An arrangement for the detection of biomolecular reactions and interactions using the RS screening method and comprises a specimen plate or microtiter plate (PP or MTP), a white light source with subsequently arranged illumination beam path, a splitter plate on which the PP or the MTP is set for generating a detection beam path, and optical means for imaging the measurement beam path and reference beam path on a spatially resolving detector array of a CCD camera which is connected with an evaluating unit or with a computer for determining measurement values. The arrangement particularly provides optical imaging elements for imaging the measurement beam path and reference beam path at different positions on the detector array of the CCD camera simultaneously and without overlap, a monochromator which comprises a plurality of interference filters and which is arranged subsequent to the light source in the illumination beam path; a component assembly which collimates the illumination beam path, is formed of optical elements and is arranged between the monochromator and the splitter plate; and specimen plate or microtiter plate, and an optical imaging element for complete spatal separation of the measurement beam path and reference beam path in, or in the vicinity of, an intermediate inage plane or aperture diaphragm plane.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an arrangement for detecting biomolecular reactions and interactions according to the method of reflectometric interference spectroscopy (RS screening method).
b) Description of the Related Art
A process and a device for the detection of physical, chemical, biochemical and biological reactions and interactions are known from DE 196 15 366 A1. In this way, the interactions of biomolecules with biofunctionalized layers in liquid phase are detected in a large number of samples simultaneously by white light interference. Essential parameters for this measurement technique are the detection of the smallest binding detectable with certainty and the stability of this output signal over the binding time span. In the device described herein for carrying out the method, a large number of specimens arranged on a substrate plate or microtiter plate are illuminated with light from a light source via an illumination beam path in which are arranged, among others, a collimator, monochromator and polarizer. The substrate plate or microtiter plate is arranged on a wedge-shaped carrier plate by which a measurement beam path and a reference beam path are generated and imaged on a detector array of a CCD camera via optical elements arranged downstream.
Further, this reference shows that a switchable diaphragm is provided in a focal plane in which the measurement beam path and reference beam path are imaged, wherein these two beam paths can be alternately imaged on the detector array by the switchable diaphragm. In addition, the two above-mentioned beam paths are imaged at the same location on the detector array through a deflecting prism in the reference beam path, so that different sensitivities of the pixel-form receiver elements of the array are referenced out. With this switchable diaphragm, it is only possible to image the measurement beam path and reference beam path on the array at different times; however, short-term variations in light intensity and beam direction of the light source and variations in the spectral transmission characteristic of the monochromator in particular are not eliminated, which could lead to significant measurement uncertainty.
Therefore, it is the primary object of the invention to provide an arrangement for the detection of biomolecular reactions and interactions in which the above-mentioned variations and their effects on measurements are extensively eliminated by means of suitable component assemblies and a suitable referencing concept.
According to the invention, this object is met in an arrangement for the detection of biomolecular reactions and interactions using the RS screening method comprising a specimen plate or microtiter plate for receiving the specimens to be examined, a white light source with subsequently arranged illumination beam path for illuminating the specimens, a splitter plate on which the specimen plate or the microtiter plate is set for generating a detection beam path formed of the measurement beam path and reference beam path, and optical means for imaging the measurement beam path and reference beam path on a spatially resolving detector array of a CCD camera which is connected with an evaluating unit or with a computer for determining measurement values. The arrangement further provides optical imaging elements for imaging the measurement beam path and reference beam path at different positions on the detector array of the CCD camera simultaneously and without overlap, a monochromator which comprises a plurality of interference filters and which is arranged subsequent to the light source in the illumination beam path and a component assembly which collimates the illumination beam path. The component assembly is formed of optical elements and is arranged between the monochromator and the splitter plate and specimen plate or microtiter plate. An optical imaging element is also included for complete spatial separation of the measurement beam path and reference beam path in, or in the vicinity of, an intermediate image plane or aperture diaphragm plane.
Accordingly, it is advantageous when a switchable closure unit is arranged in, or in the vicinity of, the intermediate image plane or aperture diaphragm plane. This makes it possible to record dark references by blocking the measurement beam path and reference beam path and accordingly to eliminate the influence of extraneous light on the measurements.
Further, it is advantageous when the additional optical imaging elements used for separate simultaneous imaging of the measurement beam path and reference beam path are arranged in, or in the vicinity of, the aperture diaphragm plane of the detector beam path comprising these two beam paths.
In accordance with a further embodiment form of the invention, a shared optical imaging element, for example, a lens comprehending both beam paths, is provided for imaging the measurement beam path and reference beam path on the receiver array of the CCD camera. In order to achieve a separation of the measurement beam path and reference beam path in the plane of the detector such that the measurement beam path and reference beam path are free from overlap, at least one deflecting element, each in the form of a deflecting prism, for example, is arranged in front of the optical imaging element in the direction of light in each of these beam paths.
Another advantageous embodiment form of the invention results when the measurement beam path and reference beam path each have their own optical imaging element for spatially separated imaging of these beam paths on the receiver array. This imaging element can be, for example, a lens or also an optical imaging system comprising a plurality of lenses.
According to another feature of the invention, the monochromator which is provided in the illumination beam path subsequent to the polychromatic light source in the direction of light comprises a switchable filter disk in which are arranged a plurality of interference filters. It has turned out in practice that a high detection accuracy can be achieved when working according to the RS method even with a small quantity of spectral channels, so that the evaluation of measurements is significantly simplified. Work can already be carried out successfully with at least three different interference filters, i.e., in three spectral channels. It has proven advantageous to work with six to eight spectral channels, that is, also with an equal number of interference filters. In measurements of changes brought about by the bound specimens in the layer thickness of a suitable polymer film applied to the specimen plate, the spectral channels form the criterion for these measurements to a certain extent. The adjusting accuracy and the stability of the spectral position of the interference extrema and their distance from one another are essential criteria for the selection of the monochromator. Ideally, these criteria are met by interference filter monochromators. In addition, there is the high light-conducting value of these monochromators which is important in the case of large-area illumination of specimen plates or microtiter plates.
In principle, grating monochromators could also be used in the illumination beam path. However, these grating monochromators are disadvantageous, for one, in that they have substantially lower light efficiency compared with interference monochromators. Accordingly, it is also advantageous when a wedge-shaped splitter plate is provided, whose at least one optically active surface has an antireflection coating. With respect to a plane-parallel splitter plate, it is also advantageous when at least one of the optically active surfaces of this splitter plate is provided with an antireflection coating.
When using a plane-parallel plate as beam splitter, the latter must be arranged in the beam path in such a way that it encloses an angle, preferably a small angle, with the specimen plate or microtiter plate carrying the specimens. surface of the plane-parallel plate which is not used for generating the reference beam path is provided with an antireflection coating. The other surface of the plate is advantageously provided with a partially reflecting layer in such a way that a balancing of the reflected intensities in the measurement beam path and reference beam path is achieved over the utilized spectral range.
In another embodiment form of the arrangement according to the invention, the optical elements collimating the illumination beam path and/or the optical imaging elements for imaging the measurement beam path and reference beam path in the aperture diaphragm plane or intermediate image plane and/or the additional optical imaging elements for imaging this aperture diaphragm plane or intermediate image plane on the spatially resolving detector array of the CCD camera are imaging reflectors. It is accordingly advantageous when the optical imaging elements for imaging the measurement beam path and reference beam path in the aperture diaphragm plane or intermediate image plane and/or the additional optical imaging elements for imaging this aperture diaphragm plane or intermediate image plane on the spatially resolving detector array of the CCD camera are convex and concave and/or plane reflectors.
The chromatic aberrations in imaging are minimized to a great extent through the use of reflecting imaging elements such as mirror optics in the form of concave mirrors.
The invention will be described more fully in the following.

