Methods and apparatus for the sanitization, detoxification, disinfection, high level disinfection, or sterilization of both the interior and exterior surfaces of at least one object.

The complete and assured sanitization, disinfection, high-level disinfection, or sterilization of devices, tools and other objects in industries such as but not limited to the health care industry, has always been a challenge in terms of processing time, cost, engineering tradeoffs, toxicity, safety, and overall effectiveness. Currently, the available choices are liquid disinfection, typically referred to as a "wet" method, and various airborne methods, typically referred to as a "dry" method. The dry method can include, but is not limited to, gases, aerosols, and processes that use steam as a carrier gas for the disinfecting composition or solution. All processes that do not include liquid immersion are generally considered to constitute a dry method even if the agent used has a liquid phase.
Immersion of an object in liquids known in the art for sterilization or disinfection is a relatively simple method that is cost effective, and offers fast cycle times that are typically measured in hours. However, it also presents problems related to reproducibility and quality assurance due to the potential for bubbles to form on the inner surfaces of complex instruments, including endoscopes, which prevent cleaning solution contact with interior surfaces, such as lumens or channels. Another method for cleaning devices such as endoscopes is known to those skilled in the art, but generally involves several sequential steps or activities such as, but not limited to, wiping the device to remove any unwanted debris or contaminants and then placing the endoscope in a washer and interfacing it with a hose, or other means known to those skilled in the art (herein called "supply tube"). The supply tube enables various liquids including but not limited to, surfactant, high purity rinse water, and disinfectant/sterilant, to be moved through the various channels and lumens of the endoscope at various stages of the cleaning process. The outside of the endoscope is also exposed, preferably simultaneously, to these same liquids at various stages of the cleaning process. After the final rinse stage, the endoscope is dried in a manner known to those skilled in the art including, but not limited to, being dried within the processing chamber, or removed from the washer and dried outside of the processing chamber.
The current art can be improved in various ways including, but not limited to: (1) decreasing the time required to achieve the desired anti-pathogen/toxin/fungal/sporicidal effect on both the internal and external surfaces as well as any interfacing/articulating surfaces of an object or endoscope (2) reducing the risk that "air bubbles" will prevent full contact of the disinfectant/sterilant solution with all inner surfaces of an object or endoscope (3) reducing the drying time for an object or endoscope, and (4) reducing or eliminating the deleterious effect of the disinfectant solution and/or disinfecting process on the materials that are used to construct the object or endoscope. The methods and apparatuses of the present invention address these needs by decreasing the time to efficaciously complete the essential steps while achieving a satisfactory result.
In general, liquid disinfection/sterilization creates a major corresponding drawback in that the finished product remains wet, and therefore unsuitable for packaging and/or storage. The deployed or applied disinfecting agent(s) or substance(s) must have limited toxicity, be reasonably safe as well as compatible with those materials comprising the instruments and devices to be disinfected/sterilized.
Gaseous agents used in the prior art for sterilization are very limited in terms of medical applicability. Steam or dry heat sterilization is effective, but many medical devices and instruments are incompatible with the degree of heat required for this process. So-called "cold sterilization" is an alternative, but the only currently available cold sterilization agents in use in hospitals are ethylene oxide and hydrogen peroxide in various forms that include, but are not limited to plasma. U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,951 (Koubek, 1983), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, teaches using hydrogen peroxide to sterilize medical articles by causing hydrogen peroxide-water vapors to deposit a film of liquid on the medical devices. The liquid film is then caused to be evaporated. Hydrogen peroxide vapor is susceptible to humidity that can reduce the efficacy of the process.
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is carcinogenic, toxic and dangerous and, although effective, is only used as a last resort for instruments and devices that cannot be subjected to other modalities. In addition, after being exposed to EtO, items cannot be used for long periods to allow "off-gassing" or aeration of the EtO. According to the UNC School of Dentistry, the complete EtO cycle, including aeration, can last as long as 24 hours. The newer technology utilizing hydrogen peroxide plasma is an alternative, however, it is very expensive, and the technology requirements have translated to only small size sterilization chambers. To date, it has not been capable of sterilizing certain instruments including, but not limited to, endoscopes. Endoscopes generally contain small lumens and/or channels and the hydrogen peroxide plasma has difficulty in maintaining its effectiveness throughout the length of the lumen.
Without being limited to a mechanism, method, or chemical, it is believed that chemically reactive liquids are necessary in sterilization processes to contact contaminants including but not limited to toxins, bacteria, virus, fungus, and spores (both fungal and bacterial), prions or protein structures, within a target area(s) to kill the bacteria, virus, fungus, spores, neutralize a toxins, or render a virus, or protein structure incapable of replication or to otherwise interfere with the target's cellular physiology, or to destroy or neutralize the toxin. These chemically reactive liquids may be provided as an aerosol.
Prior art has taught that relatively quick disinfection and sterilization of objects can be achieved by their exposure to an aerosol of a disinfectant/sterilizing agent created by ultrasonic nebulization. U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,125 (Kodera et al., 1980), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, teaches that an aerosol, created by ultrasonic transducers and consisting of hydrogen peroxide, can contact surfaces targeted for sterilization. Ultraviolet-ray lamps are then synergistically used in concert with the applied aerosol to achieve sterilization of the targeted surfaces. Generally, the prior art also describes apparatuses and methods where the aerosol is generated by one or more ultrasonic transducers located below the surface of a reservoir containing a liquid. The output of the transducers is focused to either a point and/or directed toward an area near the surface of the liquid to cause a surface disturbance, which results in the formation of an aerosol from the liquid. The transducers used in these apparatuses are typically made from lead-zirconate-titanate-four (PZT-4) or other piezoelectric materials. This material is coated with a conductive coating (i.e., an electrode material) that enables an electrical signal to energize the transducer and causes it to emit high frequency pressure (energy).
G.B. Patent No. 1,128,245, (Rosdahl et al., 1968) which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, describes a device for disinfecting apparatuses and instruments, including medical instruments. This apparatus also generates a mist of disinfectant, including hydrogen peroxide, by means of an ultrasonic aerosol generator. According to Rosdahl et al., this patent was "primarily adapted for the disinfection of small medical instruments such as scalpels, tongs, syringes, or the like, positioned on a grid in a container" (pg 3 col. 23-30). However, another separate intended use for a second described apparatus was for disinfecting interior surfaces of objects such as the interior of tubing used for "breathing apparatuses" and "heart lung machines" (pg 1 ln 30-36 and pg 2 ln 95-101).
Rosdahl et al. is clearly distinguished from the present invention in that it is silent with respect to simultaneously disinfecting both the interior and exterior surfaces of an object. Rosdahl et al. also does not teach a method for simultaneously sterilizing/disinfecting and drying the outside and interior surfaces/lumen of an object. Most importantly, Rosdahl et al. does not teach how the apparatus could effectively and efficaciously be "connected" to the object (pg 2 ln 95-101) in a way that enables all of the interfaced/articulated surfaces to be sanitized, disinfected, high level disinfected, or sterilized. The pressurized air in Rosdahl et al. is supplied by way of a fan etc. or carrier gas, (pg 2 ln 48-49) and is used to both move the generated aerosol to perform the disinfection function, and to dry the objects placed within the enclosed area of their described apparatus after disinfection. Rosdahl et al. incorporated "a heating element to dry the air in the flow path of the carrier gas, to increase drying efficiency" (pg 3 ln. 123-127). The use of a heating element in the flow path of a gas stream taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,616 (Sheiman, 1999), is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein. Sheiman also teaches the use of ultrasonic transducers to generate aerosol. The heater is located about the inlet conduit of the apparatus and is designed to heat the aerosol, which encourages its condensation on or within the article. It is important to note that Sheiman is silent regarding the use of the apparatus or a secondary apparatus to interface and sanitize, disinfect, high-level disinfect, or sterilize, the interior of an object or device, as well as the simultaneous or non-simultaneous cleaning of both the interior and exterior of objects.
Ultrasonic nebulizers have a unique advantage in that they can create small aerosol droplets less than 5 microns in size. The size of the droplets enables them to penetrate small cracks and crevices and to behave like a gas due to Brownian movement and diffusion. In addition, the cloud is able to form a very thin coating, deposition, or film over various surfaces that are inherent to this technology and method. The thin coating, film, or deposition of sterilant or disinfectant is able to dry much faster than coatings created by aerosol containing droplets that are much larger in diameter. It is also theorized that the vapor component resulting from the evaporation of the droplets, contributes to the overall efficacy of the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,125, (Kodera et al., 1980), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, teaches that heated H2O2 is more efficacious than H2O2 used at room temperature (col. 1, line 19-25). In other words, (Kodera et al., 1980) teaches that the efficacious nature of a liquid agent can be increased as it is heated to temperatures higher than ambient temperature. This is desired, without limitation, in the present invention. The text entitled, "Aerosol Technology" by William C. Hinds (1982), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, also taught that the size of the aerosol particles produced by ultrasounic means are not only affected by the frequency of the transducer operation, but also by the surface tension and density of the liquid.
It is commonly known that heating a liquid to a temperature less than its boiling point will reduce its surface tension. William C. Hinds (1982) established that the higher the temperature of the liquid, the lower the liquid's surface tension, resulting in smaller sized aerosol particles. This principal is incorporated without limitation, in the present invention. In the same text he also taught that smaller diameter particles demonstrate characteristics such as but not limited to, a lower settling velocity, a higher diffusion coefficient, and a higher Brownian displacement (movement), which is desired, without limitation, in the present invention. Hinds further taught that ultrasonic aerosol generating transducers can heat the surrounding liquid (page 382). This is also desired, without limitation, in the present invention.
It has been difficult and time consuming applying current devices and methods to disinfect or sterilize both the exterior and interior surfaces of tools or equipment, e.g., endoscopes, in a single cleaning cycle or process due to their complex construction including narrow lumens of various lengths. The limitations of the prior art are further indicated by the failure or problems, which various anti-pathogen/toxin/fungal/sporicidal agents or substances have in contacting, and/or rapidly achieving an efficacious result on the surfaces of the endoscope or object that are interfaced/articulated with any coupling(s) or other device.
