A gaming system includes: an IC chip reader configured to read chip identification information which uniquely identifies a specific casino chip; journal data generation unit configured to generate journal data corresponding to a transaction of the chip operated during the reading, based on the chip identification information; a journal data DB configured to accumulate the journal data and capable of generating, based on accrual accounting, balance sheet data to be reflected onto a balance sheet in real time by using data indicating a financial condition and a profit-or-loss condition of a casino, based on the accumulated journal data; and a controller configured to control a process of a game and issue an instruction to a dealer based on the data read by the IC chip reader.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gaming system, and more specifically to a gaming system which is capable of controlling a process of a game (such as a card game and a roulette) played in a player-against-computer manner in a casino or the like gaming facility, detecting cheatings, recording in real time the transaction accompanied with transfer of bets and payouts etc. resulting from exchange of casino chips, and then counting and reflecting, onto a balance sheet in real time, occurrence and transfer of assets as actual economic activities between a player and a casino.
2. Description of the Related Art
Games played in conventional casinos are classified roughly into (1) a human-against-human type (for example, a dealer-against-player type) and (2) a human-against-computer type (for example, a player-against-slot machine type).
Table games such as poker, baccarat and roulette fall into the above classification of (1). In order to avoid cheating during the process of the game, behaviors of a dealer need to have no influence upon game results.
Meanwhile, in the conventional casinos, players exchange cash etc. for casino chips at an exchange office, a cashier, or the like place, the casino chips are treated as objects having a value in casinos, and games such as roulette and poker are played by exchange of casino chips.
When a player wins a game, the player is provided with casino chips as a payout by a casino. On the other hand, when a player loses a game, a casino takes the casino chips bet (namely placed onto a table as a wager) by the player. In this manner, exchanges of valuables by using casino chips take place on a gaming table.
A casino needs not only to collect income-and-expense information on an automatic gaming machine such as a slot machine with communication but also to count casino chips, to count cash held at a cashier, and the like for checking revenue (income and expense) derived from games and earnings. At a casino or the like facility which is operated 24 hours a day, however, keeping track of revenue (income and expense) derived from games and earnings accurately in real time is difficult. In particular, it is difficult to keep track of revenue (income and expense) derived from games in real time during a dealer continues to play a game of a table game such as roulette, poker or baccarat.
As a conventional technique for managing casino earnings and the like, it has been proposed to connect a casino gaming machine such as a slot machine to a casino control server, input the earnings derived from the casino gaming machine periodically into the casino control server, and then calculate the earnings, gross profit, etc. by the server (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-338230).


A method for performing encoding in a cellular network includes, in each cell, at least one base station communicating with terminal equipment within its coverage area, and a mobile switching center controlling the operation of the base stations. In order to improve the transmission quality over a connection between two terminal equipment, when the mobile switching center detects, during call set-up or handover, that the call is between two terminal equipment located within the area of the mobile switching center, the mobile switching center guides the transcoders of base stations communicating with the terminal equipment to a mode in which the transcoders adapt the rate to fit the transmission network, but do not encode the speech signal.

Digital transmission systems in which speech information is transmitted apply speech coding to convert analog speech into digital form. For example, in a fixed telephone network, analog speech is converted into a digital signal having the bit rate of 64 kbps. In several transmission systems, such as cellular radio systems, the aforementioned transmission rate is impractical since it takes up too much of the transmission capacity. There have been attempts to implement the speech coding used in these systems with as small a transmission band and as low a bit rate as possible.
The transmission band and the bit rate can be reduced by processing digitalized speech with the methods of signal processing, for example, by decreasing redundant information and by compressing speech. At the same time, as these signal processing methods reduce the transmission band required, the quality of the transmitted speech deteriorates. This deterioration is especially detrimental when the process of coding/decoding is performed several times over the connection, as, for example, in a cellular network, when the call is between two terminal equipment.
Several speech coding methods have been developed, and the aim of all of the methods is to obtain a bit rate that is as low as possible without any deterioration in the speech quality. A mean opinion score (MOS), based on listening tests, is generally used as a criterion for speech quality. The table of FIG. 1 shows the MOSs of several known speech coding methods in the case in which the connection has one transcoder and the case in which the connection has two transcoders as when the connection is between two terminal equipments in a cellular radio system. As it can be seen, with two coders, the quality of speech generally deteriorates. This phenomenon is known and there have been attempts to take account for it in the development of speech coding methods, but, even in the latest coders, speech quality is not good when two coders are used over the same connection.
A known arrangement aiming at eliminating the aforementioned problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,480. As mentioned above, analog speech is converted into a digital format comprising a 64 kbps signal. This signal is presented in the form of an 8-bit A-law word. In the method disclosed in the reference, the least significant bit (LSB) of this 8-bit word is used so that a coder may manifest its existence to another coder by this bit. In practice, the coder of the transmitter may thus transmit its own synchronization pattern, which is detected by the coder of receiver, in the place of this LSB. When the coders have detected each other's existence, the coders switch to a so-called padding stripping mode in which the coders do not decode the signal for the transmission, but only adapt its transmission rate for the transmission. Successive coding/decoding operations can therefore be avoided. The problem with the disclosed method is that the LSB of each 8-bit A-law PCM word is used for purposes other than speech transmission, and the quality of the transmitted speech therefore deteriorates. Furthermore, the required handshaking procedure between the coders is slow, since each bit in the synchronization pattern must be repeated six times, and each synchronization pattern must be sufficiently long to enable reliable recognition. Also, each synchronization pattern must be repeated at least once.

Method for performing encoding in a cellular network


A method for producing a superconducting wire (10), wherein an internal wire (1), which contains superconducting filaments (4), is provided with a normally conducting stabilizing structure (9), is characterized in that, in a continuous or quasi-continuous process, one or more sheath elements (2; 2a, 2b) are shaped and/or placed around the internal wire (9), so that the entire circumference of the internal wire (1) is enclosed by one or more sheath elements (2; 2a, 2b), and all seams (6; 6a, 6b; 16; 16a, 16b) of sheath element ends (5a-5d; 15a-15d) facing each other are soldered and/or welded. A method for producing a superconducting wire is thereby provided, which restricts the cross section of the superconducting wire to a lesser extent and which permits the use of lead-free solder.

The invention relates to a method for producing a superconducting wire, wherein an internal wire, which contains superconducting filaments, is provided with a normally conducting stabilizing structure.
Such a method is used for the production of NbTi superconducting wires of the type "Wire in Channel," cf. for example, the Bruker publication "NbTi for MRI application," page 1 of file "NbTi wires.pdf," which can be downloaded from http://www.bruker-est.com/low-temperature-supercons.html dated Jan. 10, 2012.
Superconductors can carry electrical currents practically without ohmic losses. Superconducting wires that contain superconducting filaments are widely used, particularly in power cables and magnet coils; frequently used metallic superconducting materials are, in particular, NbTi and Nb3Sn.
Superconductivity is limited, among other factors, by a critical temperature and a critical current; both values differ from material to material. If the critical temperature or the critical current is exceeded a sudden loss of superconductivity occurs in the superconducting wire ("quench"). The electrical resistance increases significantly, which results in a considerable temperature rise due to the ohmic losses that now start to occur; this temperature rise can damage the superconducting wire.
In a superconducting wire, it is therefore usual to provide a normally conducting current path having a sufficient diameter and parallel to the superconducting filaments, which, if a quench occurs, will carry the current previously conducted by the superconducting wire and thus reduce or further distribute the local temperature rise. The normally conducting current path is also termed "stabilizing"; elementary copper is most frequently used for stabilization.
The most common production processes used for superconducting wires, for example, with NbTi filaments, are based on extrusion and drawing techniques, in which copper matrix material or a copper enclosing tube is deformed together with a superconducting material or prior stages thereof, usually processed as rods or semi-finished products; if necessary, a number of bundles and drawing steps can be combined. In these techniques, the copper component in the drawn superconducting wire is usually defined by the billet structure, material characteristic values/stress states during extrusion and drawing of composites (core breakage problems). In the case of large wire lengths, in particular, sufficient stabilization can usually not be achieved just with the drawn wire if conventional drawing methods are used.
For long wires stabilized with large quantities of copper, as are required, for example, in medical engineering, providing an internal wire containing superconducting filaments with a stabilizing structure made of copper is known as part of the "wire in channel" (=WIC) technique already mentioned. Here, the stabilizing structure consists of a copper wire having an almost rectangular cross section and having a groove (the channel) for holding the internal wire along one of the long sides of the rectangular cross section. To ensure good electrical contact and good mechanical support of the internal wire, the internal wire and the stabilizing structure are pulled through a liquid solder containing tin. Superconducting wires produced by means of "wire in channel" can only be deformed within narrow limits after production, which excludes certain applications, in particular, those for which circular superconducting wire cross sections are required. Likewise, superconducting wires with a large width-to-height ratio cannot be rolled from a WIC superconducting wire.
Another drawback of WIC technology is the lead usually contained in the solder containing tin. This is poisonous to humans (and many other organisms) and is therefore undesirable for environmental reasons. Although lead-free solders are known, they are unfortunately subject to the so-called "tin pest" in which beta-Sn transforms to alpha-Sin, which is accompanied by an increase in volume and causes solder seams to deteriorate after a certain time.
The object of the invention is to provide a method for producing a superconducting wire, which restricts the cross section of the superconducting wire less and which permits the use of lead-free solder.

