A system and method for providing data content analysis is disclosed. The system includes an intelligent switch in a local area network, where the intelligent switch has content analysis applications stored therein and is configured to apply one or more content analysis applications on a port-by-port basis. The method includes remotely updating one or more content analysis applications at intelligent switches of subscriber networks.

Networked systems generally operate with various forms of anti-virus protection and content filtering to protect against unauthorized access, intrusions, or attacks on the network. Protective measures against different types of intrusion on a network typically take the form of a gateway appliance that is positioned to intercede between a local area network and outside networks (e.g. at the point where a local area network connects to the Internet). One or more content analysis applications, such as anti-virus and filtering applications, may reside on the gateway appliance. As shown in FIG. 1, in the gateway approach the information received from the Internet 12 would be intercepted at the gateway 14 before being routed at a switch 16 inside the network to the appropriate destination device 8 in the network 10. All content filtering, virus checking, and intrusion detection would be performed in the gateway device 14. Although hypothetically effective against all unwanted intrusions, viruses and content originating outside of the local area network, this in-line method of content analysis has some potential drawbacks. Because all information sent to the local area network 10 must pass through the gateway appliance 14, a bottleneck may develop at the gateway if the gateway is configured to perform anti-virus, content filtering or intrusion detection function for the network, thus degrading system performance. Also, information passed between devices within the network would not be subject to the protection provided by the gateway appliance.
Another current approach for anti-virus, content filtering, or intrusion detection requires distributing software applications to each work station or other device 18 within the local area network 10. In some ways, this solution improves over the in-line gateway appliance solution in that all data traffic, whether originating outside the network through an Internet connection or consisting of data passed between devices within the local area network, will be within the reach of the software agents on the work stations. Several disadvantages, however, also accompany the distributed software agent approach. For example, maintaining a uniform and updated set of software agents on each and every device within a network can be challenging and resource intensive. Individual work station users may inadvertently fail to properly use the software resources even if those resources are complete and current. Even more troubling is the potential for an individual work station user to circumvent the protections of software agents on the user's network device.
Accordingly, there is a need for an effective and efficient way to provide and maintain data content analysis applications in local area networks.

System and method for providing data content analysis in a local area network


A device for placing a seal, such as a water seal, on a motor vehicle body. This device includes a jig which is placed in contact with the body of the motor vehicle, a carriage borne by the jig and able to move on the latter so as to ensure placement of the seal, and rails for guiding and orienting the carriage on the jig. A method for operating this device is also disclosed.

The present invention basically concerns a device to place a joint, such as a water jet joint, on a motor vehicle body.
It also concerns a method to implement said device.
The expression xe2x80x9cwater jet sealxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cdrip moulding sealxe2x80x9d denotes a seal intended to be placed on the body of the vehicle at the upper portion of the door frame and used firstly to ensure that water does not trickle along the window pane or penetrate inside the passenger compartment, and secondly to limit aerodynamic noise.
To date, no device and method are available for glueing a water jet seal onto a motor vehicle body able to be automated and reliable with respect to the positioning of the seal on the vehicle, the pressurizing force of the seal on the corresponding surface of the body, and the fixing operation by glueing the seal onto the receiving surface of the body, this operation often proving to be ineffective and resulting in the long run to the seal being detached from the body.
The present invention also seeks to resolve this drawback.
To this effect, the invention concerns a device for placing a seal, such as a water jet seal, onto a motor vehicle body, characterised in that it basically includes: a jig able to be placed in contact with the body of the vehicle; a carriage borne by the jig and able to move onto the latter for placing the seal; and means to guide and orientate the carriage on the jig.
According to a preferred embodiment, the carriage orientation and guiding means include three rails, possibly approximately parallel, with a circular cross-section and integral with the jig, namely a first rail with a shape matching the shape of the receiving surface of the seal on the vehicle and defining the path the carriage is to follow along the body of the vehicle, a second rail keeping the force applied to the seal on its receiving surface along a direction constantly normal on the application surface of a seal, and a third rail ensuring along a direction transversal to the vehicle a correct positioning of the carriage with respect to the vehicle so that the seal is fully flush with the geometry of the body.
According to another characteristic of the device of this invention, the carriage comprises guiding rollers which co-operate bilaterally with the first, second and third rails respectively, the axes of the rollers co-operating with the first rail being orthogonal to the axes of the rollers co-operating with the second rail, and the axes of the rollers co-operating with the third rail forming an angle (A) with the axes of the rollers co-operating with the second rail.
Also according to another characteristic of this device, said carriage is made up of two elements, namely a first element bearing the rollers associated with the first and second rails, and a second element bearing the rollers associated with the third rail and slanted with respect to the first element along an angle equal to said angle (A).
Here, it shall be stated that said second element is fitted with a roller for applying the seal on the receiving surface, the axis of this roller being orthogonal to the axis of the rollers associated with the third rail.
According to a preferred embodiment, the roller for applying the seal has a throat co-operating with the seal so as to ensure it is applied and positioned on the receiving surface and is driven in rotation by a motor integral with the carriage.
According to a further characteristic of the invention, said application roller is mounted on an element able to activated by a jack or similar device integral with the carriage so as to exert a controlled application force of the seal on the receiving surface.
Again here it shall be stated that associated with the jig is a suspended adjustable stop able to co-operate with the body of the vehicle so as to ensure the correct prepositioning of the jig on said body and subsequently its drive.
The jig is mounted suspended and rolling on a rail by means of arms, one of which bearing said stop.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the jig is kept hooked on the body by means of brackets co-operating with the roof of said body.
The jig is further fitted with a motor for driving the carriage by means of a chain or similar element.
The invention also concerns a method to implement a device meeting the characteristics mentioned above and which is basically characterised in that when said stop has struck an extremity of the body, the jig is plated and flanged on the side of the body and said carriage is moved on the jig, whereas pressure is exerted on said application roller so as to glue the seal on the receiving surface.
According to another characteristic of this method, said application roller rotates quicker than a single free rolling of this roller on the seal.
Thus, instead of using a free rolling roller on the seal, which would provoke not only pressurizing of the seal but also a. consequent elongation of the latter by the significant force crushing the sole of the seal so that the seal would risk being subsequently retracted and come away from certain portions of the body, it is possible, by advantageously making the roller rotate faster than a simple free rolling, to create friction between the roller and the seal and thus compression in the longitudinal direction of the seal which reduces or annuls said elongation and in the long run ensures that the seal remains on the body of the vehicle.

Device for placing a joint on a vehicle body and method to implement said device


Systems and methods to test processor cores of a multi-core processor microchip are provided. Comparison circuitry may be configured to compare data output from processor cores of a microchip. An encoding module may be configured to encode received data by initially assigning binary bit values to the processor cores. Based on at least one of a number of the processor cores and a first binary bit value, a first additional binary bit may be added to the first binary bit value. The first binary bit value may be assigned to a first processor core of the plurality of processor cores.

Advances in the semiconductor field have enabled multiple processor cores to be included within a single microchip. Each processor core may include an input/output (I/O) pin testing interface for testing and debugging. The incorporation of duplicate processor cores increases the number of I/O pins to be tested, as well as the time required to test the I/O pins. A serial approach of testing each processor core would multiply the test time according to the number of cores. Similarly, providing a test input and a test output for each processor core multiplies the number of required I/O pins. Therefore, the issue arises of how to efficiently test integrated circuits having a plurality of processor cores.

Multi-core processor comparison encoding

International Business Machines Corporation


A system for monitoring a back light module is provided. The system includes an obtaining unit configured to obtain an intensity of output light from the back light module, a detection unit configured to detect whether the intensity of the output light from the back light module is greater than a preset value, and a control unit configured to control the back light module to reduce the intensity of the output light in response to detecting that the intensity of the output light is greater than the preset value, such that the reduced intensity of the output light is equal to or greater than the preset value.

The present disclosure relates to display technology, and more particularly, to a system and method for monitoring a back light module, and a related apparatus.
Usually, after a back light module is activated, an intensity of output light (also called "intensity of back light") from the back light module is rapidly increased above a preset value, and then slowly decreased and maintained at the preset value, as shown in FIG. 1. As the intensity of back light is above the preset value within the time period it is increased and decreased, the back light module may waste many electric energies, and cause some pixels to be saturated.
Generally, the back light module may be used as a light source that provides output light to a panel of a mobile device. Since the panel may be activated and deactivated by a user of the mobile device frequently, the back light module may also be activated and deactivated frequently, and thus the back light module may waste more energies. In addition, the battery capacity of the mobile device is limited, and thus, the energy waste may be more serious.

