An intelligent on-line form printing system for combining various forms with various information items and outputting the combination result without an additional printed form and a method therefor are provided. The intelligent on-line form printing system, includes a host computer for controlling the preparation and edition of a form, a user terminal connected to the host computer by wire and by radio, the user terminal for preparing a form and inputting input information, and a printing device connected to the host computer by wire and by radio, the printing apparatus for printing the form. The host computer has a combiner for preparing the form, a converter for converting the combined printing information into a protocol suitable for a printing apparatus, and a printing manager for managing the printing information of the combiner according to a predetermined program and making the printing information statistical data using a printing result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for printing a form and a system therefor, and more particularly, to an intelligent on-line form printing method for preparing and printing a form such as an estimate in real time and a system therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common for a person who wishes to purchase a commodity to request the estimate of the commodity he or she wishes to purchase to the provider of the commodity before making a contract for taking out insurance or purchasing a car. Data on the price of a commodity and the term of a contract corresponding to purchase conditions is necessary in order to prepare an estimate. The provider can prepare various estimates that satisfy the conditions desired by the person who wishes to purchase the commodity using the data. The person who wishes to purchase the commodity determines whether to purchase the produce after examining the estimates and reveals his or her intention to purchase the commodity. Accordingly, the contract is made.
In order to prepare an estimate, a provider (a business member, in common) obtains data such as the price of the commodity desired to be purchased and conditions under which the commodity is desired to be purchased (purchase conditions) and calculates the estimated price of the commodity desired to be purchased and the amount to be paid every month using a lap top computer or a palm top computer after consultation with the person who wishes to purchase the commodity.
The lap top computer or the palm top computer has a function of calculating the estimated value of the commodity desired to be purchased or the amount to be paid every month, however, does not have a function of printing the estimate. This is because it is difficult to carry a printer in order to print the estimate. Therefore, unless a business member makes consultation with the person who wishes to purchase the commodity in a business office, the business member cannot provide the estimate to the person who wishes to purchase the commodity the moment the consultation is made in the place where the consultation is made. The person who wishes to purchase the commodity can receive the estimate only after the lapse of few days after the consultation with the business member.
The estimate is made by printing the purchase conditions on a previously printed form. Items on the commodity desired to be purchased are printed in the previously printed estimate form. Blanks for the purchase conditions of the person who wishes to purchase the commodity and the amount to be paid every month remain empty. Therefore, the business member prepares an estimate by inputting the purchase conditions through an estimate preparing system and printing the purchase conditions through a printer which received a previously printed estimate form. Since the previously printed estimate form varies according to the kind of a commodity, when the commodity whose estimate is to be prepared is different from the commodity whose estimate was previously prepared, a different printed estimate form must be provided to the printer.
Printing an estimate by a printer means writing down data in blanks for inputting purchase conditions. When an error, where an estimate form to be printed is wrongly received by the printer, occurs, the purchase conditions (data: numbers, in common) are often printed out of the blanks.
Such misprint deteriorates the quality of an estimate and the customer's interest of the person who wishes to purchase the commodity. As mentioned above, since the business member cannot provide the estimate to the person who wishes to purchase the commodity in the place where the consultation is made, there is not much possibility of making a purchase contract the moment the consultation is made. Also, when a new commodity is developed, a new estimate form must be prepared and printed.

Intelligent on-line form printing method and system therefor


An audio system communicates with an aggregate device that includes multiple audio devices. When providing audio data for playback, the system compensates for presentation latency differences between the various audio devices. In addition, the system adjusts for device clock drift by selecting a master device and resampling the audio data provided to the other devices based on the difference between the device clock of the master device and the device clocks of the other devices.

Electronic devices, such as computer systems, typically communicate with audio devices through device drivers associated with the audio devices. For example, a computer system plays sound on a speaker by sending audio information to a device driver designed for the speaker. Similarly, a computer system captures audio information from a microphone by receiving audio data from the device driver associated with the microphone.
Various approaches may be used to handle the communication of audio information between client applications ("clients") that use audio information and the device drivers of audio devices. For example, according to an interrupt-based approach, a direct connection is established between the driver and its client application. Any time the driver wants audio data from the client, the driver raises an interrupt, suspending other activity on the Central Processing Unit ("CPU") of the computer system on which the client is running. Therefore, for a certain period of time, the driver is in control of the computer system.
To avoid problems associated with the interrupt approach, a "ring buffer" approach has been developed. According to the ring buffer approach, execution of a device driver is decoupled from execution of its client application by using a ring buffer as a rendezvous point for communicating audio data between the device driver and the client application. Specifically, the device driver for a playback device reads audio data from the ring buffer without directly communicating with the client application. The client application, in turn, feeds audio data into the ring buffer ahead of the device driver so that the device driver continues to have new audio data to read. Similarly, the device driver for a recording device writes audio data into the ring buffer without directly communicating with the client application. The client application, in turn, reads audio data from the ring buffer at a rate to ensure that the device driver does not overwrite unread audio data.
As audio systems become more sophisticated, the type and number of audio devices used by a system has increased. Consequently, there is a need to be able to send audio to multiple playback devices connected to a system in a manner that results in synchronized playback by the multiple devices. Similarly, there is a need to be able to consume audio from multiple audio sources connected to a system, to allow a single client application to concurrently consume audio from the various audio sources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Techniques for providing audio for synchronized playback by multiple devices


A device and method for applying a wind force to a plurality of plants in an agricultural environment is provided to screen for selected wind-resistance traits in the plurality of plants. In one embodiment of the present invention, a device is provided including a generating device for creating a moving fluid stream to provide the wind force, a directing device, such as a duct and/or movable vane, for precisely and selectively directing the wind force towards a portion of at least one plant, and a controller for adjusting one or more parameters of the fluid stream. The device and/or method embodiments of the present invention may thus be used to selectively apply the wind force to one or more plants (or portions thereof) such that the plants may be evaluated with respect to one or more wind-resistant physical characteristics.

Some crop plants, such as corn, are often grown on flat, open agricultural plots that are especially susceptible to potentially damaging winds. There are a number of different failure mechanisms by which plants may be injured or perish when subjected to damaging winds. For example, it is known that in some regions of the world, such as in the western plains of the United States, corn plants are subjected to violent thunderstorms with wind gusts that sometimes result in the sudden breakage of the stalks at the nodes of corn plants (brittle snap). Furthermore, more geographically-widespread failure mechanisms for crop plants, such as corn, include: a lack of adequate root strength (root lodging); a lack of adequate abiotic stalk strength (stalk lodging); and/or a lack of disease resistance in order to withstand strong wind events. Other crops including soybeans, forages, sorghum and small grains are also susceptible to wind events which limit harvestable yields for farmers. Agricultural researchers have, for many years, sought to selectively breed plants having a variety of desirable standability characteristics including, for example, resistance to damage from harsh environmental conditions, such as damaging winds which occur in the presence or absence of thunderstorms during the plants' growing season.
While much research has been performed to study and document the natural occurrence of stalk failure, root lodging failures, and brittle snap in a variety of different crop plants, there has been little emphasis on the development of devices and methods for precisely applying simulated wind forces to crop plants in an agricultural environment to more accurately screen for wind-resistance traits in such crop plants. The general application of wind machines in an agricultural environment is known for preventing frost damage to vulnerable crops, such as citrus trees. Such wind machines, however, are often positioned to circulate warm air lying above the height of the crop plants and above the thermal inversions that tend to cause frost conditions and are unsuitable for generating moving air streams to exert simulated wind forces on plants. The primary use for wind on agricultural crops has been the delivery of herbicides and pesticides to control weeds or insects with sprayers. Furthermore, some experiments have been performed to subject crops to wind forces in order to assess overall wind resistance. For example, the assignee of the present invention has utilized an aircraft engine and propeller assembly to exert wind forces on a row of plants being cultivated in a field. While the engine and propeller assembly may be used to roughly ascertain the strength of the plants' root system in the face of constant gale force (70 miles per hour, for example) wind (by measuring how far down the row that individual plants were uprooted and/or blown over), the engine and propeller assembly does not enable an operator to effectively replicate highly variable wind forces that occur in storms and may lead to brittle snap, lodging, and other crop plant standability failure mechanisms. Thus, while some data exists to suggest what types of subtle changes in wind forces may induce brittle snap, stem, stalk, and/or root failure, no device or method is known for accurately reproducing wind forces for selecting plants in the field that may be resistant to such forces. The precise generation and application of wind forces having a variety of variable parameters is crucial for identifying and selecting individual plants that are particularly resistant to failure in response to an applied wind force. Accurate selection of such individuals may be important for hybridization and/or genotyping activities in the pursuit of more wind-resistant crop varieties.
Thus in order to facilitate the application of wind forces to a plant population for the precise identification of individual plants that may be resistant to failure mechanisms that are linked to wind forces having specific parameters, there is a need in the art for a device and method that allows for generation of wind forces and the control of the parameters of such forces as they are applied to crop plants in an agricultural environment. Furthermore, there exists a need for a device that is reliably operable and mobile in a variety of agricultural environments such as muddy fields, mature cornfields, and other environments. There also exists a need for a device that may be capable of mapping and/or storing the location of the application of wind forces having specific parameters. There further exists a need for a device that may be quickly and efficiently advanced through a field that may contain a variety of research plots containing a corresponding variety of crop plant hybrids.

