The invention relates to identification documents, and in particular to providing optically variable personalized data to identification documents. In one implementation, we provide an identification document comprising a document layer and a first indicium. The document layer comprises a material capable of being printed by a thermally transferable optically variable ink. The first indicium is printed on the document layer and comprises personalized data and printed to the document layer by a thermally transferred optically variable ink. The first indicium may be printed to the document layer by disposing a thermally transferable optically variable ink in a mass transfer panel of a printer ribbon adapted for use in a dye diffusion thermal transfer printer, and printing the first indicium as part of a mass transfer printing process. The thermally transferred optically variable ink can be selected and printed such that the first indicium has at least one of a luster, shine, sheen, pearlescent appearance, iridescent appearance, and mirror-like appearance. This technology enables the creation of a halftone “mirror image” over a color ghost image to achieve a layered and linked multiple personalization scheme of ID documents.

Identification Documents
Identification documents (hereafter "ID documents") play a critical role in today's society. One example of an ID document is an identification card ("ID card"). ID documents are used on a daily basis—to prove identity, to verify age, to access a secure area, to evidence driving privileges, to cash a check, and so on. Airplane passengers are required to show an ID document during check in, security screening and prior to boarding their flight. In addition, because we live in an ever-evolving cashless society, ID documents are used to make payments, access an automated teller machine (ATM), debit an account, or make a payment, etc.
(For the purposes of this disclosure, ID documents are broadly defined herein, and include, e.g., credit cards, bank cards, phone cards, passports, driver's licenses, network access cards, employee badges, debit cards, security cards, visas, immigration documentation, national ID cards, citizenship cards, social security cards, security badges, certificates, identification cards or documents, voter registration cards, police ID cards, border crossing cards, legal instruments, security clearance badges and cards, gun permits, gift certificates or cards, membership cards or badges, etc., etc. Also, the terms "document," "card," "badge" and "documentation" are used interchangeably throughout this patent application.).
Many types of identification cards and documents, such as driving licenses, national or government identification cards, bank cards, credit cards, controlled access cards and smart cards, carry thereon certain items of information which relate to the identity of the bearer. Examples of such information include name, address, birth date, signature and photographic image; the cards or documents may in addition carry other variant data (i.e., data specific to a particular card or document, for example an employee number) and invariant data (i.e., data common to a large number of cards, for example the name of an employer). All of the cards described above will hereinafter be generically referred to as "ID documents".
As those skilled in the art know, ID documents such as drivers licenses can contain information such as a photographic image, a bar code (which may contain information specific to the person whose image appears in the photographic image, and/or information that is the same from ID document to ID document), variable personal information, such as an address, signature, and/or birthdate, biometric information associated with the person whose image appears in the photographic image (e.g., a fingerprint), a magnetic stripe (which, for example, can be on the a side of the ID document that is opposite the side with the photographic image), and various security features, such as a security pattern (for example, a printed pattern comprising a tightly printed pattern of finely divided printed and unprinted areas in close proximity to each other, such as a fine-line printed security pattern as is used in the printing of banknote paper, stock certificates, and the like).
An exemplary ID document can comprise a core layer (which can be pre-printed), such as a light-colored, opaque material (e.g., TESLIN (available from PPG Industries) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material). The core is laminated with a transparent material, such as clear PVC to form a so-called "card blank". Information, such as variable personal information (e.g., photographic information), is printed on the card blank using a method such as Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer ("D2T2") printing (described further below and also described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,594, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.) The information can, for example, comprise an indicium or indicia, such as the invariant or nonvarying information common to a large number of identification documents, for example the name and logo of the organization issuing the documents. The information may be formed by any known process capable of forming the indicium on the specific core material used.
To protect the information that is printed, an additional layer of transparent overlaminate can be coupled to the card blank and printed information, as is known by those skilled in the art. Illustrative examples of usable materials for overlaminates include biaxially oriented polyester or other optically clear durable plastic film.
In the production of images useful in the field of identification documentation, it may be desirable to embody into a document (such as an ID card, drivers license, passport or the like) data or indicia representative of the document issuer (e.g., an official seal, or the name or mark of a company or educational institution) and data or indicia representative of the document bearer (e.g., a photographic likeness, name or address). Typically, a pattern, logo or other distinctive marking representative of the document issuer will serve as a means of verifying the authenticity, genuineness or valid issuance of the document. A photographic likeness or other data or indicia personal to the bearer will validate the right of access to certain facilities or the prior authorization to engage in commercial transactions and activities.
Identification documents, such as ID cards, having printed background security patterns, designs or logos and identification data personal to the card bearer have been known and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,970, issued Sep. 18, 1973 to M. Annenberg; in Great Britain Pat. No. 1,472,581, issued to G. A. O. Gesellschaft Fur Automation Und Organisation mbH, published Mar. 10, 1976; in International Patent Application PCT/GB82/00150, published Nov. 25, 1982 as Publication No. WO 82/04149; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,775, issued Mar. 31, 1987 to T. Raphael, et al.; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,949, issued Apr. 19, 1988 to G. S. Sethi, et al.; and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,987, issued Nov. 16, 1993 to J. W. Luening, et al. All of the aforementioned documents are hereby incorporated by reference.
Printing Information onto ID Documents
The advent of commercial apparatus (printers) for producing dye images by thermal transfer has made relatively commonplace the production of color prints from electronic data acquired by a video camera. In general, this is accomplished by the acquisition of digital image information (electronic signals) representative of the red, green and blue content of an original, using color filters or other known means. Devices such as digital cameras, optical sensors, and scanners also can provide digital image information. The digital image information is utilized to print an image onto a data carrier. For example, information can be printed using a printer having a plurality of small heating elements (e.g., pins) for imagewise heating of each of a series of donor sheets (respectively, carrying diffuseable cyan, magenta and yellow dye). The donor sheets are brought into contact with an image-receiving element (which can, for example, be a substrate) which has a layer for receiving the dyes transferred imagewise from the donor sheets. Thermal dye transfer methods as aforesaid are known and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,271, issued Nov. 4, 1986 to S. Brownstein and U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,989, issued Jun. 18, 1991 to Y. H. Chiang, et al. Each of these patents is hereby incorporated by reference.
Dye diffusion thermal transfer printing ("D2T2") and thermal transfer (also referred to as mass transfer printing) are two printing techniques that have been used to print information on identification cards. For example, D2T2 has been used to print images and pictures, and thermal transfer has been used to print text, bar codes, and single color graphics.
Dye diffusion is a thermal imaging technology that allows for the production of photographic quality images. In dye diffusion printing, one or more thermally transferable dyes (e.g., cyan, yellow, and magenta) are transferred from a donor, such as a donor dye sheet or a set of panels (or ribbons) that are coated with a dye (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow, black, etc.) to a receiver sheet (which could, for example, be part of an ID document) by the localized application of heat or pressure, via a stylus or thermal printhead at a discrete point. When the dyes are transferred to the receiver, the dyes diffuse into the sheet (or ID card substrate), where the dyes will chemically be bound to the substrate or, if provided, to a receptor coating. Typically, printing with successive color panels across the document creates an image in or on the document's surface. Dye diffusion can result in a very high printing quality, especially because the energy applied to the thermal printhead can vary to vary the dye density in the image pixels formed on the receiver, to produce a continuous tone image. Dye diffusion can have an increased cost as compared to other methods, however, because of the special dyes needed and the cost of dye diffusion ribbons. Also, the quality of dye diffusion printed image may depend at least on an ability of a mechanical printer system to accurately spatially register a printing sequence, e.g., yellow, magenta, cyan, and black.
Another thermal imaging technology is thermal or mass transfer printing. With mass transfer printing, a material to be deposited on a receiver (such as carbon black (referred to by the symbol "K")) is provided on a mass transfer donor medium. When localized heat is applied to the mass transfer donor medium, a portion (mass) of the material is physically transferred to the receiver, where it sits "on top of" the receiver. For example, mass transfer printing often is used to print text, bar codes, and monochrome images. Resin black mass transfer has been used to print grayscale pictures using a dithered gray scale, although the image can sometimes look coarser than an image produced using dye diffusion. However, mass transfer printing can sometimes be faster than dye diffusion, and faster printing can be desirable in some situations.
Printing of black ("K") can be accomplished using either dye diffusion or mass transfer. For example, black monochrome "K" mass transfer ribbons include Kr (which designates a thermal transfer ribbon) and Kd (which designates dye diffusion).
The term "D2T2" is a combination of the following phrases "Dye Diffusion" (D2) and "Thermal Transfer" (T2); T2 is a mass transfer ribbon panel and performs in a similar fashion as any other mass transfer technology.
Both dye diffusion and thermal ink have been combined in a single ribbon (e.g., D2T2 ribbon), which is the well-known YMCK (Yellow-Magenta-Cyan-Black) ribbon (the letter "K" is used to designate the color black in the printing industry). Another panel containing a protectant ("P") or laminate (typically a clear panel) also can be added to the YMCK ribbon).
Manufacture and Printing Environments
Commercial systems for issuing ID documents are of two main types, namely so-called "central" issue (CI), and so-called "on-the-spot" or "over-the-counter" (OTC) issue.
CI type ID documents are not immediately provided to the bearer, but are later issued to the bearer from a central location. For example, in one type of CI environment, a bearer reports to a document station where data is collected, the data are forwarded to a central location where the card is produced, and the card is forwarded to the bearer, often by mail. Another illustrative example of a CI assembling process occurs in a setting where a driver passes a driving test, but then receives her license in the mail from a CI facility a short time later. Still another illustrative example of a CI assembling process occurs in a setting where a driver renews her license by mail or over the Internet, then receives a drivers license card through the mail.