System and method for monitoring back light module, and a display apparatus


A method and system are disclosed for processing input to a data processing system having a memory and an input device having a number of keys which represent associated characters and functions. According to the method of the present invention, a translation table is created within the memory for translating virtual key codes, which specify relative positions of associated keys, into corresponding input codes, which specify a character or function. The translation table enables virtual key codes to be translated into character codes independently of the operating system and input device utilized by the data processing system. In response to the detection of a selection of a key of the input device, a scan code representing the selected key is determined. The scan code representing the selected key is then converted into a virtual key code, which is translated into an input code utilizing the translation table. The input code is thereafter received for processing within the data processing system. Because the translation table converts virtual key codes into input codes independently of the operating system and input device utilized by the data processing system, the translation table may be utilized by a number of data processing systems having diverse operating systems and input devices.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a method and system for data processing and in particular to a method and system for processing data input to a data processing system utilizing an input device having a number of keys. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for translating keyboard scan codes into function and character codes which may be utilized by a number of data processing systems having diverse operating systems and input devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although a number of input devices such as mice, touch screens, and digitizing tablets have been recently developed to enhance user interface to data processing systems, the keyboard remains the primary device utilized to input data to data processing systems. A typical keyboard includes a number of keys, which are each associated with at least one character or function. For example, the enhanced keyboard commonly utilized with personal computers such as the IBM Personal System 2 (PS/2) has 101 keys, including alphanumeric character keys, key modifiers (Alt, Shift, Ctrl, etc.), cursor positioning keys, and 12 function keys (F1-F12).
In a typical personal computer system, keystrokes are detected by a microcontroller within the keyboard which continuously scans each of the keys to determine if a key has been pressed or released. When a change in the state of a key is detected, the microcontroller generates a unique scan code which specifies the key that has changed state and whether the key has been pressed (a make code) or released (a break code). The microcontroller within the keyboard then serially transmits the scan code generated by the keystroke, which is typically one or two bytes in length, to a keyboard driver within the system unit. The keyboard driver, in turn, issues an interrupt to the central microprocessor (CPU) indicating that a scan code is available to be read.
After the scan code generated by the keyboard microcontroller is read by the CPU, the CPU translates the scan code into an input code recognizable by the personal computer operating system utilizing a translation table within the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) code stored in ROM. The translation table is arranged as a fixed length array in which a number of scan codes are stored in association with corresponding input codes. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the translation table must supply a scan code translation for each combination of keyboard type and country layout (i.e., national language) supported by the personal computer system. Because a number of keyboard behaviors are unique to a specific country layout, the translation table typically includes hardcoded operating system-dependent commands in order to reduce the memory required to store the translation table. For example, translation tables may include operating system-dependent commands to translate scan codes input in conjunction with particular key modifiers (e.g., "a" with Caps Lock and Shift) for a particular country layout. After the CPU has translated the input scan code into an input code by referencing the translation table, the input code is processed in accordance with the operating system software executing within the CPU.
Although the conventional method of converting keyboard keystrokes into character and function input codes performs efficiently for a given combination of keyboard hardware, country layout, and operating system, a problem arises when the growing number of keyboard configuration and operating systems is considered. Since the translation table which converts scan codes into character and function input codes contains operating system-dependent special purpose code written specifically for each combination of country layout and keyboard hardware, the translation table is not transportable between data processing systems utilizing different operating systems and keyboard hardware. Thus, a translation table must be written for each permutation of operating system, country layout, and keyboard hardware.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a method and system for translating keyboard scan codes into function and character input codes, where the method and system may be utilized by data processing systems having diverse operating systems and keyboard hardware.

Method and system for translating keyed input within a data processing system

International Business Machines Corporation


A conductive polymer dispersion of this disclosure includes: a conductive composite containing a π-conjugated conductive polymer and a polyanion; an isocyanurate-based compound; and a dispersion medium for dispersing the conductive composite.

A π-conjugated conductive polymer, which has a main chain formed of a π-conjugated system, expresses conductivity and exhibits water dispersibility when doped with a polyanion having anion groups. Accordingly, through application of a conductive polymer dispersion containing the π-conjugated conductive polymer and the polyanion to a film base material or the like, a conductive film having a conductive layer can be manufactured.
However, the conductive layer of the conductive film may undergo a temporal decrease in conductivity in the atmosphere.
As a method of preventing the temporal decrease in conductivity in the atmosphere, there is a proposal of a method involving incorporating an antioxidant into the conductive layer (Patent Literature 1).

Conductive polymer dispersion and method for preparing same, and method for manufacturing conductive film


