A system, device, and method for generating and transmitting secure reports or documents in a retail environment or payment system comprising both secure and unsecure portions, where users of the unsecure portions may require access to sensitive information stored by the secure portions for various purposes, such as reporting, accounting, or reconciliation.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council ("PCI") is at least one of the entities tasked with development, dissemination, and implementation of security standards for the protection of customers' financial and account information. PCI established the Payment Application Data Security Standard ("PA-DSS") in an effort to regulate payment applications and systems that handle sensitive cardholder data, such as a customer's financial account number (including the Primary Account Number ("PAN")), personal identification number ("PIN"), or Card Security Code or Verification Value ("CVV2").
In order for a payment system to be deemed PA-DSS compliant, it must adhere to the requirements contained in the PA-DSS. For instance, the standard requires that any cardholder data or account information be protected. Accordingly, any device that manages or handles the information must ensure that the cardholder data is secure. Devices that comply with all of the PA-DSS requirements are considered PA-DSS compliant or "secure," and those that do not are referred to as "unsecure." It is typical to have both devices that are secure and devices that are unsecure within a single payment system. Unsecure devices are generally less expensive initially, as well as less expensive to maintain. In order for an entire system having both secure and unsecure devices to meet the PA-DSS, any sensitive cardholder data or account information cannot be handled by or transmitted to any unsecure device. Additionally, if sensitive cardholder data is transmitted via a network accessible to the public or susceptible to compromise, the data must be encrypted.
Payment systems have been incorporated into fueling sites in order to allow a customer to pay for the fuel dispensed using a credit or debit card. Such systems comprise various input devices, such as card readers and PIN pads, that are configured to accept account information from a customer. For instance, the customer may provide an account number by swiping a card bearing a magnetic strip through a card reader. The customer may then enter the PIN associated with the card using a PIN pad. The system communicates this information to the host system responsible for the customer's account for verification. The system encrypts the information according to the host system's encryption scheme prior to transmission.
Certain information or data may also be transmitted to the payment system's point-of-sale device ("POS") during or after the transaction. For example, following completion of the transaction, information needed to print a customer receipt that does not contain sensitive cardholder data is transmitted to the POS. For example, the receipt may contain the last four digits of the account number with the preceding digits shown by asterisks. POS's are typically unsecure and therefore do not handle cardholder data or account information in order for the payment system to comply with the PA-DSS. In this example, the system does not encrypt the data transmitted to the POS that is needed to print the receipt because the transmitted data does not contain any sensitive cardholder data.
An example of such a payment system adapted for use in a fueling environment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,638 ("the '638 patent"), which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes. The system described in the '683 patent utilizes a security module to communicate securely with the input devices at the fuel dispensers and a host system.
In certain situations, the retailer associated with the payment system requires portions of the cardholder data for reconciliation purposes. For instance, the retailer may need to credit a customer's account or manually complete a transaction that was previously declined in error, both of which require use of sensitive cardholder data.
Various techniques have been attempted in order to retrieve the desired information from the secure portion (i.e., the "secure environment") of the payment system. For example, a printer may be installed within the secure environment in order to print reports containing the account information. This option, however, increases both the initial costs and maintenance costs associated with the system.
Another option is to attach a printer to the POS or to use the printer already attached to the POS for printing receipts. This option adds a layer of complexity since the POS would need to be relocated within the secure environment. The POS may be manufactured by a party other than the manufacturer of the secure devices, thereby making it difficult to reconfigure the POS as a secure device. Moreover, the system may not include a POS if it operates in an unattended scenario.
Alternatively, the account information may be transferred to and stored on removable storage (such as a compact disc or flash drive). Removable storage devices are unsecure by default, however, providing no security to the sensitive data they contain. Thus, extra processes and procedures are required to dictate the retention, use, and destruction of the information if stored on a removable storage device.

Secure reports for electronic payment systems


A rapid battery charger uses current pulses to quickly charge secondary batteries of various types having a wide variety of charging characteristics. When the current pulse is paused, the voltage across the secondary battery is measured at two different times; the difference in the two voltages is compared with a reference value; and the current is adjusted according to the result of the comparison, thus preventing the generation of gas within the secondary battery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery charger for rapidly charging a secondary battery
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional rapid battery charger as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. HEI-6-121468 supplies a large current to a secondary battery during the initial stage of charging. During the charging process, a CPU periodically sets the charging current to zero (off) and measures the open-circuit voltage of the secondary battery. The open-circuit voltage is then compared with a previously set reference voltage. If the open-circuit voltage is determined to exceed the reference voltage, then the current used for charging is changed to a lower value, signifying a progression in the charging process.
This technology reduces the current before gas is produced, allowing the battery to be charged to a high voltage level while preventing the generation of gas which may otherwise be generated if the battery is charged with a large current. Gas is produced when the voltage across the secondary battery exceeds a certain value.
When a secondary battery is being charged, the voltage across the battery increases due to the current applied to the battery and also to increases in the amount of electrical charges stored in the battery. The voltage eventually reaches a point at which gas is generated within the battery. In rapid charging, overvoltage also rises considerably due to the large current that is flowed through the secondary battery. To reduce this overvoltage, the current has conventionally been reduced during the charging process before gas is generated.
With another type of battery charger, the open-circuit voltage of the secondary battery is periodically measured during the charging process and compared with a reference voltage. The charging process is terminated at the point that the voltage exceeds the reference voltage.
The open-circuit voltage is measured when current is not being applied to the secondary battery in order to avoid ohmic dissipation from resistances in the battery leads and terminal contacts and from internal resistance of the battery.
A battery charger as described above, however, requires that a different voltage be set for each type of secondary battery, because the overvoltages that result from a charging current are not the same for every type of secondary battery. Such a requirement makes operating the battery charger more complicated.
If the reference voltage is fixed at a certain value designed for one type of battery but used to represent all types of batteries the expected charging results will not be obtained with many batteries, because charging characteristics vary widely from battery to battery. Fixing the reference voltage in this way may result in low charges, invite the generation of excessive gas, and the like.

Rapid battery charger with charge controlling capability depending on overvoltage of the battery


An image sensor comprising a semiconductor of a first conductivity type having a plurality of pixels formed thereon; and a region heavily doped with the first conductivity type semiconductor beneath the pixels formed such that there is a gradient formed within the semiconductor below the pixels that is capable of directing photogenerated electrons toward the pixels and away from the heavily doped region. The gradient is formed by having a more lightly doped layer formed upon the heavily doped layer and allowing a gradient to from around the junction of the two layers.