Device and method for screening a plant population for wind damage resistance traits


A method of analyzing a distribution of fault elements is applied to a semiconductor integrated circuit including a plurality of elements which are repeatedly arranged in a pitch of one length unit in a specific direction. The method is accomplished by generating a position of each of fault elements in the semiconductor integrated circuit, and by performing a first determination of whether an appearance expectation function value is larger than a reference value, for each of divisors of the number of length units between fault elements, the number of length units being larger than one length unit. Also, the method is accomplished by performing a second determination of whether a distribution of the fault elements includes a regular distribution, based on the appearance expectation function value and a reference value, and by representing the determining result of the second determination.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fault distribution analyzing system which analyzes a distribution of fault elements of a semiconductor integrated circuit in which circuit elements are arranged regularly.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a semiconductor integrated circuit has regularly arranged circuit elements and a distribution of fault circuit elements contained in the semiconductor integrated circuit is analyzed, the distribution of fault elements can be visually grasped if the positions of the fault elements are recorded. For example, when the circuit elements are divided into blocks and all of the circuit elements contained in one of the blocks are in failure, the block can be determined to be fault. When two adjacent circuit elements are in failure, the 2-bit pair can be determined to be in failure. Also, when one circuit element is independently in failure, the bit can be determined to be in failure. Moreover, when the neighbor elements are in failure massively, a bit group can be determined to be in failure.
The analysis of the distribution of fault elements is called a bit map analysis. The analysis is especially effective when the distribution of fault elements contained in a semiconductor integrated circuit such as a memory LSI or a memory mounting type logic LSI is analyzed. However, the number of elements contained in one semiconductor integrated circuit reaches 10,000,000 or more with the high integration of the semiconductor integrated circuit in recent years. For this reason, it is difficult for an operator to carry out the whole analysis of the distribution of fault elements based on the bit map analysis. Therefore, the technique for automatically analyzing the distribution of fault elements contained in the semiconductor integrated circuit is proposed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-showa 61-23327) and Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 1-216278).
However, there are the following problems in the above-mentioned conventional examples of fault distribution analyzing apparatus.
First, it is difficult to determine whether fault elements distributed in a low density in a wide area over the whole semiconductor integrated circuit shows an irregular distribution or is contained in a regular distribution. Generally, when an analysis technical expert analyzes the distribution of fault elements contained in the semiconductor integrated circuit, the analysis technical expert observes the whole distribution at a low magnification and determines an area with a high fault element density. Then, the analysis technical expert observes the determined area at a high magnification and determines a correct position of the fault element and the regularity of the distribution of fault elements. However, when the fault elements are distributed in a low density in the wide area, the observation area at the high magnification gets wide. Therefore, the analysis by the analysis technical expert is difficult actually.
Second, it is difficult to find the period of the regularity, even when the regularity is discovered in the distribution of fault elements. The reason is that even if a position coordinate frequency distribution of fault elements is determined, the position coordinate range is wide so that the number of fault elements for position coordinate is 1 or a few. Also, this is because the distribution of the fault elements is low in density and is wide in area. In this way, it is difficult to correctly determine the period of the distributions of fault elements.
Third, there is another problem that the distribution of fault elements cannot be stored in the storage and correctly searched by a computer. That is, when the position coordinate of each fault element is to be searched, the number of fault element increases so that the data to be stored has become enormous in case of a semiconductor integrated circuit of a high integration. For this reason, because a storage unit had been saturated at a short time, the conventional fault distribution analyzing apparatus cannot be used in practical use.
On the other hand, a system searching the ratio of the number of fault elements and all the elements is known. However, in this system, a spatial distribution of fault elements cannot be represented, because the system does not contain the data indicative of the position coordinate of the fault element.
Moreover, a system is known which uses a histogram in which the number of fault elements is counted in accordance with the position coordinate. However, there are not distributions in which histograms are completely coincident with each other. Also, the pattern of the histogram becomes different in accordance with the increase of elements in a semiconductor integrated circuit. Therefore, it is difficult to search the histogram having the same pattern.
In conjunction with the above description, method of manufacturing an integrated circuit is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent application (JP-B-Heisei 5-77178). This reference is directed to a method of manufacturing an integrated circuit which sometimes possibly contains any fault on a manufacturing process. The fault cannot be visually detected or requires an excessive long visual test for the detection. In this reference, a data base is produced to show a response which is caused by a specific fault of a type in response to a series of electric test signals. The series of electric test signals are applied to a manufactured integrated circuit. When any fault is detected, the manufacturing condition is examined so as to clearly specify the fault. Thus, the fault is avoided.
Also, a fault analyzing system of a semiconductor circuit is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 7-221156). In this reference, the fault analyzing system (101) carries out analysis based on a data obtained through an alien substance test (102) and an outward appearance test (103) in a manufacturing process (111), a data obtained through a final wafer test (112) and a data obtained through a fail bit (FB) analysis system (105). The fail bit analysis system (105) extracts a fault position and a fault inducing position from a distribution of fail bits, using the data obtained through the final wafer test (112) and an LSI design data (107). Then, the fail bit analysis system (105) refers to a fault cause now-how data (108) to carry out estimation (113) of a fault cause. An observing unit (109) observes the fault position and the fault inducing position transferred from the fail bit analysis system (105) to specify the fault cause and a fault process. An analysis unit (110) carries out analysis of composition of an alien substance detected by the observing unit (109) to specify the fault cause and the fault process.
Also, a method of detecting and estimating a dot pattern is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 9-270012). In this reference, a dot pattern is spatially and discretely in a multi-dimensional coordinate system. Each of dots of the pattern takes either of two identifiable states. A measuring unit records a coordinate value and the state value of each dot of the dot pattern. A memory of a computer stores data corresponding to the coordinate value and state value of each dot. Coordinate counters are determined based on the stored data. A n-dimensional vector composed of components formed of the values of the determined coordinate counters is inputted to a neuron circuit network. The neuron circuit network compare the inputted vector and a reference vector corresponding to a reference dot pattern to calculate an output vector. A classification data of the measured dot pattern is outputted based on the output vector.
Also, a pattern test method is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 10-89931). In this reference, a concerned point (101) and comparison points (102a to 102d) distanced from the concerned point by a repetition pitch are cross-compared to extract comparison points having any difference as fault candidates. Thus, points having 2-dimensional, X-direction or Y-direction repetition can be tested. Thus, a fault point is detected.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of analyzing a distribution of fault elements contained in a semiconductor integrated circuit, in which it is possible to analyze a distribution of fault elements contained in the semiconductor integrated circuit, a fault distribution analyzing system for the same, and a recording medium in which a program for executing the method is stored.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of analyzing a distribution of fault elements contained in a semiconductor integrated circuit, in which it is possible to easily determine whether or not a distribution of fault elements is an irregular distribution, a fault distribution analyzing system for the same, and a recording medium in which a program for executing the method is stored.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of analyzing a distribution of fault elements contained in a semiconductor integrated circuit, in which it is possible to determine whether a distribution of fault elements contains a regular distribution, a fault distribution analyzing system for the same, and a recording medium in which a program for executing the method is stored.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of analyzing a distribution of fault elements contained in a semiconductor integrated circuit, in which it is possible to determine a period in a regular distribution when a distribution of fault elements contains the regular distribution, a fault distribution analyzing system for the same, and a recording medium in which a program for executing the method is stored.
In order to achieve an aspect of the present invention, a method of analyzing a distribution of fault elements is applied to a semiconductor integrated circuit including a plurality of elements which are repeatedly arranged in a pitch of one length unit in a specific direction. The method is accomplished by generating a position of each of fault elements in the semiconductor integrated circuit, by performing a first determination of whether an appearance expectation function value is larger than a reference value, for each of divisors of the number of length units between fault elements, the number of length units being larger than one length unit, by performing a second determination of whether a distribution of the fault elements includes a regular distribution, based on the appearance expectation function value and a reference value, and by representing the determining result of the second determination.
Here, in the method, a third determination of a period of the fault elements in the regular distribution contained in the distribution of fault elements may be carried out based on the appearance expectation function values, and then the determined period of the fault elements may be represented.
Also, in the performing a second determination, a record of the appearance expectation function value for each of the divisors and a date and time data may be stored in a data base. In this case, data indicative of the distribution of fault elements is preferably stored in the data base in association with the record. Also, the data base may be searched in response to a search instruction with a target divisor to retrieve the appearance expectation function values for the target divisor and the date and time data corresponding to the appearance expectation function values, to represent the searched appearance expectation function values for the target divisor and the date and time data corresponding to the searched appearance expectation function values.
Also, a third determination of a period of the fault elements in the regular distribution contained in the distribution of fault elements may be performed based on the appearance expectation function values to store the determined period of the fault elements in the data base in addition to the record of the appearance expectation function value for each of the divisors and the date and time data. Also, in the performing a third determination, data indicative of the distribution of fault elements may be stored in the data base in association with the record and the determined period. In addition, the data base may be searched in response to a search instruction with a target divisor to retrieve the appearance expectation function values for the target divisor, the date and time data corresponding to the appearance expectation function values and the determined period of the fault elements, to represent the searched appearance expectation function values for the target divisor and the date and time data corresponding to the appearance expectation function values and the determined period of the fault elements.
The reference value is 1, the performing a first determination includes:
calculating an interval between optional two of all the fault elements contained in the semiconductor integrated circuit;
calculating the number of intervals other than 0, as a combination count;
calculating divisors of each of the intervals larger than 1, and for calculating an appearance probability for each of the divisors based on the number of times of appearance of each of the divisors and the combination count; and
calculating the appearance expectation function value for each of the divisors based on the corresponding one of the appearance probabilities and the each divisors. In this case, the calculating the appearance expectation function value may include multiplying each of the appearance probabilities with corresponding one of the divisors, to calculate the appearance expectation function value.
Also, the method may further include:
determining the largest one of the appearance expectation function values and the next largest one of the appearance expectation function values;
determining an absolute value of a difference between a first one of the divisors corresponding to the largest appearance expectation function value and a second one of the divisors corresponding to the next largest appearance expectation function value; and
determining a fact that the distribution of fault elements contains a regular distribution with a period based on the absolute value of the difference. In this case, the determining a fact includes:
determining a fact that the distribution of fault elements contains the regular distribution with the period having the first divisor, when the absolute value of the difference is equal to the first divisor. Also, the determining a fact includes:
determining a fact that the distribution of fault elements contains the regular distribution with the period, when the absolute value of the difference is not equal to the first divisor, but when the absolute value of the difference is within a predetermined value.
In order to achieve another aspect of the present invention, a fault distribution analyzing system of a semiconductor integrated circuit including a plurality of elements which are repeatedly arranged in a pitch of one length unit in a specific direction, includes an output unit, and an input unit and a first processor. The input unit supplies a position of each of fault elements in the semiconductor integrated circuit. The first processor determines whether an appearance expectation function value is larger than a reference value, for each of divisors of the number of length units between fault elements, the number of length units being larger than one length unit; determines that a distribution of the fault elements includes a regular distribution, when the appearance expectation function value is larger than the reference value; and outputs the determining result of the second determining means to the output unit.
The fault distribution analyzing system may further include a second processor which determines a period of the fault elements in the regular distribution contained in the distribution of fault elements based on the appearance expectation function values; and outputs the determined period of the fault elements to the output unit. In this case, the fault distribution analyzing system may further include a third processor which has a data base, and stores a record of the appearance expectation function value for each of the divisors and a date and time data in the data base.
In this case, the third processor stores data indicative of the distribution of fault elements in the data base in association with the record. Also, the third processor may search the data base in response to a search instruction with a target divisor to retrieve the appearance expectation function values for the target divisor and the date and time data corresponding to the appearance expectation function values; and outputs the searched appearance expectation function values for the target divisor and the date and time data corresponding to the searched appearance expectation function values to the output unit.
Also, the third processor may determine a period of the fault elements in the regular distribution contained in the distribution of fault elements based on the appearance expectation function values; and store the determined period of the fault elements in the data base in addition to the record of the appearance expectation function value for each of the divisors and the date and time data. In this case, the third processor stores data indicative of the distribution of fault elements in the data base in association with the record and the determined period. Also, the third processor may search the data base in response to a search instruction with a target divisor to retrieve the appearance expectation function values for the target divisor, the date and time data corresponding to the appearance expectation function values and the determined period of the fault elements; and outputs the searched appearance expectation function values for the target divisor and the date and time data corresponding to the appearance expectation function values and the determined period of the fault elements to the output unit.
Also, when the reference value is 1, the first processor may calculate an interval between optional two of all the fault elements contained in the semiconductor integrated circuit; calculate the number of intervals other than 0, as a combination count; calculate divisors of each of the intervals larger than 1, and for calculating an appearance probability for each of the divisors based on the number of times of appearance of each of the divisors and the combination count; and calculate the appearance expectation function value for each of the divisors based on the corresponding one of the appearance probabilities and the each divisors. In this case, the first processor multiplies each of the appearance probabilities with corresponding one of the divisors, to calculate the appearance expectation function value.
Also, the second processor may determine the largest one of the appearance expectation function values and the next largest one of the appearance expectation function values; determine an absolute value of a difference between a first one of the divisors corresponding to the largest appearance expectation function value and a second one of the divisors corresponding to the next largest appearance expectation function value; and determine that the distribution of fault elements contains a regular distribution with a period based on the absolute value of the difference. In this case, when the absolute value of the difference is equal to the first divisor, the second processor may determine that the distribution of fault elements contains the regular distribution with the period having the first divisor. Also, when the absolute value of the difference is not equal to the first divisor, but when the absolute value of the difference is within a predetermined value, the second processor may determine that the distribution of fault elements contains the regular distribution with the period.
In order to achieve still another aspect of the present invention, programs to execute the methods described in association with the aspect may be stored in a recording medium or recording media.


