A shower receptor with improved control of moisture and trapped water comprising one or more of the following improvements: the flange is significantly higher above the threshold than prior art receptors; the threshold is disposed higher than the ledge area where the shower wall materials meet the receptor; weep valleys are provided in the corners of the ledge area and where the ledge meets the threshold; the ledge area comprises multiple steps adapted to meet the subwall and finish wall materials wherein the steps are sloped toward the base and the tile step is lower than the subwall step; a raised curb is provided along the outer edge of the horizontal surface of the threshold, the curb adapted to redirect water that leaks out of the door enclosure back into the shower receptor.

This invention relates to a shower receptor or shower pan. This invention also relates to a shower stall using the shower receptor. This invention also relates to a bathtub.
One piece molded shower receptors are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,385 to W. W. Whittick and U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,335 to Anthony Buonaura disclose examples of conventional shower receptors. These shower receptors were designed to replace tile and mortar bed shower floors which were prone to leaking. They were designed to mate with various conventional wall construction materials. Shower subwalls are conventionally constructed of cement mortar, gypsum board, cementitious backer, coated glass mat backer board, or cementitious coated foam backer board and the like. Shower wall surfaces are conventionally finished ceramic or porcelain tile, stone, marble or prefabricated sheet materials, which are attached with thin set mortar or adhesive.
Even though the conventional shower receptors may solve the problem of water leakage that is associated with tile shower floor construction, there are still water leakage problems associated with stone-, marble- or tile-covered interior shower walls. All tile and stone walls with grout lines leak and pass water. Grout lines are not waterproof and they are generally not maintained in a way that will prevent this occurrence. With age and use, cracks and/or holes may develop in the tile wall, allowing increasing amounts of water to seep into the wall. The water will travel horizontally and vertically behind the tile. When it reaches the bottom of the wall, it generally cannot flow into the shower receptor because the joint where the tile wall and the shower receptor meet is generally sealed with silicone or other caulk. The water therefore travels horizontally until it finally escapes the shower enclosure, either soaking into adjacent walls or leaking onto floors outside the shower stall. Alternately, the trapped water may wick upward into the drywall, plaster or other subwall material of the shower walls. Either way, the water seepage behind the tile wall can cause significant damage in shower stalls using conventional shower receptors.
When a bathtub is installed in a combination bathtub-shower installation, the bathtub functions in the same way as the shower receptors described above. When tile, stone, or marble walls are used in such installations, the same water seepage problems occur as in the shower stalls described above.
What is needed is a shower receptor for a shower stall or bathtub installation having a flange that is significantly higher than the threshold and the ledge area. What is needed is a shower receptor having a ledge area that is lower in elevation than the threshold. What is further needed is a shower receptor having weep valleys in all corners of the ledge area. What is further needed is a shower receptor having a ledge area with more than one step adapted for mating with various subwall materials. The inventive shower receptor meets these needs.


A nonvolatile memory device includes a memory cell unit including a pair of memory transistors and one select transistor. The select transistor is disposed between the pair of memory transistors formed in an active region in a semiconductor substrate. Two bit lines are provided, one bit line being connected to a corresponding one of the pair of memory transistors, and the other bit line being connected to a corresponding other of the pair of memory transistors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a nonvolatile memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nonvolatile memory devices retain data even when an external power source is removed.
Nonvolatile memory devices can generally be categorized as MASK ROM, an EPROM, and an EEPROM.
FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C are a plan view of a general EEPROM, a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1A, and an equivalent circuit thereof, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, a source region 12s, a drain region 12d, and a floating diffusion region 12f are provided in an active region 12 defined by device isolation layers 13 in a semiconductor substrate 11.
A word line WL is provided across the active region 12, extending in a first direction. A select line SL is spaced apart from the word line WL parallel thereto, and is likewise provided across the active region. A bit line BL is connected to the source region 12s through a bit line contact plug 31, and extends in a second direction transverse to the first direction.
A floating gate electrode 21, an intergate dielectric layer 23, and a control gate electrode 25 are stacked on an active region between the source region 12s and the floating diffusion region 12f, and a gate insulating layer 15 is interposed between the floating gate electrode and the active region. The control gate electrode 25 is connected to the word line WL. The floating diffusion region 12f extends into the active region under the word line WL. A memory transistor MT of the device can include the source region 12s, the floating diffusion region 12f, and a stacked gate electrode including the floating gate electrode 21, the intergate dielectric layer 23 and the control gate electrode 25. A portion of the gate insulating layer 15 may have an opening that exposes the active region, and a tunnel insulating layer (not shown) that is thinner than the gate insulating layer can be provided at the opening.
A select gate electrode 27 is provided on an active region between the floating diffusion region 12f and the drain region 12d, and a select gate insulating layer 17 is interposed between the select gate electrode and the active region. The select gate electrode 27 is connected to the select line SL. A select transistor ST may include the select gate electrode 27, the floating diffusion region 12f, and the drain region 12d. As compared to the memory transistor MT, the select transistor ST may have a general MOS transistor structure. However, the select transistor ST may optionally have a stacked structure, including conductive layers for the floating gate electrode and the control gate electrode. The conductive layers may be electrically connected to each other through an opening.
A memory cell unit of the conventional EEPROM described above includes one select gate and one memory gate, which can store only one-bit of data and does not lend itself toward higher integration.


