Abstract: A system, method and program product for commerce management, especially for managing contingency agreements or contracts. An agreement is entered into the system, logging conditions for the agreement and identifying potential responses to satisfy each condition. A location may also be identified for each identified potential response, e.g. a HTML link to an internet web site. Milestones are set to determine when to check whether conditions have been satisfied. As each milestone is encountered information is retrieved from the locations or provided manually. The retrieved information is checked to determine whether the agreement is determinate, i.e., all of the conditions have been satisfied or, the agreement has failed because one condition will not be satisfied. If more conditions remain unsatisfied and are identified with subsequent milestones, the most recent milestone is recorded. The contracting parties are notified regarding status of the agreement and of passing any milestone.

Abstract: A first type of debugger impact reduction includes removing, from within a loop, an initial conditional breakpoint (“ICB”); extracting a first Boolean expression (“BE_1”) therefrom; setting a special conditional breakpoint (“SCB”) including the BE_1; and reestablishing the ICB if the SCB is satisfied. Optionally, the first type may further include extracting, from code within the loop, a second Boolean expression (“BE_2”); disjunctively including its complement in the SCB; and setting a reset breakpoint at loop exit program positions to remove reset breakpoints and/or the ICB. A second type includes setting the SCB with the complement of BE_1; and removing the ICB when the SCB is satisfied. Optionally, the second type may further include conjunctively including the BE_2 in the SCB; and setting a reset breakpoint to remove reset breakpoints and/or reestablish the ICB. The above may be embodied in a method, a program debugger and an article of manufacture.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided to ensure that laser optical power does not exceed a “safe” level in a DC coupled open loop parallel optical link in the event that a fiber optic ribbon cable is broken or otherwise severed. A duplex parallel optical link includes a transmitter and receiver pair and a fiber optic ribbon that includes a designated number N of channels that cannot be split. The duplex transceiver includes a corresponding transmitter and receiver that are physically attached to each other and cannot be detached therefrom, so as to ensure safe, laser optical power in the event that the fiber optic ribbon cable is broken or severed. Safe optical power is ensured by redundant current and voltage safety checks, and the corresponding low duty cycle signal is generated by a safety pulse generator in the safety channel.

Abstract: A cage for an electronic component includes two spaced apart cast walls, and a roof member and a floor member connected to the two spaced apart cast walls. The walls are substantially identical, and the roof member and the floor member are each formed of a damped metallic laminate panel.

Abstract: An information processing system for transactions by telephone of the present invention comprises a receiving terminal, operated by an operator, for inputting information from a customer taken over a telephone, storage means for storing information necessary in repeated transactions, and a voice recognition device having a voice recognition unit for recognizing specific vocabulary spoken by a customer or a voice response device having a push button signal recognition unit for confirming a push button signal generated by customer operations of push buttons of a telephone, wherein, for repeated transactions, a transaction name or transaction code arbitrarily designated by a customer at the time of a transaction beforehand or for the first time and information relating to this transaction name or transaction code are stored at a storage means in such a manner as to correspond with each other.

Abstract: A multilevel interconnect structure is formed which uses air as a dielectric between wiring lines and which is compatible with the presence of unlanded vias in the interconnect structure. A layer of carbon is deposited over an insulating surface and then a pattern for trenches is formed in the surface of the layer of carbon. Metal is deposited in the trenches and over the layer of carbon and then a chemical mechanical polishing process is used to define wiring lines. An ashing or etch back process is performed on the carbon layer to recess its surface below the surfaces of the wiring lines. An oxide capping layer is provided over the recessed surface of the carbon and the wiring lines, for example using HSQ and curing, and then the carbon layer is consumed through the capping layer using an oxidation process. Air replaces the sacrificial carbon layer during the consumption reaction.

Abstract: A chair having sliding and swiveling device, mounted on a stationary post for adjustment. A slide plate supports the chair and a lower surface has a longitudinally extending roller channel, in which a plurality of rollers of a holder are provided to support the slide plate so that the slide plate is longitudinally slideable. The holder swivels on the post. A first lock releasably locks the holder against swiveling; and a second lock releasably locks the slide plate against sliding. A lock controller, including a handle, controls both locks, wherein rotating of the handle in a one direction locks the holder against swiveling, and rotating in an opposite direction locks the slide plate against sliding. The handle extends and retracts toward and away from the post.

Abstract: A serial access memory having a first memory cell array and a second memory cell array. The serial access memory is provided with a control circuit for controlling the Most Significant Bit (MSB) of an address supplied to each of the first and second memory cell arrays. The control circuit causes the operations of circuits in the first memory cell array to become identical to those of circuits in the second memory cell array, thereby making it possible to read data at a high speed. An STN type LCD including the serial access memory, has a display device that facilitates production of memory maps in the memory cells without a need for externally-mounted elements such as a multiplexer.

