A scalable system is provided for managing the interaction of cell phone users and users of other communication devices with public and private digital display systems and other interactive digital devices and systems.

In the modern media world, both in-home and out-of-home media is becoming more advanced as it becomes based more on digital signage (e.g., video displays) and web-based ads that are replacing traditional static billboards. However, these video displays, also known as digital video billboards, suffer from the problem that their static billboard predecessors did: they are not interactive.
Making signs interactive has been pursued before, but has largely been a failure due to inherent deficiencies in the designs of previous systems. Previous systems have relied on software downloads to a mobile device, which requires that the devices be capable of downloading and running third party software. Some mobile devices, such as inexpensive cell phones for example, simply don't have such capability. Other mobile devices, such as higher-end cell phones and smart phones which do have such capability, still require a version of the third party software that is customized for that device. And, since there are hundreds of varieties of mobile devices that are constantly changing, the task of writing the software for each one is a never-ending task. Another requirement of previous systems has been Bluetooth® or IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) compatibility to provide a communications channel that can be used to transmit data. Again, many mobile devices do not have these capabilities and are therefore unable to interact with the prior art systems.
One prior art system, described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,450,954, titled "System and Method for Location-based Interactive Content," allows users who are viewing a display screen in a public location to send SMS messages and voice messages from cell phones to a centralized content server. A plurality of "location-based displays" with unique identifiers (e.g., telephone numbers or SMS short codes) are connected to the content server and each is controlled by a dedicated communications management console in the content server including hardware and software that records a user's inputs and modifies a corresponding digital display in response. This system also includes a content management module in the content server that creates content for each display screen. One significant disadvantage of this system is that the load placed on the centralized content server is enormous, making scaling and load-balancing very difficult as the number of users and the number of displays increases. Another disadvantage of this system is that it requires, at the least, SMS capability in the mobile devices. Older cell phones may not be SMS capable. Additionally, some users may not know how to send SMS messages even if their mobile devices have the capability.
Another prior art system, described in International Publication WO2004/004857, titled "System and Method for Playing an Interactive Game Using a Mobile Device," provides a centralized game server that allows mobile device users to play coordinated games on a game display. This system suffers from one of the disadvantages described above. It does not scale easily because the centralized server is burdened with all of the tasks of managing transmissions to and from the mobile devices, running the game software and managing the game display.
Yet another prior art system, described in International Publication WO2006/052837, titled "A system and Method for Interactive Marketing," uses a proxy gateway to connect mobile device users to an interactive display by connecting two dissimilar networks. This system requires dedicated software (a content manager and a client location tagger) to run on a computer local to the interactive display.
All of the systems described above are also limited to the control of interactive displays and do not address the control of other digital devices or interactive systems. FIG. 1 illustrates the general configuration of these prior art systems, where the interaction between a user's device and a local display is managed over a network by a remote content server.

System and method for managing interaction between a user and an interactive system


A camera apparatus comprising a disc compartment portion in which a DVD-R is accommodated so as to be loaded and unloaded, a disc rotating apparatus provided within the disc compartment portion and rotating the DVD-R which can be detachably loaded thereon, a lens apparatus for passing light from an object, a CCD for forming an image from light passed through the lens apparatus and outputting an image signal corresponding to the image, an optical pickup apparatus capable of recording image information on the DVD-R based on the image signal outputted from the CCD and a radiation plate provided within the disc compartment portion. The radiation plate and the CCD are constructed so as to transmit heat therebetween so that heat can be radiated from the CCD through the radiation plate to the disc compartment portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera apparatus using a disc-like recording medium as an information recording medium, and particularly to a camera apparatus in which a mechanical deck supporting thereon a disc rotating means is formed as substantially a D-like shape and in which a lens apparatus is located at the mechanical deck at its portion without an arc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cited Patent Reference 1, for example, has described so far a camera apparatus according to the related art. The Cited Patent Reference 1 has described a still video camera using a hard disk apparatus of a suitable system, such as a magnetic recording system, as a recording medium to record and reproduce shooting information.
The still video camera described in this Cited Patent Reference 1 includes a camera body composed of a solid-state image pickup device for converting shot information obtained through a lens into an electric video signal and an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for converting a video signal read out from the solid-state image pickup device into a digital video signal wherein the output from the A/D converter is recorded on a recording medium. In this still video camera, the above-described recording medium is composed of a hard disk built-in the above-described camera body and a motor shaft for rotating the hard disk is placed in parallel to the optical axis of the above-described lens.
According to the still video camera having the above arrangement, there can be expected effects in which relatively inexpensive and high-density digital video recording which is excellent in mobility becomes possible and in which bad influences, such as vibration and shock, imposed on the HDD (hard disk drive) built-in the camera body can be reduced so that excellent pictures can be recorded and reproduced.
Cited Patent Reference 2, for example, has described so far another example of this kind of a camera apparatus according to the related art. The Cited Patent Reference 2 has described a recording and reproducing apparatus having a built-in camera for recording or reproducing video information on a disc-like recording and reproducing medium such as a digital video disc.
The recording and reproducing apparatus having a built-in camera described in the Cited Patent Reference 2 is composed of a camera unit including an image pickup device for converting image information such as still picture and/or moving picture into an electric signal, a disc-like recording medium, a drive means for holding and rotating the above-described recording medium at a predetermined speed, a recording and reproducing head unit for converting the above-described electric signal into a recording signal, recording the recording signal on the above-described recording medium spirally in a non-contact fashion, reproducing recorded information from the above-described recording medium and converting reproduced information into a reproduced signal, a control circuit unit for controlling the camera unit, the driving means and the recording and reproducing head unit and a display means for displaying the above-described recording signal or reproducing signal as image information.
According to the recording and reproducing apparatus having a built-in camera having the above-mentioned arrangement, there can be expected effects in which a convenient and stable recording and reproducing apparatus having a built-in camera can be provided by a simple arrangement so that the apparatus can be made inexpensive and small in size.
However, in the camera apparatus on the above-mentioned Cited Patent Reference 1, the lens apparatus and the hard disk drive (HDD) are overlapping each other in the front and back direction and the motor shaft for rotating the magnetic disc is located in parallel to the optical axis of the lens of the lens apparatus. Therefore, there is a problem in which the camera body is increased in length in the depth direction so that the whole of the apparatus becomes large in size unavoidably.
Also, in the camera apparatus on the above-mentioned Cited Patent Reference 2, the camera unit is located in parallel to the outside of the main body in which the recording and reproducing apparatus is accommodated and the optical axis of the lens of the camera unit is set to be the outside of the outer peripheral edge of the disc loaded on the recording and reproducing apparatus. Therefore, there is a problem in which the camera body is increased in length in the lateral direction so that the whole of the apparatus becomes large in size similarly.
Cited Patent Reference 1: Official Gazette of Japanese laid-open patent application No. 6-90426
Cited Patent Reference 2: Official Gazette of Japanese laid-open patent application No. 9-320170
As described above, in the camera apparatus of this kind according to the related art, since the lens apparatus is located on substantially the same axis relative to the disc drive apparatus in an overlapping fashion and it is located distant from the disc drive apparatus with a large distance kin the lateral direction, in either case, the whole of the camera apparatus becomes large in size and hence it is not possible to make the whole of the camera apparatus small in size.


The present invention relates to a process for preparing polysulfone, comprising reacting bisphenol monomers with a salt forming agent to form bisphenolate, followed by subjecting the bisphenolate and 4,4′-dihalodiphenyl sulfone to polycondensation to give polysulfone, characterized in that the reaction for forming bisphenolate and the polycondensation are performed in the presence of a composite ionic liquid as the solvent, the composite ionic liquid containing zwitterionic liquid of formula (I) and/or (II) as component A and ionic liquid of formula (III) and/or (IV) as component B, wherein variables are respectively defined in the description of the present invention. The process of the present invention enables a shortened preparation period of polysulfone, particularly a shortened reaction time (including the time of water removal) of the salt forming stage; in addition, the polysulfone thus prepared has an improved molecular weight which is much higher.

