The present invention envisages a hybrid absorption-compression chiller comprising: a vapor-compression system providing refrigeration effect in a primary evaporator (102a) by extracting heat from a medium to be cooled in a condensed primary refrigerant, and a vapor-absorption system in operative communication with the vapor-compression system for receiving primary refrigerant vapors via a compressor (104a), these vapors are cooled by a condensed secondary refrigerant in a secondary evaporator (106a) to provide cold condensed primary refrigerant which is recycled to the vapor-compression system. The hybrid absorption-compression chiller of the present invention is energy-efficient and provides a higher COP in comparison with the conventional chillers.

Refrigeration process are commonly used in industries to: liquefy gases like oxygen, nitrogen, propane and methane, purify compressed air of moisture, maintain a low process temperature in oil/petrochemical/chemical processes, and for tempering metal in metallurgy industry. The chiller apparatus commonly used to obtain refrigeration are broadly based on vapor compression or vapor absorption principle. These apparatus utilize the ability of liquids or salts to absorb vapors of a working fluid and give heating and/or cooling effect.
The vapor absorption chiller apparatus are thermally driven, which means that heat from waste source or heat derived from solar collectors rather than mechanical energy is used to drive the cycle; whereas, the vapor compression chiller apparatus use high grade energy (electrical energy) from mechanical inputs. Thus, the basic difference between an absorption chiller apparatus and a compression chiller apparatus is that the compression chiller uses an electric motor for operating a compressor for raising the pressure of refrigerant vapors whereas an absorption chiller uses heat for compressing the refrigerant vapors to a high pressure. Thus, absorption chiller apparatus are more economical and environmental friendly since they employ low-grade waste heat, conserve electricity, and use non-ozone depleting refrigerants (water); however, compression chiller apparatus are more preferred due to their higher coefficient of performance (COP).
The need for energy conservation has been highlighted by concerns about the environment, leading development towards energy efficient refrigeration systems. Increased attention has been directed towards development of cost-effective and efficient systems for providing refrigeration, thus, reducing the consumption of energy/power. As a result, the absorption chiller apparatus are gaining favor over conventional compression chiller apparatus in industrial applications, as they use little energy and are environmental friendly. However, in a refrigeration system, when sub-zero evaporation temperatures are desired, a compression chiller apparatus is suitable, but, the power consumptions will be high, while, an absorption chiller apparatus cannot provide sub-zero evaporation temperatures. Also, a lithium-bromide/water based absorption chiller cannot be used where the circulated cooling water temperature is above 40[deg.] C.
In recent developments aimed at overcoming the above listed problems, absorption chillers have been combined with compression chillers to provide cooling at lowest energy costs. Such hybrid chiller, thus devised, operates the absorption chiller during high electric peak load when the charges are high, whereas the compression chiller is operated during low electric peak load when the charges are low, thereby providing a more economical system. A basic refrigeration cycle for a hybrid absorption-compression chiller uses a low temperature liquid refrigerant that absorbs heat from water, air, or any medium to be cooled, and converts to a vapor phase in an evaporator section. The refrigerant vapors are then compressed to a high pressure, by a compressor or a generator, converted back to a liquid by rejecting heat to the external surrounding, in a condenser section, and then expanded to a low-pressure mixture of liquid and vapor, that goes back to the evaporator section and the cycle is repeated.
Several attempts have been made in the past to provide a hybrid absorption-compression chiller which provides refrigeration effect. Some of the disclosures are listed in the prior art below:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,765,823 discloses a hybrid vapor compression-absorption cooling or heating system and apparatus thereof, employing a refrigerant pair comprising at least one refrigerant and at least one ionic liquid. The apparatus comprises: an absorber that forms a mixture of a refrigerant and an absorbent, a generator that heats the mixture and separates the refrigerant vapors, a condenser that receives the vapors and condenses them to a liquid, a pressure reduction device to reduce the pressure of the liquid refrigerant to form a mixture of liquid and vapor refrigerant, an evaporator that receives the mixture to evaporate the remaining liquid and provide a first and a second portion of refrigerant vapors, a compressor that receives the first portion of the vapors increases the pressure and passes to the condenser, a conduit that passes the second portion of the vapors to the absorber which comprises one or more ionic liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,624,588 discloses a hybrid absorption-compression chiller which uses high temperature steam and medium temperature water generated in industrial processes as a heat source. The chiller comprises: a high temperature generator that uses the high temperature steam so as to exchange heat with refrigerant; a low temperature generator that uses the heat of condensation of the refrigerant steam, generated in the high temperature generator, so as to exchange heat with the refrigerant; a generator that uses medium temperature water to exchange heat with refrigerant; a hybrid condenser for condensing the refrigerants; an evaporator that uses the latent heat of vaporization of the condensed refrigerant to obtain chilled water; and an absorber that receives a strong solution and absorbs the refrigerant steam to produce a weak solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,804 discloses a refrigerating machine which is a combination of a compression type refrigerating apparatus and an absorption type refrigerating apparatus. The compression type refrigerating apparatus comprises a compressor, a condenser, a throttle valve, and an evaporator connected in series to form a first closed loop. The absorption type refrigerating apparatus comprises a generator, a condenser, an evaporator, and an absorber connected in series so as to form a second closed loop. The generator and the evaporator of the absorption apparatus are arranged as a heat exchanger. By combining the generator and the compressor into a unit a decrease in temperature can be obtained in the outlet valve of the compressor.
The hybrid absorption-compression chillers disclosed above are complex and/or are not operable at sub-zero evaporation temperatures. Therefore, there is felt a need for a hybrid absorption-compression chiller which while having a simple construction, providing higher COP and giving energy savings, is also adaptable over a wide range of operating conditions and subzero evaporation temperatures.


An automatic flow rate control valve, includes a tubular body, defining a flow path between inlet apertures having a gradually variable cross-sectional area and a fluid outlet at one end; a flow control piston is axially movable within the tubular body, under opposite actions of the fluid pressure and a biasing spring, to choke the fluid inlet apertures, while maintaining a constant flow rate. The control piston is in the form of a first cup-shaped element sliding on a second cup-shaped element to define a hydraulic damping chamber, communicating with the flow path.

This invention refers to an automatic valve for controlling the flow rate of a hydraulic fluid; in particular it is directed to an automatic flow control valve and to a valve assembly to maintaining the flow rate of a fluid at a constant value, in response to pressure changes of the fluid.


In one embodiment, example systems and methods related to vehicle platooning are provided. Vehicles are equipped with a vehicle platooning system that allows the vehicles to exchange messages related to vehicle platooning. When a following vehicle desires to follow a leading vehicle, the following vehicle sends a request to the leading vehicle, and the leading vehicle sends the following vehicle information such as its current speed. The following vehicle may then use the information, along with sensor data such as images of the rear of the leading vehicle, to follow the leading vehicle from a following distance. When the leading vehicle desires to change lanes, the leading vehicle sends a message to the following vehicle to determine if the following vehicle is able to change lanes. If the following vehicle determines that it can change lanes (i.e., the lane is clear from other vehicles or objects), the following vehicle can send a message to the leading vehicle indicating that it can change lanes. The leading and following vehicles may then change lanes at approximately the same time.

Vehicle platooning is where a lead or first vehicle is followed by one or more other vehicles. Typically, the vehicles in the platoon line up sequentially behind the lead vehicle with a distance between each vehicle that is known as the following distance.
Vehicle platooning may be particularly useful for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. As may be appreciated, where one of the following vehicles is a semi-autonomous vehicle or autonomous vehicle, the following vehicle can focus on following the lead vehicle while relying on the lead vehicle for navigation and route selection. For example, a vehicle may be following a lead vehicle. The lead vehicle may be a fully autonomous vehicle or a driver controlled vehicle. The following vehicle may be a semi-autonomous vehicle that is capable of following the lead vehicle and maintaining the following distance without driver intervention, but may be otherwise incapable of performing actions such as navigation or route selection without driver intervention. By following the lead vehicle, the following vehicle is able to rely on the lead vehicle for the more complex driving tasks, which allows the driver to cede control of the following vehicle.
However, while vehicle platooning is useful, there are drawbacks associated with current methods and techniques for vehicle platooning. First, currently vehicle platoons that include autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles are incapable of operating at high speeds. Second, when the leading vehicle determines to perform an advanced maneuver such as changing lanes, there currently exists no way for the leading vehicle to determine whether the following vehicles have sufficient space in the adjacent lane to also change lanes before the leading vehicle changes to the adjacent lane. Similar issues exists for vehicle platoons with respect to merging on highways and traveling through intersections.

System and method for vehicle platooning


An avalanche transistor has a heterojunction emitter-base junction. The avalanche transistor includes a spacer layer provided between an emitter layer and a base layer. The spacer layer has an energy band gap between that of the base layer and that of the emitter layer, a carrier concentration lower than that of the base layer, and a thickness so that the whole spacer layer becomes a depletion layer at thermal equillibrium so that a neutral region is produced in the spacer layer at a voltage lower than the threshold voltage of the emitter-base junction. Thus, the same element is both bistable with the base current as a parameter and has an S-shaped negative differential resistance with the base voltage as a parameter.

