a test condition corresponding to the operating temperature of a disk drive; a step that selects a recording parameter value exhibiting the lowest error rate, and a step that uses a recording parameter value selected under an operating environment to optimize recording current of the disk drive (refer to, e.g., Patent Document 1 (Jpn. Pat. Appln. Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-199860)).
In the prior art disclosed in the Patent Document 1, the minimum write current and overshoot current (OSC) that fall within the limit of ensuring the head recording performance and that exhibit lowest error rate are used. In this case, if there exist two or more minimum values, a normalization technique is used.
However, such a control method of selecting the minimum value of current parameters cannot reflect the entire operating characteristics, thus posing a problem in terms of maintenance of reliability against a change in use environment, aged deterioration, and the like.

Storage apparatus, method of controlling amount of write current overshoot in storage apparatus and storage medium storing its program


A biotin-antibiotin immunoassay comprises coating a solid phase with a ligand-specific binding material, reacting the solid phase with a test sample, reacting the solid phase with the biotin-labeled form of the ligand-specific binding material and antibiotin labeled with a suitable marker. The marker is then measured to detect the amount of ligand present in the test sample.

Prior assay techniques for detecting ligands in a specimen have utilized the strong but noncovalent interaction between biotin and the highly basic protein avidin. In one such assay, described by Guesdon et al., J. Histochem. Cytochem. 27, 8:1131-1139 (1979), known as the Bridged Avidin-Biotin (BRAB) technique, a test sample such as serum containing an unknown antigen or antibody is reacted with a solid phase coated with the corresponding antibody or antigen. The test sample is then reacted with a biotinylated protein form of the same antigen or antibody used to coat the bead. This "sandwich" is then reacted with free avidin and a biotin-labeled indicator enzyme. The enzyme activity measured is directly proportional to the amount of unknown antigen or antibody present in the serum sample.
The BRAB technique described above has several limitations. The highly basic avidin carries a high positive charge and can nonspecifically adsorb to any negatively-charged biological components in the assay. The catalytic activity of the indicator enzymes can be destroyed or reduced upon conjugation to biotin. Also, this method can not be easily adapted to inhibition-type assays because of steric considerations.
A variation of the BRAB technique consists of coating a solid phase with antigen or antibody, reacting the coated solid phase with test serum, and reacting the test serum with a conjugate of avidin and antigen or antibody. The test serum is then reacted with a biotin-labeled indicator enzyme. This assay technique has the same disadvantages as the BRAB method, and, in addition, it is difficult to synthesize and obtain acceptable yields of avidin-antigen or avidin-antibody conjugates. Also, some immunological reactivity of the antigen or antibody is lost upon forming a conjugate with avidin.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,237, another biotin-avidin assay is described in which an enzyme-labeled avidin and a biotin-labeled reagent are utilized. In this assay, a solid phase containing a specific binding substance for a ligand of interest is incubated with a liquid medium suspected of containing the ligand of interest. Next, a biotin-labeled specific binding substance for the ligand and an enzyme-labeled avidin are added. Alternatively, the biotin-labeled specific binding substance for the ligand is bound to the enzyme-labeled avidin. The unreacted reagents are separated from the insoluble phase after incubation, and the enzyme activity of either the insoluble phase or the separated unreacted reagents is determined as a measure of the amount of ligand in the liquid medium.
This method has the same limitations as described above for the BRAB method such as the nonspecific binding of the highly positively-charged avidin. Also, the avidin-enzyme complex is not very stable, particularly when the complex is of a high concentration or at temperatures above 37.degree. C.

Immunoassay for the detection of ligands


In one aspect the present invention provides biodegradable, porous structures that each include a structural framework, wherein the structural framework includes: (a) a solidified mixture of polymer molecules and amino acid molecules, wherein at least some of the amino acid molecules are linked to other amino acid molecules within the framework; and (b) a multiplicity of interconnected spaces defined by the structural framework. In some embodiments, the porous structures of the invention are adapted to physically support the growth of living cells in vitro or in vivo, and can be used to grow living tissue and/or living organs. The present invention also provide methods for making the biodegradable, porous structures of the invention.

