An ink fountain divider, which is capable of completely preventing leakage of ink and is easy to handle, includes an ink fountain divider body which has an approximately triangular shaped cross-section having a bottom edge having a contour line conforming with the outer peripheral surface of the ink fountain roller, and another edge having a contour line conforming with the an upper surface of the bottom plate, having a given width in a direction parallel to an axis of the ink fountain roller. The ink fountain divider body is formed of a non-magnetic material having a hardness smaller than that of a material forming the outer peripheral surface of the ink fountain roller. The ink fountain divider body contacts with the bottom plate of the ink fountain arrangement for dividing an ink storage space in the ink fountain arrangement. A magnetically attracting device is integrally provided within the ink fountain divider body in integral fashion therewith in a condition exposing a magnetically attracting surface in the lower surface of the ink fountain divider body without projecting from the lower surface and with exposing a switching portion on the upper surface thereof for selectively switching generation and extinguishing a magnetic force for firmly fitting the lower surface of the ink fountain divider body onto the bottom plate, for selectively generating and extinguishing the magnetic force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink fountain divider for an ink fountain arrangement as an ink supply device for a printing press, which is located adapting to a printing region to be used and can store an ink efficiently.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ink fountain dividers for ink fountain arrangements have been disclosed in Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication (Kokoku) No. Showa 50-13123 for "Ink Gate for Rotary Press", Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. Showa 50-34089 for "Ink Arrangement for Printing Press" and Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Showa 36-18722 for "Liquid Vessel Divider".
The "Ink Gate for Rotary Press" disclosed in Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. Showa 50-13123, which is used by being placed above an ink flow rate adjusting plate movable for adjusting a gap between an ink fountain and an ink fountain roller, is typically constructed in such a manner that an ink gate body is formed of lead or the like into a cross-sectionally substantially triangular shaped configuration, a magnet is buried in the ink gate body with exposing a magnetic surface on the bottom of the ink gate body, a frame piece of elastic material, such as rubber or the like, is bonded on the outer periphery of the bottom of the ink gate body, and a contact piece of elastic material is bonded on the side contacting with the ink fountain roller. The contact piece is formed with a curved surface for contacting with a part of the outer peripheral surface of the ink fountain roller. The curved surface is formed with a plurality of ridges having a saw-tooth like cross-section and extending in spiral fashion so as to provide frictional resistance against rotation of the ink fountain roller.
The ink gate is magnetically secured on the ink flow rate adjusting plate by the magnet buried in the ink gate body to certainly place at fixed position and maintain thereat so that the lower surface of the frame piece and the lower surface of the contact piece are firmly contacted with the ink flow rate adjusting plate to prevent the ink from causing leakage. On the other hand, the peak portions of respective spiral ridges forming the curved surface of the contact piece are kept in contact with the outer periphery of the ink fountain roller and, when the ink fountain roller is driven to rotate for feeding the ink, respective ridges keep frictional contact with the outer periphery of the ink fountain roller to be pulled in spiral direction to make the lower tip ends thereto to penetrate into a gap defined between the ink fountain roller and the ink flow rate adjusting plate, and in conjunction therewith, the curved surface of the contact piece keeps firm contact with the outer peripheral surface of the contact piece for preventing leakage of the ink.
On the other hand, in the construction of the "Ink Arrangement of Printing Press" as disclosed in Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. Showa 50-34089, an ink gate to be placed on an ink doctor forming a bottom plate of the ink arrangement in an ink supply device, in which adjustment of a gap with respect to the ink fountain roller is performed by deforming the ink doctor in a direction of angular displacement by pushing up an adjusting screw, is formed with an ink gate body formed of an elastic rubber for conformability and for avoiding damaging of the ink doctor and the ink fountain roller, and a rubber magnet plate is mounted at the portion mating with the ink doctor. When adjustment is made by pushing up the ink doctor, the ink gate formed of rubber and the rubber magnet plate bonded on the lower surface of the ink gate may be deformed in conformance with deformation of the ink doctor to keep firm contact with the latter over the entire contacting surface to successfully prevent leakage of the ink.
Also, "Liquid Vessel Divider" disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Showa 36-18722 is an ink fountain divider which is disposed in an ink vessel perpendicularly to the ink vessel and an ink vessel roller. A sealing elastic plate of an elastic material, such as rubber or the like, for preventing leakage of the ink is clamped by side plates at both sides. A metallic pressure plate which is formed into a shape conforming with the shapes of the ink vessel roller and the inner wall of the ink vessel, is provided on the periphery of the inside of the sealing elastic plate for depressing the sealing elastic plate onto the ink vessel roller and the inner wall of the ink vessel by a uniform pressure. Also, on the opposite side of the sealing elastic plate across the metallic pressure plate, a connecting member is provided at a position distanced from the metallic pressure plate substantially equal distance to that of the sealing elastic plate. A plurality of compression springs are mounted between the metallic pressure plate and the connecting member for depressing the metallic plate with a regular interval. A mounting hook and clamp are connected to one end of the connecting member for placing the ink fountain divider at desired position in the ink vessel.
Once the ink fountain divider is fixed within the ink vessel by means of the mounting hook and the clamp, the sealing elastic plate contacts with the ink vessel roller and the inner wall of the ink vessel to be pushed back against the compression spring. Associating therewith, the sealing elastic plate is pushed outwardly via the metallic pressure plate by reactive force of the compression springs. By this, the ink fountain divider can firmly contact with the ink vessel roller and the bottom plate of the ink vessel to prevent leakage of the ink.
The foregoing prior arts hold several drawbacks to be solved. Namely, in the "Ink Gate for Rotary Press" as disclosed in Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. Showa 50-13123, the magnet is buried in the ink gate body formed of lead or the like, the frame pieces of elastic material is bonded on the outer periphery of the bottom surface, and the contact piece of elastic material, such as rubber or the like, formed with a plurality of ridges formed into spiral fashion for contacting with the ink fountain roller as rotated, on the side contacting with the ink fountain roller.
Since the ink gate is used by positioning on the ink flow rate adjusting plate for adjusting gap defined between the ink fountain roller, a pressure is applied to the contact piece having a plurality of ridges extending in spiral fashion with the curved surface formed with the elastic material on the side contacting with the ink fountain roller for constantly keeping frictional contact on the outer peripheral surface of the ink fountain roller even when the ink gate is shifted, for preventing leakage of the ink. However, since the contact piece of elastic material, such as rubber or the like is constantly kept in frictional contact with the rotary body, i.e. the ink fountain roller, the portion of the contact piece contacting with the rotary body can be quickly worn to shorten the life of the product. On the other hand, the force contacting the ink gate onto the ink flow rate adjusting plate is determined by the weight of the lead or the like as own weight and a magnetic force of the magnet buried in the lower surface. However, the force is not large for permitting mounting and releasing of the ink gate by a worker. When the stored ink is stirred by the ink gate, the ink gate is subject to the pressure from the ink being stirred and the spiral ridges at the tip end of the contact piece are subject to frictional resistance in the spiral direction by rotation of the ink fountain roller to possibly cause displacement of the ink fountain roller in a direction widening the ink storage region to be a cause of ink leakage. Also, since the ink gate is formed of relatively heavy material, such as lead or the like, work load in mounting, releasing and transporting on the worker becomes heavy to possibly cause damage on the shoulder, lumbar area or so forth. Furthermore, the ink gate can be dropped down from the worker's hand due to heavy, thus requiring other safety measures.
On the other hand, in "Ink Arrangement for Printing Press" disclosed in Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. Showa 50-34089, adjustment of the ink flow rate is performed by deforming the ink doctor in the direction of angular displacement. The ink arrangement includes the ink gate body made of an elastic body having flexibility conformable with deformation of the ink doctor, and the ink gate means of the rubber magnet mounted on the lower surface of the ink gate.
The ink gate body is formed of rubber having elasticity for high conformability with the ink doctor and not damaging the ink fountain roller. According to deformation of the ink doctor, the ink gate body is also deformed in conformance therewith to contact with the ink fountain roller under pressure. Therefore, the portion of the ink gate body contacting with the ink fountain roller is quickly worn to shorten the product life. The force to keep the ink gate contact with the ink doctor is only magnetic force of the rubber magnet mounted on the lower surface of the ink gate, which force is in a magnitude permitting mounting and releasing of the ink gate by worker. When the stored ink is stirred by the ink gate means, the ink gate is displaced in the axial direction of the ink fountain roller in the direction of widening the ink storage region by the pressure exerted by the stirred ink to be a cause of ink leakage.
Furthermore, in "Liquid Vessel Divider" disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Showa 36-18722, the ink fountain divider is disposed within the ink vessel substantially perpendicularly to the ink vessel and the axis of the ink vessel roller to firmly contact therewith to avoid ink leakage. The ink fountain divider prevents leakage of the ink by outwardly pushing the sealing elastic plate located outside and formed of elastic material, such as rubber or the like, by a pressurizing mechanism constituted of the connecting member disposed within the ink fountain divider, the compression springs and the metallic pressure plate.
The sealing elastic plate of the ink fountain divider is formed of elastic material, such as rubber or the like and is constantly contacted with the ink vessel roller to be quickly worn to shorten the product life. Also, the pressurizing mechanism for the sealing elastic plate is constructed with the connecting member, the compression springs and the metallic pressure plate and thus is complicated in structure, requires a large number of parts resulting in high cost. Furthermore, possibility of occurrence of failure is high.