FIG. 2(a) is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional heterojunction avalanche transistor. FIG. 2(b) shows collector current vs. collector voltage characteristics with a parameter of base current in a common-emitter configuration. FIG. 2(c) shows collector current vs. collector voltage characteristics with a parameter of base voltage in a common-emitter configuration. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 designates a semi-insulating InP substrate. An n.sup.+ type InGaAsP contact layer 2 is disposed on the entire surface of the substrate 1. An n type InP emitter layer 3 is disposed on the center portion of the contact layer 2. A p type InGaAsP base layer 4 is disposed on the entire surface of the emitter layer 3. An n type InP collector layer 5 is disposed on the center portion of the base layer 4. A collector electrode 6 is connected with the collector layer 5 via an n.sup.+ type InGaAsP contact layer 2A. A base electrode 7 is connected with the base layer 4 via a Zn diffusion region 9 produced on the periphery of the base layer 4. An emitter electrode 8 is connected with the emitter layer 3 via the contact layer 2.
Collector current vs. collector voltage characteristics as a parameter of base current in a common-emitter configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 2(b). In a bipolar transistor, collector current I.sub.C is represented as follows: ##EQU1## where I.sub.B is base current, M is carrier multiplication factor in the base-collector junction, .alpha. is base transport factor, and .gamma. is emitter injection efficiency. In the conventional heterojunction avalanche transistor, since the energy band gap of the emitter layer is larger than that of the base layer, the emitter injection efficiency .gamma. can be regarded as 1. When the collector current I.sub.C is increased, the collector voltage is mainly applied to the emitter-base junction when the collector current I.sub.C is low. However, once the resistance of the emitter-base junction decreases, the emitter-base voltage scarcely increases further and the current at this junction becomes a constant voltage source. Therefore, when the collector current I.sub.C is further increased, the collector voltage is applied to the base-collector junction, which leads to the increase of the reverse bias at the base-collector junction. The base transport factor .alpha. approaches 1 as the collector current I.sub.C increases, and the carrier multiplication factor M increases as the base-collector reverse bias increases. Then, as the collector voltage increases, M.alpha..gamma. of the equation (1) approaches 1, whereby the collector current I.sub.C drastically increases. When the collector current is further increased, M.alpha..gamma. may exceed 1. However, M.alpha..gamma. cannot exceed 1 from the equation (1). Since the base transport factor .alpha. approaches to 1 in accordance with the increase in the collector current I.sub.C, the carrier multiplication factor M decreases to keep M.alpha..gamma. below 1. The decrease in the carrier multiplication factor M means a decrease in the collector voltage. Then, S-shaped negative differential resistance, which means that the collector voltage decreases in accordance with an increase in the collector current I.sub.C, is obtained (base currents represented by A in FIG. 2(b)).
At some value of base current, no S-shaped negative differential resistance is obtained, but the collector current drastically increases in accordance with the increase in the collector voltage when M.alpha..gamma. approaches 1 but does not exceed 1 (base currents represented by B in FIG. 2(b)).
Next, collector current vs. collector voltage characteristics with a parameter of base voltage in a common-emitter configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 2(c). When the collector voltage is lower than the base voltage, since both of the emitter-base junction and the base-collector junction are forward biased and the transistor is in a saturated region, the collector current increases in accordance with the increase in the collector voltage. When the collector voltage is further increased, the base-collector junction is reverse biased. Therefore, the collector current is approximately determined by the base voltage. When the collector voltage is further increased, the reverse bias of the base-collector junction increases, and as a result the carrier multiplication factor M increases and the term of M.alpha..gamma. in the equation (1) approaches 1. Then, similarly as the situation described with reference to FIG. 2(b), S-shaped negative differential resistance appears at the base voltage where M.alpha..gamma. is about to exceed 1, and the collector current drastically increases against the collector voltage at the base voltage where M.alpha..gamma. approaches 1 but does not exceed 1.
In such a conventional heterojunction avalanche transistor, since the base transport factor .alpha. approaches 1 in accordance with an increase in the collector current, B the S-shaped negative differential resistance characteristic is only obtained in both cases by taking the base current and taking the base voltage as a parameter, respectively, in the common-emitter configuration. Therefore, when a memory circuit is constituted using such a heterojunction avalanche transistor, a bistable memory element is required in addition to the heterojunction avalanche transistor as a trigger element.


A method and apparatus for producing a guide wire including a core wire a distal portion of which is surrounded by a helically wound spring. The coils forming the distal portion of the spring include a annular layer of radiopaque material, e.g., gold, ion deposited onto the stainless steel wire of the spring.

There are in the art a number of flexible guide wires used in medical applications. Exemplary such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,545,390, 4,538,622, 4,619,274, 5,053,404, and 5,267,574, and in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/069,050 filed May 28, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No 5,606,979 and owned by the assignee of the present application, all of which are here incorporated by reference. Some such devices, including those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,538,622 and 5,052,404, include a flexible main spring of stainless steel having a short radiopaque (e.g., platinum, gold, tantalum, tungsten, iridium, rhenium) spring joined to its distal end. In others, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,545,390 and 5,267,574, the entire spring is made of a material (e.g., platinum or a platinum/tungsten alloy, having a relative high radiopacity. Whether the spring is one-piece or two-piece, a central core, which also may be stainless steel, typically extends coaxially within the entire length of the spring and is connected, e.g., by brazing, to both the distal and proximal ends of the spring. When a two-piece spring is employed, the adjacent ends of the two pieces of the spring are generally brazed both to each other and to the central core of the guide wire assembly.
Medical devices in which an entire spring is made of a radiopaque material such as tungsten are expensive, and the material may have less desirable characteristics than does a material such as stainless steel. Making only a portion, e.g., the distal end portion, of the spring of a radiopaque material somewhat reduces material costs, but requires two or more springs rather than one, along with the additional manufacturing costs and procedures that are required to insure a secure construction.
There have been attempts to provide guide wires having a two-piece construction in which a single stainless steel coil extends all the way to the tip, but these attempts have proved to be somewhat unsatisfactory. Neither the stainless steel itself, nor a layer of gold or the like plated onto the coil, has been sufficiently radiopaque.
There remains a need for a less-expensive spring device that is sufficiently radiopaque, and particularly for a guide wire having a radiopaque distal end.


A product comprising a micromirror comprising a reflective layer and a treatment layer overlying the reflective layer, and wherein the treatment layer comprises Ti.

