The present invention relates to a polyamic acid polymer composite and a method for producing the same, and more specifically, a polyamic acid polymer composite, which can be applied to display substrate production due to its high transparency and low thermal expansion of glass-level, and a method for producing same. The polyamic acid polymer composite comprises 50 to 99 wt % of a polyamic acid polymer having a repeating unit of Chemical Formula 1; and 1 to 50 wt % of a silica-based particle:

Polyimide films have good mechanical properties and other good characteristics such as heat resistance, chemical resistance, and electrical insulation properties and are therefore widely used as various films for optical waveguides and electronic devices such as interlayer dielectric films for semiconductors, buffer coatings, substrates for flexible printed circuit, and alignment films for liquid-crystal displays.
Glass is widely used as substrates for liquid crystal displays, organic electro luminescence displays, organic thin-film transistors, etc. until now. However, with the trend toward lightweight, flexible display, flexible substrates made of plastics such as PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) and PES (polyethersulfone) are being developed. The flexible substrate should have high transparency, low thermal expansion, and high glass transition temperature. In particular, the light transmittance of a film of 10 to 30 μm in thickness must be 80% or more; in order to prevent improper arrangement of display pixels and wiring deviation on a substrate due to expansion or contraction of the substrate, the thermal expansion coefficient must be 20 ppm/° C. or less in the range of 100 to 300° C.; and glass transition temperature must be 350° C. or higher.
It is known that the introduction of a highly flexible monomer or a fluoro group into the polyimide skeleton is effective to obtain a highly transparent polyimide film. For example, a totally fluorinated polyimide obtained from 2,2-bis(3,4-carboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropanoic dianhydride (a fluorinated acid dianhydride) and 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine (a fluorinated diamine) is known. A film having the thickness of 20 μm obtained from the aforementioned totally fluorinated polyimide exhibits a light transmittance as high as 85% at wavelength of 400 nm. However, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the film is as high as 48 ppm/° C.

Polyamic acid polymer composite and preparation method thereof

Abstract: wherein, R1 to R3, m and n have the same meanings as defined in the specification.


An electrical load abnormality-detecting system for an automotive vehicle detects abnormality of each of a plurality of electrical load devices installed on the vehicle. A current sensor is provided commonly for the plurality of electrical load devices, for detecting a total load current flowing through the plurality of electrical load devices. The plurality of electrical load devices are separately put into operation, and abnormality of each of the plurality of electrical load devices is determined based on the total load current detected by the current sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical load abnormality-detecting system for automotive vehicles, and more particularly to an electrical load abnormality-detecting system of this kind, which detects load currents flowing through a plurality of electrical load devices in an automotive vehicle by a common electric current-detecting means.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, an electrical load abnormality-detecting system for automotive vehicles has been proposed e.g. by the present assignee in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-120648, which detects failure of an electrically-heated catalyzer (EHC) and an air pump, which are arranged in the exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, by monitoring voltage and current applied to and flowing through them. The monitoring of the voltage and current is carried out by monitoring output signals from current sensors provided respectively for the EHC and the air pump.
However, according to the proposed electrical load abnormality-detecting system, it is required to provide as many current sensors for electrical load devices to be detected as to abnormality, to detect current flowing therethrough. This results in an increase in the number of component parts of the vehicle, and thereby degrades the efficiency of space utilization and increases the manufacturing cost.

Electrical load abnormality-detecting system for automotive vehicles


A portable system for drilling geophysical shot holes in mixed geologic conditions. The system includes a drill for creating a shot hole in unconsolidated soil and for maintaining gauge in mixed geologic conditions. An explosive projectile for contacting hard rock is directed by a shot barrel, and a compressed air device removes residue from the shot hole. A controller can selectively discharge explosive projectiles when the drill bit encounters hard rock, and can cease the discharge of explosive projectiles when the drill bit encounters unconsolidated soil below hard rock. The system is particularly useful in preparing a slender shot hole in remote conditions restricting the mobility of drilling equipment, and in mixed geologic conditions comprising unconsolidated soils and hard rock aggregates or base rock.

The present invention relates to the field of drilling shot holes for seismic geophysical exploration in remote areas. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable drill for creating shot holes through unconsolidated and hard rock geologic formations.
Certain geophysical seismic operations use explosive charges to generate shock waves for penetrating subsurface geologic formations. The shock waves are reflected from subsurface geologic structures and interfaces, and the reflected signals are detected with receivers or geophones located at the surface. In land-based geophysical seismic operations, shallow shot holes from five to several hundred feet are drilled into the upper geologic formations. Explosive charges are positioned within the shot holes, and the explosive charges are detonated to generate the shock waves.
Seismic operations are frequently performed in remote areas. The topography, ground cover, and inaccessibility of remote areas significantly restricts seismic equipment use, and these limitations are particularly significant in the creation of shot holes. Helicopters can position shot hole drilling equipment in remote locations, but conventional shot hole drilling equipment is significantly affected by the local soil conditions. Such soil conditions can include clays, shales, peat bogs, alluvial soils, granite, and other materials and combinations of materials.
A conventional rotary or reciprocating drill can generate a shot hole in unconsolidated soils such as topsoil and clay layers. Additionally, hard rock drills have been developed to generate shot holes in hard rock strata. However, conventional drilling equipment is slow and has difficulties in mixed geologic conditions where unconsolidated soil material overlays hard rock. In mixed geologic conditions, rotary and reciprocating drills can penetrate the unconsolidated soils but cannot penetrate the underlying hard rock at acceptable drilling rates. Hard rock drills are ineffective in unconsolidated soils because the drill mechanism is fouled by clay materials. Furthermore, hard rock drills using explosives are ineffective in unconsolidated soils because the explosives generate craters in the unconsolidated soils and create an unstable shot hole profile.
Alluvial soils present a different obstacle to shot hole drilling operations because alluvial soils often include rounded stones and boulders within a clay or other unconsolidated soil matrix. Even if a hard rock drill could adequately penetrate the unconsolidated soils, contact with an embedded hard stone can deflect the hard rock drill away from the desired path. This problem is particularly significant in shot hole drilling because the drill stem is relatively slender and is susceptible to deflection. If the shot hole is deflected off course by a hard stone in an alluvial soil, the accuracy of the explosive charge location will be affected and source position error can be introduced into the seismic processing calculations.
The elimination of source position error is particularly important in three dimensional seismic operations. A slight deviation of the shot hole due to deflection of the drilling mechanism will move the bottom hole shot location by several meters, depending on the offset and shot hole depth. This deviation can be significant in seismic data processing. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved shot hole drilling system capable of portable deployment and operation in complex, mixed geologic conditions with acceptable drilling rates.

Projectile assisted drill for seismic operations


A rug or mat having a pattern in relief is formed by printing a pattern on a rug having face yarns of a thermoplastic fiber, and subsequently heating the printed rug. The ink is applied by silk-screen, stencil or the like to apply enough ink to raise the melting point of the thermoplastic yarns, so the printed portions do not shrink as much as the untreated, or unprinted, portion of the rug. A plastisol ink has been found to protect the printed yarns. Because an ink is used to protect the yarns, the pattern can be defined by yarn height and color.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the treatment of textile goods, and is more particularly concerned with a method for forming a relief pattern in napped textiles, and the product so formed.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There have been numerous efforts at forming a pattern in relief on textile goods. With tufted or other napped goods, the tufts may be originally sewn at more than one height to define a pattern in relief, or the nap may be subsequently cut, or sheared, to define a pattern. While each of these techniques has met with some success, the apparatus to determine the pattern is quite complex, so the finished products tend to be expensive.
Another prior art technique for defining a pattern in relief has been applied to small rugs, mats and the like, the technique including the steps of cutting a stencil with the desired pattern, placing the stencil over the rug, and applying hot air or other gas to melt the fibers exposed in the open areas of the stencil. The melted fibers recede to a lower height than the un-melted fibers, so a relief pattern is formed. This technique, also, has met with some commercial success but the technique creates patterns only by melting of selected areas, the colors being determined by the original color of the yarn in the rug.

Rug having relief pattern, and method for forming


Backlight modules are provided. A backlight module includes a reflector, a light source disposed in the reflector, a substrate connected to the reflector, and a fixing mechanism. The reflector includes a first reflecting surface having a first opening and a second reflecting surface having a second opening. The fixing mechanism, connecting the first and second openings, is coated with a reflective material, to reflect light from the light source.

