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Method of and system for reading visible and / or invisible code symbols in a user-transparent manner using visible / invisible illumination switching during data capture and processing operations.

A tactile touch-sensing system that includes a touch sensor, touch-generating pads, and tactile buttons. The touch sensor is configured to produce an electrical signal in response to a touch. The touch-generating pads cover at least a part of the touch sensor and are configured not to cause a touch on the touch sensor before they are activated. A user can activate a touch-generating pad by pressing a tactile button associated with the touch-generating pad. In response to being pressed, the tactile button is configured to provide tactile feedback to the user. The touch-generating pad, when activated by the tactile button, causes a touch on the touch sensor.

Methods and systems are provided for providing network services using at least one processor, such as a network operations center that interfaces a base network. The network operations center may receive information identifying a user authorized to administer a first processor, which may be separate from the network operations center, and a base address that is routable in the base network. The network operations center may provide through the base network code and information for self-configuring the first processor as a gateway that interfaces the base network at the base address. The first processor may execute the provided code to self-configure itself as the gateway based on the provided information. The network operations center may then provide through the base network to the first processor additional information enabling at least one tunnel through the base network to a second processor, which may also be separate from the network operations center, when the first and second processors each provide to the network operations center a consent for enabling the tunnel.

A metallic leadframe for use with a semiconductor chip intended for operation in a changing magnetic field comprises a chip mount pad having at least one slit penetrating the whole thickness of the pad and substantially traversing the area of the pad from one edge to the opposite edge. This slit is wide enough to interrupt electron flow in the pad plane, but not wide enough to significantly reduce thermal conduction in a direction normal to the pad plane, whereby the slit is operable to disrupt eddy currents induced in the pad by the changing magnetic field.A semiconductor device intended for operation in a changing magnetic field, comprising a leadframe with a chip mount pad having at least one slit in a configuration operable to suppress eddy currents induced in the pad by the changing magnetic field; an integrated circuit chip, having an active and a passive surface; the passive surface attached to the mount pad by a polymeric material; and the active surface having a Hall structure including current and voltage terminals integrated into the circuit, whereby the changing magnetic field can be measured without diminution by said eddy currents.

The present invention is directed to a network communication system and apparatus for use by multiple users, wherein a single user can concurrently, or substantially simultaneously, utilize multiple communication modalities and communicate with different users without regard for the transmission capabilities of any particular user. The communication system comprises a communication manager, a plurality of communication mediums or modalities, at least one storage database, and an administrative manager, wherein the plurality of communication mediums are integrated for substantially simultaneous use by a single user in a multi-user environment.

An optical imaging system including an illumination system, a Cartesian PBS, and a prism assembly. The illumination system provides a beam of light, the illumination system having an f / # less than or equal to 2.5. The Cartesian polarizing beam-splitter has a first tilt axis, oriented to receive the beam of light. A first polarized beam of light having one polarization direction is folded by the Cartesian polarizing beam splitter and a second polarized beam of light having a second polarization direction is transmitted by the Cartesian polarizing beam splitter. The Cartesian polarizing beam splitter nominally polarizes the beam of light with respect to the Cartesian beam-splitter to yield the first polarized beam in the first polarization direction. The color separation and recombination prism is optically aligned to receive the first polarized beam. The prism has a second tilt axis, a plurality of color separating surfaces, and a plurality of exit surfaces. The second tilt axis maybe oriented perpendicularly to the first tilt axis of the Cartesian polarizing beam-splitter so that the polarized beam is nominally polarization rotated into the second polarization direction with respect to the color separating surfaces and a respective beam of colored light exits through each of the exit surfaces. Each imager is placed at one of the exit surface of the color separating and recombining prism to receive one of the respective beams of colored light, wherein each imager can separately modulate the polarization state of the beam of colored light.

A floating point unit 26 is provided with a register bank 38 comprising 32 registers that may be used as either vector registers V or scalar registers S. Data values are transferred between memory 30 and the registers within the register bank 38 using contiguous block memory access instructions. Vector processing instructions specify a sequence of processing operations to be performed upon data values within a sequence of registers. The register address is incremented between each operation by an amount controlled by a stride value. Accordingly, the register address can be incremented by values such as 0, 1, 2 or 4 between each iteration. This provides a mechanism for retaining block memory access instructions to contiguous memory addresses whilst supporting vector matrix and / or complex operations in which the data values needed for each iteration are not adjacent to one another in the memory 30.