"Flash" sterilization is also needed in industries such as, but not limited to the health care industry. It is commonly used for quick sterilization and turn around of various objects immediately needed for or during surgery. Flash sterilization methods that include the use of steam under pressure at recommended temperatures of approximately 270 degree Fahrenheit for approximately three to ten (3 to 10) minutes, are generally representative of the current art. The object that is flash sterilized must then cool down before it is used, taking valuable time. A need exists in the industry to further reduce the total amount of time it takes to clean, sterilize or disinfect, and deliver a surgical tool on demand within a reasonable period of time. The present invention can, without limitation, decrease the total cycle time needed for rapid sterilization of medical devices by providing a means to quickly sterilize or disinfect objects whose construction materials are thermally sensitive and cannot be flash sterilized by current means.
The methods and apparatuses of the present invention address the need for a quick and effective way to fully sanitize, detoxify, disinfect, high level disinfect, or sterilize both the interior and exterior of medical devices, and objects. In addition, this may without limitation, be accomplished while still enabling all surfaces of the object or endoscope to have contact with the anti-pathogen/toxin/fungal/sporicidal agent(s) or substance(s) including surfaces of the object or endoscope that are interfaced/articulated with any coupling(s) or other device.
There is a continued need to increase both the efficacy and effectiveness of a system that offers shortened cycle times. The present invention addresses these issues. One such means in the present invention utilizes thermal forces by cooling or decreasing the temperature of the objects themselves, the atmosphere in which they reside, or the targeted area for the administration of an aerosol as well any surfaces in that area, prior to the administration of the aerosol.
Prior art has taught the step of cooling an enclosed area and its surfaces before the administration of a hydrogen peroxide disinfectant, however the hydrogen peroxide was first vaporized into a gaseous state before its administration, and the cooling step was intended to condense the vaporized hydrogen peroxide onto the intended surfaces, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,951 (Koubek et al., 1983), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein. More specifically, Koubek et al., teaches a method of sterilization where a liquid of aqueous hydrogen peroxide is vaporized, and the vapors are delivered into an evacuated sterilizer chamber. The articles to be sterilized are cooled prior to the introduction of the vapor (or are cooled by the evacuation of air from the sterilizing zone) to a temperature below the dew point of the entering vapors. The condensing vapor deposits a film of liquid on all such cool surfaces (col 2, line 40-51). Koubek et al., also mentions in Claim 2 that the result of vaporization was a mixed "gaseous vapor" consisting of hydrogen peroxide and water vapor free of solid contaminants.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,370 (Cummings et al., 1988), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, teaches a similar method of sterilization where a liquid of aqueous hydrogen peroxide is also vaporized into a gaseous state before its administration into an evacuated sterilizer chamber. However, Cummings et al., teaches improvements to the art where the hydrogen peroxide-water vapor is applied under vacuum to surfaces that are below 10 degree centigrade, or surfaces in an environment that are both below 10 degree centigrade and above 10 degree centigrade. The cold surfaces mentioned in Cummings et al., were not cooled to accentuate or enhance the process, but were surfaces of components that were inherently cold for their own operational purposes. This is mentioned in sections such as (col 2, line 4-9), (col 2, line 29-33), and (col 4, line 67 to col 5, line 2).
U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0042130 A1 (Lin et al., 2003), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, claims the use of an applied vacuum to move an ultrasonically derived aerosol, consisting of a sterilant, throughout the area of an enclosed chamber. The use of vacuum pressures below atmospheric pressure was also mentioned as well as the possibility that vacuum pressures lower than 5 torrs lower than atmospheric pressure would likely "enhance the results", and that using a vacuum pressure low enough to vaporize the sterilant generally enhances sterilization (pg. 2, paragraph 28). However, Lin et al, was silent with respect to how the lower vacuum pressures would "enhance the results" other than any enhancement that vaporization of the aerosol might bring. Lin et al, was also silent with respect to the amount of time that is needed to elapse between lowering the pressure within the enclosed chamber and the application of an aerosol, in order to obtain the needed or desired level of efficacy. (Lin et al., 2003) was silent with respect to cooling any surfaces within the sterilization chamber or applying the aerosol to any cooled surfaces.
It is important to note that Lin et al, did not mention any process or method to heat the liquid of the aerosol or cool the surfaces in the sterilization chamber before or during the delivery of the aerosol, or any means to encourage condensation if the liquid was vaporized. In fact, the 5 torr negative pressure that was used by Lin et al. to generate their findings was reported to be sufficient enough to disperse the mist within the sterilization chamber (pg. 2, paragraph 28), but was never mentioned to have cooled the surfaces within the sterilization chamber or to have that intended effect.
In addition, it is important to note that the cooling of a targeted environment(s) and/or the surfaces contained therein addressed by the present invention is intended, without limitation, for a completely different application and purpose. The present invention utilizes the principals of aerosol behavior to increase the performance of the process of the present invention, and not the condensation of a gas as taught in the prior art. This is further addressed in the present invention.
By comparison, the current invention utilizes, without limitation, the cooling of the targeted environment(s) and its surfaces to enhance the performance and efficacy of the aerosol administration process and not to condense a gas as taught by the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,821,807 B2 (Schwartz et al., 2003), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, describes "retaining" an object such as an endoscope in a "pouch", and later in a "package" or "enclosure", and then moving an aerosol created from a liquid chemical agent via a high pressure nozzle apparatus, through a port located in a wall of a pouch and into the pouch to decontaminate or disinfectant the various surfaces inside of the pouch, including the treated object. However, this patent is problematic for various reasons.
The first problem with Schwartz et al., 2003, and other similar methods and apparatuses taught in the art, is that surfaces that contact each other, especially as a medical device(s) rests in a pouch, package, or enclosure, is that any contacting surfaces between the medical device and itself, and/or the medical device and any surfaces within the interior of it's packaging, can be difficult and/or impossible to efficaciously treat or decontaminate with airborne agents that are delivered such as, but not limited to any, aerosol and/or vapor. This is especially true without using the assistance of any effective positive pressure and heat cycling that is common with ethylene oxide (EtO) gas/vapor systems, all in a manner known to those skilled in the art.
Schwartz et al., 2003, and the current art, is silent as to how to effectively, locate, hang, and/or suspend, and effectively treat and process, one or more of an entire medical device(s) such as, but not limited to any, endoscope(s), and/or ultrasonic probe(s), including any associated parts and components such as, but not limited to any, tube(s), pipe(s), conduit(s), fiber optic line(s), cable(s), wire(s), plug(s), and/or connector(s), especially that are connected to the said medical device(s), in any suitable chamber, pouch, enclosure, package, removable enclosure, and/or removable package, in an effective manner, to prevent the targeted surfaces of the medical device(s) and any associated parts and components, as well as any interior surfaces of the chamber, pouch, enclosure, package, and/or removable enclosure and/or removable package, from having any contacted and covered surfaces that cannot be effectively treated, decontaminated, sterilized, high-level disinfected, disinfected, processed, and/or treated.
Schwartz et al., 2003, and the current art, is also silent regarding releasing the one or more hung and/or suspended medical device(s) such as, but not limited to any, endoscope(s), and/or ultrasonic probe(s), including any associated parts and components such as, but not limited to any, tube(s), pipe(s), conduit(s), fiber optic line(s), cable(s), wire(s), plug(s), and/or connector(s), especially that are connected to the said medical device(s), after they are treated or decontaminated, so that once automatically and/or manually released they fall and/or released into any effectively open, pouch, enclosure, package, removable enclosure, and/or removable package, that is effectively sized and constructed, and then preferably and effectively closing and/or sealing the said open, pouch, enclosure, package, removable enclosure, and/or removable package. The open, pouch, enclosure, package, removable enclosure, and/or removable package, can be located under the treated object at any time, before, during, and/or after the treatment or decontamination process(s).
The second problem with Schwartz et al., 2003, and other similar methods and apparatuses taught in the art, is that the aerosol is created outside of the pouch or enclosure, and then flowed through a port located in a wall of a pouch, package, and/or removable package, and then flowed into the pouch, package, and/or removable package to decontaminate or disinfectant the various surfaces inside. This is problematic for various reasons including, but not limited to, (1) the pouch, package, and/or removable package can become over pressurized with the air/gas flow that delivers the aerosol, (2) the pouch, package, and/or removable package can become over pressurized with the air/gas flow that delivers the aerosol before the surfaces within the pouch or package are effectively treated, (3) turbulent air/gas flow and/or air/gas vorticies can form within the pouch, package, and/or removable package preventing full and effective coverage of all of the various surfaces within the pouch, package, and/or removable package, which would result in a failure of the decontamination process.
Schwartz et al., 2003, and the current art, is also silent to designing a removable enclosure in which surfaces inside can be treated and/or decontaminated that effectively seals upon removal, that has a second port opening, preferable on an opposite end of the said enclosure from the first port opening, that allows the decontamination agent and/or the air/gas that carries it, to flow effectively into the removable enclosure, filling the said enclosure, and then flow through the removable enclosure, where the decontamination agent and/or carrier air/gas can flow back to the apparatus that generates the decontamination agent, thus forming a closed circuit or circular flow path between the treatment agent generator area and the removable enclosure through which the decontamination agent and/or carrier air/gas can flow. In addition, numerous other closed circuit or circular flow paths that flow through the removable enclosure can also be used for purposes such as, but not limited to, removing any vapor or humidity from the inside of the treatment enclosure. This is also not disclosed by Schwartz et al., 2003, or in the current art.
There is also a need in the current art to improve the means for holding objects in any enclosure or package, for an efficacious treatment or decontamination of the various surfaces of the object being held. This need has especially presented itself as the type of objects being held can include various medical devices such as, but not limited to any, endoscope(s), and/or ultrasonic probe(s), including any associated parts and components such as, but not limited to any, tube(s), pipe(s), conduit(s), fiber optic line(s), cable(s), wire(s), plug(s), and/or connector(s), especially that are connected to the said medical device(s).

