A terminal to be carried into a moving object includes a first information obtaining unit, a time stamp adding unit, a second information obtaining unit, and an integration unit. The first information obtaining unit obtains positional information of the terminal. The time stamp adding unit adds a timestamp to the positional information obtained by the first information obtaining unit. The second information obtaining unit obtains, from the moving object, the positional information of the moving object having a timestamp added in the same time unit as the timestamp added by the object time stamp adding unit. The integration unit integrates positional information having a timestamp for which no positional information has been obtained by the first information obtaining unit, selectively from the positional information obtained by the second information obtaining unit, with the positional information obtained by the second information obtaining unit.

Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a portable terminal.
Description of the Related Art
A lifelog has become common in recent years. A lifelog refers to the technology to record (or log) living, actions, and experience (lives) of humans in the form of digital data including video, audio, and positional information, or refers to such a record.
Recording a lifelog typically uses various sensors or functions of, for example, a mobile phone. The sensors include a digital camera and a watch. The functions include connection to the Internet. For example, a camera capturing a lifelog may be a wearable camera, which is worn for continuous recording (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-356970). Systems have been developed to search for information based on such lifelog data (refer to, for example, WO 2010/131333).
A portable terminal, such as a mobile phone or a watch, has functions to obtain various items of information about the surrounding environment of the terminal. Examples of the various items of information include temperature information, atmospheric pressure information, positional information from global positioning system (GPS) satellites, acceleration information, and direction information. The lifelog typically uses positional information.
The position of the user of the terminal can be calculated by using the information obtained from the GPS satellites. The information about the calculated position can be used to record a movement log of the user. The information from the GPS satellites may also be used to obtain information about the local time at a travel destination (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4487585). In areas where no radio waves can be received from the GPS satellites, such as facilities or underground malls, information tags (e.g., barcodes) may be set to enable positional information to be obtained (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4015632).
However, the above structures known in the art have the problems described below.
In transportation media, such as airplanes or trains, external GPS radio waves may not be received. In this case, the positions of transportation media may not be identified.
In predetermined environments such as in transportation media or in certain facilities, positional information may be difficult to obtain, and thus a lifelog may be difficult to capture.
The disclosure provides a terminal and an information obtaining method that allows a lifelog to be captured easily in a moving object or in a facility.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A technique for downloading multiple objects from at least one server in an accelerated manner. Typically, in a TCP/IP environment, a client is limited in the number of sockets that can be opened for a single server. A spoofer (410) is utilized to intercept traffic between the server and the client and modify the traffic so that from the client's perspective, it appears as though objects from a single server are actually being sourced from multiple servers. Thus, the client is able to open additional sockets to receive objects from the server thereby allowing for a parallel download of the objects. This greatly reduces the amount of time necessary to download the objects.

In recent years the global data communication network known as the Internet has experienced explosive growth. In conjunction with this growth, there has also been a substantial increase in the number of private networks that use protocols and standards similar to those used on the public Internet (i.e., Intranets). These Intranets are typically used by corporations and authorized users for the sharing of data and resources and utilize a Gateway (GW) as an interface between the Intranet and the Internet. Presently, many users of these Intranet networks and the Internet are experiencing severe communication constraints due to the inefficient handling of existing protocols and the overload of the network.
The Internet or Intranets are typically configured to utilize either the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol (UDP/IP) to establish the communication between a client that is using a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Internet browser and HTTP servers, FTP servers or the like.
During typical operation of the Internet, a web server (such as an HTTP server) receives a content request from a client. The web server can respond to a client's HTTP request by transmitting a presentation language document to the client. The "presentation language" (or also referred to as P/L) document, regardless of the format and markup language used, defines the web page layout, fonts and graphic elements Active-X controls, JAVA scripts or applets, as well as the hypertext links to other web pages, sites or functions. Each link contains the URL (Universal Resource Locator), or address, of a web page on the same server or on any other server connected to the Intranet or the Internet.
The technical and functional aspects of HTTP, HTML and other P/L formats should be well known to those skilled in the art and, additional information on these subjects can be obtained by reviewing the "Internet Engineering Task Force" site www.ietf.org.
From now on the discloser of the present invention refers to HTML as an exemplary P/L.
A client, upon receiving an HTML page from a server, parses the HTML page and opens TCP connections to the hosting computers of the different objects. The communication protocols put limitations on the number of concurrent connections that a client's browser can open per host. For example, HTTP 1.1 limits the browser to two connections per host. HTTP 1.0 limits the browser to four connections per host. Therefore, if a source of several objects is the same host, the browser, in case of HTTP 1.1, can open only two connections at a time and requests those objects as sequential pairs of objects, a pair after the other, via these two connections. Sequential download of objects is not efficient, since a download of an object consist of two periods: (1) the negotiation time and (2) the object sending time. The negotiation time, at the sever side, is the time from sending the last bit of the previous object until the time of receiving the first bit of the following request. During this period, the server does nothing for the client. In a process of downloading a common page in a common Bandwidth (BW) of 1.5 KBps and objects with average size 1.2 KB, the negotiation time takes about 25% of the total time. FIG. 1 is a time diagram illustrating such a common download time of 8 objects using HTTP 1.1 with two TCP connections (TCP 1 & TCP 2) at a time between the client and the host. The negotiation time for the first and the second objects is between T0 to T1 (about 3 time units), then the transmitting of the first two objects is the time between T1 to T2 (about 10 time units). At the end of the transmitting of the first two objects a negotiation for the next two objects starts on T2 until T3 subsequently the transmitting of the two objects that took the time between T3 to T4 and this process continues to the end of the last two objects. The total time is about 52 time units. The size of a time unit depends on the properties of the network and it may be in the range of few milliseconds to few hundreds of milliseconds.
Using the same BW of the network but increasing the number of TCP connections to 8 connections enables the simultaneous download of these 8 objects and eliminates the negotiation time before each object. The download of each object will be longer than before (about 40 time units, due to the usage of the same BW) but the total download time of all 8 objects will be shorter (about 42 time units). FIG. 2 is a time diagram illustrating the same download of 8 objects using HTTP 1.1 but this time with 8 TCP connections.
Therefore there is a need for a system and a method that can reduce the download time of web based data by reducing the portion of the negotiation time. Such a system can increase the speed of the communication.

System and a method for accelerating communication of TCP/IP based content through the use of fake host names


Embodiments of a method of optimally scheduling, in near real-time, workunits for processing on processing stations in a processing system, while accounting for constraints such as processing station qualifications by workunit type and service type, and to meet certain business objectives such as cycle time and demand targets, are described. A method of scheduling the processing of workunits in a processing system comprises defining a plurality of workunits, aggregating the work units by workunit type and service to be performed on each workunit to define one or more workunit type-service type groupings. The method further allocates capacity of one or more processing stations to workunit type-service type groupings, assigns workunits of the plurality of workunits to meet the allocated capacity, and sequences the workunit type-service type groupings and workunits on each processing station of the one or more processing stations. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Increasing the efficiency of modern manufacturing processes is a complex problem. Typically, a large but finite group of resources, such as machines in a facility, are available to perform operations on materials or groups of materials. In order to cost-effectively produce the most usable items in the shortest time, it is important to keep expensive assets, such as machinery, in useful operation for as much of the time as possible. Scheduling the processing of materials on the machines in a way that optimizes efficiency is therefore an important task. The variables involved in the manufacturing scheduling process include, but are not limited to, the fact that the machines usually have different capabilities and/or functions, and that the materials usually become available in different quantities at different times. Making the manufacturing process more efficient involves solving a complex problem including these multiple variables. In addition, the variables are subject to change at any time. For example, machines may suddenly become unavailable, or material flow may become interrupted.
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram that illustrates a process flow in an existing manufacturing facility. The example illustrated in FIG. 1 is a typical process flow for existing semiconductor wafer fabrication plants. FIG. 1 depicts the scope 102 and horizon 112 for the planning, goaling, scheduling and dispatching problems that occur in typical, known semiconductor manufacturing operations. The scope scale 102 shows the product plan as it progresses from several fabs 104 to areas in a single fab 106 to tools (or "processing stations") and lots (or "workunits") in an area 108 to one or more lots on a given tool 110. As used herein, "fab" indicates a fabrication facility, and also as an alternative term to "fabrication." The rolling horizon 112 progresses from a planning horizon 114, to a time period of weeks 116, to less than one day 118, and then to current clock time 120. During each of these four main scope definitions and event horizons, the planning process progresses from central planning in all fabs (for which the scope is several fabs 104), to fab-level planning and goaling (for which the scope is a single fab 106 and the horizon is weeks 116), to scheduling and re-scheduling (for which the scope is processing stations and workunits in the fab 108 and the horizon is less than one day 118), and then to dispatching (for which the scope is a single processing station 10 and the horizon is current clock time 120). As shown in FIG. 1, the typical method of assigning one or more workunits (e.g. wafers or wafer lots) to a given processing station 110 in real time (current clock time 120) is by dispatching. A majority of semiconductor manufacturers use dispatching to implement heuristic rules that try to circumvent the need for optimal scheduling. In general, dispatching is a real-time solution, primarily due to the narrow scope of the problem. However, it typically does not find an optimal solution. Instead, dispatching is a localized problem solution that looks at each machine individually. Moreover, dispatching typically relies on operator control and the use of common practices, which require human decision-making processes, and thus does not facilitate factory automation.