Arrangement for detecting biomolecular reactions and interactions


A structure for a nonlinear grating coupler which is capable of providing a structure that a tapered nonlinear thin film and a linear waveguide grating structure are combined and a nonlinear grating coupler that a stepped nonlinear thin film and a linear optical waveguide grating structure are combined. The structure includes a tapered nonlinear thin film having a third-order nonlinearity, a linear optical waveguide having a refractive index greater than a linear refractive index of a nonlinear thin film formed on the tapered nonlinear thin film, and a grating structure formed on the linear optical waveguide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for a nonlinear grating coupler, and particularly, to an improved structure for a nonlinear grating coupler which make it possible to provide a tapered nonlinear thin film and a stepped nonlinear thin film which are adaptable to an active optical connection implemented from a two-dimensional space to a third-order space.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Various optical waveguide grating structures were introduced in the industry. The grating structure is generally formed on a linear and nonlinear optical waveguide. Here, the linear grating structure is widely used for a grating coupler, an optical interconnection, etc., and the nonlinear grating structure is widely used for a power-dependent grating coupler and an all-optical beam scanner. The grating-assisted directional coupler (GADC) of the linear and nonlinear grating structures has an advantages in that it can be used for a wavelength selective coupler for implementing the WDM.

Nonlinear grating coupler using a tapered or stepped nonlinear thin film

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An HMD apparatus with an imaging optical system for each one of the eyes of a user, which includes at least one display unit to be viewed by the respective eye, and with a device for the acquisition of the viewing direction of at least one eye within a field of view of the display unit by means of an eye camera, wherein the eye camera is provided with a camera holder, which can be adjusted in terms of a peripheral angle around a viewing central axis of the field of view and in terms of a setting angle with respect to the viewing central axis.

Field of Technology
The invention relates to an HMD apparatus with an imaging optical system for each of the two eyes of a user, which comprises at least one display unit to be viewed by the respective eye, as well as to a device for the acquisition of the viewing direction of at least one eye within a field of view of the display unit using an eye camera.
Brief Discussion of Related Art
So-called HMD [Head-Mounted Display] apparatuses are caps that can be placed on the head and that have two small monitor screens each of which is viewed with one eye of the user. Onto these monitor screens, a real or virtual environment is projected taking into consideration the different viewing angles of the two eyes. Furthermore, position changes of the HMD apparatuses are acquired, so that the represented image is changed accordingly. For example, when the user turns his/her head, the corresponding image is represented in this real or virtual direction. More recent HMD apparatuses, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,433,760, for example, moreover acquire the eye movements of the user (so-called eye tracking system), in order to change, on the basis of this, the represented image analogously to the head movement toward the viewing direction relative to the head. The acquisition of the eye position or eye movement can occur by means of a camera that looks at an eye, wherein it is preferable for the position of the pupil to be determined by image processing. For this purpose, the eye is illuminated with infrared light, to which the camera is sensitive.
For an optimal position acquisition of the position of the eye, the camera has to acquire the entire eye, wherein the pupil representation in the "forward viewing" has to be as much in the center of the image section of the camera as possible. If an HMD apparatus with an eye tracking apparatus is used by only one person, an individual adaptation of the camera viewing direction can occur a single time, so that the required adjustment effort is not essential. On the other hand, if such an HMD apparatus is used by changing users having necessarily different facial features, such as distance between the eyes, nose and cheek shape, etc., then the rapid adaptation of the eye camera represents a problem.

HMD apparatus with adjustable eye tracking device


An optical system for use in an infrared camera which includes, in order from an object side: a first lens group having a negative refractive power and a second lens group having a positive refractive power arranged a distance from the first lens group. The first lens group comprises a negative meniscus lens having a convex surface facing toward the object side and the second lens group comprising, in order from the object side: a first lens having a positive refractive power, a second lens having a negative refractive power and a third lens having a positive refractive power. The lenses comply with the following conditions: (1) 0.5.PHI.<-.PHI.f<0.7.PHI., (2) 0.55.PHI.<.PHI.r<0.87.PHI., (3) 1.55 (1/.PHI.)<d<1.98 (1/.PHI.) and (4) dr<2.1 (1/.PHI.). The conditions are defined by: .PHI.: is the overall refractive power for the overall optical system for the infrared camera, .PHI.f: is the refractive power for the first lens group, .PHI.r: is the refractive power for the second lens group, d: is the distance between principal points of the first and second lens groups and dr: is the lens separation between the most objectwise lens surface and the most imagewise lens surface in the second lens group. The first and second lens groups are made up of lenses which contain silicon or germanium.

In an infrared radiation lens of conventional technology, infrared radiation from the real image formed by an objective lens is collimated by a collimator lens. Behind the collimator lens is a scanning mirror (e.g. polygon mirror) and an imaging lens which forms an image with the radiation from the scanning mirror.
Recently, however, along with the advancement of semiconductor processing technology, a 2-D solid state image sensor for infrared radiation, in which solid state sensors are two dimensionally arranged, has been commonly manufactured. The infrared camera with a 2-D solid state image sensor has eliminated a collimator lens or a scanning mirror. This structure of the optical system is effective in reducing the size and weight of the camera.
Generally, in a 2-D solid state imaging sensor for infrared radiation, the sensor itself is cooled, to eliminate any thermal noise. The field view of the sensor is limited by a cold shield (a stop cooled to a low temperature). The cold shield is given an aperture diameter and a length, which is defined basically by the brightness of the optical system. Note that the cold shield must have a certain length, which enables the optical system to reduce the impact from thermal emission from the lens barrel in order to balance the temperature of the optical system.
When the size of the sensor is determined, if one wants to obtain a wide view through the field, the focal length of the optical system must be short. When one intends to use an optical system with a 2-D solid state image sensor for infrared radiation which has a short focal length, one will find that the back focus is so small that the cooled shield and the objective lens interfere with each other. Such a system is not acceptable for users in the art.


The present invention is directed to a sheet product and to a method of forming the sheet product suitable for use as a battery separator. The method comprises forming a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and fluid having a high vapor pressure, shaping the mixture into a sheet material and subjecting the sheet material to stretching/fluid vaporization at high temperature to form an intermediate material having a ratio of percent fluid to percent polymer crystallinity of between 0.15 and 1 followed by a second stretching/fluid vaporization at a lower temperature while removing a portion of the remainder of the fluid from the sheet. The resultant sheet is annealed and remainder of fluid removed to form a sheet product having a thickness comprising a stratified structure of small and larger pore layered configuration across its thickness.