In contrast, a CI assembling process is more of a bulk process facility, where many cards are produced in a centralized facility, one after another. (For example, picture a setting where a driver passes a driving test, but then receives her license in the mail from a CI facility a short time later. The CI facility may process thousands of cards in a continuous manner.).
Centrally issued identification documents can be produced from digitally stored information and generally comprise an opaque core material (also referred to as "substrate"), such as paper or plastic, sandwiched between two layers of clear plastic laminate, such as polyester, to protect the aforementioned items of information from wear, exposure to the elements and tampering. The materials used in such CI identification documents can offer the ultimate in durability. In addition, centrally issued digital identification documents generally offer a higher level of security than OTC identification documents because they offer the ability to pre-print the core of the central issue document with security features such as "micro-printing", ultra-violet security features, security indicia and other features currently unique to centrally issued identification documents.
In addition, a CI assembling process can be more of a bulk process facility, in which many cards are produced in a centralized facility, one after another. The CI facility may, for example, process thousands of cards in a continuous manner. Because the processing occurs in bulk, CI can have an increase in efficiency as compared to some OTC processes, especially those OTC processes that run intermittently. Thus, CI processes can sometimes have a lower cost per ID document, if a large volume of ID documents are manufactured.
In contrast to CI identification documents, OTC identification documents are issued immediately to a bearer who is present at a document-issuing station. An OTC assembling process provides an ID document "on-the-spot". (An illustrative example of an OTC assembling process is a Department of Motor Vehicles ("DMV") setting where a driver's license is issued to person, on the spot, after a successful exam.). In some instances, the very nature of the OTC assembling process results in small, sometimes compact, printing and card assemblers for printing the ID document. It will be appreciated that an OTC card issuing process can be by its nature an intermittent—in comparison to a continuous—process.
OTC identification documents of the types mentioned above can take a number of forms, depending on cost and desired features. Some OTC ID documents comprise highly plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) or have a composite structure with polyester laminated to 0.5-2.0 mil (13-51.mu.m) poly(vinyl chloride) film, which provides a suitable receiving layer for heat transferable dyes which form a photographic image, together with any variant or invariant data required for the identification of the bearer. These data are subsequently protected to varying degrees by clear, thin (0.125-0.250 mil, 3-6.mu.m) overlay patches applied at the printhead, holographic hot stamp foils (0.125-0.250 mil 3-6.mu.m), or a clear polyester laminate (0.5-10 mil, 13-254.mu.m) supporting common security features. These last two types of protective foil or laminate sometimes are applied at a laminating station separate from the printhead. The choice of laminate dictates the degree of durability and security imparted to the system in protecting the image and other data.
UV Security Features in ID Documents
One response to the problem of counterfeiting ID documents has involved the integration of verification features that are difficult to copy by hand or by machine, or which are manufactured using secure and/or difficult to obtain materials. One such verification feature is the use in the card of a signature of the card's issuer or bearer. Other verification features have involved, for example, the use of watermarks, biometric information, microprinting, covert materials or media (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) inks, infrared (IR) inks, fluorescent materials, phosphorescent materials), optically varying images, fine line details, validation patterns or marking, and polarizing stripes. These verification features are integrated into an identification card in various ways and they may be visible or invisible (covert) in the finished card. If invisible, they can be detected by viewing the feature under conditions which render it visible. At least some of the verification features discussed above have been employed to help prevent and/or discourage counterfeiting.
Covert security features are those features whose presence is not visible to the user without the use of special tools (e.g., UV or IR lights, digital watermark readers) or knowledge. In many instances, a covert security feature is normally invisible to a user. Some technologies that involve invisible features require the use of specialized equipment, such as a detector or a device capable of reading digital watermarks. One type of covert security feature is the printing of information (images, designs, logos, patterns, text, etc.) in a material that is not visible under normal lighting conditions, but can be viewed using a special non-visible light source, such as an ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) light source. Use of UV and/or IR security features can be advantageous because although the devices (for example, UV and/or IR light sources) required to see and use such features are commonly available at a reasonable cost, the ability to manufacture and/or copy at least some implementations of such features is far less common and can be very costly. UV and IR based covert security features thus can help deter counterfeiters because the features cannot be copied by copiers or scanners and are extremely difficult to manufacture without the requisite know-how, equipment, and materials.
For example, the assignee of the present invention has developed and marketed a proprietary product called PolaPrime-UV™ PolaPrime-UV™ is a type of security feature. One application of PolaPrime-UV™ is for full color photo quality printing of fixed (i.e., not variable data) fluorescent images. The artwork that can be printed using PolaPrime-UV™ includes many images that can be produced with a combination of red, green, and blue phosphors. Under the appropriate light (e.g., a light source capable of providing UV light), the effect seen when viewing an image printed with PolaPrime-UV™ is similar in appearance to a television screen in that the image is formed by emission of light rather than reflection as with ink on paper. To date, PolaPrime-UV™ has been a reliable authenticator for genuine identification documents.
Printing of Covert Materials such as UV
Many images, such as color images, are formed by subtractive techniques, e.g., light is passed through absorbing dyes and the combination of dyes produce an image by sequentially subtracting cyan, magenta, and yellow components to provide the full color image. In the case of a UV fluorescing image, the UV image is formed by light emitting from fluorescing dyes or pigments as they are activated by a UV light or energy source. A UV image can be imparted to an ID document via methods such as thermal transfer or D2T2.
Regardless of whether the UV materials are imparted via D2T2 or mass transfer panel, both panels produce transmissive images—the mass transfer panel produces a bitonal (e.g., two tones) image and the dye sublimation panel produces a monochromatic (or shaded) image.
Optically Variable Devices for Identification Documents
Color shifting and other optically variable pigments, inks, dyes, and colorants (collectively "optically variable media") have a feature of appearing to change color as the viewing angle of an observer changes (or as the angle of incident light striking the media changes). Optically variable media have been used on security documents, such as identification cards, credit cards, checks, title documents, currency, etc. The optically variable property provides several advantages when used on security documents: (a) the presence and appearance of optically variable quality provides another "check" or method to authenticate the security document; (b) optically variable media are generally more difficult for a layman to obtain and use properly, thus helping to prevent (or at least limit) forgery and to make forgeries and/or alteration easier to detect; and (c) photocopiers and scanners generally will not reproduce many types of optically variable media, helping to reduce unauthorized reproduction or counterfeiting of such documents. Optically variable media also can be used with many other different types of articles, such as consumer goods (e.g., toys, cars), paper products (e.g., greeting cards, magazines), and in the fine arts (e.g., works of art).
Several methods exist to create optically variable media and to apply such media to security documents. One method involves dispersing in a medium (e.g., paint or ink) a plurality of relatively small particles (typically flakes) that have specific optical properties. One example of a particle can comprise a plurality of thin film layers, each film having a particular color and/or optical property. Another example of a particle that can have an optically varying appearance is described in a commonly assigned patent application Ser. No. 09/969,200 (Now U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,277), entitled "Use of Pearlescent and Other Pigments to Create Security Documents", by Bentley Bloomberg and Robert L. Jones, filed Oct. 2, 2001 (hereinafter "the '200 application"), the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. The '200 application describes a media having optically variable properties which includes, in one embodiment, particles comprising flat, irregularly shaped mica platelets coated with titanium dioxide and/or iron oxide. These particles, when dispersed in a media, can give a generally "pearlescent" effect, with smaller particles producing a "satin" effect and larger particles producing a "glitter" effect. In many instances, optically variable media are incorporated into a material such as a laminate layer or overlaminate layer, providing an optically variable indicia that overlays other information on the card. Generally, such an optically variable indicium contains "fixed" data (information that is the same from card to card).
For purposes of identification (e.g., of the bearer of an ID document or of the ID document itself), an ID document can include at least one image that is an "identification quality" likeness of the holder such that someone viewing the card can determine with reasonable confidence whether the holder of the card actually is the person whose image is on the card. "Identification quality" images, in at least one embodiment of the invention, include images that, when viewed using the proper facilitator (e.g., an appropriate light source for certain covert images, an appropriate temperature source for thermachromic images, etc.), provide a discernable image that is usable for identification or authentication purposes. To date, however, it has been very difficult to print images such as driver's license portraits with covert (i.e., not visible to an unaided human eye) materials and/or printing media such as UV, IR, thermachromic (materials whose appearance changes and/or becomes visible to a naked human eye with temperature), ferrofluids (materials whose appearance changes and/or becomes visible to a naked human eye upon application of a magnetic field) materials, where the quality of the covert image is sufficient to enable the image to be relied upon for identification or authentication. This can be especially difficult when attempting to print color images using covert materials.
Further, because of the enhanced security provided by the use of full color UV printing, such as is proposed in co-pending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/330,032 (entitled "Covert Variable Information on Identification Documents and Methods of Making Same" and published as US Pub. 2003-0173406, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference), it would be advantageous to be able to print variable or personal UV information at the time of card personalization, in one, two, or three UV colors, especially images that have a high enough quality to be used for authentication and/or identification. It also would be advantageous if the same information could be printed in a visible and invisible (e.g., UV) form at substantially the same time or at substantially the same printing step, where the covert image would be "identification quality".
