A solid-state image pickup device consists of a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix for outputting an image signal corresponding to the received light intensity. The solid-state image pickup device includes: reset switches (13,23) for opening/closing between a VDDCELL that repeatedly and cyclically outputs a high potential and a low potential and an electric charge holding section in each pixel; reset signal lines (97,98) connected to pixels of the same row; a row scan circuit (80) for successively selecting rows, always giving Hi impedance or Lo impedance to the reset signal of the selected row and Hi impedance to the reset signal lines of the non-selected row; and an ALLRS circuit 94 for giving the Lo potential to the reset line of the non-selected row before and after the rise of VDCELL from a low potential to high potential. Thus, the solid-state image pickup device can reduce its size and increase its operation speed while suppressing lowering of the dynamic range.

MOS type elements have been widely used in solid-state image pickup devices for some time. Within a solid-state image pickup device, a plurality of pixels that generate a signal potential based on a received light intensity are provided, the plurality of pixels making use of common output lines to transmit the signal potentials to a signal processing section. In order to make use of time division on the output line in this kind of imaging device in which a plurality of pixels have a common output line, a pixel selection function is required such that only a specified pixel outputs a signal potential, and pixels other than the specified pixel do not output a signal potential. Scanning circuits to make the plurality of pixels operate sequentially, one at a time, is also required.
The above selection function problem maybe solved by providing a switch transistor at the output terminal of each pixel, but in this case all the pixels have to be provided with a switch transistor, and the requirement for an image pickup device of reduced size cannot be met. A technique to overcome this is disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent application publication number 2003-46864. In this technique the source potential supplied in common to every pixel is not fixed, but is made to vary cyclically between a high potential and a low potential. By doing this, the specified cell is made to output a signal potential exclusively without switch transistors being provided for each pixel.
Also, a scanning circuit constructed from dynamic logic is disclosed in Japanese laid open patent application publication number 2003-46879. In particular, the fact that the scanning circuit can be made to operate faster by using dynamic logic with NMOS transistors is disclosed.
However, the above solid-state image pickup device with both a scanning circuit constructed using dynamic logic and a source circuit in which in which the potential varies cyclically has the following problem.
In a scanning circuit constructed using dynamic logic, when a selected pixel outputs a signal, the potential at the output terminal goes to either one of a Hi potential or a Lo potential, the output terminals for the unselected pixels go to a high impedance, and the signal lines which tie the unselected pixels to the high impedance output terminals go into a floating state.
If the signal line goes into a floating state, the repeated transitions of the power source potential between a high potential and a low potential have an effect due to the coupling capacitance inherent in the structure of integrated circuits. Specifically, when the source potential makes a transition from a low potential to a high potential, the potential on the signal line in a floating state rises, due to the effect of the coupling capacitance, and the potential on the signal line resembles a signal to put an unselected pixel in a selected state. Hence, the signal potential from an unselected pixel is outputted, the potential on the signal line is modulated, and the signal potential from the legitimately chosen pixel can no longer be accurately detected.
Note also that the signal processing section that detects the signal potential from a pixel reads off, as the pixel signal, the size of the drop in the signal potential from a reference potential initially outputted by the pixel, this drop depending on the light intensity received by the pixel. The higher the pixel signal, the lower the potential on the output line becomes. Thus the modulating effect on the output line due to the unselected pixels cannot be ignored. This effect is known as a lowering of the dynamic range.

Solid-state image pickup device and image pickup method


The card contains value information suitable for being debited by the machine in consideration for delivering goods or service. The machine causes a ratification flag stored in the non-volatile memory of the card to be modified between two states, namely: a ratified state corresponding to the case where the preceding transaction performed with the card, whether with the same machine or with another machine, took place correctly, and a non-ratified state for the case when said preceding transaction was interrupted in the course of being executed. The machine successively: conditionally debits the card if the flag is in the ratified state; causes the card to put the flag in the non-ratified state if a debit took place in the preceding step; then causes the goods or service to be delivered; and if delivery takes place effectively in the preceding step, causes the flag to be put by the card into the ratified state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automatic transaction systems that deliver goods or service by means of a machine exchanging information with a portable object which is debited by a given amount or value in consideration for the delivery of goods or service.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
The machine can be an automatic dispenser, e.g. for dispensing confectionery or drinks, or it can be a device for providing a service, for example controlled access implemented by opening a turnstile so as to give a traveller access to a transport system. Below, the term xe2x80x9cdelivery of goodsxe2x80x9d is sometimes used for short, but it should be understood that the invention naturally covers a much wider range of applications, including the delivery of all sorts of services.
In the same manner, although the portable object considered by way of example is a microcircuit card, the invention can also be applied to other types of portable object, such as magnetic cards or travel tickets, e.g. in the form of a magnetic coupon or the like. Nevertheless, it is preferred to use a microcircuit card, given the very high degree of security and reliability that is made possible thereby.
Goods or service is delivered as the result of implementing a transaction during which the card is temporarily coupled to the machine to enable information to be exchanged between the card and the machine, with payment being performed at least in part by modifying information stored in the memory of the card, which information is representative of the value contained in the card.
Coupling can be achieved between the card and the machine in various known ways, with or without metallic contact, and it is shown that the invention applies most advantageously to coupling of the so-called xe2x80x9ccontactlessxe2x80x9d type. With that type of coupling, there exists a non-negligible risk of communication between the card and the machine being interrupted in unexpected manner, e.g. because the card has moved out of the range of the machine before processing had been completed, or because of some temporary disturbance, e.g. the passage of a mass of metal close by, or indeed because the user passes the card too quickly in front of the machine to enable information to be interchanged in satisfactory manner.
The event that interrupts a transaction can equally well be accidental or deliberate, for example the user might deliberately seek to obtain delivery while nevertheless preventing the corresponding amount from being debited from the card.
In the context of an automatic transaction system of the kind described above, one of the objects of the invention is to associate payment (i.e. debiting of the card) with delivery in such a manner as to preserve not only the interests of the purchaser (user) but also those of the vendor (the operator of the machine), even if an event should interrupt the transaction or prevent payment being achieved.
Until now, the problem has usually been dealt with in one of the following ways:
no action is taken technically, so the event has to be dealt with by some human procedure;
the card is temporarily prevented from being withdrawn by the user, and the machine debits the card if and only if the goods or service is indeed delivered (this applies for example to machines in which the card is hidden by a flap or is xe2x80x9cswallowedxe2x80x9d while the transaction is taking place); and
the card remains accessible to the purchaser: this avoids the need to provide an expensive mechanism which slows down the transaction and is in any event inapplicable to transactions that take place without contact. However special precautions then need to be taken.
The third situation, in which the card remains physically accessible to the user leads to one or other of the following situations:
debiting takes place after delivery: the purchaser can attempt to prevent debiting, e.g. by withdrawing the card immediately after delivery or by making debiting impossible in some other way (e.g. by insulating one of the contact areas of the card""s microcircuit by means of a piece of adhesive); this can be acceptable if delivery is intrinsically spread out in time, for example a telephone call, in which case the advantage gained by such fraud is highly limited; however it is unsatisfactory if the machine delivers an article or opens a turnstile; and