The subject invention is directed to sheet products having unique configuration, their use as separators in batteries and to an improved method of forming said sheet product.
Storage batteries have at least one pair of electrodes of opposite polarity and, generally, have a series of adjacent electrodes of alternating polarity. The current flow between the electrodes is maintained by an electrolyte which can be acidic, alkaline or substantially neutral depending on the nature of the battery system. Separators are located in the batteries between adjacent electrodes of opposite polarity to prevent direct contact between the oppositely charged electrode plates. It is highly desired to have the separator (i) be thin and light weight to aid in providing a battery of high energy density; (ii) have a structure that inhibits dendrite formation between the electrode plates; (iii) have the ability to enhance the uptake and cause substantial uniform distribution of the electrolytic composition over the electrode plates (generally referred to as wicking); and (iv) provide the properties of freely permitting electrolytic conduction. It is further highly desired to be able to produce the separator sheet product in an economical and environmentally safe manner while achieving sheet product free of defects, such as pinholes and the like.
Separators conventionally used in battery systems are formed of polymeric films which, when placed in an electrolyte or electrolytic system, are capable of exhibiting a high degree of conductivity while being stable to the environment presented by the battery system. The film may be macroporous such as those formed by spun glass and the like. Alternately, the film may be microporous, such as those formed from polymeric films having fillers distributed throughout the film. The fillers aid in the adsorption of electrolyte and provide wicking properties to the sheet product. Such sheets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,351,495 and 4,287,276.
Microporous sheet products have also been formed from polymeric compositions having a liquid plasticizer which, when removed by extraction methods, provide the resultant sheet with its microporous structure. Conventionally, such plasticizers are of high molecular weight oils and the like with the idea of providing compatible properties with respect to the polymeric material during the initial steps of the sheet's formation while being incompatible and readily extractable during process formation. Extraction is conventionally done by washing the plasticizer from the cooled initially formed sheet using a compatible, low molecular weight second liquid. The voids resulting from the removal of the plasticizer provide substantially uniform porosity throughout the resultant separator sheet product. The resultant mixed liquid is a waste by-product of the described process.
A still further mode of forming microporous sheet product is by stretching and annealing polyolefin sheet material to cause microporosity in the treated sheet. Such processes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,426,754; 3,558,764; 3,679,538; 3,679,540; 3,801,404; 3,843,761; 4,138,459; 4,994,335; and 5,328,760. For example, a stretched microporous polypropylene is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,540. The polymer is extruded under low melt temperatures with high shear stress in order to maximize polymer molecular alignment within the extruded film. The film is then annealed to consolidate the crystalline polymer network followed by stretching at low temperatures to cause tearing to occur in the crystalline regions from remaining amorphous regions. Micro-cracks are thus formed. The film is further stretched and annealed in sequential manner to cause the cracks to form into pores. The porosity of the resultant film is limited to less than about 40% and is not well controlled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,498 discloses a process for forming a microporous polymeric sheet product by blending a mixture of a polymer and a compatible liquid into a homogenous mixture. The mixture is cooled under non-equilibrium conditions to initiate liquid-liquid phase separation causing droplets of the liquid to form which are each surrounded by liquid polymer. Further cooling is required to cause the polymer to solidify and then the liquid is extracted using a second liquid to produce a structure having a series of enclosed cells of substantially spherical shape which are interconnected to adjacent spherical cells. This process must be conducted in a time consuming manner and requires extraction of the initially compatible liquid by other liquids which generates a waste by-product stream of the combined liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,256 is also directed to the formation of sheet product suitable as a microporous battery separator. The reference discloses the use of liquids having solubility and hydrogen bonding parameters which are within a few units of the respective values of the crystallizable polymer. High molecular weight mineral oil, higher ester phthalates and the like are taught to be suitable for forming initial mixtures with polyolefins. The liquid used in the initially formed polymeric sheet product must then be removed by extraction. The reference teaches that hexane or alcohols are suitable for extraction of the above described liquids. The resultant extraction mixture is a waste product that requires special handling. The resultant sheet product is described as having randomly dispersed spaces and thermoplastic plastic particles connected to each other by a plurality of polymeric fibrils. The fiber/particle arrangement causes the resultant porous product to exhibit poor tensile and puncture strengths.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,544 discloses a method of forming a film product by initially forming a film from a solution of a polyolefin and a first solvent such as hydrocarbon or decalin; bringing one surface of the film into contact with a second solvent; passing the film through a cooling bath containing a cooling agent selected from gas, water or hydrocarbon liquids; removing the solvents from the film at a temperature below the dissolution temperature; and stretching the film in one or more directions in the plane of the film. The final article is substantially non-pores and formed in a manner that produces a waste stream composed of a mixture of solvents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,183 discloses the formation of a porous article with ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene. The rate of cooling is taught to have an effect on the degree of crystallization.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,791 discloses a method of causing phase-separation within a film by contacting both sides of the film with a second solvent before the film is contacted with a cooling agent (e.g. water). The reference teaches that the density of the second solvent must be smaller than that of the cooling agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,554 disclosed a process for manufacturing a microporous polyolefin film which can be used for various battery separators. The process incorporates a polyolefin polymer (Component I) with a first diluent (Component II) and a second diluent (Component III) to form a thermodynamic single phase which can undergo thermodynamic liquid-liquid phase separation. The article is then subjected to extraction with methylene chloride to produce porosity followed by rapid cooling with cold air or cold water. The resultant mixture of liquids produces a hard to handle waste stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,479,243 discloses a method of producing a microporous polyolefin membrane comprising the steps of extruding a solution of a polyolefin and a solvent to produce a gel-like article, cooling the article by direct contact with cooling air, cooling water, other cooling media, or a cooling roll. It further disclose a method of treating the newly formed membrane while still in the gel-like form by first removing the pore-forming solvent originally within the gel-like form followed by treating the gel-like article with a hot solvent, such as liquid paraffin.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,815,825B2 disclose a method of treating the newly formed membrane while still in the gel-like article form with an organic solvent maintained at a temperature of 110 to 130° C.
WO 2007/117042 discloses a method of forming a microporous membrane composed of polyethylene having at least one percent of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. The membrane is formed by melt blending the polymers with a liquid polymer solvent, extruding and cooling the melt to produce a gel-like sheet. The sheet is then stretched and the stretched sheet is washed with a liquid capable of displacing the polymer solvent to form a porous membrane. The resultant porous membrane is stretched and heat set under the same temperature conditions to provide the resultant microporous membrane. The process includes known steps of stretching the initial sheet while retaining the polymer solvent in the sheet. The solvent is then removed by common extraction process using a second liquid to result in a by-product composed of a mixture of polymer solvent and extraction liquid. Finally, the liquid free sheet is further stretched to form their microporous membrane.
None of the above references directs one to the usage of the same high volatile, low molecular weight organic fluid for forming an initial mixture with a polyolefin and as the cooling media, to process the initially shaped polymer composition under certain sequential temperature and stretching process conditions while concurrently causing vaporization of the fluid to produce the unique sheet product structure, as described herein below.
The properties of sheet products useful as battery separators include not only permeability, mechanical strength, and dimensional stability, but also properties related to electrolytic solution absorption, and battery cyclability. It is highly desired to achieve a thin, light weight sheet product that has high wicking capability which provides the battery with the ability of maintaining electrolyte over the electrode surfaces and achieving high electrolytic conductivity while, when appropriate, providing high inhibition to formation and growth of dendrites between electrode elements of opposite polarity. Further, electrodes for lithium ion batteries are known to undergo expansion and contraction according to the intrusion and departure of lithium. Because separators are compressed when the electrodes expand, it is desirable that the separators have the ability to undergo such compression while exhibiting, when compressed, as little a decrease as possible in electrolytic solution retention. Further, it is desired to achieve a sheet product having the above properties in a cost effective and environmentally desired manufacturing manner as by utilizing the processing material in cyclical manners and by producing little or no waste stream.

Battery separator and method of forming same


Systems and/or methods for storing and/or retrieving assets in connection with an extremely large scale computer storage system are provided. An asset catalog may comprise a plurality of asset catalog entries stored according to at least one schema and corresponding to a plurality of assets. A storage architecture may be capable of storing the plurality of assets, with the storage architecture comprising a storage locator and a federator. An item identification scheme may be capable of providing identifiers to reference, locate, and/or access said assets and/or said asset catalog entries stored in the asset catalog in the storage architecture. The computer storage system may be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.

