A method for estimating a particulate content in a slurry of the present invention is a method for estimating a content of particulates having a predetermined particle size or less in a slurry with solid particles dispersed in hydrocarbons including a wax, the method including, based on a correlation between a visible light transmittance and a content of solid particles having the predetermined particle size or less at a temperature at which hydrocarbons including a wax are liquefied when the solid particles having the predetermined particle size or less are dispersed in the hydrocarbons, estimating a content of particulates having the predetermined particle size or less in the slurry from a visible light transmittance of a supernatant part when the slurry is left to stand at the temperature.

As a process for producing a hydrocarbon oil used as raw materials for liquid fuel products such as a kerosene and gas oil, a method using a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction (hereinafter, also referred to as the "FT synthesis reaction" in some cases) in which synthesis gas containing carbon monoxide gas (CO) and hydrogen gas (H2) as main components is used as raw material gas is known.
As a process for producing a hydrocarbon oil by the FT synthesis reaction, for example, Patent Literature 1 described below discloses a method using a slurry bubble column reactor (a bubble column type slurry bed reactor) in which synthesis gas is blown into a slurry (hereinafter, simply also referred to as the "slurry" in some cases) with particles of a solid catalyst having activity to the FT synthesis reaction (hereinafter, also referred to as the "FT synthesis catalyst" in some cases) suspended in liquid hydrocarbons.
In this method, a hydrocarbon oil is produced by a reaction system provided with a reactor that performs the FT synthesis reaction with accommodating the slurry and having a gaseous phase portion in an upper portion of the slurry (slurry bubble column reactor); a conduit that blows the synthesis gas into a bottom portion of the reactor; a catalyst separator equipped with a filter, that separates catalyst particles from the slurry in the reactor; a conduit that takes out liquid hydrocarbons (heavy liquid hydrocarbons) synthesized in the reactor and passing through the filter; and a mechanism that sends back a part of the liquid hydrocarbons taken out via this conduit to the filter and washes the filter. In the mechanism that washes the filter, a so-called "backwashing" manner is adopted in which the liquid hydrocarbons (heavy liquid hydrocarbons) taken out via the conduit are, for example, periodically flowed to the filter in a direction opposite to the flowing direction of the liquid hydrocarbons when the catalyst particles are separated from the slurry, and the catalyst particles captured by the filter are returned into the slurry again.

Method for estimating content of fine particles in slurry and process for producing hydrocarbon oil

JAPAN OIL. GAS AND METALS NATIONAL CORPORATION

NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN ENGINEERING CO., LTD.


The invention relates to an object sorting and conveying apparatus used in the work for sorting and conveying objects, wherein multiple rotary support elements for mounting objects are disposed at the side of a conveying belt stretched in a conveying route orthogonally in the feed direction, the rotary support elements are rotated at the object inspection position for inverting and rotating the objects, the rotary support elements are designed to turn between a mounting position for mounting on the upper part and a tilting position for discharging objects, about the conveying belt side, and the objects can be inspected accurately by inverting and rotating the objects, and the position control and discharge of objects are also easy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an object sorting and conveying apparatus used in sorting and conveying work of objects, for example, orange, persimmon, other fruits, potato, other vegetables, electrical and mechanical parts, and golf balls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional object sorting and conveying apparatus of this sort is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-24551.
That is, near the inlet of a fruit sorting conveyor, an inspection position for measuring the outside diameter and appearance of fruits is set, and a classing unit for discharging and sorting the fruits according to the class on the basis of the inspection result is set at the downstream side of the inspection position, while multiple receiving slats are attached to the chain for composing the fruit sorting conveyor through attachments so as to put fruits on the receiving slats, and the receiving slats are designed to be rotatable between the horizontal position for putting fruits on and the nearly vertical drooping position for dropping the fruits at the classing unit.
In this constitution, however, since the fruits put on the receiving slats cannot be inverted, the fruits can be inspected only from above at the inspection position, and the reverse side cannot be inspected, and it was difficult to inspect the fruits strictly, and appropriate classing or sorting could not be done.


A signal processor for estimating noise power in an audio signal includes a filter unit for generating a series of power values, each power value representing the power in the audio signal at a respective one of a plurality of frequency bands; a signal classification unit for analysing successive portions of the audio signal to assess whether each portion contains features characteristic of speech, and for classifying each portion in dependence on that analysis; a correction unit for estimating a minimum power value in a time-limited part of the audio signal, estimating the total noise power in that part of the audio signal and forming a correction factor dependent on the ratio of the minimum power value to the estimated total noise power, the correction unit being configured to estimate the minimum power value and the total noise power over only those portions of the time-limited part of the signal that are classified by the signal classification unit as being less characteristic of speech; and a noise estimation unit for estimating noise in the audio signal in dependence on the power values output by the filter unit and the correction factor formed by the correction unit.

This invention relates to estimating features of a signal, particularly for the purpose of reducing noise in the signal. The features could be noise power and gain. The signal could be an audio signal.
There are many types of devices that detect and process speech signals. Examples include headsets and mobile phones. In those devices it is often desired to reduce the noise in the detected signal in order to more accurately represent the speech component of the signal. For instance, in a mobile phone or a headset any audio that is detected by a microphone may include a component representing a user's speech and a component arising from ambient noise. If that noise can be removed from the detected signal then the signal can sound better when it is played out, and it might also be possible to compress the signal more accurately or more efficiently. To achieve this, the noise component of the detected audio signal must be separated from the voice component.
If a speech signal s(n) is corrupted by additive background noise v(n), the resulting noisy speech signal d(n) can be expressed in the time domain as:d(n)=s(n)+v(n)  (1)
The objective of noise reduction in such a situation is normally to estimate v(n) and subtract it from d(n) to find s(n).
One algorithm for noise reduction operates in the frequency-domain. It tackles the noise reduction problem by employing a DFT (discrete Fourier transform) filter bank and tracking the average power of quasi-stationary background noise in each sub-band from the DFT. A gain value is derived for each sub-band based on the noise estimates, and those gain values are applied to each sub-band to generate an enhanced time domain signal in which the noise is expected to be reduced. FIG. 1 illustrates this algorithm by a block diagram. The incoming signal d(n) is received at 1. It is applied to a series of filters 2, each of which outputs a respective sub-band signal representing a particular sub-band of the incoming signal. Each of the sub-band signals is input to a downsampling unit 3 which downsamples the sub-band signal to average its power. The outputs of the downsampling units 3 form the output of the analysis filter bank (AFB) 5. Those outputs signals are noisy signals Dk (k=0 . . . M−1). Each of those signals is subsequently multiplied by Goms,k in a multiplication unit 6. Goms,k is an estimated gain value that will be discussed in more detail below. Then the enhanced time domain signal is obtained by passing the multiplication results through a synthesis filter bank (SFB). In the SFB 7 upsampling units 8 upsample the outputs of the multiplication units, the outputs of the upsampling units are applied to respected synthesis filters 9 which each re-synthesise a signal representing the respective sub-band, and then the outputs of the synthesis filters are added to form the output signal.
In general, it can be assumed that the speech signal and the background noise are independent, and thus the power of the noisy speech signal is equal to the power of the speech signal plus the power of background noise in each sub-band k|Dk|2=Sk|2+|Vk|2.  (2)
If the noise power is known then an estimate of the speech power can be got from:|Sk|2=|Dk2−|Vk|2,  (3)
It is necessary to estimate the gain in order to generate the signals Goms,k. One of the most widely used methods of estimating gain is by means of the optimal Wiener filter gain, which is computed as
                              G                      wiener            ,            k                          =                              max                                      (                                                1                  -                                                                                                                                  V                          k                                                                                            2                                                                                                                                  D                          k                                                                                            2                                                                      ,                0                            )                                .                                    (        4        )
The estimated clean speech signal in each sub-band, Ŝk, is then simply derived asŜk=Gwiener,k·Dk.  (5)
It can be identified that the estimation of noise power (|Vk|2) and gain (Goms) is crucial to the success of the algorithm. Unfortunately, obtaining reliable estimates of these has shown to be extremely difficult in the past due to the high complexity of various noisy environments. Many algorithms perform well in one situation but fail in other situations. Since the nature of the environment is not normally known in advance, and may change as a user moves from place to place, many algorithms provide inconsistent and unsatisfactory results.