Optimization-based process scheduling method and system


Ball sealers comprising a polyetheretherketone are introduced into a well to seal well perforations and divert fluid therein. In the preferred embodiment the ball sealers have a density less than the treating fluid.

It is common practice in completing oil and gas wells to set a string of pipe, known as casing, in the well and use cement around the outside of the casing to isolate the various formations penetrated by the well. To establish fluid communication between the hydrocarbon-bearing formations and the interior of the casing, the casing and cement sheath are perforated.
At various times during the life of the well, it may be desirable to increase the production rate of hydrocarbons by using appropriate treating fluids such as acids, solvents or surfactants. If only a short, single pay zone in the well has been perforated, the treating fluid will flow into the pay zone where it is required. As the length of the perforated pay zone or the number of perforated pay zones increases, the placement of the fluid treatment in the regions of the pay zones where it is required becomes more difficult. For instance, the strata having the highest permeability will most likely consume the major portion of a given stimulation treatment leaving the least permeable strata virtually untreated. Therefore, techniques have been developed to divert the treating fluid from its path of least resistance so that the low permeability zones are also treated.
One technique for achieving diversion involves the use of downhole equipment such as packers. Although these devices are effective, they are quite expensive due to the involvement of associated workover equipment required during the tubing-packer manipulations. Additionally, mechanical reliability tends to decrease as the depth of the well increases.
As a result, considerable effort has been devoted to the development of alternative diverting methods. One widely used diverting technique uses small rubber-coated balls, known as ball sealers, to seal off casing perforations.
These ball sealers are pumped into the wellbore along with the formation treating fluid. The balls are carried down the wellbore and onto the perforations by the flow of the fluid through the perforations into the formation. The balls seat upon the perforations and are held there by the pressure differential across the perforations.
Major advantages of utilizing ball sealers as a diverting agent include ease of use, positive shutoff, no involvement with the formation, and low risk of incurring damage to the well. The ball sealers are injected at the surface and transported by the treating fluid. Other than a ball injector, no special or additional treating equipment is required. The ball sealers are designed to have an outer covering sufficiently compliant to seal a jet formed perforation and to have a solid, rigid core which resists extrusion into or through the perforation. Therefore, the ball sealers will not penetrate the formation and permanently damage the flow characteristics of the well.
Several requirements are repeatedly applied to ball sealers as they are normally utilized today. First the ball sealers must be chemically inert in the environment to which they are exposed. Second, they must seal effectively, yet not extrude into the perforations. Third, the ball sealers must release from the perforations when the pressure differential into the formation is relieved.
To meet these requirements, various materials for ball sealers have been suggested including rubber, nylon, plastic, aluminum, rubber-coated aluminum, rubber-covered phenolic, rubber-covered nylon, and even permeable plastic consolidated walnut hull balls. One difficulty with ball sealers composed of such materials is that the balls which are currently available often do not exhibit sufficient resistance to chemical attack by treating fluids. Another difficulty is that materials having a temperature resistance suitable for high temperature applications have a high density as compared to common treating fluids. In the case of rubber coated balls, the perforation can actually cut the rubber covering in the area of the pressure seal. Once the ball sealer loses its structural integrity the unattached rubber is free to lodge permanently in the perforation which can reduce the flow capacity of the perforation and may permanently damage the well. Excessive heat, such as is present in deep wells can also cause such ball sealers to lose structural integrity. Deeper drilling has demanded stimulation jobs that are conducted under conditions that exceed the current temperature and pressure limitations of available low density ball sealers. Available low density ball sealers are not suitable for temperatures over 350.degree. F. (177.degree. C.) or pressures over 8,000 psi (562.5 kg/cm.sup.2).
A need exists for improved low density ball sealers which function well in such hot, hostile environments, especially in the presence of acidic fluids.


Embodiments of millimeter-wave communication stations with directional antennas and methods for fast link recovery are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed. In some embodiments, a transmitting station retransmits a packet in an adjacent direction when an acknowledgement is not received from a receiving station after a number of retransmission attempts. In other embodiments, a receiving station changes its reception to an adjacent direction when a packet is not received from a transmitting station after a number of missed reservations.

Many conventional wireless devices communicate using radio frequencies (RF) that generally range between two and eleven gigahertz (GHz). These systems generally employ either omnidirectional or lower-directivity antennas, primarily because of the comparatively long wavelengths of the frequencies and relatively low path loss. The lower directivity of these antennas may limit the throughput of such systems over longer ranges.
Due to the high path loss associated with communicating using millimeter-waves, highly directional antennas with large apertures are generally used. Highly directional antennas may be smaller and more compact at millimeter-wave frequencies and could improve the throughput of these systems. These highly directional antennas may make it difficult to establish and maintain communication links between wireless devices, particularly when the wireless devices are mobile. Furthermore, these highly directional antennas may make it difficult to quickly reestablish a link that has been lost due to movement or rotation of one of the devices.
Thus, there are general needs for methods and wireless devices that use highly directional antennas that can quickly reestablish communication links. There are also needs for methods and wireless devices that can communicate with a higher throughput.

Millimeter-wave communication stations with directional antennas and methods for fast link recovery


A molded strap channel and method are disclosed for a kayak and the like or article molded from a flexible skin using a rotational molding process. The strap channel includes a continuous channel having an arcuate shape and a continuous taper from a first channel opening to a second channel opening. First and second channel openings open in a common surface of the flexible skin of the hull and lie generally in a common plane. In accordance with the method, a rotational molding process is disclosed wherein plastic material in a split mold is subjected to a rotational molding process which forms a thin, plastic hull and a continuous strap channel molded about a forming member attached to one-half of the mold. The forming member is unattached from the mold, and the hull is removed from the mold whereby the forming member is tapped and removed from the strap channel so that a continuous strap channel is molded as one-piece with the hull having first and second channel openings as described above.

The invention relates to a molded strap channel and method for molding the same which includes a rotational molding process such as used in the molding of flexible skin kayaks and the like.
The sport of white water boating and kayaking has become increasingly popular. Kayaks made for white water sports are typically constructed from a flexible plastic skin to yield upon impact with obstacles encountered in white water conditions such as rocks, logs, etc. The hull is typically formed in a rotational molding process using a high density polyethylene plastic. A supporting internal framework is used to maintain the configuration and structural integrity of the kayak under impact forces with the water and obstacles encountered. Frame elements have been constructed from solid foam blocks such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,060; and from hollow frame elements such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,272. Due to the nature of the flexible plastic skin of the kayak, attachment of straps and loops to lift and pull on the kayak is a problem to which considerable attention need be given. It often becomes necessary to lift or pull the kayak under considerable force, for example, when the kayak has become lodged between obstacles either above or under the water, in white water conditions. Typically, the kayak will fill with water making it very difficult and heavy to move. Loops formed from ropes and strap material which have been threaded through openings in the kayak hull are not able to be utilized to pull a wedged kayak from the water because the skin cannot withstand the force. In many other applications, it is necessary to lift or pull the kayak under such forces as would damage the skin under most typical constructions where loops have been secured to the hull.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a strap channel and method for a flexible plastic skin article such as a kayak which can withstand considerable forces without damaging the flexible skin.
Another object of the invention is to provide a molded channel strap for a flexible skin kayak and the like through which a loop may be secured to the kayak that can withstand considerable forces.
Another object of the invention is a method for forming a molded strap channel as one-piece with a kayak hull during a rotational molding process whereby a loop can be secured with the strap channel that can withstand considerable forces.


An optical system may include: in order from an object side, a first lens having positive refractive power and an object-side surface convex in the object side direction; a second lens having negative refractive power; a third lens having negative refractive power; a fourth lens having positive refractive power and an image-side surface convex in an image side direction; a fifth lens having negative refractive power and an image-side surface convex in the image side direction; and a sixth lens having negative refractive power and an image-side surface concave in the image side direction, such that bright, high resolution images may be implemented.

