The invention concerns a method (200 or 300) and system (100) for performing a trick mode operation on a video signal containing a plurality of progressively scanned original pictures. The method (200) includes the step of selectively skipping (214) at least one of the original pictures to convert the video signal to a trick mode video signal in response to a trick mode command and the step of selectively inserting (216) at least one dummy predictive picture in the trick mode video signal. In addition, the method (300) can include the step of monitoring (316) the trick mode video signal so that the dummy predictive picture is selectively inserted when the bit rate exceeds a predetermined threshold. Display indicators of certain pictures in the trick mode video signal can also be modified (226) (328) to reflect an intended display order.

1. Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate generally to video systems and more particularly to video systems that record or play back digitally encoded video sequences.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital televisions (DTV) and high-definition televisions (HDTV) are gaining popularity in today's consumer electronics marketplace. Many purchasers of these types of televisions also buy digital video recorders or players, such as digital video disc (DVD) recorders or players, for purposes of viewing previously recorded programs or recording their favorite programs. Notably, the combination of a DTV (or an HDTV) and a digital video recorder or player can be an integral part of a home theater entertainment system.
A digital video recorder or player typically contains a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) decoder to decode the digitally encoded multimedia data that is stored on the discs that the recorder or player plays. If the digital video recorder or player is connected to a conventional (non-DTV or non-HDTV) television, the digitally encoded signal will be decoded by the digital video recorder or player's MPEG decoder before being displayed on the conventional television. Significantly, however, many DTVs contain their own MPEG decoders. As such, if a digital video recorder or player is connected to a DTV, the video signal read from the disc is remotely decoded by the DTVs decoder. This configuration can be referred to as a remote decoder arrangement.
There is, however, an important disadvantage in decoding digitally encoded signals with a remote DTV decoder. Namely, it is very difficult to perform trick modes in this type of arrangement. A trick mode can be any playback of video in which the playback is not done at normal speed or in a forward direction. Oftentimes, a trick mode involves skipping a number of pictures in a video signal such as during a fast motion trick mode. Skipping pictures in a video signal being transmitted to a remote decoder can actually increase the average bit rate of the signal. As the bandwidth between the digital video recorder or player and the DTV is limited, performing a fast motion trick mode may cause the signal to exceed the maximum bit rate limit of the transmission channel.
For instance, in an MPEG video signal, there are three separate types of digitally encoded pictures: intra (I) pictures, predictive (P) pictures and bidirectional predictive (B) pictures. As is known in the art, I and P pictures contain relatively large amounts of encoded data, at least with respect to B pictures. During a fast motion trick mode, the first pictures in a group of pictures (GOP) to be skipped are typically the B pictures. As the B pictures are skipped, however, the average amount of encoded data for the remaining pictures, or the average number of bits per picture, in the GOP increases. Such a drawback can lead to buffer overflow and the loss of pictures during the display of the trick mode video signal. Thus, a need exists for a method and system for performing a fast motion trick mode in a remote decoder arrangement without exceeding a maximum bit rate limit and without increasing system costs or complexity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Fast motion trick mode using dummy predictive pictures


A path connection control system in a CDMA mobile communication system can establish minimum but sufficient paths without causing degradation of communication quality due to delay of hand off control even during high speed travel. The path connection control system in a CDMA mobile communication system determines a radio base station to establish a path for communication with a mobile terminal by a base station control unit. The base station control unit includes means for repeatedly inputting position information of said mobile terminal, means for deriving a current position, a traveling speed and a traveling direction of said mobile terminal on the basis of repeatedly input position information of said mobile terminal, a necessary path number map of predetermining necessary path number on the basis of a contour map. The base station control unit performs control for deriving necessary paths with taking information of current position, traveling speed and traveling direction of said mobile terminal and information from said necessary path number map and determining radio base stations to establish paths.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a path connection control system and control method thereof in a code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been well known a mobile communication system, in which a mobile communication switching center is connected to a based station control unit through a wire circuit, a plurality of radio base stations are connected to the base station control unit through a wire circuit, and each base station is connected to a plurality of mobile terminals entering into a service area of an own station through radio circuits.
As a method for multiplexing radio communication paths in the mobile communication system, there has been known a code division multiple access (CDMA), in which information bit desired to communicate is multiplexed by spreading spectrum with several tens to several thousands bits of spreading code pattern, in addition to a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) or time division multiple access (TDMA).
CDMA is advantageous in strength against narrow barrage jamming and in capability of accommodating a plurality of paths within the same carrier wave. In current typical CDMA mobile communication system, a path connection system to establish a multiple paths for a plurality of radio base stations depending upon a condition of communication in call through one radio channel, has been employed. However, since CDMA uses a frequency band of low power in wide band, if number of paths is in excess of a certain number, radio signals arriving through such relatively large number of paths become mere noise. Therefore, connection control of the paths depending upon communication environment is particularly important in the CDMA mobile communication system.
FIG. 8 is an illustration for explaining path connection control of the conventional CDMA mobile communication system of this type.
In FIG. 8, the reference numeral 50 denotes mobile terminal (MS), 51 to 53 denote radio base stations (BTS), 54 denote a base station control unit (BSC), 58 denotes a mobile communication switching center (MSC).
On the other hand, in the base station control unit 54, the reference numeral 55 denotes a field intensity data extracting portion for extracting data of electric field intensity, 56 denotes a field intensity level monitoring portion for monitoring a field intensity level of the each radio base station based on the field intensity data, and 57 denotes a path setting control portion for determining path to be connected and path to be cut based on information from the field intensity level monitoring portion 56.
Next, path connection control of the CDMA mobile communication system shown in FIG. 8 will be discussed hereinafter.
Upon calling from the mobile terminal 50, a received field intensity of a pilot pattern transmitted from each radio base station 51 to 53 is measured in the mobile terminal 50 to establish call connection to the radio base station having the highest field intensity.
Here, it is assumed that the radio station having the highest field intensity is the radio base station 52, the radio terminal 50 at first establishes a path to the radio mobile station 52.
Even after establishing the path with the radio base station 52, the mobile terminal 50 continues measurement of the received field intensity of the pilot pattern to sequentially report information of measured field intensity of each radio base station to the base station control unit 54 through the path established with the radio base station 52.
In the base station control unit 54, data relating to the field intensity of each radio base station is extracted from the signal input from the radio base station 52 to feed the extracted data to the field intensity level monitoring portion 56 for monitoring the field intensity level of each radio base station in the field intensity level monitoring portion 56.
In hand off control while moving, when radio base station having field intensity level exceeding a threshold value to be a reference in establishing the path, newly appears, path is newly established to the newly appearing radio base station. Conversely, when the field intensity level of the radio base station, to which the path has already been established, is lowered to be lower than the threshold level to be the reference, the path to such radio base station is cut off.
Namely, in hand-off control in the conventional CDMA mobile communication system, path connection control is performed depending upon the actual field intensity level of each radio base station reported from the mobile terminal.
In the path connection control system in the conventional CDMA mobile communication system set forth above, since the path connection control is performed depending upon the actual field intensity level of each radio base station reported from the mobile terminal, the following problem is encountered.
At first, in order to re-establish paths depending upon high and low of actual field intensity level, hand-off control may cause delay when the mobile terminal is in motion at high speed to cause degradation of communication quality until completion of hand-off control.
Secondly, since path is uniformly established for the radio base stations having the field intensity level higher than or equal to the given level, the path is inherently established even for the radio base station temporarily passed through in a moment. On the other hand, in order to adapt to abrupt variation of communication environment, it becomes necessary to constantly establish a plurality of paths to waste communication resource.
It should be noted that, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Heisei 7-322336, for xe2x80x9cHand-Off System for Cellular Telephone Systemxe2x80x9d, as shown in FIGS. 9, 10A and 10B, a position detector 518 for detecting a current position and traveling direction of the mobile terminal is provided in the mobile terminal 50, and a map data storage portion 522 for storing map data covering all cell area of the cellular phone system, a mobile terminal position information storage portion 521 for storing position information and traveling direction information detected by the position detector 518 and a mobile terminal traveling direction judgment portion 523 are provided in a control station 502.
The mobile terminal traveling direction judgment portion 523 detects the cell area where the mobile terminal moves with reference to the map data on the basis of the position information and traveling direction information when degradation of field intensity associating with movement of the mobile terminal is noticed to the mobile base station of the cell area where the mobile terminal is actually present.
The system disclosed in the above-identified publication has the radio base station map to perform hand-off after narrowing down the radio base stations to hand-off on the basis of traveling direction of the mobile terminal for effectively use a part of communication resource. However, even in this technology, the foregoing problem of delay in hand-off control during high speed travel cannot be resolved and effectiveness of use of communication resource is not satisfactory.
The present invention has been worked out in view of the drawbacks in the prior art set forth above. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a path connection control system and control method thereof in a CDMA mobile communication system which can establish minimum but sufficient paths without causing degradation of communication quality due to delay of hand off control even during high speed travel.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a path connection control system in a CDMA mobile communication system for determining a radio base station to establish a path for communication with a mobile terminal by a base station control unit, the base station control unit comprises:
means for repeatedly inputting position information of the mobile terminal;
means for deriving a current position, a traveling speed and a traveling direction of the mobile terminal on the basis of repeatedly input position information of the mobile terminal;
a necessary path number map of predetermining necessary path number on the basis of a contour map,
the base station control unit performing control for deriving necessary paths with taking information of current position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal and information from the necessary path number map and determining radio base stations to establish paths.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, a path connection control system in a CDMA mobile communication system for determining a radio base station to establish a path for communication with a mobile terminal by a base station control unit, the base station control unit comprises:
means for repeatedly inputting position information of the mobile terminal;
means for deriving current position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal based on repeatedly input position information of the mobile terminal, and predicting position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal in the near future;
a necessary path number map of predetermining necessary path number on the basis of a contour map,
the base station control unit performing control for deriving necessary paths in the near further with taking information of current position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal, predicted information of position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal in the near future and information from the necessary path number map and determining radio base stations to establish paths.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, a path connection control method in a CDMA mobile communication system for determining a radio base station to establish a path for communication with a mobile terminal by a base station control unit, comprises:
first step of repeatedly inputting position information of the mobile terminal;
second step of deriving a current position, a traveling speed and a traveling direction of the mobile terminal on the basis of repeatedly input position information of the mobile terminal;
third step of providing a necessary path number map of predetermining necessary path number on the basis of a contour map, deriving necessary paths with taking information of current position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal and information from the necessary path number map and determining radio base stations to establish paths.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a path connection control method in a CDMA mobile communication system for determining a radio base station to establish a path for communication with a mobile terminal by a base station control unit, comprises:
first step of repeatedly inputting position information of the mobile terminal;
second step of deriving current position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal based on repeatedly input position information of the mobile terminal, and predicting position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal in the near future;
third step of providing a necessary path number map of predetermining necessary path number on the basis of a contour map, deriving necessary paths in the near further with taking information of current position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal, predicted information of position, traveling speed and traveling direction of the mobile terminal in the near future and information from the necessary path number map and determining radio base stations to establish paths.
Preferably, the necessary path number map may be a necessary path number map based on a predicted traveling speed of the mobile terminal on the basis of the contour map. In the alternative, the necessary path number map may be a necessary path number map based on a predicted traveling direction variation ratio of the mobile terminal on the basis of the contour map. In a further alternative, necessary path number map may be a necessary path number map based on a predicted traveling speed variation ratio of the mobile terminal on the basis of the contour map. In a yet further alternative, necessary path number map may be a necessary path number map based on a predicted traveling speed of the mobile terminal, a necessary path number map based on a predicted traveling direction variation ratio of the mobile terminal on the basis of the contour map and a necessary path number map based on a predicted traveling speed variation ratio of the mobile terminal on the basis of the contour map.