A modified carbon product is described which comprises carbon having attached at least one organic group wherein the organic group comprises a) at least one aromatic group or a C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl group, and b) a group having the formula --AG--Sp--LG--Z, wherein AG is an activating group, Sp is a spacer group, LG is a leaving group, and Z is a counterion, and wherein the aromatic or the C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl group is directly attached to the carbon, and wherein the organic group is present in any amount. The present invention also relates to ink and coating compositions comprising these modified carbon products.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to modified carbon products and inks and coatings which contain modified carbon products.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Presently, predominant black pigments are carbon blacks such as furnace blacks which can be used as colorants either in dry, powdered form, a flushed paste, or liquid concentrate form. Generally, the form of the colorant influences the hue, permanency, bulk, opacity, gloss, rheology, end use, and print quality.
There are various classifications of inks used presently. These categories include printing inks, ultraviolet cure inks, ball-point inks, and stamp pad or marking inks. Generally, inks can be applied by letter press, lithographic, flexographic, gravure, silk screen, stencil, duplicating, and electrostatic. Inks thus can be found in such end uses as news, publication, commercial, folding carton, book, corrugated box, paper bag, wrapper, label, metal container, plastic container, plastic film, foil, laminating, food insert, sanitary paper, textile and the like. McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, Vol. 7, pgs. 159-164, provides further details of the types of inks available and their uses, all of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Coatings can contain pigments as well and are used for decorative, protective, and functional treatments of many kinds of surfaces. These surfaces include, coils, metals, appliances, furniture, hardboard, lumber and plywood, marine, maintenance, automobile, cans, and paperboard. Some coatings, such as those on undersea pipelines, are for protective purposes. Others, such as exterior automobile coatings, fulfill both decorative and protective functions. Still others provide friction control on boat decks or car seats. Some coatings control the fouling of ship bottoms, others protect food and beverages in cans. Silicon chips, printed circuit panels, coatings on waveguide fibers for signal transmission, and magnetic coatings on video tapes and computer disks are among many so-called hi-tech applications for coatings.
Categories of aqueous vehicles for aqueous inks and coatings include those in which the binder is soluble in water, those in which it is colloidally dispersed, and those in which it is emulsified to form a latex. The combination of binder and volatile liquid is called the vehicle which may be a solution or a dispersion of fine binder particles in a non-solvent. Pigments are finely divided, insoluble, solid particles dispersed in the coating vehicle and distributed throughtout the binder in the final film. Surfactants can be used as pigment dispersants. The components and manufacturing of aqueous coatings are further discussed in the Concised Encyclopedia of Polymers, Science and Engineering, pgs. 160-171 (1990), which is incorporated herein by reference.
Non-aqueous inks and coatings are used for many applications in which aqueous vehicles are not suitable. For instance, inks which are to be printed on hydrophobic, non-porous substrates such as metal, glass, or plastics must be fast-drying. Therefore, solvents such as ketones, esters, alcohols, or hydrocarbons are often used instead of water. Such solvent-based inks are used widely for printing on paper substrates and industrial labeling of cardboard boxes and various metal or plastic containers and components. Specific examples include news ink compositions and web off-set gloss heat-set ink compositions.
Inks and coatings are also required to be water resistant in certain situations. In such instances, water-resistant resins can be dissolved in non-aqueous solvents of ink and coating formulations to provide the desired water resistance upon drying. A primary use of such non-aqueous coatings is on metal and plastic automotive parts.

Modified carbon products with leaving groups and inks and coatings containing modified carbon products


A method and system that assists medical practitioners who treat or prescribe treatment of patients having a medical condition which requires long-term profiling of medical data taken from the patient's body. Medical practitioners, their assistants, and patients take medical readings of predetermined medically important variables. These readings are stored as raw data in a data receptacle such as a smart card or in a portable medical instrument, then input into a remote computer, or the raw data is manually entered into a remote computer. The remote computer then connects with a primary computer using a communications connection and transmits the raw data to the primary computer system which maintains a database of patients and their medical readings. The communications connection can be any means of connecting two computers for communication therebetween but is preferably an Internet connection wherein the remote computer is operated as a web client and the primary computer is operated as a web server. The readings can also be transmitted to the primary computer using an ordinary telephone to call a telephone peripheral which can receive the raw data using automated speech recognition or touch-tone recognition. Requests for data by medical practitioners is transmitted to the primary computer in a manner similar to the transmission of raw data. In response to a request for data, output, in the form of a chart or graph, or multiple charts and graphs, is transmitted to the remote computer for display on the computer screen and/or printed for hard copy, or faxed to the medical practitioner or assistant.

Medical symptoms of many types of conditions can be difficult to detect by medical professionals if they occur over an extended period of time. Currently, medical diagnostics such as blood pressure readings and glucose readings are taken at doctors' offices or blood laboratories. The readings are then collected manually and depend on the patient's state of health at that particular time. In some cases, individuals take home readings to assist doctors to better determine medication identification and levels. This data depends on the patient's proficiency and accuracy at taking readings, and is hard for the physician to analyze and is normally communicated only at a doctor's visit. Typically, the patient is diagnosed and medicated based on a minimum amount of data and analysis, which furthermore is not presented to the doctor in a format that facilitates diagnosis. Each reading is presented by a lab report on a separate page, or by an individual manually listing out his own readings with the date and time that these readings are taken--often in irregular intervals.
Diagnosis of many types of medical conditions, such as hypertension, hypoglycemia, obesity, diabetes mellitus, or any disease or condition that requires long-term profiling of one or more variables such as pulse rate, blood pressure, percent body fat, glucose level, cholesterol level, white blood cell count, T-cell count, etc. to effectively diagnose and treat can be markedly improved by a system to consolidate the data and present the data in a format which facilitates such diagnosis.
For the purpose of illustration, consider the condition known as diabetes mellitus, which is a common form a diabetes characterized by inadequate secretion or utilization of insulin, a hormone that regulates blood-sugar levels in the body. According to research done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1989 there was approximately 6.7 million individuals who reported having diabetes mellitus, and it was estimated that an equal number had the condition, but were unaware of it. Diabetes mellitus results in excessive urine production, thirst, hunger, and loss of weight, and can be very disruptive of a person's life. This condition is treatable, but proper treatment depends on accurate long-term profiles of a patient's blood sugar levels. In addition, people who suffer from diabetes mellitus are also at increased risk for heart disease, and should monitor their heart rate and blood pressure at regular intervals. Doctors working with diabetes patients must inspect a great deal of data associated with tracking the disease. Diabetes patients often measure the blood sugar level two, three, four, or five times a day. Patients typically will take their own blood-sugar level readings using a hand-held medical instrument, and record the readings by writing the results on a chart, which is presented to the medical practitioner during a scheduled appointment.
Medical practitioners, who are increasingly working with more patients with fewer time devoted to each patient, simply do not have time to carefully review a stack of hand-written record sheets to determine whether a patient's recent readings are significantly improved in comparison to the patient's previous readings. The present invention addresses this problem by providing accurate records with simple and versatile input and output of the information from a centralized data base. Trends are easily spotted, as are erratic or cyclic readings. Thus, diagnosis and treatment of a disease such as diabetes mellitus becomes quicker and more accurate for improved results.

Method and system aiding medical diagnosis and treatment


A method for producing a powdery emulsified fat and oil that releases fats and oils when dissolved in hot water and that has an excellent powder property during storage is provided. The method for producing a powdery emulsified fat and oil includes adding a fat and oil to an aqueous solution containing a meat extract and a salt and emulsifying the mixture, and then drying the emulsified solution. The method for producing a powdery emulsified fat and oil includes emulsifying the aqueous solution that further contains an excipient and then drying the emulsified solution. A powdered soup produced using the obtained powdery emulsified fat and oil has a good aroma and richness, and is provided as a food product with an excellent shelf life.

Fat and oil is added to powder products such as a powdered soup in order to give richness and aroma to them. Methods of adding fat and oil include a method of packing fat and oil separately from other ingredients, a method of adding a small amount of fat and oil to for example, a powdered soup, a method of allowing a powdered base to absorb fat and oil, and the like. When the powdered soup produced using these methods is dissolved in, for example, hot water, oil droplets float to the surface of the soup, thus giving rise to a pleasant aroma. In contrast, when a powdery emulsified fat and oil that is obtained by emulsifying fat and oil and an aqueous phase to produce an oil-in-water emulsion and then drying the emulsion is added to a powdered soup, it remains emulsified in the soup and gives a creamy texture and richness; however, oil droplets do not float to the surface of the soup, thus giving rise to no pleasant aroma.
Conventionally known powdery fats and oils that produce oil droplets floating to the surface of the soup include: a method for producing a powdered soup including heating a powdery system consisting of powdery saccharides or powder composed principally of saccharides and water under a heating condition that the saccharides crystallize to produce porous particles in an indeterminate form, adding liquid fat and oil to the particles and mixing them, and subsequently mixing the mixture with various ingredients for the powdered soup (Patent Literature 1); a powdery fat and oil for a soup that is produced by mixing 30 to 70% by weight of hydrogenated fat and oil based on the total weight of the product, with the hydrogenated fat and oil being powdery at normal temperatures, and a powder obtained by allowing porous starch to absorb 70 to 120% by weight of fat and oil based on the weight of the porous starch (Patent Literature 2); a method for producing a fat and oil-containing powdery saccharide including mixing 10 to 35 parts by mass of melted fat and oil obtained by heating a fat and oil with an initial melting point of 40 to 60° C. with 100 parts by mass of powdery saccharides (Patent Literature 3); and the like.
Furthermore, disclosed powdery fats and oils include, for example, a powdery fat and oil that meets the following conditions (1) to (3):
(1) that is produced by using a fat and oil with an initial melting point of 40 to 60° C.;
(2) that contains substantially no emulsifier; and
(3) that has a particle size distribution as follows: 10 to 55% by mass of particles pass through an aperture of 1840 μm and remain on an aperture of 850 μm; 35 to 85% by mass of particles pass through the aperture of 850 μm and remain on an aperture of 300 μm; and 5 to 30% by mass of particles pass through the aperture of 300 μm and remain on an aperture of 106 μm (Patent Literature 4).
However, the above-mentioned powdery fats and oils have a poor powder property during storage and are practically problematic.    [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 63-42508    [Patent Literature 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-27944    [Patent Literature 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-325548    [Patent Literature 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-13090