1. Introduction
Since the earliest history, various institutions (e.g., governments and private companies alike) have recorded their actions and transactions. Subsequent generations have used these archival records to understand the history of the institution, the national heritage, and the human journey. These records may be essential to support the efficiency of the institution, to protect the rights of individuals and businesses, and/or to ensure that the private company or public corporation/company is accountable to its employees/shareholders and/or that the Government is accountable to its citizens.
With the advance of technology into a dynamic and unpredictable digital era, evidence of the acts and facts of institutions and the government and our national heritage are at risk of being irrecoverably lost. The challenge is pressing—as time moves forward and technologies become obsolete, the risks of loss increase. It will be appreciated that a need has developed in the art to develop an electronic records archives system and method especially, but not only, for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in a system known as Electronic Records Archives (ERA), to resolve this growing problem, in a way that is substantially obsolescence-proof and policy neutral. While embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to its application for safeguarding government records, the described embodiments are not limited to archives systems applications nor to governmental applications and can also be applied to other large scale storage applications, in addition to archives systems, and for businesses, charitable (e.g., non-profit) and other institutions, and entities.
One aspect of the invention is directed to an architecture that will support operational, functional, physical, and interface changes as they occur. In one example, a suite of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software products has been selected to implement and deploy an embodiment of the invention in the ERA, but the inventive architecture is not limited to these products. The architecture facilitates seamless COTS product replacement without negatively impacting the ERA system.
1.1 Understanding the Problem
Another aspect of the ERA is to preserve and to provide ready access to authentic electronic records of enduring value.
In one embodiment, the ERA supports and flows from NARA's mission to ensure "for the Citizen and the Public Servant, for the President and the Congress and the Courts, ready access to essential evidence." This mission facilitates the exchange of vital ideas and information that sustains the United States of America. NARA is responsible to the American people as the custodian of a diverse and expanding array of evidence of America's culture and heritage, of the actions taken by public servants on behalf of American citizens, and of the rights of American citizens. The core of NARA's mission is that this essential evidence must be identified, preserved, and made available for as long as authentic records are needed—regardless of form.
The creation and use of an unprecedented and increasing volume of Federal electronic records—in a wide variety of formats, using evolving technologies—poses a problem that the ERA must solve. An aspect of the invention involves an integrated ERA solution supporting NARA's evolving business processes to identify, preserve, and make available authentic, electronic records of enduring value—for as long as they are needed.
In another embodiment, the ERA can be used to store, process, and/or disseminate a private institution's records. That is, in an embodiment, the ERA may store records pertaining to a private institution or association, and/or the ERA may be used by a first entity to store the records of a second entity. System solutions, no matter how elegant, may be integrated with the institutional culture and organizational processes of the users.
1.1.1 NARA's Evolving Business Processes
Since 1934, NARA has developed effective and innovative processes to manage the records created or received, maintained or used, and destroyed or preserved in the course of public business transacted throughout the Federal Government. NARA played a role in developing this records lifecycle concept and related business processes to ensure long-term preservation of, and access to, authentic archival records. NARA also has been instrumental in developing the archival concept of an authentic record that consists of four fundamental attributes: content, structure, context, and presentation.
NARA has been managing electronic records of archival value since 1968, longer than almost anyone in the world. Despite this long history, the diverse formats and expanding volume of current electronic records pose new challenges and opportunities for NARA as it seeks to identify records of enduring value, preserve these records as vital evidence of our nation's past, and make these records accessible to citizens and public servants in accordance with statutory requirements.
The ERA should support, and may affect, the institution's (e.g., NARA's) evolving business processes. These business processes mirror the records lifecycle and are embodied in the agency's statutory authority:                Providing guidance to Federal Agencies regarding records creation and records management;        Scheduling records for appropriate disposition;        Storing and preserving records of enduring value; and/or        Making records available in accordance with statutory and regulatory provisions.
Within this lifecycle framework, the ERA solution provides an integrated and automated capability to manage electronic records from: the identification and capture of records of enduring value; through the storage, preservation, and description of the records; to access control and retrieval functions.
Developing the ERA involves far more than just warehousing data. For example, the archival mission is to identify, preserve, and make available records of enduring value, regardless of form. This three-part archival mission is the core of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model, expressed as ingest, archival storage, and access. Thus, one ERA solution is built around the generic OAIS Reference Model (presented in FIG. 1), which supports these core archival functions through data management, administration, and preservation planning.
The ERA may coordinate with the front-end activities of the creation, use, and maintenance of electronic records by Federal officials. This may be accomplished through the implementation of disposition agreements for electronic records and the development of templates or schemas that define the content, context, structure, and presentation of electronic records along with lifecycle data referring to these records.
The ERA solution may complement NARA's other activities and priorities, e.g., by improving the interaction between NARA staff and their customers (in the areas of scheduling, transfer, accessioning, verification, preservation, review and redaction, and/or ultimately the ease of finding and retrieving electronic records).
1.1.2 Encompassing a Broad Scope of Records
Like NARA itself, the scope of ERA includes the management of electronic and non-electronic records, permanent and temporary records, and records transferred from Federal entities as well as those donated by individuals or organizations outside of the government. Each type of record is described and/or defined below.
ERA and Non-Electronic Records: Although the focus of ERA is on preserving and providing access to authentic electronic records of enduring value, the system's scope also includes, for example, management of specific lifecycle activities for non-electronic records. ERA will support a set of lifecycle management processes (such as those used for NARA) for appraisal, scheduling, disposition, transfer, accessioning, and description of both electronic and non-electronic records. A common systems approach to appraisal and scheduling through ERA will improve the efficiency of such tasks for non-electronic records and help ensure that permanent electronic records are identified as early as possible within the records lifecycle. This same common approach will automate aspects of the disposition, transfer, accessioning, and description processes for all types of records that will result in significant workflow efficiencies. Archivists, researchers, and other users may realize benefits by having descriptions of both electronic and non-electronic records available together in a powerful, universal catalog of holdings. In an embodiment, some of ERA's capabilities regarding non-electronic records may come from subsuming the functionality of legacy systems such the Archival Research Catalog (ARC). To effectively manage lifecycle data for all types of records, in certain embodiments, ERA also may maintain data interchange (but not subsume) other legacy systems and likely future systems related to non-electronic records.
Permanent and Temporary Records: There is a fundamental archival distinction between records of enduring historic value, such as those that NARA must retain forever (e.g., permanent records) and those records that a government must retain for a finite period of time to conduct ongoing business, meet statutory and regulatory requirements, or protect rights and interests (e.g., temporary records).
For a particular record series from the US Federal Government, NARA identifies these distinctions during the record appraisal and scheduling processes and they are reflected in NARA-approved disposition agreements and instructions. Specific records are actually categorized as permanent or temporary during the disposition and accessioning processes. NARA takes physical custody of all permanent records and some temporary records, in accordance with approved disposition agreements and instructions. While all temporary records are eventually destroyed, NARA ultimately acquires legal (in addition to physical) custody over all permanent records.
ERA may address the distinction between permanent and temporary records at various stages of the records life-cycle. ERA may facilitate an organization's records appraisal and scheduling processes where archivists and transferring entities may use the system to clearly identify records as either permanent or temporary in connection with the development and approval of disposition agreements and instructions. The ERA may use this disposition information in association with the templates to recognize the distinctions between permanent and temporary records upon ingest and manage these records within the system accordingly.
For permanent records this may involve transformation to persistent formats or use of enhanced preservation techniques to insure their preservation and accessibility forever. For temporary records, NARA's Records Center Program (RCP) is exploring offering its customers an ERA service to ingest and store long-term temporary records in persistent formats. To the degree that the RCP opts to facilitate their customers' access to the ERA for appropriate preservation of long-term temporary electronic records, this same coordination relationship with transferring entities through the RCP will allow NARA to effectively capture permanent electronic records earlier in the records lifecycle. In the end, ERA may also provide for the ultimate destruction of temporary electronic records.
ERA and Donated Materials: In addition to federal records, NARA also receives and accesses donated archival materials. Such donated collections comprise a significant percentage of NARA's Presidential Library holdings, for example. ERA may manage donated electronic records in accordance with deeds of gift of deposit agreements which, when associated with templates, may ensure that these records are properly preserved and made available to users. Although donated materials may involve unusual disposition instructions or access restrictions, ERA should be flexible enough to adapt to these requirements. Since individuals or institutions donating materials to NARA are likely to be less familiar with ERA than federal transferring entities, the system may also include guidance and tools to help donors and the NARA appraisal staff working with them insure proper ingest, preservation, dissemination of donated materials.
1.1.3 Meeting the Needs of Users
