A method of handling an inter-RAT handover for a mobile device in a wireless communication system includes when, via a handover from a serving network using a first RAT to a target network using a second RAT, the mobile device succeeds in establishing a connection to the target network and has packet switched data for transmission, transmitting a predetermined radio resource control message, indicating existence of a packet switched signaling connection of the mobile device, to the target network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method utilized in a wireless communication and communication device thereof, and more particularly, to a method of handling an inter-RAT (Radio Access Technology) handover in a wireless communication system and communication device thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A handover procedure can transfer a mobile device from a communication state to another communication state. The communication state change can correspond to a telecommunication system, a cell, or a frequency layer scale, and corresponding handover is known as an inter-radio access technology (RAT), an inter/intra-cell or an inter-frequency handover.
For the inter-RAT handover, an X RAT can use an X handover procedure to hand over a mobile device to a Y RAT by sending an X handover message including Y RAT configuration information. The mobile device configures itself to fit system requirements of the Y RAT according to the received Y RAT configuration information. Mostly, the Y RAT configuration information is formed as a message conforming to the specification of the Y RAT and includes mobility management, signaling connection, security, and capability information. Common RATs include UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), GERAN (GSM/EDEG radio access network) Iu mode system, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) 2000, and LTE (Long Term Evolution) systems.
In the LTE system, a "mobility from E-UTRA" procedure is used to hand over a user equipment (UE) from the LTE system to another RAT, such as the UMTS, or GSM, GERAN Iu mode. For a handover to UMTS system, the radio access network of the LTE system, E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS radio access network), initiates the mobility from E-UTRA procedure for a UE in a RRC_CONNECTED mode by sending a MobilityFromEUTRACommand message including a "HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND" message that is a handover message of the UMTS system.
Due to the pure packet switched (PS) feature of the LTE system, a CS (circuit switched) fallback handover is introduced to an EPS (Evolved Packet System), enabling the provisioning of voice and other CS-domain services by reuse of CS infrastructure of the UMTS or GSM system when the UE is served by E-UTRAN. A CS fallback enabled terminal, connected to E-UTRAN, may use the GERAN or UTRAN (UMTS radio access network) to establish one or more CS-domain services. The CS fallback handover is only available in case E-UTRAN coverage is overlapped by either GERAN coverage or UTRAN coverage.
A successful handover requires proper cooperation of the UE, the source RAT, and the target RAT in the mobility, signaling connection, security, and capability aspects. In the signaling connection, a complete PS connection of the UMTS system is made up of two parts: an RRC (radio resource control) connection and an Iu connection part. The RRC connection is a connection between RRC layers of the UE and UTRAN, whereas the Iu connection is a connection between the UTRAN and the core network (CN) terminal, such as a SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) for the PS domain (i.e. Iu-PS connection) or a MSC (Mobile Switching Center) for the CS domain (i.e. Iu-CS connection).
In the abovementioned handovers from the LTE to the UMTS system, the Iu connection is certainly established, whereas the CS or PS signaling connection is established or not depended on a "RAB info" information element (IE) included in the HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message. The "RAB info" IE is used to identify a radio access bearer and has a "CN domain identity" IE that is used to indicate that a signaling connection is established for either PS or CS domain. In addition, when a HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message includes no "RAB info" IE, the UE determines that CS signaling connection is established.
On the standpoint of the UE, the whole PS connection is determined to be established when the UE receives a HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message that includes the "RAB info" IE and the "CN domain identity" IE indicates the PS domain, and to be unestablished when the received HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message does not include any "RAB info" IE or a received "CN domain identity" IE indicates the CS domain. An error in determining establishment of the PS connection is caused by the above UE actions.
Take an example. When a UE in an RRC idle mode of the LTE system makes a CS MO (Mobile Originating) call, a CS fallback handover is triggered, and the UE is thereby handed over from the E-UTRAN to UTRAN. During the handover, no "RAB Info" is included in the HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message because the UE in the RRC idle mode has no EPS RB (Radio Bearer) established for data transmission before the handover. Therefore, the UE determines that CS signaling connection is established. As a result, the UE sends an "RRC Initial Direct Transfer" message including a "CM Service Request" message to the UTRAN to establish the CS call. If PS data transmission (e.g. web browsing) is also triggered, the UE sends the "RRC Initial Direct Transfer" message including a service request to the UTRAN to establish a PS call, where the "RRC Initial Direct Transfer" message here triggers initiation/re-initiation of the whole PS connection. However, the Iu connection part of the PS connection has been established in UTRAN during handover procedure. In this situation, the UTRAN has to release the existing Iu connection when receiving the service request of the "RRC Initial Direct Transfer" message and then establishes a new Iu connection. This wastes system resource because the messages are required to be exchanged in UTRAN and CN for the unnecessary re-establishment of the Iu connection.
In the security configuration, the "CN domain identity" IE involves configuration of a START value, integrity, and ciphering. As well known, the UMTS system includes a STARTPS value for the PS domain and a STARTCS value for the CS domain, whereas only one START value is used in the LTE system. During the handover from the LTE to UMTS system, the UE needs to activate ciphering for all RBs (Radio Bearers) and SRBs (Signaling Radio Bearers) with the START value. The UE determines to use the STARTPS or the STARTCS value according to the domain indicated by the "CN domain identity" IE or use the STARTCS value when no "CN domain identity" IE is received. However, the UTRAN may not receive corresponding START value from the UE or the E-UTRAN during the handover. Different START values, irrespective of the domain type or the value, used between the UE and the UTRAN cause ciphering errors.
Take an example. When a UE in the RRC idle mode of the LTE system makes a CS MO call, a CS fallback is triggered, and the UE is handed over from E-UTRAN to UTRAN. In this case, no "CN domain identity" is included in the HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message, and also no configuration information of the START value is sent to the UTRAN. Therefore, the UE activates ciphering for all SRBs with the STARTCS value. However, the UTRAN may activate ciphering for all SRBs with the STARTPS value, causing ciphering errors.
For activation of integrity protection (IP), a security mode control procedure is initiated after the handover to the UMTS system instead of direct transmission of the IP configuration. This IP activating method is adopted in consideration of the HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message whose size is so critical for the GSM system that the IP information cannot be included during the handover from the GSM to the UMTS system. The integrity protection is started immediately after a handover by means of the security mode control procedure, causing a delay of the IP activation. Furthermore, the size of the HANDOVER TO UTRAN COMMAND message is not critical in the E-UTRAN since transmission bandwidth of the LTE system is increased much more than the GSM system. From the security aspect, the integrity protection associated with the handover from the LTE to UMTS system should always be started as soon as possible.
In the mobility management, CS call establishment involves UE location and the core network may not accept the establishment when the UE location information does not fit the system requirement. For example, a CS fallback handover is triggered when the UE makes a CS MO call in the E-UTRAN, and thereby the UE sends the "CM Service Request" message to establish the CS call. In case the MSC serving the 2G/3G target cell is different from the MSC that serves the UE while camping on the E-UTRAN, the MSC always rejects the CM service request if implicit location update is not performed for the UE. Moreover, the UE may not perform the location update after the MSC responds to the "CM Service Request" message, further delaying the CS call establishment.
In the capability requirement, a UE Capability Enquiry procedure is used for the E-UTRAN to obtain the capability of the UE. However, the related specifications do not specify whether to perform the UE Capability Enquiry procedure when the handover from the LTE system occurs and what capability information should be reported by the UE. In this situation, the target RAT may be unable to obtain capability information of the UE for the handover. Or, the UE may report insufficient capability information or capability information of a wrong target RAT through the UE Capability Enquiry procedure. Those cause signaling or connection errors after the handover.
In the prior art, the inter-RAT handover can fail or cause disconnection of a RRC connection when the capability, mobility, or security configuration/procedure for the handover is improperly performed as mentioned above.

Method of handling an inter rat handover in wireless communication system and related communication device


A method and system are provided for computing an optimal restoration capacity and/or optimal restoration paths for a network to resolve a restoration scenario by solving a linear program (LP) model. The LP model includes decision variables corresponding to restoration capacity and restoration paths and constraints requiring restoration of traffic and conservation of capacity in the network. For example, the system determines a set of network paths that need to be restored in the network, preprocesses network data corresponding to the network to reduce LP processing workload and time; generates possible restoration paths and solves the LP model, preferably through column generation methods, to determine the optimal restoration capacity and/or the optimal restoration paths to resolve the restoration scenario; changes the LP solution into integer form, as necessary, and changes the LP solution in integer form to the original format of the network data or an equivalent thereof.