Method for producing a superconducting wire, in particular using lead-free solder


Disclosed is an agitator having a drive unit coupled by means of a coupling to a first end of a drive shaft, a propeller attached to a second end of the drive shaft, the drive unit being attached to a mounting flange adapted for fastening the agitator to a wall of a mixing vessel, the agitator further comprising a support housing having at least a tubular support frame with a first end and a second end, the first end of the tubular support frame being attached to the mounting flange, the second end of the tubular support frame being provided with a support bearing for supporting the second end of the drive shaft, wherein a shaft seal is arranged at the first end of the tubular support frame and sealing means is arranged in connection with the second end of both the drive shaft and the tubular support frame.

So called side-mounted agitators are well known in the state of the art. Such agitators are formed of drive means, the propeller and the support means. The drive means comprise an electric drive motor, a reduction gear (with either gear wheels or belt and pulleys) and a propeller drive shaft. There are two options for arranging the electric drive motor and the reduction gear. In a first option the shaft of the drive motor is parallel with the propeller drive shaft, whereby also the shafts of the reduction gear are parallel with the propeller drive shaft. In a second option the electric drive motor is arranged at an angle to the axis of the propeller, normally at right angles to the axis.
An example of side-mounted agitators of the first option is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,899. The propeller drive shaft is normally formed of two parts, i.e. a first part extending out of the reduction gear and a second part actually driving the propeller. The parts are connected to one another by means of a coupling, which may be a flange coupling, a split muff coupling or a sleeve coupling. The support means ensure that the propeller may be taken deep into the mixing vessel without a risk of imbalance and vibrations of the long drive shaft. The support means comprises a support frame extending from a mounting flange, via which the agitator is attached to the wall of the mixing vessel, inside the mixing vessel towards the propeller. The support frame is, preferably but not necessarily, conical for facilitating the liquid flow in the vessel. At one end of the support frame, there is the support bearing, which is located as close to the propeller as practically possible for preventing the propeller shaft from bending and vibrating when in use. The support bearing used in this kind of prior art agitators is a ball or a roller bearing. For protecting the support bearing from the liquid, and especially from the solids in the liquid, to be agitated the space around the propeller shaft between the bearing and the propeller is provided with a shaft seal, which may be a single or double acting mechanical seal, a labyrinth seal or a packing box, just to name a few alternatives. The sealing is, naturally arranged to the extreme end of the support frame facing the propeller.
The agitator is fastened to the wall of a mixing vessel, chest, tower or container of its mounting flange such that the support frame extends through an opening in the wall of the mixing vessel deep inside the mixing vessel, and the drive means, for the most part thereof, remain outside the mixing vessel. Sometimes the mounting flange or the wall of the mixing vessel nearby is provided with two support rails on both sides of the drive means such that the drive means are supported on the rails, and may be pulled along the rails away from the mixing vessel. The US patent teaches that the propeller may be loosened from the end of its drive shaft after the mixing vessel has been emptied whereafter the sealing and the support bearing are accessible from inside the mixing vessel for the maintenance of the bearing and/or the sealing.
A problem relating to this kind of prior art agitators is that the sealing or the bearing at the end of the support frame cannot be replaced or serviced without emptying the mixing vessel. The emptying of the mixing vessel not only takes time but it also interrupts the production or, in the least, causes a risk of severe problems in the production.
Another prior art agitator has been discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,255. The patent discloses an agitator assembly including a drive shaft extending through a tubular housing. A slide coupling is connected between the outer end of the drive shaft and a drive motor. An impeller is secured to the other end of the drive shaft, which is supported on a bearing/seal member in the inner end of the shaft housing. The adjoining surfaces of the bearing/seal member and impeller base are normally engaged in rotary sealing relationship by springs but shift apart responsive to introduction of cleaning solution into the housing so that the cleaning solution is discharged into the tank at the base of the impeller after washing the seals to facilitate cleaning without manual disassembly or scrubbing. A rotary seal is arranged at the outer end of the shaft but the maintenance of the rotary seal has not been discussed.
A way to repair or to replace the shaft sealing without emptying the mixing vessel is disclosed in the CN utility model document representing the other option for arranging the electric drive motor and the reduction gear, i.e. to arrange the shaft of the electric drive motor at right angles to the propeller drive shaft, whereby the reduction gear is an angle gearbox. This kind of a construction is compact, as it does not require much space in radial direction outside the mixing vessel. However, the construction has some weaknesses, which will be discussed later on. The CN-U-202146735 document discusses an agitator fastened to the side wall of a vessel. The propeller shaft of the agitator extends deep into the vessel such that it is surrounded by a tubular support frame. The support frame is fastened at its first end to a mounting flange used for fastening the angle gearbox to the wall of the vessel. The propeller shaft extends through the angle gearbox and a mechanical seal is arranged in the nearhood of the first end of the shaft such that it is easily accessible when needed, i.e. opposite to the second end of the shaft where the propeller is arranged. For repairing the mechanical seal the propeller shaft is provided at its second end close to the propeller with a plug and a sealing seat that cooperate with the end of the tubular support frame such that when the propeller shaft is pulled outwardly the plug and sealing seat prevent any leakage of the fluid from the vessel along the tubular support. At the second end of the propeller shaft there is also locking means for preventing the rotation of the shaft during maintenance for facilitating the maintenance of the shaft sealing. The locking means are supposed to function such that by pulling and simultaneously rotating the shaft the cogs and grooves of the locking means find one another and lock the shaft immobile in circumferential direction.
The agitator disclosed in the Chinese document has, however, a number of weaknesses or problems in both structural and functional sense. Firstly, at least the document does not explain how the shaft is supported during the repair or replacement of the shaft sealing. The propeller shaft of the agitator discussed in the CN document is driven, and supported by means of a drive member attached to the first end of the shaft, whereby the drive member has to be removed prior to the repair or replacement of the shaft seal at the very same end of the shaft. The document does not give any suggestion to support the shaft somehow, whereby there is a risk that the support bearing at the second end of the shaft gets damaged due to the slightly swinging shaft therein. Also, though it has been discussed that the plug and the sealing seat prevent the leakage when the shaft is pulled outwardly, on the one, it has not been taught how the shaft is kept in its pulled position during the maintenance of the shaft seal, and on the other hand, the slight swinging of the shaft causes minor deflections in the directions of the sealing surfaces, whereby there is a clear risk the seal starts leaking. As to the locking of the shaft immobile in circumferential direction by using locking means situated in the mixing vessel in communication with the liquid being mixed, practice has shown that the user cannot ever be sure that the locking works properly. Very often the fluid in the mixing vessel includes solids or some substances that tend to collect in the grooves of the locking means, whereby the locking cannot be secure. And finally the angle gear itself due to its constructional limitations to a certain reduction range cannot be applied to the full range of electric motors and agitators needed in different mixing applications. Therefore the angle gear should be combined with another reduction gear, which raises the costs of the drive means significantly.

Agitator and a method of replacing a shaft seal of an agitator


A method of controlling a variable geometry turbocharger (502) includes the steps of determining an engine start of operation (402), initiating a timer (408), and commanding an open position (412) for the vanes of the variable geometry turbocharger (502). The open position (412) may be maintained for a predetermined time (t′), after which, normal operation may resume (406).

Some internal combustion engines use turbochargers and other devices to improve their performance. A typical turbocharger includes a turbine, which is driven by exhaust gas, connected to a center housing, which in turn is connected to a compressor by a shaft running through the turbocharger that rotates during operation of the turbocharger and requires lubrication.
Lubrication for the turbocharger shaft is typically accomplished in the center housing by a flow of oil from the engine passing therethrough. The flow of oil usually is supplied by an oil pump attached to the engine. A series of tubes and passages usually fluidly connects an outlet of the oil pump with an inlet in the center housing. Oil drains from the center housing back into the engine.
When the engine is not operating, the oil pump does not supply oil to the center housing of the turbocharger, and most if not all of the oil in the center housing drains into the engine. When the engine is first turned on, the turbocharger shaft begins to rotate through the action of exhaust gas coming from the engine. As the engine begins to operate, the oil pump also begins to pump oil to various engine components, including the turbocharger. There is a lag time for oil from the oil pump before it reaches and lubricates the rotating shaft in the center housing of the turbocharger. This time lag may be attributed, in part, to factors such as the time required to prime the oil pump, travel time through the various tubes and passages connecting the oil pump and the center housing for the initial flow of oil, or high oil viscosity due to cold engine operation. During this lag time, the shaft in the center housing may be rotating without lubrication. This operation of the shaft without lubrication may cause scuffing or other damage of bearings attached thereon, a condition that may be exacerbated by high shaft rates of rotation. Many turbocharger manufacturers may specify a time frame within which a minimum oil pressure must be supplied to the turbo that may depend on the shaft's rotational speed.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method for ensuring that adequate lubrication is available for a turbocharger shaft under conditions of initial engine startup or cold engine operation that ensures that adequate lubrication to the turbocharger is available when the engine is in operation.