The invention relates to the determination of the gas pressure in an evacuated thermal insulating board (9) having an insulating core (1) covered by a film (2). The inventive device comprises an assembly, which is integrated between the insulating core and the covering film of the thermal insulating board and which has a body that acts as a heat sink (3) (Al, Co, Fe, ceramic), and the body's thermal conductivity and thermal capacity relative to volume are greater than those of the insulating core. Said assembly also comprises a test layer (4) (0.3 mm nonwoven fabric made of plastic and glass fibers), which is arranged between the heat sink and the covering film and has a defined thermal conductivity that changes according to the gas pressure inside the evacuated thermal insulating board. From the exterior, a sensor device is applied to or pressed against the test device, which is placed inside the evacuated thermal insulating board and which is covered by the covering film. Said sensor device comprises a body (5) (coppered steel 78° C., thermoelement (6)) having a distinctly different temperature than that of the test device (heat sink) whereby creating a heat flux, which is influenced by the thermal conductivity of the test layer, said thermal conductivity varying according to the gas pressure inside the thermal insulating board, and the magnitude of this heat flux is metrologically determined. The heat sink (3) can be provided in the form of a bottom part of a container for a getter material.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for performing a thermal measurement method, from which the gas pressure in an evacuated thermal insulating board can be determined where this latter has an insulating core enclosed in a film. Likewise, the invention centers on a method for measuring the gas pressure inside an evacuated thermal insulating board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Evacuated thermal insulation plates or vacuum panels reach a high insulation effect with the smallest insulation thickness. Usually, they consist of an evacuable, porous core material of low thermal conductivity, and of a vacuum sealed covering shell, the latter composed, for example, of a metallized high-barrier synthetic film. For applications that require longer life spans, in building structures for example, an insulating core of microporous silica has been demonstrated to have advantages. For applications demanding shorter periods of use, the insulating core can also be composed of either an open-pored foam consisting of polyurethane and/or polystyrene, or of fiberglass. Because of the extremely small size of their pores, with diameters of less than one half of a micrometer, a vacuum from 1 to 10 mbar in the core materials is sufficient to practically eliminate the thermal conductivity of the air in micro-porous cores. At these pressure levels, a heat conductivity between 0.004 W/(m*K) and 0.005 W/(m*K) is achieved. An increase of gas pressure to 100 mbars allows the heat conductivity to rise only to around 0.008 W/(m*K) whereas the thermal conductivity averages 0.020 W/(m*K) at normal air pressure of 1000 mbar. Because of the larger pore dimensions of open-pored foams or fiberglass materials, gas pressure levels must lie between 0.01 and 1 mbar in order to significantly suppress the heat conductivity of the air.
The performance and efficient function of the vacuum insulation can be determined by the level of thermal conductivity or by the interior gas pressure. A measurement of thermal conductivity at individual vacuum insulating boards is possible with the normal stationary board measuring method. While such methods enjoy a relative precision, lying below 5% in relation to the absolute thermal conductivity, they are nevertheless extremely time consuming. On the other hand, hitherto available non-stationary techniques, which involve impressing a board with a heat or temperature pulse and measuring such values like temperature or heat flow in a time dependent manner, are faster than the stationary techniques, but they tend to be inexact and prone to false results. Moreover, this is because the measured values depend only on the square root of the thermal conductivity of the insulating core.
The performance of a micro-porous vacuum insulating board can be judged most precisely by means of the level of the interior gas pressure. The initial gas pressure of a newly produced vacuum insulating board typically averages between 1 and 5 mbar. When a suitable high barrier film is used, the interior gas pressure should increase at a rate of no more than 0.2 to 2 mbar per year. So calculated, one can expect to arrive at a doubling of the thermal conductivity in micro-porous thermal insulating boards at the earliest in fifty years. Data about gas pressure levels—as the case may be, the rate of increase over time in a built-in state—is significant for assuring the quality of the vacuum insulating board.
The interior gas pressure of the vacuum panel can be controlled by placing the test object in a vacuum chamber and decreasing the pressure until the film rises noticeably from the insulating core. In this case, the interior pressure of the panel becomes just greater than the gas pressure in the vacuum chamber. This method requires a vacuum insulating chamber that is at least the size of the panels. Moreover, the gas pressure of a vacuum insulating board that has been committed or already built into an insulating object can no longer be determined, so other methods must be found for these purposes.
According to the above observations, the problem inducing the present invention is to make it possible to determine the gas pressure in vacuum insulating boards which are already committed and/or already built into insulating objects; with a high precision, if possible. In such a test, the covering may not be damaged. The technical complexity of the measurement should be held as low as possible; in particular, the time required for it should be kept at a minimum. Furthermore, wherever possible every attention must be paid that the production costs of the vacuum panels are not significantly raised.

Determination of the gas pressure in an evacuated thermal insulating board (vacuum panel) by using a heat sink and test layer that are intergrated therein


A method and apparatus are provided for generating an adaptive feedforward cancellation signal for a next sector of a disc in a disc drive. The cancellation signal includes at least one tap weight multiplied by at least one trigonometric function. To form the cancellation signal, the method and apparatus first determine a servo loop transfer function relative to a feedforward cancellation component in the disc drive. The transfer function is then inverted to form filter parameters. A position error value is then measured for a current signal and is passed through a filter formed from the filter parameters. This creates a filtered position error value that is used with the tap weights of a current sector to determine the tap weights for the cancellation signal of the next sector.

