The present invention provides a method, a system and code for backing up information on a storage system, for example, a disk system, connected to a storage area network. The host or server system off loads the task of backing up its data to the storage system that stores the data. In an exemplary embodiment a server sends an E-copy command to a disk system. Next, the disk system finds an available back-up device, for examples a tape or DLT library, and then backs-up the information indicated in the E-copy command to the back-up device. A user interface is provided so that one or more path groups, comprising at least a target port and an initiator port, on a disk system may be designated.

The present invention relates generally to a backup of information stored on a storage system and more particularly to server-free backup of information on a storage area network (SAN).
With the increasing complexity of applications and the use of enormous amounts of information, the traditional model of servers controlling their storage devices has evolved into a Storage Area Network (SAN) model where the back-end storage functions are decoupled from the front end server applications. The servers and storage systems are connected together via high speed fiber-optic networks, i.e., Fibre Channels, and communicate using a Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP). The Fibre Channel paths are determined by high speed Fibre Channel Switches.
One major problem with a SAN was that the servers were still responsible for backup of their data. Thus a server needed to read in its data from a storage device, such as a disk system, and write it to a backup device, such as a tape or DLT library. With the present use of multi-terabyte databases, the backup function seriously reduced performance of the servers.
One prior art method of having a server-free backup was to off load the control of the storage system backup to the Fibre Switches (see the white paper, "Deliver Server-Free Back-up," April 2000, Pathlight Technology, Inc., Ithaca, N.Y.). FIG. 1 shows such a prior art system that uses a Fibre Channel Switch to perform the back-up after receiving a command from the host or server, FIG. 1 shows a server 110 coupled to its storage system, i.e., disk system 114, via a SAN having Fibre Channel Switch 112. A Tape Library 116 which is used for backup is also connected to Fibre Channel Switch 112 via a Fibre channel. The server 110 issues an Extended Copy (E-Copy) command 118 to a Fibre Channel Switch 112. The E-Copy is a SCSI Primary Command 2 or a vendor specific command, such as from Legato® Systems, Inc. of Mountain View Calif. (referred to herein as Legato®) that instructs the copying of data from one logical device to another logical device. A copy manager in the Fibre Channel Switch 112 upon receiving the E-copy command from the Server 110 performs the Data transfer 120 by copying data from Disk System 114 to Tape Library 116. The copying proceeds under control of the Fibre Channel Switch 112 without need of server 110 action. Thus the server 112 is free to perform other tasks.
However, the above method of using the Fibre Channel Switches to control the back-ups also has problems. The Fibre Channel Switch 112 sends a read command to the disk system to retrieve back-up data. In addition the server 110 may also send a read command to the Disk System 114 to retrieve data for use in a user application. From the view point of the disk system 114, the disk system may not be able to distinguish between a read from the server 110 and a read for backup from the Fibre Channel Switch 112, thus the Disk System 114 may process both read commands with equal priority. However, the Disk System 114 should process the server read command before the less critical back-up read command.
In addition having the Fibre Channel switch 112 responsible for the heterogeneous disk system backups on a SAN leads to a complicated switch. Also the installed switches must all be compatible and may be required to be from only one vendor. And when the software or hardware on a disk system is modified or upgraded, the backup function of the Fibre Channel switch 112 may need to be changed. Thus using the Fibre channel switch as a back-up controller increases the equipment cost/complexity and maintenance burden.
Thus there is a need for an improved backup technique which further decentralizes the back-up of a storage system on a SAN to, for example, the storage system itself.

Method and system for backing up storage system data


A method of forming BiCMOS circuitry includes, i) conducting a first common second conductivity type implant into, a) a first substrate area to comprise a second conductivity type well for a first area first conductivity type FET, and b) a third substrate area to comprise one of a bipolar transistor second conductivity type collector or emitter region; ii) providing field oxide regions and active area regions within first, second and third areas of the substrate; iii) conducting a first common first conductivity type implant into, a) the second substrate area to comprise a first conductivity type channel stop region beneath field oxide in the second area, and b) the third substrate area to comprise the bipolar transistor base; and iv) conducting a second common second conductivity type implant into, a) at least one of the first or the second substrate areas to comprise at least one of a source/drain implant or a graded junction implant for at least one of the first or second conductivity type FETs, and b) the third substrate area to comprise the other of the second conductivity type collector or emitter regions. A bipolar transistor includes, i) a conductively doped collector region, a conductively doped base region and a conductively doped emitter region; the collector region comprising a doped contact region having a higher dopant concentration than a majority of the remaining portion of the collector region; and ii) an isolation gate positioned between the emitter region and the collector contact region.

An MOS (metal-oxide-semiconductor) structure in semiconductor processing is created by superimposing several layers of conducting, insulating and transistor forming materials. After a series of processing steps, a typical structure might comprise levels of diffusion, polysilicon and metal that are separated by insulating layers.
CMOS is so-named because it uses two types of transistors, namely an n-type transistor (NMOS) and a p-type transistor (PMOS). These are fabricated in a semiconductor substrate, typically silicon, by using either negatively doped silicon that is rich in electrons or positively doped silicon that is rich in holes. Different dopant ions are utilized for doping the desired substrate regions with the desired concentration of produced holes or electrons.
NMOS remained the dominant MOS technology as long as the integration level devices on a chip was sufficiently low. It is comparatively inexpensive to fabricate, very functionally dense, and faster than PMOS. With the dawning of large scale integration, however, power consumption in NMOS circuits began to exceed tolerable limits. CMOS represented a lower-power technology capable of exploiting large scale integration fabrication techniques.
BiCMOS circuitry provides speed improvements over standard CMOS circuitry. Such employs bipolar transistors in addition to CMOS field effect transistors. The speed improvement results from the much higher current that bipolar devices can provide in a smaller space. In typical prior art BiCMOS processes, additional masking steps are utilized in either a standard bipolar process or a standard CMOS process to add-in the complementary bipolar or MOS devices. Specifically in adding a bipolar device to a CMOS process, one or more of the bipolar sub-collector contact, base region or emitter region must be added to a CMOS flow. These additions typically involve from three to 5 additional masking steps and associated process complexity with etches, implants, and film depositions.
It would be desirable to reduce these process complexities and provide BiCMOS processes having reduced masking steps.

Bipolar transistor and method of forming BiCMOS circuitry


Systems and methods are disclosed for classifying packets with a rule. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes receiving a packet; determining a key value for the received packet; identifying a rule corresponding to the determined key value by searching a set of rules, the set of rules being decorrelated such that there is no overlap in any key values corresponding to the decorrelated set of rules.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communication systems and, in particular, to systems and methods for classifying packets.
II. Background and Material Information
Communication devices, such as routers, firewalls, switches, and the like, must frequently classify a packet based on its address to determine what (if any) additional processing steps should be performed. Based on a packet source Internet Protocol (IP) address, a communication device may read the packet, search for a rule corresponding to the source IP address, and then classify the packet with the identified rule to facilitate further processing. The rule may simply state a function (or operation) to be performed on the packet based on its address. For example, a packet from source IP address "X" may be associated with a rule that requires that the packet be discarded, while another rule may state that a packet from source IP address "A-Z" should be encrypted and then forwarded to its destination. As such, the rules enable communication devices to process incoming packets specifically based on their address information.
Although such rule-based processing, enhances the ability of a communication device to process packets, such rule-based processing introduces delays. For example, if a communication device requires 250 milliseconds to read a packet and its corresponding address information, search for a rule based on the packet's address, and then apply the identified rule, the packet will undergo 250 milliseconds of delay. With some types of traffic, such as voice, a 250-millisecond delay may cause an echo. Moreover, long delays also require additional memory in the communication device to buffer any incoming packets received during the delay period. As such, high-speed packet classification consistent with the present invention may improve the quality of data and reduce cost associated with additional buffer memory.

Systems and methods for high speed packet classification


The scroll compressor 10 includes a housing 12. A fixed scroll 18, with an end plate 20, a spiral wrap 22 and a discharge aperture 90, is an integral part of the rear section 16 of the housing. An orbital scroll 24, including an end plate 26 and a spiral wrap 28, cooperates with the fixed scroll 18 to form sealed fluid pockets 38 and 40. An axial thrust and rotation prevention assembly 46 allows orbital motion, prevents rotation of the orbital scroll 24 and limits axial movement of the orbital scroll 24 away from the fixed scroll 18. The orbital scroll 24 is driven to move the fluid pockets 38 and 40 toward the center of the scrolls, and compress fluid in the pockets. The drive for the orbital scroll 24 includes a crankshaft 74 with a crank pin 78 journaled in the housing 12. An eccentric bushing 80 is journaled by a bearing 81 in a boss 82 on the orbital scroll 24. The crank pin 78 passes through a bore 87 in the eccentric bushing 80 to rotate the bushing. A lubrication passage 94 is provided through the crank pin 78 to allow fluid and entrained lubricant in the crankcase 100 to pass from the crankcase 100 to the cavity 96 and then through the bearing 81. A scoop 108 on the inlet end of the passage 94 will pick up lubricant from the crankcase.

