A stent comprising a wire skeletal frame, the frame being adapted to assume a first condition in which the frame is relatively rigid and substantially tubular in configuration and a second condition in which the frame is flexible, of reduced stress, and collapsible, such that in the second condition walls of the frame are adapted to be positioned proximate each other to form a stent diameter approximating the combined thickness of the frame walls, the frame in its second condition being substantially devoid of bias therein urging the frame to assume the first configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to stents and is directed more particularly to a self-expanding, generally cylindrical stent which is repositionable after being set in place.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Self-expanding stents are generally known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,568, issued Apr. 8, 1986, to Cesare Gianturco, discloses an endovascular stent formed of stainless steel wire. The stent is compressed into a reduced size having an outer diameter substantially smaller than the stent in its expanded shape. The stent is held in its compressed state during its passage through a small bore catheter until delivered from the catheter into a vascular system or other anatomic passageway, whereupon the stress in the stent causes the stent to expand in the larger bore vascular passageway to hold open the passageway. When the stent is compressed, the bends in the wire, which is of a zig-zag configuration, store stress, and the stent is expandable by the release of the stress stored in the bends. Once set in place, the radial extremities of the stent bear against the inside walls of the passageway. There is no ready means by which the stent may be again compressed, or softened, so that the stent may be repositioned.
It would be beneficial to the medical arts to have available a stent adapted for compression into a small size to facilitate introduction into a vascular passageway, and adapted for self-expansion in the vascular passageway to hold open the passageway, and also adapted to be softened and/or contracted to permit repositioning of the stent.


A method and an article for assembling a compression die spring in a spring pocket formed in a die member includes a retainer having an outer edge that is larger in width than the diameter of the sidewall of the spring pocket in order to form an interference fit with the sidewall and, thereby, retains a spring, a portion of which is spanned by the member in the spring pocket. The retainer has four legs whose distal ends are on a circle whose diameter is larger than the diameter of the pocket sidewall. At least two of the legs are configured to straddle a turn of the spring to allow the retainer to be juxtaposed with the spring with all four legs extending outwardly from the spring to engage the pocket sidewall. In one embodiment, the outer edge of the retainer is turned in order to accommodate variations in diameter of the pocket sidewall.

This invention relates generally to mechanical fasteners and, more particularly, to retainer's for fastening compression die springs in their respective spring pockets. The invention may be utilized with compression die springs of any spring stock cross section configuration.
In Tool & Die assemblies, compression springs are used to either provide holding pressure while forming the part or stripping the part from the trim or form punch. The compression spring is positioned in a cylindrical opening drilled in a die, known as a "spring pocket." The spring applies a bias to a member called a "pad" or "stripper." When such pad or stripper is removed from an upper die member, the compression springs will drop out of the spring pockets under the influence of gravity unless retained in the pockets by retainers.
Various forms of spring retainers have been proposed to retain the compression springs in the spring pockets of the upper die member when the pad or stripper is removed. Prior art die spring retainers typically utilize a socket head cap screw, or a shoulder screw, to hold a retainer and, thus, the compression spring in place. This requires drilling and tapping of a tack hole in the bottom of the spring pocket and a relatively complex maneuver in order to assemble the spring, retainer and fastener into the spring pocket and provides a retention force greatly in excess of that required. While such prior art spring retainers are effective, they add significant cost to the die assembly.
In order to retain a compression spring in the spring pocket of an upper die member, it is necessary only to provide a retention force that equals the weight of the spring plus an engineering safety factor. Because even heavy-duty and extra heavy-duty compression die springs weigh on the order of magnitude of a pound, the force required to retain a die spring in a spring pocket is not great.

Self-retaining compression die spring retainer


A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body having enough green strength and handling strength. The fiber-reinforced ceramic green body is obtained by molding a ceramic composition comprising a ceramic powder, a sintering aid powder, an organic fiber, an aqueous dispersion medium and an optional dispersant. The organic fiber is contained in the ceramic green body in an amount of 0.2-3 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of a total of the ceramic powder and the sintering aid powder and uniformly dispersed throughout it. The average length of the organic fiber is 300-1000 .mu.m and the average diameter is 2.5-30 .mu.m. The organic fiber is preferably a synthetic high polymer such as polyester, nylon, etc., and preferably has a hydrophilic nature imparted by surface treatment.