The present invention is related to disc drives. In particular, the present invention is related to repeatable runout compensation.
In a computer disc drive, data is stored on a computer disc in concentric tracks. In disc drives with relatively high track densities, a servo feedback loop is used to maintain a head over the desired track during read or write operations. This is accomplished by utilizing prerecorded servo information either on a dedicated servo disc or on angularly spaced sectors that are interspersed among the data on a disc. During track following, the servo information sensed by the head is demodulated to generate a position error signal (PES), which provides an indication of the position error of the head away from the track center. The PES is then converted into an actuator control signal, which is fed back to control an actuator that positions the head.
In general, there are two forms of head positioning errors: repeatable and non-repeatable. Non-repeatable errors are generally unpredictable and therefore can not be removed until after they occur. Repeatable errors, which are generally caused by mechanical irregularities in the structure of the disc drive or errors introduced when writing the servo tracks, can be predicted and therefore theoretically can be cancelled out as they occur. In general, these repeatable runout errors (RRO) are removed by introducing a compensation signal into the servo loop that cancels the repeatable positioning error. Techniques for generating such compensation signals are generally referred to as feedforward cancellation.
Because the feedforward cancellation signal is introduced into the servo loop, it can cause the servo loop to become unstable under certain conditions. In particular, if the cancellation signal is too large for a given Position Error Signal, the cancellation signal can cause the head to oscillate across the track center line, thereby keeping the head from reaching a steady state position over the track.
To avoid this problem, the prior art has developed adaptive feedforward cancellation. An example of adaptive feedforward cancellation is shown in Workman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,276). Under adaptive feedforward cancellation, the cancellation signal is initially set to zero. The position error signal is then measured at a first sector and is used to set the amplitude of the cancellation signal for the next sector. To avoid instability, the position error signal is multiplied by a learning rate, which is between zero and one. Under some systems, the learning rate is reduced at each successive sector to further ensure stability while improving the likelihood that the cancellation signal will fully cancel the repeatable runout error.
One problem with current adaptive feedforward cancellation techniques is that the learning rate must be set very low in order to ensure stability in all disc drives. As a result, the cancellation signal takes much longer to train, especially for higher harmonics. In fact, for some disc drives, the cancellation signal never reaches a value that completely cancels the repeatable runout error at some harmonics.
A method and apparatus are provided for generating an adaptive feedforward cancellation signal for a next sector of a disc in a disc drive. The cancellation signal includes at least one tap weight multiplied by at least one trigonometric function. To form the cancellation signal, the method and apparatus first determine a servo loop transfer function relative to a feedforward cancellation component in the disc drive. The transfer function is then inverted to form filter parameters. A position error value is then measured for a current signal and is passed through a filter formed from the filter parameters. This creates a filtered position error value that is used with the tap weights of a current sector to determine the tap weights for the cancellation signal of the next sector.

Method and apparatus for adaptive feedforward cancellation


A compact hot-tap saddle pipe fitting made of weldable plastic material integrates a branch saddle and a tubular adapter into a monolithic tee shaped unit. The fitting, which is characterized by short overall dimensions and a reinforced base portion, allows a fully pressure rated connection of a branch line to a main plastic pipeline using an isolation valve and a standard size hot-tap cutting tool.

The need to add new customer service branch pipes to existing main gas or water utility pipelines has long been recognized. The safest method is to isolate the section of main pipeline, depressurize, purge, cut a hole, clean out, and permanently attach a tee adapter to which the branch pipe can be attached while the pipeline is depressurized. However, to reduce service interruptions to existing customers connected to the main pipeline, hot tapping tools have been developed for metallic pipelines that can drill or cut into the main pipeline while still in service under gas or water pressure. Prior art for hot-tapping a main plastic pipeline involves attaching a pipe saddle fitting to the main pipeline and then attaching an appropriate tubular adapter having a flange, or some type of mechanical joint outlet connector, to the pipe saddle fitting. Finally, a short length of branch pipe is connected to the tubular adapter, and a hole is drilled in the main pipeline for fluid communication with the branch pipe. A tapping tool, which includes a compression seal butted against the open end of the branch pipe, a drill mounted on a shaft extending through the compression seal and the pipe saddle, and means to advance/retract the drill bit from outside the fitting, is then used to drill the hole in the main pipeline. After the hole is drilled, the drill bit is retracted toward the compression seal within the now pressurized length of branch pipe. If a full flow valve is not included in the branch pipe, a squeeze off tool is used to seal the branch pipe near the pipe adaptor, before removal of the tapping tool. After attaching the remainder of the branch pipe to the tapped section, the full flow valve is opened, or the squeezed section of the branch pipe is rerounded. Use of hot tapping tools has become so common, especially in water distribution, that the manufacturers of the tools have developed dimensional standards for hot tap tools offered for sale.
Several problems, however, are inherent in the prior art techniques for using the standard hot-tap tool on plastic pipelines. The use of the hot-tap tool requires extensive evacuation/back filling for buried pipelines, such that restricted access may prevent installation of the hot tap tool in some locations.
Another problem is that commercially available plastic pipe saddle fittings and plastic tubular adapters having flange or mechanical joint outlet connections are of lengthy and bulky construction. Accordingly, when an available plastic tubular adapter is fused to an available plastic pipe saddle fitting, the passageway of the resulting assembly, through which the drill bit of the tapping tool must pass, is too long to allow use of many commonly sized tapping tools.
Other problems arise because commercially available plastic pipe saddle fittings lack sufficient mass, especially in the base section of the saddle, to overcome the weakening effects of a hole cut in the main pipeline. Once the hole in the main pipe has been cut and the coupon removed, the lack of sufficient mass in the base of the saddle fitting also results in inadequate contact surface for fusion to the main pipe. Accordingly, the lack of contact surface and/or reinforcing mass in the plastic saddle, result in failure of the fitting to provide a pressure rating equal to that of the main host pipe.
Accordingly, a need for a single compact plastic fitting exists. The single fitting desirably integrates the pipe saddle fitting and an appropriate outlet adapter in a single piece having suitable dimensions and strength, by which a tap for a service branch connection may be made into a plastic pipeline using hot tap tools of commercially available dimensions.
It is an object of this invention to provide a permanent saddle fitting of the type described above which is formed as a monolithic unit.
Another object is to provide a permanent pipe fitting for attaching a branch pipe that simplifies temporary use of a standard size hot-tap tool.
It is another object of this invention to provide a fully pressure rated branch outlet connection to a plastic pipe main.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a fitting for a hottap tool where the fitting does not require temporary clamping of a saddle to the main pipeline.


A method for ex vivo production of a three-dimensional bone implant adapted for implantation to a patient, implants produced by such a method, and uses of such implants. The method comprises disposing differentiated osteoblasts on a matrix support comprising at least one of collagen, calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate and tricalcium phosphate; contacting the differentiated osteoblasts on the matrix with autologous blood serum from the patient, comprising at least one of a growth factor and a cytokine; and disposing the differentiated osteoblasts on the matrix support and the medium in a bioreactor, in which production of the bone implant is performed.

The requirement for bone tissue grafting is essential in a wide range of clinical conditions involving surgical reconstruction following trauma or other pathological conditions, particularly in the limbs, spine and skull.
Bone tissue deficits which require bone grafting may arise due to acute traumatic injury to the limbs or following chronic non-union of bone fractures. Additionally, bone deficits may appear following complex joint arthroplasties, e.g. in the hips, knees, elbows or shoulders, or after resection of bone tumours.
Furthermore, bone grafting is essential in surgical fusion of unstable spine and sometimes in reconstructive oral or maxillofacial surgery.
The amount of bone tissue required for grafting, and the destination of the graft material influence the origin of the harvested tissue. For instance, a graft for the purpose of bone induction purposes, i.e. grafting of fresh, autologous cancellous bone, containing cellular, mineral and humoral components, intended to further induce local generation of new bone, is usually taken from a non-involved body site. Bone for conductive-support purposes, involving filling of a large gap, and providing a mechanical support to the treated limb until sufficient new bone is formed would generally require either structural autografts, allografts, or mineral bone matrix substitutes.
A number of disadvantages are associated with both autografts and allografts. Availability of autografts is generally limited, and the harvesting process causes considerable surgical morbidity. The success rate with allografts is limited due to the high risk of "docking site" non-union or rejection of the graft and infection. Furthermore, the osteoinductive and osteoconductive abilities of mineral substitutes are limited to small gaps in the affected bone.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,943,008 discloses a bioreactor for cell culture comprising a chamber for conducting fluids, in which a polyethylene scaffold seeded with cells is placed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,480 discloses a flow-through bioreactor for the retention and culture of cells in perfused media. Neither of these methods is used for generation of bone tissue.
A bioreactor designed by Zetos, Switzerland is used to keep harvested bone samples viable for maintenance of bone tissue ex vivo for research purposes. The device is not disclosed as being suitable for clinical use, or for bone tissue generation.
Yamanouchi K, et al in J. Bone Min. Res. 16(5): 857-867 (2001) describes a method of implantation of autologous osteoblasts seeded ex vivo on collagen sponge for in vivo bone generation. Similarly, Stevens M. M. et al (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2005; 102(32)11450-5) describe an animal model of an in vivo bone bioreactor. Neither of these methods is directed to bone tissue generation ex vivo.
U.S. Patent No. 2007/0128174 discloses a method for treating tissue defects in human or animal tissues comprising use of implantable cells. The method may comprise implantation of bone cells and inorganic matrix into a bone gap in order to enhance bone union. The matrices described in the background art are implanted at a target site, wherein the bone cells are released from the matrix, such that the purpose of the matrix is primarily delivery of the cells to the target area and does not generate bone tissue ex vivo.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,806 discloses bodily bone mass enhancement by external mechanical vibration. No ex vivo method is taught.

