Author: claimsbot

1. A ratchet cutting tool comprising:
a first handle member defining a first hand grip portion on a first end and a workpiece cradle portion on the second opposite end;
a pin member selectively carried on the first handle member;
a second handle member defining a second hand grip portion on a first end and being pivotably connected on a second end thereof with the first handle member;
a blade sleeve member carried on the first handle member and biased to a first position relative to the first handle member;
a drive pawl carried on the second handle member; and,
a cutter blade including:
a flat main body member defining an outer edge;
a cutting edge defined by a cutting portion of the outer edge;
a plurality of spaced apart teeth defined by a toothed portion of the outer edge, the plurality of teeth being configured to selectively engage the drive pawl of the cutting tool;
a slot defined by a slot portion of the outer edge, the slot portion being configured to selectively receive the blade sleeve member when the cutter blade is installed into the first handle member;
an attachment portion on the main body member, the attachment portion being configured to selectively couple with the pin member for supporting relative rotational motion between the cutter blade and the cutting tool;
the ratchet cutting tool further comprising a locating pin member on the first handle member and wherein said cutter blade further includes:
a notch defined by a notch portion of the outer edge, the notch being configured to engage said locating pin member on the first handle member for rotating the cutter blade about the locating pin member in a first arc during a loading of the cutter blade into the ratchet cutting tool.
2. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 1 wherein the slot portion of said cutter blade is disposed on said outer edge of the main body member adjacent said notch portion whereby, with said notch in abutting contact with said locating pin member, said slot is brought into intermating contact with the blade sleeve as the cutter blade is rotated in said first arc during said loading of the cutter blade into the ratchet cutting tool.
3. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 2 wherein:
said blade sleeve member is urged against said bias away from its said first position by said intermating contact between said slot and said blade sleeve member as the cutting blade is rotated in said first arc during said loading of the cutter blade into the ratchet cutting tool.
4. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 3 wherein, at a terminus of said first arc in a loaded position, said cutter blade is held between said locating pin member and said blade sleeve member.
5. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 4 further including a spring member connecting a free end of said blade sleeve member with said first handle member, the spring member providing said bias for biasing the blade sleeve member towards said first position relative to the first handle member.
6. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 5 wherein said cutter blade is held in said loaded position by said bias of said spring member urging the notch against the locating pin member through said intermating contact between the blade sleeve member and sail slot.
7. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 6 wherein the attachment portion of said cutter blade is disposed in a preselected position relative to said notch portion whereby the attachment portion is located at a position adjacent to the pin member of the ratchet cutting tool when the cutting blade is at said loaded positions.
8. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 3 wherein:
the main body member of said cutter blade is annular and defines an inner edge opposite said outer edge;
said attachment portion of said cutter blade is a hole in the main body member defined by said inner edge; and,
said hole is adapted to receive said pin member therethrough to locate the cutter blade relative to the ratchet cutting tool.
9. The ratchet cutting tool according to claim 8 further including:
a retaining member on a first end of the pin member for selectively attaching the pin member with said first handle member; and,
a catch pawl carried on the second handle member and located to selectively engage said plurality of teeth of the cutter blade, the catch pawl and said drive pawl collectively forming a ratchet drive mechanism interconnecting the cutter blade and the second handle member so as to incrementally drive the cutter blade towards said workpiece cradle portion upon relative manipulation of the first and second handle members.
10. A cutter blade detachably mountable to an associated cutting tool including a first handle member defining a first hand grip portion on a first end and a workpiece cradle portion on the second opposite end, a pin member selectively carried on the first handle member, a second handle member by the pin member defining a second hand grip portion on a first end and being pivotably connected on a second end thereof with the first handle member, a blade sleeve member carried on the first handle member and biased to a first position relative to the first handle member, the blade sleeve member being rotatable about the pin and having a center of rotation coincident with the axis of rotation of the blade, and a drive pawl carried on the second handle member, the cutter blade comprising:
a flat main body member defining an outer edge;
a cutting edge defined by a cutting portion of the outer edge;
a plurality of spaced apart teeth defined by a toothed portion of the outer edge, the plurality of teeth being configured to selectively engage the drive pawl of the cutting tool;
a slot defined by a slot portion of the outer edge, the slot portion being configured to selectively receive the blade sleeve member when the cutter blade is installed into the first handle member; and,
an attachment portion on the main body member, the attachment portion being configured to selectively couple with the pin member for supporting relative rotational motion between the cutter blade and the cutting tool;
the cutter blade further including:
a notch defined by a notch portion of the outer edge, the notch being configured to engage a locating pin member on the associated first handle member for rotating the cutter blade about the locating pin member in a first arc during a loading of the cutter blade into the associated cutting tool.