Ink fountain divider for ink fountain arrangement


A method for generating sampling signals for use in an active matrix display is provided. Firstly, a plurality of pulse signals are sequentially generated, wherein every two adjacent pulse signals have a phase difference therebetween. Then, a guarding signal having alternate first level and second level is generated. Then, sampling signals associated with the pulse signals are outputted in response to the guarding signal being at the first level, and any sampling signal is exempted from outputting when the guarding signal is at the second level. A device for generating sampling signals for use in an active matrix display is also provided.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are widely used in portable televisions, laptop personal computers, notebooks, electronic watches, calculators, mobile phones and office automation devices, etc. due to their advantages of small size, light weight, low driving voltage, low power consumption and good portability. A typical liquid crystal display comprises a driving circuit and an active matrix. The active matrix is generally implemented by a thin film transistor array, and driven by the driving circuit.
FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional driving circuit of a liquid crystal display. The driving circuit of FIG. 1 comprises a horizontal scanning circuit 10 for asserting a plurality of sampling pulses Φ1, Φ2, . . . to control respective switch elements 11, 12, . . . in either a turning-on or turning-off state. When one of the switch elements is turned on, an image signal SIG is transmitted to one of the data lines Y1, Y2, . . . , which is electrically connected to the turned-on switch element.
FIG. 2 is a timing waveform diagram showing the possible relation between the sampling pulses Φ1 and Φ2. Ideally, the sampling pulse Φ2 is asserted after the sampling pulse Φ1 changes to a low level. Since the horizontal scanning circuit may have some inherent adverse factors rendered by the manufacturing process, the generated sampling pulses are likely to partially overlap. As shown in FIG. 2, from t=t1 to t=t2, the switch element 11 is turned on, and the sampling pulse Φ1 is at a high level. At t=t1′, which is slightly ahead of the turn-off time of the switch element 11, the switch element 12 is turned on. Therefore, the sampling pulses Φ1 and Φ2 overlap with each other from t1′ to t2. The overlap between adjacent sampling pulses Φ1 and Φ2 indicates that the image signal SIG is simultaneously transmitted to two cells via both the data lines Y1 and Y2. The previous data may thus be wrongly displaced so as to distort the image for display.

Method and device for generating sampling signal


A semiconductor pressure sensor includes a semiconductor pressure-sensing chip including a semiconductor body having a diaphragm that flexes in response to applied pressure, a strain gauge disposed in the diaphragm for altering an electrical signal in response to flexing of the diaphragm, and an amplifying circuit disposed in the semiconductor body outside the diaphragm and connected to the strain gauge for amplifying the electrical signal; a base supporting the semiconductor pressure-sensing chip; a package enclosing the semiconductor pressure-sensing chip and the base and having an opening providing access to the pressure-sensing chip; a plurality of leads penetrating the package and connected to the amplifying circuit; a substrate on which the package is mounted; and a gain-adjusting resistor disposed on the substrate opposite the package and electrically connected to the amplifying circuit for adjusting the gain of the amplifying circuit.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional semiconductor pressure sensor 1. The pressure sensor 1 includes a pressure-sensing chip 2 that responds to an applied pressure with an electrical signal or a change in an electrical signal. A cap 3 is joined to a stem 4 to enclose the pressure-sensing chip 2 in a package. The pressure-sensing chip 2 includes a diaphragm 5 that flexes in response to applied pressure. The pressure-sensing chip 2 is a unitary body of a semiconductor material, such as silicon, and the diaphragm 5 in the body is formed by etching and removing part of the body from one of its surfaces. The pressure-sensing chip 2 includes, at the unetched surface, four resistors formed in the chip by conventional means, such as doping or ion implantation. Those four resistors are connected in a conventional bridge circuit by conventional metallizations. When the diaphragm flexes in response to applied pressure, the resistances of the resistors change, resulting in a change in an electrical signal across the bridge circuit. That bridge circuit electrical signal is sensed to determine the pressure applied to the diaphragm 5.
In the structure of FIG. 5, the pressure-sensing chip 2 is mounted on a base 6 which, in turn, is adhered to the stem 4 with an adhesive 7. The base 6 includes a central opening in communication with a pressure-introducing tube 8 that is part of the stem 4. The opening in the base 6 is communication with the volume between the diaphragm 5 and the base 6. Connections to the bridge circuit are made by wires 9 that are connected to leads 10 that are mounted in and electrically insulated from the stem 4. Conventionally, the cap 3 is attached to the stem 4 with an airtight seal and a chamber 11 between the cap and stem is evacuated to form a zero pressure reference. In that arrangement, the pressure sensor measures the absolute pressure of the volume in communication with the tube 8. Alternatively, if the chamber 11 is in communication with the atmosphere, the pressure sensor measures gauge pressure.
The semiconductor pressure sensor of FIG. 5 produces a relatively weak electrical signal in response to ordinary pressures. Therefore, it is necessary to provide amplification to produce a usable electrical signal. In FIG. 6, an assembly including the pressure sensor 1 and signal amplification is shown in a perspective view. FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the same assembly that is shown in FIG. 6. In that assembly, the pressure sensor 1 is mounted on a supporting base 12 which, in turn, is mounted to a thick film substrate 13. The leads 10 from the sensor are connected to an integrated circuit 14 mounted on the reverse surface of the substrate 13 by conductors 22 disposed on the rear surface of the substrate 13. The integrated circuit 14 amplifies the electrical signal produced by the sensor. Resistors, including a resistor 15, are disposed on the front surface of the substrate 13 for controlling the electrical characteristics of the assembly. The integrated circuit 14 is connected through the substrate 13 to the resistor network on the front surface of the substrate. Clip leads 16 connected to the resistor network and, thereby, to the integrated circuit 14 of the sensor 1 are disposed at edges of the substrate 13 for mounting and connection of the assembly to other circuitry.
In operation, the pressure to be sensed is supplied to the sensing chip 2 through the tube 8. In response to the pressure, the diaphragm 5 flexes so that the resistors formed in the diaphragm 5 are subjected to various compressive and tensile forces, changing their resistances. The electrical signal across the bridge circuit is indicative of those resistances and, therefore, the applied pressure. That signal is amplified by the integrated circuit 14 to produce a final output signal.
The conventional pressure sensor 1 employs a relatively large number of parts and, therefore, must be relatively large. In addition, the only temperature compensation, i.e., correction of the final output signal for changes in the temperature of the sensor 1, is provided in the assembly of FIGS. 6 and 7 by the integrated circuit 14. That integrated circuit 14 is mounted on the thick film substrate 13 at a distance from the pressure sensor 1 and the pressure-sensing chip 2. Because of this separation, the temperature of the integrated circuit 14 may be significantly different from the temperature of the pressure-sensing chip 2, resulting in inaccurate temperature compensation.

Semiconductor pressure sensor with improved temperature compensation


A clock circuit for selectively enabling a clock signal to be propagated, via a transmission line, to an option module when the module is coupled to the clock circuit, and for preventing propagation of the clock signal through the transmission line when the option module is decoupled from the clock circuit. The clock circuit includes a clock driving element employed within a first module and a clock receiving element employed within a second module. The clock driving element includes a clock driver, normally an amplifier connected to at least one emitter-follower transistor. A pull-up resistor is coupled to the emitter of the transistor so that, when the option module is decoupled from the transmission line, the pull-up resistor applies voltage sufficient to turn-off the transistor. Otherwise, the pull-up resistor has no effect on the clock circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electronics. More particularly, the present invention relates to a clock circuit that selectively drives a clock signal to an option module via a transmission line when the option module is coupled to the clock circuit, and prevents propagation of the clock signal through the transmission line when the option module is decoupled from the clock circuit.
2. Description of Art Related to the Invention
It is well known that many electronic systems (e.g., computers, workstations, mainframes, etc.) are designed with a number of printed circuit boards which are electrically coupled together. One of these printed circuit boards, referred to as the "motherboard", includes a clock generation circuit (e.g., crystal oscillator) that produces a "master clock signal", being the main clock utilized by the electronic system. The master clock signal is replicated to generate a plurality of copies, which are referred to as "system clock signals". Each of the system clock signals is driven to different portions of the electronic system by a clock driver. For those outdated system architectures utilizing low-speed clock frequencies (e.g., 33 megahertz "MHz" or less), the clock drivers typically employ Transistor-Transistor logic ("TTL") or Complementary Metal-Oxide Silicon ("CMOS") logic.
Of the plurality of system clock signals produced, a number of these system clock signals may be routed by transmission lines to removable option modules such as graphics cards, processor cards and the like. Each transmission line may include, but are not limited to a first segment of a printed trace line implemented on the motherboard, a second segment of a printed trace line implemented on an option module. Of course, the connectors coupling the first and second segments of printed trace lines influence the impedance of the transmission line. When coupled to the motherboard, an option module provides enhanced functionality to the electronic system.
In order to preserve signal integrity of each system clock signal and mitigate the effects caused by electromagnetic interference "EMI", each transmission line must be terminated. Such termination may be accomplished, for example, by placing a termination resistor proximate to a load receiving a system clock signal. The termination resistor is configured with impedance equal to that of the transmission line and is coupled to both ground and the transmission line.
Since it is desirous for the termination resistor to be in close proximity to the load, the termination resistor usually is placed on the option module. Thus, when the option module is implemented within the electronic system by connecting the option module to one of the connectors, the transmission line associated with the connector is properly terminated. However, when the option module is removed from the electronic system, the transmission line associated with that option module has no termination. Hence, the transmission line radiates EMI along the transmission line creating difficulties in meeting Federal guidelines on EMI limits produced by computers and other electronic systems.
For many years, this problem has been overcome by connecting a pair of reversed biased diodes (e.g., Shottkey diode clamp) to the transmission line in such a fashion to maintain the voltage of the system clock signal between two voltage parameters. For example, anode of a first diode may be coupled to a supply voltage reference (e.g., a +5.0 volt "V" supply) and a cathode of a second diode may be coupled to a ground reference. As a result, the first and second diodes maintain the voltage parameters ranging from approximately +5.4 V and approximately -0.4 V for a CMOS clock driver, taking into account forward conduction voltage of the diode being equal to approximately 0.4 V.
With advancements in the electronic systems resulting in the use of high clock frequencies (e.g., over 100 MHz), the clock drivers are being implemented with either Emitter Coupled Logic ("ECL") or Positive Emitter Coupled Logic ("PECL"). Thus, the conventional architecture of the clocking circuitry now has become subject to a number of disadvantages. One primary disadvantage is that the conventional clocking circuitry fails to eliminate propagation of a clock signal along the transmission lines when the option module is removed from the electronic system. As a result, as the clocking frequency used by the electronic system increases, the EMI radiating from the transmission lines increases. Therefore, it is more difficult to design faster electronic systems employing conventional clocking circuitry due to an increase in skew between the system clock signals. Likewise, it is more difficult to meet EMI limits imposed by Federal regulations.
Hence, it would be advantageous to design a clock circuit which would provide a low-skew clock signal to the option module via one or more transmission lines when the option module is electrically coupled to the motherboard, and alternatively, discontinue supplying the low-skew clock signal to the connector reserved for the option module after the option card is removed therefrom by deactivating the transmission line(s).