Method for producing powdery emulsified fat and oil


A piezoelectric fluid injection device and a driving voltage calibration method thereof. The piezoelectric fluid injection device includes at least one inkjet printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles, at least one voltage control element connecting to the inkjet printhead, a controller connecting to the voltage control element, a reference capacitor connecting to an auxiliary voltage control element and the controller in parallel with the inkjet printhead.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a micro-fluid injection device, and in particular to a piezoelectric fluid injection device and a driving voltage calibration method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, fluid injection has been widely utilized in various devices such as inkjet printers and the like. As micro-system engineering increasingly develops, such devices can be further applied in other fields, for example, fuel injection, cell sorting, drug delivery, print lithography, and micro-jet propulsion systems. Inkjet applications generally utilize continuous or drop-on-demand supply.
Conventional fluid injection devices also comprise thermal bubble and piezoelectric diaphragm drive types.
A conventional control circuit of a piezoelectric inkjet printhead is shown in FIG. 1. A piezoelectric inkjet printhead 10 includes a plurality of nozzles 1˜X such as 1˜128. Each nozzle's equivalent circuit represents parallel equivalent capacitors CL1˜CLX. Each nozzle is driven by a driving cell 20. Conventionally, the nozzles of printhead are driven by a fixed driving voltage, such as 100V. However, impedance variations among nozzles are produced due to operational variations in piezoelectric diaphragm process or ageing, resulting in formation of various droplet volumes, or even, for some nozzles, no droplets being ejected therefore when the fixed driving voltage is applied, seriously affecting utilization efficiency of the inkjet printhead.
Additionally, variations in fluid pressure resulting from alternation of fluid resistance or material property around nozzles may also cause such drawbacks.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,922 discloses a method of controlling a driving voltage of a piezoelectric inkjet printhead and a feedback procedure. An output driving voltage from a control system is switched via an analog/digital converter and fed back. The feedback voltage is then determined by comparison with an actual required driving voltage by the control system and modified.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,922 discloses a driving circuit and a control system of a piezoelectric inkjet printhead, capable of controlling ejected droplet volumes and providing preferred printing quality.

Piezoelectric fluid injection devices and driving voltage calibration methods thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A box, and a blank sheet for forming the box, are disclosed. When assembled, the box includes a floor panel which slopes downwardly from a rear end to a front end, and a brace panel which cooperates with other display panels to support the elevated rear end of the floor panel.

This invention relates to display boxes useful in displaying one or more panel-like items, and more particularly to a display box formed from a single foldable blank and having a supported floor which slopes downwardly from a back end to a front end.
One common point of sale marketing technique is to place a product in informative and eye catching packaging. "Blister cards" provide particularly useful point of sale packaging for small products. A blister card includes a plastic transparent dome which is attached to a front surface of a relatively large cardboard panel. Product is packaged between the dome and the panel and is observable through the dome. Advertising information is provided on the panel's front surface. In some cases other product information (e.g. directions, ingredients, etc.) is provided.
Such blister cards are often provided with an upper aperture so that they can be hung on display pegs.
However, this requires the store to acquire and set up special peg areas.
A well designed blister card display should permit the product to be displayed anywhere in the store, and should also arrange cards such that the advertising material on the front surface of the front card is easily observable. In addition, it should maintain cards in an orderly arrangement and provide an overall quality appearance.
One prior art product display is a box with no top and with the upper portion of the front wall cut away. It has a horizontal floor. As such, when some products are removed from a front end of such a display, products at a rear end of the display can tip forward and be difficult to see. In any event, products in this type of display box can easily become disheveled.
More complex box displays have been designed that include a sloped lower floor panel which supports products at an angle for viewing. One such display is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,732,436 wherein a support member extends below a rear end of a box such that the entire box slopes downwardly toward the front. Unfortunately, the support member beneath the rear of the box must support the combined weight of the entire box and products displayed therein. Also, because the support member extends below the box, the support member is observable when the display is set up and the display has an unfinished and cheap look. Moreover, this display is formed from a relatively complex blank and the length of the floor is unnecessarily traversed more than once. This increases manufacturing and assembly costs.
Other box type displays have also been designed (see e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 820,542; D. 191,143; and D. 200,180). However, each suffers from one or more of the shortcomings associated with the display described above, and/or other shortcomings.
There is therefore a need for an improved and durable box type display which can maintain products in an ordered and easily viewable arrangement.


A host computer has a plurality of virtual machines executing therein under the control of a hypervisor, where the host also includes a physical network interface controller (NIC). An interrupt controller detects an interrupt generated by the physical NIC, where the interrupt corresponds to a virtual machine. If the virtual machine has exclusive affinity to one or more physical central processing units (CPUs), then the interrupt is forwarded to the virtual machine. If the virtual machine does not have exclusive affinity, then a process in the hypervisor is invoked to forward the interrupt to the virtual machine.

Applications characterized as "latency sensitive" are, typically, highly susceptible to execution delays and jitter (i.e., unpredictability) introduced by the computing environment in which these applications run. Examples of latency sensitive applications include financial trading systems, which usually require response time on the order of microseconds when performing functions such as pricing securities or executing and settling trades.
Execution delay and jitter are often present in networked virtualized computing environments. Such computing environments frequently include a number of virtual machines (VMs) that execute one or more applications that rely on network communications. These virtualized applications communicate over the network by transmitting data packets to other nodes on the network using a virtual network interface controller (or VNIC) of the VM, which is a software emulation of a physical network interface controller (or PNIC). The use of a VNIC for network communication adds to the layers of networking software required for processing data packets. For example, the VM transmits packets to a VNIC. The VNIC, in turn, transmits packets to a virtual switch, which is a software emulation of a physical network switch. Finally, the virtual switch transmits data packets to a PNIC of the host computer for further transmission over the network. As a result, employing a VNIC for network communication often results in latency and jitter.
In order to address the latency issues that are present with the use of VNICs, virtual switches, and PNICs, a number of virtualized computing environments use passthrough NICs. A passthrough NIC is a physical NIC that is part of the hardware platform of a computer host, and that is directly accessible to vitualized networking software that executes in a virtual machine. That is, the virtualized networking software transmits and receives data packets to and from the passthrough NIC without using a VNIC and virtual switch. This tends to eliminate some of the latency present in virtualized networking environments.
However, some latency may still be present when passthrough NICs are used instead of VNICs and virtual switches. For example, when a virtual machine transmits and receives packets over a passthrough NIC, the passthrough NIC needs to inform the virtual machine that it is ready to transmit packets, or that it has packets that are ready to be delivered to the virtual machine. This is typically accomplished by an interrupt mechanism. That is, for passthrough NICs that operate in an interrupt mode (as opposed to a polling mode), the pasthrough NIC generates an interrupt to communicate events to the host computer that it is connected to. As such, when the passthrough NIC generates an interrupt, an interrupt controller of the host computer that the passthrough NIC is connected to receives the interrupt and calls an interrupt handler for the passthrough NIC. The memory address of the interrupt handler is located using an interrupt vector.
When an interrupt needs to be posted to a virtual machine, the kernel typically schedules and dispatches one or more tasks to forward the interrupt. In a multiprocessor system, these tasks may be scheduled (i.e., queued for execution) to any of the processors on the host computer in accordance with a scheduling algorithm followed by the kernel. Once the tasks are scheduler and dispatched, the interrupt is posted to virtualized interrupt handling software in the virtual machine. However, the scheduling and other kernel processing for the interrupt posting tasks are an additional source of latency. That is, due to this "extra" kernel processing, there is delay and unpredictability associated with communicating interrupts for the passthrough NIC to the virtual machine.

Pass-through network interface controller configured to support latency sensitive virtual machines


A process and software for achieving minimal latency in digital audio recording, which includes calculating a repeatable play cursor lead and a play cursor position and writing audio data at the play cursor position plus the play cursor lead.

In playback of digital audio on computers, software must write each buffer ahead of the play cursor, such that there is a guarantee that the buffer will be played from start to end, i.e. when the play cursor advances to the location of the buffer. If the buffer is written such that the play cursor is already advanced past the beginning of where the buffer is written, then part of the buffer will not be played and there will be discontinuity in the audio signal. Neither of these conditions is acceptable.
In conventional architecture, the program typically queries the operating system or audio driver for the current play cursor position. This yields a value that is neither accurate nor precise. In some cases, the driver or operating system adds additional padding, and in some cases the program itself does this step. The result is additional latency, which is undesirable.
A need exists for a process, preferable a software process, to reduce or eliminate this type of latency in audio playback.