An information recording-displaying card, includes: core sheet; and over sheet bonded to core sheet, including: a support including an amorphous polyester resin, and a reversible thermosensitive recording layer on the support, including: an electron-donating coloring compound, and an electron-accepting compound. The reversible thermosensitive recording layer is capable of forming coloring state and decolorizing state, with difference in at least one of the following: heating temperature, and cooling rate after heating. The over sheet is embossable in upper portion thereof, functions as image displaying section, and meets the following conditions (A), (B) and (C): (A) (over sheet's upper limit temperature for erasing−30° C.)>(over sheet's temperature of storage elasticity E′ (1.0 E+08) Pa), (B) 10 μm or less of surface waviness WCM, and (C) 1.0 E+02 Pa≦(storage elasticity E′ of reversible thermosensitive over sheet at 180° C.)≦5.0 E+07 Pa.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information recording-displaying card capable of displaying visibly and rewriting information by heating, an over sheet used for the information recording-displaying card, an image processing method, an image processor, and a method of manufacturing the information recording-displaying card.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information recording card such as a membership card, an ID card, a credit card, a cash card, an IC card and the like partly has an information storing section such as a magnetic tape, an IC chip and the like. This information storing section can record an individual secret information, especially such as money and the like. Due to its compactness and convenience, the information recording card is widespread in many countries in modern society. The information recording card carries out reading and rewriting of the recorded information with a special unit, although leaving a shortcoming that the card owner cannot visually (directly) verify the recorded information.
On the other hand, developed and used recently in the market is a rewritable card capable of carrying out a temporary image forming, and capable of erasing the image when the image is not necessary. More specifically, the above rewritable card is the one that can visually display the information on its surface and can rewrite the information. Some rewritable cards are provided with a magnetic information storing function.
The above function of the rewritable card, namely, displaying visually and rewriting the information as an image can be expressed by forming the following states: Between an electron-donating compound (so-called a leuco dye) and an acid/base compound, a coloring state and a decolorizing state are relatively formed with a difference in one of the following: i) a heating temperature, and ii) a cooling rate after a heating. Hereinabove, the electron-donating compound has a lactone ring in its molecular structure and may assume the coloring by making a structural change attributable to the lactone ring opened by an electron discharge, while the acid/base compound functions as a developing-reducing reagent. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2-188293 and JP-A No. 2-188294 disclose a rewritable card made of a reversible recording material having such a structure that a reversible thermosensitive recording layer is disposed on a support. Herein, a resin base material for the reversible thermosensitive recording layer contains, as main materials thereof, the electron-donating compound and the developing-reducing reagent which are described above. More specifically, the above reversible thermosensitive recording material uses a difference in reaction rate between the acid and the base, to thereby repeat the colorings and the decolorizings.
JP-A No. 5-124360 and JP-A No. 6-210954 disclose a reversible thermosensitive recording material having a resin base material containing i) a leuco dye and ii) an electron-accepting compound having a long-chain alkyl group as a developing agent. The developing agent with the long-chain alkyl structure has a cohesive force, and contacts the leuco dye or is separated from the leuco dye, thus repeating the colorings and decolorizings.
Since sufficiently compensating for the conventional shortcoming of the information recording card described above, the reversible thermosensitive recording material having the functions of displaying visually and rewriting the information attracts attention. With this, such a card is developed and recently begins to be used in the market as has a first function (as an image displaying section) of displaying visually and rewriting information and a second function (as an information storing section) of recording and rewriting the information. Hereinafter, the above card is to be referred to as "information recording-displaying card."
The above information recording-displaying card, basically, uses i) an over sheet such as a reversible thermosensitive recording material in which at least a reversible thermosensitive recording layer is disposed on a support, and ii) a core sheet having a function as the conventional information recording card. The above information recording-displaying card can be formed by overlapping the over sheet's support side with the core sheet, followed by a thermo-compression bonding and the like.
The image displaying function of the above information recording-displaying card is carried out by the over sheet. On the other hand, the image storing function of the above information recording-displaying card may vary with types of the card. More specifically about this: The information storing function by a magnetic material such as a magnetic tape can be carried out by the over sheet or the core sheet. However, the information storing function by an IC chip, antenna coil, a magnetic stripe and the like is, in general, disposed in a thick core sheet.
Some information recording-displaying cards are thin and others are thick. Since the over sheet is thin, the thickness of the information recording-displaying card is ordinarily dependent on the thickness of the core sheet.
The information recording-displaying card recently beginning to be used in the market is made of a combination of the following i) and ii): i) a reversible thermosensitive over sheet using, as a support, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, and ii) a core sheet having, as a raw material, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin, polyvinyl chloride resin such as copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, or polycarbonate resin.
The above materials are widely used for the following reasons: The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film used for the support of the over sheet is highly resistant to a solution which is made by dissolving a composition (especially, constituting the reversible recording layer) in a solvent. The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin used as the core sheet material is excellent in physical property, mechanical property, embossability (at character section), and the like.
The above polyvinyl chloride resin is also proper as the support of the over sheet, so as to obtain an image eraseability, in view of expressing, to a certain extent, a flexibility by heat.
Though being excellent as the card's raw material, the above polyvinyl chloride may, from some viewpoints, cause a hydrogen chloride gas when incinerated after being used and then scrapped, thus damaging an incinerator and reducing lifetime thereof.
Mover, movement of eliminating the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin is becoming more and more active in various countries, although relation between the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and dioxine is not clarified. The polyvinyl chloride resin is used for the information recording-displaying card as well as the conventional information recording card, in other words, has high publicity. With the above background, other material replaceable with the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is desired also domestically.
For use as the raw material for the information recording-displaying card, a thermoplastic resin is being studied that does not contain halogen. Examples of the above thermoplastic resin include polyethylene resin, polypropyrene resin, polyester resin, polycarbonate resin, polyacrylic resin, and the like.
Among the above, the card's base material made of polycarbonate resin and the like is highly resistant to heat, thereby, is unlikely to cause deformation attributable to heat, becoming an excellent material in terms of durability. The information recording-displaying card using the polycarbonate resin and the like is, therefore, appearing in the market.
However, being low in deformability, the polycarbonate resin is low in embossability. The reversible thermosensitive recording material for writing-erasing by using a thermal head may lose head matching property with the thermal head contacting the information recording-displaying card, thus reducing sensitivity, leading especially to deteriorated eraseability, which is a shortcoming. A raw material replaceable with the polyvinyl chloride resin is conventionally not found.
On the other hand, a unity which is the over sheet bonded with the core sheet is to be embossed. The thus formed "emboss marking" is to be marked on the information recording-displaying card, to thereby make personal information identifiable, which is important in terms of convenience and usefulness. Especially, a thick card such as the credit card, the bank card and the like is to be provided with the "emboss marking," which is indispensable in the modern society. In sum, the embossing is more and more required from users and various industries.
The above "emboss marking" is mainly used for card number, expiration, owner's name and the like, and has such a function as to be copied with a roller, by interposing the card into a copy voucher for reckoning at a store and the like. The above use of the "emboss marking" is prevalent domestically and overseas.
The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film used for the support of the over sheet is so rigid as to have low deformation by an applied pressure, thereby, has an extremely low embossability. With this, even when the polyvinyl chloride resin used for the core sheet has a good embossability and the embossing is carried out from upside of the over sheet, the over sheet using the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film may cause an insufficient "emboss marking." Moreover, the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film becoming too thick may cause breaking of the card in the embossing.
Especially, a thick card with the above non-contact IC chip, antenna coil, magnetic stripe and the like embedded therein cannot sufficiently absorb irregularity thereof, thereby making it impossible to flatten the card's surface. With this, the above thick card cannot smoothly carry out rewriting of the recording by the thermal head and the like, therefore, as the case may be, forcibly increases printing pressure and temperature. As a result, the above thick card may have failures such as having scratches, having remaining gouge, causing deformation, and the like, thus limiting application and manufacturing methods, and thereby finding difficulty in using manufacturing steps of the general-purpose card.
The information recording-displaying card which is recently beginning to be used in the market has the following structure. The embossing is carried out in an embossable space formed on the core sheet's surface which space is free from the over sheet. In this structure, the over sheet bonded to the core sheet is smaller in size than the core sheet's surface. The above over sheet is to be bonded to the core sheet such that the "emboss marking" can be disposed in the embossable space free from the over sheet.
The above method is limited in terms of manufacturing since, for example, the over sheet reduced in size is to be accurately bonded to the core sheet, moreover, the above method is limited in terms of an area for the over sheet's image display function, which are shortcomings.
In sum, the embossing cannot be carried out for a unity having the over sheet bonded to the entire face of the core sheet, making an information recording-displaying card without the "emboss marking."
The reversible thermosensitive recording material used as the over sheet is "thermosensitive" which is a special material. In each of the steps including i) overlapping the over sheet (having the above special property) on the core sheet, ii) uniting the over sheet with the core sheet by pressing-heating, and iii) completing the embossing, it may be difficult to manufacture the information recording-displaying card without influencing the above special property, namely, "reversible thermosensitivity."
Moreover, the polyethylene terephthalate film used as the support of the over sheet is made of a material which is higher in heat resistance and smaller in heat deformation than the polycarbonate resin. Therefore, applying a thermal head as a heating unit to a surface of the above over sheet of the information recording-displaying card beginning to be used in the market may cause very little deformation by the heat. This may make the adhesion between the thermal head's face and the over sheer's surface insufficient, thus losing head matching at the heat application and thereby decreasing the sensitivity. With this, especially the eraseability may become low, namely, an insufficient image eraseability is caused, which is a shortcoming.
The present inventors have studied the known data related to the above type of the information recording-displaying card, as a result, to find that any of the known data are free from description of the embossability, and image eraseability involved with the embossability.
Described below are specific examples of the information recording-displaying cards disclosed in cited patent documents.
Firstly, for example, JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) discloses an over sheet which is a reversible recording film having the following structure. A print layer, a transparent support having light transmission of 50% or more, a reversible recording layer, and a protective layer are disposed on a support. A thick information recording-displaying card is disclosed having the support side united with a core sheet by using an adhesive. However, JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) does not describe embossability at all.
Material usable for the above support and the above transparent support are described (likewise between the two) as follows: "a plastic film is applicable thereto which is rigid, namely, excellent in heat resistance, tensile strength and the like," and "selectable thickness in a range from 8.5 μm to 300 μm, preferably 8.5 μm to about 250 μm." Specific examples of the material include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) film, polyimide (PI) film, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) film, and the like. Moreover, the transparent support is made of materials such as vinyl chloride film, PET-G film, and polycarbonate and the like.
JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) describes that the above films exemplified are made of plastic which is rigid, namely, excellent in tensile strength and the like. In view of embossability, however, JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) includes those evidently not embossable, judging from the description of an unrigid film and too rigid a film, and the description of a small thermal deformation and a large thermal deformation.
In view of thickness, an example 1 in JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) does not describe thickness of polyethylene terephthalate film used as the support but describes that the transparent support uses a transparent polyethylene terephthalate film having thickness of 25 μm, which is too thick for the embossing of the over sheet.
Moreover, the over sheet itself that is formed according to this example 1 of JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) has the polyethylene terephthalate film as the support and as the transparent support, thus losing the head matching at the heat application and thereby decreasing the sensitivity. With this, especially the image eraseability may become low.
As a core sheet material, JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) describes examples including vinyl chloride resin, PET-G typical of polyester resin, polycarbonate resin, which are used alone or in combination. No description of the embossability in JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1) proves impossibility of the embossing.
For the next example, JP-A No. 2000-137782 (example 1 and example 2) discloses a card's base material (core sheet) which is a thermoplastic resin sheet having low crystal property of 5% or less. A thick information recording-displaying card is disclosed which is a unity of the above card's base material (core sheet) bonded with a reversible thermosensitive recording tape (over sheet). The reversible thermosensitive recording tape hereinabove is provided with a reversible thermosensitive recording layer (containing a leuco compound and a developing agent) on a transparent PET film.
JP-A No. 2000-137782 (example 1 and example 2) is, however, free from any description of embossing. Judging from the thick PET film (25 μm in thickness in an example 1, and 38 μm thick in an example 2), the information recording-displaying card is not embossable and has a poor eraseability.
For the next example, JP-A No. 11-154210 (example) discloses i) a sheet (core sheet) incorporating therein an IC chip module, and ii) a reversible thermosensitive recording sheet (over sheet) provided with a reversible thermosensitive recording layer (containing a leuco dye and a developing agent) on a film, which two sheets are opposed to each other. To a gap between the core sheet and the over sheet, a resin is injected and thereby the two sheets are bonded with each other, thus forming an IC card (thick information recording-displaying card). However, JP-A No. 11-154210 (example) is free from any description of embossing.
For the next example, JP-A No. 2001-88443 (example) discloses a recording medium used for mass production adopting a Kanban (signboard) method, which recording medium has a base material, a reversible thermosensitive recording layer (containing a leuco compound and a developing agent) on the base material, and a protective layer. Various types of plastic films are exemplified as the base material. A white PET which is the base material in each example has a thickness of 188 μm, 250 μm and 350 μm, proving no attention is paid to embossing.
JP-A No. 2000-137782 (example 1 and example 2), JP-A No. 11-154210 (example) and JP-A No. 2001-88443 (example) described above disclose various specific examples of materials for the support constituting the over sheet, and materials for raw materials constituting the core sheet. In view of the embossing, like JP-A No. 2001-341427 (page 2 to page 4, example 1), some materials thus exemplified may cause a small thermal deformation and other materials thus exemplified may cause a large thermal deformation, i.e., including those embossable and not embossable.
Summarizing the above, the information recording-displaying card beginning to be used in the market is not embossable on the over sheet's face. For the embossing, therefore, the image display area is reduced, making the image eraseability insufficient and causing environmental pollution in the scrapping and disposal.
The information recording-displaying card disclosed in the known data is not studied in view of the embossing or the image eraseability involved with the embossability. Moreover, no proposal is made in the above known data for solving the environmental pollution in the scrapping and disposal.
For bringing about a sufficient embossability to the information recording-displaying card, each of the over sheet and the core sheet constituting the information recording-displaying card, and the unity of the over sheet and the core sheet are to have the embossability. The conventionally known product and the conventionally known data are free from the above viewpoint.
By patent documents and the like, various proposals are conventionally made in terms of the reversible thermosensitive recording material. The embossability is, however, not suggested or raised at all in the above patent documents and the like. Not to mention, the embossability of an over sheet of an information recording-displaying card is not suggested or raised at all. In sum, securing embossability in this technical field and improving the image eraseability involved with the embossability are new issues.
In terms of the embossability, for example, JP-A No. 11-240262 (claims) discloses a heated transfer card having an acceptor layer disposed on a card's base material. More specifically, a dye in JP-A No. 11-240262 (claims) is contained in a heat transfer film in the field of heating-melting transfer recording or a sublimating transfer recording, instead of the reversible thermosensitive recording. The dye is to be melted or sublimated by a heat, and then is received or fixed by the acceptor layer.
The proposal in JP-A No. 11-240262 (claims) uses a special polyester for the card's base material, and a polyester copolymer is used for the acceptor layer which copolymer is made by copolymerizing a reactive silicone polymer. With the above, the moldability such as embossability of the heated transfer card is improved. As a matter of course, however, no description is made of accomplishment of the embossability without influencing the special property (namely, "reversible thermosensitivity") which is the image eraseability of the over sheet.
By patent documents and the like, many proposals are conventionally made in terms of the reversible thermosensitive recording material. The embossability is, however, not suggested or raised at all in the above patent documents and the like. Not to mention, the embossability of an over sheet of an information recording-displaying card is not suggested or raised at all. In sum, securing the embossability in this technical field and improving the repetition durability involved with the embossability are new issues.
Objects and Advantages
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording-displaying card that is excellent in embossability and displayed-image eraseability, easy to scrap and dispose, and is free from causing an environmental pollution in the scrapping and disposal. It is anther object of the present invention to provide an image processing method and an image processor for forming an image and erasing the image by using an over sheet and the information recording-displaying card each of which is made of a reversible thermosensitive recording material that is excellent in embossability and displayed-image eraseability. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing the information recording-displaying card.