Circuit and method for selectively enabling ECL type outputs


A workpiece feeding stopper for use in a stable saw to prevent careless feed of a workpiece having a height greater than a cutting depth of a circular saw blade includes a support arm having a rear end adapted for connection with a spreader of the table saw. A stop member is provided at a front end of the support arm and has a stop face with a bottom edge adapted for being spaced above from a worktable of the table saw by a distance slightly greater than or equal to a cutting depth of the circular saw blade and smaller than a distance between a pivot where a blade guard of the table saw and the spreader are pivotally connected to and the worktable, thereby enabling the workpiece to be completely cut without being stopped by the pivot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to table saws and more specifically, to a workpiece feeding stopper for a table saw for avoiding incomplete cutting of a workpiece by the circular saw blade.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional table saw 1, which comprises a base 2, a circular saw blade 3, a spreader 4 which is also called a riving knife, and a blade guard 5. The base 2 has a worktable 6 for supporting a workpiece 7, lumber for example, for cutting. The saw blade 4 can be risen and fallen relative to the worktable 6. When the saw blade is risen, that is, when the saw blade extends through the worktable, the saw blade 4 can be operated to cut the workpiece 7. The spreader 4 is connected to the saw blade 4 through a coupling unit (not shown), and can synchronously rise and fall together with the saw blade 3. The spreader 4 is adapted to prevent the cut parts of the workpiece from closing on the back of the saw blade 4 during cutting. The blade guard 5 has one end pivoted to the top side of the spreader 4. When the table saw 1 is not in operation, the blade guard 5 is turned downwards to cover the saw blade 4, preventing operators from accidental injuries. During the cutting work of the table saw 1, the spreader 4 is turned upwards and opened from the saw blade 4.
During the use of the table saw 1, the worker may pick up a workpiece 7 that has a height exceeding the distance between a pivot point P where the blade guard 5 and the spreader 4 are pivotally connected to and the top surface of the worktable 6. In such circumstance, the workpiece 7 may be cut to a certain extent until one end of the workpiece 7 is stopped at the pivot point P between the blade guard 5 and the spreader 4. At this time, the worker must stop the machine and then move the workpiece 7 away from the saw blade 3, and then re-feed a workpiece with a height suitable for cutting, resulting in delay of cutting work and waste of workpiece.


Systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are provided. Operations thereof include sending, by a first system and to a user equipment, an activation notification that activates a dangerous area and causes the user equipment to increase a reporting granularity corresponding to a location of the user equipment. The dangerous area corresponds to an area that includes a vehicle operating therein. The reporting granularity is increased relative to a first reporting granularity. Operations include receiving, from the user equipment, location reporting data that is provided at the increased granularity and sending, to a second system, a first notification that corresponds to determining that the Vulnerable Road User (VRU) will be in the dangerous area.

Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), which includes pedestrians, wheelchair users, cyclists, motorcyclists, and so on, encompass as many as 29% of the total amount of road fatalities within the European Union (EU), which corresponds to approximately 7000 VRU fatalities per year. These large number of tragic accidents can be addressed by deploying sensors on the vehicle, by deploying road infrastructure (e.g., sensors, cameras) at dangerous locations and delivering awareness notifications to vehicles, and/or by using smartphones/sensors on a user equipment (UE) of the VRU as a connected sensor and delivering notifications to vehicles. For example, anonymization might be done between a VRU Cloud System and OEM Cloud System. The position of the VRU is reported to VRU Cloud System, such that a vehicle (VEH) can be notified of the risk of collision with the VRU 102.
A VRU with a user equipment (UE) can be tracked by using the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) within the UE, such as GPS (Global Positioning System), GLONASS, Beidou or Galileo. This tracking of the position of the UE can be done in a VRU cloud application, such that predictions can be calculated of possible future positions of the VRU. The position of the UE then needs to be transmitted from the UE to VRU cloud application e.g. by using a cellular network such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR or any other wireless communication network.
Providing the VRU Cloud System with detailed position information might drain the battery of the UE. This may be due to activation of the GPS receiver and deriving the position from received GNSS signals. Also, transmitting these positioning measurements to the network consumes energy in the UE. Moreover, the frequent transmissions of these positioning measurements to the network can easily congest the network and degrade resource utilization.

Mechanism to trigger adaptive transmission for vulnerable road users (VRU)


A radiation protection material for the screening of X- and/or gamma-rays is made from a film-like multi-layer composite material, in which radiation absorbing particles are dispersed. The composite material comprises at least one support layer and a radiation absorbing layer, whereby the radiation absorbing layer comprises a hardening polymeric preparation, which can flow in the working state and with an effective lead content of ≦15%.

The invention concerns a radiation protection material for shielding X-rays and/or gamma rays made from a foil-like, multi-layer material in which ray-absorbing particles are dispersed.
Foil-like materials for the production of X-ray protection aprons and other radiation-absorbing applications are conventionally produced with the addition of metallic lead powder or also lead salts such as oxides or sulfides and polymers such as e.g. PVC plastisol, EVA copolymers or caoutchouc. However, lead is considered to be a toxic substance. So-called lead aprons moreover have a weight which impairs the activities of the persons wearing them.
Prior art discloses some products which attempt to avoid these disadvantages. WO 93/11544 discloses e.g. a radiation-resistant film having a thermoplastic elastomer which contains between 60 and 90 weight % of barium sulfate or a different barium salt.
EP 0 371 699 A1 discloses an energy-absorbing material comprising a layer which consists of a polymer composition having 7 to 30 weight % of a specific polar thermoplastic polymer, 0-15 weight % softener and 70 to 93 weight % of an inorganic composition. The inorganic composition thereby consists of at least two elements which are supposed to provide better protection from radiation than lead.
Moreover, EP 0 372 758 A1 discloses a material which consists of 4 to 19 weight % of a polar thermoplastic polymer, 0 to 10 weight % of a softener and 81 to 96 weight % of an inorganic compound.
Further flexible multi-layer X-ray protection materials are disclosed in G 94 02 609.2 and DE 201 00 267 U1.
DE 199 55 192 A1 discloses a method for producing a radiation protection material using a thermoplastic, vulcanisable elastomer to which a metal powder is added.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,666 discloses a polymer matrix with embedded metal for shielding X-rays, wherein the polymer matrix is a plastified non-elastomeric polymer.
It is the underlying purpose of the invention to present a radiation protection material which provides high radiation protection over a wide application and energy range, with the material having low weight and high flexibility.

