Apparatus, methods and architectures for dynamically incentivizing use of payment instrument(s) by customer(s) on purchase(s) from merchant(s) are described. Methods, apparatus and architectures may include/involve providing electronic platform(s) for enabling customer reward option(s). Reward option(s) may include standard reward option(s) associated with interchange fee(s) upon acquirer(s) affiliated with the merchant(s). Reward option(s) may include custom reward option(s) funded by the merchant(s) and associated with discounted interchange fee(s). Discounted interchange fee(s) may incentivize reduced cost(s) of acceptance imposed on merchant(s) by acquirer(s). The reward options may be selected to drive incremental sales to participating merchant(s).

In an electronic payment scenario, a customer (the "customer") may purchase from a merchant or service provider ("the merchant") goods or services ("the product") using credit or by debiting an asset account (for example, using a card such as debit card or card that debits another type of asset account such as a card for debiting a prepaid account, a card for debiting an Automated Clearing House (ACH) account or a card (or other mechanism) for debiting another suitable asset account). The credit may be extended to the customer by an issuing bank (the "issuer"). The asset account may reside at the issuing bank or be held by another entity. The merchant presents the transaction to an acquiring bank (the "acquirer"). The acquirer pays the merchant for (and thus "acquires") the product. A transaction processing network in communication with the issuer and the acquirer settles the transaction between the issuer and the acquirer. The transaction processing network may collect transaction processing network fees from the issuer and the acquirer in connection with a settlement.
Settling the transaction may include the transaction network receiving a plurality of transactions from the acquirer. Each of the plurality of transactions may comprise an amount authorized by the issuer. The transaction network may debit an account of the issuer for the amount authorized and credit the amount authorized to an account of the acquirer.
Settlement may include a transfer of funds between two or more transaction participants. The transfer may be a "book transfer," an inter-bank transfer or any suitable transfer between the transaction participants. A settlement network may transfer the funds between the transaction participants. Illustrative settlement networks may include the Federal Reserve Wire Network ("Fedwire") and other suitable settlement networks that are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The settlement network may be any suitable network linking one or more accounts of the transaction participants.
One transaction participant may impose a fee upon another transaction participant for participating in the transaction. The fee may be referred to as "interchange." Interchange may be a fixed fee for the transaction or a percentage of the transaction. Interchange may be a fixed fee and/or a percentage of the transaction.
Interchange flows from the acquirer, through the transaction processing network, to the issuer. For example, the issuer may transfer to the acquirer a purchase amount of the product, net interchange. The issuer typically uses interchange to cover costs of acquiring credit card customers, servicing credit card accounts, providing incentives to retain customers, mitigating fraud, covering customer credit risk, group compensation and other expenses.
The acquirer may deduct a "transaction cost" from the amount that the acquirer pays the merchant in exchange for the product. The transaction cost may cover the acquirer's transaction processing network fee, interchange, and/or other expenses.
FIG. 1A shows typical credit card transaction flow 100. Flow 100 involves transaction participants such as the merchant, the customer, and transaction service providers that are identified below.
At step 1 of FIG. 1A, the merchant provides information, relating to a proposed transaction between the merchant and a customer, to a transaction authorization and clearance provider. The transaction authorization and clearance provider may be a transaction processing network. The transaction authorization and clearance provider may provide transaction authorization and clearance information to the merchant. The transaction authorization and clearance information may include authorization for the transaction to proceed.
At step 2 of FIG. 1A, the merchant provides $100 in product to the customer. The customer pays with a credit card.
At step 3 of FIG. 1A, the issuer transmits to the customer a statement showing the purchase price ($100.00) due. The issuer collects the purchase price amount, along with interest and fees if appropriate, from the customer.
At step 4 of FIG. 1A, the issuer routes the purchase price amount ($100.00) through the transaction processing network to the acquirer. At step 5, the acquirer partially reimburses the merchant for the purchase price amount. In the example shown in FIG. 1A, the partial reimbursement is $98.00. The difference between the reimbursement amount ($98.00) and the purchase price amount ($100.00) is a two-dollar ($2.00) transaction cost.
At step 6 of FIG. 1A, issuer transfers $0.05 to the the transaction processing network, to the issuer.
At step 7 of FIG. 1A, both the acquirer and the issuer pay a transaction processing network fee ($0.07 for acquirer and $0.05 for the issuer) to the transaction processing network.
At step 8 of FIG. 1A, the issuer pays a reward ($1.00) to the customer. Illustrative net positions are shown below in Table 1.
TABLE 1Net positions, by participant, based ontransaction flow 100 (shown in FIG. 1A).ParticipantNet ($)Issuer0.45Acquirer0.43Transaction processing network1.62Merchant−2.00Customer1.00
In settlement 100 (shown in FIG. 1A), the transaction fee is based on an exemplary merchant discount rate of 2%. The $1.50 interchange is based on an exemplary interchange rate of 1.5%. The sum of the transaction processing network fees ($0.07 and $0.05) is based on a total exemplary transaction processing network fee rate of 0.12%.
Transaction processing networks and transaction processing network services are offered under trademarks known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Transaction processing networks may set interchange rates. Issuers may refund or reimburse all and/or a portion of the merchant's cost of acceptance. Interchange rates often depend for each transaction processing network on merchant type and size, transaction processing method, transaction volume and other factors.
Currently, issuers may offer reward programs associated with credit and/or debit payment instruments. Such payment instruments may include credit cards, debit cards, instruments or devices that include a contact chip, such as an ISO14443-compliant contactless chip, or other electronic purchasing devices such as smart phones or tablets (collectively hereinafter, payment instruments). Payment instruments may include payment instrument information stored on a mobile device (e.g., smart phone) or accessible via a mobile device. Illustrative payment instrument information is shown below in Table 2.
TABLE 2Illustrative Payment Instrument InformationIssuerTransaction networkCustomer nameExpiration dateCard security code ("CSC")Card verification data ("CVD")Card verification value ("CVV," "CVV2," "iCVV" or "DynamicCVV")Card verification value code ("CVVC")Card verification code ("CVC" or "CVC2")Verification code ("V-code")Card code verification ("CCV")Signature panel code ("SPC")Customer identification number ("CID")Card account numberBrandRewards Program IDAffinity
Rewards programs may deepen current customer relationships and attract new customers. Rewards programs may offer customers incentives to use their payment instruments to purchase goods or services from merchants. Illustrative rewards include perks such as upgrades, cash-back, air lines miles or "points." Points may be utilized to obtain goods or services from qualifying merchants. Customers typically earn points by making qualifying purchases using a payment instrument provided by the issuer.
Typically, rewards programs are funded by the issuer and do not promote merchant specific spend, brand or message.
Merchants may pay fees, such as a cost of acceptance, to the acquirer. The fees may include terminal rental fees, network fees and/or other fees, for processing payment instrument payments. Based on an amount included in the fees paid by the merchants, an issuer receive compensation for accepting a credit risk associated with payment instruments and/or other costs associated with administering a card program. The issuer may allocate, directly or indirectly, a portion of the compensation to fund rewards or other programs to promote payment instrument usage.
It would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for electronic payment system architecture that allows credit, debit and/or ACH payments to be used to accrue merchant sponsored rewards without disrupting strict timing requirements associated with the processing of such payments at a point-of-sale (hereinafter, "POS"). It would be desirable to design a model and associated electronic payment processing architecture that provide customers with reward-type incentives to use payment instruments, but allow issuer to rebate any fees payed by the merchants and allow merchants to control and direct the marketing and loyalty of their brand. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for custom rewards protocols and system architecture.

Custom rewards protocol and system architecture


An optical fiber joint includes: an optical fiber extending out of the optical cable is held in the cavity, one end of the inner sleeve element is fixed at the optical cable, and a sleeve is placed at the other end; and an outer sleeve element, the outer sleeve element is sleeved onto an outer side of the inner sleeve element; the sleeve of the inner sleeve element at least partially protrudes out of the outer sleeve element, a tail end of the sleeve protruding out of the outer sleeve element has an opening, so that the tail end of the sleeve forms a C-shaped section. Based on the foregoing technical solutions, the optical fiber connector according to the embodiments of the present disclosure is seamlessly connected to a C-shaped slot of an optical fiber adapter by using the sleeve having the C-shaped opening of the optical fiber joint.

