What is claimed is:
1. A domestic electrical apparatus, comprising:
a controller unit including communication means with an outside, operating means, and data processing means,
wherein said controller unit further includes a cryptographic processing unit for utilizing information as a part or a whole of a cryptographic key for an information communication performed by said communication means, said information having a one-to-one correspondence relationship with an appliance number that is specific to said domestic electrical apparatus.
2. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when said appliance number is utilized as said part of said cryptographic key, remainder of said cryptographic key is information that has a one-to-one correspondence relationship with code information for specifying a manufacturing maker of said domestic electrical apparatus.
3. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cryptographic processing unit converts information data to be sent, into encrypted data by using said cryptographic key, and decrypts received data back to information data by using said cryptographic key.
4. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein
said communication means is connectable to an Echonet implemented for a power line carrier communication; and
said data processing means is controllable to service providing parties on a wide area network from said Echonet via a gateway.
5. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said data processing means is controllable to send provision of a service along with a user ID to service providing parties on a wide area network via said communication means, said service being specified by an operation performed by said operating means.
6. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said controller unit includes an authenticating unit for executing an authentication of an operating party for said operating means.
7. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said controller unit stores information for supporting said operation performed by said operating means for requesting said service provision, and further includes a database made accessible from said data processing means.
8. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said data processing means has a controlling function for selecting a superior service providing party by considering a price-to-service ratio with respect to said service specified from said operating means.
9. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said controller unit further includes a life-reaction processing unit for detecting presence or absence of a life-reaction on a basis of an interval between operations toward said domestic electrical apparatus to be capable of making an abnormality report via said communication means on a basis of a judgement that there exists no life-reaction.
10. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said controller unit further includes a failure detection processing unit that is capable of making a failure report via said communication means when said domestic electrical apparatus is judged to fail.
11. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said controller unit further includes an energy-saving processing unit for controlling said domestic electrical apparatus into a working state that is suitable for a set-up environment of said domestic electrical apparatus.
12. A domestic electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said operating means performs said transmissionreception of said information with said data processing means via a power-saved wireless or infrared ray.
13. A subscriber registering method of registering, as a service requester, a purchaser of a domestic electrical apparatus into a computer apparatus of a service provider for providing a predetermined service to said purchaser, comprising the processings of:
inputting an appliance number specific to said domestic electrical apparatus that said purchaser purchases;
acquiring a cryptographic key having a one-to-one correspondence relationship with said inputted appliance number; and
registering said acquired cryptographic key as one of subscriber information on said service requester,
wherein, in performing service provision to said subscriber, information to be provided to said subscriber is encrypted using said cryptographic key, and information provided from said subscriber is decrypted using said cryptographic key.
14. A subscriber registering method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said processing of acquiring said cryptographic key includes a processing of presenting said appliance number to a computer apparatus that a manufacturing maker of said domestic electrical apparatus manages, and a processing of receiving said cryptographic key returned in response to said presented appliance number.
15. An order receiving method by which a host apparatus connected to a terminal apparatus via a network receives an order from said terminal apparatus, comprising the processings of:
making reference to a database in which cryptographic keys are registered in being caused to correspond to user IDs, said cryptographic keys being caused to be related in a one-to-one manner to appliance numbers specific to domestic electrical apparatuses onto which terminal apparatuses are integrated, to retrieve a cryptographic key corresponding to a user ID from said terminal apparatus;
decrypting, using said retrieved cryptographic key, order data from said terminal apparatus to receive said order; and
encrypting, using said retrieved cryptographic key, confirmation data for confirming said received order.
16. An order receiving method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a processing of setting an upper-limit of a price for said order from said terminal apparatus to limit reception of said order up to said upper-limit.
17. An order receiving method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said host apparatus performs a processing of sending order-reception information to a dealing party for performing dispatch of an order-received commodity or fulfillment of an order-received service.
18. An order receiving method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said host apparatus performs a processing of sending order-reception information to a settlement institution for settling a price for a received order.
19. An order receiving method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said host apparatus performs a processing of providing in advance order-receivable contents to a plurality of terminal apparatuses as a transaction guide.
20. An order receiving method as claimed in claim 15, wherein said host apparatus performs a processing of studying order-received contents on each user ID basis, and of providing order-receivable transaction contents, which satisfy a taste predicted from result of said study, to said terminal apparatus of said user ID as a transaction guide.
21. A data processing system comprising a host apparatus connectable to a terminal apparatus via a network, wherein
said host apparatus includes a database in which cryptographic keys are registered in being caused to correspond to user IDs, said cryptographic keys being caused to be related in a one-to-one manner to appliance numbers specific to domestic electrical apparatuses onto which terminal apparatuses are integrated,
said host apparatus retrieves, from said database, a cryptographic key corresponding to a user ID that accompanies a transaction request from said terminal apparatus, and
said host apparatus decrypts, using said retrieved cryptographic key, information data sent from said terminal apparatus, and encrypts, using said retrieved cryptographic key, information data to be sent to said terminal apparatus, thereby receiving said transaction request from said terminal apparatus.
22. A data processing system as claimed in claim 21, further comprising a fulfillment side terminal apparatus for inputting transaction request contents to cause said contents to be fulfilled, said transaction request contents being received from said terminal apparatus by said host apparatus.