Trauma and disease can lead to the complete or partial loss of tissue, or a whole organ. Surgical strategies to deal with tissue loss include organ transplantation from one individual to another, tissue transfer from a healthy site to the affected site in the same individual, and replacement of tissue function with mechanical devices such as prosthetic joints and dialysis machines. Additional strategies include pharmacologic supplementation of the metabolic products of absent or nonfunctional tissue.
These strategies have a number of inherent limitations. For example, supplementation of metabolic products of diseased organs is currently most commonly used in endocrinology. Hormonal products, such as insulin, thyroid, adrenal, or gonadal hormones can be continuously supplemented. The lack of normal feedback mechanisms, though, may result in an imbalance of hormone levels, causing acute or long-term complications.
Non-biological materials are used routinely in ophthalmology (e.g., intraocular lenses), traumatology (e.g., replacement of joints), cardiovascular surgery (e.g., mechanical heart valves, vascular prostheses, and stents), and reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. These materials are also used for extracorporeal devices, such as dialysis or plasmapheresis apparatuses. Major complications include infection, lack of biocompatibility and limited material durability.
Surgical reconstruction, such as using different organs, or unaffected tissue, to replace diseased tissue or organ, also has its limitations. The replacement organs may include different tissue types, may not be able to properly function in the new environment, and may be unable to completely replace lost function. Morbidity at the donor site is a major concern.
Organ transplantation of kidney, liver, heart, lung, and pancreas has made many innovative advances in recent years. Unfortunately, however, organ transplantation is severely limited by an increasing donor shortage. The other major problems are the high cost of the procedures, and the necessity of lifelong immunosuppression with its serious side effects.
On the other hand, the technique of tissue engineering seeks to replace or restore damaged or defective tissue and organs with constructs that include specific populations of living cells that meet the needs of the damaged portion of the recipient. A problem in the field of tissue engineering, however, is the provision of support structures, often called scaffolds, that physically support and promote the growth of different cell types, in vitro or in vivo, to form new tissue or organs. Preferably the scaffolds are resorbed by the cells which grow around and within them. Accordingly, the present invention provides structures useful, for example, for physically supporting growing tissue and organs in vitro and in vivo, and methods of making the structures.

Porous structures useful for growing living tissue, and methods of manufacture


Chimeric clotting factors which localize the therapeutic to sites of coagulation (e.g., by being targeted to platelets or being activatable at sites of coagulation), have reduced clearance rates, have improved manufacturability, have reduced thrombogenicity, have enhanced activity, or have more than one of these characteristics are described as are methods for making chimeric clotting factors and methods for improving hemostasis using these clotting factors.