Path connection control system and control method thereof in CDMA mobile communication system


A method, an apparatus, and a recording medium are provided. In the method, a mobile apparatus is positioned to obtain a positioning location and an electronic map around the positioning location is displayed. Then, at least one task stored in the mobile apparatus is accessed and each of the at least one task is marked on the electronic map according to a task location thereof.

Technical Field
The application relates to a method and an apparatus for displaying tasks. Particularly, the application relates to a method, an apparatus, and a recording medium for displaying tasks on an electronic map.
Related Art
In recent years, with development and improvement of electronic technology and communication techniques, portable electronic apparatuses such as mobile phones and smart phones that occupy less space are also quickly developed. Generally, multiple functions are integrated into mobile apparatuses in the market to improve competitiveness thereof, and besides general camera, phone call, and Internet access functions, a global positioning system (GPS) and an electronic map are also integrated into a handheld communication apparatus, and a user can learn the location of himself through a positioning function of the mobile device at any time, and inspect nearby restaurants, landmarks, attractions, or other points of interest displayed in an electronic map.
To-do task is another application provided by the mobile apparatus, which allows the user to preset tasks to be accomplished in the future, and includes related information of time, location, task content, and related personnel, etc., and when the preset time is reached, a sound or a notifying message is sent to remind the user.
However, when the user wants to check the preset tasks or the accomplished tasks, the mobile apparatus can only display a list of the tasks in rows, and cannot establish the correlation of the tasks. Therefore, the user can only inspect contents of the tasks one-by-one through selecting each of the tasks, and determine a handling sequence according to time and locations of the tasks by himself/herself, by which the tasks cannot be effectively and opportunely handled.

Method, apparatus and recording medium for displaying tasks


An adjustable mud ring assembly is provided that includes a base plate, a movable ring, and an indexing screw configured to move the movable ring with respect to the base plate between a first position and a second position. The base plate has a junction box connecting portion, a support connecting portion, and a stationary ring. The base plate can have an offset distance (D2) between the junction box connecting portion and the support connecting portion where the offset distance is sufficient to allow the movable ring to move into stationary ring to the first position without protruding, at a lowermost point, into a junction box connected to the junction box connecting portion.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is related to mud rings. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to adjustable mud ring assemblies.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical devices such as, but not limited to, electrical outlets, switches, and others are typically installed in a wall or ceiling. Here, a gang or junction box is secured to a stud or support beam inside of the wall or ceiling. The electrical device is then secured in the box in electrical communication with one or more electrical conductors so that the electrical device extends or protrudes from the wall or ceiling. In this manner, any exposed portion of the electrical conductor and its connection to the electrical device can be shielded within the box.
Various building, electric and/or fire codes have been enacted when the box, conductor, device combination is installed in walls or ceilings to ensure safety and functionality. For example, the National Electrical Code (NEC) requires that boxes employing a flush-type cover or faceplate must be installed so that a front edge of the box, or plaster ring, extension ring, or extender used therewith, is either flush with or not set back from the finished surface more than a predefined distance.
The plaster rings, extension rings, and extenders mentioned above, commonly known as mud rings, when used, are attached to the box prior to the installation of sheet rock, wall board, or other covering surface material. To avoid the need to select a mud ring of the correct depth, adjustable mud rings have also been developed. These adjustable mud rings allow the front edge to be extended or retracted to meet the necessary codes, to provide a guide during the wall covering trimming process, to prevent the box from being filled with drywall spackling paste (also known as mud), and other advantages.
Unfortunately, the prior art adjustable mud rings have proven costly to manufacture and/or difficult to use and/or assemble. Accordingly, it has been determined by the present disclosure that there is a need for adjustable mud ring assemblies that overcome, alleviate, and/or mitigate one or more of the aforementioned and other deleterious effects of prior art devices.


A flowbore fluid temperature control system comprising a valve mechanism that adjusts the flow of a fluid through a flowbore. The flowbore fluid temperature control system also comprises an actuator that adjusts the valve mechanism. The flowbore fluid temperature control system also comprises an operating system that operates the actuator and controls the flowbore fluid pressure. The flowbore fluid temperature control system selectively controls the temperature of the flowbore fluid by adjusting the flow of the fluid through the flowbore. The control system controls the actuator and also controls the flowbore fluid pressure to affect the temperature of the flowbore fluid.