Methods and apparatuses for applying agents to objects and packaging objects


A method of calculating a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) value for a multi-bit input data word, using a defined generator polynomial is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: serially shifting at least a portion of the input data word into a register; XORing the contents of the register with the generator polynomial if the LSB of the register is ‘1’; shifting the contents of the register right by one position; shifting into the MSB position of the register a new bit of the input data word, having been XORed with the LSB of the register; repeating the previous step for all message data bits; shifting into the register a number of ‘0’s equal to the length of the generator polynomial; reading from the register the calculated CRC value. Apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit arranged to perform a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) on a received data stream. The circuit may additionally be used to perform other forms of coding on selected data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Error coding is often added to data when there is a possibility that the data may be corrupted or otherwise interfered with during transmission. Simple error coding may include simply adding a parity bit which indicates to the receiver that the data received is not identical with the data transmitted. However, such simple schemes do not protect for cases where more than a single bit is at fault. This can pose problems when, in reality, a burst error may corrupt several bits in a message.
Cyclic Redundancy Checking (CRC) is one form of error checking employed in a wide variety of data traffic systems. CRC uses a system of polynomial division to code a given string of data.
For example, assume the message to be transmitted is a multi-bit message, M(D).DN. This message is divided, using modulo-2 arithmetic, by a so-called generator polynomial, G(D). This division yields a division polynomial, Y(D), and a remainder polynomial R(D).
                                                        M                                            (                D                )                                      .                          D              N                                            G                                      (              D              )                                      =                              Y                                      (              D              )                                +                      R                                      (              D              )                                                          (        1        )
The long division process (normal, or modulo-2 for polynomials) yields Y(D) and R(D) as two separate outputs. In practice, only the remainder, R(D), is of interest, and Y(D) is discarded. The message, M(D) is then normally appended by N zero digits, or simply shifted left N positions, where N is the order of the generator polynomial, G(D). The data that is transmitted is therefore: M(D).DN+R(D).
The data may be transmitted over any one of a number of different interfaces. During the course of the transmission, an error E(D) may occur. The error may affect one or more bits of the message, which means that the receiver will receive M(D).DN+R(D) +E(D).
In order to verify the authenticity of the received data, the receiver divides the received data by the same generator polynomial, G(D).
                                                                        M                                                  (                  D                  )                                            .                              D                N                                      +                          R                                            (                D                )                                      +                          E                                            (                D                )                                                          G                                      (              D              )                                      =                                                            M                                                  (                  D                  )                                            .                              D                N                                                    G                                            (                D                )                                              +                                    R                                            (                D                )                                                    G                                            (                D                )                                              +                                    E                                            (                D                )                                                    G                                            (                D                )                                                                        (        2        )
The first term in the result of equation (2) yields Y(D) and R(D) as before. The term R(D)/G(D) yields just the remainder R(D). The term E(D)/G(D) yields e(D) and r(D) which represent the errors introduced by E(D).
The result of the division by the receiver, may therefore be written as:(Y(D)+e(D))+R(D)+R(D)+r(D)  (3)
Y(D) is not significant, as before, and may simply he discarded. The same is true for e(D), which is the result of E(D) divided by G(D). In practice, Y(D) and e(D) are combined and cannot be separated.
Accordingly, if no error E(D) has occurred during transmission, then r(D) is zero. If an error E(D) has occurred, then r(D) will have a non-zero value. In such a case, the receiver may choose to ignore the received data, flag it as erroneous and/or request a re-transmission.
As an example of this procedure, consider a binary stream of 192 bits: {1011 . . . 011}. Representing this as a polynomial already appended (or shifted) with eights '0's to take into account the order of the generator, G(D):1.D199+0.D198+1.D197+1.D196+ . . . +0.D10+1.D9+1.D8+0.D7+0.D6+0.D5+ . . . +0.D1+0.D+0.D0  (4)
The generator polynomial, G(D), of order N=8, in this case is:D8+D7+D4+D3+D1+D0  (5)
In hardware, the modulo-2 division may be implemented as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a circuit 20, including a string of sequentially connected registers 22. An XOR gate 24 is interposed between adjacent shift registers at the appropriate positions to realize the algorithm of equation (5).
The data to be encoded is shifted into the coder 20 as shown in FIG. 1. After all the data bits have been shifted into the coder, a sequence of zero bits are shifted in. The sequence consists of as many zero bits as there are bits in the coder. In the present case, the sequence of zero bits is 8 bits long.
After the sequence of zero bits has been loaded into the coder, the coder 20 contains the remainder R(D) of the coding division process.
The same coder circuit may be used for encoding and decoding. For encoding, the procedure is as described above. For decoding received data, the message data is first shifted into the coder 20, followed by the received remainder, R(D). If the coder 20 stores a zero value after the remainder has been shifted in, this indicates that the message and remainder sequence were received without error. A non-zero result indicates that either the message or remainder contains an error.
The CRC function can also be implemented in software. The following code demonstrates a prior art realization.
for (i=0; i<data_len; i++){C=M[i];//Get the next input data bitC= C {circumflex over ( )}CRC[0];//XOR data bit with LSB of CRC registerif (CRC[0]==1){for (j=0; j<CRC_len; j++){CRC[j] = CRC[j] {circumflex over ( )}CRC_poly[j];//XOR CRC bits with generator polynomial bits}}//Shift CRC register bits right by one positionfor (j=0; j<CRC_len - 1; j++){CRC[j] = CRC[j+1];}CRC[CRC_len - 1] = C//C becomes the new MSB of CRC register}
From the code above, it is evident that using a normal DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or MCU (Microprocessor Unit), a total of 3–5 instruction cycles would be required each time the LSB of the CRC register is checked for a '1', performing the XOR and shift operations. The speed of this operation is further reduced when the length of the CRC register is higher than the data width of the processor or DSP accumulators, which are normally 8, 16, 24 or 32 bits. In such cases, two or more sets of XOR and shift are required.