Variable geometry turbocharger control method and apparatus

International Engine Intellectual Property Company, LLC


A display system for stereoscopic displaying of images includes a pair of wide viewing angle displays arranged at an angle to each other, each display providing respective images formed by plane polarized light. A beam combiner is located between the displays such that the beam combiner transmits light from one display and reflects light from the other display, whereby the transmitted and reflected light are provided via the beam combiner in substantially the same direction. One of the wide viewing angle displays has a substantially vertical polarization and the other of the wide viewing angle displays has a substantially horizontal polarization. The display system provides for stereoscopic display of high-resolution images with wide horizontal and vertical viewing angles.

Some three-dimensional displays are based either on imaging techniques that give rise to an apparent stereo effect (also referred to as a stereoscopic effect and/or a three-dimensional or 3D effect) by perspective views, or on two images being presented that are separated such that the right eye and the left eye of a viewer, e.g., a person, see respective images of, for example, a stereo pair of images, which are distinguished or differentiated, e.g., by polarization characteristics of light or by some other means. An example of a stereo pair of images (also referred to as a stereo image pair) may include two similar images or views that represent what a viewer may see via respective left and right eyes while looking at a scene. Since the eyes are spaced apart, they see the scene from different angles and thereby provide depth, 3D, stereo, etc., information to the viewer.
An exemplary three-dimensional display system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,988 to Fergason, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Liquid crystal display (LCD) devices continue to advance in performance, such as increased resolution and increased viewing angle, and commercial availability.

Stereoscopic liquid crystal display (LCD) with polarization method


A radiation sensitive emulsion is disclosed containing a silver halide grain population internally free of iodide at the site of grain nucleation comprised of at least 50 mole percent chloride, based on total silver forming the grain population, in which greater than 30 percent of the grain population projected area is accounted for by tabular grains having a mean thickness of less than 0.3 .mu.m. The tabular grains combine high tabularities and relatively high aspect ratios with exceptional stability imparted by parallel major faces lying in {100} crystallographic planes.

Radiation sensitive silver halide emulsions containing one or a combination of chloride, bromide and iodide ions have been long recognized to be useful in photography. Each halide ion selection is known to impart particular photographic advantages. By a wide margin the most commonly employed photographic emulsions are silver bromide and bromoiodide emulsions. Although known and used for many years for selected photographic applications, the more rapid developability and the ecological advantages of high chloride emulsions have provided an impetus for employing these emulsions over a broader range of photographic applications. As employed herein the term "high chloride emulsion" refers to a silver halide emulsion containing at least 50 mole percent chloride, based on total silver. The most ecologically attractive high chloride emulsions are those that contain very low levels of iodide ion.
During the 1980's a marked advance took place in silver halide photography based on the discovery that a wide range of photographic advantages, such as improved speed-granularity relationships, increased covering power both on an absolute basis and as a function of binder hardening, more rapid developability, increased thermal stability, increased separation of native and spectral sensitization imparted imaging speeds, and improved image sharpness in both mono- and multi-emulsion layer formats, can be realized by increasing the proportions of selected tabular grain populations in photographic emulsions.
Although varied definitions have been adopted in defining tabular grain emulsions, there is a general consensus that the functionally significant distinguishing feature of tabular grains lies in the large disparity between tabular grain equivalent circular diameter (ECD, the diameter of a circle having an area equal to the projected area of the tabular grain) and tabular grain thickness (t, the dimension of the tabular grain normal to its opposed parallel major faces). Average tabular grain aspect ratio (ECD/t) and tabularity (ECD/t.sup.2, where ECD and t are each measured in .mu.m) are art accepted quantifiers of this disparity. To distinguish tabular grain emulsions from those that contain only incidental tabular grain inclusions it is also the recognized practice of the art to require that a significant percentage (e.g., greater than 30 percent and more typically greater than 50 percent) of total grain projected area be accounted for by tabular grains.
In almost every instance tabular grain emulsions satisfying grain thickness (t), average aspect ratio (ECD/t), average tabularity (ECD/t.sup.2) and projected area aims have been formed by introducing two or more parallel twin planes into octahedral grains during their preparation. Regular octahedral grains are bounded by {111} crystal faces. The predominant feature of tabular grains formed by twinning are opposed parallel {111} major crystal faces. The major crystal faces have a three fold symmetry, typically appearing triangular or hexagonal.
The formation of tabular grain emulsions containing parallel twin planes is most easily accomplished in the preparation of silver bromide emulsions. The art has developed the capability of including photographically useful levels of iodide. The inclusion of high levels of chloride as opposed to bromide, alone or in combination with iodide, has been difficult. Silver chloride differs from silver bromide in exhibiting a much stronger propensity toward the formation of grains with faces lying in {100} crystallographic planes. Unfortunately, twinning of grains bounded by {100} crystal faces does not produce grains having a tabular shape. To produce successfully a high chloride tabular grain emulsion by twinning, conditions must be found that favor both the formation of twin planes and {111} crystal faces. Further, after the emulsion has been formed, care in subsequent handling must be exercised to avoid reversion of the grains to their favored more stable form exhibiting {100} crystal faces.
Wey U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,215 produced the first silver chloride high aspect ratio (ECD/t>8) tabular grain emulsion. The tabular grains were of the twinned type, exhibiting major faces of three fold symmetry lying in {111} crystallographic planes. An ammoniacal double-jet precipitation technique was employed. The thicknesses of the tabular grains were high compared to contemporaneous silver bromide and bromoiodide tabular grain emulsions because the ammonia ripening agent thickened the tabular grains. To achieve ammonia ripening it was also necessary to precipitate the emulsions at a relatively high pH, which is known to produce elevated minimum densities (fog) in high chloride emulsions. Further, to avoid degrading the tabular grain geometries sought both bromide and iodide ions were excluded from the tabular grains early in their formation.
Wey et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,306 developed a twinning process for preparing silver chlorobromide emulsions containing up to 40 mole percent chloride based on total silver. This process of preparation has not been successfully extended to high chloride emulsions.
Maskasky U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,463 (hereinafter designated Maskasky I) developed a strategy for preparing a high chloride emulsion containing tabular grains with parallel twin planes and {111} major crystal faces with the significant advantage of tolerating significant internal inclusions of the other halides. The strategy was to use a particularly selected synthetic polymeric peptizer in combination with a grain growth modifier having as its function to promote the formation of {111} crystal faces. Adsorbed aminoazaindenes, preferably adenine, and iodide ions were disclosed to be useful grain growth modifiers.
Maskasky U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,323 (hereinafter designated Maskasky II), significantly advanced the state of the art by preparing high chloride emulsions containing tabular grains with parallel twin planes and {111} major crystal faces using an aminoazaindene growth modifier and a gelatino-peptizer containing up to 30 micromoles per gram of methionine. Since the methionine content of a gelatino-peptizer, if objectionably high, can be readily reduced by treatment with a strong oxidizing agent (or alkylating agent, King et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,120), Maskasky II placed within reach of the art high chloride tabular grain emulsions with significant bromide and iodide ion inclusions prepared starting with conventional and universally available peptizers.
Maskasky I and II have stimulated further investigations of grain growth modifiers capable of preparing high chloride emulsions of similar tabular grain content. Tufano et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,621 employed di(hydroamino)azines as grain growth modifiers; Takada et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,398 employed heterocycles containing a divalent sulfur ring atom; Nishikawa et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,491 employed spectral sensitizing dyes and divalent sulfur atom containing heterocycles and acyclic compounds; and Ishiguro et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,508 employed organic bis-quaternary amine salts.
Bogg U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,951 reported the first tabular grain emulsions in which the tabular grains had parallel {100} major crystal faces. The tabular grains of Bogg exhibited square or rectangular major faces, thus lacking the three fold symmetry of conventional tabular grain {111} major crystal faces. Bogg employed an ammoniacal ripening process for preparing the tabular grains, thereby encountering the grain thickening and pH disadvantages discussed above in connection with Wey. Bogg conceded the process was feasible for producing individual grain aspect ratios no higher than 7:1. Thus, the average aspect ratio of a tabular grain emulsion so produced would necessarily be substantially less than 7. This is corroborated by Example 3 (the only emulsion described with grain features numerically characterized). The average aspect ratio of the emulsion was 2, with the highest aspect ratio grain (grain A in FIG. 3) being only 4. Bogg states that the emulsions can contain no more than 1 percent iodide and demonstrates only a 99.5% bromide 0.5% iodide emulsion.
Mignot U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,156 represents an improvement over Bogg in that the disadvantages of ammoniacal ripening were avoided in preparing a silver bromide emulsion containing tabular grains with square and rectangular major faces. Mignot specifically requires ripening in the absence of silver halide ripening agents other than bromide ion (e.g., thiocyanate, thioether or ammonia). Mignot relies on excess bromide ion for ripening. Since silver bromide exhibits a solubility approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of silver chloride, reliance on excess bromide ion for ripening precludes the formation of high chloride tabular grains.
Endo and Okaji, "An Empirical Rule to Modify the Habit of Silver Chloride to form Tabular Grains in an Emulsion", The Journal of Photographic Science, Vol. 36, pp. 182-188, 1988, discloses silver chloride emulsions prepared in the presence of a thiocyanate ripening agent. Emulsion preparations by the procedures disclosed has produced emulsions containing a few tabular grains within a general grain population exhibiting mixed {111} and {100} faces.
Mumaw and Haugh, "Silver Halide Precipitation Coalescence Processes", Journal of Imaging Science, Vol. 30, No. 5, Sept./Oct. 1986, pp. 198-299, is essentially cumulative with Endo and Okaji, with section IV-B being particularly pertinent.
Symposium: Torino 1963, Photographic Science, Edited by C. Semerano and U. Mazzucato, Focal Press, pp. 52-55, discloses the ripening of a cubic grain silver chloride emulsion for several hours at 77.degree. C. During ripening tabular grains emerged and the original cubic grains were depleted by Ostwald ripening. As demonstrated by the comparative Example below, after 3 hours of ripening tabular grains account for only a small fraction of the total grain projected area, and only a small fraction of the tabular grains were less than 0.3 .mu.m in thickness. In further investigations going beyond the actual teachings provided, extended ripening eliminated many of the smaller cubic grains, but also degraded many of the tabular grains to thicker forms.
Japanese published patent application (Kokai) 02/024,643, laid open Jan. 26, 1990, was cited in a Patent Cooperation Treaty search report as being pertinent to the tabular grain structures claimed, but is in Applicant's view unrelated. The claim is directed to a negative working emulsion containing a hydrazide derivative and tabular grains with an equivalent circular diameter of 0.6 to 0.2 .mu.m. Only conventional tabular grain preparations are disclosed and only silver bromide and bromoiodide emulsions are exemplified.
Maskasky U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,185,239 and 5,183,732, (hereinafter designated Maskasky IIIa and IIIb) each disclose a process for preparing a high chloride {111} tabular grain emulsion in which silver ion is introduced into a gelatino-peptizer dispersing medium containing a stoichiometric excess of chloride ions of less than 0.5 molar, a pH of at least 4.6, and a grain growth modifier. In Maskasky IIIa the grain growth modifier is a triaminopyrimidine with mutually independent 4, 5 and 6 ring position substitutes, while in Maskasky IIIb the grain growth modifier is adenine.
Maskasky U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,997, (hereinafter designated Maskasky IV) discloses a process for preparing a high chloride {111} tabular grain emulsion in which silver ion is introduced into a gelatino-peptizer dispersing medium containing a stoichiometric excess of chloride ions of less than 0.5 molar and a grain growth modifier of the formula: ##STR1## where Z.sup.2 is --C(R.sup.2).dbd. or --N.dbd.;
Z.sup.3 is --C(R.sup.3).dbd. or --N.dbd.; PA1 Z.sup.4 is --C(R.sup.4).dbd. or --N.dbd.; PA1 Z.sup.5 is --C(R.sup.5).dbd. or --N.dbd.; PA1 Z.sup.6 is --C(R.sup.6).dbd. or --N.dbd.; PA1 with the proviso that no more than one of Z.sup.4, Z.sup.5 and Z.sup.6 is --N.dbd.; PA1 R.sup.2 is H, NH.sub.2 or CH.sub.3 ; PA1 R.sup.3, R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 are independently selected, R.sup.3 and R.sup.5 being hydrogen, halogen, amino or hydrocarbon and R.sup.4 being hydrogen, halogen or hydrocarbon, each hydrocarbon moiety containing from 1 to 7 carbon atoms; and PA1 R.sup.6 is H or NH.sub.2. PA1 R.sup.8 is H, NH.sub.2 or CH.sub.3 ; and
Maskasky and Chang U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,998, (hereinafter designated Maskasky et al) discloses a process for preparing a high chloride tabular grain emulsion in which silver ion is introduced into a gelatino-peptizer dispersing medium containing a stoichiometric excess of chloride ions of less than 0.5 molar and a grain growth modifier of the formula: ##STR2## where Z.sup.8 is --C(R.sup.8).dbd. or --N.dbd.;
R.sup.1 is hydrogen or a hydrocarbon containing from 1 to 7 carbon atoms.