Scroll type compressors with one stationary or fixed scroll and one orbiting scroll are well known. Scrolls in these compressors have parallel end plates and involute spiral wrap elements of like pitch. The wrap of one scroll makes line contacts with the wrap of the other scroll and also contacts the adjacent end plate to define fluid pockets. As the orbital scroll orbits relative to the fixed scroll, the locations of the contact lines move along the surfaces of the wraps toward the center of the scrolls, the pockets decrease in size compressing the fluid contained in the pockets and the fluid is moved toward the center of the scrolls. A scroll discharge aperture is provided near the center of the fixed scroll to allow compressed fluid to pass from the scrolls into an exhaust cavity. The exhaust cavity is connected to a fluid discharge opening in the compressor housing.
The compressed fluid in the scroll pockets exerts a force on the scroll end plates which tends to separate the end plates. If the scrolls separate too much, the scroll wraps and scroll tip seals will not form a seal with the surface of the end plate of the adjacent scroll. Compressed fluid in one pocket can then move to another fluid pocket that has a lower pressure. An axial thrust assembly is employed to limit axial separation of the scrolls and thereby keep the fluid pockets sealed and maintain compressor efficiency. one common axial thrust assembly includes a plurality of balls in a space between facing surfaces on the compressor housing and on the orbital scroll end plate. These balls transmit the force, exerted on the orbital scroll by compressed fluid in the scroll pockets, from the orbital scroll end plate to the compressor housing and limit axial movement of the scrolls relative to each other.
An anti-rotation assembly is provided to prevent rotation of the orbital scroll. The assembly may include a first ring with a series of apertures that each surround one of the balls and a second ring, identical to the first, that also receives the balls in its apertures. The first ring is fixed to the compressor housing and the second ring is fixed to the orbital scroll. The apertures in the two rings have a diameter which will permit orbital movement of the balls and the orbital scroll and prevent rotation of the orbital scroll.
The compressor drive includes a crankshaft rotatably journaled in the compressor housing. An eccentric bushing is journaled on the crankshaft crank pin. The eccentric bushing is also received in a bore in a boss on the forward wall of the orbital scroll end plate. A bearing is provided in the bore in the boss to allow free rotation of the eccentric bushing relative to the orbital scroll. Scroll compressors are lubricated by lubricant entrained in the fluid they compress. In some designs parts needing lubrication are merely exposed to fluid with entrained lubricant. In other designs lubricant is separated from the fluid and then moved to the parts requiring lubrication.
Lubrication of the eccentric bushing which connects the crankshaft to the orbital scroll is a problem in some compressors. During prolonged high speed operation the bearing which supports the eccentric bushing on the orbital scroll may fail. The journal connecting the eccentric bushing to the crankshaft may also experience rapid wear.


A display device includes a substrate, an active layer, a gate insulation layer, a gate electrode, an interlayer insulation layer, a clad layer, a source electrode, and a drain electrode. The active layer is disposed on the substrate. The gate insulation layer is disposed on the active layer. The gate electrode is disposed on the gate insulation layer. The interlayer insulation layer is disposed on the gate electrode. A dielectric constant of the interlayer insulation layer is less than a dielectric constant of the gate insulation layer. The clad layer is disposed on the interlayer insulation layer. The source and drain electrodes are disposed on the clad layer.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to display devices, and, more particularly, to display devices including an interlayer insulation layer including a low dielectric constant material and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion
Conventional organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays are a type of self-emissive display technology, and, as such, may be relatively thin and lightweight as an additional light source is not necessary. Further, these OLED displays may exhibit relatively high-quality characteristics, such as, low power consumption, high luminance, and fast response speed.
Traditional OLED displays typically include an active layer, a gate insulation layer, gate wires including a gate electrode and a gate line, an interlayer insulation layer, and data wires including source and data electrodes and a data line. The interlayer insulation layer may be formed using a low dielectric constant material to minimize (or otherwise reduce) parasitic capacitance, which may occur in association with a portion of the interlayer insulation layer where at least one of the gate wires and at least one of the data wires intersect. Such interlayer insulation layers, however, may have less acid resistance as compared to silicon oxide or silicon nitride included in the gate insulation layer. Further, a surface of the interlayer insulation layer may become non-uniform when a cleaning solution, such as hydrogen fluoride (HF), is used to clean a surface of the interlayer insulation layer. To this end, defects may be caused, at least in part, by the non-uniformity of the surface of the interlayer insulation layer in a portion of the source and data electrodes disposed on the non-uniform surface of the interlayer insulation layer. As such, the data wire including the data line may be lost.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the inventive concept, and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Display device and method of manufacturing the same


The present invention is a quick connector preferably for use in connecting a fuel filler neck to a fuel tank. The connector includes a housing having a first end which receives a tube or nipple having an upset portion which is preferably mounted to the fuel tank. The connector includes a sliding collar with expandable fingers, a compression ring mounted about the collar and retaining forks for retaining the collar and ring within the housing. The upset can be inserted past the expandable fingers with little force. When the tube is attempted to be withdrawn, the compression ring compresses the fingers about the tube restricting release requiring exceedingly larger forces to remove the tube. The opposite end of the connector of the disclosed embodiment includes a quick connect for connecting a hose to the housing. This connector includes a compression sleeve which is mounted about the hose and compressed by a locking ring which locks to the housing.

Low cost quick connectors for connecting tubing have been widely used in the automotive industry as well as other non-automotive industries. Typically, they are used to connect fluid lines that have small diameters and low pull-off requirements.
One example of such a quick connector is known as an interference type connector. This type of connector has expandable fingers mounted in a housing that create a mechanical interference on an upset portion or bead formed on the tube to be connected. The tube and upset are inserted into the connector housing past the expandable fingers. The fingers expand to allow the upset to pass and then retract behind the upset retaining the tube in the housing. The retention or pull off force, i.e. the force required to pull the tube out of the housing, is dependent upon the rigidity of the expandable fingers. Stated another way, the retention force of an interference type connector is determined in large part by the resistance to expansion of the fingers. If the fingers expand easily to allow easy insertion of the tube upset, the pull off or retention force will be low. To get higher retention forces, the fingers have to be more rigid, making insertion of the upset more difficult. Additionally, fingers that are more rigid are more difficult to manually expand to remove the tube when removal is desired.
There are many applications which require very high pull-off forces, but low insertion forces. One such application is the connection of the fuel filler neck to the fuel tank of a vehicle. Pull-off forces in excess of 500 pounds are required. Correspondingly, low insertion forces of only about 20 pounds are required. Because of the need for high pull-off forces and low insertion forces, typical quick connectors are unacceptable for connecting fuel filler necks to fuel tanks. They are also unacceptable in other applications requiring high pull-off forces and low insertion forces.


Embodiments describe constructing game-related objects through additive manufacturing systems. At least one construction configuration for building a game-related object is advanced at least partly due to at least one game task result being attained by a user and/or due to when an object is constructed and/or arranged to be built. Several embodiments demonstrate select game task results leading to determined construction configurations instead of alternative construction configurations, causing, for instance, a differing design, complexity, function, and/or number of constructed object portions. Game task results in certain embodiments lead to multiple distinct portions of one or more objects being constructed concurrently and/or successively, at one or more locations. Selected methods and systems disclose objects constructed as awards, puzzles, other assembly challenges, educational challenges, wagering elements, electronic game elements, in multiple inseparable portions, and/or for other entertainment purposes.