Radiation protection material method for production of a radiation protection material and use of the same


A distributed spanning tree protocol is implemented on a modular packet switch. At least some port-specific spanning tree functionality, for instance a port receive state machine and/or a port transmit state machine, operates on a processor on a line port module. At least some bridge-specific spanning tree functionality operates on a processor on a management or control module. When the spanning tree is stable, the line port module processor handles routine spanning tree “hello” messages without having to involve the control module processor. This arrangement allows the switch to handle large and/or multiple spanning trees and large numbers of bridged ports without overloading the control module processor with routine spanning tree module communications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to spanning tree protocols, and more particularly to systems and methods for implementing a spanning tree protocol that is distributed among participating elements of a packet switch.
2. Description of Related Art
In packet networks, packet switches are often interconnected in hierarchical arrangements such as the exemplary network 100 shown in FIG. 1. Network 100 includes eight packet switches BR1 to BR8. Each switch has multiple ports (e.g., ports P11-P14 on BR1, ports P21-24 on BR2, etc.) that connect to ports on other switches in the network via links (the links may be, e.g., copper cable, fiber optic links, wireless links, etc.). The network could include other switches as well, and the switches generally include ports other than those shown (some large switches have many hundreds to over a thousand ports). One or more of the switches could also serve as a packet router, and other destination devices such as computer end stations, servers, routers, etc., also connect to the network, but are not shown. Although point-to-point links are shown, some media may allow multiple-access, e.g., more than two devices sharing a link.
To provide redundancy, a network such as network 100 purposely includes multiple possible paths that a packet could follow to move from one point in the network to another. Generally, the switches must agree on only one of these paths for each packet, or the packet may loop and/or be dropped without ever being delivered to its destination. When the switches all agree on a set of such paths for all traffic, the network is said to have "converged."
Spanning Tree Protocols (STPs) are often used in computer networks to maintain a reconfigurable loop-free network topology within a group of interconnected switches. Such protocols not only allow a network to initially converge, but also provide mechanisms for the network to reconverge to a new topology when links or switches fail or are added to a network. One well-known example of a STP, Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), is described in the IEEE 802.1D-2004 specification, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and incorporated herein by reference. Some features and terminology from the RSTP specification that will be useful in the following description are introduced here in conjunction with FIG. 1.
According to RSTP, each switch that participates in a spanning tree is assigned a bridge priority, such that the operating switch having the best bridge priority (numerically lowest priority value) will be elected by the spanning tree as the root bridge. Each switch initially assumes that it is the root bridge. The switches advertise their bridge priorities to each other across the bridge-to-bridge links using protocol-specific packets known as Bridge Protocol Data Units (BPDUs). When a switch receives a BPDU advertising a bridge priority higher than the switch's own bridge priority, that switch knows that it will not be elected as the root bridge; conversely, if a switch receives no BPDU advertising a higher bridge priority, it continues to act as if it is the root bridge. Assuming that the switches in network configuration 100 are assigned a bridge priority in the same order as their respective numerical suffixes, all switches in the network will recognize BR1 as having the best bridge priority, and BR1 will become the root bridge for the configuration.
The ports of the bridges are each assigned a port role by the protocol. Through the interchange of BPDUs, the switches also learn which one, if any, of their ports will assume the role of a root port—the port that is closest to the root bridge in terms of port cost. Assume that all links shown in each tier of network 100 run at the same data rate and thus all ports on the same tier have the same single-link port cost, the root ports that will be selected by BR2-BR8 based on port cost are indicated by open circles adjacent the ports. In cases where two ports have the same port cost to reach the root bridge (for instance ports P23 and P24 on switch BR2), the bridge with the numerically lowest port number is selected as the root port. The root ports selected in network 100 include P23, P31, P41, P51, P61, P71, and P81.
The interchange of BPDUs also allows the switches to assign designated ports for each network segment—a designated port role is assigned to the port capable of sending the best BPDUs on the segment to which it is connected, where "best" generally means smallest port cost, with bridge priority/port priority used to break ties. The designated ports that will be selected by BR1-BR8 are indicated by black circles adjacent the ports. Thus all ports on BR1 connected to other switches in the network (ports P11, P12, P13, and P14) become designated ports, as their port cost to reach the root bridge is zero. The other designated ports selected in the network include P21, P22, P33-36, P43-46, P53-55, P63-65, P73-75, and P83-85.
The remaining ports shown in network 100—in this case ports P24, P32, P42, P52, P62, P72, and P82—are neither root nor designated ports. These ports assume a role of alternate ports and are illustrated in FIG. 1 with a bar drawn through the network connection near the port. Of course, a port can also become a disabled port if it malfunctions, the link and/or device to which the link connects malfunctions, or if manually disabled. A disabled port does not participate in any spanning tree calculations.
In addition to a port role, each port in the spanning tree also progresses through different port states as the spanning tree converges. Ports progress from a blocking state to a learning state to a forwarding state if they are root or designated ports, and remain in a blocking state if they are alternate ports. Blocking ports do not learn MAC (Media Access Control) addresses from received frames and do not forward frames. Based on these definitions, it can be verified that traffic received on each port of network 100 has a single path comprising only forwarding ports that it may follow to reach any other device (or network egress port) in the network.
One drawback of the FIG. 1 configuration is that it defines a common spanning tree for all traffic. The alternate/blocked ports in the topology represent unused bandwidth that could be useful, such as the bandwidth idle at ports P32, P42, and P24, were there a way to use it. With the advent of Virtual LANs (VLANs), this became possible for switches capable of using different Spanning Trees for different VLANs. Although other similar solutions exist, the most common multi-spanning tree solution is Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP), defined in IEEE 802.1Q-2005, and incorporated herein by reference. MSTP allows a set of switches in a defined region to run multiple spanning tree overlays or instances on the same group of switches. In some of the spanning tree instances, a given port will be blocking, while in others, the same port will be forwarding. Thus traffic on different VLANs may follow different paths between the same two points in the network, even though traffic on each VLAN is confined to a single path as described for RSTP. This allows the network to achieve at least a rudimentary form of load balancing and utilize all ports.
In MSTP, each VLAN is assigned to one of 64 logical spanning tree instances. This is accomplished by populating a 4096-element table on each switch with an association between each of the 4096 possible VLAN IDs and one of the 64 logical spanning tree instances. When a switch receives a VLAN-tagged packet, it reads the VLAN ID for the packet and refers to the MSTP table (or a table derived from the MSTP table) to determine the appropriate spanning tree instance (e.g., forwarding port(s)) for that VLAN ID.
Within an MSTP region, only one set of BPDUs is propagated by each switch. The BPDU format for MSTP contains a fixed first section, followed by a variable number of configuration messages, one per MST instance. The BPDU format is as follows:
Protocol IdentifierProtocol Version IdentifierBPDU TypeCIST FlagsCIST Root IdentifierCIST External Path CostCIST Regional Root IdentifierCIST Port IdentifierMessage AgeMax AgeHello TimeForward DelayVersion 1 Length = 0Version 3 LengthMST Configuration IdentifierCIST Internal Root Path CostCIST Bridge IdentifierCIST Remaining Hopsfollowed by a variable number of configuration messages of the following format:
MSTI FlagsMSTI Regional Root IdentifierMSTI Internal Root Path CostMSTI Bridge PriorityMSTI Port PriorityMSTI Remaining HopsThe fixed first section contains information that is used to establish a Common Internal Spanning Tree (CIST) that will be used within the MSTP region as a default spanning tree for traffic not otherwise assigned, and represents the MSTP region as a virtual bridge to the outside world. Many of these fields correspond to RSTP fields in BPDUs used to establish an RSTP Spanning Tree. The MST configuration identifier field, however, identifies the MST group by an alphanumeric configuration name, a configuration revision number, and a digest value. Each switch calculates its MSTP digest value by hashing its VLAN-to-MSTP-instance mapping table with a known hash function, the "HMAC-MD5" algorithm described in Internet Engineering Task Force document RFC 2104. The digest value transmitted within a BPDU must match the internally-calculated digest value in order for a switch to recognize the BPDU as one originating from its MSTP region. Thus if the VLAN mapping tables for two connected switches do not match exactly, the two switches will transmit BPDUs with different digest values. Consequently, the two switches will not cooperate in a common MSTP region, and each assumes that the port on which it receives the differing digest value (or no digest value) is at the MSTP region boundary.
Assuming that the MST configuration identifier digest matches a switch's digest, the switch will participate in establishing a CIST for the region and a number of MST Instances (MSTIs) equal to the number of MSTI configuration messages. For each MSTI, the corresponding MSTI Configuration Message contains bridge and port priorities used to calculate a spanning tree for that instance. By assigning different bridge and/or port priorities in different MSTIs, the MSTIs may be designed to elect different root bridges and may each block and forward on different port combinations to achieve a more load-balanced topology.
A switch may run standard STP, RSTP, MSTP, or some other variant of these, or even multiple STP processes and/or varieties for different ports. Generally, however, all STP variants follow the same general bridge framework 200, shown in FIG. 2. Simplified to a two-layer bridge, a switch is comprised of MAC (Media Access Control) entities for each port (ME1 and ME2), physical entities for each port (PHY1 and PHY2), a MAC relay entity (MRE), and higher-layer entities such as the bridge protocol entity BPE.
MAC entities ME1 and ME2 receive framed packets from their respective physical layer devices, and transmit framed packets on their respective physical layer devices. The logical link control (LLC) sublayer of each MAC entity is responsible for multiplexing/demultiplexing packets with protocols corresponding to the higher-layer entities with the regular traffic that passes through the bridge. Thus LLC1 and LLC2, respectively, pass spanning tree protocol BPDUs from the frame receive functions to bridge protocol entity BPE, and from bridge protocol entity BPE to the frame transmit functions.
The bridge protocol entity BPE operates, e.g. as described above for RSTP and/or MSTP, to determine port roles and port states for the ports represented by ME1, ME2, and any other switch ports in the device. The bridge protocol entity uses this information to set port state INFO1 and INFO2 for each port in the MAC relay entity MRE. If the port state indicates the port is enabled but discarding, frames passed from the MAC entity to the MAC relay entity are dropped. In the port state indicates the port is forwarding, the MAC relay entity uses a filtering database to look up one or more forwarding ports for a frame passed to it from a MAC entity, using e.g., a destination MAC address or VLAN ID to match a filtering database entry. As frames pass through the MAC relay entity, a learning process associates the frames' source MAC addresses with the ports on which the frames were received in order to update the filtering database and learn new station IDs.

