Abstract: A paper currency receiving system is constructed to include a paper currency take-up unit adapted for taking up paper currency inserted therein, a paper currency storage cabinet mounted in the paper currency take-up unit to collect paper currency, a paper currency holding down mechanism installed in the paper currency take-up unit and controlled to hold down inserted paper currency onto a spring-supported bearing plate in the paper currency storage cabinet, the paper currency holding down mechanism including a rack set driven by a motor through a transmission gear train to move a linkage in an out of the paper currency storage cabinet for setting collected paper currency in a stack, and a transmitter receiver module, which automatically cuts off power supply when a predetermined amount of paper currency collected in the paper currency storage cabinet.

Abstract: At the data programming, plural data bit is transformed by a data transforming logic circuit into multi-value data according to the combination of bits, and the transformed data are sequentially transferred to a latch circuit connected to bit lines of a memory array. A program pulse is generated according to the latched data and is applied to a memory element at a state corresponding to the multi-value data. During data reading, the states of the memory elements are read out by changing the read voltage to intermediate values of individual threshold values and latched in a register. The original data may be restored by a data inverse transforming logic circuit based on the multi-value data stored in the register.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for determining market statistics for communication service providers. Determinations of whether or not a sampling of telephone numbers are assigned by a particular service provider are employed to determine market statistics. A message which is used to obtain a response. The response is interpreted to determine whether or not the telephone number associated with the wireless device is assigned. Alternatively, a sampling of telephone numbers are dialed over a digital line. Based upon the result of the dialing, it is determined whether or not the telephone numbers are assigned by the service provider. Telephone numbers which have been ported between service providers in networks which employ local number portability can be accounted for in the determination of market statistics. A telephone number portability database can also be employed for determining whether or not a telephone number is assigned by a service provider.

Abstract: A card connector (200) with a reinforcing structure (230) is provided for used in a handheld device. The card connector can mate with an elongated expansion card (10) which when inserted into the card connector has a portion located outside the handheld device. The card connector comprises an insulated main body (210) and a plurality of terminals (220) fixed to the main body. The terminals are used for electrically connecting the elongated expansion card with a printed circuit board (20) on which the card connector is mounted. The reinforcing structure (230) is formed from highly rigid material or high molecular weight polymer. The reinforcing structure strengthens the card connector against any external force resulting from subjecting the elongated expansion card to an external force, whereby the electrical connection between the terminals and printed circuit board will not break due to the external force.

Abstract: A four-port wavelength-selective crossbar switch generates an add/drop wavelength signal from a wave division multiplexed (WDM) signal using a plurality of double-sided reflectors that selectively reflects a selected wavelength channel signal of the WDM signal through optical circulators to provide low crosstalk between the dropped and added wavelength signals. The switch also reduces the number of WDM MUX-DEMUX required to one half that compared to a traditional approach. Furthermore, the switch can be designed to be wavelength cyclic with individual free spectral ranges that can be independently set to either through or add/drop states.

Abstract: Centrally controlled wireless networks require reliable communications between the central controller and each of the stations within the wireless networks. The structure of a wireless network is often dynamic, or ad-hoc, as stations enter and exit the network, or are physically relocated. The selection of the central controller for the network may also be dynamic, either because the current central controller desires to exit the network, or because the communication between the current central controller and one or more of the stations is poor. This invention discloses a method and apparatus for assessing the quality of the communication paths among all stations in the network. This assessment is useful as a continual monitor of the quality of the network, and can be utilized to select an alternative central control station based upon the quality of communication paths to and from this station. Additionally, the quality assessment can be utilized to establish relay communication paths, as required.

Abstract: A scanner is provided that can read two-dimensional barcodes from reflective or emissive electronic displays. Illumination, exposure, and contrast can be automatically adjusted according to the type of display and variations in brightness or reflectivity. The scanner includes an imaging camera with high spectral response for reading from color displays. The scanner can also adapt to read barcodes from displays with non-square pixels.

Abstract: A leaky waveguide antenna array that receives and/or transmits electromagnetic signals includes a plurality of radiation waveguides disposed in parallel to each other on a surface plane to form the antenna array. A feed waveguide is located below the surface plane and provides an electromagnetic signal to the plurality of radiation waveguides and/or receives a plurality of electromagnetic signals from the plurality of radiation waveguides and provides a composite electromagnetic signal at an output of the feed waveguide. Each of the plurality of radiation waveguides has a waveguide axis and includes a plurality of apertures arranged in a direction of the waveguide axis. The feed waveguide includes a first section of waveguide having a first end connected to an input/output port. The first section of waveguide has a height substantially the same as the height of each of the plurality of radiation waveguides and the first section of waveguide has a second end coupled to a first junction point.

Abstract: A central venous catheter includes coolant supply and return lumens which communicate coolant to and from first and second heat exchange membranes arranged along the distal segment of the catheter. The coolant in the heat exchange membranes removes heat from the patient. Additional lumens are provided for conventional central venous catheter uses.