Information recording-displaying card, image processing method using same, and image processor


A flying toy (10) having an airfoil member (12), is described. The airfoil member includes opposed ends (16) with slats (14) extending therebetween. The opposed ends are connected to an annular outer ring (22) comprised of hollow tubing (24). The slats have first and second ends (14A and 14B) which are mounted to the opposed ends of the airfoil member 12. The center portion (14C) of the slats 14 are arced either above or below the plane A formed by the opposed ends of the airfoil member. The arced slats allow air to flow through and over the airfoil member 12 of the toy which enables the toy to fly straight and to stay in flight for a longer distance. The airfoil member is also able to be used without the annular ring to form an alternate embodiment of the toy 100.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flying device which rotates during flight. In particular, the present invention relates to a flying toy having an airfoil member which enables the toy to stay elevated for a longer duration and which increases the stability of the toy to allow for straighter and longer distance flight.
(2) Prior Art
The prior art has described various types of rotating flying toys. Illustrative of the prior art flying toys are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,955,620 to Reinke; 5,030,157 to Silverglatt; 5,066,258 to Tomberlin and 5,080,624 to Brinker.
Reinke describes an aerial projection having a generally frusto-conical, solid body of symmetrical configuration. The projection is intended to simulate the curved flight of a ball without relying on the skill of the pitcher. The projectional is useful in batting and throwing games.
Silverglate describes a bladed flying toy having a central hub with a plurality of elongated support arms extending radially outwardly. An annular ring with a diameter greater than the hub is deposed coaxially with the hub and is attached to the outer ends of the support arms. A plurality of blades are attached to the support arms by flexible hinge means which allow the blades to rotate in response to the direction of airflow.
Tomberlin describes a flying toy which returns to the thrower. The toy has first and second rotary elements which are held together in a spaced relationship by a hub. A length of flexible line is connected to the hub and wound thereon prior to use. Each rotary element contains a plurality of members which extend outward from the axis of rotation. Each rotary element also contains an edge guard extending between and connected to the outer ends of the members. During use, the members are intended to provide lift to the device as the device is rotated. The flexible line returns the toy to the user by rewinding around the hub for the return flight.
Brinker describes a flying disc toy having a first and second counter-rotating spinners orthogonally disposed upon a centered vertical axle. The spinners have a central hub and a rigid outer circular rim which is in coplanar alignment with the hub. A plurality of uniformly spaced elongated fins extend between the hub and the rim. The spinners rotate in opposed directions which gives the disc lift during flight.
Also of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 1,806,148 to Dahl which describes a safety wing for an aircraft.
None of the above prior art patents describe a flying toy having airfoils which enables the toy to fly straighter for a longer distance.