Field
This application relates to the construction and delivery of objects in the emerging field of additive manufacturing.
Background of the Invention
The field of additive manufacturing—often referred to as "3D printing," "direct digital manufacturing," and "rapid manufacturing"—is poised for enormous growth in the coming decades.
Fulfilling the promise of "replicators" envisioned long ago in the science fiction realm, additive manufacturing devices utilize computerized files (e.g., computer-aided design files or, simply, "CAD files") to design and help build objects through one or more additive layering techniques.
Yet most innovations in the field to date have centered on advances in construction methods for use by professional manufacturers.
Among several interesting and relevant developments in the field, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,002, Jang teaches utilizing both liquid-based and powder-based build technologies to construct one or more objects. Jang's "multiple channel" process speeds manufacturing, permits the manufacture of colorful objects, and allows for an object to be created in a plurality of segments.
In U.S. 2011/0117268, Batchelder of Stratasys, Inc., a leading producer of additive manufacturing equipment, discloses encoding the exterior of build materials with markings able to be read by sensors. The markings are intended to identify material colors, material composition, and the level of remaining materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,220 (Reiff), U.S. Pat. No. 7,917,243 (Kozlak), U.S. Pat. No. 8,070,473 (Kozlak), and U.S. 2007/0071902 (Dietrich) teach embedding separate ID tag inserts into the build operations for additive manufacturing objects.
In turn, in an effort to construct more accurate and refined products, Nielsen 2004/0159978 teaches varying the concentration of material to reduce the "terracing" effect in additive manufacturing objects.
While the 3D printing field is advancing rapidly, particularly in relation to the professional manufacture of additive manufacturing objects, other key aspects in the field have largely been ignored. In particular, advances related to objects manufactured directly by consumers have, for the most part, been overlooked, as have advances associated with objects manufactured in retail establishments for consumers. Along these lines, Terry Wohlers, regarded as a leading expert in the field, indicated in a September 2008 interview in RapidToday.com that additive manufacturing will remain primarily a domain of professional manufacturers, with consumers possibly utilizing additive manufacturing to build toys and educational project—but not necessarily on a transformative scale. Wohlers stated in relation to broad at-home uses such as building replacement parts, "Even if you had a 3-D printer at home you probably would not be able to build the part due to a lack of material, dimensional accuracy, or color." Those same limitations based on prior technologies were likewise thought to adversely affect the ability to build versatile and aesthetically pleasing toys. Concurring with these concerns, Robert Mitchell an IT expert with Computerworld, recognized in Dec. 21, 2011, "Some analysts doubt that the at-home 3D printer market will ever emerge. Instead, they say, service bureaus will build those custom parts or toys for you, whether it's a custom figurine or a part for your vacuum cleaner." Yet Mitchell indicates that 3D printing could be on the verge of breaking out of its niche; Mitchell also quotes Wohlers as conceding that "the demand for 3D printed products among non-professionals is developing. It will be much larger than the professional market."
In more recent months, the immense promise of the consumer-printing market is finally starting to be recognized, with Wohlers himself recently quoted in the Jan. 9, 2012 edition of Businessweek.com as now stating that "toys might be a big success. [A 3D printer] could be the last toy you ever buy your child. It's a multi-billion dollar market." Similarly, Abraham Reichental, CEO of leading additive manufacturer 3D Systems, states in this same article that "this technology is going to end up in your kids' bedrooms and on the factory floor." Potentially beating the larger manufacturers to the punch, an upstart company called Origo is hoping to distribute one of the first toy-oriented 3D printers, a low-cost device launching within the next 18 months.
In sum, the prior patent literature in the field had mainly emphasized additive manufacturing by professionals, and 3D printing experts are only beginning to recognize the vast potential of direct manufacture by consumers. This inventor believes the consumer 3D printing market to be far more substantial than even the sizable toy industry—and that creative advances for transforming the way we manufacture a variety of goods have been neglected in the sector. These creative advances pertain to the construction of additive manufacturing objects by consumers, as well as to the innovative delivery of 3D printed objects to consumers in their homes and via business establishments. This in-depth patent disclosure focuses on these breakthroughs.

Game object advances for the 3D printing entertainment industry


Radiation emitting structures that include an active radiation emitter and a passive photonic crystal structure surrounding the emitter are disclosed. The passive photonic crystal structure is transparent to wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation within the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Also disclosed are incandescent lamps that include such radiation emitting structures.

In conventional incandescent lamps, a filament is provided between two electrical contacts, and current is passed between the contacts through the filament. The electrical resistance of the filament material generates heat in the filament. Typical filaments in incandescent lamps operate between about 2500 K and about 3000 K. The heated filament emits electromagnetic radiation over a range of wavelengths, some of which are within the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The emittance of conventional filaments at a given temperature may be approximated by Planck's equation for black body radiation.
Conventional incandescent lamps, while providing high quality, inexpensive lighting, are extremely inefficient. Only about five to ten percent of the energy supplied to a filament is converted into electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths within the visible region of the spectrum (i.e., about 380 nm to about 780 nm). A large amount of energy is converted to radiation in the infrared region of the spectrum (i.e., between about 780 nm to about 3000 nm), and wasted as heat.
From the time incandescent lamps were first invented by Thomas Edison, significant research has been conducted to find new methods, materials, and structures to increase the amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted in the visible region of the spectrum and minimize the amount of radiation emitted outside the visible region, thereby improving the efficiency of the lamp.
Tungsten, since its first use as an incandescent filament in 1911, continues to be the material of choice as a result of its emissive properties. True black bodies do not exist in nature. However, the radiation properties of materials may be described by including factors or variables for the material's emissivity into Planck's equations for black body radiation. Emissivity is the ratio of the spectral radiant emittance (i.e., emitted power per unit area per unit wavelength) of a material to the theoretical spectral radiant emittance of a true black body. The emissivity for a given material is not constant and may vary with wavelength, the angle of observation, and the temperature of the material. The emissivity of tungsten varies with wavelength and is higher in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum than in the infrared region (i.e., it radiates more electromagnetic radiation in the visible region than a true black body), which makes it the material of choice for use in incandescent lamps.
Other inventions directed to increasing the efficiency of incandescent lamps include coiling the filament into coiled structures, and filling the bulb of the lamp with halogen gas. In addition, coatings of materials that are transparent to radiation in the visible region, but reflective to radiation in the infrared region, have been applied to the bulb of incandescent lamps to reflect infrared radiation emitted by the filament back onto the filament itself, thereby further heating the filament.
Recently, the use of photonic crystals as incandescent emitters has been investigated. Photonic crystals are structures comprising at least two materials having different dielectric constants interspersed periodically throughout the structure. Photonic crystals may not emit radiation continuously over a range of wavelengths when the crystal is heated, as does a classical black body. Photonic crystals may emit strongly at certain wavelengths, but only weakly, if at all over a range of wavelengths at which the crystal would be expected to emit if it were a classical black body.
Although the efficiency of incandescent lamps has been improved over time, there remains a significant quantity of energy that is emitted as electromagnetic radiation outside the visible region of the spectrum. This energy is wasted and contributes to the inefficiency of conventional incandescent lamps.

Radiation emitting structures including photonic crystals

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A Capo comprised of two hingedly connected jaws with a torsion spring which urges the jaws toward a closed position, and a hand operated toggle type of linkage operating against said spring to open the Capo. The force needed to be applied to the toggle linkage drops as the Capo is moved toward the open position reducing the effort required to maintain the Capo open while moving it to a new position.

A Capo is a device for clamping the strings of a guitar or other stringed instrument against the neck of the instrument in order to change their pitch. In the past, Capos have involved screws, cams, and spring loaded clamps for attaching the device to the instrument neck. Spring loaded clamps have become popular because they can be opened and moved to a new position with one hand. However, one problem with prior art spring loaded Capos is that they require considerable hand force to open, and thus can be difficult to keep open as required to position the Capo over the strings. These units have a single pivot point, so that the only way to improve the mechanical advantage is to make the handles very long, which in turn makes the Capo inconvenient and unattractive in use.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a spring loaded Capo which requires relatively little effort to keep open, but yet is small and convenient to use.