Polysulfone is a special engineering plastics of great importance, which has long been used as a strategic national defense industry material ever since its successful development. Bisphenol A polysulfone PSF is a type of polysulfone resin with the maximum yield, the main chain of molecules of which consists of isopropylene, ether bond, sulfuryl and phenylene. These groups endow this type of polymer with excellent high-temperature resistance and remarkable mechanical properties. Therefore, bisphenol A polysulfone PSF is widely applied in many fields such as aviation, aerospace, national defense, electronics, electrics, medical treatment, nuclear power, oil well, ships, magnetic wires, military industry, automobile manufacture and food processing, etc.
Polysulfone is usually synthesized in industry by the method of double-feeding, which requires two reaction vessels, i.e., a salt forming kettle and a reaction kettle. Bisphenol A firstly reacts with a sodium hydroxide solution in dimethyl sulfoxide as the solvent to generate bisphenol A sodium salt, at the end of the salt forming reaction, the water entrainer is distilled off, then the resultant solid 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyl sulfone is added under the protection of nitrogen gas and stirred, followed by gradually increasing the temperature for polycondensation under 150 to 160° C. to generate polysulfone, where the polymerization lasts for about 3 h (which is controlled by viscosity). The polymerization involves complicated steps, a complex process, a long reaction time, and a high energy consumption. The salt forming reaction lasts for a long time, and the temperature inside the reaction kettle reaches 160° C. at the end of salt formation. To ensure that the polycondensation in the next step is not too violent, it is necessary to firstly reduce the temperature to 120° C., then increase the temperature for polycondensation; moreover, water formed from the salt forming stage should be removed from the system so as to inhibit decrease in monomer concentration and the side reaction of hydrolysis of halogen-containing monomer under high temperatures, and thus enough time for water removal should be guaranteed, normally between 2.5 to 8.5 h, as a result, the whole period from the beginning of the salt forming reaction to the completion of polycondensation takes as long as 18 h. In addition, the feeding hole needs to be opened for double-feeding, thereby the residual toluene vapor after water removal escapes from the reaction kettle, which is likely to cause damages to operators and pollute the air. The polycondensation in the above industrial synthesis process belongs to solution polymerization. In the later stage of the solution polymerization, the system viscosity is high, thus the after-treatment is in need of the addition of a large amount of organic solvent to reduce the viscosity. However, use of organic solvent in a large amount not only wastes energy and contaminates the environment, but also increases industrial costs. In addition, due to restrictions on solubility and boiling point of the organic solvent, the solvent type is very limited, most of them being sulfones. This type of solvent is often toxic, quite harmful. Finally, the industrial product obtained by the industrial synthesis process hereinabove has a low molecular weight. A product manufactured by Shanghai Shuguang Chemical Plant, which prepared the early polysulfone domestically, has a molecular weight of 20,610 to 27,840.
Ionic liquid, which replaces the traditional organic solvent as the reaction medium, has prominent advantages. For example, it is non-volatile, with a negligible vapor pressure and an excellent thermostability, and is easy for recycling. Furthermore, the ionic liquid can be adapted to different polycondensation systems due to the designability of its substance structure and natures. As currently reported, the ionic liquid has been successfully applied to polymerizations like active polymerization, controllable free radical polymerization, anionic and cationic polymerization, polycondensation (limited to synthesis of polyester, polyamide, polyimide, etc). The application of ionic liquid in nucleophilic substitution polycondensation reaction for preparation of engineering plastics polysulfone has not been reported up to now.


An authentication control device includes one or more memories, and one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more processor configured to perform storing of a first authentication key received from a server device in the one or more memories, the first authentication key relating to a second authentication key stored in a terminal of a user, in communication between the authentication control device and the terminal in the state where the authentication control device is uncommunicable with the server device, in response to receiving, from the terminal, first information encoded in accordance with the second authentication key, perform decoding of the first information by the stored first authentication key, and execute an authentication process of the user in accordance with second information acquired by the decoding.

Internet of things (IoT) that enables connection of various things to the Internet has been known. For example, the technique of connecting a home delivery locker to a server on the Internet, and authenticating the user for unlocking of the home delivery locker via online authentication using a cloud service and a smartphone has been proposed. Fast identity online (FIDO) authentication is known as a protocol of the online authentication.
Related techniques are disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2018-049415 and 2016-115079, description of U.S. Pat. No. 2014/0180914.

Authentication control device and authentication control method


An Address and Command chip of a distributed memory system includes a memory controller, a first communication link, and one or more interface schedulers, where the one or more interface schedulers include a first interface scheduler residing communicatively between the memory controller and the first communication link. The first interface scheduler is configured to receive a first communication directed from the memory controller to the first communication link; capture the first communication before the first command reaches the first communication link; postpone the first communication for a first set of one or more memory cycles; and reissue the first communication to the first communication link in association with a first cycle offset code indicating how many memory cycles the first command was postponed.

The present invention relates to memory systems and, more specifically, to an interface scheduler for a distributed memory system.
A distributed memory system includes a card connected to a host processor, also referred to as a host. The card includes dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) used for data storage by the host, as well as an Address and Command chip (AC), which accepts fetch and store commands over a link from the host and schedules those commands to be executed on the DRAM memory. The card additionally includes a set of Data Chips (DCs), which receive store data from the host over a link between the DCs and the host. The DCs hold the store data in a buffer until the AC schedules the store data to be stored to the DRAM. Likewise, the DCs receive, from the DRAM, fetch data from fetch operations scheduled by the AC, and the DCs send that fetch data over a high-speed serial (HSS) link to the host.
Unlike in a traditional direct attached memory system, where the host decides when each operation is to be executed on the DRAM, in a distributed memory system, the AC controls the order and timing of every DRAM operation. Therefore, the AC must provide the following communications: (1) On a fetch operation, the AC notifies the host of which fetch operation corresponds to arriving data. This notification occurs as a read response command, also referred to as a read response, sent to the host over an HSS link. (2) On a fetch operation, the AC also notifies the DCs of when and on which memory port fetch data will arrive. This notification is sent over a broadcast bus, referred to as data buffer control/communication (BCOM), from the AC to the DCs. (3) On a store operation, the AC notifies the DCs via the BCOM that data is arriving from the host, for which operation that data is arriving, and where to hold that data in its store buffers. At an undetermined time later, the AC actually schedules that store operation for execution on the DRAMs. The AC then notifies the DCs of what data to send to the DRAMs from the store buffers via the BCOM, and the AC informs the host via the HSS link that the store has completed via the HSS link.
Certain of these AC communications are sent a specific number of memory cycles before the data for the respective operations is set to arrive. For instance, a fixed number of cycles occurs between an AC command sent to a DC over the BCOM and the data arriving to the DC from the host for a store operation, and another fixed number of cycles occurs between an AC command sent to the host notifying the host that data is arriving for a fetch operation and the data arriving from the DCs for that fetch operation.

Interface scheduler for a distributed memory system

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Object starting methods and devices using the same are provided. In some aspects, the method includes displaying starting entries of one or more objects on a predetermined page of a device. The method also includes receiving a first operating signal corresponding to one of the starting entries, and activating an object corresponding to the one of the starting entries using the first operating signal. In some aspects, the method may further include outputting prompting information based on the activation of the object.

Modern personal electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, generally include multiple Application Programs (sometimes shortened to APPs or Applications), each having various functions for a user to execute. As such, how rapidly an APP or the functions of an APP start or activated becomes the focus of the user's attention.
Many personal electronic devices are equipped to capture and use statistics based on use of various APPs. For instance, the icon of a frequently-used APP may be displayed by an electronic device on a desktop page or a quick access location. In this way, the user may find and activate the APP rapidly. However, a user may frequently utilize a specific function in the APP. In this case, the user must first start the APP and then find the specific function using various APP menus. As appreciated, this process may become rather tedious, particularly if an APP contains multiple layers and menus.
Therefore, there is a need for improved methods for operating personal electronic devices, and other devices.

Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.


A method, an apparatus and a system for sending Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) and a method, an apparatus and a system for receiving SRS are disclosed in the present invention, which are used to reduce the requirement for Time Frequency Code (TFC) resource during the process of sending the SRS, and meanwhile to ensure the precision of channel information estimation. The method includes the steps of: determining a first frequency band required by sending the SRS, and determining a second frequency band whose width is smaller than the width of the first frequency band; according to the mode that the average interval for sending the SRS on the first frequency band is larger than the average interval for sending the SRS on the second frequency band, respectively sending the SRS on the first frequency band and the second frequency band.

In a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, in order to achieve uplink frequency-domain scheduling, in addition to send a demodulation reference signal on the data transmission frequency band of the User Equipment (UE) itself, the UE also needs to send a sounding reference signal SRS on a frequency band which has a bandwidth greater than that of the data transmission frequency band, so as to perform sounding on the channel, thereby realizing the purpose of assisting the base station to allocate the uplink transmission resource to the UE.
By utilizing the SRS and the channel reciprocity, it is easy to implement a series of complex multi-antenna technologies, such as SU-MIMO/Beamforming, MU-MIMO/Beamforming, SU-CoMP and MU-CoMP, in the LTE system, so that multiple transmitting antennas may be supported at the UE side. For example, in an LTE-A system, the UE can send the SRS by using multiple transmitting antennas (typically the number of the transmitting antennas is 2 or 4, etc.), and therefore the system is required to allocate more SRS Time Frequency Code (TFC) resource to transmit SRS. In addition, in the LTE-A system, the allocation of the uplink transmission resource for the UE supports a cluster-based allocation. According to the cluster-based allocation, the uplink resource may be allocated to sub-bands far away from each other. Therefore, in order to support the user scheduling and the uplink precoding, the UE needs to send an SRS on a wider frequency band to perform sounding on the channel. This will further increase the requirement for SRS time frequency code resource, which will in turn lead to the significant increase of the uplink overhead and reduce the efficiency of the uplink transmission spectrum.
In the prior art, the requirement for the time frequency code resource in certain time period for sending the SRS can be reduced in a manner of extending the period for sending the SRS. However, the extension of the sending period will bring the problem of lower precision of channel information estimation.