Initiation of the extrinsic clotting pathway is mediated by the formation of a complex between tissue factor, which is exposed as a result of injury to a vessel wall, and Factor VIIa. This complex then converts Factors IX and X to their active forms. Factor Xa converts limited amounts of prothrombin to thrombin on the tissue factor-bearing cell. This resulting thrombin is then able to diffuse away from the tissue-factor bearing cell and activate platelets, and Factors V and VIII, making Factors Va and VIIIa. During the propagation phase of coagulation, Factor Xa is generated by Factor IXa (in complex with factor VIIIa) on the surface of activated platelets. Factor Xa, in complex with the cofactor Factor Va, activates prothrombin into thrombin, generating a thrombin burst. The cascade culminates in the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin by thrombin, which results in the formation of a fibrin clot. Factor VII and tissue factor are key players in the initiation of blood coagulation.
Factor VII is a plasma glycoprotein that circulates in blood as a single-chain zymogen. The zymogen is catalytically inactive. Although single-chain Factor VII may be converted to two-chain Factor VIIa by a variety of factors in vitro, Factor Xa is an important physiological activator of Factor VII. The conversion of zymogen Factor VII into the activated two-chain molecule occurs by cleavage of the peptide bond linking the Arginine residue at amino acid position 152 and the Ile residue at amino acid position 153. In the presence of tissue factor, phospholipids and calcium ions, the two-chain Factor VIIa activates Factor X or Factor IX. Factor VIIa is thought to be the physiologic initiator of the clotting cascade by acting at the surface of a TF-bearing cell, typically a damaged endothelial cell, and generating the initial amount of thrombin that then diffuses to platelets to activate them and prime them for the propagation phase of thrombin generation. Therapeutically, recombinant FVIIa acts by activating Factor X on the surface of activated platelets, bypassing the need for FIXa or FVIIIa to generate a thrombin burst during the propagation phase of coagulation. Since FVIIa has relatively low affinity for platelets, recombinant FVIIa is dosed at supra-physiological levels. This process is thought be tissue factor-independent.
Human factor IX circulates as a single-chain glycoprotein (mol wt 57,000). It is present in plasma as a zymogen and is converted to a serine protease, Factor IXaβ (more commonly referred to as FIXa), by Factor XIa (activated plasma thromboplastin antecedent) in the presence of calcium ions. In the activation reaction, two internal peptide bonds are hydrolyzed in Factor IX. These cleavages occur at a specific arginyl-alanine peptide bond and a specific arginyl-valine peptide bond. This results in the release of an activation peptide (mol wt approximately equal to 11,000) from the internal region of the precursor molecule and the generation of Factor IXaβ (mol wt approximately equal to 46,000). Factor IXaβ is composed of a light chain (mol wt approximately equal to 18,000) and a heavy chain (mol wt approximately equal to 28,000), and these chains are held together by a disulfide bond.
Factor X is also synthesized as a single-chain polypeptide containing the light and heavy chains connected by an Arg-Lys-Arg tripeptide. The single-chain molecule is then converted to the light and heavy chains by cleavage of two (or more) internal peptide bonds. In plasma, these two chains are linked together by a disulfide bond, forming Factor X. Activated Factor X, Factor Xa, participates in the final common pathway whereby prothrombin is converted to thrombin, which in turn converts fibrinogen to fibrin.
Clotting factors have been administered to patients to improve hemostasis for some time. The advent of recombinant DNA technology has significantly improved treatment for patients with clotting disorders, allowing for the development of safe and consistent protein therapeutics. For example, recombinant activated factor VII has become widely used for the treatment of major bleeding, such as that which occurs in patients having haemophilia A or B, deficiency of coagulation Factors XI or VII, defective platelet function, thrombocytopenia, or von Willebrand's disease. Recombinant factor IX is therapeutically useful as well.
Although such recombinant molecules are effective, there is a need for improved versions which localize the therapeutic to sites of coagulation, have improved pharmacokinetic properties, have reduced clearance rates, have improved manufacturability, have reduced thrombogenicity, or have enhanced activity, or more than one of these characteristics.


A security authentication for PC client is provided according to the present invention, wherein said method includes: PC client sends a registry request to a server with a user ID and a password; The server makes first authentication based on the user ID and password, if the authentication succeeds, a field used for re-authentication will be created and returned to the PC client through an authentication successful message; When initiating a call, the PC client transmits the user ID and the field used for re-authentication acquired when registered to media gateway controller; The media gateway controller transfers the user ID and field used for re-authentication to the server, which makes second authentication according to the user ID and the field used for the second authentication, if the authentication fails, the call will be rejected, otherwise the call will be accepted and returns information of the called subscriber. The present invention successfully associates call and subscriber registry together, preferably solves security problems of the having registered legal PC subscriber and largely improves security performance when the subscriber uses the resources.

All kinds of PC security authentication methods in prior art are once-authentication, i.e. the PC client only needs to send a registry request to a Server while the PC client logging in, once the user identifier such as ID number and password passes authentication made by the Server, said PC will be able to access the services legally, which means the Server will no longer identify the PC client is legal or not when the PC utilizes the services.
The once-authentication method in prior art may give chances to illegal PC users to embezzle legal accounts. The FIG. 1 shows a flow graph of PC client authentication and utilization in a more typical ICW (Internet Call Waiting) service, wherein, Internet personal number (IPN) represents ID number such as account number or other various service numbers which can identify a subscriber. As shown in the drawings, if a legal subscriber has succeeded in the PC registry authentication, a wiser illegal PC subscriber can overleap the step of PC registry authentication, and use the number directly to initiate calls, occupying charge and resources of the legal subscriber.

Method for PC client security authentication


A drive assist apparatus which performs driving assistance in a predetermined interval having a gradient, includes average gradient information acquisition means for acquiring average gradient information of the predetermined interval; driving status information acquisition means for acquiring driving status information of a host vehicle; and gradient estimation means for estimating a gradient of a certain point within the predetermined interval or an average gradient of a certain interval within the predetermined interval, based on the average gradient information acquired by the average gradient information acquisition means and the driving status information of the host vehicle that is acquired by the driving status information acquisition means, and performs driving assistance in the predetermined interval, using the gradient that is estimated by the gradient estimation means.