The invention relates in general to backlight modules and in particular to backlight modules preventing reflector separation.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional backlight module comprises a frame F, a light guide element G and a reflector R. A light source (not shown) is accommodated in the reflector R, and light from the light source is reflected and guided to the light guide element G by the reflector R. In FIG. 1, two side plates R′ are secured on the frame F by screws S.
Referring to FIG. 2, another conventional backlight module primarily comprises a light guide element G, a reflector R and a light source L disposed in the reflector R. The reflector R has two locking holes R1, and correspondingly, the light guide element G has two locking protrusions R1′ joining in the locking holes R1, to fix the reflector R to a side of the light guide element G. Thus, light from the light source L can be reflected and guided to the light guide element G.
As to the conventional backlight modules shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reflector R and the light guide element G are fixed by the connection mechanisms disposed on opposite sides thereof. Loose connection in the middle portions of the reflector R and the light guide element G may cause the reflector R to separate from the light guide element G and lead to failure. Further, gaps may occur between the reflector R and the light guide element G, through which light may adversely leak. In large backlight modules, particularly, as the reflector R is much longer, the gaps and light leakage can be more serious.


A memory device includes a memory cell array and a data input/output circuit. The memory cell array includes a plurality of memory cells connected to a plurality of bit lines and a plurality of word lines. The data input/output circuit is configured to receive data from external data pins of the memory device, output the received data to the memory cell array through a plurality of input/output lines electrically coupled to the plurality of bit lines, receive data read from the memory cell array through the plurality of input/output lines, and output the read data through the external data pins. For each external data pin, the data input/output circuit is configured to output data received at the external data pin to a corresponding input/output line. The corresponding input/output line is selected in response to bit values of a set of bits included in the received data.

With the development of memory systems including a memory device, the number of memory devices included in a single memory module or system has increased. Accordingly, the possibility of defects occurring in memory devices has also increased. Therefore, a test procedure for searching out and detecting defects has become important.
In general, in testing a memory device, data is written to memory cells in the memory device using an external test device, the data is read from the memory cells, and then the data that has been read is compared with the data that has been written to determine whether the memory device is good or bad. When the test device tests a plurality of memory devices included in a single memory module or a single memory system using particular data, the test device often needs to repeatedly perform a test on each of the memory devices since data lines connected between the test device and the memory devices are different. Therefore, a long test time is typically required.
Furthermore, when a memory module includes a plurality of memory devices and a memory controller controlling the memory devices, it is difficult for the memory controller to input predetermined data to a particular data line of a memory device.

Memory device and memory system including the same


The present invention provides a martensitic stainless steel seamless pipe and a method of making, wherein the pipe has minimal inner surface defects and prevents delayed fracture generation in the impact-worked portions. The pipe comprises C: 0.15 to 0.22%, Si: 0.1 to 1.0%, Mn: 0.10 to 1.00%, Cr: 12.00 to 14.00%, P: 0.020% or less, S: 0.010% or less, N: 0.05% or less, O(Oxygen): 0.0060% or less, at least one alloying element selected from V, Nb and Ti of 0.005 to 0.200% and B of 0.0005 to 0.0100%, and the balance Fe and impurities, wherein either the following inequalities (1), (2), (4) and (5) or the following inequalities (1), (3), (4) and (5) are satisfied:C*+10N*≦0.45,  (1)H1≦−0.003(C*+10N*)+0.0016,  (2)H2≦−0.0018(C*+10N*)+0.00096,  (3)Cr*≦9.0,  (4)S≦0.088N*+0.00056,  (5).

A martensitic stainless steel such as API-13% Cr, which is used as a pipe for an oil well, normally includes a carbon content of about 0.2%, which needs a high yield strength of 80 ksi (552 MPa) or more and a hot workability. Due to a high C and Cr content, an as-rolled stainless steel pipe has an extreme hardness, therefore has a reduced toughness. Consequently, an as rolled conventional martensitic stainless steel pipe might have a crack resulting from a delayed fracture in "the impact-worked portion", where an impact load or static load was worked before a heat treatment. Accordingly, it is necessary to restrict the piling height in "a rack" and/or the dropping height into a rack of the steel pipes during transportation or storage. Moreover, the stand-by time before a heat treatment after hot-rolling must be shortened.
The above-mentioned restrictions during transportation or storage could result in various disadvantages such as a large stockyard because of the restriction of the piling height and/or the dropping height of pipes, a reduction in working efficiency resulting from the careful handling of the steel pipes without excessive loading impact and a restricted time schedule from hot rolling to a heat treatment in order to finish the heat treatment within a restricted working period.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. H8-120415 discloses a martensitic stainless steel having a restricted N content. In this patent specification, only the improvement of toughness after a heat treatment is described. However, neither the relationship between the N content and a delayed fracture in the impact-worked portions of an as-rolled steel pipe nor the measures for suppressing such inner surface defects as internal scabs due to poor hot workability resulting from the decreased N content is described. It is not practical to manufacture a seamless steel pipe without any measures to suppress internal scabs.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. H6-306551 discloses an invention, in which the hydrogen content is restricted to improve the toughness in the heat affected zone by welding of a martensitic stainless steel pipe having low carbon content. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. H5-255734 describes an invention of dehydrogenating a martensitic stainless steel having low carbon content in order to prevent a delayed fracture. These inventions deal with a martensitic stainless steel having low carbon content. However, no description is given regarding the relationship between the hydrogen content and a delayed fracture in the impact-worked portions of an as-rolled martensitic stainless steel pipe containing such high C of about 0.2%.

Martensitic stainless steel seamless pipe and a manufacturing method thereof


A method for controlling weight gain or promoting weight loss which includes the step of treating a subject with an effective weight gain controlling or weight loss promoting amount of a substituted .DELTA.5-Androstene which is biologically effective for controlling weight gain or promoting weight loss and biologically ineffective for promoting the synthesis of sex hormones. Steroids believed to provide the desired weight control/weight loss characteristics include:. .DELTA.5-Androstene-3.beta.,7.alpha.-diol-17-one PA0 .DELTA.5-Androstene-3.beta.-ol-7,17-dione PA0 .DELTA.5-Androstene-3.beta.,7.alpha.,17-triol PA0 .DELTA.5-Androstene-3.beta.,17.beta.-diol-7-one. and various derivatives thereof.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (.DELTA.5-androstene 3.beta.-hydroxy, 17-one) (hereinafter referenced as DHEA) is a natural steroid produced in the adrenal glands, testes and brain. Dehydroepiandrosterone is an intermediate in the biosynthetic production of estrogen and androgen (sex hormones) from 17.alpha.-hydroxy pregnenolone.
Treatment with DHEA is believed to stimulate various biological responses including promoting weight loss and inducing an increase in the production of the sex hormones androgen and estrogen.
The ability of DHEA to promote weight control is believed to be mediated through enhanced thermogenesis (conversion to heat energy rather than chemical energy such as ATP and/or triacylglycerides). The thermogenic effect of DHEA is believed to result from a stimulation in the synthesis of liver thermogenic enzymes such as mitochondrial glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3P-DH) and cytosolic malic enzyme (ME) which tend to reduce the efficiency of energy metabolism.
Unfortunately, DHEA is not useful as a therapeutic agent for controlling weight gain/promoting weight loss because the dose rate of DHEA necessary to achieve these desired characteristics may also stimulate the production of sex hormones which is associated with various undesired side effects.
Accordingly, a therapeutic agent possessing the weight loss characteristic of DHEA without the associated sex hormone stimulating characteristic would be extremely useful.

Treatment process for promoting weight loss employing a substituted .DELTA. 5


An anionic polymerizable monomer is added to a reaction system in which an anion species which is incapable of initiating polymerization but may react with polymerization inhibiting substances to convert them into compounds that do not inhibit polymerization is present, and then an anion species capable of initiating polymerization is added thereto. It becomes possible to produce high molecular weight polymers and to precisely control the molecular weight thereof even if polymerization inhibiting substances are present in the system or when polymerization inhibiting substances enter from outside.