In an optical fiber communications system, an optical fiber connector is arranged for connection between optical cables, between an optical cable and an optic-to-electric component, and between optic-to-electric components. The optical fiber connector precisely interconnects end faces of two optical fibers that need to be connected, so that optical energy output by a transmit optical fiber can be maximally coupled to a receive optical fiber.
During layout of drop cables on a fiber to the home (Fiber To The Home, FTTH) network, a fusion splicing technique is generally used. That is, an optical fiber terminal is assigned in a fiber distribution box, the optical fiber terminal and a drop optical cable are spliced using an optical fiber fusion splicer in the fiber distribution box, and the drop optical cable is then laid to each home. At the other end of the drop optical cable, onsite fusion splicing is also required, so that the drop optical cable is connected to a user terminal box of each home. The foregoing fusion splicing technique requires dedicated optical fiber fusion splicing equipment, and imposes a high technical requirement on an operator. In addition, the operation process is tedious and inconvenient.

Optical fiber joint, optical fiber adapter and optical fiber connector


A toilet flush control system which provides control over the volume of water used in conventional tank-type toilets. The disclosed toilet flush control apparatus and method can be used in existing toilets by easily retrofitting such toilets with said apparatus. The toilet flush control apparatus may also be incorporated into the design of new toilets. The apparatus comprises a flapper-type flush valve which by itself does not have adequate buoyancy to remain open during the flush cycle of a toilet and which is equipped with an eyelet member; a buoyant member capable of imparting the needed buoyancy to the valve during the flush cycle; a flexible line connected at one end to the buoyant member and passing through said eyelet, and mechanism for adjusting the vertical distance between the flush valve and the buoyant member from outside the toilet tank. The volume of water saved during flushing is equivalent to the volume of water between the level of the flush valve and the level of the buoyant member.

Conventional tank-type toilet used in households throughout North America were developed many years ago. The apparatus most commonly used to control the flushing cycle of these tanks consists of a flush valve connected to a lift arm. The flush valve has a built-in float, or positive buoyancy means, usually in the form of a styrofoam component or an air pocket, and is designed to have adequate buoyancy to remain open upon raising and releasing the lift arm until substantially all of the water contained in the flush tank is drained into the toilet bowl. As the water level in the toilet tank nears the bottom of the tank where the flush valve is located, the absence of adequate water in the tank causes the flush valve to lose its buoyancy. This enables the valve to reseal the toilet tank discharge opening, thus allowing the tank to refill via a separate refill mechanism. This relatively simple toilet tank design has proven commercially successful and reliable over the years, but suffers from a very serious drawback, i.e. regardless of need, a large volume of water (about 4 to 5 gallons) is used with each flush. This volume of water is particularly excessive when flushing liquid waste alone, or liquid waste accompanied by a small quantity of toilet tissue.
It is generally recognized that toilets account for a very significant component of water usage, particularly in metropolitan areas. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, toilets account for at least 40% of the water used in households. In recent years, because of increases in population density and the associated rise in demand for water, and because of limitations with regard to water supplies, severe water shortages have developed in some parts of the country and are anticipated in many others. Municipalities are struggling to keep up not only with the rising demand for water, but also with the corresponding need for costly additional water and sewerage treatment facilities.
There have been numerous devices proposed to reduce the amount of water used for flushing toilets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,545 discloses a toilet tank flush valve with manually adjustable buoyancy. Since the lid of the toilet tank has to be removed in order to make the adjustment, there are serious operational drawbacks associated with the use of this valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,218 discloses a semi-flush kit employing two floats. Its design is very complex and appears to be of doubtful reliability and practicality.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,023,960 and 5,073,995 disclose water saver devices which cause the flapper valve in a conventional toilet tank to close prematurely. The designs of these devices are also quite complex and offer limited flexibility over the control of the volume of water used per flush.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,254 discloses a device that prevents automatic operation of a toilet tank and requires the user to keep the lift arm in an open position for the duration of the flush cycle. The device appears to be of limited practicality.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,096 provides a dual-level toilet flushing mechanism featuring an upper and a lower flapper valve activated by upward and downward, respectively, swivel action of the flush handle. The amount of water used per flush can be selected from only two predetermined volumes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,547 provides a semi-flush retrofit kit that includes double flush handles, such that if one handle is pressed downward the toilet is flushed fully and if the other handle is pressed downward the toilet tank is only partially emptied. The kit appears very complex, and offers only two predetermined flush options--full and partial.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,548 discloses a toilet tank attachment for reducing the amount of water with which the toilet bowl is filled. With the attachment in place, the amount of water used per flush can not be varied.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,948 discloses a water saver unit which includes a flapper valve and a float positioned on the strap linking the flapper valve with the lift arm of the toilet tank. The unit is quite simple, but suffers from a very serious operational drawback. In order to change the amount of water used per flush, one has to lift the lid of the toilet tank and manually adjust the position of the float.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,796 discloses a double flush toilet apparatus which facilitates full or partial flushing of water from a toilet tank, but lacks convenient flexibility for adjusting the volume of water used during a partial flush.
Many of these patents served to further the understanding of problems associated with efforts to reduce water usage in conventional toilets. None, however, has suggested an apparatus that can be adjusted from outside of the tank to provide an infinite number of settings and yet be sufficiently simple, retrofitable, flexible, reliable and inexpensive to gain wide commercial acceptance.
In light of the foregoing, there still exists a need in the art for new methods of water conservation. There also exits a need for new technologies which will reduce per capita water consumption without water rationing or other unwarranted hardships.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for controlling and reducing the volume of water used in flushing conventional toilets.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus enabling one to control from outside the toilet tank the amount of water to be used when flushing the toilet.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for converting a conventional toilet tank which releases a large volume of water with each flush to a water saving toilet tank using the apparatus of this invention.
It is still another object of this invention to facilitate new toilet tank designs utilizing the water saving apparatus of this invention.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the specification and attached drawings taken in their entirety.


A gum soother with a vibrating and detachable head. The gum soother can have a wand or spherical body with a vibrating device inside. The vibrating device can be in mechanical communication with one or more detachable heads. The detachable heads can have a variety of chew tips to soothe gums.

A need exists for a device that toddlers can use to massage gums during the teething process.
A need exists for a device that pets can use to massage gums during the teething process.
A need exists for a device which can deliver a soothing vibration in a safe and effective manner.
The present disclosure meets these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A new and distinct cultiva of Anagallis plant named ‘Wildcat Mandarin,’ characterized by its vigorous and outwardly spreading plant habit; freely branching growth habit; numerous single flowers that are bright orange in color with a pink center; and good garden performance.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Anagallis plant, botanically known as Anagallis monelli, previously identified with code number UNH 062-2 and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Wildcat Mandarin'.
The new Anagallis is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Durham, N.H. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact Anagallis plants with freely and early flowering habit.
The new Anagallis originated from a hybridization made by the Inventor on Feb. 28, 2000 between two proprietary selections of Anagallis monelli, not patented, identified as code number UNH 950-2, and UNH 924-3. The new Anagallis was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny in Durham, N.H., on the basis of its plant habit and attractive flower coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal vegetative cuttings since Oct. 15, 2000, in Durham, N.H. has shown that the unique features of this new Anagallis are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

Anagallis plant named ‘Wildcat Mandarin’


A junction shield (JS) structure is disclosed for providing longitudinal bias to a free layer (FL) having a width (FLW) and magnetization in a cross-track direction between sidewalls in a sensor. The sensor is formed between bottom and top shields and has sidewalls extending from a front side at an air bearing surface (ABS) to a backside that is a stripe height (SH) from the ABS. The JS structure has a single layer (JS1) adjacent to each sensor sidewall and with a magnetization parallel to that of the FL, and a tapered top surface such that JS1 has decreasing thickness with increasing height from the ABS. As aspect ratio or AR (SH/FLW) increases above 1, longitudinal bias increases proportionally to slow an increase in asymmetry as AR increases, and without introducing a loss in amplitude for a reader with low AR.