The present disclosure relates to an optical system.
Recent mobile communications terminals have been provided with camera devices to allow for video calls and for images to be captured. In addition, as the functionality of camera units included in the mobile communications terminals has gradually increased, camera units for mobile communications terminals have been gradually required to have high resolution and high performance implemented therein.
However, since there is a trend for mobile communications terminals to be miniaturized or lightened, there may be limitations in implementing a camera having such high resolution and high performance.
In order to solve these problems, recently, lenses to be used in such camera units have been formed of plastic, a material lighter than glass, and a lens module has been configured using five or more lenses in order to implement high resolution therein.


A method of forming a vertical memory split gate flash memory device on a silicon semiconductor substrate is provided by the following steps. Form a floating gate trench hole in the silicon semiconductor substrate, the trench hole having trench surfaces. Form a tunnel oxide layer on the trench surfaces, the tunnel oxide layer having outer surfaces. Form a floating gate electrode layer filling the trench hole on the outer surfaces of the tunnel oxide layer. Form source/drain regions in the substrate self-aligned with the floating gate electrode layer. Pattern the floating gate electrode layer by removing the gate electrode layer from the drain region side of the trench hole. Form a control gate hole therein. Form an interelectrode dielectric layer over the top surface of the floating gate electrode, and over the tunnel oxide layer. Form a control gate electrode over the interelectrode dielectric layer over the top surface of the floating gate electrode and extending down into the control gate hole in the trench hole.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor memory devices and more particularly to vertical channel flash EEPROM memory devices.
2. Description of Related Art
An EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) provides long term storage of charge of a floating gate doped polysilicon electrode in a device such as an FET (Field Effect Transistor) device. In a MOSFET PROM device source/drain regions are formed on either side of a channel in a semiconductor substrate below a tunnel oxide dielectric layer and a floating gate doped polysilicon electrode, above which are a interpolysilicon dielectric layer and a control gate doped polysilicon electrode. Usually the EPROM is programmable (stores data) electrically by injection of hot electrons into the floating gate electrode. An EPROM can be erased, with utltraviolet light. An EPROM erased electrically is an EEPROM device described next.
An EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) device includes an array of memory cells which can be erased electrically.
In a flash EEPROM device memory cells can be erased electrically, simultaneously with an electrical erase signal, instantaneously (within a few seconds) by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling of the charge from the floating gate into the drain region.
Some disadvantages of currently available flash memory cells are as follows:
1. A large cell area is required for split-gate flash memory cells available heretofore. PA1 2. There has been a punch-through issue for split-gate flash memory cells available in the past. PA1 3. There is a planarization issue for flash memory cells available prior to this invention. PA1 1. A unit cell can take less cell area but with more channel area. PA1 2. Because the floating gate electrode is located under the wafer surface, the stop height of the cell gate electrode stack is much lower than that of a traditional gate electrode stack. As a result following etch steps, (e.g. cell gate electrode etching and contact hole etching) are far easier. PA1 3. The source side junction which is used for source side injection, is patterned, in part, by the depth of the source-line diffusion process. As a result, the floating gate voltage V.sub.FG can be easily dominated by the source side voltage to inject electrons from the channel into the floating gate electrode through the tunnel oxide layer. PA1 4. There is a large control gate to floating gate overlap area for this cell. As a result, this cell can use lower control gate voltage for the erase function, which provides for high efficiency for the source erase function. PA1 5. Because there is a much larger area of the tunnel oxide layer located between the source region and the floating gate electrode than that of the traditional structure, the erasing speed is far faster also.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,490 of Esquivel et al. for "Method for Making a Pleated Floating Gate Trench EPROM" shows a method of making a pleated floating gate trench EPROM device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,421 of Guterman et al. for "EEPROM with Split Gate Source Side Injection" shows a method/structure of an EEPROM device including a floating gate and a control gate electrode in a split gate configuration which provides injection of electrons to charge the floating gate near the source side of the channel of the EEPROM device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,305 of Bertin et al. for "Three-Dimensional Direct-Write EEPROM Arrays and Fabrication Methods" shows a three-dimensional EEPROM array formed in a trench.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,927 of Chen et al. for "Method for Making Self-Aligned Source/Drain Mask ROM Memory Cell Using Trench Etched Channel" shows a method for making a ROM using an etched trench channel.

Method for forming vertical channels in split-gate flash memory cell

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A corner cube utilized for both a polarization transformer and a depolarizer requires a special glass for the corner cube. For the transformer a polarized probe beam irradiates only one facet of the corner cube off-axis to vertex, whereas for the depolarizer a circularly polarized beam irradiates all three facets symmetrically on-axis to the cube vertex. The collimated output beam from the corner cube has a hexad pattern where alternate hexads correspond to CW (clockwise) and CCW (counter-clockwise) rotations in sequential reflections from the corner cube facets. CW and CCW hexad regions comprising the depolarized beam differ in phase by 0.8π radians. A dielectric layer pattern of alternate hexads deposited on the output port of a beam director in registry to the depolarized beam pattern compensates for the leading phase of the CCW hexads thus equalizing the overall phase-front of the beam and thereby resulting in a temporally-coherent depolarized beam.

The present invention is in the field of optics for implementing a depolarizer and a polarization transformer by means of a corner-cube.
Random polarization changes occur in fiber-optic communication systems. Linearly polarized light launched into a fiber invariably experiences birefringence as it propagates through the fiber. Birefringence transforms linearly polarized light into elliptically polarized light which can compromise performance in communication systems. There are methods for minimizing adverse non-linear polarization effects. One is by means of a standard polarization transformer that converts elliptically polarized light into linearly polarized light. The second is by means of depolarization whereby the polarization states in the Stokes parameters null out. Depolarized light is not affected by birefringence in the fiber and thereby propagates without any polarization perturbations.
Historically polarization transformers have been developed to minimize adverse polarization problems in signal processing. The first transformers were fiber squeezers and mechanically rotated wave plates. More recent transformer developments have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,996,431 and 5,212,743 (Heismann, Oct. 30, 1990 and May 18, 1993). Heismann's solution is an electrically-controlled integrated optic waveguide device in a LiNbO3 substrate. The device consists of three integrated waveplates with corresponding cascaded electrodes that are controlled by applied drive-voltages transforming the input polarization state into any arbitrary polarization state by TE-TM mode conversion in the LiNbO3 waveguide. Standard polarization transformers based essentially on the concepts of Heismann are commercial available, for example, from Corning and USD Uniphase. Heismann's invention is a relatively expensive item because it requires specialized processing techniques for channel diffusion and lithographic printing of the pattern for the integrated-optics waveguide device. The transformer has a relatively narrow optical wavelength range as well as a limited tunability range. Another transformer has been described by Bismuth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,809 (Feb. 13, 2001) that utilizes a 10-cm length electro-optical rod having a 1-mm rectangular cross-section with two sets of electrodes disposed on the four facets of its cross-section. Major problems in Bismuth's invention are 1) the mechanical fragility of the device in implementing a rod having a 100:1 geometrical aspect ratio, and 2) maintaining a stable beam path aligned to the saddle point axis of the electrode fringing fields at the center of the 1-mm cross-section of the rod.
Polarization transformers of the Heismann type can be used as scramblers, otherwise known as pseudo-depolarizers. The scrambler speed has to be fast enough such that the time-averaged depolarization shows no compromising polarization effects in the processed signal at the receiver terminal of the communication link. Other types of depolarization devices are also available. Depolarization can be achieved in a birefringent medium by re-circulating a split-off portion of the output light back into the input of the birefringent medium as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,471 (Shen, Jul. 10, 2002). The output polarization of the light beam averages to zero for a linear series of re-circulating loops, whereby the number of loops in the chain enhances the depolarization factor. The averaging scheme in concept is similar to the scrambler except it is entirely passive without need of electronic drivers. Fiber loops can also be used for depolarizers as described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0063833 (Gonthier, et al., Apr. 3, 2003). Another method is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0007149 (Yamamoto, Jan. 9, 2003) that uses a series of birefringent plate-pairs that are bonded together such that the optical axis of each pair section is orthogonal to each other. The junction along the optical axis between the pair section is angled geometrically at 45° in order to enhance the mixing or averaging of the polarization states. The depolarization factor can be enhanced by adding more plate-pairs in the beam path resulting in a trade-off in increased throughput loss. Another application of a birefringent plate pair is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,889 (Yao, Dec. 24, 2002) and U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0112436 (Yao, Jun. 19, 2003), however, unlike Yamamoto's 45° angle junction between the plate-pairs, Yao uses a shallower angle between the plate-pair such that the phase shift across the diameter of the beam is 360°. This allows the polarization states of the beam through the plate-pair to be mapped out in a linear pattern symmetrically about the center line of the beam. Summation of the Stokes polarization parameters null out in the focused spot of the output beam which results in a depolarized beam with only one birefringent plate-pair.
In summary, current depolarization methods for narrow bandwidth lasers require scrambling of the polarization states in the refractive index either by active means in a waveguide medium or by passive means in re-circulating fiber loops or in birefringent plate pairs. Ideally, the aim in depolarization is to create a sufficient number of polarization states such that the sum of the polarization states in the Stokes parameters cancel out to zero. In the above cited patents the output beam from the various depolarizers are temporally-incoherent, thus compromising their use in some systems. It is the intent of the present invention to remedy this situation by providing for a temporally/spatially-coherent depolarizer limited only by the line-width of the laser.