The invention relates to a method, which comprises the capturing of image data representing a physical object using an electronic device. First visual objects are determined in the image data. Second objects are determined among the first visual objects. Position information is determined for the second visual objects within the physical object. Third visual object are obtained based on the position information from object data storage. The third visual objects are matched to the first visual objects and differences between third visual objects and the first visual object are indicated to a user.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to digital imaging. Particularly, the invention relates to a method for the viewing of visual information with an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term blueprints refers to the plans for the guiding of many processes such as building constructions, product manufacture, machine construction, shipbuilding, electrical installations, pipelining and gardening, for example. Blueprints may also even refer to drawings and illustrations used in software design, project management and organization planning. Nowadays, the blueprints are predominantly produced using Computer Assisted Design (CAD) software. However, sometimes they may be still drawn manually, especially in more artistic designs. The blueprints are mostly printed on large ISO 216 A0-A3 sized sheets. The roughly corresponding sizes in the ANSI standards are B-E. The blueprints are used in the sharing of building information for builders, master builders and construction engineers. The blueprints are maintained by a construction designer. As changes occur during the course of the construction, they are made known to the construction designer who updates the blueprints. The updated blueprints are printed, sometimes by an external subcontractor, and delivered to the construction site or to any other place where they are needed. The blueprints are often annotated with version numbers. On a construction yard there is maintained a list of valid blueprints. The validity of a blueprint may be checked by comparing the version number of a specific blueprint to a version number associated with the identifier of the blueprint on the list.
The problem with the paper blueprints is that as the plans change, the blueprint becomes outdated. This may happen very frequently since any change in a minor detail renders the blueprints obsolete. Sometimes the construction staff makes on-site notes and changes to the blueprints reflecting calculations and ad hoc design solutions. As new versions of the blueprints are provided, such notes and changes may be lost, unless they are made known to the construction designer early enough. The printing cycle of blueprints may be, for example, up to a week, so there is a potential risk of using invalid blueprints. Similar problems may be found in any sharing of frequently changing visually communicated information, which consists of a lot of detail.
Recently, mobile communication devices equipped with digital cameras make it possible to capture images or video even from documents.
It would be beneficial to be able to have a solution which enables the verification of blueprints using a mobile communication device and a digital camera.

Method for the viewing of visual information with an electronic device


A method for installing a stroke sensor is provided such that the stroke sensor can be easily adjusted using a simple process.

A stroke sensor is used in various kinds of fields, such as an automobile transmission and a brake of a vehicle. A stroke sensor includes a magnetic field detecting element that detects a magnetic field and a magnet that generates a magnetic field that is detected by the magnetic field detecting element. The magnet is moved relative to the magnetic field detecting element. A stroke sensor outputs a voltage that indicates the position of the magnet relative to the magnetic field detecting element. When a stroke sensor is installed in an actual apparatus, the magnet is moved relative to the magnetic field detecting element in advance in order to obtain the relationship between the magnetic field and the output voltage. In order to realize the relationship in an actual apparatus again, it is necessary to prevent the positional shift between the magnet and the magnetic field detecting element when these elements are installed in the actual apparatus. JP6044599 discloses a sensor having a light generating section, a light detecting section, and a light scale that is positioned between the generating section and the detecting section. The light generating section and the light detecting section need to face each other in accordance with a predetermined positional relationship. To this end, the light generating unit and the light detecting unit are mounted on a flexible substrate, and the flexible substrate is bent such that the light generating unit and the light detecting unit face each other in accordance with the predetermined positional relationship.
According to the method for preventing positional shift described in JP6044599, the light generating portion and the light detecting portion are mounted on a flexible substrate. Therefore, this method cannot be applied to a stroke sensor in which a magnetic field detecting element and a magnet are attached to different structures that are moved relative to each other.

Easily adjustable stroke sensor and method for installing the same

Abstract: The method has the steps of; obtaining a relationship between the magnetic field and the indicator value while moving the magnet in the first direction relative to the magnetic field detecting element within a predetermined relative movable range, and writing the relationship in the processor; after the relationship is written in the processor, preventing the predetermined relative movable range from being shifted in the first direction by means of a jig for preventing positional shift, wherein the jig includes an element that fixes relative positions between the magnetic field detecting element and the magnet; attaching the magnet and the magnetic field detecting element, which have been prevented from being shifted, to different structures that are movable in the first direction relative to each other, and removing the jig.