In hard disk drive applications, there is a constant drive to increase the recording areal density to reduce the cost of information storage. The increase in recording areal density is accomplished by decreasing the size of the writer and reader sensors that are used to record and reproduce signals. In today's products, the reader sensor is typically made using a TMR sensor structure, which includes two ferromagnetic layers that are separated by a dielectric layer called a tunnel barrier. One of the ferromagnetic layers is referred to as a reference layer (RL) wherein the magnetization direction is fixed by exchange coupling with an adjacent antiferromagnetic (AFM) pinning layer. The second ferromagnetic layer is a free layer (FL) wherein the magnetization vector can rotate in response to external magnetic fields to be either parallel or anti-parallel to the magnetic moment in the RL depending on the magnetic field direction from the recording media. Digital data sequence made of "0" or "1" is translated into different magnetization directions on the recording media which is recorded by a write sensor in each recording head. As the FL rotates, the resistance measured by passing a current from the FL to the RL will change. The change in resistance is measured and used to decode the magnetization pattern from the recording media and reproduce the information that was recorded earlier.
In FIG. 1A, one example of a TMR reader is shown having a sensor structure 6 formed between a lower shield 4 and an upper shield 7. The down-track cross-sectional view depicts a front side of the sensor structure at an ABS 30-30, and a backside 6e adjoining a dielectric (gap) layer 5b. In a so-called bottom spin valve configuration for the sensor structure, bottom portion 6a comprises a RL, and may also include one or multiple seed layers and an AFM layer on the seed layer (not shown). There is a tunnel barrier 6b between the RL and a FL 6f. Upper portion 6c is a capping layer. In some designs, a part of the RL may be recessed from the ABS.
Referring to FIG. 1B, an ABS view of the TMR reader in FIG. 1A is illustrated and shows magnetization 3m in adjacent JSs 3 provide a longitudinal biasing effect to stabilize FL magnetization 6m in the absence of an external magnetic field. One or both of permanent magnetic material and soft magnetic material each having a magnetization aligned near the FL are generally used to bias the FL magnetization moment with respect to the RL so as to obtain a substantially orthogonal relative orientation between FL magnetization 6m and RL magnetization 6n in a zero applied field environment.
FIG. 1C depicts a top-down view of the sensor structure in FIG. 1B where layers above the FL are removed. A JS 3 is formed adjacent to each side of FL 6f at the ABS 30-30. The longitudinal biasing scheme provides a JS magnetization 3m that is parallel to the ABS and to the FL magnetic moment 6m so that a single domain magnetization state in the FL will be stable against all reasonable perturbations when no external magnetic field is applied. An inner JS side 3s1 is usually separated from the FL by a dielectric layer 5a. Each JS also has a front side at the ABS, a backside 3e, and an outer side 3s2 facing away from the FL. Note that the cross-track direction along the y-axis is known as the longitudinal direction, and a direction orthogonal to the ABS (along the x-axis) is referred to as the transverse direction.
Asymmetry of the quasi-static test (QST) response of a TMR read head is defined as the relative difference in the reader resistance for positive and negative magnetic fields (of equal magnitude) in the transverse direction. QST asymmetry, which is hereinafter referred to as asymmetry, is strongly dependent on the aspect ratio (AR) of the reader, which is defined as the ratio of stripe height (SH) to FL width (FLW) expressed as SH/FLW where SH is the distance between a front side of the FL 6f at ABS 30-30 and the FL backside 6e. Asymmetry increases as AR increases thereby making the reader performance sensitive to process induced AR variations, and establishing an upper limit to allowable AR set by acceptable asymmetry.
Asymmetry of reader response depends, among other factors, on the relative magnetization directions of the FL and the RL in the absence of an applied magnetic field (zero field). Thus, FL magnetization direction in a zero field environment is affected by the strength of the longitudinal bias, given by the magnitude of 3m, and the FL AR. The zero field relative magnetization directions of the FL and RL are quantified using the so-called "bias point", which is quantified by the resistance of the sensor structure stack at zero field relative to that at a very large external applied field when the FL and RL magnetizations are driven parallel to each other. Because asymmetry becomes considerably large for long SH dimensions that lead to an AR of 1 or higher, and contributes to degraded TMR reader performance, especially when FLW is proximate to 30 nm or less, a method to improve the aforementioned sensitivity to increasing AR or SH is needed.

Tapered junction shield for self-compensation of asymmetry with increasing aspect ratio for tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) type read head


A method and system is provided for reducing chatter in multi-capacity compressors having disengageable eccentric structures. The multi-capacity fluid compressor includes a compression chamber having a discharge end and an inner surface. The compressor also includes a compression member having a disengageable eccentric structure allowing the compressor to provide discrete compression capacities. A valve portion is disposed adjacent to the discharge end of the compression chamber and is arranged and disposed to discharge a compressed fluid when the compression member has completed. A discharge arrangement is arranged and disposed to discharge at least a portion of fluid remaining in the compression chamber at the completion of the compression cycle. The discharge of at least a portion of the fluid remaining in the compression chamber reduces or eliminates forces on the disengageable eccentric structure to limit rotational acceleration of the disengageable eccentric structure.

Compressor capacity in refrigerant compressors may be varied, especially in multi-cylinder refrigerant compressors, by providing a two position eccentric cam rotatably mounted on the crankpin. The cam is angularly adjustable in response to reversing the direction of rotation of the crankpin by the crankshaft drive motor. One direction of rotation results in the positioning of the eccentric cam having a more eccentric rotation path to provide compression in a corresponding cylinder, while the opposite direction of rotation results in the position of the eccentric cam having a circular rotational path to provide a different amount of compression or no compression in the cylinder. The use of the two position eccentric cam (i.e., the disengageable eccentric cam) allows the compressor to have variable capacity by effectively removing compression in one of the cylinders for one direction of rotation and allows the compressor to maintain efficiency, while under varying load requirements.
One type of eccentric cam is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,419, hereinafter the '419 Patent. The angular positioning of the cam (i.e., the eccentric cam) on the crankpin is accomplished by providing a pair of drive stops which are angularly spaced on a portion of the crankpin, and a dog provided on the cam. These stops and the dog are angularly positioned with respect to each other such that upon rotation of the crankshaft in one direction a first stop will engage one side of the dog and rotate the cam to a first prescribed angular position on the crankpin to produce one piston stroke length. Conversely, reversing the rotation of the crankshaft disengages the dog from the first stop and causes the cam to rotate and engage the opposite side of the dog to a second stop, which also rotates the cam to a second prescribed angular position on the crankpin to produce another piston stroke length.
A compressor operates by drawing gas into a chamber and compressing the gas during a compression cycle. The end of the compression cycle is when the discharge of gas from the compression chamber ends and drawing of the gas into the chamber begins. Reciprocating compressors having disengageable eccentric structures typically include a piston that compresses gas inside a compression cylinder or chamber. A protrusion on the eccentric cam, called a dog, engages a stop on the crankshaft to facilitate rotation of eccentric cam structure. At the completion of the compression cycle, the compressed gas is discharged from the compression cylinder through a discharge valve in a valve plate at one end of the cylinder. The end of the compression cycle in a reciprocating compressor corresponds approximately to the top dead center position of the piston (i.e., the maximum length the piston extends into the compression cylinder). A volume of gas, commonly referred to as reexpansion gas, is not discharged from the compression cylinder and remains in the clearance space of the cylinder (i.e., the space between the valve plate and piston) at the completion of the compression cycle. The reexpansion gas remaining in the cylinder exerts force on the piston. In reciprocating compressors using a disengageable eccentric cam, a force on the piston from the reexpansion gas transfers through the piston assembly to the disengageable eccentric cam. The eccentric cam is accelerated to a rotational velocity greater than the velocity of the crankpin, which results in a slight disengagement of the disengageable eccentric cam's dog from the stop on the crankpin. The crankpin continues to rotate and the eccentric portion returns to the same velocity as the crankpin. The eventual reengagement of the stop on the crankpin with the dog on the disengageable eccentric cam occurs with substantial momentum and impact, thus producing noise, commonly referred to as chatter. Chatter is a metallic clacking or clicking noise generated by the rapid and forceful reengagement of the stop and dog.
Rotary compressors having disengageable eccentric structures are also susceptible to noise in the form of chatter. Rotary compressors include a roller having an eccentric crank mounted on a crankshaft. A protrusion on the eccentric crank, called a dog, engages a stop on the crankpin to facilitate rotation of the roller structure. The roller compresses gas inside a compression cylinder. At the completion of the compression cycle, the compressed gas is discharged from the compression cylinder through a discharge valve positioned along the inner surface of the cylinder. Like in the reciprocating compressor, a volume of reexpansion gas is not discharged from the compression cylinder and remains in the cylinder at the completion of the compression cycle. The reexpansion gas remaining in the cylinder exerts force on the roller, causing the roller and eccentric crank to accelerate to a rotational velocity greater than the crankpin. The crankpin continues to rotate and the roller and eccentric crank return to the same velocity as the crankshaft. The eventual reengagement of the stop on the crankpin with the dog on the disengageable eccentric crank occurs with substantial momentum and impact, thus producing the chatter.
The problem of chatter is not limited to reciprocating and rotary compressors. Any type of compressor having a disengageable eccentric structure may be susceptible to the problem of chatter.
One attempt to address the problem of disengagement and reengagement of the stop and dog includes placing locking mechanisms for the disengageable eccentric structure on the disengageable eccentric cam. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,993, herein incorporated by reference, utilizes various latching mechanisms that mechanically hold the disengageable eccentric cam and the crankpin stop together while the crankpin is rotating. However, the latching means requires additional components and/or machining on the rotating crankpin and disengageable eccentric cam to maintain engagement. Also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,993, is the attempt to address the problem of disengagement and reengagement of the stop and dog using inertial mass to hold disengageable eccentric structure against the crankpin stops. The addition of mass to the eccentric cam shifts the center of gravity of the eccentric cam and acts to provide additional force to maintain engagement while the crankpin is rotating. However, cam inertia is generally ineffective to prevent disengagement, particularly from the force against the disengageable cam caused by reexpansion gas.
What is needed is a method and/or system for reducing noise and chatter in variable capacity compressors with disengageable eccentric structures resulting from reexpansion gas remaining in the cylinder at the completion of the compression cycle.