The present invention relates to a fiber-reinforced ceramic green body and a sintered ceramic article each having a high mechanical strength and a high ability to be recycled.
A slip casting method is one of the well-known methods for manufacturing green bodies, in which a slip composition (aqueous dispersion or slurry including a ceramic powder) is poured into a cavity within a mold usually made of a water-absorbing material such as plaster (gypsum), etc., and then the water component of the slip composition is absorbed by the mold to form a green body. The green body thus obtained is sintered to provide a final sintered ceramic article for practical use. The slip casting method is suitable generally for producing a ceramic green body having a complicated shape. In slip casting a slip composition, an organic binder such as polyamide, carboxymethylcellulose, methylcellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, etc. is usually added to the slip composition as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-6172 to improve the dry strength of the green bodies. However, since the use of the organic binder results in a large shrinkage of the green body, cracking is likely to occur in the green body during releasing it from the mold or during drying it.
Alternatively, it has been proposed to add an inorganic fiber to the slip composition. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-505588 teaches to add glass whiskers, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-267737 adds inorganic fibers of aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, etc. However, the inorganic fiber is left in the ceramic article even after the sintering process and affects the properties of the final sintered ceramic article. Therefore, the type of the inorganic fiber to be suitably usable and the addition amount thereof is limited.
Further, prior to adding the inorganic fiber, a pretreatment such as pulverization, classification, etc. for making the length and diameter of the inorganic fiber uniform is required. In addition, the use of the inorganic fiber involves a problem of generating noxious dusts of the inorganic fiber and a problem of decreasing the ability to recycle defective green bodies because the inorganic fiber is difficult to be removed from the defective green bodies.

Fiber-reinforced ceramic green body and sindered ceramic article obtained therefrom


A method and apparatus is offered of exchanging a communicated signal at a base site with a communication unit on an indexed frequency of a frequency hopping communication system. The method includes the steps of transceiving, through a first base site transceiver, a first communicated signal within a first frame on a first frequency of the indexed frequency; and, while transceiving within the first frame, tuning a second, extra base site transceiver to an indexed frequency of a second frame. The second transceiver may then be used to transceive a signal within the second frame while the first transceiver is tuned to the next indexed frequency. Additional communication units may be added by adding one base site transceiver per communication unit while maintaining a single extra transceiver per frame. The extra transceiver, during each frame, is tuned to the next frequency in the frequency hopping sequence and indexing the communication units, transceiving from within different steps of the sequence, from transceiver to transceiver.