Software and process for play-cursor calculation


A system and method for intelligent generational garbage collection using a dynamic window. During normal memory allocation, a sliding window defines a young generation within an older generation or other area of memory. When data are stored that will become garbage within a finite period of time, a temporary phase of operation is initiated. In the temporary allocation phase, the lower bound of the window is fixed, while the upper bound is allowed to expand to accommodate new objects. When the data become garbage, the window is garbage collected and compacted, and normal memory allocation and garbage collection operations resume. Thus, the window is dynamic in both movement and size. When the temporary allocation phase is initiated, the young generation may be garbage collected and compacted, and the lower window bound may be fixed at the location (e.g., address) where the allocation point was when the target data were stored.

This invention relates to the field of computer systems. More particularly, a system and method are provided for performing garbage collection with a dynamic young generation.
Many generational garbage collection schemes employing multiple generations suffer from over-promotion. That is, they promote too many memory objects from a younger generation to an older generation, or promote objects too frequently. As a result, the older generation must be garbage collected more frequently than it would otherwise.
One reason for over-promotion is that traditional generational garbage collection schemes work in closed environments, without considering or applying externally available information about the objects it handles. For example, garbage collectors generally do not have access to, or do not use, information concerning how likely or how soon a set of data objects will become garbage.
Some generational garbage collection schemes employ a fixed-size window that continually moves across a section of memory. The window defines a younger generation of memory and data objects, while the area behind the moving window defines an older generation and contains data objects promoted from the younger generation because they survived a garbage collection performed on that generation. These schemes also suffer from over-promotion, because the window continually moves, and every object in the younger generation that survives a garbage collection is automatically promoted to the older generation, regardless of how likely or how soon the survivor will become garbage.

Garbage collection with a dynamic window


A filter plate for removing hydrocarbons and other contaminants from solutions and gases comprises a plate provided with rows of alternate perpendicular and parallel, substantially linear openings. A liquid and gas filtering apparatus comprises a container provided with the filter plate of the invention, means for inflow and outflow of water or air and means for introducing and removing filtering materials. A method of purifying a solution or a gas comprises removing impurities by passing the solution or gas through a filtering material supported on the filter plate of the invention. A method of removing hydrocarbons and other contaminants from a solution or gas comprises passing the solution or gas through a filtering material supported on the present filter plate. A method of reducing clogging when removing contaminants from a solution comprises passing the solution through a filtering material supported on the filter plate of this invention.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a filter plate for removing hydrocarbons and other contaminants from aqueous solutions and gases that relies on filtering the solution or gas through a filtering material supported by the plate of this invention provided with rows of linear substantially perpendicular openings. The present design of the filter plate is an improvement over prior art filter plates and is especially designed to reduce clogging due to accumulation of sludge and impurities. In addition, this invention relates to an apparatus for filtering an aqueous solution such as water and a gas such as air which utilizes the filter plate of the invention and to a method of removing hydrocarbons and other contaminants from, e.g., an aqueous solution or a gas such as air by passing the solution or the gas through a filtering material supported by the filter plate of the invention. This invention also relates to the use of the filter plate and apparatus for the removal of hydrocarbons and other contaminants from, a solution or a gas, particularly for decontaminating subsurface water and air.
2. Description of the Background
The purification of water is of importance, particularly water that is to be recycled for drinking and/or further domestic utilization.
Different kinds of contaminants are present in water and air which need to be substantially reduced or eliminated therefrom. For example, hydrocarbons and other contaminants such as solvents, particles such as dust, and the like, are harmful if present in air and water above a certain level. In order for water or air to become pure once again, the hydrocarbons and other contaminants must be substantially removed.
The prior art typically filtered water and/or air utilizing filters with openings that are spherical in nature. These tend to collect sludge over the round apertures, which clog the filter after a period of time.
Filters having apertures of different shapes are known in the art for applications other than the purification of water. For instance, Italian Patent No. 351,812 to Hagen and Luschel discloses a filter specifically suited for the preparation of coffed or other beverages like tea, and the like. The filter described in this patent has capillary cuts forming a 90.degree. angle that are positioned symmetrically opposite one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,345,080 to Ardenne describes an arrangement for producing filters by making fine perforations in foil by means of ion rays.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,092,719 discloses a separator flume having a false bottom provided with triangular openings, each having a depressed lip at its base, the free end of the lip terminating at the base of the triangle and extending toward the opening. The apparatus described in this patent is intended for washing and separating sand and gravel and freeing the gravel from foreign matter.
Accordingly, there is still a need for an improved filter plate for use in the removal of hydrocarbons and other contaminants from water and gases that reduces clogging due to sludge and contaminant retention on the filter plate.

Filter plate for removing hydrocarbons and other contaminants from solutions and gases


This invention combines artificially expanded genetic information systems (AEGIS) with self-avoiding molecular recognition systems (SAMRS), in processes that involve template-directed primer extension in highly multiplexed form in mixtures containing large numbers of primers. This process yields extension products, or in its PCR format, amplicons, that have AEGIS tags that can be cleanly captured in highly complex mixtures.