A lamp apparatus includes a pair of concentrically positioned lamp shades and a light source positioned centrally within an inner one of the lamp shades. The lamp shades are bell shaped so as to direct light from the light source downwardly without passing through either one of the lamp shades. The outer one of the lamp shades is formed of a transparent glass or plastic with a thin film optical coating of randomly variable thickness on its inner surface. The inner one of the lamp shades is formed of a translucent glass or plastic. Standard lamp hardware is used to assembly the apparatus into a functional lamp assembly. When the light source is not illuminated, the outer shade appears as a metallic or chrome color, and when it is illuminated, the outer shade appears transparent and the inner shade appears to have a rainbow colored effect. Downward directed light is not colored.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE: Applicant(s) hereby incorporate herein by reference, any and all U.S. patents, U.S. patent applications, and other documents and printed matter cited or referred to in this application.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electric lamps and decorative shades therefor, and more particularly to a double lamp shade with a dichroic coating presenting unusual visual effects when illuminated.
2. Background and Description of Related Art
With respect to lamp shades used for covering a light source, except for opaque shades, such shades generally change their appearance when the light source is illuminated. Most generally, translucent shades become illuminated from the light source and present a desired appearance. Transparent shades transmit light from the source directly but also may present a novel appearance with certain parts of the shade being illuminated in desired ways.
It is known to use colored lights in combination to produce various color displays on a translucent shade. Two-piece lamp shades having an inner shade and an outer shade are known to be used to produce interesting effects as in the Ireland-Stacy reference described below.
It is known to use optical thin films of transparent and semi-transparent materials having thicknesses approximating one-fourth the wavelength of the light that it is desired to transmit through the films, in multiple layers, in order to fabricate optical filters. Such filters may be designed to pass selected wavelength bands of light energy while rejecting others. When the optical filters are held to a desired thickness uniformly across a workpiece, a uniform effect is produced, that is, the visual effect is that certain colors of light appear to the observer. When the thicknesses of the optical films are allowed to vary across the workpiece, the visual effect is that the colors produced vary from point to point over the workpiece. Such a film may be deposited that will produce a rainbow effect. This phenomenon is used in the present invention.
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Neal, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,455 describes a reflector for use in a dental, medical or other lighting device wherein light from a light source is reflected thereby in a predetermined pattern for illumination of a desired zone. The reflector is formed of a glass substrate of predetermined shape and has a dichroic coating on the front surface for reflecting a substantial portion of visible light and for allowing infrared and other undesirable energy along with some unreflected visible light to pass therethrough so that cool light only is reflected and a diffuser coating on the rear surface for diffusing light passing through the glass substrate to reduce undesirable glare from the rear of the reflector. The diffuser coating is preferably a ceramic frit.
Ireland-Stacy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,725 describes a shade for covering a light source and a process for making the shade. The shade comprises an inner member and an outer member where the outer member is connected to the inner member. At least one inclusion is located between the inner member and the outer member wherein covering the light source with the shade enables viewing of the inclusion therein when the light source is in an on state and substantially prohibits viewing of the inclusion therein when the light source is in an off state.
Scott, et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,908 describes a method of fabricating multiple layer, solid, thin films on a substrate having a surface to be coated, the method providing control over the thickness, stoichiometry, and morphology of each separate layer formed by a method comprising the steps of: A. forming a first ion beam from an inert gas; B, bombarding a target surface with said first ion beam in a vacuum chamber to generate a vapor cloud composed of the target material atoms by the process of sputtering; C. adjusting the respective positions of the substrate surface for coating and the target surface to promote the condensation of the vapor upon the substrate surface for coating; D. forming a second ion beam, the second ion beam""s ions being formed from a mixture of inert and reactive gases; E. bombarding the substrate surface simultaneously with the second ion beam to promote a chemical reaction between the target vapor atoms and the chemically reactive gas ions as the target atoms and the chemically reactive gas ions impinge upon the substrate surface for coating, the resulting chemical compound building up in thickness as a homogeneous thin solid film layer; F. positioning an alternative target material in the place occupied by the previous one; G. repeating the above method steps to produce each successive thin solid film layer of different material formed upon each previous layer.
The prior art teaches the concept of using an inner and an outer lamp members to present the effect of viewing an inclusion only when the lamp is illuminated, but not otherwise. The prior art also teaches the use of thin film coatings in a lamp to enable only certain visible portions of light to pass while reflecting others. However, the prior art does not teach the use of a multi-layer thin optical film coating of a lamp shade for producing a rainbow visual effect when a lamp is illuminated, but not otherwise. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention comprises a lamp assembly having a shade system covering a light source. The shade system includes an outer shade envelope made of a transparent material such as glass or plastic. This outer shade envelope is treated with a multilayer optical coating on its in-facing surface. An inner shade envelope is positioned within the outer shade, and this shade is made of translucent material, again generally frosted glass or plastic. The shades are mounted concentrically. A light source such as an electric lamp is positioned at the center of the inner shade envelope. The invention presents three different appearances to a viewer. Viewing the lamp assembly from one side, when the lamp is not illuminated, the inner shade is not visible, and only the outer shade envelope may be seen, and it appears to be a gray metallic color. From this same viewpoint, when the lamp is illuminated, the outer shade appears to be transparent while the inner shade, appears to have a multicolored pattern such as a rainbow. In an alternate embodiment, the inner shade may be constructed of two individual envelopes joined integrally. The light directed downwardly, as for illuminating a restaurant table, does not have the various colors seen from the side of the outer shade but rather is the color of light produced by the electric lamp.
A primary objective of the present invention, is to provide an apparatus and method of use of such apparatus that provides advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide such an invention capable of producing an interesting visual effect on the shade when seen from one side, while producing a conventional illumination below.
A further objective is to provide such an invention capable of having the interesting visual effect only when the interior lamp is illuminated but not otherwise.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

Lamp with decorative element when illuminated


The present invention provides a method for coating metal plates by applying an organic coating composition containing 5 to 70% by weight of molybdenum disulfide, to the metal plate, in a dry film thickness of from 0.5 to 20.mu., drying the applied composition, and subjecting the coated metal plate to forming processing, and electrodeposition coating.