Software instructions utilizing a hardwired circuit

STMicroelectronics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.


A method which can be implemented on a computer program product for use on a network of autonomous systems to provide an ability to exclude the routing of messages to a destination IP address through a specified autonomous system. On a network in which each autonomous system ignores update messages that already include its identification number and adds it own identification number to update messages that it forwards, the method involves adding the identification number of the specified autonomous system to any update message created for the destination IP address.

The embodiments of the invention are directed to a method by which a user of the Internet may identify autonomous systems through which incoming messages to the user will not pass.
The Internet is a network of computers divided into autonomous systems. An autonomous system is responsible for routing packets within its domain. The routing of packets between autonomous systems is performed using an interautonomous system routing protocol, such as the BGP4 protocol. Each autonomous system is identified on the network by its unique 16-bit identifier. The interautonomous system routing protocol allows an autonomous system to find the neighboring autonomous system to which a packet is to be sent for getting to a destination IP address. The protocol also provides to the autonomous system the entry point at the autonomous system where the packet should be forwarded. The interautonomous system routing protocol is used at each autonomous system to route the packet through the network of autonomous systems to the destination address.
The embodiments of the present invention are for use with an interautonomous system routing protocol that includes a method for preventing routing loops. For example, BGP speakers on autonomous systems are used to propagate (advertise) BGP update messages throughout the Internet. Update messages inform autonomous systems of where to send a message addressed to a particular IP address. The message includes the entry point to the autonomous systems that sent the message. The message also includes network layer reachability information which is a list of IP addresses on the network reachable from the advertising autonomous system. Thus, an autonomous system receiving an update message will know that to reach any of those network addresses, it may send a message to the entry point indicated on the update message. An update message includes a list of the autonomous system identifiers for all the autonomous systems the update message has passed through. As an autonomous system receives an update message, it adds its identifier to the update message so that if the update message is sent back to that autonomous system, it will know to ignore the message. This prevents the message from returning to an autonomous system to which it has already passed thereby resulting in a routing loop.
There are situations in which a user at a particular IP address would prefer that messages it is receiving not come through a particular autonomous system. This may be particularly true for user destinations at which confidential or highly sensitive information may be communicated. It may be undesirable for such messages to travel through an autonomous system that is viewed as being insecure. It would therefore be desirable for an Internet customer to have the ability to identify a list of autonomous systems to be excluded from passing messages on their way to the customer""s IP address.
Embodiments of the invention are directed toward producing an exclusion list of autonomous systems through which messages are prevented from passing to a particular destination IP address. A method involves adding the identification number of each autonomous system specified in the exclusion list onto any update message created for the destination IP address. An autonomous system routing protocol speaker implementing the invention includes a data input for receiving instructions to exclude message routing through a specified autonomous system to a destination IP address. The speaker further includes program code for creating update messages that will include an identification number of the specified autonomous system to be excluded.
A computer program product for implementing the exclusion of an autonomous system includes program code for creating an update message for an IP address. The computer program product further includes program code for determining whether any of the IP addresses in the update message have issued instructions to exclude certain autonomous systems from passage of incoming messages. When an exclusion list exists, the program code further includes instructions for adding an identification number of the specified autonomous system to the update message. Alternatively, a computer program product may include code for separating the update message into an update message for IP addresses for which instructions to exclude autonomous systems were not received and an update message for the remaining IP addresses. The program code would add the identification number of the specified autonomous system to the update message directed for the other IP addresses including those that had an exclusion list.
A network of autonomous systems in accordance with an embodiment of the invention includes a receiver in each autonomous system adapted to receive update messages from peer autonomous systems. Each autonomous system retains routing information indicating which peer autonomous systems provided an update message associated with a given IP address identifier only for update messages which did not include the autonomous system""s own identification number. Program code with exclusion list capability is responsive to instructions to exclude routing of messages through a specified autonomous system to an IP address by creating update messages for the IP address that include the identification number of the specified autonomous system.
In accordance with the embodiments of the invention, a user at an IP address can identify autonomous systems through which messages to that IP address will not be sent. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the following description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings.

Exclusion list of senders to an autonomous system


A navigation system of a motor vehicle has an input unit, a position-determining unit, a central processor unit (CPU) for calculating a route between a first and a second location by reference to map data which contains information for determining a predicted fuel consumption for the route, and an output unit for outputting travel instructions which are matched with the current position of the vehicle. A maximum travel time for a journey from the first location to the second location is predefined by a user using the input unit and the route is determined such that the predefined maximum travel time is not exceeded, and the anticipated fuel consumption is minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation system of a motor vehicle having an input unit, a position-determining unit, a central processor unit for calculating a route between a first and a second location by reference to map data, which contains information for determining a predicted fuel consumption for the route, and an output unit for outputting travel instructions which are matched to the current position of the vehicle. The present invention also relates to a method for determining a route.
2. Description of the Related Art
A navigation system and a method for determining a route are known, for example, from DE 196 05 458 C1. In this known navigation system, a destination is first selected by the driver and the current position of the vehicle is determined by satellite navigation signals. The navigation system then calculates a plurality of routes from the current position of the vehicle to the destination. In the process, the fuel which is predicted to be required is calculated for each of the routes. The calculation of the fuel consumption is carried out on the basis of changes in altitude on the respective routes. The topological properties which are required for this are stored together with the road map data. A preferred route is selected from the various routes, the preferred route having the lowest fuel consumption. The preferred route is finally output. A disadvantage of this known method is that the fuel consumption is the only criterion for the selection of a route.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,295 and DE 101 29 149 A1 disclose feeding setpoint values to a travel speed controller from a navigation system.

Navigation system having means for determining a route with optimized consumption


The device and method according to the present invention permute the order of signals representing information intended for storage in a memory. The signal ordering is permuted prior to or at the time of storage in the memory such that when the information or data is stored in the permuted order, it is more tolerant to errors or defects that existed or may occur in the memory.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a method and a circuit for storing information such as digital data or signals in a permuted order in a memory storage device.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Recent advances in the manufacture of semiconductor devices have yielded memories having ever increasing speed and density characteristics. Generally, the higher the density of a semiconductor memory, the more memory sites or locations are available for data storage. However, the increased density renders the memory less error tolerant from defects or faults. For example, if a given area of the semiconductor memory is defective, whether from the manufacturing process or field-induced, more memory sites or a larger portion of the stored data will be corrupted. A field-induced defect may result from a magnetic storm which passes through certain areas of the memory, causing data corruption in that portion of the memory device and loss of data integrity required when data is read from the memory. Common memory defects are single dimensional, e.g., the memory is defective in a single row or column of a given matrix of the memory. Two dimensional faults involve multiple columns and/or rows.