Flying device having staggered parallel airfoils

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Improved methods for tissue engineering including tissue transplantation, augmentation and regeneration are described. These methods utilize a support matrix in the generation of an anatomical construct that includes donor vascularized tissue. The support matrix may be devised such that it has size and shape adapted to simulate the dimensions of tissue to be transplanted, augmented and/or repaired.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improved methods for tissue engineering including tissue transplantation, augmentation and regeneration. More particularly, the present invention provides a method for the generation of donor vascularized tissue suitable for use in tissue transplantation, augmentation and/or repair. The present invention further enables the use of a support matrix in the generation of an anatomical construct comprising the donor vascular tissue. The support matrix may be devised such that it has dimensions of a size and shape adapted to simulate those of tissue to be transplanted, augmented and/or repaired. In addition to its use in tissue repair, the methods and support matrix of the present invention may also find application as a means for delivering a desirable gene product to a subject. The method and support matrix of the present invention is conveniently be made available in the form of a kit, for use generally in the field of tissue engineering.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bibliographic details of the publications referred to in this specification are also collected at the end of the description.
Reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any country.
Tissue engineering utilizing homologous starting material offers the prospect of replacing missing or non-functioning body parts with newly created, living tissue. It has the potential to minimize loss of tissue and resultant pain from the donor site experienced in conventional reconstructive surgery or to recreate specialized tissue for which there is no donor site, while obviating the long-term immunosuppression required for heterologous transplantation.
It combines the techniques of tissue culture, the creation of bio-compatible materials and the manipulation of angiogenesis in order to create new, vascularized tissue to replace damaged tissue or tissue which is congenitally absent.
One of the major challenges faced in tissue engineering is to create differentiated tissue of the appropriate size and shape. Tissue created without a functional vasculature is strictly limited in size by the constraints of oxygen diffusion; if the tissue is too large it will become necrotic before the host has time to create a new blood vessel supply. Thus there are many advantages in creating new tissue containing a functional vasculature. Additionally, as the new tissue may need to be produced at a site on the body remote from the defect, or on an immuno-suppressed carrier animal or in vitro with an extra-corporeal circulation, the blood supply for the new tissue must be defined, so that it can be brought with the tissue intact to the site of reconstruction.
The creation of skin flaps, a living composite of skin and its underlying fat, is a common technique used to repair tissue defects in reconstructive surgery. Because these flaps must retain their blood supply to remain viable after transplantation, the origin of the flaps is limited to those areas where there is an anatomically recognized blood vessel source. In order to overcome this limitation, skin flaps can be "pre-fabricated" by implanting short segments of blood vessels into a desired site, and utilizing the resultant angiogenesis to vascularize a flap of the desired size and composition. Subsequently this vascularized flap can be transferred by microsurgery to the region of interest. This technique is, however, limited by the availability of donor tissue, and the disfigurement that results at the donor site.
In an extension to this technique, Erol and Spira, Surgery 66: 109-115, 1980 demonstrated that the creation of an anastomosed arteriovenous (AV) loop beneath a skin graft could produce a vascularized skin "flap".
However, while the generation of vascularized skin using an AV loop has been demonstrated, the production of other vascularized tissues suitable for grafting remains elusive. Vascularized adipose tissue, for example, is often demanded in reconstructive procedures; however, donor mature adipose tissue is extremely fragile, and will rapidly become necrotic if not immediately reconnected to a functional blood supply. Furthermore, the use of conventional autologous transplantation techniques involves "robbing Peter to pay Paul", producing disfigurement at the donor site. The ability to produce new tissue with a defined vasculature would overcome this major shortcoming.
Khouri et al., Surgery 114: 374-380, 1993 and Tanaka et al., Jpn. PRS 16: 679-686, 1996 have demonstrated that an arteriovenous loop could intrinsically generate new, vascularized tissue when it was lifted from the body, sandwiched between sheets of collagenous matrix and isolated from the surrounding tissue within a plastic chamber. In the model described by Khouri et al., 1993, supra the generation of new tissue relied on the addition of recombinant BB-homodimer of Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (BB-PDGF), and even with this supplement the tissue was labile, peaking in volume at 15 days and subsiding by 30 days. Similarly, tissue growth in Tanaka's model, where the chamber was supplemented with β-Fibroblast Growth Factor (β-FGF or FGF-2), continued to increase in volume, peaking at two weeks but returned to the levels of the unsupplemented control chambers after four weeks. This AV loop model is not generally known in the field of tissue engineering.
International Patent Application No. PCT/AU01/01031 (International Patent Publication No. WO 02/15914) describes inter alia the use of an AV loop in a fabricated chamber which is implanted into a subject. Tissue was found to successfully grow around the AV loop in a shape dependent on the constraints of the chamber.
Despite the success of the methodology and chamber described in International Patent Publication No. WO 02/15914, there is a need to further improve the growth of tissue around a functional circulatory system.

Victorian Tissue Engineering Centre Pty. Ltd.


A method of unlocking an electronic device having a touch-sensitive display includes at least the following steps: controlling the touch-sensitive display to have unlocking objects displayed at different locations for different time points; and when at least one contact is detected on the touch-sensitive display, determining whether to unlock the electronic device by referring to a contact status on the touch-sensitive display. Besides, a computer readable medium storing a program code is also provided, where the program code causes a processor to perform following steps when executed by the processor: controlling the touch-sensitive display to have unlocking objects displayed at different locations for different time points; and when at least one contact is detected on the touch-sensitive display, determining whether to unlock an electronic device by referring to a contact status on the touch-sensitive display.

Touch-sensitive displays are well known in the art. For example, touch screens are used in many electronic devices to display graphics and text, and to provide a user interface through which a user may interact with the electronic devices. A touch screen detects and responds to contact(s) on the touch screen. A device may display one or more soft keys, menus, and other user-interface objects on the touch screen. A user may interact with the device by contacting the touch screen at locations corresponding to the user-interface objects with which he/she wishes to interact.
One problem associated with using touch screens on electronic devices is the unintentional activation or deactivation of functions due to unintentional contact with the touch screen. Thus, when a predefined lock condition is met, the electronic device may be locked automatically to avoid receiving unintentional activation or deactivation of functions due to user's unintentional contact. Alternatively, the electronic device may be manually locked by the user anytime. Electronic devices with touch screens may be unlocked by any of several well-known unlocking procedures, such as entering pre-defined passwords, pressing pre-defined buttons, entering pre-defined gestures, touching pre-defined locations on the touch screen, etc. However, these conventional unlock procedures are either complicated or not user-friendly. Thus, there is a need for a more efficient, user-friendly procedure for unlocking an electronic device.

Method of unlocking electronic device by displaying unlocking objects at randomized/user-defined locations and related computer readable medium thereof