Systems are designed to facilitate the work of users, and not the other way around. One or more of the following illustrative classes of users may interact with the ERA: transferring entity; appraiser; records processor; preserver; access reviewer; consumer; administrative user; and/or a manager. The ERA may take into account data security, business process re-engineering, and/or systems development and integration. The ERA solution also may provide easy access to the tools the users need to process and use electronic records holdings efficiently.
1.2 Mitigating Risks and Meeting Challenges
NARA must meet challenges relating to archival of massive amounts of information, or the American people risk losing essential evidence that is only available in the form of electronic federal records. But beyond mitigating substantial risks, the ERA affords such opportunities as:                Using digital communication tools, such as the Internet, to make electronic records holdings, such as NARA's, available beyond the research room walls in offices, schools, and homes throughout the country and around the world;        Allowing users to take advantage of the information-processing efficiencies and capabilities afforded by electronic records;        Increasing the return on the public's investment by demonstrating technological solutions to electronic records problems that will be applied throughout our digital society in a wide variety of institutional settings; and/or        Developing tools for archivists to perform their functions more efficiently.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for ingesting, storing, and/or disseminating information. The system may include an ingest module, a storage module, and a dissemination module that may be accessed by a user via one or more portals.
In an aspect of certain embodiments, there is provided a system and method for automatically identifying, preserving, and disseminating archived materials. The system/method may include extreme scale archive storage architecture with redundancy or at least survivability, suitable for the evolution from terabytes to exabytes, etc.
In another aspect of certain embodiments, there is provided an electronic records archives (ERA), comprising an ingest module to accept a file and/or a record, a storage module to associate the file or record with information and/or instructions for disposition, and an access or dissemination module to allow selected access to the file or record. The ingest module may include structure and/or a program to create a template to capture content, context, structure, and/or presentation of the record or file. The storage module may include structure or a program to preserve authenticity of the file or record over time, and/or to preserve the physical access to the record or file over time. The access module may include structure and/or a program to provide a user with ability to view/render the record or file over time, to control access to restricted records, to redact restricted or classified records, and/or to provide access to an increasing number of users anywhere at any time.
The ingest module may include structure or a program to auto-generate a description of the file or record. Each record may be transformed, e.g., using a framework that wraps and computerizes the record in a self-describing format with appropriate metadata to represent information in the template.
The ingest module, may include structure or a program to process a Submission Information Package (SIP), and/or an Archive Information Package (AIP). The access module may include structure or a program to process a Dissemination Information Packages (DIP).
Independent aspects of the invention may include the ingest module alone or one or more aspects thereof, the storage module alone or one or more aspects thereof; and/or the access module alone or one or more aspects thereof.
Still further aspects of the invention relate to a methods for carrying out one or more functions of the ERA or components thereof (ingest module, storage module, and/or access module).
1.3 Archival Problems in General and Drawbacks of Existing Solutions
The challenges faced by NARA are typical of broader archival problems and reveal drawbacks associated with known solutions. Thus, in an embodiment, an ERA may be provided to address some or all of the more general problems. In particular, archives systems exist for storing and preserving electronic assets, which are stored as digital data. Typically, these assets are preserved for a period of time (retention time) and then deleted. These systems maintain metadata about the assets in asset catalogs to facilitate asset management. Such metadata may include one or more of the following:                Attributes to uniquely identify assets;        Attributes to describe assets;        Attributes to facilitate search through the archives;        Attributes to define asset structure and relationships to other assets;        Attributes to organize assets;        Attributes for asset protection;        Attributes to maintain information about asset authenticity; and/or        Status of the asset lifecycle (e.g., planning receipt of asset through eventual deletion).
Unfortunately, these systems all suffer from several drawbacks. For example, there are limitations relating to the scale of the assets managed and, in particular, the size and number of all the assets maintained. These systems also have practical limitations in the duration in which they retain assets. Typically, archives systems are designed to retain data for years or sometimes decades, but not longer. As retention times of assets become very long or indefinite, longevity of the archives system itself, as well as the assets archived, is needed because an archives system's basic requirement is to preserve assets.
But indefinite longevity of an archives system and its assets pose challenges. For example, providing access to old electronic assets is complicated by obsolescence of the asset's format. Regular upgrades of the archives system itself, including migrations of asset data and/or metadata to new storage systems is complicated by extreme size of the assets managed, e.g., if the metadata has to be redesigned to handle new required attributes or to handle an order of magnitude greater number of assets than supported by the old design, then the old metadata generally will have to be migrated to the new design, which could entail a great deal of migration. Extreme scale and longevity make impractical archives systems that are not designed to accommodate unknown, future changes and reduce the impact of necessary change as much as possible.
Archives systems today are built on top of underlying storage systems based on commercial products that are typically comprised of file systems (e.g., Sun's ZFS file system) or relational databases (e.g., Oracle), and sometimes proprietary systems (e.g., EMC Centera). All of these storage systems have limitations in terms of scale (though sometimes the limits can be quite high). In some cases, there may be no products that can make use of the full scale of available file systems. Few of these systems can scale to trillions of entries (e.g., files). Limitations arise for different reasons but can be related to one or more of the following factors, alone or in combination:                Limitations of object or file identification schemes (e.g., uniqueness of identifiers. www.doi.org provides background on the state of the art for electronic/digital entity identifiers.);        Catalog limitations (e.g., number of entries, design bottlenecks);        The number of storage subsystems that can be integrated (sometimes termed horizontal scalability);        The capacity of underlying storage technologies;        Search and retrieval performance considerations (e.g., search can become impractical with extreme size);        The ability to distribute system components (e.g., systems can be difficult to distribute geographically); and/or        Limitations of system maintenance tasks that are a function of system size (e.g., systems can become impractical to administer with extreme size).
Currently, relational databases (DBs) can scale only to 10 billion objects per instance. Relational DBs also generally do not perform as well as file systems for simple search and retrieval function tasks because they tend to introduce additional overhead to meet other requirements such as fine-grained transactional integrity. There is also no viable product that integrates multiple file systems in a way that provides both extreme scaling and longevity suitable for an archives file system.
2. The Asset Catalog of Certain Example Embodiments
The asset catalog is one component of the ERA system. It may hold metadata that helps understand and manage assets in the Electronic Archives. It also may be structured to support and/or enable search (e.g., federated search) and browse functions to enable users to locate assets of interest. Because there typically is at least one catalog entry for every asset (plus entries representing asset aggregates), the asset catalog must be able to scale to very large numbers of catalog entries while providing useful search features and interactive performance. Furthermore, the asset catalog may be used to help access particular assets or collections of assets. It also may be updated with every ingest and with every accession.
The embodiments disclosed herein represent technical approaches and specific implementations capable of meeting ERA requirements for the asset catalog. One aspect of the embodiments disclosed herein relates to data storage models, and another aspect of the embodiments disclosed herein relates to search server architectures. Two fundamentally different solution classes were implemented using commercially available products. First, a database storage with integrated text search was implemented using products available from Oracle. Second, a file system storage with a separate text search engine was implemented using products available from Autonomy. The products were used as exemplars to evaluate the scalability, performance, functionality, and flexibility characteristics of various storage models and server architectures, and thus the present invention is not limited to such commercial products and the structures associated therewith. To test the overall viability of the configurations, the products were installed and loaded with several million synthetic asset catalog entries and exercised with representative queries. The illustrative schema and the illustrative dictionary used when creating the synthetic asset catalog are set forth below in Section 10. Query functionality, query response time, data storage usage, schema flexibility, and various issues encountered were explored.
It has been determined that a text search engine (e.g., Autonomy) with catalog entries stored as XML documents in a file system provides an advantageous combination of scalability, performance, functionality, and flexibility. This solution may combine the rich text-search features offered by search engines with the known scalability provided by simple file system storage. In addition, this solution may provide the flexibility to use a variety of search products with a variety of file system products, reducing risk and improving evolvability. Missing capabilities (such as XQuery support and intra-record transaction capabilities) are not necessarily a significant concern, because catalog entries generally will be stored and retrieved as whole items. It also has been determined that storing XML documents as shredded XML in an object-relational DBMS (e.g., Oracle) is an acceptable alternative, when several ERA functional search requirements (e.g., keyword suggest) are relaxed or the cost of custom implementation can be borne.
With respect to a search server architecture, it has been determined that a "federation" of multiple search server instances provides an advantageous result. A federator component may be bought or built, because database/search products generally either do not provide them or use proprietary schemas. Furthermore, the search server architecture can be augmented with distributed indexing, clustering, caching, and/or logical partitioning to improve performance and availability.