debit takes place prior to delivery: under such circumstances, there is a risk of the purchaser being out-of-pocket because payment has taken place by information being interchanged over a communications channel that can be interrupted by the card being extracted or moving too far away; in other words it is possible that the card is debited but that the machine does not deliver goods or service since the debit is not confirmed.
The invention lies in the general context corresponding to the last-mentioned situation above, i.e. the situation in which the card is debited prior to delivery.
In the most general terms, a transaction takes place as follows:
10) the machine causes the card to be debited;
20) the card modifies its monetary value information (or some equivalent value in terms of xe2x80x9ctokensxe2x80x9d);
30) the card confirms to the machine that debiting has indeed taken place, i.e. that the monetary value in its memory has indeed been modified; and
40) the machine delivers the goods or service.
As will readily be understood, if the interchange between the card and the machine happens to be interrupted during step 30, then the purchaser will be out-of-pocket.
To mitigate that drawback, various practices have been used in the past:
if the purchaser withdraws the card in the middle of a transaction, it is the purchaser who is considered as being at fault and it is the purchaser who is liable to be penalized; in the event of the purchaser making a complaint, more-or-less arbitrary procedures are provided for indemnifying the user or for establishing means for determining after the event whether the transaction recorded in the card was indeed followed by delivery by the machine;
the purchaser is debited in small amounts only while delivery is taking place, so if the purchaser is indeed out-of-pocket, then the amount involved will be small and can be accepted: that solution is entirely suitable for delivering fluids or telephone calls, but it is impractical for delivering articles or for giving access to a transport network; and
a system is provided such that if the current transaction is interrupted with prejudice to the purchaser, then in a subsequent xe2x80x9cresumptionxe2x80x9d transaction, the goods or service can indeed be delivered, but without any further payment, i.e. without debiting the card again.
This third solution is a known practice as used for example in electronic purses complying with the draft European standard EN 1546.
In such known circumstances, if payment has taken place, and if the user who has not obtained delivery restarts the transaction on the same machine, and if the new transaction (resumed transaction) is carried through successfully, then goods or service will indeed be delivered for fair payment.
Known systems for implementing a resumption transaction nevertheless share the following drawback.
If communication between the machine and the card is interrupted during above step 30, and if the user does not re-establish the link between the card and the same machine, then the user will be out-of-pocket.
In particular, when a plurality of machines exist close together for delivering identical goods or service (for example a row of turnstiles giving access to a transport network), a client who has passed a contactless card rather too fast and who finds that the turnstile has not opened, will often try again at an adjacent turnstile, i.e. using a machine other than the machine on which the initial transaction was begun. The second machine will debit the client even if the first machine has already made the same debit, such that the purchaser will be debited twice for single delivery of the same goods or service (one opening of the turnstile).
It is possible to mitigate that drawback by interconnecting machines in the same zone by means of a network enabling information suitable for resuming a transaction to be interchanged, e.g. a card identity number, the number of the last machine to have ordered a debit, the corresponding transaction number for that machine, etc. thus making it possible for the transaction to be resumed on any of the machines in the network.
The use of such a network suffers from two drawbacks, in particular:
the need for a network, with its associated hardware and software constraints; and
the fact that each machine must interrogate the network on every occasion prior to instructing the debiting of a card (step 10 above), thereby slowing down the transaction, or else each machine must store locally all of the information relating to transactions that have not terminated and that have taken place (at least recently) on the other machines in the network, and it must be capable of searching quickly to determine whether the card it is about to debit coincides with one such non-terminated transaction.
The invention proposes a solution to the above problem which avoids or minimizes the need to use a network, and which has characteristics that enable it to satisfy very severe constraints, such as those associated with a contactless card in transport situations, where each transaction:
must take place quickly (about 0.1 seconds);
can easily be interrupted without the user being at fault (card handled too fast or not accurately enough);
can implement a plurality of payment points (a plurality of turnstiles) between which the purchaser can move quickly (e.g. 1 or 2 seconds to go from one turnstile to the next); and
must be capable of operating satisfactory in the event of a breakdown of any one of its elements, in particular the network interconnecting the machines, supposing that such a network is implemented.
To this end, the invention provides a method of interchanging data between the non-volatile memory of a portable object, in particular a microcircuit card, and an automatic machine with which the card is temporarily coupled to enable goods or service to be delivered, the card having value information that can be debited by the machine in consideration for delivering the goods or service, the method being characterized in that it comprises steps in which the machine causes a ratification flag to be modified, which flag is stored in the non-volatile memory of the card, said flag having two states, a ratified state corresponding to the case in which the preceding transaction performed with the card, whether by the same machine or another machine, took place correctly, and a non-ratified state for the case in which said preceding transaction was interrupted while it was being executed, and in which the machine successively: conditionally debits the card if the flag is in the ratified state; causes the card to put the flag into the non-ratified state if a debit took place during the preceding step; then causes the goods or service to be delivered; and if delivery takes place effectively in the preceding step, causes the card to put the flag into the ratified state.
The method may include the following steps in particular: a) the machine reads the state of the ratification flag and jumps to step e) if it is in the non-ratified state; b) the machine causes the card to be debited by an amount corresponding to the goods or service to be delivered; c) the card records the debit by updating its value information, and it puts the flag into the non-ratified state; d) the card confirms to the machine that the debit has been recorded; e) the machine delivers the goods or service; f) the machine causes the flag to be set to the ratified state; and g) the card changes the state of the flag to put it into the ratified state.
According to various advantageous subsidiary characteristics:
conditional debiting of the card is also subordinate to a time delay elapsing since the preceding operation of putting the flag into the non-ratified state and/or to the machine performing the current transaction belonging to a group to which the machine that performed the preceding transaction also belongs;
when the flag is in the non-ratified state, delivery without debit is inhibited if the machine detects that delivery took place during the preceding use of the card;
card debiting and putting the flag into the non-ratified state are performed in indivisible manner;
at least a portion of the information modifying the state of the card, in particular commands enabling the flag to be put into the ratified state, and/or at least a portion of the information relating to the state of the card, in particular the state of the flag and confirmation that the debit has taken into account, is previously processed by cryptographic means implemented both in the card and in the machine;
the goods or service is delivered in deferred manner after a given time delay; in which case, provision can advantageously be made for delivery to take place prior to the time delay expiring in the event that it is confirmed that the card has properly executed the step of putting the flag into the ratified state; and/or, also by inserting a pause of random duration in the transaction;
the information interchanged between the machine and the card is enciphered in such a manner as to avoid revealing the moment at which the machine instructs the card to put the flag into the ratified state, or the moment at which the card performs that instruction;
counting is provided in the machine to determine the number of occasions on which it reads a flag in the non-ratified state;
counting is provided in the card to determine the number of occasions on which it stores the flag in the non-ratified state between two transactions, it being possible in particular to provide means for indicating that a given count threshold in the card has been exceeded, in particular means for inhibiting consecutive delivery of goods or service; and
the card memory includes information about the kind of goods or service to be delivered, which information is updated before any delivery of said goods or service.
Other characteristics and advantages appear from the following description of an example implementation of the invention.