Prior art imaging devices have numerous structures to prevent the corruption of accumulated signal charge. These typically relate to the prevention of smear, blooming and crosstalk. Each of these effects requires different structures for correction or prevention.
Crosstalk is the phenomenon that describes photogenerated carriers, such as electrons, that diffuse from under the picture element (pixel) where they are created to other pixel areas where they are inadvertently collected. These diffusion electrons are generated in a field-free, or low field, region beneath the depleted region which forms the charge-collecting region of the pixel. The depletion region has a strong electric field that collects electrons. Crosstalk generally occurs in imagers that use the shift register, most often a charge-coupled device (CCD), to collect the photo-generated electrons.
Smear, typically, describes photogenerated electrons whose parent photons entered the image sensor through a charge-integrating region, such as a photodiode, but the photogenerated electrons are collected in an adjacent CCD. This is similar to crosstalk as discussed above, however, the term applies more to devices in which the shift registers are separated from the charge-integrating or collecting regions and where the shift registers run continuously. Hence, the crosstalk electrons are added to the charge packets in the shift register as they go by and the term smear is applied to this phenomenon.
Anti-blooming structures are those that are added to the image sensor to remove excess charge from the charge-integrating regions. The anti-blooming may be active or passive. The former requires a gate to be turned on and the latter works as soon as charge rises to a preset level. The goal of anti-blooming structures is to remove excess charge from a particular charge-collecting region before the excess charge enters adjacent charge collecting regions. Therefore, anti-blooming is a fundamentally different phenomenon than either cross-talk or smear.
While the three phenomenon of cross-talk, smear and blooming have different characteristics, the manner by which they have been controlled has involved similar elements within the prior art. Specifically, heavily positive doped regions, p+ regions, have been employed by image sensors that photogenerate electrons as the signal charge. In common with transistors and other integrated circuit elements, image sensors use isolation regions to separate charge packets, and/or current flow, in at least one dimension. For example, to separate parallel CCDs.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art sensor 5 formed in a heavily doped substrate 13 with a more lightly doped epitaxial layer 16 that forms junction 10 with substrate 13. The sensor 5 has p+ isolation regions 19 designed to have a lower potential than the charge storage regions 18 containing the charge packets. This is commonly done by implanting sufficient p-type dopants, usually boron. This is illustrated in the energy level diagram shown in FIG. 2. The underlying principle is that an electron is accelerated by a field in a direction that is opposite its current motion.
As discussed above, p+ regions are used to confine packets. A second use of a p+ region is to keep electrons in one region from reaching another region. This includes charge packet separation, however, it also includes using the p+ to keep diffusing electrons that are not part of a charge packet out of the region that contains the charge packet. This is one method to combat crosstalk. An example of this is to put p+ on almost all sides of a CCD shift register in an interline image sensor. This prevents smear by keeping electrons from other areas out of the CCD, and has been employed in prior art devices.
Matsunaga, Japanese Publication No. 58-62981, discusses smear reduction techniques within image sensors. Kumesawa et al also discusses smear reduction techniques within image sensors in IEEE Transactions On Electron Devices Vol. ED-32, No. 8 August 1985. However, these prior art structures are not useful in imagers where the CCD itself is the charge collecting and photosensitive region, because these structures lead to a reduced photo-response.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,798 to Kimura discloses a solid state image sensing device having an lateral overflow drain structure for controlling the blooming phenomenon that yields residual results towards smear reduction as a byproduct. However, this structure is not suitable for imagers which combine the charge collection and the charge transport functions in the same element.
Certain prior art devices teach smear and crosstalk reduction through the classic technique of increasing the depletion region associated with the charge collection element. Gardner et al, International Publication Number WO 92/21151, and Okada, discussed below, are recent examples.
Japanese Publication No. 4-316367 to Okada discloses an imaging device with a diode region that is enlarged for the reduction of smear. However, this is an interline type structure useful for these types of devices that incorporates a vertical overflow drain for anti-blooming. This structure does not address the concerns required for the reduction of cross talk in imagers without vertical overflow drains such as full frame imaging devices.
An example of a prior art device that is the subject of two patents that issued to Thenoz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,501 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,784, use a buried n+ region with a p+ region on the deeper side of the n+ region for anti-blooming. The role of the p+ region is to keep photogenerated electrons out of the n+ region. The p+ region reflects electrons by that mechanism, and may well increase cross-talk. In addition the n+ region may collect photogenerated electrons which lowers the photoresponse of this sensor.
Still another prior art device, Matsumoto as detailed in Japanese Publication No. 3-114260, describes the use of a buried p+ region to deter the electrons from below the p+ region from reaching the surface above the p+ region.
Another prior art device, disclosed by Jastrzebski and Levine in U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,522, utilizes electric fields created from doping gradients to drive electrons away from charge collecting regions. This has the result of reducing the photoresponse of the image sensor.
There is a single prior art disclosure Erhardt, in International Publication Number WO 90/12423, that employs surface p+ isolation regions on the periphery of the imager. However, no disclosure, or suggestion is made of using a deep p+ region to guide the flow of electrons.
It should be apparent from the foregoing discussion that there remains a need within the art for disclosures detailing the use of p+ dopant distributions to produce fields to guide electrons from neutral regions to charge collecting sites.

Photogenerated carrier collection of a solid state image sensor array


An automated machine for organizing and feeding cylindrical products includes a conveyor to space apart the cylindrical products. A pair of elongated rollers is disposed downstream from the conveyor to orient the cylindrical products in the same direction. A miter wheel disposed downstream of the pair of elongated rollers transfers the cylindrical products from the pair of rollers to a vertical accumulation chamber while changing the orientation of the cylindrical products from a vertical alignment to a horizontal alignment. The cylindrical products are discharged from the vertical accumulation chamber to a take away conveyance. Operation of the components of the automated machine can be controlled by a computer. Optical sensors can be employed to monitor flow of the cylindrical products through the automated machine during operation.

Automated machinery can be employed to handle cylindrical-shaped items such that the product is separated and flows in a consistent orientation into further stages of handling or packaging machinery.
Prior solutions employed vision inspection coupled with mechanical means or pneumatic means to remove individual products from a conveyor that were not in the desired orientation. However, this is inefficient because the output of product from the machine is reduced by approximately 50% due to the necessity of removing all improperly-aligned product from the conveyor line that must then be re-routed to an earlier stage of the machinery. Thus, output speeds of the automated machinery are limited.
A further drawback of conventional automated handling machinery for cylindrical-shaped items is that re-orientation of the product from one plane to another can produce jams and misalignments if the unit output speed of the product is set too fast. This is exacerbated by product that deviates from specified tolerances. Therefore, the operating speeds of the conventional machinery is quite limited and jams can occur more often than desired.
Therefore, there remains a need to improve the methods and apparatus for organizing and feeding cylindrical products from a bulk supply to a product take away conveyance.

System and method for organizing and feeding cylindrical products from a bulk supply to a product take away conveyance


A water supply method of a washing machine optimizes a washing performance by sufficiently supplying water according to an amount and type of laundry. The method includes steps of setting first and second water levels based on an amount and type of laundry in a washing machine; supplying water to the washing machine according to the set first water level; sensing a current water level to determine a degree of absorption of the water into the laundry during a predetermined time, the degree of absorption being determined by comparing the currently sensed water level to the second water level; re-supplying water to the washing machine to compensate for the degree of absorption; resetting the second water level according to a comparison of a water re-supply count to a predetermined value; and performing washing if the currently sensed water level is greater than the second water level. The resetting of the second water level is performed by increasing the set second water level if the water re-supply count is greater than the predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a washing machine control method enabling a resetting of a water re-supply level by determined a water re-supply count for a predetermined time.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally speaking, to perform washing using a washing machine in which laundry has been placed, a wash course is selected to determine a wash pattern, water is supplied to the washing machine according a predetermined water level based on the amount of laundry in the washing machine, and washing is performed based on the predetermined water level. After the water reaches the predetermined level, however, the laundry absorbs a portion of the water, which soon lowers the water level. To compensate for the water level being lowered as above, a washing machine control method according to a related art introduces an additional supply of water before proceeding with the washing step, so that the predetermined water level is maintained. Such a method is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, the method of the related art achieves the supply of water to a washing machine through the steps of setting water levels W1 and W2 based on an amount and type of laundry in the washing machine, where the water level W1 is the desired water level and the water level W2 is a predetermined reduced level requiring the re-supply of water to avoid damage to the laundry and to achieve a satisfactory washing performance (S101); supplying water to the washing machine according to the water level W1 and a selected wash course (S102); determining whether the level of the water in the washing machine has, due to absorption or other factors, been reduced to the water level W2, i.e., whether the water level has fallen to a substantially lower level that necessitates the supply of additional water (S103); re-supplying the washing machine with a predetermined amount of water, based on the desired water level W1, to raise the water level above the "re-supply" water level W2 (S104); and performing washing using the water of the current level, which is between the levels W1 and W2 defining the extremes of a hysteresis loop, whereupon it is determined that the water is sufficiently absorbed into the laundry and that the water supply step is therefore completed (S105). The water re-supplying step continues until a completion of the water supply, such that washing may proceed. To determine whether to re-supply an amount of water, the water is continuously monitored using a water level sensor, which senses a water pressure of the water in the washing machine.
As described above, at the time of proceeding with the washing step, the level of the water in the washing machine is equal to a level between the initially set water levels W1 and W2, i.e., within a predetermined range. That is, the upper and lower limits of the water level for proceeding the washing step are set before water is supplied to the washing machine, where the upper limit is set as a predetermined maximum assuming no reduction in the water level due to absorption and other factors and the lower limit is set as a predetermined minimum level for proceeding the washing. Meanwhile, an optimal water level for washing varies according to the amount and type of laundry placed in the washing machine, but the amount and type of laundry may result in an excessive degree of absorption.
Therefore, if there is excessive water absorption it may be impossible to reach a satisfactory water level since the water re-supply level W2 is set too low. That is, if, due to a large laundry load and/or very absorbent laundry, the optimal water level is much higher than the water re-supply level W2 as initially set, it is very likely that the water level achieved by the washing machine control method of the related art will be significantly lower than the desired water level. When the water level is too low, washing performance is degraded and the laundry is vulnerable to damage.