In certain embodiments, the catalog may be partitioned based on, for example, level of detail (e.g., aggregate vs. individual asset item), the need to phase in search requirements on item-level catalog entries, etc. Because there is likely to be limited or no useful metadata at the item level, indexing item-level catalog entries generally will provide no useful benefits. By focusing search functionality in the near-term on aggregate-level catalog entries then using browse (e.g., from search results) to access item-level catalog entries, the number of search servers required can be greatly reduced from hundreds or thousands to as few as one or two. Additionally or in the alternative, search server federation also can be used to gracefully expand search capabilities over time to the item level as additional metadata (e.g., content summaries) becomes available.
One aspect of certain embodiments relates to storing aggregate-level and item-level catalog entries in the file system in separate directories. Another aspect of certain embodiments relates to using a single instance of a text search engine to index and search aggregate entries only, and providing browse links from aggregate entries to detail entries. Still another aspect of certain embodiments relates to a federator being implemented to standardize the query interface and provide for future growth.
According to certain example embodiments, an extremely large scale computer storage system is provided. An asset catalog may comprise a plurality of asset catalog entries stored according to at least one schema and corresponding to a plurality of assets. A storage architecture may be capable of storing the plurality of assets, with the storage architecture comprising a storage locator and a federator. An item identification scheme may be capable of providing identifiers to reference, locate, and/or access said assets and/or said asset catalog entries stored in the asset catalog in the storage architecture. The computer storage system may be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.
According to certain other example embodiments, a method of managing an extremely large scale computer storage system is provided. An asset catalog comprising a plurality of asset catalog entries stored according to at least one schema and corresponding to a plurality of assets may be provided. A storage architecture may store the plurality of assets, with the storage architecture comprising a storage locator and a federator. Identifiers may be provided via an item identification scheme to locate, access, and/or reference assets and/or asset catalog entries stored in the asset catalog in the storage architecture. The computer storage system may be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.
According to certain other example embodiments, an extremely large scale computer storage system is provided. An asset catalog may be configured to store and/or retrieve a plurality of asset catalog entries. A storage architecture may be capable of storing a plurality of assets and at least one of the plurality of asset catalog entries in at least one storage location in dependence on at least one storage rule. A search interface may be configured to cooperate with one or more search engines to enable indexing of and/or searching for at least one of the asset catalog entries. A federator may be configured to mediate within and/or between the search interface and/or the storage architecture. The plurality of asset catalog entries may include at least entries corresponding to all assets persisted in the computer storage system. The plurality of assets in the storage architecture and the asset catalog entries may be identifiable based on a substantially immutable identification scheme. The asset catalog entries may be represented according to at least one schema. Each asset catalog entry may be representable in an arbitrary relationship with another asset catalog entry. The at least one storage location may be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.
According to still other example embodiments, a system comprising an item identification scheme and/or subroutine, an asset catalog, and a storage subsystem may be provided. The item identification scheme and/or subroutine may associate item (e.g., asset and/or asset catalog entry) identifiers with one or more characteristics. Such characteristics may be structured to support partitioning and/or federation of stored elements (such as asset catalogs and asset repositories) and/or efficient mapping of identifiers to physical storage locations; may be universally unique such that relations and component references may span storage partitions and/or instances of a federations (comprising either or both of component references that are pointers in the asset catalog entry to the physical elements that make up the asset, and relations that are the links among asset catalog entries that are used to create logical and other derived assets, such as collections); and/or may be immutable so that eventual migration of the asset catalog to update obsolete identifiers is avoided, and external references made using these identifiers do not become invalid over time. The asset catalog may include asset catalog entries that together comprise the mechanisms to provide extreme scalability and flexibility. A schema may provide both specific and general metadata tags to provide indexing for search and access, efficiency and flexibility in metadata capture, and interpretation of metadata; support arbitrary relations between catalog entries and component assets to enable multiple views or taxonomies of the assets to be represented; support both parent-child and child-parent relations for flexibility and scalability; support browsing relations such that all assets are reachable even if only a portion have been indexed for searching; provide for multiple representations of the components of an asset to enable long-term preservation, redaction, versioning, and other functions; provide for multiple components with relationships between components to allow efficient cataloging of large numbers of asset components; utilize the item identification scheme described above, which imbues in the asset catalog the advantageous characteristics of the identifiers described above; use label security (e.g., a security mechanism where objects have a security label identifying the access required and where users are assigned the security labels to which they are granted access, generally in contrast to access control lists, which identify users for each object that can access the object; also in contrast to group access, which identify groups (of users) for each object than have access) to enable manageability for very large numbers of assets [it would be impractical to tag all those assets with users; and/or use a tagged-text (e.g., XML) format to enable catalog entries to be stored in a variety of technologies including file systems, relational databases, and object databases, and to enable recovery of content even if schema design information is lost or corrupted (e.g., humans may make sense of XML data by reading the tags even if the XML schema for these XML documents is lost). The storage structure of the asset catalog may be partitioned and/or federated based on the item identification scheme above to enable highly-scalable federated search of the catalog and to provide autonomy in the management of different catalog instances. The overall storage subsystem may comprise mechanisms to provide extreme scalability, flexibility, and longevity. In particular, a storage locator and/or federator may use the structured identifiers above to enable transparent partitioning and federation of storage subsystems; map items to storage locations using item metadata to enable physical storage structures to reflect business requirements or to partition items based on their characteristics to enable search and/or access optimization, and to enable assets and corresponding catalog entries to be physically stored together to improve portability and recoverability (e.g., to allow transparency of: storage locations should they change, data migration to new platforms, use of new commercial storage systems for storage, etc.); allow items to be mapped to multiple locations to improve access performance and availability (e.g., there may be three inputs to the storage locator: metadata, structured identifiers, URI qualifier, with the last indicating whether a replica is to be stored somewhere for a specific purpose, e.g., in both the authoritative repository and a cache repository, thus supporting performance, or a primary and secondary repository thus supporting disaster recovery and/or availability); use URIs for item access to allow transparent usage of multiple types of storage systems/technologies including file systems, relational databases, and object databases; and/or record item storage locations using patterns that have portions for which substitution is done, e.g., of an item identifier, to greatly reduce the size of this storage mapping database used by the locator to find items in storage. This last concept is another aspect that supports scalability—for example, the part and item may be left blank, so that the table entry can indicate where all items for a given package are stored, which keeps the number of entries down by several orders of magnitude.
According to certain example embodiments, a storage architecture for use with an extremely large scale computer storage system is provided. At least one storage location may be capable of storing a plurality of assets and/or a plurality of asset catalog entries corresponding to the plurality of assets. An object identification service may provide immutable and scalable identifiers for each said asset and each said asset catalog entry. A storage locator may include a mapping database to map assets and/or asset catalog entries to the at least one storage location. A federator also may be provided. The storage architecture may be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.
According to certain other example embodiments, a computer-implemented method of maintaining a storage architecture for use with an extremely large scale computer storage system is provided. At least one storage location may be provided to store a plurality of assets and/or a plurality of asset catalog entries corresponding to the plurality of assets. An object identification service may be provided to provide immutable and scalable identifiers for each said asset and each said asset catalog entry. A storage locator including a mapping database may be provided to map assets and/or asset catalog entries to the at least one storage location. A federator may be provided. The storage architecture may be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.
According to certain example embodiments, a computer-implemented immutable identification scheme tangibly stored on a computer-readable storage medium for use with an asset catalog and an extremely large scale computer system having an associated storage architecture is provided. The identification scheme may comprise a plurality of identifiers to reference, locate, and/or access a plurality of assets and/or a plurality of asset catalog entries stored in the asset catalog. The identification scheme may enable the asset catalog and/or the large scale computer system to be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.
According to certain other example embodiments, a computer-implemented method of managing an immutable identification scheme for use with an asset catalog and an extremely large scale computer system having an associated storage architecture is provided. The method may comprise providing a plurality of identifiers to reference, locate, and/or access a plurality of assets and/or a plurality of asset catalog entries stored or to be stored in the asset catalog and/or large scale computer system to enable the asset catalog and/or the large scale computer system to be scalable essentially without limitation while maintaining asset storage and retrieval flexibility and substantially obsolescence-proof survivability of assets.
It will be appreciated that as used herein, the term "subroutine" is broad enough to encompass any suitable combination of hardware, software, and any other form of programmed logic circuitry capable of accomplishing a specified function. It also will be appreciated that the above-described embodiments, and the elements thereof, may be used alone or in various combinations to realize yet further embodiments. For example, the asset catalog, storage subsystem, and item identification scheme each may be used separately or in any combination.
Other aspects, features, and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this disclosure and which illustrate, by way of example, principles of this invention.