In anionic polymerization systems, since active hydrogen compounds such as water and alcohol, oxygen, or the like become polymerization inhibiting substances, which deactivate the growing terminal anions or initiators, the control of anionic polymerization under the presence of these materials is known to be difficult.
On the other hand, when producing a polymer having a high molecular weight of, for example, several tens of thousands or more by an anionic polymerization method, since the more attempts are made to obtain polymers having high molecular weights, the more the concentration of the growing terminal anion in the polymerization solution reduces, relative effects of polymerization inhibiting substances increase greatly and the growing terminal anion becomes prone to deactivation. For this reason, there has been a problem in that the production of polymers having a desired molecular weight is difficult and yields of targeted polymers are reduced.
In order to solve such problems, a method is proposed where benzylmagnesium bromide, butyllithium, or the like is added to monomers or solvents to be used to react with the polymerization inhibiting substances containing active hydrogen, which are contained in the monomers or the solvents in trace amounts, and the polymerization inhibiting substances are removed from the monomers or the solvents for purification.
In this method, there is a need to add an excessive amount of benzylmagnesium bromide, butyllithium, or the like in order to completely remove the polymerization inhibiting substances. However, since there are also some cases where these reagents function as polymerization inhibitors or polymerization initiators, they must be removed completely from the monomers or solvents before the polymerization. For this reason, there was a practically problem when carrying out anionic polymerization on an industrial scale, since there were some cases where the purification process or the like became complex, and moreover, monomers partially polymerized at the time of purifying the monomers by a distillation method or the like caused a reduction of the purification recovery factor of the monomers.
Moreover, Hsieh et al. reports on the anionic polymerization of styrene or dienes at room temperature by having an ate complex of sec-butyllithium or polystyryl anion and dibutylmagnesium as a polymerization initiator and Sawamoto et al. reports on the styrene bulk polymerization at a polymerization temperature of 120° C. using n-butyllithium/dibutylmagnesium complex. However, even in these examples using dibutylmagnesium, precise control of the molecular weight of a high molecular weight polymer has not been achieved (see Non-patent documents 1 to 4).
[Non-patent document 1] H. L. Hsieh et al., Macromolecules, 1986, 19, 299
[Non-patent document 2] Seitz, L., Little, G. F., J. Organomet. Chem., 1969, 18, 227
[Non-patent document 3] A. Deffieux, et al., Macromol. Chem., 1999, 200, 621
[Non-patent document 4] 7th SPSJ International Polymer conference, 27A13 (1999)

Production method of polymers by using living anionic polymerization method


A mobile router is configured for optimized utilization of reverse routing headers, to specify a path between an originating mobile router and a home agent. Reverse routing headers enable each mobile router within the path to the home agent to specify its care of address, enabling the home agent to establish a bidirectional tunnel to the originating mobile router via the corresponding mobile router. The mobile router selectively updates the reverse routing header in a received packet by inserting the source address value of the received packet into the reverse routing header and inserting its corresponding care of address into the source address field, based on whether the mobile router lacks a routing table entry that specifies reachability of a most recent entry in the reverse routing header via the source address value. The mobile router also may request the originating mobile router to increase the reverse routing header size.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to management of a mobile network by mobile routers, where the mobile network is capable of changing its point of attachment to a wide area network (e.g., the Internet) and thus its reachability in its associated topology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Proposals have been made by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) groups for improved mobility support of Internet Protocol (IP) based mobile devices (e.g., laptops, IP phones, personal digital assistants, etc.) in an effort to provide continuous Internet Protocol (IP) based connectivity. For example, the IETF has a Mobile IP Working Group that has developed routing support to permit IP nodes (hosts and routers) using either IPv4 or IPv6 to seamlessly "roam" among IP subnetworks. In addition, the Mobile Networks (MONET) group (renamed as the Network Mobility (NEMO) group) has published different Internet Drafts, available on the World Wide Web at the Network Mobility Home Page at the address "nal.motlabs.com/monet" on the World Wide Web. One exemplary Internet Draft by Thierry Ernst, entitled "Network Mobility Support Terminology", February 2002, is available on the World Wide Web at the address "nal.motlabs.com/monet/drafts/draft-ernst-monet-terminology-01.txt".
For example, Ernst describes an exemplary mobile network that can be deployed within an airplane, where passengers establish an IP connection of their respective IP host devices (e.g., laptop, digital telephone, personal digital assistant, etc.) to a mobile router within the airplane for on-board Internet access; during the flight, the mobile router within the aircraft may change its point of attachment to the Internet via distinct Internet Service Providers (ISPs), for example by changing connections via respective radio links or geostationary satellite links for transoceanic flights. Note that a passenger also may have his or her own network (i.e., a personal area network) within the mobile network.
According to the NEMO group, a mobile network may be composed by one or more IP subnets and is connected to the global Internet via one or more Mobile Routers (MR). The mobile router has at least two network interfaces: an egress interface toward the wide area network, and an ingress interface from within the mobile network. Mobile network nodes may include local fixed nodes (LFN)(nodes unable to change their point of attachment while maintaining ongoing sessions), local mobile nodes (LMN)(mobile nodes that belong to the mobile network and able to change their point of attachment within the mobile network or outside the mobile network), and visiting mobile nodes (VMN)(mobile nodes that not belong to the mobile network and that can change their point of attachment from outside the mobile network to inside the mobile network). Each of the nodes may be either a host or a router.
Hence, a mobile router is a router configured for establishing a communication link between the mobile network and an attachment router of a wide area network, such as the Internet, providing connectivity for the mobile network to the wide area network. The mobile router thus serves as a gateway to route packets between the mobile network and the Internet.
The IETF also has a Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANET) Working Group that is working to develop standardized MANET routing specification(s) for adoption, by the IETF. According to the MANET Working Group, the"mobile ad hoc network" (MANET) is an autonomous system of mobile routers (and associated hosts) connected by wireless links—the union of which form an arbitrary graph. The routers are free to move randomly and organize themselves arbitrarily; thus, the network's wireless topology may change rapidly and unpredictably. Such a network may operate in a standalone fashion, or may be connected to the larger Internet.
The MANET system is particularly suited to low-power radio networks that may exhibit an unstable topology, where wireless propagation characteristics and signal quality between a wireless transmission source and a receiver can be difficult to model and quantify. In a MANET, the device address is tied to the device, not a topological location, as there is no fixed network infrastructure. When the addressed device moves, therefore, the motion changes the routing infrastructure. Hence, as described in an Internet Draft by Baker, entitled "An Outsider's View of MANET", available from the IETF on the World Wide Web at the address "ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-baker-manet-review-01.txt", the fundamental behavior of a MANET is that a routing node carries with it an address or address prefix, and when it moves, it moves the actual address; when this happens, routing must be recalculated in accordance with the new topology. For example, each mobile router retains its address prefix; hence, neighboring mobile routers in a MANET may have distinct address prefixes.
A "Mobile IPv6" protocol is disclosed in an Internet Draft by Johnson et al., entitled "Mobility Support in IPv6", available on the World Wide Web at the address "ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-mobileip-ipv6-18.txt". According to Johnson et al., the Mobile IPv6 protocol enables a mobile node to move from one link to another without changing the mobile node's IP address. Hence, a mobile node is always addressable by its "home address", an IP address assigned to the mobile node within its home subnet prefix on its home link. Packets may be routed to the mobile node using this address regardless of the mobile node's current point of attachment to the Internet. The mobile node also may continue to communicate with other nodes (stationary or mobile) after moving to a new link. The movement of a mobile node away from its home link is thus transparent to transport and higher-layer protocols and applications.
A particular concern arises where a mobile network has a nested mobile network topology, where multiple mobile routers are recursively connected. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a nested mobile network 10 having mobile routers 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e and 12f having nested attachments, enabling a local fixed node (e.g., LFN1) 14 to communicate with a correspondent node 16 via a wide area packet switched network, such as the Internet 18. Packets sent by the local fixed node 14 for the correspondent node 16 are received by the mobile router 12c; the mobile router 12c adds an IPv6 header having a source address specifying the home address of the mobile router 12c, and a destination address specifying the correspondent node 16. The path for the packets from the mobile router 12c to the Internet 18 is MR3 12c, to MR2 12b, to MR1 12a, to the Internet 18 via an access router 22.
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the mobile router 12c has an associated home agent 20 for forwarding packets specifying the home address of the mobile router 12c as the destination address. The home agent 20, upon receiving the packets specifying the home address of the mobile router 12c, forwards the packets to the care of address registered for the mobile router 12c. the local fixed node 14. Although not shown, the mobile routers 12a and 12b would also have respective home agents.
FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating bidirectional nested tunnels 22a, 22b, and 22c implemented by the mobile routers 12a, 12b and 12 for communications between the local fixed node 14 and the correspondent at 16. In particular, the Internet draft by Kniveton, T., entitled "Mobile Router Support with Mobile IP", available on the on the World Wide Web at the address "ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-kniveton-mobrtr-03.txt", suggests a tunnel-within-tunnel approach as illustrated in FIG. 1B. Hence, according to Kniveton, communications between the local fixed node 14 and the correspondent node 16 would implemented by the mobile routers 12a, 12b, and 12c and the respective home agent 20a, 20b, and 20c based on bidirectional tunnels (e.g., 22a) between the mobile router (e.g., 12a) and the corresponding home agent (e.g. 20a).
The nested bidirectional tunnels 22a, 22b, and 22c may lead to very inefficient "pinball routing" in the infrastructure of the Internet 18, depending on the relative locations of the home agents 20a, 20b and 20c.

