A refresh circuit in a semiconductor memory device performs a multi-enable skew refresh operation during each periodic refresh operation. The refresh circuit includes a signal generation unit configured to generate a plurality of refresh signals having different timings during a refresh operation period, a first refresh circuit configured to enable refresh target lines associated with a first memory group in a memory cell array through operation periods of at least two time periods by using some of the refresh signals, and a second refresh circuit configured to enable refresh target lines associated with a second memory group differing from the first memory group through operation periods of at least two time periods by using some or all of the rest of the refresh signals. Enable timings of the first and second refresh circuits do not coincide each other.

1. Technical Field
The present general inventive concept relates to semiconductor memory devices such as dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) and, more particularly, to a refresh circuit in a semiconductor memory device which is capable of minimizing and reducing peak current during a refresh operation.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices such as DRAMs are widely used as main memories in electronic devices such as computers. Semiconductor memory devices are made of a semiconductor material such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP). Semiconductor memory devices are classified into volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices.
DRAMs are volatile semiconductor memories which lose their stored data when their power supplies are interrupted. Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is a type of random-access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. The capacitor can be either charged or discharged; these two states are taken to represent the two logic values of a bit, conventionally called "0" and "1". Since capacitors leak charge, DRAMs require a periodic refresh operation for reading data already stored in a memory cell and then restoring (re-writing) the read data to the same memory cell.
While being similar to a data read operation, a refresh operation of a DRAM is different from the data read operation in that data is generally not output to an external host processor (e.g., a CPU).
Typically, designer specify that each row must have its storage cell capacitors refreshed every 64 ms or less, as defined by the JEDEC (Foundation for developing Semiconductor Standards) standard. Refresh logic is provided in a DRAM controller which automates the periodic refresh. In general, a refresh operation of a DRAM is performed by applying a row address strobe (RASB) signal to the DRAM after a high-to-low transition of the RASB signal, activating a wordline corresponding to a row address to be refreshed, and driving a bitline sense amplifier for sensing the existing (already stored) data in the memory cell.
Typically, manufacturers specify that each row must have its storage cell capacitors refreshed every 64 ms or less, as defined by the JEDEC (Foundation for developing Semiconductor Standards) standard. Refresh logic is provided in a DRAM controller which automates the periodic refresh, that is no software or other hardware has to perform it. This makes the controller's logic circuit more complicated, but this drawback is outweighed by the fact that DRAM is much cheaper per storage cell and because each storage cell is very simple, DRAM has much greater capacity per geographic area than SRAM.
Some systems refresh every row in a burst of activity involving all rows every 64 ms. Thus, the self-refresh operation period is 64 ms. Other systems refresh one row at a time throughout the 64 ms interval. For example, a system with 8192 rows would require a refresh rate of one row every 7.8 μs which is 64 ms divided by 8192 rows. A few real-time systems refresh a portion of memory at a time determined by an external timer function that governs the operation of the rest of a system, such as the vertical blanking interval that occurs every 10-20 ms in video equipment. All methods require some sort of counter to keep track of which row is the next to be refreshed.
A conventional refresh standard of a DRAM is 16 ms/1024(cycle) in 4 megabytes. Thus, it has been recommended to maintain a refresh interval of 15.6 microseconds. Since the refresh time should be the same despite any increase in memory density of a DRAM, various methods have been studied to decrease the number of refresh cycles. These method are not to execute refresh cycles of the same number as rows (as in less dense DRAMS) but to increase the number of rows activated during a refresh operation. For example, if row activation is conducted by one-eighth (of rows) when a semiconductor memory device performs a normal operation, row activation is conducted by a quarter or half (of rows) in case of a refresh operation. Thus, the number of rows activated during the refresh operation increases two or four times as large as in case of the normal operation and thus the number of refresh cycles decreases.
However, an increase of row activation during the refresh operation causes the disadvantage that since the number of concurrently operating memory portions increases, a noise peak value increases.
And, if the number of rows activated at a time increases so as to decrease the number of refresh cycles during a refresh operation of a DRAM, it is difficult to minimize or reduce peak current.

Refresh circuit in semiconductor memory device


This invention provides an adjustable orthodontic bracket. The adjustable orthodontic bracket includes an orthodontic arch wire slot/tube and fixing part, an adjustable part, and a tooth surface fixing part. The orthodontic arch wire slot and fixing part is used to fix one or several orthodontic arch wire(s). The adjustable part is fixed under the orthodontic arch wire slot/tube and fixing part and provides a structure allowing the orthodontic arch wire slot/tube and fixing part to be turned around and fixed, and thereby the orthodontic arch wire slot/tube and fixing part is able to generate a stress to teeth for orthodontic treatment through turning itself around to pull and drag the orthodontic arch wire(s). The tooth surface fixing part is used to fix the adjustable part on tooth surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an orthodontic appliance, and more particularly, to an adjustable bracket for orthodontics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the clinic tasks in orthodontics, the orthodontic processes for uprighting tipping teeth or making teeth tilting for some purpose or technique have the highest percentage, and these tasks also spend a lot of clinic time, especially, during the middle stage, later stage of the orthodontic treatment or the finishing stage. The well-known brackets for uprighting the irregular teeth or the horizontal wisdom tooth are not easy to engage the orthodontic arch wire(s) (while the tipping angle is between 30-90 degrees, the tooth is not easy to be or unable to be upright at once), even unable to install. Moreover, during the primary stage limited by the irregular teeth, if the orthodontic arch wire is too thin or too soft, the orthodontic arch wire could have the problems of easily loosing, lacking force, and no self-supporting. These problems delay the rate of the progress of the orthodontic treatment. The well-known orthodontic appliances also make teeth receive the force disproportionately, that is, the optimal force is not easy to be achieved. However, the disproportionate force and direction could make teeth hurt and make the orthodontic arch wire fatigue in elasticity and even snap. In addition, the bonding positions of the brackets must be accurate. As to those brackets with inaccurate position, they must be removed, re-bonded, or be recovered through bending the orthodontic arch wire, that is, this takes a lot of clinic time and requires practiced clinic skill, and further, the orthodontic arch wire bending in the orthodontic treatment requires various materials and various types of orthodontic arch wires. Still, the worst drawbacks of the well-known brackets are that they cannot meet the particular needs and are difficult to be fine adjusted. Explicitly, the finishing stage is not easy to be finished, and this process must take a lot of clinic time (30-60 minutes for each visit) and delays the time of debond, such as one year of orthodontic treatment being delayed to one-half and two years, even to the unforeseeable future.
In view of the drawbacks mentioned with the orthodontic bracket in the prior art, there is a continued need to develop a new and improved orthodontic bracket that overcomes the disadvantages associated with the bracket in the prior art. The advantages of this invention are that it solves the problems mentioned above.