System and method for immutably storing electronic assets in a large-scale computer system


A technique of providing traffic information to a navigation system that obtains (704) current traffic data having a current traffic condition associated with a location description on a road network. Historic traffic data associated with the location description are then obtained (708) from a historic traffic database to be compared (710) with the current traffic data. From the comparison, a traffic delta between the current traffic data and the historic traffic data is then provided (710), which is used to determine (714) whether this traffic delta corresponds in a predetermined way with a threshold. And if so, a traffic message is generated (716) with the current traffic condition associated with the location description.

The present invention relates generally to a technique of providing traffic information, and more particularly to a technique of providing traffic information on a navigation system via wireless channels.
In some metropolitan areas and countries, systems have been implemented for broadcasting data messages that contain up-to-the-minute reports of traffic and road condition information. These systems broadcast the data messages on a continuous, periodic, or frequently occurring basis. Receivers decode the data messages and provide the up-to-the-minute reports of traffic and road information.
The traffic data message broadcast systems have several advantages over radio stations simply broadcasting audio traffic reports. For example, with the traffic data message broadcasting systems, a driver can quickly obtain the traffic information. The driver does not have to wait until the radio station broadcasts a traffic report. Another advantage of the traffic data message broadcast systems is that the driver does not have to listen to descriptions of traffic conditions for areas remote from his or her location. Another advantage of traffic data message broadcast systems is that more detailed and possibly more up-to-date information can be provided. In these types of systems, the data messages conform to one or more pre-established specifications or formats. The in-vehicle receivers decode the traffic data messages using the pre-established specifications or formats.
One system for broadcasting traffic and road condition information is the Radio Data System-Traffic Message Channel ("RDS-TMC") (or RBDS in North America). The RDS-TMC system is used in North America and some European countries. RDS-TMC messages are broadcast regularly or at varying intervals. Another traffic system named Vehicle Information and Communication System ("VICS") Center is also used in Japan. In the current system, these traffic data messages are broadcast continuously to provide the drivers with updated current traffic conditions. One consideration is that the traffic data messages are broadcast regardless of whether there is a delay on the road segment. The current traffic systems, thus, can be improved to efficiently and effectively provide updated current traffic conditions, while conserving transmission bandwidths and resources.

Methods of providing traffic information and supporting apparatus, readable medium, and memory


A novel, hybrid optical fiber stub device comprises a first ferrule transparent to UV light and a second ferrule including a conventional material. An optical fiber is disposed through the first ferrule and second ferrule. The input and output faces of the optical fiber are prepared suitable for optical coupling. A photonic device is coupled to the first optical fiber surface. A UV curable epoxy is disposed between the photonic device and the first optical fiber surface. The UV curable epoxy includes an index of refraction between an index of refraction of the first optical fiber and an index of refraction of the photonic device. A second optical fiber is coupled to the first optical fiber.

The increased use of photonic devices in many applications is driving the need for reduced cost and improved assembly methods. One of the major difficulties in using photonic devices is the coupling to optical fibres required for transmission from one photonic device to another. Efficient, simple methods of coupling the photonic devices at both ends of the optical link are highly desirable.
Existing photonic devices include lasers, detectors, modulators, switches, attenuators, optical multiplexers and de-multiplexers, gratings, couplers and other devices where a function is achieved in a photonic device. Photonic devices are manufactured from a variety of materials including silica, silicon, silicon-Germanium, Indium Phosphide, Gallium Arsenide, Lithium Niobate and other materials that exhibit optical emitting, detection, or guiding properties.
Existing methods for coupling photonic devices to optical fibres efficiently include some form of mode matching because the optical waveguides have a different size than the core of an optical fibre. One method of mode matching involves using lenses. The use of lenses for mode matching adds cost and manufacturing complexity to the photonic device. An alternative method of mode matching involves manufacturing a V groove adjacent to the waveguide such that the optical fibre can locate in the V groove and be correctly positioned with respect to the waveguide. The V groove method requires larger photonic devices to provide space for the V groove which increases the cost of the photonic device. Additionally, manufacturing the V grooves requires additional processing steps compared to manufacturing integrated photonic devices without V grooves, which also increases the cost of the photonic device.
Another method of mode matching involves producing a tapered region in a waveguide during the manufacturing of the photonic device. Creating a tapered region in the waveguide addresses the issues created because the optical waveguides have a different size than the core of the optical fibre. By using a tapered region in the waveguide for mode matching, it is possible to butt couple the optical fibre to the waveguide and obtain efficient transfer of light between the waveguide and the optical fibre. Butt coupling removes the need for lensing and complicated alignment procedures and is the preferred option for integrated photonic assemblies. Accordingly, a method is required to efficiently and easily butt couple optical fibre to a photonic device using the edge of the waveguide.

Fibre stub device and method using butt coupling for receptacled photonic devices


An improved lubrication system for a vehicular mechanical transmission (10) is provided. The transmission gearing (22-34) rotates in a dry sump (11) in the housing (12) and a reservoir (40) provides a sump of lubricant (42) below the level of the gearing. A pump (44) pumps lubricant from the reservoir through a filter (48) and into a distribution manifold (50) for filtered lubrication of the bearings (20) and/or other transmission elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lubrication system for a change gear transmission and, in particular, relates to a lubrication system for a change gear transmission wherein an oil reservoir is maintained separated from, preferably below, the transmission gearing to eliminate or minimize churn losses and lubricant is pumped through an easily accessible filter to necessary points for spraying of bearings and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Change gear mechanical transmissions, i.e. transmissions utilizing positive jaw clutches to selectively engage and disengage selected gears to shafts, are well known in the prior art. Examples of such transmissions may be seen by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,805,471; 4,432,251 and 4,754,665, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Lubrication of key points of such transmissions, especially the bearings, is critical to the life, capacity and performance of such transmissions, especially those transmissions intended for heavy duty vehicles. The prior art Transmissions typically include a lubricant sump in which a portion of the gearing constantly rotated for purposes of a splash and/or slinging type of lubrication system. The prior art also included pressurized lubrication systems wherein added pumps and/or the pumping action of bearings was utilized to supplement the splash/slinging lubrication systems, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,644,815; 4,914,968; 5,005,437 and 4,356,889, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The prior art transmissions, while very commercially successful, were not totally satisfactory as splash/sling lubrication systems may not provide sufficient lubrication/cooling under certain sever operating conditions, all lubricant was not continuously filtered, the combined churning and pumping losses were excessive and/or cleaning or replacing of the filter element was difficult.


A human condition evaluation system, of which bio-signal analysis means includes a bio-signal peak value detection means for detecting a peak value for each cycle of an original waveform of a bio-signal data, and a power value calculation means for calculating a difference between the peak value at an upper limit side and the peak value at a lower limit side for every prescribed time range using respective peak values obtained by the bio-signal peak value detection means to thereby set the difference as a power value, is structured to determine a predictive signal for falling asleep from an active state into a sleep state. Different from conventional human condition evalution based simply on a Lyapunov exponent as an indicator, a new human condition evaluation system based on a functional status of an energy generation system of the living body is provided.

For detecting a human condition whether he/she is in the active state (wakeful state or awakening state) or in the sleep state, conventionally, a brain wave measurement and a pattern analysis on the brain wave are conducted. However, the brain wave measurement has to be conducted under conditions limiting a person's normal movement, for instance, a brain wave electrode and/or an eletrooculographic electrode is/are required to be set on a head of a subject, and so forth. Therefore, when operating a vehicle such as an automobile, a train, and the like, it is difficult to evaluate the human condition without imposing a strain on the subject.
Meanwhile, as a traffic accident prevention measure, a monitoring of the human condition (psychosomatic condition) of a driver in operation is receiving attention in recent years. For instance, techniques for monitoring the human condition using a heart beat or a pulse are proposed in patent document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-308614) and patent document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-146321). According to the techniques disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2, no large-scale setting of equipment is required for measuring brain wave, whereby facilitating the evaluation of the human condition of the driver.
The devices disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2 both determine a psychosomatic condition of the driver using a chaos indicator calculated from the heart beat or the pulse. Specifically, they are structured to calculate a Lyapunov exponent from the heart beat or the pulse, as one chaos indicator, and when the Lyapunov exponent shows, in its time-series change, a decline beyond a prescribed time, it is determined to be just before falling asleep (a state feeling drowsy) due to a stress suffered and at a level requiring a rest. It is already disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-208136 that the chaos indicator of a bio-signal enables objective diagnosis of a human condition. It is therefore presumable that the devices disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2 are capable of detecting the state just before falling asleep.
However, in patent documents 1 and 2, the disclosure is made for the determination of a fatigue state feeling drowsy only by the chaos indicator such as a Lyapunov exponent and the like, in which, in an attempt to determine the fatigue state feeling drowsy, a process reaching to a psychologically stabilized state is detected based on the declining change of the Lyapunov exponent, and in which the heat beat or the pulse measured is processed only for the chaos indicator.
Generally, a physical capability can be divided into that for survival, which is required for maintaining a life, and that for activity, which is supported by the former. The physical capability for survival corresponds to a capability to maintain life and health, and is referred to as defensive physical capability, while the physical capability for activity is a behavioral physical capability for moving a body, and is generally understood as athletic ability. A function for supporting the physical capability for activity includes an energy generation system, an energy supply system, and an energy control system. The energy generation system functions for a muscular system measured by muscular strength, staying power, and the like, which causes a muscle fatigue. The energy supply system functions for a respiration and circulatory system measured by oxygen uptake and heart rate. The energy control system functions for alterness, cooperativeness, balance, and adoptability. Consequently, the functional status of the energy generation system causing muscle fatigue can be known by analyzing the state of the energy supply system or the energy control system.
Now, by obtaining the Lyapunov exponent of a bio-signal data, the state of the energy control system can be known, and by measuring a resistance force (power value) obtainable from a peak value for each cycle of the bio-signal, the state of the energy supply system can be known. Accordingly, with the use of the Lyapunov exponent or the power value, which are obtainable from the bio-signal data, the functional status of the energy generation system can be known. However, as mentioned before, currently, only the Lyapunov exponent is paid attention, and the power value is not within the scope for understanding the functional status of the energy generation system.
For more detail, as a characteristic of a fatigue state feeling drowsy, the Lyapunov exponent sometimes shows a sharp downward trend, in other cases, a change in the power value can be seen sometimes more remarkable than the change in the Lyapunov exponent due to functional capability down of the energy supply system caused by energy release under the active state. Such a difference in change patterns largely depends on individual differences or health conditions. Therefore, for detecting an emergence of the fatigue state feeling drowsy more properly, the time-series change in the Liapunov exponent being an indicator of the state of the energy control system, and the time-series change in the power value being an indicator of the state of the energy supply system, are preferably used together in the system instead of using one.
In other words, the wakeful state or awakening state (active state) is a state psychologically stimulated and consuming higher calories, and when falling asleep, a person experiences a state psychologically relaxed but consuming still higher calories to reach to a state psychologically relaxed and consuming lower calories, or experiences a state psychologically stimulated but consuming lower calories to reach to the state psychologically relaxed and consuming lower calories. A typical sign indicating the former state psychologically relaxed but still consuming higher calories is an apparent decline in the Lyapunov exponent, and a typical sign indicating the latter state psychologically stimulated but consuming lower calories is an apparent decline in the power value. Based on this perspective, again, it is preferable to detect both the Lyapunov exponent and the power value instead of detecting one.
Further, in patent documents 1 and 2, the values of the Lyapunov exponent and the heart rate track the time-series changes thereof, while the value is detected for every 15 minutes or 30 minutes. Therefore, it is difficult to monitor the change in state substantially in real time, as required for a monitoring while driving.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Human condition evaluation system, computer program, and computer-readable record medium