Three-dimensional bone implant and method for producing same


An immunogen-specific is adjuvant for a vaccine or inoculum is disclosed. The adjuvant is comprised of particulate recombinant protein body-like assemblies (RPBLAs) that contain a recombinant fusion protein that contains two portions peptide-linked together. A first portion is a protein body-inducing sequence (PBIS) and a second portion is a T-cell stimulating immunogenic polypeptide whose sequence is that of a pathogenic polypeptide sequence present in or induced by a vaccine or inoculum. The adjuvant, when used as an inoculum in a host animal without a prior priming vaccination or inoculation, does not induce production of antibodies or T cell activation to the pathogenic sequence.

Protein bodies (PBs) are subcellular organelles (or large vesicles, about 1-3 microns in diameter, surrounded by a membrane) that specialize in protein accumulation. They are naturally formed in some specific plant tissues, like seeds, and serve as principal source of amino acids for germination and seedling growth.
The storage proteins are co-translationally inserted into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via a signal peptide to be packaged either in the ER or into the vacuoles (Galili et al., 1993 Trends Cell Biol. 3:437-443) and assembled into multimeric units inside these subcellular compartments, developing specific organelles called (ER)-derived protein bodies (PBs) or protein storage vacuoles (PSV) (Okita and Rogers, 1996 Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol Mol. Biol. 47:327-350; Herman and Larkins, 1999 Plant Cell 11:601-613; Sanderfoot and Raikel, 1999 Plant Cell 11:629-642).
The storage proteins dicotiledoneous plants are primarily soluble proteins such as the 7S globulin or vicilin type, 11S globulins or legumin-type proteins and are sequestered in PSVs together with other proteins (i.e., protease inhibitors, proteolytic enzymes, lectins and the like), sugars and salts.
In contrast to PSVs, PBs (1-3 microns) sequester predominantly prolamins, which are highly hydrophobic storage proteins of cereals (such as zeins of maize and gliadins of wheat), and lack of other auxiliary proteins (Herman et al., 1999 Plant Cell 11:601-613).
At present, no PBs have been found in tissues other than plant seeds, with the exception of the ER bodies. The ER bodies are small in size (0.2-0.4 micrometers) and are formed in Arabidopsis leaves only by wounding and chewing by insects but do not develop under normal conditions (Matsushima et al., 2003 Plant J. 33:493-502).
Genetic engineering approaches have been used to study plant PBs formation, storage protein assembly and targeting. It has been shown that when recombinant proteins, predominantly plant storage proteins are expressed and packaged in Arabidopsis and tobacco, plant tissues that did not contain PBs (as vegetative tissues), develop these organelles "de novo" (Bagga et al., 1997 Plant Cell 9:1683-1696 and Bagga et al., 1995 Plant Physiol. 107:13-23, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,384, U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,912, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,616; and Geli et al., 1994 Plant Cell 6:1911-1922).
Maize beta-zein when expressed in transgenic tobacco plants was correctly targeted in new formed ER-derived PBs in leaf cells (Bagga et al., 1995 Plant Physiol. 107:13-23). Maize gamma-zein and, truncated gamma-zein cDNAs expressed in Arabidopsis plants also accumulate in a novel ER-derived PBs in leaves (Geli et al., 1994 Plant Cell 6:1911-1922). Lysine-rich gamma-zeins expressed in maize endosperms (Torrent et al. 1997 Plant Mol. Biol. 34(1):139-149) accumulate in maize PBs and co-localized with endogenous zeins. Transgenic tobacco plants expressing alpha-zein gene demonstrated that alpha-zein was not able to form PBs. However, when alpha- and gamma-zein were co-expressed, the stability of alpha-zein increased and both proteins co-localized in ER-derived protein bodies (Coleman et al., 1996 Plant Cell 8:2335-2345). Formation of novel PBs has been also described in transgenic soybean transformed with methionine-rich 10 kDa delta-zein (Bagga et al., 2000 Plant Sci. 150:21-28).
Recombinant storage proteins are also assembled in PBs-like organelles about 100 to about 400 nm in diameter in a non-plant host system such as Xenopus oocytes and in yeast. Rosenberg et al., 1993 Plant Physiol 102:61-69 reported the expression of wheat gamma-gliadin in yeast. The gene expressed correctly and the protein was accumulated in ER-derived PBs. In Xenopus oocytes, Torrent et al., 1994 Planta 192:512-518 demonstrated that gamma zein also accumulates in PB-like organelles when transcripts encoding the protein were microinjected into oocytes. Hurkman et al., 1981 J. Cell Biol. 87:292-299 with alfa-zeins and Altschuler et al., 1993 Plant Cell 5:443-450 with gamma-gliadins had similar results in Xenopus oocytes.
One of the fundamental achievements of the field of the biotechnology (genetic engineering) is the ability to genetically manipulate an organism to produce a protein for therapeutic, nutraceutical or industrial uses. Methods are provided for producing and recovering recombinant proteins from fermentation broth of bacteria, yeast, crop plants and mammalian cell cultures. Different approaches for protein expression in host cells have been described. The essential objectives of these approaches are: protein expression level, protein stability and protein recovery (Menkhaus et al., 2004 Biotechnol. Prog. 20: 1001-1014; Evangelista et al., 1998 Biotechnol. Prog. 14:607-614).
One strategy that can solve a problem with protein recovery is secretion. However, secretion involves some times poor expression levels and product instability. Another strategy is the accumulation of the recombinant protein in the most beneficial location in the cell. This strategy has been extensively used by directing recombinant proteins to the ER by engineering C-terminal extension of a tetrapeptide (HDEL/KDEL) (Conrad and Fiedler, 1998 Plant Mol. Biol. 38:101-109).
Fusion proteins containing a plant storage protein or storage protein domains fused to the heterologous protein have been an alternative approach to direct recombinant proteins to the ER (WO 2004003207). One interesting fusion strategy is the production of recombinant proteins fused to oleosins, constitutive protein of plant oil bodies. The specific characteristics of oil bodies benefit of the easy recovery of proteins using a two-phase system (van Rooijen and Moloney, 1995 Bio/Technology 13:72-77).
Heterologous proteins have been successfully expressed in plant cells (reviews Horn et al., 2004 Plant Cell Rep. 22:711-720; Twyman et al., 2003, Trends in Biotechnology 21:570-578; Ma et al., 1995, Science 268: 716-719; Richter et al., 2000 Nat. Biotechnol. 18:1167-1171), and in some, the expression of the recombinant protein has been directed to ER-derived PB or PSV (PSV). Yang et al., 2003 Planta 216:597-603, expressed human lysozyme in rice seeds using the seed-specific promoters of glutelin and globulin storage proteins. Immunocytochemistry results indicated that the recombinant protein was located in ER-PBs and accumulated with endogenous rice globulins and glutelins. The expression of glycoprotein B of the human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) in transgenic tobacco plants has been carried out using a glutelin promoter of rice. Tackaberry et al., 1999 Vaccine 17:3020-3029. Recently, Arcalis et al., 2004 Plant Physiology 136:1-10 expressed human serum albumin (HSA) with a C-terminal extension (KDEL) in rice seeds. The recombinant HSA accumulated in PSVs with the endogenous rice storage proteins.
One obstacle for the application of plants as biofactories is the need for more research regarding the downstream processing. Protein purification from plants is a difficult task due to the complexity of the plant system. Plant solids of the extract are large, dense and relative elevated (9-20 percent by weight) (see review Menkhaus et al., 2004 Biotechnol. Prog. 20:1001-1014). At present, recombinant protein purification techniques include clarification of the extracts, treatment with solvents to remove lipids and pigments and protein or peptides purification by several ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography columns. The existing protocols rely upon the use of specific solvents or aqueous solutions for each plant-host system and recombinant protein. There is a need in the art for efficient and general procedures for recombinant protein recovery from transformed hosts. This need is especially relevant in cases where recombinant proteins produced in plant hosts must to be isolated. The diversity of hosts and proteins and the different physical-chemical traits between them required an efficient method to concentrate and recover recombinant products.
Immunologic adjuvants are agents that enhance specific immune responses to vaccines and inocula. An immunologic adjuvant can be defined as any substance or formulation that, when incorporated into a vaccine or inoculum, acts generally or specifically to accelerate, prolong, or enhance the quality of specific immune responses to the immunogenic materials in the preparation.
The word adjuvant is derived from the Latin verb adjuvare, which means to help or aid. Adjuvant mechanisms of action include the following: (1) increasing the biological or immunologic half-life of vaccine or inoculum immunogens; (2) improving immunogen delivery to antigen (immunogen)-presenting cells (APCs), as well as antigen (immunogen) processing and presentation by the APCs; and (3) inducing the production of immunomodulatory cytokines.
Possession of biological activity that resembles an activity of a natural pathogen or other agent is particularly relevant for vaccines or inocula, which must induce a correct immune response in an immunized human or other animal to be effective. Several new vaccines and inocula are composed of synthetic, recombinant, or highly purified subunit immunogens (antigens) that are thought to be safer than whole-inactivated or live-attenuated vaccines. However, pathogen-related immunomodulatory adjuvant components that are typically associated with attenuated or killed pathogen vaccines are absent from such synthetic, recombinant, or highly purified subunit immunogens, which often results in weaker immunogenicity for such preparations.
Phagocytosis involves the entry of large particles, such us apoptotic cells or whole microbes, into another cell. The capacity of the cells to engulf large particles likely appeared as a nutritional function in unicellular organisms; however complex organisms have taken advantage of the phagocytic machinery to fulfill additional functions. For instance, the phagocytosis of immunogens undertaken by the macrophages, the B-cells or the dendritic cells represents a key process in innate and adaptive immunity. Indeed, phagocytosis and the subsequent killing of microbes in phagosomes form the basis of an organism's innate defense against intracellular pathogens. Furthermore, the degradation of pathogens in the phagosome lumen and the production of antigenic peptides, which are presented by phagocytic cells to activate specific lymphocytes, also link phagocytosis to adaptive immunity (Jutras et al., 2005 Annual Review in Cell Development Biology. 21:511-527).
The proteins present on and in engulfed particles encounter an array of degrading proteases in phagosomes. Yet, this destructive environment generates peptides that are capable of binding to MHC class II molecules. Newly formed immunogen-MHC class II complexes are delivered to the cell surface for presentation to CD4+ T cells (Boes et al., 2002 Nature 418:983-988). The activation of these cells induces the Th2 subset of cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-5 that help B cells to proliferate and differentiate, and is associated with humoral-type immune response.
A large body of evidence indicates that, in addition to the clear involvement of the MHC class II pathway in the immune response against phagocytosed pathogens, immunogens from pathogens, including mycobacteria, Salmonella, Brucella, and Leishmania, can elicit an immunogen cross-presentation. That is to say, the presentation of an engulfed immunogen by phagocytosis by the MHC class I-dependent response promotes the proliferation of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (Ackerman et al., 2004 Nature Immunology 5(7):678-684; Kaufmann et al., 2005 Current Opinions in Immunology 17(1):79-87).
Dendritic cells play a central immunogen presentation role to induce the immune system (Blander et al., Nature Immunology 2006 10:1029-1035). Although rare, dendritic cells are the most highly specialized APC, with ability both to instigate and regulate immune reactivity (Lau et al. 2003 Gut 52:307-314). Although dendritic cells are important in presenting immunogens, particularly to initiate primary immune responses, macrophages are the APC type most prominent in inflammatory sites and specialized for clearing necrotic and apoptotic material. Macrophages can act not only as APC, but can also perform either pro- or anti-inflammatory roles, dependent on the means by which they are activated.