A current-source sine-wave voltage inverter for converting a direct current (DC) voltage to an alternating (AC) voltage includes a DC source for providing a DC voltage, a current source circuit having a primary side inductance of a transformer, a clamping circuit, an inverting circuit, and a control and driving circuit. The clamping circuit includes a first switch cascaded with a first diode, a second diode cascaded with a second switch, a first capacitor connected between an anode of the first diode and a cathode of the second diode, a secondary side inductance of the transformer cascaded with a third diode, the secondary side inductance of the transformer and the third diode connected to two ends of the DC source, and a cathode of the third diode connected to an anode of the DC source. The present invention also provides a fuel cell system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a current-source sine wave voltage inverter and a fuel cell system using the same, more particularly, to a current-source sine wave voltage inverter using voltage-clamping and soft-switching techniques, which converts a direct current (DC) source to an alternating current (AC) sine wave voltage using a difference between AC sine wave voltage command and feedback voltage to control the turn-on time of switches, and using an inductor to generate a current source to charge capacitors via positive/negative cycles of full-bridge switch to adjust a rise and fall range of voltage to provide linear voltage regulation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently there are two kinds of products which can convert a DC source to a 60 Hz AC voltage. One is an inverter of AC motor, which uses a coil inductor of motor and a PWM (pulse width modulation) technique to generate a sine-wave-like current. However, it is not suitable for resistive or capacitive loads, therefore basically, the inverter is not for home appliances or computer products. The other is a modification of the inverter, such as UPS (Un-interruptible Power Supply), which adds a LC filter circuits at the output and a feedback circuit to provide a constant voltage, regardless of various loads and input voltages. Besides, batteries and charging/discharging circuits are often included to provide a back-up power source in addition to a utility power. Nowadays Taiwan has become a leader in UPS products and related techniques, nevertheless, there are a few issues remained to be solved. Firstly, an output current will have to pass through a filter inductor, and in consideration of the −3 dB response of second order resonance circuit. A common UPS has mH-level of inductance, therefore the filter inductor will increase the product's weight and energy transfer loss. Secondly, the voltage L·di/dt between two ends of the filter inductor is the difference between a DC voltage and an output voltage. While the minimum value occurs around a sine wave peak, the output waveform tends to distort around the sine wave peak turning point and generate high-frequency harmonic components due to the filter inductor. Therefore, it is inevitable even with a higher filter voltage. Though the inductor is intended for a filter use, it also limits the regulation ability under loads being varied suddenly. Thirdly, a few kinds of loads, such as half-wave rectifying loads or highly inductive loads, could harm the driving circuit due to the symmetry of an LC filter circuit waveform, and highly inductive loads could change the frequency response of a second order filter circuit as well. A DC voltage level have to be raised in case the output sine wave voltage is too low, and consequently the system could be damaged due to an overly high voltage. Fourthly, the voltage distortion rate of non-resistive loads, generally refers to Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), is far more higher than resistive loads, because the traditional second order filter circuit is not capable of handling non-resistive loads, such as inductive, capacitive and nonlinear loads.
Besides, switching loss increases as switching frequency rises, which in turn decreases the system efficiency, many manufacturers started to apply various soft-switching techniques to high power IGBT switches, several papers prove that decreases the PWM switching loss will help to increase switching frequency and improve output voltage waveform.
Compared to traditional PWM methods, the sine wave voltage of current source inverter is mostly used for charging the capacitor to accumulate sine wave voltage under various loads and frequency changes. However, due to the large inductor used in current source, it's hard to control the inductor circuit and to realize soft-switching techniques, resonant voltage and high current issues are difficult to overcome. Recently the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) proposed a voltage-clamping technique to handle current source inverter, the circuit exhibited soft-switching characteristics, which also restrains the switch voltage under the factor of 4, nevertheless, the imaginary part of the inductor current in the current source is too high, it's hard to decrease the volume. Besides, issues such as high ripples in the voltage waveform, no field experiment available and the driving object being an inductance motor still exist.
Therefore, the above-mentioned devices present several shortcomings to be overcome.
In view of the above-described deficiency of prior-art devices, after years of constant effort in research, the inventor of this invention has consequently developed and proposed a current-source sine wave voltage inverter using voltage-clamping and soft-switching techniques.

Current source wave voltage inverter voltage-clamping and soft-switching techniques, and fuel cell system using the same


Provided is a terminal which can suitably transmit an uplink signal. In a terminal (100), a PC parameter control unit (104) sets a first power control parameter corresponding to a first service, when a prescribed condition relating to a control channel used for transmission of uplink signal allocation is met, and sets a second power control parameter corresponding to a second service, when the prescribed condition is not met. A transmission unit (109) transmits the uplink signal by using transmission power calculated by using the first power control parameter or the second power control parameter.

In the standardization of 5G, a new radio access technique (New Radio (NR)) that is not necessarily backward compatible with LTE/LTE-Advanced has been discussed in 3GPP.
In the NR, technical studies targeting Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), which is one of the requirements of 5G, have been carried out. URLLC is required to satisfy at the same time the "high reliability" of a packet transmission error rate of 10−5 or less for a packet data amount of 32 bytes (packet transmission success rate of 99.999% or more) and the "low latency" of 1 ms or less for a radio interval (see Non-Patent Literature (hereinafter, referred to as "NPL") 1, for example).
In order to satisfy the requirements of URLLC mentioned above, it has been studied to transmit, in the transmission of an uplink channel (PUSCH: Physical Uplink Shared Channel) of URLLC data, the URLLC data by using a high transmission power (for example, power boosting) compared to an uplink channel of the other data (for example, see NPL 2)."

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA


The carrier detector 5 notifies the threshold value controller 6 of the received power value of a received signal and then controls various portions so as to defer transmission of the transmission signal when receiving a signal having a received power exceeding a threshold value Rth from the threshold value controller 6. The demodulator 3 notifies the threshold value controller 6 of a transmission source included in the received signal. The modulator 4 notifies the threshold value controller 6 of the destination of the transmission signal. The threshold value controller 6 outputs the received power value of a received signal from the destination, as a threshold value Rth, to the carrier detector 5.