Braided tubular structure (11) including longitudinal elongate elements (9) distributed on a plurality of collars coaxial with the structure and braiding threads (8) forming two grids of directions oblique in relation to the longitudinal elongate elements and interlaced with the longitudinal elongate elements. The braiding threads following paths which cause them pass between the longitudinal elongate elements. In the tubular structure, the braiding threads (8) of each one of the grids form an assembly of superposed layers in which the braiding threads (8) are parallel from one layer to the next.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to braided tubular structures, processes and machines for manufacturing them, and their applications in the construction of plane armorings for composite material.
2. Background Art
European Patent EP-A-0 113 196 Published Patent Application No. A-0113196 has already disclosed a braided (and nonwoven) tubular structure, which is intended to form a composite tubular part after impregnation with resin and polymerization of the latter. This tubular structure includes longitudinal threads (parallel to the axis of said structure) and helicoidal braiding threads forming two grids of directions oblique in relation to said longitudinal threads, said braiding threads being interlaced with one another, as well as with said longitudinal threads. These longitudinal threads are distributed on a plurality of collars coaxial with the structure and the helicoidal braiding threads follow paths which cause them to pass between the longitudinal threads of one or of a plurality of concentric collars, these paths being such that the projections of said braiding threads onto a plane orthogonal to the axis of the tubular structure are broken lines, all the sections of which are oblique in relation to the thickness of the wall of said tubular structure.
It is possible in this way to obtain braided tubular structures of considerable wall thickness. However, in spite of this, the mechanical wall characteristics of the tubular composite parts constructed from these tubular structures are relatively low, since these tubular structures exhibit numerous voids due to the intersections of the paths of the helicoidal threads of one and the same direction.
The object of the present invention is to remedy this disadvantage.
To this end, according to the invention, the braided tubular structure including longitudinal elongate elements distributed on a plurality of collars coaxial with the structure and braiding threads forming two grids of directions oblique in relation to said longitudinal elongate elements and interlaced with said longitudinal elongate elements, said braiding threads following paths which cause them to pass between said longitudinal elongate elements, is noteworthy in that said braiding threads of each one of said grids form an assembly of superposed layers in which said braiding threads are parallel from one layer to the next.
Thus, said parallel braiding threads, which form layers which are superposed in the direction of the thickness of the wall of said tubular structure, permit the minimization of the intersections and thus the imparting of excellent mechanical properties to said wall.
Said longitudinal elongate elements may be threads as in the European published patent application identified hereinabove. They may likewise be composed of thread rovings, of cables, of rods, of tubes, etc . . . .
In order to be able to construct such a tubular structure, it is advantageous, in accordance with the present invention, to braid it by means of a plurality of braiding threads which are wound off from so many spools which are displaceable through a succession of elementary paths that said braiding threads should become interlaced with elongate elements which are parallel to one another and distributed on a plurality of coaxial collars. According to the invention, this process is noteworthy in that said spools are displaced with the aid of three types of elementary paths, that is to say first elementary paths of direction orthogonal in relation to said coaxial collars, second elementary paths of direction circumferential in relation to the latter and third elementary paths, each one of which associates a first and a second elementary path inter se.
Thus, said first elementary paths permit said braiding threads to be caused to pass around said elongate elements of different collars, that is to say within the thickness of the wall of said tubular structure, while said circumferential second paths permit the constitution of said superposed layers formed of threads which are parallel from one layer to the next.
It will be noted that, by varying the sequence of said elementary paths, it is possible to vary the braiding xe2x80x9cmeshxe2x80x9d. Thus numerous sequences of different elementary paths are possible and, by virtue of the invention, it is possible to obtain a large number of different xe2x80x9cmeshesxe2x80x9d for the tubular structure of the present invention.
For the implementation of such a process, the present invention advantageously provides a braiding machine including a set of identical multiindented wheels, mounted on a fixed support and driven in rotation to cause the circulation of spindles carrying spools of braiding threads, said multiindented wheels being disposed in parallel and equidistant lines. In order to be capable of executing the three types of elementary paths which are characteristic of said process, this machine is, according to the invention, noteworthy:
in that, in said set of multiindented wheels:
the multiindented wheels belonging to a line are spaced from one another, so that two consecutive multiindented wheels belonging to one and the same line cannot cooperate directly with one another;
a multiindented wheel belonging to one line is disposed between two multiindented wheels belonging to an adjacent line and cooperates with said two multiindented wheels; and
in that, in the spaces between the consecutive multiindented wheels of a line, there are provided passages for said longitudinal elongate elements of said braided tubular structure.
The result is accordingly a quincuncial arrangement for the multiindented wheels and for said passages, said quincunces of multiindented wheels being overlapped with said quincunces of said passages. Within such quincunces, the distance between the centers of two consecutive multiindented wheels of a line is equal to the distance between two consecutive passages of a line, these distances being equal to twice the distance between two adjacent lines of multiindented wheels and of passages.
By virtue of such a quincuncial arrangement, it is possible to cause the circulation of said spindles transversely and parallel to said lines of multiindented wheels, and also to cause them to turn about the center of a multiindented wheel, so that it is possible to execute the three types of elementary paths mentioned hereinabove.
To do this, according to another feature of the present invention, in said spaces between the consecutive multiindented wheels of a line, there are further provided rhomboidal needles of controlled orientation which are intended to direct said spindles to cause them to pass from one multiindented wheel to another belonging to an adjacent line (first and second elementary paths) or to maintain them on their respective multiindented wheels (third elementary paths).
Preferably, said needles are coaxial with said passages for the elongate elements, so that they likewise form quincunces, which are superposed upon those of said passages.
Said needles can be controlled in orientation by a linkage gear.
Preferably, at each instant:
all the needles associated with a line of multi-indented wheels are parallel to one another and thus have a common orientation; and
the common orientations of the needles associated with two adjacent lines of multiindented wheels are symmetrical with respect to one another in relation to said lines.
Said fixed support of the multiindented wheels may be plane. Nevertheless, for reasons associated with braiding mesh clamping, it is advantageous that said plane support should be cylindrical. In this case, said plane support may be constituted by the internal wall of a cylindrical collar. Such a collar may have its axis disposed vertically or horizontally.
Moreover, French Patents FR-A-2 610 951 and FR-A-2 610 952 have already disclosed a plane woven armoring for composite material including weft threads distributed on a plurality of superposed levels and warp threads passing around weft threads situated at different levels. Thus, such an armoring exhibits high characteristics of delamination. However, on account of the fact that threads which make up said armoring follow, in a plane, only two directions (the warp direction and the weft direction), the composite parts which incorporate it may, for certain applications, exhibit an insufficient shear modulus, parallel to said plane.
Thus, the object of the present invention is also to construct such a plane armoring having an improved planar shear modulus.
To this end, according to the invention, the plane armoring for composite material including parallel elongate elements distributed on a plurality of superposed levels, in the manner of weft threads, is noteworthy:
in that it includes:
a first grid of threads which are parallel to one another, passing around said elongate elements situated at different levels;
a second grid of threads which are parallel to one another, passing around said elongate elements situated at different levels; and
in that the general directions of the threads of said first and second grids are symmetrical with respect to one another in relation to said parallel elongate elements.
According to the present invention, to obtain such a plane armoring:
initially there is constructed a braided tubular structure including parallel longitudinal elongate elements distributed on a plurality of collars coaxial with the structure and braiding threads which form two grids of directions oblique and symmetrical in relation to the longitudinal elongate elements and interlaced with said longitudinal elongate elements, said braiding threads following paths which cause them to pass between said longitudinal elongate elements, so that said braiding threads of each one of said grids form an assembly of superposed layers in which said braiding threads are parallel from one layer to the next; then
said tubular structure is split along a longitudinal cutting line parallel to said longitudinal elongate elements.
Thus, after the longitudinal cutting of said tubular structure and flattening of the latter, the result obtained is a plane armoring as mentioned hereinabove, in which, on the one hand, said first and second grids of parallel threads are constituted respectively by said grids of braiding threads and, on the other hand, said parallel elongate elements distributed on a plurality of superposed levels are formed by said longitudinal elongate elements distributed on the plurality of coaxial collars of said braided tubular structure.
Thus, such a process permits the construction, by braiding, that is to say at high speed, of the plane structure according to the invention. The latter can therefore be manufactured more rapidly than the conventional woven armorings, although it exhibits great improvements as compared with the latter.
It will be noted that, to obtain such a plane armoring, it is advantageous to make use of the braiding machine specified hereinabove, equipped with cutting means to split longitudinally the braid formed by said machine.