11. The cutter blade according to claim 10 wherein the slot portion is disposed on said outer edge of the main body member adjacent said notch portion whereby, with said notch in abutting contact with said locating pin member, said slot is brought into intermating contact with the blade sleeve as the cutter blade is rotated in said first arc during said loading of the cutter blade into the associated cutting tool.
12. The cutter blade according to claim 11 wherein the attachment portion is disposed in a preselected position relative to said notch portion whereby the attachment portion is located at a position adjacent the pin member of the associated cutting tool when the cutting blade is rotated to a terminus of said first arc during said loading of the cutting blade into the associated cutting tool.
13. The cutter blade according to claim 12 wherein:
the main body member is annular and defines an inner edge opposite said outer edge;
said attachment portion is a hole in the main body member defined by said inner edge; and,
said hole is adapted to receive said pin member therethrough to locate the cutter blade relative to the associated cutting tool.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A data-providing system comprising:
a first data-transmitting section for transmitting a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
an edit control section for performing an operation on the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items, thereby automatically assembling new data; and
a second data-transmitting section for selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new data assembled by the edit control section, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data server apparatus for changing the order of the items of the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for outputting the items of content data in the order changed, thereby to transmit the content data.
3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data server apparatus for skipping a certain auxiliary data items contained in the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
4. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data server apparatus for transmitting additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the data server apparatus acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system, by the use of the edit control section.
6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the data server apparatus incorporates means for generating the additional auxiliary data items.
7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for changing the order of the items of the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for transmitting the items of content data in the order changed.
8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for skipping a certain auxiliary data items contained in the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for transmitting additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the data terminal apparatus acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system, by the use of the edit control section.
11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the data terminal apparatus incorporates means for generating the additional auxiliary data items.
12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the program data and the auxiliary data items have an attribute each, which can be transferred to a position remote from the program data and the auxiliary data items.
13. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data server apparatus for describing attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and the auxiliary data items before the program data and auxiliary data items are transmitted in a prescribed order.
14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control section.
15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which are generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
19. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for describing attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and the auxiliary data items before the program data and auxiliary data items are transmitted in a prescribed order.
20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control section.
21. The system according to claim 19, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
22. The system according to claim 19, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
23. The system according to claim 19, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
24. The system according to claim 23, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which are generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
25. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data server apparatus for describing attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
27. The system according to claim 25, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
28. The system according to claim 25, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of transmitting the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
29. The system according to claim 25, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
30. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for describing attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
31. The system according to claim 30, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
32. The system according to claim 30, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
33. The system according to claim 30, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of transmitting the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
34. The system according to claim 30, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
35. A data server apparatus comprising:
a first data-transmitting section for transmitting a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
an edit control section for performing an operation on the profile data items of the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items, thereby automatically assembling new data; and
a second data-transmitting section for selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new data assembled by the edit control section, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
36. The data server apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the edit control section changes the order of the items of the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the items of the content data in the order changed.
37. The data server apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the edit control section skips a certain auxiliary data item contained in the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
38. The data server apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the edit control section transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
39. The data server apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the edit control section acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system.
40. The data server apparatus according to claim 38, further comprising means for generating the additional auxiliary data items.
41. The data server apparatus according to claim 35, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order.
42. The data server apparatus according to claim 41, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated.
43. The data server apparatus according to claim 41, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
44. The data server apparatus according to claim 41, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
45. The data server apparatus according to claim 41, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
46. The data server apparatus according to claim 45, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items, which have been generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
47. The data server apparatus according to claim 35, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
48. The data server apparatus according to claim 47, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
49. The data server apparatus according to claim 47, wherein attribute data is described, attribute data is described, representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
50. The data server apparatus according to claim 47, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
51. The data server apparatus according to claim 47, wherein the data attribute data is described, representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
52. A data terminal apparatus comprising:
a first data-transmitting section for receiving a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
an edit control section for performing an operation on the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items, thereby automatically assembling new data; and
a second data-transmitting section for selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new data assembled by the edit control section, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
53. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the edit control section changes the order of the items of the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the items of the content data in the order changed.
54. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the edit control section skips a certain auxiliary data item contained in the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
55. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the edit control section transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
56. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the edit control section acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system.
57. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 55, further comprising means for generating additional auxiliary data items.
58. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 52, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order.
59. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 58, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated.
60. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 58, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
61. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 58, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
62. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 58, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
63. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 52, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
64. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 52, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
65. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 64, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
66. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 64, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
67. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 64, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
68. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 64, wherein the data attribute data is described, representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
69. A method of providing data, comprising the steps of:
transmitting a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
performing an operation on the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items, thereby automatically assembling new content data; and
selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new content data, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
70. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data server apparatus changes the order of the items of the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for outputting the items of the new content data in the order changed, thereby to transmit the items of the new content data in the order changed.
71. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data server apparatus skips a certain auxiliary data items contained in the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the new content data.
72. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data server apparatus transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
73. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data terminal apparatus changes the order of the items of the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for outputting the items of the new content data in the order changed, thereby to transmit the items of the new content data in the order changed.
74. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data terminal apparatus skips a certain auxiliary data items contained in the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the new content data.
75. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data terminal apparatus transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
76. The method according to claim 69, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order, from a data server apparatus.
77. The method according to claim 76, wherein the data server apparatus can describe attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated.
78. The method according to claim 77, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
79. The method according to claim 77, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
80. The method according to claim 77, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
81. The method according to claim 80, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
82. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data terminal apparatus can describe attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order, from a data terminal apparatus.
83. The method according to claim 82, wherein the data terminal apparatus can describe attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated.
84. The method according to claim 82, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
85. The method according to claim 82, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
86. The method according to claim 82, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
87. The method according to claim 86, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
88. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated.
89. The method according to claim 88, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
90. The method according to claim 88, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
91. The method according to claim 88, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
92. The method according to claim 88, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
93. The method according to claim 69, wherein a data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items.
94. The method according to claim 93, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
95. The method according to claim 93, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
96. The method according to claim 93, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
97. The method according to claim 93, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
98. A data-providing system comprising:
a first data-transmitting section for transmitting a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
an edit control section for performing an operation on the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items and the profile data of a user apparatus, thereby automatically assembling new data; and
a second data-transmitting section for selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new data assembled by the edit control section, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
99. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data server apparatus for changing the order of the items of the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for outputting the items of content data in the order changed, thereby to transmit the content data.
100. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data server apparatus for skipping a certain auxiliary data items contained in the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
101. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data server apparatus for transmitting additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
102. The system according to claim 101, wherein the data server apparatus acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system, by the use of the edit control section.
103. The system according to claim 101, wherein the data server apparatus incorporates means for generating the additional auxiliary data items.
104. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for changing the order of the items of the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for transmitting the items of content data in the order changed.
105. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for skipping a certain auxiliary data items contained in the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
106. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for transmitting additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data which has been assembled by the edit control section and which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
107. The system according to claim 106, wherein the data terminal apparatus acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system, by the use of the edit control section.
108. The system according to claim 106, wherein the data terminal apparatus incorporates means for generating the additional auxiliary data items.
109. The system according to claim 98, wherein the program data and the auxiliary data items have an attribute each, which can be transferred to a position remote from the program data and the auxiliary data items.
110. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data server apparatus for describing attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and the auxiliary data items before the program data and auxiliary data items are transmitted in a prescribed order.
111. The system according to claim 110, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control section.
112. The system according to claim 111, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
113. The system according to claim 111, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
114. The system according to claim 111, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
115. The system according to claim 114, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which are generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
116. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for describing attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and the auxiliary data items before the program data and auxiliary data items are transmitted in a prescribed order.