New advancements in projection systems utilize an optical semiconductor known as a digital micromirror device. A digital micrometer device chip may be the world's most sophisticated light switch. It contains an array from 750,000 to 1.3 million pivotally mounted microscopic mirrors. Each mirror many measure less than ⅕ of the width of a human hair and corresponds to one pixel in a projected image. The digital micromirror device chip can be combined with a digital video are graphic signal, a light source, and a projector lens so that the micromirrors reflect an all-digital image onto a screen or onto another surface.
Although there are variety of digital micromirror device configurations, typically micromirror are mounted on tiny hinges that enable each mirror to be tilted either toward the light source (on) in a projector system to reflect the light or away from the light source (off) creating a darker pixel on the projection surface. A bitstream to image code entering the semiconductor directs each mirror to switch on or off after several times per second. When the mirror is switched on more frequently than off the mirror reflects a light gray pixel. When the mirror is switched off more frequently than on the mirror reflects a darker gray pixel. Some projection systems can deflect pixels enough to generate 1024 shades of gray to convert the video are graphic signal entering the digital micromirror device into a highly detailed grayscale image. In some systems, light generated by a lamp passes through a color wheel as it travels to the surface of the digital micromirror device panel. The color wheel filters to light into red, green and blue. A single chip digital micromirror vice projector systems can create at least 16.7 million colors. When three digital micromirror device chips are utilized, more than 35 trillion colors can be produced. The on and off states of each micromirror are coordinated with the three basic building blocks of color, red, green and blue to produce a wide variety of colors.
Huibers et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,619 B1 discloses a deflectable spatial light modulator including a mirror plate that is substantially ridge and may be made up of a laminate having layers of silicon nitride and aluminum. In one embodiment, the mirror laminate may include a layer of aluminum sandwiched by two layers of silicon nitride. In other embodiments, include only a layer of aluminum and a layer of silicon nitride. Multi-layer arrangements with multiple layers of aluminum and/or silicon nitride are disclosed. The reference states that other materials besides aluminum (such as conductive and reflective metals) could be used. Other materials besides silicon nitride, such as silicon dioxide are also disclosed. The reference discloses that the silicon nitride layer may be 1400 Å thick and that the aluminum layer may be 700 Å thick. Disclosed also are one or more dielectric films, that act as a reflective coating, may be deposited on the mirror laminate to improve reflectivity.
A variety of digital micromirror devices (DMD) are known. FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a prior art DMD that may be used in the present invention with the substitution of a unique mirror structure according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a DMD 10 may include a semiconductor device 12 such as a CMOS memory device that includes circuitry 13 that is used to activate an electrode(s) in response to a video or graphic signal. A first layer 14 is formed over the semiconductor device 12 and may include a yoke address electrode 16, and vias 18 formed therein down to the circuitry 13 on the semiconductor device 12, and a bias-reset bus 20. A second layer 22 is formed over the first layer 14 and may include a yoke 24 torsion hinge 26 and mirror address electrodes 28. A micromirror 32 is formed over the second layer 22 and positioned so that the micromirror 32 may be deflected diagonally when one of the electrodes 28 is activate by the semiconductor device 12. The micromirror include a reflective layer typically including aluminum. The DMD 10 shown in FIG. 1 while being an excellent engineering accomplishment is very complex, costly to manufacture and has low manufacturing yield. Further, the micromirror 32 may include defects as will be describe hereafter with respect to a second configuration of a DMD.
FIG. 2 illustrates a first subassembly 40 for a second type of DMD. The subassembly 40 may include a transparent layer 42 which may be any transparent material including, but not limited to, glass. A hinge 44 is formed on the transparent layer 44 and a micromirror 32 is secured thereto for pivotal movement with respect to the hinge 44 and the transparent layer 42.
FIG. 3 illustrates the first subassembly 40 including a plurality of micromirrors 32 each connected by a hinge 44 to the transparent layer 42. All of the component and subassemblies of the various DMD devices can be made by semiconductor or MEM micro processing techniques known to those skilled in the art.
FIG. 4 illustrates a second subassembly 46 of the second type of DMD and may include a semiconductor device 12 such as, but not limited to, a CMOS memory device. A plurality of electrodes 48, one for each micromirror 32 are formed over the semiconductor device 12 for communication with the circuitry (not shown) contained therein so that the electrode 48 may be selectively activated in response to a video or graphic signal.
FIG. 5 illustrates a DMD structure 10 that may be utilized by the present invention with the substitution of a unique micromirror according to the present invention. The DMD of FIG. 5 includes the first subassembly 40 flipped over and overlying the second subassembly 46 so the micromirrors 32 of the first subassembly 40 face and are closest to the electrodes 48 of the second subassembly 46. Spacers 50 are provided to position so that the micromirrors 32 are spaced a distance from the electrodes 48 and so that micromirror 32 is free to be defected or pivotally moved by the activation of an associated electrode 48. As illustrated in FIG. 5, when light is director on to the micromirrors 32, an electrode 48 associated with for each micromirror 32 may be activated cause the micromirror to pivotally move about the hinge 44. As a result, the light will be reflected or not depending on whether the electrode 48 associated with the micromirror 32 has be activated or not. As described above, depending on how fast and often a particular micromirror 32 is deflected by the electrode 48, the image projected by the micromirror 32 (pixel) will appear light or dark on the projection screen or other surface.
However, prior art micromirror structures often were troubled by the present of hillocks (raised features or bumps) 54 or voids 52 in the aluminum layer as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Typically the micromirror 32 include a sputtered on aluminum coating which may often include hillocks (raised features or bumps) 54 or voids 52. The hillocks 54 or voids 52 can cause artifacts or distortions in the projected image.
The present invention provides alternatives to and improvements over the micromirror, DMD and projection systems of the prior art.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


In a management system that manages a plurality of apparatuses by use of a centralized management unit connected to the apparatuses via a network, the expiration date and time of a mail (data) transmitted from the centralized management unit is confirmed, and an expired mail is not used for apparatus management.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus management unit that transmits data of a connected apparatus to a centralized management unit and manages the apparatus based on apparatus management data transmitted from the centralized management unit. Moreover, the present invention relates to an apparatus management system that manages a plurality of apparatuses via a network by use of a centralized management unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. H4-318731 proposes an apparatus management unit connected to a centralized management unit via the public telephone line. The apparatus management unit receives parameters associated with connection control such as the telephone number of the centralized management unit and the identification number of an apparatus from the centralized management unit. Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. H4-318859 proposes an apparatus management unit that, when something is wrong with a connected copying machine, stops the operation of the copying machine in accordance with an instruction from a centralized management unit.
Examples of the system in which a centralized management unit and an apparatus management unit are connected as described above include not only the system in which these units are connected by use of the public telephone line but also a system that performs communication by use of the Internet and a radio communication system that uses a PHS (Personal Handy Phone System) or a cellular phone as a terminal unit with the diversification of the communication technology.
In a system that performs data communication between terminals by use of the public telephone line, data is transmitted and received substantially in real time because the line is occupied for the data transmission and reception. On the contrary, a system that transmits and receives data as packets between an apparatus management unit and a centralized management unit like electric mails using the Internet is inferior to the system using the public telephone line in real-time data transmission and reception, because the packets are delivered to the destination address by being transferred in a bucket brigade manner. That is, there is a possibility that the arrival of a mail at the destination address is delayed, for example, because of a trouble on the transfer path.
In an apparatus management system that manages apparatuses connected to a plurality of apparatus management units by transmitting and receiving apparatus management data between a centralized management unit and the apparatus management units, there are cases where apparatus management data has already become obsolete when it arrives because of a delay in arrival of the mail (apparatus management data) from the centralized management unit at the apparatus management unit. In such cases, if the received apparatus management data is used for management, the apparatus will be managed inappropriately, so that the condition of the apparatus can become worse.

Apparatus management unit and system for determining the validity of data/mail based on its expiration date and/or time


A flexible scheme is provided for designating the appropriate write-back protocol best suited for each memory level within a multi-level-cache computer system. The skip-level memory hierarchy of the present invention includes a lower-level copy-back cache and a higher-level write-through cache. This greatly simplifies the implementation of the higher-level cache, since it may be implemented with a write-or-read access to its address tag. Although counterintuitive, a write-through higher-level cache in a distributed shared memory may also increase the efficiency of the computer system without unduly increasing the volume of network traffic within the computer system. This is because a write-through higher-level cache increases the probability of readily-available cached copies of updated data which are consistent with the home copies of the data, thereby reducing the number of fetches from remote home locations whenever the data is not found in the lower-level cache but is found in the higher-level cache.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer system memories. In particular, this invention relates to a write-through operation involving a lower-level memory and a higher-level memory which skips at least one intermediate-level of memory in a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical multi-level-cache multi-node computer system having first-level caches (L1$s), second-level caches (L2$s) and a third level caches (L3$s), within each node, inclusion is maintained between the L1$s and the L2$s, but inclusion is not required between the L2$s and the L3$s. In other words, data that resides in a L1$ also resides in a respective L2$. However, data residing in the L1$ or L2$ do not necessarily have to reside in a respective L3$.
The L2$s are generally designated as copy-back caches because as second level caches, the L2$s can generate too much network traffic operating as write-through caches. Intuitively, the L3$s should also be designated as copy-back caches because the L3$s are higher level and larger than both the L2$s and the L1$s.
When data is first accessed by a requesting processor, the data is fetched from its home location and automatically cached in the respective L1$ and L2$. Subsequently, if the requesting processor writes/modifies the data, copies of the data in both the L1$ and L2$ are updated, i.e., write through is performed between the L1$ and the L2$.
However, since the L2$ is a copyback cache, changes in the L2$ are not immediately reflected in the home location of the data nor in the L3$, regardless of whether a copy of the data also exist in the L3$. A subsequent writeback transaction is used to update the data to its home location when dirty data in the L2$ needs replacement. Similarly, since the L3$ associated with requesting processor is also a copy-back cache, no immediate write back is initiated between the L3$ and the data's home location.
The perceived efficiency of the above described scheme is based on the assumption that any advantage gained by enforcing write-through protocol for either the L2$ and/or L3$ is far outweighed by a drastic increase in network traffic. However, the complexity of implementing a copy-back L3$ and the fact that a copy-back L2$ will already avoid most of the extra traffic in the network begs for simpler and more efficient solutions.
Hence, there is a need for a flexible scheme to efficiently designate memory write-back protocols for the multiple levels of memories within a computer system. Such a scheme should accomplish data coherency within the computer system without imposing an undue burden on the underlying network of the computer system.

Skip-level write-through in a multi-level memory of a computer system


A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a set-top box comprising a controller to send an invite for participation in a media conference to at least one media device, the media conference comprising a presentation of a media program supplied by an interactive television (iTV) network, receive an acceptance of the invite from at least one accepting media device of the at least one media device, connect the at least one accepting media device to a communications bridge operably coupled to the STB, wherein the communications bridge enables the STB and the at least one accepting media device to engage in one of voice, video, and synthesized speech to text communications, and present the media program with at least a portion of the communications between the STB and the at least one accepting media device during the media conference. Other embodiments are disclosed.

As advances in technology have dramatically risen in recent years, consumers can now enjoy media content through a variety of means. Consumers can experience media content through analog and digital televisions, set-top boxes, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) systems, satellite television systems, cable systems, and other media systems. The media broadcast through such systems can include audio, video, text, and/or images or combinations thereof.
Although consumers can experience and interact with media content in multiple ways on their own, enjoying such media content with others often provides a different and often times more interesting experience than experiencing the media content alone. People often resort to inviting friends over to watch a media program or to getting together to experience a program at a place such as a movie theater.