Braided tubular Structure for a composite part its construction and its applications

Aerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle


A cylindrical rotation unit attachable to an elongated insertion unit which includes a base in which a central axis is defined, and a rotation member provided on an outer circumference of the base movably in an axial direction of the central axis relative to the base and rotatably around the central axis in response to the rotation of a rotation force transmission portion which is rotatable around a longitudinal axis parallel with the central axis of the base includes: an engagement portion attachable to and detachable from an outer circumferential surface of the base; and a contact portion which is provided to contact on the rotation member away from the engagement portion and which disposes the rotation member on an outer circumference of the rotation force transmission portion while the engagement portion is engaged with the outer circumferential surface of the base.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rotation unit attachable to an insertion unit insertable into a small hole, an insertion apparatus, an insertion body, an insertion apparatus in which this insertion body is provided, and an insertion system including the insertion body and the insertion apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-329000 has disclosed a structure in which a rotation unit having a fin portion outside the distal end of an insertion portion of an endoscope and having a permanent magnet inside can be rotated if a magnetic force is applied to the rotation unit from the outside of the rotation unit. The rotation unit is provided outside a slide pipe which has a flange at the proximal end to support the end of the rotation unit. A thread portion is formed at the end of the slide pipe, and a fixing ring member is threaded into the thread portion so that the rotation unit is fixed and does not come off the slide pipe.

Rotation unit, insertion apparatus, insertion body, and insertion system


A reinforcing bar binding machine is provided with a feed device for feeding a wire from a wire reel rotatably mounted on a binding machine body, a braking device for braking a rotation of the wire reel, and a control device that starts a braking to the rotation of the wire reel by the braking device after the wire is fed to a predetermined amount by the feed device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brake system of a wire reel which stops a rotation of a wire reel after a predetermined length of binding wire is fed, in a reinforcing bar binding machine.
2. Background Art
When a predetermined length of wire feed is performed in a reinforcing bar binding machine, wire feed is stopped, but a wire reel continues rotating by inertia. Therefore, the diameter of a wire wound around the wire reel may increase, and the next wire feed may be hindered. As a means for solving this, for example, like Patent Document 1 (JP-A-11-156746), the technique of a brake mechanism in which a hook-like brake lever (the same as a braking means of Patent Document 1) which is engageable with a wire reel is arranged in the vicinity of the wire reel, and the brake lever is actuated by a solenoid is disclosed. In addition, the brake mechanism of Patent Document 1 actuates the brake lever actuated by the solenoid so as to engage the peripheral edge of the wire reel, thereby stopping rotation of the wire reel, after the wire is fed by a predetermined length from the wire reel.
Meanwhile, in the brake mechanism of the reinforcing bar binding machine shown in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, with the configuration (including a spring) in which the brake lever rotate about a pivot, some time lag occurs until the brake operates after the solenoid is actuated. Additionally, for example, when a link mechanism (including a spring) is interposed between the brake lever, and the solenoid which actuates the brake lever, it is conceivable that time lag becomes still larger than that of FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1 described above. In addition, when the power of a battery used as a power source of the solenoid or the like is saved, the battery can be effectively used for a long time.
Moreover, in the reinforcing bar binding machine (includes Patent Document 1 or the like), the wire reel is exposed to the outside of a binding machine body in order to facilitate loading of the wire reel to the binding machine body. Additionally, the braking means and solenoid which are disposed in the vicinity of the wire reel are also exposed to the outside of the binding machine body. Therefore, when the reinforcing bar binding machine is used outdoors or the like, sand, a situation where dust, etc. adhere to the solenoid or the like and braking operation cannot be reliably performed is conceivable.

Brake system of wire reel in reinforcing bar binding machine


This invention relates to reagent comprising: any one of cells, viral particles, organelles, parasites, cells comprising organelles, cells comprising viral particles, cells comprising parasites, cells comprising bacterial cells and any combination thereof, the cells, viral particles, organelles or parasites comprising at least one nucleic acid sequence serving as an internal control (IC) target for nucleic acid testing (NAT) assay; wherein the reagent is suitable to be added to a test sample undergoing sample preparation to release, concentrate and/or purify nucleic acids and amplification and/or detection of nucleic acids so as to be used to verify: (i) the efficiency of sample preparation; and (ii) the efficiency of nucleic acid amplification and/or detection. The present invention also relates to a method to verify or validate the preparation and amplification and/or detection of a nucleic acid target sequence in a sample spiked with a reagent of the present invention.

With the advent of molecular biology, nucleic acid testing (NAT) assays are becoming increasingly popular. These assays rely on the hybridization of synthetic oligonucleotide primers and/or probes targeting a nucleotide sequence of the organism(s) of interest. Highly sensitive NAT technologies, such as the widely used polymerase chain reaction (PCR), represent important tools in the field of molecular diagnostics. Since the discovery of PCR in 1983, numerous DNA-based assays targeting a wide variety of microbial pathogens have been developed (Nolte and Caliendo, 2003, Molecular detection and identification of microorganisms, p. 234-256, In Manual of Clinical Microbiology (8th ed.), Murray et al., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C.; Lee et al. 1997, Nucleic Acid Amplification Technologies: Application to Disease Diagnosis, Biotechniques Books, Eaton Publishing, Boston, Mass.; Persing et al., 1993, Diagnostic Molecular Microbiology: Principles and Applications, American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C.; Ehrlich; Greenberg, 1994, PCR-based Diagnostics in Infectious Disease, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Boston, Mass.). Many of these NAT assays have been designed for microbial detection directly from clinical, environmental or food samples, which are known to contain inhibitors of NAT assays. Over the years, a variety of procedures performed from a variety of test samples for concentration and/or purification of cells or viral particles as well as for release, concentration and/or purification of nucleic acids have been developed. However, samples prepared by these procedures may still contain impurities that interfere with NAT assays.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that many types of clinical, environmental and food specimens may contain substances interfering with nucleic acid amplification processes including PCR, ligase chain reaction (LCR), transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) and strand displacement amplification (SDA) (Courtney et al. 1999, Analytical Biochem. 270:249-256; Rosenstraus et. al., 1998, J. Clin. Microbiol. 36: 191-197; Morré et al. 1996, J. Clin. Microbiol. 34:3108-3114; Lee et al. 1997, Nucleic Acid Amplification Technologies: Application to Disease Diagnosis, Biotechniques, Books, Eaton Publishing, Boston, Mass.; Persing et al., 1993, Diagnostic Molecular Microbiology: Principles and Applications, American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C.; Ehrlich and Greenberg, 1994, PCR-based Diagnostics in Infectious Disease, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Boston, Mass.). Therefore, it is crucial to identify inhibitory test samples because negative test results may be attributable to inhibition of the NAT assay by impurities not eliminated, neutralized or inactivated by the protocol used for sample preparation. Inhibitory test samples can be identified by verifying the efficiency of amplification and/or detection of a nucleic acid target serving as a control. Such control may be external when the control nucleic acid is added to a portion of the sample tested in parallel for amplification and/or detection of the control target sequences while another portion of the sample is analyzed for amplification and/or detection of the analyte target sequences to be detected by the assay. Such control is called an "internal control (IC)" when both control target sequences and analyte target sequences are purified and/or detected in the same reaction vessel. More specifically, this internal control system provides an IC for amplification and/or detection (ICAD) of nucleic acids. Inhibitory samples lead to lower or no ICAD signal while a positive signal for the ICAD of the expected intensity demonstrates the absence of nucleic acid amplification/detection inhibitors in the test sample, thereby validating a negative result for the primary target(s). ICAD have been developed by using various strategies (Courtney et al., 1999, Analytical Biochem., 270:249-256; Rosenstraus et al. 1998, J. Clin. Microbiol., 36:191-197; Morré et al., 1996, J. Clin. Microbiol., 34:3108-3114; Stocher et al., 2002, J. Virol. Methods 108:1-8). The IC target nucleic acids may be cloned in diverse cloning vectors including plasmids, cosmids, bacteriophages and transposons (Sambrook and Russel, 2001, Molecular Cloning: A laboratory manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.).
It is also important to validate the sample preparation method for NAT assays to ensure its efficiency to lyse microbial cells because many microbial species have a thick and/or sturdy cell wall (e.g. gram-positive bacteria, mycobacteria, bacterial spores and yeasts), which make them difficult to lyse. Efficient cell lysis is required to release target nucleic acids to allow their amplification and/or detection. Furthermore, the current trend in molecular diagnostics is to integrate sample preparation and nucleic acid amplification and/or detection into a single device. Therefore, there is a need to develop strategies to validate both the sample preparation procedure and the amplification and/or detection processes.
The inventors have previously demonstrated that popular commercially available kits for rapid microbial DNA isolation were not efficient for nucleic acid recovery from gram-positive bacteria and yeast cells (PCT patent publication WO 03/008636). U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,994,078 and 6,074,825 describe a method to prepare stable encapsulated reference nucleic acids used to monitor genetic testing by providing an external control reaction to verify the efficiency of sample preparation for NAT assays. However, obtaining such sample preparation control vehicles requires chemical and/or physical treatment of the cellular vehicle used to mimic the membrane stability of the test cells. Consequently, the modified cellular vehicle is different from the naturally encountered microbial cells targeted by NAT assays. Moreover, such external controls do not allow a monitoring of the efficiency of amplification and/or detection procedures.
There thus remains a need to provide a means to verify the efficiency of a sample preparation procedure and of the performance of nucleic acid amplification and/or detection. There also remains a need to provide biological reagents to enable such methods. In addition there remains a need to provide methods and reagents, which more truly validate the results obtained with a NAT assay.
The present invention seeks to meet these and other means.