Abstract: An insulating glass (IG) window unit, or other suitable window unit, includes a glass substrate with a coating thereon. The coating includes at least one silicon nitride inclusive layer that is Si-rich (i.e., non-stoichiometric). By making the silicon nitride inclusive layer Si-rich, it has been found that coloration can be adjusted in order to achieve certain desirable optical characteristics.

Abstract: In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, in a control system for controlling a gas turbine engine, there is provided a system and a method for determining an optimized output shaft speed for a required thrust and setting an appropriate engine power. The method comprises the steps of: providing a required thrust value at a particular flight condition; determining input values for each of a power, output shaft speed, airspeed, and altitude; determining whether the required thrust is a low power condition; if the required thrust is a low power condition, determining a reduced propeller speed value from the input values and the required thrust value; at least one of increasing and decreasing the optimized output shaft speed using the reduced propeller speed value.

Abstract: Techniques for optimizing a distributed lock manager (DLM) for faster reconfiguration includes using a constant hash function to associate each resource of a plurality of shared resources with a hash value. A hash map is maintained which associates a plurality of hash value ranges with each of one or more master nodes. In response to one or more factors, the hash value ranges are re-mapped to master nodes by revising the hash map without changing the constant hash function. The factors include at least a measure of the amount of lock information or a weight. A weight is associated with each node in the cluster, and is selected from a set of non-uniform master weights.

Abstract: An N− type epitaxial layer is formed on a P− type silicon substrate. Trenches are created so as to penetrate N− type epitaxial layer and so as to reach to a predetermined depth of P− type silicon substrate. Thermal oxide films are formed on the sidewalls of trenches. Buried polysilicon films are formed so as to fill in trenches. Thermal oxide films are formed having an approximately constant film thickness ranging from the bottoms to the edges of the openings of trenches so as not to give stress to N− type epitaxial layers. Thereby, a semiconductor device wherein a leak current is prevented can be gained.

Abstract: A semiconductor device with an MOS transistor gate electrode in a stacked structure comprising a silicon layer, a metal silicide layer, a reaction barrier layer such as a metal nitride layer and a metallic layer formed from the bottom upwards has an increased circuit performance owing to a gate resistance-reducing effect.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an electron device provided with minute structure such as a semiconductor integrated circuit using projection exposure technique and phase shift mask technique, maintaining a high yield is disclosed. In an electron device manufacturing method according to the invention, a desired electron device is manufactured by printing a light shielding film pattern on a photosensitive film provided on the surface of a workpiece by a projection tool using a mask where a phase shifter having predetermined thickness is partially formed on the flat surface of a transparent plate and a light shielding film having a predetermined pattern and made of non-metal is partially provided with the film covering the end of the shifter and developing the photosensitive film.

Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for searching a large database of dig location tickets for tickets of particular interest. A user can locate an area of concern on an on-screen map and can view a list of tickets received for a given date range of the map. For example, when underground plant damage occurs in a particular region, users need not text-search in the database to locate a particular ticket that may have caused the damage, but can instead locate the ticket using the enhanced on-screen map of the invention.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of managing hierarchically related and heterogeneous data structures includes the steps of separating the data structures from hierarchical information interrelating the data structures and representing and storing the hierarchical information as a nodal tree structure. The nodal tree structure includes a first node and a plurality of second nodes, each node being in a parent-child relationship with at least one other node. The data structures are stored separately from the nodal tree structure and each of the first node and the plurality of second nodes references one of the data structures. Each of the second nodes is a child node, and each child node has a respective parent node selected from among the first node and the plurality of second nodes. Each of the second nodes includes a dependency attribute indicative of a dependency relationship of the child node with its respective parent node.

Abstract: A first compensation factor, a second compensation factor and a third compensation factor are provided to improve a capacitance-voltage (C-V) method for measuring an effective channel length of a metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), and an overlap length of a gate and a source and a drain of the transistor. The first compensation factor is calculated by measuring two unit length gate capacitances of the transistor. The second compensation factor is calculated by measuring two unit length overlap capacitances of the transistor. The third compensation factor is a ratio of the second compensation factor to the first compensation factor.

Abstract: ATM-coupled multicast data are transmitted to a multiplicity of ATM users over an IP backbone by having a controller in the IP backbone translate a pre-stored Multicast Initiating Address into a multiplicity of pre-stored pairs of addresses, each pair composed of a user's ATM destination address and the IP address of the (user) gateway serving the user's ATM destination, then establishing connections between the multicast source ATM address and each of the user's ATM addresses, having IP routers attach the user gateways to the multicast group, and encapsulating the multicast data ATM cells in IP packets for routing to the user gateways, and decapsulating the multicast data ATM cells for routing to the user ATM addresses.