Method, apparatus and system for sending and receiving sounding reference signal


A low-k dielectric material with increased cohesive strength for use in electronic structures including interconnect and sensing structures is provided that includes atoms of Si, C, O, and H in which a fraction of the C atoms are bonded as Si—CH3 functional groups, and another fraction of the C atoms are bonded as Si—R—Si, wherein R is phenyl, —[CH2]n— where n is greater than or equal to 1, HC═CH, C═CH2, C≡C or a [S]n linkage, where n is a defined above.

The continuous shrinking in dimensions of electronic devices utilized in ULSI circuits in recent years has resulted in increasing the resistance of the BEOL metallization as well as increasing the capacitance of the intralayer and interlayer dielectric. This combined effect increases signal delays in ULSI electronic devices. In order to improve the switching performance of future ULSI circuits, low dielectric constant (k) insulators and particularly those with k significantly lower than silicon oxide are needed to reduce the capacitances.
Most of the fabrication steps of very-large-scale-integration ("VLSI") and ULSI chips are carried out by plasma enhanced chemical or physical vapor deposition techniques. The ability to fabricate a low k material by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique using previously installed and available processing equipment will thus simplify its integration in the manufacturing process, reduce manufacturing cost, and create less hazardous waste. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,147,009 and 6,497,963 assigned to the common assignee of the present invention, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, describe a low dielectric constant material consisting of elements of Si, C, O and H atoms having a dielectric constant not more than 3.6 and which exhibits very low crack propagation velocities.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,312,793, 6,441,491 and 6,479,110 B2, assigned to the common assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, describe a multiphase low k dielectric material that consists of a matrix composed of elements of Si, C, O and H atoms, a phase composed mainly of C and H and having a dielectric constant of not more than 3.2.
Ultra low k dielectric materials having a dielectric constant of less than 2.7 (and preferably less than 2.3) are also known in the art. Key problems with prior art ultra low k SiCOH films include, for example: (a) they are brittle (i.e., low cohesive strength, low elongation to break, low fracture toughness); (b) liquid water and water vapor reduce the cohesive strength of the material even further. A plot of the cohesive strength, CS vs. pressure of water, PH2O or % humidity, which is referred as a "CS humidity plot", has a characteristic slope for each k value and material; (c) they tend to possess a tensile stress in combination with low fracture toughness, and hence can tend to crack when in contact with water when the film is above some critical thickness; (d) they can absorb water and other process chemicals when porous, which in turn can lead to enhanced Cu electrochemical corrosion under electric fields, and ingress into the porous dielectric leading to electrical leakage and high conductivity between conductors; and (e) when C is bound as Si—CH3 groups, prior art SiCOH dielectrics readily react with resist strip plasmas, CMP processes, and other integration processes, causing the SiCOH dielectric to be "damaged" resulting in a more hydrophilic surface layer.
For example, the silicate and organosilicate glasses tend to fall on a universal curve of cohesive strength vs. dielectric constant as shown in FIG. 1. This figure includes conventional oxides (point A), conventional SiCOH dielectrics (point B), conventional k=2.6 SiCOH dielectrics (point C), and conventional CVD ultra low k dielectrics with k about 2.2 (point D). The fact that both quantities are predominantly determined by the volume density of Si—O bonds explains the proportional variation between them. It also suggests that OSG materials with ultra low dielectric constants (e.g., k<2.4) are fundamentally limited to having cohesive strengths about 3 J/m2 or less in a totally dry environment. Cohesive strength is further reduced as the humidity increases.
Another problem with prior art SiCOH films is that their strength tends to be degraded by H2O. The effects of H2O degradation on prior art SiCOH films can be measured using a 4-point bend technique as described, for example, in M. W. Lane, X. H. Liu, T. M. Shaw, "Environmental Effects on Cracking and Delamination of Dielectric Films", IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability, 4, 2004, pp. 142-147. FIG. 2A is taken from this reference, and is a plot illustrating the effects that H2O has on the strength of a typical SiCOH film having a dielectric constant, k of about 2.9. The data are measured by the 4-point bend technique in a chamber in which the pressure of water (PH2O) is controlled and changed. Specifically, FIG. 2A shows the cohesive strength plotted vs. natural log (1n) of the H2O pressure in the controlled chamber. The slope of this plot is approximately −1 in the units used. Increasing the pressure of H2O decreases the cohesive strength. The region above the line in FIG. 2A, which is shaded, represents an area of cohesive strength that is difficult to achieve with prior art SiCOH dielectrics.
FIG. 2B is also taken from the M. W. Lane reference cited above, and is similar to FIG. 2A. Specifically, FIG. 2B is a plot of the cohesive strength of another SiCOH film measured using the same procedure as FIG. 2A. The prior art SiCOH film has a dielectric constant of 2.6 and the slope of this plot is about −0.66 in the units used. The region above the line in FIG. 2B, which is shaded, represents an area of cohesive strength that is difficult to achieve with prior art SiCOH dielectrics.
It is known that Si—C bonds are less polar than Si—O bonds. Further, it is known that organic polymer dielectrics have a fracture toughness higher than organosilicate glasses and are not prone to stress corrosion cracking (as are the Si—O based dielectrics). This suggests that the addition of more organic polymer content and more Si—C bonds to SiCOH dielectrics can decrease the effects of water degradation described above and increase the nonlinear energy dissipation mechanisms such as plasticity. Addition of more organic polymer content to SiCOH will lead to a dielectric with increased fracture toughness and decreased environmental sensitivity.
It is known in other fields that mechanical properties of some materials, for example, organic elastomers, can be improved by certain crosslinking reactions involving added chemical species to induce and form crosslinked chemical bonds. This can increase the elastic modulus, glass transition temperature, and cohesive strength of the material, as well as, in some cases, the resistance to oxidation, resistance to water uptake, and related degradations. These crosslinked bonds can be folded, such that under tensile stress they can support some amount of elongation of the molecular backbone without breaking, effectively increasing the fracture toughness of the material. One most famous example is the "vulcanization" of natural and synthetic rubber by the addition of sulfur or peroxide and curing, as invented by Charles Goodyear and independently by Thomas Hancock. When sulfur or peroxide are added to gum rubber, often with an aniline or other accelerator agent, and then the material is cured under heat and pressure, the sulfur forms folded or slanted polymer crosslinks between the polymer strands, binding them together elastically. The result is a greatly strengthened material with increased cohesive strength, and high resistance to moisture and other chemistries. Vulcanization has essentially enabled the ubiquitous use of rubber in many worldwide applications and industries.
In view of the above drawbacks with prior art low and ultra low k SiCOH dielectrics, there exists a need for developing a class of SiCOH dielectrics, both porous and dense, having a dielectric constant value of about 3.2 or less with a significantly increased cohesive strength vs. k curve that lies above the universal curve defined in FIG. 1. For the particular case in FIG. 1, the fracture toughness and the cohesive strength are equivalent. There further exists a need for developing a class of SiCOH dielectrics, both porous and dense, with specific forms of C bonding, possibly including Si—S, S—S and S—CH bonding, with greater organic character, increased resistance to water, particularly within the shaded regions of FIGS. 2A and 2B, and favorable mechanical properties that allow for such films to be used in new applications in ULSI devices.

SiCOH dielectric material with improved toughness and improved Si-C bonding, semiconductor device containing the same, and method to make the same

International Business Machines Corporation


An inspection tool includes an illumination element for directing light beams onto a workpiece at differing wavelengths or at differing angles of incidence or combinations thereof. Such beams producing reflected light and scattered light optical signals. A scanning element and optical detector elements are provided. The optical detector elements receive reflected light signals and scattered light signals. Circuitry for receiving the reflected light signals and scattered light signals are used to determine thickness values for partially transmissive layers formed on the workpiece and correct for the effects of the thickness of the partially transmissive layer so that said signals can be used to identify and characterize defects of the workpiece. Moreover, the invention includes descriptions of methods for accomplishing such inspections.

