Abstract: The present invention discloses a software method for creating a multilevel customer database that provides consumer data privacy via a smart card or other personal storage device. The method allows the merchant or business to access specific information that the consumer is willing to share. Each individual consumer maintains control of information that he or she considers to be personal, private, and only divulges the level or type of data that he or she feels is appropriate.

Abstract: The method comprises the steps of determining initially the structure of the code being read, to identify the number of rows and columns of the code; generating an ideal rectangular grid formed by rows and columns unambiguously defining the coordinates of notable points corresponding to the central point of each code element; determining, on the basis of reference points of known position, the homographic transformation linking notable points of the rectangular grid and characteristic points on the deformed image; calculating the coordinates of the characteristic points; and generating a transformed image to be decoded, the pixels of transformed image having the coordinates of the grid notable points and a value equal to the binarized brightness value of the corresponding characteristic points.

Abstract: A web site server provides collaborative web page navigation feature for a group of user terminals. The location information of the web pages are relayed to all following terminals of the group, while a leading terminal of the group is navigating through the web pages by using its web browser. Each of the following terminals has a web navigation synchronizer. Upon receiving the web page location information, the web navigation synchronizer updates its respective web browser and activates the browser to locate web pages according to the web page location information.

Abstract: The mechanism is directed to a method and apparatus which provides a technique and tools to allow a combination of existing customer databases to be used by transforming a portion of the data in the existing data warehouses into a second data structure. Advantageously, greater functionality can be achieved by using new application programs while existing application programs can continue to be used without changes to code of the existing applications.

Abstract: A method of compressing data utilizes the prime number series to generate unique compression parameters that may be used to recover an original data stream. The original data is converted from a binary form to a decimal form. Various compression parameters are selected to initialize the system. The compression parameters include the number of prime numbers which will be used in the compression process and an exponential value corresponding to each prime number. A header is constructed which includes the compression parameters. The data is compressed by a compression algorithm which performs successive division operations by the series of prime numbers selected. The compression algorithm generates a plurality of exponential values corresponding to each of the prime numbers. The header is then assembled with the exponential values and transmitted to a receiving station.

Abstract: A web site server provides collaborative web page navigation feature for a group of user terminals. A session list is created to register the group of terminals. The location information of the web pages are relayed to all following terminals of the group, while a leading terminal of the group is navigating through the web pages by using its web browser, according to the session list. A user terminal can join a session, thus becoming a following terminal, by answering a broadcast session inquiry, or by sending a request to receiving and then answering a session list.

Abstract: Described is a method of creating intelligent command objects for controlling a telephony system by selecting reusable image symbol to an application container, without requiring an application developer to write any programming code. After being embedded into CTI, these command objects are able to automatically monitor the operation status and enable and disable themselves according to the changes of the operation status of the telephony hardware system. To control the operation of the telephony system, a user simply activates (i.e. clicks) a respective command object when it is enabled.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for calculating web site capacity using measurement performance values collected by a web server using data from web browser MIB's and a HTTP MIB. The measurement performance values are sent by a server in the web site to a remote computer on which resides a platform independent program capable of calculating web site capacity. The capacity is calculated using web server hit rate, response time and CPU utilization. This capacity calculation can be displayed in textual format in various views of performance such as server performance, cluster performance and history of the server and cluster.

Abstract: A computer program memory stores computer instructions for securing data transmitted over a system, such as the Internet, enabling a user to be authenticated and authorized for a requested operation. An “eticket” architecture (including identification information) is generated by an authentication server. The information in the eticket is hashed using, for example, a Message Digest Protocol, and a hash number is generated. The hash number is then encrypted using a private key, and the identification information in the eticket and the encrypted hash number are concatenated to generate a completed “eticket” architecture. The “eticket” may then be transmitted over the Internet (i.e., a non-secure environment) from server to server without having the information in the “eticket” altered, and without having to “reauthenticate” the user at each server.

Abstract: An apparatus for driving a plasma display panel in which front and rear substrates face and are spaced apart from each other, common electrode lines, scan electrode lines and address electrode lines are arranged between the front and rear substrates, the common electrode lines are arranged parallel to the scan electrode lines and the address electrode lines are arranged orthogonal to the scan electrode lines to define pixels at intersections thereof, the apparatus including a scan drive part having a memory in which scan data are stored in a predetermined scanning order, for applying a scan drive signal to the scan electrode lines in accordance with scan data corresponding to an input address, an address drive part for applying an address drive signal to the corresponding address electrode lines in accordance with an input display data signal, a common drive part for applying a common drive signal to the common electrode lines in accordance with an input common data signal, and a control part for processing e

Abstract: A coin-operated massage table features an intersegmented traction table having a plurality of rollers rotating in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions that travel up and down a patient's back. The patient is lying in a supine position on the table during the massaging process. A control panel is used to increase or decrease the height of the rollers which increases or decreases, respectively, the pressure on the back muscles. The control panel is mounted to the table and is connected to a bill acceptor device which accepts coins, bills, tokens, credit cards or debit cards. The massage table operates for a predetermined amount of time based upon the amount of money the patient inserts in the bill acceptor device. Other optional features of the massage table include a vibration device, and hot and cold and moist supplying devices in the table which are controlled by the control panel.