In the drilling industry, a drilling fluid may be used when drilling a wellbore. The drilling fluid may be used to provide pressure in the wellbore, clean the wellbore, cool and lubricate the drill bit, and the like. The wellbore may comprise a cased portion and an open portion. The open portion extends below the last casing string, which may be cemented to the formation above a casing shoe. The drilling fluid is circulated into the wellbore through the drill string. The drilling fluid then returns to the surface through the annulus between the wellbore wall and the drill string. The pressure of the drilling fluid flowing through the annulus acts on the open wellbore. The drilling fluid flowing up through the annulus carries with it cuttings from the wellbore and any formation fluids that may enter the wellbore.
The drilling fluid may be used to provide sufficient hydrostatic pressure in the well to prevent the influx of such formation fluids. The density of the drilling fluid can also be controlled in order to provide the desired downhole pressure. The formation fluids within the formation provide a pore pressure, which is the pressure in the formation pore space. When the pore pressure exceeds the pressure in the open wellbore, the formation fluids tend to flow from the formation into the open wellbore. Therefore, the pressure in the open wellbore is maintained at a higher pressure than the pore pressure. The influx of formation fluids into the wellbore is called a kick. Because the formation fluid entering the wellbore ordinarily has a lower density than the drilling fluid, a kick may potentially reduce the hydrostatic pressure within the wellbore and thereby allow an accelerating influx of formation fluid. If not properly controlled, this influx may lead to a blowout of the well. Therefore, the formation pore pressure comprises the lower limit for allowable wellbore pressure in the open wellbore, i.e. uncased borehole.
While it can be desirable to maintain the wellbore pressures above the pore pressure, if the wellbore pressure exceeds the formation fracture pressure, a formation fracture may occur. With a formation fracture, the drilling fluid in the annulus may flow into the fracture, decreasing the amount of drilling fluid in the wellbore. In some cases, the loss of drilling fluid may cause the hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore to decrease, which may in turn allow formation fluids to enter the wellbore. Therefore, the formation fracture pressure can define an upper limit for allowable wellbore pressure in an open wellbore. In some cases, the formation immediately below the casing shoe will have the lowest fracture pressure in the open wellbore. Consequently, such fracture pressure immediately below the casing shoe is often used to determine the maximum annulus pressure. However, in other instances, the lowest fracture pressure in the open wellbore occurs at a lower depth in the open wellbore than the formation immediately below this casing shoe. In such an instance, pressure at this lower depth may be used to determine the maximum annulus pressure.
Pressure gradients plot a plurality of respective pore, fracture, and drilling fluid pressures versus depth in the wellbore on a graph. Pore pressure gradients and fracture pressure gradients as well as pressure gradients for the drilling fluid have been used to determine setting depths for casing strings to avoid pressures falling outside of the pressure limits in the wellbore. The fracture pressure can be determined by performing a leak-off test below casing shoe by applying surface pressure to the hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore. The fracture pressure is the point where a formation fracture initiates as indicated by comparing changes in pressure versus volume during the leak-off test. The leak-off test can be performed immediately after circulating the drilling fluid. The circulating temperature is the temperature of the circulating drilling fluid, and the static temperature is the temperature of the formation.
Circulating temperatures are sometimes lower than static temperatures. A fracture pressure determined from a leak-off test performed when circulating temperatures just prior to performing the test are less than static temperature is lower than a fracture pressure if the test were performed at static temperature. This is due to the changes in near wellbore formation stress resulting from the lower circulating temperature as compared to the higher static temperature. Similarly, for a circulating temperature higher than static temperature, the fracture pressure determined from a leak-off test would be higher than if the test would be performed at static temperature.
For any given open hole interval, the range of allowable fluid pressures lies between the pore pressure gradient and the fracture pressure gradient for that portion of the open wellbore between the deepest casing shoe and the bottom of the well. The pressure gradients of the drilling fluid may depend, in part, upon whether the drilling fluid is circulated, which will impart a dynamic pressure, or not circulated, which may impart a static pressure. The dynamic pressure sometimes comprises a higher pressure than the static pressure. Thus, the maximum dynamic pressure allowable tends to be limited by the fracture pressure. A casing string must be set or fluid density reduced when the dynamic pressure exceeds the fracture pressure if fracturing of the well is to be avoided. Since the fracture pressure is likely to be lowest at the highest uncased point in the well, the fluid pressure at this point is particularly relevant. In some instances, the fracture pressure is lowest at lower points in the well. For instance, depleted zones below the last casing string may have the lowest fracture pressure. In such instances, the fluid pressure at the depleted zone is particularly relevant.
When drilling a well, the depth of the initial casing strings and the corresponding casing shoes may be determined by the formation strata, government regulations, pressure gradient profiles, and the like. The initial casing strings may comprise conductor casings, surface casings, and the like. The fracture pressures may limit the depth of the casing strings to be set below the casing shoe of the first initial casing string. These casing strings below the initial casing strings are intermediate casing strings and the like. To determine the maximum depth of the first intermediate casing string, a maximum initial drilling fluid density may be initially chosen with the circulating drilling fluid temperature lower than static temperature, which provides a dynamic pressure that does not exceed the fracture pressure at the first casing shoe. The maximum drilling fluid density may also be used to compare the static and/or dynamic pressure gradient to the pore pressure and fracture pressure gradients to indicate an allowable pressure range and a depth at which the casing string should be set. After the first intermediate casing string is set, the maximum density of the drilling fluid can be increased to a pressure at which the dynamic pressure does not exceed the fracture pressure at the casing shoe of the newly set casing string. Such new maximum drilling fluid density may then be used to again compare the static and/or dynamic pressure gradient to the pore pressure and fracture pressure gradients to indicate an allowable pressure range and a depth at which the next casing string should be set. Such procedures are followed until the desired wellbore depth is reached.

Apparatus for changing flowbore fluid temperature


The present invention is a method and apparatus the delivery of ready-to-cook foodstuffs, such as cookie dough eggs, in response to a consumer's order or selection. The system contemplates obtaining a consumer's order for ready-to-cook dough eggs, and storing consumer's order data in a memory of a point-of-sale computer system. The ordering data is then displayed on a point-of-sale system for fulfillment by a service associate, who assembles and packages the consumer's order in a carton in accordance with the order displayed. In the particular dough egg embodiment, the “eggs” are placed in numbered recesses in a clam-shell carton and an order fulfillment sheet is printed an attached. The order fulfillment sheet includes a listing of the variety of dough egg that has been placed in each of the numbered recesses in the container.

The present invention is directed to a system and method, including a particular container, for the delivery of ready-to-cook cookie dough "eggs" in association with a cookie dough retailing operation. The operation is based upon a repeatable, franchiseable methodology for the ordering and fulfillment of consumer's orders as will be described in greater detail herein.
Heretofore, a number of patents and publications have disclosed containers for agricultural products such as eggs, and apparatus for the dispensing of cookie dough in preparation for cooking, the relevant portions of which may be briefly summarized as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,235 to Finkowski et al., issued May 13, 2003, discloses an apparatus and method for depositing cookie dough into a tray, where the dough is extruded onto a tray moved by a conveyor or similar transport. In addition to the extruder, a cutoff blade is employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,939 to Lou et al., issued Mar. 27, 1990, teaches a shelf-stable microwavable cookie dough, where the dough is formed into individual cookie pieces and is pre-baked for a short period of time to provide a gluten skin on the cookie surface to provide an extended shelf life.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,299 to Crabtree, issued Feb. 11, 1975, discloses an egg carton with a flexible window well, where the carton is molded of a flexible material and has a bottom with two generally parallel rows of egg pockets therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,914 to Ahylmeyer, issued Mar. 9, 1971, teaches an egg carton having a molded paper pulp lower portion and a transparent plastic upper portion hingedly attached to the lower portion.
Consumers enjoy an opportunity to sample store-made specialty food items and, as expected, they will purchase specialty cookies in a ready-to-bake form. However, should a consumer wish to select a variety of ready-to-bake dough in single-serving size "eggs," a method of distinguishing the different varieties from one another is required. In the retail operation in which the present invention finds particular use, a consumer is encouraged to purchase ready-to-cook foodstuffs in the form of egg or ball-shaped servings of cookie dough. The "dough eggs" as they are called, are available in a plurality of known and retailer-specific flavors or recipes, including chocolate chip, peanut butter, molasses, oatmeal raisin, oatmeal butterscotch, snickerdoodle, etc. Dough Eggs, as used herein, represents pre-formed balls of cookie dough available to customers by the variety dozen in a custom tooled egg carton, where the customer can order whatever flavor cookies they want in a customized dozen. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system and method of facilitating the order and delivery of ready-to-bake dough eggs, including custom packaging for such delivery.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a system for the delivery of ready-to-cook foodstuffs in response to a consumer order, comprising: a point-of-sale order terminal (at site, manual/automatic, remote) for logging a consumer's order for foodstuffs in single-serving sizes; a memory for storing data entered at the point-of-sale order terminal and representing the consumer's order; a processor for analyzing the data stored in memory for a particular order and re-ordering the data to group at least like foodstuff selections together; a display for displaying the consumer's order on a point-of-sale system for fulfillment of the consumer's order by a service associate; a container for packaging the consumer's order in accordance with the order displayed on the point of sale system, wherein the foodstuffs are placed in numbered recesses in the container; an order fulfillment sheet for attachment to the container, wherein the fulfillment sheet is printed separate from a sales receipt and includes a listing of the type of foodstuff that has been placed in each of the numbered recesses in the container; and means for delivering the container and the fulfillment sheet to the consumer at or near the time of payment (e.g., drive-up window, counter, delivery vehicle, self-serve, etc.).
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for the delivery ready-to-cook foodstuffs in response to a consumer order, comprising the steps of: obtaining a consumer's order for foodstuffs in single-serving sizes; storing data representing the consumer's order in a memory; re-ordering the data to group like selections together; displaying the consumer's order on a point-of-sale system for fulfillment of the consumer's order by a service associate; packaging the consumer's order in accordance with the order displayed on the point of sale system, wherein the foodstuffs are placed in numbered recesses in a clam-shell container; printing an order fulfillment sheet for attachment to the container, wherein the fulfillment sheet includes a listing of the type of foodstuff that has been placed in each of the numbered recesses in the container; and completing the order fulfillment by closing the container and delivering the container and the fulfillment sheet to the consumer at the time of payment.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container for ready-to-cook foodstuffs, comprising: a lower portion having a plurality of recessed regions formed therein; an upper cover, covering said lower portion; a flexible hinge connecting the lower portion and the upper cover, wherein the hinge, the lower portion and the upper portion are made of the same material, and where the lower portion, the hinge and the cover form a clamshell design; and a symbol (identification means) associated with each of the plurality of recessed regions formed in the lower portion.
One aspect of the invention is based on the discovery of a new technique for selling and delivering cookie dough or similarly ready-to-cook foodstuffs. The techniques are related to the manner in which consumer's may order the foodstuff's in a variety package (much like the ordering of a doughnuts, ice cream confections, fast food, etc. where the consumer places a custom order for the items desired), and the ways in which the order is logged, fulfilled and delivered to the consumer. Also, the method of packaging ready-to-cook foodstuffs such as cookie dough, and the way in which such foodstuff may be identified form unique aspects of the present invention.
The techniques and aspects of the invention described herein are advantageous because they permit an efficient and inexpensive method of fulfilling a consumer's order for dough eggs or similar foodstuffs in a fashion that will be well received by the consumer. Moreover, the aspects of the invention are flexible enough so as to be adaptable to any of a number of foodstuffs. The techniques of the invention are advantageous because permit the fulfillment of a consumer order from a range of alternatives. As a result of the invention, the cost-effective delivery of variety cookie dough and similar foodstuffs will be possible.
The present invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment, however, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment described. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Variety cookie dough ordering and delivery system