In one aspect thereof the exemplary embodiments provide a method that includes, when in a time division duplex mode of operation with a user equipment, allocating physical uplink control channel resources by reserving physical uplink control channel resources with a granularity of one acknowledge/negative acknowledge (ACK/NACK) bundle; and sending an indication of the allocated physical uplink control channel resources from a network access node to the user equipment.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented or described. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:    3GPP third generation partnership project    ACK acknowledge    BS base station    BW bandwidth    CA carrier aggregation    CC component carrier    CCE control channel element    DAI downlink assignment index    DL downlink (eNB towards UE)    eNB E-UTRAN Node B (evolved Node B)    EPC evolved packet core    E-UTRAN evolved UTRAN (LTE)    FDMA frequency division multiple access    HSPA high speed packet access    IMTA international mobile telecommunications association    ITU-R international telecommunication union-radiocommunication sector    LTE long term evolution of UTRAN (E-UTRAN)    LTE-A LTE advanced    MAC medium access control (layer 2, L2)    MM/MME mobility management/mobility management entity    NACK not (negative) acknowledge    NodeB base station    OFDMA orthogonal frequency division multiple access    O&M operations and maintenance    PDCCH physical downlink control channel    PDCP packet data convergence protocol    PHY physical (layer 1, L1)    PUCCH physical uplink control channel    PUSCH physical uplink shared channel    QPSK quadrature phase shift keying    Rel release    RLC radio link control    RRC radio resource control    RRM radio resource management    SGW serving gateway    SC-FDMA single carrier, frequency division multiple access    TDD time division duplex    UE user equipment, such as a mobile station, mobile node or mobile terminal    UL uplink (UE towards eNB)    UPE user plane entity    UTRAN universal terrestrial radio access network
One modern communication system is known as evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN, also referred to as UTRAN-LTE or as E-UTRA). In this system the DL access technique is OFDMA, and the UL access technique is SC-FDMA.
One specification of interest is 3GPP TS 36.300, V8.11.0 (2009-12), "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access Network (EUTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 8)," incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This system may be referred to for convenience as LTE Rel-8. In general, the set of specifications given generally as 3GPP TS 36.xyz (e.g., 36.211, 36.311, 36.312, etc.) may be seen as describing the Release 8 LTE system. More recently, Release 9 versions of at least some of these specifications have been published including 3GPP TS 36.300, V9.3.0 (2010-03).
FIG. 1A reproduces FIG. 4.1 of 3GPP TS 36.300 V8.11.0, and shows the overall architecture of the EUTRAN system (Rel-8). Reference can also be made to FIG. 1B. The E-UTRAN system includes eNBs, providing the E-UTRAN user plane (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towards the UEs. The eNBs are interconnected with each other by means of an X2 interface. The eNBs are also connected by means of an S1 interface to an EPC, more specifically to a MME by means of a S1 MME interface and to a S-GW by means of a S1 interface (MME/S-GW 4). The S1 interface supports a many-to-many relationship between MMEs/S-GWs/UPEs and eNBs.
The eNB hosts the following functions:
functions for RRM: RRC, Radio Admission Control, Connection Mobility Control, Dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both UL and DL (scheduling);
IP header compression and encryption of the user data stream;
selection of a MME at UE attachment;
routing of User Plane data towards the EPC (MME/S-GW);
scheduling and transmission of paging messages (originated from the MME);
scheduling and transmission of broadcast information (originated from the MME or O&M); and
a measurement and measurement reporting configuration for mobility and scheduling.
Of particular interest herein are the further releases of 3GPP LTE (e.g., LTE Rel-10) targeted towards future IMTA systems, referred to herein for convenience simply as LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). Reference in this regard may be made to 3GPP TR 36.913, V9.0.0 (2009-12), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Requirements for Further Advancements for E-UTRA (LTE-Advanced) (Release 9). Reference can also be made to 3GPP TR 36.912 V9.3.0 (2010-06) Technical Report 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Feasibility study for Further Advancements for E-UTRA (LTE-Advanced) (Release 9).
A goal of LTE-A is to provide significantly enhanced services by means of higher data rates and lower latency with reduced cost. LTE-A is directed toward extending and optimizing the 3GPP LTE Rel-8 radio access technologies to provide higher data rates at lower cost. LTE-A will be a more optimized radio system fulfilling the ITU-R requirements for IMT-Advanced while keeping the backward compatibility with LTE Rel-8.
As is specified in 3GPP TR 36.913, LTE-A should operate in spectrum allocations of different sizes, including wider spectrum allocations than those of LTE Rel-8 (e.g., up to 100 MHz) to achieve the peak data rate of 100 Mbit/s for high mobility and 1 Gbit/s for low mobility. It has been agreed that carrier aggregation is to be considered for LTE-A in order to support bandwidths larger than 20 MHz. Carrier aggregation, where two or more component carriers (CCs) are aggregated, is considered for LTE-A in order to support transmission bandwidths larger than 20 MHz. The carrier aggregation could be contiguous or non-contiguous. This technique, as a bandwidth extension, can provide significant gains in terms of peak data rate and cell throughput as compared to non-aggregated operation as in LTE Rel-8.
A terminal may simultaneously receive one or multiple component carriers depending on its capabilities, A LTE-A terminal with reception capability beyond 20 MHz can simultaneously receive transmissions on multiple component carriers. A LTE Rel-8 terminal can receive transmissions on a single component carrier only, provided that the structure of the component carrier follows the Rel-8 specifications. Moreover, it is required that LTE-A should be backwards compatible with Rel-8 LTE in the sense that a Rel-8 LTE terminal should be operable in the LTE-A system, and that a LTE-A terminal should be operable in a Rel-8 LTE system.
FIG. 1C shows an example of the carrier aggregation, where M Rel-8 component carriers are combined together to form MHRel-8 BW (e.g. 5 H 20 MHz=100 MHz given M=5). Rel-8 terminals receive/transmit on one component carrier, whereas LTE-A terminals may receive/transmit on multiple component carriers simultaneously to achieve higher (wider) bandwidths. It has been agreed that up to five CCs can be aggregated in LTE-Advanced in both the FDD and TDD systems.
FIG. 1D depicts the use of aggregate component carriers in terms of the system bandwidth. In FIG. 1D, the total system bandwidth is shown as 100 MHz (frequency). In Case 1, a first case for LTE-A with aggregated component carriers, all of this bandwidth is aggregated and used by a single UE device. In case 2, the bandwidth is partially aggregated into two 40 MHz groups, leaving a 20 MHz grouping. This remaining bandwidth may be used, for example, by a Release 8 LTE UE, which only requires 20 MHz. It should be noted that the CA configuration is UE specific, which means that that Rel-8 UEs can operate in each of the five carriers shown. In Case 3 none of the CCs are aggregated and thus five 20 MHz components are available for use by five different UEs.
3GPP TS 36.211 V9.1.0 (2010-03) Technical Specification 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 9) describes in Section 5.4.1 the PUCCH formats 1, 1a and 1b.
In LTE Rel-8 TDD the UE has the possibility to report ACK/NACK feedback associated with multiple DL subframes during one UL subframe. Hence, the ACK/NACK resources corresponding to multiple DL subframes are reserved on the corresponding UL subframe in an implicit manner (i.e., based on the mapping between ACK/NACK resources and the first CCE of the corresponding PDCCH). Explicit PUCCH resource allocation is applied for a persistently scheduled PDSCH.
For the LTE-Advanced system it has been agreed in 3GPP RAN1#58bis to support the mapping of ACK/NACK resources on one UE-specific UL CC. For the LTE-Advanced TDD system this implies that multiple ACK/NACK resources (corresponding to multiple DL subframes in the time domain and multiple (DL) CCs in the frequency domain) need to be allocated on one UE-specific (UL) CC during a single UL subframe.
This approach can be expected to increase PUCCH resource allocation/consumption on the UE-specific UL CC. From a resource consumption point of view it would be desirable to provide an efficient PUCCH format 1a/1b resource allocation for LTE-Advanced TDD.

Enhanced physical uplink control channel format resource allocation for time division duplex mode


A catheter set (10) is used in connection with a blood flow monitor and calibration system (80) to determine the compliance C of a vessel according to the equation C=dV2/ (PE-PA), where dV2 is the change in volume of the vessel created by the change in volume (e.g., deflation) of a displacement balloon (30) adjacent to a catheter (14), PE is an estimate of what the pressure measured by a pressure transducer (56) or a strain gage (78) would have been but for the change in volume of the displacement balloon at a particular time, and PA is the actual pressure measured by the transducer at the particular time. The determined compliance is more accurate than that obtained through thermal dilution procedures. The determined value of compliance C may then be used in calculation of blood flow. In addition, pulmonary vascular resistance and systemic vascular resistance may calculated through procedures and in equations using the determined compliance without directly measuring the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure.

1. Field
The present invention relates to methods and systems for determining vessel compliance and using the determined compliance to calculate blood flow. The invention also includes methods and systems for calculating pulmonary vascular resistance and systemic vascular resistance from pressure versus time measurements for a particular compliance, without directly measuring the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure.
2. State of the Art
Cardiac output, which is the rate of flow (in liters per minute) of blood from the heart, is one measure of cardiac hemodynamics. Various procedures have been developed to determine cardiac output. The standard procedure for measuring cardiac output involves using a thermal dilution catheter, such as a Swan-Ganz flow-directed thermal dilution catheter.
In a common procedure, a thermal dilution catheter, such as a Swan-Ganz catheter, is inserted into a jugular vein in the neck. The catheter is connected to tubes through which air and liquids may be injected. To place the catheter, a balloon on the tip of the catheter is inflated. The blood flow to the heart pulls the catheter through the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery. A thermistor near the tip of the catheter is used in measuring the temperature of the blood. To determine the cardiac output, the clinician injects about 3 cubic centimeters (cc) of ice cold saline through one of the tubes to an opening some distance from the tip of the catheter. The saline mixes with and cools the blood in the right atrium of the heart. As the heart pumps, the cooled blood and saline eventually are pumped past the thermistor. The temperature of the thermistor is measured and a temperature versus time profile is generated from which the cardiac output may be calculated by a well known technique, such as the classical Stewart Hamilton equation modified for use with a thermal indicator. More specifically, the area under the temperature versus time curve is proportional to the cardiac output.
There are several sources of error in the results of thermal dilution procedures. Sources of error include variations in the rate at which the cold saline is injected, the temperature of the saline, and the position of the catheter and thermistor within the vessel. The calculated cardiac output may be .+-.20% or more than the actual cardiac output. Typically, the thermal dilution procedure is employed three times and an average is made of the three calculated cardiac outputs. However, multiple applications of the procedure is unsatisfactory because the patient is subjected to multiple injections of cooled saline and the attendant risk of problems, such as infection. Also, the average of three calculated cardiac outputs is still not particularly accurate.
A more recent variation of the thermal dilution procedure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,974 ("'974 patent") to Yelderman. The system described in the '974 patent includes an intravascular heating element that heats the blood, as opposed to cooling the blood through injecting a cold saline. The temperature of the blood is measured through a thermistor. The rate at which the measured temperature changes is used in calculating cardiac output. Disadvantages of the system of the '974 patent include potential blood damage as a result of using a heating element and that the accuracy of the calculated cardiac output has error approximately the same as standard thermal dilution.
Another technique for determining cardiac output was based on the work of Homer Warner in the early 1950's, which is described in A Guyton et al., "Circulatory Physiology: Cardiac Output and its Regulation," (2nd Ed. 1973), chap. 5 (hereinafter "Guyton"). Guyton explains that the during the cardiac output (CO) may be derived from equation (1), below: EQU CO=C.times.F(Pcd-Pab) (1+Sa/Da) (1).
In equation (1), C is the compliance of the vessel (called "capacitance" by Guyton). The compliance is the change in volume of a vessel (in this case the arterial tree) for each unit change in pressure. F is the heart rate. Pcd is the average pressure in the arterial tree at the end of systole. Pab is the average pressure in the arterial tree at the end of diastole. Sa is the area under the arterial pressure curve during systolic drainage (shown in FIG. 5-3 of Guyton). Da is the area under the arterial pressure curve during diastolic drainage (shown in FIG. 5-3 of Guyton).
Solving for C in equation (1) produces equation (2) below: EQU C=CO/(F(Pcd-Pab) (1+Sa/Da)) (2).
Warner assumed that the compliance of a vessel is constant. With that assumption, he reasoned that the cardiac output could be calculated repeatedly through the following procedure, which involves only one flow measurement procedure. The cardiac output (CO) was initially determined using the Fick or similar procedure. The pressures of equation (1) are measured at the same time. The compliance C is determined from the measured cardiac output and pressures. Thereafter, the cardiac output may be calculated merely by determining the heart rate and measuring the pressures of equation (1). The Warner procedure may be applied continuously without injection of an indicator. It is, therefore, much less invasive than repeated Fick or thermal dilution procedures.
A major problem with the Warner procedure is that the compliance is not constant. Compliance changes significantly as, for example, the patient takes vasoactive drugs or as the condition of the patient changes. Accordingly, the Warner procedure may inaccurately calculate the cardiac output rates over time.
A second measure of cardiac hemodynamics is pulmonary vascular resistance ("PVR"), which is the resistance to blood traveling through the lungs to be oxygenated. PVR may be calculated by equation (3), below: EQU PVR=(PAP.times.PCW)/CO (3),
where PAP is the mean pulmonary artery pressure, PCW is the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and CO is the cardiac output.
The standard technique for calculating pulmonary vascular resistance is as follows. The wedge pressure is measured by inserting a catheter with a balloon at its end into one branch of the pulmonary artery connected to a lung and inflating the balloon until the artery is completely sealed off. The pressure across the lung is then measured through a lumen at the tip of the catheter. The pulmonary artery pressure is measured through standard techniques such as through pressure transducers connected to a Swan-Ganz catheter. The cardiac output is measured through a thermal dilution catheter as described above. Disadvantages of this procedure for calculating pulmonary vascular pressure include the invasiveness of measuring wedge pressure and all of the above-recited disadvantages of the thermal dilution catheter procedure.
A third measure of cardiac hemodynamics is systemic vascular resistance ("SVR"), which is a measure of the resistance of the blood flow through the body other than the lungs. The systemic vascular resistance gives a measure of the performance of the left heart and the vascular condition of the body. SVR may be calculated by equation (4), below: EQU SVR=(AOP.times.PCW)/CO (4) ,
where AOP is mean arterial pressure, PCW is the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and CO is the cardiac output.
A standard technique for systemic vascular resistance is as follows. First, wedge pressure of the pulmonary system is measured. Second, the cardiac output is calculated. Third, the mean arterial pressure is measured.