Temporally coherent depolarizer and a polarization transformer


The present disclosure provides method and apparatus for providing personalized songs in automated chatting. A message may be received in a chat flow. Personalized lyrics of a user may be generated based at least on a personal language model of the user in response to the message. A personalized song may be generated based on the personalized lyrics. The personalized song may be provided in the chat flow.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot is becoming more and more popular, and is being applied in an increasing number of scenarios. The chatbot is designed to simulate people's conversation, and may chat with users by text, speech, image, etc. Generally, the chatbot may scan for keywords within a message input by a user or apply natural language processing on the message, and provide a response with the most matching keywords or the most similar wording pattern to the user.

Providing personalized songs in automated chatting


A display panel and a display device are disclosed. The display panel includes a plurality of sub-pixels arranged in an array; gate line light shielding parts extending in a row direction are arranged on horizontal non-display areas between every two adjacent rows of sub-pixels; vertical non-display areas are arranged between every two sub-pixels adjacent in a row direction; at least one of the vertical non-display areas is provided with a vertical light shielding part, and the vertical light shielding part is configured to prevent two sub-pixels on two sides, in the row direction, of the vertical light shielding part from light leakage at a junction; and a gap is formed between the vertical light shielding part and each of two gate line light shielding parts adjacent to the vertical light shielding part.

A mature design solution of an all screen at present is achieved through a display mode of ADS Pro (a systematic solution of a high-end LCD product), a GOA driving unit is placed on a side of a Data Pad, and a process is achieved through COA and an organic film. In a pixel design solution, a non-display area is arranged between two adjacent sub-pixels in a row direction, normal pixel electrodes and public electrodes are not designed in the non-display area, and theoretically, it is considered that the part of liquid crystal molecules do not deflect and are in a normally black state.
However, during actual display, on one hand, the area (the non-display area between every two adjacent sub-pixels) has a metal circuit (such as: H Gate/V gate/SDN com), and voltage jump to form a fringe field effect, resulting in deflection of the liquid crystal molecules and then making an L0 picture much brighter. On the other hand, speaking from a structure film layer, the area (the non-display area between every two adjacent sub-pixels) has no BM (black matrix) shielding, transmission of light is shielded only through an upper and lower Pol (Polaroid) and interception of metal, and thus the light cannot be totally shielded. Therefore, the whole L0 brightness in the area may be increased, and during actual display, shining phenomena occur in the whole non-display area, resulting in contrast reduction and sever influencing on quality of products.


An injectable medication carrying case is disclosed which includes a top panel, a bottom panel opposing the top panel, two opposing side panels, two opposing end panels, and a thermally-insulating divider panel. The top panel, bottom panel, side panels and end panels can be joined together in standard fashion at respective edges of the carrying case. The divider panel partitions the body portion of the case into two distinct thermally-insulated sides. In this arrangement, the patient is able to selectively store his injectable medication supplies in a unitary carrying case, as opposed to a plurality of carrying cases.

The present invention is generally directed to soft-walled cases for carrying injectable medication. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a soft-walled case having a thermally-insulating divider panel that partitions the body portion of the case into a room temperature side and a cool side. The thermally-insulating divider panel allows the patient to selectively separate and effectively display injectable medication supplies and the like within the body portion of the case.
Soft-walled cases for storing a variety of items are well known. Prior injectable medication storing cases include a body portion defining an enclosure for storing the medication. While in their closed configuration, these prior injectable medication cases generally assume a three-dimensional rectilinear shape, much like a standard rectangular box. One panel of these prior injectable medication carrying cases, typically the top panel, is opened to expose the contents stored within the enclosure of the case. Typically, injectable medication is stored within that enclosure. After opening the case, the injectable medication is removed for administration to the patient.
Although these prior injectable medication carrying cases have proven adequate in a few limited applications, they do not measure up to the benefits achieved through the use of the present invention. To be administered properly, injectable medication often needs to be kept at a temperature level cooler than standard room temperature. Conversely, it is important to keep injection needles, electronic meters, and the like at standard room temperature. Under the prior art, the patient often has found it necessary to carry his or her injectable medication and other supplies in two different cases, storing each medical supply independently at its requisite temperature level.
As will be apparent from the description below, the carrying case of the present invention includes a cool side and a room temperature side, thereby allowing the patient to selectively store injectable medication supplies in a unitary carrying case, as opposed to a plurality of carrying cases. In particular, the carrying case includes a thermally-insulating divider panel which partitions the case into two temperature level-distinguishing sides.
In addition to this feature, the carrying case of the present invention permits convenient and effective display of the medical supplies of the patient while in one of its open configurations, thereby making the supplies readily accessible to the patient. The present invention utilizes several of its unique structural and functional features, particularly its thermally-insulating divider panel, to provide for a functional result, namely the effective display of the medical supplies of the patient.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved injectable medication carrying case.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide an injectable medication carrying case which allows the patient to temporarily store injectable medication supplies in a unitary case.
It is a still more specific object of the present invention to provide an injectable medication carrying case which has both a cool side and a room temperature side.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an injectable medication carrying case which, through its structural and functional features, displays the medical supplies of the patient in a convenient and effective manner, particularly when the case is in one of its open configurations.

Case for injectable medication with cooling compartment


A tissue caliper is provided. The tissue caliper includes a housing assembly including a tubular body, an activation assembly operably received within the housing assembly, and a caliper assembly operably connected to the activation assembly. The activation assembly includes a magnetic spring for effecting the opening and closing of the caliper assembly. Also provided is a kit for measuring tissue thickness.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to calipers for measuring tissue thickness. More particularly the present application relates to an improved tissue caliper.
Background of Related Art
Calipers for measuring the thickness of tissue and other anatomical objects are known. Such calipers utilize a conventional spring to, depending on the configuration of the caliper, drive the caliper jaws open or closed. The force provided by conventional springs varies linearly based on the length that the spring is extended or compressed. The more a spring is extended or compressed, the stronger the force exerted by the spring. This characteristic creates inconsistencies when measuring tissue samples of different thickness. For example, using a standard spring, a tissue caliper will exert a much greater force on a 1-inch-thick sample than on a 0.10-inch-thick sample.
The hydraulic nature of tissue further complicates measuring the thickness of tissue. Due to the viscoelastic properties of tissue, users clamping down on tissue for varied periods of time will record completely different measurements.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have an improved caliper for measuring tissue designed to reduce variability in data collection. It would further be beneficial if such improved caliper was more ergonomic than current designs.


The present invention provides a method for forming a stepped structure on a substrate that features transferring, into the substrate, an inverse shape of the stepped structure disposed on the substrate.