A graphical user interface ("GUI") incorporating one or more subpanels. Each subpanel has a presentation control and can have one or more GUI objects displayed on the computer screen. Each subpanel may be toggled between an expanded state or a collapsed state by operating the presentation control. Expanding and collapsing the subpanels changes the appearance and the functionality of the GUI, but the size of area of the screen used by the subpanels remains unchanged.

A. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for displaying, selecting, and setting options as part of a graphical user interface for a computer program.
B. Description of the Related Art
Graphical user interfaces are commonly used by computer systems to enable computer operators to simply and effectively control the computers in those systems. A computer operator typically will manipulate a variety of graphical objects within such interfaces such as: desktops, windows, cursors, folders, files, icons, buttons, menus, control panels and dialog boxes, to accomplish a variety of tasks on the system. Such graphical user interfaces can play an important role in simplifying computer tasks so that they may be more easily understood and accomplished, even by unsophisticated users. Such graphical user interfaces may also provide improved control over the operation of the computer system and enable a user to easily accomplish tasks that might be difficult to accomplish with other types of interfaces.
A typical graphical user interface provides a display in which windows may be used to organize and show graphical user interface objects associated with application programs and documents, on a CRT or other display device. Graphical user interface objects that enable the user to accomplish the variety of tasks typically are also provided in the display. Generally a keyboard and a mouse, or similar pointing device, are provided with the computer system for selecting options and interacting with the objects in the graphical user interface. Typically, the mouse will have one or more buttons each of which cause the computer to respond in a programmed manner. A user manipulates the cursor on the display by moving the mouse. The cursor may be represented on the display by a wide variety of images such as a vertical bar, an arrow, a hand, a pencil, a can of paint, an eraser or any other desired symbol. The keyboard typically has keys, possibly in foreign languages or symbol sets, for data entry purposes along with other keys which the operating system or application programs can program to respond in various fashions. To interact with objects in the graphical user interface, the user uses the input devices to activate and work with graphical user interface objects. For example, to activate a graphical user interface button object, a user would move the mouse so that the cursor was over the graphical user interface button object and then activate the appropriate mouse button.
The advantages of graphical user interfaces may enhance the ability of application programs to provide users with desired functions or operations. Application programs can include programs such as word processors, spreadsheets, World Wide Web browsers and other Internet related software, finance software, personal information managers, graphics modeling and animation programs, or any of a wide variety of other programs. Using graphics modeling and animation programs as an example, graphical user interfaces may enhance the users ability to create and manipulate the images or scenes and to manipulate the objects being drawn, modeled or animated in an image or scene. The graphical user interface for an application program is typically implemented as a menu bar, a tool bar, a floating tool pad, or a combination of the three.
A menu bar is typically comprised of menus indicated by keywords, sometimes paired with images, arranged along the top, sides or the bottom of the display or each window. By pointing the cursor at a menu in a menu bar and activating a mouse button, the menu expands toward the center of the screen to reveal one or more choices, typically the choices are represented by keywords. Some of the choices may be commands or functions, while others may activate sub-menus. The sub-menus typically appear alongside the menu with the first item of the sub-menu lined up with the choice from the original menu that opened the sub-menu. A sub-menu may itself contain keywords that open sub-sub-menus, and so on. This hierarchical and recursive organization of the menu provides a compact and intuitive format for presenting commands to the user. A well known example of a menu is the "Start" button in the Windows 95.TM. operating system. The main disadvantage of a menu is that the user may have to traverse multiple levels of the hierarchy to activate a command. Although the hierarchy assists the user in remembering the command, the traversal to the command itself may require several mouse movements and activations for each access to the command which slows the user down.
The tool bar or tool pad typically is comprised of several icons, drawn to resemble buttons on the screen, arranged linearly (tool bar) or in a square or rectangular matrix (tool pad). The user activates the commands represented by the buttons on a tool bar by pointing the cursor at the button and activating a mouse button. Each button on a tool bar activates a particular function. The main advantage of a tool bar is speed and convenience. The functions on a tool bar may be activated by pressing a single mouse button without the necessity to traverse the hierarchy of a menu. The disadvantage of a tool bar is that because of its flat organization, it grows in size very rapidly as buttons are added. Tool bars are typically not hierarchical like menus. The typical approach to adding hierarchy to Tool bars is to include controls in a tool bar that when activated, will place another tool bar on the screen adjacent to the first tool bar. When the original control is selected again, the second tool bar is removed from the screen. With each tool bar that is added, albeit temporarily, limited display space is used up and the user is relegated to a smaller area for viewing results. Since the size of the CRT or other display device is limited, as a tool bar grows in size it obscures other parts of the display, including the portion of the display used to show the user the result of the commands, such as the document display area in a word processing program or the view ports displaying the 3D objects being created and modified by the user of a graphics modeling program. Most programs therefore strike a compromise by providing both menus and Tool bars and permitting the user to customize the tool bar and to move the tool bar to different portions of the screen. When tool pads are used, they are typically programmed as "floaters" and may be moved around and placed anywhere on the screen by the user while the program is in use. As the sophistication and complexity of computer programs increase, more and more screen space must be devoted to Tool bars, tool pads, and similar features to accommodate the additional functionality of the programs. If the hierarchical compactness of a menu could be provided in a tool bar, thus permitting the tool bar to expand without using up additional space on the screen, the growing number of functions of sophisticated computer programs could be displayed in a convenient format for the user, while minimizing the screen space utilized to accommodate the functions.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and apparatus to provide a more compact presentation of groups of functions contained entirely within a single element of the graphical user interface.