To control the quality of integrated circuits, semiconductor wafers or other substrates are inspected for defects by optically scanning the surface with a variety of inspection apparatus. Commonly, wafers have a mirror-like surface which is reflective of light, but many common optical inspection tools rely upon dark field scattering of light from particles and defects for inspection purposes. In these optical inspection tools illumination of the surface inspected produces two types of optical signals, the desired scattered light signals and an undesired specular (reflected) light signal which is commonly suppressed. The scattered light signals are derived from both defect scattering and from diffuse surface scattering known as "haze". The specularly reflected signal is the incident beam minus the components that are lost by scattering and absorption at the surface. In conventional tools, an exit aperture in the light collection optics or a beam dump has been used to rid the scattered light collection system of the undesired reflected beam signal.
At various stages of wafer processing, thin metallic and/or dielectric films, such as oxide or nitride layers, are deposited over the surface. Typically, such films demonstrate a certain amount of "transparency" to the wavelengths of light used to inspect the surface (an inspection beam). Thus, the inspection beam can penetrate the top layer(s) of the wafer to reach underlying (less transmissive) layers of the film. Such thin films have a thickness of between 10 angstroms and several tens of microns. It is important to know, for example, oxide thickness over the surface for several reasons. Uniformity of an oxide layer may be desired so that semiconductor devices employing the oxide layers will have uniform properties. The oxide layers are insulative and the electrical performance of semiconductor devices, such as transistors, rely upon an insulative layer of a particular thickness. Additionally and importantly, the deposition of thin layers can degrade defect (e.g., particle) measurement information obtained by analysis of the scattered light.
FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic illustration of an illumination beam 101 being directed onto a defect 102 (in this case a particle) present on a wafer 103 surface. The defect scatters the electric field at the surface creating scattered light signal S as well as a reflected light signal R in the specular direction. Such scattering is well known in the art and can be used to identify and quantify defects on a wafer surface. A complicating factor in the depicted illustration is the presence of one or more partially transmissive layers 104 on the surface of the wafer 103. Such partially transmissive layers have the effect of transmitting certain wavelengths of light through the layer. This is particularly troublesome when the layer is transmissive to the wavelength(s) of light of the illumination beam 101. Such partially transmissive layers can be comprised of many different materials, but particularly common examples include silicon oxides and silicon nitrides. As can be seen in FIG. 1, a portion 101a of the illumination beam 101 can penetrate into the at least partially transmissive layer 104 and be at least partly reflected by an underlying surface 105. This partly reflected portion 101b is also scattered by the defect 102 thereby contributing to the scattered light signal S. This can cause a significant variance to the expected scattered light signal. Thus, the scattered light that is typically used to characterize the defect 102 (for example to determine defect size) is now so altered that it exhibits significant deviations from an optical signal obtained from a surface having no partially transmissive layers.
Thus, thin layers of oxide or nitride (or other partially transmissive materials, including but not limited, to certain low-K dielectric materials) can significantly alter the radiation fields (light beams) and alter the expected scattering profile for a defect. In one example case, using a substrate having formed thereon a partially transmissive film that has an optical thickness of one-quarter of the wavelength of illuminating light, the strength of the radiation field at or near the surface is substantially reduced resulting in little light scattering for micron-sized defects lying on the surface. This can result in such defects being missed. Thus, knowledge of film thickness would be critical to compensating for this condition or avoiding measurements at such thicknesses.
Currently, tools exist that can measure film layer thickness. However, such tools are high precision tools that can only measure a few points on each wafer to determine thickness (commonly no more than 20-25 such measurements are made per wafer). Additionally and importantly, each measurement takes a long time to achieve. Thus, for such tools it is unrealistic to measure more than a few points on each wafer. As a result such tools provide accurate, but limited amounts of information and have no real capacity to characterize an entire surface. These tools are not capable of scanning an entire wafer and determining the thickness of a partially transmissive layer across the entire surface. Moreover, such tools cannot make thickness measurements while these tools are simultaneously making defect inspection measurements of the same surface.
Additionally, such tools cannot provide "wafer maps" of reflectivity behavior of an inspected surface. For example, current tools cannot provide high-density reflectivity measurements across an entire silicon wafer. Also, current tools cannot provide a reflectivity measurement map of an entire wafer having at least one layer of partially transmissive material formed thereon.
Additionally, for a variety of opaque films, it can be desirable to generate reflectivity maps of an entire wafer surface. This is particularly true for metal films, such as aluminum or tungsten, where knowledge of the reflectivity of the metallic layer, as well as surface scattering, can yield substantial information about the quality and uniformity of the film deposition. Current methodologies are not capable of scanning a surface and generating such maps. Additionally, such reflectivity maps of a surface can be used to enhance detection and yield a more accurate defect size distribution count, since defect scattering is strongly influenced by the surface optical parameters, such as reflectivity.
Additionally, current tools and methodologies do not have a way of rapidly scanning an entire wafer and using the wafer's reflectivity characteristics to determine critical dimension (CD) for the elements formed on the wafer's surface. Nor do current tools and methodologies have a way of rapidly scanning an entire wafer and using the wafer reflectivity characteristics to determine the alignment accuracy of a fabrication overlay during processing. Thus, there is a need for tools and methodologies capable of measuring surface reflectivity characteristics by continuously scanning a surface. Additionally, there is a need for tools and methodologies for measuring thin film thickness and characterizing defects in the same process. Also, there is a need for tools and methodologies capable of continuously scanning a surface to determine CD and determine the correct alignment of overlays constructed during fabrication.

Method and apparatus for determining surface layer thickness using continuous multi-wavelength surface scanning


Functionality for creating a bit routing table for use in a bit-indexed explicit replication (“BIER”) environment in disclosed herein. In one embodiment, this functionality includes receiving information from a host, and determining whether the information comprises a MAC address that is a bit-indexed explicit replication (“BIER”) MAC address. In response to determining that the information comprises a BIER MAC address, this functionality creates an entry corresponding to the MAC address in a bit routing table. This functionality also analyzes the information to determine a bit position that is associated with the host, and also determines a port via which the host is reachable. The functionality updates the bit routing table by storing information identifying the bit position and the port in the entry, such that the bit position and the port both correspond to the MAC address. This functionality can be used to route packets in a BIER environment.

Network nodes forward data. Network nodes may take form in one or more routers, one or more bridges, one or more switches, one or more servers, or any other suitable communications processing device. The data is commonly formatted as packets and forwarded using forwarding tables. A packet is a formatted unit of data that typically contains control information and payload data. Control information may include: information that identifies sources and destinations, such as addresses, error detection codes like checksums, sequencing information, etc. Control information is typically found in packet headers and trailers. Payload data is typically located between the packet headers and trailers.
Forwarding packets involves various processes that, while simple in concept, can be complex. The processes involved in forwarding packets vary, depending on the type of forwarding method used. Multicast is the preferred method of data forwarding for many networks. One reason for this is that multicast is a bandwidth-conserving technology that reduces traffic by simultaneously delivering data to multiple receivers. However, some network environments are not well suited to support multicast. Doing so in such environments often involves discovering and maintaining significant amounts of control, or state, information. Setting up and maintaining this control information has a tendency to become complex and costly in terms of computing resources, and can become a major limiting factor in overall network performance. Another issue with multicast is that due to packet delivery mechanisms used, packets are sometimes forwarded to locations where the packets were not desired. This unnecessary delivery of packets represents an unwelcome burden on network performance overcoming this burden by traditional means involves generation and maintenance of even more control information.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Bit indexed explicit replication for layer 2 networking


A method for updating software on an electronics system that includes a processor switchable between modes and non-volatile memory includes over-writing original application software stored in an application sector of the memory to store cloned boot software such that original boot software remains in the memory, switching the system to a mode that accesses the cloned boot software, storing a temporary key in a key sector of the non-volatile memory that overrides an original key and is configured to instruct the processor to boot the cloned boot software upon initialization, over-writing the original boot software in the boot sector to store new boot software after storing the temporary key, storing a new key in the memory that is configured to instruct the processor to boot the new boot software upon initialization, erasing the temporary key, and switching the system to a mode that accesses the new boot software.

The present invention relates generally to methods for downloading and updating software on electronic systems.
Electronic hardware systems, such as certain fuel system components for gas turbine engines including those for use with aircraft, frequently include software components. These software components can include applications used during regular operation of the hardware, as well as diagnostic, maintenance and other applications used in contexts other than during normal operation. Furthermore, these software components can include components used to boot (i.e., initialize) and manage communication with test equipment. It is often desired to update software to provide for bench and engine testing of hardware in the field, as well as for normal hardware operation. Updating applications using existing boot and management software is relatively simply because update, transmission and booting protocols handled by the boot and management software remains unchanged. Updates to applications can be made to hardware deployed in the field and can be accomplished relatively easily. However, it is sometimes necessary or desired to update the boot and management software on hardware components. Because this type of software governs or otherwise affects updating procedures, it cannot effectively govern updates to itself. An apt analogy would be that a surgeon cannot perform brain surgery on himself or herself.
In the prior art, updates to critical software were difficult. Often these updates cannot be performed in the field in-situ, or even at customer facilities when applicable hardware is removed from an installed location like a gas turbine engine or aircraft. Updates to critical software would typically require that the relevant hardware be returned to the manufacturer for updating by disassembling the hardware and reprogramming relevant printed circuit boards using special tools (e.g., a microprocessor network emulator using a joint test action group (JTAG) adapter) not available in the field. This process is burdensome and time consuming. Particularly in aerospace applications, down time associated with these software updates is undesirable and costly, and can be a burden to manufacturers having to handle and process the hardware associated with the software updates.
Systems and methods for performing software updates have been proposed that utilize external volatile memory (e.g., RAM) to perform an update to critical software. However, the use of volatile memory presents risk of non-recoverable system failure if there is a power failure during the updating process. Specifically, if existing boot and management software is entirely or partially deleted or otherwise in a corrupted state when a power failure occurs, software in the volatile memory will be lost and the hardware may become a "dead box" without the ability to reboot or recover from the power failure. In such a situation, it may be possible to recover functions of the hardware using special tools available in a shop, but this would still prevent the software update from being completed in the field—and would likely ultimately increase the burden of the update due to complications from the power failure.
Moreover, some electronics hardware includes loading functionality to update software, but such functionality is not available in all situations. It may be too burdensome and expensive to add loader functionality to existing hardware deployed in the field.
It is therefore desired to provide an alternative method for updating software on electronics hardware that is deployed in the field.