Distributed BPDU processing for spanning tree protocols


The present invention enables switching between wide-field observation and high-magnification observation during in vivo examination of a small laboratory animal or the like using a narrow-diameter objective lens, without changing the objective lens. There is provided a microscope optical system including an objective lens for collecting light from an examination target; an image-forming lens for imaging the light collected by the objective lens onto a detection device; and an auxiliary optical system, having positive power, which is provided so as to be capable of being inserted in and removed from a light path between the objective lens and the image-forming lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microscope optical systems, microscope apparatuses, and microscope observation methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to a microscope optical system, a microscope apparatus, and an observation method for in vivo examination of the interior of a small laboratory animal or the like.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Applications, Nos. 2006-211032 and 2007-063824, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In a known microscope in the related art, by magnifying the center of the field of view of an objective lens, it is possible to perform observation with a low magnification over a wide field of view and observation with high magnification and high resolution, without changing the objective lens (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2002-31758.
In order to perform in vivo examination of the inside of a small laboratory animal or the like, it is necessary to make an incision small enough that it does not injure the small laboratory animal and to insert an objective lens with as narrow a diameter as possible.
However, if the diameter of the objective lens is reduced, the field of view becomes narrow, resulting in the drawback that it is not possible to perform observation over a wide field of view, even with a magnifying optical system like that in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2002-31758 inserted after the objective lens.

Microscope optical system, microscope apparatus, and microscope observation method


A method of and apparatus for applying a tension force to a strapping band, and then securing the band with a seal, in order to secure a plurality of goods together, or to secure a package for shipping. The apparatus allows the user to feed the strapping band through the machine so that both ends of the band are secured in a rotating windlass. The windlass is then rotated to apply an equalized tension force to the band. The tension force is divided by the apparatus pulling both ends of the band simultaneously, the resultant forward force on the apparatus therefore being zero. After each banding operation, a return mechanism automatically positions the windlass in an optimum orientation for inserting the band for a successive banding operation.

Binding articles of manufacture together with a metal or plastic band is well known in the prior art. Bundling multiple items together in this manner, or simply strapping a package with a band, is a very common way for manufacturers to secure their products for shipping. The prior art banding devices that are commonly used in industry all operate in essentially the same way: One end of the securing band is passed around the goods to be bundled and then anchored in the banding apparatus by means of a gripping clamp, leaving a free end 4-6" long. The other end of the band is affixed to a tightening means (usually a rotating windlass), in the machine that applies incremental force to the strap so that the strap is tightened around the bundle as the user applies tension. The free end of the strap overlaps the tensioned band at a point where a seal is loaded into the machine. The user operates a ratchet that rotates the windlass until the strap is pulled as tight as the user desires. The seal is then crimped to lock the two ends of the strap together so that the bundle is held securely.
One prior art device that accomplishes the bundling described above is the "Banding Apparatus" of Synak, U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,546, issued Jan. 26, 1993. This device includes expansion screws to prevent the crimping force on the seal from becoming so great that the device is broken or damaged.
Another banding device in the prior art is the "apparatus for Producing a Connection Between Two Overlapping Band Sections of a Package Strip and Improved Closure Seal for Use Therewith" of Konrad, U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,128, issued Nov. 1, 1977. As indicated in the title, this device uses the typical banding process, but claims an improved means of fastening the seal to secure the band after tightening.
One shortcoming of the prior art devices is that due to the means of tightening, that is, securing one point and applying the tension to another point of the band, the banding apparatus tends to be drawn across the bundle being banded. This can make it difficult if not impossible to properly crimp the seal if the banding apparatus is drawn to the edge of the bundle or package.
Another shortcoming of prior art devices is that they apply force to only one side of the band, which results in unequal forces being applied to the package. This can cause one side of the package to be crushed, or the band to be broken, before the desired tension is achieved.
Still another problem with prior art devices is that the jaws of the securing means wear out, allowing the band to slip before the desired tension is achieved. Even with a new securing means, the prior art devices can only apply a tension of approximately 500 pounds before the band slips in the securing means. This tension is not sufficient in some applications. Further, the teeth of the securing means can puncture the band, thereby significantly reducing its breaking strength.
Another problem in prior art devices is that due to space constraints, the cutting blade can come into contact with the band as tension is applied. This can easily damage the band, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the banding operation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a banding apparatus that tightens the banding strap by distributing the tension force to two points on the strap. This balances the forces acting on the banding apparatus so that the machine does not tend to move during the band tensioning operation, and so that one side of the package is not prematurely crushed. It also balances the force applied to the strap so that the tension of the band is equalized around the package.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a machine that eliminates the need for a gripping clamp to secure the band for tightening.


A remote access controller support system includes a first server device that includes a first remote access controller that is coupled to a support system and a client device through an out-of-band network connection. The first remote access controller detects a server device event at the first server device. The first remote access controller correlates the event with a stored server device event and determines a recommended action associated with the stored server device event. The first remote access controller causes, via the out-of-band network connection, the recommended action to be displayed on a display device of the client device.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to providing a support system for information handling systems via a remote access controller.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems such as, for example, server devices, are often managed in order to update firmware, restore platforms, retrieve server event/error logs, retrieve or update boot configuration data, and/or provide for a variety of other server management activities known in the art. In conventional systems, server devices may include a remote access controller (e.g., a Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), an integrated DRAC (iDRAC) available from DELL® Inc. of Round Rock, Tex., United States, and/or other Baseboard Management Controllers (BMCs) known in the art) that performs much of the management for the server device, and that may utilize management data (e.g., firmware image data, platform restore data, server event/error logs, boot configuration data, etc.) for performing a variety of out-of-band server management activities known in the art.
In some situations, the remote access controller in a server device may enroll with a support system that is configured to provide support for the server device such as, for example, detecting server errors and resolving those server errors via the remote access controller. Often, a user of a server device must purchase a service contract to receive support provided by the support system. However, investing in such a support service is impractical for customers such as small and midsize business (SMB) customers. Thus, if an event occurs in a server device, the user must contact technical support to diagnose the event, which requires the allocation of substantial resources by the server device provider to provide a technical support call center and technical support staff, and is time and labor intensive for both the user and server device provider.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved remote access controller support system.


The present invention provides polynucleotides and polypeptides of a human sphingosine-1-phosphate phosphatase, referred to herein as hSPP1. The polynucleotides and polypeptides are used to further provide expression vectors, host cells comprising the vectors, probes and primers, antibodies against the hSPP1 protein and polypeptides thereof, assays for the presence or expression of hSPP1 and assays for the identification of compounds that interact with hSPP1.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (SPP) is a bioactive sphingolipid metabolite which regulates diverse biological processes (reviewed in (Goetzl, et al., (1998) FASEB J.12, 1589-1598 and Spiegel, S. (1999) J. Leukoc. Biol. 65, 341-344.) Many of its actions are reported to be mediated by a family of specific cell surface G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), known as EDG (endothelial differentiation genes) receptors. Binding of SPP to EDG-1 expressed on endothelial cells reportedly enhances survival (Hisano, et al., (1999) Blood 93, 4293-4299), chemotaxis and in vitro angiogenesis (Wang, et al., (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 35343-35350) and adherens junction assembly leading to morphogenetic differentiation (Lee, et al., (1999) Cell 99, 301-312), whereas binding of SPP to EDG-5 and EDG-3 is reported to induce neurite retraction and soma rounding (Postma, et al., (1996) EMBO J. 15, 2388-2392 and Van Brocklyn, et al., (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 46264632). Additional research indicates that SPP induces activation of Gi-gated inward rectifying K+-channels in atrial myocytes (van Koppen, et al., (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 2082-2087) and inhibits motility of melanoma cells (Yamamura, et al., (1997) Biochemistry 36, 10751-10759) through as yet uncharacterized GPCRs.
SPP is also described as performing important roles inside cells. In response to diverse external stimuli, sphingosine kinase, the enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of sphingosine to SPP, is activated (Olivera, et al., (1993) Nature 365, 557-560; Choi, et al., (1996) Nature 380, 634-636; Melendez, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 9393-9402; Xia, et al., (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 14196-14201; Kleuser, et al., (1998) Cancer Res. 58, 1817-1824 and Meyer zu Heringdorf, et al., (1998) EMBO J. 17, 2830-2837). Intracellular SPP in turn mobilizes calcium from internal stores independently of InsP3 (Meyer zu Heringdorf, et al., (1998) EMBO J. 17, 2830-2837 and Mattie, et al., (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 3181-3188), as well as eliciting diverse signaling pathways leading to proliferation (Rani, et al., (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 10777-10783 and Van Brocklyn, et al., (1998) J. Cell Biol. 142, 229-240.) and suppression of apoptosis (Cuvillier, et al., (1996) Nature 381, 800-803; Perez, et al., (1997) Nature Med. 3, 1228-1232; Edsall, et al., (1997) J. Neurosci. 17, 6952-6960; Cuvillier, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 2910-2916).
Because of its dual function as a ligand and second messenger and its pivotal role in cell growth and survival, the synthesis and degradation of SPP is expected to be tightly regulated in a spatial-temporal manner. Until recently, however, little was known of the enzymes involved in SPP metabolism. A previous report described the purification of sphingosine kinase to apparent homogeneity from rat kidney (Olivera, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 12576-12583). Subsequently the first mammalian sphingosine kinase was cloned from rat and characterized (Kohama, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 23722-23728). The kinase is described as belonging to a novel, highly conserved gene family (Kohama, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 23722-23728 and Nagiec, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 19437-19442). Enforced expression of the sphingosine kinase markedly enhanced the proliferation and survival of cells, substantiating the importance of intracellularly generated SPP in cell fate decisions (Olivera, et al., (1999) J. Cell Biol. 147, 545-548).
SPP can be metabolized by two distinct pathways. In one pathway, SPP is catabolized via a microsomal pyridoxal phosphate-dependent lyase to palmitaldehyde and phosphoethanolamine, which can then be utilized for the biosynthesis of glycerolipids. In a second pathway, SPP is dephosphorylated by specific phosphatases to sphingosine (Spiegel, et al., (1996) FASEB J. 10, 1388-1397).
Genetic manipulation studies in yeast have demonstrated an important role for long-chain phosphorylated sphingoid bases in growth and survival of yeast after nutrient deprivation and heat stress (Mandala, et al., (1998) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 150-155; Gottlieb, et al., (1999) Mol. Cell Biol. Res. Commun. 1, 66-71; Mao, et al., (1999) Biochem. J. 342, 667-675 and Skrzypek, et al., (1999) J. Bacteriol. 181, 1134-1140) in a manner which is reminiscent of their effects on mammalian cells. Recently, the yeast genes encoding the lyase and phosphatase enzymes of these two catabolic pathways were identified in S. cerevisiae (Saba, et al. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 26087-26090; Mandala, et al., (1998) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 150-155 and Mao, et al., (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 28690-28694).
The yeast SPP phosphatases encoded by LBP1 and LBP2 are members of Type 2 lipid phosphate phosphohydrolases, a family of magnesium independent, membrane-bound enzymes that share sequence conservation within three domains that are predicted to be involved in the coordination and hydrolysis of the phosphate moiety (Stukey, et al., (1997) Protein Sci. 6, 469-472). A search of the yeast genome for enzymes containing the three conserved domains revealed the presence of 4 genes encoding putative Type 2 lipid phosphatases. Two of these, DPP1 and LPP1, were shown to encode phosphatases with activity against phosphatidic acid (PA), lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), and diacylglycerol pyrophosphate (DGPP) (Toke, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 14331-14338 and Toke, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 3278-3284). In contrast, LBP1 (also known as YSR2 or LCB3) and LBP2 (YSR3), encode phosphatases with remarkable specificity for phosphorylated sphingoid bases and without activity towards glycerolipid substrates (Mandala, et al., (1998) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 150-155; Mao, et al., (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 28690-28694 and Skrzypek, et al., (1999) J. Bacteriol. 181, 1134-1140).
The presence of a high affinity SPP phosphatase activity with enzymatic properties similar to yeast SPP phosphatases has been described in crude rat liver and cerebellum extracts (De Ceuster, et al., (1995) Biochem. J. 311, 139-146). Although three isoforms of Type 2 lipid phosphate phosphohydrolases, known as LPP1/PAP2a, LPP3/PAP2b, and LPP2/PAP2c, have been cloned from mammalian cells (reviewed in (Brindley, et al., (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 24281-24284)), these gene products appear to have broad substrate specificity with similar efficiencies against PA, LPA, SPP, ceramide-1-P, and DGPP, when assayed in vitro in lipid/detergent micelles.

