All The Claims

1. A bearing assembly for supporting a steering shaft within a steering column tube, comprising:
an outer bearing ring defining an outer raceway;
an inner bearing ring defining an inner raceway;
a plurality of roller elements disposed between the inner raceway and the outer raceway;
a support cone defining an inner surface and an outer surface, the support cone being disposed radially inwardly of, and in contact with, the inner bearing ring, and
a biasing element disposed adjacent the inner surface of the support cone,
wherein the biasing element exerts force radially-outwardly against the inner surface of the support cone.
2. The bearing assembly of claim 1, further comprising a bearing cage defining a plurality of roller pockets, each roller pocket receiving one of said plurality of roller elements, the bearing cage being disposed between the inner bearing ring and the outer bearing ring.
3. The bearing assembly of claim 2, wherein the biasing element further comprises a spring ring.
4. The bearing assembly of claim 3, wherein the spring ring is comprised of spring steel.
5. The bearing assembly of claim 3, wherein the inner surface of the support cone further comprises an annular groove and the spring ring is disposed in the annular groove.
6. The bearing assembly of claim 3, the support cone further comprising a front wall, a rear wall, and an annular face that is transverse to a longitudinal center axis of the support cone and disposed between the front wall and rear wall, wherein the spring ring is disposed adjacent the annular face.
7. The bearing assembly of claim 6, the support cone further comprising at least one projection extending radially inward from the front wall, wherein a portion of the spring ring is disposed between the annular face and the projection so that the spring ring is axially retained relative to the support cone.
8. The bearing assembly of claim 3, wherein the spring ring further comprises at least one retention feature extending radially outward beyond the outer surface of the support cone, the retention feature extending radially outward beyond an innermost perimeter of the inner bearing ring so that the support cone is secured to the inner bearing ring in the axial direction.
9. The bearing assembly of claim 8, wherein the at least one retention feature extends outwardly through a slot defined by the support cone, the slot extending from its inner surface to its outer surface.
10. The bearing assembly of claim 8, wherein the at least one retention feature further comprises an outwardly depending loop formed by a portion of the spring ring.
11. The bearing assembly of claim 3, wherein the spring ring further comprises at least one retention feature extending radially outward beyond the outer surface of the support cone, the retention feature extending radially outward beyond an innermost perimeter of the outer bearing ring so that the support cone is secured to the outer bearing ring in the axial direction.
12. The bearing assembly of claim 11, wherein the at least one retention feature extends outwardly through a slot defined by the support cone, the slot extending from its inner surface to its outer surface.
13. The bearing assembly of claim 11, wherein the at least one retention feature further comprises an outwardly depending loop formed by a portion of the spring ring.
14. A bearing assembly for supporting a steering shaft within a steering column tube, comprising:
an outer bearing ring defining an innermost perimeter and outer raceway;
an inner bearing ring defining an innermost perimeter and inner raceway;
a plurality of roller elements disposed between the inner raceway and the outer raceway;
a bearing cage having an intermediate portion defining a plurality of roller pockets, each roller pocket receiving one of said plurality of roller elements;
a support cone defining an inner surface and an outer surface, the support cone being disposed radially inwardly of, and in contact with, the inner bearing ring, and
a biasing element disposed adjacent the inner surface of the support cone,
wherein the biasing element exerts force radially-outwardly against the inner surface of the support cone.
15. The bearing assembly of claim 14, wherein the biasing element further comprises a spring ring.
16. The bearing assembly of claim 15, wherein the spring ring is comprised of spring steel.
17. The bearing assembly of claim 15, wherein the cage further comprises a front wall with at least one retention tab extending radially outward therefrom, and a rear wall with at least one retention tab extending radially inward therefrom, wherein the at least one retention tab of the front wall extends outward beyond the innermost perimeter of the outer bearing ring and the retention tab of the rear wall extends inward beyond the outermost perimeter of the inner bearing ring.
18. The bearing assembly of claim 17, wherein the inner surface of the support cone further comprises an annular groove and the spring ring is disposed in the annular groove.
19. The bearing assembly of claim 17, the support cone further comprising a front wall, a rear wall, and an annular face that is transverse to a longitudinal center axis of the support cone and disposed between the front wall and rear wall, wherein the spring ring is disposed adjacent the annular face.
20. The bearing assembly of claim 19, the support cone further comprising at least one projection extending radially inward from the front wall, wherein a portion of the spring ring is disposed between the annular face and the projection so that the spring ring is axially retained relative to the support cone.
