Abstract: An improved bolt for a muzzle-loaded rifle of the kind in which a firing system is a aligned with the axis of a barrel, the bolt consisting of a cylindrical body housing including therewithin a biasing spring and a firing pin. The firing pin is permanently connected to a cylindrical retaining or a sear member having a prismatic-rectangular projetion emerging through an opening provided in the cylindrical body. The projection is acted on by a catch of the firing system, and the bolt mounted to turn and slide on a receiver attached to the rear of the barrel, having an inner wall provided with a central bore for the passage of the rear end of the firing pin. The inner wall supports the biasing spring.

Abstract: A system includes a host, first and second devices which operate as an acting device and a standby device, and a simplex unit controlled by the acting device. Each device is provided with a monitoring unit for monitoring the occurrence of failure, means for notifying the other device of a failure in its own device, and active/standby notification means. The active/standby notification means notifies the simplex unit that its own device is acting or standing by when the device becomes the acting device or standby device in response to a command from the host. Upon a failure in the other device when its own device is standing by, the active/standby notification means notifies the simplex unit that its own device is now an apparent acting device. Upon a failure in its own device when its own device is acting, the active/standby notification means notifies the simplex unit that its own device is now an apparent standby device.

Abstract: A telephone terminal capable of sending and receiving images and sounds, having a movable camera for obtaining images of the surrounding area and a sound-collection microphone for collecting surround sounds, automatic answering circuitry which automatically responds to a call received from a calling terminal and which starts the transmission of surrounding area images and sounds, and a transmission switching circuit which, upon response by the automatic answering circuitry, switches connection from the fixed microphone and handset for TV telephone use to the movable camera and sound-collection microphone.

Abstract: An H channel for controlling the use of network is selected to effectively use lines when a request for H communication is issued. An ISDN line channel selection method, whereby a plurality of B channels are bundled and serve as an H channel, and the B channels are selected according to a condition under which each of the B channels to be used is registered as either an H channel dedicated class or H channel shared use class. The method includes the steps of temporarily changing the b channels from the H channel shared use class to the H channel dedicated class if the B channels in the H channel shared use class are busy when a request for connection of the H channel has been received from a transmission side, queuing until the B channels that form the H channel dedicated class are idle, and connecting the transmission side to the H channel when the B channels that form the H channel dedicated class are idle.

Abstract: While a video information providing host is sending video information to a user terminal through a transmission line corresponding to a request received from the user terminal, an operation history information writing unit writes an operation history for various operations for video information of the user terminal as operation history information to an operation history storing unit. The operation history information is written for each of a plurality of types of video information and for each of users who use user terminals that access each of the types of video information or each of user terminals that access each of the types of video information. While a video information editing unit is editing requested video information corresponding to a request received from a user and corresponding to operation history information, the video information editing unit sends the edited video information to a user terminal that the requesting user operates.

Abstract: An apparatus for selecting a route in a packet-switched network where a plurality of candidate routes are available between a sending node and a receiving node. Total capacity calculation unit disposed in the sending node calculates the total channel capacity of each candidate route by summing up channel capacities of the inter-node links between the sending node and the receiving node. First selection unit chooses the candidate route(s) that exhibit the largest value of the total channel capacity. Uniformity calculation unit is activated when the first selection unit selected a plurality of candidate routes. The uniformity calculation unit calculates uniformity of each candidate route by evaluating the channel capacities of the inter-node links. The second selection unit chooses one of the candidate routes based on the calculated uniformity. This route will be used in packet transmission from the sending node to the receiving node.

Abstract: In the large-area washer with an aperture for fastener means, there are engagement components on the surface in the fastening direction of the washer. The engagement components engage a cover strip that is to be fastened. The washer also has stiffeners in the form of beads. Unreinforced corner regions of the washer lie radially outside the stiffeners relative to the aperture and can be elastically resiliently bent about an imaginary line at an acute angle to two central axes of the washer. Engaging components may be formed in these corner regions.

Abstract: An ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) switching system is capable of performing a charging process, while suppressing a data communication amount used to acquire data required for a charging process. The ATM switching system is arranged by comprising: a charging data processing unit for counting a quantity of transmitted ATM cells with respect to each of transmission destinations, and for notifying the count value as charging data; a charging information processing unit for requesting the charging data processing unit to notify the charging data, and for notifying charging information produced based on the charging data; and a control unit for requesting the charging information processing unit to notify the charging information.

Abstract: A transmitter includes a repetition encoder generating a repetition code sequence having a word length of r bits by carrying out a repetition coding with respect to 1 bit of a transmission unit which divides transmission information by a predetermined word length, where a rate of the repetition coding is set equal to a reciprocal of a predetermined integer r, a tree encoder generating a tree code sequence by carrying out a tree coding with respect to the other bits of the transmission unit, where a rate of the tree coding is set to k/n, k denotes an information block length and n denotes a code block length, a mapping part carrying out a mapping with respect to a combination of the repetition code sequence generated by the repetition encoder and the tree code sequence generated by the tree encoder, based on a set partitioning while maintaining correspondence between the mapping and the transmission unit, and a modulator generating a transmitting wave signal by carrying out an M-ary modulation scheme with resp

Abstract: A semiconductor laser has a laser active layer for receiving current from a pair of electrode for lasing operation. The end region in the vicinity of both the facets of the active layer does not receive current from the electrode. The interfaces between the end portions and the central portion receiving current are slanted from the plane normal to the optical axis of the laser, for stable mode operation of the laser device.