Human sphingosine-1-phosphate phosphatase and inhibition methods


A semiconductor device capable of controlling an operation of a fuse element by increasing a resistance of the fuse element without fusing the fuse wiring by the laser beam irradiation comprises a semiconductor substrate, a first wiring formed above the semiconductor substrate, a second wiring formed above the first wiring, at least one plug which acts as a fuse element to connect the first wiring and the second wiring, and an opening made in a part of an insulator formed above the second wiring so as to correspond to the plug.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device including a fuse element, and more particularly to a semiconductor device with a structure to control the operation of the fuse element by a laser beam irradiation.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large-scale semiconductor memory device, such as a DRAM and a flash memory, or a high-performance semiconductor logic device embedded these devices thereon generally uses a redundancy circuit as means for remedying a circuit with a faulty element. One known method of using or not using the redundancy circuit is to fuse a metal wiring acting as a fuse element provided in a specific part of multilevel wiring by means of, for example, a laser beam irradiation.
A large-scale, high-performance semiconductor device, such as a high-performance logic device or a DRAM device, is required to operate at high speed. Therefore, to achieve a higher speed operation, it is desirable that the delay in the transmission of signals in the multilevel wiring is decreased. Therefore, favorable materials for the multilevel wiring include a metal with a lower resistance than aluminum (Al), such as copper (Cu), and an insulator with a lower permittivity (so-called low-k insulator) than silicon oxide film as an inter-wiring insulator or an interlevel insulator, such as a fluorine-added silicon oxide, methyl-polysiloxane (MSX), hydrogen-silsesquioxane (HSQ), or poly (arylene) ether (PAE). Since these low-permittivity insulators generally have poorer thermal characteristics than that of a silicon oxide, various problems arise when the fuse elements are fused by the laser beam irradiation.
FIGS. 11 and 12 are sectional views of multilevel wiring structures in the prior art. FIG. 11 shows a structure of a multilevel wiring with four levels which, has a fuse element 340F, formed on a silicon substrate 310. A fuse wiring 345F in the fuse element 340F is fused off by a laser beam LB irradiation. A fuse wiring 345F is provided in a part of a fourth-level metal wiring 345, the top level, and connects a memory circuit to a redundancy circuit. In insulators 348, 349 above the fuse wiring 345F, an opening 350F for a laser beam irradiation is made. Here, Cu is used as a metal material for the wirings 315, 325, 335, and 345 and a low-permittivity insulator is used as the interlevel insulators 311, 321, 331, and 341. Therefore, a material for the fuse wiring 345F is also Cu. Use or nonuse of the redundancy circuit is controlled, depending on whether the fuse wiring 345F is fused off or not.
Comparison between the melting points of the wiring metals has shown that Cu has a melting point as high as 1083° C., whereas Al used in the prior art has a melting point of 660° C. Therefore, to fuse Cu, a laser beam with higher energy than that needed to fuse Al has to be irradiated. The low-permittivity interlevel insulator 341 in contact with the fuse wiring 345F has lower heat resistance than that of a silicon oxide used in the prior art. Therefore, when the Cu fuse wiring is fused by the laser beam irradiation, various problems arise as described below.
The fuse element 340F has a structure shown in FIG. 11 and uses Cu as a fuse wiring material and a low-permittivity insulator as the interlevel insulators 311, 321, 331 and 341. Typical problems encountered when the Cu fuse wiring 345F is fused by the laser beam LB irradiation are shown in FIG. 12. Since the melting point of Cu is higher than that of Al as described above, it is necessary to irradiate with a high-energy laser beam LB to heat the Cu fuse wiring 345F to a high temperature and fuse it. This causes problems: (A) the insulator 341 around the fuse wiring deteriorates due to the resulting heat, which leads to a short or an open in the circuit. In addition, with the thermal stress developed at this time, (B) the Cu wiring 345 is deformed, (C) a separation takes place between the Cu wiring 345 and the overlying passivation films 348, 349, or (D) cracks are generated in the passivation films 348, 349. Furthermore, since the mechanical strength of the interlevel insulator 341 in contact with the Cu fuse wiring 345F is low, (E) a crack might be generated in the interlevel insulator 341 just below the fuse wiring 345F and (F) a crack might be generated in the insulator 341 between the fuse wiring 345F and the Cu wirings 345 in the same level. When a crack has generated in the insulator or the passivation film has come off, moisture and oxygen in the air reach the Cu wiring through the crack, which causes the problem of a reliability degradation of the Cu wiring.
Furthermore, since the diffusion of Cu in the insulator is faster than that of Al and the diffusion of Cu in the low-permittivity insulator is faster than in the silicon oxide film, Cu diffuses into the insulator 341 around the fuse element 340F, or in an extreme case, (G) a Cu penetration is formed in the insulator 341. As a result of the diffusion or penetration of Cu into the insulator, the problem of an unintended short circuit or reliability degradation occurs. In addition, the Cu in the fused part does not evaporate completely, but (H) most of the Cu scatters in and around the laser beam irradiation opening 350F. The scattered Cu particles also cause the problem of a reliability degradation of the semiconductor device.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device capable of controlling an operation of a fuse element without fusing the fuse wiring by the laser beam irradiation and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