The field of invention relates generally to micro-fabrication of structures. More particularly, the present invention is directed to forming patterned substrates suitable for use in damascene processes.
Micro-fabrication involves the fabrication of very small structures, e.g., having features on the order of micro-meters or smaller. One area in which micro-fabrication has had a sizeable impact is in the processing of integrated circuits. As the semiconductor processing industry continues to strive for larger production yields while increasing the circuits per unit area formed on a substrate, micro-fabrication becomes increasingly important. Micro-fabrication provides greater process control, while allowing increased reduction of the minimum feature dimension of the structures formed.
A common process employed during the manufacturing of integrated circuits involves fabrication of metal conductive lines and contacts. The contacts interconnect adjacent conductive lines separated by a insulative layer. Conductive lines and contacts are often fabricated by forming a stepped structure in a substrate, referred to as a via and a trench. A common means by which to form the via-trench stepped structure is known as the damascene process.
Damascene involves forming grooves in an insulating layer and filling the same with a conductive material, such as aluminum, copper and the like. In this manner, conductive lines are formed in the groove. To form the contacts, as well as the conductive lines, a dual damascene process is typically employed to form a via in the region of the insulating layer in which the groove is formed.
An exemplary dual damascene process patterns, on the insulating layer, an image pattern of a via. To that end, the insulating layer is coated with a photo-resist and exposed through an appropriate mask which is then exposed to form the image pattern of the vias. The pattern is anisotropically etched in the upper portion of the insulating layer. The photo-resist is then exposed through a second mask with an image pattern of the grooves, after being aligned with the first mask pattern to encompass the vias. Anisotropically etching the grooves for the conductive lines in the upper portion of the insulating material results in the via, already present in the upper portion of the insulating layer, being simultaneously etched and replicated in the lower portion of the insulating material. After the etching is complete, both the vias and grooves are filled with a conductive material metal. Simultaneously filling both the grooves and vias with conductive material is an improvement over the single damascene process. However, the dual damascene process is attendant with disadvantages such as requiring alignment between two different masks. In addition, to increase process time and cost required by two mask steps, alignment becomes critical to properly position the groove with respect to the via.
There is a need, therefore, to provide improved processes for forming stepped structures in furtherance of the fabrication of integrated circuits.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of forming stepped structures employing imprint lithography


The present description concerns a method of controlling at least one switch (TH), including: the reception of signals (S3-i) having between one another at least one phase shift representative of a desired state of said at least one switch; the obtaining, from said signals, of a value (Si) representative of the desired state; and the application of the representative value to said at least one switch.

Controlled switches are used, in particular, in switched-mode converters. The switches are alternately set to the on and off states at a switching frequency. Switched-mode converters are used to deliver a voltage and/or a current, from a power supply having voltage/current values different from the values of the voltage/current to be delivered. For example, an AC/DC (alternating current-direct current) switched-mode converter enables to obtain a DC voltage from an AC voltage such as that of an electric network or of an alternator.
Document US-A-2016/0248413 describes a close control device or driver.
Document DE-U-29503129.8 describes a circuit layout to power on and off a DC current charge circuit by means of field-effect transistors.

Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives


The present invention includes a portable, snap-together cooler and methods for providing a portable, snap-together cooler. The cooler may include six panels, wherein each of the panels includes connector elements that snap onto other connector elements to assemble the cooler. Each of the six panels may include attachment elements that may be used to secure each of the panels onto at least one other panel when the panels are stacked.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to providing a cooler. More specifically, the present invention relates to providing a cooler that may be assembled and disassembled.
Description of the Related Art
A user currently has a variety of options for keeping food and beverages cold while away from a refrigerator. A user may require a cooler for outdoor gatherings such as parties or sports events. A user may need to carry the cooler, food, and beverages a long distance. To transport the food and beverages, a user may, for example, need to make multiple trips between a car and a campground. The user may use a cooler, use an insulated bag, or bring a container and ice to keep food and beverages cold.
It is difficult, however, to provide a portable solution for keeping a large amount of food and beverages cold. The user may use an insulated bag when only a limited amount of cold food or beverages are required. The user may use a large cooler or a container with ice, but the options are not portable and cannot be easily stored when not in use.
There is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for enhancing audience sensory experience.


A method is described that involves automatically generating a physical behavior curve from a process description; where, the process description describes a process. The method also involves automatically generating a device model for the process from the physical behavior curve; where, the device model is represented in geometric form. The method also involves attempting to automatically generate, with the device model and with a geometric optimization sequence, a circuit design for the process.

FIG. 1 demonstrates a basic methodology that is often employed when a semiconductor manufacturing process (which may also be referred to as a "process" or a "semiconductor process") is evaluated. A semiconductor manufacturing process is usually evaluated in order to understand whether or not a particular circuit design can be fabricated with the process in question; or, what functional characteristics or limits might apply if a particular circuit design is fabricated by the process in question. According to the methodology of FIG. 1, device models that describe characteristics of the various types of devices (e.g., transistors) manufactured by the process in question are provided to a designer (e.g., what drain-to-source current can be expected for a particular gate-to-source voltage and drain-to-source voltage); who, through considerable manual efforts, designs 101 a circuit with the device models.
That is, specific features of the design are articulated only as a result of conscious decision making on the part of the designer based upon his/her design objectives; and, his/her knowledge of the device model particulars. For example, the gate width of a particular transistor may be manually determined in light of a drain-to-source current that is desired by the designer for the transistor; and, a transconductance-per-unit-gate-width parameter for the transistor that is defined (or can be derived from) the device model for the transistor. As such, the present day design approach 101 often involves the designer having to consciously make trade-offs between his/her design goals and the capabilities of the process.
During the design phase 101 a design is usually formulated through the construction of a "netlist". A netlist is a data format that lists the nodes in the design's circuitry network and the device components connected thereto (e.g., a transistor's gate, a transistor's source, a first capacitor electrode, etc.). Device features are also usually specified (such as the width of a transistor's gate, etc.) In order to verify that a design's operation conforms to specific functional requirements (or to observe the effects of a design "experiment"), a design's operation can be simulated 102 with a software tool that uses the netlist as basis for performing the simulation. The simulation results may include waveforms that are expected to appear on a particular node as well as frequency response characteristics.
A problem with the traditional design flow is that it is heavily dependent on the designer's manual efforts which can consume long periods of time. As a consequence, evaluating a number of different potential manufacturing processes for a particular design is inefficient because an attempt has to be made at developing a working design for each process to be evaluated. Given the manual efforts associated with each design 101 attempt, the number of potential processes that are entertained for a particular design (and/or the number of process that can be evaluated) are often limited to a select few.