The present invention relates to communication apparatuses in radio networks, transmission control methods, threshold value control methods, programs, and radio network systems. Particularly, the present invention relates to communication apparatuses in radio networks, which defers transmission of transmission signals when signals, each having a received power exceeding a threshold value, are received.
The CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) scheme is applied in the access control scheme for communication apparatuses in the radio LAN (Local Area Network), typified by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard.
Unlike the FDD scheme (Frequency Division Duplex scheme), the CSMA scheme utilizes the upstream line and the downstream line, with the same channel segregated. The significant concept of the CSMA scheme is that each communication apparatus performs carrier sensing (carrier detection). Transmission is suppressed when the signal having a received power exceeding a specified value (hereinafter referred to as a carrier detection threshold value) is being received. The intention is that communication apparatuses make mutual concessions of transmission to reduce interference between them. The conventional radio communication apparatus, which realizes the CSMA scheme, will be explained below.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional communication apparatus employing the IEEE 802.11 standard. Referring to FIG. 7, the communication apparatus consists of an antenna 110, a switch 120, a demodulator 130, a modulator 140, and a carrier detector 150. The switch 120, which is controlled by the carrier detector 150, selects the demodulator 130 or the modulator 140 according to the switching signal from the carrier detector 150.
The carrier detector 150 receives the signal received with the antenna 110 and then measures the received power thereof. The carrier detector 150 compares a predetermined carrier detection threshold value Rth with the measured received power. When the measured received power is larger than the threshold value Rth or a modulation intended signal (a transmission signal to be transmitted) in a transmission waiting state does not exist, the carrier detector 150 controls the switch 120 to connect the demodulator 130 to the antenna 110. If not so, the carrier detector 150 controls the switch 120 to connect the modulator 140 to the antenna 110 after the waiting for a random time. Moreover, using the transmission indication signal, the carrier detector 150 commands the modulator 140 to transmit the modulation intended signal. The modulator 140 notifies the carrier detector 150 of the presence or absence of the modulation intended signal, using a modulation intended signal presence/absence signal.
The reason for random time waiting is as follows. That is, when the communication apparatus changes from a carrier detection state (or a demodulation state) to a carrier non-detection state (or a transmittable state), other radio communication apparatuses distributed around the communication apparatus similarly change from the demodulation state to the transmittable state. Thus, if both the communication apparatuses simultaneously transmit their transmission signals, without the random time waiting, the two radio signals are superimposed, thus being received by other radio communication apparatuses.
The modulator 140 has a buffer (not shown). If the carrier detector 150 does not indicate transmission of a transmission signal, regardless of the transmission signal being received by the modulator 140, the modulator 140 stores the transmission signal into the buffer. After the transmission indication from the carrier detector 150, the modulator 140 outputs the transmission signal in the buffer to the antenna 110. Alternatively, transmission signals with low priority may be discarded without storing in the buffer.
As explained above, in the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 7, transmission stands by in the state where signals are being received from other communication apparatuses. This makes it possible to prevent interference to other communication apparatus, which is receiving the corresponding signals, before it happens. With all neighboring radio communication apparatuses that perform the waiting operation, alternate transmission can be performed so as to prevent interference between them.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the conventional radio communication apparatus described in the patent document 1. Referring to FIG. 8, the communication apparatus consists of an antenna 210, a demodulator 220, a carrier detector 230, a transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240, a transmission threshold value register 250, and a modulator 260.
The demodulator 220 and the carrier detector 230 accept the signal received by the antenna 210. The carrier detector 230 measures the received power of the received signal and outputs the measured power value to the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240. At the same time, the carrier detector 230 compares a predetermined carrier detection threshold value Rth with the measured received power and then outputs the carrier detection signal to the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 when the measured received power is larger than the threshold value Rth.
The demodulator 220 detects the network ID included in the received signal and then outputs it to the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240. The transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 refers to the received power value and the carrier detection signal from the carrier detector 230 and the transmission threshold value held in the transmission threshold value register 250 and then outputs a transmission enable/disable signal to the modulator 260. The transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 varies the transmission threshold value held in the transmission threshold value register 250 based on the received power value from the carrier detector 230 and based on the network ID from the demodulator 220.
The transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 indicates transmission enabling or disabling to the modulator 260, as follows. That is, when the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 receives a carrier detection signal, representing detection of a carrier, from the carrier detector 230, or when a measured received power exceeds a transmission threshold value, the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 outputs a transmission enable/disable signal indicating suppression of transmission to the modulator 260. With the above-mentioned requirements not satisfied, the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 outputs a transmission enable/disable signal indicating permission of transmission to permit the modulation and transmission of a modulation intended signal (a transmission signal to be transmitted) in the modulator 260 to the modulator 260 after waiting for a random time. When receiving transmission permission from the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240, the modulator 260 outputs the transmission signal to the antenna 210 after waiting for the random time.
The transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 controls the transmission threshold value variably, as follows. That is, when the network ID from the demodulator 220 matches with the network ID representing a network belonging to a local communication apparatus, the transmission threshold value control/transmission controller 240 varies its transmission threshold value. When the measured received power value is larger than the transmission threshold value held in the transmission threshold value register 250, the transmission threshold value is increased by a fixed value. When the measured received power value is smaller than the transmission threshold value, the transmission threshold value is set to be equal to the measured received power value.
As described above, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 8 operates in such a way that a transmission threshold value is set to the minimum received power of a signal coming from the network or cell belonging to the concerned communication apparatus. Even if the signal is received from a radio communication apparatus belonging to a cell except cells belonging to the concerned radio communication apparatus, the transmission threshold value is not adjusted. For that reason, the received powers of received signals from a large number of radio communication apparatuses belonging to cells around the cell belonging to the local radio communication apparatus are less than the transmission threshold value. That is, radio communication apparatuses belonging to the same cell mediate to each other for transmission. However, such transmission regulation is not carried out between radio communication apparatuses belonging to different cells. Therefore, the phenomenon can be prevented that radio communication apparatuses belonging to different cells, between which mutual communications are riot required, may excessively suppress their transmission to each other.
The conventional threshold value control method described in the patent document 2 will be explained here. The threshold value control method, which is applied to communication apparatuses in radio LANs, controls variably the carrier detection threshold value to defer the transmission when the received signal has a received power higher than the carrier detection threshold value.
In the threshold value control method, the first radio communication apparatus first receives signals transmitted almost simultaneously from the second radio communication apparatus and the third radio communication apparatus. In this case, the distance between the first radio communication apparatus and the third radio communication apparatus is larger than the distance between the first radio communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus. If signals from the second communication apparatus can be decoded better, the first radio communication apparatus increases the carrier detection threshold value. If signals from the second communication apparatus cannot be decoded better, the first radio communication apparatus decreases the carrier detection threshold value.
Accordingly, when receiving the signal transmitted from a radio communication apparatus within the range where received signals can be better decoded, the first communication apparatus defers its transmission operation. It is prevented that the first communication apparatus defers its transmission because of reception of signals from a radio communication apparatus outside the decodable range.
[Patent Document 1]
JP-P1994-029981A (refer to pages 3 to 6 and FIGS. 3 to 14)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-P2001-217848A (refer to page 8 and FIGS. 12 and 13)
Wide area deployment in the so-called small zone scheme, where plural base stations or access points (APs) are deployed to provide a wide service area and this is the so-called small zone scheme, is performed. In this case, cells overlapped cause each radio communication apparatus to receive signals from cells belonging thereto as well as many signals from other cells. Hence, when the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 7 is used for each radio communication apparatus employing the small zone scheme, transmission suppression frequently occurs in each communication apparatus, so that a large decrease in throughput arises. On the other hand, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 8 may be used to each radio communication machine employing the small zone scheme. In such a case, because each communication apparatus implements transmission suppression against interference only within the cells belonging to itself but does not sense interference signals from other cells, it can be avoided to suppress transmission excessively as degree as that of the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 7.
In the use of the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 8, communication apparatuses belonging to different cells do not make concession to each other in transmission, so that the frequency of generation of transmission suppression in each communication apparatus can be decreased. However, even in that case, there is the problem that transmission is excessively suppressed in a radio link within a cell. The problem will be explained below.
The radio link between the first mobile terminal being a communication apparatus located inside a cell and an access point (AP) being a communication apparatus configuring the cell has a propagation loss lower than the radio link between the second mobile terminal being a communication apparatus located outside the cell and the AP. Therefore, the radio link between the first mobile terminal and the AP indicates a higher interference immunity than the radio link between the second mobile terminal and the AP. As a result, the carrier detection threshold value of the first mobile terminal can be set to a higher value than the carrier detection threshold value of the second mobile terminal.
However, in the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 8, a carrier detection threshold value is a fixed value. That is, the carrier detection threshold values of the first and the second mobile terminals are set to the same value. Hence, the problem is that transmission is excessively suppressed even in the radio link having a high interference resistance within cells. Similarly, the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 7 has the above-mentioned problem.
As described above, the threshold value control method described in the patent document 2 can avoid the problem that transmission is deferred because of reception of signals from a communication apparatus outside the range where the communication apparatus can better duplex received signals. Therefore, the frequency of generation of transmission suppression can be reduced. However, the threshold value control method has the above-mentioned problem. That is, even when a communication apparatus transmits signals via a radio link having a higher interference resistance, transmission is delayed if signals from communication apparatuses within the range are received.

Communication apparatus in radio network, transmission control method, threshold value control method, and radio network system


A digital private branch exchange system and methods of operating same are provided. A system according to the instant invention is capable of providing improved and integrated conference calling, voice mail, music on hold, and call forwarding features, without being subject to the typical problems associated with the prior art.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to communication systems and, more specifically, to private branch exchange systems including key systems, and methods for operating same.
2. Brief Description of the Pertinent Prior Art
A modern private branch exchange (PBX) system, in addition to facilitating communication among its lines and extensions must be capable of providing a number of special user services. For example, a PBX system must be capable of generating and routing, to each line and extension, a variety of standard and non-standard informational and supervisory tonal signals, such as, dial tone, audible ringing signal, etc., to provide each user with individualized call-status information. Furthermore, recently, it has also become desirable to provide such features as "music on hold", "voice mail", "station message detail recording" (SMDR), and "call forwarding." Also, given the needs of the modern office, the PBX system must have a conferencing feature service for temporarily connecting a plurality of PBX system lines and/or extensions so that they may converse and/or exchange data simultaneously.
Conventional PBX systems exist which are capable of providing the foregoing features. Typically, however, in order to be able to provide each of these special and particularly desirable features, conventional PBX systems incorporate application specific, dedicated hardware. For example, separate custom-made hardware modules are used in conventional systems to facilitate conference calling, generate tonal information signals and to distribute these signals to the plurality users (usually by means of a separate bus network), and to store and retrieve data (including voice messages in "voice mail" systems).
A number of disadvantages result from the use of application specific circuitry to provide special user services in conventional systems. For example, the custom hardware used to generate tonal signals is only capable of producing a limited number of frequencies and amplitudes (power levels), and therefore, the tones which may be provided are invariably fixed depending on the specific type of custom hardware used within the system. This is especially unfortunate given the nature of today's telecommunications standards and global economy. Signalling frequency and amplitude standards differ from country to country, necessitating modifications of tonal signals to conform to each country's communications standards. Also, in order to effect these changes, significant and costly modifications must be made to the system's hardware, in order for the PBX system to be able to conform to these different telecommunication standards. In certain cases, the required modifications may be so extensive as to necessitate substituting an entirely different PBX system for the one currently in use.
Serious signal attenuation problems also plague conventional systems. For example, in a conventional system, the custom hardware used to generate tonal signals is connected, in parallel, to each of the output ports (via a distribution network). This arrangement causes the signal power distributed to each of the output ports to decrease proportionately along with the addition of each new output port and/or output line, necessitating the use of amplification and/or signal repeater circuitry distributed throughout the system.
Further problems may result when "voice mail" features are incorporated into a typical PBX system. Conventionally, the circuitry used to provide "voice mail" features comprise separate and distinct systems from the main PBX system. These separate systems are interfaced to the main PBX system via analog telephone lines and communicate with each other using one or more predetermined, standard signaling protocols (which may be, for example, combinations of hook-flashes, dual tone multiple frequency signals, or other protocols). Thus, each of the systems (the "voice mail" and main PBX systems) must be provisioned with necessary hardware to communicate using combinations of appropriate timing instructions and/or other protocol commands so as to synchronize their operations. This can result in the profound disadvantage that, if synchronization is lost between the separate systems, the overall PBX system will no longer function properly. Additionally, during initialization, the user of conventional "voice mail" systems may experience long periods of delay, since the communications protocol must be established and initialized among the separate systems prior to the beginning of data transfer to the voice mail system. Also, since each of the systems is distinct from the other systems, each system must have its own individual control circuitry and administrative/control information data bases, and therefore, must be individually administered and maintained. These two problems (the requirement for main PBX and voice mail system synchronization, and separate, distinct administrative/control means for each system) serve to significantly increase the overall system's maintenance costs, required administrative down-time, and electronic complexity.
Finally, PBX "call forwarding" features currently available are quite limited in their capabilities. Typical "call forwarding" schemes merely re-route, after a predetermined amount of time, an incoming call from one line or extension of the PBX system to another predetermined extension. This can result in, inter alia, two major disadvantages. First, inconveniently, if the second extension is not answered, then, the caller must attempt to contact the desired party later by making a second call to the PBX system. Second, since a conventional PBX system's "call forwarding" circuitry may only redirect an incoming call from one PBX extension to another extension within the system, and not to an outside line remote from the system, individuals who usually would be at a given PBX extension (for example, in the workplace), but are currently at a location remote therefrom (for example, at home or commuting) cannot be reached by the PBX system.
Examples of conventional communications and/or private branch exchange systems include U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,247, issued to Lambert; U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,216, issued to Zeitrag; U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,096, issued to Sarson, et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,948, issued to Molnar; U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,157, issued to Aoshima; U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,330, issued to Magnusson, et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,807, issued to Kerr, et al.