Arrangement in a router of a mobile network for optimizing use of messages carrying reverse routing headers


A heater of a fixing unit of a recording apparatus is constructed by a main heater and a sub heater. When the apparatus is in a standby mode, each heater is first turned off. When a temperature of the fixing unit is equal to or lower than a heating start temperature of the sub heater, the sub heater is turned on. After that, when the temperature of the fixing unit reaches a heating stop temperature of the sub heater, the sub heater is turned off. After that, when the temperature of the fixing unit is equal to or lower than the heating start temperature, the main heater is turned on. After that, when it reaches the heating stop temperature of the main heater, the main heater is turned off. The above operations are repeated. In the recording mode, the order of the on/off periods in a control unit time of each heater is switched every period and the temperature control is executed, thereby reducing a flickering.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a heating control of a fixing unit of an image recording apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, in a fixing unit which is installed in a recording apparatus of a laser beam printer or the like, a halogen heater or ceramic heater is used as a heat source, a temperature of a heat generated from the heat source is detected by a temperature sensor provided in the fixing unit, and a fixing temperature is controlled on the basis of temperature information. Further, in recent years, a fixing unit having two or more halogen heaters in order to reduce a warming-up time of the fixing unit has also been proposed.
In the recording apparatus equipped with such a kind of fixing unit, in what is called a standby mode other than the time of the recording operation, when a recording operation instruction is received, the fixing unit is controlled so as to be maintained at a predetermined temperature in order to promptly fix toner onto a transfer material. In a printing mode, when a detection temperature of a fixing roller detected by the temperature sensor is higher than a predetermined temperature, the heat source is turned off and when the detection temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature, the heat source is turned on, thereby performing a temperature control and keeping the fixing unit at a predetermined temperature.
The above conventional apparatus, however, has the following problems. That is,
(1) When the halogen heater is used as a heat source and an illuminating equipment to which a power source is supplied from the same-AC outlet as that of the recording apparatus exists, there is a problem such that an adverse influence is exerted on the illuminating equipment at the start of the heating of the fixing unit in dependence on an impedance of a power source line, so that the illumination momentarily becomes dark.
That is, in the standby mode after completion of a warming-up process of the fixing unit or during the printing operation, for example, when a plurality of halogen heaters are concurrently turned on or the on/off operations of the halogen heater are frequently repeated, there is a problem such that a fluorescent lamp to which a power source is supplied from the same AC outlet flickers or the like, in other words, there occurs a flicker phenomenon due to a rash current generated at the start of the heating of the heat source.
(2) In a fixing unit having a plurality of heat sources, since the temperature control is performed by using only one of a plurality of heat sources in the standby mode in order to suppress the maximum electric power consumption, there is a problem such that it is difficult to realize a long life of the fixing unit. Particularly, there is also a recording apparatus such that almost of the mode during the power-on is the standby mode. In such a case, since the life of the fixing unit is fairly short, there is a problem such that the number of times of replacement of the fixing unit increases and the use efficient is bad.
(3) Since a plurality of heat sources are simply turned on and off on the basis of the predetermined temperature as a reference during the printing operation, particularly, in a high speed printer using a heat source of a high power, since a recording paper absorbs a large quantity of heat from the fixing unit, a temperature rising speed at the time of turn-on of the heat source and a temperature decreasing speed at the time of turn-off of the heat source are large. There is, consequently, a problem such that a temperature change of the fixing unit Is also large and a high accurate temperature control cannot be performed.

Control apparatus for fixing unit having plural heaters


A turbine rotor blade made from the spar and shell construction in which the shell formed from a plurality of shell segments each being a thin wall shell segment made from a high temperature resistant material that is formed by a wire EDM process, and where the shell segments are each secured to the spar separately using a retainer that is poured into retainer occupying spaces formed in the shell segments and the spar, and then hardened to form a rigid retainer to secure each shell segment to the spar individually. The spar includes a number of radial extending projections each with a row of cavities that form the retainer occupying spaces in order to spread the loads around. The retainer can be a bicast material, a transient liquid phase bonding material, or a sintered metal. An old shell can be easily removed and replaced with a new shell by removing parts of the retainer and re-pouring a new retainer with a new shell in place.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a gas turbine engine, and more specifically to a turbine rotor blade made from a spar and shell construction.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
A gas turbine engine, such as an industrial gas turbine (IGT) engine, passes a hot gas flow through a turbine having a number of stages or rows of rotor blades and stator vanes to extract energy and drive the rotor shaft to produce electric power. It is well known that the efficiency of the engine can be increased by passing a higher temperature gas through the turbine. However, the maximum temperature is related to the material properties and the cooling capability of the first stages blades and vanes.
Prior art turbine airfoils are produced from high temperature resistant materials such as Inconnel and other nickel based super-alloys in which the airfoils are cast using the well known investment casting process. These materials have relatively high temperature resistance. However, a thin walled airfoil cannot be produced using the investment casting process because the airfoil wall is too thin for casting of the alloy may not be castable at all. A thin walled airfoil would be ideal for improved cooling capability since the heat transfer rate through the thin wall would be extremely high. In a thin walled airfoil, the outer airfoil surface temperature would be about the same as the inner airfoil wall temperature because of the high heat transfer rate.
Exotic high temperature resistant materials such as Tungsten, Molybdenum and Columbium have higher melting temperature than the nickel based super-alloys currently used in turbine airfoils. However, tungsten and molybdenum cannot be cast because of their high melting temperatures, and especially cannot be cast into a thin wall airfoil because the material cannot flow within the small space formed within the mold.
Rotor blades must be replaced or repaired on a regular basis in order to maintain high levels of efficiency in the operation of an engine like the IGT engine used for electrical power generation. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide for a rotor blade that will allow for quick and easy replacement of any damaged or worn part of the blade so that the new blade can be installed. Also, it would be beneficial for the blade to be easily refurbished or brought back to like new condition without having to machine or weld or use other metal working processes to fix the blade.
One major problem with a spar and shell rotor blade design is the high stress loads applied to the spar that must support the shell during rotation of the blade. the shell, if made from a relatively heavy material, will produce higher centrifugal loads on the spar. The problem of creep buckling could lead to shorter life for the shell due to high compressive loads that occur on the shell due to the high centrifugal loads. Creep buckling occurs when the shell wall is continuously placed under compression due to the centrifugal loads from rotation of the blade. the shell walls can actually buckle due to high centrifugal loads over long periods of time.
Thus, a new and improved turbine blade has been proposed in which a high temperature resistant exotic material such as tungsten or molybdenum is used to form a thin walled shell for the airfoil that is secured to a spar that forms a rigid support structure for the shell. The shell is formed from tungsten or molybdenum using an EDM (electric discharge machining) process such as wire EDM to cut the metallic material into the shell shape. The shell in then secured to the spar to form a turbine blade or vane which can be used under much higher operating temperatures than the investment cast nickel super-alloy blade or vane.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An electronic watermarking system that impartially performs the deletion of a visible mark and the embedding of an invisible mark. Since the deletion of the visible mark and the embedding of the invisible mark are not performed sequentially but in parallel, even when a memory snapshot is taken during the process, it is difficult to acquire original image data where neither a visible mark nor an invisible mark is embedded. Furthermore, in a process for deleting a visible mark and embedding an invisible mark, an invisible mark is embedded in an area where a visible mark was embedded. Therefore, even when images are compared before and after the visible mark is deleted, it is difficult to infer from the results that an invisible mark has been newly embedded.