The present invention relates to a coating method for coating metal plates and in particular, to a coating method for coating metal plates exhibiting excellent electrodeposition coating and workability, which comprises coating a sheet steel, a steel article, or a plated article thereof; an aluminum article, a zinc article, or an alloy article thereof; a cold rolled bright sheet steel or an alloy-plated cold rolled bright sheet steel; or the like with an organic coating composition containing molybdenum disulfide alone or molybdenum disulfide in combination with electroconductive fine particles, drying the thus coated sheet steel or article, and then subjecting it to forming processing.
Hitherto, in coating automobile bodies, a method in which a cold rolled dull sheet steel is successively subjected to surface preparation and electrodeposition coating and then finished by applying an intermediate coat and a top coat has been commonly employed. Recently, improvements in smoothness and image clearness of coating films are being keenly demanded. For this purpose, not only paints themselves but smoothness of a substrate have come into question. However, since a cold rolled bright sheet steel which exhibits the highest smoothness among steels does not have holding power for lubricants, it involves problems from the standpoint of processing steps because it likely causes inconveniences such as a phenomenon in which a material to be processed adheres to the surface of a mold to damage the mold, and a phenomenon in which a material to be processed adheres to the surface of a mold during the forming processing. Accordingly, although the cold rolled bright sheet steel is known to be the best steel in order to improve the image clearness, it has not yet been used. Recently, a laser dull sheet steel comprising a sheet steel having provided thereon regular markings has turned up. Through this laser dull sheet steel is admitted to have an effect for improving the sharpness as compared with the cold rolled dull sheet steel, it is still not superior to the cold rolled bright sheet steel.
Furthermore, in organic coating film-applied composite plated sheet steels used in automobile bodies, if a substrate sheet steel is a cold rolled dull sheet steel, it is known that there are involved the same problems in smoothness and image clearness. Still further, in the organic coating film-applied composite plated sheet steels, coating films containing a large quantity of zinc dust such as zincrometal generate problems such as peeling and powdering during the forming processing. Moreover, even in composite coated sheet steels having a 1.mu.-thick silica-containing organic coating film which has been developed thereafter, since the coating film is electrically insulative, in order to obtain a good property of electrodeposition coating in the electrodeposition coating to be subsequently carried out, the film thickness must be controlled within 1.+-.0.3 microns, whereby a large number of management steps are required for the production so that even a slight dispersion variability of the film thickness results in deterioration of the property of electrodeposition coating. In any of these cases, demands the present status an immediate improvement.
There have been made investigations based on an assumption that in sheet steels for automobile bodies having these defects,if a phenomenon in which a material to be processed adheres to the surface of a mold to damage the mold, and a phenomenon in which a material to be processed adheres to the surface of a mold during the forming processing, could be solved by coating, the problems in smoothness and image clearness of the finishing of a top coat could be solved. As a result, it has become clear that in the case that an organic lubricant is added merely for the purpose of imparting workability, though the workability is improved, there is involved a problem in the property of electrodeposition coating, whereas in the case that a coating composition to which electrical conductivity has been imparted is applied on a sheet steel, though the property of electrodeposition coating is improved, the workability is not improved at all.


A light-alloy vehicle suspension member integrally made from a light alloy, including a sectional shape formed by an upper wall, a front wall, and a rear wall so as to have an open bottom, the upper wall being substantially horizontal, the front wall and the rear wall being erected in a substantially vertical manner on a front edge and a rear edge of the upper wall respectively, wherein: one end of a torque rod is connected to a center portion, in a vehicle width direction, of the upper wall, another end of the torque rod is connected to an engine; a vertical position of the upper wall substantially corresponds to a vertical center position between the front wall and the rear wall, and substantially corresponds to a height position of the torque rod.

An engine of a drive source, arranged in an engine compartment in a front portion of a vehicle, is elastically supported on a vehicle body by a plurality of engine mounts. The engine tends to oscillate based on torque fluctuations or rotation fluctuations which result from throttle manipulation or the like, and the engine oscillates with respect to the vehicle body by an amount equivalent to elastic deformation of the engine mounts which are installed to prevent engine vibrations from being transmitted to the vehicle body. Thus, the engine and suspension member are connected by a torque rod to reduce engine oscillations.
Incidentally, the suspension member connected with one end of the torque rod, is arranged below the engine compartment of the vehicle, this suspension member supports suspension arms so as to be capable of swinging in an upper and lower direction at the left and right ends of the engine compartment respectively, and the suspension member connects a pair of apron side members which are arranged on left and right sides of the engine compartment respectively, along a front and rear direction of the vehicle, thereby rigidity of the vehicle body is increased.
Conventionally, the above suspension member is formed into a closed sectional shape (a hollow closed structure made by joining two case halves together) by welding press-formed sheet metal. It is common practice for a torque rod mounting portion to be installed inside such a suspension member made of sheet metal (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
Recently, on the other hand, for the purposes of weight reduction, productivity improvement, and the like, the suspension member has come to be formed integrally by casting (such as die casting) a light alloy, such as a light-weight aluminum alloy (see, for example, Patent Literature 2).


A communication control apparatus includes a collection control unit, an analysis unit, and a coordination unit. The collection control unit collects communication performed with a device connected to a subordinate network, and controls communication performed by the device based on a first control condition; The analysis unit analyzes the communication collected by the collection control unit to extract device identification information indicating characteristics of the communication performed by the device. The analysis unit specifies a device name of the device and the first control condition corresponding to a normal communication range extracted from the device identification information, based on the device identification information. The coordination unit transmits at least part of first shared information in which the device name and the first control condition specified by the analysis unit and the device identification information are associated with each other, to an outside of the subordinate network.

Due to the arrival of the IoT (Internet of Things) era, various devices (IoT devices) have become connected to the Internet and used in various ways. Accordingly, security measures for IoT devices, such as a traffic session anomaly detection system and an intrusion detection system (IDS) for IoT devices, are expected to be realized.
For example, traffic control at a gateway, which serves as a connection point to the Internet, has been proposed in consideration of the high risk of consumer IoT devices becoming infected with malware (NPL 2).
Also, a method for defining a normal subspace based on a feature, and defining, for example, a distance from the normal subspace as an anomaly level to detect an anomaly from data, is known (NPL 1).

Communication control apparatus, communication control method, and communication control program

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for driving an acoustic transducer, including: obtaining a reference electrical signal according to a first electrical signal output by a first acoustic transducer element in a case where sound waves are not received by the first acoustic transducer element; obtaining an actual detected electrical signal according to a second electrical signal output by a second acoustic transducer element in a case where sound waves are received by the second acoustic transducer element; and performing a noise reduction process on the actual detected electrical signal according to the reference electrical signal to obtain a noise-reduced signal as a final output electrical signal of the second acoustic transducer element in a case where sound waves are received by the second acoustic transducer element. An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an acoustic transducer.