A thermoelectric module includes: unit thermoelectric materials including N-type thermoelectric materials and P-type thermoelectric materials and arranged on one surface of a first substrate; first electrodes each electrically connected to one end of a respective one of the N-type thermoelectric materials or to one end of a respective one of the P-type thermoelectric materials; second electrodes each disposed to be spaced apart from the other end of the respective one of the N-type thermoelectric materials and the other end of the respective one of the P-type thermoelectric materials by a predetermined gap; and a second substrate supporting the second electrodes, in which each of the second electrodes is electrically connected to the second end of the respective one of the N-type thermoelectric materials and the second end of the respective one of the P-type thermoelectric materials when a pressing force is applied to the second substrate.

Because a temperature control system using an air conditioning device controls a temperature based on a temperature of air the temperature control system requires a large amount of energy consumption, and it takes a lot of time for a user to sense a change in temperature. As a result, there is a limitation in that it is difficult to improve temperature control efficiency and energy efficiency to a certain level.
Recently, a temperature control system has been developed, in which a thermoelectric module capable of heating and cooling is brought into direct contact with a user.
In general, the thermoelectric module is manufactured by connecting electrodes to P-type and N-type thermoelectric materials on a substrate and has an advantage of having a low thermal loss and performing quick temperature control.
However, in the case of the thermoelectric module in the related art, an entire region of the thermoelectric module is controlled to have a uniform temperature regardless of whether the thermoelectric module is in contact with a user's body, so that the temperature control is performed even on a region where the temperature control is not actually required (e.g., a non-contact region where the thermoelectric module is not in contact with the body). As a result, there is a problem in that a thermal loss inevitably occurs and unnecessary power consumption increases.
Therefore, recently, various types of research are conducted to improve energy efficiency by performing local temperature control in accordance with a user's body type and posture, but the research result is still insufficient. Accordingly, there is a need for development of the thermoelectric module for improving energy efficiency.


The invention relates to a sheet-fed rotary printing press for multi-color printing with an in-line arrangement of the printing units. Each printing unit comprises a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder and an impression cylinder, all of a single diameter, as well as three sheet-transfer drums. The sheet-transfer drums of single diameter are provided for printing jobs using a one-sided multi-color printing process. On the other hand, the design for recto-and-verso printing is provided with a storage drum and a turning drum, with the storage drum being of double diameter. Depending on the job structure, the printing press according to the invention can later be converted at the printing shop from one design to the other.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sheet-fed rotary printing press for multi-color printing with an in-line arrangement of the printing units and, more specifically, such a printing press which can be readily converted from recto printing to recto-and-verso printing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A known printing unit can include a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder and an impression cylinder, all of which have a single, common diameter. Such a unit can also include three sheet-transfer drums and may be of the type disclosed in German Patent No. 17 61 780. The impression cylinder of each printing unit of such a machine and the sheet-transfer drums or transfer drums that are arranged between two printing units are also of the same single diameter and are not intended for the turning of the sheets to be printed.

Sheet-fed rotary printing press for multi-color printing


An automatic faucet system includes a sensor and a controller. The sensor includes an emitter constructed and arranged to emit light having a first polarization toward an object. The sensor further includes a detector configured to detect light reflected from the object having a second polarization that is different from the first polarization. The controller is operatively coupled to the detector. The controller is configured to supply water to a faucet, or other water supply, upon sensing by the detector the light having the second polarization. By sensing in such a manner, the level of false positive readings in the system is reduced. The detector is further configured to determine the location of the object so that the faucet is only activated when the object is in close proximity to the faucet.

The present invention generally relates to automatic faucet systems, and more specifically, but not exclusively, concerns an automatic faucet sensor system that utilizes light polarization in order to enhance operational reliability.
Automatic faucets are increasingly being used in public restrooms and other commercial settings in order to minimize the spread of diseases and to provide greater convenience. Without physically contacting the faucet, a user is able to operate the faucet by simply placing an extremity, such as a hand, near the faucet. Upon detection of the user's hand, the automatic faucet supplies water so that the user is able to wash their hands. Once the user's hands are removed, the water supply is shut off.
Reliability in detection of the user's hands is always a concern. If the faucet is unable to detect the presence of a hand, the faucet may not turn on when desired. In contrast, objects that create a great deal of reflection can cause the faucet to run in an uncontrolled manner. Such reflective objects can include the sink, the surrounding environment, and even the stream of water supplied by the faucet. For example, once the water is turned on, the infrared signal from the automatic faucet may reflect off the water stream, thereby causing the faucet to run continuously. Moreover, such automatic faucet systems also have trouble in adapting to different background light levels. Numerous algorithms and techniques have been developed in order to reduce the number of false readings. However, such complicated detection techniques tend to increase the cost as well as reduce the reliability of the automatic faucet. Over time, the performance of these automatic faucets tends to deteriorate.
Other types of automatic faucet systems have been developed in attempt to alleviate the above-mentioned problems, but they only have achieved some limited success. For example, systems have been proposed that use polarized light in some manner for detecting false sensor readings. However, such systems have not been able to accurately detect objects because they fail to address a number of issues associated with light intensity. The intensity of light reflected from an object is based on a number of factors, like the distance of the object from the sensor as well as the reflectivity of the object. As should be appreciated, the intensity of light reflected from a distant object is less than the intensity of light reflected from the same object at closer distances. Ambient conditions along with the reflective properties of objects can also vary the intensity of light sensed. For instance, skin complexion and/or the amount dirt or other contaminants, such as paint, on the body part to be washed can vary from person to person. With these large numbers of factors, it is hard to distinguish between an object that is located far away from the sensor from those objects that have low reflectivity, and vice versa. Shiny object, such as jewelry or watches, that are highly reflective in nature can accidentally activate the automatic faucet, even when they are located relatively far away from the sensor. Conversely, dull or dirty objects, like hands covered with dirt, might not be able to activate the automatic faucet, although they are positioned directly in front of the faucet in close proximity to the sensor. Users sometimes experience frustration by not knowing if their hands are properly positioned to activate the automatic faucet, which in turn compounds the above-mentioned sensing difficulties.
Thus, there remains a need for improvement in this field.

Automatic faucet with polarization sensor


High purity cobalt with a very few content of impurities such as copper, a method of manufacturing thereof, and high purity cobalt targets are provided. The cobalt containing impurities such as copper is dissolved in a hydrochloric acid solution, and the concentration of the hydrochloric acid of the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride is adjusted to 0.1 kmol/m3 to 3 kmol/m3. Then, cobalt is added in the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride, and an inert gas is injected into the solution with agitating, in order to convert the divalent copper ions contained in the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride to monovalent copper ions. Then, the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride is fed into a column filled up with the anion exchange resins. Cobalt is not absorbed on the anion exchange resins although the monovalent copper ions are absorbed on the anion exchange resins. Therefore, copper can be separated from the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride. And then, the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride is evaporated to dryness and heated to 623 K to 873 K in a hydrogen atmosphere to generate cobalt.