Method and apparatus for incorporating expandable and collapsible options in a graphical user interface


An approach is provided for dynamic obstacle data in a collision probability map. The approach, for example, involves monitoring a flight of an aerial vehicle through a three-dimensional (3D) space that is partitioned into 3D shapes of varying resolutions. The approach also involves detecting an entry of the aerial vehicle into one 3D shape of the plurality of 3D shapes. The approach further involves, on detecting an exit of the aerial vehicle form the one 3D shape, recording a 3D shape identifier (ID) of the one 3D shape and at least one of a first timestamp indicating the entry, a second timestamp indicating the exit, a duration of stay in the one 3D shape, dimensions of the aerial vehicle, or a combination thereof as a dynamic obstacle observation record. The approach further involves transmitting the dynamic obstacle observation record to another device (e.g., a server for creating the collision probability map).

Routing an aerial vehicle or drone (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)) in a three-dimensional (3D) space or environment presents unique challenges due to the complex geometry of obstacles (e.g., trees, cables, lampposts) in the aerial vehicle's flightpath or route. These obstacles can also include dynamic or moving obstacles such as other aerial vehicles operating in the same area. Because these of challenges, service providers face significant technical issues with respect to providing mapping data (e.g., proper modeling of the three-dimensional word) to enable aerial vehicles to be routed more safely through 3D space, particularly when operating autonomously.

Method and apparatus for providing dynamic obstacle data for a collision probability map


A semiconductor memory having storage cells each consisting of a MIS transistor and a capacitor, and a method of manufacturing the same. The semiconductor memory comprises a semiconductor substrate, an insulating layer formed on the semiconductor substrate, and semiconductor regions formed on the surface of the insulating layer. The semiconductor memory is characterized in that the MIS transistors are formed, respectively, on the surfaces of the semiconductor regions and separated from each other and from the semiconductor substrate by an insulating layer, and the capacitors are formed, respectively, under the corresponding MIS transistors. The insulating layer separating the MIS transistors from each other and from the semiconductor substrate reduces current leakage between the storage cells and reduces capacitance across bit lines formed on the side of the MIS transistors and the semiconductor substrate. The method of manufacturing the semiconductor memory includes a lapping process for lapping the surface of a wafer in forming the semiconductor regions in recesses formed by the insulating layer. The lapping process uses an alkaline liquid as a lapping liquid and employs a lapping disk provided with a hard lapping pad to finish the surfaces of the semiconductor regions flush with the surface of the insulating layer by lapping.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory and a method of manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to a semiconductor memory comprising storage cells each of a combination of a MIS transistor and a capacitor and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The dynamic RAM comprising storage cells each of a combination of a data storage capacitor and an access transistor has the highest possibility of being constructed in a high degree of integration among semiconductor memories and is employed in various electronic apparatus. Energetic activities for the technological development of dynamic RAMs have been extensively conducted. Some results of the technological development of dynamic RAMs are disclosed, for example, in J.P. Pub. Nos. 60-1952 and 60-19597.
As is described in "Trend of 4M and 16M DRAMs; Multilayer Capacitor and Trench Capacitor", Monthly Semiconductor World, pp.31-36, February 1988, dynamic RAMs are classified roughly into those of a multilayer capacitor type employing multilayer capacitors formed on a semiconductor substrate and those of a trench capacitor type employing trench capacitors formed on a semiconductor substrate. Most noticeable at the present as a RAM having the highest possibility of high-density integration is a static RAM of a trench capacitor type comprising trench capacitors formed in trenches formed in a semiconductor substrate, and access transistors formed directly above the trench capacitors. The construction of such a static RAM is illustrated in a sectional view in page 36 of the foregoing monthly magazine.
Efforts have been made to develop a method of fabricating a VLSI (very large scale integrated circuit) incorporating the foregoing semiconductor memories by using a so-called SOI (silicon-on-insulator) substrate formed by forming a thin single crystal silicon film over an insulative body. A SOI substrate is considered to be most excellent in crystallinity and characteristics among various SOI substrates.
In fabricating a SOI substrate through a process shown in FIGS. 16A, 16B and 16C, it is essential to lap a silicon wafer 101 selectively after applying a silicon wafer 105 to the silicon wafer 101 to finish the surfaces of insular silicon layers 106 formed in recesses formed by a SiO.sub.2 film flat and flush with the surface 103a of the SiO.sub.2 film 103 surrounding the insular silicon layers 106 without damaging. Various lapping methods have been proposed for such a purpose.
FIG. 17 shows a lapping apparatus for selective lapping. A laminated wafer 108 formed by laminating the silicon wafers 101 and 105 as shown in FIG. 16B is attached to a wafer holder 109, for example, with a wax. An abrasive disk 112 is formed by applying an abrasive pad 111 to the surface of a lapping disk 110. The abrasive disk 112 is rotated and a lapping liquid 114 is supplied to the surface of the abrasive pad 111 with the surface of the laminated wafer 108 to be lapped in contact with the abrasive pad 111 to lap the wafer 108. The lapping liquid 114 is an alkaline solution or an alkaline solution containing abrasive grains, which reacts on silicon and does not react on SiO.sub.2. The abrasive pad 111 is a very hard disk 116 as shown in FIG. 18, such as a ceramic disk or a carbide disk, a suede-finished soft urethane form cloth 117 as shown in FIG. 19.
J.P. Provisional Pub. (Kokai) No. 62-259769 discloses a lapping method of finishing the surface of a silicon wafer in a high flatness, which employs a polyurethane abrasive cloth and an amine solution as a lapping liquid for lapping. This known lapping method, however, refers to nothing about selective lapping for finishing a surface including both an insulative material and silicon in a flat surface by lapping.
Incidentally, in the static RAM of a trench capacitor type comprising storage cells each consisting of a trench capacitor and an access transistor formed directly above the trench capacitor, the n-type source-drain region (a region on the side of the capacitor) of a MIS access transistor is formed in a p.sup.- layer formed on a p.sup.+ -type semiconductor substrate by epitaxial growth. Therefore, it is possible that a depletion layer extending from the n-type region into the p-type epitaxial layer of a storage cell encounters with a depletion layer extending from the n-type source-drain region (a region on the side of the capacitor) of the adjacent storage cell when the storage cell are formed in a high density. Accordingly, this static RAM has an electrical disadvantage that current leakage increases even though the static RAM can be formed in a minute construction, and hence it is impossible to arrange the storage cells in a sufficiently high density.
Furthermore, since most conventional semiconductor memories are of a bulk silicon MOS type, it is difficult to reduce the parasitic capacitance across the bit line and the substrate. Accordingly, the open-bit construction, though excellent in integrating capability, is inferior in noise resistance and hence the open-bit construction is subject to limitation in the degree of integration. The semiconductor memory of a trench capacitor type is inevitably susceptible to soft errors and has a disadvantage that an optional bias voltage, for example, 0.5V.sub.cc, cannot be applied to the plate.

Semiconductor memory and a method of manufacturing the same


A dust remover for power sander includes a dust collecting hood secured on the sander and fluidically communicated with a vacuum system formed in or attached to the sander, having a resilient bellows portion formed on a lower portion of the hood for covering a sanding pad as driven by a motor of the sander and a bottom flange having a plurality of apertures or perforations circumferentially formed in the flange, with the bellows portion resiliently expanding to retain the bottom flange on a working surface; whereby upon vacuum suction in the sander to form at least an air stream as drafted from the outside into the inside of the hood, the dusts, as produced when operating the sander, will be sucked inwardly into the hood as laden in the air stream to be finally collected and disposed for preventing air pollution and for enhancing occupational health.

A conventional air sander S as shown in FIG. 1 includes a sanding pad P for sanding a surface W as driven by a pneumatic motor M by compressed air through inlet passage I, a hood H attached to and above the sanding pad P to form a chamber for directing dusts D as spread through the openings O drilled in the pad P by a suction or discharge tube T connected to air outlet E of the pneumatic motor M in order to suck or remove dust D occurring during the sanding operation.
However, as effected by the centrifugal force C of the rotating pad P, a great portion of the dusts will be spread centrifugally outwardly as shown in FIG. 1, still causing air pollution problem and hazard of occupational health to the operating workers.
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional air sander, and invented the present dust remover for power sander.