Considering that APCs play a central role in the induction and regulation of the adaptive immunity (humoral and cellular), the recognition and phagocytosis of the immunogen by those cells can be considered a key step in the immunization process. A wide variety of techniques based on the uptake of fluorescent particles have been developed to study phagocytosis by the macrophages (Vergne et al., 1998 Analytical Biochemistry 255:127-132).
An important aspect in veterinary vaccines is the genetic diversity of the species being considered and the requirement for generic systems that work across different species. To a large degree, this diversity limits the use of molecular targeting techniques to cell surface markers and immune modulators such as cytokines, because for many species including wildlife, only minimal knowledge of these molecules is available. Thus, adjuvants that rely on universal activation signals of the innate immune response (i.e. that are identical in different species) are to be preferred. Taking these requirements into consideration, particulate vaccine delivery systems are well suited for veterinary and wildlife vaccine strategies (Scheerlinck et al., 2004 Methods 40:118-124).
In Third World countries, cervical cancer (cc) is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths. About 80% of women dying from this disease originate from low-budget countries where screening programs for early detection and the medical infrastructure for treatment are not available. In contrast, in the more developed world the mortality was reduced (by 70% in the US) during the last 50 years as a consequence of cytological screening programs [American Cancer Society, Cancer facts and figures 2004. Atlanta, Ga.] Treatment of cc patients by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy results in a significant loss of quality of life. Even when optimal treatment is available about 40% of all cc patients die of this disease [Gatta et al., 1998 Eur J Cancer 34(14 Spec. No.):2218-2225]. Therefore, the development of an effective and save therapeutic vaccine is needed.
A necessary event for the development of premalignancies like cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cc is infection by hr-HPVs [Walboomers et al., 1999 J Pathol 189(1):12-19]. So far over 120 HPV types are identified [de Villiers et al., 2004 Virology 324(1):17-27], 18 of which were found to be associated with cc [Munoz et al., 2003 N Engl J Med 348(6):518-527].
HPV-16 is responsible for about 50% of the cases [Bosch et al., 1995 J Natl Cancer Inst 87(11):796-802]. Due to the fact that the oncoprotein E7 of the hr-HPVs is exclusively and consistently expressed by HPV-infected tumor cells [von Knebel Doeberitz et al., 1994 J Virol 68(5):2811-2821], that protein represents a specific target for an immune therapy directed against cc and its premalignant dysplasia. The E7 protein, however, is an oncoprotein with transforming activity that operates by interfering with the cell cycle control. The E7 alters cell growth regulation by inactivating the pRB (retinoblastoma) tumor suppressor protein [Dyson et al., 1989 Science 243(4893):934-937; Munger et al., 1992 Cancer Surv 12:197-217] and contains two metal-binding motifs (C-XX-C) [Edmonds et al., 1989 J Virol 63(6):2650-2656; Watanabe et al., 1990 J Virol 64(1):207-214].
For safety reasons a functional oncogene cannot be applied to humans. Therefore, efforts were made to inactivate the oncogenic properties of the HPV-16 E7. Some investigators have introduced point mutations into the sites of the E7-oncogene that are associated with transforming potential [Shi et al., 1999 J Virol 73(9):7877-7881; Smahel et al., 2001 Virology 281(2):231-238], whereas others have used HLA- (human leukocyte antigen) restricted singular epitopes [Doan et al., 2000 Cancer Res 60(11):2810-2815; Velders et al., 2001 J Immunol 166(9):5366-5373]. These approaches, however, can lead to an unwanted loss of a naturally occurring epitope that is potentially associated with a decrease in vaccine efficacy.
An aim of the present inventors was to supply several to all potential naturally occurring T cell epitopes, covering the broad range of MHC restriction. In consequence, prior knowledge of the patient's HLA-haplotype is not required. This is especially important in the outbred human population.
In addition, a more potent immune response may be induced, involving all occurring HLA-restriction elements in the vaccine. A "proof-of-principle" was generated in a study using an artificial HPV-16 E7 gene (HPV-16 E7SH) of the first generation [Osen et al., 2001 Vaccine 19(30):4276-4286]. It was shown in that study that an oncoprotein with a rearranged primary sequence still induces E7WT-specific CTLs in mice but is devoid of transforming properties. That study took advantage of the earlier finding that fusion with the VP22 gene of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 strongly enhances the CTL response in mice [Michel et al., 2002 Virology 294(1):47-59].
The HIV-1 virus is comprised of several layers of proteins and glycoproteins that surround its RNA, and its associated proteins integrase and reverse transcriptase. The RNA is encapsidated by a capsid protein (CA), p24. The capsid environment also contains other viral proteins such as integrase and reverse transcriptase. The capsid is in turn encapsidated by a layer of matrix protein (MA), p17. This matrix protein is associated with a lipid bilayer or envelope.
The great diversity among human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtypes, which are prevalent in various regions of the world, is a major impediment to the development of broad-based prophylactic HIV-1 vaccines. Thus, it may be necessary to develop vaccines that match local epidemics more closely (Morris et al., 2001). In southern Africa, subtype C infections predominate (UNAIDS, 2006), and isolates of this subtype have been selected for the development of a DNA vaccine in South Africa (Williamson et al., 2003). This candidate vaccine has been constructed and characterized (van Harmelen et al., 2003) and is scheduled to be evaluated in clinical trials shortly.
DNA vaccines encoding HIV or simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) antigens have been studied extensively and shown to induce both humoral and cellular immune responses in animal models as well as in humans [Boyer et al., 1997 J Infect Dis. 176(6):1501-1509; Calarota et al., 1998 Lancet 351(9112):1320-1325; Estcourt et al., Immunol. Rev. 2004 199:144-155; Letvin et al., 1997 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 94(17):9378-9383; Yasutomi et al., 1996 J Virol. 70(1):678-681]. However, although DNA vaccines have been shown to be safe, immunization generates low and transient levels of immune responses. Various approaches to augment DNA vaccines have been tested [Barouch et al., 2000 Intervirology 43(4-6):282-287; Hemmi et al., 2003 J Immunol 170(6):3059-3064; Raviprakash et al., 2003 Virology. 315(2):345-352], including their use in heterologous prime-boost immunization regimens [Casimiro et al., 2003 J. Virol. 77(13):7663-7668; Cherpelis et al., 2001 Immunol Lett. 79(1-2):47-55; Leung et al., 2004 AIDS 18(7):991-1001; Pal et al., 2006 Virology 348(2):341-353; Robinson et al., 1999 Int J Mol. Med. 4(5):549-555; Suh et al., 2006 Vaccine 24(11):1811-1820. Epub 2005 Oct. 25].
The HIV-1 Gag gene encodes the precursor protein Pr55 Gag, which is the major protein that makes up the structure of the HIV viral particle. On maturation of the viral particle, Gag is cleaved by the viral protease into several smaller proteins that include the capsid (CA) protein p24, the matrix protein p17, as well as proteins p7 and p6.
HIV-1 Pr55gag precursor protein possesses an ability to self-assemble into non-replicating and non-infectious virus-like particles (VLPs) [Deml et al., 1997 Virology 235(1):26-39; Mergener et al., 1992 Virology 186(1):25-39; Sakuragi et al., 2002 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99(12):7956-7961; Wagner et al., 1994 Behring Inst Mitt (95):23-34; Wagner et al., 1996 Virology 220(1):128-140], and elicits strong humoral and cellular immune responses in animals [Deml et al., 1997 Virology 235(1):26-39; Deml et al., 2004 Methods Mol Med 94:133-157; Jaffray et al., 2004 J Gen Virol. 85(Pt 2):409-413], including non-human primates (NHPs) (Montefiori et al., 2001 J. Virol. 75(21):10200-10207; Paliard et al., 2000 AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 16(3):273-282]. Recently, Chege et al., J Gen Virol 2008 89:2214-2227 have shown that subtype C Pr55gag VLPs can very efficiently boost baboons primed with a matched DNA vaccine.
In addition, HIV-1 Pr55gag VLPs are safe, easy to produce and have the potential of including chimeric immunogens (Doan et al., 2005; Halsey et al., 2008). Their particulate nature and size, which approximates that of HIV-1, make HIV-1 Pr55gag VLPs more likely to stimulate the immune system better than non-particulate immunogens.
As above, the p24 protein forms the outer capsid layer of the viral particle. This protein has a high density of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes compared to other parts of the HIV proteome (Novitsky et al., J. Virol. 2002 76(20):10155-10168), which make it more effective in inducing a broad immune response when used as a vaccine candidate. It has also been shown that the risk of AIDS is greatly increased in individuals with falling titres of p24 antibodies. This suggests that high anti-p24 antibody titres might be necessary to maintain a disease-free state.
In addition, HIV-1 Pr55gag VLPs are safe, easy to produce and have the potential of including chimeric immunogens [Doan et al., 2005 Rev Med. Virol. 15(2):75-88; Halsey et al., 2008 Virus Res. 2008 133(2):259-268. Epub 2008 Mar. 10]. Their particulate nature and size, which approximates that of HIV-1, make HIV-1 Pr55gag VLPs more likely to stimulate the immune system better than non-particulate immunogens.
As above, the p24 protein forms the outer capsid layer of the viral particle. This protein has a high density of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes compared to other parts of the HIV proteome (Novitsky et al., J. Virol. 2002 76(20):10155-10168), which make it more effective in inducing a broad immune response when used as a vaccine candidate. It has also been shown that the risk of AIDS is greatly increased in individuals with falling titres of p24 antibodies. This suggests that high anti-p24 antibody titres might be necessary to maintain a disease-free state.
The matrix protein, p17, facilitates the intra-membrane associations that are required for viral assembly and release (Dorfman et al., 1994 J Virol 68(12):8180-8187]. Protein p17 is also involved in the transport of the viral pre-integration complex into the nucleus (Burkinsky et al., 1993). Fused together with p24, this p17/p24 (p41) complex contains the highest density of CTL epitopes in the HIV-1 genome (Novitsky et al., J. Virol. 2002 76(20):10155-10168).
HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) is an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase that makes DNA templates and synthesises DNA from RNA. It is essential for viral replication. HIV-1 RT is cleaved from the Pr160gag-pol polyprotein by the HIV-1 protease (PR). Several CTL epitopes against HIV-1 have been identified in RT, although they appear to be subdominant to Gag-specific epitopes [Dela Cruz et al., 2000 Int Immunol 12(9):1293-1302].
Several studies have indicated that enhanced immune responses can be achieved by heterologous prime-boost inoculation regimens. It has been shown that a HIV-1 DNA vaccine denominated pTHGagC used as a prime inoculation of mice is boosted effectively by Pr55Gag virus-like particles (VLPs) (Chege et al., J. Gen. Virol. 2008 89:2214-2227). Because p24 has the highest density of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes compared to other parts of the HIV proteome it was thought that the particulate nature of protein bodies containing p24 may have a similar boosting effect to expand immune responses after the immune system has been primed. It has also been thought that the use of combinations of protein bodies containing different HIV-1 antigens such as p41 and RT, may broaden the immune response such as has been shown in the use of the multigene DNA vaccine "grttn" (Burgers et al., AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses 2008 24(2):195-206) that contains five AIDS genes, the gag, reverse transcriptase, tat and nef genes that are expressed as a polyprotein and a truncated env gene (gp150).