The invention relates generally to optimizing network restoration and, more particularly, to optimizing restoration capacity and/or restoration paths for a network to resolve a restoration scenario or problem through the use of linear programming.
Interruptions in network operations are typically caused by failures in the network, such as an inoperable communication path (e.g., a link) or switching office. These failures may result from a variety of events, such as street works, thunder storms, equipment failures, floods, and so forth. A failure in the network can create a severe service loss to customers and revenue loss to the telecommunication service provider. Accordingly, the problem of network restoration and reliability is a major concern to the telecommunication industry.
The network restoration problem may be separated into two parts, i.e., spare capacity design and online restoration. First, spare capacity design is a special network design problem in which minimal spare capacity must be installed in a network to restore disrupted services in the event of any failure. The objective of such a network restoration design problem, also known as the spare capacity assignment problem, is to determine where and how much spare capacity to install in a network while minimizing facility cost. Second, online restoration is implemented at the time of failure to establish an alternate route around an inoperable link or switching office. Restoration paths for affected demands can be computed in real time by an online restoration algorithm. Two restoration schemes have been considered: line restoration and path restoration. In line restoration, when a link fails, an affected demand on the link is redirected to an alternative route that connects the two ends of the failed link. In path restoration, an affected path is restored from the source to the destination.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve overall reliability of networks. There is also a need for a method and system to improve the planning of restoration capacity in a network or, in other words, to find a better way to design and utilize restoration capacity in the network.
The above-identified problems are solved and a technical advance is achieved in the art by providing a method and system for computing an optimal restoration capacity and/or optimal restoration path for a network to resolve a restoration scenario or problem (xe2x80x9chereinafter restoration scenarioxe2x80x9d) by solving a linear program (LP) model, wherein the linear program model includes decision variables corresponding to restoration capacity and restoration paths and constraints requiring restoration of traffic and conservation of capacity in the network. The method and system of the invention is able to solve restoration scenarios, including line restoration problems and path restoration problems, in a manner which optimizes the use and integration of capacity in the network for restoring network traffic. As compared to other optimization methods, such as the node-arc formulation in linear programming, the path-based formulation of the invention requires fewer constraints and, thus, provides a simpler approach to solving restoration scenarios.
In one embodiment, the method and system of the invention determines a set of network paths (e.g., demands, links, etc.) that need to be restored preferably to meet direct measures of quality (DMOQ) for a restoration scenario, preprocesses network data corresponding to the network to be optimized to reduce LP processing workload and time (e.g., by aggregating network data); generates all possible restoration paths for the given restoration scenario; solves the LP model to obtain the optimal restoration capacity and/or the optimal restoration paths for the restoration scenario; changes the LP solution into integer form (as necessary), and changes the integer LP solution to the original format of the network data or an equivalent thereof.
In another embodiment, the method and system of the invention employs column generation methods in combination with linear programming to determine the optimal restoration capacity and/or the optimal restoration paths to resolve a restoration scenario. Initially, a set of network paths (e.g., demands, links, etc.) that need to be restored to meet DMOQ are determined for the restoration scenario, and the network data corresponding to the network to be optimized is preferably preprocessed to reduce LP processing workload and time (e.g., by aggregating network data). In accordance with column generation methods, one possible restoration path is generated for each affected network path initially. The LP model is then solved with all of the restoration capacity variables and the restoration path variables generated so far. After solving the LP model with the initial generated possible restoration paths, the dual LP solution is used to find a shortest restoration path for each demand. If the total length of a shortest restoration path of a network path is less than the length of dual variable corresponding to the restoration path variable of the network path, the restoration path is a feasible restoration path and is added to the set of restoration paths for the demand. The revised set of possible restoration paths are then used to solve the LP model. These steps are repeated until no feasible restoration paths can be found for any network path or, in other words, the optimal LP solution is reached. Thereafter, the LP solution is changed into integer form (as necessary) and then changed back to the original format of the network data or equivalent thereof. With column generation, restoration paths are only generated as needed to find the optimal solution to the LP model. Such an arrangement substantially reduces the number of possible restoration paths that need to be generated to solve the LP model and, thus, reduces the overall LP processing workload and time.
For column generation, the invention further provides a dynamic path control policy to increase the convergence speed of the LP solution. The dynamic path control policy regulates the number of restoration paths retained for use in each LP iteration by defining the maximum number or range of restoration paths to be retained in solving the LP model.
Other and further aspects of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following description and by reference to the attached drawings.


Sulfur oxides are removed from a preheater waste gas stream by reacting the sulfur oxides with lime recovered from the off gas stream in a calcining furnace. The method is particularly adaptable for use in a cement manufacturing plant wherein the sulfur dioxides in the waste gases result from the combustion of fossil fuels used for process heat.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of treating preheater waste gases to remove sulfur oxide emissions and more particularly to removing sulfur oxides from preheater waste gases by inserting CaO, which is present as fines entrained in the off gas from the calcining furnace, into an upper stage of a multi-stage preheater to react with and reduce sulfur oxides, and in particular the SO.sub.2, present in the preheater off gases.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Sulfur oxides are contaminants in waste gases from cement manufacturing processes. They are partly produced by the combustion of fuels which are the source of process heat. The primary source of sulfur oxides in the waste gas stream are from the volatilization of certain components in the cement raw meal, and in particular the pyrites present in the cement raw meal, which typically occurs in the preheating stage. Because sulfur oxides contribute to air pollution, their emission is being regulated in an increasingly stringent manner.
Because of the importance of removing sulfur oxides from industrial waste gases, a variety of techniques have been developed to treat such waste gases to reduce or eliminate the emission of sulfur oxides.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,982, to Weir, discloses a process for removing pollutants such as sulfur dioxide from stack gases by passing the waste gases through a defined flow path into which at least one selected liquid reagent is introduced. For removing acidic pollutants such as sulfur dioxide a scrubbing solution containing lime may be used. Weir discloses that the use of limestone in conventional wet scrubbers for removing sulfur dioxide from waste gases has resulted in a lower efficiency of removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,803, to Hegemann et al., discloses scrubbing flue gases with scrubbing solutions containing lime which may include calcium carbonate as well. However, Hegemann does not disclose maintaining a high efficiency in scrubbing flue gases with scrubbing solutions containing limestone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,097, to Emmer, teaches a method of removing sulfur oxides from a waste gas stream, by passing it through a reverse jet scrubber in which a suspension of finely divided limestone slurry is used as an absorption medium. The limestone is taken from the material comminuted for the cement manufacturing step.
It would be advantageous to remove harmful sulfur oxides from waste gas emissions without having to utilize acqueous scrubbers or an extensive amount of scrubbing equipment.
Accordingly, a need has continued to exist for a simple method of removing sulfur oxides from a waste gas stream.
An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide an efficient process for removing sulfur oxides from the emission stream of a cement manufacturing process utilizing a non-aqueous sulfur oxide removal agent.
Another object is to remove sulfur oxides from the waste gas stream of a cement manufacturing process using a byproduct from the process via a method that does not require the utilization of an extensive amount of additional equipment.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the description of the invention which follows.
In general, the foregoing and other objects will be carried out by providing a process of manufacturing cement having low sulfur emissions from cement raw meal in an apparatus including a hot or cold combustion air source, such as a clinkering furnace or a clinker cooler, and a source of CaO as producing during a calcination step in the process. In one preferred embodiment, the apparatus will consist of a clinkering furnace, preferably a separate calcining furnace, and a vertically positioned multi-stage preheater, or a preheater having multi-stage strings.
The clinkering furnace will have a feed end and a clinker discharge end and means for supplying fuel to the discharge end to establish a burning zone in the clinkering furnace. There is a riser duct at the feed end of the clinkering furnace for discharging combustion gas produced in the burning zone to the calcining furnace.
Likewise, the calcining furnace has a duct to discharge off gases containing CaO fines to the preheater. Also present is means to remove a portion of such off gases from the calcining furnace and to direct said portion to a separator means for separating CaO fines from the off gases and means to direct the separated CaO fines to an upper stage preheater (i.e., typically the first or second stages in a four stage preheater or the first three stages in a five stage preheater, wherein the "first" stage is that stage where material to be heat treated first enters the preheater, the "second" stage is the next stage through which material passes, and so on sequentially through the preheater) of the multi stage preheater wherein there is a reaction between the CaO fines and SO.sub.2 gases to form calcium sulfites, which are separated from the preheater gases and are eventually incorporated in the cement clinker.
The calcining furnace will have an inlet for preheated cement raw meal to be calcined, an inlet for fuel, an inlet for air for combustion and an outlet for spent combustion air and calcined cement raw meal.
Typically, there will be a gas solids separator flow connected to the calcining furnace having (i) an inlet for spent combustion air, having entrained therein calcined cement raw meal fines, flow connected to the outlet of the calcining furnace; (ii) an outlet for separated gas connected to the gas inlet of the lowest stage preheater, and (iii) an outlet for separated calcined cement raw meal flow connected to the feed end of the clinkering furnace. As indicated, there is also a riser duct which flow connects the feed end of the clinkering furnace to the inlet for air for combustion of the calcining furnace for discharging combustion gas from the clinkering furnace to the calcining furnace.
A clinker cooler may be incorporated in the apparatus and will have an inlet for clinkered cement, an inlet or inlets for cooling air, an outlet for cooling air and an outlet for the cooled clinker. The outlet for cooling air may be flow connected to the inlet for air of either the clinkering furnace, the calcining furnace and/or the multi-stage preheater .