Scientists have long sought innovative molecular recognition systems that have binding properties that are useful in different ways. The structures of these systems have been modeled to resemble the structures of DNA and RNA which, in their polymeric form, are called "oligonucleotides". Further, as with DNA and RNA, the molecular recognition systems have been useful because they bind to other components of the molecular recognition systems and/or to natural DNA and RNA following rules that can be expressed in a form that guides practitioners of ordinary skill in the art and enables them to do useful things.
DNA serves as an archetype to illustrate both molecular structure and rule base recognition. With DNA, three rules (A pairs with T, G pairs with C, the strands are antiparallel) permit the design of two DNA molecules that bind to each other in aqueous solution. When the rules are perfectly followed, two perfectly complementary DNA strands of a substantial length (15-20 nucleotides is normally sufficient in physiological buffers at 37° C.) will bind to each other with substantial selectivity even in complex mixtures containing many other DNA molecules. Heuristic rules have been developed over the years to permit the prediction of general trends in DNA:DNA binding affinity. These have come by performing substantial numbers of melting temperature experiments. For examples as heuristic rules, longer DNA strands generally bind to their partners with higher melting temperatures (Tms) than shorter strands. G:C pairs generally contribute more to duplex stability than A:T pairs. More highly parameterized models improve on the estimates of melting temperatures [All98a] [All98b] [Mar85] [Mat98]. While it remains true that the precise stability of duplexes may not be predictable, that imprecision does not defeat the utility of DNA:DNA binding or require undue experimentation to exploit, even though the number of different DNA sequences of length n (=4n) that would fall within a patent for the DNA molecular recognition system would be enormous.
It has been argued that this rule-based behavior arises because of the repeating charge in the backbone of nucleic acids [Ben04]. Certainly, analogs that have that repeating charges in their backbone maintain their rule-based pairing behavior even if they become quite long. In contrast, the few examples of useful nucleic acid analogs that lack a repeating charge in their backbone do not maintain their rule-based binding behavior in polymers built from two-dozen or more monomer units (fewer if the nucleobases are predominately guanine). The archetypal example of such an uncharged DNA analog is the peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) [Egh92], where rule-based molecular recognition does not survive in longer molecules.
Artificially Expanded Genetic Information Systems (AEGIS)
An archetype of a human-invented rule-based molecular recognition is the artificially expanded genetic information system (AEGIS) disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,272. The design of this artificial molecular recognition system began with the observation that two principles of complementarity govern the Watson-Crick pairing of nucleic acids: size complementarity (large purines pair with small pyrimidines) and hydrogen bonding complementarity (hydrogen bond donors from one nucleobase pair with hydrogen bond acceptors from the other). These two principles give rise to the simple rules for base pairing ("A pairs with T, G pairs with C") that underlie genetics, molecular biology, and biotechnology.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,272 pointed out that these principles can be met by nucleotides other than adenine (A) and thymine (T), and guanine (G) and cytosine (C). Rather, twelve nucleobases forming six base pairs joined by mutually exclusive hydrogen bonding patterns might be possible within the geometry of the Watson-Crick base pair. FIG. 1 shows some of the standard and non-standard nucleobase pairs, together with the nomenclature to designate them. Those nucleobase analogs presenting non-standard hydrogen bonding patterns are part of an Artificially Expanded Genetic Information System, or AEGIS.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,272 and subsequent patents all taught that the hydrogen bonding pattern that makes an AEGIS component useful as a unit of molecular recognition is distinguishable from the heterocycle that implements it. This means that different heterocycles can often serve interchangeably as molecular recognition elements. This, in turn, permits the elements of an artificial molecular recognition system to be chosen based on considerations other than simple recognition. Thus, the pyADA hydrogen bonding pattern in AEGIS is implemented by thymidine, uridine, uridine derivatives carrying a 5-position linker attached to a fluorescent moiety, uridine derivatives carrying a 5-position linker attached to a biotin, and pseudouridine, for example.
Four features of the AEGIS system make it suited for application:    (a) AEGIS supports rule-based design. Anyone of ordinary skill in the art can design two AEGIS-containing molecules that bind to each other, after learning only a few additional rules, just as they can design binding partners with standard DNA. Again, a critical mass of melting temperatures were collected to support heuristic rules that allow prediction of affinity. As with DNA, the precise Tms are not predictable even with these heuristic rules, but this imprecision does not defeat the utility of the system, or create a need for undue experimentation to design AEGIS pairing partners.    (b) This rule-based molecular recognition displayed by AEGIS is orthogonal to that displayed by standard DNA. If two strands incorporating standard DNA bases are mixed with two other strands incorporating AEGIS components, the first pair will bind to each other only, and the second pair will bind to each other only, without formation of hybrids between the strands containing canonical and non-canonical bases. This allows two molecular recognition processes to occur independently in the same vessel.    (c) Sequences built from AEGIS components have higher information density (more different sequences per unit length), especially when they incorporate the full 12 letters that the AEGIS technology allows. This allows fewer near-mismatches in complicated systems to slow hybridization, for example. Thus, AEGIS tags hybridize more quickly [Col97].    (d) Enzymes can be found that allow AEGIS systems to be manipulated in ways common in biotechnology with standard DNA. These enzymes include polymerases that do primer extension, copy templates that contain AEGIS components, and amplify AEGIS oligonucleotides a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Here, undue experimentation is often required to obtain enzymes that do this effectively, as many natural enzymes regard non-standard nucleotides as "foreign", and do not accept them or, if they do, do not accept them with useful affinity.
An archetypal application of AEGIS is in the branched DNA (bDNA) assay used to measure levels of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C viruses in human patients [Elb04a][Elb04b)]. As this example shows, even though the behavior of DNA duplexes built from AEGIS components having different sequences are not identical and may not be precisely predictable, this has not prevented the AEGIS molecular recognition system from improving the health care of some 400,000 patients annually [Ben04]. This is an illustration of the utility of orthogonality in the analytical chemistry of nucleic acids.
Self Avoiding Molecular Recognition Systems (SAMRS)
A self-avoiding molecular recognition system (SAMRS) has components that bind to natural DNA or RNA, but not to other components of the same unnatural system. In its general description, a SAMRS incorporates nucleobase analogs that replace T, A, G, and C by analogs that are indicated as T*, A*, G*, and C*, which are collectively called "* analogs" of T, A, G, and C respectively. In the simplest implementation of this concept, these * analogs are each able to form two hydrogen bonds to the complementary A, T, C, and G. This means that the T*:A, A*:T, C:*G, and G*:C nucleobase pairs contribute to duplex stability to approximately the same extent as an A:T pair. A SAMRS obtains its self-avoiding properties because the hydrogen bonding groups of the * analogs are chosen the T*:A* and C*:G* nucleobase pairs do not contribute as much to duplex stability because (in the simplest implementation) they are joined by only one hydrogen bond.
As with standard DNA, standard RNA, and oligonucleotides that add non-standard nucleobase pairing, within predicting the binding properties of any sequence within a SAMRS system will be subject to the same imprecision as predicting the properties of an arbitrary DNA or RNA molecule. Thus, as a general rule, if individuals of ordinary skill in the art wish to design a SAMRS sequence that binds to a preselected standard DNA molecule with a Tm of 25° C., they would write down the preselected sequence in the 5′-to-3′ direction, and then write below the SAMRS sequence in an antiparallel direction, matching a T* against every A in the preselected sequence, an A* against every T in the preselected sequence, a C* against every G in the preselected sequence, and a G* against every C in the preselected sequence. It is an open question as to whether such simple instructions allow one of ordinary skill in the art to obtain useful outcomes without undue experimentation. As elaborated below, attempts to obtain such utility failed when we took instruction from the prior art. One object of the instant invention is to provide SAMRS components that provide utility based on precisely this simple a set of rules and instructions.
The need for self-avoiding behaviors has long been pressing when an experimentalist sought to have mixtures containing more than two oligonucleotides, and especially pressing when making libraries of oligonucleotides (defined as having 10 or more oligonucleotide components), especially when those oligonucleotides were to interact with enzymes such as DNA polymerases. This problem is exemplified by multiplexed PCR, where the amplification is sought of many segments of DNA in one pot. This is attempted by adding in large excess two primers flanking each segment, contacting mixture with nucleoside triphosphates, and cycling the mixture up and down in temperature in the presence of a thermostable DNA polymerase. At low temperatures, the primers anneal to the template. At higher temperatures, the polymerase extends the primer to make a product copy of the template. At the highest temperature, the product copy falls off the template, allowing more primers to bind when the temperature is dropped. The primers compete with full length product copies for their binding sites on the template by being present in high concentrations.
While PCR can be successfully multiplexed up to a dozen or so amplicons, with careful design to avoid having the primers present in high concentrations interact with each other, eventually even the most careful design does not prevent primer-primer interactions. These create undesired amplicons, primer dimers, and other artifacts that defeat the utility of the PCR.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Self-avoiding molecular recognition systems in DNA priming


Subscribers to a personal telephone number service can receive calls placed to telephone numbers associated with an individual rather than a physical location or telephone line. A subscriber predefines a set of telephone numbers for telephones at locations frequented by the subscriber. When a call to a subscriber's personal telephone number is received, a model of the subscriber's behavior predicts the likelihood of the subscriber being at different locations, and the call is forwarded to a telephone at the most likely location, given the current day of the week and time of the day. The model is trained using data obtained by cases in which a caller calling the personal telephone number is successful in locating the subscriber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to systems for telephonic communications and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for determining an optimum sequence of telephone numbers to forward calls that have been made to a personal telephone number. The invention further relates to systems based on artificial intelligence techniques, particularly those using knowledge processing, and especially to adaptive or trainable systems that create sets of rules and use parallel distributed processing components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telecommunication service companies have begun to experiment with systems that employ "personal telephone numbers." Personal telephone numbers are assigned to individuals rather than to specific physical telephone instruments. When a call is made to an individual's personal telephone number, the call is forwarded to a telephone instrument at one of a number of locations depending upon the whereabouts of the individual at a particular time. The primary difficulty in effectively implementing personal telephone numbers involves accurately determining to which physical telephone instrument to forward calls.
Several approaches have been suggested for addressing this problem. These approaches can be categorized into the "find me" and "follow me" methodologies. Systems employing the "find me" approach typically forward calls to a personal telephone number to telephone instruments according to a preset sequence and until the subscriber is located. The "follow me" systems forward calls to a personal telephone number to telephone instruments according to recent activity of the subscriber.
For example, Jordan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,035) proposes a system for keeping track of the location of the individual and routing calls to the telephone where the individual can be found at a particular time, or indicating to the caller that the individual is in transit between locations. One significant problem with this system is that it requires the individual to make a call to update a system database whenever he changes location.
Bissell et al. suggests another solution in U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,645. This patent discloses a system that forwards calls made to a personal telephone number (or to an ordinary number) based on information obtained when an individual subscriber engages in an activity, such as credit card calls, credit card transactions, or automated teller transactions, that indicates his location. When such an activity is performed, the location of the individual, potentially including the telephone number, is recorded in a database that tracks the location of the subscriber. Calls can then be forwarded to the specific telephone number associated with the last known location of the subscriber, or to the telephone number in the subscriber's defined list of calls that is nearest to the last known location as indicated by the area code, cellular region, paging area, etc.
One problem with this solution is that it provides a forwarding location for calls to a personal telephone number that may be available for only a limited time. The new number is valid only as long as the subscriber stays at the location where he performed that activity.
There are also many difficulties in building such a system, including problems of integrating and coordinating databases and communications systems built for different purposes. For example, systems managing credit card transactions must notify the call-forwarding system of a subscriber's whereabouts when the subscriber engages in a transaction using his credit card. This requires the credit card system to store information of call-forwarding subscribers and notify the call-forwarding service when the credit card transaction takes place.
Another way to resolve the call-forwarding dilemma is proposed by Brennan et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,578. This patent discloses a system that routes calls to a personal telephone number to physical locations of telephone instruments according to information in a "service profile" set up by the subscriber. The subscriber defines a sequence of numbers to locate the subscriber. Call routing thus depends on a schedule specified by the subscriber, i.e., the day and time of a call. In addition, the system described in this patent can route calls according to the calling line identification (e.g., refusing to take calls from certain numbers) and according to the urgency of the call (e.g., playing a prerecorded announcement indicating that only emergency calls are being taken, and asking if the call is an emergency and routing accordingly).
One drawback to the "service profile" approach is the difficulty in entering the data, especially from a telephone, which requires a complex interactive voice response interface. While a customer service representative can help create the service profile, perhaps using a desktop workstation and graphical user interface, use of a representative for this task is inefficient. Also, this approach is inflexible, requiring changes to the service profile should the subscriber change his or her pattern of activity either permanently or temporarily. Moreover, many subscribers are not sufficiently aware of their own pattern of activity to create an accurate schedule.
While the approach of having the system try a sequence of calls, i.e., the "find me" approach, is often effective, it is typically inefficient because it requires the caller to wait while the system rings three or four times at each number in the sequence. It is thus very desirable to have a method for using the "find me" approach that is both easy to set up and maintain and that can determine a sequence of numbers to call at a given time that minimizes the number of calls necessary to reach the subscriber.

Call-forwarding system using adaptive model of user behavior


An improved bed sheet including a bottom form-fitted sheet for covering a mattress and a top sheet joined to the bottom sheet. The sheets are joined together by joining bottom and side edges of the top sheet to respective bottom and side edges of the bottom sheet. Elastic bands are sewn into top and bottom edges of the bottom sheet for enabling the bottom sheet to remain secured to the mattress. The top sheet is wider than the bottom sheet and is positioned relative to the bottom sheet to overlap only one side edge of the bottom sheet.