Method and apparatus for group media consumption


A system and method are provided for implementing palette management for displaying regular graphic objects on a video monitor. A plurality of sets of three-dimensional color components for each of a plurality of gradients is determined. Each of the plurality of sets of three-dimensional color components is stored in a respective one of a plurality of color look up tables. A processor determines which one of the plurality of color look up tables to display for any given scan line on the video monitor. A selected one of the plurality of sets of three-dimensional color components is retrieved from one of the plurality of color look up tables. Using the selected one of the plurality of sets of three-dimensional color components, the video monitor is caused to illuminate at least one pixel of the respective scan line.

This invention relates generally to applications which use computer graphics techniques to display graphic objects on a video monitor. More particularly, this invention relates to a system and method for palette management for displaying regular graphic objects.
During the past decade, the graphics capabilities of personal computers, set-top boxes and home video game units have rapidly improved. Applications developers naturally have taken advantage of these improvements by designing increasingly sophisticated graphically oriented applications, such as video games, program guides and multimedia which rely heavily on computer graphics techniques to display graphic objects on a video monitor. Such graphically oriented computer applications running on modern hardware platforms are now capable of displaying and animating extremely complex graphical images. These applications can generate graphic objects having a realistic quality that was previously difficult to achieve.
As the quality of graphically oriented computer applications has improved, so has the ability of many users of such applications to discriminate between poor quality and high quality animation. Indeed, graphics quality is believed to contribute significantly to the commercial acceptance of many video games, program guides and multimedia applications. Accordingly, computer applications developers have continued to explore ways in which graphics quality can be improved.
As a particular application, consider the increasing importance of television program guides. Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Viewers have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to determine the programs being broadcast at a particular time.
Passive television program guides provide a scrolling or paged list of television program listings on a dedicated television channel. A television user may view the television program listings by tuning to the dedicated channel. The upper portion of a passive program guide display may be used to display advertising videos and associated text descriptions. The content of the text descriptions may be targeted toward particular regions. Passive television program guides are not capable of providing the user with any interactive features.
More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed that allow television program information to be displayed on a viewer""s television. Interactive program guides are typically implemented on set-top boxes. Such program guides allow users to view television program listings in different display formats. For example, a user may instruct the program guide to display a grid of program listings organized in a channel-ordered or a time-ordered list. Users may also search and sort program listing by theme (e.g., movies, sports, etc.) or by title (i.e., alphabetically). A user may view additional information on a program by placing a highlight region on a desired program listing and pressing an xe2x80x9cinfoxe2x80x9d button. The user may purchase a pay program from the program guide by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing an xe2x80x9cOKxe2x80x9d button. Some systems allow the user to select a program for recording by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing a xe2x80x9crecordxe2x80x9d button.
Video monitors used in conjunction with personal computers, set-top box equipment for television program guides and video game equipment for video games generally have an array of pixels which are selectively illuminated to display images on the screen. In order to display an object at a particular location on the screen, video display circuitry in a computer system, set-top box, or video game system (herein after sometimes generically referred to as a computer system) connected to the video monitor selects a subset of pixels from the array, and causes the video monitor to illuminate each pixel in the subset using a color that is desired for the object being displayed.
Many graphics applications (such as television program guides and video games) which run on set top boxes and personal computers are limited to an eight-bit color palette (i.e., 256 colors) or even less. In many instances, the size of the color look-up table (xe2x80x9cCLUTxe2x80x9d) of the graphics display hardware limits the number of colors that may be displayed on a single scan line to as few as sixteen. Although a larger number of colors may be displayed on a single screen, only those colors contained in the relatively small CLUT can be displayed on any given single line.
One solution to the problem caused by the limited number of colors that may be displayed on a single scan line is to analyze the image to be displayed and generate a CLUT for each line based on only the colors present in the image. Such an approach involves generating and storing a CLUT for each scan line and is possible when displaying regular objects, such as three-dimensional tubes. A regular object is any screen graphic having a describable geometric shape (i.e., a vertical center which can be either calculated or approximated). However, the number of CLUTs is often quite large and difficult to manage.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a system and method for palette management for displaying regular graphic objects which uses a relatively small number of CLUTs.
The above-identified difficulties associated with displaying regular objects on a video monitor are overcome by this invention. More particularly, this invention provides a system and method for palette management for displaying regular graphic objects which uses a relatively small number of CLUTs.
The system and method of the present invention advantageously can be implemented using readily available, conventional hardware that is capable of executing graphically oriented computer applications. The system preferably includes a microprocessor (or micro-controller), random access memory (xe2x80x9cRAMxe2x80x9d), and a video monitor (e.g., a computer monitor or television). In addition, the system can include a removable media input/output (xe2x80x9cI/Oxe2x80x9d) device (e.g., a floppy disk drive, tape drive, compact disk read-only memory (xe2x80x9cCD-ROMxe2x80x9d) drive, etc.), a user input device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, joystick, trackball, etc.), a video controller (e.g., a graphics card), and a hard disk drive. Alternatively, the principles of the present invention may be implemented on other suitable hardware platforms such as television program guide systems or home video game systems.

Palette management for display of regular graphic objects


Image recognition methods, apparatus and articles or manufacture to support shelf auditing for consumer research are disclosed herein. Example methods disclosed herein include comparing a first image signature associated with an input image with a plurality of reference signatures associated with a plurality of reference images to identify a first reference image matching the input image. Such disclosed example methods also include identifying a first group of items depicted in the input image as corresponding to a first group of reference items registered with the first reference image. Such disclosed example methods further include determining a first region of the input image that differs from a corresponding first region of the first reference image, and processing the first region of the input image based on a template to identify a second item depicted in the input image.

Shelf auditing, such as in the context of store auditing, plays an important part in marketing research. Shelf auditing can be used to report the items (e.g., goods) displayed in a store, where these items are displayed, how many items are displayed, etc. Prior shelf auditing techniques rely on human auditors to identify and register each item in a store. In some prior techniques, photographs of shelves to be audited are taken by personnel assigned to particular locations (e.g., stored) and sent back to a central location where the items in the photographs are identified and registered manually by one or more auditors.

Image recognition to support shelf auditing for consumer research


The present disclosure provides an array substrate, a display panel, and a display device. The array substrate includes a base substrate; a first light-shielding layer, disposed on a side of the base substrate; a light-sensitive structure, disposed on the side of the first light-shielding layer away from the base substrate; a second light-shielding layer, disposed on the side of the light-sensitive structure facing away from the base substrate; and a light-shielding structure, disposed between the first light-shielding layer and the second light-shielding layer. The orthogonal projection of the light-shielding structure surrounds the orthogonal projection of the light-sensitive structure. In the direction perpendicular to the base substrate, the light-shielding structure includes a first light-shielding section and a second light-shielding section. The first light-shielding section is disposed close to the first light-shielding layer, and the first light-shielding section and the second light-shielding section are formed by different fabrication processes.

Currently, in-screen fingerprint recognition, by embedding a fingerprint recognition device into a display area, is a research hotspot in the field of display technology. Embedding the fingerprint recognition device in a display area rather than in a non-display area may be conducive to increasing the screen ratio of the display screen.
The existing fingerprint recognition technologies include optical fingerprint recognition technology, semiconductor-silicon fingerprint recognition technology, and ultrasonic fingerprint recognition technology. Among different technologies, the optical fingerprint recognition technology generally uses a photodiode as a light-sensitive structure, and the operation principle of the optical fingerprint recognition technology is: the incident light is reflected by a touch object, and the reflection light is then irradiated onto the photodiode, causing the photodiode to generate a photocurrent; and because the ridges and the valleys of the fingerprint have different reflectivity, and thus the intensity of the light reflected by the valley positions is different from the intensity of the light reflected by the ridge positions. Therefore, the photocurrent generated by the photodiode corresponding to the valley positions and the photocurrent generated by the photodiode corresponding to the ridge positions are different. As such, fingerprint recognition may be implemented.
Generally, an array substrate includes a plurality of light-sensitive structures, and each light-sensitive structure is configured to receive light reflected from a corresponding fingerprint recognition area directly disposed above it. When crosstalk light (i.e., interference light) reflected from an adjacent fingerprint recognition area is irradiated onto the light-sensitive structure, the magnitude of the photocurrent generated by the light-sensitive structure may be affected, and thus the accuracy of fingerprint recognition may be degraded.
The disclosed array substrate, display panel, and display device are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems in the art.