Removal of sulfur oxides from preheater off gases


A liquid crystal projector with an illuminating light collecting unit which can efficiently collect illuminating light emitted from a lamp of the projector to a scrambler. The projector with an illuminating light collecting unit, includes: a lamp for emitting illuminating light; a reflector for reflecting the illuminating light; a rod-shaped scrambler for guiding the reflected illuminating light to pass therethrough; an illuminating light collecting unit for collecting and diffusing the reflected illuminating light in order to prevent the fluctuation of the illuminating light which may occur at a region between the scrambler and the lamp; and a projection lens for projecting the illuminating light which has passed through the scrambler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal projector with an illuminating light collecting unit which can efficiently collect illuminating light emitted from a lamp of the projector to a scrambler.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a projector serves to enlarge a small image displayed on a cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal display panel to a large image by using direct or indirect projection technique through an optical instrument so that the large image is projected onto a screen.
The direct projection technique is referred to as a forward projection and the projector which is used therefor is disposed separately from a cabinet in order to project the image directly onto a screen.
The indirect projection technique is referred to as a backward projection and the projector forming the optical instrument is disposed inside the cabinet so that illuminating light is projected onto the screen via a reflection mirror which is disposed to face backward.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional device in connection with the optical elements employed at the projector.
In FIG. 1, illuminating light la emitted from a lamp 1 is reflected by a hemisphere-shaped reflector 2 and is directed into a rod-shaped scrambler 3 which is made of glass thereby to be passed therethrough. Subsequently, the illuminating light 1a is projected onto the screen to be enlarged via a projection lens or a liquid crystal display panel not shown.
The conventional optical device uses a Metal Halide Lamp 1 which operates by an arc discharge as a light source.
As shown in FIG. 2, however, when illuminating light 1a emitted from the lamp 1 passes the scrambler 3, the position of the light 1a being collected or converged to the scrambler 3 may minutely fluctuate at a longitudinal or transverse direction due to an arc sparking thereby causing an increase of the loss of light.
This causes the brightness of the screen to be changed.

Projector with illuminating light collecting unit


A pressure medium-operated dispenser for dispensing a mass from a storage and dispensing container and including a housing, a dispensing device (13) supported in the housing (12) and having a pressure medium-operated plunger (15) with at least one push member (16), and a metering device (14) for presetting an amount of mass to-be-dispensed by the dispensing device and including adjustment element (26) for setting the metered amount, a carrier member (27) cooperating with the dispensing device (13), a return element (28) for displacing the carrier member (27) from its end position to its initial position, a retaining member (29) supported in the housing (12) without possibility of displacement in the longitudinal direction (L) of the dispenser (11), and a follow-up member (30) displaceable in the longitudinal direction (L) of the dispenser (11) and extending in a guide tube, the carrier member (27) being arranged at the free end of the follow-up member (30) and secured in the guide tube for connection the follow-up member (30) to the guide tube connected with the plunger (15).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressure medium-operated dispenser and, in particular to a pneumatically operated dispenser for dispensing a mass from a storage and dispensing container and which includes a housing, a dispensing device supported in the housing for displacement in a longitudinal direction of the dispenser and having a pressure medium-operated plunger, and at least one push member connected with the plunger and extending therefrom in a dispensing direction with the dispenser having a compression chamber for containing pressure medium for displacing the plunger, the dispenser further including a metering device for presetting an amount of mass to-be-dispensed by the dispensing device and including adjustment means for setting the metered amount, a carrier member cooperating with the dispensing device, and a return element for displacing the carrier member from its end position to its initial position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dispensers of the type described above are used for dispensing a metered amount of a mass, e.g., from a cartridge or a tubular bag, and are driven with compressed air or a hydraulic fluid. The dispensable mass has one or several components stored in one or several cartridges. The dispenser has, as discussed above, a housing and dispensing and metering devices. The dispenser is provided, e.g., with a receptacle or cradle for receiving one or more cartridges from which with the dispenser, the mass is brought out, in particular, is squeezed out. In the front region of the dispenser, there is usually provided a mixing element that mixes the dispensed mass components to a ready to-be-used mass. With a predetermined use, e.g., with chemical dowels, the metered mass amount is defined per one dowel. The metering device should insure a precise and timely delivery of the mass, e.g., in a borehole. For adjusting, in particular, for precise adjusting of the metered amount, the metering device is provided with adjustment means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,693 discloses a dispenser having a housing, a dispensing device provided with an elongate pressing-out member, a metering device for preselecting a metered amount of the mass to be dispensed with the dispensing device, and an actuating unit for operating the dispenser. The metering device includes a return device, adjustment means for adjusting the metered amount, and a carrier or support member that cooperates with the elongate pressing-out member and that is returned from its end position to its initial position with the return device. The pressing-out member is supported on the housing for a longitudinal displacement and has several push members for squeezing a mass from a cartridge. The metering device has at least one stop displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the pressing-out member and which is securable to the housing with a locking screw.
The drawback of the dispenser, which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,693, consist in that the return device or element at least somewhat displaces the screwed-to stop, which can change the preset metered amount. In addition, the adjustment of the metered amount with the adjustment means is unwieldy and not sufficiently precise.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a pressure medium-operated dispenser that can be economically produced and which would insure a precise and convenient adjustment of the metered amount.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser in which an undesired change of the metered amount, in particular, during the operation of the return element is prevented.


An encrypted content playback apparatus and a playback method are suitable for content playback from a recording medium having stored thereon both content that is subject to conventional copy protection and content to which DRAM is applied. The recording medium stores information indicating, for each content, whether the content is content subject to conventional copy protection or content to which DRAM is applied. Based on this information, the playback apparatus determines the key to use to decrypt the content.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a playback apparatus and a playback method for rights protected content, and a recording medium on which data used in the playback apparatus and playback method is recorded.
(2) Prior Art
CSS (Content Scrambling System) has been introduced into DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs) in order to prevent illegal copying of content. In CSS, information unique to the DVD medium is recorded on the DVD medium, and a title key is generated from the unique information and information held by a playback apparatus. The title key generated in this way is used to decrypt, and then playback, the encrypted content recorded on the DVD medium (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-37589).
Meanwhile, content distribution systems that use DRM (digital rights management) are starting to become common in recent years. In DRM, a license is distributed separately to the encrypted content. The license includes a license key and usage conditions, and the playback apparatus decrypts and plays back the content with the license key, in accordance with the usage conditions.
In DRM, the content and license are distributed via a network. Furthermore, tests are being performed recently for distributing content in a storage-type broadcast system called server-type broadcasting.
BDs (Blu-ray Discs) are a type of medium that has been proposed for use instead of DVDs. A BD has approximately five times the capacity of a DVD, and is capable of storing not only SD picture quality video as has been possible up to now, but also HD picture quality video.
Similar to CSS in conventional DVDs, BDs use a system in which information unique to the medium is recorded on the BD, and a medium key is generated from this information and information held by the playback device. The medium key obtained in this way is used to encrypt the content, and the encrypted content is recorded on the medium. This kind of method prevents illegal copying of the content in the same manner as with DVDs.
Furthermore, ways of applying DRM to BDs are being investigated. When DRM is applied to packaged media, content that has been encrypted with a license key is stored on the medium, and the license is distributed separately over a network. At the time of playback, the encrypted content recorded on the medium is decrypted with the license key and played back.
However, when applying DRM to BDs, a problem arises when both content that is copy protected in a conventional manner and content to which DRM is applied exist on the medium. In such a case, the player is unable to distinguish between content that is copy protect in a conventional manner and content to which DRM is applied. If the player attempts to use the medium key to decrypt content to which DRM is applied, the player will be unable to decrypt the content. Conversely, if the player attempts to search for the license that corresponds to the content that is copy protected in a conventional manner, the player will not be able to play the content back because no corresponding license exists.