Cellular communication systems are known. Such systems are typically made up of a number of substantially continuous service coverage areas (cells) within which a mobile communication unit may receive communication services through a centrally located base site of a nearby cell. Base sites, of the system, are typically under the control of a central controller which may interconnect with a public switch telephone network (PSTN). In addition to routing of calls between mobiles in different cells, or between a mobile and PSTN subscriber, the central controller also controls and facilitates handoffs of mobiles between adjacent cells. The Groupe Special Mobile (GSM) Pan-European digital cellular system, as specified in GSM recommendations available from the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and incorporated herein by reference, is an example of just such a system.
Communication services within a cellular system are typically provided within a frequency spectrum reserved for cellular services. Communicated signals are typically exchanged between a mobile and a base site using a radio frequency (RF) signal. The signal is typically exchanged over a frequency pair (transmit and receive) referred to, generally, as a communication resource. The frequency pair of the communication resource allow duplex communication from mobile to base on an inbound channel and from base to mobile on an outbound channel.
Information exchanged over a communication resource between mobile and base site may be exchanged under a number of communication protocols. Examples include frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), or code division multiple access (CDMA). CDMA, in turn, may be divided into direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) or frequency hop.
CDMA systems allow for multiple, simultaneous users of the same spectrum through use of spreading codes that are identical among communicating transceivers but different among competing transceivers. In the case of slow frequency hopping communication systems, the spreading code is a unique sequence of communication resources over which a communication unit and base site hop, exchanging a signal on each communication resource for only a short period before hopping to the next resource. During the short period on each resource a frame of information is exchanged between base site and mobile before the communicating transceivers index, synchronously, to another resource in the sequence. Since each resource is used for only a short period and since each sequence may be different, a number of competing transceivers may coexist within the same spectrum.
The exchange of signals, at a base site, between communication units and base sites under frequency hopping may occur under a number of different methods. Under one method (referred to as baseband hopping) a number of transceivers, equal in number to the hopped frequencies, and a matrix switch are provided at a base site in support of frequency hopping. Having an equal number of transceivers as hopped frequencies allows the transceivers to be individually tuned to each of the hopped frequencies and for the transceivers to be selected individually, by the matrix switch, under the spreading code for the communication transaction. Upon selecting a transceiver the matrix switch transceives a communicated signal with the communication unit for a single frame before selecting another base site transceiver for exchange of another frame.
In other frequency hopping systems a single base site transceiver is assigned per communication transaction. The transceiver, in such a case, is programmed to index along with the communication unit through the sequence of frequencies allocated to the communication transaction.
While the use of a single base site transceiver per communication transaction works well in the simple case, problems may be experienced where a number of communicated signals are exchanged per frame under a time division multiplexed (TDM) format or where hopping occurs very rapidly. In either case less time per TDM slot or per frame may be available for the exchange of information. Synthesizer settling time of the base site transceiver, in such case, becomes a significant problem in the reliable exchange of information.
While providing a number of transceivers equal to hopped frequencies at a base site (as in baseband hopping) may be a solution to the synthesizer settling problem, considerable expense is involved. In lightly loaded systems, with few users, the baseband transceivers can remain unused much of the time. Because of the need for reliable communication networks a need exists for a more efficient method of operating base site transceivers in dynamically loaded frequency hopped communication systems.

Rolling synthesizer method for baseband slow frequency hopping


An absorbing assembly for absorbing electromagnetic radiation in the range 10 MHz to 100 GHz comprises a lossy dielectric material and chiral elements disposed outside the lossy dielectric. The chiral elements may be springs, Mobius bands, irregular tetrahedra, tapering helical springs or handed non-planar forks. The lossy dielectric material may be in the form of a shaped structure e.g. for use in an anechoic chamber.

Until the discovery of chiral activity, the development of electromagnetic radiation absorbing material was limited to design variations in .epsilon., the permittivity, and .mu., the magnetic permeability of the absorbing material. In order to match the impedance of the absorbing material to the free space impedance .epsilon..sub.r (relative permittivity) and .mu..sub.r (relative permeability) are ideally equal. Practical consideration, however, dictate that this is not possible, with the result that the development of absorbers had been confined to searching for compromise combinations of .epsilon..sub.r and .mu..sub.r for the absorbing material which produce the best results. There were therefore 2 degrees of freedom in choosing the properties of the absorber.
The introduction of chirality into an absorber produces an extra degree of freedom, expressed by the chirality parameter .beta., for the choice of properties of the absorbing material.
Chirality is the handedness of an object, that is, the property of an object which renders it non-congruent with its mirror image. Work carried out on chiral absorbing materials indicates that electromagnetic radiation incident on an absorbing material containing chiral inclusions is caused to decompose into left-and right-circulatory polarized forms and be scattered through the lossy dielectric material which is host to the chiral inclusions.
According to the present invention there is provided an electromagnetic radiation absorbing structure comprising a structure for absorbing radiation in the range 10 megahertz to 100 gigahertz comprising: (a) a geometrically shaped lossy dielectric medium; and, (b) chiral elements disposed outside the lossy dielectric medium.
The teaching of the prior art is that chirality is only effective when, in a lossy host. Tests conducted on chiral elements alone show no absorptive properties. With the structure of the present invention, it has been found that enhanced absorption can be achieved by the addition of chiral elements to the exterior surface of a lossy dielectric material, that is, the chiral elements do not have to be embedded within a lossy dielectric host, but rather may be adjacent it while still enhancing the absorption properties of the overall structure.