Various technologies for assisting drivers of vehicles are developed, and as an example thereof, deceleration stop assistance is performed when a vehicle stops at a red signal at an intersection. When the deceleration stop assistance is performed, if there is a gradient in an assistance object interval in front of the intersection, the gravitational acceleration acts on the vehicle according to the gradient, and thus appropriate driving assistance is not possible without considering the gradient. Therefore, the drive assist apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1 performs an alert and a brake assist control as driving assistance according to signal cycle information received from a road-side apparatus (an infrastructure), and changes a start-up condition of driving assistance, based on the gradient information received from the road-side apparatus.

Drive assist apparatus, and information processing apparatus for vehicles


The invention provides a process and an apparatus for the high pressure polymerization of ethylene in which a jet pump is used to pump a fluid into a polymer/monomer product mixture leaving a bumped tubular reactor. The fluid may be recycled monomer or another fluid such as a modifier.

High pressure tubular reactors are widely used for the polymerization of ethylene at high pressure, for example, pressures of over 1000 bar, and up to 3000 bar or higher. Such tubular reactors are typically very long, for example more than 1000 meters long and are provided along their length with cooling jackets, injection ports for initiator, ethylene side streams and comonomer, as well as various ancillary equipment such as temperature sensors. Fresh ethylene from an ethylene supply is compressed to reactor pressure typically by a combination of a primary compressor which compresses the ethylene to an intermediate pressure, say, around 300 bar, and a secondary compressor which compresses the fresh ethylene together with recycled ethylene from that intermediate pressure up to the final reactor pressure. The ethylene is then usually heated in a pre-heater to a temperature suitable for the initiators to be used before being fed into the front end of the tubular reactor. As the ethylene flows along the tubular reactor initiator (and optionally comonomer) is injected, usually at several points along the length of the tubular reactor, and the ethylene polymerized to give a mixture comprising principally polymer and unreacted monomer. That mixture leaves the reactor through a valve, which is generally referred to as a high pressure let down valve, and then enters a separation system in which unreacted monomer is separated from the polymer and recycled back to the suction of the secondary compressor.
Various forms of separation system are known. One such known separation system includes two separation vessels arranged in series. The first separation vessel, sometimes referred to as the high pressure vessel, has an inlet for the product mixture coming from the high pressure let down valve, an outlet for the separated unreacted monomer gas (referred to as "off gas") and an outlet in the bottom of the vessel for the polymer. That polymer, which still contains, say, 30 to 40 wt % of ethylene, passes from the outlet of the first vessel through a conduit into the second vessel, often referred to as the low pressure vessel, where almost all of the remaining ethylene separates off. That off gas is removed through an upper outlet as off gas leaving the molten polymer to flow through an outlet in the bottom of the vessel. Typically, the high pressure vessel will operate at a pressure such that the off gas can be returned, via a recycle system, to the suction of the secondary compressor. The low pressure separator operates at a much lower pressure, and the off gas from the low pressure separator must be compressed in a further compressor (known as a "purge compressor" which may be part of the primary compressor) before being sent to the secondary compressor.
The molten polymer leaving the separation system is generally extruded and cooled to give a solid product, typically in pellet form, which is sent for storage or to other product handling facilities.
The polymerization of ethylene is an exothermic process which generates heat thereby causing the temperature of the monomer/polymer mixture to rise to a peak downstream of an initiator injection point and then to fall under the influence of the cooling applied to the tubular reactor. Where there are several initiator injection points along the length of the reactor the temperature of the monomer/polymer mixture will rise and fall several times as it travels along the length of the reactor, such that the temperature profile of the mixture along the length of the reactor is an undulating curve. Cooling of the product mixture in the tubular reactor is hindered by the necessarily thick walls of the reactor and effective cooling therefore requires long sections of cooling jacket. Another factor hindering cooling is the formation of a lamina flow region adjacent the inside wall of the tubular reactor which inhibits heat transfer out of the reactor. That laminar flow region increases in thickness as the viscosity of the product mixture increases along the length of the reactor, and is particularly significant when a high viscosity grade of polymer is being produced. In order to disrupt that region of laminar flow, some tubular reactors are bumped, that is, the high pressure let down valve is briefly opened up at regular intervals to give a sudden increase in the flow rate through the reactor and thereby improve heat transfer out of the reactor.
In some polymerization plants the product mixture is further cooled after it has left the tubular reactor by injecting cold ethylene into it as a "quench", prior to the entry into the separation system. The use of a "quench", however, has some disadvantages. In particular, the cold ethylene must be compressed in order to raise it to a pressure at which it can be injected into the flow of product mixture from the reactor. That compression requires energy and the compressor has also an associated maintenance cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,387 focuses on the use of rupture discs in an HPPE reactor with possible use of a bump cycle. However the use of a jet pump to introduce a fluid flow into the product mixture is not mentioned. GB2134121 addresses use of an anti-foam agent in the production of catalytically polymerized linear low density polyethylene, as opposed to a non-linear low density polyethylene material produced by the use of free radical initiators. The invention specifically addresses polyethylene production using an initiators injection system. U.S. Pat. No. 3,714,123 describes high pressure polymerization using bumping; however the use of a jet pump is not mentioned. U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,085 describes control of the peak temperature in the reactor the use of pulsing. However, the use of jet pumps to optimize operation is not disclosed.

