A slide retaining device for an injection mold is disclosed. The slide retaining device has a device body which has a top surface and a bottom surface. A live bearing can be mounted in the device body such that a portion of the live bearing extends above a top surface of the device body. The device is secured such that the live bearing supports the travel of a slide. A shoulder surface is formed where a body head portion interfaces with a body base portion. A spring is disposed is around the body base portion such that a spring top is in communication with the shoulder surface, and a spring bottom extends below the bottom surface of the device body. The spring creates a “pre-load” force that will hold the slide in place. Optional washers can be added to the device to adjust the “pre-load”.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to injection molding devices, and more specifically to a device to retain a slide assembly portion of an injection mold.
2. Description of the Related Art
In typical injection molds, the mold cavity is created from plates that abut each other at a parting line. When the mold is opened, these plates move apart from one another such that the molded part can be removed or ejected. In many injection molds, the mold cavity is further defined by one or more pieces that move perpendicular to the plates as the mold is opened and closed. These perpendicularly moving pieces are attached to slides which typically are moved by angle pins. The angle pin is received through an angled bore extending through the slide. In normal opening movement of the mold, the angle pin forces the slide laterally away from the molded piece along a guided path.
It is desirable to retain the slide in the retracted position to prevent unintentional slide closure. Several slide retainers are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,645, issued to Feist (Feist retainers), discloses a slide retainer and positioner. The retainer in Feist includes a set of spring-biased jaws that grip an element, such as a pin or rod, installed on the slide when the slide is moved to the open position.
Another type of slide retainer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,226, issued to Vandenberg and assigned to the D-M-E Company of Madison Heights, Mich. (Vandenberg retainers). Vandenberg retainers are characterized by a circlular body having a lip section, and a flat key section formed on one side of the lip section. A plunger having an elongated rounded plunger head is received in a cavity formed in the body. A spring is held in the cavity by a threaded plug and biases the plunger head to extend up through an opening in the top of the body. The rounded plunger head is designed to mate with a groove formed in the bottom surface of the slide.
There are several drawbacks to slide retainers based on the Feist design. First, slide retainers having different holding strengths are not of uniform size, thus if the slide designer miscalculates the required necessary holding strength, a replacement slide retainer of greater or lesser holding strength will not fit in the pocket created for the original slide retainer. Furthermore, slide retainers according to the Feist design lack adjustability, meaning different retainers must be purchased for different holding strengths. Second, these slide retaining devices require complicated machining processes to facilitate their installation. Not only does the slide retainer have to be installed into a relatively large pocket, milled into the core plate of the injection molding machine, the pin or rod also has to be installed in the slide. Any misalignment of the retainer and the pin usually results in damage to the mold and mold components. Furthermore, the large pocket into which the slide retainer is installed takes up valuable space in the injection mold.
Similarly, there are several drawbacks to slide retainers based on the Vandenberg design. First, slide retainers having different holding strengths are not of uniform size, which leads to the same problems mentioned above. Like the Feist retainers, the Vandenberg retainers lack adjustability. Additionally, the installation process for the Vandenberg retainers requires complex milling operations, such as the milling for the lip section and key sections.
In addition to the cited slide retainers, there are other types of slide retainers commercially available. However, no commercially available slide retainers utilize a live bearing, which is a bearing that allows the slide to roll over the retainer until the slide reaches the end of its travel and is secured in place by the retainer.
There remains a need for a slide retaining device that offers improved retaining properties, adjustable retaining properties, a more compact size for improved installation and greater flexibility in mold design. Furthermore, there remains a need for a slide retaining device that employs a live bearing. Additionally, there remains a need for slide retaining device components that may be used to retrofit existing devices such that the improved slide retaining devices employ a live bearing.

Slide retaining device and method of installation

Progressive Components International Corporation


The present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for limiting authorization of an executable action to an application session. A method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises: generating an alert in response to an execution of an action in an application; and allowing a user to temporarily authorize the execution of the action for a current session of the application. The authorization for the execution of the action is removed when the current session of the application ends.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to controlling the execution of actions on a computer system, and more specifically relates to a method, system, and computer program product for limiting authorization of an executable action to an application session.
2. Related Art
Lotus Notes includes an Execution Control List (ECL) that allows users to control what code can be executed on a user's computer system based on who signed the code. The ECL enables users to protect their data and computer systems against viruses, Trojan horses, and other malicious code. The ECL provides a mechanism for managing whether such code should be allowed to execute and what level of access the code should be permitted. The ECL uses digital signatures to verify executable code. When an attempt is made to execute a piece of code, Lotus Notes verifies the digital signature on the code and then looks for the user's ECL settings to determine whether the action can be executed or whether the user should be prompted. If the signer of the code is found in the user's ECL (either explicitly as part of an organization) and the appropriate capability is enabled, the code is executed seamlessly. If the signer's name is not found in the ECL or is found but the capability is not selected, the user is prompted with an Execution Security Alert dialog box showing the action to be performed, who it was signed by (and how the signature was verified), and the capability that is not allowed with the current ECL settings. An example of an Execution Security Alert dialog box 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown, the Execution Security Alert dialog box 10 is configured to prompt a user for which option to take in response to the alert. The options include:    (1) "Do NOT execute the action";    (2) "Execute the action this one time"; and    (3) "Start trusting the signer to execute the action" (i.e., add the signer to the user's ECL).
The second option, "Execute the action this one time" is meant to handle the case where the user does not want to trust the signer forever for a particular action, but wants to allow execution of the action this one time. Unfortunately, the Execution Security Alert dialog box 10 may pop up many times if this action occurs repeatedly during the running of a program, requiring the user to select the second option over and over again. When this situations occurs, it is not unusual for the user to simply select option three, thus allowing the program to perform the action at any time in the future. This has the undesirable effect of reducing security on the user's computer system, as the action may be executed at any time in the future without the user being alerted.
Sun Java JAAS (Java Authentication and Authorization Service) provides another model for fine tuning execution control permissions. In this model, a policy file is used to indicate that an entity represented by a principal, executing a specified code, has a designated permission. This is an all or nothing permission model, and the permission is persistent until the policy file is updated. Unfortunately, over time, users will often trade security for more convenience in this type of all or nothing model by always granting permission, thus exposing their computer systems to security threats.
Another model for fine tuning execution control permissions is used mostly in relational databases. This model is very similar to the Sun Java JAAS model. In particular, a user is granted (read, write, delete) permission against some data element in the database. In this model, as in the Sun Java JAAS model, the permission is either all or nothing; either a user has permission until further intervention or the user has no permission.

Method, system, and computer program product for limiting authorization of an executable action to an application session

International Business Machines Corporation


Polypeptides whose expression is upregulated in liver tumor cells and cells from liver preneoplastic foci relative to expression in normal liver cells are disclosed as are polynucleotides that encode the polypeptides. In humans, the polynucleotide maps to a region of chromosome 15. The overexpression has also been confirmed in human liver, breast, colon and kidney cancer cell lines. It is believed that the polypeptides are overexpressed in tumor and preneoplastic cells in general.

Primary liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer worldwide with approximately half a million cases reported in 1990. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 80% of all liver cancer and the rates of HCC have increased by over 70% in the last two decades in the U.S. The fatality ratio (mortality/incidence) of liver cancer is approximately 1, indicating that the majority of patients live less than a year. Late diagnosis due to lack of clinical symptoms is one of the main reasons for the high fatality ratio.
Liver cancer can result from both viral infection and chemical exposure. Known risk factors include hepatitis B and C virus infection and exposure to aflatoxin β1. It is not known whether distinct routes to liver cancer affect the same or different cellular pathways. No mutational model has yet been developed for liver cancer as it has been for other cancers such as colon cancer. The molecular events that precede neoplastic transformation of the liver are not well understood. With no clearly identified cause, successful treatment options are lacking. In fact, the specific genes that are deregulated in liver cancer have not yet been enumerated. This is a critical first step in developing a successful strategy for treating liver cancer.
There is a pressing need to understand the molecular events associated with the development of liver cancer, both in humans and in animal model systems where liver cancer is extensively studied, and to provide diagnostic and therapeutic reagents for treating same.


A key-engaging part structure which realizes an efficient formation of a key-engaging part in an axial-hole member is provided. A key-engaging through hole is formed in a key-engaging part of an axial-hole member while both and portions of the axial-hole member leave intact such that the key-engaging through hole is bored through the axial-hole member in the radial direction. The key-engaging part is formed using this through hole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a key-engaging part of an axial-hole member and a key-engaging part structure to be used in industrial devices, transport devices, and so on.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it is well known in the art that there is a method for allowing a power transmission between a shaft and an axial-hole member. Such a conventional method comprises the steps of: forming a key way in the axial-hole member having the shaft and an axial hole in which the shaft can be.-fit; and engaging a key with the key way to make a connection between the shaft and the axial-hole member.
In the case of the axial hole being bored in the axial-hole member in the axial direction, the key way can be formed in the axial-hole member by inserting a cutting tool such as a broach from the one end of the axial hole to the other end thereof in the axial direction.
On the other hand, in the case of a non-penetrated axial hole having one closed end in the axial direction, a broach or the like cannot be inserted through the axial hole. In the prior art, therefore, a key way is formed in the axial-hole member using a slotter.
As shown in FIG. 14, the slotter is a machine tool for making a key way 204 by the steps of contacting a bite (i.e., a cutting tool) 202 with the inner peripheral side of an axial hole 200 and reciprocally moving the cutting tool 202 in the axial direction, while gradually moving the cutting tool 202 outward in the radial direction.
However, the key way processing using such a slotter requires to move the bite 202 back and forth many times in the axial direction in order to finish a key way 204, resulting in problems where the machining of key way is inefficient and a machining cost is high.