System and method for reducing noise in multi-capacity compressors


A ticket issuing device issues a highly convenient electronic ticket. The electronic ticket is formed of validity data and information to be validated. The validity data includes a secret key to which an algorithm whose presence is verifiable without being exposed is applicable. The information to be validated includes a public key corresponding to the secret key for verifying the presence of the secret key. The information is validated by the validity data. A ticket storage device generates a digital signature for verifying the presence of the secret key in the validity data, and sends the digital signature together with the information to be validated to a ticket checking device. The ticket checking device determines the presence of the secret key in the ticket storage device by using the digital signature from the ticket storage device and the public key contained in the information to be validated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to information recording media, information processing apparatuses and methods, program recording media, and information processing systems. More particularly, the invention relates to an information recording medium, an information processing apparatus and method, a program recording medium, and an information processing system, all of which implement, for example, highly convenient electronic tickets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transportation tickets, entrance tickets, reserved tickets, membership cards, license cards, service tickets, etc. are used to prove that owners of these cards and tickets possess the rights described therein.
Such cards and tickets are hereinafter simply referred to as "tickets". Tickets made of paper (including plastics similar to paper) are implemented by printing predetermined items on paper, which is convenient to be carried, and thus have "portability".
If paper tickets are implemented simply by printing, it is difficult to prevent forgery. Accordingly, hitherto, as a measure to prevent forgery, special printing is performed on paper, or a stamp or a watermark is added to the paper. Thus, paper tickets can be issued only by legal issuers, and cannot be easily forged. In this sense, paper tickets have a "right copy-preventing function".
Paper tickets also have a "right-validating function" for validating the rights possessed by the owners of the paper tickets, or an "assignment function" for easily assigning the rights described in the tickets to a third party.
Tickets can be reserved via a telephone line or a computer network. However, those who have reserved tickets have to receive the tickets by mail or collect them at the corresponding agents.
Along with the progress of computer network techniques, research and development is being made on electronic ticketing systems in which tickets are digitized and are directly sent and received via a communication network. Such digitized tickets are referred to as "electronic tickets". With electronic tickets, users do not have to collect tickets at the corresponding agents, and the ticket distribution and management costs can also be reduced.
As methods for implementing an electronic ticketing system, for example, a first method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-147500 and a second method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-31204 have been proposed.
In the first method, electronic ticket information is stored in tamper-proof hardware so as to prevent multiple use (exercise) of the rights associated with electronic tickets by copying the electronic ticket information.
Then, when receiving the services provided by electronic tickets, authentication is performed between a storage device for storing the electronic ticket information and a checking device for checking the electronic ticket information so as to authenticate both the storage device and the checking device as authorized devices in the electronic ticketing system. This authentication operation is performed by, for example, sending a special command from the checking device to the storage device according to an encryption technique. If both the storage device and the checking device are authenticated, the electronic ticket information stored in the storage device is transmitted from the storage device to the checking device.
As described above, according to the first method, by authenticating the storage unit and the checking unit for sending and receiving the electronic ticket information as authorized devices, it is possible to prevent the electronic ticket information from being illegally leaked to unauthorized devices.
Thus, in the first method, in order to validate the rights of electronic tickets, it is necessary to check whether a device to communicate with is authorized. Accordingly, electronic tickets according to the first method are not as convenient as paper tickets.
That is, with paper tickets, the rights of the tickets can be easily and safely validated by presenting the tickets to receivers without checking who is to receive the tickets or without being anxious about the illegal use of the rights. In the first method, however, the rights cannot be validated until a receiving device is authenticated and electronic ticket information for validating the rights is sent to the receiver.
Accordingly, in the second method, instead of sending and receiving electronic ticket information, predetermined processing is performed by using the electronic ticket information, and a processing result is sent and received. Then, the rights can be validated.
That is, in the second method, by employing a so-called "challenge and response technique", which is frequently used as an authentication method, the rights can be validated.
More specifically, a checking device for checking electronic tickets generates random numbers, and sends them to a storage device for storing electronic ticket information. Upon receiving the random numbers from the checking device, the storage device processes the random numbers by using private information contained in the electronic ticket information, and sends a processing result back to the checking device. The checking device then processes the processing result sent from the storage device by using public information, and checks whether the electronic ticket is authorized based on the processing result and the random numbers sent to the storage device.
The above-described challenge and response technique is performed by using, for example, a so-called "digital signature". The private information contained in the electronic ticket information serves as a secret key in a public key cryptosystem, while the public information used by the checking device serves as a public key corresponding to the secret key. The storage device processes the random numbers (challenge) sent from the checking device by using the secret key so as to generate a digital signature, and then, the checking device processes the digital signature (response) by using the public key, thereby verifying the digital signature against the original random numbers.
According to the above-described second method, the secret key, which is the private information contained in the electronic ticket information, cannot be identified from the public key, which is information publicly known. Additionally, during the challenge and response process, the secret key is not leaked outside the storage device. Thus, the rights associated with the electronic tickets can be easily and safely validated for a third party, as in paper tickets.
In the above-described Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-31204, the following three points are described as the essential functions for electronic tickets.
The first point is a "right copy-preventing function" for preventing the use of tickets copied by illegal users. The second point is a "right-validating function" for proving the validity of the rights associated with electronic tickets to a third party including anonymous users. The third point is an "anonymity function" for guaranteeing the anonymity of the users when utilizing electronic tickets (when receiving the services for the electronic tickets by exercising the rights associated with the electronic tickets).
All of the above-described first through third functions are implemented by known paper tickets, and must also be maintained by electronic tickets without sacrificing the convenience of paper tickets.
In electronic tickets, however, in order to maintain convenience comparable to that of paper tickets, the above-described three features are not sufficient, and the following fourth and fifth functions are required.
A fourth point is an "assignment function" for assigning the rights concerning electronic tickets to the others. A fifth point is a "completeness function" for validating the rights of electronic tickets, i.e., for performing a "right-validating function", without the need to access a ticket management center or a management database.
The rights of paper tickets can be assigned to others. Thus, the "assignment function" is essential for electronic tickets to maintain a convenience comparable to that of paper tickets.
At a railway station or at an event entrance gate of a venue, the rights of paper tickets can be immediately checked by presenting or giving the tickets, thereby enabling the users to smoothly pass through the corresponding ticket gate. If it is necessary at a ticket gate to perform on-line checking on, for example, credit cards, or searching a database for checking a ticket number against the corresponding information in the database, the users cannot smoothly pass through the ticket gate. In this respect, the "completeness function" for validating the rights of electronic tickets only by using the electronic tickets is essential for the practical use of the electronic tickets.
However, the above-described second method does not satisfy the requirements for the "assignment function" and the "completeness function".
That is, in the second method, electronic tickets (or information acting as the electronic tickets) are issued by encrypting feature information (for example, secret keys in the public key cryptosystem) unique to the individual electronic tickets with different encryption keys unique to individual storage devices. Additionally, the encrypted feature information stored in the storage device can be decrypted only with the encryption key possessed by the corresponding storage device, thereby implementing the "right copy-preventing function". In the second method, the "right-validating function" of the electronic tickets is implemented by decrypting the encrypted feature information stored in the storage device with the encryption key stored in the same storage device and by using the decrypted feature information.
Accordingly, in the second method, the feature information of an electronic ticket can be decrypted only in the storage device which has issued the electronic ticket. Thus, the rights associated with the electronic ticket cannot be validated in storage devices other than the storage device which has issued the electronic ticket. This means that an electronic ticket issued in a certain storage device cannot be assigned to another storage device, i.e., the "assignment function" cannot be achieved.
Paper tickets possess two items, such as the "right articles" indicating the content written on paper tickets and the "validity" of the paper tickets which is difficult to forge or copy by the printing technique, the material, the stamp, or the watermark. The "right articles" and the "validity" are closely linked to each other by means of printing. That is, the "right articles" themselves are merely information, and can serve as a ticket when they are provided with the "validity" of electronic tickets represented by paper which is difficult to forge or copy on which the "right articles" are printed.
Thus, paper tickets are formed of the two closely linked items, such as "validity" and "right articles". With these two items, the five functions, i.e., "right copy-preventing function", "right-validating function", "anonymity function", "assignment function", and "completeness function", are fulfilled.
Between the "validity" and the "right articles" unique to paper tickets, the "validity" is particularly difficult to digitize while maintaining the features of paper tickets. Accordingly, in the second method, the "right copy-preventing function" is fulfilled at the expense of portability, which is a feature of paper tickets. That is, in the second method, the "validity" of electronic tickets is linked to a specific storage device, and the "right copy-preventing function" is fulfilled at the expense of the "assignment function".
Additionally, in the second method, the above-described challenge and response authentication technique is employed for validating the rights of electronic tickets. In this technique, a checking device sends an ID number for identifying a secret key to a storage device. By using the ID number, the storage device generates a digital signature from random numbers generated by the checking device. In the storage device, as discussed above, a secret key, which is feature information unique to each electronic ticket, is encrypted with an encryption key unique to the storage device. Upon receiving the ID number from the checking device, the storage device searches for the secret key corresponding to the ID number. The storage device then decrypts the secret key with the encryption key unique to the storage device, and processes the random numbers sent from the checking device by using the secret key, thereby generating a digital signature. The digital signature is then sent to the checking device, and the checking device processes the digital signature with the public key corresponding to the secret key specified by the ID number sent to the storage device. Then, the checking device verifies the digital signature based on a processing result, and validates (checks) the rights associated with the electronic ticket.
In the second method, therefore, by using the challenge and response authentication technique, as in paper tickets, the rights can be safely verified (validated) without exposing the secret key, which indicates the rights associated with the electronic ticket, outside the storage device.
However, in the second method, information for verifying (validating) the rights of an electronic ticket, i.e., in this case, information required for verifying the rights of an electronic ticket by the challenge and response authentication technique, is separately provided from the electronic ticket information, and such information must be identified by the checking device.
More specifically, in the second method, the public key corresponding to a secret key indicating the rights of an electronic ticket, and the ID number for identifying the secret key are publicized and registered in a ticket management center. Thus, in order to validate the rights associated with the electronic ticket, the checking device must access the ticket management center to obtain the ID number and the corresponding public key.
If the content of the rights validated by the checking device is always the same, the checking device has to access the ticket management center only once to obtain the ID number and the corresponding public key. However, considering the widespread use of electronic tickets, it is not practical to assume that the content of the rights validated by the checking device is always the same.
More specifically, assuming that railway tickets are implemented by electronic tickets, a ticket gate, which serves as a checking device, has to check electronic tickets, which are issued daily at different stations and which have different right contents depending on whether the ticket is for a local train or an express. Accordingly, the checking device is required to access the ticket management center to obtain an ID number, which differs according to the station, the day, and the type of train, and the corresponding public key. Thus, the time required for checking the electronic ticket is increased, thereby impeding the smooth passage of users through the ticket gates. This problem originates from the lack of the "completeness function" for validating the rights only by using electronic tickets.
The lack of the "completeness function" adversely influences the "assignment function". That is, without the "completeness function", to assign an electronic ticket, the checking device is required to access the ticket management center to verify whether the electronic ticket is valid, as discussed above. Accordingly, even if the "assignment function" is simply added to the electronic ticket, checking for the validity of the electronic tickets becomes complicated unless the electronic ticket has the "completeness function", thereby hampering the assignment of electronic tickets.
That is, generally, the validity of a paper ticket can be checked by examining the paper ticket. In other words, the validity of a paper ticket can be checked and be assigned from any user.
However, as discussed above, the validity of electronic tickets without the "completeness function" cannot be checked immediately. Thus, the electronic tickets cannot be assigned in a practical sense even if they are provided with the "assignment function". In other words, electronic tickets can be assigned only from the issuer of the tickets to users.