Encrypted-content recording medium, playback apparatus, and playback method


A movable security camera apparatus for providing visual security with minimal human effort, error and equipment expense, includes a MICOM, a path input section, a sensing section, a sensor detecting section, a camera video tape recording section, and a main driving section. The MICOM controls the whole system, including the motion of a watch camera on the basis of control programs in accordance with inputted path information. The sensing section provides the data for the moving direction of the camera, the data being obtained when sensors of a rail are controlled by the path commands of the MICOM.

Generally, many public facilities such as banks, department stores and prisons are guarded by patrolling cars at intervals of certain periods. However, such a guarding method is not efficient enough to prevent or detect crimes and other accidents.
Such a guarding method depends on human efforts and, therefore, the carelessness and mistakes of the patrolling persons can fail to notice a problem. Thus, an intruder who well knows the situation of the watched area can escape the detection of the patrolling persons. Consequently, many accidents are still generated and the loss of property occurs.
In order to overcome the above described problems of the human watch method, a recently developed new guarding and security system includes a closed circuit provided with a camera or the like for detecting objects plus a monitor capable of displaying the watched area to allow quick warning and action following an accident such as a fire, or an intrusion.
However, such a guarding system requires a large number of cameras to be installed at critical places in the watched area to the need for such a large number of cameras increases the cost of the guarding system. Cost is also increased by, expensive recording apparatus and a plurality of video tapes for recording the data photographed by the watching cameras.


A control for delivery system made up of a plurality of variable output feed sources each with an independently variable input of material defines the capability of each of the feed sources based on the level of material and combines these capabilities to define a total capability of the delivery system. An output setpoint for each source is determined based on its capability and a required setpoint is set based on a desired end product characteristic which is used to define a production rate based on total capacity, required setpoint and the production line characteristics. The process is iterative so that the production rate, e.g. speed of the line is varied iteratively depending on the then current capabilities of the feed sources of the system and the footprint of the feed sources are adjusted based on their sensed capabilities thereby to maximize production line speed based on capability.

Production control systems of which Applicant is aware, are not capable of handling independently variable input and output sources, the combined outputs of which determine the production rate for the system.
There are many closed loop control systems, feed forward control systems, feed backward control systems, that sense certain characteristics of the production and feed that information forward or rearward in the process and use the information to control the process or a further step in the process.

Trus Joist MacMillan, a Limited Partnership


To realize a coordinate reading apparatus which is capable of easily setting a particular function to a switch provided on a coordinate indicator, and an interface unit and a coordinate reading system for the coordinate reading apparatus. A coordinate detecting section 21 detects a coordinate value for a position indicated by a coordinate indicator 3 and a switch status. A function selecting means 22 determines that a menu provided on a tablet 2 is read from the coordinate value and the status, to store functional data assigned to the menu in a memory means 23. A conversion status determining means 24 determines that the inputted status coincide with the status to be converted stored in the memory means 23, to notify coincidence to a conversion status output means 25. Receiving the notification, the conversion status output means 25 outputs data to be outputted stored in the memory means 23 instead of inputted switch status.