The present invention is directed to the field of watermarking. It is more specifically directed to electronic watermarking systems.
A technique for embedding (marking) additional information directly in digital contents is proposed as a means for preventing the illegal copying, transfer and re-distribution of the digital contents. Generally, the marking technique can be sorted into a visible data embedding technique and an audible data embedding technique. The electronic watermarking technique, which is an invisible data embedding technique, is distinctive in that additional information can be embedded with no collateral deterioration of the quality of contents, and in that once data is embedded it is difficult to completely erase it. Since the quality is not deteriorated and invisible/inaudible data are embedded, when the contents are to be distributed or when information such as labeling is embedded, it is visually and audibly difficult to determine whether a mark was actually embedded. On the other hand, according to the conventional visible marking, it is easy to intuitively detect the presence of additional information, while the contents are deteriorated. Thus, the positions where marks can be embedded and the applications of the technique are limited. In addition, when JPEG compression is performed for an image for which a visible mark is provided, unwanted image deterioration occurs in the vicinity of the visible mark because the JPEG compression is not suitable for an image that includes a geometric pattern, such as a logo and a character. Therefore, a system having the functions xe2x80x9cembedding a visible markxe2x80x9dxe2x86x92 xe2x80x9cerasing a visible markxe2x80x9dxe2x86x92 xe2x80x9cembedding an invisible markxe2x80x9d is effective in that it is apparent that information is embedded, and the embedding of information can be performed without the quality of the contents being deteriorated.
The conventional visible information embedding techniques are xe2x80x9cColor correct digital watermarking of imagesxe2x80x9d (U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,759) and xe2x80x9cMethod and apparatus for reducing quantization artifacts in a hierarchical image storage and retrieval systemxe2x80x9d (U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,570). According to either method, a function for erasing an embedded visible mark and simultaneously embedding invisible information is not provided.
For the purpose of preventing the illegal copying and transfer of digital contents, there is a scrambling technique xe2x80x9cScrambling Digital Image Data for Copyright Protectionxe2x80x9d (SCIS96-9A). And a technique described in Nikkei Electronics, No. 694, 714 (pp. 17-18), 1997 is proposed as an image distribution system that employs the scrambling technique and the electronic watermarking technique. An outline of this system is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, scrambling is performed for one part or all of an image to degrade the quality of an image, and when the scrambling is released, the ID number of a user is embedded by the electronic watermarking technique. This system, however, has the following shortcomings. Electronic watermarking information can be erased as is shown in FIG. 3, since the scrambling area and an embedding area do not match, the differences in the images before and after the scrambling is released are acquired so that one part or all of newly embedded electronic watermarking information can be erased. Data can be decoded by using a memory snapshot as is shown in FIG. 4, since the job of releasing the scrambling and the job of embedding electronic watermarking information are not performed in parallel, original image data that is not scrambled and does not include electronic watermarking information can be illegally acquired by obtaining a memory snapshot (damping the memory during the scramble release process).
To resolve the above shortcomings, it is one object of the present invention to provide an electronic watermarking system and method, and a storage medium including a program for electronic watermarking, that simultaneously and in parallel performs the deletion of additional information from the contents embedded additional information and embeds new additional information.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and a system that impartially perform the deletion of a visible mark and the embedding of an invisible mark.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a method and a system that make it difficult to acquire original image data when neither a visible mark nor an invisible mark is embedded, even when a memory snapshot is acquired during a process for deleting a visible mark and embedding an invisible mark.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a contents distribution system and an electronic fingerprinting system that ensure the collection of a charge imposed for the use of the contents.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a contents distribution system that efficiently arranges a plurality of content sets and distributes them.
To achieve the objects, a method is employed for changing a marking method in accordance with the form used for the employment of digital contents and a change in the possession state, and for embedding other information.

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to mannequin systems that can be used for simulating motion for the performance testing of garments, including absorbent articles. The systems may include an assembled framework and a mannequin secured within the assembled framework. Motion of the mannequin is generated by an integrated system of pneumatic cylinders and a motor drive assembly. The mannequin may be made of a reinforced elastomeric composite material.

Absorbent articles, particularly disposable absorbent articles, have undergone an evolution since they first became commercially available. Materials and features made available by new technologies have improved the function and fit of absorbent articles. Before new designs and features become available on commercial products, substantial research and development efforts are necessary to ensure that the products will perform as expected. Development efforts typically include "bench top" laboratory tests to measure features and performance such as strength, flexibility or breathability. While reliable and useful, the bench top tests are not capable of accounting for the conditions experienced during normal use of absorbent articles. Desirably, absorbent articles are tested through use by consumers who later provide feedback.
While the results are extremely useful, consumer use testing has its disadvantages. For example, consumer use testing is costly and time consuming. Additionally, consumer feedback is subjective and sometimes has a high degree of variability. In order to bridge the gap between bench top test methods and consumer use tests, product testing with life-like models may be used to test the design and performance of absorbent articles. Life-like models such as mannequins or robots may be used to test absorbent articles under more realistic conditions without the time necessary and the cost incurred for consumer testing.
During the last decade there has been a surge in the technology of robotics. Most robots are designed to repeat a mechanical function many times for use in an assembly process. The technology developments have been due, in part, to advances in computer controls and superior materials. Androids are a specialized segment of robotics. An android is an anthropomorphic robot, that is, a robot that looks like or moves like a human. The following are examples of significant and well-known efforts in the area of anthropomorphic robots: (1) ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) is a walking android developed by Honda Motor Co. of Tokyo, Japan. Honda has reported that over $100 MM has been spent on the development of ASIMO. Honda is developing ASIMO to act as a helper to people in need; (2) "Crash Test Dummies" have been under development for over fifty years for use by the automobile industry to measure car safety in crashes. The "Hybrid III" developed by General Motors Co. represents an industry standard for crash testing; and (3) ADAM (Advanced Automotive Manikin) will be the world's most advanced thermal comfort mannequin. ADAM is being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to mimic human responses such as sweating and breathing. ADAM will measure, predict and validate human physiological and psychological responses to the transient, non-uniform thermal environment found in motor vehicles. While more and more industrial applications for mannequin testing are identified, there is still cost associated with developing and conducting mannequin-based test methods. There remains a need for more life-like mannequin systems, particularly mannequin systems for evaluating the design and performance of absorbent articles.
Mannequin systems have been especially developed for testing of absorbent articles. Absorbent articles may include disposable absorbent articles such as infant diapers, diaper pants, toddler training pants, feminine care articles and adult incontinence pads and briefs. For example, Courtray Consulting in Douai, France sells a system of static baby mannequins for measuring urine leakage of infant diapers. While such systems are useful for conducting performance testing, they have some limitations. For example, existing mannequin systems do not necessarily match the skin and tissue conformance of humans, the systems are not very durable, the systems do not provide life-like movement and the systems are very costly.


One embodiment of a method comprises adding an action script to an ordered stack of action scripts maintained by an execution controller, wherein the added action script corresponds to a navigation input received at a first application, the added action script is unpopulated by a data input, and the added action script is added last in an order of the ordered stack. The embodiment also comprises providing the ordered stack of action scripts to a second application by the execution controller, and executing at the second application the ordered stack of action scripts according to the order, the ordered stack having the unpopulated first action script. The embodiment also comprises populating the added first action script with the data input, wherein the data input is received at the first application and the populating occurs after the executing.

Services provided by a computing system may include any type of functionality provided by the system and may be implemented at least in part by software applications of the system. For example, a particular service may include a business functionality and be implemented by an application which includes business logic to perform the business functionality. Generally speaking, legacy applications exist which have become outdated in some aspect, but which may implement services which are still useful. For example, the user interface of a legacy application may have become outdated, but the service it implements may still be useful. One approach to using the services of legacy applications includes developing a new application which reuses the services of the legacy application but which updates the outdated aspects.
One problem associated with this approach is that there may be difficulties in communicating between the new application and the legacy application. For example, the new application and the legacy application may be executed by the computing system according to different contexts such as, for example, a specific relative time and duration of execution. Thus, data which is dependent on a context or state of the new or legacy application may be incorrectly communicated between the new and legacy applications.

Method and system for data preparation and communication between software applications


A sealing device for suppressing a leakage flow of a fluid via an annular gap between a stationary member and a rotary member of a rotary machine includes: a fixed fin having an annular shape and disposed in the annular gap; and a movable fin having an annular shape and being disposed adjacent to the fixed fin in an axial direction inside the annular gap. The movable fin has a greater thermal expansion coefficient than the fixed fin and is fixed to the fixed fin in a fixing region on a root-end side of the movable fin.

Typically, a sealing device for suppressing a leakage flow of a fluid via an annular gap between a stationary member and a rotary member of a rotary machine is known.
With regard to such a type of sealing device, it is desirable to reduce the size of the sealing gap during operation of the rotary machine, from the perspective of reduction of a leakage flow. On the other hand, during its startup, the rotary machine temporarily experiences, as a transient state before reaching the normal state, a state in which the sealing gap reaches its minimum (pinch point), due to vibration of the rotational shaft of the rotary machine or an expansion difference between the rotary member and the stationary member. Thus, if the sealing gap in operation of the rotary machine is too small, the sealing device may make contact with the rotary member or the stationary member at the pinch point.
In view of this, proposed is a sealing device capable of adjusting the size of the sealing gap (automatic adjusting seal).
For instance, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic adjusting seal for rotary machines such as a steam turbine.
The automatic adjusting seal described in Patent Document 1 includes a fixed seal ring and a movable seal ring which are capable of making contact with each other via butting surfaces that comprise horizontal flat surfaces. The movable seal ring is disposed over an angular range of 120 degrees along the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, above and below the rotor of the rotary machine. The fixed seal ring is disposed over an angular range of 60 degrees along the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, on the right and left of the rotor. The movable seal ring is biased by an elastic member in a direction away from the fixed seal ring. During rated operation of the rotary machine, the movable seal ring is pressed against the fixed seal ring by a fluid, such that the sealing gap decreases.


The overload protection circuit 12 comprises a resistor bridge 20 with a low impedance sensing resistor r and high impedance resistors R1 to R4 which generates voltages Va and Vb at the inputs 32 and 34 of a comparator 22. Voltage Vb depend upon the value of the load current so that the comparator provides at its output 36 a control signal for opening the switching device 24 comprising a field effect transistor when the load current exceeds a maximum value. Resistor R5 reinforces the effect of the control signal. This circuit can be used in a system which comprises a central power supply unit 8 which powers a plurality of devices such as 4. The status of the circuit 12 is reported to the system 8 though line 14 and circuit 12 comprises a control circuit 26 which is responsive to set and reset control signals on lines 14 and 18 from the unit 8 to close or open the switch 26.