Ultrasonic testing has been applied in many fields, such as medical imaging, medical treatment, industrial flowmeters, automotive radars, and indoor positioning. In a specific system (e.g. a medical imaging system) to which ultrasonic testing is applied, noises may include the noise of sensor itself, the noise of a circuit, and the noise of the system. Since the noise of sensor itself is generated at a front end of the system and amplified synchronously by the amplifiers at various stages in a whole circuit system, the signal-to-noise ratio and detection sensitivity of the whole system are affected. Therefore, it is of great importance how to reduce or even eliminate the noise of the sensor itself.

Acoustic transducer and driving method thereof

BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


When comparing a reference image and a registered image, a reference image is defined as a high-resolution image of the highest resolution and a first low-resolution image is generated on a lower level, and a second low-resolution image is generated on a lower level. Registered images are read one-at-a-time, feature regions are set in the hierarchical images of the registered images, and corresponding regions are found in the reference image through hierarchical searching from the low-resolution image towards the high-resolution image. An evaluation is made as to whether to select the registered image that has been read out, based on a similarity between the low-resolution hierarchical image, for example, a feature region of the hierarchical image of the registered image, and the corresponding region of the hierarchical image of the reference image, to narrow down the registered images to be compared to the reference image.

In recent years systems have been developed for performing authentication of individuals based on biological information instead of on the PIN numbers or ID cards that have been used in the past in fields that require individual authentication, such as control of entry/exit into computer rooms or critical equipment rooms, control of access to computer terminals or financial terminals in banks, and the like.
Personal authentication systems that use biological information are of interest because they do not require memorization or possession of objects, and have a low risk of theft. While fingerprints, irises, faces, handprints, signatures, and the like are used in personal authentication using biological information, of these, personal authentication using the face is attracting attention as having excellent convenience and acceptance.
For example, in a personal authentication system used in entry/exit control of a building, or the like, a picture is taken of the face of the individual who will attempt to enter the building, and that picture is used as a reference image, where that reference image is compared to an image of the face of the individual that has been registered in advance (a registered image), to allow the individual to enter the building if the reference image and the registered image match.
The present applicant, in the process of comparing the reference image and the registered image, uses, for the respective reference image and registered image, a raw image as a high-resolution image that has the highest resolution, and creates a plurality of hierarchical images with different resolution levels with the high-resolution image at the highest level, to perform a search for corresponding points using a phase-only correlation method (POC), moving from the low-resolution images of these hierarchical images towards the high-resolution images (referencing, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2008-209275 ("JP '275") and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2008-123141 ("JP '141"), to perform the comparison of the reference image and the registered image based on the phase-only correlation values of the corresponding regions after searching. In the below, the method for performing a comparison after searching for corresponding points using hierarchical images shall be termed "hierarchical POC."
In this hierarchical POC, with, for example, the raw image (a 128×128-pixel image) as the high-resolution image for the reference image, a 64×64-pixel image (a first low-resolution image) is created on the level under the high-resolution image, and a 32×32-pixel image (a second low-resolution image) is created on the level under the first low-resolution image. Moreover, as with the case for the reference image, for the registered image as well, the raw image (a 128×128-pixel image) as the high-resolution image, a 64×64-pixel image (a first low-resolution image) is created on the level under the high-resolution image, and a 32×32-pixel image (a second low-resolution image) is created on the level under the first low-resolution image. In the hierarchical images, including the raw images, the hierarchical level of the high-resolution images is defined as the zeroeth level, the hierarchical level of the first low-resolution image is defined as the first level, and the hierarchical level of the second low-resolution image is defined as the second level.
Moreover, m reference points are established in the x direction and n reference points are established in the y direction for the raw image of the registered image, and, for each reference point established for the raw image of the registered image, a search window (a local region) is established from the hierarchical image at the lowest level (the second level), to start the search for the corresponding region in the reference image corresponding to that local region. The search for the corresponding region is performed using POC comparison, and when the search for the corresponding region for the applicable hierarchical image is completed, the search results for the applicable hierarchical image are reflected into the search on the next hierarchical level (the first level), to perform searching for the corresponding regions for hierarchical images of sequentially higher resolutions, and the search for corresponding regions is repeated until arriving at the hierarchical image at the highest level (the zeroeth level).
Additionally, in the hierarchical image at the highest level (the zeroeth level), if a corresponding region is found, then a phase-only correlation value is calculated for that corresponding region. Thereafter, searching is performed in the same manner, searching for the corresponding region of the reference image for each local region of the registered image, starting with the low-resolution image, moving towards the high-resolution image, and calculating the phase-only correlation value for the corresponding region after searching, and then comparing the reference image and the registered image based on the calculated phase-only correlation values.
Note that POC is an algorithm for calculating the correlation between two images by performing mathematical processes on the original image data and on the data of the image to be compared thereto through a Fourier transform, to analyze into amplitudes (shading data) and phases (image contour data), and then using only the phase information to calculate the correlation between the two images, and has the distinctive features of being robust to external noises, to enable highly precise calculation results.
POC is explained in detail in JP '275 and JP '141, referenced above, and also in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication H10-63847, and so forth. In POC, a two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform is performed on one of the images to produce a Fourier image. Following this, a Fourier image of the other image, produced through performing the same process as for the earlier Fourier image, is combined, and after performing a process to set the amplitudes of the combined Fourier images to 1, a two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform is performed to produce the correlation data. This correlation data (the POC function) has the amplitudes in the frequency space set to 1, so uses only the phases; however, fundamentally this can be considered to be data wherein one image is convolved with the other image, to express the correlation between the one image and the other image.
However, while it is possible to perform the comparison of the reference image and the registered image with high precision in the comparison using the hierarchical POC described above, the processing overhead is large when applied to 1:N comparisons wherein the reference image is compared to a plurality of registered images, and thus there is a problem in that this causes the speed of comparison to suffer.
The present invention is to solve problems such as described above, and the object thereof is to provide a comparing device able to provide both high precision and high-speed processing.