Although it is known to use optically variable media on security documents, use of such media can sometimes have limitations. For example, many optically variable media are substantially opaque, which can limit both their application and use on particular types of security documents, as well as the type and/or design of indicia that are printable with such optically variable media. For example, for some types of security documents (e.g., drivers licenses, identification cards), the issuer may wish to provide a lot of information in a relatively small card area. Security documents often are printed with information such as images of the bearer of the card. Overlaying optically variable indicia over such bearer images can be difficult, however, because many of the optically variable inks are opaque enough to interfere with the visibility of the original (visible) image being overlaid. The relative opacity of many optically variable media means that an indicium (printed with most optically variable media) that is intended to overlay other information might have to have an "open" type of design (such as a design with widely spaced lines, or significant spaces between lines/dots), to permit information overlaid by the indicia to be substantially perceived.
Thus, applying an optically variable media that is opaque to such a card and printing an image with it means that it can be difficult to put other information in that area that was printed/overlaid using the optically variable and still have the non-optically variable information be perceivable to an unaided human eye (for authentication or other purposes).
Another disadvantage of at least some types of optically variable media is that these media can be difficult to apply as part of card personalization (that is, it is often very difficult to print personalized information on a security document using optically variable media).
In one aspect of the invention, we provide methods by which one improves a digital image from which a covert image is formed. One aspect of our invention provides improvements to reduce a "washed-out" effect that can occur when a covert image that has been printed using a covert media such as UV ink, IR ink, thermachromic ink, inks comprising ferrofluids, and the like, is appropriately stimulated so as to cause the covert image to become visible. For example, such washed out effect can be seen when a UV or IR image fluoresces.
One problem that has prevented covert images such as UV or IR images from being "identification quality" is the problem of blurred image details. For example, a problem that can be associated with printing a UV covert image is that since the UV covert image 14 "glows" under appropriate UV stimulation, image details can be less apparent, blurred or can be completely lost. The UV glowing is capable of essentially "washing out" an image's perceptible crispness (e.g., similar to a situation in which a dimly lighted object is in proximity to a brightly lighted object). Similar problems can exist with IR glowing and with thermachromic inks. The inventors of the instant invention have found that image details can be enhanced to overcome this washout problem. In particular, in at least one embodiment of the invention, the inventors have found that it is possible to digitally process an image prior to printing to compensate for the glowing effect.
UV (and/or IR) image glow which washes out the details of a fluorescing UV (and/or IR) image can thus present a considerable problem in relying upon such covert images for identification. To create a discernable fluorescing image on an ID document (useful for identification and security checks), in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the inventors have found that we can enhance the digital data that is used to create the UV image. Without the inventive enhancements described herein, for example if one simply prints the digital information as such from a digital camera or scanned image, etc., then one may get (when fluorescing) an image that may not as useful for security or identification purposes due to the washed out effect of the UV image. The details of our inventive techniques follow.
In a further embodiment of the invention, steganographic embedded code, such a digital watermark, can be provided in the covert image 14.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of processing a digital image that is to be printed on a surface of an identification document as covert image. At least one of edges and boundaries within the image is detected, the detected edges or boundaries forming an intermediate image. The edges or boundaries within the intermediate image are emphasized.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of providing a covert image to an identification document. Contrast is increased in at least a portion of the digital image. The contrast-increased portion of the digital image is dithered. The dithered image is transferred to the identification document.
In one embodiment, the invention provides and identification document comprising a core layer and a cover image printed to the core layer. The core layer comprises a core material capable of having printed thereon an image formed using a covert medium. The cover image is formed by providing a digital image that is to be used as a model to generate the covert image, increasing the contrast in the digital image, detecting edges or boundaries within the digital image, the detected edges or boundaries forming an intermediate image, emphasizing the edges or boundaries within the intermediate image, and printing the emphasized intermediate image in a covert medium on the core layer.
We have discovered ways of using optically variable media and ways of printing it to security documents that can provide advantages over the prior art. In one embodiment, the invention relates to identification and security documents, and in particular, relates to various types of optically variable indicia of personalized data formed on such documents. In one embodiment, the optically variable indicium can have a sheen or luster that can appear to be reflective, mirror-like or iridescent. In at least some embodiments, the optically variable indicium is substantially transparent at a first viewing angle (to permit information overlaid by the optically variable indicium to be perceived at least at the first viewing angle), and the optically variable indicium is able to provide a visible, identification quality indicia at a second viewing angle.
We also provide devices and techniques for being able to print indicia that varies from security document to security document (e.g., printing of variable indicia such as bearer images) using such optically variable indicia. The optically variable indicia can be formed anywhere on the document, and in an advantageous embodiment the optically variable indicia is oriented to or disposed in alignment with another variable indicia, such as a substantially identical non-optically variable indicia of the same personalized data. In one embodiment, the optically variable indicia comprises a variable indicia that overlays (fully or partially) another variable indicia on the card, permitting both indicia to be perceived by an unaided human eye (at different angles of viewing)
In one embodiment, the optically variable indicia is aligned with a variable indicia in a manner permitting the variable indicia to have an appearance that appears to have a sheen or luster or switch from a "positive" image of the indicia to a "negative" image of the indicia, when the identification document is moved from a first viewing angle to a second viewing angle.
For purposes of identification (e.g., of the bearer of an ID document or of the ID document itself), an ID document includes at least one image that is an "identification quality" likeness of the holder such that someone viewing the card can determine with reasonable confidence whether the holder of the card actually is the person whose image is on the card. "Identification quality" images, in at least one embodiment of the invention, include images that, when viewed using the proper facilitator (e.g., an appropriate light source for certain covert images, an appropriate temperature source for thermachromic images, etc.), provide a discernable image that is usable for identification or authentication purposes. To date, however, it has been very difficult to print images such as driver's license portraits with covert (i.e., not visible to an unaided human eye) materials/media such as UV, IR, thermachromic (materials whose appearance changes and/or becomes visible to a naked human eye with temperature), ferrofluids (materials whose appearance changes and/or becomes visible to a naked human eye upon application of a magnetic field) materials, where the quality of the covert image is sufficient to enable the image to be relied upon for identification or authentication. This can be especially difficult when attempting to print color images using covert materials.
In one embodiment, we print the optically variable image of variable data so that it overlays other indicia (fixed or variable) on the identifications document. For example, in an advantageous embodiment we directly align and print an optically variable image of a variable indicium directly over the same non-optically variable indicium that has been printed at that location, so that when the identification document printed in this manner is viewed at a first angle, the variable image of a variable indicium is visible, and when the identification document is viewed at a second angle, the optically variable image becomes visible in the same location. We disclose printing and processing techniques to accomplish this.
In one embodiment, we provide an identification document comprising a document layer and a first indicium. The document layer comprises a material capable of being printed by a thermally transferable optically variable ink. The first indicium is printed on the document layer and comprises personalized data and printed to the document layer by a thermally transferred optically variable ink. The first indicium may be printed to the document layer by disposing a thermally transferable optically variable ink in a mass transfer panel of a printer ribbon adapted for use in a dye diffusion thermal transfer printer, and printing the first indicium as part of a mass transfer printing process. The thermally transferred optically variable ink can be selected and printed such that the first indicium has at least one of a luster, shine, sheen, pearlescent appearance, iridescent appearance, and mirror-like appearance.
The first indicium may comprise a digital image formed by providing an initial digital image that is to be used as a model to generate the optically variable image, the digital image comprising personalized data, increasing the contrast in the digital image, detecting edges or boundaries within the digital image, the detected edges or boundaries forming an intermediate image, and emphasizing the edges or boundaries within the intermediate image.
In one embodiment, the identification document further comprises a second indicium, which can be printed using dye diffusion thermal transfer. The second indicium can be substantially identical to the first indicium, the first and second indicia can be arranged so that at least a portion of one overlays at least a portion of the other.
In one embodiment, the first and second indicia are selected and printed so as to give the appearance of a single image having an appearance that shifts from a positive image to a negative image depending on the angle of viewing.
In one embodiment, we provide a method of printing personalized data to an identification document in an optically variable printing medium. We increase contrast in at least a portion of a digital image, and dither the contrast-increased portion of the digital image. We then thermally transfer the dithered image on an identification document using an optically variable printing medium.
In a further embodiment, we provide a method of printing personalized data to an identification document. We receive a first digitized image, the image comprising personalized data, and a second digitized image that comprises a substantial inverse of the first image. We select a first subset of pixels of the first image as a first printing model and a second subset of pixels of the second image as a second printing model. We print the first printing model to a first location on an identification document using a first printing medium, to a first location on an identification document and print the second printing model to a second location on an identification document using a second printing medium.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be even more readily apparent from the following Detailed Description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings and the claims.
Of course, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, with emphasis rather being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Relative dimensions of identification documents, laminate layers, indicia, etc., are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. In addition, in the drawings, like reference numbers indicate like elements or steps. Further, throughout this application, certain indicia, information, identification documents, data, etc., may be shown as having a particular cross sectional shape (e.g., rectangular) but that is provided by way of example and illustration only and is not limiting, nor is the shape intended to represent the actual resultant cross sectional shape that occurs during manufacturing of identification documents.