Process for the production of polyethylene and ethylene copolymers


A system, method and computer program product are provided for prioritized network security. Initially, a set of policies is identified, where each policy has a condition associated therewith. It is then determined whether the conditions are met. Next, the policies are activated whose associated conditions are determined to be met. Such conditions represent a priority of the policy.

Network security management is becoming a more difficult problem as networks grow in size and become a more integral part of organizational operations. Attacks on networks are growing both due to the intellectual challenge such attacks represent for hackers and due to the increasing payoff for the serious attacker. Furthermore, the attacks are growing beyond the current capability of security management tools to identify and quickly respond to those attacks. As various attack methods are tried and ultimately repulsed, the attackers will attempt new approaches with more subtle attack features. Thus, maintaining network security is on-going, ever changing, and an increasingly complex problem.
Computer network attacks can take many forms and any one attack may include many security events of different types. Security events are anomalous network conditions each of which may cause an anti-security effect to a computer network, Security events include stealing conventional or private information; producing network damage through mechanisms such as viruses, worms, or Trojan horses; overwhelming the network's capacities in order to cause denial of services, and so forth.
Network security-risk-assessment tools, i.e. "scanners," may be used by a network manager to simulate an attack against computer systems via a remote connection. Such scanners can probe for network weaknesses by simulating certain types of security events that make up an attack. Such tools can also test user passwords for suitability and security. Moreover, scanners can search for known types of security events in the form of malicious programs such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.
During the course of scanning, a scanner may implement various policies in response to a security event or the threat of a security event. Such policies may include blocking predetermined files, blocking e-mail messages exhibiting certain criteria, changing passwords, and/or any other reaction to a known security event. In conventional network security systems, such policies are often maintained until the security event or threat no longer applies. Prior Art FIG. 1 illustrates the manner in which at least one policy 10 is maintained until the security event is non-existent.
By following such simplistic approach to triggering policies and policies in general, various problems may arise. For example, if separate security events trigger different policies that conflict, there is currently no way of dealing with such conflict. Other problems include the fact that policies associated with a serious "high-risk" security event may be disabled after the security event is terminated. In such situations, it may be more suitable to maintain such defensive policies for a period that is not necessarily a function of the immediate presence of the security event.

System, method and computer program product for applying prioritized security policies with predetermined limitations


A control apparatus (1) for controlling an electrical load (2) has a housing (28), a plug (12) mounted to the housing (28) for connecting the control apparatus (1) to the power outlet (4), a socket (10) mounted to the housing (28) for connecting the control apparatus (1) to the electrical load (2), and a receiver unit (6) mounted within the housing (28) and coupled to the plug (12) and the socket (10). In use, the receiver unit (6) receives a control signal that is indicative of an impending congestion period. Upon receipt of the control signal, the receiver unit (6) interrupts supply of power to the socket (10) and, hence, switches the electrical load (2) off.