117. The system according to claim 116, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control section.
118. The system according to claim 116, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
119. The system according to claim 116, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
120. The system according to claim 116, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control section have generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
121. The system according to claim 120, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which are generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
122. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data server apparatus for describing attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
123. The system according to claim 122, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
124. The system according to claim 122, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
125. The system according to claim 122, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of transmitting the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
126. The system according to claim 122, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
127. The system according to claim 98, further comprising a data terminal apparatus for describing attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
128. The system according to claim 127, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
129. The system according to claim 127, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
130. The system according to claim 127, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of transmitting the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
131. The system according to claim 127, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
132. A data server apparatus comprising:
a first data-transmitting section for transmitting a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
an edit control section for performing an operation on the profile data items of the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items and the profile data of a user apparatus, thereby automatically assembling new data; and
a second data-transmitting section for selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new data assembled by the edit control section, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
133. The data server apparatus according to claim 132, wherein the edit control section changes the order of the items of the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the items of the content data in the order changed.
134. The data server apparatus according to claim 132, wherein the edit control section skips a certain auxiliary data item contained in the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
135. The data server apparatus according to claim 132, wherein the edit control section transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
136. The data server apparatus according to claim 135, wherein the edit control section acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system.
137. The data server apparatus according to claim 135, further comprising means for generating the additional auxiliary data items.
138. The data server apparatus according to claim 132, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order.
139. The data server apparatus according to claim 138, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated.
140. The data server apparatus according to claim 138, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
141. The data server apparatus according to claim 138, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
142. The data server apparatus according to claim 138, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
143. The data server apparatus according to claim 142, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items that have been generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
144. The data server apparatus according to claim 132, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
145. The data server apparatus according to claim 144, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
146. The data server apparatus according to claim 144, wherein attribute data is described, attribute data is described, representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
147. The data server apparatus according to claim 144, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
148. The data server apparatus according to claim 144, wherein the data attribute data is described, representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
149. A data terminal apparatus comprising:
a first data-transmitting section for receiving a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
an edit control section for performing an operation on the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items and the profile data of a user apparatus, thereby automatically assembling new data; and
a second data-transmitting section for selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new data assembled by the edit control section, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
150. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 149, wherein the edit control section changes the order of the items of the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the items of the content data in the order changed.
151. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 149, wherein the edit control section skips a certain auxiliary data item contained in the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the content data.
152. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 149, wherein the edit control section transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
153. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 152, wherein the edit control section acquires the additional auxiliary data items from an external system.
154. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 152, further comprising means for generating additional auxiliary data items.
155. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 149, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order.
156. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 155, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated.
157. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 155, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
158. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 155, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
159. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 155, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items the edit control apparatus has generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
160. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 159, wherein attribute data is described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
161. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 149, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by the edit control apparatus.
162. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 161, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
163. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 161, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
164. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 161, wherein attribute data is described, representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
165. The data terminal apparatus according to claim 161, wherein the data attribute data is described, representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
166. A method of providing data, comprising the steps of:
transmitting a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of program data and auxiliary data items;
performing an operation on the attributes of each program data and auxiliary data items and the profile data of a user apparatus, thereby automatically assembling new content data; and
selecting the auxiliary data items to be inserted into the program data in accordance with the new content data, thereby to transmit a continuous stream of content data that consists of multimedia content groups, each composed of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
167. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data server apparatus changes the order of the items of the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for outputting the items of the new content data in the order changed, thereby to transmit the items of the new content data in the order changed.
168. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data server apparatus skips a certain auxiliary data items contained in the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the new content data.
169. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data server apparatus transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
170. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data terminal apparatus changes the order of the items of the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, and for outputting the items of the new content data in the order changed, thereby to transmit the items of the new content data in the order changed.
171. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data terminal apparatus skips a certain auxiliary data items contained in the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the new content data.
172. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data terminal apparatus transmits additional auxiliary data items, together with the new content data which consists of multimedia content groups, each consisting of the program data and the auxiliary data items.
173. The method according to claim 166, wherein attribute data can be described, representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order, from a data server apparatus.
174. The method according to claim 173, wherein the data server apparatus can describe attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated.
175. The method according to claim 174, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
176. The method according to claim 174, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
177. The method according to claim 174, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
178. The method according to claim 177, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
179. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data terminal apparatus can describe attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning the program data and auxiliary data items, thereby to transmit the program data and transmit the auxiliary data items in a prescribed order, from a data terminal apparatus.