Method for exchanging data between an automatic dispenser and a microcircuit card


An authorization system uses card and signature devices to provide access to a machine. The devices include capacitance grids positioned on different surface regions of the devices to convert fingerprint images of at least two fingers into electrical signals. An images processor in the device processes the electrical signals detected from the fingerprints to produce electrical images of the user""s fingerprints. The devices store fingerprint and encrypted user identification data. An authenticating processor compares the user""s fingerprints detected on the capacitance grids with authorized user""s previously recorded fingerprint""s and the user""s name and identification data to produce an authenticating signal if there is a match of the fingerprint images. Signature storage and identification can be provided to store and authenticate the uses""s electronic signature.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of computer and information systems. More specifically, it relates to hardware devices, such as smart cards and signature devices that authenticate a user of a system. These systems use biometric characteristics that are unique to an individual user. Fingerprint identification is one example of such devices. Signature verification is another such characteristic unique to a specific user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The nineteen eighties and nineties have seen enormous developments in computers, communications, networks, Internet, and the World Wide Web (Web). The Internet and the Web, in particular have allowed people from anywhere in the world to connect instantaneously to others on the Web. Remote operation of devices and remote access to information from anywhere globally is now possible.
This ability to connect anywhere into a network of computers has given rise to problems of security. Several types of computer attacks are now possible due to this open connectivity. Hackers can connect into your network and wreak havoc on the system. Adversaries can gain access to information and use it in unintended ways against the original owners. Adversaries can even shut down systems or turn them against the owners. The miscreants and adversaries can be from within an organization""s network or from outside a network. After several serious attacks on vital systems, Information Systems Security has been recognized as a real and serious issue.
Security of information, by itself, is nothing new. People, organizations, businesses, and governments have been guarding information for a long time. Cryptography, encryption, and other forms of safeguarding information has been in vogue for many centuries.
One of the facets of information security consists in identifying a user as who he/she claims he/she is. Use of a password to identify a person has long been accepted as a reasonable method of authorization of a user. However, as computer systems are increasingly applied to vital information (e.g. defense and financial systems), mere password protection of systems is unacceptable. Moreover, hackers and abusers are becoming increasingly sophisticated at discovering (spoofing) passwords. They are able to break system security and gain entry to systems.
When users and system administrators deal with multiple systems and individual passwords for each system and application, the verification and authentication process becomes highly complicated. Fearing that they might forget their passwords, people tend to write their passwords in some file and expose their information and the systems to security risks. To avoid such risks, fingerprints are seen as identification marks for all systems and applications that one is allowed access to.
Use of Biometric devices has been accepted as a more secure method of user identification. Finger prints, face prints, eye prints, and voice prints are some of the examples of an individual""s characteristics now being used for identification purposes. Currently, many commercial developments are on the market.
American Biometric Company, Ottawa Canada has developed a system, called BioMouse that authenticates a rightful user and prevents other intruders into a system. New biometric sensors from Phillips Flat Display Systems, San Jose, Calif. and Who? Vision Systems Inc., Lake Forest, Calif., ensure that only authorized users can access portable computing and consumer electronic products. The thin devices can be integrated into mobile phones and personal computers.
Smart-card acceptance is expected to surge over the next year as hardware vendors, responding to increased demand for enterprise security, install smart-card readers into hardware. The cards will store x.509 certificates for user authentication, using Gemplus Corporation smart card systems. Smart-card manufacturers, such as Baltimore-based Information Resource Engineering Inc., are pushing the technology envelope. According to this report, the market for the smart-cards will jump from $941 million in 1997 to $4.7 billion in 2002. Users place the card in the reader and a finger on the silicon chip on the card. The chip will take a 300-point snap shot of the fingerprint and permanently store it in that card. From that point, the card won""t activate unless it receives that image. The card also stores a private key that is used in public key exchanges with servers to add another layer of user authentication and encryption.
Biometric vendors are looking to jump-start their market with cheaper and more effective technologies geared for PCs. Verdicom will show a fingerprint recognition module that uses a Universal Serial Bus, PCMCIA or a parallel port to connect to PCs. The Santa Clara, Calif. company""s FPS 100 fingerprint chip, which costs $30 in volume, will be used in notebooks from Acer America Inc., Hewlette-Packard Co., and NEC Computer Systems Division. WhoVision, of Lake Forest, Calif., will demonstrate keyboards from Mag Innovision Inc. that use its fingerprint sensor technology. SAFLink, of Tampa, Fla., will release a new desktop application called SAFty (Secure Authentication Facility) Latch. SAFty Latch will enable users to employ voice recognition technology to encrypt desktop files with the Blowfish symmetric algorithm. Visionics, of Jersey City, N.J., will demonstrate FaceIT NT, its facial recognition software. IrisScan, of Mount Laurel, N.J., will ship its new PC Iris product.
Compaq""s FIT (Fingerprint Identification Technology) examines what are called fingerprint minutiaexe2x80x94the contours and points unique to each fingerprint. FIT stores the minutiae-point pattern in an NT database in the same place as authentication passwords.
ApproveIT 3.5 for Office 3.5, helps you capture and authenticate electronic signatures. The result is that you can have binding approval cycles with individuals"" signatures and verify that documents have not been altered in unauthorized ways. These are important in specific applications such as those in legal and regulatory industries, where document approval is part of an audit trail or approval process. Organizations that are both concerned with document security and trying to xe2x80x9cgo paperlessxe2x80x9d have this tool from Silanis Technology Inc.
It is an object of the invention to provide the following benefits over conventional cards, devices and systems: two fingerprints add greater security; fingerprint images are carried by the user and are not (necessarily) stored in any computer system; fingerprint images are not output at any time; an encrypted signal is sent to the access processor; the encrypted signal is sent only upon verification of the authenticator""s signature; the pen design makes it easy to carry around and sign key legal and financial electronic documents; it can also record signature numbers and what documents they were placed on; no third party sees the actual fingerprint or the actual signature, thus avoiding chances of forgery on paper documents. The result of the invention is a high degree of mutual security of the card or pen and the access processor from each other is maintained.
The invention embodied by the card has several component modules. There are two capacitance grids to simultaneously convert fingerprint images of the thumb and pointing finger into an electrical signal. There is authenticator software of a Certifying authority for authenticating the user name, User ID, and finger prints. There is an authenticator signature storage to authenticate the agency""s electronic signature. Also provided is an image processor to process the fingerprint image(s) with the authenticator""s signature algorithm and an access signal generator to gain access to the connected machine. The system has image storage for the encrypted electronic image of the fingerprints and data storage for encrypted user data as well as a power supply to operate card circuits.
The operation of this card system is in two phases. In the xe2x80x9cAuthentication Phasexe2x80x9d, a blank card is connected to the authenticator by inserting it into an appropriate connector interface and user data is entered into the authenticator""s machine. The user holds the card so that impressions of the thumb and index finger are picked up by the capacitance grids. Next, the authenticator algorithm is loaded and the authenticator""s signature is stored. Using the authenticator algorithm, the fingerprints are processed into resulting encrypted images. User data is stored in the user data storage and the encrypted fingerprint images are stored in the image storage. At the end of the xe2x80x9cAuthentication Phasexe2x80x9d, the user then has a card with his/her personal details and fingerprint images duly authenticated and encrypted.
Next comes the xe2x80x9cAccess Phasexe2x80x9d in which the user inserts his/her pre-authenticated card into the access processor machine interface and user data is entered into the authenticator""s machine. The Authenticator and access processor check that they are compatible; if they are not, further processing is discontinued and access is denied by the access processor. If they are compatible, the user data is then compared. If there is a match, the user""s impressions of the thumb and pointing finger are picked up by the capacitance grids. The Authenticator""s signature is loaded into the algorithm. Using the authenticator algorithm, and signature, the fingerprints are processed into images. The encrypted fingerprint images are retrieved from the image storage and compared to the processed current images. If the images match, an access signal is generated. The access signal is sent to the access processor machine and, if there is a match, access is granted.
In summary, although computer and information systems have made enormous strides, security issues may impede further progress of these systems. We are positioned at the dawn of a great information revolution in the form of Internet and Web. Highly reliable and easy to use security systems are needed to fully realize the fruits of this impending revolution. With the instant invention, people can enhance their identification security and authentication of documents.
American Biometrics Company claims a False Acceptance Rate (FAR) of 1 in 300 for their device. False acceptance is the condition when a wrong person is identified as the acceptable person. By processing two fingerprints in parallel, as suggested by the inventor, the FAR value can be decreased by several orders of magnitude. When the acceptance condition is that both fingerprint signals be passed, the combined FAR value will be a product of the individual FAR values. That means the resulting FAR will be 1 in 300 times 1 in 300, or it will be 1 in 90,000, an improvement of 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. That is a much better protection against intruders.
American Biometrics Company claims a False Rejection Rate (FRR) of 1 in 10,000 for their devices. False rejection is a condition where the right person is rejected owing to inadequacies of the signal resolution. When a combination of two fingerprints are used, the FRR improves four orders of magnitude.
When the authentication conditions include a combination of two fingerprints and a signature, the FAR and FRR improve tremendously.

Fingerprint and signature identification and authorization card and pen

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A pulling chain storage device for a scrolling door machine is provided to tie the chain that can be pulled manually when the scrolling door machine is malfunctioned. The storage device includes a vertical fixing section at an end and a horizontal tying end at the other end, and the tying section includes at least one opening section, and the opening section includes an external end and an internal end, and the width of the opening section is tapered from the external end to the internal end, such that a pairs of suspending arms are formed between the internal end of the opening section and the hollow hole, so as to tie a chain to a flexible suspending arm and prevent the chain from being jammed in the storage device. The chain can be easily released even if the chain is jammed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pulling chain storage device of a scrolling door machine, and more particularly to a storage device having a good flexible structure and capable of preventing the pulling chain from being jammed by accident.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition to having an electric driving mechanism for driving a scrolling door under normal operating conditions, a scrolling door machine also includes a mechanism for manually pulling a chain under abnormal operating conditions. Another scrolling door machine of a refractory scrolling door includes the foregoing basic components and also has a brake release rod installed on an external side of the scrolling door machine, and the brake release rod is usually pulled by a cable to release a brake and facilitate operating the pulling chain mechanism manually. Under normal conditions, the chain and the brake release cable are stored in a storage device at a hidden place or a hard-to-reach place. To prevent the chain from being moved by accident, a lock is usually installed onto the storage device.
In FIG. 1, a prior art pulling chain storage device 100 of a scrolling door machine comprises a vertical fixing section 101 for fixing the storage device 100 at an appropriate position and a pair of vertical aslant side plates 102 are extended on both sides, and the side plates 102 are tapered downward, and an expanded guiding section 103 is formed at the top end for guiding a chain 110, and a tapered tying section 103a is formed at the lower end for tying the chain 110. In addition, a pair of circular holes 104 are built at the external side of a corner of the tying section 103a for hanging the lock, and a brake release cable storage device 105 is installed at a corner of an internal side of the guiding section 103. In FIG. 2, another prior art pulling chain storage device 200 of a scrolling door machine comprises a vertical fixing section 201 for fixing the storage device 200. A tying section 202 is extended horizontally towards an end of the fixing section 201, and the tying section 202 forms a sealed L-shape opening section 202 for tying the chain 210.
Although the prior art pulling chain storage device can satisfy the requirements of storing the chain, yet the tying section of the prior art is designed with a rigid structure without a buffer flexibility. In other words, the rigid structure will be jammed easily when the chain is pulled by mistake. Particularly, when power failure occurs, the chain is jammed by accident before the chain is completely released. The chain is stuck and cannot be untied or operated manually. Under this condition, the larger the force, the tighter is the jam. In a more serious case, it may need to break the storage device or cut the chain for a release. The design of the traditional pulling chain still requires further improvements.