This invention relates to a coordinate reading apparatus for outputting coordinate values and switch statuses to an information processing unit such as a computer, to an interface unit for connecting the coordinate reading apparatus to an information processing unit, and a coordinate reading system having the aforesaid interface unit, and more particularly to such an apparatus for converting switch statuses to be outputted.
The coordinate reading apparatus is an input device which is connected to an information processing unit such as a computer and has functions of outputting coordinate values and switch statuses of a coordinate indicator. The ordinary coordinate reading apparatus has a coordinate indicator commonly called a stylus pen by which indication is made on a tablet to detect coordinate values and switch statuses. The stylus pen in many cases is provided with a switch called a pen switch and a switch called a side switch. The pen switch is a switch interlocked to a core thereof projecting at the pen tip, which is turned on/off by depressing and releasing a core tip. Meanwhile, the side switch is provided on a part of a pen shaft, which is turned on/off by a sliding operation with a finger.
A coordinate reading apparatus such as this is connected to a computer to constitute a system wherein an application program with a particular function is to be executed while inputting coordinate values and switch status. This herein is referred to herein as a coordinate reading system. In recent years, in coordinate reading systems such as this, there is a movement towards standardizing the specification for connecting an apparatus and an application program to offer as software drivers. The formats of coordinate values and switch statuses outputted from a coordinate reading apparatus vary between apparatuses. The software driver has a function of converting this into a common format as required by an application program for outputting.
Furthermore, in software drivers, new functions have been provided for purposes of improving the application program usability, besides the basic format-conversion function as described above.
For example, there has been realized a function that, when the side switch is depressed, the switch status is converted and outputted as if the pen switch was quickly depressed twice (the operation like this is generally called double clicking). A computer which performs computer filing operation by a graphical user interface, such as a computer like a Macintosh by US Apple Computer, Inc., can open a file by double clicking. According to the aforesaid function, this operation can be effected by once depressing the side switch instead of actually turning on/off the pen switch twice.
Also in another example, there is a function of locking the coordinate axis by depressing the side switch when inputting figures. For example, it is assumed in a certain drawing program that the computer screen be considered as an X-Y plane to draw a straight line. In a usual operation of inputting an arbitrary straight line, the pen switch is turned on by pointing to a start point of a straight line and moving the pen to an end point while keeping it on (such operation is generally called dragging), and then the pen switch is turned off. Where the X-axis is locked to draw a straight line parallel to the X-axis, there is arrangement in an application program level such that dragging is to be done while depressing the shift key of the keyboard. Thus, when the side switch is depressed, thus is converted into a status by the software driver as if the shift key of the keyboard was depressed, and delivered to the application program. By doing so, the above operation is effected by the operation wherein the start point of a straight line is pointed to be dragged with the side switch kept depressed, making keyboard operation unnecessary.
Furthermore in another example, in the case of moving or copying files, whenever there is a function requiring shifting, the same is effected depending on whether the user is depressing the side switch or not. In a filing operation with graphical user interface as above, the pointing and dragging of a file operates as moving the file. And where copying a file, dragging is to be done while depressing an optional key of the keyboard. Thus, when the side switch is depressed, this is converted into a status by the software driver as if the optional key of the keyboard was depressed, and delivered to the application program. By doing so, the above operation is achieved by pointing a file to be copied and dragging with the side switch kept depressed, also making keyboard operation unnecessary.
There has already been realized an environment in which there is assigned various functions to the side switchby a software driver wherein the functions thereof are used by change-over of an application.
However, although the assigning of function to the side switch for use per se leads to improvement in usability, there has been a newly-raised problem as to how to change over such various functions. As the recent, in such cases that a plurality of application programs are simultaneously opened for execution, there is necessity of frequent change-over of functions assigned to the side switch, similarly to change-over of applications.
Amongst conventional software drivers, there has been one which is arranged for example to open a function-changing window on the display such that change-over is made there. The change-over operation in this case requires the following steps:
(1) starting by double clicking a setup program of the software driver on the display. On this occasion, if the file is hierarchical and no icon is displayed, there are required further opening operations for opening. PA1 (2) pointing to a menu for a function to be set to the side switch among menus being displayed. PA1 (3) closing the setup program. PA1 (1) A structure that the plurality of switches of the coordinate indicator comprising a menu-pointing switch and other switches; said tablet being provided with a menu for selecting said other switches and a menu assigned with a function to be set to a selected switch; a switch function setting means for setting, by indicating said menu with said coordinate indicator and operating said menu-pointing switch, the function assigned to said menu to said other switches selected by said menu; and a switch status converting means for converting and outputting the status of said other switches in accordance with the function set by said switch function setting means. PA1 (2) In the above-described structure (1), said switch function setting means has a switch selecting means for distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a range of the menu for selecting said other switches and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select one switch from said other switches; a function selecting means for distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a range of the menu assigned with the function for setting to said switches and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said selected switch and data to be outputted, and a memory means for storing switch information selected by said switch selecting means and the functional data selected by said function selecting means; and said switch status converting means has, a conversion status determining means for determining that an operated switch is a switch corresponding to the functional data stored in said memory means and further determining that the status pattern of the operated switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when it is determined that the status patterns coincide with by said conversion status determining means, thereby structuring a coordinate reading apparatus. PA1 (3) A tablet being provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said switch; a switch function setting means for setting the function assigned to an indicated menu to said switch by indicating said menu with said coordinate indicator and operating among said switches a switch to be set with the function; a switch status converting means for converting and outputting the status of said switch in accordance with the function set by said switch function setting means, thereby structuring a coordinate reading apparatus. PA1 (4) In the above-described structure (3), said switch function setting means has, a function selecting means for distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a range of the menu assigned with the function for setting to said switches and determining that the switch to be set with said function has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said selected switch and data to be outputted, and a memory means for storing switch information of said operated switch and the functional data selected by said function selecting means; and said switch status converting means has, a conversion status determining means for determining that the operated switch is a switch corresponding to the functional data stored in said memory means and further determining that the status pattern of the operated switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data, and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when it is determined that the status patterns coincide with by said conversion status determining means, thereby structuring a coordinate reading apparatus. PA1 (5) The plurality of switches comprises a pen switch which is turned on/off interlocking to the movement of a pen core and a side switch provided on a pen shaft; said tablet being provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said side switch; a switch function setting means for setting the function assigned to said menu to said side switch by indicating said menu with said coordinate indicator and operating said pen switch; a switch status converting means for converting and outputting the status of said side switch in accordance with the function set by said switch function setting means, thereby structuring a coordinate reading apparatus. PA1 (6) In the above-described structure (5), said switch function setting means has, a function selecting means for distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said stylus pen is included in a region of the menu assigned with the function to be set to said side switch, and determining that said pen switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said side switch and data to be outputted; and a memory means for storing the functional data selected by said function selecting means; and said switch status converting means has, a conversion status determining means for determining that the status pattern of the operated side switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data, and a conversion status output means for outputting the data to be outputted of said functional data when coincidence of the status pattern is determined by said conversion status determining means, thereby structuring a coordinate reading apparatus. PA1 (7) In all the above-described structure, the coordinate reading apparatus is structured on the assumption that amongst said menus the menu assigned with the function to be set to the switch be assigned with a function for outputting one or a plurality of keyboard codes corresponding to said switch. PA1 (1) A status converting method for a coordinate reading apparatus being structured wherein the coordinate reading apparatus, which is constituted by a coordinate indicator having a menu-pointing switch and other switches, a menu for selecting said other switches, and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to a selected switch, is connected to an information processing unit to input a coordinate value for a position indicated by said coordinate indicator and a status of said switch to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, the status converting method for a coordinate reading apparatus structured by having: the first process of distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu for selecting said other switches and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select one switch out of said other switches; the second process of distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu assigned with the function to be set to said switch and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said selected switch and data to be outputted; wherein execution is made in the order of the first process and the second process, or the second process and the first process; the process of storing switch information selected by said first process and the functional data selected by said second process. PA1 (2) A status converting method for a coordinate reading apparatus being structured wherein the coordinate reading apparatus, which is constituted by a coordinate indicator having a plurality of switches and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said switch, is connected to an information processing unit to input a coordinate value for a position indicated by said coordinate indicator and a status of said switch to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, the status converting method for a coordinate reading apparatus characterized by having: the process of distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu and determining whether any of said plurality of switches is operated to become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of the operated switch and data to be outputted; the process of storing switch information of said operated switch and said functional data selected. PA1 (3) A status converting method for a coordinate reading apparatus being structured wherein the coordinate reading apparatus, which is constituted by a stylus pen being a pen-shaped coordinate indicator with a plurality of switches comprising a pen switch turning on/off interlocking to the movement of a pen core and a side switch provided on a pen shaft, and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said side switch, is connected to an information processing unit to input a coordinate value for a position indicated by said stylus pen and a status of said switch to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, the status converting method for a coordinate reading apparatus was structured by having: the process of distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said stylus pen is included in a region of said menu and determining that said pen switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said side switch and data to be outputted; and the process of storing said functional data selected. PA1 (4) In all the above-described procedures of the status converting methods, the status converting methods for a coordinate reading apparatus were structured by providing the process of determining that the operated switch is a switch corresponding to said stored functional data and further determining that the status pattern of the operated switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and the process of outputting the data to be outputted of said functional data when the status patterns comes coincidence. PA1 (5) In all the above-described procedures of the status converting methods, the status converting methods for a coordinate reading apparatus were structured by, amongst said menus, the menu assigned with the function to be set to the switch is assigned with a function for outputting one or a plurality of keyboard codes corresponding to said switch. PA1 (1) In a coordinate reading system having a coordinate reading apparatus, which is constituted by a coordinate indicator having a plurality of switches of a menu-pointing switch and other switches, a menu for selecting said other switches, and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to the selected switch, connected to an information processing unit to input a coordinate value for a position indicated by said coordinate indicator and a status of said switch to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, an interface unit for a coordinate reading apparatus being connected between said coordinate reading apparatus and said information processing unit to serve as an interface for the coordinate value and the status of said switch, the interface unit for a coordinate reading apparatus being structured by having: a switch selecting means for distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu for selecting said other switches and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select one switch out of said other switches; a function selecting means for determining that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu assigned with a function to be set to said switch and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said selected switch and data to be outputted; a memory means for storing switch information selected by said switch selecting means and the functional data selected by said function selecting means; a conversion status determining means for determining that the operated switch is a switch corresponding to the functional data stored in said memory means and further determining that the status pattern of the operated switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when the status patterns are determined to be coincident by said conversion status determining means. PA1 (2) In a coordinate reading system having a coordinate reading apparatus, which is constituted by a coordinate indicator having a plurality of switches and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said switch, connected to an information processing unit to input a coordinate value for a position indicated by said coordinate indicator and a status of said switches to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, an interface unit for a coordinate reading apparatus being connected between said coordinate reading apparatus and said information processing unit to serve as an interface for the coordinate value and the status of said switch, the interface unit for a coordinate reading apparatus being structured by having: a function selecting means for determining that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu assigned with a function to be set to said switches and determining that said switch to be set with the function has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said switches and data to be outputted; a memory means for storing switch information for setting said function and functional data selected by said function selecting means; a conversion status determining means for determining that the operated switch is a switch corresponding to the functional data stored in said memory means and further determining that the status pattern of the operated switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when the status patterns are determined to be coincident by said conversion status determining means. PA1 (3) In a coordinate reading system having a coordinate reading apparatus, which is constituted by a stylus pen being a pen-shaped coordinate indicator with a plurality of switches comprising a pen switch turning on/off interlocking to the movement of a pen core and a side switch provided on a pen shaft and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said side switch, connected to an information processing unit to input a coordinate value for a position indicated by said stylus pen and a status of said switch to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, an interface unit for a coordinate reading apparatus being connected between said coordinate reading apparatus and said information processing unit to serve as an interface for the coordinate value and the status of said switch, the interface unit for a coordinate reading apparatus being structured by having: a function selecting means for determining that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said stylus pen is included in a region of the menu assigned with a function to be set to said pen switch and determining that said side switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said side switch and data to be outputted; a memory means for storing the functional data selected by said function selecting means; a conversion status determining means for determining that the status pattern of the operated side switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when the status patterns are determined to be coincident by said conversion status determining means. PA1 (4) In all the above-described structure of the interface units, said menu is provided in plurality of number, amongst said plurality of menus the menu assigned with a function to be set to the switches being assigned with functions of outputting one or a plurality of keyboard codes corresponding to said switches, said plurality of menus having a plurality of menus displaying said keyboard codes, PA1 (1) A coordinate reading system structured by a coordinate reading apparatus structured by a coordinate indicator having a plurality of switches of a menu-pointing switch and other switches, a menu for selecting said other switches, and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to the selected switch, an interface unit connected to said coordinate reading apparatus to serve as an interface for the coordinate value and the status of said switch, and an information processing unit connected to said interface unit, so that a coordinate value for a position indicated by said coordinate indicator and a status of said switch are inputted to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, the coordinate reading system being structured by having: a switch selecting means for distinguishing that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu for selecting said other switches and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select one switch out of said other switches; a function selecting means for determining that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the menu assigned with a function to be set to said switch and determining that said menu-pointing switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said selected switch and data to be outputted; a memory means for storing switch information selected by said switch selecting means and functional data selected by said function selecting means; a conversion status determining means for determining that the operated switch is a switch corresponding to the functional data stored in said memory means and further determining that the status pattern of the operated switch coincides with status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when the status patterns are determined to be coincident by said conversion status determining means. PA1 (2) A coordinate reading system structured by a coordinate reading apparatus structured by a coordinate indicator having a plurality of switches and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said switch, an interface unit connected to said coordinate reading apparatus to serve as an interface for the coordinate value and the status of said switch, and an information processing unit connected to said interface unit, so that a coordinate value for a position indicated by said coordinate indicator and a status of said switch are inputted to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, the coordinate reading system being structured by having: a function selecting means for determining that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said coordinate indicator is included in a region of the switch assigned with a function to be set to said switches and determining that said switch to be set with a function has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said switch and data to be outputted; a memory means for storing switch information for setting said function and the functional data selected by said function selecting means; a conversion status determining means for determining that the operated switch is a switch corresponding to the functional data stored in said memory means and further determining that the status pattern of the operated switch coincides with the status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when the status patterns are determined to be coincident by said conversion status determining means. PA1 (3) A coordinate reading system structured by a coordinate reading apparatus structured by a coordinate indicator having a plurality of switches comprising a pen switch turning on/off interlocking to the movement of a pen core and a side switch provided on a pen shaft and a tablet provided with a menu assigned with a function to be set to said side switch, an interface unit connected to said coordinate reading apparatus to serve as an interface for the coordinate value and the status of said switch, and an information processing unit connected to said interface unit, so that a coordinate value for a position indicated by said coordinate indicator and a status of said switches are inputted to the information processing unit for performing predetermined processing, the coordinate reading system being structured by having: a function selecting means for determining that the coordinate value for the position indicated by said stylus pen is included in a region of the menu assigned with a function to be set to said side switch and determining that said side switch has become a predetermined state corresponding to menu reading, to select functional data configured by a status pattern to be converted of said side switch and data to be outputted; a memory means for storing the functional data selected by said function selecting means; a conversion status determining means for determining that the status pattern of the operated side switch coincides with status pattern to be converted of said functional data; and a conversion status output means for outputting data to be outputted of said functional data when the status patterns are determined to be coincident by said conversion status determining means. PA1 (4) In all the above-described structures of coordinate reading systems, the coordinate reading systems are structured such that, amongst the functional data, the data is one or a plurality of keyboard codes.
In this manner, the conventional software driver requires opening of windows one by one, and furthermore there are necessities of executing a plurality of steps, making this approach difficult to use.