The present application claims priority to Japanese Application(s) No(s). P2000-338288 filed Sep. 29, 2000, which application(s) is/are incorporated herein by reference to the extent permitted by law.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high purity cobalt in which a content of impurities such as copper is reduced, a method of manufacturing thereof, and high purity cobalt targets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor devices such as VLSI (very large scale integrated circuit) and ULSI (ultra LSI), have a structure where various thin metal films are deposited on, for example, a silicon (Si) wafer. Although the idea of using cobalt (Co) as a wiring material has been considered in recent years, the accompanying injurious impurities in the cobalt may result in malfunction or deterioration of the semiconductor device, which is undesirable. For example, copper (Cu) may cause a short circuit because of high diffusion rate inside silicon, and radioactive elements such as uranium (U) and thorium (Th) will cause incorrect operations, and alkaline metals and alkaline-earth metals may cause degradation of the device properties.
While levels in purity of the crude cobalt traded globally and presently are about 98% to 99.8%, such crude cobalt contains various impurities, for example, transition metals such as nickel (Ni) iron (Fe), and chromium (Cr), gas elements such as oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S). Therefore, in order to use cobalt for a semiconductor device, it is necessary to remove these impurities from the crude cobalt and achieve higher purification. Moreover, cobalt appears favorable as material of devices such as magnetic recording mediums or magnetic recording heads, as well as semiconductor devices, because of bearing properties typical of ferromagnetic metals. A higher purification of cobalt is indispensable to the use of cobalt as material of these devices.
Various methods of removing impurities from crude cobalt, for example, wet processing such as solvent extraction, ion exchange, and electrolytic refining for separation of metallic elements, and dryness hydrogen gas (H2) processing for removal of gas elements such as oxygen and nitrogen, and floating zone melting refining method, have been studied.
However, there is a problem with the solvent extraction. It is difficult to control extraction and reverse extraction and to refine cobalt surely in industrial processes. And, although nearly all of metal impurities can be separated by the ion exchange, copper contents before and after refining by the ion exchange may not change, that is, it is difficult to remove copper, which is a problem with the ion exchange. In addition, there are problems with the electrolytic refining that pH control of electrolytic solutions is required, and it is difficult to remove nickel and copper. And, although the floating zone melting refining method is intended to further raise the purity level of metals purified to some extent, it is reported that the floating zone melting refining method has very few effects on purification of cobalt (V. G. Glebovsky, et al. Materials Letters, 36 (1998), pp.308-314). Therefore, a need exists for methods of purifying cobalt surely, easily, and highly, and particularly for the development of methods of removing copper.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the above problems. It is an object of the invention to provide high purity cobalt and high purity cobalt targets in which contents of impurities such as copper are reduced.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method of easily and surely manufacturing high purity cobalt.
The invention provides high purity cobalt with 99.99 mass % or more in purity wherein a copper impurity content is 50 mass ppb or less.
In another aspect, the invention provides high purity cobalt wherein a residual resistivity ratio thereof is 150 or more, and a copper impurity content is 50 mass ppb or less.
A method of manufacturing high purity cobalt according to the invention includes the steps of; converting divalent copper ions as impurities contained in an aqueous solution of cobalt chloride to monovalent copper ions; adjusting a concentration of hydrochloric acid in a range of 0.1 kmol/m3 to 3 kmol/m3; and separating the monovalent copper ions from the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride by using anion exchange resins.
In another aspect, a method of manufacturing high purity cobalt according to the invention includes the step of heating cobalt chloride or hydrates thereof from 623K to less than 873K in a hydrogen atmosphere in order to obtain cobalt.
The invention provides high purity cobalt targets with 99.99 mass % or more in purity wherein a copper impurity content is 50 mass ppb or less.
In another aspect, the invention provides high purity cobalt targets wherein a residual resistivity ratio is 150 or more, and a copper impurity content is 50 mass ppb or less.
In the high purity cobalt and the high purity cobalt targets according to the invention, concentration of copper is reduced to 50 mass ppb or less to achieve high purification.
The method of manufacturing the high purity cobalt according to the invention includes the steps of converting divalent copper ions to monovalent copper ions, and adjusting a concentration of hydrochloric acid. These steps allow copper to be absorbed on anion exchange resins, and cobalt not to be absorbed thereon. Thus the copper can be separated easily and surely from the aqueous solution of cobalt chloride.
Another method of manufacturing high purity cobalt according to the invention includes the step of heating cobalt chloride or hydrates thereof from 623K to less than 873K in a hydrogen atmosphere in order to obtain high purity cobalt easily and surely.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description.

High purity cobalt, method of manufacturing thereof, and high purity cobalt targets


A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium containing a program, which, when executed by processing circuitry of a terminal device that communicates with a server device, causes the processing circuitry to: execute a game part, the server device being for storing ranking information including a plurality of first points each corresponding to each of a plurality of user groups to each of which one or more users belong, the ranking information also including a rank of each user group determined based on the corresponding first point; in response to an execution result of the game part satisfying a first condition, transmit, to the server device, a request for changing the first point corresponding to a first user group among the user groups to which the user of the terminal device belongs; and receive, from the server device, the ranking information updated based on the first point after being changed.

The present disclosure relates to a program and a control method.
Conventionally known is a game in which groups, to each of which a plurality of users belong, compete with each other. For example, disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5477929 is a game in which groups compete against each other.
Conventionally, in a game in which groups compete with each other, a multi-play is typically employed in which a plurality of users perform manipulations to play games. However, for example, those users who are fond of a single play for one single user may avoid a multi-play. In such a case, for example, the probability of forming a cooperative relationship among users who belong to the same group may become lower.