Polyimides having high glass transition temperature prepared from 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride and 1,5-, 1,6-, 2,6- or 2,7-bis(4-aminophenoxy)napthalene.

Polyimides have been extensively proposed for use in applications involving exposure to elevated temperatures. In applications such as composites, it is often important that the structure be resistant to deformation and degradation at the elevated temperatures and to solvents as well. Workability is another characteristic that is sought after in composite manufacture. Melt viscosity is one measure of the ease in which matrix resin can be employed.
It is an object of this invention to provide specific polyimides having properties meeting the needs of the art.

Polyimides from bis(4-aminophenoxy) naphthalene and 2,2-bis (3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride


A knee pad is designed to accommodate either the left or right hand knee of an individual by providing a doughnut shaped insert within the concave hard shell of the knee pad and wherein the insert is displaced toward the outside edge of the right hand or left hand knee side of the pad for the right knee and left knee, respectively.

The present invention relates to a protective knee pad construction, and more particularly, to individual knee pads which are constructed to accommodate the left knee or right knee of an individual.
Protective pads are used by various individuals, for example, construction workers, mechanics, sportsmen, and others, who find it necessary to protect their body parts as a result of their work or activities. Tradespersons, such as carpenters, use knee pads when kneeling on hard surfaces which is a common requirement in their craft. Traditional knee pads comprise rigid pad members that are fitted over the knee and held by attachment straps both above and below the knee.
Improved knee pad constructions have been proposed from time to time, including the knee pad construction set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,350 for a Molded Knee Pad Construction in the name of McFarlane. Various other patents disclose knee pad constructions including Nierhaus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,240 for a Kneepad; Hefling, U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,261 for a Protection Joint Guard; Dancyger, U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,689 for a Protective Knee Pad Having a Single Piece Cupping Means and Stitch Receiving Groove; and Gongea, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,955 for a Knee Pad for Athletes.
While such knee pads are highly useful, they do not take into account the fact that the left knee of each individual has a distinct shape relative to the right knee of that individual. There are differences, for example, between the shape of the left kneecap relative to the right kneecap, or patella. Although the size of a kneecap and knee may vary from person to person, the general shape and location of the left kneecap and the right kneecaps are very similar from person to person.
Most knee pads, however, are universal in size and in shape and are considered interchangeable with respect to the right and left knees of an individual. As a consequence, the left and right knees of an individual, which are somewhat asymmetric, will not necessarily be accommodated uniformly by a typical, prior art universal knee pad construction. Thus there has developed a need to provide knee pads that accommodate the left and right hand knees of an individual and further to provide knee pads to accommodate knees having variable size, even though the general shape and outline of the respective left and right knee are similar from individual to individual.
Briefly, the present invention comprises a knee pad construction which includes a generally rigid, molded outer, protective shell or pad having a convex outside shape and a concave inside shape. A resilient toroid member or insert pad is fitted or otherwise incorporated within the concave inside or interior side of the knee pad. In a preferred embodiment, a toroid member includes an opening or reduced thickness in the center for receiving and supporting the kneecap, or knee, of an individual. The shape of the toroid member may be asymmetric, or the toroid member or insert pad may be strategically placed in the shell to accommodate the left or the right knee of an individual as the case may be. Thus, the inserts are designed to provide greater support in the region, or area surrounding the kneecap and to accommodate the unique shape of the right knee or the left knee, as the case may be, by providing a separate, unique knee pad for the right knee and separate, unique knee pad for the left knee. In the preferred embodiment, a fabric or mesh cover fits over the toroid member or insert and is stitched or attached into the interior of the molded knee shell over the insert. Radially extending straps are utilized to attach and hold each knee pad in position on an individual.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved knee pad construction.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a knee pad construction wherein a toroidal shaped insert or pad is provided within the interior surface or inside of the molded, outer protection knee pad shell to accommodate the left or the right knee of an individual.
A further object of the invention is to provide a knee pad construction with enhanced comfort and wearability and with a rugged construction that is economical to manufacture.
Another object is to provide a unique knee pad for the left knee and a unique knee pad for the right knee.
These and other objects, advantages and feature of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.