Pulling chain storage device of a scrolling door machine


The invention provides novel synthetic antibodies directed against VEGF and uses thereof.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness among people with age 60 and above. AMD is diagnosed as either dry (non-neovascular) or wet (neovascular) AMD. About 85 to 90 percent of AMD patients are diagnosed with dry AMD. It is an early stage of disease which may result from the aging and thinning of macular tissues, resulting in deposition of pigment characterized by yellow spots called drusen in macula. Gradual central vision loss may occur with dry macular degeneration but usually is not nearly as severe as wet AMD.
In a significant proportion of cases, dry AMD progresses to the more advanced and damaging form of the disease, wet AMD, leading to serious vision loss. Wet AMD is characterized by the process of choroidal neovascularization which involves the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) beneath the retina resulting in leakage of blood and fluid. This leakage causes permanent damage to light-sensitive retinal cells, resulting in vision loss. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) appears to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of choroidal neovascularization.
Treatment methods for wet AMD include laser photocoagulation, photodynamic laser therapy with Visudyne® (Valeant Pharmaceuticals International) and anti-VEGF drugs. The discovery of anti-VEGF agents has revolutionized treatment of the condition. Currently, the four anti-VEGF agents either approved or in common use include pegaptanib (Macugen®, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International), ranibizumab (Lucentis®, Novartis and Roche), aflibercept or VEGF Trap-Eye (EYLEA®, Bayer and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals) and bevacizumab (Avastin®, Roche).
Anti-VEGF therapy may be used for treating wet AMD. However, current treatment involves giving frequent injections of the anti-VEGF drug into the affected eye once a month for three months and then, monitoring the treatment to give further injections. The frequent administration of injections leads to complications such as macular edema and stress in the eyes of patients. If macular edema is prolonged, retinal thinning, scarring or retinal hole can eventually form. As such there remains an urgent need for improved drugs and methods for treating diseases associated with abnormal vascularization, such as wet AMD.

Synthetic antibodies against VEGF and their uses

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO BANTING INSTITUTE


A first network node is configured to: group served cells into a first set of cells and at least one second set of cells, the cells in the first set of cells being associated with a first set of cell information and cells in the second set of cells being associated with a second set of cell information; generate a setup request including a first indication indicating the first set of cells and their respective first set of cell information and the second set of cells and their respective second set of cell information; and transmit the setup request to the second network node. The second network node is configured to receive a setup request from a first network node, the setup request including a first indication.

To simplify the management of neighbour cell relations in mobile networks an automatic neighbour relation (ANR) functionality has been introduced in long term evolution (LTE). The neighbour relations are used in mobility to configure the right measurements and prepare the right neighbour cells. Further, the neighbour relations are also used to setup direct logical interfaces between the base stations that have neighbour cells. Examples of logical interfaces are X2-, Xx- and Xn-interfaces. In this way the network can add new X2 interfaces when a neighbour relation is discovered, which reduces the need for manual network configuration.
The dynamic X2-setup procedure in LTE (TS 36.423) involves an exchange of X2 setup request and X2 setup response between two evolved-universal mobile telecommunications service (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) NodeB (eNBs). The X2 setup request and the setup response reset the X2 interface and its related information; and therefore, include the complete list of cells served by the respective eNBs.
When the X2 interface has been setup between two eNBs, they may use the eNB configuration update procedure to update, for example, the neighbour information by exchanging an updated neighbour information list. The information exchanged are sometimes called information elements (IEs). Table 1 gives examples of the information elements in an X2 setup request according to technical specification (TS) 36.423.
TABLE 1examples of Information ElementsIE type andSemanticsAssignedIE/Group NamePresenceRangereferencedescriptionCriticalityCriticalityMessage TypeM9.2.13YESrejectGlobal eNB IDM9.2.22YESrejectServed Cells1 . . .Complete listYESreject<maxCellineNB>of cellsserved by theeNB>Served CellM9.2.8 ——Information>Neighbour0 . . .——Information<maxnoofNeighbours>>>ECGIMECGIE-UTRAN——9.2.14Cell GlobalIdentifier ofthe neighbourcell>>PCIMINTEGERPhysical Cell——(0 . . . 503, . . .)Identifier ofthe neighbourcell>>EARFCNM9.2.26DL EARFCN——for FDD orEARFCN forTDD>>TACOOCTETTrackingYESignoreSTRING (2)Area Code>>EARFCNO9.2.65DL EARFCNYESrejectExtensionfor FDD orEARFCN forTDD. If thisIE is present,the valuesignalled inthe EARFCNIE is ignored.GU Group Id0 . . .List of all theGLOBALrejectList<maxfPools>pools towhich theeNB belongs>GU Group IdM9.2.20——LHN IDO9.2.83YESignore
For 5G or new radio (NR) it is expected that distributed NR NodeB (gNBs) will be common, where each gNB can contain one central unit and many distributed units that implement different parts of the functionality of the gNB. This allows a gNB to scale to very large number of cells, possibly thousands of cells. Since the neighbour cell information is only needed for cells which are neighbours it may be excessive to share information about all the served cells and all neighbour information. With a large number of cells there will be a lot of information for the gNBs to maintain with corresponding signalling of information updates.


An audio-signal-processing circuit includes: a noise-detecting unit to detect presence or absence of noise in an audio signal generated based on an output from a tuner configured to receive a broadcast signal; a low-pass filter, having predetermined phase characteristics, to pass the audio signal having a band of frequencies lower than a predetermined frequency; a high-pass filter, having the predetermined phase characteristics, to pass the audio signal having a band of frequencies higher than the predetermined frequency; first- and second-output units to multiply the signals outputted from the low-pass and high-pass filters by first and second coefficients and output the multiplied signals, respectively; an adding unit to add the signals respectively outputted from the first and the second output units; and a coefficient control unit to, when the noise-detecting unit has detected the presence of noise, decrease the second coefficient below the first coefficient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio signal processing circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A general radio receiver performs different processing for an audio signal depending on presence or absence of noise (e.g., multipath noise and noise caused by adjacent channel interference) in the audio signal (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-184990).
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an FM radio receiver 300. A broadcast signal received by an antenna 310 is converted by a tuner 320 into an intermediate frequency signal (IF signal). An IF processing unit 400 of a system LSI 330 performs demodulation processing for the IF signal, to generate an audio signal. A low-pass filter (LPF) 410 passes a low frequency component of the audio signal so as to remove noise from the audio signal. A noise detecting unit 450, based on the IF signal, detects presence or absence of noise in the audio signal. A control unit 460 controls switching of a switch 420, based on a detection result of the noise detecting unit 450. Specifically, if the noise detecting unit 450 detects the absence of noise, then the control unit 460 controls the switch 420 so that the audio signal directly outputted from the IF processing unit 400 is reproduced by a speaker (not shown). Whereas, if the noise detecting unit 450 detects the presence of noise, then the control unit 460 controls the switch 420 so that the audio signal with noise suppressed is reproduced by the speaker. As a result, in the radio receiver 300 the effect of noise on the audio signal is suppressed.
In the LPF 410, the inputted audio signal is outputted with a delay of a time period corresponding to the frequency of the audio signal. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 11, for example, when noise is detected and the switch 420 is switched to the LPF 410, the audio signal outputted from the switch 420 may change in phase abruptly. As such, in the radio receiver 300, although the effect of the multipath noise, etc., is suppressed, the sound quality can possibly deteriorate when the switch 420 is switched.

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A differential amplifier circuit includes a differential operational amplifier that includes a differential pair circuit and operates based on a constant bias current supplied from a bias current source circuit, and the differential amplifier circuit includes a bias current generator circuit. A current monitor circuit detects two currents flowing through the differential pair circuit in correspondence with differential input voltages inputted to the differential pair circuit, and detects a minimum current of the two currents for a difference voltage of the differential input voltages as a monitored current. A current comparator circuit compares the monitored current with the constant bias current. A current amplifier circuit amplifies a voltage corresponding to the comparison result, and controls currents flowing through the differential pair circuit based on an amplified voltage, and the bias current generator circuit performs negative feedback adaptive control such that the bias current increases as the monitored current decreases.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultralow power differential amplifier circuit that uses an adaptive bias current generator circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sub-threshold LSIs utilizing the sub-threshold region operation of MOSFETs attract attention in order to actualize LSIs of ultralow consumption power. However, since this design method is in the initial stage of development, there is a strong demand for the establishment of a design technology of an ultralow power consumption circuit. Up to now, various types of research have been conducted to actualize ultralow power LSIs (See, for example, a Non-Patent Document 1).
A differential amplifier circuit is a basic analog component circuit and is a component circuit of high versatility to achieve various analog operation functions. An operational amplifier, which is a differential amplifier circuit, is used in a negative feedback configuration and operates in a manner that two input terminals are virtually grounded. In general, the characteristics of an operational amplifier are determined by its bias current.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a prior art operational amplifier circuit of an open loop configuration. In the operational amplifier circuit of FIG. 1, an operational amplifier 1 operates with a bias current from a bias current source circuit 2. Therefore, in order to achieve low power characteristics of an operational amplifier circuit, it is feasible to reduce the bias current and make the circuit perform a minute current operation in, for example, the sub-threshold region. However, the operational amplifier circuit of ultralow power operation has had such a problem that its response time was increased due to the collapse of the virtual grounding caused by an input change ascribed to deterioration in the driving capability due to a minute current bias.
Prior art documents related to the present invention are as follows:    Patent Document 1: Japanese patent laid-open publication No. JP 2010-239554 A; and    Patent Document 2: Japanese patent laid-open publication No. JP 2011-182188 A.    Non-Patent Document 1: T. Hirose et al., "A nano-ampere current reference circuit and its temperature dependence control by using temperature characteristics of carrier mobilities", Proceedings of the 36th European Solid-state Circuits Conference, pp. 114-117, September 2010; and    Non-Patent Document 2: M. Degrauwe et al., "Adaptive biasing CMOS amplifiers", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 17, pp. 522-528, June 1982.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems, an ultralow power CMOS operational amplifier using the adaptive bias technology is proposed (See, for example, the Non-Patent Document 2). The adaptive bias technology is useful for operational amplifier design using a minute current. However, there is the problem of difficulty in generating a large adaptive bias current in the proposed system, which leads to a failure in making the operational amplifier have high speed.