Non-transitory computer-readable recording medium and method for controlling communication between a server device and a terminal device


An electrical power apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprises: a housing comprising a top portion, a bottom portion and side walls, the housing having at least one indentation situated at the top portion and a slot situated on the side wall; and at least one socket component connected to a retractable cord, the socket component being situated within the indentation of the housing at a first position perpendicular to the bottom portion of the housing and moveable to the slot of the housing at a second position parallel to the bottom portion of the housing, and at a third position wherein the cord is extended and there is a distance between the socket component and the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical power apparatus and more particularly, a surge protector having retractable cords and rotatable or moveable sockets. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrical power apparatus comprising: a housing comprising a top portion, a bottom portion and side walls, the housing having at least one indentation situated at the top portion and a slot situated on the side wall; and at least one socket component connected to a retractable cord, the socket component being situated within the indentation of the housing at a first position perpendicular to the bottom portion of the housing and moveable to the slot of the housing at a second position parallel to the bottom portion of the housing, and at a third position wherein the cord is extended and there is a distance between the socket component and the housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are some surge protectors with retractable power cords in the prior art which utilizes a reel based mechanism. There are also wall mounted receptacles with retractable cords using cord reel assemblies. There are also surge protectors with a plurality of socket components attached to a plurality of cords which are connected to the housing of the surge protector.
Unlike the prior art, the present invention provides for an electrical power apparatus with moveable socket components capable of multiple angles in relation to the housing and further comprising socket components having retractable cords.

Electrical power apparatus with retractable cords and moveable sockets


A microscope for virtual-slide creating system has a stage for holding the specimen, a transmitted-light illumination optical system for illuminating the specimen with transmitted light, an objective, a tube lens and an image capture unit. The objective is configured as a dry system of infinity-corrected type with an object-side numerical aperture of 0.8 or greater and a focal length for d-line rays in a range from 8 to 20 mm. The tube lens has a focal length in a range from 160 to 280 mm. The image capture surface of the image capture unit has a long side of 12 mm or longer and a pixel size (μm) satisfying the following condition:a (μm)≦(0.61×0.59 (μ/m))/NA′where a is the pixel size, and NA′ is an image-side numerical aperture.

1) Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a microscope used for a virtual-slide creating system.
2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in specimen observation by a specialist in pathology using an optical microscope, there has been adopted a technique that includes shifting of a stage (or a specimen on the stage) for searching a site to be examined while observing the entire image of the specimen using a low-magnification objective about 10× or 20× and subsequent enlargement and close observation of the very site upon changing to a high-magnification objective about 40×.
However, moving the stage (or the specimen on the stage) and changing the objective for changing the field and enlarging the image each time of observation of the site to be examined complicates the operation. In addition, in a case where a plurality of sites to be examined are scattered over a specimen, it is difficult to grasp a relative position of each site in reference to the entire region of the specimen, and thus a great effort is required for identifying pathological changes.
In this case, if a specialist in pathology tries, using an optical microscope, to divide the specimen into a plurality of minute segments, to capture an enlarged image for each segment and to patch these images together for the purpose of grasping a relative position of each site in reference to the entire region of the specimen, it involves such enormous trouble and time as to prevent the specialist from making volumes of diagnosis and thus possibly has unfavorable consequences to patients who wait for diagnostic result.
In addition, under the recent circumstances where shortage of medical specialists is recognized as a problem, most of small- or middle-scale hospitals and remote-area facilities are without specialists in pathology. Furthermore, there are special and rare pathological changes that are difficult to diagnose for others than specialists in pathology of special fields. In such a case, a specimen on a slide glass has to be transported to ask for diagnosis by such a specialist in pathology of the special field, and thus it takes substantial number of days until the diagnostic result is available.
In recent years, proposals have been made for a virtual-slide creating system, which makes it possible to make simulative microscopic observation by, upon preliminarily capturing and accumulating a specimen on a slide glass as high-definition digital images, displaying the digital images of the specimen on a display unit of a personal computer or the like as controlling magnification and observation position.
A virtual-slide creating system is generally configured to have: a microscope provided with an illumination optical system, an image capture unit, and a stage which holds a specimen is movable in predetermined directions; a control means which conducts overall control of the system including operation control of the components thereof; and a storage means which stores digital images captured by the image capture unit. The control means segments the observation region of the specimen on a slide glass into microregions in accordance with a magnification, makes the image capture unit sequentially scan the microregions to capture images while moving the stage, and makes the storage means store the images upon adding positional data of the individual microregions in reference to the entire image corresponding to the entire observation region. In addition, for each microregion, images focused on respective depths, which are predetermined for each specimen, are captured. In this way, the virtual-slide creating system is designed to capture and store, for each predetermined magnification, images of three-dimensional regions regarding the specimen.
The digital image data created by the virtual-slide creating system can be utilized so that an image of a desired observation site with a desired magnification is displayed on a display screen of a network-connected computer of a specialist in pathology via a virtual-slide display system.
Therefore, use of the virtual-slide system can dispense with complicated operations as required for pathological diagnosis using a conventional optical microscope, lighten a work required for identification of pathological changes, and save time. In addition, since a virtual slide is composed of digital data, digital image data of a specimen can be transmitted to a specialist in pathology in no time even from a remote area, so that an early diagnostic result can be obtained from the specialist.
In addition, digital data of a specimen is sharable. Therefore, it is possible to ask for observation and diagnosis on the same specimen at the same time by a plurality of specialists in pathology. Also, use of virtual slides as a teaching material for medical students can save the trouble of individually preparing specimens on slide glasses as well as assure the equal quality of teaching materials.
Further, use of a virtual slide makes it possible to illustrate the diagnostic result in front of the patient showing images of the specimen on a display unit.
Conventionally, there are some examples of a microscope used for virtual-slide creating system where the observation optical system is configured to include a dry objective of 20× and a dry objective of 40× which are exchangeable to one another, and when the priority is given to the scanning speed, the dry objective of 20× is used, while when the priority is given to the image definition, the dry objective of 40× is used. This type of microscope for virtual-slide creating system where dry objectives are exchangeable is recited in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,101,265 and 6,272,235, for example.
Alternatively, there are some examples of a microscope used for virtual slide creating system where the observation optical system is configured to include a dry objective of 20× and a magnification varying lens of 2×, and when the priority is given to the scanning speed, only the dry objective of 20× is used, while when the definition by the image capture unit is unsatisfactory, the objective is combined with the magnification varying lens of 2×, to achieve the total magnification of 40×. This type of microscope for virtual-slide creating system where an objective combined with a magnification varying lens is disclosed in "ScanScope XT System" by Aperio (a web page found via search on Oct. 1, 2008, http://www.aperio.com/PDF_docs/quicklinks/XT%20Data.pdf).

Microscope for virtual-slide creating system


A method for manufacturing a printed circuit board (PCB) with high component density includes at least two reinforcing plates, at least two connecting plates, a first circuit board unit, and a second circuit board unit. The reinforcing plate includes a supporting portion, a first connecting portion, and a second connecting portion. The first connecting portion and the second connecting portion connect to ends of the supporting portion. The connecting plates are bendable circuit boards. Each connecting plate is attached to the supporting portion, the first connecting portion, and the second connecting portion of a reinforcing plate. The first circuit board unit is fixed and electrically connected to a connecting plate away from first connecting portion. The second circuit board unit is fixed and electrically connected to a connecting plate away from the second connecting portion.