DC inductive FSS technology is a printed slow wave structure usable for reduced size resonators in antenna and filter applications of wireless applications. It is a dispersive surface defined in terms of its parallel LC equivalent circuit that enhances the inductance and capacitance of the equivalent circuit to obtain a pole frequency as low as 300 MHz. The effective sheet impedance model has a resonant pole whose free-space wavelength can be greater than 10 times the FSS period. A conductor-backed DCL FSS can create a DC inductive artificial magnetic conductor (DCL AMC), high-impedance surface with resonant frequencies as low as 2 GHz. Lorentz poles introduced into the DCL FSS create multi-resonant DCL AMCs. Antennas fabricated from DCL FSS materials include single-band elements such as a bent-wire monopole on the DCL AMC and multi-band (dual and triple) shorted patches, similar to PIFAs with the patch / lid being a DCL FSS.

A method for authorising return of a purchase by a customer to a merchant by an interaction of a customer chip card upon which a customer transaction history is stored and a merchant POS terminal upon which predetermined data is stored, the method comprising the steps of, (a) reading at least part of the customer transaction history from the customer chip card, (b) comparing the part of the customer transaction history read from the customer chip card with the predetermined data, and (c) issuing to the merchant a message from the POS terminal based upon the outcome of the comparison.

Methods and systems are provided for enabling communication between a first processor and a second processor using at least one additional processor separate from the first and second processors, wherein one or more firewalls selectively restrict the communication. In one embodiment, the additional processor may determine whether the first and second processors mutually consent to enabling a hairpin between the first and second processors. The first processor may be provided with a first information identifying the hairpin and the second processor may be provided with a second information identifying the hairpin, when the additional processor may determine that the first and second processors mutually consent to the hairpin. Moreover, a first information flow may be established from the first processor to the hairpin based on the provided first information, and a second information flow may be established from the second processor to the hairpin based on the provided second information. The hairpin may forward the first information flow received from the first processor to the second processor such that the communication between the first and second processors is allowed by the firewalls.

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for determining the relative position of a mobile unit that moves from an initial location to a plurality of successive positions. The mobile unit receives signals from a plurality of navigation satellites and tracks the carrier phases of the signals during movement. For each of the received signals, carrier phase increments are calculated over a plurality of epochs. Anomalous carrier phase increments are determined and eliminated from further calculations. The non-eliminated carrier phase increments are then used to calculate coordinate increments for each of the time epochs. If, after elimination, the remaining number of carrier-phase increments is less than a threshold for a particular epoch, then coordinate increments for the particular epoch may be extrapolated using data from prior epochs. In various embodiments, least squares method and Kalman filtering may be used to calculate the coordinate increments. The coordinate increments may then be summed over a plurality of time epochs in order to determine a position of the mobile unit relative to its initial position.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a novel method, system, process, and computer program is provided that synthetically replicates a plain vanilla IR Swap through a future as well as to create a more fungible interest rate swap in the spot market. The forward start interest rate swaps of the present invention consist of a consecutive series of futures that value a forward start interest rate swap to start on a settlement date. The futures replicate the floating-rate payment terms for the interest rate swap that is being synthetically replicated. The spot interest rate swap is a standardized interest rate swap that is fungible.

A memory device, a method of content-addressing a memory device to validate an incoming pattern and an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) communication switching system incorporating the device or the method. In one embodiment, the device includes: (1) a validation random access memory (RAM) having a plurality of addressable locations therein, the addressable locations containing validation indicators corresponding to patterns that have been programed into the validation RAM and (2) circuitry, coupled to the validation RAM, that provides an incoming pattern to the validation RAM and retrieves a corresponding validation indicator from the validation RAM, the validation indicator indicating whether the incoming pattern had been programed into the validation RAM. The memory device thereby functions as a content-addressable memory (CAM).