Biological reagents and methods to verify the efficiency of sample preparation and nucleic acid amplification and/or detection


An artificial dielectric antenna structure for reducing the mass and insertion loss of an antenna is provided. The artificial dielectric antenna structure includes a plurality of layers of dielectric material. Each layer of dielectric material has a dielectric constant. The artificial dielectric antenna structure further includes a plurality of spacing layers interposed between the plurality of layers of dielectric material. Each of the plurality of spacing layers has a dielectric constant lower than the dielectric constant of any of the plurality of layers of dielectric material. The artificial dielectric antenna structure may be disposed within a horn antenna. The artificial dielectric antenna structure may alternately be disposed upon a transmission medium to form a dielectric resonator antenna.

Dielectric loading is used to improve the radiation performance and frequency bandwidth of an antenna. However, several drawbacks offset the advantages of dielectric loading. First, dielectric loading can cause increased insertion loss, degrading the strength of a signal. Second, dielectric loading increases the mass of an antenna system, which is particularly troublesome for antennas destined for space applications. Finally, the threat of electro-static discharge (ESD) is increased by dielectric loading.
Accordingly, what is needed is a way to increase the radiation performance and frequency bandwidth of an antenna system without incurring insertion loss, increased mass, and increased risk of ESD.


The sock is particularly adapted for use in Yoga exercises, Pilate exercises, stretching and other mat-based exercises, and comprises a sock made of a natural, plastic or synthetic fiber. The sock has five toe holes in the front end with webbing extending between the toe holes from the top of the sock to the bottom or sole of the sock to provide these openings through which the toes of a user can extend. The sock also has a layer of a PVC vinyl material on the bottom or sole of the sock which has a sticky or friction characteristic to enable the sock to grip a floor or mat when used by an exerciser, with or without the use of a mat, and to allow the toes to be exposed for tack or gripping functions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to socks that are adapted to be used in practicing Yoga, pilates or stretch exercises. They are referred to as Yoga sticky socks and have a sticky sole or bottom surface and holes for each of the toes to be exposed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, socks that are intended to be worn when exercising have been provided with rows of rubber dots or bumps which will enable the sock to grip a mat or floor.
Also, sticky mats are typically used while practicing Yoga. They have a sticky rubber surface. A user currently performs Yoga with bare feet and practices Yoga on a sticky mat that is intended to prevent the user from slipping during the exercises.
One example of a Yoga mat is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2002/0098947.


Labeling, such as with radio pharmaceuticals, fluorescence emitting compounds or other probe detectable materials, of diseased or malfunctioning candidate cells for subsequent treatment with a medicinal compound, the identification in situ of the candidate cells using a probe sensitive to the presence of the label and then treatment of the identified cell is disclosed.

The invention relates to the labeling, such as with radio pharmaceuticals, fluorescence emitting compounds or other probe detectable materials, of diseased or malfunctioning candidate cells for subsequent treatment with a medicinal compound, the identification in situ of the candidate cells using a probe sensitive to the presence of the label and then treatment of the identified cell. Alternatively, normal tissue may be label such that diseased tissue appears as a cold (unlabeled) spot. Still further, certain tissue may be labeled with a certain radioisotope or fluorescing compound while other tissue is labeled with a different detectable material so the different tissue provides a different emission, i.e. beta versus gamma radiating radioisotopes, or two radioisotopes emitting gamma rays with different energies or radiation versus florescence emissions. A further variation involves using a radiolabeled treatment medium which is applied to labeled or unlabeled tissue. The efficacy of the delivery technique and treatment effectiveness can then be monitored. If labeled treatment medium is delivered to labeled tissue, it is preferred that different radioisotope, fluorescence or otherwise detectable material be used for labeling the tissue and treatment medium. However, the same labeling material can be used and effectiveness determined based on the enhancement of the radiation count from the target tissue. While the inventions described below are primarily discussed using radiolabeling in conjunction with suitable radiation detectors, other labeling, such as fluorescence labeling with optical sensors can be used as alternate approaches. One skilled in the art will recognize that other detectable labeling and suitable detection probes can be used in the inventive devices and procedures described herein.
Addressed are improved instruments with enhanced operability, controllability, diagnostic capability and treatment capability. For example, the described devices can be used in an MRI environment, can provide a visual image as well as a radiation image, allow 3D tracking of the probe's position and direction correlating with tomographic images taken before surgery, provide a controllable field of view, and allow delivery of treatment compounds which themselves may be radiolabeled, which may have probe detectable labels, to the disease tissue rather than surrounding normal tissue, or vice versa, while the probe is at the site of the labeled cells. A determination can then be made as to whether the treatment compounds have in fact been incorporated into the target tissue. Subsequent diagnostic use of the probes at the same body site can also determine if the diseased tissue has been replaced in whole or in part by normal tissue as well as the extend of replacement or healing at the treatment site.
In one embodiment, the invention relates to in situ gene therapy using a beta or gamma radiation detection probe to locate radio-labeled cells, also referred to as candidate cells, and the delivery of corrective or therapeutic genes to the candidate cells identified by the radiation detection probe while the probe is positioned adjacent to the labeled and located cells. Other treatment modalities involve the identification of vulnerable plaque in atherosclerotic vessels, treatment of that plaque and the subsequent determination of the efficacy of the treatment. A still further treatment modality involves the location of diseased myocardial tissue in the heart using specific radiotracers, delivery of a treatment composition directly to that tissue and the subsequent evaluation of efficacy of that treatment.
Devices for use in the procedures contemplated by the invention herein include, but are not limited to, intraoperative radiation detection probes, intraoperative radiation imaging probes, catheter mounted radiation detection probes and probes attached to surgical gloves so that the probe tip can be manually manipulated by the physician and placed adjacent to suspect tissue at an operative site. These probes carry one or more radiation detectors. This includes the use of different detectors (i.e. gamma and beta detectors) on a single probe or the use of two different probes delivered simultaneously or serially to the targeted site. Reference to radiation is not limited to nuclear radiation but also includes optical radiation (fluorescence, phosphorescence, including UV, visible or IR emissions) and related detectors and transmission devices.

Methods and devices to expand applications of intraoperative radiation probes

Abstract: The invention also covers in situ gene therapy using a beta or gamma radiation detection probe to locate radio-labeled cells, and the delivery of corrective or therapeutic genes to the candidate cells identified by the radiation detection probe while the probe is positioned adjacent to the labeled and located cells. Also covered is the identification of vulnerable plaque in atherosclerotic vessels and diseased myocardial tissue in the heart, treatment of that plaque or diseased tissue and the subsequent determination of the efficacy of the treatment.

Abstract: Devices for use in the procedures include, intraoperative radiation detection probes, intraoperative radiation detection probes, intraoperative radiation imaging probes, catheter mounted radiation detection probes and probes attached to surgical gloves so that the probe tip can be manually manipulated by the physician and placed adjacent to suspect tissue at an operative site.


A multistage transmission with eight forward and one reverse gear, including input and output shafts, planetary gearsets, gear stages, shift elements and shafts. The input shaft couples the carrier of gearset (P1) and, via clutch (15), can couple shaft (5) which couples, via clutch (59), shaft (9) which couples the sun gear of gearset (P3) and, via clutch (58), can couple shaft (8) and the ring gear of gearset (P2). The ring gear of gearset (P1) couples shaft (6) connected to the sun gear of gearset (P2). Shaft (3) couples the sun and ring gears of respective gearsets (P1, P3) and can couple, via brake (03), the housing (G). The carrier of gearset (P2) couples shaft (4), gear stage (S1) and the output shaft. The carrier of gearset (P3) couples shaft (7), gear stage (S2) and the output shaft. The clutch (56) couples shafts (5, 6) to block gearset (P2).