Air-drafting dust remover for power sander


The present invention is directed to a decorative item. The decorative item includes a number of components which cooperate together. A layer of luminescent material is provided. The layer of luminescent material is preferably, but not necessarily, a substantially rigid and planar carrier. A translucent image is affixed to the layer of luminescent material. The decorative item is operable in a plurality of modes of operation, including an excitation mode of operation and a delayed light emission mode of operation. During the excitation mode of operation, the decorative item is exposed to a source of exciting energy, such as light. In the delayed light emission mode of operation, the layer of luminescent material generates a phosphorescent light emission, after the source of exciting energy is removed, which passes through the translucent image and makes it visible in low light conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to greeting cards, bookmarks, and other decorative items.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The novelty, gift, and card industry is always open to new technical innovation, and especially innovation which helps the consumer and/or user to more effectively deliver personal messages to family members, friends, business associates and acquaintances. This has led to a variety of gift and card items which can be highly personalized. For example, it is now fairly common for individuals to have their own Christmas cards printed which include one or more photographs of the sender and his/her family. This results in a Christmas or other seasonal greeting which may be treasured and held by the recipient far longer than a preprinted and standard card. Another example of the highly customized novelty or greeting item is the greeting cards which are now commercially available that include a prerecorded voice or musical message which is personally generated by the sender, and which may be heard after a button is depressed, which causes a voice synthesizer to play a prerecorded message utilizing an audio output device, such as a piezo electric crystal.
Such personalized card or gift items also have significant commercial value in the advertising specialty industry, allowing companies to personalize seasonal and other greetings in order to generate or maintain business.

Luminescent cards and decorative items and method of manufacturing luminescent cards and decorative items


A substrate includes a stacked trace formed from a trace and a first buildup trace stacked on the trace. The first buildup trace contacts and is electrically connected to the trace along the entire length of the trace. The current carrying cross-sectional area of the stacked trace is greater than the current carrying cross-sectional area of the trace. Accordingly, a plurality of the stacked traces can be formed with a small width and thus small pitch yet with a large current carrying cross-sectional area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to the field of electronics, and more particularly, to methods of forming electronic component packages and related structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
A substrate includes an electrically conductive circuit having various electrically conductive features. These electrically conductive features include, for example, traces, vias, terminals, and bond fingers.
The traces of the circuit are long electrically conductive connectors that electrically connected the other features of the circuit. To form a high density circuit, the width and thus pitch of the traces is minimized. As the width of the traces is reduced, the cross-sectional area (the conductor volume) of the traces is reduced thus reducing the electrical performance of the traces. The cross-sectional area of a trace is sometimes called the current carrying cross-sectional area as it is the cross-sectional area of the trace across which the current conducted through the trace is carried.
To maintain the electrical performance of the traces while at the same time minimizing the width of the traces, the traces are formed from a high-grade electrically conductive material. The high-grade electrically conductive material is an extremely good electrical conductor allowing traces having reduced current carrying cross-sectional areas to nevertheless carry a sufficient current. However, forming the traces of the high-grade electrically conductive material is relatively expensive thus increasing the overall cost of substrate.


In a liquid crystal display device, support columns are formed on the outside of a seal area in an edge area of opposing substrates, thus reducing substrate deformation and preventing the occurrence of air bubbles inside the liquid crystal layer, undesirable coloring of the display area, and color irregularity. Support columns 9 formed using a conductive ink are provided on the outside of seal material 6 used for sealing liquid crystal layer 5 contained between top substrate 1 and bottom substrate 2. The support columns 9 prevent the warping of substrates 1 and 2 caused by the shrinkage of mold material 8 during hardening, reducing the changes in the liquid crystal layer thickness. Support columns 9 are print-formed simultaneously with the conductive connection area of the liquid crystal panel, and are hardened simultaneously with the seal material.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to technologies for enhancing the structure of the peripheral area of the substrate of a liquid crystal display.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional liquid crystal display devices, the sealing of a liquid crystal layer between two substrates, and the application of voltage between the electrodes formed in pairs on the back side of the liquid crystal layer change the orientation of the liquid crystals inside the layer, making it possible to display various images. FIG. 7 depicts an example of an enlarged cross-sectional view of the substrate edge area of a conventional liquid crystal display devices, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view from above showing the overall configuration.
As shown therein, both the top and bottom substrates 1, 2 are constituted by clear glass plates, and transparent electrodes 3 and 4 are formed in specified patterns on the opposing internal surfaces of substrates 1 and 2. Liquid crystal layer 5 is sealed between top substrate 1 and bottom substrate 2 by means of sealant 6.
Bottom substrate 2 extends farther out to one side than top substrate 1, and electrode pads 4a, which are conductively connected to clear electrode 4, constitute external electrodes are formed on this surface. Insertion pins 7, installed such that they clamp bottom substrate 2, contact these electrode pads 4a and connect to an external wiring substrate, or the like. Insertion pins 7 with legs are attached to substrate 2 by means of elastic jaws 7a and 7b, such that they clamp onto bottom substrate 2; and these installation areas are secured with molding material 8.
Multiple electrode pads 4a are positioned at a specified minimum interval on the edge area of bottom substrate 2, and are connected to transparent electrodes 4 formed on the interior surface of bottom substrate 2. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, multiple electrode pads 3a are also formed on the edge area of bottom substrate 2, and are connected via conductive connection area 10 to transparent electrodes 3 formed on the interior surface of top substrate 1. The above device is, for example, a segment-type liquid crystal display device, and transparent electrodes 3 and 4 are used as common electrodes and segment electrodes, respectively.
Such conventional devices have numerous drawbacks problems and has a disadvantage for example in the above-mentioned conventional liquid crystal display device, it is necessary to fill and coat the gap between top substrate 1 and bottom substrate 2 with resin molding material 8 in order to secure the area where electrode pads 3a and 4a and insertion pins 7 with legs are conductively connected, and to prevent electrolytic corrosion of electrode pads 4a, in the electrode lead-out area where bottom substrate 2 extends outward beyond the edge area of top surface 1. This kind of coating is also used in making a conductive connection for the pad areas of a circuit board via bonding wires, and in making a conductive connection using a conductive adhesive in the edge area of a flexible substrate and heat seal, in addition to the conductive connection that is made via insertion pins 7 with legs as described above.
The reasons for using a resin mold for coating include the following: to electrically coat the connections of the various components connected to the above-mentioned insertion pins 7 with legs, bonding wires, flexible substrates, heat seal, etc. (conductive connection area protection mold); to secure flexible substrates and the heat seal, etc. and to increase their rigidity (reinforcement mold); to prevent electrolytic corrosion caused by the potential difference between electrode pads resulting from the adhesion of a liquid such as water to two or more adjacent electrode pads 3a and 4a (anti-corrosion mold); and to prevent corrosion and erosion of other structural areas of a liquid crystal panel (durability and corrosion resistance enhancement mold).
As explained above, this kind of mold is often applied to the conductive connection area where electrode pads 3a and 4a are formed. However, the type of reinforcement and durability mold described above is necessarily applied to areas other than conductive connection areas. Therefore, resin coating using a mold agent is sometimes applied to the entire perimeter of a liquid crystal panel.
When such a mold, or coating, is applied, the hardening and shrinking of the mold resin usually pulls the edges of the top and bottom substrates closer, deforming them inward. As a reaction to this phenomenon, the space between the top and bottom substrates becomes wider toward the middle of sealing material 6, causing negative pressure inside, and as a result, low-temperature air bubbles and shock air bubbles tend to occur inside the liquid crystal layer.
Furthermore, the stress accompanying the resin coating changes the cell thickness of the liquid crystal panel, and tends to produce coloring and color irregularity. This cell thickness change tends to be particularly large near the seal area, and it may become necessary to apply a black mask to the perimeter of the liquid crystal panel in order to avoid display quality degradation in this area. Because the formation of this mask reduces the liquid crystal display area, it increases the overall cost of manufacturing a liquid crystal display. The above-mentioned coloring and color irregularity become particularly serious problems in large-size liquid crystal panels since cell thickness may vary widely within the panel surface.
The cause of the stress that brings about the above-mentioned substrate deformation is not limited to shrinkage-induced stress, and may include such factors as mechanical contacts made during liquid crystal panel manufacturing or during the incorporation of the liquid crystal panel into various instruments, and shock or vibration applied to the various instruments into which the liquid crystal panel is incorporated.
Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide a new structure for a liquid crystal display device, that can prevent substrate deformation by dispersing the stress applied to the substrates.
It is another object of the present invention to improve the display quality of liquid crystal display devices by reducing dimensional errors in the liquid crystal cell structure caused by external stress.
It is a further object of the present invention to improve product yield by preventing quality degradation of liquid crystal display devices due to mold formation.
It is a still further object of the present invention to achieve a method that does not require any special design change or addition of manufacturing steps in order to prevent substrate deformation caused by mold formation.
As a means of solving the above-mentioned problems, the liquid crystal display device of the invention is provided with two substrates at least one of which is transparent, a liquid crystal contained between the substrates, a seal area formed between the substrates to surround the liquid crystal layer, and support columns for connecting the substrates on the outside of the seal area. The liquid crystal layer can be based on any display principle, and the seal area and the support columns are not limited to any particular materials. Furthermore, any number of support columns can be used, and they can be formed in any shape.
According to this means, the formation of the support columns on the outside of the seal area reduces substrate deformation that may be caused by various elements that use the seal area as the function. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of air bubbles inside the liquid crystal layer, as well as undesirable coloring of the display area, and color irregularity.
When a mold material for covering the edge areas of the substrates is provided, the support columns resist the compression force of the mold material, thus reducing the stress applied to the substrates and providing the effect of suppressing substrate deformation. The mold materials include a type for fastening connection components, e.g., connection pins and connection wires, that are conductively connected to the external pins used for applying an electrical field to the liquid crystal layer; a type for reinforcing the flexible substrate that is conductively connected to the external pins used for applying an electrical field to said liquid crystal layer; and a type for preventing electrolytic corrosion of said external pins.
In these cases, the support columns should preferably be formed at the edges of the substrates. The support columns formed at the edges of substrates offer the greatest resistance to the stress applied to the edges of the substrates.
Furthermore, the support columns should preferably be formed using the conductive paste used for making a conductive connection among the wires inside the device. When the support columns are formed using the conductive paste, the support columns can be formed simultaneously with the conductive connection areas (in particular, the top and bottom connection areas for connecting the conductive elements formed along the substrates that sandwich the liquid crystal cells) inside the liquid crystal panel, or the support columns can be used as the conductive connection area. In this way, manufacturing costs can be reduced without any changes in the number of processes or the process contents.
Additionally, the conductive paste should preferably be a conductive ink containing carbon. When a conductive ink containing carbon is used, the support column can easily and precisely be formed using a printing method.
Furthermore, the support columns should preferably be formed using a material containing a phenol resin as the main ingredient, in which case their adhesion to the substrates is relatively weak and they process an appropriate degree of flexibility. This facilitates the cutting of the substrates which is performed during the manufacture of the liquid crystal display device, and avoids the risk of cracking the substrates when they are cut at the areas where the support columns have been formed.
Additionally, the support columns should preferably be formed using a material processing weaker adhesion strength than the material comprising the seal area. This facilitates the cutting of the substrates which is performed during the manufacture of the liquid crystal display device, and avoids the risk of cracking the substrates when they are cut at the areas where the support columns have been formed.
Furthermore, the support columns should preferably be formed using a material processing the same hardening characteristics as the material comprising the seal area. When the support columns are formed using a material that possesses the same hardening characteristics as the material comprising the seal area, the support columns can be hardened simultaneously with the seal area during the manufacture of the liquid crystal display device. Therefore, unlike in a case in which the support columns and the seal area are separately hardened, the substrate positioning accuracy used for hardening the seal area can also be used for the support columns, thus avoiding increases in the number of manufacturing steps and the process time.
Additionally, according to the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device, a seal area is formed between two substrates at least one of which is transparent, to surround the area that houses the liquid crystal layer, and after the support columns for connecting the substrates on the outside of the seal area are formed, the edges of said substrates are covered by a mold material. In this manufacturing method, the above-mentioned effects can be easily obtained simply by providing the support columns.
Note that the seal area and the support columns should preferably be formed using materials possessing the same hardening characteristics, and the seal area and the support columns should preferably be hardened at the same time. The seal area and the support columns can be hardened simultaneously if they are formed using materials possessing the same hardening characteristics, e.g., thermohardening or photo-curing characteristics, thus eliminating the need for a new hardening process.
Furthermore, the conductive connection areas that connect electrodes formed on the substrate with external pins should preferably be formed simultaneously with the support columns using the same material. The support columns and the conductive connection areas can be positioned and formed using a single process if they are formed using the same material, thus eliminating the need for a new manufacturing process for positioning and forming the support columns, and the above-mentioned effects can be obtained by merely changing the formation pattern of the conductive connection areas.
Other objects and attainments together with a fuller understanding of the invention will become apparent and appreciated by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method thereof