Information recording medium, information processing apparatus and method, program recording medium, and information processing system


A seat belt retractor (20) comprising: a frame (22); a hollow spool (30) for carrying a length of a seat belt (32), the spool rotationally supported upon the frame (22); a torsion bar (70), which when stressed can twist or rotate, having a first end (74) secured to a first end (48) of the spool (30) and a second end (76); a locking mechanism (200, 202, 210, 220, 222) for preventing the second end of the torsion bar (70) from rotating during an emergency; and a stopping mechanism (90, 110) located interior to the spool (30) for limiting the twisting of the torsion bar to a predetermined number of revolutions.

The present invention relates to occupant safety systems and more particularly to an energy absorbing or dissipating seat belt retractor using a torsion bar.
Seat belt retractors using torsion bars to absorb or dissipate energy during an accident have been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,265. U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,046 shows an alternate torsion bar retractor having a stop mechanism. This stop mechanism unnecessarily extends the size of one side of the retractor.
The present invention provides a novel way of limiting the rotation of the torsion bar without enlarging the exterior dimensions of the retractor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and reliable stop mechanism for a torsion bar of a seat belt retractor. A further object of the present invention is to provide a stop mechanism that is located internal to the retractor spool.
Accordingly the invention comprises: a seat belt retractor comprising: a frame; a hollow spool, for carrying a length of a seat belt, the spool rotationally supported upon the frame; a torsion bar which when stressed can twist or rotate having a first end secured to a first end of the spool and a second end; locking means secured to the second end of the torsion bar for preventing the second end of the torsion bar from rotating during an emergency; and stop means located interior to the spool for limiting the twisting of the torsion bar to a predetermined number of revolutions.
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.