High tabularity high chloride emulsions with inherently stable grain faces


A magnetic recording medium is made by applying a coating mixture having magnetic particles dispersed in a binder and drying the coating mixture so as to produce a coding layer containing tamper-proof identifier coding information comprising designed patterns, letters, numerals and bar-code type patterns. Another magnetic layer for recording regular magnetic data can be provided above or below the coding layer. The coding information can neither be read or altered by ordinary magnetic reader. The magnetic recording medium is therefore useful for such applications as shopping cards, pre-paid cards, retail store cards; financial cards including credit cards, insurance cards; travelling cards including transit passes, tickets; and identification cards including passports, birth certificates and other personal identification cards. A method of making such a magnetic recording medium is also presented in which the coating mixture is applied on a non-magnetic base material, and while the coating mixture is still wet, i.e. while the magnetic particles are mobile, suitable coding information is magnetically recorded. The coating mixture is then dried to fixate the identifier coding information in the coding layer to produce fixated coding information which is non-erasable and non-alterable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium for use in magnetic cards, magnetic sheets and magnetic roll papers for such applications as shopping cards including pre-paid cards, retail store cards; financial cards including credit cards, insurance cards; travelling cards including transit passes, tickets; and identification cards including passports, birth certificates and other personal identification cards.
2. Technical Background
The fields of application of consumer cards containing magnetically recorded information have expanded rapidly in recent years, and the uses of such cards are expanding greatly. The basic structure of such magnetic cards comprises a non-magnetic base material and a magnetic layer formed on top of the non-magnetic base material, and the magnetic layer is used to magnetically record proprietary information. It is essential to prevent unlawful uses enabled by copying or altering of the proprietary information on such media, and there have been many methods which are being used to prevent illegal uses of magnetic cards.
Representative examples of counterfeit preventing measures can be divided into two broad categories: the first method is to make reproduction of magnetic information difficult; and the second method is to incorporate a piece of identifier coding data so as to identify counterfeited cards.
The first method is based on making the reproduction of magnetic information difficult, and there are known examples such as providing a multilayer section for magnetic recording in which to hide the correct information, or providing superfluous information to make analysis of the correct information difficult. However, such methods suffer from the disadvantages of complexity of manufacturing, and the requirement for special equipment to read/write the correct information. Furthermore, once the details of the technique of hiding the correct information are discovered, it is not possible to prevent someone skilled in the art to analyze the data, and to easily duplicate the information or to produce a counterfeit product.
The second method is based on including a special identifier codes in the magnetic card, and such a card cannot be put to actual use unless the card is certified to be genuine, even though the card may contain duplicated magnetic information. However, such cards also suffer from disadvantages of difficult manufacturing process, and the requirement of special reading devices for the identifier codes. Also, this type of card has another major disadvantage that it is not possible to prevent unlawful uses of a genuine card in which the proprietary information has been altered.