The various embodiments of the present invention relate generally to metering electricity. More particularly, the various embodiments relate to an apparatus for controlling an electrical load.
Public utility companies (PUCs) are faced with customers' changing energy consumption patterns. For example, the residential use of modern loads, such as air conditioning systems or swimming pool pumping and heating systems, becomes more widespread. These modern loads contribute to a substantial part to the peak loads during hot weather periods. Although such peak loads occur only during a relatively short period of time, PUCs need to maintain distribution networks that have sufficient capacity for these peak loads. That is, modern loads such as air-conditioning systems require the electricity network infrastructure to be larger than otherwise necessary.
PUCs try to mitigate demand peaks by storing converted energy, for example, through the domestic hot water supply or heating systems. In addition, PUCs implement strategies to influence energy consumption, such as interruptive demand tariffs or congestion pricing. Under congestion pricing, for example, the price of a kilowatthour (kWh) of electricity may vary depending on the time of the day. Known electricity meters installed in domestic households interface to ripple control receivers to measure electricity consumption as a function of tariff structure and time. One example of an electricity meter having a communications module is an Enermet E120M module. A ripple control receiver is described, for example, in GB 2 171 278.
Despite these measures energy consumption is likely to increase over time, mostly due to the growth of modern loads. To maintain a sufficient network capacity, the distribution infrastructure needs to be upgraded to keep up with the increasing energy demand. However, upgrading the infrastructure requires substantial financial investments PUCs are hesitant to make.

Control apparatus for deactivating an electrical load during congestion periods


An apparatus (10) for changing the width of an internal die cavity (12) to accommodate product width changes has a die end plate (14) with a front surface facing the internal die cavity (12), a rear surface and defines an opening that extends through the front and rear surfaces. An internal deckle mounting block (16) attaches to the rear surface of end plate (14). An internal deckle has inner (18) and outer (20) members and mounts on the mounting block (16). Inner member (18) extends through the opening of the die end plate (14) and defines a chamber (22) and a first longitudinal slot (24). The outer member (20) is positioned about the inner member (18) concentric therewith and defines a second longitudinal slot (26). The inner member (18) rotates about the outer member (20) to vary alignment of the slots and create a passageway narrower than either slot to control coating thickness.

Polymeric resins are extrusion coated through dies to produce a polymeric coating. In producing photographic paper, a polymeric resin, such as polyethylene for example, is extrusion coated through dies onto the photographic paper substrate. The internal cavity of the die is normally of constant cross section across the coating width thereby enabling manufacture of various coating widths using a single die. Typically, coating width changes are made by adjusting external deckles which restrict the flow of resin through the slot opening. A common manufacturing problem resulting from the constant cross section internal and external deckles is non-uniform coating thickness at the edges of the coated material. The non-uniformity of thickness can be caused by a number of factors such as non-uniform cavity pressure, non-uniform molten resin temperature, or non-uniform Theological properties.
Prior efforts at controlling edge contours have focused on internal deckles with external width adjustment capability to improve edge bead thickness and thickness uniformity of the extruded layer near the edge, internal deckles with multiple stepped inserts and improved seals, and internal deckles with flow control obtained by changing the temperature of the insert or by providing separate flow channels to introduce a different resin material into the edge region. Such efforts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,106,268; 5,830,391; 5,582,850; 5,575,85; 5,505,609; 5,395,231; 4,659,302; 4,283,168; 3,694,132 and 2,982,995. These efforts at controlling the flow of resin near the edge try to mimic a clothes hanger shaped internal die cavity (tapered from center to edge) that is normally limited to constant width applications. The clothes hanger cavities are designed for specific flow conditions and resin rheological properties. In addition to multiple width limitations, resin flow rates and properties limit use of clothes hanger dies.
Constant cross section cavity extrusion dies are commonly constructed with adjustable lip sections to accommodate the cross width pressure distribution and resulting non-uniform resin flow. Mechanical design constraints have limited cross width bolt adjustment intervals to approximately one inch. Structural requirements for the die deformation require substantial adjustable lip cross sections. Both of these items, bolt spacing and stiff sections, limit the usefulness of external die bolts to adequately provide the fine cross width resolution needed to control coating thickness at the edges.
It is desirable to have an internal deckle closely fitted in the die cavity with an externally adjustable cross width. It is also desirable to control the flow of resin in a localized region near each edge of the die and to change resin flow and coating width independently of each other. While obtaining finer flow control, it is also desirable to reduce resin stagnation and the resultant resin physical property degradation.