Electronic circuits for protecting devices against overloads due to short circuits or any type of defaults already exist on the shelves, but none of them present a negligible resistance when in set status (closed) as a result; they can not be used to protect devices powered from a unique remote unit because the resistance induces power losses which are detrimental to the operation of the remote devices.
Mechanical overload protection circuits exist and might be appropriate in such an environment but these circuits are cumbersome and cannot be integrated within a VLSI chip.
In addition there is a requirement at the remote powering unit to be aware of the status of the overload protection circuit in any device in order to take appropriate actions depending upon the reported status.

International Business Machines Corporation


A filter apparatus deposits impurities from a fluid stream by use of a filter element (10) accommodated in a filter casing (12). The filter casing (12) has a swirl space (14) such that the fluid stream to be filtered is conducted at least partly in a swirling flow around the filter element (10). The properties of a cyclone are utilized for the actual filtration operation to the extent that the swirl space of the filter casing brings about multiple deflection of the direction of motion of the fluid to be filtered.

Similar hydraulic filters and filter apparatus are readily available on the market in a plurality of embodiments (e.g., DE 197 11 589 A1). In addition to suction filter apparatus, filter apparatus as return line filters, in-line filters, or ventilation filters are known. In generic terms they are often referred to as hydraulic filters. Generally, these hydraulic filters are devices for separation of solids, with fibrous, grainy, or lattice-shaped filter media being used to separate solids from liquids or for separating dusts from gases.
Furthermore, other separation devices in the prior art (e.g., DE 42 14 324 A1) are cyclones which are devices with which the action of a centrifugal force separates particles of solids from gases or liquids which are subsumed in the jargon under the generic term fluid. In the aforementioned solution, the cyclone is located in a ventilation path leading from a driving mechanism space (crank space) to the intake line of an internal combustion engine so that aerosols entrained by the air are separated in the cyclone and can be delivered by an outlet to an oil sump of the internal combustion engine. To be able to prevent unwanted feed of oil from the oil sump into the cyclone even under extreme operating conditions, a stop safeguard in the form of a float valve is on the outlet side.
This cyclone separation technology has also already been used in combination with filter devices. Thus, DE-OS 37 35 106 discloses a process for separating liquid particles from gases, in particular in the form of aerosols from exhaust gases, in which the gases are centrifuged first and then filtered. Some of the filtrate gases are then relayed to a cyclone. The liquid particles entrained in the gas flow are combined into droplets by frequent deflection of the direction of their motion (swirling flow). The droplets emerge by their own weight from of the separation device.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,775 A discloses a cyclone separator with a predominantly conically running separation housing in which, following the wall of the separation housing and with the formation of a swirl space spaced analogously, a usually self-contained guide body enables improved swirl guidance for separating the particles in the swirl space for a tangentially supplied fluid flow with particle fouling. Filtration by a filter element is not possible with the known solution.
The prior art (e.g., EP 06 59 462 A1) also discloses solutions in which, for further particle separation, in the bypass flow of a cyclone separator a filter element is held in a separate filter housing following in the direction of the fluid stream. The filtration line of these known solutions still leaves much to be desired.


An access control system includes a fingerprint enrolling station for sensing a fingerprint of a person and enrolling the person as an authorized person based upon the sensed fingerprint. The system also includes an access triggering device to be carried by the authorized person, and an access controller for granting access to an authorized person bearing the access triggering device. The access triggering device preferably cooperates with the enrolling station to store authorization data for an authorized person based upon the sensed fingerprint. The access triggering device also preferably includes a wireless transmitter, such as a passive transponder, for transmitting an authorization signal related to the stored authorization data. In addition, the access controller preferably includes a wireless receiver, such as including a transponder powering circuit, for receiving the authorization signal and granting access responsive to the wireless transmitter being in proximity to the wireless receiver. The authorized person bearing the access trigger device may unobtrusively be granted access merely by approaching the access location.

Fingerprint sensing and matching is a reliable and widely used technique for personal identification or verification. In particular, a common approach to fingerprint identification involves scanning a sample fingerprint or an image thereof and storing the image and/or unique characteristics of the fingerprint image. The characteristics of a sample fingerprint may be compared to information for reference fingerprints already in a database to determine proper identification of a person, such as for verification purposes.
A typical electronic fingerprint sensor is based upon illuminating the finger surface using visible light, infrared light, or ultrasonic radiation. The reflected energy is captured with some form of camera, for example, and the resulting image is framed, digitized and stored as a static digital image. U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,859 to Bowles similarly discloses a video camera for capturing a fingerprint image and uses the minutiae of the fingerprints, that is, the branches and endings of the fingerprint ridges, to determine a match with a database of reference fingerprints.
Unfortunately, optical sensing may be affected by stained fingers or an optical sensor may be deceived by presentation of a photograph or printed image of a fingerprint rather than a true live fingerprint. In addition, optical schemes may require relatively large spacings between the finger contact surface and associated imaging components. Moreover, such sensors typically require precise alignment and complex scanning of optical beams. Accordingly, optical sensors may thus be bulky and be susceptible to shock, vibration and surface contamination. Accordingly, an optical fingerprint sensor may be unreliable in service in addition to being bulky and relatively expensive due to optics and moving parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,056 to Tsikos discloses another approach to sensing a live fingerprint. In particular, the patent discloses an array of extremely small capacitors located in a plane parallel to the sensing surface of the device. When a finger touches the sensing surface and deforms the surface, a voltage distribution in a series connection of the capacitors may change. The voltages on each of the capacitors is determined by multiplexor techniques. Unfortunately, the resilient materials required for the sensor may suffer from long term reliability problems. In addition, multiplexing techniques for driving and scanning each of the individual capacitors may be relatively slow and cumbersome. Moreover, noise and stray capacitances may adversely affect the plurality of relatively small and closely spaced capacitors.
As mentioned briefly above, fingerprint sensing may have many applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,552 to Lane discloses a self-authenticating card including a live fingerprint sensor and which confirms the identity of the person upon matching of the sensed live fingerprint with a stored fingerprint. U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,068 to Piosenka et al. discloses a personal identification system also matching credentials stored on a portable memory devices, such as a card, to a physical characteristic, such as a live fingerprint. Matching may determine access to a remote site, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,403 to Fishbine et al. discloses a portable optical fingerprint scanner which can record fingerprint images in the field and transmit the images to a mobile unit for processing and subsequent wireless transmission to a central location, for providing immediate identity and background checks on the individuals being fingerprinted. The image may previewed on a screen carried by the housing of the portable scanner.
Also relating to access control, U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,899 to Swonger et al. discloses an optical fingerprint sensor connected in communication with a central control computer for granting access to particular persons and according to particular schedules. Particular access control applications are listed as for: computer centers, radioactive or biological danger areas, controlled experiments, information storage areas, airport maintenance and freight areas, hospital closed areas and drug storage areas, apartment houses and office buildings after hours, safe deposit boxes and vaults, and computer terminal entry and access to information.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,329 to Gokcebay discloses an access control system, such as for the doors of secured areas, wherein a mechanical key includes encoded data stored thereon, such as fingerprint information. A fingerprint sensor is positioned at the access point and access is granted if the live fingerprint matches the encoded fingerprint data from the key.
Unfortunately, conventional access control systems based on fingerprint technology use an optical sensor with its attendant drawbacks and disadvantages. In addition, a user typically must be inconvenienced to swipe a card through a reader. A conventional access control system based on fingerprint technology also typically requires that the user experience the further inconvenience of stopping for an additional fingerprint sensing before access is granted.