Array substrate, display panel, and display device

XIAMEN TIANMA MICRO-ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A method for parallel concatenated (Turbo) encoding and decoding. Turbo encoders receive a sequence of input data tuples and encode them. The input sequence may correspond to a sequence of an original data source, or to an already coded data sequence such as provided by a Reed-Solomon encoder. A turbo encoder generally comprises two or more encoders separated by one or more interleavers. The input data tuples may be interleaved using a modulo scheme in which the interleaving is according to some method (such as block or random interleaving) with the added stipulation that the input tuples may be interleaved only to interleaved positions having the same modulo-N (where N is an integer) as they have in the input data sequence. If all the input tuples are encoded by all encoders then output tuples can be chosen sequentially from the encoders and no tuples will be missed. If the input tuples comprise multiple bits, the bits may be interleaved independently to interleaved positions having the same modulo-N and the same bit position. This may improve the robustness of the code. A first encoder may have no interleaver or all encoders may have interleavers, whether the input tuple bits are interleaved independently or not. Modulo type interleaving also allows decoding in parallel.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods, apparatus, and signals used in channel coding and decoding, and, in particular embodiments to methods, apparatus and signals for use with turbo and turbo-trellis encoding and decoding for communication channels.
2. Description of Related Art
A significant amount of interest has recently been paid to channel coding. For example a recent authoritative text states:
"Channel coding refers to the class of signal transformations designed to improve communications performance by enabling the transmitted signals to better withstand the effects of various channel impairments, such as noise, interference, and fading. These signal-processing techniques can be thought of as vehicles for accomplishing desirable system trade-offs (e.g., error-performance versus bandwidth, power versus bandwidth). Why do you suppose channel coding has become such a popular way to bring about these beneficial effects? The use of large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) and high-speed digital signal processing (DSP) techniques have made it possible to provide as much as 10 dB performance improvement through these methods, at much less cost than through the use of most other methods such as higher power transmitters or larger antennas."
From "Digital Communications" Fundamentals and Applications Second Edition by Bernard Sklar, page 305 © 2001 Prentice Hall PTR.
Stated differently, improved coding techniques may provide systems that can operate at lower power or may be used to provide higher data rates.
Conventions and Definitions:
Particular aspects of the invention disclosed herein depend upon and are sensitive to the sequence and ordering of data. To improve the clarity of this disclosure the following convention is adopted. Usually, items are listed in the order that they appear. Items listed as #1, #2, #3 are expected to appear in the order #1, #2, #3 listed, in agreement with the way they are read, i.e. from left to right. However, in engineering drawings, it is common to show a sequence being presented to a block of circuitry, with the right most tuple representing the earliest sequence, as shown in FIG. 2, where 207 is the earliest tuple, followed by tuple 209. The IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms, Sixth Edition, defines tuple as a suffix meaning an ordered set of terms (sequence) as in N-tuple. A tuple as used herein is merely a grouping of bits having a relationship to each other.
Herein, the convention is adopted that items, such as tuples will be written in the same convention as the drawings. That is in the order that they sequentially proceed in a circuit. For example, "Tuples 207 and 209 are accepted by block 109" means tuple 207 is accepted first and then 209 is accepted, as is seen in FIG. 2. In other words the text will reflect the sequence implied by the drawings. Therefore a description of FIG. 2 would say "tuples 207 and 209 are provided to block 109" meaning that tuple 207 is provided to block 109 before tuple 209 is provided to block 109.
Herein an interleaver is defined as a device having an input and an output. The input accepting data tuples and the output providing data tuples having the same component bits as the input tuples, except for order.
An integral tuple (IT) interleaver is defined as an interleaver that reorders tuples that have been presented at the input, but does not separate the component bits of the input tuples. That is the tuples remain as integral units and adjacent bits in an input tuple will remain adjacent, even though the tuple has been relocated. The tuples, which are output from an IT interleaver are the same as the tuples input to interleaver, except for order. Hereinafter when the term interleaver is used, an IT interleaver will be meant.
A separable tuple (ST) interleaver is defined as an interleaver that reorders the tuples input to it in the same manner as an IT interleaver, except that the bits in the input tuples are interleaved independently, so that bits that are adjacent to each other in an input tuple are interleaved separately and are interleaved into different output tuples. Each bit of an input tuple, when interleaved in an ST interleaver, will typically be found in a different tuple than the other bits of the input tuple from where it came. Although the input bits are interleaved separately in an ST interleaver, they are generally interleaved into the same position within the output tuple as they occupied within the input tuple. So for example, if an input tuple comprising two bits, a most significant bit and a least significant bit, is input into an ST interleaver the most significant bit will be interleaved into the most significant bit position in a first output tuple and the least significant bit will be interleaved into the least significant bit position in a second output tuple.
Modulo-N sequence designation is a term meaning the modulo-N of the position of an element in a sequence. If there are k item s(1) in a sequence then the items have ordinal numbers 0 to k−1, i.e. I0 through I(k−1) representing the position of each time in the sequence. The first item in the sequence occupies position 0, the second item in a sequence I1 occupies position 1, the third item in the sequence I2 occupies position 2 and so forth up to item Ik−1, which occupies the k′th or last position in the sequence. The modulo-N sequence designation is equal to the position of the item in the sequence modulo-N . For example, the modulo-2 sequence designation of I0=0, the modulo-2 sequence designation of I1=1, and the modulo-2 sequence designation of I2=0 and so forth.
A modulo-N interleaver is defined as an interleaver wherein the interleaving function depends on the modulo-N value of the tuple input to the interleaver. Modulo interleavers are further defined and illustrated herein.
A modulo-N encoding system is one that employs one or more modulo interleavers.

Parallel concatenated code with soft-in soft-out interactive turbo decoder


In a wireless communication system, the time required to establish network connectivity for subscriber stations can be reduced by prioritizing and/or reducing contention between the subscriber stations. The subscriber stations can be divided into acquisition groups and assigned specific uplink channels on which to range. The subscriber stations can randomly or pseudo-randomly range on uplink channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communication systems, and more specifically to techniques for establishing communication between entities in a wireless communication system.
2. Background
The present invention addresses issues relating to communication systems, and specifically point-to-multipoint communication systems. In conventional point-to-multipoint communication systems, a network supports bidirectional data communication between a central entity and multiple customer premise equipment (CPE). Example point-to-multipoint communication systems include cable modem systems, fixed wireless systems, and satellite communication systems. In each system, the communication path from the central entity to the CPE is typically referred to as the downstream, while the communication path from the CPE to the central entity is typically referred to as the upstream.
One type of point-to-multipoint system is a cable modem system, which typically includes a headend that is capable of communicating with multiple CPE, each of which provides cable modem functionality. In a cable modem system, the CPE can be a cable modem, a settop box, or a cable gateway, to provide some examples.
DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) refers to a group of specifications published by CableLabs® that define industry standards for cable headend and cable modem equipment. In part, DOCSIS sets forth requirements and objectives for various aspects of cable modem systems including operations support systems, management, data interfaces, as well as network layer, data link layer, and physical layer transport for data over cable systems. The current version of the DOCSIS specification is version 2.0, and includes the DOCSIS Radio Frequency Interface (RFI) Specification SP-RFIv2.0-I03-021218 (hereinafter "DOCSIS RFI Specification"), the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Conventional DOCSIS-compliant systems use a specific process for CPE joining the network for the first time. In this process, a CPE scans downstream channels, selects a usable downstream channel with an associated usable upstream channel, and attempts to range on the upstream channel using contention slots. Ranging is a DOCSIS-defined protocol by which a CPE establishes communication with the CMTS. A contention slot is a time period during which a CPE is permitted to attempt ranging on a particular channel. Many CPE of the system often contend for the same channel and the same contention slots.
If a CPE loses power after it has successfully joined a network, when power is restored the CPE attempts to re-establish communication with the CMTS in a process that is sometimes referred to as a "cold boot." After power is restored, the CPE initially attempts to range on the upstream and downstream channels the CPE was previously using. Typically, upstream and downstream channels are shared by many CPE. During power outage situations in which many CPE are impacted, the ranging process can take a very long time due to multiple CPE attempting to range on the same upstream and downstream channels. With the expansion of DOCSIS support into various types of CPE, this problem can result in very long time periods for reacquisition.
What is needed, then, is a method and apparatus for establishing communication between entities in a communication system that addresses one or more of the aforementioned shortcomings of conventional communication systems and methods.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Establishing communication between entities in a wireless communication system


A system receives input data frames that are configured according to a SONET or an SDH standard. The input data is converted to parallel data. The system provides groups of bits along parallel signal lines. In each group of bits, N contiguous bits in the group form a complete word of input data. The system identifies the boundary between complete words in the input data by comparing subsets of the bits to predefined framing patterns. The system then aligns the input data based on the location of each word using the boundary information. The output data of the system includes data that is word aligned. The system can also detect boundaries between the frames.