International die deckle with flow control


In a network and a method for evaluating medical data, a disposable biochip is provided which contains a patient sample with multiple biomolecular markers, as well as a biochip identifier which characterizes the biochip. The biochip is inserted into a point of care test device, which reads the biochip identifier. The point of care test device transmits the data characterizing the biochip to a remote server having access to a data bank in which a large number of measurement protocols are stored, and which selects one of the measurement protocols for testing the sample based on the transmitted data characterizing the biochip. The measurement protocol is transmitted back to the point of care test device via the data link, where the sample is tested using the measurement protocol. The test results are evaluated in an expert system, and a diagnostic result is displayed at the point of care test device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an arrangement for reading and evaluating data from a biosensor array (biochip) for medical diagnostic purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well-known that the presence of certain biomolecules, such as a particular protein, antibody or DNA fragment, in the human body is correlated with certain diseases, and therefor it is also known to make a medical diagnosis based on identification of the presence of these biomolecules. If the presence of a certain molecular species at a certain concentration level in the human body has been shown to be correlated with the presence or absence of a particular pathology (disease), the relevant biomolecule is referred to as a diagnostic marker for the pathology. For most diseases, the pathological reaction chain is very complex, and involves a large number of different biomolecules which, in turn, also may play a role in the pathophysiology of another disease. Therefore, a single marker is not always sufficient in order to unequivocally diagnose a particular disease. Often, it is only through an evaluation protocol involving several combined markers that a diagnosis can be made. For example, if a concentration is high for a first marker, low for a second marker, and a third marker is absent, then a particular disease can be diagnosed. The measurement of single markers or multiple markers is referred to as an in vitro diagnostic test. The development of markers for such diagnostic tests is very cost intensive and time intensive, and the development of expert rules for such tests is even more cost intensive and time intensive.
A new generation of biosensor arrays has been developed and is about to enter widespread use in the medical diagnostic market. Instead of conducting multiple measurements of multiple markers with a number of different devices, or using highly sophisticated robots in a centralized diagnostic laboratory, the new generation of biosensor arrays are able to measure, in a fully automated manner, a large number of markers simultaneously, up to thousands of different markers on the same chip, without a need for further human interaction. Moreover, such measurement are made outside of a formal laboratory environment. Almost all known types of biomolecular markers (e.g. DNA fragments, proteins, enzymes, antibodies, etc.) can be measured simultaneously on the same chip. These biochips are particularly suited for immediately conducting the diagnostic test at a point of care (POC) site, such as a hospital bedside, a physician""s office, or even at the patient""s home. Such biochips also, of course, can be used in a professional centralized laboratory.
In such multi-marker biochips, the measurement procedure also becomes increasingly complex. Before starting the actual measurement, it is often necessary to conduct a sample preparation cycle, involving a chemical reaction, filtering, etc. During the measurement itself, certain boundary conditions, such as a stable temperature or a temperature time gradient or a certain bias potential at an electrode might be necessary in order to optimize or standardize the measurement result. The complete time sequence of all settings (chemical, electrical, mechanical) is referred to as a measurement protocol. A measurement protocol, moreover, can change, and likely will change, with every configuration of markers on a biochip, and may even be optimized during the life cycle of a given biochip configuration, as new and improved knowledge becomes available in the field. This requires fast and flexible ways to update measurement protocols at measurement devices in the field, i.e., testing and measurement devices located at point of care sites.
Since the number of pathologies or diseases which may have to be tested for at a point of care site is relatively large, it is very difficult for a point of care administrator to keep track of all of the different measurement protocols which are respectively necessary for these different diseases and pathologies, as well as to be sure that each protocol is up-to-date and/or matched to the version of the biochip which is being employed. For example, even though a particular measurement protocol may have been updated, the particular biochip being employed for a test, if it has been an inventory for a certain amount of time, may not be compatible with the most current protocol, but may require an xe2x80x9cout-of-datexe2x80x9d (but still approved) measurement protocol.
Because of the complexity and number of such in vitro tests, conventionally the majority of in vitro tests are conducted at centralized laboratories, with evaluations being made by experience laboratory personnel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a network for evaluating medical data which allows a point of care test device to receive a biochip with a patient""s sample and to obtain the relevant diagnostic data, without the necessity of resorting to the use of a centralized laboratory.
The above object is achieved in accordance with the principles of the present invention in a network and a method wherein a biochip having a patient""s sample is identified with a biochip identifier, such as a bar code, which includes the relevant information as to the type of pathology or disease which is to be tested using the biochip""s sample and/or an identification of the version of the biochip (in terms of successively developed modifications). The biochip is inserted in a point of care test device, which is in communication via a data link with a remote server. At the remote server, a number of measurement protocols are stored, either in a memory at the server or a memory accessible by the server. The various measurement protocols are not only different protocols for different diseases and pathologies, but are also different updates of the same protocol for the same disease or pathology. Based on the biochip identifier which is transmitted by the point of care test device to the remote server, the appropriate measurement protocol is selected and is transmitted back to the point of care test device via the data link.
The point of care test device then conducts the test on the sample in the biochip using the transmitted protocol, to obtain test result data.
Two options are available for evaluating the test result data. The point of care test device itself may contain sufficient software in order to evaluate the test result data at the point of care site. Alternatively, the test result data can be transmitted via the data link to the remote server, and the remote server can be provided with an evaluation unit, such as an expert evaluation system, which evaluates the test result data and transmits the diagnostic result back to the point of care test device via the data link.