Optically variable personalized indicia for identification documents


The present invention relates to novel seed specific promoter regions. The present invention further provide methods of producing proteins and other products of interest and methods of controlling expression of nucleic acid sequences of interest using the seed specific promoter regions. The present invention also provides methods of identifying and isolating novel seed specific promoters.

The major economic and food value of most agricultural plant products resides in their seeds, and seeds have long been the major resources of proteins, carbohydrates, and oils. Centuries of agricultural research have been directed to improving the qualitative and quantitative traits associated with seed products; classical breeding techniques have resulted in the development of new varieties with desirable traits not observed in the source populations from which the new varieties are developed. However, despite recent rapid progress, these techniques are limited to recombining genetic information which is already present in the source population, and to the very slow modification of this information by naturally occurring mutations. Furthermore, these classical methods may also result in undesirable traits arising as a consequence of selecting for a particular desirable trait. For example, it was impossible to increase the oleic acid content of rapeseed oil above 80% without obtaining undesired agronomic properties such as reduced cold tolerance; it was hypothesized that the observed reduction in cold tolerance was due to the lack of unsatured fatty acids in the membranes of these plants (Kinney, Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 5:144-151 (1994); Miquel et al., Plant Physiology, 106:421-427 (1994)). Thus, the characteristic of high oleic acid, which is desirable when present in the seed oil (which consists primarily of storage lipids, or triacylglycerols), is undesirable when present in the membrane lipids (which consist primarily of glycerolipids).
The application of the newer techniques of genetic engineering promises to revolutionize plant agriculture. It is envisioned that traditional seed products can be tailored to the end market, as for example, seed oils produced with specific fatty acid profiles. Thus, it has been possible to produce a rapeseed line with 88% oleic acid in the triacylglycerol fraction of the seed oil, by transferring an antisense gene to a fatty acid desaturase, FAD2, to the rapeseed; this desirable characteristic was limited to the seed oils, and therefore did not affect the fatty acids of the membrane lipids of the rest of the plant, by putting the antisense gene under control of the napin seed-specific promoter (Hitz et al., Kader, J.-C. and Mazliak, P., Eds. (Kluwer, Dordecht, Netherlands), p. 534 (1995)). It is also envisioned that seeds can be used produce non-traditional products, such as edible vaccines. However, for these applications as well, it is preferable to utilize seed specific promoters, to limit the presence of such non-traditional products to the seed, and to avoid their presence in other parts of the plant.
Only a few seed-specific promoters have been cloned and studied in detail; these include promoters for seed storage protein genes, such as a phaseolin promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,200) and a napin promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,152). Storage proteins are usually present in large amounts, making it relatively easy to isolate storage protein genes and the gene promoters. Even so, the number of available seed specific promoters is still limited. Furthermore, most of these promoters suffer from several drawbacks; they have a limited period of time during seed development in which they are active, and they may be expressed in other tissues as well. For example, storage protein gene promoters are expressed mainly in the mid to late embryo development stage (Chen et al., Dev. Genet., 10(2): 112-122 (1989); Keddie et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 19(3):443-53 (1992); Sjodahl et al., Planta., 197(2):264-71 (1995); Reidt et al., Plant J., 21(5):401-8 (2000)), and also may have activity in other tissues, such as pollen, stamen and/or anthers (as, for example, the phaseolin promoter, as reported by Ahm, V, et al. Plant Phys 109:1151-1158 (1995)).
Therefore, it would be desirable to have additional seed-specific promoters for use in modifying seed products. It would also be desirable to have seed-specific promoters which are more tightly expressed only in seed tissue. It would also be desirable to have seed-specific promoters which are active during different phases of seed development, and which are active to different degrees during seed development It would also be desirable to have a method by which such seed-specific promoters can be identified.


A disc drive and a method of storing data using the disc drive are disclosed. Multiple data heads are each supported adjacent a corresponding one of multiple disc surfaces of a disc stack to form multiple head/media combinations. A separate guardband or recording density capability for each of the multiple head/media combinations is determined. An actual recording density is assigned to each of the multiple head/media combinations based upon the recording density capability for the particular head/media combination. The actual recording density assigned to each of the multiple head/media combinations can be different from the actual recording densities assigned to other head/media combinations. The disc drive is controlled such that data is recorded on each of the surfaces at the actual recording density assigned thereto.

The present invention relates generally to disc drive data storage systems having multiple discs mounted on a spindle to form a disc stack. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disc drive data storage system in which data is recorded on different surfaces of the disc stack at different recording densities in order to optimize the performance of the disc drive.
A typical disc drive data storage system can include multiple magnetic discs mounted for rotation on a hub or spindle. A spindle motor causes the discs to spin and the surface of the discs to pass under respective head gimbal assemblies (HGAs). The HGAs carry transducers which write information to, and read information from the disc surfaces. An actuator mechanism moves the HGAs from track to track across surfaces of the discs under control of electronic circuitry. Read and write operations are performed through a transducer which is carried in a slider body. The slider and transducer are sometimes collectively referred to as a head, and typically a single head is associated with each disc surface. The heads are selectively moved under the control of electronic circuitry to any one of multiple circular, concentric data tracks on the corresponding disc surface by an actuator device. Each slider body includes an air bearing surface (ABS). As the disc rotates the disc drags air beneath the ABS, which develops a lifting force which causes the head to lift and fly several microinches above the disc surface.
In existing disc drive systems, one of the parameters which dictates the AREAL density is the recording density, typically designated in bits per inch (BPI). Recording density is a predetermined parameter at the disc drive design stage. All disc surfaces in the disc stack are set to one standard recording density or BPI value. The maximum recording density is usually determined by the available head, disc surface and read channel capabilities. To ensure the maximum production yield and read channel margin, this recording density is usually set at a point where the drive still has sufficient read channel margin under the worst case combination of head, media (i.e., disc surface) and read channel distribution.
This current recording density scheme results in the margin available not being maximized for good head/media surface combinations, while stressing the available channel margin for the worst head/media combinations. In a multiple disc pack drive, by probability, there will virtually always be the situation where the various head/media combinations have different margins available. A single low margin head/media combination will usually result in the disc drive not meeting the desired drive error rate, even though all other head/media combinations in the disc drive may exceed the required channel margin.


The present invention relates to communication technologies and discloses a method and an apparatus for protecting security of data, so as to solve the problem of the prior art in which the security of data transmission between a communication terminal which has a characteristic of small data transmission and the network cannot be guaranteed. Information relevant to security context is stored if a communication terminal has a characteristic of small data transmission; current security context is obtained according to the information relevant to security context; and security protection of communication data is performed by employing the current security context. The embodiments of the present invention may be applied to a communication system having a characteristic of small data transmission, such as an MTC and the like.