The present invention relates to techniques for frame detection and word alignment for SONET and SDH data, and more particularly, to detection frame boundaries and to aligning the internal data path to the word boundary of data in a SONET or an SDH standard.
Synchronous optical network (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standards for data transmission across optical telecommunications networks. Data bits that are transmitted according to a SONET or an SDH standard are grouped into frames. Each frame contains numerous data bytes. The data bytes typically contain 8 data bits. The data bytes are typically grouped into words for internal processing. Any number of bits and bytes can form a word (e.g., 64 bits/8 bytes per word).
Each frame contains an overhead section and a payload section. The overhead section includes bits specified by a SONET protocol. The payload section includes the data bits that are being transferred from one location to another.
SONET uses a basic transmission rate of STS-1 that is equivalent to 51.84 Mbps. Higher-level signals are integer multiples of the base rate. For example, STS-3 is three times the rate of STS-1 (3×51.84=155.52 Mbps). An STS-12 rate is 12×51.84=622.08 Mbps.
STS-1 is a specific sequence of 810 bytes (6,480 bits), which includes various overhead bytes and an envelope capacity for transporting payloads. It can be depicted as a 90-column by 9-row structure. With a frame length of 125 microseconds μs (8,000 frames per second), STS-1 has a bit rate of 51.840 Mbps. The order of transmission of bytes is row-by-row from top to bottom and from left to right (most significant bit first).
The first three columns of the STS-1 frame are for the transport overhead. Each of the three columns contains 9 bytes, for a total of 27 bytes. Of these, 9 bytes are overhead for the section layer, and 18 bytes are overhead for the line layer. The remaining 87 columns constitute the STS-1 envelope capacity (payload and path overhead).
A receiver does not necessarily know where words or frames begin and end when it receives a serial stream of SONET data. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide techniques for aligning the data path inside a receiver to the word boundary of an input data stream.

Techniques for frame detection and word alignment


A safety navigation system applying wireless communication technology and a method therefor are provided, wherein road information transmitted by wireless communication technology is received and statistically analyzed to learn about road sections that are inconvenient for driving or cannot be passed through, so as to decelerate when driving on the road section or avoid the road section altogether when planning routes, thereby ensuring a driver's safety.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a navigation system and method therefor, and more particularly to a safety navigation system and method therefor wherein road information transmitted by wireless communication technology is received and statistically analyzed, thereby achieving the purpose of safe navigation.
2. Related Art
At present, an in-vehicle navigation system positions a vehicle and shows its location on a map mainly according to information received by a GPS receiver or other device, plans the optimal path to the destination according to the user's requirements, displays the position of the vehicle by way of graphic representation, and sends guide instructions to the user in a timely way by voice or through graphics according to the generated route and the position of the vehicle. However, in the event of road blockage, road construction, traffic control, or poor weather, the information cannot be reflected in the navigation system in time, and so the in-vehicle navigation system cannot always provide the best navigation service to the user. As such, it is necessary to send real-time traffic information to vehicles traveling on the road, thereby allowing the in-vehicle navigation system to provide a real-time dynamic route planning service.
Additionally, a radio data system (RDS) is used to provide real-time road information. The RDS is developed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and is used to provide voice and data communication through the FM wave band without establishing a particular connection channel. After the RDS medium appeared, the Traffic Management Center (TMC) was developed to send precise real-time road information via the RDS. Currently, TMC is widely used in commercial applications in Europe and the United States. However, even though TMC provides real-time road information, a driver unfamiliar with local driving routes still cannot easily change his/her route, so TMC does not fully achieve its potential.
Therefore, the in-vehicle navigation system and TMC must be used simultaneously in order to fully achieve the application efficacy. It can be appreciated that when TMC is integrated with the in-vehicle navigation system, the navigation system may select other driving routes according to the road information provided by TMC, enabling the driver to keep away from road sections where an accident or traffic block has occurred. However, the application solution of integrating the in-vehicle navigation system and TMC hasn't appeared yet, thus, even though the driver uses these two systems simultaneously, he/she must still manually enter the road information provided by TMC and request the navigation system to re-plan the route, which is quite inconvenient while driving.
Additionally, although TMC can be used to obtain real-time road information, it is limited to this only. Certain road sections where traffic problems often occur, such as traffic jams, traffic accidents, or dense fog, are not avoided from the very beginning of route planning, so the driver may easily suffer setbacks when driving on those road sections where problems often occur.

Safety navigation system applying wireless communication technology and method therefor


An image processing apparatus includes an auxiliary storage device 19 stored first data of a given object image higher in LOD level, a main memory 11 stored second data of the given object image lower in the LOD level than the first data, a CPU 10, and a GPU 18. The CPU 10 calculates an apparent speed of the object image on a screen, and determines data to be used in the geometry processing of the object image to one of the first data and the second data in accordance with the apparent speed. The GPU 18 takes in the first data (or the second data) from the auxiliary storage device 19 (or the main memory 11) to conduct the rendering process in the case where the geometry processing is conducted by using the first data (or the second data).

The present invention relates to a technique in which information generated in various details is outputted. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique in which an image that represents a virtual object within a virtual three-dimensional space (hereinafter referred to as "object image") is displayed on a given display device with various resolutions through a computer graphics.
In the field of the computer graphics, in order to obtain an image that approximates to a more real world, various processing is conducted. For example, in order to express a fact that an object is smaller and more difficult to watch as it is farther from a point of view in the real world, the resolution is more lowered as the object image is farther from the point of view such that the object image is so expressed as to be simplified. In order to simplify the object image as it is farther from the point of view, the amount of data of the object image to be used for processing can be reduced. In the present specification, the details of the object image is expressed by LOD (level of detail), and the detailed object image having the highest resolution is represented by LOD(O). The n-value of the LOD(n) (n is a natural numeral) becomes larger as the resolution becomes lower and the object image is more simplified. The amount of data becomes larger in order to display the object image in detail as the object image is higher in the LOD level, and the amount of data becomes lower as the LOD level is lower.
Also, in the field of an information processing device, there is a technique in which a plurality of information different in the details with respect to one event is prepared in advance, and one of those information is selected and outputted in accordance with those information. For example, there is a dictionary software in which simplified information such as a summary and detailed information are prepared for one word, and one of those two information can be selectively outputted. In this case, for example, the simplified information is information of LOD(1) and the detailed information is information of LOD(0).

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, information processing apparatus, information processing system, semiconductor device and computer program


An active area of a semiconductor body includes a first charge-compensation structure having spaced apart n-type pillar regions, and an n-type first field-stop region of a semiconductor material in Ohmic contact with a drain metallization and the n-type pillar regions and having a doping charge per area higher than a breakdown charge per area of the semiconductor material. A punch-through area of the semiconductor body includes a p-type semiconductor region in Ohmic contact with a source metallization, a floating p-type body region and an n-type second field-stop region. The floating p-type body region extends into the active area. The second field-stop region is in Ohmic contact with the first field-stop region, forms a pn-junction with the floating p-type body region, is arranged between the p-type semiconductor region and floating p-type body region, and has a doping charge per area lower than the breakdown charge per area of the semiconductor material.

Semiconductor transistors, in particular field-effect controlled switching devices such as a Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) or an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) have been used for various applications including but not limited to use as switches in power supplies and power converters, electric cars, air-conditioners, and even stereo systems. Particularly with regard to power devices capable of switching large currents and/or operating at higher voltages, low on-state resistance Ron and high breakdown voltages Ubd are often desired.
For this purpose charge-compensation semiconductor devices were developed. The compensation principle is based on a mutual compensation of charges in n- and p-doped zones in the drift region of a vertical MOSFET.
Typically, the charge-compensation structure formed by p-type and n-type zones is arranged below the actual MOSFET-structure with source, body regions and gate regions, and also below the associated MOS-channels which are arranged next to one another in the semiconductor volume of the semiconductor device or interleaved in one another in such a way that, in the off-state, their charges can be mutually depleted and that, in the activated state or on-state, there results an uninterrupted, low-impedance conduction path from a source electrode near the surface to a drain electrode arranged on the back side.
By virtue of the compensation of the p-type and n-type dopings, the doping of the current-carrying region can be significantly increased in the case of compensation components which results in a significant reduction of the on-state resistance Ron despite the loss of a current-carrying area. The reduction of the on-state resistance Ron of such semiconductor power devices is associated with a reduction of the heat loss, so that such semiconductor power devices with charge-compensation structure remain "cool" compared with conventional semiconductor power devices.
Meanwhile, switching losses of semiconductor devices become more important. Depending on device operation, output charge QOSS and electric energy EOSS, respectively, stored in the space charge region formed in the off-state and during reverse bias, respectively, mainly determine the switching losses. The stored charge QOSS of semiconductor devices with charge-compensation structures may be comparatively high. This may result in significant switching losses EOSS. In addition to enable reverse blocking, the output charge QOSS (at specific blocking voltage) has to be completely removed which results in switching delays.
In many applications, semiconductor transistors such as MOSFETs are mainly exposed to reverse voltages which are significantly below a rated blocking voltage of the semiconductor device. For example, conventional vertical compensation MOSFETs are often used in circuits with a designed circuit voltage during nominal operation which results in a nominal reverse voltages Uc of only about 30% to about 70% of the rated blocking voltage Ubd, for example to about 400 V for a rated blocking voltage of 650 V. Furthermore, the conventional compensation MOSFETs are typically designed such that the pn-compensation structure is already substantially depleted in the horizontal direction at comparatively low reverse voltages corresponding to about only 10% of nominal reverse voltages Uc or even less to reduce stored electric energy EOSS. Even further, the stored charge QOSS is mainly determined by the charge Qh corresponding to the horizontally depletion of conventional compensation structures. Accordingly, there is typically a trade-off between on-resistance Ron and stored charge QOSS in conventional compensation MOSFETs. This may be expressed as Ron*QOSS=Ron*Qh=const. Thus, there is typically a trade-off between forward current losses and switching losses in conventional compensation MOSFETs.
Even when taking into account typical voltage spikes, a MOSFET is typically exposed to reverse voltages which are significantly below rated breakdown voltage Ubd during normal operation. Higher values may result from unanticipated switching events which occur only rarely. The depletable semiconductor volume of conventional compensation MOSFETs corresponds however to at least 100% of the rated blocking voltage. Accordingly, conventional compensation MOSFETs are typically "oversized" with respect to the stored charge QOSS.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve semiconductor devices with charge-compensation structures.