Private branch exchange system and methods for operating same


This invention relates to the field of labor and employment, and more specifically the process and method of conducting background investigations, clearance searches, and other employee-related qualification of individuals or job applicants, and the creation of different tools and indexes linked with such process and optimization scheme. The system utilizes biometric feedback from an applicant, a downloadable App to be used at the applicant's device and the integration of tokens and statistical scores and ratings to help improve and lower the cost of the process.

The Early Hiring Process
As part of human interaction and social conduct, individuals need others to live, socialize, and work. Early in human culture, agriculture and trade were often conducted by merchants who relied mostly on word of mouth to hire. Since families were very large, people preferentially hired family members or people who orbited in the direct proximity of these family members. With time, the size of corporations and other business association grew. Boat captains began hiring tens of thousands of people to a point at which the pool of known workers vanished.
The next level of research is linked with common features between the person in charge of hiring and the potential worker. The employer would be confident in the worthiness of a potential hire by finding this person to be a member of someone else's family, to come from a known village, or to be a member of some known association. For example, if a person was a patron of a known pub, either the person in charge of hiring trusted all patrons from that establishment or was able that same night to go to that location and enquire about the worthiness of that individual. Early background checks were often conducted in a personal way by the person who desired to hire.
With time, social conduct evolved along with the mobility of individuals forming societies. People began to move, travel and change locations. The fabric of life became more complex, and the skills of individuals became more specialized. Families also shrank and corporations began to hire hundreds of people under a common brand. Past models of vetting individuals for different jobs slowly became obsolete in many areas of modern life. What was required was a simple, cost efficient way to check verify the worthiness of a person for any given task.
In the 20th Century, before information flowed extensively over the digital airwaves, those who hired used a resume, school qualifications, prior work experience, and sometimes references. A resume was created by each applicant for a job opening, listing the above information in a clear and succinct way. Human resources department of corporations would create job postings asking applicants to apply and send their resumes. The communication between human resources and applicants often was done using newspapers. For example, for decades one day out of the week all local editions included a section with job postings. Applicants would buy the newspaper and look at the ad section. One of the ways of advertising available retail jobs was using a simple "apply within" sign placed in one of the windows" ". But one piece of this process which never was circumvented is the one-on-one connection. Interviews were used, even after qualifications were matched to help give a potential employer assurances as to the "good character" of the person to be hired.
Around 1990, the Internet arrived. With the digital highway, communication began to flow much more easily and quickly. Systems were quickly developed which allowed the process of hiring to become more transparent, efficient, and rapid, but this created multiple problems. First, the number of applicants began to increase dramatically as people from further away were able to see the ad and respond to it digitally. Second, with the click of a button, applicants were able to customize resumes to some extent to better match job posting requirements. In addition, with the ease in communication came an ease in changing a working position. The horizontal mobility of workers began to increase and good employees quickly were able to move to other positions.
Another important change in the societal dynamic took place around 2010 when the power of the Internet was made much stronger as it spread to portable devices capable of fully leveraging smaller screens. Using Apps, video chats, and other systems, the world of communication changed. People began to generate enormous and uncontrolled amounts of data. Individuals began using social media, for example, to post political opinions, minor daily events, and all sorts of personal information. Each government agency as well as, every large corporation began to collect and manage incredibly large amounts of information. Borders also melted away as workers in different countries began to see cross-border opportunities.
In sum, with early systems, the simple process of hiring always included a component as to the moral fiber of a person by either knowing them personally, knowing their loved ones or having some societal connection with that person; in the new age of technology, most often that capacity was lost.
The Heightened Process of Verification
The late 20th and early 21st Centuries' increased flow of digital information allows human resources departments to quickly verify and match job requirements with the qualifications of a candidate. Yet in today's world, the overflow of available information has only increased the demand on employers to secure the right candidates and open the analysis from other angles. Human resources departments are tasked with making sure the candidates who are interviewed meet a higher standard of quality.
Three of the main tools used by human resources include the capacity (i) to request a drug test of a candidate to make sure the candidate is not—at that moment—a user of illegal substances in violation of the law; (ii) to secure a credit report of a candidate which often will indicate certain propensities of a candidate to live with financial responsibility, (for example, people with assets and good financial management are more likely not to have gambling or addition problems); and (iii) to ask whether there is a criminal record. As one can imagine, while these three tools offer some level of guidance to human resources, they may be difficult to secure, may be partial at best because of jurisdictional issues and in the case of people with sufficient resources, not disclose the full picture.
Background Investigation & Prior Art
A background check or background investigation is often described as the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records, and financial records of an individual or organization. Once these checks were reserved to individuals with a high security clearance granted by the government; today the need for background checks has been broadened to many individuals in positions of trust or power, such as school courthouse, hospital, financial institution, legal firms, airport, or government employees. As one can imagine, background checks, while useful and desired by many, are costly. As explained above, thanks to the Internet and the information highway, the number of qualified applicants for each position has greatly increased. As a consequence, the desire to implement background checks on multiple applicants greatly burdens the process in terms of time, effort, information, and cost.
In 2000, Mr. Michael J. Cuttler et al. invented a new system, method and computer-readable medium for acquiring and analyzing personal history information. A patent was issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,346,541 in 2008, to Law Enforcement Services, Inc. The general figure illustrating the hardware of this system is shown at FIG. 1. This technology, as protected, covers a computer-based method of acquiring life history information of an applicant to minimize positive response bias to and enhance the veracity of the life history information. This technology, as described, is designed to use the power of a database, a questionnaire engine, and a rule-processing engine to allow an administrator to edit questions and allow the system to quickly adapt (as would and interviewer) to responses given in real time by an applicant. This technology used a report engine (HTML or text processing) to manage a dynamically moving applicant questionnaire.
In 2004, Mr. Robert W. Holloran described a biometric-supported name-based criminal history system for background check. This application filed as U.S. Ser. No. 11/187,391 is directed at eliminating false positives or false negatives in relation to criminal history files under the FOIA. To reinforce the existing systems based on Social Security Numbers and known current and past addresses, an applicant provides a copy of biometic information, such as fingerprints, to help reinforce the search.
In 2006, Mr. Bari Havlik invented a new system and method for providing for regulatory compliance; a patent was issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,799,243 in 2014 to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. On the software control panel, several sections are provided and shown as FIG. 2 demonstrating how information is entered into this new software. This system describes how a "background investigation process" is automatically launched by the system for any known applicant entered into the human resources system. A search criteria is also entered and this system is simply connected to multiple databases; information is collected and stored locally for later access as part of the process. This may include information pulled from a regulatory agency's database such as CRD (compliance regulatory database maintained by and for regulatory agencies), the subject's credit information, and any court records, criminal history, employment history verification, education verification, and insurance, licenses and certification information for the person. Specific background investigation notes for the individual can also be included. For an ongoing open investigation the person(s) conducting the investigation will also be permitted to update background information on this interface page, and this information will be stored in the compliance database. What is known is the automated process of using an applicant's name to collect information from multiple databases connected to a single collection source.
In 2008, Mr. Chad Williams described a method for assessing the reputation of individual using "vouching" by individuals. In a network environment, some software platforms like LinkedIn®, dbuz® or zoominfo® can be leveraged to create 2nd degree interaction to help get background information on a potential applicant. As part of the method, multiple attributes are listed to help secure this information (e.g., perfectionist/sloppy, embraces change/rejects change). FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of this prior art.
Finally, in 2012, Mr. Tyler J. Miller invented a web-based software system generally designed for processing pre-employment background investigations. This technology issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,070,098 in 2015, and describes a software branded as eSOPH™. Generally speaking, this technology describes multiple steps associated with a method of using a computing device with processor to manage information or a medium having stored thereon software able to perform such method.
The technology of Miller teaches how a system requires four inputs, (a) information identifying the applicant, (b) the position in the organization for employment, (c) the contact person at the organization, and (d) the contact information of an investigator. This information in then stored as a hyperlink (i.e., HTML address) which is then sent to the email address of the applicant. The link includes a way to view electronic documents by the applicant. The applicant is then queried and responses are received in regards to a "first reference" which is defined as a person likely to have information about the applicant via an email contact address of the first reference. The system then analyzes the type/class of the reference and a second hyperlink is sent to the reference for contact with another set of documents linked with the position. This information is then received and stored for reference in the memory. Finally, a residential address is secured from the initial applicant response and law enforcement agency lists are generated based on the address and these data are sent to the investigator.
In essence, Miller teaches a partially automated system in which a person subject to the background check is in charge of much of the process. This applicant provides personal information, an email address and a location of residence. The same applicant also provides names of references and the system queries these people, stores the information and performs some internal research at locations linked with the address given.
One of the key problem with this method is the ease with which an applicant can circumvent this system. Background checks are designed primarily to uncover information that an applicant does not want to disclose or may be trying to hide. This system places the applicant in control of what information, address, or name of reference is given to the person running the background check. Understandably, those who have circumvented the law in the past or know if a true background check is conducted, something in their past would block the offer of a job and may provide an incentive to manipulate this system in one of many ways. For example, the applicant may provide false information, a false residence address, or a reference which has been carefully kept away from any wrongdoing of the candidate.
What is needed is an improved background check system which avoids some of the pitfalls described above.