180. The method according to claim 179, wherein the data terminal apparatus can describe attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated.
181. The method according to claim 179, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by changing the order in which the items of the content data are to be transmitted.
182. The method according to claim 179, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by skipping a certain auxiliary data item.
183. The method according to claim 179, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated by transmitting additional auxiliary data items.
184. The method according to claim 183, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing means for transferring money and settling charge between players concerning new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated from the additional auxiliary data items.
185. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of new program data and auxiliary data items which have been generated.
186. The method according to claim 185, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
187. The method according to claim 185, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
188. The method according to claim 185, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
189. The method according to claim 185, wherein the data server apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
190. The method according to claim 166, wherein a data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items.
191. The method according to claim 190, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of changing the order in which the program data and auxiliary data items are to be transmitted, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
192. The method according to claim 190, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of stopping the transmission of the program data and auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
193. The method according to claim 190, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of limiting the transmission of additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.
194. The method according to claim 190, wherein the data terminal apparatus describes attribute data representing conditions of acquiring additional auxiliary data items, in accordance with the relation between the program data and the auxiliary data items.

1. A method for a fabricating flexible pixel array substrate, comprising:
forming a release layer on a rigid substrate;
forming a polymer film on the release layer, wherein the adhesive strength between the rigid substrate and the release layer is higher than that between the release layer and the polymer film;
forming a pixel array on the polymer film; and
separating the polymer film with the pixel array formed thereon from the rigid substrate.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the material of the release layer comprises metal, inorganic compound or polymer.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the polymer film includes spin coating a polymer monomer and performing a curing process to form a polymer layer.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein, after forming the release layer, the method further comprises forming at least one film layer on the surface of the release layer.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the film layer comprises a hard coating layer.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the material of the hard coating layer comprises oxide or nitride.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the film layer comprises a water vapor-resistant and oxygen-resistant layer.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the material of the water vapor-resistant and oxygen-resistant layer comprises oxide, nitride, polymer or a multi-layer combination of the above materials.
9. The method of claim 4, wherein the film layer comprises an adhesive layer.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method for separating the polymer film with the pixel array formed thereon from the rigid substrate comprises a curing process.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the rigid substrate comprises a glass substrate.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the pixel array comprises an amorphous silicon TFT array (a-Si TFT array), a low-temperature poly silicon TFT array (LTPS TFT array) or an organic TFT array.
13. A flexible pixel array substrate, comprising:
a flexible substrate, having an upper surface and a lower surface;
a pixel array, disposed on the upper surface of the flexible substrate; and
at least one film layer, disposed on the lower surface of the flexible substrate.
14. The flexible pixel array substrate of claim 13, wherein the film layer comprises an adhesive layer, a hard coating layer, a water vapor-resistant and oxygen-resistant layer or a combination thereof.
15. The flexible pixel array substrate of claim 14, wherein the material of the hard coating layer comprises oxide or nitride.
16. The flexible pixel array substrate of claim 14, wherein the material of the water vapor-resistant and oxygen-resistant layer comprises oxide, nitride, polymer or a multi-layer combination of the above materials.
17. The flexible pixel array substrate of claim 13, wherein the pixel array comprises an amorphous silicon TFT array (a-Si TFT array), a low-temperature poly silicon TFT array (LTPS TFT array) or an organic TFT array.
18. The flexible pixel array substrate of claim 13, wherein the flexible substrate comprises a transparent polymer material.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method carrying InfiniBand packets over a long distance connection, comprising:
encapsulating InfiniBand packets within another protocol;
transmitting the encapsulated packets over the long distance connection (WAN);
de-encapsulating the InfiniBand packets by removing the encapsulation and recovering the InfiniBand packets;
maintaining an InfiniBand physical link state machine over the WAN; and
maintaining an InfiniBand style flow control over the WAN.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the protocol is an OSI 7 Layer reference model and is selected from the group consisting of layer 1, layer 2, layer 3 and layer 4.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting encapsulated InfiniBand further comprises extending an InfiniBand link distance over the WAN to distances greater than about 100 km.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein increasing link distance further comprises increasing the InfiniBand credit advertised on the link beyond about 12 KiB per VL.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein increasing the available credit comprises increasing the number of bytes per advertised credit block.