By way of background, standard bed sheets comprise a fitted sheet and a flat sheet. The fitted sheet is sewn together in such a matter to form a generally rectangular pocket for surrounding a mattress, while the flat sheet is a flat section of fabric which is separate from the fitted sheet. The fitted sheet has elastic bands sewn into top and bottom edges of the sheet to enable the fitted sheet to remain secured to the mattress. To secure the flat sheet to the mattress, the flat sheet must be partially tucked beneath a lower end of the mattress and along a small portion of both sides of the mattress. The flat sheet is wider than the fitted sheet and is typically centered with respect to the mattress such that the flat sheet will overlap the fitted sheet by an equal amount on both sides of the mattress.
When a bed is positioned against a wall of a bedroom, it is often inconvenient to place sheets on a mattress on the bed without moving the bed away from the wall. Although it is possible to place the fitted sheet on the mattress without moving the bed, the flat sheet cannot be easily tucked under the side of the mattress adjacent the wall without moving the bed. Further, because the flat sheet includes a portion which overlaps the fitted sheet adjacent the wall, this portion must be allowed to drape between the mattress and the wall making it difficult to properly place the flat sheet on the mattress without moving the bed. For heavier beds, such as bunk beds, moving the bed can be a difficult chore.
The prior art discloses various improvements to bed sheets to make the sheets easier to place on a mattress. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,854 to Pardee discloses a bed sheet including a fitted sheet for covering a mattress and a flat sheet joined to the fitted sheet along a bottom edge of the fitted sheet and along a small portion of each side edge of the fitted sheet adjacent the bottom edge. The flat sheet is wider than the fitted sheet and overlaps the fitted sheet by an equal amount on both sides of the mattress. By placing the fitted sheet on the mattress, the flat sheet will necessarily be secured to the mattress and will be automatically positioned with respect to the mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,044 to Bogle also discloses a bed sheet including a flat sheet joined to a fitted sheet. The flat sheet is permanently joined to the fitted sheet along one side edge of the flat sheet. The opposing side edge and bottom edge of the flat sheet are secured to the fitted sheet by a zipper or other closure device. The flat sheet is joined to the fitted sheet adjacent the top surface of the mattress such that the flat sheet is tightly pinned to the mattress providing little room for a person to move beneath the flat sheet.
The prior art does not disclose a bed sheet adapted for use on a bed which is positioned against a wall. Specifically, the prior art does not disclose a bed sheet which can be easily installed on a mattress without moving the mattress away from a wall, which maintains the appearance of a standard bed sheet, and which is as comfortable to use as a standard bed sheet.


A quantum well infrared focal plane array achieves hyper-spectral measurements of incident infrared radiation using a voltage dividing network that applies different and adjustable biasing voltages to each line of the line by column array. The peak wavelengths of each quantum well layer of each detector structure in the array is set to a specified nominal value by appropriate fabrication of the depths of the quantum wells of the layers. The nominal peak wavelength value of each quantum well layer can further be varied by modulating the bias voltage applied to the gate of the direct injection transistor associated with each detector structure of the array. A read out integrated circuit (ROIC) containing the direct injection transistor processes the photo-current from each quantum well layer of each detector structure. Using an n by n array of vertically stacked detector structures, along with the associated ROIC, a focal plane array can be fabricated where each row of detector elements in the array is responsive to different peak wavelengths.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to Quantum Well Infrared photodetector Focal Plane Arrays (QWIP FPA""s) and, more particularly, to QWIP FPA""s that are capable of multicolor detection.
2. State of the Art
Multicolor infrared detection capability has wide applicability to a number of different applications including aerospace, medical, surveying, mining, and agriculture. For example, multicolor infrared detection can provide useful information during geographical surveys. Detection in at least two infrared spectral bands would permit differentiation between man-made structures and natural landscape in a geographical survey. Additionally, in medical applications, multi-color detection would permit improved thermal imaging of the human body for diagnostic purposes.
Multicolor infrared detection has been conventionally performed using a wide-band IR detector and an associated rotating mechanical multicolor filter wheel. The wide-band IR detector detects a broad range of incident wavelengths and the rotating filter wheel selects the desired wavelength that is to be passed to the wide-band detector. An exemplary color wheel system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,780. Mechanical color wheel systems, however, suffer from a number of deficiencies in multicolor detection. Such systems generally are slow and bulky, require large amounts of power for operation, and have a limited life span. Additionally, color wheel systems tend to have poor photon collection efficiency.
To alleviate some of the known deficiencies of the multicolor filter wheel, quantum well photodetectors have been constructed that permit the detection of more than one spectral band. One such quantum well photodetector is constructed using asymmetric quantum well layers that permit, in accordance with known principles, multicolor detection with a varying applied bias. An example of such a detector is described xe2x80x9cSwitchable Bicolor (5.5-9.0 xcexcm) Infrared Detector Using Asymmetric GaAs/AlGaAs Multiquantum well,xe2x80x9d Appl. Phys. Lett. 61 (3), Jul. 20, 1992 by Martinet et al. Varying the bias applied across such a photodetector varies the responsivity of the detector to impinging infrared radiation of different wavelengths. The multicolor detection capability of a single asymmetric quantum well layer in a single detector, however, has limited spectral responsivity. A single quantum well layer is only capable of being xe2x80x9ctunedxe2x80x9d within a specific spectral band that is limited by material parameters (e.g., quantum well depth) selected when constructing the detector. A single asymmetric quantum well layer in a single detector therefore does not permit multicolor detection over a wide spectral band.
Responsivity across a wide spectral range is achieved in exemplary embodiments of the invention by constructing the quantum well layers in a plurality of portions of an array of quantum well detectors so that the layers in each of the plurality of portions are responsive to different nominal peak wavelengths. A common voltage bias can be applied across each of the plurality of portions of the array to xe2x80x9ctune,xe2x80x9d using the Stark effect, the detectors in each portion of the array to different peak wavelengths then every other portion of the array.
One exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a photodetector array which comprises an array of photodetector structures and further includes a voltage bias means. The voltage bias means provides different voltages for biasing different groups of detector structures in the array.
An additional exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a photosensitive device which comprises a first photosensitive layer and two or more photosensitive layers, where the photosensitive layers are formed adjacent one another. This exemplary embodiment further includes a means for modulating a bias voltage applied across each of said photosensitive layers, where the modulated bias voltage is selectively applied to each layer and varies spectral responsivities associated with each layer.
A further exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a photodetector array which comprises a plurality of photodetector structures, each comprising: a first photosensitive layer; two or more photosensitive layers, wherein said photosensitive layers are formed adjacent one another; and means for modulating a bias voltage applied across each of said layers, wherein said modulated bias voltage is selectively applied to each layer and varies spectral responsivities associated with each layer.
A further exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method of detecting radiation comprising the steps of: receiving radiation of a first spectral band in a first portion of a detector structure; receiving radiation of a second spectral band in a second portion of said detector structure, wherein said radiation in said second spectral band first passes through said first portion of said detector before reaching said second portion of said detector; receiving radiation of a third spectral band in a third portion of said detector structure, wherein said radiation in said third spectral band first passes through said first and second portions of said detector before reaching said third portion of said detector; and selectively converting said radiation in said first, second, and third spectral bands into quantities of moving charges.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is also directed to a photosensitive device comprising: first means responsive to impinging energy of a first spectral band; second means responsive to impinging energy of a second spectral band, wherein said impinging energy of said second spectral band first passes through said first means before reaching said second means; third means responsive to impinging energy of a third spectral band, wherein said impinging energy of said third spectral band first passes through said second means before reaching said third means; and means for selectively processing quantities of moving charges supplied from each of said first, second, and third means.

Programmable hyper-spectral infrared focal plane arrays


A self-aligned process for fabricating high performance bipolar transistors for integrated circuits includes the formation of a collector contact and intrinsic collector region within an opening at the face of a semiconductor substrate. In particular, layers of oxide and polysilicon are formed on the surface of a substrate. An opening is then formed in both layers followed by the implantation of a buried collector region into the substrate at the exposed substrate face through the opening. Polysilicon contacts to the buried layer are then formed on the sidewalls of the opening. These contacts join with the polysilicon layer to form a collector contact. An oxide is then grown on the collector contact. A monocrystalline intrinsic collector is then formed from the exposed substrate face adjacent said collector contact. In this manner, the buried collector, collector contact and intrinsic collector are all formed in a self-aligned manner. Emitter and base regions may then be formed in the intrinsic collector, using techniques to form a completely self-aligned device.