An MRI-guided interventional system for use with a patient and an interventional device includes a base, a trajectory guide frame, and a mounting device. The base is configured to be secured to a body of the patient. The trajectory guide frame includes a targeting cannula. The targeting cannula has an elongate guide bore extending axially therethrough, defining a trajectory axis, and being configured to guide placement of the interventional device. The trajectory guide frame is operable to move the targeting cannula relative to the base to position the trajectory axis to a desired intrabody trajectory to guide placement of the interventional device in vivo. A plurality of patient engagement structures are provided on the base and are configured to penetrate tissue of the body and to space the base apart from the tissue. The system further includes a plurality of fasteners configured to secure the base to the body.

It is often necessary or desirable to mount a trajectory guide frame for MRI-guided surgeries directly to a patient. For example, a frameless stereotactic trajectory guide apparatus may be secured to a patient's skull using bone penetrating screws or the like. Examples of such trajectory guide apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2009/0112084 A1.

Trajectory guide frame for MRI-guided surgeries


An integrated circuit card control circuit includes a clock control circuit for receiving a control signal, delaying the received control signal by a first delay time, and outputting the delayed control signal as a clock control signal. A delayed signal generating circuit receives the control signal, delays the control signal by a second delay time which is longer than the first delay time, and outputs the delayed control signal as a delayed signal. A power supply control circuit outputs a power supply control signal in response to one of either the control signal or the delayed signal, and a reset control circuit outputs a reset control signal in response to both the control signal and the delayed signal.

What are known as integrated circuit card (hereinafter referred to as "IC card") reader/writers exist as prior art IC card control circuits for reading out IC card information and writing information to the IC card. Such conventional IC card reader/writers are mainly incorporated into Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) and Point Of Sale (POS) terminals.
However, because such conventional IC card reader/writers are incorporated into ATM or POS terminals, utilizing IC cards has been limited to ATM and POS terminals. Also, because it is necessary to design the conventional IC card reader/writers and IC cards exclusively for the ATM and POS terminals, the initial investment is very large. The spread of IC cards has been prevented for the reasons mentioned above.
In order to solve these problems, compact IC card reader/writers that can be connected to personal computers have recently been used. That is, general purpose IC card readers have been used.

IC card control circuit and IC card control system


A molded motor vehicle instrument panel made of a thermoplastic material has an integral air bag deployment door for a passenger side air bag that is defined by a tear seam and is normally retained by an integral flexible mounting/hinge flange to a part of the vehicle structure when the seam is torn by the inflating air bag and wherein this flange then bends to allow the door to swing open to allow deployment of the air bag through an opening in the instrument panel while retaining same to the vehicle structure as the door is then free of the instrument panel. At very low temperatures, a portion of the air bag door can break away from the mounting/hinge flange because of plastic embrittlement at these low temperatures and the high bending stresses encountered at this juncture. This separation of the broken door portion from the vehicle structure is prevented by a tethering hinge that is formed of a strong flexible sheet material that spans this critical juncture between the mounting/hinge flange and door and remains flexible at these very cold temperatures to retain the broken door portion to the vehicle structure.

Presently, most passenger-side air bag doors are formed in an air bag cover that is separate from the instrument panel because the latter is made of a commercially available thermoplastic material particularly suited to meeting the requirements of its application but is not well suited to meeting the requirements of an air bag door that is defined by a tear seam formed in the instrument panel. For example, the plastics materials used to make a self-supporting instrument panel must have a certain degree of stiffness and high heat resistance to meet the requirements of its application but the materials that are currently available for such an instrument panel do not retain ductility and become embrittled at very low or cold temperatures which is unsuitable for air bag deployment where the air bag door is formed integral with and defined by a tear seam formed in the instrument panel. Styrene-maleic anhydride, polypropylene, polycarbonate and polyphenylene oxide are examples of thermoplastic materials that are suitable for the instrument panel but do not have the required ductility or flexibility for such an air bag door at very low temperatures. As a result, the air bag cover or door on the passenger side is normally made separate from the instrument panel and of a different commercially available thermoplastic material such as polyurethane elastomer, polyester elastomer, and polyolefin elastomer which are suitable for such application but are not suitable for the requirements of the instrument panel.
Costs can be reduced, quality can be improved and styling can be enhanced by molding the instrument panel and the air bag cover including an integral air bag deployment door in one piece at the same time out of the same commercially available material provided, however, that the normal material requirements for the instrument panel are not sacrificed and the safe assured operability of the integral air bag deployment door is retained at reasonable cost, even though the plastics material may not be well suited thereto.

Motor vehicle instrument panel with flexible tethering hinged air bag deployment door


A plant control system provides an enhanced capability of compensation for disturbance that abruptly changes. A controller includes a disturbance predictor for calculating a predicted value of disturbance on the basis of a drag force of a release spring and an assisting force of a compensation spring that are predicted on the basis of a clutch stroke, an adaptive disturbance observer for calculating an estimated value of disturbance on the basis of the estimated value of disturbance, a voltage to be applied to a motor, and the clutch stroke, and a sliding mode controller, which determines the voltage to be applied to the motor by carrying out control for making the clutch stroke follow a clutch stroke target value by determining the voltage to be applied to the motor by sliding mode control on the basis of the clutch stroke, the predicted value of disturbance, and the estimated value of disturbance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system for controlling outputs of a plant to be controlled using response specifying control.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a system for controlling outputs of a plant to be controlled using response specifying control, a throttle valve controller, for example, has been proposed. In this controller, the degree of opening of a throttle valve provided in an intake passage of an engine is adjusted by sliding mode control (refer to, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-318605).
According to the aforesaid throttle valve controller, model parameters in a model equation of a driving device of the throttle valve are corrected on the basis of identification errors (deviations from reference values of model parameters). This makes it possible to reduce influences of modeling errors or disturbance in determining a manipulated variable of the driving device of the throttle valve.
However, correcting model parameters on the basis of identification errors, as described above, has been making it impossible to accomplish adequate compensation for disturbance that abruptly changes, although satisfactory compensation has been accomplished for disturbance that slowly changes.