Method and apparatus for providing error-tolerant storage of information


A drive mechanism include a movable element which has at least one bearing arm; a linear guide shaft for linearly guiding the movable element without rotating; a driving device driving the movable element linearly along the linear guide shaft; a driven member driven, by the driving device, in a direction parallel to the linear guide shaft; a first guide hole formed on the bearing arm; a second guide hole formed on the driven member, the first and second guide holes being identical in size and in cross sectional shape; a tubular bearing member fitted into the first and second guide holes, the linear guide shaft being fitted completely through the tubular bearing member to be freely slidable therein; and a retaining device formed on the tubular bearing member and the driven member to prevent the tubular bearing member from moving relative to the driven member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive mechanism for driving a movable element linearly along at least one guide shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical drive mechanism serving as a lens drive mechanism for linearly driving a movable lens includes a lens support frame which holds a lens element and has a pair of bearing arms separate from each other in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the lens; a rack-incorporated member including an engaging portion that is engaged between the pair of bearing arms to be movable relative to the pair of bearing arms in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the lens; a guide shaft which passes through two guide holes formed on the pair of bearing arms, respectively, and further passes through a guide hole formed on the engaging portion of the rack-incorporated member, wherein the two guide holes of the pair of bearing arms and the guide hole of the engaging portion are aligned in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the lens element so that the lens support frame and the rack-incorporated member are linearly guided in the direction of the optical axis of the lens element while being prevented from rotating about the optical axis of the lens element; and a lead screw which extends parallel to the guide shaft, and meshes with teeth formed on the rack-incorporated member, wherein a rotation of the lead screw on its axis causes the rack-incorporated member and the lens support frame to move together in the direction of the optical axis of the lens.
This type of drive mechanism is disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2003-195144.
However, in this lens drive mechanism that is disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2003-195144, backlash occurs between the lens support frame and the rack-incorporated member, which causes a difference in attitude between the lens support frame and the rack-incorporated member relative to the optical axis of the lens element. This difference in attitude becomes a cause of decentering and tilting of the optical axis of the lens element, thus resulting in a deterioration of the optical performance and making it difficult for a position detector to detect the origin point of the lens support frame (the lens element held in the lens support frame).


A surface mounting antenna in which a wider frequency bandwidth can be achieved and a dual-frequency signal can be obtained without hampering the gain and needing to enlarge the configuration of the antenna. Also disclosed is a communication apparatus using this type of antenna. Two radiation electrodes for producing different resonant frequencies and a feeding electrode are formed on the obverse surface of a substrate formed of a dielectric material or a magnetic material. A ground electrode is primarily disposed on the reverse surface of the substrate. The radiation electrodes form open ends and are connected at the other ends to the ground electrode. The open ends of the radiation electrodes and the feeding electrode are electromagnetically coupled to each other through capacitances generated in gaps formed between the feeding electrode and the open ends.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surface mounting antennas used in mobile communication apparatus, such as mobile cellular telephones, or in radio Local Area Networks (LAN). The invention also relates to communication apparatus using the above type of antenna.
2. Description of the Related Art
In known types of surface mounting antennas, the radiation resistance is increased or the radiation electrodes are made larger in order to achieve wider bandwidth. Also, in conventional types of surface mounting antenna units, two antennas are required to obtain a signal corresponding to two frequencies.
However, stripline radiation electrodes are widened with a view to implementing a wider bandwidth with the result that downsizing of the overall antenna of the above conventional type is hampered. Further, the provision of two antennas for obtaining two frequencies requires a large area, thus enlarging the resulting antenna unit and accordingly increasing the size of a communication apparatus provided with this type of antenna unit.

Surface mounting antenna and communication apparatus using the same antenna


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A user equipment (UE) may receive an uplink grant via downlink control signaling for a cell group. The UE may determine an uplink error rate for the cell group based on the downlink control signaling. The UE may identify a radio link failure condition for uplink based on the uplink error rate exceeding an uplink error rate threshold. The UE may transmit a radio link failure indication indicating that the radio link failure condition is based on the uplink error rate. The network may send a cell group reconfiguration message to the UE to release the cell group.

The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to uplink-based radio link failure reporting for a cell group.
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
A UE may be connected with multiple cell groups, including a master cell group and one or more secondary cell groups. The UE may perform radio link monitoring to determine whether radio links associated with the cell groups are experiencing interference or have poor quality.

Uplink-based radio link failure reporting for a cell group


The disclosure relates to a tunable optical light source spanning the UV-range and possible also the visible and near-IR wavelengths. The tunable optical light source includes an input light source, a focusing element, a non-linear crystal arranged to convert the frequency of at least part of the output spectrum of the super continuum source, and a holding unit for the non-linear crystal. The input light source is a super continuum light source with a spectral bandwidth of at least about 300 nm and the holding unit is adjustable for changing the frequency converted output wavelength of the non-linear crystal wfc such that the lowest obtainable output wavelength wUV of said tunable light source is ultraviolet. The disclosure further relates to an illumination source and an optical measurement system.

Optical measurement systems are frequently used to analyze biological and chemical substances. In e.g. confocal microscopes a fluorophor is added to the substance under test. A laser light is used to excite the fluorophor, and when it subsequently decays radiatively a camera can detect its position.
Light is also used to study physical, chemical and biological reactions, which typically occur on a femtosecond (fs) to nanosecond (ns) scale. This is conventionally done by having a pump laser and a fs probe laser, which is slightly delayed compared to the pump laser.
In order to analyze many different samples and substances the optical measurement system should preferably contain several laser wavelengths. This can be achieved by combining multiple single line width lasers and/or having a tunable light source.
Applications within the field span light sources all the way from the UV (10-400 nm) through the visible (400-800 nm) to the near-IR region (800-2500 nm). E.g. to analyze spectra of gaseous benzene it is often preferred to measure spectra from 210 nm to 300 nm, whereas e.g. to analyse wheat it is normally preferred to span from 750 nm to 2500 nm.
The preferred choice of light source varies for different applications. Some examples are thermal sources or Ti:sapphire lasers for near-IR wavelengths, and Ti:sapphire based non-collinearly phase matched optical parametric oscillators for visible and UV wavelengths. Within the last decade fiber-based systems have also been used to generate broad-band sources, examples include frequency combs spanning 530 nm to 2100 nm (e.g. FC1500-250-WG Optical Frequency Synthesizer from Menlo Systems) and super continuum (SC) sources spanning 400 nm to 2400 nm (e.g. SuperK EXR-15 from NKT Photonics A/S or WhiteLase SC400 from Fianium Ltd). Other examples include sub-nanosecond pulsed LEDs, such as e.g. the PLS series from PicoQuant, which have pulselengths down to 500 ps and can reach up to 80 μW output power in the visible range and around 1 μW in the UV. Here PicoQuant notes that 1 μW is still sufficient to use the source as an efficient fluorescence excitation source.
Another approach is to frequency double, triple or quadruple optical pulses to obtain shorter wavelengths. These processes are commonly referred to as second, third and fourth harmonic generation. For brevity, all these processes will in the following be described as frequency doubling, i.e. the term frequency doubling should be understood to include harmonic generation of any order.
Frequency doubling can be obtained by sending light pulses with a high intensity through a non-linear crystal. Inside the non-linear crystal some of the light photons combine to create light at the doubled frequency (and thus half the wavelength) whereas other parts of the light traverse the crystal without being doubled; see FIG. 1. Accordingly the output beam from the crystal will contain light at both the original frequency f1 and the doubled frequency 2f1. The amount of light at the different frequencies depends on the degree of phase matching between the photons at the fundamental and doubled frequency (i.e. f1 and 2f1). The phase matching again depends on the intensity, spectral content and angular dispersion of the incoming light, but also on the crystals material, length and how it is cut.
For un-dispersed incoming light, the path length inside the crystal where there is phase matching is inversely proportional to the bandwidth of the incoming light. Thus extremely short crystals have been used for frequency doubling broad band pulses, for example Szabo states that for frequency doubling a 50 fs beam at 496 nm the crystal length should be shorter than 0.07 mm if the light is un-dispersed (Broadband frequency doubler for femtosecond pulse, G. Szabo and Z Bor, Appl. Phys. B. 50, page 51-54, 1990, see first paragraph on page 51).
Frequency doubling in short non-linear crystals is enabled by increasing the light intensity, since the degree of frequency doubling generally increases with the intensity of the incoming light. However, high intensity light will often lead to degradation of the crystal and hence limit its lifetime. This is in particular the case for conversion to wavelengths in the UV region.
For broad band sources, it has been shown that angularly dispersing the light before the non-linear crystal enables obtaining phase matching over a wider bandwidth. E.g. the prior mentioned reference by Szabo showed that dispersing the beam on a grating prior to the non-linear crystal enables doubling 10 fs pulses at 496 nm in a 1 mm long crystal, see FIG. 2. For reference 10 fs pulses at 496 nm must have a bandwidth of at least 25 nm (Fourier transform limit).
The idea of dispersing the light before the crystal was experimentally demonstrated in a paper by Baum (Tunable sub-10-fs ultraviolet pulses generated by achromatic frequency doubling, Peter Baum, Stefan Lochbrunner, Eberhard Rielde, Optics Letters, vol. 29, no. 14, Jul. 15, 2004, page 1686-1688). Here a set of prisms between the laser and the doubling crystal are used to enhance the doubling bandwidth by a factor of 80 and obtain a tunable source from 275-375 nm with <10 fs pulse length and a 360 μm thick BBO crystal, see FIG. 3.
A similar approach has furthermore been used to demonstrate a tunable source from 460 nm to 900 nm with <50 fs pulse length (Generation of 10 to 50 fs pulses through all of the visible and the NIR, Appl. Phys. B, 457-465, 2000, E Riedle, M. Beutter, S. Lochbrunner, J. Piel, S. Schenkl, S. Spörlein, W. Zinth).
Such a system is well suited for experiments requiring tunable very short fs pulses in the UV or visible range. However, it has a large cost, is complex to operate and requires highly skilled operators, and thus also has a large cost of ownership.
A lot of bio-optical applications require time resolved measurements but not necessarily on a short fs scale. Some examples include time resolved fluorescence, time correlation single photon counting, single molecule detection, intrinsic fluorescence, time resolved photoluminescence, UV polymerisation of resin, DNA sequencing, confocal microscope, FLIM, FRET, flow cytometry, cell-sorting, spectroscopy and food analysis.
Thus there is a commercial market for a low cost tunable light source spanning the UV-range with an output of at least 1 μW. The addressable market further increases if the tunability can be extended into the visible and/or near-IR wavelengths.