Differential amplifier circuit with ultralow power consumption provided with adaptive bias current generator circuit

Semiconductor Technology Academic Research Center


A transmission line substrate includes a spurious-wave suppression circuit in which a divider divides a signal line of a driving control signal connected to a semiconductor device into two signal lines of the same phase. A delay unit is connected to one of the two signal lines, and includes a signal line with a length of substantially one half of an in-substrate effective wavelength of a spurious wave. Two parallel lines that include two parallel signal lines, on which spurious waves are in opposite phases, are connected to the delay unit and the other one of the two signal lines, respectively. A resistor is arranged on the two parallel lines, and connects between the two parallel signal lines. A combiner includes a signal line that combines the two parallel signal lines, and outputs a combined signal to the outside.

In a high-frequency package mounted with a semiconductor device that operates in a high-frequency band such as a microwave band or a millimeter-wave band, a surface-layer signal line or an inner-layer signal line formed in a multilayer dielectric substrate connects between an external terminal formed in the high-frequency package and an input and output terminal of the semiconductor device. Through these lines, a desired high-frequency signal is input and output, and also a direct current (DC) bias voltage and a control signal are input to and output from the semiconductor device.
In the high-frequency package, the semiconductor device that operates in the high-frequency band is shielded by a cover, a sealing, and a ground conductor surface. However, a high-frequency signal (unnecessary signal) as a spurious wave that leaks by conduction from the input and output terminal of the semiconductor device is emitted to the outside via a signal line for inputting and outputting a DC bias voltage and a control signal. Therefore, in a high-frequency package of this kind, it is very difficult to satisfy the electromagnetic interference (EMI) standards of various radio laws.
The entire machine module including such a high-frequency package may be covered with a metal cover. However, this requires an expensive casing and the like. Therefore, to minimize the cost, the EMI standards should desirably be satisfied in the high-frequency package.
Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional technology for absorbing an unnecessary high-frequency signal in a circuit board with a high-frequency component mounting part, a high-frequency transmission line connected to a high-frequency terminal of a high-frequency component, and a power supply circuit connected to a power supply terminal of the high-frequency component formed on the surface of a dielectric substrate. In the conventional technology, a power supply line and a via-hole conductor in the power supply circuit are formed with a high-permeability low-resistor having a relative magnetic permeability equal to or larger than 80, an electric resistivity equal to or less than 1.0 (μΩm), and including at least one of Fe, Co, and Ni.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-39739

Transmission line substrate and semiconductor package


The key distribution system comprises a terminal and a server which establish encrypted communication with each other by use of a common key cryptography using a communication secret key. To issue a new communication secret key, the terminal generates a secret value and encrypts it with a public key and sends the encrypted secret value to the server. The server decrypts the encrypted secret value with a private key paired with the public key. The server issues the new communication secret key, and encrypts it with a common key cryptography using the secret value, and sends the encrypted new communication secret key to the terminal. The terminal decrypts the encrypted new communication secret key with the secret value, thereby obtaining the new communication secret key. Thereafter, the terminal and the server use the new communication secret key.

In the past, there has been provided a communication system which establishes encrypted communication using a session key having an available period. In this communication system, the session key is encrypted and then distributed. The session key is encrypted by use of common key cryptography which is referred to as KryptoKnight protocol, for example.
According to the common key cryptography, the same common key (hereinafter referred to as "communication secret key") is preliminarily given to the server (e.g., a residential server) and the terminal (e.g., an equipment device). Each terminal stores its own communication secret key, which remains unchanged even if the terminal becomes available by another user. Consequently, if a previous user of the terminal retrieves the communication secret key from the same terminal, the previous user can eavesdrop on communication between the server and the same terminal. Therefore, the previous user can monitor a usage situation (e.g., a lifestyle) of a current user of the same terminal, and can use the same terminal fraudulently (operate the same terminal without permission from the current user).
Document 1 (JP 2000-349748) discloses public key cryptography which offers higher security than the common key cryptography. Even if the public key cryptography is used, it is difficult to completely prevent the previous user from eavesdropping communication unless a public key and a private key are changed.
It has been proposed to change a public key and a public key in response to a change of a user. However, according to the public key cryptography disclosed in the document 1, one of a sender and a receiver has to hold a secret key (private key) paired with a public key of the other in order to share information with each other. Accordingly, the public key cryptography disclosed in the document 1 is unable to exchange the secret key itself.


A combined shield member and grid shield for a digitizer tablet having conductive grids on a flexible substrate comprising a sheet of a metal having a high magnetic permeability substantially the size of a square X-Y axis coordinate system of the digitizer tablet shielding the flexible substrate. Preferably, the metal has an initial permeability of at least 5,000. The metal can be a NiFe alloy having an initial permeability sufficiently high to qualify it as a .mu.-metal. Typically, the sheet of metal is a square sheet of substantially the size of a square X-Y axis coordinate system of the digitizer tablet and the flexible substrate has edge portions which extend beyond side edges of the sheet of metal and are wrapped around the side edges. An alternate embodiment employs the high permeability shield positioned between two rigid substrates carrying the grids and interconnects respectively. A conductive metal foil over the surface of the substrate corrects any signal errors introduced by the shield. The foil can also be grounded for electostatic shielding.

This invention relates to digitizer tablets and, more particularly, in a digitizer tablet having conductive grids on a substrate, to the improvement to reduce weight and thickness while improving signal strength and shielding characteristics comprising, a shield member adjacent the substrate wherein the shield member is of a metal having a high magnetic permeability.
Digitizer tablets operating according to electro-magnetic principles are well known in the art. A horizontal grid of wires and a vertical grid of wires in the tablet define a square X-Y axis coordinate system. A cursor is then moved over the X-Y axis coordinate system of the tablet to provide operator inputs. Appropriate electronics in the tablet and the cursor allow the position of the cursor on the X-Y axis coordinate system of the tablet to be ascertained. Some times the wires of the grids are the active members to create magnetic fields sensed by the cursor and sometimes the cursor is the active member creating a magnetic field that is sensed in the two grids of wires.
The assignee of this invention favors the latter approach wherein the cursor is the active member. While earlier digitizer tablets had the cursor electrically connected to the tablet with a connecting cable, more recently the cursor is powered with a battery and has no connecting cable to create a so-called "cordless cursor" system.
The assignee of this invention also developed digital tablets wherein the horizontal and vertical grids of wires (which originally were, in fact, wires manually run and soldered to a frame) are formed by runs of electrically conductive ink silk-screened onto a flexible substrate such as Mylar. Such a tablet 10 is depicted in FIG. 1. The tablet 10 comprises a flexible substrate 12 having the grid wires silk-screened thereon according to techniques which are not important to the present invention. Typically, the tablet 10 is formed by laying the substrate 12 on a support member 14 of an insulating material, such as printed circuit board material, and wrapping the edges 16 around the edge of the support member 14. The entire tablet 10 is then mounted inside a protective plastic case which includes the necessary electronics and connective wiring.
While the construction of FIG. 1 reduced the cost of manufacture substantially, particularly in smaller digitizer tablets useful with personal computers and the like, it created certain problems. In particular, as the cursor 18 is moved towards an edge 20 of the working portion of the tablet 10 (i.e. that portion defining the X-Y axis coordinate system), the emitted magnetic field 22 from the cursor 18 passes through the support member 14 and induces undesired currents into the wiring of the edges 16 of the grid system on the substrate 12. This can result in false readings, "jitters", and the like.
To eliminate these problems, the assignee of this invention developed a grid shielding system as depicted in simplified form in FIG. 2. By adding a thin sheet of aluminum as a grid shield 24 under the support member 14, the emitted magnetic field 22 from the cursor 18 passing through the support member 14 is shunted through the aluminum of the grid shield 24 and prevented from reaching the edges 16 of the grid system on the substrate 12.
While the aluminum grid shield 24 of FIG. 2 solved one problem, it created another. When the support member 14 is thin (as only required to support the flexible substrate 12), the aluminum grid shield 24 is positioned too close to the grid wires of the working portion of the substrate 12. Being a good conductive material, the aluminum of the grid shield 24 reduces the effectiveness of the emitted magnetic field 22 from the cursor 18 in inducing sensible signals in to the wires of the grids by the creation of eddy currents in the aluminum of the grid shield 24. To solve this problem, the thickness of the support member is increased to act as a spacer with respect to the aluminum grid shield 24 as depicted in FIG. 3.
Digitizers using a shield plate are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,645,869 and 4,956,526. The shielding in the '869 patent attempts to reduce the signal induced in the grid interconnect conductors; but, requires a relatively thick grid assembly. By contrast, the shielding in the system of the '526 patent is for the purpose of blocking disturbing electro-magnetic waves from reaching the grid; and, it is not for the purpose of preventing the signal from reaching the grid interconnect wires on the backside as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3. The shield plate in these grids still attenuates the signal and the amount of attenuation increases as the space between the grid and the shield plate decreases.
In a corded digitizer tablet wherein power is supplied to the cursor from the tablet and power at the cursor is no problem, the solution of FIG. 3 in various embodiments for different tablet constructions worked well for its intended purpose. With the introduction of the cordless cursors, however, a new problem developed. The cordless cursors are powered by a small lithium hearing aid type of battery. Power and battery drain, therefore, become a significant problem. Signal strength of the magnetic field from the cordless cursor is kept to a minimum in order to minimize the power consumption. With this low-power signal, the construction of FIG. 3 does not work well. While the aluminum grid shield spaced from the grid wires blocks most of the magnetic field of the cursor from reaching the backside wires, the eddy currents essentially still buck the coordinate signal being developed and a significant portion of the signal is still lost. To make it work, the output of the transducer in the cursor (and corresponding battery current) must be high enough to overcome the attenuation. As a result, power consumption is much larger than desired for cordless cursor operation and battery life. Also, in the new, smaller cordless digitizer tablets being developed for pen-driven computing systems, the thickness of the aluminum and the spacing support member required for proper operation make the resultant tablet much thicker and heavier than desirable.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a way in which the thickness and weight of a cordless digitizer tablet can be reduced without impairing its operability.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cordless digitizer tablet having a cursor with minimal battery current drain requirements.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a way of shielding the grids of a cordless digitizer tablet without diminishing the strength of the signal of interest.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a way of shielding the grids of a cordless digitizer tablet in a manner which also increases the strength of the signal of interest.
Other objects and benefits of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows hereinafter when taken in conjunction with the drawing figures which accompany it.