23. A data processing system as claimed in claim 21, further comprising a price-settlement side terminal apparatus for inputting transaction request contents to cause a price for said request to be settled, said transaction request contents being received from said terminal apparatus by said host apparatus.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
We claim:
1. A method of producing a nuclear fuel sintered body, which comprises:
producing a powder containing a fissile heavy metal oxide, the powder comprising a sinter-active heavy metal oxide powder obtained predominantly from a dry-chemical conversion process;
adding a dopant to the powder for increasing a grain size and a plasticity of the sintered body, the dopant containing an iron compound and being added such that a proportion by weight of the iron compound in relation to a proportion by weight of the heavy metal oxide in the nuclear fuel sintered body is at least 100 ppm; and
sintering to form the nuclear fuel sintered body.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fissile heavy metal oxide contains a material selected from the group consisting of an oxide of a heavy metal selected from the group consisting of uranium, plutonium, and thorium and a compound of a heavy metal selected from the group.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fissile heavy metal oxide contains at least one oxide selected from the group consisting of UO2, PuO2, and ThO2.
4. The method according to claim 1, which comprises producing the powder to contain a U3O8 powder obtained by oxidation of a UO2 powder obtained from a direct conversion process (e.g., dry-chemical).
5. The method according to claim 1, which comprises producing the powder with finely dispersed particles of a size of substantially 1-1000 m.
6. The method according to claim 1, which comprises producing the powder with finely dispersed particles of a size of substantially on average 50 m to 150 m.
7. The method according to claim 1, which comprises producing the powder with crystallites of a size of substantially 50-500 nm.
8. The method according to claim 1, which comprises producing the powder with crystallites of a size of substantially on average 150 nm to 350 nm.
9. The method according to claim 1, which comprises further treating the powder with at least one processing step selected from the group consisting of homogenizing and milling.
10. The method according to claim 1, which comprises further treating the powder with at least one processing step selected from the group consisting of pre-compacting and granulating.
11. The method according to claim 1, which comprises pressing the powder to form shaped compacts prior to the sintering step.
12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dopant contains an iron oxide compound.
13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dopant contains at least one iron oxide compound selected from the group consisting of FeO, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Fe(OH)2, and Fe(OH)3.
14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dopant contains a chromium compound selected from the group consisting of Cr2O3 and CrO3.
15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dopant contains at least one compound selected from the group consisting of silicon compound and silicate compound.
16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dopant contains a compound selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, iron silicate, and magnesium silicate.
17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dopant contains a compound of an element selected from the group consisting of magnesium, niobium, titanium, aluminum, vanadium, platinum, and oxides thereof.
18. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in a quantity leading to a microstructure of the nuclear fuel sintered body with a grain dimension substantially of more than 8 m.
19. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in a quantity leading to a microstructure of the nuclear fuel sintered body with a grain dimension in a range from substantially 10 m to substantially 25 m.
20. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in a quantity resulting in a given plasticity of the nuclear fuel sintered body, the given plasticity being characterized by a moderate creep of the sintered body at temperatures of between 1100 C. and 1700 C. and pressures of substantially 70-160 Nmm2.
21. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in a quantity resulting in a given plasticity of the nuclear fuel sintered body, the given plasticity being characterized by a moderate creep of the sintered body at a temperature substantially around 1200 C. and at pressures of substantially 70-90 Nmm2.
22. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in an amount exceeding an amount of the dopant that is soluble in a lattice of the heavy metal oxide.
23. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in an amount of between 100 ppm and 5000-6000 ppm.
24. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in an amount of between 550 ppm and 3000 ppm.
25. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in an amount of between 750 ppm and 2000 ppm.
26. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant to the powder in a step involved in a production andor a further treatment of the powder.
27. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant to the powder prior to a granulation step.
28. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in powder form having a particle size substantially of less than 5 m.
29. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding the dopant in powder form having a particle size substantially of less than 2 m.
30. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding a further dopant to the powder, the further dopant containing at least one compound of a substance selected from the group consisting of zirconium, cerium, yttrium, lanthanum, ytterbium, cesium, calcium, all further subgroup elements, lanthanide elements, and actinide elements, and an oxide thereof.
31. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding to the powder a neutron poison.
32. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding to the powder at least one neutron poison selected from the group consisting of a gadolinium compound, a boron compound, and an erbium compound.
33. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding to the powder a lubricant.
34. The method according to claim 33, wherein the lubricant is a substance selected from the group consisting of stearate compounds, stearic acid, amide compounds, glycol compounds, and paraffin compounds.
35. The method according to claim 1, which comprises adding to the powder a pore-forming agent.
36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the pore-forming agent is a substance selected from the group consisting of ammonium salts, ammonium carbonates, acetate compounds, oxalate compounds, and sugar starch.
37. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sintering step comprises sintering the powder substantially at temperatures of between 1500 C. and 1900 C. and in an atmosphere having a pressure substantially at standard pressure for a duration of between 2 and 8 hours.
38. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sintering step comprises sintering the powder to approximately 93-98.5% of a theoretical density thereof.
39. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sintering step comprises sintering the powder in a reducing inert gas atmosphere.
40. The method according to claim 39, which comprises, during the sintering step, setting an oxygen partial pressure of the inert gas atmosphere such that U3O8 fractions of the powder are reduced to form UO2 fractions of the powder.
41. The method according to claim 39, which comprises setting an oxygen partial pressure of the inert gas atmosphere to avoid a reduction of the iron oxide fractions of the powder to form iron fractions of the powder.