A power transfer system for imparting power to at least one functional element, such as a movable glass-containing functional element, such as a sliding glass door. The power transfer system preferably includes a magnetic induction power transfer mechanism with a power transfer circuit having first and second separated coils, and a resonant circuit power driver having a resonant frequency. The power transfer mechanism is designed to apply power to the functional element and/or to other devices or systems connected to it. The power transfer system may include an electronic feedback mechanism with an electronic feedback circuit for sensing a predetermined condition concerning the functional element. To take one example, the electronic feedback circuit may be used to provide safety door detection feedback by sensing the position of a movable glass portion of sliding glass doors, and by relaying a feedback signal, which may be carried by a light wave, to the power transfer mechanism if the movable glass portion of the doors is determined to be in a closed position. A data link may be used to communicate information between the power transfer circuit and the functional element.

The present invention generally relates to wireless power transfer systems for movable glass. More particularly, the invention relates to wireless power transfer systems using magnetic induction applied to movable glass, such as but not limited to glass doors and windows.
Heated glass systems have been developed, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 7,053,343 to Gerhardinger, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. With such systems, glass may be equipped with an electrically conductive and optically transparent film located on an inner surface of the glass. Electrical current passing through the film heats the glass. However, when the glass is movable, such as glass used in doors or windows, for example, there is a need for supplying power to the movable glass without using direct wired connections. Direct wired connections or connections made by electrical contact may not be permissible given local electrical codes, and may not be feasible, safe, or desirable given the application. Flexing direct connections generally lack in durability and contact connections pose a shock hazard. Some disadvantages of current electrical controls, including but not limited to direct wired connections, include: bulkiness and lack of mounting space; electric shock potential; and electrical interference generated by the electrical controls.
Accordingly, there is a need to supply power to movable glass in order to heat the glass, or to provide power for other reasons, such as lighting, sound, or other effects, while overcoming at least some of the disadvantages of current electrical controls.

Wireless power transfer system for glass


A recording apparatus has an intermediate transfer member; a feeding unit that feeds, to the intermediate transfer member, ink receptive particles containing at least an organic resin whose monomers include at least one polar monomer having at least one polar group, a ratio of the at least one polar monomer to all the monomers of the organic resin being about 10 mol % to about 90 mol %; a liquid application unit that applies a liquid that neutralizes the at least one polar group of the at least one polar monomer onto the ink receptive particles fed onto the intermediate transfer member; an ink application unit that applies an ink to the ink receptive particles fed onto the intermediate transfer member; a transfer unit that transfers the ink receptive particles onto a recording medium; and a fixing unit that fixes the ink receptive particles on the recording medium.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording method.
2. Related Art
An ink jet recording method is known as one method of recording an image or data by using ink. The principle of the ink jet recording method is to record an image or data on paper, cloth, film or the like by ejecting liquid or melted ink from a nozzle, a slit, a porous film or the like. A charge control method of ejecting ink by making use of electrostatic attraction force, a pressure pulse method of ejecting ink by making use of the oscillation pressure of piezo elements, and a thermal ink jet method of ejecting ink by making use of pressure caused by forming and growing foams by high heat, have been proposed as an ink ejecting methods. Recorded matters on which images or data of extremely high definition are recorded can be obtained by these methods.
In recording methods using ink, including the ink jet recording method, methods of first recording an image or data on an intermediate member and then transferring the image or data to a recording medium have been proposed in order to record image or data of high quality on various recording media such as permeable media and impermeable media.

Recording apparatus and recording method


A method for creating an electronic form for publication comprising responsive to first user input allowing a user to create the electronic form using a form-creating user interface wherein the user defines the fields and their values for the electronic form that is modeled after format information as specified by an entity; responsive to second user input allowing a user to fill in the electronic form to create a populated form; automatically creating the electronic message compliant with the format information; and transmitting the electronic message to the entity for publication. The user interface allows the user to create the form in compliant with the format information, thereby automating the process for flexible creation and publication of forms without a need to modify the software program for each entity, hence eliminating the manual process and saving time and money as well as creating more competition in the market.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of computer systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and system for flexible creation and publication of electronic forms.
2. Background Art
With increasing use of electronic negotiations and transactions, many organizations have requirements to publish summary information concerning negotiations to a third party system as well as other internal and external systems. For example, public sector entities have numerous rules and regulations that guide their purchasing processes from building and maintaining roads to maintaining parks. Other examples requiring publishing summary information include European Union's requirement to publish all negotiations over a certain threshold on the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED), or the U.S. Federal government's requirement to publish all negotiations over $25,000 on the website, FedBizOpps.gov. One of the reasons for regulations like the ones mentioned above is to ensure that funds are not being spent unwisely or unethically as well as to allow suppliers and vendors equal opportunity to participate in such transactions, which in turn creates competition and lowers costs.
In order to meet these requirements, public sector entities need to publish their procurement of request for quotations (RFQ), auction, tender, solicitation or the like on their external websites. To comply with these requirements, organizations manually print the forms, manually enter the information and transmit via facsimile the form to the agency requiring the form. The agency then publishes the form on centrally administered electronic bulletin boards. Furthermore, the agency had to manually enter and maintain the information, to display it on their external facing web sites such that suppliers could view all ongoing procurement activities.
Unfortunately this manual process is a tedious process and prone to error. Furthermore, this manual process is costly to implement because of its need for a workforce to carryout the manual process described. Additionally, current software programs for this process are unique for each organization and need to be modified for each organization according to each organization's particular format requirement.