Electronic elements are mounted on PCBs. In order to increase population element density, one PCB is superimposed on another PCB and a connector is disposed between the two opposite PCBs to provide greater area.
The connector generally includes an interposer. The interposer is hollowed out to provide space for the electronic elements on the two opposite PCBs. Edge of the interposer defines through holes by mechanical drilling. Inner surfaces of the through holes are plated with metal to connect the two opposite PCBs.
The above described circuit board manufacturing method is complicated. Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Printed circuit board and method for manufacturing the same

HongQiSheng Precision Electronics (QinHuangDao) Co., Ltd.


The effectiveness of an oxidative sterilization process is determined by exposing a known amount of a primary amine or aldehyde indicator chemical to an oxidative germicide. The oxidative germicide reacts with the indicator chemical. The amount of indicator chemical remaining after exposure to the germicide is determined by reacting the indicator chemical with a dye precursor chemical to form a colored product. The amount of indicator chemical remaining is determined from the intensity of the color of the colored product. The amount of indicator chemical remaining on the substrate is a measure of the effectiveness of the germicidal treatment. The dye precursor is an aldehyde when the indicator chemical is a primary amine and a primary amine when the indicator chemical is an aldehyde. An integrator for determining the effectiveness of the germicidal process includes an indicator chemical, where the indicator chemical is a primary amine or an aldehyde.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an integrator system and a method for rapidly determining the effectiveness of a germicidal process for medical equipment.
2. Background
Medical devices are sterilized before use in hospitals, physicians' offices, and other medical facilities. Steam, heat, ethylene oxide, and hydrogen peroxide are commonly used as sterilizing agents.
It is standard practice to include a sterility indicator in a load of articles to be sterilized in a sterilizer. The sterility indicator provides a measure of whether the sterilization process was effective in sterilizing the articles in a particular load. If the sterilization process was not effective, as indicated by the sterility indicator, the load of equipment is rejected for use.
Biological indicators are generally recognized as reliable sterility indicators. The biological indicator includes a carrier that has been inoculated with spores or other microorganisms. Spores are generally utilized in biological indicators, because spores are more resistant to sterilization than other microorganisms.
The biological indicator is placed into the sterilizer with the equipment to be sterilized. At the end of the sterilization process, the biological indicator is removed from the sterilizer, and the carrier is immersed in a sterile culture medium. The culture medium and carrier are incubated for a predetermined time at an appropriate temperature. At the end of the incubation period, it is determined whether any microorganisms have grown in the growth medium. If there is no growth of microorganisms in the growth medium, it is assumed that the equipment in the sterilizer has been properly sterilized. If microorganism growth is observed, the sterilization process was not effective, and the articles in the sterilizer are rejected for use. The growth of microorganisms is determined through a signal such as the generation of turbidity or a color change in a pH indicator due to a pH change from byproducts of cell growth in the medium. Biological indicators are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,552,320 and 6,436,659, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Although biological indicators are accurate indicators for the effectiveness of the sterilization cycle, at least 24-48 hours are required to obtain results from the biological indicators. The equipment that was exposed to the sterilization procedure is normally kept in quarantine until the results from the biological indicator are available. Medical equipment is expensive, and storage space in medical facilities is limited. Some hospitals therefore use the equipment before the results are available. Storing quarantined medical equipment is not an efficient use of resources. There is a need for a rapid test for determining the effectiveness of the sterilization process.
Foltz et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,448) describe a method of determining the effectiveness of a sterilization process by using the activity of enzymes rather than spores. It is stated that the enzyme test procedure requires only a few minutes rather than the several days that are required to obtain the results from biological indicators.
The use of a plurality of enzymes rather than a single enzyme was disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,486,459 and 6,528,277. Using a plurality of enzymes was believed to better mimic the response of a microorganism than a single enzyme.
There is a need for sterilization indicators that provide sterilization results rapidly.

Integrator system and method for rapidly determining effectiveness of a germicidal treatment