A security device and an information processing device capable of maintaining information useful for confirming a occurrence of a crime which include a switch that is provided so as to be operable with a hand that holds a housing, a light-emitting element that emits pulsed light in accordance with the operation of the switch, an imaging unit that performs imaging in an emission direction of the pulsed light and supplies image information, and a communication unit that transmits the image information to a communication network are provided. This structure allows a user to emit the pulsed light to an assailant, which prevents crimes and transmit to the communication network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an object, a method, or a manufacturing method, or relates to a process, a machine, manufacture, or a composition of matter. In particular, the present invention relates to, for example, a semiconductor device, a display device, a light-emitting device, a power storage device, a lighting device, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. Particularly, the present invention relates to, for example, a security device or an information processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The social infrastructures relating to means for transmitting information have advanced. This has made it possible to acquire, process, and send out many pieces and various kinds of information with the use of an information processing device not only at home or office but also at other visiting places.
With this being the situation, portable information processing devices are under active development.
An organic EL element can be formed into a film shape; thus, a large-area element can easily be formed. Therefore, the organic EL element has a high utility value as a surface light source that can be applied to lighting or the like.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lighting device including an organic EL element.

Security device and information processing device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


There is provided a positive electrode for an alkaline secondary battery and an alkaline secondary battery having good output properties and cycle life. To that end, a positive electrode (10) for alkaline secondary battery is obtained by laminating a flexible metal substrate (11) having flexibility; a primer layer (12) having conductivity provided on one or both surfaces of the substrate (11); and a positive electrode composite material layer (13) provided on the primer layer (12) and containing a positive electrode active material, a binder resin, and a first conductive material.

In recent years, small portable electronic devices, such as a digital camera and a cellular phone, have been widely used. The electronic devices have been always demanded to minimize the volume and reduce the mass. Also in a battery to be mounted, the realization of a small, lightweight, and large-capacity battery has been demanded. On the other hand, also in a large secondary battery to be mounted in a bus, a track, and the like, the realization of a large secondary battery which is lightweight and has high output performance has been desired in place of a conventional lead storage battery.
In order to satisfy such a demand, the development of an alkaline secondary battery, such as a nickel hydrogen secondary battery, and a nonaqueous secondary battery, such as a lithium ion battery, has been actively performed. In order to realize the enhancement of the performance of a battery, an improvement of an electrode has been examined.
A nickel hydrogen secondary battery for use in a substation, an automobile, a train, and the like has been required to have a higher output, a higher voltage, and a higher capacity as compared with those for use in conventional dry batteries and portable devices, for example. Therefore, a large nickel hydrogen secondary battery needs to be used. When a nickel hydrogen secondary battery is mounted in a vehicle, regenerative power generated in braking is stored in the mounted nickel hydrogen secondary battery, so that the mounted nickel hydrogen secondary battery is usable as the power source of the vehicle. Therefore, the operation energy efficiency of the vehicle can be increased. Herein, when the regenerative power is charged into the nickel hydrogen secondary battery, the regenerative power needs to be rapidly charged with a large current. On the other hand, when the vehicle is driven using the nickel hydrogen secondary battery, the regenerative power needs to be rapidly discharged with a large current.
In general, in a positive electrode for an alkaline secondary battery including a nickel hydrogen battery, porous substrates, such as foamed nickel, are used as a collector (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2). The porous substrate is filled with nickel hydroxide powder, the surface of which is covered with cobalt hydroxide, cobalt oxyhydroxide, or the like or nickel hydroxide powder to which a cobalt compound, such as cobalt hydroxide or cobalt oxide, is added. The cobalt hydroxide, cobalt oxide, and the like are changed to cobalt oxyhydroxide in charging to exhibit high electrical conductivity to form a fine conductive network between nickel hydroxide particles.

Positive electrode for alkaline secondary battery and alkaline secondary battery


A low power reconfigurable processor core includes one or more processing units, each unit having a clock input that controls the performance of the unit; and a controller having a plurality of clock outputs each coupled to a respective clock input of one of the processing units, the controller varying the clock frequency of each processing unit to optimize power consumption and processing power for a task.

The present invention relates to a low power electronic device.
Advances in technology have allowed ever increasing functional products that cost less. Due to the increasing functionality, power consumption for each device has also increased. For certain products such as laptop or notebook computers, handheld computers, cellular telephones, and other wireless personal digital assistants that are designed for situations where power outlets are not available, the conservation of power is particularly important.
While portability requires compact, highly integrated devices to decrease size and weight, portable devices are not necessarily simplistic devices. For example, to handle wireless signal processing, cell phones and wireless handheld devices require intensive calculation and processing. One way to achieve high performance is to apply parallelism in the processing of instructions. For example, multiple execution units can be operated in parallel under the control of a dispatcher to permit simultaneous processing of instructions. While the use of multiple parallel-operated execution units increases the performance of the computer, this results in increased power consumption. Even though multiple parallel execution units increase the performance of the processor, power is wasted when some of the execution units are idle or performing no operations during various time intervals.
Designers have used various techniques for reducing power consumption of the processor. For example, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,807 to Maher, et al., the speed of the system clock is reduced to a fraction of the normal operating frequency during periods of inactivity. Since the power consumption of the processor is proportional to the frequency, reducing the frequency of the system clock also reduces the power consumption of the microprocessor. A second technique for reducing power turns off the system clock during periods of inactivity. Turning off the system clock affects all circuitry on the motherboard. Consequently, the circuitry that disables the system clock must also save all pertinent information in the microprocessor and associated board logic and restore the data upon resumption of activity such that the state of the computer after resumption of the system clock will be identical to the state of the computer prior to disabling the system clock. As a result, this technique for consuming power is both costly because of the complicated circuitry and slow because of the need to store and restore the state of the computer.
In clocked synchronous digital systems, a typical design style revolves around a single clock rate that drives all clocked elements of the design. Power is managed by turning on or off the clock to subsets of the system. Alternatively power may also be managed by slowing down the clock to a fraction of its normally active rate. For example, the Oak DSP features a "slow mode" whereby a DSP core may be software configured to divide its input clock by an integer N. The Oak processor is described at www.dspg.com/prodtech/core/teak.htm.
More recently, designs may rely on dynamic voltage management in order to reduce power consumption as in the Intel Xscale architecture; this however cannot be performed instantly and is targeted at relatively infrequent mode or usage changes. In one implementation of the Intel Xscale for mobile processing applications, the Intel 80200 processor, a single processor core, accepts an input clock frequency of 33 to 66 MHz and uses an internal PLL to lock to the input clock and multiplies the frequency by a variable multiplier to produce a high-speed core clock. This multiplier is initially configured by the PLL configuration pin and can be changed anytime later by software. Software has the ability to change the frequency of the clock without having to reset the core. Changing the clock frequency is similar to entering a low power mode. First, the core is stalled waiting for all processing to complete, second the new configuration is programmed, and then finally the core waits for the PLL to re-lock. This feature allows software to conserve power by matching the core frequency to the current workload.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A fluid flow engine (1), in particular a turbo engine, has at least one guide vane row (5) with a plurality of guide vanes (6) and at least one rotor blade row (7) with a plurality of rotor blades (8). One guide vane row (5) and one rotor blade row (7) that follows the former directly downstream with respect to a working gas flow (11), together form a stage (10) of the fluid flow engine (1). To reduce the load on the rotor blades (8), the guide vanes (6) and the rotor blades (8) are coordinated at least in one stage (10) so that in a reference relative position between the respective guide vane (6) and the respective rotor blade (8), there is an axial distance (B) and a circumferential distance (C) between the outgoing flow edge (16) of the respective guide vane (6) and the oncoming flow edge (17) of the respective rotor blade (8) that is measured in the axial direction and is varied along a height (H) of a gas path (12) running axially between the blade rows (5, 7) of this stage (10), said height being measured radially.

1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to a fluid flow engine, and in particular to a turbo engine.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
A fluid flow engine, in particular a turbo engine, e.g., a gas turbine, a steam turbine, or a compressor, usually has a stator and a rotor which is mounted in the stator to rotate about an axis of rotation. At least one guide vane row is formed on the stator, having a plurality of guide vanes arranged side by side in the circumferential direction with regard to the axis of rotation. The rotor has at least one rotor blade row having a plurality of rotor blades adjacent to one another with regard to the axis of rotation. One guide vane row and one rotor vane row following the former directly downstream with regard to a working gas flow form one step or pressure step of the fluid flow engine. During operation of the fluid flow engine, the rotor blades are exposed to extremely high loads in particular, which has effects on the lifetime of the rotor blades. To improve the economic aspect of the fluid flow engine, it is desirable to prolong the lifetime of the blades, in particular the rotor blades.
Fluid flow engines having the aforementioned features are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 411,387, Swiss Patent No. 492,866, U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,438, and German Patent Document number DE 4228879, and offer a comparatively long lifetime of the vanes. Furthermore JP57-018405, JP2001-221006, JP2005-220797 and EP0916812 show fluid flow engines wherein at least the axial distance between the outgoing flow edges of the vanes is varied along a radially measured height of the gas path running between the guide and the rotor vanes.
Many efforts have been made but an optimal design of the guide and rotor vanes has not been found.