21. The bearing assembly of claim 15, wherein the spring ring further comprises at least one retention feature extending radially outward beyond the outer surface of the support cone, the retention feature extending radially outward beyond an innermost perimeter of the inner bearing ring so that the support cone is secured to the inner bearing ring in the axial direction.
22. The bearing assembly of claim 21, wherein the at least one retention feature extends outwardly through a slot defined by the support cone, the slot extending from its inner surface to its outer surface.
23. The bearing assembly of claim 21, wherein the at least one retention feature further comprises an outwardly depending loop formed by a portion of the spring ring.
24. The bearing assembly of claim 15, wherein the spring ring further comprises at least one retention feature extending radially outward beyond the outer surface of the support cone, the retention feature extending radially outward beyond an innermost perimeter of the outer bearing ring so that the support cone is secured to the outer bearing ring in the axial direction.
25. The bearing assembly of claim 24, wherein the at least one retention feature extends outwardly through a slot defined by the support cone, the slot extending from its inner surface to its outer surface.
26. The bearing assembly of claim 24, wherein the at least one retention feature further comprises an outwardly depending loop formed by a portion of the spring ring.
27. The bearing assembly of claim 15, wherein the at least one retention feature axially fixes the outer bearing ring, the inner bearing ring, the bearing cage, the plurality of roller elements and the support cone with respect to each other.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A machine readable storage device comprising at least one of a magnetic storage device and an electronic memory device having machine-readable instructions executed by a server, in communication with a plurality of clients, a first storage device, and a second storage device, to perform operations, the operations comprising:
providing data storage services for the clients for backup of data objects from the clients;
sending a data object to a first location in the first storage device;
determining if the data object was successfully stored at the first location, and if so, storing meta data corresponding with the data object, wherein the meta data includes first path information on a first data path of the data object from a source location to the first location, wherein the first path information indicates at least one device in the first data path between the source location and the first location;
migrating the data object from the first location to a second location in the second storage device; and
determining if the data object was successfully stored at the second location, and if so, adding second path information on a second data path of the data object from the first location to the second location to the meta data corresponding with the data object, to update the meta data, wherein the second path information indicates at least one device in the second data path between the first location and the second location.
2. The machine readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the server provides data storage services for the clients at the first and the second storage devices in a storage area network.
3. The machine readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the first and the second storage devices comprise different storage media, and wherein the data object is migrated to the second location by migrating the data object to tape.
4. The machine readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the metadata indicates a data path to track the storage devices and hardware paths through which a data object passes while being stored at the first and the second locations.
5. The machine readable storage device of claim 4, wherein the metadata further tracks a time at which the data object was located at the first and the second locations.
6. The machine readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:
updating the metadata for the object indicating new additional path information, including device information, in response to performing an additional transfer of the data object.
7. A computing system in communication with a first storage device, a second storage device and a plurality of clients, comprising:
a machine readable storage medium, comprising at least one of a magnetic storage device and an electronic memory device, including computer instructions; and
a processing device coupled to the machine readable storage medium to execute the computer instructions to perform error tracking operations, the operations comprising:
providing data storage services for the clients for backup of data objects from the clients;
sending a data object to a first location in the first storage device;
determining if the data object was successfully stored at the first location, and if so, storing meta data corresponding with the data object, wherein the meta data includes first path information on a first data path of the data object from a source location to the first location, wherein the first path information indicates at least one device in the first data path between the source location and the first location;
migrating the data object from the first location to a second location in the second storage device; and
determining if the data object was successfully stored at the second location, and if so, adding second path information on a second data path of the data object from the first location to the second location to the meta data corresponding with the data object, to update the meta data, wherein the second path information indicates at least one device in the second data path between the first location and the second location.
8. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the server provides data storage services for the clients at the storage devices in a storage area network.
9. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the first and the second storage devices comprise different storage media, and wherein the data object is migrated to the second location by migrating the data object to tape.
10. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the metadata indicates a data path to track the storage devices and hardware paths through which a data object passes while being stored at the first and the second locations.
11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the metadata further tracks a time at which the data object was located at the first and the second locations.
12. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:
updating the metadata for the object indicating new additional path information, including device information, in response to performing an additional transfer of the data object.