As state-of-the-art computer systems and circuits evolve, there is a continuing need for higher performance bipolar junction transistors capable of operating at higher switching speeds, with increasing degrees of device integration, and with a low rate of failure. There is also a continuing need to shrink or scale down device size to obtain improved device performance. In order to obtain further advances in device scaling, improved lithographic techniques and equipment must be developed. Unfortunately, the lithographic patterning tolerances of state-of-the-art equipment are rapidly reaching their limits. The range of future device geometries and contact line widths require extremely small dimensions. Thus, lithographic errors within the normal tolerance range can impede efforts to further shrink device size. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to develop a process and device geometry less dependent on photolithographic accuracy.
Reduced geometry devices can be fabricated using "self-aligned" process techniques. In a self-aligned process, at least one device region is used as an alignment guide for forming a subsequent region(s). Accordingly, self-aligned fabrication processes are less dependent upon precise photolithographic alignment than similarly directed non self-aligned processes.
Examples of bipolar transistors formed having one or more self-aligned active regions, and requiring one or more critical alignment steps, can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,350 to Possley, et al. entitled Self-Aligned Epitaxial Method for the Fabrication of Semiconductor Devices; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,282 to Sakai, et al. entitled Bipolar Transistor Having Vertically Arrayed Collector-Base-Emitter with Novel Polycrystalline Base Electrode Surrounding Island Emitter and Method of Making the Same; in a publication entitled A 20ps Si Bipolar IC Using Advance Super Self-Aligned Process Technology with Collector Ion Implantation by Konaka, et. al. published in the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 36, No. 7, pp. 1370-1375, July, 1989; in a publication entitled SDX: A Novel Self-Aligned Technique and its Application to High Speed Bipolar LSI's by Yamamoto, et al. published in the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 35 No. 10, pp. 1601-1608, October, 1988; and in a publication entitled A submicrometer High-Performance Bipolar Technology., by Chen, et al. published in the IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 10, No. 8, pp. 364-366, August, 1989.
Many other examples of bipolar transistors formed using self-alignment steps can also be found. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,774 to Welbourn, et al. entitled Self-Aligned Bipolar Fabrication Process, discloses a self-aligned process for forming a walled-emitter transistor.
As is well known to those skilled in the art of integrated circuit design, faster switching speeds can be obtained, in part, by reducing the lateral and vertical size and parasitic components of individual transistors and increasing the degree of integration. Typical parasitics include base resistance, r.sub.b, base-collector capacitance, C.sub.bc, collector resistance, r.sub.c, and collector-substrate capacitance, C.sub.cs. As these parasitic components are reduced, device performance improves because faster device operation and lower power consumption is possible.
Attempts have been made at forming bipolar transistors with reduced base and collector resistance (r.sub.b, r.sub.c) and base-collector capacitance (c.sub.bc), using self-alignment techniques. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,332 to Shinada entitled Method of Making a Bipolar Transistor, disclosed a partially self-aligned bipolar transistor having a laterally displaced collector contact electrically connected to an embedded extrinsic collector layer. Not all active regions are self-aligned, however, and the ability to obtain reduced collector-substrate capacitance is limited by at least the width of the embedded extrinsic collector layer.
In summary, the art has yet to produce a completely self-aligned bipolar junction transistor with reduced collector-substrate capacitance.

Triple self-aligned bipolar junction transistor


An elastic polishing pad is adhered to a surface of a flat substrate holder of a platen. A substrate holding head which holds and rotates a semiconductor substrate is provided above a first region extending from the central portion to peripheral portion of the polishing pad. The semiconductor substrate rotated by the substrate holding head is pressed against the first region of the polishing pad. A slurry is dropped in a prescribed amount from an abrasive supply pipe onto the polishing pad. Pad pressing means for pressing the polishing pad is provided above a second region extending from the central portion to peripheral portion of the platen. The pad pressing means has a disk-shaped pad pressing plate and a rotary shaft for holding the pad pressing plate.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for polishing a semiconductor substrate whereby chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is performed with respect to a semiconductor substrate of silicon or the like to flatten a surface thereof.
From the 1990s, CMP technology for polishing semiconductor substrates of silicon or the like has shown increasing tendencies toward single-wafer processing as the semiconductor substrates processed by CMP have had larger diameters on the order of 10 cm or more. Since design rules of 0.5 .mu.m or less have been used to form an extremely small pattern on a semiconductor substrate, equal polishing should be performed with respect to the entire surface thereof.
Below, a method and apparatus for polishing a semiconductor substrate according to a first conventional embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 schematically shows the construction of the apparatus for polishing a semiconductor substrate according to the first conventional embodiment, in which is shown a platen 21 including: a substrate holder 21a made of a rigid material and having a flat surface; a rotary shaft 21b extending vertically downwardly from the back face of the above substrate holder 21a; and rotating means (not shown) for rotating the above rotary shaft 21b. To the top surface of the substrate holder 21a of the platen 21 is adhered an elastic polishing pad 22. Above the polishing pad 22 is provided a substrate holding head 24 which holds and rotates a semiconductor substrate 23. The semiconductor substrate 23 is rotated and pressed against a first region of the polishing pad 22 by the substrate holding head 24. A slurry 25 in a prescribed amount is supplied dropwise from an abrasive supply pipe 26 onto the polishing pad 22.
In the apparatus for polishing a semiconductor substrate thus constructed, the polishing pad 22 supplied with the slurry 25 is rotated by rotating the platen 21 and the semiconductor substrate 23 is pressed against the rotating polishing pad 22 by the substrate holding head 24 so that a surface of the semiconductor substrate 23 is polished under pressure at a relative speed.
In this process, if the surface of the semiconductor substrate 23 is rugged, the polishing rate is increased at projecting portions of the semiconductor substrate 23 since their contact pressure with the polishing pad 22 is high. On the other hand, the polishing rate is reduced at recessed portions of the semiconductor substrate 23 since their contact pressure with the polishing pad 22 is low. Consequently, the surface of the semiconductor substrate 23 becomes less rugged and more smooth.
However, the above method and apparatus for polishing a semiconductor substrate according to the first conventional embodiment present the following problems, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.
FIG. 9(a) qualitatively shows a relationship between the pressing period for the polishing pad 22 and the thickness of the polishing pad 22. In FIG. 9(a), the vertical axis represents the thickness of the polishing pad and the horizontal axis represents the pressing period for the polishing pad, which is the time elapsed since the initiation of polishing. FIG. 9(b) qualitatively shows the thickness of the polishing pad recovering with time after it is pressed under a given pressure subsequently reduced to 0. In FIG. 9(b), the vertical axis represents the thickness of the polishing pad and the horizontal axis represents the time elapsed since the pressure is reduced to 0 after pressing.
FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view illustrating different pressing periods for the polishing pad 22 depending on different radial positions of the polishing pad 22. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the construction of the platen 21 during polishing, which is taken along the diameter of the platen 21 (along the line VI--VI of FIG. 10).
When a commonly-used elastic material, such as one containing non-woven fabric or urethane foam as the main component, is used to compose the polishing pad 22, the amount of elastic deformation at the moment at which the polishing pad 22 initiates receiving pressure (within several seconds) differs depending on the time elapsed since the initiation of pressing, as shown in FIG. 9(a). When the polishing pad 22 is released from the pressure, the amount of elastic deformation is gradually reduced with the passage of time, as shown in FIG. 9(b).
According to the polishing method of the first conventional embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the period during which the polishing pad 22 is in contact with the semiconductor substrate 23 (i.e., the period during which the polishing pad 22 is pressed) varies. Specifically, the period during which the polishing pad 22 is in contact with and pressed by the semiconductor substrate 23 is different at the position a corresponding to the radius r1, at the position b corresponding to the radius r2, and at the position c corresponding to the radius r3 shown in FIG. 10. The period during which the polishing pad 22 is not pressed (the period for elastic deformation) is also different at the positions a, b, and c shown in FIG. 10. Consequently, on the polishing pad 22 in contact with the semiconductor substrate 23, the amount of elastic deformation of the polishing pad 22 is larger at the position b corresponding to the radius r2 substantially passing through the center of the semiconductor substrate 23 where the pressing period is relatively long and the recovering period is relatively short, while the amount of elastic deformation of the polishing pad 22 is smaller at the respective positions a and b corresponding to the radii r1 and r3 where the pressing period is relatively short and the recovering period is relatively long.
Accordingly, the thickness of the polishing pad 22 is smaller at the radially middle portion thereof (position b) and larger at the radially inner and outer portions thereof (positions a and c) when viewed in a cross section taken along a radius of the polishing pad 22 as shown in FIG. 11.
If such a polishing pad 22 is used to polish a flat semiconductor substrate 23 in contact with and pressed by the polishing pad 22, the polishing pad 22 exerts a higher pressure on the radially inner and outer portions of the polishing pad 22, while exerting a lower pressure on the radially middle portion of the polishing pad 22. A difference in pressure on the surface of the polishing pad 22 corresponds to a difference in polishing rate so that the polishing rate at the radially middle portion of the polishing pad 22 is lower than the polishing rate at the radially inner and outer portions of the polishing pad 22. Hence, it is impossible to equally polish the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 23.
To overcome the problem, there has been proposed a technique utilizing the deformation of a semiconductor substrate 33 against the elastic deformation of the polishing pad 32, as shown in FIG. 12.
The following is the description of a method and apparatus for polishing a semiconductor substrate according to a second conventional embodiment. To a platen 31 is adhered an elastic polishing pad 32. The lower portion of a substrate holding head 34 for holding a semiconductor substrate 33 is provided with an airtight space 37 defined by a head main body 35 having a recessed portion and a plate-like elastic member 36 which can be elastically deformed and is provided in the recessed portion of the head main body 35. A gas under controlled pressure is introduced from a gas supply path 38 into the airtight space 37. Thus, by using the gas under pressure introduced into the airtight space 37 to press the semiconductor substrate 33 against the polishing pad 32 with intervention of the elastic member 36, equal polishing is performed by evenly pressing the semiconductor substrate 33 from the back face thereof.
However, in the case where there is a difference in the thickness or in the amount of elastic deformation of the polishing pad 32, the semiconductor substrate 33 is deformed (warped) to follow the rugged configuration of the surface of the polishing pad 32. As a result, a pressure difference is produced due to a force (pressure) required for the deformation of the semiconductor substrate 33, resulting in uneven pressing. Consequently, the problem of the semiconductor substrate 33 pressed unevenly remains unsolved.