A device for imaging scenes with a very large range of intensity having a pair of polarizers, a primary lens, an attenuating mask, and an imaging device optically connected along an optical axis. Preferably, a secondary lens, positioned between the attenuating mask and the imaging device is used to focus light on the imaging device. The angle between the first polarization direction and the second polarization direction is adjustable.

Various imaging devices, such as charge-coupled devices (CCD), charge-injection devices (CID), and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imaging devices have been extensively used for imaging scenes in many situations. In some situations, for example, when imaging welding scenes involving bright arcs and molten pools, imaging military activities having ammunition flashes or vehicle headlights, or imaging extra-solar planets having a vastly brighter parent star, the dynamic range of the intensity of light from the scenes can greatly exceed the dynamic range of the imaging device used.
To prevent the imaging device used from being partially or fully saturated, various methods have been used to attenuate the intensity and thereby increase the contrast of the bright areas of the scenes. Such methods comprise shuttering or filtering which globally reduce the intensity of light from the scenes, irrespective of bright areas or dimmer areas of the scenes.
Shuttering is a method for reducing light globally by reducing the exposure time of the imaging devices to the light from the scenes. By mechanically shuttering the light from the scenes to the imaging devices periodically, or by electronically discharging the imaging devices periodically, shuttering globally reduces the total amount of light. Filtering also globally reduces light from the scenes by attenuating light using one or more filters.
Another method of preventing the imaging device from being partially or fully saturated is high intensity light illumination. In high intensity light illumination, dimmer areas of the scenes are illuminated using flashlamps or lasers to provide a more uniform illumination throughout the scene. Shuttering synchronized with the external illumination or other global means of intensity reduction can then be used to bring the dynamic range of the entire scenes into conformity with the dynamic range of the imaging device. However, high intensity light illumination requires high energy consumption. Furthermore, in some situations, for example, imaging extra-solar planets having a vastly brighter parent star, the scenes to be imaged cannot be illuminated using flashlamps or lasers.

Device for imaging scenes with very large ranges of intensity

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Energy


A method and system for integrating user-defined objects into a business management application. A mode is selected with which to add a user-defined object in the application having a base class of objects with a base class of services. Information is received to define the user-defined object. A selection is received of at least one service from the base class of services to be associated with the user-defined object. At least one field associated with the user-defined object is received for display. Additional information may be received to define a son object of the user-defined object. Business logic may be received to be added to the application. The user-defined object and related information are registered with the application. The integrated user-defined object thereby automatically inherits the selected at least one service from the base class of services of the business management application.

It is common that organizations using commercial off-the-shelf business management software application (accounting, logistics, and customer relationship management software) need to extend the software to meet their specific requirements. However, without a new object having unrestricted access to the base class of objects in the business management software application, and without the ability to integrate new objects into the base class, the functionality that can be added is limited. Current business management software applications do not directly support extending the business management software to provide these capabilities to a new object without custom programming to handle data persistence and retrieval, document numbering, logging, user-interface design, and other application services.
Therefore, an automated method and system to permit the automatic incorporation of user-defined objects into business management software is highly desirable.

Method and system for integrating user-defined objects into a business management application


The invention encompasses integrated circuitry which includes a semiconductive material substrate and a first field effect transistor supported by the substrate. The first field effect transistor comprises a first transistor gate assembly which includes a first layer of conductively doped semiconductive material and only one layer of conductive nitride. The integrated circuitry further comprises a second field effect transistor supported by the substrate. The second field effect transistor comprises a second transistor gate assembly which includes a second layer of conductively doped semiconductor material and at least two layers of conductive nitride. The invention also encompasses a field effect transistor assembly which includes a channel region and an insulative material along the channel region. The transistor assembly further includes a gate stack proximate the channel region. The gate stack includes a first conductive nitride layer separated from the channel region by the insulative material. The stack further includes a conductively doped semiconductive material proximate the first conductive nitride layer, and a second conductive nitride layer separated from the first conductive nitride layer by the conductively doped semiconductive material. Additionally, the invention encompasses methods of forming field effect transistors, and methods of forming integrated circuitry.

The invention pertains to integrated circuitry, field effect transistor assemblies, methods of forming field effect transistors, and methods of forming integrated circuitry.
A prior art semiconductive wafer fragment 10 is shown in FIG. 1. Wafer fragment 10 comprises a memory array region 12 and a region 14 peripheral to memory array region 12. Wafer fragment 10 further comprises a semiconductive material substrate 16. Substrate 16 can comprise, for example, a monocrystalline silicon wafer lightly background doped with a p-type dopant. To aid in interpretation of the claims that follow, the terms xe2x80x9csemiconductive substratexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9csemiconductor substratexe2x80x9d are defined to mean any construction comprising semiconductive material, including, but not limited to, bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductive wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). The term xe2x80x9csubstratexe2x80x9d refers to any supporting structure, including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrates described above.
A memory array transistor gate 18 is formed over memory array region 12. Transistor gate 18 comprises a stack of materials including gate dielectric 22, a conductively doped polysilicon 24, a metal silicide 26, and an insulative cap 28. Gate dielectric 22 can comprise, for example, silicon dioxide or tantalum pentoxide. Conductively doped polysilicon 24 can be doped to a concentration of, for example, greater than 109 atoms/cm3 with either n-type or p-type conductivity enhancing dopant. Metal silicide 26 can comprise, for example, titanium silicide. Finally, insulative cap 28 can comprise, for example, silicon dioxide or silicon nitride. Alternatively, cap 28 can comprise a stack of materials including an antireflective coating and other insulative materials such as, for example, silicon nitride. The antireflective coating can comprise, for example, a deposited antireflective coating (DARC).
Sidewalls 30 are provided adjacent the transistor gate, and can comprise, for example, silicon dioxide or silicon nitride.
Source/drain regions 32 are provided within substrate 12 proximate gate 18, and together with gate 18 form an operative field effect transistor device 33. Source/drain regions 32 are typically doped with n-type conductivity-enhancing dopant.
A peripheral transistor gate 20 is formed over peripheral region 14. Transistor gate 20 comprises a stack of gate dielectric 40, conductively doped polysilicon 42, metal silicide 44, and an insulative cap 46. Gate dielectric 40, conductively doped polysilicon 42, silicide 44 and insulative cap 46 can comprise materials such as those discussed above pertaining to gate dielectric 22, conductively doped polysilicon 24, silicide 26 and cap 28, respectively.
Sidewalls 48 are provided adjacent gate stack 20, and source/drain regions 50 are provided within substrate 16 proximate to gate stack 20. Source/drain regions 50 and gate stack 20 together form a functional field effect transistor 53. Source/drain regions 50 can be doped with p-type conductivity enhancing dopant or n-type conductivity enhancing dopant to form either a p-type metal-oxide semiconductor (PMOS) or n-type metal-oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistor. Such transistor can be incorporated into, for example, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry.
The functions of transistors 33 and 53 are different, and accordingly problems associated with gates 18 and 20 can be somewhat different. For instance, a problem associated with transistor gates in a memory array (such as, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) array) is leakage current between source and drain regions, and a problem associated with peripheral transistor gates is the speed of a change from an off-current to an on-current. The above-mentioned problems can be differently affected by a thickness of a gate dielectric material. Accordingly, there has been an effort to vary the thickness of dielectric material 40 of the peripheral transistor 53 relative to the thickness of dielectric material 22 of memory array transistor 33. Ideally, dielectric material 22 would be as thin as possible, and dielectric material 40 would be somewhat thicker. Presently, dielectric materials can be formed to thicknesses of as little as about 50 Angstroms, but it has proved difficult to reliably form the materials thinner than 50 Angstroms. Such difficulty results from the inherent size and spacing of atoms. For instance, a silicon structure will typically have about a 5.3 Angstrom separation between atoms. Accordingly, a gate dielectric comprising silicon and which is 50 Angstroms thick will have a maximum of 10 monolayers of silicon atoms. Thus, even small inhomogeneities within or between the monolayers can significantly impact the uniformity of a material comprising the layers, and accordingly destroy device operation of transistor gate devices formed utilizing such material.
It would be desirable to develop alternative methods and structures for controlling physical and electrical properties of transistor gates.
In one aspect, the invention encompasses integrated circuitry. Such circuitry includes a semiconductive material substrate and a first field effect transistor supported by the substrate. The first field effect transistor comprises a first transistor gate assembly which includes a first layer of conductively doped semiconductive material and only one layer of conductive nitride. The integrated circuitry further comprises a second field effect transistor supported by the substrate. The second field effect transistor comprises a second transistor gate assembly which includes a second layer of conductively doped semiconductor material and at least two layers of conductive nitride.
In another aspect, the invention encompasses a field effect transistor assembly. Such assembly includes a substrate and source/drain regions supported by the substrate. A channel region is defined between the source/drain regions, and the transistor assembly includes an insulative material along the channel region. The transistor assembly further includes a gate stack proximate the channel region. The gate stack includes a first conductive nitride layer separated from the channel region by the insulative material. The stack further includes a conductively doped semiconductive material proximate the first conductive nitride layer, and a second conductive nitride layer separated from the first conductive nitride layer by the conductively doped semiconductive material.
In yet other aspects, the invention encompasses methods of forming field effect transistors, and methods of forming integrated circuitry.