13. A method for performing error checking operations, comprising:
providing data storage services for clients for backup of data objects from the clients;
sending a data object to a first location in a first storage device;
determining if the data object was successfully stored at the first location, and if so, storing meta data corresponding with the data object, wherein the meta data includes first path information on a first data path of the data object from a source location to the first location, wherein the first path information indicates at least one device in the first data path between the source location and the first location;
migrating the data object from the first location to a second location in a second storage device of the storage devices, wherein the first and the second storage devices comprise different storage media; and
determining if the data object was successfully stored at the second location, and if so, adding second path information on a second data path of the data object from the first location to the second location to the meta data corresponding with the data object, to update the meta data, wherein the second path information indicates at least one device in the second data path between the first location and the second location.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein data storage services are provided for the clients at the first and the second storage devices in a storage area network.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first and the second storage devices comprise different storage media, and wherein the data object is migrated to the second location by migrating the data object to tape.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the metadata indicates a data path to track the first and the second storage devices and hardware paths through which a data object passes while being stored at the first and the second locations.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the metadata further tracks a time at which the data object was located at the first and second locations.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:
updating the metadata for the object indicating new additional path information, including device information, in response to performing an additional transfer of the data object.

1. A heater, comprising:
at least two leads; and
a heating element which is formed between said at least two leads, a material of said heating element being different from a material of said at least two leads such that a location of a hot spot in said heater is controllable based on a polarity of current in said heater,
wherein said material of said heating element comprises a Seebeck coefficient which is different than a Seebeck coefficient of said material of said at least two leads.
2. The heater of claim 1, wherein said material of said heating element and said material of said at least two leads comprise a doped semiconductor, a dopant concentration in said material of said heating element being different than a dopant concentration in said material of said at least two leads.
3. The heater of claim 2, wherein said dopant concentration of said material of said at least two leads is greater than a dopant concentration of said material of said heating element.
4. The heater of claim 2, wherein said doped semiconductor comprises a doped silicon membrane having a thickness of about 0.5 microns.
5. The heater of claim 1, wherein where said polarity comprises a first polarity, said hot spot is formed at an interface between said heating element and one of said at least two leads, and where said polarity comprises a second polarity different from said first polarity, said hot spot is formed at an interface between said heating element and another one of said at least two leads.
6. The heater of claim 1, wherein a location of said hot spot is moved from an interface between said heating element and one of said at least two leads, to another interface between said heating element and another one of said leads by changing said polarity of said current in said heater.
7. The heater of claim 1, wherein said at least two leads are connected to a current source which generates a first current and a second current having a polarity which is reversed from said first current.
8. The heater of claim 1, wherein a length of said heating element is about 3.5 microns, and a width of said heating element is about 2 microns.
9. The heater of claim 1, wherein said at least two leads comprises a doped silicon membrane with a dopant concentration of about 1020 cm\u22123, and said heating element comprises a doped silicon membrane with a dopant concentration of about 1017 cm\u22123.
10. A method of fabricating a heater, said method comprising:
forming at least two leads; and
forming a heating element between said at least two leads, a material of said heating element being different from a material of said at least two leads such that a location of a hot spot in said heater is controllable based on a polarity of current in said heater,
wherein said material of said heating element comprises a Seebeck coefficient which is different than a Seebeck coefficient of said material of said at least two leads.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A transport system for transporting large items, wherein the large items comprise at least three through going holes and said system comprises a frame to support the items, wherein said frame has a substantially rectangular shape and comprises two parallel longitudinal beams connected by two parallel transverse beams and further comprises at least two transverse support bars located between the two parallel transverse beams to support the items, wherein the transport system further comprises a first and a second rod to be mounted in two through going holes in the items, wherein each end of the first and second rods can be connected to the longitudinal beams or the transverse beams to secure the items to the frame such that no parts of the large items extends over the rectangle defined by the two parallel longitudinal beams and the two parallel transverse beams.
2. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the large items are flanges.
3. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second rods are connected with the longitudinal beams by chains, wires or ropes.
4. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein a third rod is mounted in the third through going hole of the items.
5. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the items comprise further through going holes.
6. The transport system according to claim 5, wherein one or more of the further through going holes are mounted with a rod.
7. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the length of the longitudinal beams is in the range of about 3 m to about 9 m.
8. The transport system according to claim 7, wherein the length of the transverse beams is between 1.34 m to 2.44 m.
9. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the large items have a largest extension in the range of about 3 m to about 8 m.
10. The transport system according to claim 4, wherein the third through going hole and the third rod are used to attach the large items to a further support.