Process and method for cost and time optimization of background investigation of employment applicants


A method for performing fine working of a material by electrochemical reaction comprises a two-step scanning operation in which a surface topography of the material is obtained during a first scan which is used to control the position of a probe during a second scan in which an electrochemical reaction is performed. During the first scan, an electrochemical cell is constructed with a four-electrode system, including the probe, a material to be worked, a reference electrode and a counter electrode. The potential of each of the probe and the material to be worked is set so that no electrochemical reaction occurs during the first scan. Data representative of the surface topography is stored and used to control the position of the probe during the second scan in which an electrochemical cell is constructed with a three-electrode system, including the probe, the material, and the reference electrode. The potential of the material with respect to the probe is set such that the electrochemical reaction occurs during the second scan, and the probe is maintained at a distance determined based on the stored topographical data.

The present invention relates to a method of performing fine working which is directed, in metal industries, electronic industries, etc., to performing fine working in a solution through an electrochemical reaction by the use of a probe having a fine tip.
As a method of performing working in a liquid through an electrochemical reaction by the use of a probe having a fine tip, there has heretofore been reported a method of performing working by the use of an electrochemical scan type tunnel microscope.
In a method of performing fine working which is directed to approaching a probe having a fine tip to the surface of a material to be worked and thereby performing fine working by utilizing an electrochemical reaction that occurs between the two, in order to enhance the working precision it is important to decrease the distance between the probe and the material to be worked and maintain this distance to be constant. If the distance between the probe and the material to be worked increases, the working area inconveniently widens. Also, if the distance between the probe and the material to be worked varies during the working operation, it is difficult to shape the worked configuration as predetermined. Since in order for the working precision may be on the order of sub-microns it is necessary for the distance between the forward end of the probe and the material to worked be also be at a level of sub-microns, it is difficult to control such a fine distance with the use of optical means. On account of this, if measurement is performed of the tunnel current that flows between the forward end of the probe and the material to be worked, it becomes possible to control such a fine distance with a high precision relatively easily. While the conventional method of performing fine working that uses an electrochemical scan type tunnel microscope is also arranged to make feedback control of the probe-to-specimen distance by the use of this tunnel current, it involves several problems.
First, there is pointed out the respect that when an electrochemical reaction is caused to occur between the probe and the material to be worked, a Faraday current (electrolytic current) flows between the two. It is difficult to determine whether the current that flows between the probe and the material to be worked is a tunnel current or Faraday current. Also, in the method using feedback control of the probe-to-working-material distance by the use of the tunnel current, there is the problem that when an electrochemical reaction occurs with the result that a Faraday current flows, the distance between the probe and the material to be worked inconveniently varies with the result that the worked configuration diverges from the predetermined configuration. In order to avoid the occurrence of this problem, there can be also considered the use of a method to make the feedback control ineffective at the time of performing the working operation and to fix the Z-axial position of the probe. However, there is a problem in that when working is continuously performed while the probe is being moved, since the distance between the material to be worked and the probe is very short, the probe inconveniently collides with the material to be worked due to the surface roughness thereof, surface inclinations thereof, etc. Also, in a case where the feedback control is performed with the use of a tunnel current, the distance between the material to be worked and the probe must be a magnitude of distance that enables the detection of the relevant tunnel current. Namely, the degree of freedom with which the relevant distance can be set is not high.
Also, since in the process of an electrochemical reaction the amount of reaction is proportionate to the value of the Faraday current, in order to adjust the amount of working it is important to control the Faraday current that flows between the probe and the material to be worked. In the conventional electrochemical scan type tunnel microscope, generally, the probe and the material to be worked operate respectively as working electrodes and an electrochemical cell is constructed with a four-electrode system that comprises these working electrodes and reference and counter electrodes added thereto. In the case of this construction, although the potential of each of the probe and the material to be worked can be independently set, the cell basically is constructed with a main purpose placed on controlling the electrochemical reactions that occur between the probe and counter electrode and between the material to be worked and counter electrode. This means that the cell construction is not made so as to control precisely the Faraday current between the probe and the material to be worked. For this reason, there arises also the problem that it is difficult to adjust the amount of working.

Method and apparatus for performing fine working


A first AC/DC converter circuit is coupled via two transformers to a second AC/DC converter circuit, the first AC/DC converter circuit having a symmetrical configuration of two switching elements performing complementary opened/closed switching, to alternately connect positive and negative terminals of a DC source to a junction between transformer primary windings. Each primary winding alternates between a condition of transferring electrical power to a secondary winding and a condition of serving as a choke coil which temporarily stores electromagnetic energy when a current flows through that primary winding and a primary winding of the other transformer.