Method for downloading software to an electronics product


Electromechanical transistors that employ Janus micro/nano-components and techniques for the fabrication thereof are provided. In one aspect, a method of fabricating an electromechanical transistor includes the following steps. A wafer is provided. A source electrode and a drain electrode are formed opposite one another on a surface of the wafer, wherein a gap is present between the source electrode and the drain electrode. A first gate electrode and a second gate electrode are formed on the surface of the wafer on opposite sides of the gap between the source electrode and the drain electrode. At least one Janus component is placed in the gap between the source electrode and the drain electrode, wherein the Janus component includes a first portion having an electrically conductive material and a second portion having an electrically insulating material.

The use of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) as switches in memory applications has recently drawn a lot of attention for their favorable properties. For instance, because they are mechanical, electromechanical switches can reduce standby leakage current. Electromechanical switches also potentially have better sub-threshold behavior than transistors (which are limited by 60 mV/dec.).
However, conventional electromechanical switch designs require a large control gate voltage which makes them hard to scale. The reliability of conventional electromechanical switches can also be an issue. Reliability refers to a lifetime of the electromechanical switch, for example how many times the electromechanical transistor can be switched on and off, how long the electromechanical transistor can stay on with resistance less than a certain value, etc.
Therefore, an improved electromechanical switch design that does not suffer from the above-described drawbacks would be desirable.

Techniques for fabricating janus MEMS transistors


A method, system, and apparatus for temporarily disarming a barrier alarm in a security system. In one embodiment, a method is described, performed by a barrier alarm in communication with a central controller, where the barrier alarm receives a first signal from a user interface on the barrier alarm to disarm the barrier alarm, disables the barrier alarm in response to receiving the indication, and re-arming the barrier alarm upon receipt of a second signal from a sensor that forms part of the barrier alarm.

Field of Use
The present application relates to the field of home security. More specifically, the present application relates to temporarily dis-arming barrier alarms typically used in home and business security systems.
Description of the Related Art
Security systems for homes and offices have been around for many years. Often, these systems make use of barrier alarms, such as door and window sensors installed onto some or all of the doors and windows found in a structure, motion detectors, sound detectors, etc. In the case of door and window alarms, they typically comprise two distinct parts: a magnet and a reed switch assembly. The reed switch assembly is typically installed onto a movable part of a window or onto a door edge, while the magnet is mounted to a stationary surface, such as a door or window frame. When the door or window is closed, the magnet and reed switch are in close proximity to one another, maintaining the reed switch in a first state indicative of a "no alarm" condition. If the door or window is opened, proximity is lost between the magnet and the reed switch, resulting in the reed switch changing state, e.g., from closed to open or from open to closed. The change of state is indicative of a local alarm condition, and a signal may be generated by circuitry located within the reed switch assembly and sent, via wires or over-the-air, to a central controller, either in the home or at a remote monitoring station. Alternatively, or in addition, a loud audible alert is generated, either at the central controller in the home or directly by the circuitry within the reed switch assembly, indicating that a door or window has been opened without authorization.
One of the disadvantages of typical door and window alarm systems is that they do not allow occupants to easily open doors or windows without first turning off the alarm system at the central controller. It is often inconvenient for the occupant to disarm the system, as the central controller and the door or window of interest may be located a great distance from one another.
Another disadvantage of prior art door/window security systems is that while the security system is disabled at the controller, intruders may enter the premises through the now un-monitored doors or windows without detection, as the entire security system may be disabled when it is desired to open a single door or window.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a security system that allows occupants to open doors or windows without having to disable a security system at the central controller.

Temporary security bypass method and apparatus


A balloon catheter includes a sheath surrounding the balloon, the sheath having a longitudinal line of weakness and a drug-containing viscous matrix material intermediate between the balloon and the sheath such that when the balloon is positioned and inflated in the body lumen it causes the sheath to burst at the line of weakness and release viscous matrix material onto said body lumen. The device provides accurate placement of the dosage required at the location in need of treatment. The catheter is especially useful in balloon angioplasty procedures.

This invention relates to balloon catheters and more particularly to balloon angioplasty catheters having therapeutic compounds releasably attached to a balloon.
Dilatation balloons on catheters are well known in the art and are used to decrease the restriction caused by plaque within a vessel wall. Plaque varies greatly in consistency and may be anything from a soft fatty tissue to a harder calcified material. In either case, it is often desirable to do more than simply force a balloon against the plaque or other restriction in the hopes that any plaque and vessel wall may be stretched to open the lumen more fully. Laser angioplasty uses lasers to vaporize the plaque at the stenosis, while atherectomy uses cutting actions to remove the plaque.
Researchers are currently screening a number of drugs to limit or dissolve plaque and to limit the growth of neointimal tissue. Unfortunately, such compositions have been difficult to apply directly where needed. Instead, such drugs tend to be applied systemically which essentially treats portions of the body which need no treatment. Also, such treatments mean that the dosage to the body must be quite high to insure that the localized area having a need for treatment will receive adequate drugs.
Concentrated heparin is delivered by a perforated balloon catheter in work by Wolinsky et al, as described in European Patent publication 0 383 429 of C. R. Bard, Inc. The drug is sprayed through minute holes in the balloon. Also see JACC Vol. 15, No. 2, February 1990: 475-81 by Wolinsky et al.
The assignee of the present invention has filed a patent application entitled "Intraluminal Drug Eluting Prosthesis", Ser. No. 07/486,580, filed Feb. 28, 1990 which places a stent bearing drug at the location desired. Other attempts have involved an application of catheters having separated balloons and the introduction of the drug from an internal lumen of the catheter to the space formed between two inflated balloons. Obviously, this procedure requires the introduction of drug through a lumen within the catheter meaning that the volume of the drug is quite high. Also, if the plaque is badly fissured there will not be a complete seal between the two balloons and the drug will escape to other parts of the body through the vessel. Also, the time available for treatment with such a system is quite short since the balloons must eventually be deflated to allow blood to flow.

Method for making a drug delivery balloon catheter


A stretchable sheet 10 includes: a plurality of attached portions 3 spaced apart from each other in the direction of stretch Df, wherein the first surfaces 1f and 2f of a pair of sheets 1 and 2 are attached to each other by being welded without using an adhesive, at the attached portions 3, the attached portions 3 hold elastic members F, and the attached portions 3 extend in a direction Dp crossing the direction of stretch Df of the elastic members F; and a plurality of folds P that appear between the attached portions 3 while the elastic members F are shrunk, wherein a width W3 of the attached portions 3 in the direction of stretch Df is set to be 0.2 mm or more and less than 1.0 mm.

A structure in which a plurality of elastic members are sandwiched between two sheets, wherein the two sheets are welded together and elastic members are secured between the two sheets at attached portions that extend in a direction crossing the direction of stretch of the elastic members, is known in the art as a structure of a stretchable sheet (first patent document).

Stretchable sheet, worn article using the same, and stretchable sheet manufacturing apparatus


The present invention is a cyanate ester compound represented by the following formula (1):