Machine to machine (Machine to Machine, M2M) communication, called machine type communication (Machine Type Communication, MTC) as well, is a technology which does not need human intervention and in which machine and machine communicate with each other directly. The MTC has features of a huge number of devices, low mobility, and small communication flow of a single device and so on. Only a signalling plane bearer is established between an MTC device and a network side entity. Through the signalling plane bearer, data is carried in control signalling to be transmitted.
In the prior art, after a communication between an MTC device and a network side entity is over, the MTC device and the network side entity might delete security context which is used for protecting security of data transmission, such that when the MTC device and the network side entity transmit data by control signalling at a next time, security protection of the data may not be performed since there is no security context, and the data of the MTC device cannot be transmitted safely.

Method for protecting security of data, network entity and communication terminal


A fan duct includes an immovable cylinder and a movable cylinder. The movable cylinder is capable of sliding in an axial direction of the immovable cylinder. One of the immovable cylinder and the movable cylinder defines at least one groove in an axial direction thereof. Each groove defines at least two locating slots communicating with the respective groove. The other of the immovable cylinder and the movable cylinder forms at least one pin corresponding to the groove, the pin being capable of selectively sliding into any one of the locating slots. A related heat dissipation assembly including the fan duct is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to a fan duct, and particularly to a fan duct corresponding to a heat sink.
2. Description of Prior Art
Electronic devices such as central processing units (CPUs) frequently generate large amounts of heat during normal operation, therefore a heat dissipation assembly is used to dissipate heat from the electronic device. Conventionally the heat dissipation assembly comprises one or more pairs of heat sinks and fans. The bottom surface of a heat sink is attached to an electronic device, while the top surface form thereon a plurality of fins defining a plurality of channels therebetween. A fan is installed at one side of the fins for producing airflow through the channels to accelerate heat convection. However, in above cases, there produce refluence of heat airflow constantly.
In order to prevent producing refluence of heat air flow, a cylindrical fan duct is used. The fan duct comprises a cylinder. One end of the cylinder hoods the top of a fan, while the other end is attached to a computer case. The computer case defines a plurality of apertures corresponding to the fan. In operation, outside cooling air flows through the fan duct to blow to the heat sink or hot air from the heat sink flows away from the computer case via the fan duct, thereby preventing producing refluence of heat air flow. The height of the fan duct is fixed and only fits a kind of special computer cases whose height is fixed or whose inner space is fixed. However, there are so many kinds of computer cases which have a different height or inner space. Therefore, there needs a fan duct which can adapt to computer cases with different heights or inner space.


A fully exchangeable low-profile single-lumen dual-balloon catheter for embolectomy, dilatation, occlusion, and infusion of treatment fluid, and having an integrated guide wire, includes a flexible small diameter guide wire provided with an distal end valving portion of comparatively enlarged diameter and a flexible elongated tubular shaft with a pair of expandable balloons spaced apart on opposite sides of a waist portion which waist portion includes an infusion section with a perforation in fluid communication with the lumen. The fluid conducting lumen is adapted to perform multiple functions in conjunction with movements of the guide wire converting the catheter to one of several modes of operation by sealing cooperation of the guide wire valving portion with seal portions of the catheter shaft.

Over the last decade the medical procedure known as angioplasty has become widely accepted as a safe and effective method for treating various types of vascular diseases. For example, angioplasty is widely used for opening stenoses throughout the vascular system and particularly for opening stenoses in coronary arteries. At present, the most common form of angioplasty is called percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). This procedure utilizes a dilatation catheter having an inflatable balloon at its distal end. In a procedure using a fluoroscope and radiopaque dyes for visualization the distal end of the dilatation catheter is guided into position through a guide catheter and across the stenosis. With the dilatation balloon in this position of alignment with the stenosis the balloon is inflated for a brief duration to open the artery and establish adequate blood flow.
An alternative procedure for opening blocked or constricted vascular pathways or analogous physical structures utilizes a similar balloon catheter to remove the blockage or embolus by advancing the deflated balloon of the catheter past the blockage, inflating the balloon and then withdrawing the catheter. By withdrawing the inflated balloon the downstream embolus is pulled or stripped from its location and ultimately removed.
Typically, inflation of the balloon is accomplished by supplying pressurized fluid from an inflation apparatus located outside the patient's body through an inflation lumen in the catheter which is connected to the balloon. Conversely, applying a negative pressure to the inflation lumen collapses the balloon to its minimum dimension for initial placement or removal of the balloon catheter within the blood vessel receiving treatment.
In the past years a number of balloon catheter designs have been developed which have contributed to the safety and acceptability of PTCA and similar medical procedures. The most common design is known as an "over-the-wire" balloon catheter. This conventional device typically utilizes a relatively large lumen for passage of a guide wire and injection of contrast fluid (or angiographic visualization dye) to assist in the placement of the device. A second parallel lumen is provided for inflation and deflation of the balloon.
Typically, a steerable guide wire is positioned within the larger lumen and the entire assembly is maneuvered into an initial position within the target artery through a guide catheter which has been positioned previously, and is of sufficient diameter to pass the angioplasty catheter. Once near the site of the stenoses the guide wire can be rotated and axially extended or retracted into position across the lesion. The catheter is subsequently advanced along the guide wire to position its balloon end across the lesion prior to inflation of the balloon and dilation of the stenosis.
Though successful at opening stenotic lesions, these dual lumen catheters are relatively bulky and stiff, which makes their use difficult for any lesions except those that are proximal and localized in nontortuous, easily accessible vessels. Moreover, these over-the-wire balloon catheters of early design require an additional implanting physician or assistant to control the guide wire during positioning of the assembly because catheter and wire movement are independent of one another. This complex coordinated activity requires both experience and skill and may result in a slower insertion procedure than desired.
An alternative conventional over-the-wire catheter assembly utilizes a non-removable guide wire that allows for longitudinal or axial movement. However, this design has a significant drawback because the entire non-removable guide wire catheter assembly must be removed to accomplish replacement or exchange of the balloon. In some cases of PTCA it is necessary to replace the balloon with one of different diameter or configuration following the initial dilation.
Additionally, cases of acute reclosure have been noted where the lesion recloses following dilation and removal of the balloon catheter. One response to this reclosure problem has been the placement of an expandable stent into the artery at the lesion with another replacement balloon catheter. This alternative system increases the difficulties of these subsequent procedures by requiring that the replacement catheter renegotiate the entire placement path without the advantage of a guide wire.
A "monorail" variant of the standard balloon-over-a-wire system also has been developed where only the distal portion of the balloon catheter tracks over the guide wire. This system utilizes a conventional inflation lumen and a relatively short guiding or through lumen at the distal end. Its principal benefits are the reduction of frictional drag over the length of the externally located guide wire and the ease of balloon exchange. It provides the ability to recross an acutely closed vessel or to exchange balloons without removing the guide wire. However, a disadvantage of this "mono-rail" design is the increased difficulty in steering the guide wire because the guide wire is not supported by the balloon catheter. Additionally, the dual lumen distal design produces a larger profile and shaft size.
Another innovation in dilatation catheter design which is now conventional is the "fixed-wire" or integrated "balloon-on-a-wire" dilatation catheter. These single lumen designs utilize a relatively narrow wire positioned within the inflation lumen and permanently fixed to the distal end of the balloon. This construction produces a low-profile catheter assembly which is able to cross severely narrowed lesions and to navigate tortuous vascular pathways. Additionally, the fixed guide wire bonded at the distal end of the balloon improves the steerability and pushability of these designs which enhances their maneuverability. The thin shaft design also improves coronary visualization and enables all but the tightest critical lesions to be crossed.
However, though able to provide relatively quick and simple balloon placement as well as providing access to lesions otherwise unsuitable for PTCA, fixed-wire balloon-on-a-wire systems sacrifice the ability to maintain guide wire position across the lesion when exchanging balloons or the safety advantage of being able to recross an acutely closed vessel without repositioning the entire assembly.
Additionally, conventional dual balloon catheters are known which provide for a pair of dilatation balloons of graduated size, or which provide one balloon which is a dilatation balloon while a second balloon is spaced away from the dilatation balloon. These catheters are used subsequent to the artery dilation with the two balloons both serving as occlusion balloons to isolate a section of the artery including the lesion under treatment between the two inflated balloons. An additional lumen of the catheter communicates with the isolated space between the balloons so the lesion can be treated with therapeutic fluids supplied via this additional lumen. Yet another balloon may be provided in this isolated space to assist in driving the therapeutic material into the tissue of the lesion by pressurizing the isolated intraarterial space or by physically pressing outwardly into engagement with the walls of the artery.
Of course, these conventional multi-lumen, multi-balloon catheters are high-profile devices. That is, the complexity of the structure of the catheter with two or more balloons, and two or more lumens communicating with the balloons and other features of the catheters, results in a rather large diameter for these devices.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a balloon-on-a-wire dilatation or embolectomy catheter which incorporates all of the benefits of a small diameter fixed wire system yet allows for removal, reengagement or replacement of the balloon while leaving the guide wire in place to preserve an easily renegotiated path along the blood vessel being treated.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an integrated-wire dilatation or embolectomy catheter offering an extremely low profile and a small shaft size to facilitate maneuverability and placement of the catheter as well as to provide it with the ability to negotiate tortuous vessels and to pass highly stenosed lesions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an integrated-wire balloon catheter having a steerable guide wire releasably fixed inside the catheter to provide enhanced torqueability, pushability, and maneuverability in order to facilitate the rapid, single operator placement and positioning of the assembly.
Still additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dual balloon catheter with only a single lumen, and which includes an infusion section intermediate of the two balloons.
Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a single lumen catheter of the type outlined above which includes valving structure responsive to axial movement of the guide wire for selectively allowing inflation of a dilatation balloon, a distal vent to be opened, or inflation of both the dilatation balloon and an occlusion balloon along with infusion of therapeutic material into an isolated space between the two balloons, which material also provides the inflation pressure for the two balloons.