A navigation equipment for performing the navigation processing by the use of the information from a plurality of hard disk recording and reproducing units which is provided with: a hard disk recording and reproducing unit including a hard disk, in which the map information or the like to be used for the navigation processing and be planned to be updated and additional information corresponding to the navigation processing by the use of this map information or the like are recorded; and a system controlling unit, which detects whether a second hard disk recording and reproducing unit is connected or not and releases an area, in which the map information or the like in the hard disk recording and reproducing unit is recorded, if the connection of the present second hard disk recording and reproducing unit is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technical art of an information processing apparatus, an information processing method and an information recording medium in which a program for information processing is recorded capable of being read by a computer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technical art of an information processing apparatus and method for processing the information as giving and receiving the information between a plurality of recording mediums, and an information recording medium in which a processing information program for performing the foregoing information processing is recorded capable of being read.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, an information processing apparatus such as a navigation equipment or the like to facilitate the movement of a vehicle is configured so that it performs the information processing such as a navigation processing or the like, which is predetermined for each type of this information processing apparatus by using information such as map information, which is recorded in a recording medium such as an optical disk or the like.
In the above described navigation equipment or the like, a read-only optical disk has been normally used as its recording medium. However, due to multi-function of these navigation equipments or the like in recent years, it has been often required that a user write the information which he/she desires on the optical disk. For example, he/she desires to write the music information or the like he/she desires to listen to, which is not related to the navigation processing, on the optical disk in addition to some information necessary for the navigation processing.
Alternatively, according to the conventional optical disk, after moving a pick up for detecting to a position on the optical disk where the desired information is recorded, it takes a certain time until detecting is started. Therefore, it has been required that a recording medium permits higher speed detecting of the desired information to quickly acquire the information while the vehicle is moving at high speed.
Consequently, in recent years, as a recording medium included in a navigation equipment, the study of the usage of a hard disk, which has large capacity storage capable of writing the information and retrieving the information at high speed, is becoming actively.
In this case, there are generally a lot of cases where the hard disks not less than two are connected to one navigation equipment or the like and the navigation processing or the like is performed while mutually identifying these hard disks to give and receive the information.
As the above described information which the user desires to record on the recording medium, concretely, for example, which is associated with the execution of the navigation processing, a position of a particular point where the user often visits, a passage to this particular point or a status of waiting at traffic lights (i.e., switching timing) on a road which the user frequently uses, are considered.
On the other hand, as the information which has been recorded originally in the recording medium other than the above described information which the user desires to record, for example, road information indicating the arrangement of roads, a name of an intersection on a road or map information or the like including one-way traffic information or the like are considered. However, it can be perceived that particularly, the road information, the name of the intersection or the like among these information are scheduled to be updated in accordance with new road improvement or the like.
As a method for updating these information, various methods can be considered. However, generally, it is a simple and reliable method that a navigation equipment is configured capable of being connected to a plurality of recording mediums, the necessary navigation processing or the like is used by the use of one recording medium, in which the original map information or the like is recorded, among these plural recording mediums, a connection portion to connect other recording medium is made an empty status (namely, a status that other recording medium is not connected), a new recording medium, in which the map information or the like after being updated is recorded, is loaded in the present empty connection portion upon updating the map information or the like, and after the loading, the map information or the like after being updated is used to perform the necessary navigation processing.
If this point is applied to a navigation equipment to use a hard disk as the recording medium, the navigation system is configured capable of connecting a plurality of hard disks with being replaceable. Then, the normal navigation processing or the like is performed by the use of one recording medium, in which the original map information or the like is recorded, among these plural recording mediums, and a new hard disk, in which the map information or the like after being updated is recorded, is loaded in the present empty connection portion upon updating the map information or the like.
In this case, after loading the present new hard disk, since the hard disk, in which the map information before updating is recorded, has no meaning to record the map information, it is desirable that this map information before updating is deleted and this hard disk is newly released as an empty area which is capable of being freely used (i.e., capable of recording and reproducing the information freely).
As another method, it is considered that a navigation equipment is configured capable of connecting a plurality of recording mediums and one recording medium, in which the original map information or the like has been recorded, among these plural recording mediums, is replaced with a new recording medium, in which the map information or the like after updating is recorded, so that the updating is performed.
Then, if this point is applied to a navigation equipment to use a hard disk as the recording medium, the navigation system is configured capable of connecting a plurality of hard disks with being replaceable, so that one recording medium, in which the original map information or the like is recorded, among these plural recording mediums is entirely replaced with a new hard disk, in which the map information or the like after being updated is recorded.
However, in order to make a hard disk, in which the map information or the like before updating is recorded, an empty area capable of being freely used as described above, if a conventional method is used, it becomes necessary that the user himself or herself operates the hard disk to release the entirety thereof.
In this case, since the conventional hard disk has some gigabytes of a recording capacity, if the entirety of the hard disk is released, it is needed to initialize the entirety thereof. Therefore, this involves a problem such that it takes an unnecessary time and unnecessary labor.
Further, as a result, this problem will be related to a problem such that convenience as a navigation equipment is deteriorated.
In addition, as described above, in the case of recording the information, which is made by the user from the point of the quick retrieval or the like, is recorded in a hard disk, in which the map information or the like is recorded, together with the present map information, there has been a problem such that the information made by the user is lost as well as the hard disk is replaced.
Further, in the case that the amount of the information made by the user is large, there has been a problem such that labor to copy the information in a new hard disk to be updated upon replacing the hard disk becomes large.
Furthermore, as a result, these problems will be related to a problem such that the navigation processing by the use of the map information after being updated is not capable of being started.
The present invention has been achieved in order to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and method capable of improving convenience as a navigation equipment as the result of releasing an unnecessary hard disk without imposing a burden on a user and an information recording medium in which a program for information processing is recorded capable of being recorded by a computer.
Alternatively, another object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of capable of immediately starting the information processing without erasing the additionally made information or without newly making the information even after the specific information such as the map information or the like has been updated.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by an information processing apparatus of the present invention, which is capable of connecting the both of a first recording medium and a second recording medium. The first recording medium is provided with a first recording area and a second recording area. The second recording medium is provided with a third recording area and a fourth recording area. In the first recording area, specific information to be used for information processing is recorded and the specific information is not capable of being erased under a predetermined condition. The second recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. In the third recording area, update specific information used for the information processing and obtained by updating the specific information is recorded and the update specific information is not capable of being erased under a predetermined condition. The fourth recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The information processing apparatus is provided with: a connection detecting device for detecting whether the second recording medium is connected to the information processing apparatus or not while the first recording medium has been connected to the information processing apparatus; and a releasing device for allowing the specific information recorded in the first recording area to be erased at preset timing after it is detected that the second recording medium is connected, and for releasing the first recording area as an empty area after the specific information is erased.
According to the present invention, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the first recording area is released as an empty area, so that it is possible to record or reproduce other information in the first recording medium without imposing a burden on a user. Accordingly, it is possible to improve convenience in the information processing apparatus, which performs the information processing by the use of the information recorded in a plurality of recording mediums.
In one aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus is further provided with a forming device for forming the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area, in the fourth recording area. Further, the forming device starts the operation to form the same information in the fourth recording area when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected. Moreover, the releasing device starts the operation to release the first recording area after the specific information is erased as an empty area after the operation to form the same information is completed.
According to this aspect, when the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area has been completely formed in the fourth recording area, namely, after the present information is completely replaced, the processing is started to release the first recording area after erasing the specific information as an empty area. Therefore, the information recorded in the second recording area is not erased by mistake.
In another aspect of the present invention, the specific information relates to the navigation processing to facilitate the movement of a movable body.
According to this aspect, since the specific information relates to the navigation processing, in the information processing apparatus capable of performing the navigation processing, it is possible to record or reproduce other information in the first recording medium without imposing a burden on a user.
In further aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus is further provided with a start setting device which sets the information processing after the connection to be started by the use of the update specific information, which is recorded in the second recording medium, when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the information processing after the connection is set to be started by the use of the update specific information, which has been recorded in the present second recording medium, so that it is possible to immediately start the information processing by the use of the update specific information.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by an information recording medium of the present invention. In the information recording medium, a program for information processing is recorded capable of being read by a computer. The computer is included in an information processing apparatus capable of connecting the both of a first recording medium and a second recording medium. The first recording medium is provided with a first recording area and a second recording area. The second recording medium is provided with a third recording area and a fourth recording area. In the first recording area, specific information to be used for information processing is recorded and the specific information is not capable of being erased under a predetermined condition. The second recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. In the third recording area, update specific information used for the information processing and obtained by updating the specific information is recorded and the update specific information is not capable of being erased under a predetermined condition. The fourth recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The program causes said computer to function as: a connection detecting device for detecting whether the second recording medium is connected to the information processing apparatus or not while the first recording medium has been connected to the information processing apparatus; and a releasing device for allowing the specific information recorded in the first recording area to be erased at preset timing after it is detected that the second recording medium is connected, and for releasing the first recording area as an empty area after the specific information is erased.
According to the present invention, when the computer is functioned so as to release the first recording area as an empty area, so that it is possible to record or reproduce other information in the first recording medium without imposing a burden on a user.
In one aspect of the present invention, the program further causes the computer to function as a forming device for forming the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area, in the fourth recording area. Further, the forming device starts the operation to form the same information in the fourth recording area when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected. Moreover, the releasing device starts the operation to release the first recording area after the specific information is erased as an empty area after the operation to form the same information is completed.
According to this aspect, when the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area has been completely formed in the fourth recording area, namely, after the present information is completely replaced, the computer is functioned so as to start the processing for releasing the first recording area after erasing the specific information as an empty area, so that the information recorded in the second recording area is erased by mistake.
In another aspect of the present invention, the specific information relates to the navigation processing to facilitate the movement of a movable body.