System for calculating compliance and cardiac hemodynamic parameters


For a mobile node visiting a packet-switched wireless access network, said access network using a tunnelling-type micro-mobility protocol and a Quality of Service (QoS) routing protocol to route packet data to and from said mobile node, and comprising an access router to which said mobile node may attach, a mobility agent and a gateway, a method of configuring said access network to route packet data toward said mobile node which method comprises the steps of: (a) receiving in said access network a handover indication of said mobile node or a login request therefrom; (b) in response to said handover indication or login request computing a QoS route for said mobile node, which QoS route is useable to route packets between said mobility agent and said mobile node; (c) performing step (b) at a location in said access network remote from said mobility agent; and (d) transmitting said QoS route and said handover indication or login request from said remote location toward said mobility agent; whereby upon receipt of data transmitted in step (d) said mobility agent may handle both mobility configuration and QoS route configuration for said mobile node as part of said network layer handover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of configuring a packet-switched wireless access network for simultaneous use of a micro-mobility tunnelling-type protocol and a Quality of Service (QoS) routing protocol, to a packet-switched wireless access network for performing the method, to a router for use in the method, to an access router for use in the method, to a mobile node for use in the method, and to a method of manufacturing such a mobile node
2. Description of the Related Art
Many different requirements are expected of the network layer in all-IP access networks (e.g. 4G cellular networks). Two in particular are mobility and QoS. The former enables users to communicate seamlessly with remote network nodes via the Internet wherever they are, whereas the latter enables users to receive different levels of service for certain types of traffic. However, research has shown that problems may arise when attempting to configure an access network to operate a mobility protocol at the same time as a QoS routing protocol.
Best effort routing protocols such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) have been extended with QoS functionality. For example QoS Extensions to OSPF (QoSPF) (see RFC 2676) have been proposed in which the routing architecture of OSPF is augmented to include QoS-related link metrics e.g. the amount of bandwidth available at each link. Since OSPF (and therefore QoSPF) is an intra-domain link state routing algorithm, each router in the access network stores a database of the entire topology of the domain. Each router discovers its neighbouring routers and sub-networks, and advertises its local environment to other routers in the administrative scope of the network using a reliable flooding mechanism. These advertisements are stored and updated to synchronise routing knowledge in the network. The routers in the network may operate on an explicit route basis or on a hop-by-hop basis.
When operating a QoS routing algorithm it is prudent to operate some resource reservation system. For example a Bandwidth Broker may be used to admit a Reservation Request for a packet flow to travel a certain path across the access network. The Bandwidth Broker stores a database of the network topology and link state (based on the router advertisements for example). Using the database the Bandwidth Broker can decide whether or not to accept the Reservation Request. Therefore for hop-by-hop routing, although in principle the QoS route might be changed by routers on the path as new link state information is gained, this is not practical since a new Reservation Request would need to be made to the Bandwidth Broker. Accordingly, once the route is chosen for the session the hop-by-hop route does not change until a handover is performed.
Mobility at the network layer is concerned with maintaining the routability of packet data to and from a mobile node when that mobile node moves away from its home access network The main candidate for provision of this functionality is Mobile IP (MIP), Very briefly MIP relies on a Home Agent in the home access network to tunnel IP packets to the domain where the mobile node is attached. The mobile node forms a Care-of Address (CoA) that is globally topologically correct in the network to which it is attached. The Home Agent encapsulates packets that it receives addressed to the mobile node's home address in another IP packet addressed to the CoA. In this way packet data may still reach the mobile node even when it is away from the home network. Further details of Mobile IP can be found in RFC 3344, 3775 and 3776 to which reference is specifically made.
However, when a mobile node hands over to a new access router, binding updates are triggered to the Home Agent, etc. These binding updates can introduce unwanted delays and loss of packets, and thereby degradation in performance from the user's perspective. When attached to a particular wireless access network (such as a cellular network), a mobile node may change its point of attachment (i.e. access router) quite frequently (e.g. every few minutes or more often, particularly if on the move). Each change triggers configuration of a new CoA, followed by the necessary binding updates. Doing this frequently (e.g. every few minutes) is not practical
Hierarchical Mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6) has been proposed (see RFC 4140) to address this problem. HMIPv6 provides a mobility agent known as a Mobility Anchor Point (MAP) in the access network. A MAP is a logical entity that handles micro-mobility for the mobile node. Micro-mobility is a change in point of attachment of the mobile node from one access router to another, both of which are within the same domain of the access network. Whenever this happens, the mobile node sends a binding update to the MAP (comprising a new Link local CoA or LCoA), but the mobile node's primary CoA (or Regional CoA or RCoA) remains unchanged In this way the mobile node can move between access routers in the same administrative domain without having to send a binding update to the Home Agent. In contrast when the mobile node changes point of attachment to an access router in a different access network, this is a macro-mobility event i.e. requiring a binding update to be sent to the Home Agent of the mobile node
When an access network operates both a mobility protocol (such as HMIPv6) and a QoS routing protocol, the requirement for all packets to pass through a particular MAP in the domain breaks one QoS route (gateway to access router and vice versa) into two. In particular, due to the high volume of traffic that it handles, it is almost certain that the MAP does not lie on the best QoS route from the gateway to the access router. Even though two QoS routes are then calculated (gateway to MAP, MAP to access router), their combination is by definition not the best QoS route if the MAP does not lie on the route that would be computed between the gateway and the access router. This causes a routing conflict between mobility on the one hand and QoS routing on the other. Thus attempts to operate both tunnelling-type mobility protocols and QoS routing protocols at the same time have not produced the performance gains that might be expected.
We have realised that this places a constraint on the scalability of the architecture In particular, as more and more mobile nodes bind to a particular MAP (e.g. if more access routers are added to the MAP's domain), it will have to handle not only the micro-mobility binding updates for the mobile nodes, but also the new QoS route computation and Reservation Requests as each mobile node moves between access routers It is believed that this network architecture is not scalable to handle both mobility and QoS for the numbers of mobile nodes present in today's cellular networks for example, nor those expected in future access networks,.
"Analysis of cross issues between QoS routing and i-mobility protocols", Friderikos, V. et al., IEE Proc.-Commun., Vol. 151, No. 3, June 2004, discusses some of the issues raised above. This document suggests that to address the conflict between tunnel-based micro-mobility protocols (such as HMIPv6) and QoS routing protocols, the path between the MAP and the AR could be lengthened by placing the mobility agent closer to the network edge (e.g. gateway). In this way it is suggested that problems associated with the two QoS tunnels mentioned above can be reduced. However, the scalability problem is not mentioned.