Methods of forming field effect transistors and integrated circuitry


A communication terminal adaptor, or an automatic dialer, for connecting a communication terminal such as a facsimile apparatus and a telephone line network, is capable of handling both the push button signal and the dial pulse signal in mixed manner, and transmitting the identification information of the communication terminal, stored in advance in the adaptor, upon receiving the tone prompt signal from the destination station without referring to the communication terminal. Thus the telephone connection can be made in simpler and more prompt manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication terminal adaptor to be used between a communication terminal such as a facsimile apparatus and a telephone network.
2. Related Background Art
An automatic dialer for telephone line (hereinafter referred to simply as autodialer) is a device present between a communication terminal such as a telephone unit with contracted dialing function or a facsimile apparatus of G3 format and a telephone network, for decoding the content of said contracted dialing and automatically dialing to the destination based on thus decoded in format ion.
Such conventional autodialer is provided with a memory for registering information for transmission, and sends a continuous signal in the form of a PB (push button) signal or a DP (dial pulse) signal to the telephone network, based on said information for transmission, when a key of the autodialer is manually operated or when the autodialer is activated from an operation of the terminal.
However, such conventional autodialer is designed, in case of transmitting the information registered in said memory to the telephone network, so as to release a group of information elements in the form of a continuous signal as explained above, so that the PB signal and the DP signal cannot be used in mixed manner in a group of information elements. Thus, if transmission of information by the PB signal is required in a communication channel for the DP signal, it is necessary to make connection with the destination by the autodialer with a DP signal and then to send the PB signal from the terminal.
Also in a VAN (value-added network) service or a server unit, in designating the service thereof or the ID information with a DTMF (dual-tone multifrequency) signal in the form of PB signal, it is often required to confirm a short signal (hereinafter called tone prompt signal) released from such apparatus, prior to the transmission of the DTMF signal. In such case, with the conventional autodialer, it is necessary to make the connection with the destination by the operation of said dialer, then to confirm the tone prompt signal transmitted from the telephone network by the terminal, and to transmit the DTMF signal from the terminal.


The invention provides methods for producing products comprising improved host cells genetically engineered to have uncoupled productive and catabolic pathways. In particular, the present invention provides host cells having a modification in nucleic acid encoding an endogenous enzymatic activity that phosphorylates D-glucose at its 6th carbon and/or a modification of nucleic acid encoding an enzymatic activity that phosphorylates D-gluconate at its 6th carbon. Such improved host cells are used for the production of products, such as, ascorbic acid intermediates. Methods for making and using the improved host cells are provided. Nucleic acid and amino acid sequences for glucokinase and gluconokinase are provided.

In the initial stage of host cell carbohydrate metabolism, that is, glycolysis, each glucose molecule is converted to two molecules of pyruvate in the cytosol. The chemical reactions that convert glucose to pyruvate are referred to as the Embden-Meyerhoff pathway. All of the metabolic intermediates between the initial carbohydrate and the final product, pyruvate, are phosphorylated compounds. The final stage of oxidation of carbohydrates, the citric acid cycle, is a complex set of reactions that also takes place in the cytosol. The reactions in the Embden-Meyerhoff pathway and citric acid cycle result in the conversion of carbohydrate molecules to CO2 molecules with the concomitant reduction of NAD+ to NADH molecules and the formation of ATP.
The central metabolic routes produce NADH or NADPH. In general NADPH is utilized in biosynthetic reactions and NADH is rapidly reoxidized in two ways:                (1) In fermentative pathways by the direct reduction of organic metabolites.        (2) In respiratory processes by electron transport through a respiratory chain to a terminal electron acceptor. This acceptor is usually O2, but in some cases can be productive ions, including nitrate and sulfate. In all respiratory processes, ATP is generated.
Some bacteria posses the ability to oxidize some substrates extracellularly, producing useful oxidation products such as L-sorbose, D-gluconate, keto-gluconates, etc. Such oxidation reactions are called productive fermentation since they involve incomplete substrate oxidation, accompanying accumulation of corresponding oxidation product in large amounts in the growth medium. The oxidation reaction is coupled to the respiratory chain of the microorganism. (Bacterial Metabolism 2nd Edition (1985) Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y.).
Bacteria which ferment glucose through the Embden-Meyerhof pathway, such as members of Enterobacteriacea and Vibrionaceae, are described in Bouvet, et al. (1989) International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, 39:61-67. Pathways for metabolism of ketoaldonic acids in Erwinia sp. are described in Truesdell, et al, (1991) Journal of Bacteriology, 173:6651-6656.
Host cells having mutations in enzymes involved in glycolysis have been described. Yeast having mutations in glucokinase are described in Harrod, et al. (1997) J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 18:379-383; Wedlock, et al. (1989) J. Gen. Microbiol. 135: 2013-2018; and Walsh et al. (1983) J. Bacteriol. 154:1002-1004. Bacteria deficient in glucokinase have been described. Pediococcus sp. deficient in glucokinase is described in Japanese patent publication JP 4267860. Bacillus sphaericus lacking glucokinase is described in Russell et al. (1989) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 55: 294-297. Penicillium chrysogenum deficient in glucokinase is described in Barredo et al.(1988) Antimicrob. Agents-Chemother 32: 1061-1067. A glucokinase-deficient mutant of Zymomonas mobilis is described in DiMarco et al. (1985) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 49:151-157.
Many bacteria posses an active transport system known as Phosphotransferase transport System (PTS) that couples the transport of a carbon source to its phosphorylation. In this system, the phosphoryl group is transferred sequentially from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to enzyme I and from enzyme I to protein HPr. The actual translocation step is catalyzed by a family of membrane bound enzymes (called enzyme II), each of which is specific for one or a few carbon sources. Considering that PTS consumes PEP to phosphorylate the carbon source, and PEP is a central metabolite used in for many biosynthetic reactions, it may decrease the efficiency of conversion of a carbon source into a desired product. this transport system has been replaced by a permease and glucokinase from an heterologous origin as described by Parker et al. (1995) Mol. Microbiol. 15: 795-802. or homologous origin as reported by Flores et al. (1996) Nat. Biotechnol. 14: 620-623. In both of these 2 examples, the function of the PTS system for glucose transport and phosphorylation was replaced by a glucose permease and a glucokinase activities.
Products of commercial interest that have been produced biocatalytically in genetically engineered host cells include intermediates of L-ascorbic acid; 1,3-propanediol; glycerol; D-gluconic acid; aromatic amino acids; 3-deozy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate (DAHP); and catechol, among others.
L-Ascorbic acid (vitamin C, ASA) finds use in the pharmaceutical and food industry as a vitamin and antioxidant. The synthesis of ASA has received considerable attention over many years due to its relatively large market volume and high value as a specialty chemical.
The Reichstein-Grussner method, a chemical synthesis route from glucose to ASA, was first disclosed in 1934 (Helv. Chim. Acta 17:311-328). Lazarus et al. (1989, "Vitamin C: Bioconversion via a Recombinant DNA Approach", Genetics and Molecular Biology of Industrial Microorganisms, American Society for Microbiology, Washington D.C. Edited by C. L. Hershberger) disclose a bioconversion method for production of an intermediate of ASA, 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2-KLG, KLG) which can be chemically converted to ASA. This bioconversion of carbon source to KLG involves a variety of intermediates, the enzymatic process being associated with co-factor dependent 2,5-DKG reductase activity (2,5-DKGR or DKGR).
Many bacterial species have been found to contain DKGR, particularly members of the Coryneform group, including the genera Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, and Arthrobacter. DKGR obtained from Corynebacterium sp. strain SHS752001 is described in Grindley et al. (1988, Applied and Environmental Microbiology 54:1770-1775). DKGR from Erwinia herbicola is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,193 to Anderson et al. Other reductases are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,795,761; 5,376,544; 5,583,025; 4,757,012; 4,758,514; 5,004,690; and 5,032,514.
1,3-Propanediol is an intermediate in the production of polyester fibers and the manufacture of polyurethane and cyclic compounds. The production of 1,3-propanediol is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,025,184 and 5,686,286. 1,3-propanediol can be produced by the fermentation of glycerol. The production of glycerol is described in TWO 99/28480 and TWO 98/21340.
D-gluconic acid and its derivatives have been used commercially as agents in textile bleaching and detergents. The production of D-gluconic acid in Bacillus species lacking gluconokinase activity and having high glucose dehydrogenase activity is described in TWO 92/18637.
The production of members of the aspartate family of amino acids is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,307. The production of riboflavin (Vitamin B2) is described in TWO 99/61623.
Many cyclic and aromatic metabolites are derived from DHAP including tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine. The production of DAHP is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,617. Catechol is a starting material for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, flavors, fragrances and polymerization inhibitors. The production of catechol is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,073.
However, there are still problems associated with these production methodologies. One such problem is the diversion of carbon substrates from the desired productive pathways to the catabolic pathways. Such diversion results in the loss of available carbon substrate material for conversion to the desired productive pathway products and resultant energy costs, ATP or NADPH, associated with the transport or phosphorylation of the substrate for catabolic pathway use.
In spite of the advances made in the production of products by host cells, there remains a need for improved host cells for use in the production of desired products. The present invention addresses that need.