Method and apparatus for efficient semiconductor process evaluation


A model and implementation process of a conversational rational agent as a kernel of a dialogue system and/or as an element (agent) of a multiagent system including definition of a conceptual architecture of a conversational rational agent; formal specification of the different components of this architecture and their combination permitting a formal model to be obtained; definition of the software architecture implementing the formal architecture; and definition of implementation mechanisms of the formal specifications, the rational agent being suited both to converse with another agent or with a user of the system through any communication medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a model and an implementation process for a conversational rational agent as kernel of a dialogue system or a multiagent system.
The invention applies not only to human/agent interaction systems (man/machine dialogue) but also to agent/agent interaction systems (interagent communication and cooperation).
It applies to information servers.
Although the design of man/machine dialogue systems has been studied seriously for more than thirty years, few systems foreshadowing actual usage are available today.
Most demonstration systems that were developed showed at best the system capacity to concatenate some simple exchanges with a user into a stereotyped structure (configured to a particular task) and to a restricted application framework.
These systems are generally limited to illustrating such and such characteristic of an evolved interaction, such as, for example, the machine's understanding of a more or less complex statement (contextual in oral or written natural language, possibly combined with other communication media) or in certain rather restricted cases to the production of a cooperative response.
These systems are still rather far removed from meeting all the conditions required for natural usage of said systems as the convivial conversing "partners" even in the framework of rather ordinary application.
The reasons for this situation are two fold. On the one hand the design of dialogue systems is a complex undertaking because it accrues the problems related to the design of smart artificial systems and those related to the modeling and the formalization of natural communication. When oral dialogue is of interest, the problems linked to the automatic speech recognition are added to this difficulty.
On the other hand, a lot of works have approached dialogue as an isolated phenomenon that deals with the identification of the external manifestations so that an automatic system may learn them. These works have (either deliberately or not) been completely (or partially) sparse regarding the link between the problems of dialogue and that of system intelligence and therefore a formal in-depth study of the cognitive foundations of dialogue.
We are now going to cover briefly the classical approaches of the dialogue that have been developed up until now.
First, there are the structural approaches that come from either the computer field or the linguistic field. They are interested in the determination of an interaction structure that takes into account the regularities in a dialogue exchange (where the simplest are the adjacent pairs such the questions/answers, suggestions/acceptances).
These approaches form the hypothesis that this structure exists and that it may be represented in a finite fashion and that all dialogues or at least a large part among them can be circumscribed therein. Structural approaches consider that the coherency of a dialogue is intrinsic to its structure and thus concentrate on the co-text (the accompanying text) while more or less directly glossing over the profoundly contextual nature of the communication. These limitations are an irrevocable handicap for any interest in the structural approach as a basis for smart interaction models.
There are also the classic differential approaches.
These approaches, also called guided plans, consider intervention in a communication situation not only as a collection of signals (for example, a word sequence) but also as the observable enactment of communicative action (also called according to context, language or dialogue acts) such as to inform, ask, confirm, commit.
These approaches allow us to have an idea of a powerful potential for the study of communication and specifically cooperative dialogue. However, they rely upon short cuts (that causes them to call upon empirical or structural complements that make them lack robustness) and also upon knowledge usage representations that unfortunately often lead to aberrations.
This filer developed a new approach relying upon rational interaction or the conversational rational agent.
In this new approach this filer tried first to maximize the conviviality of interactions between the users and the automatic services.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following publications on the topic may be referred to:
Sadek 91a: Sadek, M.D. [translated from French] Mental attitudes and rational interaction: Toward a formal theory of communication. Computer Doctorate thesis, University of Rennes I, France, 1991.
Sadek 91b: D. Sadek. Dialogue acts are rational plans. Proceedings ESCA Tutorial and Research Workshop on the Structures of Multimodal Dialogue, Maratea, Italy, 1991.
Sadek 92: Sadek, M.D. A study in the logic of intention. Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KR′92), pages 462-473, Cambridge, Mass., 1992.
Sadek 93: Sadek, M.D. [translated from French] Foundations of dialogue: Rational interaction. Proceedings of the 4th summer school on Natural Language Processing, pages 229-255, Lannion, France, 1993.
Sadek 94a: Sadek, M.D. [translated from French] Mental attitudes and foundation of cooperative behavior. Pavard, B., editor, Cooperative systems: of modeling the design, Octares Eds., pages 93-117, 1994.
Sadek 94b: Sadek, M.D. Communication theory rationality principles +communicative act models. Proceedings of the AAI '94 Workshop on planning for Interagent Communication, Seattle, Wash., 1994.
Sadek 94c: Sadek, M.D. Towards a theory of belief reconstruction: Application to communication. In (SPECOM94): 251-263.
Sadek et al 94: Sadek, M.D., Ferrieux, A., & Cozannet, A. Towards an artificial agent as the kernel of a spoken dialogue system: A progress report.
Proceedings of the AAI '94 Workshop on Integration of Natural Language and Speech Processing, Seattle, Wash., 1994.
Sadek et al 95: D. Sadek, P. Bretier, V. Cadoret, A. Cozannet, P. Dupont, A. Ferrieux, & F. Panaget: A cooperative spoken dialogue system based on a rational agent model: A first implementation on the AGS application. Proceedings of the ESCA Tutorial and Research Workshop on Spoken Language Systems, Hanstholm, Denmark, 1995.
Sadek et al 96a: Sadek, M.D., Ferrieux A., Cozannet A., Bretier P., Panaget F., & Simonin J. Effective human-computer cooperative spoken dialogues: The AGS demonstrator. In (ISSD 96) (and also Proceedings ICSLP'96 of, Philadelphia, 1996).
Sadek et al 97: M.D. Sadek, P. Bretier, & F. Panaget. ARTIMIS: Natural Dialogue Meets Rational Agency. Proceedings 15th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI'97), Nagoya, Japan, pp. 1030-1035, 1997.
Bretier 95: P. Bretier. [translated from French] The cooperative oral communication: Contribution to the logical modeling and implementation of a conversational rational agent. Computer Science Doctoral Thesis, University of Paris XIII, 1995.
Bretier and al 95: P. Bretier, F. Panaget, & D. Sadek. Integrating linguistic capabilities into the formal model of a rational agent: Application to cooperative spoken dialogue. Proceedings of the AAAI'95 Fall Symposium on Rational Agency, Cambridge, Mass., 1995
Bretier & Sadek 95: P. Bretier & D. Sadek. Designing and implementing a theory of rational interaction to be the kernel of a cooperative spoken dialogue system. Proceedings of the AAAI '95 Fall Symposium on Rational Agency, Cambridge, Mass., 1995.
The conviviality of interaction arises among other attributes by the system's capacity to negotiate with the user, by its capacity to evaluate requests by taking into account the context, by its capacity to determine the implied intentions of the user and to conduct with him/her a flexible interaction that does not follow one preconceived plan for all occasions.
Such a system must be also capable of providing the user with solutions for which he/she has not explicitly asked but which are nevertheless applicable.
There does not exist at the present time a true smart dialogue system in service for an actual application due to the complexity of each of these tasks and because of the difficulty of gathering together all these features so that the interaction can really be qualified as convivial.
The technology developed by the filer rests on the basic principle, which is: in order for an automatic system to promote smart dialogues properly, this system cannot be simulated by a robot.
More precisely, the conviviality of the dialogue cannot be designed simply as window dressing of a preexisting system: on the contrary, this conviviality must arise naturally from the system's intelligence.

Model and method for using an interactive rational agent, multiagent server and system implementing same


Device orientation techniques and systems are described to modify visual characteristics of edits that support the ability of a computing device to modify visual characteristics of digital objects appearing in a user interface of a mobile device based on orientation of the computing device, itself. A user interaction, for instance, is detected in a user interface of a device. Responsive to the detected user interaction, a multiaxial orientation of the device is determined. In some examples, the orientation is translated into tilt data such as in the form of altitude and azimuth values. A relative amount is calculated based on the orientation. The relative amount is applied to a visual characteristic of an edit to a digital object. Once the relative amount is applied, the digital object having the relative amount applied is displayed in the user interface.

One of the foremost goals in content creation using mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones, tablet devices) is replication of the effects that can be accomplished with non-digital artistic media, i.e., a pencil and paper, canvas and brush, etc. Digital artists also desire to quickly and intuitively change visual characteristics to increase efficiency of using a mobile device for content creation. One conventional solution to this problem involves detecting the change in the angle or position of an "active" stylus containing electronic components or hardware. For instance, an active stylus may provide tilt data as an altitude and azimuth angle, which are subsequently used to change a corresponding device or stylus function.
However, use of an active stylus introduces additional complications for interaction with a mobile device. Some mobile devices, for instance, lack support for the use of an active stylus, a user may not have access to an active stylus at a given time, and so forth. As a result, the user is often forced to rely on a passive stylus (e.g., finger) and forgo corresponding functionality of an active stylus. For instance, a passive stylus is unable to replicate tilt data such as altitude and azimuth angle using conventional techniques. Thus, when using a finger or passive stylus, edits or changes to visual characteristics are selected manually, which is time-consuming, inaccurate, and frustrating to a user. Moreover, manual selection of desired edits or characteristics often do not accurately replicate non-digital artistic media and are not intuitive to a user and result in inefficient use of computational resources.

Systems for leveraging device orientation to modify visual characteristics of edits


The system includes an arbiter, a combined engine, a frame buffer, and a display processing unit. The arbiter provides three input channels: a first channel for graphics, a second channel for video and a third channel for processor. The arbiter performs prioritization and arbitration between the video and graphics and processor requests sent to the system. The arbiter has three output ports coupled to the combined engine. The combined engine is a hardware engine capable of processing either video data or graphics data. The output of the combined engine is provided to the frame buffer for the storage of pixel data. The output of the frame buffer is coupled to a display processing unit that renders the pixel data for display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for processing video and graphics. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and methods that can process both video and graphics.
2. Description of the Background Art
The processing of video data and graphics data is often performed by a graphics processing unit added to a computer system. These graphic processing units are very efficient at manipulating and displaying computer graphics, and their highly-parallel structure makes them more effective than typical Central Processing Units (CPUs) for a range of complex algorithms that are computationally expensive. A graphics processing unit implements a number of graphics primitive operations in a way that makes running them much faster than drawing directly to the screen with the host CPU. The most common operations for early 2D computer graphics include the BitBLT operation, usually in special hardware called a "blitter", and operations for drawing rectangles, triangles, circles and arcs. Originally, graphics processing units processed only graphics but increased capability have been added to allow them to process video data as well. More recent graphics processing units support 3D computer graphics and typically include digital video-related functions as well.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional prior art graphics processing system 100. The prior art system 100 includes several graphics engines 102, a video processing unit 104, a frame buffer 106 and a display processing unit 108. Such systems 100 typically include a first input port coupled to a signal line 120 to receive graphics data, a second input port coupled to signal line 122 to receive video data an output provided on signal line 124. The graphics engines 102 include multiple processing paths and units such as for processing legacy graphics data format, 2D graphics and 3D graphics. The graphic engines 102 are typically separate graphics engines, one for each type of graphics processing. The output of the graphics engines 102 is coupled to the frame buffer 106 to store pixel data. The video processing unit 104 is coupled to signal line 104 and is a conventional processor for manipulating video data and generating pixels. The output of the video processing unit 104 is coupled to the frame buffer 106 to store pixel data. The frame buffer 106 holds the graphics information for one frame or picture and consists of color values for every pixel (point that can be displayed) on the screen. The frame buffer 106 can also store off-screen data. The frame buffer 106 is coupled to the display processing unit 108 for providing pixel data. The display processing unit 108 in turn renders the pixels to create the video data output.
One problem in the prior art is performing both video processing and graphics processing. Each has different requirements that affect prioritization and arbitration of requests and processing. The typical prior art approach is to provide redundant logic for processing legacy graphics, 2D graphics, 3D graphics and video data thereby greatly increase the amount of area required for such an integrated circuit. Thus, such an approach greatly increases the die size and manufacturing costs.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus for processing both video and graphics that overcomes the limitations and problems of the prior art.