Digitizer tablet having high permeability grid shield


An integrated scanner and scale is provided having a thin profile and incorporating imaging technology to scan and read optical codes. The scanner-scale is sufficiently thin to allow a cash drawer to fit beneath the scanner-scale in a check stand. Side imagers are positioned and configured to scan multiple sides of an item. The field of view (FOV) of each imager defines at least a portion of a scan volume, wherein scanning is nearest to optimal. One or more imagers can be positioned on the checker side and the customer side, such that an optical path (or a portion thereof) from the scan volume to the one or more imagers is positioned entirely above a platter of the scanner. Mirrors fold and direct the optical path to direct the FOV of a bottom imager such that the bottom imager is positioned sufficiently close to the platter to allow the scanner-scale to have a thin profile.

The field of the present disclosure relates generally to optical code reading systems, such as for example barcode scanners. More particularly, this disclosure relates to systems, methods, and apparatus relating to an integrated scale and optical code reading system.
A checkout lane at a grocery store or other retail point of sale (POS) can be a demanding, high-pressure environment. A store employee manning and/or operating a check stand (i.e., a checker) can be expected to provide exceptional customer service, which may include quickly totaling each customer's purchase and collecting payment. Rapidly processing customer purchases reduces the time other customers must wait to make their purchases. When a store is busy and checkout lines are long, checkers can experience increased pressure to rapidly process customer purchases. A customer using a "self-checkout" check stand (i.e., a customer-checker) can feel similarly pressured to expeditiously process their purchases in a timely manner.
One method for improving the speed and efficiency of a checker is to provide an optical reader to allow the checker to quickly scan items. Although optical reading of data, or encoded optical symbols or optical codes such as barcode labels, is used in a variety of applications, a check stand of a grocery store checkout lane or similar retail POS context is a familiar application. As an optical code is passed through a scan volume (or scanning area), the optical code is read by an optical code reader, such as a scanner, and transformed into electrical signals. The electrical signals can be decoded into alphanumerical characters or other data that can be used as input to a data processing system, such as a POS terminal (e.g., an electronic cash register). The POS terminal can use the decoded data to, for example, look up a price for the article, apply electronic coupons, and award points for a retailer or other rewards program. Scanning an optical code on items enables rapid totaling of the price of such items and thereby increases checker efficiency.
In a typical process, a checker passes the item through the scan volume to allow the scanner to scan a barcode on the item. An item can have multiple sides, not all of which might be presented for scanning, depending on the shape of the item and the type of scanner. For example, a simple six-sided rectangular box-shaped item can have a leading side (or side leading the item through the scan volume), a trailing side (opposite the leading side and last through the scan volume), a bottom side, a top side, a front side positioned nearest to or facing the checker (also known as the checker side), and a back side positioned away from the checker (also known as the customer side). Some horizontal scanners (i.e., scanners with a single upwardly-facing horizontal window) can effectively scan only the bottom side. Accordingly, a checker operating such a scanner would be required to re-orient an item to be scanned such that the side of the item with the barcode is positioned as the bottom side. Re-orienting an item takes time and reduces efficiency. Moreover, the movements required for a checker to re-orient an item can potentially injure the checker when the movements are repeated many times during the course of a shift. A scanner that can scan multiple sides of an item is desirable to reduce or even eliminate the need to re-orient items to be scanned.
Some scanners are capable of scanning multiple sides of an item by utilizing a bioptic configuration. A bioptic configuration includes two scanner windows for reading an optical code. Examples of scanners utilizing a bioptic configuration are the Magellan® 8300, 8400, and 8500 scanners available from Datalogic Scanning, Inc. of Eugene, Oreg. Further description of bioptic scanners may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,198,195, which is hereby incorporated by reference. In an "L" shaped bioptic scanner, in addition to a horizontal bottom scanner window that is generally positioned at counter level, a vertical scanner window is positioned to scan one or more sides of an item.
By scanning the bottom of an item and one or more other sides of the item, the bioptic configuration can increase the probability of a successful first scan (i.e. improve the first pass read rate) and reduce time consuming product manipulations and repeat scans. However, the present inventors have recognized that the "L" shaped bioptic configuration has its own limitations. For example, the vertical scanner window is positioned in a vertical section of the scanner, which can occupy significant space at the check stand and/or in the checkout lane. Furthermore, if the check stand includes a conveyor belt, the positioning of the vertical section can necessitate a diverter to divert items on the conveyor belt away from the vertical section. Finally, positioning of the vertical section may limit where a POS terminal keyboard, display, and check-writing stand can be located. Accordingly, the present inventors have recognized the desirability of a scanner that can scan multiple sides of an item, without utilizing a vertical scanner window.
In addition to a scanner, a POS system such as a grocery store check stand often includes a scale for conveniently and efficiently weighing items such as produce. The weight information can be used as input to the POS system, similar to the decoded optical code. The POS system can use the weight information to determine a price for the article weighed, for example. The scale can be integrated with the scanner to provide a single unit that can be referred to as a scanner-scale.
Existing scanner-scales are bulky and extend from a depth of four inches to nearly seven inches below the counter. The size, and in particular the depth, of scanner-scales is largely due to the optical elements utilized to provide a bottom scanner component that can effectively read an optical code. Many existing scanner-scales comprise laser diode scanning technology, which typically employs a spinning facet wheel or mirror and one or more pattern mirrors to break the laser beam into various scan lines forming the scan pattern. These components occupy significant space, thereby contributing to the bulkiness of existing scanner-scales. The depth of existing scanner-scales prevents ergonomic placement of a cash drawer directly below the scanner-scale at a check stand.
The present inventors have determined that it would be desirable to provide a scanner-scale having a low vertical profile under which a cash drawer could be placed at a check stand. In addition, the inventors have determined it would be desirable to provide a scanner that, without a vertical scanner window, can scan multiple sides of an item.