Coordinate reading apparatus and status converting method, interface unit, and coordinate reading system therefor

Seiko Instruments Information Devices Inc.


Patients suffering from acne and/or pseudofolliculitis barbae are treated by applying to the skin of the patient an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase.

Although the exact mechanisms leading to acne are not known, antiandrogens, retinoic acid, steroids and antibiotics, inter alia have generally been proposed for its treatment, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,139,638; 4,161,540; 4,191,775; 4,344,943; and West German OLS no. 2,840,144.
PFB relates to the removal of hair by shaving or plucking. It has been treated by procedures such as the use of electric clippers or depilatories for hair removal, or by topical treatment with tretinoin (Retin-A), benzoyl peroxide, chlorohydroxyquinoline, chloroalkylphenols, phospholipids in combination with wheat germ oil and vitamin E, alpha-hydroxy acids, salicylic acid in combination with glucocorticoids and sulfur as shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,228,163, 4,463,016; 4,525,344; 4,775,530; and 4,944,939; and in Klingman et al., Arch. Dermatol., vol. 107, 551-52 (1973).
Many of the treatments for PFB, and particularly for acne, produce such serious side effects that the treatment can be justified only in the most severe cases; other treatments are of limited effectiveness.
The compound 2-(difluoromethyl) ornithine (DFMO, 2-difluoromethyl-2.5-diaminopentanoic acid) and other inhibitors of ornithine dicarboxylase have been proposed for use in treating cancer and certain non-malignant diseases such as erythroderma, psoriasis, and some forms of dermatitis, etc. as described in Splinter et al., Eur. J. Cancer and Clin. Oncology, Vol. 22:I-E, 61-67 (1985); McCullough et al. J. Investig. Dermatology, Vol. 85, 518-521 (1985); McCullough et al., J. Investig. Dermatology, Vol. 81, 388-392 (1983); Kousa et al., Acta Dermatovener (Stockholm) Vol. 62, 221-224 (1982); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,315.
It has now been found that topical administration of a cytostatic nontoxic agent such as 2(difluoromethyl)-2.5-diaminopentanoic acid (d-difluoromethylornithine, DFMO) which inhibits the activity of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase can be used to effectively ameliorate or control acne and/or PFB in patients with minimal or no unwanted side effects. DFMO can be used in combination with a topically active sebosuppressive agent such as an antiandrogen or a retinoid to gain the benefits of such agents for the treatment. Among the preferred inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase, in addition to DFMO, which can be used in the present invention, are alpha-ethynyl ornithine; 6-heptyne-2,5-diamine; and esters of (E)-2-fluoromethyldehydroornithine. In choosing ODC inhibitors for use in the practice of the present invention it is important to avoid those having undesirable secondary pharmacological effects such as 5-hexyne-l,4-diamine. The inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase are employed by dissolving or dispersing them in a conventional non-toxic pharmacologically acceptable vehicle or carrier which may be in the form of a lotion, cream, salve, ointment, or stick composition; while the precise concentration of inhibitor in vehicle or carrier is not critical it is generally desired that the composition contain from 1 to 20% of inhibitor by weight so that it can be applied to the affected areas of the skin of patients suffering from acne or PFB, particularly to the pimples or inflamed areas of the skin, at the rate of 40 to 800 micrograms per square centimeter. The composition is preferably applied only to the pustules, vacuoles or inflamed areas of the skin although application to adjacent areas need not be avoided.
Among the antiandrogens which can be used along with the ODC inhibitor are cyproterone acetate, chlormadinone acetate, 17-alpha-propyltestosterone, 17-alpha-allyitestosterone, .alpha.-.alpha.-.alpha.-trifluoro-2-methyl-4'-nitro-m-propionotoluidide, 6.alpha.-bromo-17.beta.-hydroxy-17.alpha.-methyl-4-oxa-5.alpha.-androstane -3-one, 17.beta.-acetoxy-4.alpha.,5cyclo-A-homo-B-nor-5.alpha.-androst-1-ene-3-one , and spironolactone. For minimal alterations of other androgen-mediated bodily functions through systemic action, 17-alpha-propyltestosterone or 17-alpha-allyltestosterone are preferred.
The following examples will serve to illustrate further the nature of the invention without acting as a limitation upon its scope.