Combined engine for video and graphics processing


Discovering routing policies in information networks. Large networks such as Autonomous Systems are abstracted as a single network element. A plurality of taps on the borders of the abstracted element filter ingress/egress data which is forwarded for collection and correlation. By correlating information from different taps, routing policies are discovered. These discovered policies may be compared with published policies. Access control makes discovered policies and the comparisons with published policies selectively available depending on predefined access classes.

Any digital data traversing a network must be routed. While an end user in California checking a website hosted in the United Kingdom is more concerned about receiving information from that website than how the information travels, the stream of packets representing the user request and the web server response are routed through a number of networks; it is possible that not all the packets involved take the same route.
Routers are specialized computers which forward messages to their respective destinations. One of the tasks of the router is to determine the most effective and/or efficient route for a packet to take. The router switches packets of information between multiple ports connected to other routers and intervening networks.
The intervening networks are constructed as independently administrated domains known as Autonomous Systems (AS). Autonomous Systems are comprised of a set of routers and interconnecting paths, but are managed and appear to the outside world as monolithic entities. Packets are routed based on a routing information database. The routing information database within an AS is a result of intra-domain routing protocol processing where the routing information exchanged between ASes is done by intra-domain routing protocols. For inter domain, routing information is typically exchanged using inter-domain routing protocols. Dissemination of inter-domain routing information is a subject of routing policies. These policies have both technical and business aspects.
Technical aspects of routing policies have to do with the most efficient routing of packets. For example, a gigabit link is usually preferred over a T-1 line as it is faster. Routes with fewer hops are usually preferred.
Business aspects of routing policies have to do with cost and business decisions. For example, a business may contract with more than one service provider, routing most of its traffic through one provider and using the second as backup. An AS may base routing on contractual obligations, for example, a contractual obligation to provide a customer with a specified quality of service (QoS) may affect routing policy. An AS uses routing policy to restrict traffic carried on certain high-capacity links to those customers willing to pay a premium for the service. Different ISPs (Internet Service Providers) will apply different routing policies depending with whom they peer.
An ISP or AS should apply its routing policies across all elements of its network, insuring that policies are applied consistently. These routing policies determine, for example, which prefixes are accepted by an AS, from whom, and which prefixes are advertised by the AS, and to whom. Routing policy may also state how prefixes are aggregated, as well as the use of MEDs (Multi-Exit Discriminator) and communities, and the use of damping parameters to control issues such as flapping.
Within an AS the routing information is distributed via intra-domain routing protocols such as the Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Open Shortest Path First Protocol (OSPF), or Intermediate System to Intermediate System (ISIS). Inter-domain routing information is usually distributed via the industry standard Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), or the like. Internally within an AS, BGP exchanges routing information between border routers using iBGP and between ASes using eBGP. Only border routers are involved in BGP routing information exchange. Border routers are those operating on the edges of an AS.
While an AS may appear as a monolithic entity, it is comprised of a myriad of routers and links between those routers. Each router and each link present possible sources of trouble. Trouble may be in the nature of injudicious backhoe operators, faulty connectors, power outages, operator errors, misconfigured routers, or miscommunication between routers. Some of the intra-domain routing changes effect inter-domain routing information.
In a system such as an AS which could be geographically distributed, and contains a myriad of variables such as the operating states of border routers and the links between them, how does the AS operator verify that the routing policies they have put in place have been deployed through the AS and are actually operating? How may an ISP customer verify that his/her ISP is implementing the routing policies for which they have contracted?
Existing solutions monitor BGP and similar exchanges in the target network, gathering routing information at specific locations under the assumption that all border routers of a particular AS behave in the same manner. These solutions suffer from a number of difficulties. First, they can only model the network to the extent of the information received. Even collecting all BGP sessions from all border routers will not guarantee that the disseminated routing information is the same as that reported by the BGP sessions. Extra BGP sessions are required to perform such monitoring, increasing the overhead on monitored routers. Second, prefixes which are blocked will not be visible unless there are also established BGP sessions with other ASes which advertise those prefixes. This means that in order to discover if routes are blocked by a specific border router, a BGP session must be established with a router that advertises the questionable prefixes and with a router which accepts those prefixes. Third, router configuration in the form of BGP sessions or similar information is at least one level removed from the policies being implemented; BGP session data represents the effect or implementation of policy, not the policy itself.
Additionally, data acquired from monitoring BGP sessions describes the network as it is supposed to be, rather than as the network actually is, complete with router misconfigurations, operator errors, faulty equipment, and the myriad of troubles which differentiates the real world from the purity of abstract models.
What is needed is a non-intrusive way to discover routing policies of Autonomous System.

Non-intrusive method for routing policy discovery


A computer-implemented method for using event-correlation graphs to generate remediation procedures may include (1) detecting a suspicious event involving a first actor within a computing system, (2) constructing, in response to detecting the suspicious event involving the first actor, an event-correlation graph that includes (i) a first node that represents the first actor, (ii) a second node that represents a second actor, and (iii) an edge that interconnects the first node and the second node and represents an additional suspicious event involving the first actor and the second actor, and (3) using the event-correlation graph to generate a procedure for remediating an effect of an attack on the computing system that is reflected in the event-correlation graph. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

In recent years, malicious programmers have created a variety of sophisticated targeted attacks aimed at high-profile or high-level entities, such as governments, corporations, political organizations, defense contractors, or the like. In many cases, the goal of such targeted attacks is to gain access to highly sensitive or confidential information, such as security credentials, financial information, defense-related information, and/or intellectual property (e.g., source code), and/or to simply disrupt an entity's operations.
Many security software companies attempt to combat targeted attacks by creating and deploying malware signatures (e.g., hash functions that uniquely identify known malware) to their customers on a regular basis. However, a significant number of the above-mentioned attacks involve malware that has been carefully crafted to take advantage of an as-yet-undiscovered vulnerability of a particular application (commonly known as a "zero-day" exploit). As such, these attacks are often difficult for traditional security software to detect and/or neutralize since the exploits in question have yet to be publicly discovered. Moreover, in addition to malware, many targeted attacks may perform malicious activities using benign software and/or the actions of authorized users, which are generally not detected by typical malware signatures.
In addition to or as an alternative to a signature-based approach, some security software companies may apply a variety of behavior-based heuristics to detect targeted attacks. Unfortunately, a significant number of targeted attacks (e.g., advanced persistent threats) may move at a slow pace such that traditional security software may be unable to distinguish individual malicious behaviors of the targeted attacks from legitimate behaviors.
After detecting an attack on a computing system, traditional security software may recommend various procedures for remediating the effects of the attack on the computing system. In some instances, traditional security software may generate procedures for remediating predicted effects of an attack by (1) analyzing the impact of malware used in the attack on an isolated computing system purposely built for analyzing malware and (2) generating procedures for reversing the impact of the malware.
Unfortunately, remediation procedures generated in this way may have limited utility for at least the reason that (1) targeted attacks may involve more than just malware and (2) computing environments purposely built for analyzing malware may not adequately represent live production computing systems (e.g., many targeted attacks may span many uniquely-configured computing devices). As a result, traditional security software may fail to analyze and remediate the global impact of an attack on a computing system, especially an attack that involves human-driven behaviors from undetected benign and/or malicious software spread across many computing devices within a victim's computing system. Accordingly, the instant disclosure identifies and addresses a need for systems and methods for using event-correlation graphs to generate remediation procedures.