Seat belt retractor with torsion bar and rotation limit


A panel assembly for a display device and a display device having the panel assembly are provided. The panel assembly for a display device includes a display region including a plurality of pixels and most of display signal lines connected to the pixels, a plurality of repair lines disposed in a shape of a ring in a peripheral region outside of the display region, and first to third auxiliary repair lines disposed in the peripheral region in parallel to data lines. An additional auxiliary repair line is provided at a right side of each of the data driving IC regions. By doing so, occurrence of disconnection and success in repairing the disconnected data lines of a display penal which is mounted in a COG scheme is tested by using a TCP type of test unit, so that it is possible to greatly reduce production costs involved in the COG type test unit.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a panel assembly for a display device, a display device including the same, and a repairing method of the display device.
(b) Description of the Related Art
The demand is increasing for flat panel displays, such as plasma panel assemblys ("PDPs"), organic light emitting displays ("OLEDs"), and liquid crystal displays ("LCDs").
PDPs are devices that display characters or images using plasma generated by gas-discharge. OLEDs are devices which display characters or images by applying an electric field to specific light-emitting organic or high molecule materials. LCDs are devices which display images by applying an electric field to a liquid crystal layer disposed between two panels, and regulating the strength of the electric field to adjust a transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer.
The flat panel displays, for example, the LCD and the OLED, each include a panel unit provided with pixels including switching elements and display signal lines, and a gate driving IC for transmitting gate signals to gate lines among the display signal lines to turn on/off the switching elements of the pixels, a gray voltage generator for generating a plurality of gray voltages, a data driving IC for applying data voltages to data lines among the display signal lines, and a signal controller for controlling the components.
The signal controller and the gray voltage generator are disposed on a printed circuit board PCB which is located outside of the panel assembly. The driving IC is mounted on a flexible printed circuit film FPC which is located between the PCB and the panel assembly. Generally, two PCBs are provided. In this case, the two PCBs are disposed at upper and left sides of the panel assembly, and the upper and left side PCBs are referred as gate and data PCBs, respectively. The gate driving IC is disposed between the gate PCB and the panel assembly, and the data driving IC is disposed between the data PCB and the panel assembly. The gate and data driving ICs receive signals from the gate and data PCBs, respectively.
However, without the use of the gate and data PCBs, the gate and data driving ICs may be disposed just on an upper side of the panel assembly as a chip on glass (COG) type.
On the other hand, in order to detect defects such as disconnections and short-circuits during the production of the display device, various test processes are performed. For example, an array test, a visual inspection (VI) test, a gross test, and a module test are performed.
The array test is a test for detecting occurrence of disconnection of the display signal lines by applying a predetermined voltage and detecting the presence or absence of an output signal before a mother glass is divided into individual cells. The VI test is a test for visually detecting occurrence of disconnections of the display signal lines by assembling the upper panel with the lower panel and applying a predetermined voltage, after the mother glass is divided into the individual cells. The gross test is a test for detecting an image quality and occurrence of disconnections of the display signal lines by applying a voltage equal to an actual driving voltage and checking a display state on a screen before the driving circuit is mounted. The module test is a test for finally checking whether or not the driving circuit properly operates after the driving circuit is mounted.
In these tests, end portions of the gate lines and the data lines are formed as pads having wide ends in order to improve a contacting property to an external device.
Particularly, in order to perform the test under the same conditions as when driving the ICs, in the gross test, a gross test unit reproduces the same conditions as when driving ICs is used, and a test signal is applied by contacting probes such as needles connected to the gross test unit with the pads.
For example, when the data driving ICs are mounted on an FPC, the gross test unit mounts a test data driving IC on the FPC (a TCP (tape carrier package) scheme). Connection portions where wire lines are formed are disposed between the FPC and the probes, and signals are applied to the data lines through the probes disposed at end portions of the connection portions.
In addition, if the data driving ICs are mounted in a COG scheme, the test data driving IC is mounted on a glass substrate, and signals are applied to the data lines through the probes.
Here, the gross test includes two test steps. As described above, one step is a test of occurrence of disconnection of the display signal lines after a predetermined signal is applied through the gross test unit, and the other step is a test of success in repairing the disconnected signal lines.
In a case where the driving ICs are mounted in a COG scheme, the gross test unit must be a COG type of test unit that is suitable for the COG scheme.
However, unlike the TCP type test unit where the connection portions are separately provided, in the COG type test unit, the connected portions are provided in an integral form, and the COG type of test units matching with a resolution of the associated display device must be used. Therefore, since separate test units matching with the display devices having different resolutions must be manufactured, production costs increase.
In order to solve the problem in the production costs, a TCP type of test unit may be used to test the COG type of data driving IC. However, in a case of the TCP type of data driving IC, two auxiliary repair lines are connected at one side of the data driving IC, and in case of the COG type of data driving IC, two auxiliary repair lines are connected at both sides of the data driving IC, respectively. Therefore, due to the structural difference, there is a problem in that it is difficult to detect the repaired state after the disconnected signal lines are repaired.

Panel assembly for display device, display device including the same, and repairing method for display device


An integrated metal detector-portable medical device adapted to identify metals in a human body, where the metal detector is in connection with the portable medical device. The metal detector includes: at least one transmitter adapted to induce a magnetic field generated by a metal; at least one sensor adapted to detect the magnetic field generated by the metals to be detected; and at least one signaling mechanism adapted, upon detection of a magnetic field, to alert the user of identification of metals, if the intensity of a magnetic field is above a predetermined value.

MRI machines produce magnetic force measured in tesla (T), a unit of magnetic flux. Most MRI machines range between 1.0 T to 1.5 T, with more powerful units at 3.0 T. There are two features of a magnetic field that are the source of most MRI incidents: (1) projectile (missile effect) and (2) translational attraction. The projectile effect causes ferrous-based materials, nickel alloys and most stainless to be pulled violently toward the magnetic source. Translational attraction occurs when one point of an object in a magnetic field is attracted to a greater extent than the object's furthest point from the attracting source. This differential creates a more forceful attraction, increasing the speed with which the object may move toward the magnetic source.
These effects make all metal containing objects highly dangerous in the MRI environment. For example A hairpin or paper clip within the 1-3 T line range could reach a velocity of 40 mph and will be attracted to the center of the generated field (x, y and z axis) where the lines of force are equal.
All pacemakers and implantable cardioverter/defibrillators should be considered contraindicated under any circumstance in the MRI room. When these devices are exposed to an MRI environment, a life-threatening condition may be created within the 3 T line. Intravascular catheters, intubation equipment, infusion pumps, orthopedic implants, stents and other devices should be verified as MRI-safe in the prescreening.
All patients, visitors, parents/guardians of patients and MRI hospital personnel must pass through an MRI screening process for entering the MRI room. To date, the screening process includes questioning of the subject about to enter the MRI room. Questioning is an important source of information but not always reliable. This method depend on communication skills and memory of the subject that are not always adequate to ensure safety. In addition to that there is the possibility that responsible personnel forget to question a patient about metals attached to him.
Thus there remains a long felt need for a reliable objective method for screening subjects prior their entrance to the MRI room that are not based on communicating with the subject. In addition, this method should be carried out in parallel to another action so that it will not be dependent on the memory of a staff person.

Integrated stethoscope-metal detector device


There is provided a process for producing an aminomethyl group-containing benzamide compound represented by the general formula (II): wherein —CONH2 and —X represent a substituent on the benzene ring and —CONH2 exists at the meta- or para-position of —CH2NH2, and X and n are as defined below, which comprises hydrating an aminomethyl group-containing benzonitrile compound represented by the general formula (I): wherein —CN and —X represent a substituent on the benzene ring and —CN exists at the meta- or para-position of —CH2NH2, X represents a chlorine atom or a fluorine atom, and n represents an integer of 0 to 4, provided that, when n is 2 or more, X may be the same or different

As the production process of an aminomethyl group-containing benzamide compound, several processes are known. Examples of the production process of 4-aminomethylbenzamide include a process of suspending 4-cyanobenzamide in ammonia-containing methanol and reacting the suspension at room temperature using Rh/Al2O3 as a catalyst (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60-139670), a process for contact hydrogenation of 4-cyanobenzamide in the presence of ammonia using a sponge nickel catalyst (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 8-505862) and a process of treating a hydrochloride of 4-aminomethylbenzoate ester with ammonia (U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,981).
The process using 4-cyanobenzamide as a starting material exhibits poor productivity because the reaction is conducted at low concentration and low yield. Also the process using 4-aminomethylbenzoate ester as a starting material does not exhibit good productivity because it requires a multi-stage reaction and a complicated operation in order to obtain the starting material.
An object of the present invention is to produce an aminomethyl group-containing benzamide compound with high purity, which is useful as intermediates for medicaments and pesticides, represented by the general formula (II):
wherein —CONH2 and —X represent a substituent on the benzene ring and exist at the meta- or para-position of —CONH2—CH2NH2, X represents a chlorine atom or a fluorine atom, and n represents an integer of 0 to 4, provided that, when n is 2 or more, X may be the same or different, with high yield using an industrially useful process.
The present inventors have found that the above object can be achieved by converting a cyano group (—CN) on the benzene ring into an amide group (—CONH2) using, as a starting material, an aminomethyl group-containing benzonitrile compound represented by the general formula (I):
wherein —CN and —X represent a substituent on the benzene ring and —CN exists at the meta- or para-position of —CH2NH2, X represents a chlorine atom or a fluorine atom, and n represents an integer of 0 to 4, provided that, when n is 2 or more, X may be the same or different, and thus the present invention has been completed.