Magnetic recording medium and method of manufacture of same


A moving mechanism using a piezoelectric actuator is attached by an adhesive with adhesive parts of a constant area between a piezoelectric element and a slider and between the piezoelectric element and a suspension. A movable part, serving as the slider, is moved by the piezoelectric actuator. A support part, serving as a gimbal part of a suspension, supports the piezoelectric actuator. At least one of the movable part and the support part is fixed to the piezoelectric element. At least one of the piezoelectric element, the movable part and the support part has a bonding surface that is defined by a level difference.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a moving mechanism using a piezoelectric actuator and, more particularly, to a magnetic disk apparatus having a micro moving mechanism for moving a magnetic head by an extremely small distance by using an actuator for moving the magnetic head using a piezoelectric element
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, miniaturization and precision of information equipments have progressed, and a demand for an actuator that can realize a minute movement with high accuracy is increasing. For example, a micro-actuator that can control a minute movement is required for a focus correction or an inclination angle control of an optical control or a head actuator of an ink-jet printer and a magnetic disk apparatus.
In such a situation, with an expansion in a market and a change to high-performance apparatus, an increase in a recording capacity is increasingly apt to be important. Generally, an increase in a storage capacity of a magnetic disk apparatus can be achieved by increasing a storage capacity per a single disk. In order to attain high recording density without changing a size of a disk, i.e., a diameter of a disk, it is indispensable to increase a number (TPI) of tracks per unit length, i.e., to reduce a width of each track. For this reason, it is required to achieve higher position accuracy of a head in a direction of width of a track, and development of a micro-actuator for a head that can achieve high positioning accuracy.
In conventional head positioning, a core-earth actuator provided in a fixing part of a suspension supporting a head (slider) has been used. Conventionally, this method was able to sufficiently cover a recording density of a medium. However, due to high-densification of recording density with recent increase in storage capacity of recording apparatuses, the positioning accuracy according to the conventional method becomes insufficient, which may cause occurrence of defects in reading and writing by a head.
Thus, as a method for improving positioning accuracy of a head, a method of providing a micro-actuator, which directly moves a slider, between the slider and a suspension is suggested (for example, refer to patent document 1 listed below). The micro-actuator is capable of minutely moving the head mounted on an end of an arm independently of an operation of a core-earth actuator. The following patent documents disclose conventional technique relevant to the present invention.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-74870    Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-167545    Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-84723
In the structure having a micro-actuator disclosed in the above patent document 1, there is a problem in that a variation may occur in the minute movement of a slider.

Moving mechanism using a piezoelectric actuator and a magnetic disk apparatus having such a moving mechanism


Systems and methods are disclosed to construct subsurface images from diffuse seismic energy. Various disclosed system embodiments include multiple seismic sensors that each convert received seismic energy into one or more seismic signals. One or more processor combine the seismic signals to determine a subsurface map. As part of determining the map, the processor(s) systematically focus the array of seismic sensors on each bin in the subsurface volume of interest. In this manner each bin becomes a focal point of the array. For each bin, the processor(s) analyze the seismic wave travel time to each seismic sensor and apply a corresponding time shift to align the seismic signals with a uniform travel time. The time-shifted seismic signals are then combined to determine an intensity value for seismic energy radiating from the focal point. A subsurface map can then be derived from the intensity value as a function of position.

Scientists and engineers often employ seismic surveys for exploration, archeological studies, and engineering projects. Seismic surveys can provide information about underground structures, including formation boundaries, rock types, and the presence or absence of fluid reservoirs. Such information greatly aids searches for water, geothermal reservoirs, and mineral deposits such as hydrocarbons and ores. Oil companies in particular often invest in extensive seismic surveys to select sites for exploratory oil wells.
Conventional seismic surveys employ artificial seismic energy sources such as shot charges, air guns, or vibratory sources to generate seismic waves. The sources, when fired, create a seismic "event", i.e., a pulse of seismic energy that propagates as seismic waves from the source down into the earth. Faults and boundaries between different formations create differences in acoustic impedance that cause partial reflections of the seismic waves. A seismic sensor array detects and records these reflections for later analysis. Sophisticated processing techniques are applied to the recorded signals to extract an image of the subsurface structure.
Various techniques have been proposed to eliminate the conventional seismic energy sources from this process. These techniques are often termed "passive seismic" or "micro-seismic" imaging. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,377,104 and 6,920,083; and B. S. Artman, "Passive Seismic Imaging", Poster S11E-0334, AGU Fall Meeting, December 2003. The proposed techniques generally rely on environmental seismic events such as earthquakes, hydraulic fracturing, drilling operations, or operations of heavy construction equipment. Typically, the proposed techniques employ cross correlation to extract seismic event information, and thereafter the processing can proceed in much the same fashion as conventional seismic survey processing.
Thus existing seismic imaging techniques rely on event-based analysis of wave propagation patterns. Where passive seismic imaging techniques are rendered unsuitable due to the absence of identifiable seismic events, surveyors are required to employ artificial seismic energy sources. Use of such sources can add significant expense to exploratory seismic surveys.

Diffuse seismic imaging systems and methods


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for split transport control protocol (TCP) flow control management in a cellular broadband network. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for split TCP flow control management in a cellular broadband network is provided. The method includes first determining a context for a packet received as part of a data flow in a base station of a cellular broadband network and then selecting either an end-to-end TCP connection or a split TCP connection to support the data flow. Thereafter, the data flow is routed using the selected connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to TCP connection management and more particularly to TCP connection management in a cellular broadband network.
2. Description of the Related Art
TCP is the transport protocol that regulates the flow of packets between two networking endpoints in an Internet protocol (IP) based network. TCP is designed so that the two networking endpoints can regulate packet flow between them and can adjust the packet flow according to contemporaneous congestion in the network without involving intermediate network nodes. Thus, TCP has proven robust for a variety of networks and link characteristics. However, TCP is not without its drawbacks. Specifically, under certain network conditions, TCP flow control can result in overall packet throughput that is far less than optimal. This is particularly true in the case of a wireless link of a network where the link may suffer from heavy and correlated packet loss due to poor radio propagation characteristics of the wireless portion of the network.
Existing approaches addressing the sub-optimality of TCP flow control fall into three categories: (a) link layer protocols that hide packet loss from the transmission layer by using various techniques including forward error correction and packet retransmissions; (b) split TCP protocols where the entire end-to-end connection is broken in two parts: one for the wireless segment and another for the wireline segment (assuming that the wireless segment is at one end of the network; and (c) end-to-end protocols that modify TCP so that the modified transport protocol is specifically tailored to the characteristics of the wireless links.
These three very different classes of solutions emerged due to different characteristics encountered in different networks. Each of these solutions has known drawbacks. For example, link layer protocols hide packet losses from the transmission layer at the expense of larger round trip time. Therefore it may mislead the transmission layer regarding the status of the actual link condition. In this regard, the transmission layer may needlessly retransmit lost packets due to duplicate acknowledgements even if the lost packets have already been retransmitted by the link layer. Likewise, split TCP protocols break end-to-end semantics and do not fail gracefully if the mobility of a user causes split TCP proxy to move out of the network packet flow. Finally, end-to-end protocols require changes in the TCP stack of both endpoints and a single end-to-end protocol cannot always effectively deal with the variety of networking conditions encountered in a hybrid wireless network.
Of note, split TCP protocols generally are used to solve TCP problems with large round trip times. A typical system uses split TCP to improve TCP performance over a satellite link for example. Split TCP functions by breaking the end-to-end connection into multiple connections and using different parameters to transfer data across the different legs. The end systems use standard TCP with no modifications, and need not know of the existence of the proxies in between. Rather, split TCP intercepts TCP connections from the end systems and terminate them. This allows the end systems to run unmodified and can overcome some problems with TCP window sizes on the end systems being set too low for satellite communications. Even still, split TCP suffers several drawbacks in the wireless environment. The main drawback of the split TCP protocols in a wireless environment are: (a) non conformance to end-to-end semantics; (b) difficult hand-off between basestation or wireless access points (requires transfer of TCP state); (c) requires changes in basestation; and (d) wireless hop may require a new transmission protocol for optimal performance.

Split transport control protocol (TCP) flow control management in a cellular broadband network

International Business Machines Corporation


Described is a control structure for unfolding and folding a collapsible device or shelter. The control structure includes a sliding seat that is pivotally connected to adapter members, which are in turn connected to poles, e.g., tent poles. The tent poles are also pivotally connected to a lower support, and a resilient member (e.g., a spring) forces a separating between the sliding seat the the lower support. The resilient member biases the sliding seat toward the lower support to maintain the control structure in an unfolded position when open, and in a folded position when closed.

As any camper knows, setting up a tent can be difficult and frustrating, particularly at night or in inclement weather. The same is true for other types of collapsible devices and shelters, such as portable awnings, gazebos, screen houses, sunshades, umbrellas, strollers, and cribs. There is therefore a need for methods and devices to facilitate rapid and simple set-up and break down of collapsible devices and shelters.


Quality of service management in a switched digital video environment. The devices in a user's home can be given quality of service priority statuses by a system operator. In the event of oversubscription, the quality of service management allows the user to determine which services will have priority over others if more bandwidth is requested than available.