Recombinant protein bodies as immunogen-specific adjuvants


5-(1-Hydroxy-2-piperidinopropyl)-2(1H,3H)-indolone derivatives and analogs; pharmaceutical compositions thereof; methods of treating CNS disorders therewith; and intermediates useful in the preparation of said compounds.

The present invention is directed to neuroprotective (antiischemic and excitatory aminoacid receptor blocking) 5-(1-hydroxy-2-piperidinopropyl)-2(1H,3H) -indolone analogs, defined by the formula (I), (II) and (III) below; pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; a method of using these compounds in the treatment of stroke, traumatic brain injury or CNS degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease; and to certain intermediates therefor.
Ifenprodil is a racemic, so-called dl-erythro compound having the relative stereochemical formula ##STR1## which is marketed as a hypotensive agent, a utility shared by a number of close analogs; Carron et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,164; Carron et al., Drug Res., v. 21, pp. 1992-1999 (1971). Ifenprodil has also been shown to possess antiischemic and excitatory aminoacid receptor blocking activity; Gotti et al., J. Pharm. Exp. Therap., v. 247, pp. 1211-21 (1988); Carter et al., loc. cit., pp. 1222-32 (1988). See also published European patent application 322,361 and French Patent 2546166. A goal, substantially met by the present invention, has been to find compounds possessing such neuroprotective effect in good measure, while at the same time having lowered or no significant hypotensive effect.
Certain structurally related 1-phenyl-3-(4-aryl -4-acyloxypiperidino)-1-propanols have also been reported to be useful as analgesics, U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,804; and 1-[4-(amino- and hydroxy-alkyl)phenyl]-2-(4-hydroxy -4-tolylpiperazino)-1-alkanols and alkanones have been reported to possess analgesic, antihypertensive, psychotropic or antiinflammatory activity, Japanese Kokai 53-02,474 (CA 89:43498y; Derwent Abs. 14858A), 53-59,675 (CA 89:146938w; Derwent Abs. 48671A) and 76,118,772 (CA 86:189738m).
More recently, in published European Patent Application No. 351,282, compounds which include those of the formula ##STR2## wherein R.sup.a and R.sup.b are each independently hydrogen or (C.sub.1 -C.sub.4)alkyl, R.sup.c is benzyl, phenoxy, benzyloxy or phenoxymethyl, and Z.sup.a is CH.sub.2, C(CH.sub.3).sub.2 or CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2, have been reported as having neuroprotective type activity.
Also, amino ketone and amino alcohol derivatives of benzoxazolinone and their adrenergic and antihypertensive properties are described in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 25, 361-368, (1990), C.A. 113:191213f.
The nomenclature used herein is generally that of Rigaudy et al., IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, 1979 Edition, Pergammon Press, New York. 2(1H,3H)-Indolones are alternatively named as oxindoles.

Neuroprotective indolone and related derivatives


Low conductivity cooling water for a fuel cell body is obtained by a water treatment apparatus which removes dissolved carbon dioxide gas in the exhaust gas condensate by a decarbonation column. Iron oxide is eliminated from the condensate as well as blowdown water by a MF membrane separator device. Iron ions are removed by a chelate resin column. Deionization occurs with an electrodeionizer which has an internal ion exchange resin.