1. Field of Application
The present invention relates to a dual-transformer type of DC-to-DC converter, and in particular to an improved DC-to-DC converter providing high efficiency of conversion.
2. Description of Prior Art
Types of DC-to-DC converter which utilize two transformers have been proposed in the prior art, for example in Japanese patent application first publication No. 2003-102175 (referred to in the following as reference document 1), U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,382 (referred to in the following as reference document 2), Japanese patent application first publication No. 2005-51994 (referred to in the following as reference document 3), and Japanese patent application first publication No. 2005-51995 (referred to in the following as reference document 4). Reference documents 3 and 4 are each by the assignees of the present invention. In the DC-to-DC converters disclosed in each of reference documents 2, 3 and 4, during each interval in which electrical power is being outputted by the secondary side of a first one of the two transformers due to the transformer action of that transformer, the second transformer is storing magnetizing energy to enable a succeeding transformer action by that second transformer. During each interval in which power is being outputted from the secondary side of the second transformer, i.e., by the aforementioned succeeding transformer action, the first transformer is releasing magnetizing energy to enable a succeeding transformer action.
Due to the fact that primary windings of the two transformer are connected in series, the released manetizing energy of a first one of the transformers (i.e., manetizing energy stored in a primary windings of that transformer) is transferred to a primary winding of the second transformer, when electrical power is transferred to the secondary winding of the second transformer by transformer action from that primary winding of the second transformer. Thus due to the release of the stored manetizing energy, energy losses can be reduced. Due to the fact that the transformer actions of the two transformers (i.e., outputting of current to the secondary windings) and releasing of the magnetizing energy occur in successive alternation, the output currents from the respective secondary windings can be combined to obtain a substantially DC output current from the DC-to-DC converter.
Thus with each of the DC-to-DC converters of reference documents 2 to 4, the two transformer operate in alternation to produce an output voltage that is substantially a DC voltage, with only a small amount of ripple. In the case of the DC-to-DC converters of reference documents 2 and 3, a capacitor is used to transfer current between the primary windings and the primary-side power source, with charge storage by the capacitor serving to achieve a "soft switching" effect. The switching losses which occur in the primary-side switching elements (due to successive interruptions of the primary-side current) are thereby reduced so that a high efficiency of power transfer can be achieved.
Reduction of the losses that occur in a high-power type of electronic apparatus enables the cooling mechanism of that apparatus to be made smaller and more light in weight, and also enables the energy lost by performing cooling of the apparatus to be reduced. This is especially valuable in the case of an apparatus that is to be installed in a vehicle, since the available space for installing equipment is limited.
However with the DC-to-DC converters of reference documents 3 and 4, since high voltages are applied across the terminals of the switching elements in the high-voltage side of the apparatus, there is the disadvantage that it is necessary to use a plurality of expensive types of switching elements having a high breakdown voltage level. Furthermore, a switching element (more specifically, semiconductor device that is operated as a switching element) having a high breakdown voltage utilizes a relatively thick layer of low impurity-concentration material as a layer which withstands high voltages. As a result, the ON-state resistance of such a switching element is substantially greater than that of a switching element that is designed to only withstand low voltages. Hence, a switching element having a high breakdown voltage level has a high level of switching loss.
In general, there is a fixed limit on the maximum permissible level of loss for each semiconductor switching module (formed of one switching element or a plurality of switching elements connected in parallel). If switching elements having a high breakdown voltage level are utilized, then it becomes necessary to reduce the current density in each switching element, in view of the increased ON-state resistance of such a switching element. Thus in order to achieve a required level of current, it becomes necessary to connect a plurality of expensive switching elements (having a high breakdown voltage level) in parallel to constitute a switching module, instead of utilizing only a single switching element. Hence the manufacturing cost of the DC-to-DC converter becomes increased.

Dual-transformer type of DC-to-DC converter


A virtual private network (VPN) service is provided through a shared network infrastructure, with customer edge (CE) devices each having a provider edge (PE) interface having a single layer 3 address in the VPN. An address resolution request message is transmitted by a first CE device on plural layer 2 virtual circuits of its PE interface. The address resolution request message including the layer 3 address allocated to a second CE device of the VPN. In response to reception of such request message at the second CE device, an address resolution response message is returned to the first CE device. In response to reception of this response message, the first CE device maps the layer 3 address allocated to the second CE device to a virtual LAN identifier of the layer 2 virtual circuit on which the response message is received.

The present invention relates to the provision of virtual private network (VPN) services through carrier networks such as Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) or Wide Area Networks (WANs), and more particularly to address resolution methods used in such VPN.
A VPN emulates a private network over public or shared infrastructures. When the shared infrastructure is an IP network such as the Internet, the VPN can be based on an IP tunneling mechanism, as described in Request For Comments (RFC) 2764 published in February 2000 by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Another approach provides link layer connectivity for the devices affiliated to the VPN.
Traditional WAN data layer 2 services provided by carriers are based on the virtual circuit concept. Data units are switched within the carrier network along pre-established trails referred to as virtual circuits. These data units are for instance packets in X.25 networks, frames in Frame Relay (FR) networks, cells in Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks, . . . The carrier network may also have a Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) architecture built over an infrastructure supporting a connectionless network layer protocol such as IP. MPLS is described in RFC 3031 published in January 2001 by the IETF. The virtual circuits within a MPLS network are referred to as Label Switched Paths (LSPs).
The virtual circuits can be pre-established by a configuration process, called "provisioning", performed by the network operator: they are then called Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVC). Alternatively, they can established dynamically on request from the customer equipment: they are then called Switched Virtual Circuits (SVC).
Recently, several vendors have been promoting Ethernet as a universal access media for LAN, MAN and WAN services. Several drafts presented at the IETF cover the way to signal and provision L2 VPN services based on an IP/MPLS infrastructure (see, e.g., Kompella et al., "MPLS-based Layer 2 VPNs", Internet Draft, draft-kompella-ppvpn-I2vpn-00.txt, published in June 2001 by the IETF).
As specified in the IEEE standard 802.1Q approved in December 1998, Ethernet networks may support one or more Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs). An Ethernet frame circulating in such a network may include, after the Medium Access Control (MAC) address, an additional field called tag header or Q-tag which contains a VLAN identifier (VID). Accordingly, a VLAN-aware Ethernet bridge has the ability to perform frame switching based on the VID, deduced either from the physical port from which the incoming frame is received or from the contents of its tag header. A VLAN is used for the layer 2 broadcasting and forwarding of frames within a sub-group of users (subscribers of that VLAN). For example, in a corporation, it is possible to define respective virtual LANs for various departments to enable selective broadcasting and forwarding of information in the layer 2 procedures.
It has been suggested that the concept of VLAN can be extended in the case where Ethernet traffic is transported over a MPLS network (see, e.g., Martini et al., "Transport of Layer 2 Frames Over MPLS", Internet Draft, draft-martini-I2circuit-trans-mpis-07.txt, published in July 2001 by the IETF).
In such a case, a specific MPLS virtual circuit, or LSP, originating at a PE can be associated with each VLAN to forward the frames intended for subscribers of that VLAN. The CE sends tagged frames to the PE and the latter switches them to the relevant virtual circuits based on the ingress physical port and the VID.
Such VLAN multiplexing on the PE/CE interface may be used to build a layer 3 architecture, e.g. an IP architecture, over a backbone based on data link layer VCs (Frame Relay, ATM, X.25, MPLS, etc.). In such a case, the VLAN identifier is used locally on the PE/CE interface to discriminate VCs established within the backbone. In other words, it is a layer 2 address used by a given CE device to communicate with another CE device connected to a remote PE: at the given CE, the VID corresponds to the sub-group of users accessible trough this other CE.
In the customer layer 3 architecture, the CE devices usually include routers. The operations that they perform on an incoming IP datagram comprise (i) analyzing the destination address in the IP header by means of a routing table to determine the "next hop", i.e. the IP address of the next router or host where the datagram should be forwarded, and (ii) retrieving the layer 2 address to be used for forwarding this datagram, based on the next hop IP address. Step (ii) requires a mapping between remote IP addresses and local layer 2 addresses.
In this application, the VID on the CE/PE interface can be compared with the data link connection identifier (DLCI) used as a layer 2 address in frame relay access services. When a VC is initialized in such frame relay VPN service, an inverse Address Resolution Protocol (inverse ARP) is used to discover the IP address configured at the other end of the VC. An address resolution table is thus built in the CE router in order to forward the user frames. In a typical hub-and-spoke topology, there will be only one entry in the address resolution table of each spoke for the hub address, and one entry per spoke at the hub for mapping the IP address to the corresponding DLCI.
However, unlike current WAN layer 2 technologies (Frame Relay, ATM . . . ), Ethernet circuits (including VLANs with a single Ethernet interface) are interpreted by layer 3 devices as being separate layer 3 subnets. This implies a separate layer 3 interface address for each VLAN. When applied to the VPN case, where the VLAN identifier is used to map incoming traffic to remote destinations over virtual circuits, this causes an increase in provisioning and resource usage, e.g. layer 3 address space.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose an address resolution method which is readily applicable to various customer layer 3 devices. Another object is to avoid unnecessary address space wastages, in particular by permitting the customer device to interpret a group of VLAN identifiers on a given PE/CE interface as a single layer 3 interface.

Address resolution method for a virtual private network, and customer edge device for implementing the method