The process and method for generating a 3D model from a set of 2D drawings is described herein. Traditionally, many structural components (objects) are communicated through a series of 2D drawings, wherein each drawing describes the components that are visible in a user-selected view direction. No machine-readable information in the drawings define a relationship between the drawings developed from various view directions or the objects' locations in 3D space. Considerable human effort and intervention is required to place objects defined in the 2D drawings into 3D space. With the ability to provide information in each drawing defining a relationship with the other drawings as well as its place in 3D space, the objects defined in 2D drawings can self-assemble in 3D space, thereby reducing a substantial amount of required human effort.

1. Technical Field
The disclosed embodiments relate generally to Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and, more specifically, to the process and method of automatically generating a 3-Dimensional model from one or more 2-Dimensional CAD drawings.
2. Background
When developing a 2D drawing, designers must visualize in their minds the structure they are trying to propose, and communicate the features and components of the structure to a fellow designer through a series of plans, elevations, side views, or planes in non-orthogonal view.
In 2D drawings, all views such as plan, elevation, and side view are drawn on the same plane. In other words, regardless of whether the view direction chosen describes a plan, an elevation or a side view, they are all described in the X-and-Y-axis plane of a 2D CAD drawing. When these individual views are drawn in an XY plane, the relationship of each drawing with respect to the other drawings, as well as the location of the defined 2D objects in 3-Dimensional space are completely lost. Substantial human effort is required to convert the individual drawings into a uniform 3D context to allow generation of a 3D model. Currently, applications allowing the generation of a 3D model from 2D CAD drawings with minimal human intervention are not commercially available.
2D CAD Drawings
According to structural engineering standards, a 2D CAD drawing comprises a hidden line, structure or "struct" line, and center line for portraying a 2D view of a 3D model. For example, struct lines 102 and hidden lines 104 are used to represent the outer diameter 106 and wall thickness 108 of a pipe 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. The section properties (outer diameter 106 and wall thickness 108) are provided parallel to the center line 110. The disclosed invention reads the properties and associates them with each center line. The section property of each member is defined relatively near to its center line on a separate layer. Layers are a way of managing, tidying and also controlling the visual layout of a drawing. Most of the leading CAD programs offer layering capabilities that enable the user to group specific data on different layers. This allows the user to organize data within a drawing, which makes it easier to retrieve the object information embedded within CAD drawings.
While defining a structural engineering drawing using a CAD program, each feature of the drawing is shown on different layers. Exemplary layers may include the hidden line layer, struct line layer, center line layer, and text layer. Additional layers, such as the complex layer, master layer, and the 3D-points layer, may also be included. Exemplary layers are defined herein.
Center Line Layer
The center line layer shows the center line 110 of each member in the drawing; it is basically the skeleton drawing of the model. The center line layer 110 is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Section Property Text Layer
The section property of each member is defined in the section property text layer. The section property may include the material information and section details. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, the following dimensions are defined:Pipe 200=outer diameter 202*pipe thickness 204I Section 250=total depth 252*total width 254*flange thickness 256*web thickness 258For the dimensions defined above in FIG. 2, FIG. 2(a) represents the section of pipe 200, and FIG. 2(b)b represents the "I section" 250. The section properties outer diameter 202 and pipe thickness 204 are provided for FIG. 2(a), and section properties height (depth) 252, width 254, flange thickness 256, and web thickness 258 are provided for FIG. 2(b). The disclosed invention reads the section properties and assigns them to their corresponding center line.
Struct Line and Hidden Line Layer
This layer contains all the struct lines 302 and hidden lines 304 of the drawing. Struct lines 302 and 312 and hidden lines 304 and 314 are used to determine if a member has variable section 312 or single section 302 properties. The member is considered simple 300 if the section property of the member does not vary, and complex 310 if the section property of the member does vary. FIG. 3(a) illustrates a simple member 300 and FIG. 3(b) illustrates a complex member 310.
Complex Layer
The complex layer 400 of FIG. 4 contains all the points of the member in which the section varies. The varying section property of the member is determined based on the complex points 402 specified at the point of variation 404 along the hidden line 406. This layer is used if the struct line and the hidden line are not present in the 2D drawing. The diagram presented in FIG. 4 illustrates a simple example of a complex joint with a point 402 located where the section properties 404 vary for a section of a pipe shown by struct line 408.
Master Layer
When a point is defined in a master layer 500, as in FIG. 5, a joint may be created on the structure. A joint 502 is located at the intersection of two or more center lines 504 and 506, as well as at the end of each center line. If a member splits, then the master joint should be specified where the member is split into multiple parts. An exemplary master joint 502 is illustrated in FIG. 5.
3D-Points Layer
The information provided in the 3D-points layer establishes the placement in 3D space of the objects defined in a drawing, and the relationship of the drawing to other drawings. The 3D points provide the position of a point on the X, Y, and Z axes in 3D space.
2D CAD drawings are typically represented in the format described herein. The material properties should be specified with a leader line, while section properties should be specified parallel to and near the center line, and in a separate layer. The leader line is a line with an arrow at one end, usually accompanied by text. It is used to represent the association of a text to an object. Limits are specified for considering text near the center line, and any text away from the limit is not considered text defining the section property. The text may be of the standard or non-standard (user-defined) format, wherein standard sections are documented in code book standards. Gaps may be represented by providing an arc touching two lines with text near it specifying the gap value. 3D points should be specified in the 3D-points layer.