A source driver integrated circuit of the present invention comprises: a sensing circuit for receiving a sensing signal for pixels through a sensing line connected to the pixels, converting the sensing signal so as to generate sensing data, and generating a fault signal if an abnormal signal that exceeds an input range is received from the sensing line; and a data driving circuit for receiving, from the data processing circuit, image data which is processed to be compensated according to the sensing data and a data control signal in which the fault signal is reflected, converting the image data so as to generate data voltage, and controlling supply of the data voltage to the pixels according to the data control signal.

A display device includes a source driver for driving pixels arranged in the panel.
The source driver determines a data voltage according to image data and supplies the data voltage for the pixels, thereby controlling the brightness of each pixel.
Meanwhile, even when the same data voltage is supplied, the brightness of each pixel may vary according to the characteristics of the pixel. For example, a pixel includes a driving transistor. If a threshold voltage of the driving transistor changes, the brightness of the pixel also changes even when the same data voltage is supplied. If the source driver does not consider the change in the characteristics of the pixels, the pixels may be driven at undesired brightness, and the image quality may deteriorate.
Specifically, the characteristics of the pixels change with time or with a surrounding environment. In this case, if the source driver supplies a data voltage without considering the changed characteristics of the pixels, deterioration of image quality, for example, screen stains, may occur.
In order to solve the problem with deterioration of image quality, the display device may include a sensing circuit that senses the characteristics of pixels.
The sensing circuit may receive a sensing signal for each pixel through a sensing line connected to each pixel. In addition, the sensing circuit converts a sensing signal into sensing data and transmits the same to a timing controller, and the timing controller recognizes the characteristics of the respective pixels through the sensing data. In addition, the timing controller compensates for the image data by reflecting the characteristics of the respective pixels, thereby eliminating the problem with deterioration of image quality due to the pixel deviation.
Meanwhile, an abnormal signal exceeding an input range of the sensing circuit, instead of a sensing signal in a normal range, may be input to the sensing line, which may damage to the sensing circuit and, furthermore, a problem with pixel alteration due to the distortion of the sensing data.
An abnormal signal exceeding an input range may occur, for example, in the case where a data line through which a data voltage is supplied and a sensing line are shorted. As another example, an abnormal signal exceeding an input range may be generated when a driving voltage line through which a driving voltage is supplied and a sensing line are shorted. As another example, an abnormal signal exceeding an input range may also be sensed in the sensing line when the data line and the driving voltage line are shorted.