Cyanate ester compounds produce triazine rings by curing and have high heat resistance and excellent electrical properties and therefore are widely used as raw materials of various functional polymer materials such as structural composite materials, adhesives, electrical insulating materials, and electrical and electronic components. However, in recent years, with an advance in required performance in these application fields, various properties required as functional polymer materials have become increasingly strict. Examples of such properties include flame retardancy, heat resistance, a low coefficiency of thermal expansion, low water-absorbing property, a low dielectric constant, a low dielectric loss tangent, weather resistance, chemical resistance, and high fracture toughness. However, functional polymer materials have not always satisfied these required properties so far.
For example, a problem in the semiconductor package material field is that with the thinning of base materials, warpage occurs due to the mismatch of the coefficiencies of thermal expansion between a semiconductor chip and a base material. As means for solving this, it is required to improve the low thermal expansion and high heat resistance of the functional polymer material itself used for the base material. In addition, from the viewpoint of consideration on human bodies and environment, the use of lead-free solder has been promoted for the soldering of a printed wiring board. Also, from the viewpoint of resistance to a reflow step at a high temperature attended with the lead-free soldering, it has been desired to improve low coefficiency of thermal expansion and high heat resistance for a functional polymer material.
From the viewpoint of improving the flame retardancy of a functional polymer material, the functional polymer material conventionally contain halogen atoms or phosphorus atoms in some cases. However, the halogen atoms are likely to generate halogen gas having a risk of causing environmental pollution during combustion and are also likely to reduce the insulating properties of a final product. The phosphorus atoms often decline required properties other than flame retardancy (heat resistance, moisture resistance, and low water-absorbing property or the like). Hence, it has also been desired to improve the flame retardancy of the functional polymer material without containing halogen atoms or phosphorus atoms.
Furthermore, when a laminate for printed wiring board applications or the like is produced, a prepreg is made by first dissolving an pre-hardened monomer which is a precursor of a functional polymer material in a solvent, such as methyl ethyl ketone, to prepare a varnish, then impregnating a glass cloth with the varnish, and drying it. Therefore, it has also been required to improve the solvent solubility of the monomer.
As an example in which a hardened product of a single cyanate ester compound having low thermal expansion and heat resistance is obtained, the use of a bifunctional cyanatophenyl-based cyanate ester compound in which the hydrogen of a methylene group bonding cyanatophenyl groups to each other is replaced by a particular alkyl group (1,1-bis(4-cyanatophenyl)isobutane), has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). As an example in which a hardened product of a single cyanate ester compound having low thermal expansion and flame retardancy is obtained, the use of a cyanate ester compound having an aralkyl structure has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2). Furthermore, as examples for providing a hardened product of a simple cyanate ester compound having flame retardancy and heat resistance, the uses of a cyanate ester compound containing an isocyanuric acid skeleton (see Patent Document 3), a cyanate ester compound containing a triazine skeleton (see Patent Document 4), and a bifunctional cyanatophenyl-based cyanate ester compound, in which the hydrogen in a methylene group bonding cyanatophenyl groups is replaced by a biphenyl group (see Patent Document 5), and the combination of a bisphenol A-based cyanate ester compound with a cyanate ester compound containing an imide skeleton (see Patent Document 6) have been proposed.
In recent years, high integration and/or miniaturization of semiconductors that are widely used for electronic devices, communication devices, and personal computers or the like have been increasingly accelerated. With such high integration and/or miniaturization, various properties required for laminates for semiconductor packaging, which are used for printed wiring boards, have become increasingly strict. Examples of the required properties include low water-absorbing property, heat resistance after moisture absorption, flame retardancy, a low dielectric constant, a low dielectric loss tangent, a low coefficiency of thermal expansion, heat resistance, and chemical resistance. However, these required properties have not been necessarily satisfied.
Conventionally, a cyanate ester compound has been known as a resin for printed wiring boards having excellent heat resistance and electrical properties. For example, a resin composition containing a bisphenol A-based cyanate ester compound and another thermosetting resin or the like has been widely used as a material for printed wiring boards or the like. The bisphenol A-based cyanate ester compound has excellent properties such as electrical properties, mechanical properties, and chemical resistance or the like. However, in some cases, this cyanate ester compound is insufficient in terms of low water-absorbing property, heat resistance after moisture absorption, and flame retardancy. Hence, for the purpose of further improving such properties, studies regarding various cyanate ester compounds having different structures have been conducted.
As a resin having a structure which is different from that of the bisphenol A-based cyanate ester compound, a novolac-based cyanate ester compound has been frequently used (see Patent Document 7). However, the novolac-based cyanate ester compound is problematic in that it easily causes insufficient hardness, and in that the obtained hardened product has a high water absorption rate and decreased heat resistance after moisture absorption. Hence, prepolymerization of a novolac-based cyanate ester compound and a bisphenol A-based cyanate ester compound has been proposed as a method for solving these problems (see Patent Document 8).
As a method of improving flame retardancy, it has been proposed to use a fluorinated cyanate ester compound, or to mix a cyanate ester compound with a halogen-based compound or prepolymerize these compounds so as to allow a resin composition to contain the halogen-based compound (see Patent Documents 9 and 10).

Cyanate ester compound, curable resin composition containing the same, and hardened product thereof

Abstract: wherein Ar represents an aromatic ring; R1 each independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or an aryl group; n each independently represents an integer of 1 to 3; m+n is the same as the total number of hydrogen atoms in a monovalent aromatic group containing the aromatic ring and the hydrogen atoms; R2 represents a hydrogen atom (excluding a case where Ar represents a benzene ring; n each represents 1; R1 represents a hydrogen atom; m each represents 4, and a cyanate group is bonded to the benzene ring in the 4-position relative to an adamantyl group), or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and R3 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.


A data bus inversion (DBI) circuit includes at least one DBI block configured to invert an input data signal based on the logic state of input data bits. The DBI block includes a comparison deciding unit configured to generate, in a first mode, a comparison signal based on the number of changed bits by comparing respective bit signals of the input data signal and a previous input data signal. The comparison deciding unit generates an inversion control signal which controls whether the input data will be inverted or not. In a second mode, the comparison deciding unit generates an inversion control signal based on the predominant logic state of the input data signal bits. A data converting unit is configured to invert the input data signal in response to the inversion control signal. Method embodiments are also disclosed.

In general, semiconductor memory devices are becoming increasingly highly-integrated and operating at increasingly higher clock speeds. In order to accomplish this, it may be desirable to substantially reduce power consumption and/or signal noise in the memory device. In particular, in a data "read" operation, it may be desirable for such devices to operate with low power consumption and/or low signal noise.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a data read path in a conventional semiconductor memory device. Referring to FIG. 1, a data read path includes a memory cell 10, a bit line sense amplifier 20, an input/output sense amplifier 30, a data output buffer circuit 40 and a pad 50. The data output buffer circuit 40 may include a data output driver circuit.
In a data read operation, data stored in a memory cell 10 is provided on a bit line, where it is sensed and amplified in a bit line sense amplifier 20. The data is amplified in an input/output sense amplifier 30 through a global line, e.g., a global bit line and/or a global input/output line. Data amplified in the input/output sense amplifier 30 is converted into a signal having the appropriate configuration of bits. The data is output to the pad 50 through the output buffer circuit 40. Thus, the data stored in the memory cell 10 is output through several circuits, each of which may impart noise to the signal and/or may consume electric power.
In the circuits forming the read path of a semiconductor memory device, and in particular when data read from a memory cell is output to an external circuit through a data output buffer circuit, signal noise and/or power consumption may be relatively large. That is, it is known that the signal noise and/or power consumption may be relatively large in a data output buffer circuit including an output driver circuit.
For this reason, a transistor used as an output terminal, e.g., an output driver circuit, of the data output buffer circuit may have a considerably large channel width relative to other components of the chip, so as to provide impedance isolation between the chip exterior and interior, and/or to facilitate high speed data access. When the transistor constituting an output terminal of a data output buffer performs a given output operation, such as a swing operation that is performed from a 'high' level to a "low" level or from a "low" level to a "high" level, a large current may flow momentarily, which may be a source of additional signal noise.
As one solution for this problem, the concept of a data bus inversion (DBI) device or circuit was introduced. A data bus inversion circuit may be useful for providing reliable, high-speed data transmission between chips.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional data bus inversion circuit. As shown in FIG. 2, a data bus inversion (DBI) circuit 80 may be provided within a semiconductor memory device ahead of a data output buffer circuit, so as to reduce power consumption and/or signal noise in the data output buffer circuit. The data bus inversion circuit 80 inverts, or does not invert, and outputs an input data signal Din. An inverted, or non-inverted, output data signal Dout output from the data bus inversion circuit 80 is provided to the outside through a data output buffer circuit.
An example of a data bus inversion circuit is disclosed in United States Pre-grant Publication No. 2004/0068594.
Such a data bus inversion circuit was known merely conceptually to those skilled in the art, and concrete technical realizations or exemplary embodiments were not well known. Thus, there may be problems in realizing semiconductor memory devices from the viewpoint of putting them to practical use for reducing power consumption and/or signal noise.

Circuits and methods for data bus inversion in a semiconductor memory


A terminal is disclosed including a processor that determines uplink control channel resource indexes based on configuration of an uplink bandwidth part (UL BWP) and determines a resource for an uplink control channel based on an uplink control channel resource index indicated from Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource indicator field in downlink control information out of the uplink control channel resource indexes; and a transmitter that transmits the uplink control channel on the resource for the uplink control channel on an active UL BWP. In other aspects, a radio communication method for a terminal and a base station are also disclosed.

In the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) network, the specifications of long term evolution (LTE) have been drafted for the purpose of further increasing high speed data rates, providing lower latency and so on (see non-patent literature 1). In addition, the specification of LTE-A (LTE advanced and LTE Rel. 10, 11, 12 and 13) have also been drafted for the purpose of achieving increased capacity and enhancement beyond LTE (LTE Rel. 8 and 9).
Successor systems of LTE are also under study (for example, referred to as "FRA (Future Radio Access)," "5G (5th generation mobile communication system)," "5G+(plus)," "NR (New Radio)," "NX (New radio access)," "FX (Future generation radio access)," "LTE Rel. 14 or 15 and later versions," etc.).
In existing LTE systems (for example, LTE Rel. 8 to 13), downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL) communications are carried out by using 1-ms subframes (also referred to as "transmission time intervals (TTIs)," and the like). A subframe is the unit of time for transmitting 1 channel-encoded data packet, and serves as the unit of processing in, for example, scheduling, link adaptation, retransmission control (HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest)) and so on.
Also, in existing LTE systems, a user terminal (UE (User Equipment)) transmits uplink control information (UCI) by using an uplink control channel (for example, PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control CHannel)) and/or an uplink data channel (for example, PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared CHannel)). The format of this uplink control channel is referred to as "PUCCH format," and so on.