Abstract: A constant velocity joint includes first and second shafts, inner and outer members and a constraining unit. The first shaft has a first yoke attached thereto and the second shaft has a second yoke, smaller than the first yoke, attached thereto. Each shaft has a socket at one end thereof where the socket is concentric about its respective shaft axis. The outer member is pivotally connected to the first yoke about a first rotation axis which is perpendicular to the axis of the first shaft. The inner member is pivotally connected to the second yoke about a second rotation axis which is perpendicular to the axis of the second shaft. The outer member is pivotally connected to the inner member about a third rotation axis which is perpendicular to both the first and second rotation axes. All of the five axes intersect at a joint center point.

Abstract: A sample speech is analyzed by a speech analyzing unit to obtain sample characteristic parameters, and a coding distortion is calculated from the sample characteristic parameters in each of a plurality of coding modules. The sample characteristic parameters and the coding distortions are statistically processed by a statistical processing unit to obtain a coding module selecting rule. Thereafter, when a speech is analyzed by the speech analyzing unit to obtain characteristic parameters, an appropriate coding module is selected by a coding module selecting unit from the coding modules according to the coding module selecting rule on condition that a coding distortion for the characteristic parameters is minimized in the appropriate coding module. Thereafter, the characteristic parameters of the speech are coded in the appropriate coding module, and a coded speech is obtained. When the coded speech is decoded, a reproduced speech is obtained.

Abstract: A dielectric layer is deposited on a workpiece by a chemical vapor deposition method in an electron cyclotron resonance vacuum plasma processor having a plasma chamber responsive to a repetitively pulsed microwave field and gases from a plasma source. A reaction chamber responds to at least one reacting gas containing at least one element that chemically reacts in the presence of the plasma with at least one element in at least one of the gases from the plasma source to form the deposited layer on the workpiece. The turn off periods are long enough to cause electrons in the plasma on the deposited dielectric layer to be cooled sufficiently (from about 3.5 eV to a lower value having a minimum value of about 0.1 eV) to reduce the tendencies for opposite polarity charges to be established across the deposited dielectric layer and for damaging discharge current to flow across the deposited dielectric layer.

Abstract: A single video camera is installed on a vehicle body. Two still pictures of an obstacle are obtained at different vehicle traveling positions. A picture memory stores the obtained still pictures. A feature point extracting section extracts at least one feature point from the data of the stored still pictures. A three-dimensional coordinate data calculating section calculates the distance from the vehicle body to the feature point and the height of the feature point based on the positional data of the feature point on the screen and the vehicle traveling distance data. A stereoscopic picture forming section forms a stereoscopic picture image of a detected obstacle based on three-dimensional coordinate data of the feature points. A monitor displays a plan view or a side view showing the relationship between the vehicle body and the obstacle, thereby allowing a driver to directly grasp the distance of the obstacle.

Abstract: A recording apparatus processes a stream of compressed video data to produce a recording signal which includes periodically occurring blocks of low-frequency video component data, for use in subsequent variable-speed playback operation. The processing is executed by selecting specific elements of low-frequency video components from the compressed video data, applying time-axis compression to the low-frequency video component elements to obtain successive data blocks, and to the compressed video data to obtain successive data blocks, between which the blocks of low-frequency video component elements are inserted.

Abstract: A method to manufacture a laminated chip capacitor by laminating and bonding elementary body sheets 14a, 14b which have via holes 17a, 17b and internal electrodes 11a, 11b, and are made of an insulating material, external electrode sheets 15a, 15b which are made of an insulating material, and a dummy sheet 16 which has via hole 17a and is made of an insulating material, treating the sheets to eliminate a binder, and calcining the sheets. This method allows the external electrode sheets 15a, 15b to form external terminal electrodes by themselves, thereby permitting the external terminal electrodes to be formed extremely easily only on two end surfaces of an elementary body opposed to each other.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining from a moving observer the location, in terms of latitude, longitude, altitude, and velocity, of a stationary or moving radar emitting a pulsed or continuous-wave signal. The moving observer extracts from the radar signal significant electronic support measures (ESM) parameters, including frequency, pulse repetition interval, and pulse width, and determines from those parameters whether a radio frequency (RF) or pulse repetition frequency (PRF) measurement technique is appropriate, and whether the radar signal angle-of-arrival (AOA) must be computed. The emitter location is computed using a ratio of sequential frequency measurements, and the moving observer continues to collect frequency measurements until the location of the emitter can be established to within a predetermined degree of certainty.

Abstract: In order to seal in refrigerant in a heat exchanger as much quantity as possible till to reuse the refrigerant at a new place of the heat exchanger after transfer or till to recover the refrigerant at a refrigerant recovery site, even when electricity is suspended to the new place or when outside temperature is lower than a certain temperature at the place where the heat exchanger such as an air conditioner having a separated interior instrument and exterior instrument is being installed, two on-off valves are provided in the refrigerant piping of the interior instrument besides two on-off valves provided in the refrigerant piping of the exterior instrument, or on-off valves are provided in each connecting pipe connecting with the refrigerant piping of the interior instrument and the refrigerant piping of the exterior piping, and the refrigerant is sealed in by closing all the on-off valves.