Disclosed is a composition for softening a wet laid cellulosic structure. A particularly preferred structure is an absorbent tissue. Further disclosed are tissue structures softened using the composition. The composition includes an effective amount of a softening active ingredient; a vehicle in which the softening active ingredient is dispersed; an electrolyte dissolved in the vehicle; and a bilayer disrupter. The electrolyte and the bilayer disrupter cooperate to cause the viscosity of the composition to be less than the viscosity of a dispersion of the softening active ingredient in the vehicle alone. Preferably, the softening active ingredient is a quaternary ammonium compound with the formula:(R1)4-m—N+—[(CH2)n—Y—R3]mX−the vehicle is water, the electrolyte is calcium chloride, and the bilayer disrupter is a nonionic surfactant. Also disclosed is a method of using the compound by adding it at a use concentration to the wet end of a papermaking process.

Delivering electronic content includes providing instructions that cause a computer to collect information including an e-mail address and transmitting the collected information to a receiving computer. The computer that receives the transmitted information selects electronic content based on the received information and sends the selected electronic content to the e-mail address included in the received information.

The invention provides a method and apparatus to optimally estimate and adaptively compensate the temperature-induced frequency drift of a crystal oscillator in a navigational signal receiver. A Read-Write memory encodes two tables, one for looking up frequency drift values versus temperature readings and another one for valid data confirmation on the first table. The initially empty look-up table is gradually populated with frequency drift values while the receiver computes the frequency drift along with its position. During initial start of the receiver or re-acquisition of satellite signals, the stored frequency drift value corresponding to the current temperature is used. If no valid frequency drift value is available, the frequency drift value is computed based on the existing frequency drift values in the table. This invention reduces the Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF) of the receiver and enables the receiver to self-calibrate, thus no additional factory calibration would be necessary.

There is disclosed a method and apparatus for producing a polymeric film that accurately replicates a complex mold surface at least a portion of which surface has microstructured or nano-structured dimensions. A polymeric powder is electrodeposited on an underlying mold surface. Then the powder is cured to create a polymeric film. Finally the film is removed from the mold surface.

Methods and systems are provided for any individual with access to a network to create, operate and thereafter dismantle a personal private network (PPN) which is secure across all forms of media which facilitate digital data transfer, including but not limited to, both wireless and wireline based networks. In one embodiment, utilizing browser-based management objects and a PPN client server the present invention provides for any individual with access to the Internet or other types of networks to create, control and utilize his own PPN with any one or a plurality of authorized participants. This invention facilities this capability with the creation of secure pipelines between each authorized participant of the PPN, where, if necessary, to establish these secure pipelines, a tunnel under, around or through border servers and / or firewalls is created. Each PPN provides the authorized participants with complete freedom to communicate, to review information and to transfer data between participants with full and complete encryption security. The creation, operation and the dismantlement of a PPN is totally within the capabilities and control of the originating party, the source client, and requires no actions from any network or system administrators. Additionally, all of the PPN secure pipeline creation and infrastructure mapping for the enablement of the PPN, plus access controls and codes for authorizing participation and initiating participation and disconnection can be encased in a PPN secure access key.

A twist lock assembly includes an annular first flange at an open end of a first conduit attached to a fluid receiving component. The first flange has an alignment slot and at least one locking slot formed therein. A fluid conducting conduit has an annular second flange at an open end thereof. The second flange includes an alignment tab formed thereon. A locking ring rotatably mounts on the second flange and includes at least one locking tab formed thereon. When the first flange is attached to the component, the alignment tab engages the alignment slot and the at least one locking tab is aligned with the at least one locking slot. Rotating the locking ring relative to the second flange draws the first and second flanges into airtight engagement and locks the conduit to the component.