Network for evaluating data obtained in a biochip measurement device


An image forming apparatus includes a cleaning portion for collecting waste toner from various locations within the image forming apparatus. Waste toner collected by the cleaning portion is routed to a waste toner collecting container. The waste toner collecting container includes a waste toner receptacle for storing the waste toner, a waste toner collector for leading the waste toner collected by the cleaning portion into the waste toner receptacle, and a flexible joint that couples the waste toner collector and the waste toner receptacle. The waste toner collecting container is removably mounted to the image forming apparatus. The flexible joint has the function of extending and contracting itself to enable the waste toner receptacle to move relative to the waste toner collector. A detector may be provided to detect an amount of waste toner collected in the container.

(1) Field of the Technology
The present technology relates to an image forming apparatus, and in particular relates to an image forming apparatus including a waste toner collecting container for collecting waste toner.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In the conventional image forming apparatuses based on electrophotography such as facsimile machines, printers and the like, image forming is performed by electrifying a rotationally driven photoreceptor drum by a charger, illuminating the photoreceptor drum with light in accordance with image information to form an electrostatic latent image, and applying toner to this electrostatic latent image by a developing unit to form a toner image. In some configurations called an intermediate transfer system, this toner image is temporarily transferred to an intermediate transfer medium such as a transfer belt or the like, then the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer medium to a recording medium such as sheet material, paper or the like, to produce a printout of the image. In other configurations, the toner image on the photoreceptor drum is directly transferred to a recording medium to produce a printout of the image.
In the photoreceptor drum (toner image bearer) on which toner images are formed in the thus configured image forming apparatus, at the transfer stage all the developed image information (toner image) on the photoreceptor drum cannot be transferred to the paper or the intermediate transfer medium. The transfer efficiency is usually, and roughly, estimated to be 85 to 95%, though this depends on the transfer mechanism used.
If a next printing operation is started without the toner that has not transferred to the paper, and remains on the photoreceptor drum, being cleaned, degradation of the print quality in the next printing operation will occur. To deal with this problem, the photoreceptor drum, after the transfer stage, and the intermediate transfer belt that receives a toner image from the photoreceptor drum and transfers it to the paper, are cleaned by associated cleaning units, so as to remove the leftover toner from them (cleaning stage). The toner collected at the cleaning stage is stored as waste toner into a waste toner box (waste toner collecting container).
The conventional waste toner box is removably mounted to the main body. When the waste toner box becomes full of waste toner, the box is unmounted from the main body, and mounted again after the waste toner is disposed or the box is replaced by a new empty waste toner box.
As a method for detecting the full waste toner box, there has been a conventionally known method in which, the waste toner collecting container is adapted to be retained by an elastic member such as a spring or the like, the downward shift of the waste toner collecting container due to the weight of the waste toner therein is detected by a sensor (see patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 2005-173451).
However, the above method suffers the problem that waste toner, as it falls into the waste toner collecting container, scatters because a gap arises between the waste toner discharge port for discharging waste toner, provided on the main body side of the image forming apparatus, and the waste toner receiving port for leading waste toner into the receptacle when the waste toner collecting container has moved down.
There is also another problem that, especially in a compact image forming apparatus, it is impossible to secure the space for storing a large quantity of waste toner because the vacant space in the apparatus has been limited so as to achieve its miniaturization. To deal with this, as a conventional technology, a waste toner collecting container which is formed to be extensible and contractible so that the capacity of the waste toner receptacle can be changed, has been disclosed (see patent document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open H10-39601).
However, the toner collecting container configuration of patent document 2 needs to have an inner receptacle for storing waste toner and an exterior receptacle that is formed in a telescopic manner of multiple parts for covering the inner receptacle. As a result, there are problems that the receptacle configuration is complicated and that the quantity of waste toner collected in the receptacle is indistinct.

Image forming apparatus with waste toner collecting device