Abstract: An optical aiming device including two optical elements, each characterized by a refractive index and a critical angle defining a total internal reflection plane, positioned one in front of the other substantially along an aiming axis, each optical element causing a portion of light impinging thereon at an angle greater than the critical angle, to be reflected, thereby defining a demarcation between a region of reflected light and non-reflected light, the optical elements being oriented such that the demarcations of each optical element intersect at a point lying substantially along the aiming axis.

Abstract: A voice storage system includes a plurality of voice storage modules in which a voice message for a subscriber is recorded and stored. A mobile transit switch selects one of the plurality of voice storage modules when a recording request call is received, so that the voice message is recorded in the selected voice storage module. A home location memory stores a normalized number including a voice storage module number of the selected voice storage module and a management number including a subscriber identification number of the subscriber which are correlated with respect to the recorded voice message.

Abstract: A stethoscope is fitted with a disposable cover to prevent cross contamination between patients. The cover is formed as a shield of material which is impermeable to liquids but which transmits sound waves. Adhesive is applied in a predetermined pattern on a portion of the cover so as to define a non adhesive fluid pathway between the central portion of the cover and its peripheral edge. This pathway adapts the cover for use with stethoscopes having vented diaphragms. Additional cover configurations are provided for use on the bell of a stethoscope.

Abstract: An ATM connection is a virtual communication path specified by VPI/VCI. A plurality of ATM connections that are directed to the same output line is defined as an ATM connection group. A connection UPC (Usage Parameter Control) facility is provided for each of the ATM connections and a connection group UPC facility is provided for the ATM connection group. The connection UPC facilities and the connection group UPC facility are operated in either the monitor mode or the control mode. In the monitor mode, when the rate of flow of packets into a network exceeds a threshold, a control unit is informed of it, but cells are allowed to enter the network as they are. In the control mode, when the rate of flow of cells into the network exceeds the threshold, cells the flow rate of which exceeds the threshold are discarded.

Abstract: In a buffer management system for managing a buffer pool, which is divided into a plurality of buffer areas, in response to an acquisition request sent from a processing apparatus, the buffer management system according to the present invention includes: a buffer managing unit for calculating and supervising the number of remaining vacant buffer areas before and after use of the buffer area; a buffer supervising unit operatively connected to the buffer managing unit for supervising a vacant state of each buffer area; and a holding unit operatively connected to the buffer managing unit for holding the number of remaining vacant buffer areas.

Abstract: A character generating method and apparatus which arrange a plurality of partial patterns constituting a character to the start positions of the partial patterns to generate a character pattern. A memory of the apparatus stores origin position data of the partial patterns firstly in a partial-pattern coordinate system, set by a character coordinate system, start position data of basic patterns in the partial-pattern coordinate system and shape data of the basic patterns.

Abstract: An array antenna radar apparatus has a single front end shared by a plurality of antennas, a first switch for cyclically connecting the antennas to the front end at a prescribed switching frequency, and a second switch for cyclically connecting the output of the front end to frequency converters corresponding to the antennas. The frequency converters frequency-convert intermediate-frequency signals of the respective antennas output by the front end to baseband signals at the switching frequency. Phase shifters and amplitude adjusting units apply a phase shift or amplitude adjustment to the outputs of the frequency converters and combine the resulting signals, thereby making it possible to detect a target in a desired direction.

Abstract: A dynamic database structuring method includes the steps of (a) clustering transition probabilities among transactions by on-line, (b) forming a hyper graph representing the transition probabilities of the transactions clustered in the step (a) using weighting, (c) partitioning the hyper graph to obtain clustering information related to objects or records to be stored in a storage, and (d) reorganizing a database by rearranging data in the storage by on-line using the clustering information obtained in the step (c), thereby restructuring the database dynamically.

Abstract: A feedback control apparatus whereby the traditional single control loop for available bit rate (ABR) connections is segmented into a plurality of loops that are handled in a mutually related manner for better responsiveness of ABR connection feedback control. Three control loops are illustratively formed: a closed upward feedback control loop between a source end system and a virtual destination-link unit (VD-L) for an ABR connection, a downward control loop between a destination end system and a virtual source-link unit (VS-L) for the ABR connection, and an intra-switch feedback control loop between an upstream virtual source-internal unit (VS-I) and a downstream virtual destination-internal unit (VD-I) for the ABR connection.

Abstract: Connection control apparatus is provided for use in an ATM network to control ABR connections provided by the network, each such ABR connection having an agreed minimum transmission rate which it is permitted to exceed when there is spare capacity in the network. The apparatus includes: congestion detection circuitry (32, 33) for determining the end-to-end delay experienced by ATM cells of each ABR connection as they pass through the network; and a rate control circuit (30) connected to the said congestion detection circuitry for detecting, based on the determined end-to-end delay, when one of the ABR channels is congested. When congestion in one of the ABR channels is detected the rate control circuit imposes on the ABR connection concerned a maximum transmission rate that is higher than and dependent upon the said agreed minimum transmission rate for the connection concerned.