Automated generation of 3D models from 2D computer-aided design (CAD) drawings


Conditioning systems and methods for conditioning polishing pads used in mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies. In one aspect of the invention, a conditioning system includes a conditioning element or conditioning member having a conditioning face configured to engage a polishing pad. The conditioning face preferably includes a bonding medium covering at least a portion of the conditioning face and a plurality of conditioning particles attached to the bonding medium. The conditioning system also includes a corrosion-inhibiting unit that can be coupled to the conditioning element or a liquid on the polishing pad. The corrosion-inhibiting unit retards corrosion of the bonding medium in the presence of chemicals on the polishing pad that would otherwise corrode the bonding medium. For example, the corrosion-inhibiting unit can be a DC power source coupled to the conditioning element and the polishing pad to impart an electrical potential between the conditioning element and the polishing pad that retards corrosion of the bonding medium and/or other components of the conditioning element.

The present invention relates to conditioning polishing pads used in mechanical and/or chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies. More particularly, the invention relates to retarding deterioration of conditioning elements and reducing contamination of polishing pads.
Mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarizing processes (collectively xe2x80x9cCMPxe2x80x9d) are used in the manufacturing of microelectronic devices for forming a flat surface on semiconductor wafers, field emission displays and many other microelectronic-device substrate assemblies. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a planarizing machine 10 with a circular platen or table 20, a first carrier assembly 30, a polishing pad 40 having a planarizing surface 42, and a planarizing fluid 44 on the planarizing surface 42. The planarizing machine 10 may also have an under-pad 25 attached to an upper surface 22 of the table 20 for supporting the polishing pad 40. In many planarizing machines, a drive assembly 26 rotates (arrow A) and/or reciprocates (arrow B) the table 20 to move the polishing pad 40 during planarization.
The first carrier assembly 30 controls and protects a substrate assembly 12 during planarization. The first carrier assembly 30 typically has a carrier head or substrate holder 32 with a pad 34 that holds the substrate 12 to the carrier head 32. A drive assembly 36 typically rotates and/or translates the carrier head 32 (arrows C and D, respectively). The carrier head 32, however, may be a weighted, free-floating disk (not shown) that slides over the polishing pad 40.
The polishing pad 40 and the planarizing solution 44 define a planarizing medium that mechanically and/or chemically-mechanically removes material from the surface of the substrate assembly 12. The planarizing machine 10 can use a fixed-abrasive polishing pad having a plurality of abrasive particles fixedly bonded to a suspension material. The planarizing solutions 44 used with fixed-abrasive pads are generally xe2x80x9cclean solutionsxe2x80x9d without abrasive particles because an abrasive slurry may ruin the abrasive surface of fixed-abrasive pads. In other applications, the polishing pad 40 may be a nonabrasive pad composed of a polymeric material (e.g., polyurethane), a resin, or other suitable materials without abrasive particles. The planarizing solutions 44 used with nonabrasive polishing pads are typically xe2x80x9cslurriesxe2x80x9d that contain abrasive particles.
CMP processes should consistently and accurately produce a uniformly planar surface on the substrate assembly 12 to enable precise fabrication of circuits and photo-patterns. For example, during the fabrication of transistors, contacts, interconnects and other components, many substrate assemblies develop large xe2x80x9cstep heightsxe2x80x9d that create a highly topographic surface across the substrate assembly 12. To enable the fabrication of integrated circuits with high densities of components, it is necessary to produce a highly planar surface at several stages of processing the substrate assembly 12 because non-planar surfaces significantly increase the difficulty of forming submicron features. For example, it is difficult to accurately focus photo-patterns to within tolerances of 0.1 xcexcm on nonplanar surfaces because submicron photolithographic equipment generally has a very limited depth of field. Thus, CMP processes often transform a topographical surface into a highly uniform, planar surface.
In the competitive semiconductor industry, it is also highly desirable to have a high yield of operable devices after CMP processing. CMP processes should thus quickly remove material from the substrate assembly 12 to form a uniformly planar surface at a desired endpoint. For example, when a conductive layer on the substrate assembly 12 is under-planarized in the formation of contacts or interconnects, many of these components may not be electrically isolated from one another because undesirable portions of the conductive layer may remain on the substrate assembly 12. Additionally, when a substrate assembly 12 is over-planarized, components below the desired endpoint may be damaged or completely destroyed. Thus, to provide a high yield of operable microelectronic devices, CMP processes should quickly remove material until the desired endpoint is reached.
To provide consistent results and produce planar surfaces, one aspect of CMP processing is maintaining the condition of the planarizing surface 42 on the polishing pad 40. The condition of the planarizing surface 42 changes because residual matter collects on the planarizing surface 42 of the polishing pad 40. The residual matter, for example, can be from the substrate assembly 12, the planarizing solution 44 and/or the polishing pad 40. In certain applications, residual matter from the substrate assembly 12 can even glaze over sections of the planarizing surface 42 (e.g., planarizing doped silicon dioxide layers). The substrate assemblies can also wear depressions into the planarizing surface 42 that create a non-planar planarizing surface. In many CMP applications, therefore, polishing pads are accordingly xe2x80x9cconditionedxe2x80x9d periodically to bring the planarizing surface into a desired condition for planarizing the substrate assemblies.
To condition the planarizing surface 42, the planarizing machine 10 can include a conditioning system 50 that rubs an abrasive conditioning stone 60 against the planarizing surface 42 of the polishing pad 40 between planarizing cycles. The conditioning stone 60 typically includes a metal plate 62, a layer of nickel 64 covering the bottom surface of the metal plate 62, and a plurality of diamond particles 66 embedded in the nickel layer 64. The metal plate 62 is attached to a second carrier assembly 70 that presses the diamond particles 66 against the polishing pad 40 and sweeps the conditioning stone over the planarizing surface 42.
One problem with conventional conditioning stones 60 is that they wear out and can adversely affect the conditioning of the polishing pad 40. Conventional conditioning stones, for example, may contaminate the planarizing surface 42 with material from the nickel layer 64 or the diamond particles 66. The nickel layer 64 may wear during the conditioning cycle, which leaves residual nickel on the planarizing surface 42 and reduces the amount of nickel holding the diamond particles 66 to the plate 62. The diamond particles 66 can thus break away from the nickel layer 64 and remain on the planarizing surface 42 after the conditioning cycle. The residual materials from the conventional conditioning stones 60 that remain on the planarizing surface 42 may produce defects on the substrate assemblies 12 during the planarizing cycle. Moreover, the loss of diamond particles 66 from the conditioning stones 60 changes the abrasiveness of the conditioning stones 60, which can cause inconsistent conditioning of the planarizing surface 42. Thus, there is a need to improve conditioning systems and processes to condition polishing pads 40.
The present invention is directed toward conditioning systems and methods for conditioning polishing pads used in mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies. In one aspect of the invention, a conditioning system includes a conditioning element or conditioning member having a conditioning face configured to engage a polishing pad. The conditioning face preferably includes a bonding medium covering at least a portion of the conditioning face and a plurality of conditioning particles attached to the bonding medium. The conditioning system also includes a corrosion-inhibiting unit that can be coupled to the conditioning element and/or a liquid on the polishing pad. The corrosion-inhibiting unit preferably retards corrosion of the bonding medium in the presence of chemicals on the polishing pad that would otherwise corrode the bonding medium. For example, the corrosion-inhibiting unit can be a DC power source coupled to the conditioning element to impart an electrical potential between the conditioning element and the polishing pad that retards corrosion of the bonding medium and/or other components of the conditioning element.
The conditioning system also preferably includes an arm to carry the conditioning element and an actuator coupled to the arm to selectively position the conditioning element with respect to the planarizing surface of the polishing pad. In operation, the actuator drives the arm to press the conditioning face of the conditioning element against the planarizing surface of the polishing pad, and then the conditioning element and/or the polishing pad move relative to one another to rub the conditioning element against the planarizing surface. As the conditioning element engages the polishing pad, the corrosion-inhibiting unit preferably applies an electrical potential to the conditioning element that retards corrosion of the conditioning element in the presence of the chemicals on the polishing pad.
The polishing pad is preferably conditioned during a discreet conditioning cycle between planarizing cycles of separate substrate assemblies. As such, another aspect of the invention is planarizing substrate assemblies by first removing material from the substrate assemblies using the polishing pad in the presence of a planarizing solution, and then conditioning the planarizing surface of the polishing pad by rubbing the conditioning element against the planarizing surface while retarding corrosion of the conditioning element.