In a display device (1), a light guide plate (2) includes a first emission structure region including a plurality of first emission structures (6 and 8) in which an incident direction for maximizing an amount of light emitted in a predetermined direction is a direction of a first light source (4), a second emission structure region including a plurality of second emission structures (9 and 10) in which the incident direction for maximizing the amount of light emitted in the predetermined direction is a direction of a second light source adjacent to the first light source, and a third emission structure region including a plurality of third emission structures (11 to 13) in which the incident direction for maximizing the amount of light emitted in the predetermined direction is a direction between the first light source and the second light source, and the third emission structure region is disposed between the first emission structure region and the second emission structure region.

As an example of a display device that displays a specific symbol by light, Patent Document 1 discloses a display device including a panel of a light transmitting material. In the display device, light having entered the panel from a light source facing a first end face is reflected by each of a plurality of triangular prisms (corresponding to a first optical sign) formed on a rear wall and emitted from a light exit surface to form the first optical sign. Meanwhile, light having entered the panel from the light source facing a second end face is reflected by each of a plurality of triangular prisms (corresponding to a second optical sign) formed on the rear wall and emitted from the light exit surface to form the second optical sign.

Display apparatus for displaying specific pattern, has emission structure region containing several emission structure portions in which emission light quantity in incident to predetermined direction is maximum in direction of light source