The present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus for a fuel cell system. In particular, the present invention relates to a water treatment apparatus which continually removes iron oxide, dissolved carbon dioxide, organic material, and trace ions generated in the water system of a phosphoric acid fuel cell electric power plant, without relying on the use of added chemicals. The present invention also relates to a water treatment apparatus that recycles treated water for use as cooling water for the body of the fuel cell system.
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a flow diagram of a conventional small size phosphoric acid fuel cell system 1. A fuel cell 5 has an anode 3, a cathode 4, and an electrolyte 2. A cooling unit 6 which cools fuel cell 5 is placed inside a fuel cell body 7.
Fuel such as natural gas or the like is brought in by a pipe 10. Inside a reformer 11, this gas is reformed into a hydrogen-rich gas by steam brought in from a steam separator 23 via a pipe 12. Air is brought into reformer 11 by pipes 13, 13A to effect combustion. Reformer 11 also has unreacted fuel (hydrogen-rich exhaust gas from the anode) brought in by a pipe 14, and this becomes the heat source for the reform reaction. After its carbon monoxide component is transformed in a transformer 15, the reformed gas is brought to anode 3 by a pipe 16. The combustion exhaust gas of reformer 11 is sent to a condenser 19 by pipes 17, 18.
At cathode 4, air is brought in via pipes 13, 13B. The reformed gas brought to anode 3 is oxidized by an electrochemical reaction using this air, and electricity is generated. Exhaust gas from cathode 4 is sent to condenser 19 by pipes 18, 20.
The separated water from steam separator 23 is sent to cooling unit 6 as cooling water via pipe 24. Cooling water which has been heated by cooling unit 6 is returned to steam separator 23 by a pipe 27. This forms the cell body cooling water system. Treated water from water treatment apparatus 22 is delivered as needed by a pipe 25 to the cooling water system as make-up water.
The condensate separated in condenser 19 (hereinafter referred to as exhaust gas condensate) is sent to water treatment apparatus 22 via a pipe 21. Blowdown water from the cell body cooling system is brought to water treatment apparatus 22 by a pipe 29 from a heat exchanger 28. Exhaust gas is discharged outside the system by a pipe 19A.
In this relatively small scale phosphoric acid fuel cell system, the exhaust gas condensate from condenser 19 includes many impurities and contaminants. These impurities and contaminants include carbon dioxide, which is generated in reformer 11 and transformer 15, phosphate, iron, and the like. Similarly, the blowdown water from steam separator 23 also has iron and other impurities. Furthermore, because carbon steel pipes are usually used for the system piping of a fuel cell generator plant, the water recovered in water treatment apparatus 22 also contains a large amount of iron oxide and iron ions.
To achieve good electrical insulation and corrosion prevention in the cooling water system, the cooling water supplied to cooling unit 6 of fuel cell system 1 must have a low electroconductivity. For this reason, exhaust gas condensate from condenser 19 and blowdown water from the cell body cooling water system are recovered and treated by water treatment apparatus 22, which supplies the cell body cooling water system. Water treatment apparatus 22 is needed to remove impurities from the recovered water, and reduces ions to a sufficiently low concentration.
In a conventional water treatment device 22 of a fuel cell system, the recovered water is first passed through a mesh strainer, and any impurities are removed. Next, the water is passed through an activated carbon column to remove any organic materials. Finally, ions are removed by an ion exchange resin.
In a conventional water treatment apparatus, the mesh strainer quickly becomes clogged, due to the iron oxide in the recovered water. The activated carbon column in the following step also clogs quickly. Therefore, these must be replaced frequently. Furthermore, the iron ions not removed by the activated carbon column and remaining in the outflow water from the activated carbon column coat the surface of the ion exchange resin in the last step. Because of this, and because the recovered water is at a relatively high temperature (45.degree. C.), degradation of the ion exchange resin is rapid, and the ion exchange resin must also be frequently replaced.
Because of the need to replace the mesh strainer, the activated carbon column, and the ion exchange resin frequently, the operating efficiency and processing efficiency of these systems are low. Therefore, the operating cost of water treatment by these systems is high.
To solve this problem, a large scale decarbonation column is used for decarbonation treatment. A strong oxidant such as chloride ion or the like is added in order to completely oxidize any iron ions in the recovered water. After removing these by coagulation filtration or the like, any remaining ions must still be removed by an ion exchange resin. As a result, the equipment becomes large and complex. The use of added chemicals further increases the costs.

Water treatment apparatus for a fuel cell system


A washing machine control system is combined with a working fluid dispensing system and a payment processing system to provide a merged system for automatically providing detergents, bleach, softeners and the like in a pay-as-you-go laundry environment, such as public laundry facilities in Laundromats, dormitories, apartment complexes and the like.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the supply of working fluids such as detergents, bleach, softeners, etc. to a group of washing machines installed for use in apartment buildings, dormitories, public laundries and the like.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Using as an example the typical dormitory environment, a group of washing machines may be installed in a location for access to the student residents of a particular building or group of apartments. These washing machines are generally coin operated and paired with dryers to provide a laundry facility. Each user brings their own detergent, bleach, and softener or whatever chemicals they choose to use in their laundry routine. Coin operated dispensers may be available to provide individual packets of detergent, etc., but there is no system, which provides for selection, payment, and dispensing of metered working fluids to a group of washing machines.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,195,338 and 5,758,521 describe dispensers designed for individual washing machines either domestic or commercial. These are self-contained systems involving detergent and softener reservoirs, which are operatively associated with the washer control mechanism to dispense working fluids to the washer tub. Neither of these systems are associated with payment operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,123 describes a system for dispensing multiple working fluids to a group of commercial washing machines. Chemicals which are prediluted in a main reservoir are pumped to a holding tank. Each washing machine is provided with an individual supply tank that provides a metered amount of chemical to the washing machine. There is no payment operation associated with this system.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,211, a further dispensing system is shown which utilizes a system of containers and pumps, which hold and distribute working chemicals to multiple washers. The system of the '211 patent uses a water flush system to meter the chemicals. U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,157 describes another system for the same purpose. In the '156 patent water is used as a motive force to operate venturi valves that control the dispensing operation. Neither of these patents involves a payment operation.
All of the above systems are designed to minimize the need for operator interaction. This helps to avoid spills, overfilling, and mistakes in the quantity of fluid. The above systems are designed for commercial laundries in which the machines are operated by trained technicians. The problem of operator error is worse where the washing machines are part of public or semiprivate laundry operations. Yet there are no systems for automating detergent dispensing that are coupled with a payment system for use in such operations.
It is a purpose of this invention to provide a working fluid dispensing system that will automatically dispense a metered amount of detergent or other chemical to a selected washing machine in response to inputs from a user interface. It is another purpose of this invention to associate the dispensing system with a payment operation, which allows payment for both use of the washing machine and for a correct amount of working fluid, as part of the operation. It is a purpose of this invention to provide the capability of adapting the payment operation for use with a centralized payment system, such as a credit card or campus card system. It is also a purpose of this invention to optimize the use of the working fluids to minimize both operating costs and environmental impact.

Control system and method for supplying detergent and other fluids to multiple washing machines


An enplane displacement, electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor includes a sensor unit made from a silicon substrate having a displaceable electrode and a fixed electrode, a pair of protective substrates bonded on opposing sides of the sensor unit, and an integrated circuit for detecting acceleration from the electrostatic capacity of the sensor unit. Sensor unit connection electrodes formed for connecting the sensor unit with the integrated circuit are disposed on the side of the sensor unit facing one of the protective substrates. Electrode holes are disposed in one protective substrate which are formed as through-holes in the substrate at positions corresponding to the connection electrodes. The integrated circuit is connected to the protective substrate in which the electrode holes are formed with the connections of the integrated circuit inserted through the electrode holes and electrically connected with the connection electrodes of the sensor unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inertial force sensor for detecting the acceleration and angular velocity acting on a displaceable object, and relates particularly to an electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor that electrically detects the acceleration from the capacitance change of a capacitor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor comprises an immobile fixed electrode and a displaceable electrode that is displaced by an inertial force of acceleration. Because the dielectric constant between the fixed electrode and displaceable electrode is constant, the electrode distance between the fixed electrode and displaceable electrode changes with the displacement of the displaceable electrode, and the capacitance of the capacitor formed by a dielectric body between the fixed electrode and displaceable electrode changes. This capacitance change makes it possible to detect acceleration by detecting the capacitance change using a detection circuit.
The detection circuit for detecting acceleration using an electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor as described above is typically made from an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other integrated circuit (IC) separately from the electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor. However, the capacitance change caused by an inertial force of acceleration in this electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor is small, and the detection circuit must therefore detect acceleration from this small change in capacitance. The electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor and detection circuit are also connected through the wiring pattern of the circuit board and the detection result is therefore affected by the parasitic capacitance of the wiring pattern. This makes it difficult for the detection circuit to accurately detect the capacitance of the electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor.

Electrostatic capacity-type acceleration sensor


Logic scan based design and electronic fuse (e-fuse) technology are combined to create a circuit macro function that is integrated in a non-critical area of a processor chip or related circuit to provide a new means of securing electronic systems and devices such as computers, appliances, consumer electronics, automobiles, etc. from theft or unauthorized use. Level sensitive scan design (LSSD) techniques are used in conjunction with e-fuses to inhibit or enable system components and sub-components based upon a pre-initialized configuration which must be enabled by a user via password entry.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to security methods of electronic devices and, more particularly, to a method of providing a means to prevent unauthorized use or theft of electronic equipment.
2. Background Description
The accelerated pace of integration and rapid miniaturization of electronic equipment, such as personal computers (PC), laptop personal computers, digital cameras, and video recording equipment, and similar equipment makes these expensive systems highly portable and easily susceptible to unauthorized use and theft. This problem can be further extended to larger home appliances, motor vehicles, electronic locks, and other consumer products.
These types of electronic equipment have no means to disable the equipment and render them useless in order to prevent unauthorized use or theft. The problems resulting from theft or unauthorized of such equipment often leads to the financial loss and inconvenience of procuring a new system, or the owner's proprietary information and confidential data stored within the system is exposed to potentially undesired uses.
Various common techniques have been utilized to provide some level of security to some devices. An example would be automobile radios and stereos which are often embedded with two parts that contain serialized identification that uses standard memory techniques such as common read-only-memories or static random access memories. These memory parts are inserted into the radios during the manufacturing phase. The result is a fixed permanent security code arrangement for that device only and no option exists to permit end users and owners to create a personalized identification code. This security technique typically relies upon whether a mating electronic piece, e.g., a faceplate, is connected to a main body. In order to secure the radio, a user must remove the mating piece in order to cripple the device and render it useless. This can be very inconvenient. No user known identification code capability is involved. The two parts, when mated and powered on, will verify that matching serialization exists before the device will function. This method does not lend itself to protecting multiple sub-components within the same system and is not easy to use.
Many techniques to secure electronic devices employ the use of software algorithms or passwords that are stored in readable memory or databases. Whenever software techniques are employed, circumvention is a possibility and detection of circumvention is difficult. In software based, password only protection schemes, the software itself is prone to alteration or modification which may permit specific or general unauthorized use or access to a system.

International Business Machines Corporation