Access control system including fingerprint sensor enrollment and associated methods


A quoit board and method of manufacture of a quoit board that is significantly lighter than a conventional slate quoit board, the board portion of which is made from a plastic material and wherein the surface of the plastic is treated to provide a suitable playing surface for receiving rubber quoits tossed at such surface during play.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to games of toss wherein a projectile is tossed at a target, and more particularly to the game of quoits, and even more particularly to an improved quoit board or game target.
2. Preliminary Discussion
The game of quoits is a centuries old game that was brought to the Americas during colonial times. The earliest forms of the game were similar to the present game of horseshoes, but where players take turns throwing metal rings at a stake about 20 feet away. While the game of horseshoes has continued to thrive in the U.S., the original metal ring version of quoits has basically disappeared in most of the United States. Quoits, however, remains popular in the eastern United States, particularly in central and eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in several modified versions. In the most popular modified version, which has been played in Pennsylvania for at least 120 years, the metal rings have been replaced with rings made of hard rubber, and the stakes in the ground have been replaced with two-foot square slate boards which are about 1¼ inches thick (after running through a grinding machine) and have an aluminum or metal hub or peg secured therein protruding upwardly from the center top of the board. A quoit board support usually made of wood is attached to the underside of the rearward edge of the board extending downwardly such that when the board is placed on the ground, the top or playing face is slanted or angled downwardly towards the players. Scoring rings are then usually provided on the face of the board surrounding the peg. During play, two boards are set up facing each other about 18 ft. apart, and the players take turns tossing the rubber rings at the target and stake on the board. A cumulative scoring system based on the accuracy or results of the tosses is used to determine the winning player or team.
The version of the game quoits just described became popular in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey because such area is the heart of the so-called "slate belt" of the United States, where large quantities of high quality slate from which the quoit boards can be manufactured are readily available. Slate is a hard rock that naturally breaks into thin, smooth layers, and has a composition and structure that enables it to be cut into square pieces and then sanded to the proper texture fairly easily as compared with most other known natural or man-made materials. Slate quoit boards have also been popular because slate has a consistency which when impacted by a hard rubber quoit deadens the impact, provides a characteristic thump when thrown properly, which is familiar and soothing to regular quoit players, and has a surface friction which retards sliding of the quoits down the slanted surface of the board. Unfortunately, however, quoits has not significantly increased in popularity outside of this general area, and in fact remains relatively unknown in many parts of the United States as well as in most of the rest of the world. A major reason for such only regional popularity of the game of quoits is that it is prohibitively expensive to transport or ship pairs of slate quoit boards each weighing approximately 66 lbs. even relatively short distances, so that only local delivery and pickup services for the boards is usually available. In addition, while slate has properties that make it ideal for use in making quoit boards, a drawback of slate is that it chips rather easily, so that greater than normal care in packaging and transporting the boards is required, further increasing the shipping costs. Nevertheless, judging from the popularity of quoits in the "slate belt" and closely surrounding areas, and from the popularity of horseshoes in general throughout the United States and world, the present inventor believes that if made readily available and properly marketed, quoits would quickly expand in popularity. Recognizing such opportunity, the present inventor, after much experimentation and research, has now developed a quoit board that rather than being made from slate is made of a lighter and more durable plastic material, weighing less than 25 lbs. Through a unique manufacturing process and method, a quoit board having most of the advantages of slate quoit boards but also being light enough to ship or delivery at a reasonable cost has resulted. It is believed that through use of such board the popularity of quoits will quickly spread into areas where it is currently relatively unknown.
3. Description of Related Art
As indicated above, quoits boards made of slate are well known, particularly in the northeast United States, and more specifically in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Slate is used as the game board not only because it is readily available in such area, but also because the playing surface can be sanded to provide the proper texture. If the playing surface is too smooth, the rubber quoits will slide off the board too easily when thrown at the target. On the other hand, if the surface is too rough, the rubber quoits will be quickly become worn or damaged as they are thrown and come into contact with the playing surface. While other materials such as wood and cement have been used as quoit boards, none have proved to be satisfactory, as such other materials are either too hard or soft, or the surface too slippery or on the other hand too abrasive, to be used effectively. Therefore, up to now most of the advances in such game have been with respect to methods of playing, rather than in the game board itself. There are many other types and variations of games known in the prior art where projectiles are thrown or tossed at a target. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,375 issued to D. Dresel entitled "Game Apparatus", a rectilinear shaped device having a centrally disposed receptacle in its upper surface that opens to the inside of the device, and further having a backstop device extending upwardly from the rear side of the receptacle. Quoit-like discs are then tossed at the device, with the aim being to direct them into the receptacle. While such new devices provide new games and the like that are useful for their particular purposes, as far as the present inventor is aware, no one has previously been able to develop a quoit board that can satisfactorily simulate the experience of playing quoits with a slate quoit board but which board is lighter and more durable than such slate boards, and which objective is accomplished by the present inventor's boards.


In a network that includes static bandwidth and dynamic bandwidth links, traffic flow at the OSI network layer is simulated at a traffic-flow level at interfaces to fixed bandwidth links, and simulated at a discrete-packet level at interfaces to dynamic bandwidth links. The resultant discrete-packet reception events at the receiving interface(s) of the dynamic bandwidth link are processed to determine the effective bandwidth/throughput of the link, as well as the allocation of this bandwidth among the individual flows through the link. The discrete-packet level receptions are used to reconstruct the parameters of the traffic flow at the network layer of the receiving interface, and this determined traffic flow is simulated accordingly at the next link, depending upon whether the next link is a static or dynamic bandwidth link.

This invention relates to the field of network analysis, and in particular to a method and system for assessing flows in a network that includes shared communications media.
As the demand for information flow continues to increase, establishing and maintaining an efficient network configuration to handle the increased flow typically requires complex analysis and planning. Generally, the analysis includes the identification of 'bottlenecks' where information flow is substantially impeded, or is expected to be impeded with future increases in traffic flow, and the planning includes the replacement or upgrading of equipment, or a reconfiguration of the network topology, to remove such bottlenecks, based on 'what-if' analyses of the benefits provided if such equipment or topology changes are made.
A common task for a network simulation system is "flow propagation analysis", wherein the flow throughput is determined under a variety of traffic flow scenarios. For example, a nominal data flow of 10 Mbps bandwidth may exist between a source device and a destination device, but if some of the 10 Mbps bandwidth elements between the source and destination device are also providing communication paths between other sources and destinations, the effective throughput between the original source and destination device will be dependent upon the amount of bandwidth consumed by the traffic-flow among the other communication paths. If a particular router, for example, is common to multiple high-traffic communication paths, and does not have sufficient bandwidth to support these multiple traffic flows, it will force the high-traffic flows to be 'throttled' to a lower-than-maximum throughput. Flow-propagation-analysis provides an assessment of the effective bandwidth available to each traffic flow, assuming a given traffic profile.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,692, "FLOW PROPAGATION ANALYSIS USING ITERATIVE SIGNALING", issued 21 Nov. 2006 to Alain Cohen, Pradeep Singh, Arun Pasupathy, Stefan Znam, and Marius Pops, teaches flow propagation analysis using 'tracers' that are iteratively propagated through a simulated network between source and destination elements, and is incorporated by reference herein. These tracers are structured to contain traffic flow information from source to destination, and to reflect changes as the flow is affected by each element along the path from source to destination. The resultant flow information at the destination corresponds to the effective throughput from the source to the destination, and the flow information at the output of each intermediate element in the network corresponds to the potentially achievable throughput through that element for the given source-to-destination flow.
Existing flow propagation analysis techniques such as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,692 effectively allocate the available bandwidth of each communication link among the traffic paths that use this link. The allocation is generally proportional to demand, although priority schemes may provide for a disproportioned allocation. For example, in a proportional allocation, if a given channel has a 12 MB maximum capacity, and is shared among three source-to-destination traffic paths with traffic demands of 3 MB, 6 MB, and 9 MB, the available 12 MB bandwidth would be allocated at this link to provide 2 MB, 4 MB, and 6 MB to these traffic flows, respectively. If the 3 MB traffic path had a higher priority than the others, it may receive its full demand of 3 MB, and the allocation to each of the others would be proportionately reduced. As each traffic flow is 'throttled back' at each over-loaded or over-subscribed link, its effective traffic demand at subsequent links is reduced, and consequently, its allocation of available bandwidth at subsequent links may be further reduced as it competes with other traffic flows at the subsequent links. The actual flow rate provided by the network to a given source-destination flow is the resultant flow rate on the last link to the destination, as this will reflect the result of each flow reduction at over-subscribed links.
Conventional flow propagation analysis techniques, however, have been found to be unsuitable for determining flows in networks that contain links with dynamic bandwidths, such as contention-based wireless links. As used herein, the term 'bandwidth' is used to indicate the realized bandwidth, i.e. the amount of actual traffic communicated per unit time, also termed the throughput of the link. As noted above, conventional flow propagation techniques operate by allocating the available bandwidth among traffic flows. If the available bandwidth is variable, a fixed allocation cannot be determined, and consequently the demand at subsequent links cannot be determined. Because the allocation at subsequent links is dependent upon the demand of each flow on the link, the allocations at all subsequent links along the path of traffic that flows through a dynamic-bandwidth link become indeterminable.
Compounding the problem further, the dynamic bandwidth of a contention based link is typically dependent upon the demand for the link in a non-linear manner, and, in a wireless communication system, the overall throughput of the link can be affected by traffic in neighboring links that share the same media.
Compounding the problem further still, in some cases, the link itself may be dynamic, such as links established among mobile devices. In addition to creating dynamic flow characteristics for the traffic on the dynamic link, these mobile devices may also dynamically become neighboring links to other links, thereby affecting the traffic flow on these other links as well.
Although dynamic bandwidth is a particularly acute problem in contention-based links, it should be noted that the aforementioned neighboring link and mobile link effects can also affect links that are typically consider fixed-bandwidth links. For example, a link with a reservation-based protocol generally exhibits fixed-bandwidth behavior. However, if this link shares the communication media with 'distant' devices that are not part of the reservation-based sub-network, the effective bandwidth will be dependent upon how far these devices are from devices in the sub-network, as well as the relative amount of traffic from the particular device that is close to these distant devices. For example, if the distance between a device on the sub-network and a distant device is such that the distant device is likely to interfere with 5% of the communications being received at the device on the sub-network, causing the sub-network to retransmit the communications, the resultant reduction in effective bandwidth on the sub-network is dependent upon the relative amount of traffic that is flowing to the affected device on the sub-network.
It would be advantageous to provide a flow propagation analysis technique that effectively and efficiently predicts flow characteristics in networks that include dynamic bandwidth links, such as contention-based links and other shared media communication links.
These advantages, and others, can be realized by a method and system wherein traffic flow at the OSI network layer is simulated at the traffic-flow level at interfaces to fixed bandwidth links, and simulated at the discrete-packet level at interfaces to dynamic bandwidth links. The resultant discrete-packet reception events at the receiving interface(s) of the dynamic bandwidth link are processed to determine the effective bandwidth/throughput of the link, as well as the allocation of this bandwidth among the individual flows through the link. The discrete-packet level receptions are used to reconstruct the parameters of the traffic flow at the network layer of the receiving interface, and this determined traffic flow is simulated accordingly at the next link, depending upon whether the next link is a static or dynamic bandwidth link.
Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate similar or corresponding features or functions. The drawings are included for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Modeling and simulating flow propagation in dynamic bandwidth systems