Display device, sensing circuit and source driver integrated circuit


A metal paste comprising ultrafine particles of a metal. The particles have a particle size of 1000 angstroms (0.1 micron) or less and are individually uniformly dispersed in an organic solvent. A process for producing a metal paste comprises the steps of evaporating a metal in a vacuum chamber in an atmosphere of an inert gas at a pressure of 10 Torr or less and of collecting the vapor of the evaporated metal on a cooling surface in the form of ultrafine particles having a particle size of 1000 angstroms (0.1 micron) or less, wherein a vapor of an organic solvent is introduced into the vacuum chamber while the metal is being evaporated. A method for preparing a metallic thin film having a thickness of between 0.01 micron and 1 micron uses a metal paste containing ultrafine metal particles having a diameter of 0.1 micron or less uniformly dispersed in an organic solvent. In the method, the metal paste is coated on a substrate, dried and sintered.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a metal paste for use in multilayer wiring of an IC substrate, forming of an electrically conductive transparent film, bonding of a metal with a ceramic, or the like; to a process for producing the metal paste and to a method of making a metallic thin film using the metal paste.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One well-known process for producing ultrafine (superfine) particles of a metal for use in a metal paste of the type described above is a process of evaporation in a gas, the process comprising evaporating the metal in a depressurized atmosphere of an inert gas and collecting the evaporated metal on a cooling portion in the form of ultrafine particles having a particle size of 1000 angstroms (0.1 micron) or less.
The prior art process for producing the metal paste is to withdraw ultrafine metal particles produced, for example, in the above-described process of evaporation in a gas, into the atmospheric air and mix them with an organic solvent. More specifically, referring to FIG. 7, a crucible 6 in an evaporating chamber 1 is heated to evaporate a metal 7 in the crucible 6. The evaporated metal is introduced into a collection chamber 2 and collected in the form of ultrafine metal particles 12 on a cooling plate or a filter 11 maintained at a lower temperature by a coolant 13. The ultrafine metal particles 12 are withdrawn into the atmospheric air and mixed with an organic solvent to provide the metal paste.
With the metal paste produced by the prior art process, however, the particles may be adhered to one another in the course of production of the ultrafine metal particles, thereby producing agglomeration and/or chaining (i.e., connection in the form of a chain) of the particles. In addition, the surfaces of the particles may be oxidized and/or contaminated, resulting in an inferior dispersibility when they are mixed with the organic solvent. Further, because the particles are not individually separated, the density of the ultrafine metal particles in the paste may be lower.
When the metal paste is used, for example, for multilayer wiring in an IC substrate, it is necessary to form a pattern which is fine and has a uniform electric conductivity. When the conventional metal paste is used, however, a fine pattern cannot be formed well and the electric conductivity may not be uniform, because of an inferior dispersibility due to the presence of chained particles. In addition, in sintering the wiring formed from the metal paste, a higher temperature is required because of the oxidized surfaces of the particles. Further, shrinkage and/or cracks may be produced after sintering because of a lower density of the particles in the paste. This also results in an inferior uniformity in the electric conductivity.
Metallic thin films are conventionally used for making conductor circuits such as wiring, electrodes or the like of print circuit boards, thermal heads, condensers or the like. As the methods of making such metallic thin films, the following three are known.
A first method comprises the steps of: preparing an ordinary metallic paste by mixing particles of a metal or of an alloy thereof, whose particle size is 1 micron or more, with an organic solvent, a binder and an additive; and coating the paste on a substrate and drying and sintering them, thereby making a metallic thin film. In this method, the thickness of the metallic thin film is 5 microns or more.
A second method comprises the steps of coating a substrate with a metal-organic substance of liquid state in which a precious metal and an organic material are chemically combined; and drying and sintering them, thereby making a metallic thin film on the substrate. According to this method, it becomes possible to make a metallic thin film of 1 micron thick or less.
A third method comprises the step of making a metallic thin film by using a vacuum process such as a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method or the like.
In making circuit patterns of a conductive body in the above-described methods, a screen printing method is employed in the first method, a screen printing or photoetching method is employed in the second method, and a photoetching method is employed in the third method, respectively.
In the above-described first method, while the content of metal particles in the metal paste is 50% or more, their particle sizes are 1 micron or more. Therefore, the metallic thin film has a film thickness of as much as 5 to 10 microns. This method thus has problems in that it cannot cope with promoting a decrease in the thickness of the film and that the amount of consumption of gold, platinum, palladium or the like, which is high in material cost, increases, resulting in a product which is high in an overall cost.
In the above-described second method, since the precious metal is present in the organometallic substance in the atomic condition, it is easy to promote a decrease in the thickness of the metallic film. However, since the content of the metallic composition is 20% at most, it is necessary to repeat 2 to 3 times the steps of coating, drying and sintering in order to obtain a thickness of 0.2 to 0.3 micron or more, resulting in a problem in that much time is required for making the film. Further, in this method, the organometallic substance to be used often contains harmful substances such as cyanogen and, therefore, there are problems in safety and hygiene in the step of sintering.
Furthermore, in the third method, since a vacuum batch treatment is required, the productivity is low. In addition, since an easy patterning method such as screen printing or the like cannot be employed, there is a problem in that the productivity is low also in this respect.
Considering the above description of the prior art, it is an object of this invention to provide a metal paste in which the problems associated with the conventional metal paste can be overcome, in which ultrafine metal particles are uniformly dispersed without agglomeration and chaining, and in which the surfaces of the particles are free from oxidation and contamination, and to provide a process for producing such a metal paste.
It is a further object of this invention, considering the problems associated with the above-described three methods of making metallic thin films, to provide a method of making a thinner metallic thin film in an easy way.

Process for making a thin film using a metal paste


To provide a makeup-protecting material that has an excellent color migration prevention effect, causes no color bleeding over time, gives no coating film appearing whitish, and gives no squeaky or burdensome feeling. A makeup-protecting material comprises (A) 80 to 95% by mass of trifluoropropylcyclopolysiloxane, (B) a fluorine compound-treated silica, and (C) 2 to 8% by mass of a partially crosslinked, fluorine-modified organopolysiloxane polymer.

A makeup cosmetic may cause color migration when a region coated with the makeup cosmetic comes into contact with hands, clothes, or tableware. Techniques for preventing color migration of makeup cosmetics have been developed.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lipstick overcoat comprising (A) 0.2 to 40% by weight of a powder treated with a fluorine compound and (B) 60 to 99.8% by weight of a fluorine-based oil (claim 1). When applied onto a region coated with lipstick, the lipstick overcoat forms a film having excellent water repellency and oil repellency to improve the durability of makeup effects of the lipstick and to prevent the lipstick from adhering to tableware or the like (paragraph 0001). In other words, the lipstick overcoat is applied onto a surface coated with a lipstick.


An active-load dominant circuit for common-mode glitch interference cancellation, biased between a first voltage potential and a second voltage potential with an accompanying common-mode glitch interferer. The active-load dominant circuit includes a pair of pull-up networks and a pair of active-load networks. The common-mode glitch interferer is cancelled out due to a symmetric structure of the pair of pull-up networks. At least one set signal and at least one reset signal are provided to a latch in response to a clock signal or a complemented clock signal. At least one of the set signal and the reset signal can be pulled up to the first voltage potential or pulled down to the second voltage potential. The voltage difference of the set signal and the reset signal is large enough for a latch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pulse filter, and more particularly to a pulse filter capable of performing common-mode glitch interference cancellation in a half-bridge or full-bridge high-side driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
To describe the related art of the present invention, the relation between a pulse filter and a half-bridge or full-bridge high-side driver shall be introduced first. Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows the architecture of a typical half-bridge driver 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the typical half-bridge driver 100 at least includes a pulse generator 101, a pulse filter 102, and a latch 103.
The pulse generator 101 is used for generating a clock (CLK) signal and a complemented clock (CLKB) signal. The pulse filter 102 is used for cancelling a common-mode glitch interference accompanying the power lines of VBOOT and HBOUT, and generating a set signal and a reset signal to the latch 103. The latch 103 is used for sending a signal to a driver to switch a high-side power MOSFET. During the switching, a glitch is generated due to the capacitive characteristic of a capacitor CBOOT, i.e., the voltage difference hold between the two plates of a capacitor will not change abruptly. As a result, the certain period the capacitor takes to reach a stable state causes a glitch period. The pulse filter 102 is therefore used to deal with the glitch problem to prevent the failure of the latch 103.
One solution to eliminate the glitch interferer is to use a symmetric structure to cancel it in differential way. Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a circuit diagram of a prior art pulse filter 300 for cancelling the common-mode glitch interferer of power lines. As shown in FIG. 2, the prior art pulse filter 300 comprises a resistor 301, a PMOS transistor 302, a PMOS transistor 303, a resistor 304, a PMOS transistor 305, a PMOS transistor 306, a resistor 307, and a resistor 308.
The pulse filter 300 comprises a pair of pull-up networks and a pair of pull-down networks. The left side pull-up network is composed of the resistor 301, the PMOS transistor 302, and the PMOS transistor 303, and the right side pull-up network is composed of the resistor 304, the PMOS transistor 305, and the PMOS transistor 306. The left side pull-down network is composed of the resistor 307, and the right side pull-down network is composed of the resistor 308.
Due to the symmetric structure, the voltage potentials at the gate and the source of the PMOS transistor 302 and the PMOS transistor 305 will change simultaneously when a glitch is produced in the power lines so that the voltage difference between the gate and the source of both transistors remain unchanged. The conduction status in each transistor, for example the PMOS transistor 302 being on and the PMOS transistor 305 being off, therefore remains unchanged too. However, the voltage potential built up at the resistor 307 will still be suppressed even though the PMOS transistor 303 is added for improving the voltage swing for the latch 103, if the glitch downs too low. This may also cause the latch 103 malfunction. Besides, the dc conducting path of the resistor 301, the transistor 302, the transistor 303, and the resistor 307 consumes a lot of power, and the resistors also occupy large die area.
As a result, the issues of voltage dropt, power consumption, and die area of a pulse filter are then tangled in the design process.
Therefore, there is a demand to provide a robust pulse filter with low power consumption that can offer great voltage swing of the set signal and the reset signal in spite of the glitch and guarantee the normal operation of the latch.

Active-load dominant circuit for common-mode glitch interference cancellation