Imaging scanner-scale with low vertical profile


A manufacturing method for a stator structure and a micromotor having the same. The method includes: providing a flexible printed circuit (FPC) on which configuration positions of coil windings and a configuration position of at least one position signal generating unit are formed, wherein the FPC is further provided with an interface part; disposing the coil windings and the position signal generating unit on the coil winding configuration positions and the position signal generating unit configuration position, respectively, wherein the interface part is further provided with a connector pattern which is electrically coupled with the coil windings and the position signal generating unit; forming a FPC assembly including the coil windings and the position signal generating unit; and winding the FPC assembly to form the stator. The stator is applied in a micromotor in which a rotor, the stator and a case are disposed outward in a radial direction.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a stator structure and a micromotor having the same, and more particularly to a micromotor and a manufacturing method therefor, wherein the stator structure is constituted by a flexible printed circuit (FPC) configured with the required electrical elements of the micromotor.
2. Related Art
In a conventional micromotor, a stator includes primarily a magnetoconductive housing which is provided with upper and lower pole plates and is formed by stamping, bending and welding a magnetoconductive material in sheet form; and coil windings which are configured on the magnetoconductive housing. However, in stamping, bending and winding processes, due to lots of upper and lower pole plates and great length for winding, the processing of stamping, bending and winding may have considerable difficulty in manufacturing. In addition, it is difficult to further reduce a size of the micromotor. As a result, manufacturers try to apply flexible circuits to the stator.
For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,331 discloses a brushless DC (Direct Current) micromotor, wherein the stator coil is formed by coaxially winding more than one coil winding formed on an insulating sheet, on which coil winding a plurality of coil patterns are continuously provided in series in the direction of winding, and a control unit of the motor supplies electricity to provide magnetic thrust force of different phases, such that a rotor in a center of the motor can be pushed (or driven) to rotate.
Yet, the prior art only considers how to configure the coil windings, whereas other electrical elements or the control unit will be still configured in a motor case by other assembling means. Therefore, it is unable to effectively reduce an assembling time and flow of the motor. In addition, to allow the brushless DC micromotor to rotate successfully, the Hall devices or similar elements is adopted to be deployed to sense magnetic poles of the rotor, thereby sensing a position of the rotor to transmit the position information of the rotor to the control unit of the micromotor. The control unit will then control an operation of the coil windings, depending on the position of the rotor, to switch among phases. Besides, to enable the motor to be applied to a high precision control field, it may need to install a more precise position encoder. Nevertheless, the installation of the position encoder or the Hall devices will add more steps in the assembling procedure of the micromotor and will in turn spend more manufacturing man-hours and cost. Furthermore, as each element is not aligned easily, it will further affect yields of the micromotor.
Accordingly, it is an issue to be thought of by existing manufacturers to effectively provide a micromotor for which manufacturing processes can be decreased, a cost can be reduced, an accuracy of sensitive of a rotation position of the motor can be improved, and an entire size can be maintained or miniaturized.

Manufacturing method for stator structure and micromotor having the same

Metal Industries Research & Development Center


A method and apparatus are provided for mapping multiple address spaces into a single bus, such as a single peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. The single bus is coupled to a first processor complex and a second processor complex. An original address of a memory access is shifted to a unique address space for each originator/target of an operation. The shifted address is used on the single bus. Then the shifted address is shifted back to the original address for completing the operation on a destination bus. The original address of a memory access is shifted to a unique address space for each originator/target of an operation using a respective predefined value (+X1, +X2, or +X3) for shifting the original address above a predefined boundary for each originator/target of the operation. Shifting back the shifted address to the original address for completing the operation on the destination bus uses a respective predefined value (xe2x88x92X1, xe2x88x92X2, or xe2x88x92X3) for the shifted back address to the original address for completing the operation on the destination bus. Using the shifted address on the single bus utilizes a dual address cycle (DAC) of the single bus for the shifted address. Completing the operation on a destination bus utilizes a single address cycle (SAC) of the destination bus for the shifted back address to the original address.

The present invention relates generally to the data processing field, and more particularly, relates to a method and apparatus for mapping multiple address spaces into a single bus, such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus.
Servers and other computer systems are becoming increasingly complex. One proposed server design contains two complete but separate processor architectures. For example, a first complex is a Pentium complex and the second complex is an IBM Power PC based processor used to provide an interface for storage media, local area network (LAN) adapters and an internal communication path of the first complex. The Power PC based I/O processor architecture is physically limited to a defined number of bits, such as 32 bits on both the peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus and the internal processor buses. It is required that the Pentium memory be completely addressable from the PCI bus. In known designs, the amount of Pentium memory is limited such that both the I/O processor PCI bus address needs and the amount of Pentium memory both fit within a single 32 bit PCI bus address space.
It is desirable to allow an increased amount of Pentium memory, for example, in excess of 4 gigabytes (GB). A need exists for a way to access data on the PCI buses that accommodate both the I/O processor complex needs and the Pentium complex.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for mapping multiple address spaces into a single bus, such as a single peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. Other important objects of the present invention are to provide such method and apparatus for mapping multiple address spaces into a single peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus substantially without negative effect; and that overcome many of the disadvantages of prior art arrangements.
In brief, a method and apparatus are provided for mapping multiple address spaces into a single bus, such as a single peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. The single bus, such as a single peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus is coupled to a first processor complex and a second processor complex. An original address of a memory access is shifted to a unique address space for each originator/target of an operation. The shifted address is used on the single bus. Then the shifted address is shifted back to the original address for completing the operation on a destination bus.
In accordance with features of the invention, the original address of a memory access is shifted to a unique address space for each originator/target of an operation using a respective predefined value (+X1, +X2, or +X3) for shifting the original address above a predefined boundary for each originator/target of the operation. Shifting back the shifted address to the original address for completing the operation on the destination PCI bus uses a respective predefined value (xe2x88x92X1, xe2x88x92X2, or xe2x88x92X3) for the shifted back address to the original address for completing the operation on the destination PCI bus. Using the shifted address on the single PCI bus utilizes a dual address cycle (DAC) of the single PCI bus for the shifted address. Completing the operation on a destination PCI bus utilizes a single address cycle (SAC) of the destination PCI bus for the shifted back address to the original address.

Method of mapping multiple address spaces into single PCI bus

International Business Machines Corporation


A paperboard container which displays particular utility for the packaging of fast food products is formed from a unitary blank of paperboard. The blank, typically, employs an automatic bottom, i.e., a bottom which is automatically formed upon opening the container from a folded or flattened configuration. The container is characterized by side webs between the top edges of the end panels and the top cover panel. Upon folding the top cover panel down to close the container, after being loaded with food, each side web forms a point or apex along its edge, this apex then tucked into a complementary slit in a respective end panel. Each side web is in frictional, surface to surface engagement with a respective end panel. Further, the top closure cover is provided with a friction latch cooperating with the front wall panel to thereby yield three points of frictional engagement to maintain the container in its closed position prior to being opened by the consumer.

This invention relates to a container and more particularly to a container fashioned from a unitary blank of paperboard or other stiff, foldable and resilient sheet material. The container of this invention exhibits particular utility as a container for fast foods. Such containers must be inexpensive, easy to close and open, and capable to fairly easy disposal for recycling. They should also retain heat from food products therein and resist accidental opening prior to consumption of the packaged food.
The container art is aware of a variety of constructions employing a unitary blank of paperboard for forming a container. However, no one of these constructions exhibits the desirable features of the present invention.


A MXene support for a noble metal that forms a catalyst having active sites comprising single metal-layer nanostructures. The catalyst is stable under conditions for methane conversion to higher hydrocarbons and provides reduced coke formation. The results show a supported metal catalyst using the MXene where Pt atoms form one or more layers of atoms on the surface of the Mo2TiC2Tx support after it is reduced at 750° C. The catalyst shows high selectivity for C2-hydrocarbons with reduced coke formation, which can cost effectively convert methane into other valuable products.

Inspired by homogeneous catalysts in which each metal atom contributes to a reaction, heterogeneous catalysts have successfully tethered atomically dispersed noble metal (NM) sites on thermally stable solid hosts. Supported atomically dispersed nanolayers (ADNLs) promise to combine the appealing characteristics of single-atom and nanoparticle catalysts: atomically dispersed metal sites that maximize the utilization of NM, anchored on a support through metal-metal bonds at interfaces, leading to metallic surfaces that promote a broad range of reactions such as dehydrogenation, hydrogenation, and oxidation. However, it has proven challenging to prepare ADNLs, i.e., single or double atomic layers, and to relate their structures to catalytic performance. The main barriers arise from difficulty in determining the layer thickness, sintering of active sites at high temperatures (>700° C.), and unpredictable interactions between ADNLs and their supports.
Achieving atomically thin NM architectures in heterogeneous catalysts has long been of interest, with recent progress showing that NMs can wet early transition metal carbide (TMC) surfaces, forming strong interfacial metal-support bonds. For example, raft-like Pt particles were observed in Pt/Mo2C catalysts for the water-gas shift reaction; layered Au clusters coexisted with single Au atoms in Au/α-MoC catalysts; and atomically thin NM monolayers were coated on the surface of tungsten carbide nanoparticles to form core-shell architectures. These advances together with the thermal and chemical stability of TMCs hint that surfaces of group VIB TMCs are ideal for spreading supported NMs, but the interfaces that anchor the nanolayers remain unknown, leading to complexity and uncertainty in understanding the formation and catalytic performance of ADNLs.
The recent boom of shale gas has stimulated renewed interest in C—H bond cleavage as the initial step towards the direct conversion of methane to value-added products. Pt catalysts exhibit satisfactory activity for this chemistry but suffer from rapid deactivation due to coke deposition that covers the active sites. The challenges to achieving stable methane conversion and maintaining activity lie in activating the first C—H bond while inhibiting deep dehydrogenation and persevering highly dispersed active sites at high temperatures (>700° C.).
Accordingly, there is a need for new and improved heterogeneous catalysts for hydrocarbon formation from methane, which catalysts also have high thermal stability and form reduced amounts of side products and coke compared to known catalysts.