Provided are a method and an apparatus for resolving a domain name based on a co-governance chain. The method includes: determining data distribution nodes, and constructing a root domain name co-governance chain based on the data distribution nodes; obtaining trusted root zone data based on the root domain name co-governance chain, and constructing a co-governance root service based on the trusted root zone data; and resolving a domain name by applying a recursive resolution mode based on the co-governance root service and corresponding data in the root domain name co-governance chain, in response to receiving a domain name resolution request. With the root domain name co-governance chain, a decentralized processing mode is used, nodes are equal, and it is only required to make an adjustment in a certain node upon resolving a domain name, thereby avoiding risks such as single point management and centralization.

In the current Domain Name Server (DNS), namespace structure, domain name allocation and resolution process are all strictly hierarchical. As shown in FIG. 1, a domain name hierarchy includes a root domain, a top-level domain (e.g., .com, .cn, .org and .net) and a second-level domain (e.g., CNNIC.CN and BAIDU.CN). The CNNIC.CN further includes subdomains WWW.CNNIC.CN and MAIL.CNNIC.CN. The root resolution system is a starting point for domain name resolution and is the center of the system structure. At present, root zone data management is mainly handled by an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, and domain name resolution is performed in a centralized management mode.
After studying the conventional centralized management process, it is found that in the centralized management mode, the domain name data management requires determination from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, resulting in risks such as single point management and centralization.

Method and apparatus for resolving domain name based on co-governance chain

CHINA INTERNET NETWORK INFORMATION CENTER


An apparatus and method for packaging asphalt, which includes liquid cooling means, such as a pool or water sprayer, and an elongated flat conveying surface, such as the surface of a conveyor belt, for transporting asphalt molds into said liquid cooling means after said asphalt molds have been lined with plastic and filled with hot asphalt.

A. Field of Invention
This invention relates to asphalt packaging, in particular, to an improved apparatus and method for packaging asphalt.
B. Related Art
The present invention constitutes an improvement over the invention described in the application Ser. No. 682,192, which involved packaged roofing asphalt and a method for making it.
The packaged roofing asphalt of the earlier invention comprised a molded block of solid asphalt contained in a flexible film consisting essentially of polypropylene and being the sole containment means for the block. The film has a melting point between about 275.degree. F. and about 335.degree. F. (for example, about 315.degree. F.) and a thickness between about 1.0 and 1.8 mils.
The method of the earlier invention involved the steps of providing a mold of a rigid material, lining the mold with a flexible film, pouring liquid roofing asphalt into the film-lined mold, cooling the mold to solidify the asphalt, and removing the solidified asphalt covered with the flexible film to provide an asphalt packaging. The roofing asphalt of the packaging is asphalt material typically used in roofing applications. Such materials have a melting point between about 170.degree. F. and 220.degree. F.
In the earlier invention, the flexible film is the sole containment means for the asphalt and consists essentially of polypropylene. It has been found that a flexible film of polypropylene which has the particular thickness and particular melting point recited above has the proper balance of strength for containing the liquid asphalt during the packaging operation and meltability to allow it to melt quickly and completely in a roofing asphalt vat used in the conventional manner.
In the prior invention, asphalt 101 is formed into a block, and is covered by polypropylene film 103. The asphalt 101 need not be completely covered by the film 101, but molding techniques usually required to form the package of the invention would generally require that the bottom and the four sides be covered. The package is dimensioned to be convenient for storage, handling and insertion into a roofers asphalt vat. A preferred size is 22 inches long, 11 inches wide, and 6 inches high, resulting in a package with 50 pounds of asphalt. This size permits easy handling, and can be easily stacked for storage and shipping with little void space. FIG. 7 shows the stacking of packages 101 on a conventional shipping pallet 107. Referring to FIG. 7, the packaging may have a portion of the top surface 105 uncovered by the film to expose a surface of asphalt. Preferably more than 3/4 of the top surface is covered by the polypropylene film 103. For the above 22.times.11.times.6 package the exposed portion is about 1 .TM..times.14 inches. When such packages are stacked on a pallet, the top asphalt surface of a package will adhere to the bottom of an adjacent package, stabilizing the stack. However, packages 101 may still be easily separated and removed when unstacked. The preferred size of the package also allows insertion of the whole package into an asphalt vat without having to cut or chop the package into small pieces. Its dimensions also allow the package to melt quickly in the vat. Since the film is not removed before inserting the package to the vat, there is no packaging waste and cleanup. The thin-walled polypropylene film material quickly melts with the asphalt and leaves no solid or partially melted residue in the asphalt melt.
The previous invention provided a general manufacturing procedure, which included the steps of providing a rigid, heat resistant mold, lining the mold with a polypropylene film and pouring liquid asphalt into the lined mold. Such a mold 401 is illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The polypropylene film 403 is inserted in the mold 401 as shown in FIG. 8B, to line the mold 401 with polypropylene film 403. The mold 401 may be of any suitable material. Plastics, cellulosic materials, and the like may be used if the mold is to be used once or only a few times. For more durable molds, a heat resistant plastic material, or preferably sheet or cast metal, is used.
The polypropylene film 403 has the melting point and thickness recited above. Higher melting point and thicker materials do not completely melt in the asphalt vat, while lower melting point and thinner materials do not have the strength required for the manufacture of the packaging. The polypropylene film 403 may be in the form of a sheet or in the form of a bag, preferably dimensioned to be easily inserted into the mold 40 and also to cover all the surfaces of the mold to prevent the asphalt from adhering to the mold 401.
Asphalt in a liquid form is poured into the mold. FIG. 9 is a cross-section showing mold 501, film 502 lining the mold, and asphalt 505 being poured into the mold 501. The asphalt is poured at a temperature between about 280.degree. F. and 310.degree. F. Below this temperature range the asphalt is too viscous, and above this it may damage the film. The optimum temperature range is about 295.degree. F.
After pouring the asphalt into the mold, the portion of the polypropylene film extending above the sides of the mold is folded over the top of the liquid asphalt. Preferably, the portion of the film folded over the top is sized to not completely cover the top of the package and leave an exposed surface of asphalt. In the prior invention, the resulting package will have a top surface with the asphalt partially exposed.
The earlier invention provided cooling means, e.g. a water bath, a jacketed mold, or the like, to accelerate the cooling of the asphalt in the mold. The earlier invention provided a trough containing water, with the molds placed in the trough to cool the molds. The molds with the melted asphalt were charged into one end of the trough and moved though the trough, e.g. by floating the molds or by a conveyor means, while the water cooled the outer surface of the molds. The cooled molds with the solid asphalt were then discharged from the other end of the trough. When the asphalt was sufficiently cool to be solid, the asphalt covered by the polypropylene film was removed from the mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,778 to Parker also refers to a packaging method utilizing water troughs. That patent states that hot asphalt is poured into a mold or boat that is lined by polyester film at a charging station, such boat being floated on a stream of cooling water that carries the boat and its cooling contents to a discharge station where the cooled asphalt enveloped in the resin film is removed from the boat as the packaged product with the boat being returned to the charging station for reuse.
One of the shortcomings of these prior systems is their elaborate and complicated construction. In contrast, the present invention offers a far more effective and less expensive system. Further, the present invention presents less potential for mechanical difficulties and greater ease of construction and maintenance than prior systems.

Method and apparatus for packaging asphalt