Method of uncoupling the catabolic pathway of glycolysis from the oxidative membrane bound pathway of glucose conversion


A hydraulic tool for safely separating one multipin electrical connector from another. The preferred separation tool consists of a master cylinder which operates a pair of slave cylinders, each slave cylinder having a corresponding operative shaft and an extraction tab. The slave cylinders are variably spaced apart from one another such that they may be positioned on either side of mated connector pairs of different sizes and so that their extraction tabs may be slid between the connectors. When the master cylinder's plunger is operated, such operation is hydraulically transmitted to the operative shafts of the slave cylinders which extend outward and, once pressed against a substrate, causes the slave cylinders and corresponding extractor tabs to move away and separate one connector from the other. A second preferred separation tool includes an additional pair of extractor tabs, one at the end of each operative shaft, so that the tool can be used to separated a mated connector pair hanging in free space. The extractor tabs may be notched in order to be inserted between the connectors around mounting hardware used to secure the connectors to each other.

There are many known devices for extracting electronic components. However, none of the known devices are particularly well suited for separating mated multipin connectors of various sizes.
For example, there are numerous hand-held devices for removing an integrated circuit (IC) from a corresponding socket. ICs typically come in either dual-in-line pin (DIP) packages or in flat pack packages. Accordingly, the known hand-held removal devices are generally directed to one package type or the other.
Examples of hand-held extractors for DIP packages are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,785,033 and 4,389,912. The foregoing patents disclose tweezer-like devices which grip the underside of the DIP package on opposite sides thereof so that a person may manually pull the DIP package up and away from the associated connector.
More complicated devices for extracting DIP packages are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,443,297, 3,579,795, and 3,990,863. Each of these patents discloses a bridge-like component that is braced against the substrate on either side of the DIP package and a jaw-like member that is located around the DIP package to pull it up and away.
Typical devices for the extraction of flat package ICs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,516,142, 4,521,959, 4,583,287, and 4,660,281.
Although there are numerous devices designed to extract various integrated circuits, there are no known devices suitable for quickly, easily, and safely separating one multipin electrical connector from another. Electronic devices are often attached to other electronic devices by such electrical connectors. An example of such an electronic connector is the standard "RS-232" connector provided on the back of many computers. RS-232 connectors are provided with 25 pins. For some systems, such as flight hardware, the electrical connectors can have 50 pins or more.
The difficulty in separating one connector from another is directly related to the number of pins. Each pin connection typically results in two to three ounces of retention pressure. The connectors are easily damaged when removed by hand, because it is difficult to apply even pressure across the connector. When the connectors are removed by rocking or by insertion of a screwdriver or such, the connectors themselves are often damaged or the pins bent during the separation process.
None of the known extraction devices for ICs are designed for separating multipin connectors which, at the present time, may have anywhere from 9 to 50 pins.

Separation tool for multipin electrical connectors

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


The method and the device according to the invention are used to sterilize preforms (1) made of a thermoplastic material that are intended for producing blow-molded containers. During the sterilization, a sterilizing agent is introduced into the area of the preform (1). The sterilizing agent is discharged at least partially from at least one nozzle (44) in the direction of the preform (1). An average direction (45) of the escape of the sterilizing agent from the nozzle (44) is provided with an angle of inclination (46) from a longitudinal axis (47) of the preform (1).

The invention concerns a method for sterilizing preforms that are made of a thermoplastic material and are intended for the production of blow-molded containers, in which a sterilizing agent is introduced into the area of the preform and in which the preforms are heated before they are blow molded.
In addition, the invention concerns a device for blow molding at least partly sterile containers by deforming a preform, said device having a delivery device for applying a sterilizing agent to at least part of the preform.
Finally, the invention concerns a device for sterilizing preforms that are made of a thermoplastic material and are intended for the production of blow-molded containers. The invention also comprises a device for producing at least partly sterile containers made of a thermoplastic material.
The invention also concerns a device for blow molding containers, which has at least one blowing station mounted on a support structure for blow molding thermoplastic preforms into containers.
Sterile blow-molded containers are typically produced by sterilizing the containers with hydrogen peroxide or other chemicals after they have been blow molded and before they are filled with a product. It is also well known that the preforms used as the starting product in the blow molding of the containers can be sterilized, especially the area of the inner surface of the preforms.
In container molding by the action of blowing pressure, preforms made of a thermoplastic material, for example, preforms made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), are fed to different processing stations within a blow-molding machine. A blow-molding machine of this type typically has a heating system and a blowing system, in which the preform, which has first been brought to a desired temperature, is expanded by biaxial orientation to form a container. The expansion is effected by means of compressed air, which is fed into the preform to be expanded. DE-OS 43 40 291 explains the process-engineering sequence in this type of expansion of the preform.
The basic structure of a blowing station for container molding is described in DE-OS 42 12 583. Possible means of bringing the preforms to the desired temperature are explained in DE-OS 23 52 926.
Various handling devices can be used to convey the preforms and the blow-molded containers within the blow-molding device. The use of transport mandrels, onto which the preforms are slipped, has proven especially effective. However, the preforms can also be handled with other supporting devices. Other available designs are grippers for handling the preforms and expanding mandrels, which can be inserted in the mouth region of the preform to support the preform.
The handling of containers with the use of transfer wheels is described, for example, in DE-OS 199 06 438 with the transfer wheel arranged between a blowing wheel and a delivery line.
The above-explained handling of the preforms occurs, for one thing, in so-called two-step processes, in which the preforms are first produced by injection molding and temporarily stored and then later conditioned with respect to their temperature and blown into containers. For another, the preforms can be handled in so-called one-step processes, in which the preforms are first produced by injection molding and allowed to solidify sufficiently and are then immediately suitably conditioned with respect to their temperature and then blow molded.
With respect to the blowing stations that are used, various embodiments are known. In the case of blowing stations that are arranged on rotating transport wheels, book-like opening of the mold supports is often encountered. However, it is also possible to use mold supports that can be moved relative to each other or that are supported in a different way. In stationary blowing stations, which are suitable especially for accommodating several cavities for container molding, plates arranged parallel to one another are typically used as mold supports.
With respect to the sterilization of preforms, various prior-art methods and devices already exist, but they all have process-specific disadvantages that stand in the way of reliable sterilization of the preforms when high throughput rates are required at the same time.
EP 1 086 019 A, for example, describes the sterilization of hot preforms with a hot gaseous sterilizing agent. A succession of separate processing stations is used, namely, a first heating module, a sterilization module, and a second heating module. Disadvantages of this system are the temperature behavior of the preform during the sterilization process and the uncontrolled escape of the sterilizing agent from the preform within the heating stage.
EP 1 896 245 A describes a method in which a gaseous sterilizing agent is introduced into a cold preform and condensed therein before the preform is heated. A problem with this method is the difficulty of ensuring complete formation of condensate on the entire inner surface of the preform, since the hot sterilizing agent flowing into the preform raises the temperature of its inside wall. In addition, this method also allows uncontrolled escape of the sterilizing agent from the preform within the heating stage after it vaporizes in the heating zone.
EP 2 138 298 A describes a device in which, as a precautionary measure, sterilizing devices are arranged both upstream and downstream of the blowing module. This results in very high mechanical engineering expense.
WO 2010/020530 A1 describes the arrangement of a sterilization device between a heating device and the blowing module. In this method, the amount of sterilizing agent introduced into the area of the blowing module is difficult to predict. In addition, the amount of sterilizing agent released into the environment cannot be controlled, so that environmental contamination cannot be ruled out.