Low-profile single-lumen dual-balloon catheter with integrated guide wire for embolectomy dilatation/occlusion and delivery of treatment fluid


Variances in bandwidth used by a radiocommunication connection are adapted to by changing the type of information being transmitted. For example, in a TDMA environment, a first downlink time slot associated with a double- or triple-rate connection may have a first format, while a second time slot associated with the same connection may have a second format different from the first format. Bandwidth in the second (or third) time slot can be used to carry information in a fast out-of-band channel (FOC). The FOC may provide information relating to the same connection as the payload or data field in that time slot, e.g., a service type identifier which informs the mobile or base station of the type of information (e.g., voice, video or data) being conveyed in the payload. Alternatively, the FOC information may be associated with a connection or connections which are different from that supported by the payload or data field containing the FOC.

Applicant's invention relates generally to radiocommunication systems, e.g., cellular or satellite systems, that use digital traffic channels in a multiple access scheme, e.g., time division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA).
The growth of commercial radiocommunications and, in particular, the explosive growth of cellular radiotelephone systems have compelled system designers to search for ways to increase system capacity without reducing communication quality beyond consumer tolerance thresholds. One way to increase capacity is to use digital communication and multiple access techniques such as TDMA, in which several users are assigned respective time slots on a single radio carrier frequency.
In North America, these features are currently provided by a digital cellular radiotelephone system called the digital advanced mobile phone service (D-AMPS), some of the characteristics of which are specified in the interim standard IS-54B, "Dual-Mode Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard", published by the Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Association (EIA/TIA). Because of a large existing consumer base of equipment operating only in the analog domain with frequency-division multiple access (FDMA), IS-54B is a dual-mode (analog and digital) standard, providing for analog compatibility in tandem with digital communication capability. For example, the IS-54B standard provides for both FDMA analog voice channels (AVC) and TDMA digital traffic channels (DTC), and the system operator can dynamically replace one type with the other to accommodate fluctuating traffic patterns among analog and digital users. The AVCs and DTCs are implemented by frequency modulating radio carrier signals, which have frequencies near 800 megahertz (MH) such that each radio channel has a spectral width of 30 kilohertz (KHz). A subsequent standard, referred to as IS-136, adds specifications for digital control channels. This standard document, in particular the version identified as PN-3474.1, dated Dec. 15, 1995 and published by EIA/TIA, is incorporated here by reference.
In a TDMA cellular radiotelephone system, each radio channel is divided into a series of time slots, each of which contains a burst of information from a data source, e.g., a digitally encoded portion of a voice conversation. The time slots are grouped into successive TDMA frames having a predetermined duration. According to IS-54B and IS-136, each TDMA frame consists of six consecutive time slots and has a duration of 40 milliseconds (msec). Thus, each frame can carry from one to six traffic channels (e.g., one to six radio connections). The number of connections which can be supported by each TDMA frame depends on the desired information transmission rate. For example, if the connections are used to support the transmission of voice information, the number of slots used per channel depends on the source rates of the speech coder/decoders (codecs) used to digitally encode the conversations. Such speech codecs can operate at either full-rate or half-rate, with full-rate codecs being expected to be used until half-rate codecs that produce acceptable speech quality are developed.
Thus, a full-rate DTC requires twice as many time slots in a given time period as a half-rate DTC, and in IS-54B, each radio channel can carry up to three full-rate DTCs or up to six half-rate DTCs. Each full-rate DTC uses two slots of each TDMA frame, i.e., the first and fourth, second and fifth, or third and sixth of a TDMA frame's six slots. Each half-rate DTC uses one time slot of each TDMA frame. During each DTC time slot, 324 bits are transmitted, of which the major portion, 260 bits, is due to the speech output of the codec, including bits due to error correction coding of the speech output, and the remaining bits are used for guard times and overhead signalling for purposes such as synchronization.
In addition to voice information being transmitted on the traffic channels, various other types of data can and will be transmitted thereon. For example, facsimile (fax) transmissions are commonly supported by radiocommunication systems. Similarly, packet data transmissions, which divide information streams into packets rather than providing dedicated (i.e., "connection-oriented") channels for each information stream, will be supported in radiocommunication systems. Other types of information transmission, e.g., video or hybrid voice, data and video to support internet connections, will likely be supported in the future.
These various types of information communication (also referred to herein as different "services") will likely have different optimal transmission characteristics. For example, services between a remote user and the internet may benefit by providing a greater bandwidth in the downlink (i.e., from the internet to the remote station) than in the uplink, since many users spend a significant portion of their connection time downloading information from the internet rather than uploading thereto. Thus, it may be desirable in such cases to allocate a triple rate connection in the downlink (e.g., all six time slots of an IS-136 TDMA frame) but only a full rate connection in the uplink (e.g., two time slots of an IS-136 frame). This inequality between uplink and downlink bandwidth is referred to herein as an "asymmetrical" connection. In addition to bandwidth considerations, other transmission characteristics may also be impacted. For example, different services may require different degrees of error protection. Thus, for example, an optimal channel coding for the transmission of voice information might be rate 112 since voice information transmission is typically not provided with a procedure for retransmission, while optimal channel coding for the transmission of data, e.g, facsimile, might be rate 5/6 since retransmission procedures are typically provided. Other transmission characteristics, for example, the ability to tolerate delay in the reception of information, may also vary between services. All of these differences in transmission characteristics should be considered together when determining an optimal specification for the air interface.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide techniques for transmitting information between remote stations and the system in radiocommunication networks that provide sufficient flexibility for the anticipated variety of information communication services described above, while also providing sufficient compatibility with existing technology so that equipment used by the existing consumer base will not become obsolete.

Multi-rate radiocommunication systems and terminals


A dampening clip comprising: a body portion and a connecting portion extending from the body portion, the connecting portion being configured to connect the dampening clip to an adjacent component, and wherein the dampening clip includes a portion made of a supporting material and a portion made of a dampening material.

Typical disc brake systems include a support bracket, one or more brake pads, a caliper, and a rotor. The one or more brake pads are mounted and located in the support bracket so that the brake pads slide axially towards and away from the rotor. The disc brake system may include a pad clip that attaches to the support bracket and to a portion of the one or more brake pads so that the brake pads are held in the support bracket. During a brake apply a piston in the caliper presses on one of the brake pads moving the brake pad along the support bracket and into contact with the rotor, and once in contact with the rotor, fingers connected on an opposing side of the rotor move the opposing brake pad into contact with the opposing side of the rotor so that a brake apply is created. During running the brake pads may be substantially free of contact with the piston, the fingers, or both and movement and/or vibrations of the brake assembly may cause the brake pads and/or pad clip to move and contact the support bracket resulting in noise, vibrations, or harshness (NVH) that may be heard and/or felt by a user. It would be attractive to have a device that reduces brake noise during running, a brake apply, a brake retract, or a combination thereof. It would be attractive to have a device that minimizes movement of the brake pads and/or pad clips relative to the support bracket. What is needed is a device that dampens vibrations between the brake pads and the pad clips, the pad clips and the support brackets, or both.
Examples of brake clips are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. D483,709S; D489,655; 5,377,790; and 7,086,506 and some examples of dampeners are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,962 and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0289250; 2006/0289255; and 2012/0152667; and European Patent Application No. EP0282129A1, all of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.