Method and system for flexible creation and publication of forms


Acid dye stain-resistant fibers which are formed from a polyamide composition containing a mixture of a masterbatch concentrate, a fiber-forming polyamide and a polymer, the masterbatch concentrate including a carrier and a reagent having the formula:

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/100,033, filed Mar. 19, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,346, which was a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/547,795, filed Apr. 12, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,044, which was a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/955,619, filed Oct. 22, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,550, which was related to application Ser. No. 08/522,123, filed Aug. 31, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,475, the entire contents and disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process for making acid dye stain-resistant fibers

Abstract: wherein Q and Z are moieties which associate with free acid dye sites in the polyamide, a is an integer from 0 to 2, b is an integer from 1 to 4, and R is an alphatic, aromatic or alicydic hydrocarbyl group. The carrier can be a terpolymer, a semi-crystallic thermoplastic polyester or plyamide having a melting point of about 235° C. or less, or mixtures thereof.


Systems and methods for detecting a signal across multiple Nyquist bands. The systems include an analog to digital converter (ADC), a clock signal generator configured to output a sample clock signal to the ADC, and a processor configured to process sampled signals and control the clock signal generator. The processor is configured to iteratively identify a desired signal, determine whether a possible interfering signal exists at a next sampling rate, and instruct the clock signal generator to generate the next sampling rate if the processor determines that a possible interfering signal does not exist. The methods include sampling an input signal at a first sampling rate, processing the sampled signal to extract information from a desired signal, determining whether a possible interfering signal exists at a next sampling rate, and sampling at the next sampling rate if it is determined that a possible interfering signal does not exist.

Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) systems use channels spread out over a frequency range larger than can be sampled simultaneously by analog to digital converters with sufficient dynamic range. Traditional DME radios use a conventional single channel receiver using analog mixing and filtering, or must at least use analog techniques to select only a subset of all the DME channels prior to analog to digital conversion.


As external connection terminals for an emitter electrode (12) of an IGBT chip, a first emitter terminal (151) for electrically connecting a light emitter in a strobe light control circuit to the emitter electrode (12) and a second emitter terminal (152) for connecting a drive circuit for driving an IGBT device to the emitter electrode (12) are provided. The first emitter terminal (151) and the second emitter terminal (152) are individually connected to the emitter terminal (12) by wire bonding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a strobe light control circuit for a camera, and more particularly to an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) for a strobe light.
2. Description of the Background Art
Insulated gate bipolar transistors (hereinafter referred to as "IGBT") in 8-pin IC packages, for example, are widely employed as semiconductor elements for controlling strobe lights of cameras.
FIG. 4 is a top view showing the configuration of a conventional IGBT device for controlling a strobe light. A common IGBT device in TSSOP-8 package is illustrated here as an example. A semiconductor chip (IGBT chip) 10 has a gate electrode 11 and an emitter electrode 12 formed on its upper surface and a collector electrode (not shown) formed on its lower surface. The IGBT chip 10 is mounted on a lead frame 13 and bonded thereto by solder or the like such that the collector electrode formed on its lower surface is electrically connected to the lead frame 13. That is, the lead frame 13 functions as an external connection terminal (collector terminal) for the collector electrode of the IGBT chip 10.
A gate terminal 14 is an external connection terminal for the gate electrode 11 and is connected to the gate electrode 11 via a wire 14a made of metal. An emitter terminal 15 is an external connection terminal for the emitter electrode 12 and is connected to the emitter electrode 12 via wires 15a made of metal.
The above-described components are enclosed in a package 16 made of resin indicated by broken lines in FIG. 4 to constitute one IGBT device. In FIG. 4, the numbers 1 through 8 indicate the pin numbers of the IGBT device.
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an exemplary strobe light control circuit to which the conventional IGBT device shown in FIG. 4 is adopted. In the drawing, nodes that correspond to the components shown in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference characters for ease of description. As shown in FIG. 5, a light emitter 20, an electrolytic capacitor 21, a switch 22 and a voltage source 23 are connected between the lead frame 13 as the collector terminal of the IGBT device and the emitter terminal 15. A drive circuit 24 for generating a voltage signal for driving the IGBT device is connected between the gate terminal 14 and emitter terminal 15. Resistances R14a and R15a are wiring resistances provided for the wires 14a and 15a, respectively.
Hereinafter, the operation of the conventional strobe light control circuit will be described. First, the switch 22 is turned on to cause the voltage source 23 to apply a predetermined value of voltage across the electrolytic capacitor 21. Therefore, a necessary amount of charges for the light emitter 20 to emit light is stored in the electrolytic capacitor 21. At this time, the IGBT chip 10 is in the OFF state.
Once a sufficient amount of charges is stored in the electrolytic capacitor 21, the drive circuit 24 applies a voltage pulse (voltage signal) having a predetermined amplitude on the basis of the voltage at the emitter terminal 152 to the gate terminal 14. This brings the IGBT chip 10 into the ON state. Then, the charges stored in the electrolytic capacitor 21 flow into the light emitter 20 (i.e., a large currently flows), allowing the light emitter 20 to emit light brightly for illuminating a subject.
As described, when the IGBT chip 10 is turned on and a large amount of charges, i.e., current flows into the IGBT chip 10, a large current also flows through the wires 15a as a matter of course. This causes a voltage drop at the wires 15a due to the wiring resistance R15a. Thus, during the voltage drop, the voltage inputted to the gate terminal 14 from the drive circuit 24 is reduced by this voltage drop.
Accordingly, although the drive circuit 24 applies a voltage signal having a sufficient amplitude for driving the IGBT chip 10 between the gate terminal 14 and emitter terminal 15, a phenomenon occurs that a voltage having an amplitude smaller than that of the above-described voltage applied between the gate terminal 14 and emitter terminal 15 is applied between the gate electrode 11 and emitter electrode 12. As a result, light emission failure of the strobe light and a malfunction due to noise easily occur.
As a resolution to such drawbacks, a method has conventionally been employed in which the amplitude of a voltage signal generated by the drive circuit 24 is increased in advance taking the voltage drop due to the resistance R15a into consideration, thereby providing a margin for a driving voltage (threshold voltage) for the IGBT chip 10.
The configuration of the above-described conventional IGBT device for controlling a strobe light is already in common use, and the above description is based on the inventor's knowledge. He has not found any published document that specifically discloses the configuration.
On the other hand, there is a technique to be used for an inverter circuit for preventing an adverse influence from being exerted upon an overcurrent protection circuit due to wiring inductance in an IGBT module including the overcurrent protection circuit (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-162631 (hereinafter referred to as document 1); pp. 2-3, FIGS. 1 and 2). The overcurrent protection circuit is connected to an emitter electrode inside the IGBT module. Potential variations at the emitter electrode due to load current variations (di/dt) in an inverter circuit and wiring inductance of the IGBT module cause the overcurrent protection circuit to malfunction. The document 1 describes providing the IGBT module with an auxiliary emitter terminal that connects the emitter electrode to a ground terminal of a gate drive circuit, thereby preventing a malfunction of the overcurrent protection circuit due to potential variations at the emitter electrode.
In digital camera equipment, for example, there is a trend toward lower supply voltage for internal circuits of such equipment with lower power consumption in recent years. For instance, a value of supply voltage for internal circuits in conventional digital cameras has mainly been 5.0V, which, however, is being changed to 3.3V recently. A decrease in supply voltage for a circuit naturally imposes a limit on increasing an output voltage from the drive circuit 24. It is thus becoming difficult to implement the method of increasing a margin for a voltage signal.
Therefore, a drive voltage for an IGBT chip for controlling a strobe light, which has mainly been 4.0V is required to be reduced to about 2.5V. This allows a large margin for a drive voltage for an IGBT chip even with a low supply voltage. However, merely decreasing a drive voltage for the IGBT chip disadvantageously degrades the IGBT chip itself in noise immunity.