Method and device for sterilizing preforms


The network relay apparatus is provided. The network relay apparatus includes: a main controller; a relay processor; and, a network interface unit configured to include: a plurality of line interfaces to which physical lines are respectively connected and send and receive a packet to and from outside of the network relay apparatus; a data storage configured to store circuit data; a programmable logic device by with a logic circuit having a predetermined function is realized; a configuration circuit configured to direct the programmable logic device to configure the logic circuit using the circuit data; and a state controller provided in a circuit structure other than the programmable logic device to control state of each of the plurality of line interfaces to one of an active state which allows data transmission and reception and a standby state which prohibits data transmission and reception.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network relay apparatus and more specifically to a technology of updating a programmable logic device included in the network relay apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, instead of ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) and software, programmable logic devices, for example, FPGA (field programmable gate array) that enables programming of its internal circuit and CPLD (complex programmable logic device) have often been used for implementation of the functions in network relay apparatuses, such as routers and switches.
Among the above programmable logic devices, SRAM-type FPGA generally downloads data called configuration data from a nonvolatile memory on its start-up and configures its internal circuit based on the downloaded data. This type of programmable logic device can readily modify and update the internal circuit by occasionally rewriting the configuration data stored in the nonvolatile memory. In the description hereinafter, the process of the programmable logic device that reads configuration data and configures its internal circuit is called "configuration".
As is known in the art, with increasing size reduction of semiconductor, a software error (changing data in a memory cell) often occurs, for example, by the effect of radiation in such a programmable logic device. Reconfiguration of the programmable logic device is needed on the occurrence of a software error in the programmable logic device. Reactivation of all the peripheral devices including the programmable logic device is generally required simultaneously with such reconfiguration. More specifically, the reconfiguration of the programmable logic device causes the values of all the interfaces included in the programmable logic device to become indefinite and thereby fails to ensure the operations of the peripheral devices. The reconfiguration also results in resetting information kept in the programmable logic device (e.g., configuration information and statistical information of the peripheral devices). It is accordingly needed to deactivate and reset the programmable logic device and its peripheral devices at the time of reconfiguration of the programmable logic device. When the programmable logic device subjected to such reconfiguration serves as a circuit to control the network interface unit of the network relay apparatus, the reactivation accompanied with the reconfiguration undesirably causes interruption of communication of the network relay apparatus.
One proposed technique to solve the above problem duplexes the programmable logic device, in order to avoid interruption of communication of the network relay apparatus (e.g., JP 2007-58419A).
This proposed technique avoids interruption of communication of the network relay apparatus during reconfiguration of the programmable logic device but requires duplexing the programmable logic device, which leads to the increasing cost and the complicated structure.


A method by a wireless device is provided for optimized reconfiguration of radio link monitoring (RLM) and beam monitoring. The method includes receiving, from a first network node, a first message comprising at least one RLM parameter. A second message indicating activation of the at least one RLM parameter associated with the first message is received. The second message is a lower layer signal compared to the first message.