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for determining the relative position of a mobile unit that moves from an initial location to a plurality of successive positions. The mobile unit receives signals from a plurality of navigation satellites and tracks the carrier phases of the signals during movement. For each of the received signals, carrier phase increments are calculated over a plurality of epochs. Anomalous carrier phase increments are determined and eliminated from further calculations. The non-eliminated carrier phase increments are then used to calculate coordinate increments for each of the time epochs. If, after elimination, the remaining number of carrier-phase increments is less than a threshold for a particular epoch, then coordinate increments for the particular epoch may be extrapolated using data from prior epochs. In various embodiments, least squares method and Kalman filtering may be used to calculate the coordinate increments. The coordinate increments may then be summed over a plurality of time epochs in order to determine a position of the mobile unit relative to its initial position.

A photobioreactor comprising a sealed, covered plastic sheeting coated with a thin layer of a highly dense culture of photoautotrophic single celled organism. Carbon dioxide is exchanged from a gas space above the culture through attendant mixing by subtending wave motion. The photobioreactor provides a substantial improvement in processing costs in growth media sterilization as well as reduced expenses related to energy and raw materials, especially carbon dioxide. Capital expenses are reduced by eliminating the need for sparging and compressors for suspending cells and mixing carbon dioxide.

The present invention provides On Demand / Emergency Telematics / Location-Based Services and or Wireless Communication utilizing a cellular device which is service-initialized with non-expiring but deplete-able prepaid airtime / credit, allowing transmission of calls, alarms, events, and or Telematics signals to a Private / Third-Party Remote Monitoring / Call Center (PRMC) in Emergencies or other times of need without recurring / ongoing fees for cellular lines / numbers. The system can also be activated any time after entry into service via Over The Air Activation, through service-initialization of post or pre-paid service / airtime or by porting an existing number to the system. All calls / alarms / events / transmissions requiring the PRMC to notify / contact any Public Safety / Law Enforcement Agency on behalf of the user are free of airtime and service charges. A fee is charged for all other calls / alarms / events and or services rendered by the PRMC, drawn on the prepaid airtime / credits or post billed. The system also reduces Public Safety Answering Points' / 911 Emergency Response Centers' accidental / non-Emergency call / alarm rates and overall volume by allowing the management and validation of calls / alarms / events through the PRMC before reaching a PSAP / 911 ERC. The system also enhances PSAP / 911 ERC capabilities by providing advanced Telematics, including location and ID information, as well as providing multiple language capability by routing calls to language-specific centers or operators able to assist the user and or PSAP / 911 ERC. The system also provides user privacy by On Demand activation rather than continuous “On” state activation, limiting the possibility of covert monitoring / wireless network intrusions and or retrieval / use of Telematics data not explicitly authorized by the user.

A one cycle power factor correction converter circuit comprising a switch for controlling a DC output voltage of the converter circuit, the switch being switched by a drive signal having a frequency determined by a clock signal; the converter circuit being provided with a DC input voltage and producing the DC output voltage, the DC input voltage being rectified from an AC input; a controller circuit for controlling an on-time or off-time of the switch to set the output voltage and to achieve power factor correction at the AC input; the controller circuit comprising an error amplifier receiving a feedback voltage from the output of the converter circuit and a reference voltage and producing an error signal; a ramp generator receiving the error signal and generating a first ramp signal by integrating a signal related to the error signal; a pulse width modulation circuit receiving the first ramp signal and a signal related to the error signal and producing a pulse width modulated signal by comparing the first ramp signal and the signal related to the error signal; the pulse width modulated signal determining the on-time or off-time of the switch to control the output voltage with power factor correction; further comprising a circuit for terminating the first ramp signal when a predetermined inequality exists between the first ramp signal and a reference signal and for developing the clock signal from the first ramp signal.

Delivering electronic content includes providing instructions that cause a computer to collect information including an e-mail address and transmitting the collected information to a receiving computer. The computer that receives the transmitted information selects electronic content based on the received information and e-mails the selected electronic content to the e-mail address included in the received information.

A method for calibrating a communication channel coupling first and second components includes transmitting a data signal from the first component to the second component on the communication channel, and sensing a characteristic, such as phase, of the data signal on the second component. Information about the sensed characteristic is fed back to the first component using an auxiliary channel. An adjustable parameter, such as phase, for the transmitter is adjusted on the first component in response to the information. Also, a characteristic of a data signal received from the transmitter on the second component is sensed and used to adjust an adjustable parameter for the receiver on the first component.