It is intended to remove a risk of illegal high quality restoration while enabling trial viewing of contents such as music, to make it possible to reproduce contents with high quality by acquiring a relatively small amount of data, and to make it possible to implement hardware at a lower cost. To generate trial listening data containing dummy data, a pseudo random number R is generated first. A remainder r of R divided by 128 is calculated. The remainder r is coded and incorporated into high sound quality restoration data. A bandwidth limitation region of trial listening data is replaced by dummy data starting from its rth bit. As a result, the head position of the dummy data in the trial listening data varies frame by frame, whereby the safety of the trial listening data can be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal reproducing method and device, a signal recording method and device, and a code sequence generating method and device. For example, the invention relates to a signal reproducing method and device, a signal recording method and device, and a code sequence generating method and device for coding a signal so as to enable trial viewing and, if a trial viewer decides to buy an item concerned, enabling high-quality reproduction and recording by adding data having a small amount of information.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application is based on and claims priority (under the Paris Convention, Article 4) from Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2002-067481 (filed Mar. 12, 2002), 2002-107083 (filed Apr. 9, 2002), and 2002-114784 (filed Apr. 17, 2002), the disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Because of the spread of communication network technologies such as the Internet, the improvement of information compression technologies, the increase in the degree of integration (integration density) of information recording media, and other factors, a marketing form is now available in which digital contents formed by various kinds of multimedia data such as data of audio, a still image, a moving image, a movie consisting of audio and a moving image are delivered to viewers over communication networks with charge.
For example, stores that sell package media such as CDs (compact discs) and MDs (mini-disks)(trademark), that is, recording media on which digital contents are recorded in advance can sell not only package media but also digital contents themselves by installing there an information terminal such as what is called an MMK (multimedia KIOSK) in which a large number of digital contents as typified by music data are stored.
A user inserts a recording medium he brought such as an MD into the MMK, selects the title of a digital content he wants to buy by referring to a menu picture or the like, and pays for a requested price of the content. The payment method may be input of cash, use of digital money, or electronic payment using a credit card or a prepaid card. The MMK records, by performing prescribed processing, the selected digital content data on the recording medium the user inserted.
A marketer of digital contents can deliver digital contents to users over the Internet, for example, as well as sell digital contents to users using MMKs as described above.
It has become possible to distribute contents more effectively by employing the above-described method of marketing not only package media on which contents are recorded in advance but also digital contents themselves.
JP-A-2001-103047, JP-A-2001-325460, etc. disclose techniques that enable distribution of digital contents while protecting its copyright. These techniques make it possible to deliver a digital content in such a manner that portions other than a portion for trial listening are encrypted and allow only a user who has bought a corresponding decoding key to listen to all the content. One known encryption method is such that an encrypted bit string is obtained by EXCLUSIVE-ORing PCM (pulse code modulation) digital audio data to be delivered with a 0/1 random number series generated by giving an initial value of a random number series as a key signal for the bit string of the PCM data. Digital contents that have been encrypted in this manner are distributed to users in a manner that they are recorded on recording media by using MMKs or the like and delivered over networks. A user who has acquired encrypted digital content data can listens to only a non-encrypted, trial-allowed portion unless he gets a key. The user receives only noise if he reproduces an encrypted portion without decoding it.
As described above, the encryption method is known in which a bit string obtained by EXCLUSIVE-ORing the bit string of a PCM acoustic signal with a 0/1 random number series generated by giving initial values of a random number series as a key signal for the bit string of the PCM acoustic signal is transmitted or recorded on a recording medium. This method makes it possible to allow only a person who has acquired the key signal to reproduce the acoustic signal correctly and to cause a person who has not acquired the key signal to be able to reproduce only noise. Naturally, it is possible to use, as an encryption method, a more complex method such as what is called DES (data encryption standard). The content of the DES is disclosed in Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 46, Specifications for the DATA ENCRYPTION STANDARD, Jan. 15, 1977.
Incidentally, methods for broadcasting an audio signal after compressing it or recording an audio signal on a recording medium are spread and magneto-optical discs capable of recording a coded audio, speech, or like signal are used widely.
Various methods for high-efficiency coding of audio data are known, examples of which are subband coding (SBC) in which an audio signal on the time axis is coded by dividing it into a plurality of frequency bands without dividing it into blocks and blocked frequency band division coding (what is called transform coding) in which a signal on the time axis is spectrum-converted into a signal on the frequency axis which is then divided into a plurality of frequency bands and coded on a band-by-band basis. Another method is available in which a signal is subjected to subband coding and a resulting signal in each band is spectrum-converted into a signal on the frequency axis and coded in each spectrum conversion band.
Among filters used in the above methods is a QMF (quadrature mirror filter), which is disclosed in R. E. Crochiere: "Digital Coding of Speech in Subbands," Bell Syst. Tech. J., Vol. 55, No. 8, 1974. Joseph H. Rothweiler: "Polyphase Quadrature Filters—A New Subband Coding Technique," ICASSP 83, Boston, for example, discloses a filter division technique using filters having the same bandwidth.
An example of the above-mentioned spectrum conversion is a method in which an input audio signal is blocked into unit frames of a predetermined duration and is subjected to discrete Fourier transform (DFT), discrete cosine transform (DCT), modified DCT transform (MDCT), or the like on a unit frame basis. The details of MDCT are described in J. P. Princen, A. B. Bradley (Univ. of Surrey Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech.), et al., "Subband/Transform Coding Using Filter Band Designs Based on Time Domain Aliasing Cancellation," ICASSP 1987.
Where the above-mentioned DFT or DCT is used as a method for spectrum-converting a waveform signal, if transform is performed for each time block including M samples, M independent real number data are obtained for each block. To reduce distortion due to connection between adjoining time blocks, adjoining blocks are usually overlapped with each other by N/2 samples; each block has N overlap samples (N/2 samples on each side). Therefore, in DFT or DCT, on average, M independent real number data are quantized and coded for M+N samples.
In contrast, where the above-mentioned MDCT is used as a spectrum conversion method, if transform is performed for each time block including M samples, M independent real number data are obtained from 2M samples because each block is overlapped with each of the two adjacent blocks by M/2 samples (M samples in total). Therefore, in MDCT, on average, M independent real number data are quantized and coded for M samples.
In a decoding device, a waveform signal can be reconstructed by combining together waveform components, while interfering with each other, obtained by inverse-converting individual blocks of a code sequence that was generated by using MDCT.
In general, the frequency resolution of a spectrum is increased and energy is concentrated in a particular spectrum component by elongating the transform time block. By performing transform using MDCT in which transform is performed for a long block that is overlapped with each of the adjacent blocks by a half of its length and the number of resulting spectrum signals is not greater than the number of original time-domain samples, coding can be made more efficient than in the case of using DFT or DCT. Inter-block distortion of a waveform signal can be reduced by giving a sufficiently long overlap to adjoining blocks.
Bands where quantization noise occurs can be controlled by quantizing a signal that has been divided into bands by filtering or spectrum conversion in the above-described manner, and more efficient coding can be performed for the human auditory sense by utilizing such features as a masking effect. Even more efficient coding can be performed by, for example, normalizing a signal component of each band by a maximum value of its absolute values before performing quantization.
In quantizing each of frequency components obtained by frequency band division, the frequency division widths may be determined by, for example, taking into consideration the properties of the human auditory sense. That is, an audio signal may be divided into a plurality of bands (e.g., 25 bands) in such a manner that the bandwidth becomes greater as the frequency increases (the highest frequency band is generally called a critical band).
Where band division is performed so as to produce a wide critical band, data in respective bands may be coded in such a manner that prescribed numbers of bits may be assigned to the respective bands or the numbers of bits to be allocated to the respective bands may be determined adaptively.
For example, when coefficient data obtained by MDCT are coded with bit allocation, the numbers of bits to be allocated and to be coded to MDCT coefficient data in respective bands that are obtained by block-by-block MDCT are determined adaptively. For example, the following two bit allocation methods are known.
R. Zelinski, P. Noll, et. al.: "Adaptive Transform Coding of Speech Signals," IEEE, Transactions of Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Vol. ASSP-25, No. 4, August 1977 describes a method in which bit allocation is performed on the basis of the signal magnitude in each band. This method can produce a flat quantization noise spectrum and minimize the noise energy. However, since the masking effect is not utilized when the auditory sense is taken into consideration, this method is not an optimum one in terms of reducing noise that can be heard actually by the human ear.
M. A. Kransner (Massachusetts Institute of Technology): "The Critical Band Coder Digital Encoding of the Perceptual Requirements of the Auditory System," ICASSP 1980 describes a method in which fixed bit allocation is performed by obtaining signal-to-noise ratios necessary for respective bands by utilizing auditory masking. However, because of the fixed bit allocation, characteristic values are not very good even in the case where a characteristic is measured with input of a sine wave.
To solve the above problems, a high-efficiency coding device has been proposed in which all bits that can be used for bit allocation are divided into bits for a fixed bit allocation pattern that is predetermined for each small block and bits for bit allocation depending on the signal size of each block and the division ratio is determined depending on a signal relating to an input signal in such a manner that the bits for a fixed bit allocation pattern is given a larger proportion as that signal has a smoother spectrum.
Where the energy is concentrated in a particular spectrum component as in the case of sine wave input, this method can greatly increase the total signal-to-noise ratio because a large number of bits can be allocated to a block including the particular spectrum component. In general, the human auditory sense is very sensitive to a signal having a steep spectrum component. Therefore, increasing the signal-to-noise ratio by such a method is effective in improving not only measured characteristic values but also the quality of sound actually heard by a person.
Other various bit allocation methods have been proposed. Sophisticated models of the auditory sense and improvement in the ability of coding devices have made it possible to not only obtain better measured characteristic values but also perform higher-efficiency coding for the human auditory sense. In these methods, in general, bit allocation reference values (real numbers) that realize a calculated signal-to-noise-characteristic as faithfully as possible are determined and integers as their approximations are determined and set as the numbers of bits to be allocated.
Japanese Patent Application No. 152865/1993 or WO 94/28633 of the present inventors describes a method in which tone components that are particularly important in terms of the auditory sense, that is, components whose energy is concentrated in the neighborhood of a particular frequency, are separated from generated spectrum signals and coded separately from the other spectrum components. This method makes it possible to code an audio signal or the like effectively at a high compression ratio while causing almost no deterioration for the human auditory sense.
In generating an actual code sequence, quantization accuracy information and normalization coefficient information are coded with a prescribed number of bits in each band where normalization and quantization are performed and then normalized and quantized spectrum signals are coded. ISO/IEC 11172-3 (1993(E), 1993) describes a high-efficiency coding method in which the number of bits for representing quantization accuracy information is set so as to vary from one band to another depending on a band. More specifically, according to this standard, the number of bits for representing quantization accuracy information decreases as the band becomes higher in frequency.
A method is known in which quantization accuracy information is determined based on normalization coefficient information, for example, in a decoding device instead of coding quantization accuracy information directly. However, in this method, the relationship between normalization coefficient information and quantization accuracy information is determined at the time of establishment of a standard, and hence it is impossible to introduce, in the future, a control that employs quantization accuracy that is based on a more advanced auditory model. Further, where compression ratios in a certain range are to be realized, it is necessary to set a relationship between normalization coefficient information and quantization accuracy information for each compression ratio.
A method for performing coding efficiently using variable-length codes that is disclosed in D. A. Huffman: "A Method for Construction of Minimum Redundancy Codes," Proc. I.R.E., Vol. 40, p. 1,098, 1952, for example, is known as a method for coding quantized spectrum signals more efficiently.
It is also possible to distribute a signal that has been coded by any of the above-described methods by encrypting it in the same manner as in the case of a PCM signal. Where this scrambling method is employed, a person who has not acquired a key signal cannot reproduce an original signal. Another method is known in which a PCM signal is converted into a random signal and then coded for compression instead of encrypting a coded bit sequence. However, where this scrambling method is employed, a person who has not acquired a key signal can reproduce only noise.
The marketing of contents data can be promoted by distributing trial listening data of the contents data. Examples of trial listening data are data that are reproduced with lower sound quality than original data and data that enables reproduction of part (e.g., a climax portion) of original data. If a user likes reproduced trial listening data, he attempts to buy a decryption key to enable reproduction of the original sound or to buy a new recording medium on which the original audio data are recorded.
However, with the above scrambling methods, none of the data cannot be reproduced or all the data are reproduced as noise. Therefore, the above scrambling methods cannot be used for the purpose of distribution, for trial listening, of a recording medium on which sound is recorded with relatively low quality. Even if data that have been scrambled by any of the above methods are distributed to a user, he cannot recognize an outline of the entire data.
In the conventional methods, in encrypting a signal that has been subjected to high-efficiency coding, it is usually very difficult for common reproducing devices to produce a meaningful code sequence while not lowering the compression efficiency. That is, where a code sequence generated by high-efficiency coding is scrambled in the above described manner, only noise is generated if the code sequence is reproduced without descrambling it. If a scrambled code sequence does not comply with the standard of original high-efficiency codes, reproduction processing may not be performed at all.
Conversely, where high-efficiency coding is performed after a PCM signal is scrambled, such coding becomes irreversible if the amount of information is reduced by utilizing the properties of the auditory sense. Therefore, even if such high-efficiency codes are decoded, a scrambled PCM signal cannot be reproduced correctly. That is, it is very difficult to descramble such a signal correctly.
Therefore, conventionally, a method that allows correct descrambling though lowers the compression efficiency is employed.
In view of the above problems, the present inventors proposed, in JP-A-10-135944, an audio coding method in which data obtained by encrypting only codes corresponding to high-frequency bands among codes obtained by converting music data, for example, into spectrum data are distributed as trial listening data so that even a user not having a key can decode and reproduce a non-encrypted, narrow-band signal. In this method, high-frequency-side codes are encrypted, high-frequency-side bit allocation information is replaced by dummy data, and true high-frequency-side bit allocation information is recorded at such positions that a reproduction decoder does not read (i.e., disregards) information during reproduction processing.
This method allows a user to have trial listening data distributed, reproduce those data, buy a chargeable key for decoding trial listening data he likes into original data, and enjoy desired music or the like with high sound quality by reproducing it correctly in all bands.
According to the technique disclosed in JP-A-10-135944, a user not having a key can decode only a narrow-band signal of data that are distributed free of charge. However, the safety relies on only the encryption. Therefore, if the encryption is cracked, a user can reproduce music with high sound quality without paying a charge. The distributor of music data (contents provider) cannot collect a legitimate charge.