A broadband communications system includes data sources, a broadcasting network, a headend unit, and edge devices. The data sources can be encoders and video sources that send data through an uplink to the broadcasting network. In the broadcasting network, three common types of signals received at the headend include off-air signals, satellite signals, and local origination signals. The satellite signals include any signal transmitted from an earth station to an orbiting satellite which are then retransmitted back down to earth. The signals are transmitted from earth to the orbiting satellite on a path referred to as the uplink. These signals are then received by a transponder on the satellite and are retransmitted from the transponder to a receiving earth station over a downlink. The transponder amplifies the incoming signal and changes its frequency for the downlink journey to avoid interference with uplink signals.
The headend (HE) or central office is where signals from multiple sources are received and are conditioned and prepared for transmission over an access network to subscribers. Once signals have been prepared for delivery, they are combined onto a medium to be sent over the access network to the customer premise devices. Conditioning may include conversion of analog to digital, digital bit-rate conversion, conversion from variable bit rate to constant or clamped bit rate, conversion of multiple-program transport streams to single-program transport streams or any other type of grooming or combination of these. The medium may include coaxial, twisted pair or other cable, optical fiber, or some form of wireless transmission. The preparation for transmission in edge devices may include generation of an RF carrier, modulation, conversion to optical, frequency division multiplexing, time division multiplexing, wavelength division multiplexing or any combination of these. Edge devices vary depending on the type of network, and include the headend output devices. These edge devices sometime overlap with or extend into an access network. The fiber access network can include an optical line terminal (OLT), an optical node terminal (ONT), and devices inside the home. Therefore, the OLT and ONT may be considered either an edge device or an access network device. However, the ONT may at times be considered a customer premises device. A hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network typically uses modulator edge devices. An HFC access network can include RF to optical converters, optical to RF converters, optical and RF amplifiers, optical and RF combiners, splitters and taps. HFC customer premises devices include RF modems and set-top boxes. A digital subscriber line (DSL) network can include a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM). DSL modems are usually located in customer premises. The OLTs, modulators, and DSLAMs, also known as edge devices, service numerous user homes, such as a neighborhood in a city. Customer premise devices can include modems, routers, personal computers, set-top boxes (STB), etc.
FIG. 1 illustrates a satellite broadcast network 100. At an uplink facility 110, program content is stored on video servers controlled by a broadcast automation system. Any analog content at a network operations center (NOC) 120 is compressed using encoders and then multiplexed with the content delivered from the video file servers. The NOC 120 is responsible for overall control and co-ordination of the uplink and the downlink sites. A headend (HE) 130 may include one or more server devices for providing broadband signals such as video, audio, and/or data signals. The headend 130 also has numerous decoders which preferably each have a mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive.
Broadband communications systems, such as satellite and cable television systems and DSL, are now capable of providing many services in addition to analog broadcast video, such as Video-on-Demand (VOD), digital video recording (DVR), high-definition television (HDTV), interactive TV, TV-based internet access, online gaming, telelearning, video conferencing, voice services, and high speed data services. The growth in available services has outpaced the rate of access network bandwidth increases due to upgrades and rebuilds. This same growth in available services has also created a situation in which most services are not being used at any given time by entire subdivisions of subscribers or customer premise devices. Thus edge device, access network, and customer premise bandwidth is wasted when many of these services are continuously sent to subscribers that are not using them. Switched digital video (SDV) is a technique that recaptures such wasted access network bandwidth by delivering selected services only to homes where and when users are actively requesting service. The switched digital video technique would be performed in the SDV devices, which vary depending on the type of network. A common problem using the SDV technique occurs when devices in a user's home request services requiring more aggregate bandwidth than can be provided. There is no current method to determine which services receive priority over other services when there is not enough available bandwidth.


A device and method is provided using a split processor based architecture to provide physical security of critical information by implementing a required protocol before releasing critical information. The critical information is used as a key to a cryptographic algorithm. A chaotic cryptographic algorithm is also provided including a defined key space employing six parameters of a Lorenzian system of equations.

Message encryption has become increasingly necessary to maintain data privacy and integrity when transmitting messages over a computer network. Industry's reliance on computers and data transmission over networks has led to a substantial increase in the use of encryption systems to safeguard messages or data from unauthorized access. Modern encryption systems must account for not only cryptographic security, but physical security of the implementing hardware.
Encryption is the process of transforming a message into a form that is meaningless to everyone except the intended receiver. Cryptography is the science of making this transformation as intricate as possible, so that reversing it without certain key information is difficult, if not impossible.
Encryption algorithms must be invertible transformations so that encrypted messages can be decrypted. All transformations using the encryption algorithm are referred to generally as a "family" of transformations. Within the family of transformations, modern encryption systems use a key or seed which is a parameter which selects a particular transformation from the family of transformations. An important property of encryption algorithms is that unique keys will define unique encrypted messages or ciphertext.
A cryptosystem can be defined as an encryption algorithm, a decryption algorithm and a specific key which produces an unique invertible transformation using the given algorithm. Ideally, a cryptosystem uses the key and the algorithm to produce a flat distribution for all properties of the message to be encrypted, hiding all natural redundancies of the language that up the message. It should appear to the attacker that the message represents random information.
The security of a cryptosystem is directly related to the uncertainty of the attacker in determining the keys used to encrypt the message. Perfect security can be assured if the key is a string of truly random numbers and is as long as the message being encrypted. Such perfect security is known as a "one time pad" if the key is discarded after a single use.
A system is said to be computationally secure if the task of determining the key is computationally infeasible or intractable. A perfectly secure system is useful because the attacker does not have enough information from the ciphertext to determine the key. On the other hand, computationally secure systems are also useful because while the attacker has enough information in the ciphertext to determine the key, he does not have enough time to complete the task.
Computationally secure systems are rated by their resistance to three types of attack, "ciphertext only attack," "known plain text attack," and "chosen plain text attack." In each type of attack, the attacker is given the encryption and decryption algorithms and with this information attempts to decrypt the message. In the ciphertext only attack, the attacker is also given the encrypted message to examine. Any system failing this attack is considered totally insecure. In a known plain text attack, the attacker is given the algorithm, the original message and its encrypted form. Cryptosystems which survive this attack are considered reasonably secure. A chosen plain text attack gives the attacker the algorithm, and the ability to encrypt and decrypt any message chosen. Cryptosystems which survive this attack are considered very secure.
Cryptographically, several encryption schemes are in wide use today, but each is unsatisfactory for several reasons.
The digital encryption system, or DES as it commonly called, has been widely used by industry and the government since 1977. The DES system uses a 56 bit key to encrypt 64 bit data words through a lengthy process of transformations and substitutions. The computation time to transverse the transformations required to encrypt a large message or data file is substantial; therefore, for modern real time encryption applications, DES has fallen out of favor. The DES system has also been substantially challenged with modern super computers and is no longer approved for encrypting government messages.
The main disadvantage to the DES encryption system is that it is slow. The complex transformations used by DES require lengthy software programs to be implemented. Additionally, as the length of the message increases, the time to encrypt it under the DES standard grows linearly. Obviously, this limitation is undesirable in an cryptographic system. Dedicated circuits are available which are faster, but so far, they are prohibitly expensive. A problem with the DES encryption algorithm is that it provides no description of physical security with respect to the encryption key. Therefore, if the physical security of the key is compromised, the robustness the DES encryption algorithm is no protection. Another disadvantage of DES is that it leaves a signature in the encrypted file sufficient to identify that the DES algorithm has been used.
The Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) algorithm is also in wide use. It relies on the receiver giving the sender a "public key" and the encryption algorithm. The sender encrypts the message and sends it to the receiver using the public key and the algorithm. The receiver then can decode the message using a "private key." Only the intended receiver can decode the encrypted message.
The RSA algorithm is asymmetrical, which means that a different algorithm must be used for encrypting and decrypting messages. It uses keys of between 150 and 200 digits long, which is of considerable length. To invoke the algorithm, RSA requires calculation of a private key derived from the least common multiple of two large prime numbers. The difficulty in breaking and thus security of the RSA cryptosystem lies in determining the two prime numbers. This is an example of an intractable but soluble problem.
The main disadvantage of the RSA cryptosystem is that its security relies on the determination of two large prime numbers. As available computer speeds increase, the determination of these two prime numbers will become faster. Moreover, there is substantial mathematical research ongoing to determine new prime number factoring algorithms. Therefore the security of the RSA cryptosystem is steadily and predictably decreasing most recently the has been broken in as little as eight (8) months. Another disadvantage is that the RSA encryption system is very slow when implemented in software. Additionally, as the length of the encrypted message increases, the encryption time also increases drastically. As with DES, RSA can leave an encryption signature behind in the encrypted file which allows the encrypting algorithm to be identified. Another problem is that the RSA cryptosystem does not address physical security of the required keys.
Chaos theory has been suggested as a basis for cryptosystems. Chaos theory is based on simple deterministic systems that demonstrate random behavior. Some examples of natural phenomenon exhibiting chaotic behavior include atmospheric weather and turbulent water flow. Uncertainties in information about the system, that is errors, become magnified by the nonlinearity of the equations in the system, resulting in unpredictability of the system after a very short time. Some chaotic systems, like the Lorenzian system, are absolutely deterministic given an acceptable set of initial conditions. For the same initial conditions, the system produces the same results. So, even if the results are random, they are repeatable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,555, to Cuomo and Oppenheim discloses an analog electrical circuit which utilizes a system of Lorenz equations which exhibit chaotic behavior. In implementing these equations, a chaotic driver signal u.sub.t is fed into subsystems synchronizing two additional signals v.sub.t and w.sub.t. Additionally, u.sub.t is summed with a data signal m.sub.t. The driver signal u.sub.t is only slightly perturbed by summing with the message m.sub.t and therefore masks the message m.sub.t. The resulting encrypted signal, c.sub.t is transmitted to the receiving station that uses c.sub.t to synchronize the receiver's subsystems to recreate the original driver signal u.sub.t. This driver is then subtracted from c.sub.t, with the results being the original message m.sub.t.
Cuomo and Oppenheim have also disclosed a digital encoding methodology (See Cuomo, Oppenheim, and Strogatz, Synchronization of Lorenz Based Chaotic Circuits with Applications to Communications, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems-II, Analog and Digital Signal Processing40, 10 (October 1993) 626-633; Also see Cuomo and Oppenheim, Circuit Implementation of Synchronized Chaos with Applications to Communications, Physical Letter 71, 1, Jul. 5, 1993, pp. 65-68) that modifies the subsystem of w.sub.t by modifying a constant b by the message stream m.sub.t. The receiver would recognize digital 1's from 0's by the error induced by comparison from a nonencoded driver's signal u.sub.t.
Both Cuomo and Oppenheim disclosures require that identical electrical components be used in the sending and receiving systems. This is a major drawback for a cryptosystem because of the difficulty in such construction on a commercial scale. Additionally, both disclosures are slow because they require a great deal of time to synchronize the receiver's components to the transmitter's components; this is especially a problem with the digital application. An additional drawback of the Cuomo and Oppenheim disclosures that each must use a narrow defined set of "tuning parameters" for each equation, which must be identical in both the transmitter and receiving circuits or digital applications.
A second digital application of chaos theory is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,068 to Bianco and Reed. Bianco discloses the use of a single nonlinear logistic difference equation: EQU x.sub.n+1 =.mu..sub.n x.sub.n (1-x.sub.n)
.mu. is a tuning parameter and x.sub.n is a randomly selected number which serves as a key. In this invention, the key is multiplied by a fixed tuning parameter .mu.. The resulting value is then iterated in the logistic difference equation to arrive at a chaotic stream of numbers. This chaotic stream of numbers is then compared with a range and a centerpoint. If the iterated results are in the top of the range, they are assigned a digital 1, if they are in the lower half of the range, they are assigned a digital zero. A domain transformation results, resulting in a random string of 1's and 0's. The stream of 1's and 0's is then added to a binary message to produce an encrypted message.
The Bianco system has several problems. First, it is slow. The logistic difference equation produces a random set of numbers. The numbers are more likely than not outside the predetermined range as required by the disclosure. If the number produced by the equation is outside the range, the equation must be reiterated to produce another number. This process must repeat until the equation produces a number within the given range. Sometimes this can require many cycles before a useable number is generated. Second, the allowable keyspace for the logistic equation is very small, allowing brute force or iterative attacks to become possible. Third, no provision is made for assuring that the same key is not used repeatedly. Considering the small allowable keyspace, the same key must be used a number of times. The more often the same key is used, the more the cryptosystem becomes vulnerable to a chosen plaintext attack, thereby reducing its security. Fourth, no physical security is provided for the key required by the system. Therefore, like the DES and RSA encryption standards, no suggestion is given on how to maintain physical security of the key. If an attacker has the key, the Bianco system is useless to protect information.