Treatment of acne or of pseudofolliculitis barbae


Illustrative embodiments provide a computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for recovering resource connections using persistent subscriptions. In one illustrative embodiment, the method comprises subscribing to an event of a predefined resource to create a persistent subscription, wherein upon receiving notification of the event indicating the predefined resource is unavailable, and responsive to receiving the notification, reconnecting to the predefined resource. The method further comprises creating a new listener for receiving event notifications from the predefined resource, obtaining subscription information related to the predefined resource from the persistent subscription, and re-subscribing to the event of the predefined resource.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a computer implemented method, data processing system and computer program product for recovering resource connections.
2. Description of the Related Art
Enterprise application integration has grown significantly establishing a need to ease the effort required to couple disparate systems together. Industry standards such as Java™ 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture (JCA) have been developed under the Java community process by a group of technology firms to address such needs. Java™ 2 Platform Enterprise Edition or Java EE, as it is now referred, is a set of technologies that enable solutions for the development and deployment, as well as the management of multi-tier, server-centric applications. Java EE adds capabilities to provide a stable, secure, and fast Java platform for enterprise use to reduce the cost and complexity of developing and deploying solutions. The specification for the architecture may be obtained through the Sun Microsystems developer web site. Implementations of the specification may be obtained from various vendors including Sun™, HP™ and IBM®. Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture provides a fairly generic way to connect legacy systems with application servers as part of an enterprise application integration solution. Typical solutions are established in a three tier manner comprising a client, a Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture application server, and an enterprise information server.
Implementations of Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture provide a mechanism to store and retrieve data belonging to an enterprise with the Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture environment. The use of Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture provides adapters for enterprise connectivity. The use of Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture adapters is similar to the use of Java Database Driver Connectivity (JDBC) to connect to and access a database.
Within the scope of the Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture is a resource adapter. The resource adapter is specific to an enterprise information system in a manner similar to that of the database connectivity drivers. A resource adapter specific to the resource with which a connection is desired must be available. The resource adapter comes in combination with connectivity management. Connectivity management handles the establishment, pooling, and tear down of connections. Connection management also allows listeners created on a connection to respond to events, particularly when the connection becomes lost or suffers errors. For example, when a network connection is lost, a connection manager may provide a dialog to inform the user of the lost connection and provide an opportunity to re-connect with the network or the application. In another example, an application connection may not be responding and the connection manager may alert the user of the application problem.
Resources of the enterprise information server may be subscribed to by other components or applications. In cases where the connection has been lost, and the resource later becomes available, the subscription has to be restored through subscribing. A subscription may be lost due to a dropped connection to a Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition Connector Architecture container, such as an application server or an enterprise information server. The subscription information is typically stored in volatile memory, which is lost whenever the server encounters trouble and has to shut down. On restart of the server, the subscriptions must be initialized again by the respective user having the subscription.

International Business Machines Corporation


A through wafer via structure. The structure includes: a semiconductor substrate having a top surface and an opposite bottom surface; and an array of through wafer vias comprising at least one electrically conductive through wafer via and at least one electrically non-conductive through wafer via, each through wafer via of the array of through wafer vias extending from the top surface of the substrate to between greater than halfway to and all the way to the bottom surface of the substrate. Also methods for fabricating the though wafer via structure.

To increase the density of devices using integrated circuit chips it is desirable to allow interconnections to be made to both the top and bottom surfaces of the integrated circuit chip. This requires formation of through wafer vias from the top to the bottom surface of the integrated chip that are compatible with carrying both high frequency and DC signals. Many existing through via schemes are either difficult to integrate into existing integrated circuit fabrication processes or result in unacceptable degradation of signals propagating from/to the front surface of the integrated circuit chip to/from the bottom surface of the integrated circuit chip. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.

Through wafer via and method of making same


There is described an image reading apparatus, which employs the electric double layer. The image reading apparatus includes: an electric power source; an analogue image signal generating section that is coupled to the electric power source through a power line and converts an optical image to analogue image signals; an electric double layer capacitor that is coupled to the power line; a first switch that is coupled to both the electric power source and the electric double layer capacitor, in such a manner that the first switch is inserted between them; and a controlling section to control the first switch so as to make the first switch open in response to a output request signal for requesting an outputting operation of the analogue image signals.

The present invention relates to an image-recording apparatus and an image forming apparatus, each of which employs an opt-electronic converting element.
In recent years, as a result of a progressive trend of adding multi-functional features to an image forming apparatus, some image forming apparatus is provided with an image reading apparatus that converts an image, projected from a subject, such as a document, etc., by irradiating light onto it, to electronic signals, in order to acquire image data. Such the image reading apparatus employs an opt-electronic converting element, such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), etc., for converting an optical image to analogue image signals, and is provided with a electronic circuit that further converts the analogue image signals to digital image signals so as to acquire the image data.
Since the waveform of the analogue image signals, acquired by the opt-electronic converting element, directly represents information of the image, there has been a problem that the waveform of the analogue image signals, outputted from a circuit including the opt-electronic converting element for generating the analogue image signals, the circuit for converting the analogue image signals to the digital image signals and a circuit for driving such the circuits, is distorted by receiving influences of noises generated by an electric power source for supplying a constant voltage and other noises generated by peripheral devices.
As a countermeasure for the abovementioned problem, a primary battery that generates relatively little noise, such as an alkaline cell, a mercury cell, a lithium cell, etc., and a secondary battery that is rechargeable for repeated uses, such as a nickel hydrogen cell, a lithium polymer cell, etc., have been employed as electric power sources exclusively used for such the circuit, in order to reduce the influence of the noise introduction. Further, to reduce an amount of noises transmitting to the low-voltage driving element, a method for shortening the power supplying line by distributing layer-built polymer cells, serving as the secondary battery, in the vicinity of the circuit element has been disclosed (for instance, set forth in Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1]                Tokkaihei 11-27859 (Japanese Non-Examined Patent Publication)
According to the conventional method mentioned in the above, however, when the primary battery is employed as the power source for the opt-electronic converting element, the circuit for converting the analogue image signals to the digital image signals and a circuit for driving such the circuits, it is impossible to reuse such the primary battery by resuming its original state after the primary battery is once discharged. Accordingly, it is necessary to frequently change the primary battery every time when it has discharged, resulting in increase of costs and labors for its maintenance management. In addition, when the secondary battery is employed, there has been another problem that it takes much time to charge the-secondary battery and a complicated charge-discharge controlling circuit becomes necessary, resulting in a large sized apparatus and a considerable increase of its cost. Therefore, such the conventional apparatus are not easy and friendly usable for the user.
Incidentally, as a technology developed recently, an electric double layer capacitor has become the focus of engineer's attention as a charged power source to be utilized for a starting power source of a motor, an illumination device powered by solar cells. The electric double layer capacitor has such excellent features that a huge amount of electrostatic capacity in a unit of several farads (F) can be attained, and it can be fully charged in a short time period without preparing a specific charge-discharge controlling circuit.

Image-reading apparatus and image forming apparatus

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


Data is communicated between a digital power transmitter and one or more digital power receivers over a transmission line comprising positive and negative conductors. If the transmitter is sending data to the receiver, a first transmitter electrical switch is selectively operated to increase electrical charge in the transmission-line capacitance. If the receiver is sending data to the transmitter, a first receiver electrical switch is selectively operated to increase electrical charge in the transmission-line capacitance.

Digital electric power can be characterized as any power format where electrical power is distributed in discrete, controllable units of energy. Packet Energy Transfer (PET) is a new type digital electric power protocol that has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,781,637 (Eaves 2012).
The primary discerning factor in a digital power transmission system compared to traditional, analog power systems is that the electrical energy is separated into discrete units, and individual units of energy can be associated with analog and/or digital information that can be used for the purposes of optimizing safety, efficiency, resiliency, control or routing.
As described by Eaves 2012, a source controller and a load controller are connected by power transmission lines. The source controller of Eaves 2012 periodically isolates (disconnects) the power transmission lines from the power source and analyzes, at a minimum, the voltage characteristics present at the source controller terminals directly before and after the lines are isolated. The time period when the power lines are isolated was referred to by Eaves 2012 as the "sample period" and the time period when the source is connected is referred to as the "transfer period". The rate of rise and decay of the voltage on the lines before, during and after the sample period reveal if a fault condition is present on the power transmission lines. Measurable faults include, but are not limited to, short circuit, high line resistance or the presence of an individual who has improperly come in contact with the lines. Eaves 2012 also describes digital information that may be sent between the source and load controllers over the power transmission lines to further enhance safety or provide general characteristics of the energy transfer, such as total energy, or the voltage at the load controller terminals. Since the energy in a PET system is transferred as discrete quantities, or quanta, it can be referred to as "digital power".
Eaves 2012 disclosed the method of modulating and demodulating a communication carrier signal on the same power lines that carry the electrical power. The technique is well known to those skilled in the industry and often referred to as "power line communications", "power line carrier communications" or "carrier current communications". The method disclosed by Eaves 2012 did not identify if the communication would occur during the time when the source and load devices are transferring power (transfer period) or if it would occur during the time when the source is isolated from the transmission lines (sample period).
The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for communication only during the sample period of the digital power waveform. During the sample period, the line is isolated, and there is no interference in the communications stream due to the normal transfer of power from the source to load devices. This provides the opportunity for cost-effective, robust, relatively high rate communications that minimize hardware and software requirements.
Although the present specification is focused on the application of the invention to a digital power transmission system, the disclosed method can be implemented for communication between generic devices without requiring the transfer of power.