Systems and methods for improved mobility and quality of service in a wireless network


An openable vehicle roof having a lid element, having displacement kinematics on both sides relative to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the roof, the lid element displacable between a closed position and opening position at least partially opening the roof opening by displacement kinematics. The displacement kinematics each have a first kinematic element and a second kinematic element connected to a coupling rod, which can be detachably coupled to the first kinematic element via a coupling member and be displaced between a coupling position and a decoupling position, in which the coupling member is accommodated by a locking recess of the guide rail. The coupling member is held in its decoupling position by a resilient securing element in the locking recess of the guide rail, said securing element being able to be displaced between a securing position and a releasing position by a positioning element of the displacement kinematics.

Such a vehicle is known from practice and represents a so-called spoiler roof having a sliding roof arrangement, for example, in which a lid element movable in the longitudinal direction of the roof can be deployed upward by its rear edge with respect to a fixed-roof section in order to open a roof opening and can be moved above the fixed-roof section towards the vehicle rear. The lid element is coupled to displacement kinematics on both of its two sides relative to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the roof, said lid element being able to be displaced between a closed position closing the roof opening and an opening position at least partially opening the roof opening, in which position the lid element is arranged above the fixed-roof section, by means of the displacement kinematics. The displacement kinematics each comprise a drive carriage, which is guided in a guide track, and a deployment lever, which can be pivoted by means of a coupling rod for deploying the rearward edge of the lid element or rather for lowering the rearward edge of the lid element, said coupling rod being able to be detachably coupled to the respective drive carriage via a coupling member. In a coupling position, the coupling member and therefore the coupling rod are connected to the respective drive carriage, which can introduce a displacement moment in the deployment lever owing to this. In a decoupling position, in which the deployment lever takes up its deployment position, the drive carriage can be moved in the respective guide rail in order to displace the lid element in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle without the deployment lever being actuated via the coupling rod. In the decoupling position, the coupling member of the coupling rod is accommodated by an accommodation of the guide rail. In doing so, however, the risk of the coupling member becoming unintendedly detached from the accommodation of the guide rail exists of its own accord, which can cause an unmonitored actuation of the deployment lever.

Openable vehicle roof, comprising displacement kinematics having a coupling rod


An optical method and apparatus are disclosed for determining characteristics of an object such as its size, shape, position, orientation, cross-sectional area, volume, surface topography and specific volume. The inventive method and apparatus utilize a laser beam which is reflected through a right angle by a multi-faceted mirror. The mirror rotates about its own axis as it orbits around the object to be measured, causing a plurality of rotary scanning beams to sweep inwardly across the object as the mirror orbits. Portions of the scanning beam that are not blocked by the object strike a retroreflective ring positioned around the object and are returned along the beam's incident path to a detector. By associating the corresponding orbital position and rotational orientation of the mirror with the detector signal each time a shadow is created by the object, tangents to the surface of the object can be calculated. The tangents gathered during each orbit can then be assimilated to determine the cross-section of the object in the plane of the mirror's orbit. Changing the relative longitudinal position between the orbiting mirror and the object allows successive cross-sections to be determined and combined to calculate the total surface topography or volume of the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical apparatus for measuring surface topography of an object, and in particular to an apparatus which uses the blockage of a coherent light source to measure the relative or absolute size, shape, position, orientation, cross-sectional circumference or area, volume, surface topography, or specific volume (percent body fat) of a human body or other object.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There are an enormous number of applications in which it is desirable to have a non-contact method of measuring the contours of a body or object. Examples of some of these applications and their prior art solutions can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,406,544, 4,679,076, and 5,072,121 (measuring the human body for various-medical purposes), 3,880,289 and 4,693,607 (measuring vegetables and fruit for sorting), and 3,905,705, 4,192,613, 4,198,165, 4,417,817, 4,877,970, 4,905,512, and 5,142,159 (measuring various objects for industrial purposes.) These methods and apparatuses have limited uses and have drawbacks such as excessive size, complexity, cost, and measurement time.
There are other applications in which the measurement of contours or volume is not performed, but would be if more practical. For example, when a person is dieting to improve his or her appearance and wishes to "lose weight", losing volume is actually what that person is most concerned with. The measure of weight has only been used because it has been much more accurate, practical and inexpensive to measure one's weight than one's volume with traditional measurement methods. The measurement of one's volume is actually a better indicator of diet progress, and has the advantage of indicating exactly how much fat, muscle, water, etc. is being gained or lost in particular areas of the body. "Body builders" and those dieting strictly for health reasons are also concerned with volume. These people, as well as traditional dieters, are concerned with adding muscle and losing fat. Accurately measuring the percentage of body fat on a person involves measuring both weight and volume. Percent body fat is a variation of specific volume, which is the volume measured per unit of weight. Traditional methods of measuring a person's volume for this purpose involve measuring water displacement or a person's weight while he or she is submerged under water. Other methods of approximating the amount of body fat include pinching different areas of a person with special calipers to measure the thickness of the flesh. These methods are complicated, inconvenient, and not always very accurate. If the measurement of body volume and body fat were more accurate, convenient, and less expensive, more people might be inclined to take these measurements more often.
Measuring external body changes during pregnancy may be another area that could benefit from an improved measuring system. Currently, weight gain is often tracked during pregnancy, but unless the physician is also using a tape to measure various circumferences of the woman's body, a weight measurement provides very little information as to what type and where the weight is being gained. In other words, it is difficult to accurately determine whether a particular increase in weight is due to retained water, the addition of fat, an increase in the mass of the fetus, and/or some other factor.
Chiropractic care is another area in which accurately measuring the surface topography of the human body would be beneficial. Currently, gauges, scales and other special equipment are used to measure body alignment. This equipment is often complicated and time consuming to use, producing inaccurate results. X-rays are used to locate the skeletal structure more accurately, but taking x-rays, developing the film, and interpreting the results are also difficult and time consuming. X-ray equipment is expensive, and problems associated with over-exposing a patient to x-rays prevents this technology from being used more frequently.
Industrial and commercial areas that would benefit from an improved method of measuring objects include industries that scan objects for computer aided design, analysis and manufacturing work (CAD/CAM and Finite Element Analysis), prototyping and replicating with stereo lithography, and building large stage props, models or virtual reality data bases. Custom clothing industries could measure and transmit accurate information about a client's shape and size. Water content and volume of poultry or produce could be readily measured in the field. There are also countless quality control and sorting tasks that could take advantage of an improved surface measurement device.
Referring to FIG. 1, an example of the shortcomings of prior art measuring devices can be seen by considering one of the patents listed above. U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,705, entitled OPTICAL MEASURING APPARATUS, discloses a laser device for measuring dimensions on small objects, and which has been successfully commercialized by Techmet Company of Dayton, Ohio. According to the prior art invention, a laser beam is reflected off of a rotating mirror to produce a rotary scanning light beam. The rotary scanning beam passes through a converging lens to create a parallel scanning light beam. The parallel scanning light beam then passes through a second converging lens which focuses the scanning beam onto a photo-detector. When an object to be measured is placed in the parallel scanning light beam between the two lenses, it creates a shadow on the detector during a portion of the beam's scan. By measuring the duration of this shadow, the thickness of the object can be determined.
The prior art device is easy to use, quick, highly accurate, and makes a non-contact measurement using relatively few parts. However, the size of the object that can be measured is limited by the size of the two lenses, which must be larger than the object. The device also is only able to measure one dimension of the object. To measure the entire surface of a large object, such as a human body, the diameter of the two lenses would have to be greater than the width of the person, and the entire apparatus would have to rotate around the person and also traverse the height of the person. (The proposed apparatus would have the scanning beam in a horizontal plane, rather than in a vertical plane as shown in FIG. 1.) Alternatively, the person could be rotated while being raised through the parallel scanning beam. Either way, the proposed apparatus would be prohibitively large, slow and expensive. Other prior art devices have similar shortcomings, such as excess cost and complexity.
What is needed, and is not provided by the prior art, is a relatively simple and cost effective, non-contact measuring device that can quickly and conveniently measure the surface topography of an object, large or small.

Optical method and apparatus for measuring surface topography of an object