According to this aspect, the specific information relates to the navigation processing, so that it is possible to record or reproduce other information in the first recording medium without imposing a burden on a user.
In further aspect of the present invention, the program further causes the computer to function as a start setting device which sets the information processing after the connection to be started by the use of the update specific information, which is recorded in the second recording medium, when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, a computer is functioned so as to set the information processing after the connection to start by the use of the update specific information, which has been recorded in the present second recording medium, so that it is possible to start the information processing immediately by the use of the update specific information.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by an information processing method of the present invention for performing information processing in an information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus is capable of connecting the both of a first recording medium and a second recording medium. The first recording medium is provided with a first recording area and a second recording area. The second recording medium is provided with a third recording area and a fourth recording area. In the first recording area, specific information to be used for information processing is recorded and the specific information is not capable of being erased under a predetermined condition. The second recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. In the third recording area, update specific information used for the information processing and obtained by updating the specific information is recorded and the update specific information is not capable of being erased under a predetermined condition. The fourth recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The information processing method is provided with the processes of: detecting whether the second recording medium is connected to the information processing apparatus or not while the first recording medium has been connected to the information processing apparatus;
allowing the specific information recorded in the first recording area to be erased at preset timing after it is detected that the second recording medium is connected; and releasing the first recording area as an empty area after the specific information is erased.
According to the present invention, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the first recording area is released as an empty area, so that it is possible to record or reproduce other information in the first recording medium without imposing a burden on a user. Accordingly, it is possible to improve convenience in the information processing apparatus, which performs the information processing by the use of the information recorded in a plurality of recording mediums.
In one aspect of the present invention, the information processing method is further provided with the process of forming the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area, in the fourth recording area. Further, the process of forming the same information starts the operation to form the same information in the fourth recording area when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected. Moreover, the process of releasing the first recording area starts the operation to release the first recording area after the specific information is erased as an empty area after the operation to form the same information is completed.
According to this aspect, when the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area has been completely formed in the fourth recording area, namely, after the present information is completely replaced, the processing is started to release the first recording area after erasing the specific information as an empty area. Therefore, the information recorded in the second recording area is not erased by mistake.
In another aspect of the present invention, the specific information relates to the navigation processing to facilitate the movement of a movable body.
According to this aspect, since the specific information relates to the navigation processing, in the information processing apparatus capable of performing the navigation processing, it is possible to record or reproduce other information in the first recording medium without imposing a burden on a user.
In further aspect of the present invention, the information processing method is further provided with the process of setting the information processing after the connection to be started by the use of the update specific information, which is recorded in the second recording medium, when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the information processing after the connection is set to be started by the use of the update specific information, which has been recorded in the present second recording medium, so that it is possible to immediately start the information processing by the use of the update specific information.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by an information processing apparatus of the present invention. The information processing apparatus is capable of connecting the both of a first recording medium and a second recording medium. The first recording medium is provided with a first recording area and a second recording area. The second recording medium is provided with at least a third recording area. In the first recording area, specific information to be used for information processing is recorded. The second recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The third recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The information processing apparatus is provided with: a connection detecting device for detecting whether the second recording medium is connected to the information processing apparatus or not while the first recording medium has been connected to the information processing apparatus; and a forming device for forming the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area, in the third recording area at preset timing after it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to the present invention, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the same information as the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, is formed in the fourth recording area, namely, the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, is replaced, so that it is possible to update the present specific information without losing the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area to be used after the update, even if the first recording medium, in which the specific information is recorded at present, is cleared away in order to update the present specific information and it is replaced with a new recording medium. Accordingly, for example, even after the specific information is updated, it is possible to immediately start the information processing without losing the information that has been made or without newly making the information.
In one aspect of the present invention, the forming device starts the operation to form the information the same information in the third recording area when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the operation to form the same information as the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, in the fourth recording area, is started, so that it is possible to start the information processing by the use of the formed information after the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area, is replaced.
In another aspect of the present invention, the specific information relates to the navigation processing to facilitate the movement of a movable body.
According to this aspect, the specific information relates to the navigation processing, so that it is possible to perform the navigation processing without losing the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area.
In further aspect of the present invention, the second recording medium is further provided with a fourth recording area, in which the update specific information obtained by updating the specific information on the first recording medium is recorded. Further, the information processing apparatus is further provided with a start setting device which sets the information processing after the connection to be started by the use of the update specific information, which is recorded in the second recording medium, when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the information processing after the connection is set to be started by the use of the update specific information, which has been recorded in the present second recording medium, so that it is possible to immediately start the information processing by the use of the update specific information.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by an information recording medium of the present invention. In the information recording medium, a program for information processing is recorded capable of being read by a computer. The computer is included in an information processing apparatus capable of connecting the both of a first recording medium and a second recording medium. The first recording medium is provided with a first recording area and a second recording area. The second recording medium is provided with at least a third recording area. In the first recording area, specific information to be used for information processing is recorded. The second recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The third recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The program causes the computer to function as:
a connection detecting device for detecting whether the second recording medium is connected to the information processing apparatus or not while the first recording medium has been connected to the information processing apparatus; and a forming device for forming the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area, in the third recording area at preset timing after it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to the present invention, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, a computer is functioned so as to form the same information as the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, in the fourth recording area, namely, a computer is functioned so as to replace the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, so that it is possible to update the present specific information without losing the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area to be used after the update, even if the first recording medium, in which the specific information is recorded at present, is cleared away in order to update the present specific information and it is replaced with a new recording medium.
In one aspect of the present invention, the forming device starts the operation to form the information the same information in the third recording area when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, a computer is functioned so as to start the operation to form the same information as the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, in the fourth recording area, so that it is possible to immediately start the information processing by the use of the formed information after the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area, is replaced.
In one aspect of the present invention, the specific information relates to the navigation processing to facilitate the movement of a movable body.
According to this aspect, the specific information relates to the navigation information, it is possible to perform the navigation processing without losing the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area.
In another aspect of the present invention, the second recording medium is provided with a fourth recording area, in which the update specific information obtained by updating the specific information on the first recording medium is recorded. Further, the program further causes the computer to function as a start setting device which sets the information processing after the connection to be started by the use of the update specific information, which is recorded in the second recording medium, when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, a computer is functioned so as to set the information processing to be started by the use of the update specific information, which has been recorded in the present second recording medium, so that it is possible to immediately start the information processing by the use of the update specific information.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by an information processing method of the present invention for performing information processing in an information processing apparatus capable of connecting the both of a first recording medium and a second recording medium. The first recording medium is provided with a first recording area and a second recording area. The second recording medium is provided with at least a third recording area. In the first recording area, specific information to be used for information processing is recorded. The second recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The third recording area is capable of recording the information on the basis of a user""s instruction. The information processing method is provided with the processes of: detecting whether the second recording medium is connected to the information processing apparatus or not while the first recording medium has been connected to the information processing apparatus; and forming the same information as the information recorded in the second recording area, in the third recording area at preset timing after it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to the present invention, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the same information as the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, is formed in the fourth recording area, namely, the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, is replaced, so that it is possible to update the present specific information without losing the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area to be used after the update, even if the first recording medium, in which the specific information is recorded at present, is cleared away in order to update the present specific information and it is replaced with a new recording medium. Accordingly, for example, even after the specific information is updated, it is possible to immediately start the information processing without losing the information that has been made or without newly making the information.
In one aspect of the present invention, the process of forming the same information starts the operation to form the information the same information in the third recording area when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the operation to form the same information as the information, which has been recorded in the foregoing second recording area, in the fourth recording area, is started, so that it is possible to start the information processing by the use of the formed information after the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area, is replaced.
In another aspect of the present invention, the specific information relates to the navigation processing to facilitate the movement of a movable body.
According to this aspect, the specific information relates to the navigation processing, so that it is possible to perform the navigation processing without losing the information, which has been recorded in the second recording area.
In further aspect of the present invention, the second recording medium further comprises a fourth recording area, in which the update specific information obtained by updating the specific information on the first recording medium is recorded, and the information processing method further comprises the process of setting the information processing after the connection to be started by the use of the update specific information, which is recorded in the second recording medium, when it is detected that the second recording medium is connected.
According to this aspect, when the connection of the second recording medium is detected, the information processing after the connection is set to be started by the use of the update specific information, which has been recorded in the present second recording medium, so that it is possible to immediately start the information processing by the use of the update specific information.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method and information recording medium in which program for information processing is recorded capable of being read