User terminal and radio communication method


Disclosed herein is a portable digital communication device usable as a gaming device and a personal digital assistant. The device comprises a body housing, a center sliding housing for opening or closing a top surface of the body housing while being continuously opposite to the top surface of the body housing, and at least one side sliding housing attached to a side surface of the body housing and adapted to slide while being continuously opposite to the side surface of the body housing. The side sliding housing is arranged in parallel with the center sliding housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable digital communication device including cellular phones, personal digital assistants and hand held phones, and more particularly to a portable digital communication device that can be used as a gaming device and a personal digital assistant (PDA).
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, the term "portable communication devices" refers to devices that are portable and enable the owners of the devices to conduct wireless communications. Such portable communication devices have become increasingly small, slim, and lightweight, which in turn increases their portability. Furthermore, such portable communication devices have been adapted to handle multimedia, whereby the devices have various additional functions. Future portable communication terminals will be miniaturized, lightweight, multipurpose terminals with various functions, which will be easily adapted to various multimedia and Internet environments. The portable communication terminals are electronic devices commonly used by people of all ages and both sexes all over the world, which are considered as necessities of life.
The portable communication devices can be classified into several types of communication devices. For example, the portable communication devices may be classified into a bar-type communication device, a flip-type communication device, and a folder-type communication device. The bar-type communication device has a bar-type single housing, the flip-type communication device comprises a bar-type housing and a flip part pivotally attached to the housing, and the folder-type communication device comprises a bar-type housing and a folder part pivotally attached to the housing. The portable communication device may also be classified into a necklace-type communication device and a wrist-type communication device. The necklace-type communication device is worn on the neck of a user by means of a string, and the wrist-type communication device is worn on the wrist of the user.
On the basis of how the devices are opened or closed, the portable communication device may be further classified into a rotating-type communication device and a sliding-type communication device. The rotating-type communication device is characterized in that two housings are rotatably connected to each other. The rotating-type communication device is opened or closed by the rotation of the two housings in such a manner that the housings are rotated apart from or onto each other. The sliding-type communication device is characterized in that two housings are slid apart from each other in a longitudinal direction. The sliding-type communication device is opened or closed by the sliding movement of the two housings in such a manner that the housings are slid apart from or onto each other. The above-mentioned various types of communication devices will be easily appreciated by a person having an ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.
The portable communication devices have also been adapted to transmit/receive data at high speeds in addition to an audio communication function. Consequently, the portable communication devices use wireless communication technology for transmitting data at high speeds.
It is another increasing trend that a camera lens is adopted in each portable communication device to transmit image signals. The portable communication device has a camera lens module mounted outside or inside a main body of the portable communication device so that a user of the device can talk with another user of a similar device while viewing images of each other, or take pictures of his/her desired subjects.
However, it is difficult to use the conventional portable communication device not only as a game but also as a PDA. A user needs to carry a separate PDA and a game, which is inconvenient for the user. Furthermore, the conventional portable communication device with a game function has a problem in that a key operation is very inconvenient. The key operation must be performed quickly and accurately in a game operating mode; however, the key operation using numerical or character keys on the conventional portable communication device is not performed quickly and accurately. Such a slow and inaccurate key operation does not satisfy the desires of the user.

Portable digital communication device usable as a gaming device and a personal digital assistant (PDA)


Provided is an audio-signal dynamic-range-compression system. An input line accepts an input signal. A filter set coupled to the input line divides the input signal into a set of frequency bands, including a first frequency band and a second frequency band. A compressor has a first input that receives the first frequency band, a second input and an output. An adder has a first input coupled to the output of the compressor, a second input coupled to the second frequency band, and an output. An overshoot estimation module has an input coupled to the output of the adder and an output coupled to the second input of the compressor. The output of the overshoot estimation module provides an overshoot signal that indicates a result of a comparison between a signal at the input of the overshoot estimation module and a specified threshold.

When a single dynamic range compressor (DRC) is applied to the entire bandwidth of an audio signal, the resulting gain reduction is applied to the entire signal (i.e., across its entire spectrum). The effect is similar to turning down a volume control, but automatically and in response to an increase in the signal's level, e.g., in order to attempt to avoid playback distortion and/or equipment damage, or simply to avoid excessive volume that might disturb others. Unfortunately, one problem arising from this simplistic approach to range compression is that an individual loud event, e.g. originating from a single instrument, such as a kick drum, can trigger gain reduction for the entire audio signal, even though other components of the audio do not need, or are not desired, to be reduced in volume in order to achieve the desired effect. For example, as a result of such whole-signal processing, the vocals within the audio signal might be reduced to an unacceptably low level during the period that gain reduction is being applied.
This problem conventionally has been mitigated by instead using a multiband dynamic range compressor, which employs different compressors for different frequency bands. With this approach, a loud event in one frequency band triggers gain reduction in that band only, leaving the other bands largely untouched. For example, a loud event from a kick drum will be compressed solely by a compressor covering only the particular low-frequency band in which the corresponding burst of signal energy is occurring, leaving alone sounds that occur in other (e.g., mid-range and high-frequency bands).
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional multiband compressor 10 comprises a set 12 of filters (including individual filters 12A-C) that splits the audio signal into two or more frequency bands (three in the present example). Each frequency band is then processed by its own separate compressor (with the output of each of filters 12A-C coupled to one of the compressors 14A-C, respectively). The outputs from these compressors 14A-C are recombined in adder 15 to form the output signal 18.
Unfortunately, one significant problem with multiband compressors such as compressor 10 is that the compressed signal 18 often overshoots above the target compression threshold. This situation primarily occurs as a result of input audio signal energy within the crossover or overlapping regions of the frequency bands. In this regard, each of the filters 12A-C outputs a corresponding frequency band 22A-C, as illustrated in FIG. 2, with adjacent frequency bands overlapping (e.g., overlap region 24A between bands 22A&B and overlap region 24B between bands 22B&C).
The overshooting effect noted in the preceding paragraph is illustrated in FIG. 3 for a two-band dynamic range compressor in which a compressor is applied to the passband, and the stopband is left uncompressed. For ease of reference, the term "uncompressed", as used herein without further elaboration, means that the subject signal (typically, a particular band-limited signal or, more succinctly, frequency band) has not been range-compressed. In this example, the passband crossover frequencies are set at 1 kilohertz (kHz) and 10 kHz. Its compressor has a 20 decibel (dB) maximum gain and a desired limiting threshold of 0 dB. The 20-dB gain can be clearly seen when the input level is low (i.e., the lower curves, such as curve 30 and below, shown in FIG. 3). When the input level increases (represented by the higher curves, such as curve 31 and above), the limiter starts to kick in, to limit the output level, ideally to a maximum of 0 dB, which is the desired limiting threshold 28 in the current example. However, this limit 28 typically is only imposed around the center frequency 32 (which is 3.162 kHz in the current example) and for frequencies far away from the crossover frequencies 34. As can be seen in FIG. 3, within and around the crossover frequencies 34, the input signal energy is not fully suppressed by the stopband filter, causing the output signal to overshoot this desired limit 28, so that it reaches levels as high as almost 6 dB.
Conventional approaches to mitigating this problem include: (1) E. Lindemann, "The continuous frequency dynamic range compressor," Proceedings of 1997 Workshop on Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics, New Paltz, N.Y., USA, 1997, DOI: 10.1109/ASPAA.1997.625580, ISBN: 0-7803-3908-8, which addresses this problem by increasing the number of bands and extending the overlap region between bands; (2) E. Vickers, "The Non-Flat and Continually Changing Frequency Response of Multiband Compressors". 2010, Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention 129, which employs a frequency-domain approach that examines the input signal near the crossover regions and recalculates the band boundaries so that the peak falls entirely within a single band (thereby limiting the amount of signal energy that occurs in the crossover regions); and (3) D. Traore, J. Atkins, "Compensation of Crossover Region Overshoot in Multiband Compression", 2014 AES Convention 136, in which a frequency-decomposition module (which attempts to provide an estimate of the overshoot by determining the amount of input signal energy within the crossover regions) and a gain-compensation filter (which attempts to limit the effects of such anticipated overshoot) are provided at the beginning of the gain path of each compressor.

Multiband audio signal dynamic range compression with overshoot suppression


A three-phase AC power controller has three strands, each having an input and an output. Five pairs of valves are connected antiparallel for rotating field reversal. The first input is connected to the first output by way of a first pair, the second input is connected to the second output by way of a second pair and to the third output by way of a third pair, and the third input is connected to the second output by way of a fourth pair and to the third output by way of a fifth pair. An RC half-branch is connected as a snubber circuit to each input and to each output. These RC half-branches are each interconnected via a transverse connection.