A symmetrical correlator includes a shift register into which the bit pattern resulting from oversampling a received data signal are clocked using a sample clock. During each cycle of the sample clock, a first number of the bits contained in the shift register are provided to an enable circuit. The enable circuit compares these bits to a predetermined bit pattern and, in response to the correlation therebetween, generates an enabling signal. Also during each cycle of the sample clock, a plurality of bit pairs symmetrical about a predetermined bit position in the shift register are compared for logical equivalency in a plurality of associated logical equivalency circuits. Each of the logic equivalency circuits provides a signal indicative of the logic equivalency of its associated bit pair to an adder. When enabled, the adder sums the binary values provided thereto by the logical equivalency circuits to generate a signal SUM indicative of the degree of symmetry of the bit pattern contained in the shift register about the predetermined bit position for that clock cycle. A peak value for the signal SUM indicates the center of the bit interval of the data signal is precisely associated with the predetermined bit position of the shift register.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data correlation and specifically to data correlation based on symmetrical bit patterns.
2. Description of Related Art
In the transmission of digital information, data is transmitted according to a clock signal. Since this clock signal is typically not transmitted along with the data, this clock signal must be "recovered" from and precisely aligned with the transmitted data. One technique for synchronizing the clock signal with an incoming data signal employs a conventional data correlator, as shown in FIG. 1. Correlator 10 typically operates in conjunction with a receiving unit to which the data signal is transmitted. This receiving unit has associated therewith a clock signal having a frequency f equal to the frequency of the clock signal employed in transmitting the data signal. Using a sample clock having a frequency N times greater than the predetermined frequency f, the data signal is oversampled in a conventional manner and clocked into an m-bit shift register 12. The bits stored in register 12 are compared to a predetermined bit pattern TEST stored in an m-bit register 14 using m associated conventional logical equivalency circuits 16 which may be for instance exclusive-NOR (XNOR) gates. The signal provided at the output terminal of each of logical equivalency circuits 16 is coupled to an associated input terminal of a conventional m-input adder 18. In response to the signals generated by logical equivalency circuits 16, adder 18 provides at an output terminal thereof a signal SUM indicative of the number of matches between associated bit pairs stored in shift register 12 and register 14. On each transition of the sample clock, the bits generated by oversampling the data signal are shifted one position in register 12, thereby resulting in a new value for signal SUM. This process is repeated until a peak value for signal SUM is detected, thereby indicating that a maximum correlation between an m-bit portion of the bit pattern resulting from oversampling the data signal and the m-bit pattern stored in register 14. In this manner, the center of the bit interval of the data signal may be located, thereby facilitating a precise alignment of the clock to the data signal.
Correlator 10 "looks" for a specific bit pattern in the data signal and then correlates that pattern with a predetermined pattern stored in register 14, as described above, to determine the center of the bit internal of the data signal. For example, where correlator 10 is configured to look for the bit pattern "010" in the data signal, signal TEST stored in register 14 is set equal to "0000111111110000". FIG. 2 shows a data signal DATA containing the bit pattern "0101". Signal DATA has a zero DC offset and, as a result, the "width" of the 0's and 1's in signal DATA are equal to one another, e.g., where the digital value to be represented is a "0" signal DATA is low for precisely one clock cycle and, where the digital value to be represented is a "1" signal DATA is high for precisely one clock period. Signal DATA is 8-times (8 x) oversampled to produce the bit pattern DATA.sub.8X (see FIG. 2). Thus, each "0" bit of signal DATA is associated with eight 0's in signal DATA.sub.8X and, accordingly, each "1" bit of signal DATA is associated with eight 1's in signal DATA.sub.8X. The bits of signal DATA.sub.8X are shifted into shift register 12 as described earlier.
Shift register 12 is assumed to contain in its initial state all 0's. As bits of the signal DATA.sub.8X are shifted into shift register 12, the value of signal SUM generated at the output terminal of adder 18 changes depending upon the number of bits in register 12 which match associated ones of bits stored in register 14. For instance, after one clock cycle of the sample clock, where the bit pattern contained in register 12 is equal to "1000000000000000", the value of signal SUM is equal to 7, and after two clock cycles of the sample clock, where the bit pattern contained in register 12 is equal to "1100000000000000", the value of signal SUM is equal to 6, and so on.
The values of signal SUM generated as a function of that portion of the bit pattern of signal DATA.sub.8X are shown below in Table 1. The value of signal SUM peaks at 16 for exactly one cycle of the sample clock during which the bit pattern contained in register 12 exactly matches the pattern of signal TEST stored in register 14, i.e., where the bit pattern contained in register 12 is "0000111111110000". Signal SUM is equal to 14 for exactly one cycle of the sample clock before and exactly one cycle of the sample clock after the value of signal SUM peaks at 16, where the bit patterns in register 12 are equal to "0001111111100000" and "0000011111111000", respectively. In this manner, it may be discerned that the center of the "1" bit interval of signal DATA occurs precisely during that cycle of the sample clock when that portion of the bit pattern of signal DATA.sub.8X contained in register 12 is "0000111111110000".
______________________________________ sample clock bit pattern contained in cycle register 12 value of signal SUM ______________________________________ n - 8 1111000000001111 0 n - 7 1111100000000111 2 n - 6 1111110000000011 4 n - 5 1111111000000001 6 n - 4 1111111100000000 8 n - 3 0111111110000000 10 n - 2 0011111111000000 12 n - 1 0001111111100000 14 n 0000111111110000 16 n + 1 0000011111111000 14 n + 2 0000001111111100 12 n + 3 0000000111111110 10 n + 4 0000000011111111 8 ______________________________________
The operation of correlator 10 as described above is degraded when the received data signal has a non-zero DC offset resulting from for instance noise, mismatch, or other transmission related errors. In such a case, the width of the logic high transitions (indicative of a binary one) and the width of the logic low transitions (indicative of a binary zero) of the received data signal may not be equal to one another. For example, a signal DATA' having a non-zero DC offset and its associated 8 x oversampled bit pattern DATA.sub.8X ' are shown in FIG. 3. Note that signal DATA' represents the same bit pattern as does signal DATA of FIG. 2. However, each "0" bit of signal DATA' is associated with twelve "0" bits in signal DATA.sub.8X ' and, accordingly, each "1" bit of signal DATA' is associated with four "1" bits in signal DATA.sub.8X '.
The values of signal SUM generated by correlator 10 as a function of that portion of the bit pattern of signal DATA.sub.8X ' contained in register 12 are shown below in Table 2. In this case, where the received data signal DATA' has a non-zero DC offset as described above, the maximum number of matches between bits contained register 12 and associated ones of bits stored in register 14 is twelve. Thus, the value of signal SUM peaks at twelve. However, signal SUM peaks at a value of twelve for not just one but five cycles of the sample clock. Thus, it is impossible to detect with precision the center of the bit interval of signal DATA' using correlator 10; it can only be discerned that the center of the interval occurs somewhere during those five cycles of the sample clock where the bits patterns contained in register 12 are "0000111100000000", "0000011110000000""0000001111000000", "0000000111100000", and "0000000011110000".
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ sample clock bit pattern contained in cycle register 12 value of signal SUM ______________________________________ n - 8 1100000000001111 2 n - 7 1110000000000111 2 n - 6 1111000000000011 2 n - 5 0111100000000001 5 n - 4 0011110000000000 8 n - 3 0001111000000000 10 n - 2 0000111100000000 12 n - 1 0000011110000000 12 n 0000001111000000 12 n + 1 0000000111100000 12 n + 2 0000000011110000 12 n + 3 0000000001111000 10 n + 4 0000000000111100 8 ______________________________________
Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to precisely determine the center of a bit interval of an incoming data signal having a non-zero DC offset.


The present invention provides an ink set for ink jet recording using at least two kinds of liquids. The first liquid contains at least a colorant, a water soluble solvent and water, and the second liquid contains at least a compound represented by the following general formula (1), a water soluble solvent and water. The present invention also provides an ink jet recording apparatus comprising a recording head from which the ink set for ink jet recording is ejected, and an ink jet recording method by which an image is formed by applying the first and second liquids on a recording medium so as to contact each other