Transition metal carbides for catalytic methane activation

Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.


An arrangement for converting linear motion from a power source to rotary motion, where the power source is intended to coact with a cam in a manner to produce rotary motion, this rotary motion being carried out by a shaft. The invention is characterized by a first member which comprises a rod-unit (4) or a corresponding element intended to move reciprocatingly, and the cam (2) which is attached to one end of the rod-unit, this cam having curve-shaped parts (20, 21) on solely the surface thereof remote from the rod-unit. A second member includes two mutually opposing wing-shaped parts (6, 7) which project outwardly away from the shaft and which are rigidly connected to the shaft (3). A roller (8, 9) or corresponding element is rotatably mounted on the outer part of each wing (6, 7). The rollers are intended to roll on the cam (2), therewith converting linear motion to rotary motion.

The present invention relates to a device for converting linear reciprocating motion to rotary motion.
The invention is primarily intended for application in those cases where said reciprocating linear motion is generated by the pistons of a power source which has the form of an internal-combustion engine or a compressed-air engine (motor). The invention is not restricted to any particular field of application, however.

Device for converting linear reciprocating motion to rotary motion


A method for connecting stacked circuit boards includes: a connecting structure is provided, the connecting structure is a bendable and flexible circuit board; a first circuit board and a plurality of supporting posts are provided, each of the supporting posts is dispersedly fixed to a side surface of the first circuit board; a second circuit board is provided, and two peripheral portions of the connecting structure are respectively fixed to the first circuit board and the second circuit board, the peripheral portions of the connecting structure are respectively near two opposite ends of the connecting structure; the connecting structure is bent to flip the second circuit board super-positioned above the first circuit board, and the second circuit board is connected to a free end of each of the supporting posts.

In order to increase the surface-mounting area of the circuit boards to have sufficient number of the passive components, one circuit board is super-positioned on another circuit board via a sandwiched connecting structure.
Traditionally, the connecting structure is a hollowed plate having through holes which are drilled at the portion near the edge of the connecting structure, and the circuit boards are electrically connected through the coating or metallization of the hole walls. However, such a connecting method requires complicated processes and process equipment, and the cost may be high as a result.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Method for connecting stacked circuit boards

HongQiSheng Precision Electronics (QinHuangDao) Co., Ltd.


Disclosed is a PNA probe that includes a nucleobase sequence suitable for the detection, identification and/or quantitation of Pseudomonas (sensu stricto). In one embodiment, the PNA probe is complementary to a target sequence of 23S rRNA or rDNA from all species of the genus Pseudomonas. The invention has a wide range of important uses including detecting Pseudomonas in a sample of interest.

Detection, identification and quantitation of specific microorganisms is fundamental to many areas of microbiology ranging from the detection of pathogens in samples of human origin, to spoilage organisms or pathogens in food and beverages and environmental contaminants in municipal water. There are numerous examples where antibiotic treatment is instituted before the infectious agent has been confirmed, food is released for consumption before the microbiological test results are available, or municipal water is distributed via pipelines to the public while culture-based tests are still incubating. The requirement for rapid and accurate test results is obvious.
Comparative analysis of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences or genomic DNA sequences corresponding to said rRNA (rDNA) has become a widely accepted method for establishing phylogenetic relationships between bacterial species (Woese, Microbiol. Rev. 51:221-271 (1987)), and Bergey's Manual of systematic bacteriology has been revised based on rRNA or rDNA sequence comparisons.
Ribosomal RNA or rDNA sequence differences between closely related species enable design of specific probes for microbial identification and thus enable diagnostic microbiology to be based on a single genetic marker rather than a series of phenotypic markers as characterizing traditional microbiology (Delong et al., Science 342:1360-1363 (1989)).
The taxonomy of the genus Pseudomonas has been changed in recent years, such that many species previously classified as Pseudomonas species have been reclassified and now belongs to other genera, such as Burkholderia, Xanthomonas, Aeromonas, Brevundimonas etc. However many current methods, such as Pseudomonas specific growth media, are still based on the former taxonomy, such the microorganisms identified as Pseudomonas (sensu stricto) in fact may be former Pseudomonas species not longer belonging to the Pseudomonas genus (Pacheco & Sage, Abstract, Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Salt Lake City, May 2002). There is therefore a need for novel identification methods reflecting the revised taxonomy of the genus Pseudomonas.
Despite its name, Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) is neither a peptide nor a nucleic acid, it is not even an acid. PNA is a non-naturally occurring polyamid that can hybridize to nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) with sequence specificity (See: U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,082) and Egholm et al., Nature 365:566-568 (1993)) according to Watson-Crick base paring rules. However, whereas nucleic acids are biological materials that play a central role in the life of living species as agents of genetic transmission and expression, PNA is a recently developed totally artificial molecule, conceived in the minds of chemists and made using synthetic organic chemistry. PNA also differs structurally from nucleic acid. Although both can employ common nucleobases (A, C, G, T, and U), the backbones of these molecules are structurally diverse. The backbones of RNA and DNA are composed of repeating phosphodiester ribose and 2-deoxyribose units. In contrast, the backbones of the most common PNAs are composed on (aminoethyl)-glycine subunits. Additionally, in PNA the nucleobases are connected to the backbone by an additional methylene carbonyl moiety. PNA is therefore not an acid and therefore contains no charged acidic groups such as those present in DNA and RNA. The non-charged backbone allows PNA probes to hybridize under conditions that are destabilizing to DNA and RNA. Attributes that enable PNA probes to access targets, such as highly structured rRNA and double stranded DNA, known to be inaccessible to DNA probes (See: Stephano & Hyldig-Nielsen, IBC Library Series Publication #948. International Business Communication, Southborough, Mass., pp. 19-37 (1997)). PNAs are useful candidates for investigation when developing probe-based hybridization assays because they hybridize to nucleic acids with sequence specificity. However, PNA probes are not the equivalent of nucleic acid probes in structure or function.
There is a need in the field for effective PNA probes that can be used to analyze Pseudomonas (sensu stricto) in a wide range of samples. PNA probes targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa have previously been described (Stender et al., J. Microbiol. Methods 42:245-253 (2000), however the heterogenicity of the species within the genus Pseudomonas complicates the design of specific PNA probes targeting all species of the genus Pseudomonas.

Peptide nucleic acid probes for detection, identification and/or quantitation of


A bioabsorbable material such as a terpolymer of poly-(L-lactide/D-lactide/glycolide). The material may consist of 85 molar percent L-lactide, 5 molar percent D-lactide, and 10 molar percent glycolide. The material may have a heat of fusion of about 15-25 J/G, tensile strength retention at 26 weeks of incubation of at least about 50%, and tensile strength retention at 52 weeks of incubation of at most about 25%. The material may be used in implantable devices such as bone fixation devices.

Commercially available bone fixation devices are often made of metal alloys which must be surgically removed after bone healing. The removal of such devices causes additional trauma to the patient as well as increased medical costs. Metallic devices also have moduli of elasticity which are 10-20 times higher than that of cortical bone, thus preventing the loading of the bone and possibly causing osteopenia due to stress shielding.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,539,981 and 4,550,449 to Tunc (the inventor of the present invention) relate to absorbable bone fixation devices made from high molecular weight polymer of L-lactide. However, such fixation devices have a relatively low rate of absorption and retain relatively high tensile strength after the bone fully heals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,250 to Sarver et al. relates to a biocompatible osteosynthesis plate for securing a plurality of adjacent bone portions. It purportedly discloses, inter alia, non-reinforced lactide and glycolide copolymer (see, e.g., col. 6, lines 63 et seq.). However, such materials exhibit relatively low tensile strengths.
All documents cited herein, including the foregoing, are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.

Bioabsorbable materials and medical devices made therefrom


A combined laser position detector, infrared emissivity target and television target includes a light-transparent substrate having a TV target on one side and an infrared target on a second side, with the two targets in registration with one another. Alternatively, the TV and IR target can be on the same side. The substrate is affixed to a housing that includes light-emitting sources behind the targets positioned to direct emitted light through the targets and also includes a recess for receiving a laser position detector with an opening behind the targets to permit light to pass through the targets and to impinge upon the surface of the detector.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a combined laser position detector, infrared emissivity target and TV target combined in a single, small rugged unit for use in testing electro-optical systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Until now, systems for testing and for measuring the misalignment of the optical lines of sight of forward looking infrared, television, and laser systems have included a plurality of target projectors and laser optical detectors. A need has arisen for a small, compact, rugged unit that incorporates infrared and TV targets as well as a laser position detector for measuring misalignment of forward-looking infrared, television, and laser optical lines of sight.

Combined laser position detector, infrared emissivity target and TV target