A two-piece bracket adapted to resist forces in both tension and compression. The tension/compression bracket is formed from stamped, plate steel and is preassembled by clinching. The tension/compression bracket provides a range of adjustability of attachment to allow for a limited range of placement of other components that attach to the tension/compression bracket. In one embodiment, the tension/compression bracket includes a resilient resistance to tension forces. The resilient resistance is provided by a high spring constant coil spring. The resilient resistance provides a limited degree of movement under tension. The limited degree of movement is chosen by component selection to be non-damaging.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the construction industry and, in particular, concerns a method of interconnecting building members to anchor structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
In typical residential and light industrial/commercial building frame wall construction, load bearing frame walls are comprised of a series of studs and posts that are anchored to the foundation and covered with sheathing material installed over both sides of the frame. Typically, the frame is constructed from a number of vertically extending studs that are positioned between and interconnected with upper and lower plates. The lower plates and/or vertical studs are typically anchored to the foundation in some fashion. The covering material, plywood, sheet rock, siding, plaster, etc. is then attached over the studs.
Natural forces commonly occur that impose vertical and horizontal forces on the structural elements of the buildings. These forces can occur during earth movement in an earthquake and from high wind conditions such as hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, or other extreme weather conditions. If these forces exceed the structural capacity of the building, they can cause failures leading to damage to or the collapse of the building with resultant economic loss and potential injuries and loss of life.
A typical method of securing a frame to a foundation is to connect one end of a length of metal strapping to an end of wall stud and to embed the other end in the concrete foundation. Uplift forces acting on the building frame are resisted through the embedded strap. The use of metal strapping is convenient to install, but has strength limitations to inhibit uplift. In particular, the metal strapping is typically attached to a frame member such as a post using relatively few fasteners. Thus, each of the fasteners are subjected to a relatively large fraction of the transferring force, increasing the likelihood of the fastener or its attachment points failing.
Another need in existing construction materials and techniques arises with respect to the vertical loads carried by a building""s frame. The gravity weight of a building and its contents direct a vertical load that is typically transferred to and carried by the vertical load bearing studs or posts of the building""s frame. These vertical members typically bear at their lower end on a pressure treated mudsill.
A mudsill typically comprises a number of 2xc3x974 pieces of lumber placed directly on a foundation so as to lay on the face defined by the 4xe2x80x3 dimension and the longest dimension. A mudsill is also used as a nailing surface along the lower extent of the exterior walls. The inherent structural problem with the mudsill, comprising a wooden member, is that it has less capacity to resist crushing because of the orientation of the grain of the wood. A compressive distortion in the mudsill allows the vertical load-bearing studs to move downwards due to the incident vertical load. Compressive movement of the vertical end studs in a shear panel creates deflection in the walls of the building, weakening the overall structure, providing impetus for cracks to form in the external and interior wall finishings, and potentially concentrating load stresses in unforeseen and damaging ways.
Furthermore, devices that fasten vertical members such as posts to the foundation do so in a substantially rigid manner. In certain force situations, having a substantially rigid and strong interconnection of the post to the foundation may lead to failures at another location.
From the foregoing, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a method and device to continuously secure and anchor a building frame to a foundation. The desired anchoring method should be convenient to install, yet offer strength advantages to the existing use of metal strapping. It would be an additional advantage for the device to be capable of supporting vertical compression loads as well as tension loads to thereby enable the device to transfer loads directly to the foundation. There is a need for a attachment apparatus that permits use of ductile elements so as to allow the attachment apparatus to dissipate a portion of the tension or compression loads, while transferring the rest to the foundation.
The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the device for transferring tension and compression forces incident on a vertical support of a building of the present invention. In one aspect, the device comprises an attachment member having at least one planar surface that is sized to be attached to the vertical support of the building, the attachment member includes a laterally extending section that extends outward from the planar surface. The device further comprises, in this aspect, a load piece that is attached to the attachment member. The load piece includes a mounting section that defines a recess and the load piece receives the laterally extending section in the mounting section such that the laterally extending section reinforces the mounting section. In this aspect, the load piece has upper and lower surfaces that define opening through which the anchor bolt can be extended and coupled thereby securing device to the foundation. The use of two separate pieces, one of which is attached to the building support and the other being attached to the foundation results in a more rigid structure better able to transfer forces without deformation.
In one implementation, the device includes a laterally extending piece that extends underneath the vertically extending member such that the vertically extending member is spaced from the foundation. This permits the use of non-pressure treated wood to be used in the vertical extending member thereby permitting costs savings in construction.
In another implementation, the device includes a spring member that is attached to the anchor bolt such that uplift forces that are transferred from the vertical building support are at least partially absorbed by the spring structure. In one embodiment, the spring structure is mounted so as to be mechanically coupled to the mounting section of the mounting member such that uplift forces result in compression of the spring.
In another aspect of the invention, the invention comprises a device for transferring tension and compression forces incident on a vertical support of a building to an anchor bolt extending out of the foundation of the building. The device comprises an attachment member having a planar surface that is attachable to the vertical support of the building wherein the attachment member is shaped so as to define a reinforcing section that extends outward from the planar surface. The device further comprises a mounting member that is attached to the attachment member, wherein the mounting member includes a planar surface that is shaped so as to define a mounting section that defines a recess which receives the reinforcing section of the attachment member. The mounting member further includes openings so as to permit the anchor bolt to extend therethrough such that when the anchor bolt is mechanically coupled to the mounting section and the planar surface of the attachment member is attached to the vertical support tension and compression forces incident on the vertical support of the building can be transmitted to the anchor bolt.
In this aspect, the attachment member and the mounting member are formed of shaped pieces of metal wherein a generally planar piece of metal is bent and cut to form the desired shapes. In this way, significant manufacturing costs savings can be achieved.
Hence, the device of the present invention provides a more effective, low cost hold down structure. These and other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Two-piece clinched plate tension/compression bracket


A starter board for a wall cladding system includes a core member and a laminate. The core member defines a board profile portion including parallel, planar base and outer surfaces defining a uniform thickness, the base surface extending from a first lateral surface to a second lateral surface, and a supporting flange portion extending outward from the planar outer surface, at the second lateral surface, to an outer surface of the flange portion. The laminate includes a reinforcing mesh and a basecoat layer covering the reinforcing mesh, and covers the second lateral surface of the board profile portion, the inner and outer lateral surfaces of the supporting flange portion, the outer surface of the supporting flange portion, and portions of the base and outer surfaces of the board profile portion proximate the supporting flange portion.