The present invention is intended to significantly reduce the content data processing and transfer times by skipping root key checking processing, when transmitting a plurality of pieces of encrypted content data stored in a primary recording medium to a secondary recording medium along with key information of these plural pieces of content data, if the key information for a piece of content data to be transmitted from the primary recording medium is the same as the key information for an already transmitted piece of content data.

The present invention relates generally to a data recording apparatus, data recording method, and data transfer system which are suitable in transferring/recording content data such as music.
A usage form is available in which content data such as music are stored in a primary recording medium such as a HDD (Hard Disc Drive) of a personal computer and the stored content data are transferred/recorded to another recording medium (a secondary recording medium) for the reproduction of music on the side of the secondary recording medium, for example. The content data herein denote main data such as music data, image data, game data, and computer software which are subject to distribution/transfer/use. Alternatively, the content data may be either with or without compression.
In this case, the HDD stores the content data such as music reproduced from a package medium such as CD-DA (Compact Disc Digital Audio) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and the content data downloaded from an external music server for example via a communication network to which a personal computer concerned is connected. By connecting the personal computer to the recording apparatus, which is the secondary recording medium, the user of the computer copies, or moves the content data from the HDD to the secondary recording medium to reproduce the content data such as music by a reproducing apparatus compatible with this secondary recording medium.
The secondary recording medium may include a memory card based on the semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a MiniDisc, which is a magneto-optical disc, a CD-R (CD Recordable), a CD-RW (CD Rewitable), a DVD-RAM, a DVD-R, and a DVD-RW for example.
The recorders/players compatible with these media as the recording apparatus and reproducing apparatus for the secondary recording media are in wide use and available in a variety of manners as stationary or portable recording/reproducing apparatuses. Each user can record/reproduce desired content data in accordance with user's preferences or devices.
It should be noted that, if content data are used in any of the above-mentioned manners, the copyright protection of these content data must be taken into account. For example, if the user is allowed to store content data into the HDD by use of a content data distribution service or by purchase of a package medium and then copy the stored content data absolutely into a secondary recording medium, the proper protection of copyright holders of these content data may be violated. In order to prevent this problem from happening, several arrangements have been proposed in the technologies and data processing for maintaining the copyright protection in handling content data as digital data. One of these arrangements is the SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative) standard. The data path formulated in the SDMI standard will be described later. For example, the data path is designed in consideration of both copyright protection and general user benefit (the right of duplication for private use) to properly perform the transfer/recording of the content stored in a personal computer having a HDD as the primary recording medium, for example the content data distributed from an external server via a network (hereafter referred to as network content) and the content data retrieved from the package media such as CD-DA and DVD which are reproduced on a disc drive unit such as a CD-ROM drive mounted on a personal computer or a disc drive unit which is externally connected to a personal computer (hereafter referred to as disc content).
In order to satisfy the requirements of both copyright and private duplication right in transferring content data from the primary recording medium such as HDD to the secondary recording medium such as MiniDisc for copying, a content data transfer method is proposed in which a data transfer apparatus (a device on the primary recording medium side) authenticates a data recording apparatus to be transferred (a device on the secondary recording medium side) and, only when the authentication is successful, the data transfer apparatus transfers content data to the data recording apparatus, the content data are transferred in an encrypted state, and the data recording apparatus decrypts the encrypted content data before recording.
A method of content data encryption and decryption is as follows for example. Assume that content data to be downloaded from an external server and stored in a HDD, which is the above-mentioned primary recording medium, are encrypted by content key CK. For the purpose of description, it is assumed that the HDD, which is the primary recording medium, stores content data "A3D" compressed by ATRAC3 (or any other data compression algorithm) and encrypted by content key CK.
It should be noted herein that, for the purpose of description, data y encrypted by a key x are expressed in E(x, y) and data decrypted by the key x from encrypted data E(x, y) are expressed in D{x, E(x, y)}.
Consequently, let the data compressed by ATRAC3 be "A3D" as shown above, then content data "A3D" encrypted by a content key CK are expressed in E(CK, A3D). If the data decrypted by the key CK from E(CK, A3D) are expressed in D{CK, E(CK, A3D)}.
The HDD, which is the primary recording medium, also stores the content key CK encrypted by a root key KR, namely E(KR, CK), along with encrypted content data E(CK, AD). For example, the encrypted content key E (KR, CK) is downloaded from an external server along with encrypted content data E(KR, A3D).
In this case, when transferring content data from the HDD, which is the primary recording medium, to the secondary recording medium, encrypted content data E(CK, A3D) and encrypted content data key E(KR, CK) may be transmitted.
The device on the secondary recording medium holds a root key KR, so that the device can decrypt the content key CK by use of the root key KR and then decrypt encrypted content data by the decrypted content key CK.
However, the root key KR is subject to change depending on the intention of copyright holder or other situations and therefore different root keys KR may be set to different pieces of content data. Also, the destinations of content distribution may be restricted by root key KR processing, a specific example of which will be described later.
For this purpose, data called an enabling key block (EKB) may be distributed. Each authorized terminal to which content data are transferred employs a method in which the root key can be confirmed by an EKB. Namely, an EKB is also distributed from a server along with the above-mentioned encrypted content data and encrypted content key and stored in the HDD.
In the above-mentioned circumstances, when transferring content data from the primary recording medium such as HDD to the secondary recording medium such as MiniDisc for copying, steps as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is taken as transfer processing.
FIG. 1A shows an example in which one piece of content data is transferred from a HDD to a MiniDisc to record the transferred content data thereto.
First, in step c1, the device on the primary recording medium side incorporating a HDD authenticates the device on the secondary recording medium side, which is a MiniDisc recording apparatus.
If the authentication is successful, then, in step c2, the device on the primary recording medium side performs the confirmation of the root key KR. Namely, the device on the primary recording medium side sends the EKB associated with the content data to be transmitted to the device on the secondary recording medium side to allow the same to determine the root key KR.
Next, in step c3, the device on the primary recording medium side sends the encrypted content key CK to the device on the secondary recording medium side. The device on the secondary recording medium side decrypts the encrypted content key CK by the above-mentioned confirmed root key KR.
In step c4, the device on the primary recording medium side sends the encrypted content data to the device on the secondary recording medium side. The device on the secondary recording medium side decrypts the encrypted content data by the above-mentioned decrypted content key CK, performs predetermined data processing on the decrypted content data, and records the resultant content data to the MiniDisc, which is the secondary recording medium.
Finally, in step c5, the device on the secondary recording medium updates management information known as U-TOC on the MiniDisc along with the writing of the content data thereto, upon which this recording operation is completed.
By following the above-mentioned steps, one piece of content data can be transferred/copied for recording while protecting its copyright.
FIG. 1B shows the recording of three pieces of content data by continuously transferring them from a HDD to a MiniDisc.
In this case, in steps d1 through d5 which are the same as the above-mentioned steps c1 through c5 shown in FIG. 1A, a first piece of content data is transferred and recorded. In steps d6 through d10 which are the same as the above-mentioned steps c1 through c5 shown in FIG. 1A, a second piece of content data is transferred and recorded. In steps d11 through d15 which are the same as the above-mentioned steps c1 through c5 shown in FIG. 1A, a third piece of content data is transferred and recorded.
For example, when transferring/recording two or more pieces of content data as above, the steps shown in FIG. 1A are repeated by the number of pieces of content data to be transferred.