The purpose of the RLM function in the UE is to monitor the downlink radio link quality of the serving cell in RRC_CONNECTED state and is based on the Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS), which is always associated to a given LTE cell and derived from the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI). This, in turn, enables the UE when in RRC_CONNECTED state to determine whether it is in-sync or out-of-sync with respect to its serving cell.
The UE's estimate of the downlink radio link quality is compared with out-of-sync (OOS) and in-sync (IS) thresholds, which may be referred to as Qout and Qin, respectively, for the purpose of RLM. These thresholds are expressed in terms of the Block Error Rate (BLER) of a hypothetical Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) transmission from the serving cell. Specifically, Qout corresponds to a 10% BLER while Qin corresponds to a 2% BLER. The same threshold levels are applicable with and without DRX.
The mapping between the CRS based downlink quality and the hypothetical PDCCH BLER is up to the UE implementation. However, the performance is verified by conformance tests defined for various environments. Also, the downlink quality is calculated based on the RSRP of CRS over the whole band since UE does not necessarily know where PDCCH is going to be scheduled, which is illustrated in FIG. 1, which illustrates that PDCCH can be scheduled anywhere over the whole downlink transmission bandwidth.
When no DRX is configured, OOS occurs when the downlink radio link quality estimated over the last 200 ms period becomes worse than the threshold Qout. Similarly, without DRX the IS occurs when the downlink radio link quality estimated over the last 100 ms period becomes better than the threshold Qin. Upon detection of out-of-sync, the UE initiates the evaluation of in-sync.
The key question in the RLF functionality is how the higher layers use the internally generated IS/OOS events from RLM to control the UE autonomous actions when it detects that is cannot be reached by the network while in RRC_CONNECTED.
In LTE, the occurrences of OOS and IS events are reported internally by the UE's physical layer to its higher layers, which in turn may apply RRC/layer 3 (i.e. higher layer) filtering for the evaluation of Radio Link Failure (RLF). FIG. 2 illustrates higher layer RLM procedures in LTE.
The details UE actions related to RLF are captured in the RRC specifications (38.331).
For NR, frequency ranges up to 100 GHz are considered. High-frequency radio communication above 6 GHz suffers from significant path loss and penetration loss. Therefore massive MIMO schemes for NR are considered.
With massive MIMO, three approaches to beamforming have been discussed: analog, digital, and hybrid (a combination of the two). FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram for hybrid beamforming. Beamforming can be on transmission beams and/or reception beams, network side or UE side.
The analog beam of a subarray can be steered toward a single direction on each OFDM symbol, and hence the number of subarrays determines the number of beam directions and the corresponding coverage on each OFDM symbol. However, the number of beams to cover the whole serving area is typically larger than the number of subarrays, especially when the individual beam-width is narrow. Therefore, to cover the whole serving area, multiple transmissions with narrow beams differently steered in time domain are also likely to be needed. The provision of multiple narrow coverage beams for this purpose has been called "beam sweeping". For analog and hybrid beamforming, the beam sweeping seems to be essential to provide the basic coverage in NR. For this purpose, multiple OFDM symbols, in which differently steered beams can be transmitted through subarrays, can be assigned and periodically transmitted.
FIG. 4A illustrates TX beam sweeping on 2 subarrays.
FIG. 4B illustrates TX beam sweeping on 3 subarrays.
SS block and SS burst configuration are now described. The signals comprised in SS block may be used for measurements on NR carrier, including intra-frequency, inter-frequency and inter-RAT (i.e., NR measurements from another RAT).
SSB, NR-PSS, NR-SSS and/or NR-PBCH can be transmitted within an SS block, which can also be referred to as SS/PBCH block. For a given frequency band, an SS block corresponds to N OFDM symbols based on one subcarrier spacing (e.g., default or configured), and N is a constant. UE shall be able to identify at least OFDM symbol index, slot index in a radio frame and radio frame number from an SS block. A single set of possible SS block time locations (e.g., with respect to radio frame or with respect to SS burst set) is specified per frequency band. At least for multi-beams case, at least the time index of SS-block is indicated to the UE. The position(s) of actual transmitted SS-blocks can be informed for helping CONNECTED/IDLE mode measurement, for helping CONNECTED mode UE to receive DL data/control in unused SS-blocks and potentially for helping IDLE mode UE to receive DL data/control in unused SS-blocks. The maximum number of SS-blocks within SS burst set, L, for different frequency ranges are:                For frequency range up to 3 GHz, L is 4        For frequency range from 3 GHz to 6 GHz, L is 8        For frequency range from 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, L is 64
By contrast, one or multiple SS burst(s) further compose an SS burst set (or series) where the number of SS bursts within a SS burst set is finite. From physical layer specification perspective, at least one periodicity of SS burst set is supported. From UE perspective, SS burst set transmission is periodic. At least for initial cell selection, UE may assume a default periodicity of SS burst set transmission for a given carrier frequency (e.g., one of 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms). UE may assume that a given SS block is repeated with a SS burst set periodicity. By default, the UE may neither assume the gNB transmits the same number of physical beam(s), nor the same physical beam(s) across different SS-blocks within an SS burst set. In a special case, an SS burst set may comprise one SS burst.
For each carrier, the SS blocks may be time-aligned or overlap fully or at least in part, or the beginning of the SS blocks may be time-aligned (e.g., when the actual number of transmitted SS blocks is different in different cells). FIG. 5 illustrates an example configuration of SS blocks, SS bursts, and SS burst sets/series.
All SS blocks within a burst set are within 5 ms window, but the number of SS blocks within such window depends on the numerology (e.g., up to 64 SS blocks with 240 kHz subcarrier spacing). FIG. 6 illustrates an example mapping for SS blocks within a time slot and within the 5 ms window.
With regard to CSI-RS activation by MAC CE in LTE, the CSI-RS activation/deactivation by MAC CE command is specified in TS36.321 where Section 5.19 describes:                The network may activate and deactivate the configured CSI-RS resources of a serving cell by sending the Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC control element described in subclause 18.104.22.168. The configured CSI-RS resources are initially deactivated upon configuration and after a handover.Section 220.127.116.11 discloses:        The Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC control element is identified by a MAC PDU subheader with LCID as specified in table 6.2.1-1. It has variable size as the number of configured CSI process (N) and is defined in FIG. 184.108.40.206-1. Activation/Deactivation CSI-RS command is defined in FIG. 188.8.131.52-2 and activates or deactivates CSI-RS resources for a CSI process. Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC control element applies to the serving cell on which the UE receives the Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC control element.        The Activation/Deactivation of CSI-RS resources MAC control elements is defined as follows:                    Ri: this field indicates the activation/deactivation status of the CSI-RS resources associated with CSI-RS-ConfigNZPId i for the CSI-RS process. The Ri field is set to "1" to indicate that CSI-RS resource associated with CSI-RS-ConfigNZPId i for the CSI-RS process shall be activated. The Ri field is set to "0" to indicate that the CSI-RS-ConfigNZPId i shall be deactivated;
FIG. 7 illustrates activation/deactivation of CSI-RS resources by MAC Control element.
FIG. 8 illustrates activation/deactivation of CSI-RS resources by CSI-RS command.
The MAC activation was introduced in LTE to be able to configure more CSI-RS resources for a UE that the UE is able to support feedback for as the MAC CE would selective activate up to max CSI-RS resources supported. Then, without the need to reconfigure by RRC, network may activate another set among the resources configured for the UE.
With regard to MAC CE usage in NR, the MAC CEs agreed for NR are listed.
RAN1MAC CEspecificationSectionmessageDescriptionValue rangeTS38.2220.127.116.11.4Semi-Activates/deactivatesSP CSI-RSpersistenta SP CSI-RSResource Set IdCSI-RS/resource set and a(the size of ID <=CSI-IMSP CSI-IM4 bits) | SP CSI-resource set.IM Resource Set IdProvides the QCL(the size of ID <=relationship (if4 bits) |activated)TCI_State_Id (thesize of ID <= 6 bits)Each activatedresource set canhave up to 64 CSI-RS resourcesthereforeTotal bits <= 4 +4 + 64*6TS38.218.104.22.168AperiodicMaps the Sc RRCBitmap of sizeCSI triggerconfiguredSc <= 128stateaperiodic trigger(Maximum numbersubselectionstates to 2{circumflex over ( )}N-1of 1s in the bitmapcodepoints in CSIis up to 63.)request fieldSc is variable(N = Bitwidth ofCSI request field inDCI)TS38.2145.1.5Activation ofActivates/deactivatesBitmap of sizeTCIup to 2{circumflex over ( )}N TCIM <= 64, N = 3(Transmissionstates from a list ofConfigurationM TCI state. EachIndication)state of M TCIstate(s) forstates is RRCUE-specificconfigured with aPDSCHdownlink RS setused as a QCLreference, andMAC-CE is used toselect up to 2{circumflex over ( )}NTCI states out of Mfor PDSCH QCLindication.TS38.2145.1.5Indication ofOut of the K TCIBitmap to selectTCI state forstates configuredone out of K statesUE specificper CORESET, theK <= M (M_max =NR-PDCCHMAC-CE selects64, K_max =perone out of K.M_max)CORESETTS38.2145.2.4Semi-Activates a SP CSIBitmap with lengthpersistentReportof the number ofCSISP CSI reportingreporting (onsettingsPUCCH)The length ofactivationbitmap <= [CSISP =8] bitsTS38.2146.2.1Semi-Activates a SP SRSSP SRS Resourcepersistentresource set andSet Id (the size ofSRSprovides the spatialID <= [SRS1 = 4]bits)activationrelationship (if| SSB ID (the sizeactivated)of ID <= 6 bits)/SRS resource ID(the size ofID <= [SRS2 =5]bits)/CSI-RS resourceID (the size of ID <=7 bits)Each activatedresource set canhave up to S2 SRSresources thereforeTotalbits <= SRS1 +SRS2*7In R1-1721734:
SpecificationNumberParameter NameDescriptionSize/formatTS38.214PUCCH-Provides thePUCCH resource IDSpatialRelationInfospatial(the size of ID <=relation[NCCH = 4]bits) |for aBitmap of size (thePUCCHlength of bitmap <=resource[QCLUL = 8] bits)(Bitmap activatesone of the [QCLUL =8] entries within theRRC parameterPUCCH-Spatial-relation-info)
With regard to RLM handing in NR, two types of reference signals (RS Types) are defined for L3 mobility: PBCH/SS Block (SSB or SS Block), which basically comprises synchronization signals equivalent to PSS/SSS in LTE and PBCH/DMRS, and, CSI-RS for L3 mobility, more configurable and configured via dedicated signalling. There are different reasons to define the two RS types, one of them being the possibility to transmit SSBs in wide beams while CSI-RSs in narrow beams.
In RAN1 #NR AdHoc #2, it has been agreed that in NR the RS type used for RLM is also configurable (both CSI-RS based RLM and SS block based RLM are supported) and, it seems natural that the RS type for RLM should be configured via RRC signalling. In RAN1 #90, further progress was reached and it was agreed to support single RLM-RS type only to different RLM-RS resources for a UE at a time.
As NR can operate in quite high frequencies (above 6 GHz, but up to 100 GHz), these RS types used for RLM can be beamformed. In other words, depending on deployment or operating frequency, the UE can be configured to monitor beamformed reference signals regardless which RS type is selected for RLM. Hence, differently from LTE, RS for RLM can be transmitted in multiple beams.
In the case of CSI-RS, the time/frequency resource and sequence can be used. As there can be multiple beams, the UE needs to know which ones to monitor for RLM and how to generate IS/OOS events. In the case of SSB, each beam can be identified by an SSB index (derived from a time index in PBCH and/or a PBCH/DMRS scrambling). In RAN1 #90, it has been agreed that this is configurable and, in NR the network can configure by RRC signalling, X RLM resources, either related to SS blocks or CSI-RS, as follows:                One RLM-RS resource can be either one PBCHSS block or one CSI-RS resource/port;        The RLM-RS resources are UE-specifically configured at least in case of CSI-RS based RLM;        When UE is configured to perform RLM on one or multiple RLM-RS resource(s),                    Periodic IS indicated if the estimated link quality corresponding to hypothetical PDCCH BLER based on at least Y RLM-RS resource(s) among all configured X RLM-RS resource(s) is above Q_in threshold;            Periodic OOS is indicated if the estimated link quality corresponding to hypothetical PDCCH BLER based on all configured X RLM-RS resource(s) is below Q_out threshold;                            That points in the direction that only the quality of best beam really matters at every sample to generate OOS/IS events.
In RAN2 #94 in Nanjing, the first meeting we have discussed NR mobility, the following has been agreed:                Two levels of network controlled mobility:        1: RRC driven at 'cell' level        2: Zero/Minimum RRC involvement (e.g., at MAC/PHY FFS what is the definition of a cell)Since then, it has always been assumed at least in RAN2 that inter-cell mobility relies on RRC level, while intra-cell mobility (which includes beam management procedures within the same cell) should not have RRC involvement.
However, in RAN1 #90 the following has been agreed:                NR supports to configure X RLM-RS resource(s)                    One RLM-RS resource can be either one SS/PBCH block or one CSI-RS resource/port            The RLM-RS resources are UE-specifically configured at least in case of CSI-RS based RLMThen, in RAN1 #90bis, it has been greed that the value of X should be limited, as follows:                        NR supports configuration of at most X number of RLM-RS (CSI-RS and/or SSB) resources for a UE                    final value of X to be determined in the next meeting and (X<=[8])            Note: in the deployment scenario where BM is needed, the BM processing and reporting are a pre-requisite for the network to select up to X RLM-RSs.            FFS: whether to have different number for sub 6 and above 6 GHzThen in RAN1 #91, it has been agreed that the value of X for the maximum number of resources could vary for different frequency ranges, as follows:                        For value of X:                    For below 3 GHz: X=2            For above 3 GHz and below 6 GHz: X=4            For above 6 GHz: X=[8]                        RLM-SSB: value range is 0, 1, . . . , 63        RLM-CSI-RS-timeConfig:                    Periodicity, P: {5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms}            Slot offset: {0, . . . , Ps−1} slots            Where Ps is number of slots within period P in the CSI-RS numerology                        RLM-CSI-RS-FreqBand                    Adopt the parameter values agreed in BM with following exception:                            Minimum number of PRB is 24.
There currently exist certain challenge(s). To help understand them, the consequences of these agreements must be considered. It has also been agreed in RAN1 that the number of SSBs covering a cell can also vary per frequency range, and the following values have been agreed in RAN1 #88bis:                The considered maximum number of SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set for different frequency ranges are                    For frequency range up to 3 GHz, the maximum number of SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set is [1, 2, 4]            For frequency range from 3 GHz to 6 GHz, the maximum number of SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set is [4, 8]            For frequency range from 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, the maximum number of SS-blocks, L, within SS burst set is [64]Then, especially for SSB-based RLM, if we compare the values of L (maximum number of transmitted SSBs for cells in a given frequency range) and X (maximum number of RLM-RS resources for a given frequency range), we will have scenarios where X is lower than L, as shown below:
f < 3 GHz3 GH < f < 6 GHzf > 6 GHzMax value for X248Max value for L4864As it can be seen from the table above, the number of beams (the term 'beams' may be used instead of RLM-RS resources) that can be configured for RLM is smaller than the number of beams possibly providing cell coverage. FIG. 9 illustrates this scenario for frequencies between 3 GHZ and 6 GHZ where L=8 and X=4 (i.e. for frequencies between 3 GHz and 6 GHz). Then, if the UE moves within the coverage of that cell, the beams to be used for RLM may need to be re-configured, otherwise the UE would possibly start generating OSS events (and possibly declare RLF) even though the UE is still under cell coverage.
When that situation happens, what the network would likely want to be able to do is to reconfigure both the beams serving the UE with PDCCH and, consequently, the beams to be monitored for RLM (as these should be correlated). FIG. 10 illustrates the network re-configuring the PDCCH beams and consequently the RS-RLM resources/beams.
However, certain problems with the baseline solution exist. For example, RRC signaling is usually considered for re-configurations in mobile networks, and hence, it could be assumed every time the UE needs to re-configure RLM-RS parameters such as the as a baseline solution. However, a consequence of the RAN1 decision to have X<L is that, if only RLM-RS re-configuration mechanisms allowed is the one based on RRC, UE would likely require RRC signalling to perform intra-cell mobility, which goes against the very first NR mobility agreement in RAN2. Thus, an observation is that current RAN1 assumptions on the maximum RLM-RS resources (equals to 8) requires intra-cell RRC based mobility, which is against RAN2 early agreement.