Strobe light control circuit and IGBT device


Systems and methods for recognizing 3-D human motions are described. In some embodiments, the present disclosure contemplates a variety of methods and systems for recognizing a 3-D motion on 2-D planes. The 3-D human motions may include, but is not limited to, kinematic based gestures, such as clapping, spell casting, security gestures, etc.

Using gestures as a means for interfacing with portable devices is becoming commonplace. For example, current Android® based phones can control access through sensing and accepting security gestures in place of alphanumeric passwords. Such gestures are typically recognized by analyzing kinematic (motion related) data provided by sensors found in the portable device. Kinematic sensors include accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, etc.
However, human motions are usually irregular and in 3-D. Many existing methods of identifying 3-D motions require complex computations and integrations of 3-D data from multiple accelerometers or other motion sensors, which not only consume a large amount of CPU time but can lead to a higher margin of error.
In consequence, the present inventors have recognized that there is value and need in providing a method and system for recognizing 3-D motions on 2-D planes, which only require minimized computations and integrations.


Provided is a technique for supporting communication of a method for using an application for a key-input display apparatus that displays a key input on the application on an execution screen of the application displayed on a display unit. The key-input display apparatus includes an input-history display control unit that outputs an input-history display screen to the display unit. The input-history display screen sequentially displays key operation histories of key inputs one by one as a separate screen from the execution screen of the application. Thus, key inputs for the application are visualized, and therefore there is no need to alternately follow an input operation with an input device, such as a keyboard, and the execution screen of the application with eyes, allowing easy grasp of key inputs by watching the input-history display screen displayed side by side with the execution screen of the application.

Applications having many functions according to purpose, such as word processing software, spreadsheet software, CAD software, e-mail software, and programming software, are used in companies and organizations. Such applications generally include many functions. Therefore, a considerable level of proficiency based on much knowledge and experience on usage is required to use them well to improve work efficiency. An example of a method for describing how to use an application is a method of screenshotting an execution screen of the application and adding a description thereto, such as an instruction manual. Another example is a method of describing verbally by an operator while demonstrating the operation.

Key-input display apparatus, key-input display system, and key-input display program


A method for determining throughput of a data passing between end points of a data communication system as a function of bit error rate, comprising: generating a mathematical model of the functional relationship between the throughput of data passing from a transmitting one of a pair of end points of a data communication system and a receiving one of the pair of end points and a bit error rate of data received at the receiving one of the pair of end points.

As is known in the art, there is a trade off in establishing the bit error rate (BER), sometimes also referred to in the literature as bit error ratio, in a data communication system. On one hand, a zero BER results in perfect (i.e., error free) packet transmission through the system and thus removes the requirement for any packet retransmission. On the other hand, as the BER is reduced, the cost of the system increases dramatically.

Method for establishing bit error rate (BER) requirement for a data communication system


Modification of the topology of selected regions of individual VCSEL devices during fabrication is utilized to provide an array output beam with specific characteristics (e.g., “uniform” output power across the array). These physical features include the width of the metal aperture, the width of the modal filter, and/or the geometry of the contact ring structure on the top of the VCSEL device. The modifications may also function to adjust the numerical apertures (NAs) of the devices, the beam waist, wallplug efficiency, and the like.

Vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays tend to be non-uniform in terms of uneven power distribution across the emitters forming the array and, as a result, in the generated laser array output beam. Non-uniformity can be caused by temperature gradients, non-uniform activation current distribution across the array, fabrication variations, and the like. Besides non-uniformity in the power level at each emitter, the size of the beam waist associated with each emitter, as well as its numerical aperture (NA), may differ in value, resulting in additional non-uniformities across the array output.
Typically, the power of the centrally-located emitters within an array is lower than the power in the emitters at the periphery of the array. The beam waist and NA at the centrally-located emitters are also found to be typically smaller than in the peripheral emitters in many array configurations.


A record carrier (e.g., an identification card) of the type containing machine-readable representations of data, wherein the record carrier comprises a substrate, a first pattern of machine-readable indicia applied to one surface of the substrate, and a hologram containing machine-readable data disposed on one surface of the substrate. The information represented by the machine-readable indicia and the machine-readable data are related to one another so as to enable a user to verify the authenticity of the record carrier by comparison of the indicia and the data.

The present invention relates generally to record carriers which contain both human-readable data and machine-readable representations of data and images, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for fabricating confidential or intrinsically valuable record carriers, such as credit cards, driver's licenses, access or personal identification cards, passports, visas, tickets or bearer financial instruments. In such carriers known in the prior art, sophisticated printing or fabrication techniques are used, so that a counterfeiter would find it difficult to reproduce the card. For example, the card may include a photograph of the bearer, or a hologram.
Currently, many record carriers include both graphic images, such as a design or photograph, and data, such as textual or numerical information. Passports, visas, driver's licenses and credit cards include photographs of their owners and data about the use of the records. A passport has information about the personal background. A visa has information regarding the purpose of the visit of the holder. A driver's license has information regarding the owner's driving restrictions. A credit card has information on the owner's account number.
In order to discourage the fraudulent manufacture of instruments or cards having financial value, such as credit cards, card manufacturers produce a card that includes a holographic display. A hologram is a recording of an interference pattern between two beams of light, usually referred to as the signal beam and the reference beam. The signal beam usually includes the visually recognizable image to be recorded (such as a bird, a globe, or a company logo), and the reference beam is a beam of light, usually of constant distribution, i.e., plane of spherical wavefront. Typically, another reference beam, similar to the one used to record the hologram, is used to reconstruct the signal beam, which then produces an identifiable image. For many holograms, one cannot identify an image without reconstruction.
The holograms typically used on credit cards are what are known as reflective surface, or rainbow, holograms. They are produced by placing the image to be recorded near the surface of the holographic substrate during recording. These holograms are visible in ordinary, white light and should be familiar to most holders of credit cards. The rainbow hologram can be mass produced on sheets of metalized embossing substrate, and stamped onto credit cards. Such holograms are a deterrent to counterfeiting because their production requires an expensive manufacturing investment, and the authenticity of the card is easy to determine by visually viewing the hologram in ordinary light.
Other records have images, such as pictures of the bearer, and other types of data. For example, certain financial instruments, such as postage stamps, food stamps, or currency will have a distinctive picture, such as of George Washington, as well as data about the financial instrument. Other instruments, such as stock certificates and the like, have similar types of images and data.

Machine readable record carrier with hologram


The present invention provides a biodegradable thermoplastic composition made of a cereal grain that is treated with an organic solvent, and optionally a cross-linking agent such as an aldehyde, an acid anhydride or an epoxide, to link together the starch and protein of the cereal grain. The compositions may be used to make extruded or molded articles that are biodegradable, water-resistant, and have a high level of physical strength.

Various formulations of thermoplastic compositions have been developed in an attempt to at least partially replace non-degradable petroleum-based products with biodegradable components which can be used for the manufacture of extruded and/or molded articles such as films, utensils, containers and other packaging articles. Several of these compositions have been formulated which use starches such as a destructurized starch. Although starch compositions are biodegradable, they also tend to readily absorb moisture from humid air or by direct contact with water. This causes the moisture content of a molded article to increase and the article to lose its dimensional stability, and tear or collapse.
In an attempt to improve the structural stability of articles made from starch-based compositions, other ingredients have been included in the formulations. For example, compositions have been developed that include destructurized starch in combination with a water-insoluble synthetic thermoplastic polymer such as polyolefin or a polyester. Additionally, starches have been combined with protein to form starch-protein biopolymers that can provide moldable, biodegradable thermoplastics.
Modified cereal flours, such as pregelatinized or acid-modified corn flours, have been combined with a cross-linking compound such as glyoxal, to form a resinous material that may be used as a molding compound. A drawback of such compositions is that the lipids, fatty acids, and other minor components of the cereal flour can undergo an undesirable thermal reaction during processing that is detrimental to the strength and water-resistance of the molded article.
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a thermoplastic material that is thermally stable and can provide articles that have an increased level of physical strength and water-resistance, being capable of tolerating exposure to water over an extended period of time with minimal or no disintegration. It is a further object to provide a thermoplastic material that is biodegradable.

Cereal grain-based biodegradable thermoplastic compositions

Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.