Production process of aminomethyl group-containing benzamide compound


A photodetection device of the present invention includes a semiconductor substrate which is defined such that a first light-receiving portion and a second light-receiving portion are spaced from one another, and an optical filter which is formed on the semiconductor substrate, and includes a first filter which is disposed so as to cover the first light-receiving portion, to selectively allow an optic element in a first wavelength band to transmit through, and a second filter which is disposed so as to cover the second light-receiving portion, to selectively allow an optic element in a second wavelength band different from the first wavelength band, to transmit through, and the optical filter has a filter laminated structure which is defined such that edge portions of the first filter and the second filter overlap one another on a boundary region between the first light-receiving portion and the second light-receiving portion.

For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-4680) has disclosed a solid-state imaging apparatus which includes an n-type semiconductor substrate, a p-type semiconductor layer which is laminated on the n-type semiconductor substrate, an interlayer insulating film which is laminated on the p-type semiconductor layer, multilayer interference filters which are laminated in sequence on the interlayer insulating film, and a flattened film, and a plurality of photodiodes which are defined in a state of being spaced from one another downward in a thickness direction of the p-type semiconductor layer from the boundary between the p-type semiconductor layer and the interlayer insulating film. The multilayer interference filters differ in thickness so as to correspond to the respective photodiodes, and are specified in transmissive band at each region so as to correspond to the photodiodes.

Photodetection device and sensor package


The present invention relates to a process for the production of a superabsorbent polymer comprising preparing an aqueous mixture of monomers selected to provide after polymerization a superabsorbent polymer; feeding said monomer mixture to a reactor; subjecting the aqueous monomer mixture in the reactor to free-radical polymerization to obtain a superabsorbent polymer gel; removing the superabsorbent polymer from the reactor; and working-up the superabsorbent polymer removed from the reactor to obtain a final product, whereby a basic aqueous medium comprising carbonate and/or hydrogen carbonate is fed to the superabsorbent polymer gel.

The preparation of water-absorbent polymers is, for example, summarized in "Modern Superabsorbent Polymer Technology" F. L. Buchholz and A. T. Graham, Wiley-VCH, 1998, or in Ullmann's Encyclopedia Industrial Chemistry, 6th ed. vol. 35 pp 73-103. The preferred preparation process is the solution or gel polymerization. When using this technology usually a monomer mixture is prepared which is discontinuously neutralized and then transferred into the polymerization reactor and is then discontinuously or continuously polymerized to form a polymer gel which is in case of a stirred polymerization comminuted. The polymer gel is subsequently dried, ground, and sieved, and optionally a surface treatment is applied.
Methods of continuous polymerization are, for example, described in WO-A-01/38402, WO-A-03/004237, WO-A-03/022896 and WO-A-01/16197.
WO-A-03/022896 discloses a continuous process for the preparation of superabsorbent polymers in a reactor system comprising at least three zones, wherein the first zone is an initiation zone to which an aqueous monomer mixture comprising an initiation system is fed under conditions to initiate the polymerization, the second zone is a gel-phase zone, and the third zone is a granulation zone. According to a preferred embodiment the reactor is operated under vacuum and any water contained in the vacuum line is condensed and the condensate is recycled to the third zone to enhance the flowability of the polymer gel in the third zone.
EP-A 1 470 905 discloses a method for disintegrating a hydrate polymer by disintegrating a hydrate polymer having a solid content in the range of 50-70% by weight with a screw extruder while supplying 0.1-30 parts by weight of water per 100 parts of the polymer to the extruder. Since the product of disintegration is prevented from inducing mutual adhesion, it does not form masses of conglomeration when it is dried.
Although the measures suggested in the above discussed prior art references lead to some improvements in the handling of the superabsorbent gel polymer in the drying process, there is still a need in the industry to further improve processability of superabsorbent polymer gels in a process for the preparation of superabsorbent polymers. Thus, the object of the present invention is to provide a process for the preparation of superabsorbent polymers, whereby the flowability of the polymer gel in further improved.

Process for the production of a superabsorbent polymer


A mud-gas separator is arranged for both well control and drilling process. In some aspects, the mud-gas separator includes a main vessel including a bottom portion and a side portion. The mud-gas separator also includes a gas vent associated with the main vessel and configured to vent gas from well returns introduced into the main vessel. It also includes a first mud outlet formed within the bottom portion of the main vessel and configured to pass mud from well returns introduced into the main vessel and includes a second mud outlet formed within the side portion of the main vessel and configured to pass mud from well returns introduced into the main vessel.

Some underground drilling processes require that operators circulate drilling fluid, known as mud, to a bottom hole assembly cutting through subterranean formations. The mud, along with cuttings from the drilling process, flow back up the wellbore to the surface. The mud is cleaned, and cuttings are removed before recirculating the mud back down into the wellbore.
Gas encountered while drilling becomes mixed in the mud and is carried to the surface within the mud. When operators are aware that mud contains gas, the mud is typically directed to a separator before the mud is cleaned and recirculated. Since the separator may complicate the recirculating process, it is typically brought on-line only when gas is known to be in the mud. This knowledge, however, is typically gained only after compressed gas has been released from the return line at the shakers, causing an alarm and potential hazard as the gas escapes the confines of the return pipes.
The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods that overcome one or more of the shortcomings in the prior art.

Dual purpose mud-gas separator and methods


A system interactively controlled by a TV remote control transmitter displays descriptive data and a video clip related to a program identified on the program guide. A computer receives and stores an input picture image signal containing local program guide data and descriptive data and video clips related to selected ones of the programs identified in the program guide data. The computer also generates an output picture image signal consisting of at least a portion of the input picture image signal. The viewer, controls the computer to select the content of the output picture image signal to include the descriptive data and video clip of a selected program. The signal combiner combines the viewer usable signal of any selected channel from the tuner with the output picture image signal from the computer to provide a display signal with the selected descriptive data and the video clip superimposed over the channel programming display for input to the viewer's display screen.

This invention relates generally to interactive video communications and more particularly concerns viewer controlled channel programming guide displays.
Programming guide information is presently displayed to the home TV viewer in non-interactive pages or scrolls of characters conveying programming guide information.
In present programming guide systems, video clip displays of selected program content are available only at the direction and control of the programming source and not the viewer. Unless a viewer happens to tune to the programming guide display at a time a video clip is being presented, no video clip information is available to the viewer.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware by which a home viewer may interactively control a channel programming guide. Another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware in which a home viewer may, at the viewer's demand, elect to view a video clip related to one or more programs identified on the channel programming guide. Another object of this invention is to provide a process and in-home video guide hardware which identifies those programs displayed on the channel programming guide for which video clips are available on request by the viewer.


A paper feeding device for a printer comprising a paper feed box for containing a paper roll. The device includes a bottom slanting to the front and a front wall defining the lower edge of a drawing outlet for unrolled paper portions of the roll. The paper roll freely contacts both of the bottom and the front wall. The paper feed box may be supported by a spring at the undersurface of the feed box capable of rising and falling. Slip guide means may be provided at a predetermined position above the paper feed box so that when the paper roll is placed in the paper feed box, the upper end of the paper roll is pressed to the guide means and unrolled paper is drawn from the roll around the guide means.