The use of common clay brick as a finish for all types of buildings is very popular and provides unique aesthetics, but such brick finishes are relatively expensive and commonly offer poor insulation. Thin brick cladding, installed over sheathing, concrete, insulation boards, and masonry substrates has been available as an alternative, but such wall cladding systems are often deficient in fire resistant properties and ease of installation.

Building material cladding components and methods


A computer-implemented method for detecting potentially compromised payment cards is provided. The method uses a processor in communication with a memory. The method includes storing a plurality of tokens. Each token includes merchant identification data corresponding to a first merchant. The method also includes transmitting the plurality of tokens to the first merchant and receiving an authorization request message from a merchant. The authorization request message includes a token and a merchant identifier corresponding to the merchant. The method further includes determining that the received token is one of the plurality of tokens associated with the first merchant, determining that the merchant identifier does not correspond to the first merchant, transmitting a message including instructions to decline the transaction, and attaching a potentially compromised flag to the first merchant. The potentially compromised flag indicates a heightened probability of fraudulent activity.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to increasing security surrounding online payment card transactions, and more specifically to method and systems for determining when and where payment card numbers stored by merchants have been compromised.
Many online merchants store payment card information, including payment card numbers, for their returning customers, to process returns, and/or for purchase trend research. This payment card information may include other cardholder identifying information. In many cases, this information is stored for processing recurring transactions or to improve the speed of the checkout process for future online transactions. The stored payment card information allows a customer to avoid having to re-enter his or her payment card information every time the customer makes an online purchase from the merchant. However, this payment card information has the potential to be stolen. Over the past several years, many cases of security breaches, also known as account data compromises, have been reported. While some breaches have been for a few payment cards, other breaches have been for tens of thousands of payment cards. The stolen payment card information may then be used to perform fraudulent transactions.
Existing fraud system can learn about the compromise of individual payment cards through the analysis of good and bad transactions. When a large number of fraudulent transactions are discovered, some existing fraud systems perform statistical analysis on the fraudulent transaction to try to determine which merchant was potentially breached. However, there could be more than one breached merchant, which increases the difficulty of the analysis. Further, this analysis takes time to determine the potentially breached merchants. While this analysis is occurring more fraudulent transactions may be performed using other payment cards that were compromised at the same time, but have not yet been identified as compromised.