6. The method of claim 4 wherein increasing the available credit comprises increasing the number of credit blocks per advertisement.
7. The method of claim 4 wherein increasing the available credit comprises both increasing the number of credit blocks and the number of bytes per block in each advertisement.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein maintaining the flow control semantics comprises the sending unit choosing the egress VL at the receiving unit for the de-encapsulated InfiniBand packets.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining the InfiniBand physical link state machine further comprises exchanging non-InfiniBand packets across the WAN; wherein doing so establishes that an end-to-end path exists in the WAN, the exchanging of packets being selected from the group consisting of PPP LCP packets, Ethernet ARP exchanges, TCP session initializations, and establishing ATM SVC’s.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein maintaining InfiniBand style flow control further comprises buffering packets received on the WAN port in a buffer memory that exceeds 128 KiB.
11. An apparatus for carrying InfiniBand packets consisting of logic circuits, comprising:
an InfiniBand interface coupled to an InfiniBand routing and QOS component, wherein
the InfiniBand routing and QOS block’s InfiniBand to WAN path is coupled to a encapsulationde-encapsulation component (ENCAP);
the ENCAP component’s IB to WAN path is coupled to a WAN interface;
the WAN interface’s WAN to IB path is coupled to an ENCAP component;
the ENCAP component’s WAN to IB path is coupled to a Bulk Buffer Memory;
the Bulk Buffer Memory is coupled to the WAN to IB path of an InfiniBand interface;
a Credit Management unit generates credits for the WAN and produces back pressure onto the InfiniBand interface;
the ENCAP component is coupled to the Credit Management Unit for encapsulating and de-encapsulating credit information; and
a Management block provides an InfiniBand Subnet Management Agent, WAN end-to-end negotiation and management services.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the apparatus can maintain transfer rates of about 1 gigabyte per second of InfiniBand packets simultaneously in each direction.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the InfiniBand interface contains additional flow control buffering units to transition from a WAN clock domain to an InfiniBand clock domain.
14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the ENCAP component is capable of supporting a plurality of networks including any of IPv6, UDP in IPv6, DCCP in IPv6, ATM AAL5 or GFP.
15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the WAN interface further comprises:
a framer unit capable of supporting a plurality of network formats, including any of SONETSDH, 10GBASE-R, InfiniBand and 10GBASE-W; and
an optical subsystem capable of supporting any of SONETSDH, 10GBASE-R, or InfiniBand.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the optical subsystem is further capable of reaching distances greater than specified by IBTA InfiniBand Architecture Release 1.2 alone or when coupled with other equipment such as SONETSDH multiplexers, optical regenerators, packet routers, cell switches or otherwise.
17. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the bulk buffer memory can take packets out of the plurality of FIFO structures in an order different from the order that the packets were received.
18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the credit management unit advertises more credits than defined by the InfiniBand specification through increasing the credit block size andor increasing the number of blocks per advertisement.
19. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the management block of claim 10 further comprises:
a general purpose processor; and
a mechanism to send and receive packets on both the WAN and IB interfaces.
20. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the bulk buffer memory further comprises:
a plurality of DDR2 memory modules (DIMMS);
wherein control logic maintains a plurality of FIFO structures within the DDR2 memory; and
wherein each FIFO structure is used to buffer a WAN to InfiniBand VL; and
wherein the packet flow out of the memory is regulated to ensure that no packets are discarded due to congestion at the InfiniBand interface.
21. The apparatus of claim 11 for maintaining a maximum transfer rate of 1 gigabyte per second of InfiniBand packets simultaneously in each direction, further comprising:
additional flow control buffering units to transition from a WAN clock domain to an IB clock domain;
wherein the ENCAP component is capable of supporting a plurality of networks including any of IPv6, UDP in IPv6, DCCP in IPv6, ATM AAL5 or GFP;
a framer unit capable of supporting a plurality of network formats, including any of SONETSDH, 10GBASE-R, InfiniBand and 10GBASE-W;
an optical subsystem coupled capable of supporting any of SONETSDH, 10GBASE-R, or InfiniBand
wherein the optical subsystem is further capable of reaching distances greater than specified by IBTA InfiniBand Architecture Release 1.2 alone or when coupled with other equipment such as SONETSDH multiplexers, optical regenerators, packet routers, cell switches or otherwise;
wherein the Bulk Buffer Memory can take packets out of the plurality of FIFO structures in an order different from the order that the packets were received and wherein the Bulk Buffer Memory further comprises:
a plurality of DDR2 memory modules (DIMMS);
wherein control logic maintains a plurality of FIFO structures within the DDR2 memory; and
wherein each FIFO structure is used to buffer a WAN to InfiniBand VL; and
wherein the packet flow out of the memory is regulated to ensure that no packets are discarded due to congestion at the InfiniBand interface,
wherein the Credit Management advertises more credits than defined by the InfiniBand specification through increasing the credit block size andor increasing the number of blocks per advertisement.