The invention relates to a three-phase AC power controller comprising three strands, each having an input and an output with five pairs of valves connected in antiparallel for rotating field reversal, wherein the first input is connected to the first output by way of a first pair, the second input is connected to the second output by way of a second pair and to the third output by way of a third pair and the third input is connected to the second output by way of a fourth pair and to the third output by way of the fifth pair.
Three-phase AC power controllers are categorized as line-commutated converters At a constant frequency the voltage is variably adjusted For this purpose a pair of valves connected in antiparallel, especially thyristors, is arranged in each strand.
Three-phase AC power controllers with rotating field reversal generally comprise five pairs of antiparallel connected valves, as shown in FIG. 1. In such cases one pair is arranged in one strand and in the remaining two strands an input is connected in each case by way of one pair to each output of these two remaining strands. The first pair in the one strand is always activated, in the two remaining strands the activation of the valve pairs is in accordance with the desired direction of rotation of the rotating field. Either the second input is connected via the second pair to the second output and the third input via the fifth pair to the third output or the second input is connected via the third pair and the third input via the fourth pair to the second output.
To relieve the load on the individual strands, in accordance with the prior art, as shown in FIG. 2, an RC branch is arranged in parallel to each pair of valves consisting of a resistor and a series-connected capacitor. In such cases only three branches are ever under load at the same time. For a snubber circuit (another widely used expression is "load-relief circuit" or TSE circuit) of a three-phase AC power controller with rotating field reversal five resistors and five capacitors are thus required, with it being necessary to ensure that the heat arising in the resistors is adequately removed. This leads, especially for three-phase AC power controllers with a power greater than 40 kW, to a corresponding space requirement within the device structure.
The underlying object of the invention is to specify improvements compared to the prior art for a three-phase AC power controller of the type specified at the start.


In one embodiment there is disclosed an application program in which a document is created containing complex rendering codes which codes identify locations within the document where material other than the basic medium is to be inserted or where special treatment is required. These rendering codes control, for example, the insertion of tabs, special attributes of the tabs, such as color, printing, etc, the type of binding the document is to have, the type of printing, the type of assembly, the downloading of material from other sources, the tailoring of portions of the document to the end user, etc. During the rendering process the rendering codes are used to insure that the finished product is rendered exactly as contemplated by the document creator even when the document is rendered without assistance from the creator and without the need for communicated directions outside of the created document.

It is now becoming commonplace to send electronic documents to printers for rendering a final printed product. This works well when the document is a simple document having no assembly requirements other than to possibly staple each copy together. Often, however, complex documents are created which require assembly such as, for example, tabs inserted between certain sections, special types of bindings, different paper colors for different sections, added exhibits, etc.
When it is desired to print such complex documents at remote sites a problem exists in communicating the precise manor as to how the complex document is to be assembled. Further problems exist when the assembly process itself requires additional printed material. Thus, for example, when the tabs (or other section separators) must have special printing thereon it is difficult to communicate all of the desired assembly information to a remote source for the proper assembly of the complex document.
Since many documents must be delivered to third parties at remote locations it is important to be able to print and assemble such documents at such remote locations. In fact, commercially available application programs that are used to create documents have embedded in them a myriad of formatting and other control codes that allows, for example, the paper size, tabs, line spacing, font size, font style, etc to be controlled at the time of printing the document. Thus, it is easy to send a document from a creating user to a recipient and when the recipient prints out the document (or views it on a screen) the look and feel of the document is presented as the creating user determined it should be. However, today that same ease of electronic communication does not exist for complex documents. Accordingly, if a complex document is created at a first enterprise it is necessary to assemble that document at that first enterprise and then mail (or courier) the document to a second enterprise. This is so because it is not practical to ask the recipient (who could be a sales prospect, a Governmental institution, or even a friend) to, for example, print a document, create different color tabs having certain markings on each tab, insert paper of a certain color ahead of each section, bind the document in a certain way, etc. The problem is compounded when it is required to add information to the document just prior to printing or assembly of the document.

System and method for integrated printing and assembly of electronic documents


A baby pod is a hollowed-out circular shaped structure used to house new-born infants up to a year and a half age babies and other essential features associated with infant-to-toddler care in its interior shell. The outer and inner surface of the baby pod is smooth leaving the surface without any crevices to the outer shell or inner walls. The baby mattress is located in the cavity of a mattress box located at the bottom-center of the baby pod's interior. Baby pod has an outer solid flat base that surrounds the entire bottom to provide a secure and sturdy foundation to minimize unwanted sliding and movement and avoid tip overs. Towards the back of the baby pod just above the head of the baby mattress is a 180 degree-view viewing window. Towards the front of the baby pod just above the foot of the baby mattress is a huge entry opening that will allow for entry of an infant-to-toddler to be placed on the baby mattress. Starting from the top-center of the baby pod going towards the back in the direction of the 180 degree-view viewing window, is a ceiling window.

Baby pod is an alternative sleeping platform for infants up to one and a half age babies.
The present invention relates to baby cribs and bassinets.
For many years infants and toddlers have been traditionally placed in a crib to keep them safe from rolling and falling out while they are sleeping. Cribs, Ref. (US 2013/0000037 A1, Tabbia), also provide an enclosed play area to put infants and toddlers in when parents have their attentions turned away.
unfortunately, baby cribs have also been at the center of many incidents involving infant injuries and deaths according to Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC), "Statistical Data on Crib-Related Deaths Report."
Baby pod is utilized as a sleeping platform for infants up to toddler age babies. The only similarity baby pod has to the traditional baby crib is the baby mattress. Because of baby pod's unique hollowed-out smooth circular-structure shape, it does not have the parts and components Ref. (US 2012/0137429 A1, Aaron), and the defects and potential hazards that are associated with the traditional baby crib.
keeping in mind the defects and potential hazards of the traditional baby crib, when drafting this present invention, safety was not the only philosophical concern. Replacing the "squared prison cell-like shape" of the traditional baby crib to an circular shape is not only ideal for aesthetic pleasure but also for the environmental energy-flow of the infants and toddlers.


A battery charging system includes a pre-charge control circuit for electrically coupling a plurality of power supply terminals to a plurality of load terminals. The pre-charge control circuit includes a plurality of switching elements for selectively coupling at least one of the plurality of power supply terminals and one of the plurality of power supply using one of a pre-charge current path and a standard charge current path. The pre-charge current path includes at least one pre-charge resistor in series with a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) resistor.

The present invention relates to pre-charging of battery devices and powerlines, and more specifically to a self-protecting, pre-charge circuit.
Pre-charge of the powerline voltages in a high a DC voltage application is a preliminary mode in which current from the power source is limited such that a controlled rise time of the output voltage during power up is achieved. Pre-charging reduces the electrical hazards which may occur when the system integrity is compromised due to hardware damage or failure.
Pre-charging is commonly used in high voltage battery charging applications. For example, a conventional battery charging system typically includes a high voltage/high current charger (i.e., the power supply), a battery management system circuit (i.e., a control circuit, contactors, capacitors, resistors, etc), and load circuits (i.e., inductors, capacitors and resistors) coupled to the battery. The pre-charge of a high voltage DC bus is necessary in order to slowly (0.1 s to a few seconds) bring the load voltage from 0V to a target voltage (usually, hundreds of volts) in order to be able to close the main high voltage contactors without causing an on rush of current. Such a rush of current can weld such contactors closed and potentially damage the battery or other components in the system.
In general, the energy to perform this pre-charge operation in battery charging systems is typically controlled by a pre-charge circuit that limits the amount of current present on the high voltage bus. In most conventional charging systems, this pre-charge circuit is implemented as a series of contactors or switching elements for selecting between a first current path including a current limiting resistor (the pre-charge resistor) and a second, low resistance path. Thus, during the pre-charge process, the first path is used to limit the amount of current delivered to the high voltage bus. Once pre-charged, the pre-charge circuit can switch to the low resistance path to complete the charging process.
However, in many cases the actual energy in the charging system can be dependent on many factors other than the power supply. For example, there can be unintended high voltage loads or capacitances present in the system. As a result, the is a strong likelihood of the occurrence of a large flow of current that could potentially damage not only the contactors in the system, by also other components, such as the pre-charge hardware or the battery itself. For example, some types of pre-charge resistors can be susceptible to damage from such large currents.


A method comprises automatically determining whether a network device is local or remote to a client access device. If the network device is local to the client access device, the method comprises using a first access protocol to access the network device. If the network device is remote to the client access device, the method comprises using a second access protocol to access the network device.

Some types of network devices (e.g., network attached storage devices) are accessible using any one or more of multiple access protocols. The particular access protocol used may depend on whether the client device attempting to access the network device is local or remote to the network device. For example, an access protocol such as the Network File System (NFS) may be appropriate if the client device and the target network device are connected to the same subnet or local area network (LAN). On the other hand, if the client device and the target network device are remotely located from each other, for example, via a network portal, then a different access protocol such as a web page protocol may be needed for the client device to access the network device. Having to know which access protocol to use and configuring the client computer accordingly imposes a burden on the user of the client device.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.