According to the prior art, automatic transmissions, particularly for motor vehicles, comprise planetary gear sets that are shifted using friction elements or shift elements such as clutches and brakes, and typically are connected to a start-up element, such as a hydrodynamic torque converter or a fluid coupling, that is subject to a slip effect and is provided optionally with a lock-up clutch.
Such automatic transmissions have been described numerous times in the prior art and are continually undergoing further development and improvement. These transmissions should have a sufficient number of forward gears as well as at least one reverse gear, and a suitable transmission ratio which is highly favourable for motor vehicles with a high overall gear ratio as well as a favourable gear interval. Furthermore, they should enable a high startup transmission ratio in the forward direction and contain a direct gear. In addition, an automatic transmission requires moderate complexity and few shift elements, wherein only one shift element is engaged and one shift element is disengaged during sequential shifting,
Such an automatic transmission is known, for example, from DE 199 12 480 B4 by the applicant. It comprises three single-carrier planetary gear sets, as well as three brakes and two clutches for shifting six forward gears and one reverse gear, an input driveshaft and an output shaft, wherein the carrier for the first planetary gear set is continuously connected to the ring gear of the second planetary gear set, and the carrier for the second planetary gear set is continuously connected to the ring gear of the third planetary gear set, and the input driveshaft is directly connected to the sun gear of the second planetary gear set,
Furthermore, in the known transmission, the input driveshaft is connectable to the sun gear of the first planetary gear set by means of the first clutch, and to the carrier of the first planetary set by means of the second clutch, wherein the sun gear of the first planetary gear set is connectable by means of the first brake to a housing of the transmission, and the carrier for the first planetary gear set is connectable by means of the second brake to the housing of the transmission, wherein the sun gear of the third planetary gear set is connectable by means of the third brake to the housing of the transmission. The input driveshaft of the transmission is continuously connected to the carrier for the third planetary gear set and the ring gear of the first planetary gear set.


In a focus identification method for identifying different focuses of an object, discrete image data is acquired from captured images of an object. The images are captured by a charge coupled device (CCD) in motion of a measurement machine at a predetermined time period. The discrete image data includes definitions of the images and Z-coordinates of the CCD when capturing the images. Maxima and minima of the discrete image data are computed to establish intervals within the discrete image data. The intervals are selected one by one, and a curve is fitted according to the discrete image data at the selected interval. A peak value of the fitted curve is computed as one of focuses of the object when a goodness of fit of the fitted curve meets a predetermined criterion.

Image measurement technique is widely used in precision measurement field for precisely, accurately, and speedily measuring an object using images of the object.
It may be understood that, a non-ideal focus may cause errors. Thus, it is important to identify different perspectives of an object to obtain precise measurements of the object.
Traditional focus identification methods fail to identify focuses of multiple layers of an object, such as a liquid crystal display.

Focus identification method, system, and computing device

HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.


A communication terminal and a communication system for efficiently using the transmission capacity of a circuit and reducing the circuits disposed between an ATM switch and communication terminals. The communication terminal disassembles multiplexed signals obtained by multiplexing data into cells of fixed length, adds each of the cells with a header containing destination information and transmits/receives a cell through a communication line. The terminal includes a discriminator for referring to the destination information of each cell to discriminate a cell addressed to the ATM communication terminal, a multiplexed signal generator for multiplexed unit data to be transmitted from the communication terminal to generate a multiplexed signal, a cell-forming unit for forming the multiplexed signal into cells, and a cell re-multiplexed for re-multiplexing the cell generated from the multiplexed data and the cells addressed to the other communication terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ATM communication system containing plural ATM communication terminals and an ATM switch, and more particularly to an ATM communication system which is suitable for use when the transmission rate of a transmission path for connecting an ATM communication terminal and an ATM switch is higher than the transmission rate of data to be transmitted/received by each ATM communication terminal and the transmission path has extra capacity.
2. Description of Related Art
Recent developments of digital information reducing technologies have promoted international standardizing organizations such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International-Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), to advance the works for standardization of multimedia coding techniques to reduce multimedia information such as images, sound, etc. and actually have completed some of this work. Of these multimedia coding techniques, a system known as xe2x80x9cMPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group-2) which is to be applied to broadcasting and storage media has been known. MPEG-2 enables transmission of images of the current television broadcasting quality at a transmission rate of about 6 to 10 Mbit/s. It also enables transmission of HDTV (High Definition Television) signals having a resolution of twice or more of current televisions in horizontal and vertical directions to be transmitted at a transmission rate of about several tens Mbit/s.
B-ISDN (Broadband-ISDN) which can transmit signals at a transmission rate of 155.52 Mbit/s has been known as a communication infrastructure. ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) has been used as a system for transmitting multiplexed signals by using the B-ISDN. ATM is suitable for use in handling multimedia data of various bit rates which range from low bit-rate data such as audio data to high bit-rate data such as image data. According to the ATM system, a signal such as a video signal, an audio signal, a data signal or the like is disassembled into 48-byte unit signals. Each of the 48-byte unit signals thus obtained is added with a header (describing a destination or the like) of 5 bytes and then transmitted. The signal of 53 bytes in total, which is obtained by adding the 48-byte unit signal with the header of 5 bytes, is called a cell.
In ATM, when information to be transmitted does not reach 155.52 Mbit/s, null information called a null cell is transmitted to match the transmission rate to the transmission rate of the transmission path. In this case, a signal comprising a combination of a cell containing data and a null cell, that is, a cell which is matched with the transmission rate of the transmission path is hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cATM signalxe2x80x9d.
In the conventional technique, when signals reduced by MPEG-2 described above are transmitted in ATM by using B-ISDN, the ATM signal of 155.52 Mbit/s contains cells having effective data of only 6 to 10 Mbit/s, and thus the residual bits of 145 to 149 Mbit/s are allocated to null cells.
Further, in the conventional technique, when many ATM communication terminals are mutually communicated to one another through an ATM switch, a line 12 must be provided between the ATM switch 5 and each of the plural ATM communication terminals 13, as shown in FIG. 12. Therefore, work for laying new lines must be performed with new ATM communication terminals, and the cost for establishing the system is increased.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ATM communication terminal and an ATM communication system which can solve the above problem and efficiently use the transmission capacity of a communication circuit.
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide an ATM communication terminal and an ATM communication system which can reduce the number of lines disposed between an ATM switch and each of ATM terminals constituting the system irrespective of the number of the terminals.
In order to solve the above problem, an ATM communication terminal according to the present invention has a function of disassembling multiplexed signals obtained by multiplexing data into cells of a fixed length, adding each of the cells with a header containing destination information and transmitting/receiving the cells through a communication line, and comprises a discriminator for referring to the destination information of the cells which are received through the communication line to identify a cell addressed to the communication terminal which received the cell (or, hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cself communication terminalxe2x80x9d) and a cell addressed to another communication terminal from each other, a multiplexed-signal generator for multiplexing data to be transmitted from the self communication terminal to generate multiplexed signals, a cell forming unit for forming the multiplexed signals generated in the multiplexed signal generator into cells, and a cell re-multiplexer for re-multiplexing the cell generated from the multiplexed data to be transmitted from the self communication terminal and the cell addressed to another communication terminal which is discriminated in the discriminator.
Further, a communication network is formed in a ring shape among plural communication terminals, and cells which are received through the communication network by a communication terminal concerned (self communication terminal) and are to be transmitted to (i.e., are addressed to) other communication terminals are multiplexed with cells obtained by forming data to be transmitted from the communication terminal in question into cells, and then the cell-multiplexed cells are transmitted to a transmission path, whereby the cell-multiplexed cells transmitted from the plural communication terminals are allowed to make the round on the ring.