Abstract: A power generator for a Digital Cassette Cartridge, which is put into a cassette player for playing back the digital audio files stored in the Digital Cassette Cartridge. The cassette player contains a reel shaft for driving the power generator of the Digital Cassette Cartridge. The power generator includes two gears, a magnetic object, a coil and a power supply. The first gear is coaxially engaged with the reel shafts. The second gear rotates as the first gear rotates. The magnetic object is coaxially mounted and is conjointly rotatable with the second gear. The coil produces an alternating current source when the magnetic object rotates. The power supply receives the alternating current and converts the alternating current to a direct current source.

Abstract: A power steering apparatus senses a fore-and-aft acceleration of a vehicle which is expressed as a value prefixed with a sign, and a rotation speed Ri of an electric motor is reduced to reduce an assist force in accordance with the acceleration if the value of the sensed vehicle acceleration is positive, and increased to increase the assist force in accordance with the acceleration if the value of the sensed vehicle acceleration is negative (FIG. 4). With this control operation, a consistent steering feeling can be provided even at acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle.

Abstract: A metric calculating means calculates a first metric corresponding to a transmitted symbol sequence estimated by an adaptive equalizer, then calculates a second metric corresponding to a symbol sequence in which a symbol located at a position where a soft decision is made in the transmitted symbol sequence is inverted in polarity. Thereafter a subtracting portion subtracts the second metric from the first metric. Further, a multiplying portion multiplies the subtraction result from the subtracting portion by the symbol located at a position where the soft decision is made in the transmitted symbol sequence to generate a soft decision.

Abstract: An output circuit for a transmission system is disclosed. The output circuit of the present invention comprises an input terminal receiving an input logical signal, a first output terminal outputting a first output logical signal having a logic corresponding to a logic of the input logical signal, a second output terminal outputting a second output logical signal having a logic corresponding to an inverted logic of the input logical signal, a first constant voltage supply circuit generating a first voltage level, a second constant voltage supply circuit generating a second voltage level, and an output logic formation circuit connected to said first and second constant voltage supply circuits. The output logic formation circuit generates the first and second output logical signals having either the first voltage level or second voltage level based on the logic of the input logical signal.

Abstract: Prior to deriving precise evaluation values for evaluating errors between synthetic signal vectors and a target signal vector, simple evaluation values are derived. Based on the simple evaluation values, a given number of high-ranking candidates are preliminarily selected and then the precise evaluation values are derived with respect to the preliminarily selected candidates. For the preliminary selection of the candidates, the simple evaluation values are divided into as many groups as the number of the candidates to be preliminarily selected. Then, the simple evaluation values are mutually compared in each group to pick up the optimum value in each group.

Abstract: An IC card reader that can output data in an audio form. The IC card reader includes a small portable case in which an IC card can be inserted. A microcontroller powered by a battery within the case reads the stored data from the IC card and encodes the read data into a series of voice commands. A voice synthesizer circuit produces a synthetic speech signal from the encoded data. Thus, in use of the IC card reader, when a button is depressed to close a switch, the microcontroller is caused to interrogate the card so that the data stored on the card is read into the microcontroller. The microcomputer produces a synthetic speech signal that is amplified by the amplifier and output by the speaker as synthetic speech which can be heard by the user by holding the card reader with the speaker against the user's ear.

Abstract: A filtering, water eliminating and lubricating compressed air valve structure includes a compact air valve installed between a conventional air compressor and a pneumatic tool. A filter element is positioned inside the air inlet fitting of the compact air valve and, after a transparent condensate chamber is installed over the air inlet fitting, a washer mount and a filter ring are inserted over the bottom of a cross-shaped annular connector, at the bottom of which is a hollow neck that is in continuity with its tubular circumferential wall. A plurality of passages in the lower circumferential end of the hollow neck are disposed in continuity with a throat at the top and a threaded hole, enabling the installation of an lubricating oil reservoir on the upper half of the cross-shaped annular connector.

Abstract: An apparatus for removing photo-resist. The apparatus comprises carriers for carrying a wafer, hot plates to remove residue solvent on the wafer, a cooling plate to decrease the wafer temperature, an reverse unit to turn over the wafer, a development unit to develop and remove photo-resist on the wafer, a top scrubbing unit to clean a top side of the wafer, and a back scrubbing unit to clean a back side of the wafer.

Abstract: A centrifugal wafer drying apparatus comprises a rotor rotatably disposed in a container, a cradle mounted on the rotor, and a carrier mounted in the cradle and having grooves for receiving wafers. The carrier holds the wafers at an oblique angle with respect to a plane normal to the axis of rotation of the rotor, at least during rotation of the rotor.