wherein the Management block further comprises:
a general purpose processor; and
a mechanism to send and receive packets on both the WAN and IB interfaces.
22. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the ENCAP component performs a null encapsulation and emits the InfiniBand packets unchanged.
23. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the Bulk Buffer Memory further comprises:
a plurality of SRAM memory chips;
wherein control logic maintains a plurality of FIFO structures within the QDR memory; and
wherein each FIFO structure is used to buffer a WAN to InfiniBand VL; and
wherein the packet flow out of the memory is regulated to ensure that no packets are discarded due to congestion at the InfiniBand interface.
24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the SRAM memory chips are QDR2 SRAM.
25. The apparatus of claim 21,
wherein the bulk buffer memory comprise a plurality of SRAM memory chips; and
wherein control logic maintains a plurality of FIFO structures within the QDR memory; and
wherein each FIFO structure is used to buffer a WAN to InfiniBand VL; and
wherein the packet flow out of the memory is regulated to ensure that no packets are discarded due to congestion at the InfiniBand interface.
26. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the InfiniBand packets are placed within the payload structure of IPv6 packets.
27. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the credit data is encoded in extension headers within the IPv6 header.
28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the credit data is encoded in extension headers within the IPv6 header.
29. The apparatus of claim 11
wherein the ENCAP component frames the InfiniBand packets in a manner than is compatible with the 6664b coding scheme defined by IEEE802.3ae clause 49; and
wherein the ENCAP component can remove the clause 49 compatible framing and recover the original IB packet.
30. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the credit information is encoded in ordered sets in the 6664b code.
31. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the InfiniBand packets are placed within the payload structure of UDP or DCCP datagrams carried within IPv6 or IPv4 packets.
32. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the InfiniBand packets are segmented into ATM Cells according to the ATM Adaptation Layer 5 (AAL5).
33. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the InfiniBand packets are placed within the payload structure of a Generic Framing Protocol packet and placed within a SONETSDH frame.
34. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the credit data is encoded in the payload structure of the encapsulation.
35. A system, comprising:
a first InfiniBand fabric coupled to a first device;
a first device coupled to a second device;
a second device coupled to a second InfiniBand fabric;
wherein the first and second devices are further comprised of:
logic circuitry to encapsulate and de-encapsulate InfiniBand packets into another network protocol; and
logic circuitry to buffer the InfiniBand packets; and
a network interface that carries the encapsulated InfiniBand packets
36. The system of claim 35 wherein the first device and second device are further indirectly coupled over an extended WAN network, the extended WAN network comprising one or more of SONETSDH multiplexers, optical regenerators, packet routers, and cell switches.
37. The system of claim 35 wherein the flow rate of packets into the ENCAP component may be limited by the device based upon conditions within the network or administrative configuration to a rate less than or equal to the maximum rate possible.
38. The system of claim 35 herein the system further comprises:
a packet or cell switched or routed network exits between the two devices;
wherein more than two devices can be connected to this network; and
wherein each end device can encapsulate and address packets to more than one destination device.
39. The system of claim 35 further comprising the apparatus of claim 21.
40. The system of claim 35 further comprising the apparatus of claim 25.
41. The system of claim 35 further comprising:
two InfiniBand fabrics having disjoined LID address spaces and different subnet prefixes;
a packet routing component integrated into the devices wherein:
logic circuitry determines the LID address of a given InfiniBand packet by examining the destination GID in the GRH; and
wherein logic circuitry can replace the LID, SL, VL or other components of the InfiniBand packet using information from the GRH.