ATM communication terminal and ATM communication system


Methods and systems for efficiently sending notification of the occurrence of events through a firewall. A client system operating inside a firewall, attempts to receive notification of the occurrence of events from a server system operating outside the firewall. The client system attempts to receive communication from the server system using a connectionless protocol, such as UDP. If the client system receives communication using the connectionless protocol, the client system requests notification be sent using the connectionless protocol. The server system notifies the client system by sending a packet to the server system, using the connectionless protocol, when events occur. However, if the client does not receive communication using the connectionless protocol, the client requests notifications be sent using a connection-oriented protocol, such as TCP. If the client system requests notification using a connection-oriented protocol, the client system polls the server system to receive notification of the occurrence of events.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for sending event notification. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and systems for determining an appropriate protocol to use when notifying a client computer inside a firewall of events that occur outside the firewall.
2. The Prior State of the Art
The popularity of the Internet has profoundly improved the way people communicate by allowing users quick and easy access to information. By accessing the World Wide Web and electronic mail through computers and other devices, people now stay in touch with each other around the globe, and can access information on a virtually limitless variety of subjects.
However, transmitting and storing information on the Internet raises various security issues. Any device using the Internet to store or transfer information is vulnerable to attack from all other devices on the Internet. As a result, many entities want the advantages of the Internet while still protecting their data and devices from attack. To meet the need for security on the Internet, a variety of products have been developed.
One product in particular is the "firewall." Firewalls are used to monitor communication between computer networks. If a firewall detects communication that communication over the Internet. In operation, a private network sits "inside" the firewall. When communication that might pose a security risk to the private network is detected from a device "outside" the firewall, for example from the Internet, the communication is blocked.
Firewalls are therefore advantageous for shielding a private network from harmful communication originating on the Internet. Firewalls can be configured to block communication based on various criteria, including content of the communication and originating address of the communication. It may also be the case that a firewall is configured to block content depending on the protocol that is used. For instance, when using a connection-oriented protocol (like TCP), the firewall is configured to communicate with clients "inside" the firewall that plan on sending data to, and receiving data from, a machine "outside" the firewall. In this instance, the firewall acts more like a proxy server, where the firewall establishes a connection with an outside server, on behalf of the client machine, while protecting the identity of the internal machine from the external server. However, when using a connectionless-protocol (like UDP) this security functionality is disabled. Thus, many private networks use firewalls to block communication using connectionless protocols in order to protect the private network.
However, a disadvantage of using firewalls to block communication is that firewalls may inadvertently block useful communication, such as notification of the occurrence of events, from entering onto a private network. For instance, a firewall configured to block communications using a certain protocol will block all communication using that protocol. It may be the case, that a device "outside" the firewall legitimately needs to send communications to a device "inside" the firewall.
For example, in the context of event notification, the "outside" device may be monitoring for the occurrence of an event that the "inside" device requested notification of. If the monitored event occurs, the "outside" device may attempt to notify the "inside" device of the occurrence. If a firewall blocks the protocol used by the "outside" device to send the notification, the "inside" device is prevented from receiving the notification. However, the "outside" device is unaware that the firewall is configured to blocked the protocol and thus will continue to send notifications using the blocked protocol.
It is important with the ever-increasing number of users sending and receiving data to devices on the Internet, that a device "inside" a firewall receives notification of the occurrence of an event "outside" the firewall and that the notification is done as efficiently as possible. Accordingly, methods and systems are desired for more efficiently notifying devices "inside" a firewall of the occurrence of events "outside" the firewall.

Sending notification through a firewall over a computer network


An electronic card comprises a card portion including one or more user interface elements formed on a surface thereof. The electronic card also comprises a memory configured on the card portion. The memory has retained therein at least a plurality of data strings each associated with a corresponding one of the user interface elements. The memory comprises a buffer configured therein. The electronic card also comprises a processor configured on the card portion. The processor is coupled to the memory. First data and second data corresponding to selected ones of the user interface elements are stored within the buffer upon selection of the selected user interlace elements of the card. The first and second data correspond to first and second data strings. The first and second data strings are concatenated for subsequent processing by the processor.

Control cards, such as smart cards, often include some form of readable storage means such as a magnetic strip, an optical code (e.g. a bar code) or an on-board memory chip, for storing data (e.g. a personal identification number) associated with the card. Such control cards can be generically referred to as memory cards. However, control cards including a storage means in the form of an on-board memory chip are generally referred to as 'smart cards'. The data stored in the storage means is generally read by some form of terminal device, which includes a magnetic read head, for example.
Some smart cards include a microprocessor integrally formed within the smart card. These smart cards are generally referred to as microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) cards.
One existing CPU card with a user interface printed on at least one surface of the card includes a data structure describing the interface, where the data structure is stored in a memory integrally formed within the CPU card. This CPU card has electrical contacts, which are used to communicate with a reader device. The reader device includes a transparent touch screen positioned above the card so that the printed interface is visible underneath the transparent touch screen. The reader device is configured to receive the position of a touch on the transparent screen and to use data stored within the card to determine whether a valid user interface element has been pressed. The reader device can be configured to then send a data string associated with the selected user interface element to a remote application.
Several smartcard systems exist which utilise CPU cards. One of these existing smartcard systems includes a self-contained card including a keypad, display, memory and means to enter and verify a personal identification number (PIN). Another of these existing smartcard systems includes a self-contained smartcard. The self-contained smartcard includes a power source, keypad, display, memory and means to enter identification information. Still another of these existing smartcard systems uses a self-contained smartcard with a keypad and display, which are used to enter information, where the keypad is multifunctional and programmable.
In addition, one of the existing smartcard systems discussed above uses a CPU card for transaction processing, where the CPU card has a data entering means for entering at least a portion of the data necessary to execute the transaction. While another of the smartcard systems discussed above utilises an integrated circuit card having a keypad for entering data by the user, and a light-sensitive power source. Finally, one of the existing smartcard systems discussed above is configured to allow a personal identification number to be entered into a card when the card is inserted into a reader, where a touch sensitive keypad is provided by the card but does not have any indicia printed on the card. Instead indicia are provided by the reader, which includes an overlay to be positioned on the card surface. The overlay is capable of allowing pressure to be transferred onto the surface of the card.
Most of the smart card systems discussed above are configured to store input data sequences in an input buffer and process the buffered data in some way. Input buffers allow data to be processed in larger, possibly variable length blocks and are typically allocated by computer software, which is aware in advance of the desired properties of the buffer. Such properties include the size and shape (e.g. linear or circular) of the buffer, the set of allowable inputs (e.g. excluding a control key '<CTRL>' from being buffered) and any inputs used for specific purposes (e.g. a user interface element configured with an 'OK' function).
The input buffers of the smart card systems described above generally require different properties depending on how the data in a particular buffer is to be processed. In one of the smartcard systems discussed above, the parameters for buffered data entry are included in application software code for the system. The input buffer of this system has a fixed length and user interface elements with special functions such as "OK", "Cancel" etc., are defined as having specific identifiers. Further, the user interface elements having the same identifier must be used with a particular buffer. Thus, the structure of the buffer is essentially very rigid, and provides little opportunity for the issuer of a smart card, to be used on the smart card system, to customise the functionality of an input buffer.
In addition, most of the smart card systems discussed above, control data input using a currently active software process, which constrains the parameters of a buffer (e.g. length of the buffer, how character functions are configured) to values defined when the code of the currently active software process is compiled. As such, these smart card systems must be continually reprogrammed each time a function of a card associated with the system and/or the system needs to be changed. Thus, conventional smart card systems are limited in their application.