Data recording apparatus, data recording method, and data transfer system


A bitstream management system and method which provides an infrastructure to enable comprehensive testing of devices that implement multiple syntax rule sets. In this system and method, modules for the individual syntax rule sets are implemented using profiles (concise representations of data streams). The modules each have a profile generator which determines a permutation of selected values for a set of syntax variables and translates that permutation into a profile. The modules also each have a data stream generator which converts the profiles into the data streams they represent. The use of profiles provides an advantageous method for maintaining the modularity of the syntax modules when integrating them together to provide a system for generating data streams which must comply with multiple syntax rule sets. Broadly speaking, the present invention contemplates a method of data stream management which comprises: (i) determining a set of profiles, wherein each of the profiles is a list of values which specifies the contents of a data stream; (ii) doing processing on the profile as if it were a data stream, and (iii) converting each of the profiles into a data stream. The determination may comprise (a) receiving a set of candidate values for each of a set of syntax variables; (b) selecting a value for each of the syntax variables from the corresponding sets of candidate values; and (c) translating the selected values into a profile.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of bitstream testing devices, and in particular to a system for managing bitstreams which can be used for device testing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic systems which perform data stream processing are being developed for many applications including video and audio compression such as MPEG, JPEG, and AC3, high-speed interconnection such as Fiber Channel and 1394, and digital communication such as wireless, Ethernet, V34 modems and ATM. By necessity, the development of systems for these applications includes testing and verification of system designs, and in particular, testing and verification of the system's implementation of the data stream syntax.
The data stream processing systems convert a stream of data to or from a structured sequence of data having a syntax. The syntax causes the portions of the data stream to assume meaning, i.e. the structured sequence cannot be treated as a stream of random data. Rather, the syntax is expected to be present, and structured data sequences must be used to test that data stream processing systems properly implement their functions.
A testing approach used in the past relies on a library of sample sequences which are constructed to test specific syntax rules, specific combinations of syntax rules, or performance on "typical" sequences. This approach has the drawback of requiring an enormous amount of storage space in order to provide a moderate amount of test coverage in today's increasingly sophisticated encoding and decoding algorithms. Furthermore, these libraries are difficult to produce and difficult to modify when syntax rules change. Also, simply combining libraries to test a device which incorporates multiple syntax sets does not provide adequate or efficient test coverage.

System and method for using profiles to manage data streams for device verification


Transesterification, esterification, and esterification-transesterification (both one-step and two-step) for producing biofuels. The process may be enhanced by one or more of the following: 1) applying microwave or RF energy; 2) passing reactants over a heterogeneous catalyst at sufficiently high velocity to achieve high shear conditions; 3) emulsifying reactants with a homogeneous catalyst; or 4) maintaining the reaction at a pressure at or above autogeneous pressure. Enhanced processes using one or more of these steps can result in higher process rates, higher conversion levels, or both.

The use of plant oils for transportation fuel has been known for over 100 years with the use of peanut oil to power the first diesel engines. However, plant oil properties, as well as animal oil properties, are not sufficient to be a direct replacement for petroleum diesel in the diesel engines of today. The oils' viscosities are too high and do not burn clean enough, leaving damaging carbon deposits on the engine. As a result, transesterification and esterification of plant oils have been used to produce a less viscous fuel referred to as biodiesel fuel.
Significant improvements have been made over the years to the transesterification and esterification processes. However, enhancements and improvements to increase yield and reduce reaction time over existing biodiesel transesterification and esterification techniques are desired.


A method and apparatus for receiving document images including portions linked to one or more electronic addresses. The linked portion of the document is identified using a predetermined visual attribute, such as bold-face text, or delimiters to mark the portion. The document image is then transmitted using, e.g., existing apparatus for transmitting images, such as a facsimile machine. An electronic address associated with the identified portion of the document is also transmitted using existing techniques, such as by touch-tone telephone. The address may be a voice telephone number, facsimile telephone number, World Wide Web address, or any other address with which communication can be established. At the receiving end, both the document image and electronic address are received. Pattern matching is performed on the document image to identify the portion with the predetermined attribute as a linked portion. The received electronic address is then correlated with the linked portion. When the document image is displayed on, e.g., a computer screen, the linked portion is visually identified so that the recipient can access the electronic address by, e.g., clicking on the portion using a mouse. Communication may then be initiated by the recipient with the entity associated with the electronic address.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for communicating documents with portions linked to electronic reference information. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for receiving document images and linking the received image with electronic reference information, wherein the image is communicated using standard, existing equipment that otherwise would not have this capability.
Known in the art are document management/recognition systems for facilitating the archival storage and retrieval of documents. Some of these systems will reduce a document down to its constituent components in the course of processing the document for storage. Examples of constituent components are text fragments, graphics fragments, bar codes, etc. In order to enable the retrieval of any given document, or to permit an original document to be reconstructed from its parts, index information may be saved so as to permit associations to be formed between attributes of the documents. However, such methods do not teach the method and apparatus of the present invention.
Also known in the art are systems for manipulating symbolic representations of text such as ASCII, EBCDIC, or the like, wherein embedded codes can be inserted at a position in the text to refer to another position, or to other information associated with the position of the embedded code. The disadvantage of these systems, however, is that the document must be both created and accessed using software capable of processing the embedded codes.
The document images of interest herein can reside on conventional hardcopy media such as paper, and may be transmitted using nothing more than ordinary facsimile equipment designed for transmitting ordinary monochrome hardcopy documents. A distinction should be drawn between equipment sometimes referred to as "Desktop Fax" units and those called "PC-Fax" units. The former are designed to accept hardcopy documents as input, which are scanned and then transmitted to a remote receiving station. The latter operate on data already in electronic format which reside in the memory of a computer; and, with respect to paper-based hardcopy, require their conversion into electronic form before operations of any kind can be performed on the contents of the hardcopy. Whereas the method taught by the present invention is not precluded from use with PC-Fax equipment, it is particularly useful in connection with ordinary Desktop Fax equipment—a significant consideration in view of the limitations of such devices as compared to the capabilities possessed by the former. The present invention can thus be used by the most rudimentary of facsimile equipment, thereby imposing a minimal set of requirements on the document sender with respect to hardware and software. In contrast, this is simply not possible with techniques currently known in the art. For example, techniques which rely on binary file transfer to communicate documents containing color transmit digital data files, as is evident from the name, and not document images; moreover, they mandate the use of a computer to process the data file being sent.
The present invention is also to be distinguished from systems directed at manipulating symbolic representations of document information, such as ones where text occurs in ASCII form, rather than in the form of a document image. Such systems cannot operate on information contained in hardcopy documents until the hardcopy documents have been optically scanned and converted into machine manipulatable code by OCR software. Only then can commands of any kind be embedded into the block of symbolic data. Furthermore, appropriate hardware such as a computer, and software such as a text editor, must be available for manipulating the symbolic data. Such systems do not enable conventional facsimile equipment to be used as they lack the capacity for symbolic manipulation. Such systems clearly do not enable a sender having nothing more than a conventional monochrome facsimile machine, a hardcopy document, and a marking implement such as a pen to achieve the benefits described herein.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for altering designated portions of a received document image that does not suffer from the drawbacks of prior art systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for linking designated portions of a received document image with an electronic address