A mobile decorative part of a Christmas tree ornament is orbited around a stationary decorative part by an electrical motor locked onto the stationary decorative part.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a holiday ornament for hanging on an object, for example, a Christmas tree and, more particularly, to an action ornament having a mobile decorative part orbited around a stationary decorative part to create an animated visual effect.
2. Description of Related Art
A Christmas tree ornament having an internal DC motor powered by external batteries and operative for moving movable decorative parts relative to stationary decorative parts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,721. U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,120 discloses another Christmas tree ornament having an internal motor for moving a movable part including a lamp, the motor being powered through a connector plugged into an electrical lamp socket of a light string set. U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,608 discloses a miniature electrical motor specifically adapted to be plugged into a lamp socket of a light string set and operative to rotate Christmas tree ornaments. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,146,919 and 4,214,296 are exemplificative of rotating hanging lamps with internal motors.
The known use of an external motor to rotate an entire holiday ornament has not proven altogether satisfactory in practice because the ornament can become detached from the motor, and fall to the ground and shatter. This detachment problem can be prevented by using an internal motor. However, this increases the overall size of the ornament and renders it too bulky and too heavy for some decorative applications.

Action ornament for use with decorative light string sets


A lime soap dispersant comprising a polyester represented by the general formula:

The present invention relates to a lime soap dispersant which has excellent dispersing property of lime soap (soap scum) generated during washing or rinsing, and also relates to a detergent composition and a cleaning composition comprising the lime soap dispersant.
Soap is a detergent composed of an alkali metal salt of fatty acid and has been used for centuries as a detergent for clothes washing, body washing and face washing, due to the excellent washing performance, safety and the like thereof. However, since soap reacts with calcium ion or the like present in water to generate water-insoluble lime soap, various problems related to lime soap are caused. When water used for washing is hard water, such problems tend to be remarkably observed. When water used for washing is soft water, problems still occur because soft water also contains ions such as calcium ion. For example, when soap is used for washing clothes, the lime soap which is formed as a result of the reaction of soap with calcium ion or the like is deposited on clothes, whereby the cloth gets yellowish or give off unpleasant odor. Further, when the lime soap is deposited inside of a washing machine, the deposited lime soap, what is called xe2x80x9cblack scumxe2x80x9d, causes problems such as clogging of water-distribution pipe of the washing machine.
Toilet soap also tends to cause unpleasant odor and/or stains at a washstand or a bathroom. Examples of a dispersant which has conventionally been proposed for dispersing lime soap include ethylene oxide adduct of higher aliphatic alcohol, polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene block copolymer, xcex1-sulfofatty acid methyl ester, sulfated fatty acid alkanol amide, betaine, sulfobetaine, and an amino carboxylic acid type amphoteric surfactant. However, these conventionally known lime soap dispersants do not achieve satisfactory results, although use of such conventional dispersants have shown some improvement in lime soap dispersion. Prior art which has been proposed further includes: a reference in which a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether ethyl dialkyl amine oxide type surfactant and a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether ethyl dialkyl amino acetic acid betaine type amphoteric surfactant are employed as a lime soap dispersant (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-117697); a reference which discloses an alkali detergent comprising as the base material a salt of alkyl ethoxy dicarboxylic acid (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-509447); and a reference which discloses a detergent composition comprising a specific lipolysis enzyme and a specific lime soap dispersant having lime soap dispersing ability (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-511780).
An object of the present invention is to provide a lime soap dispersant which has more excellent lime soap dispersing property than the conventional lime soap dispersant, as well as a detergent composition and cleaning composition comprising the lime soap dispersant.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered, as a result of eager study for solving the above-mentioned problems, that polyester having a specific structure has excellent lime soap dispersing property, thereby completing the present invention.
The present invention relates to a lime soap dispersant, which includes a polyester represented by the general formula:
wherein A represents a xe2x80x94COxe2x80x94 group, R1 represents a C2-4 alkylene group, R2 represents a C3-4 alkylene group, R3 represents a phenylene group, naphthylene group or biphenylene group, R4 represents a C2-8 alkylene group, R5 represents a C2-8 alkylene group, R6 represents a phenylene, naphthylene or biphenylene group which may be substituted with a xe2x80x94SO3M or xe2x80x94COOM group, X represents H, a C1-4 alkyl group, xe2x80x94R7SO3M group, xe2x80x94R8COOM group or xe2x80x94C(O)R9 group, M represents H or water-soluble cation, and R7, R8 and R9 independently represent a C1-4 alkyl group, m1 and m2 are independently a number of 0 to 25 while m1+m2 is 3 to 25, n1 is a number of 1 to 40, n2 is 0 to 5, n3 is 1 to 40, n4 is 1 to 10, n5 is 0 to 5, and n6 is 1 to 40.
In the aforementioned formula, the alkylene group and the alkyl group may be either in the form of a straight chain or branched. Examples of the phenylene group include a 1,4-phenylene group, a 1,3-phenylene group and a 1,2-phenylene group. Examples of the naphthylene group include a 1,8-naphthylene group and a 1,4-naphthylene group.
Examples of the biphenylene group include a 2,2xe2x80x2-biphenylene group and a 4,4xe2x80x2-biphenylene group. Further, examples of the water-soluble cation represented by M include alkali metal such as Na and K, ammonium, and alkanol amine.
The present invention also relates to a detergent composition that comprises the polyester represented by the aforementioned general formula (1).
The present invention also relates to a cleaning composition that comprises the polyester represented by the aforementioned general formula (1).
The polyester of the present invention has excellent lime soap dispersing property, and by adding an appropriate amount of the polyester to a soap based detergent, it is possible to prevent lime soap attachment to cloth, a bath tub, a washstand, a washing machine and water-distribution pipes, which is caused by the use of the soap based detergent. Further, by adding the polyester of the present invention to a surfactant-based detergent in which soap is not used as the main agent, it is possible to prevent lime soap attachment to the aforementioned materials, to which lime soap would attach in the conventional application without the use of the polyester, and it is also possible to remove lime soap which has been attached to the aforementioned materials. Yet further, by combination of the polyester to a detergent or cleaner for a bath tub, a washstand, a washing machine, toilet, water-distribution pipes, kitchen and the like, it is possible to remove lime soap attached or both lime soap and oily stains attached with lime soap in an easy and sufficient manner.
The present invention will be described further in detail hereinafter.
A lime soap dispersant of the present invention is a polyester represented by the aforementioned general formula (1), and more preferably a polyester represented by the general formula:
wherein A, R3, R6, X, m1, m2, n1, n3, n4, and n6 are independently the same as defined with respect to the above general formula (1), and R10 and R11 independently represent H or a C1-4 alkyl group.
The lime soap dispersant composed of a polyester represented by the general formula (1) of the present invention is used in a form of mixture with a detergent composition for body washing, clothes washing or hard surface washing such as washing for tiles, enamel, pottery and the like. The detergent composition to which the lime soap dispersant is combined may be any of the conventionally known detergents, and is not restricted to the aforementioned examples. Examples of the detergent composition include: a soap based detergent typically represented by soap; and a detergent in which soap is not used as the main agent but contains a nonionic synthetic surfactant, an anionic synthetic surfactant and/or a cationic synthetic surfactant as the main agent. Further, the lime soap dispersant of the present invention may be used in a form of mixture with a cleaning composition used for eliminating stains such as lime soap attached to a bath tub, a washstand, a washing machine, kitchen, water-distribution pipes and the like.
The amount of the lime soap dispersant represented by the aforementioned general formula (1) to be combined to a detergent or a cleaner is not particularly restricted as long as the amount of the lime soap dispersant is set within the range which enables achieving the object of the present invention. Specifically, in the case of the soap based detergent, the content of the lime soap dispersant is to be 5 to 100 weight %, preferably 10 to 40 weight % per weight of the soap component. In the case of the detergent composition in which soap is not used as the main agent, the content of the lime soap dispersant is to be 0.05 to 40 weight %, preferably 0.5 to 10 weight % per weight of the detergent composition. In the case of the cleaning composition, the content of the lime soap dispersant is to be 0.05 to 100 weight % per weight of the cleaning composition, although the range may vary depending on the mode of application. If the content of the lime soap dispersant is less than the aforementioned lower limit, the lime soap dispersing effect is normally not obtained in a sufficient manner. On the other hand, if the content exceeds the aforementioned upper limit, the dispersing effect reaches a plateau state and can no longer be increased in spite of further adding the dispersant, which is not economical.