A value document has a security marking in the form of at least two luminescing substances which are present in a defined relative quantitative share and are jointly excitable by one excitation pulse. The time courses of the intensities are different and at least one luminescing substance has a non-monoexponential time course. In a method for identifying the security marking, the time course of the total intensity is detected and a linear combination of a formula is adapted including time courses of the intensities of the luminescing substances. The security marking is identified on the basis of the linear coefficients.

The present invention is in the technical field of manufacturing and checking value documents and relates to a value document having a security marking as well as to a method for the identification of the same.
Value documents are normally protected against an undesirable and often illegal duplication by a special label. It has been known for a long time to provide value documents for this purpose with luminescing substances having a specific emission behaviour.
The print WO 9916009 A1 describes the authenticity verification of a value document through a determination of the luminescence decay time of a security marking. Here, the security marking is excited in pulsed fashion and the time after the end of the excitation pulse, which passes until a predefined luminescence intensity is achieved, is determined.
Another method for the authenticity verification of a value document through a determination of the luminescence decay time of a security marking is disclosed in the print WO 0188846A1. In this method, the luminescence intensity is measured at several points in time after switching off an excitation pulse in order to determine the decay curve and to compare this with a target curve.
The print U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,468 B2 shows an authentication method in which a combination of two luminescent substances having different decay times is used. In this method, the second, more slowly decaying luminescent substance is captured only when the luminescence of the first luminescent substance has already decayed.
From the print DE 102006047851 A1 there can likewise be inferred the evaluation of a security marking having luminescent substances with different decay behaviours and overlapping emission spectra. In this method, the temporal course of the luminescence intensities is measured and for authentication the shape of the curve is compared to target values.
The print U.S. Pat. No. 9,046,486 B2 discloses a security marking and a method for identifying the same based on combinations of quasi-resonant luminescent substances having different exponential decay behaviours. With the help of a non-linear adaptation the amplitudes as well as the decay times are determined. The described method is not suitable for marking substances having a strongly non-exponential decay behaviour, which limits the number of available marking substances. Likewise, the analysis by means of non-linear adaptation turns out to be time-consuming and error-prone with respect to noise, so that the speed and quality of the evaluation is low.
With the luminescent substances and evaluating methods known in the prior art there can be achieved a satisfactory solution for the forgery-proof labelling of value documents, but, however, it is disadvantageous in particular in the case of luminescent substances having non-exponential decay behaviour that the combinatorial variety of the available luminescent substances is limited. This causes a restricted variability of the labelling, which may result, among other things, in a decrease of the forgery resistance. If luminescent substances having complex time behaviour are used as base substances for the coding of mixtures with different decay behaviours, the hitherto known evaluating methods, as they are known for example from the print U.S. Pat. No. 9,046,486B2, are unsuitable for securely assessing such security features in time-critical situations, as for example on high-speed bank note processing machines.

Value document having security marking and method for identifying the security marking

GIESECKE+DEVRIENT CURRENCY TECHNOLOGY GMBH


The invention proposes methods and devices for managing domains. The domains comprise a plurality of member devices, and the method comprises the steps of: storing (S500, S501), by a first domain manager (M1), domain management information (P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5) in said plurality of member devices; and obtaining (S510, S511), by a second domain manager (M2), said domain management information from at least one of said plurality of member devices. In comparison with the prior art, where the domain management information is maintained in the domain authority, the embodiment decreases the work load of the domain authority and provides conveniences.

Currently, people might own several consumer electronics devices such as PCs, smart phones, audio/video players and other portable devices. Content provided by content providers, such as music provided by an on-line music provider, can be shared on these devices via a "domain" built among them. The domain usually has a domain manager that is responsible for various domain operations, such as security authentication requests (logging in, checking permissions, etc.), maintaining and enforcing the domain policy. And it uses much domain management information for managing the domain, for example the list of member devices, the domain policy, and domain secrets such as private keys of the domain manager, root certificate and pin code of the domain.
The domain management information should be maintained. For example, the domain manager might be replaced because, for example, the device bearing the domain manager is lost or damaged, and the new domain manager should acquire domain management information to manage the domain. Taking domain secrets as an example, traditionally, the new domain manager determines new domain secrets, such as the public keys and the private keys, and rebuilds the domain management message. This is not a highly efficient scheme, because it cannot make good use of the previous domain management information. According to a solution proposed by US2008/0052388A1, the previous domain manager stored the domain management information in a domain authority of the domain, such as the authorizing server of the content provider, so that the new domain manager can retrieve domain management information from the domain authority.

Methods and devices for maintaining a domain