Canon Information Systems Research Australia Pty Ltd


A substrate with a second semiconductor layer and a second mask film formed thereon is subjected to a heat treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere. Thus, second oxidized regions are formed through oxidization of the second semiconductor layer in regions of the second semiconductor layer that are not covered by the second mask film. At the same time, a second base layer is formed in each region that is interposed by the second oxidized regions. Then, the second mask film is removed, and a third semiconductor layer is selectively grown on the surface of the second base layer that is exposed between the second oxidized regions so as to cover the second oxidized regions, after which the first oxidized regions and the second oxidized regions covering the entire upper surface of the substrate are removed.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film that can be used in short-wavelength light emitting diode devices, short-wavelength semiconductor laser devices and high-speed electronic devices.
A group III-V nitride semiconductor material, having a wide forbidden band, can be used in various light emitting devices, such as light emitting diode devices and short-wavelength semiconductor laser devices that are capable of emitting light of a color in a visible region such as blue, green or white. For its high electron saturated drift velocity, in addition to the wide forbidden band, it is also a promising material for electronic devices such as high-frequency devices and high-power devices.
Among others, light emitting diode devices using a nitride semiconductor have already been in practical use in large-size display apparatuses, traffic signals, etc. Particularly, white light emitting diode devices, which give white light by exciting a fluorescent substance with blue or ultraviolet light, can be used in lighting fixtures to replace electric bulbs and fluorescent lamps, and thus bears high expectations. On the other hand, the research and development of semiconductor laser devices has reached a point where samples are being shipped and products are being manufactured although in small quantities, aiming at application in optical disk apparatuses of larger storage capacities.
For the application in semiconductor laser devices, it is important to increase the operating lifetime. To this end, active research and development has been undertaken to reduce the crystal defects in a nitride semiconductor used in a laser device. At present, the most effective method for reducing defects is an epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) method. Specifically, a thin film made of, for example, silicon oxide (SiO2), or the like, is selectively formed on a base layer made of gallium nitride (GaN) so that the formed thin film has openings therein, and the nitride semiconductor is re-grown starting from the gallium nitride surface exposed through the openings. As a result, the crystal growth in the lateral direction (the direction parallel to the substrate surface), which proceeds starting from the openings, becomes dominant on the SiO2 thin film. By promoting the lateral growth, it is possible to significantly reduce the crystal defects occurring in the nitride semiconductor layer, which is grown on the mask film. It has been reported that with this method, the dislocation density, which is about 1×109 cm−2 in the prior art, can be reduced to be on the order of 106 cm2.
A semiconductor laser device manufactured by the ELO method has a maximum operating lifetime exceeding 10000 hours, which is substantially sufficient for practical applications. Further reduction of the defect density is expected in order to realize a reliable laser device having an even longer operating lifetime. On the other hand, it has also been reported that when a GaN selective growth layer is grown by the ELO method to a thickness exceeding about 100 μm on a sapphire substrate, the substrate is separated from the selective growth layer while the substrate is being cooled after the crystal growth process, due to the stress caused by the difference between the coefficient of thermal expansion of the substrate and that of the GaN layer.
The separation of the GaN layer from the sapphire substrate provides various advantageous effects, including: the heat radiating property is improved as compared with a case where the sapphire substrate is not separated; an electrode can be formed on the reverse side of the substrate, thereby simplifying the process; and the substrate can be cleaved, thereby realizing a desirable mirror (cavity facet) while reducing the chip size. As a result, it is possible to increase the operating lifetime and the performance of a semiconductor laser device.
A conventional method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film using the ELO method will now be described.
FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating steps in the conventional method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film.
First, as illustrated in FIG. 25A, a first semiconductor layer 102 made of gallium nitride (GaN) and having a thickness of about 1 μm is grown as a base layer on a substrate 101 made of sapphire by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method, for example. Then, a mask-forming film made of silicon oxide (SiO2) and having a thickness of about 200 nm is deposited on the first semiconductor layer 102 by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, for example. Then, a resist pattern having a planar stripe pattern (not shown) is formed on the mask-forming film by a photolithography method, and then the mask-forming film is wet-etched with hydrogen fluoride using the formed resist pattern as a mask, thereby forming, from the mask-forming film, a mask film 103 having a stripe pattern.
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 25B, a second semiconductor layer 104 having a thickness of about 100 μm is re-grown (through an ELO process) on the first semiconductor layer 102 with the mask film 103 formed thereon by a hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) method. In this process, gallium chloride (GaCl), which is a group III source obtained by reacting metal gallium (Ga) with a hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas, and ammonia, which is a nitrogen source, are used as material gases. With the HVPE method, the growth of the second semiconductor layer 104 made of gallium nitride starts from portions of the first semiconductor layer 102 that are exposed through the mask film 103, and the growth proceeds also in the lateral direction so as to cover the top of the mask film 103. After the second semiconductor layer 104 is flattened, the growth proceeds while retaining the flat surface. Since the lateral growth portions on the mask film 103 grow without being influenced by the crystal defects of the base layer, it is possible to significantly reduce the crystal defect density.
After the second semiconductor layer 104 is grown to an intended thickness, the structure is cooled to room temperature. In the cooling process, the substrate 101 is warped into a convex shape due to the difference between the coefficient of thermal expansion of the substrate 101 made of sapphire and that of the first and second semiconductor layers 102 and 104 made of gallium nitride. As a result, the substrate 101 and the first semiconductor layer 102, or the mask film 103 and the second semiconductor layer 104, are detached from each other at the interface therebetween, thereby separating the substrate 101 from the first semiconductor layer 102 or the second semiconductor layer 104.
In the conventional method for manufacturing a semiconductor thin film, by decreasing the size of the openings of the mask film 103 as much as possible, it is possible to make the lateral growth of the second semiconductor layer 104 dominant without being influenced by the defect density of the base layer (the first semiconductor layer 102), whereby it is possible to reduce the defect density in the second semiconductor layer 104.
However, in order to reduce the opening size to a deep submicron level, for example, it is necessary to use a micro pattern exposure system and a micro etching apparatus that have high precisions. Thus, further reducing the defect density in the second semiconductor layer 104 requires high-precision tools, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost.
Moreover, it is not possible to obtain openings of a size below the lower limit, which is dictated by the level of the state-of-the-art microprocessing technology. Thus, the cost of the process and the size of the openings can only be reduced to a certain degree. As a result, there is a limit to the reduction of the crystal defect density in the second semiconductor layer 104 through the miniaturization of the pattern of the mask film 103.
Moreover, when the thickness of the second semiconductor layer 104 is increased, there is a problem occurring in the step of detaching the substrate 101. That is, it is difficult to uniformly and reproducibly obtain a semiconductor layer of a large area due to problems relating to the thickness distribution across the plane of the second semiconductor layer 104 and the reproducibility of the interface condition thereof.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor thin film


A dishwasher includes a door, a washing tub closable by the door, and a water softener including an ion exchanger and a salt container. The salt container is disposed in an area of the door and includes a first and a second side wall, a bottom, narrow connecting walls, a water inlet and a brine outlet. Two side walls are disposed in the salt container, the dividing walls extending from the side walls to the bottom, dividing the salt container into a water distribution duct including the water inlet, a salt chamber, and a brine collecting duct including the brine outlet. The dividing walls, each including a respective screen surface in a region adjacent to the bottom, separate the water inlet and a brine outlet from each other. The screen surfaces are arranged in a v-shape relative to each other.

A dishwasher having an ion exchanger and a salt container is known from German Patent Application DE 102 04 548 A1.
To prevent lime deposits on the dishes, it is known to soften the raw water flowing into the washing tub of a dishwasher using an ion exchanger. In household dishwashers, the ion exchanger generally contains a mixed bed resin whose softening components become exhausted and then have to be regenerated by a solution of common salt. To accommodate a supply of salt that lasts for several regeneration cycles, a water softener therefore contains a salt container in addition to the ion exchanger. In commercial dishwashers, it is generally known and a common practice to arrange the salt container in the bottom space of the appliance housing and to fill it through an opening in the bottom plate of the washing tub. However, this is uncomfortable for the user because he/she must reach far into the washing tub. An even greater disadvantage arises if a lack of salt is noticed when the appliance is loaded. In this case, it is first necessary to unload the lower dish rack to be able to remove it from the washing tub, and to thereby gain free access to the fill opening of the salt container. To avoid these disadvantages, German Patent Application DE 102 04 548 A1 proposes to arrange the salt container in the appliance door, thereby allowing it to be easily filled through an opening on the inside of the door. Due to the small amount of space between the outside door panel and the inside door panel, such a salt container must have a very flat design. To nevertheless allow the container to hold a quantity of salt sufficient for about 10 to 15 regeneration cycles, the container is designed to extend over a large area, that is, in addition to a sufficient width, it also has a large height. This affects the flow conditions in the salt-filled container.
In the dishwasher known from German Patent Application DE 102 04 548 A1, the salt container is divided into a salt chamber and a water inlet by a screen which is located horizontally when the door is closed. In the region above the salt, a brine chamber is formed into which opens a brine outlet. In particular, if fine-grained salt (fine salt), such as commercially available common salt, is used for regeneration, the vertical flow through the salt chamber leads to a heavy compaction of the salt, causing obstruction of the screen.
In dishwashers with salt containers in the appliance housing, it is also known to divide the salt container into a salt chamber and a brine chamber by a screen. However, here, the brine outlet does not open into the salt chamber, but, together with the water inlet, into brine chamber underneath the screen. In this context, the water inlet and the brine outlet are located on opposite sides of the brine chamber. For regeneration, a supply amount of water corresponding to the required quantity of brine is admitted to the brine chamber. The salt lying on the screen is dissolved by this raw water from below, as a result of which a brine with the desired concentration forms in the brine chamber. The next time raw water is introduced, this brine is forced into the ion exchanger. This principle can only work in the case of relatively low salt heights and screens having a very large surface area. In the case of narrow screens and high salt heights, clogging would be inherent, as described further above. Moreover, a relatively constant brine concentration can only be achieved if the brine chamber volume can hold the quantity of brine required for a regeneration cycle. In the case of the narrow salt containers in the door, this would be at the cost of the salt supply and is therefore not possible.
In dishwashers with salt containers in the appliance housing, it is also known to mount two right-angled screens in the bottom space, the screens dividing the salt container into a salt chamber and two brine chambers, and the salt chamber extending into a so-called "salt trench" between the two vertical screen walls. Since the fluid flow through the salt trench is in a horizontal direction, the salt concentration is increased. The use of such screens in a high, flat salt container is not practicable. When the salt level is high, the horizontal screens become clogged, and the salt is dissolved only in the region of the salt trench. Only a small amount of additional salt slides down over the right-angled edge, which results in a subsequent decrease in the salt concentration. When the salt level is low, water is also flushed through the horizontal screens because these screens are now no longer clogged. This results in a sharp increase in the brine concentration. Consequently, the known screen system with salt trench causes a considerable variation in concentration.

Dishwasher having a water softener with a salt container located in the dishwasher door