Examples of the soap-based detergent to which the lime soap dispersant of the present invention is combined include powdery or bar soap for clothes washing made of, for example, a sodium salt or a potassium salt of beef tallow fatty acid or palm oil fatty acid, toilet soap and medical soap. In the case of powdery soap, the combination of the lime soap dispersant of the present invention can be conducted by methods such as adding the lime soap dispersant to the soap base at the stage of neat soap, or by dry blending the lime soap dispersant with the finished powdery soap. In addition, in the case of bar soap, the lime soap dispersant of the present invention may be added during the process of kneading soap chips. For the temperature at which the lime soap dispersant is combined, room temperature or temperature necessary for combination may be appropriately selected.
To the soap-based detergent which contains soap as main component, other additives may be combined, in an appropriate manner, as long as the addition of these additives do not deteriorate the effect of the present invention. Examples of such additives include an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant, polymer which has been made cationic, Glauber""s salt, zeolite, soda ash, silicate soda, sodium citrate, carboxymethyl cellulose, titanium oxide, perfumes, a chelating agent, a colorant, an antiseptic and a UV absorbent.
The nonionic surfactant, the anionic surfactant, the cationic surfactant or the amphoteric surfactant used as the main agent in the detergent in which soap is not used as the main agent will be described in detail hereinafter. Examples of the nonionic surfactant include: of, a condensate of polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide or polybutylene oxide and alkylphenol; a condensation product of ethylene oxide and C8-22 primary alcohol or secondary alcohol which is normal or branched; alkyl polysaccharide with a C6-30 hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group having a polysaccharide containing approximately 1.3 to 10 saccharide units such as polyglycoside; a condensation product of ethylene oxide and a hydrophobic base formed by condensation of propylene oxide and propylene glycol; a condensation product of ethylene oxide and a product produced by the reaction of propylene oxide with ethylene diamine; alkyl (e.g., C8-22 palm oil alkyl) amine oxide; and alkyl (e.g., C8-22 palm oil alkyl) amidoamine oxide.
Examples of the anionic surfactant include a salt of linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acid, a salt of alkyl ester sulfuric acid, a salt of alkyl sulfuric acid, a salt of alkane sulfonic acid, a salt of olefin sulfonic acid, a sulfonated polycarboxylic acid, a salt of alkyl polyglycol ether sulfuric acid, a salt of alkyl glycerol sulfonic acid, a salt of aliphatic acyl glycerol sulfonic acid, a salt of aliphatic olefin glycerol sulfonic acid, a salt of aliphatic oleil glycerol sulfuric acid, a salt of alkylphenol ethylene oxide ether sulfric acid, a salt of alkyl alkoxylated sulfuric acid, an alkyl phosphate, isethionate, N-acyl taurate, alkyl succinamate, a sulfosuccinate, monoester or diester of sulfosuccinate, acyl sarcosinate, sulfates of alkyl polysaccharide, a salt of alkyl polyethoxy carboxylic acid, resin acid, hydrogenated resin acid, and a salt of acylated amino acid such as a salt of acylated glutamic acid and a salt of acylated alanine.
Further, examples of the cationic surfactant include alkyl trimethyl ammonium halogenide, a compound represented by the general formula;
[R12(OR13)x][R14(OR13)y]2R15N+X31 xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
wherein R12 represents an alkyl group or alkylbenzyl group having 8 to 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain thereof, each R13 independently represents a group selected from the group consisting of xe2x80x94CH2CH2xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2CH(CH3)xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94CH2CH(CH2OH)xe2x80x94 and a mixture thereof, each R14 represents a group selected from the group consisting of a C1-4 alkyl group, a C1-4 hydroxyalkyl group, a benzyl ring structure formed by bonding of two R14 groups, and xe2x80x94CH2CHOHxe2x80x94CHOHCOR16CHOHCH2OH. R16 represents a hexose or polymer of a hexose whose molecular weight is less than 1000 or so, and represents H when y is not zero, R15 represents the same group as R14 or an alkyl chain, the total number of carbon atom of R12 and R13 is 18 or less, x and each y are independently a number of 0 to 10, the sum of y values is in the range of 0 to 15, and X is an anion; and a compound represented by the general formula;
xe2x80x83R17R18R19R20N+X31xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4)
wherein R17 represents a C6-16 alkyl group, R18, R19 and R20 independently represent a group selected from the group consisting of a C1-4 alkyl group, a C1-4 hydroxyalkyl group, a benzyl group and xe2x80x94(C2H4 O)xH, x is a number of 1 to 5, and X is an anion.
Examples of the amphoteric surfactant include alkyl (C8-22) acetic acid betaine, alkyl (C8-22) amidopropyl betaine and alkyl imidazolium betaine.
As the additives to be added to the detergent composition in which soap is not used as the main material, any of those which have conventionally been employed as the additive component of the detergent composition in which soap is not used as the main material can be used. Examples of the additives include polymer which has been made cationic, a chelating agent, citric acid and a salt thereof, a builder, an enzyme, a bleach, a defoaming agent, a softener, a stain-reattaching-preventing agent, a stain suspending agent, a fluorescent brightner, a germicide, an antibacterial, an antiseptic, perfumes, and an abrasive.
The detergent composition may have any form as a product and may be, for example, in the form of liquid, paste, gel, bar, tabulet, powder, particles or the like. The detergent of the present invention can be applied to any application in which a detergent has conventionally been used, including clothes washing, dish washing, human body washing, and hard surfaces washing.
Lime soap is often deposited with oily components in various places such as a bath tub, tiles in a bath room, a washstand, the inside of a washing machine, toilet, water-distribution pipes, and a kitchen of a restaurant. Such lime soap deposited with oily components is generally quite difficult to remove. When the lime soap deposited with oily components is removed for cleaning, the degree of attachment of the lime soap and the substance which is attached together with the lime soap vary depending on the type of the object to be cleaned. Therefore, detergents with various compositions can be used according to the purpose of the application and the object to be applied. The cleaning composition of the present invention may be solid, although a cleaning composition is supplied in a liquid state, in general. The components of the cleaning composition is selected in an appropriate manner from the group consisting of soap, a surfactant, an abrasive, an oxidant, an acid, an alkali, a pH buffer, a chelating agent, a perfume, a colorant and a solvent such alcohol, in accordance with each object or material to be cleaned.
The present invention will be described further in detail by examples and comparative examples, hereinafter. However, it should be noted that the present invention is by no means restricted to these examples and comparative examples.

Lime soap dispersant, and detergent composition and cleaning composition comprising the same


The invention provides a method of forming a film stack on a substrate, comprising depositing a tungsten nitride layer on the substrate, subjecting the substrate to a nitridation treatment using active nitrogen species from a remote plasma, and depositing a conductive bulk layer directly on the tungsten nitride layer without depositing a tungsten nucleation layer on the tungsten nitride layer as a growth site for tungsten.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method and improved film stacks for contact plug or gate electrode used in DRAM applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tungsten-containing films are typically used in multiple applications for semiconductor device fabrication. For example, metallic tungsten (W) has been a primary conductor for contacts and vias. Metallic tungsten is also used in bit lines. The typical film stack in use currently is Ti/TiN nucleation/CVD-W bulk, with the titanium (Ti)/titanium nitride (TiN) layers acting as liner or barrier films.
While titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4)-based TiN processes provide improved step coverage, the deposition is usually performed at temperatures much greater than 400° C., which is incompatible with many device integration processes. Meanwhile, various issues arise with depositing and using TiN films, especially as feature sizes decrease. One problem with TiN is that TiN has poor diffusion resistance, so that halide elements such as Cl (in CVD-TiN with TiCl4) and F (in CVD-W bulk with WF6) may diffuse into the device during subsequent thermal processing, thereby adversely increasing resistivity of the film and cause interface issues. In addition, as circuit densities increase, the widths of vias, contacts and other features have been decreased to sub-micron dimensions less than 40 nm or 30 nm, leaving a limited or no space for low resistance CVD W bulk since the feature is already filled with CVD-TiN and high resistive CVD W nucleation layer. However, in the conventional TiN liner/barrier approach, CVD W bulk film does not grow on CVD-TiN unless a nucleation layer is deposited thereon first as a growth site for W bulk film.
Therefore, there is a need in various device integration processes for an improved integrated film stack with good barrier properties and reduced film stack resistivity while providing more room for subsequent low resistance gate metallization process.

Formation of liner and barrier for tungsten as gate electrode and as contact plug to reduce resistance and enhance device performance