Systems and methods for detecting potentially compromised payment cards


A method and an apparatus for taking an image and conducting video communication are provided. The image-taking and video communication apparatus includes a transparent display, a front camera, and a controller. The front camera is positioned behind the transparent display and captures an image of an object in front of the transparent display through the transparent display. The controller synchronizes an image capture period of the front camera with a screen output period of the transparent display so that image capturing of the front camera alternates with screen output of the transparent display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus equipped with a front camera. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for capturing an image of an object by means of a front camera and for taking the captured image or for using the captured image for video communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a smart phone, or the like is equipped with a camera. Many types of recently popular mobile terminals have a front camera as well as a rear camera. For purposes of clarity, in the specification, the term 'front camera' corresponds to a camera installed on the frontal surface of the body of a mobile terminal, on which a display is mounted, and the term 'rear camera' corresponds to a camera installed on the rear surface of the body of the mobile terminal. The front camera is typically disposed above the display on the frontal surface of the body of the mobile terminal. For example, a mobile terminal having a touch screen panel on the frontal surface of its body is equipped with a front camera at an upper left-hand or upper right-hand portion of the display.
The front camera is generally used for a self-camera function or a video communication function. Herein, a 'self-camera' function or 'self-camera' mode refers to a function or mode that allows a mobile terminal user to take (e.g., capture) his or her own image. A 'video communication' function or 'video communication' mode refers to a function or mode in which an image of a mobile terminal user is captured by a mobile terminal and transmitted to a terminal (e.g., a mobile terminal) of the other party and in which an image of the other party is received and displayed on a display for the mobile terminal user, during video communication with the other party.
The mobile terminal user views his or her own image displayed on the display while taking a picture of himself or herself During video communication, the mobile terminal user views at least one of an image of himself or herself and an image of the other party on the display. Because the front camera is positioned offset from the display, the mobile terminal user directs his or her glance not to the front camera but to the display in the image of the mobile terminal user taken by the front camera. Therefore, the mobile terminal user does not look straight ahead in the image of the mobile terminal user captured by the front camera. Herein, the mobile terminal user's glance depends on the position and distance of the front camera relative to the display and the rotational direction of the display. For example, if a mobile terminal having a front camera at an upper portion of its body is set to display an image vertically and a mobile terminal user looks at a display, the mobile terminal user's glance is directed downward in an image of the user captured by the front camera. Moreover, the mobile terminal user's glance is highly likely to be off-center in the captured image.
However, it is difficult for the mobile terminal user to adjust the position and direction of the mobile terminal in order to display the mobile terminal user's face at an intended position on the display. In particular, the mobile terminal user has difficulty in centering an image of the mobile terminal user captured by the front camera on the screen.
Accordingly, the mobile terminal user continuously moves his or her glance to monitor his or her image displayed on the display as well as to check the direction of the camera.
During video communication, it is difficult for the mobile terminal user to appear looking straight ahead due to the distance between the front camera and a screen displaying the mobile terminal user and a screen displaying the other party in a video communication screen. As a result, the mobile terminal user may not feel as if he or she were talking with the other party face to face because the other party does not look straight ahead in an image displayed on the display during the video communication.
When an image captured by the front camera is taken, the mobile terminal user's glance should be directed to the front camera to appear to look ahead in the captured image. Thus, the mobile terminal user cannot monitor his or her glance or expression at the moment an image of the mobile terminal user captured by the front camera is taken. Accordingly, the mobile terminal user may not monitor an image of himself or herself to be transmitted to the other party during video communication.
Therefore, a need exists for a system, method and apparatus for capturing an image of an object by means of a front camera such that when an image is captured by the front camera, the mobile user's glance is directed to the front camera so as to appear that the mobile user is looking ahead in the captured image. A system, method and apparatus is needed which enables the mobile terminal user to monitor his or her glance or expression at the moment an image of the mobile terminal user is captured while the user's glance appears to be directed to the front camera.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.

Apparatus and method for taking image and conducting video communication


An impact sensing device including an inertia member, an housing for accommodating the inertia member therein and at least three impact sensors disposed in such a manner as to be in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the inertia member, each impact sensor comprising a piezoelectric element for generating a voltage having an amplitude corresponding to an applied stress and an urging member for urging the piezoelectric sensor against the inertia member. Upon application of an impact force to the impact sensor, the inertia member presses the piezoelectric element with a stress corresponding to the impact force to thereby allow the piezoelectric element to generate a voltage corresponding to the applied stress.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an impact sensor capable of detecting an impact direction, which is suitably used for a car air bag for protecting an occupant from impact due to a car clash, and also relates to an impact sensor suitable for a clash recording device which is capable of recording a clash situation when a car is damaged in a car clash.
2. Related Art
There has been recently propagated a car in which an air bag for protecting occupants such as a driver and so on from impact is installed. The air bag is so designed as to be inflated at the instantaneous time when the car suffers an impact which would damage an occupant body, and thus its operation is greatly dependent on performance of a sensor for detecting the impact. All impact sensors which have been hitherto developed are so designed as to detect an impact in a traveling-direction of a car, which includes a longitudinal (long-axial) direction of the car and a direction within 30 degrees at a left or right side with respect to the longitudinal direction.
Accordingly, a conventional impact sensor can not accurately detect the impact strength and impact direction of a car clash in a width (short-axial) direction of the car or in any direction of other arbitrary angle. This restriction in the detection accuracy is caused by the restriction in an installing position of the air bag, that is, because the installing position of the air bag is restricted to an handle or a front panel. However, it is expected that in the near future an air bag will be installed at a side of the car to protect the occupant from a car clash in the side direction of the car, and thus it is clear that an impact sensor capable of sensing an impact in all directions; that is, an omnidirectional impact sensor; will be required.