Packet energy transfer in-line communications


A wireless communication system for transmitting and receiving wireless communications using at least one beam is disclosed. The system comprises a plurality of WTRUs, at least one beam-forming antenna, and at least one radio network controller (RNC). The antenna is capable of beam-forming and beams emanating from the antenna may be adjusted in accordance with actual conditions in the wireless communication system. The antenna is further capable of dithering beams in the azimuth and/or elevation plane for breaking up null areas due to beam overlap.

Wireless communication systems are well known in the art. A typical wireless communication system in accordance with current 3GPP specifications is depicted in FIG. 1. By way of example, the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 is that of UMTS. The UMTS network architecture includes a Core Network (CN) interconnected with a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) via an interface known as Iu which is defined in detail in the current publicly available 3GPP specification documents. The UTRAN is configured to provide wireless telecommunication services to users through wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs), known as User Equipments (UEs) in 3GPP, via a radio interface known as Uu. The UTRAN has one or more Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) and base stations, known as Node Bs in 3GPP, which collectively provide for the geographic coverage for wireless communications with WTRUs. One or more Node Bs are connected to each RNC via an interface known as Iub in 3GPP. The UTRAN may have several groups of Node Bs connected to different RNCs, two are shown in the example depicted in FIG. 1. Where more than one RNC is provided in a UTRAN, inter-RNC communication is performed via an Iur interface. Communications external to the network components are performed by the Node Bs on a user level via the Uu interface and the CN on a network level via various CN connections to external systems.
In general, the primary function of Node Bs is to provide a radio connection between the Node Bs' network and the WTRUs. Typically a Node B emits common channel signals allowing non-connected WTRUs to become synchronized with the Node B's timing. In 3GPP, a Node B performs the physical radio connection with the WTRUs. The Node B receives signals over the Iub interface from the RNC that control the radio signals transmitted by the Node B over the Uu interface.
A CN is responsible for routing information to its correct destination. For example, the CN may route voice traffic from a WTRU that is received by the UMTS via one of the Node Bs to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or packet data destined for the Internet. In 3GPP, the CN has six major components: 1) a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node; 2) a gateway GPRS support node; 3) a border gateway; 4) a visitor location register; 5) a mobile services switching center; and 6) a gateway mobile services switching center. The serving GPRS support node provides access to packet switched domains, such as the Internet. The gateway GPRS support node is a gateway node for connections to other networks. All data traffic going to other operator's networks or the internet goes through the gateway GPRS support node. The border gateway acts as a firewall to prevent attacks by intruders outside the network on subscribers within the network realm. The visitor location register is a current serving networks 'copy' of subscriber data needed to provide services. This information initially comes from a database which administers mobile subscribers. The mobile services switching center is in charge of 'circuit switched' connections from UMTS terminals to the network. The gateway mobile services switching center implements routing functions required based on current location of subscribers. The gateway mobile services also receives and administers connection requests from subscribers from external networks.
The RNCs generally control internal functions of the UTRAN. The RNCs also provide intermediary services for communications having a local component via a Uu interface connection with a Node B and an external service component via a connection between the CN and an external system, for example overseas calls made from a WTRU in a domestic UMTS.
Typically, an RNC oversees multiple Node Bs, manages radio resources within the geographic area of wireless radio service coverage serviced by the Node Bs, and controls the physical radio resources for the Uu interface. In 3GPP, the Iu interface of an RNC provides two connections to the CN: one to a packet switched domain and the other to a circuit switched domain. Other important functions of the RNCs include confidentiality and integrity protection.
An RNC has several logical roles depending on the CN's needs. Generally, these functions are divided into two components: a serving RNC (S-RNC) and a controlling RNC (C-RNC). As a serving RNC (S-RNC), the RNC functions as a bridge to the CN and the Node Bs. As a controlling RNC (C-RNC), the RNC is responsible for the configuration of a Node B's hardware. The C-RNC also controls data transfers and handles congestion between different Node Bs. A third logical role of an RNC is as a Drift-RNC. As a Drift-RNC, the RNC is responsible for handing off the WTRU to another Node B as the WTRU traverses the coverage area.
The RNCs and the Node Bs together perform radio resource management (RRM) operations, such as "inner loop power control." This is a feature to prevent near-far problems. Generally, for example, if several WRTUs transmit at the same power level, the WRTUs closest to a Node B may drown the signals from the WRTUs that are farther away. The Node B checks the power received from the different WRTUs and transmits commands to the WRTUs to reduce or increase power until the Node B receives the power from each WRTU at about the same level.
Conventionally, a Node B will provide wireless communication for many WTRUs. Node Bs will typically handle multiple communications with subscriber systems concurrently. One measure of Node B capacity is the maximum number of concurrent communications it can support which is a factor determined by such things as available power and bandwidth.
Since not all subscribers communicate with the Node B at the same time, a Node B can provide wireless service to a great many subscribers beyond its capacity for concurrent communications. If the maximum number of concurrent communications for a Node B is being conducted, an attempt to establish a further communication will result in an indication of service unavailability, such as a system busy signal.
Service coverage by a Node B is not only limited to its capacity for handling concurrent communications, but is also inherently limited to a specific geographic area. A Node B's geographic range is typically defined by the location of the Node B's antenna system and the power of the signal broadcast by the Node B.
In order to provide wireless service over an expansive geographic area, a network system is conventionally provided with multiple Node Bs. Each Node B has its antenna system selectively physically located to provide coverage over a specific portion of the total geographic area which is covered by the system. Such systems readily provide wireless service for WTRUs which can travel out of the range of one Node B and into the range of another Node B without interruption of an ongoing wireless communication. In such networks, the geographic area covered by a Node B is commonly referred to as a cell and the telephone communication services provided are commonly called cellular telephone services.
In designing a wireless communication system to cover a specific geographic area, the geographic area may be partitioned into a predefined pattern of cells. For example as illustrated in FIG. 2A, hexagonal-shape cells can be defined so that the cells cover the entire geographic area in a honeycomb pattern. In such a system, each cell can have a Node B which has an antenna at the center of the cell to provide 360° coverage. Although a map of cell coverage may be designed without any overlapping areas, in practice as shown in FIG. 2B, the transmission beams, shown in phantom, from Node B antennas of adjacent cells do overlap. This overlap of beam coverage enables "handover" of a communication being conducted by a WTRU from one Node B to another as the WTRU travels from one cell to another. However, an overlapping Node B signal contributes to interference of a signal received by a WTRU from a different Node B when the WTRU is located in the overlap area.
To more readily meet service demands and reduce interference, beam-forming may be used. Beam-forming in communications is a very useful tool, and is implemented by using an array of antennas for transmission, reception or both, in such a manner that will best match the channel requirements. The phase and amplitude of the signals in each antenna are precisely controlled so as to obtain a constructive pattern at the receiver.
Known methods of beam-forming have addressed adjustment of the beams in the horizontal direction. Additionally, in prior art, transmission-power adjustment or deployment of wide vertical beams for receiving signals have been used to match the channel requirements. This technique helps to cope with severe multipath situations and overcomes extra attenuation by providing extra effective power concentration. Beam-forming has also been utilized in handling interference from other transmission sources.
Although beam forming provides many benefits, present implementations cause various issues that need to be addressed. By way of example, present implementations of beam-forming suffer from the beams intruding on adjoining cells. The intrusion can be to/from a neighboring cell and is sometimes especially pronounced if the beam-forming includes a broad vertical beam component to reach WTRUs. Furthermore, objects, terrain, etc. also interfere with the vertical component of wide beams.
It is therefore desirable to obviate the disadvantages encountered in known implementations of beam-forming.

Reducing the effect of signal interference in null areas caused by overlapping antenna patterns