Apparatus and methods for conditioning polishing pads in mechanical and/or chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies


A method for controlling one or more temperature dependent optical properties of a structure in accordance with embodiments of the present invention includes heating at least a portion of a photonic band-gap structure and oxidizing the portion of the photonic band-gap structure during the heating to alter at least one temperature dependent optical property of the stack.

For more than a decade, photonic band-gap (PBG) structures have received a great deal of attention due to their ability to control the propagation of light as disclosed in E. Yablonovitch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 2059 (1987); S. John, Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 2486 (1987), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. A photonic band-gap device is a macroscopic, periodic dielectric structure that possesses spectral gaps (stop bands) for electromagnetic waves, in analogy with the energy bands and gaps in regular semiconductors. PBG materials possess a periodic dielectric function that creates a range of wavelengths in which light cannot travel. Inserting a defect into the PBG structure breaks the periodicity of the dielectric function and introduces a passband into the transmission spectrum. Fabrication of PBG filters, mirrors, waveguides and lasers has already been demonstrated and these devices are expected to enhance performance in optoelectronic and telecommunications applications as disclosed in A. Birner, R. B. Wehrspohn, U. Gösele, K. Busch, Adv. Mater. 13, 377 (2001); S. Y. Lin, E. Chow, S. G. Johnson, J. D. Joannopoulos, Opt. Lett. 25, 1297 (2000); O. Painter, R. K. Lee, A. Scherer, A. Yariv, J. D. O'Brien, P. D. Dapkus, I. Kim, Science 284, 1819 (1999), which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Among the different materials used to prepare such structures, porous silicon (PSi) is very promising due to its low cost, compatibility with microelectronic technology as disclosed in K. D. Hirschman, L. Tsybeskov, S. P. Duttagupta, and P. M. Fauchet, Nature 384, 338 (1996), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, and ability to modulate its refractive index as a function of depth as disclosed in C. C. Striemer and P. M. Fauchet, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 2980 (2002), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Silicon-based PBG devices could have a significant impact as optical interconnects and switches in the next generation of microelectronic technology as disclosed in A. Birner, R. B. Wehrspohn, U. Gösele, K. Busch, Adv. Mater. 13, 377 (2001) and N. Savage, IEEE Spectrum 39, 32 (2002) which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. However, before direct applications appear, some key issues remain to be resolved. In particular, as PBG technology matures, temperature stability needs to be addressed as disclosed in P. T. Lee, J. R. Cao, S. J. Choi, Z. J. Wei, J. D. O'Brien, P. D. Dapkus, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 3311 (2002), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. It is critical to the operation of PBG devices that the wavelengths of the forbidden band do not drift when the device is exposed to a variable temperature range. Such a drift could cease the flow of light in the structure.
For example, in PSi microcavities, the position of the reflectance resonance is highly sensitive to changes in the refractive index. Since the refractive index of silicon is temperature dependent, even a small change in temperature could alter light confinement in the PBG. For silicon-based microcavities with very narrow line widths (i.e., ˜1 nm) as disclosed in P. J. Reece, G. Lerondel, W. H. Zheng, and M. Gal, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 4895 (2002), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, this temperature sensitivity becomes even more critical. The operation of an optical switch based on such a structure could change from an off-state to an on-state with small fluctuations in temperature.

Method for controlling one or more temperature dependent optical properties of a structure and a system and product thereof