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink set for ink jet recording, an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ink jet systems for ejecting an ink through an ink ejection port formed of a nozzle, slit or porous film have been used for many printers since a compact printer therefor is compact and inexpensive. In particular, among ink jet systems, a piezo ink jet system for ejecting an ink by taking advantage of deformation of a piezoelectric element and a thermal ink jet system for ejecting an ink by taking advantage of boiling of the ink by thermal energy are excellent in high-resolution and high-speed printing.
One currently important object of ink jet printers is high speed and high quality printing of images on a regular paper sheet. For attaining this object, Japanese Patent No. 2667401 proposes a method comprising the steps of allowing a liquid containing a cationic group-bearing compound to adhere on a recording medium, allowing the liquid to permeate into the recording medium, and forming an image by allowing an anionic dye-containing ink to adhere on the surface of the recording medium immediately after the liquid has permeated into the recording medium and disappeared from the surface thereof. However, image density may be insufficient in this method when the drying time of the ink is shortened, and long-term ejectability may be insufficient when the images are printed using a small volume of drops.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2001-294788 proposes a color ink set for attaining high speed drying, high optical density and high image quality, wherein a black ink contains water and a water-soluble solvent, the drying time of the black ink on a regular paper sheet is not more than 5 seconds, each of color inks contain colorants, water, a water-soluble solvents and a coagulant for coagulating the components in the black ink, and the permeation time of the color inks into the regular paper sheet is not more than 5 seconds. Although optical density, feathering and intercolor bleeding are excellent when pigments are used for colorants of the color inks in this method, stable long-term storability of images may not always be sufficient since the ink contains the coagulant. It has also been a problem that electrolytes and multivalent metal salts that are usually used as the coagulant have too strong of an effect as the coagulant.
JP-A Nos. 63-265681 and 2000-109735, and Japanese Patent No. 2711888 have proposed inks containing nitrogen-containing five-membered heterocyclic keto acids such as pyrrolidone carboxylic acid or salts thereof for improving ejection characteristics. The object of these methods is to improve ejectability by taking advantage of a humectant effect of the nitrogen-containing five-membered heterocyclic keto acid. However, image quality has not always been compatible with ejection characteristics when a liquid that contains the nitrogen-containing five-membered heterocyclic keto acid and the liquid that contains colorants are used together as in the present invention.
It has been impossible, in the conventional methods, to simultaneously satisfy optical density, feathering, intercolor bleeding, drying time and long-term ejectability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Ink set for ink jet recording, ink jet recording method and ink jet recording apparatus


A fuel supply system for providing liquified petroleum gas ("LPG") fuel in a liquid state to intake manifold of internal combustion engine, including a fuel supply assembly and a fuel injecting mechanism. Fuel supply assembly includes a fuel rail assembly containing both supply and return channels. Fuel injecting mechanism is in fluid communication with supply and return channels of fuel rail assembly. Injected LPG is maintained liquid through refrigeration both along fuel rail assembly and within fuel injecting mechanism. Return fuel in both fuel rail assembly and fuel injecting mechanism is used to effectively cool supply fuel to a liquid state prior to injection into intake manifold of engine.

Interest in alternative fuels such as liquified petroleum gas ("LPG") has increased in recent years due to the inherent cost and environmental advantages over other fuels. LPG has particularly received much attention as an alternative to gasoline or diesel for use in internal combustion engines. Propane, the primary constituent of LPG, is a byproduct of the refining of gasoline, and it is a byproduct of the transfer of natural gases in pipelines. It is readily available and at costs far below that of gasoline.
LPG was recently listed under the Clean Air Act in the United States as a suggested alternative fuel because it is more environmentally compatible than gasoline. LPG burns more completely, producing less carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions. Also, using LPG as a fuel reduces the emission of volatile organic compounds which occurs during gasoline refueling.
The United States Federal Government recently promulgated legislation, referred to as Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency ("CAFE") standards, to promote the use of more environmentally compatible fuels. CAFE created a system of incentives which encourages manufacturers to build automobiles and trucks which use alternative fuels such as LPG. As a result, there is increased interest in manufacturing and retrofitting automobiles and trucks with LPG fuel systems.
The injection of liquid fuels such as gasoline into internal combustion engines is well known (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,891). Such fuel injectors create fine atomization of liquid fuel, which improves the efficiency of the burning cycle.
Although LPG in its gaseous form has been used as a reasonably effective fuel in internal combustion engines, there is an associated reduction in power capability as compared to liquid LPG fuels. This power reduction is mainly due to the reduced amount of air and fuel which can be drawn into the intake manifold when the LPG enters the manifold in gaseous form.
With liquid LPG, a further gain in peak power (and simultaneous reduction in the emission of nitrous oxides) results from the cooling of air and fuel within the intake manifold from vaporization of injected LPG. This also reduces the tendency for engine knock.
Use of LPG in liquid form as a fuel is fairly new in the art. However, several obstacles are associated with attempting to inject liquid LPG directly into the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine. In particular, it is difficult to maintain LPG in its liquid state near the heated engine compartment. LPG has a very low boiling point (see FIG. 4 for the liquid-vapor phase boundaries for propane and isobutane, the primary constituents of LPG). Even under pressure, LPG will tend to bubble or boil as the boiling temperature at a given pressure is approached. The formation of bubbles, often called "champagning" or "flashing," can cause inconsistent injection and poor air/fuel ratio control.
Various approaches to cooling LPG to ensure injection of a homogeneously liquid fuel have been attempted. Examples include using metered LPG to cool the injected fuel to a liquid state (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,700), and employing a spool tip at the injection nozzle to cool the injected LPG (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,244). However, previous approaches have in large part been unsuccessful, particularly in maintaining the LPG injected into the manifold in a fully liquid state throughout the operating range of the engine, as for example at idle.
Consequently, it is clear that an improved, efficient and effective LPG injection system which can maintain the injected LPG in a fully liquid state throughout the operating range of an internal combustion engine continues to be needed.

Liquified petroleum gas fuel supply system


Methods and compositions for treating diseases or disorders of the nervous system using promoter-driven Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) and DREADD agonists are disclosed.

Diseases and disorders of the nervous system create a significant burden of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Therapeutic treatments are often ineffective because they lack cell-type specificity, even when combined with psychological intervention. Therefore, improved and effective therapeutic treatments are highly desired.
The present invention uses a cell-specific approach to treat diseases and disorders of the nervous system. It was found that neurological pathways associated with photic regulation can be controlled through the retina by leveraging Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs). The present invention provides a therapeutic treatment by targeting retinal cells for DREADD expression and circumventing neurosurgical problems associated with injecting DREADDs into the brain. The present invention also allows for stimulation of targeted neurological pathways, especially the brain nucleus locus coeruleus, by natural circuit inputs to provide manipulations of the locus coeruleus in a more physiologically natural manner, allowing a more clinically applicable treatment than occurs by direct stimulation of locus coeruleus neurons.

Methods and compositions for treating diseases and disorders of the nervous system

RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY


A reconfigurable directional optical system comprises N ports that can be configured individually as inputs or outputs. A system of this kind comprises at least one optical device having unidirectional inputs and outputs the total number of which is equal to or less than N, and an N×N optical switch such that each of the ports can be coupled interchangeably either to one of the inputs or to one of the outputs of the optical device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the technology of transmission on optical fibers and more particularly to a reconfigurable directional optical system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Using optical fibers for new communication networks has become the norm. Large quantities of optical fibers have already been installed, often, as shown in FIG. 1A, in the form of cables 110 combining a plurality of fibers 120. The cables interconnect optical communication equipment units, for example an optical cross-connect (OXC) system 100 for distributing traffic between the fibers of three cables 110, 112, 114 in the particular example shown in FIG. 1A.
A communication network based on optical fibers can include other optical devices. FIG. 1B shows a device that is often needed, namely an optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) 130 for optically adding and dropping local traffic. In this case, the OADM drops the portion of the traffic incoming on one or more fibers 132 and intended for local use and adds traffic 136 generated locally. Thus the traffic outgoing on one or more fibers 138 comprises all the incoming traffic 132 less the traffic 134 dropped locally plus the traffic 136 generated locally.
Another type of device used in optical networks, shown in FIG. 1C, is a light amplifier 140, often of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) type, which amplifies the level of the incoming light signals 142. If the latter must be propagated over great distances, the amplifier produces a level at the output 144 sufficient to process them locally or to relay them to a more distant destination.
The reader cannot have failed to notice, on examining FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, that the various optical devices shown always use the installed fibers in the same propagation direction. Thus, in FIG. 1A, the four fibers of the cable 114 on the left-hand side of the figure propagate light signals toward the right in the case of two of the fibers and toward the left in the case of the other two fibers. The situation is similar for the other two cables 110, 112. Thus the resources in terms of fibers are allocated in a fixed manner, which has the consequence that the resources in one direction must be allocated for the peak traffic in that direction. Persons skilled in the art of communication networks are well aware that the traffic at a node of a network can be highly asymmetric, one direction having to carry a much greater quantity of information than the other. This is the case with video distribution networks in particular, which are beginning to be installed and in which the quantity of information to be distributed, in the form of pictures, is always infinitely greater than the quantity of information contained in initial requests received from users. Also, the asymmetry of the traffic can change with time, for example over a period of 24 hours. This is the case with international data communications, for example between Europe and North America, because of time differences.
Thus the fixed allocation of resources in terms of optical fibers of a network presupposes that they be dimensioned for the peak traffic in both directions even though the traffic peaks may never occur simultaneously, with the result that some of the resources are always unused.
This is why the object of the invention is to provide a directional optical system that is reconfigurable so that network resources in terms of optical fibers can be allocated dynamically.

Reconfigurable directional optical system