Optimized reconfiguration of RLM and beam monitoring parameters


The station-side terminal apparatus for the optical access network includes: the station-side terminal apparatus; the subscriber-side terminal apparatuses connected to the station-side terminal apparatus via the optical transmission line; the terminal devices to which mutually different wavelengths are assigned; and the communication failure detecting unit. Each of the terminal devices includes the uplink communication state monitoring unit configured to monitor a state of uplink communication for each registered subscriber-side terminal apparatus, on the basis of the input uplink signal, and the downlink communication failure information extracting unit configured to extract information of a state of downlink communication, which is transmitted from the registered subscriber-side terminal apparatus. The communication failure detecting unit detects a failure of the uplink communication and a failure of the downlink communication, on the basis of the state of the uplink communication and the state of the downlink communication.

The present invention relates to a station-side terminal apparatus, an optical access network, and a communication method, which are capable of detecting a communication failure due to malfunction of a wavelength-variable optical transmitting and receiving unit of a subscriber-side terminal apparatus, in order to recover communication immediately.
In recent years, a service called FTTH (Fiber To The Home) using the optical fiber as a transmission channel is becoming widespread, for the purpose of providing a broad band service of high speed and wide band to general private homes. For providing the broad band service by FTTH, optical access networks called subscriber passive optical network (PON) are utilized in many places.
In the PON, one station-side terminal apparatus (OLT: Optical Line Terminal) and a plurality of subscriber-side terminal apparatuses (ONU: Optical Network Unit) are connected by branching one optical cable using optical passive elements called optical splitter (optical coupler). In the PON, the FTTH service is provided economically by sharing optical fibers, OLT, etc by a plurality of subscribers.
The PON includes what is called 10G-EPON (10 Gigabit Ethernet (registered trademark) PON) (for example, refer to IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) std 802. 3av-2009). In the PON described in this reference, communication from each ONU to the OLT (uplink communication) employs TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology to prevent a collision of signals from each ONU. In what is called TDM-PON, this TDMA technology is used.
Further, in order to meet an increase of communication demand in future optical access network, the research and development relevant to WDM/TDM-PON (TWDM-PON) is progressing, in which a plurality of TDM-PONs are built on one PON infrastructure with WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology, as next-generation PON with a transmission rate over 10 Gbps, (for example, refer to JP 2011-55407A). TWDM-PON increases the transmission capacity in the PON infrastructure.
In the TWDM-PON described in JP 2011-55407A, an OLT includes a plurality of optical transmitting and receiving units, and a control device for controlling the TWDM-PON. Each optical transmitting and receiving unit is connected to a plurality of ONUs via optical couplers.
As for uplink communication, the reception wavelength of each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT is fixedly assigned, so that the reception wavelengths of optical transmitting and receiving units of the OLTs do not overlap each other. Then, by changing the transmission wavelength of the optical transmitting and receiving unit of the ONU, the connection between each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT and the ONU is dynamically switched. Also, as for communication from the OLT to the ONU (downlink communication), the connection between each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT and the ONU is dynamically switched by fixedly assigning the transmission wavelength of each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT, and changing the reception wavelength of the optical transmitting and receiving unit of the ONU, in the same way as the uplink communication. Hence, the TWDM-PON has the advantage such as load sharing in response to traffic variation, high reliability by path switching in failure, and electrical power saving by sleep of the optical transmitting and receiving unit and the device circuit during low load.

Station-side terminal apparatus, optical access network, and communication method


An organic light emitting diode display and a driving method thereof, has an image displayed with uniform brightness. The method of driving a organic light emitting diode display, includes dividing one frame into one or more sub-frames, and supplying scan signals in sequence to some of plural scan lines provided in a pixel portion per sub-frame. The scan lines receiving the scan signals are differently set per sub-frame. With this configuration, an image is displayed with uniform brightness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting diode display and a driving method thereof, and more particularly, to an organic light emitting diode display and a driving method thereof, in which an image is displayed with uniform brightness.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various flat panel displays have recently been developed as alternatives to a relatively heavy and bulky cathode ray tube (CRT) display. The flat panel display includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting diode display (OLED), etc.
Among the flat panel displays, the organic light emitting diode display can emit light for itself by electron-hole recombination. Such an organic light emitting diode display has advantages in that response time is relatively fast and power consumption is relatively low. Generally, the organic light emitting diode display employs a transistor provided in each pixel for supplying current corresponding to a data signal to a light emitting device, thereby allowing the light emitting device to emit light.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional organic light emitting diode display.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional organic light emitting diode display includes a pixel portion 30 including a plurality of pixels 40 formed in a region defined by intersection of scan lines S1 through Sn and data lines D1 through Dm; a scan driver 10 to drive the scan lines S1 through Sn; a data driver 20 to drive the data lines D1 through Dm; and a timing controller 50 to control the scan driver 10 and the data driver 20.
The scan driver 10 generates scan signals in response to a scan control signal SCS from the timing controller 50, and supplies the scan signals to the scan lines S1 through Sn in sequence. Further, the scan driver 10 generates emission control signals in response to the scan control signal SCS, and supplies the emission control signals to emission control lines E1 through En in sequence.
The data driver 20 generates data signals in response to data control signal DCS from the timing controller 50, and supplies the data signals to the data lines D1 through Dm. At this time, the data driver 20 supplies the data signals corresponding to one horizontal line to the data lines D1 through Dm per one horizontal period.
The timing controller 50 generates the data control signal DCS and the scan control signal SCS corresponding to an external synchronization signal. The data control signal DCS and the scan control signal SCS are supplied from the timing controller 50 to the data driver 20 and the scan driver 10, respectively. Further, the timing controller 50 rearranges external data and supplies it to the data driver 20.
The pixel portion 30 receives first power ELVDD and second power ELVSS from an external power source, and supplies them to the respective pixels 40. When the first power ELVDD and the second power ELVSS are applied to the pixels 40, each pixel 40 displays an image corresponding to the received data signal. Here, emission time of each pixel 40 is controlled corresponding to the emission control signal.
Like the scan signals, the emission control signals are supplied to the 1st through nth emission control lines En, in sequence. Here, every pixel 40 included in the pixel portion 30 does not emit light for a short time while the emission control signal is not supplied.
However, the first power ELVDD applied to the pixel portion 30 varies according to how many pixels 40 emit light, i.e., according to a pattern and brightness of an image displayed on the pixel portion 30. That is, the first power ELVDD supplied per frame is differently loaded to the pixels 40 according to how many pixels 40 emit light. For example, when relatively many pixels 40 emit light during one frame, the relatively high first power ELVDD is loaded to the pixels 40. On the other hand, when relatively small pixels 40 emit light during one frame, the relatively low first power ELVDD is loaded to the pixels 40. Therefore, voltage difference corresponding to the pattern of an image arises between the pixels 40 receiving the first power ELVDD 40, and thus there is a problem in that the image is displayed with non-uniform brightness. Further, due to voltage drop, the voltage of the first power ELVDD is differently applied to the pixels 40 according to the positions of the pixels 40 formed in the pixel portion 30, and thus the image is displayed with non-uniform brightness.

Organic light emitting diode display and driving method thereof


Concepts and technologies are described herein for providing enhanced Completely Automated Public Turing tests to Tell Computers and Humans Apart (“CAPTCHAs”). According to some of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, a CAPTCHA service may be configured to generate CAPTCHAs enhanced with watermarks and/or other enhancements. The CAPTCHA service may provide the enhanced CAPTCHAs to user services, such as Websites, Web services, and other services that utilize or are capable of utilizing CAPTCHAs as a security feature. The watermarks and/or other enhancements may contain information associated with users of the user services so that the enhanced CAPTCHAs are more difficult to break by unauthorized entities, including automated programs such as “bots.” According to other concepts and technologies disclosed herein, a CAPTCHA breaking service is provided.

A Completely Automated Public Turing test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart ("CAPTCHA") is a challenge-response test used in computing to verify that a response is provided by a human being rather than a computer. CAPTCHAs typically include one or more characters that have been distorted in some manner so as to make it difficult or in some cases impossible for a computer to provide the correct response. Common forms of distortion include introducing noise, creating a distorted background, warping characters, waving characters, crowding characters, and using strikethrough lines.
Websites often use CAPTCHAs as a layer of security to prevent potentially malicious activity from automated programs, such as "bots." For example, an automated program may be configured to add spam, such as unwanted advertisements, to a Website, or provide false information into online forms. Other automated programs may force repeated requests to servers that may cause the servers to slow down or even fail, for example.
CAPTCHAs are becoming increasingly more difficult for human beings to solve. This is at least in part due to advancements in artificial intelligence that have made it possible for computers to solve CAPTCHAs that rely on simple distortion techniques such as those described above. In an effort to reduce the solvability of CAPTCHAs, the techniques used to obscure characters for CAPTCHAs are becoming increasingly more complex, often to the point of being unreadable or marginally-readable by human beings. This may frustrate users and may even deter some users from using a Website or service that utilizes CAPTCHAs.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.