Signal reproducing method and device, signal recording method and device, and code sequence generating method and device


A method and device are described to form a sensor using a cardiomyocyte by advancing a catheter into the tissue of interest, cardiac in the preferred embodiment, and using the catheter to ablate a cone- or a dome-shaped region to form an electrically isolated section of tissue. An electrode is later fixed to the region encompassed by the dome-shaped area of tissue and used to detect the electrophysiological activity of this electrically independent cluster of cells. These cells combined with the electrode and a detection circuitry will form a cell-based sensor to monitor the effects of the anti-arrhythmic drugs in the circulation. The inventive device includes an ablation catheter and a sensing lead. Catheter is a hollow conductor which used to carry RF power from the external generator to the myocardium and to form a cone-shaped ablation zone to electrically isolate a part of myocardium from the rest. Sensing lead is a conductor that carries electrical signals from the isolated myocardium back to the implanted monitoring device. Implantable device is the main unit for processing the signals coming back from the sensing lead.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to drug concentration sensors. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and device to form a sensor using isolated cardiomyocytes. The sensor of the present invention is formed from endogenous tissue using an ablation catheter to ablate a cone- or dome-shaped region of tissue in the heart to form an electrically isolated tissue section of cardiomyocytes. An electrode is fixed to the region of isolated tissue and is used to detect the electrophysiological activity of this electrically independent cluster of cells. These cells combined with the electrode and a detection circuitry will form a cell based sensor to monitor the effects of the anti-arrhythmic drugs in the circulation.
2. Background of the Invention
It can be appreciated that drug concentration sensors have been in use for years. Typically, drug concentration sensors are comprised of point of care measurement systems where the concentration of drugs in the circulation can be measured from blood drawn from patients.
The main problem with conventional drug concentration sensors is that they do not provide continuous data unless the sensor is implanted. Sensors created from cells native to the body would not suffer from such problems. Edelberg et al. [Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 280: H2006-H2010, 2001] demonstrated the feasibility of using cardiac cells to sense drug concentrations by implanting donor cardiomyocytes into a non-cardiac site in a recipient animal and monitoring them electrophysiologically while administering pharmaceutical agents. The present invention takes the concept one step further by turning it into a catheter and lead based procedure and eliminates the need for a donor tissue, although donor cells or tissue can be used with the present invention.
The present invention also provides a solution to the problem of patient compliance in taking prescribed medications. Most anti-arrhythmic drugs are prescribed to patients with chronic conditions such as atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. However, a general problem is patient compliance in taking their medical prescription. If the implantable device could monitor the effect of the drug on the cardiac rhythm, this information could be used for closed loop drug delivery. Closed loop delivery of the drug with integration of the sensors of the present invention also provides improved avenues for more effective use and delivery of drug.
A further improvement of the present invention is in providing a demand based delivery system based on functional measurements from the isolated cardiomyocytes. Most medications are taken at routine times during the day. Because schedule-based delivery only estimates the actual need, often the effective concentration of the drug are less than optimal. A closed loop system utilizing the isolated tissue sensor provides a means to monitor the body's direct requirements for the drug, and then delivers the proper dose on a demand basis.
Another problem with conventional drug concentration sensors is that artificial sensors utilizing synthetic enzymes require periodic replacement of the enzyme that they use, limiting the useful life of the sensor. Sensors using the natural cells of the body would not require the periodic maintenance and the resupply of conventional sensors, making them very suitable for implantable applications.
While sensors described in the prior art may be suitable for the particular purpose that they address, they generally are not as suitable for long-term implantation. Most implantable sensors suffer from problems related to stability and sensor encapsulation. Cells native to the body would not suffer from such problems.
In these respects, the method and device to form a sensor using a cardiomyocyte according to the present invention substantially depart from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provide an apparatus primarily developed for such a purpose. In order to create a sensor of the present invention, typically a catheter is advanced into the tissue of interest, cardiac in the preferred embodiment, and is then used to ablate a cone- or a dome-shaped region in the tissue to form an electrically isolated section of tissue. An electrode is later fixed to the region encompassed by the dome-shaped area of tissue and used to detect the electrophysiological activity of this electrically independent cluster of cells. These cells combined with the electrode and a detection circuitry can be used to form a cell-based sensor to monitor the effects of the anti-arrhythmic drugs in the circulation without the chronotopic influence existing on the remainder of the myocardial cells.

Method and device to form a sensor using isolated cardiomyocytes


A hand-held void forming device, including a handle having two handle elements moveable relative to each other; and a void forming portion having two void forming elements moveable relative to each other, the void forming portion being operatively connected to the handle whereby movement of the handle elements relative to each other moves the void forming elements relative to each other.

The invention relates to an apparatus for positioning an anchor in a concrete fabrication and for forming a void in the concrete fabrication to allow access to the anchor.
Various systems and methods have been provided for forming a void or space around such anchors in a concrete article. Two types of such article include those which are mounted to walls of the mold of the concrete, and those which are hand-held during at least a portion of the solidification of the poured concrete.
The present invention is drawn to the hand-held type of device. One problem frequently encountered with these types of devices is difficulty in removing the device from the hardened concrete when desired.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide for positioning of an anchor and forming of a void or space around the anchor as desired, while nevertheless facilitating removal of the device when desired.

Hand-held void-forming system and anchor applicator