Method and apparatus for polishing semiconductor substrate

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A sod roll-out machine with endless tracks having a low center of gravity to prevent tipping on hills or inclines. The machine can be operated and steered by one person, wherein the roll of sod can be unwound in a forward or reverse direction. A pair of arms are elevated by hydraulic cylinders to facilitate the loading of a roll of sod to the distal ends of the arms, and to maintain the roll of sod slightly above the earth during the unrolling process. Due to the unique two track driving mechanism, the machine can be turned in place and operated in areas having limited accessibility. The tracks are driven by a motor, wherein each track can be individually controlled to be rotated in either a forward or reverse direction. A hydraulic pump is driven by the motor, wherein hydraulic fluid is provided to each of the hydraulic cylinders to control the elevation of each of the elevating arms. A cradle member is defined at the distal end of each arm for receiving a rod which is projecting out each end along an axis of a roll of sod. Hence, the loading and unrolling process is easy to perform. Large rolls of sod can be transported and unrolled thus minimizing the number of rolls of sod required to create a lawn. Further, the manual labor required by the operator is reduced as well.

I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a machine for laying rolls of sod, and more particularly, to a sod laying machine which can be operated by a single person to unroll sod in a forward or reverse direction.
II. DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
Laying rolls of sod to produce a lawn is a labor intensive, time consuming yet delicate procedure. Rolls of sod harvested from sod farms are typically very heavy due to the thin layer of earth attached to the roots of the grass. Further, the tensile strength of the sod roll varies from one sod roll to the next due to the moisture content, the thickness of the grass, the age of the grass, and the variety of grass. Consequently, the difficulties in laying rolls of sod due to their weight an varying tensile strength usually requires one to unroll the sod by hand. Further complicating the unrolling procedure is ensuring that the sod roll is unrolled properly to avoid unsightly buckles. Due to different landscaping designs, sod occasionally needs to be rolled out in limited spaces and in areas having restricted accessibility. For instance, structure walls, retaining walls, fences, trees and gardens make the job of laying sod difficult and tedious. Further, the terrain of the land also varies due to hills and uneven grades. Thus, numerous difficulties and obstacles can be encountered when laying rolls of sod.
Various machines have been designed to reduce the labor involved in unrolling layers of sod, and to reduce the time involved. However, most machines suffer from one or more limitations such as limited maneuverability, they have high center of gravities and tip easily on uneven grades including hills, and they can only unroll sod in one direction. Further, they are often complicated and expensive. Finally, they can be difficult to use and require extensive time and patience in adapting a roll of sod to the machine for subsequent unrolling.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,890,801, 4,878,542, and 4,754,815 to Brouwer et al teach a sod laying machine. This machine has a front and rear sections articulated together wherein a forward boom includes a drive mechanism for dispensing sod rearwardly and beneath the wheels of the machine. The machine includes a pair of outriggers to prevent tipping of the machine. This machine has a high center of gravity thus requiring significantly long outriggers. Further, this machine can only unroll sod in one direction, namely, rearwardly. Thus, in restricted areas, this machine may not be suitable for a sod laying application requiring the roll sod be unrolled in the forward direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,711 to Bradley et al describes a sod laying machine which is rather complicated and cumbersome to use. This machine necessitates that individual sod rolls are passed between closely spaced endless drive belts in order to preserve the integrity of the roll. This machines takes up a considerable amount of space, is difficult to maneuver, and can only dispense rolls of sod in one direction. Further, it is adapted to be pulled by a tractor and is not adapted to be used or steered by an individual.
Thus, a sod laying machine which can lay rolls of sod in either the forward or a rear direction, which is easily maneuverable, and not subject to tipping on hills is very desirable. Further, a machine which can unroll large rolls of sod to reduce the total number of sod rolls required and to reduce the number of gaps between rolls of sod is desirable as well. Finally, an inexpensive, easy to use machine which is adapted to be operated by a single person is desirable as well.

Sod roll-out machine with endless tracks


A display with integrated touch screen includes pixels distributed in an array of rows or pixels connected by row wires and columns of pixels connected by column wires defining a display area on a display substrate. The pixels can comprise mutually exclusive subarrays of pixels forming clusters. Each cluster can be independently controlled and can comprise a touch controller for sensing touches. Each pixel can include one or more micro-iLEDs. A first row wire can be driven with a display signal at the same time the touch controller senses one or more second row wires different from the first row wire. The touch controller can sense multiple row wires at a time or can receive a control signal at a frequency of no less than one MHz on a row wire. In some embodiments, the touch controller comprises a capacitance circuit in an integrated circuit separate from the display substrate.

Flat-panel displays are widely used in conjunction with computing devices, in portable devices, and for entertainment devices such as televisions. Such displays typically employ a plurality of pixels distributed over a display substrate to display images, graphics, or text. In a color display, each pixel includes light emitters that emit light of different colors, such as red, green, and blue. For example, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) employ liquid crystals to block or transmit light from a backlight behind the liquid crystals and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays rely on passing current through a layer of organic material that glows in response to the current.
Many display systems, particularly for displays used in mobile applications such as tablet computers and smartphones, include a touchscreen that responds to commands provided by touching the touchscreen with a finger or stylus. A variety of touchscreen technologies are known, for example resistive, optical, acoustic, inductive, and capacitive.
Touchscreens are typically located over a display and use separate substrates and covers. Such an arrangement adds thickness and weight to a display system and absorbs light emitted by the display. In recent years, touchscreen components have been formed on display components, for example display covers, reducing the thickness and weight of the display system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,243,027 describes a variety of touchscreen structures in a liquid crystal display having a backlight and color filters. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0214247 discloses an array of touch elements including first and second electrodes forming a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged capacitive sensing units in a layer.
In general, touch screens are either single-touch or multi-touch. Single-touch systems can detect only one touch at a time, for example most resistive touchscreens are of this type. Such screens are typically simple, fast, robust, easy to use with a variety of implements, and inexpensive to control and operate. In contrast, multi-touch touchscreens, for example self-capacitive or mutual-capacitive touch sensors, can detect multiple touch points on a screen at a time but are more limited in their touch modalities, for example limited to touches with a conductive stylus, such as a human finger. Such multi-touch systems use a matrix of touch sensors and are typically controlled using a sequential matrix scanning technique. For example, a mutual-capacitance touch system includes orthogonal arrays of horizontal and vertical overlapping electrodes. At every location where the horizontal and vertical electrodes overlap, a capacitor is formed, providing a capacitive touch sensor. A touch controller drives a row of touch sensors at a time and then reads a sense signal from each of the columns. Thus, only one row of sensors can be activated and read at a time. The touch controller sequentially drives successive rows to read back a signal from each touch sensor in the array. Because the rows of touch sensors are sequentially activated, as the touch sensor array grows larger and includes more rows, the rate at which the touch sensor array can be controlled decreases. This limits either the size (number of touch sensors in the touchscreen) or the scan rate at which touches can be detected, or both. Furthermore, touches in different rows are detected at different times. Such a control scheme is similar to the passive-matrix control used in small displays, for example small LCDs or OLED displays.
There remains a need, therefore, for touchscreen structures that provide improved functionality, multi-touch capability, and increased size and scan rates.


A method (600) of rendering virtual objects is disclosed. The method (600) comprises obtaining (602) a set of parameters, the set of parameters comprising a current color and/or brightness of light emitted by a light source (120), selecting (604) a virtual object from a virtual object database (106), which virtual object is associated with the set of parameters, and rendering (606) the virtual object on an image rendering device (104).

Recent developments in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) enables users to interact with virtual objects. These virtual objects may be displayed as an overlay on top of the physical world, for example on a smartphone or on AR-glasses. This technology enables many different types of applications, for example position-based treasure hunt games. When playing such a game, a user may move through the physical world in order to 'hunt' (seek) virtual treasures. Another exemplary application is to render virtual data files such as presentations and documents and agendas in office environments. The recent developments in AR and coded light technology enable new paradigms for selection of and interaction with such virtual objects.
US 20140267412 A1 discloses techniques for augmenting an appearance of an object in a scene by inserting virtual objects into the scene. The appearance of the object is augmented using environmental lighting information, which is based on for example a position of a light source within an environment in which the augmented reality device is located, an angle of the light source, a color of the light source, and an intensity of the light source and a reflectivity value of the first physical object.

System for rendering virtual objects and a method thereof