The present invention relates to a paper feeding device for drawing a blank paper from a paper roll and feeding it to a printer or the like.
A paper roll is frequently used as the source of recording paper in a printer and in a facsimile equipment.
Usually, a paper roll is used continuously or used on occasion in response to printing input and other factors with no operator interaction once the roll is set. In many cases no trouble can be found with this arrangement, thereby avoiding maximum inconvenience. However, practical handling of the paper roll is very difficult and the problems such as follows may often occur in the paper feeding process of drawing a length of blank paper from the paper roll.
1) For example, in a process in which a paper roll is freely contactively supported on the bottom of a paper-containing box with no support for the axis thereof and the blank paper is drawn, the paper roll moves up-and-down around the contact point P on the front wall of the housing C as the fulcrum by the drawing force F for the paper roll as shown in FIG. 11 to cause fluctuation of tension F applied on the blank paper and meandering of the blank paper, thus making drawing of the blank paper unstable and often causing disorder in the printed matters.
When the blank paper is drawn by supporting the center O of the paper roll with a fixed shaft R as shown in FIG. 12, it is required to give a damping torque to establish a proper tension F when the paper roll is drawn and thus it is required to provide a mechanism for forming frictional resistance on the fixed shaft R.
As the diameter of the paper roll changes gradually during feeding, a complex mechanism is required to give proper friction, resulting in high equipment cost.
2) A paper roll has a curl, with a part of smaller diameter having a higher curl. In order to prevent trouble, it is required to remove the curl with any method.
To remove the curl from the paper roll, it is required to draw the paper with a tension corresponding the degree of curl in a condition such that the paper roll is curved in a sense opposite to the existing curl. For this purpose, devices in the prior art have been so constituted that a constant brake force is applied on the shaft for supporting the paper roll to draw the paper with a tension not lower than a predetermined level. The effect of the method for removing curl depends on the curve diameter and the tension applied on the paper. The curvation diameter is constant by the diameter of a curl removing roller. Hence, the effect for removing curl is determined by the tension applied on the paper.
The tension applied on the paper should be defined by the brake force of the shaft for supporting the paper roll. The brake force applied on the shaft for supporting the paper roll would be constant in a conventional brake mechanism. There has been a difficulty that the curl could not be removed completely in the course of a gradual reduction in the diameter of the paper roll.
There has been also a difficulty that devices to adjust the brake force of the paper roll in accordance with the varying diameter of the paper roll are too complex and, thus too high in price.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide an economic paper feeding device which can feed unrolled paper in a stable manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple device which can stably draw unrolled paper from a paper feeding box and feed the unrolled paper to a recording part.
The third object of the invention is to provide a paper feeding device which can feed unrolled paper stably in a condition suitable for use by simple equipment.
The fourth object of the present invention is to provide an economic printer equipment which can handle the blank paper stably and can be used efficiently.

Paper feeding device and an application thereof


A dental syringe system including a gun element, for association with a tip element, to mix and dispense respective dental materials of and while the materials yet have plastic or flowable consistency. The gun has a chamber in which to load cartridges of respective such materials, a motor, two plungers, a ram to move relative to the gun, and a trigger-and-gears mechanism to operate the plungers in association with the motor, and separately to operate the ram. The trigger is mounted to move to and between several positions. At one such position, the trigger operates the motor to advance the plungers into respective sites where such cartridges may be loaded and, when cartridges are so loaded, to express materials from the cartridges and the gun. At a subsequent such position, the trigger extends the ram from the gun, and the motor and the plungers disengage. The tip element has a trans-tip passage with a cavity, vanes within the cavity, and a channel from the cavity. When the gun is so loaded and carries the tip element so that the chamber is in communication with the cavity, the trigger is operable in two respects: first, to advance the plungers and to express material from each cartridge into the cavity, and, second, to extend the ram into the cavity, to mix the materials on the vanes, and to urge mixed materials from the tip element via the channel. Two trigger-and-gear mechanisms for the gun are disclosed.

Current mixing and dispensing practices for dental materials, such as those for restoration and cementation, involve notable waste of these usually expensive materials. Mixing and dispensing techniques often utilize substantially more of the materials than are actually required for a dental procedure. In many situations, an assistant dispenses the materials onto a mixing pad, such as a piece of wax paper, and mixes them by hand there. In these situations, the assistant rather crudely estimates needed amounts of materials, and sometimes mixes too much and sometimes too little. This technique has the further disadvantage of introducing gross amounts of ambient air into the materials, thus tending adversely to affect their physical properties.
Moreover, currently available syringes and similar implements for mixing and dispensing dental materials typically feature a tip into which gross amounts of dental materials are forced and convoluted. Thus, the implements have disadvantage in that they tend to involve and to deliver an overly large bolus of materials and, again, waste expensive materials.

Automatic mixing syringe for dental materials


Encryption synchronization (e-sync) is maintained between a transmitter (104) and one or more receivers (102) in a multi-modulation TDM system (100) where information is communicated in slots (402) comprising a slot header (404) and one or more data blocks (406), and wherein the data blocks are eligible to be encoded at different modulation rates thereby creating a likelihood of different numbers of blocks in different slots. The receiver and transmitter employ respective encryption elements (200, 300) comprising e-sync shifter elements (202, 302) and encryption algorithm blocks (204, 304). The e-sync shifter element provides an e-sync signal defining an encryption state vector to the encryption algorithm block and is operable to advance the encryption state vector (in the case of the receiver) according to a number of received bits plus a variable number of bits. The variable number depends on the number of bits within a block, the maximum number of blocks that could be within a slot and the actual number of blocks within the slot.

Encrypted voice and data systems are well known. Many of these systems provide secure communications between two or more users by sharing one or more pieces of information between the users, thereby permitting only those users knowing the information to properly decrypt the message. Generally speaking, an encryption algorithm is used by peer devices to encrypt or decrypt voice and data messages. The encryption algorithm is a nonlinear mathematical function defined by an initial starting vector and a key variable (or "key") that generates a pseudo-random sequence, known as a keystream. The keystream is XORed (exclusive "or" function, as known in the art) with plain (unencrypted) text to generate cipher text. The cipher text is transmitted to a receiver over a communication channel, which may comprise, for example, a radio frequency (RF) channel. The receiver XORs the received cipher text with a keystream, generated from the same key and encryption algorithm as used by the transmitter, yielding a plain text (decrypted) output.
It is well known that proper decryption can not occur unless a receiver achieves synchronization with the transmitter, i.e., to lineup its encryption stage with the encryption stage of the transmitter. To that end, encryption synchronization (also known as e-sync) information is periodically sent over the communication channel to initiate and maintain synchronization between a transmitter and one or more receivers. As will be appreciated, there are a variety of possible modes of operation for sending such e-sync information, depending on characteristics of the RF channel, modulation type(s), bandwidth limitations and the like.
Generally, in TDM systems, e-sync bit(s) are interleaved among data blocks intended for particular receiver(s), wherein the data blocks form part of a TDM slot. Typically, both the data blocks and slots include a fixed number of bits encoding a plurality of modulation symbols (e.g., 16-QAM symbols). The number of bits per symbol (and hence the number of symbols per block) varies according to the type of modulation employed. Most advantageously, the e-sync bit(s) are sent once every several slots (as opposed to each slot), yet within a predetermined maximum delay period for late entry, to achieve an optimal tradeoff of bandwidth utilization versus quality. A receiver obtains initial synchronization by looking at consecutive slots until it finds an e-sync block that identifies a starting vector for its encryption algorithm. Once the encryption state is initialized, a receiver maintained e-sync by advancing its encryption state corresponding to the number of received bits. Historically, the type of modulation did not vary from block to block, thus a receiver could maintain e-sync by simply counting the number of received modulation symbols, or the amount of time elapsed, and advancing a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) sequence a fixed number of bits for each received symbol.
Recent advances in technology have produced TDM systems that are eligible to use different modulation types within different blocks of the same or different slots, and wherein different blocks may be destined for different receivers. One such system is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/760,981, titled "Slot Format and Acknowledgment Method for a Wireless Communication System," filed Jan. 16, 2001, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Generally, in such system, the number of bits per block is fixed, but the number of bits per slot will vary according to the modulation type(s) used within the slot.
A problem that arises is that channel impairments introduced during transmission may cause the receiver to be unable to successfully decode all or portions of one or more blocks. Consequently, in a multi-modulation TDM system, a receiver may not know what type of modulation symbols are used within certain blocks (and hence the number of bits per slot) or whether it is the intended receiver for certain blocks. As a result, the receiver does not know how many bits to advance its encryption state from block to block to maintain encryption sync.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus that facilitates maintaining e-sync between a transmitter and one or more receivers in a multi-modulation TDM system. Advantageously, the method and apparatus will provide for the receivers advancing their encryption state to maintain e-sync without necessarily having knowledge of the number(s) and type(s) of modulation symbols within each block or the number of bits used from slot to slot, and without relying on peer-to-peer messaging. The present invention is directed to addressing these needs.

Method and apparatus to maintain encryption synchronization in a multi-modulation TDM system