Systems and methods for using event-correlation graphs to generate remediation procedures


A simulated cigarette is provided that includes an elongated deformable cylindrical body that is open at both ends thereof. At least two capsules, at least one of which being rupturable, are included in the cylindrical body. Each capsule contains a potentially chemically reactive substance which, when admixed together, react chemically to produce an exothermic chemical reaction, the heat of which is used to elevate the temperature of a vapor within the simulated cigarette. The heated vapor is inhaled by a user and in the process passes through a substance from which it absorbs either a flavoring, medicine, or a quantity of nicotine. A one-way valve is provided which permits the vapor to travel in only one direction through the simulated cigarette.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention, in general, relates to apparatus used to simulate the sensation of smoking a cigarette and, more particularly, to a chemically heated simulated cigarette.
Simulated types of cigarettes are known. In general they fail to satisfy the need to provide a cigarette that does not produce smoke (which is an objectionable by-product that is now prohibited in most public places because of the noxious and toxic emissions) while still providing the sensation of being able to inhale a flavored vapor that contains a controlled predetermined amount of any desired substance including nicotine and that also is heated. In addition the ideal simulated cigarette would be safe and easy to use and would not introduce pollutants into the environment.
Accordingly there exists today a need for a simulated heated cigarette that allows for the flavoring of the vapor to be inhaled, control of the substances to be inhaled, heats the vapor to be inhaled, and does not produce visible smoke as a by-product that is also safe to use and is environmentally non-polluting.
2. Description of Prior Art:
Simulated cigarettes are, in general, known. For example, the following patents describe various types of these devices:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,686 to Siegel, Oct. 6, 1959;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,573 to Flack, Jun. 28, 1971;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,548 to Bradshaw, Apr. 17, 1979;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,008 to Houck, Aug. 18, 1987;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,109 to Strubel, Jan. 9, 1990;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,009 to Muller et al., Aug. 4, 1992;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,004 to Porenski, Aug. 25, 1992;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,560 to Deevi et al., Aug. 22, 1995;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,001 to Nicholson, Dec. 5, 1995; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,241 to Kim, Jul. 30, 1996.
While the structural arrangements of the above described devices, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior devices.


Disclosed are a method of growing a rare-earth oxyorthosilicate crystal and a crystal grown using the method. A melt is prepared by melting a first substance including at least one rare-earth element and a second substance including at least one element from group 7 of the periodic table. A seed crystal is brought into contact with the surface of the melt and withdrawn to grow the crystal.

In some methods for growing crystals, such as the Czochralski method, a seed crystal is brought into contact with the surface of a melt and then withdrawn from the melt. A crystal grows on the seed as it is withdrawn. The seed and growing crystal are sometimes also rotated about a vertical axis as they are withdrawn. Growth instabilities often occur in large crystals grown using this technique. As an example, the crystal may begin to grow in a spiral shape instead of a desired cylindrical shape. Growth instabilities may result in stresses due to variations in thermal expansion coefficients within the crystal, that may cause the crystal to shatter. Growth instabilities may be caused by accumulation of impurities in the melt, changes in the charge states of some of the melt constituents leading to creation of different molecular complexes, as well as by excesses of melt constituents accumulating at the interface between the surface of the melt and the growing crystal.

Suppression of crystal growth instabilities during production of rare-earth oxyorthosilicate crystals


An apparatus and method for setting a sensitivity level of an optical encoding circuit in an input device includes an adjuster for adjusting the sensitivity level, a threshold locator for detecting a sensitivity threshold of the occurrence of a prescribed output from a light detector circuit, and a motion encoder for encoding motion from the output of the light detector circuit. The threshold locator locates a sensitivity threshold by setting the sensitivity level to one extreme, then repeatedly sampling the light detector circuit output for a prescribed state most likely at the one extreme, while incrementally changing the sensitivity level each time the prescribed state is detected. The sensitivity level used by the threshold locator thus approaches the sensitivity threshold of the prescribed state. A sensitivity level for motion encoding is set based on the sensitivity level for threshold location. Motion encoding samples from the output of the light detector may be interleaved with threshold location samples, and the absolute total motion is tracked. When the sensitivity level has not changed through a prescribed amount of total motion, the threshold location process terminates, the sensitivity level is set for motion encoding, all samples are used for motion encoding, and encoded motion is reported by the device. The prescribed amount of total motion is selected such that the threshold location process completes within a finite displacement, with an optimal-level resulting set point for motion encoding, regardless of the motion of the device throughout the process.

Optical encoding is widely used in electronic input devices such as mice and trackballs. Standard optical encoding techniques employ a rotatable encoding wheel having light-blocking regions alternating circumferentially with light-transmitting regions at an edge portion of the wheel. The encoding wheel is mounted with its edge portion positioned between a light source, typically a light emitting diode (LED), and a light sensor, typically a phototransistor (PTR). As the encoding wheel rotates, the amount of light reaching the light sensor from the light source varies periodically, producing a corresponding periodically-varying electrical signal from the light sensor.
Typically, two light sensors along with one or two light sources are employed with each encoding wheel. The light sensors are positioned, relative to the wheel and light sources, such that the periodic output of one of the light sensors is about 90.degree. out of phase with the periodic output of the other of the light sensors (i.e., the periodic outputs of the two sensors are in quadrature). The two outputs are individually converted to one-bit binary digital signals by some form of single-bit analog-to-digital conversion. Together, the two converted outputs provide a four-state position indication, as illustrated in FIG. 1 (prior art), so that both displacement and direction of the encoding wheel may be sensed.
FIG. 1 shows a exemplary trace of the outputs 1 and 2 of two light sensors, as a function of the rotational position of an associated encoding wheel. When the outputs 1 and 2 are converted to discrete binary values at an optimal digitization threshold O, four output states result. The regions labeled I-IV represent the rotational position corresponding to each of the four output states. Region I corresponds to the 1,1 state, (i.e., the state in which the converted outputs 1, 2, converted to single-bit binary, yield the values 1, 1, respectively). Similarly, region II corresponds to the 1,0 state, region III to the 0,0 state, and region IV to the 0,1 state.
Variability in the brightness of light sources and in the sensitivity of light sensors causes difficulties in the design and manufacture of optical encoders. High-volume, low-cost LEDs and PTRs exhibit a wide range of variability in performance characteristics. The ability of an optical encoder in an input device to tolerate variation in the LED/PTR pairs thus directly impacts the cost and manufacturing viability of the input device.
To reduce the effects of the wide range of inherent variation in LED and PTR performance, LEDs and PTRs are typically sorted into bins according to their brightness or sensitivity. This "binning" allows designers to specify brighter LEDs for pairing with less sensitive PTRs, thus reducing the total range of variation that would result from random pairing.
Typical optical encoder designs have some degree of adaptability, i.e., the sensitivity level or "gain" of the encoding circuits is adjustable within a certain range, so that a certain range of LED/PTR pairs may be used. Adjusting the sensitivity level of the encoding circuits has the effect of adjusting the amplitude and position of the output curves 1, 2 shown in FIG. 1 relative to the digitization threshold for conversion to binary. The digitization threshold is desirably set at the optimal level O shown in FIG. 1. Any other position changes the relative sizes of the regions I-IV corresponding to the areas of the four output states.
The range of LED/PTR pairs usable with a typical optical encoder design is specified such that the encoder has at least some ability to encode at startup i.e., the digitization threshold at startup of the device must be within (typically well within) the boundaries B shown in FIG. 1, so that motion may be encoded at least to some degree. The sensitivity of the encoding circuits is then adjusted, while motion is being encoded, to optimal levels, bringing the digitization threshold for conversion to digital output close to the optimal digitization threshold O. Even with some adaptability and the use of matched LED/PTR pairs, the total variation in the response of the LED/PTR pairs is great enough that only a relatively few of the possible bin combinations are usable in a typical optical encoder design, resulting in many unusable LEDs and PTRs in a standard high-volume production lot.
In order to utilize more of the total production of LEDs and PTRs, an optical encoder design with greater than standard adaptability can be used, but an apparatus and method is then required to properly set the sensitivity level of the encoding circuits to match the LED/PTR pairs employed. The apparatus and method must be able to locate the proper sensitivity level even though the encoder may not function to encode motion at all until after the sensitivity approaches the proper level. To support such applications as plug-and-play mice and trackballs, the apparatus and method should also be able to determine the proper sensitivity level even when the encoding wheel is in already in motion upon power-up.
The present invention achieves these and other advantages by use of a sensitivity threshold locator that detects the sensitivity threshold (maximum and/or minimum) at which a particular prescribed digital output state (or states) of the light detector output(s) occurs. The correct sensitivity level for motion encoding is then chosen as a function of the detected threshold(s). The sensitivity threshold locator may be implemented wholly in hardware or in a mixture of hardware and software or firmware. The sensitivity threshold locator detects a sensitivity threshold by sampling the digitally converted outputs of the light detectors to check for a prescribed output state, while varying the sensitivity level of the encoding circuits. The sensitivity level is set to one extreme of the sensitivity level range, after which the sensitivity threshold locator repeatedly checks for the existence of the prescribed digital output state. A state which is most probable at the one extreme is chosen as the prescribed state. Each time the prescribed state is detected, the sensitivity level is incremented (or decremented) away from the extreme, to a new sensitivity level at which the prescribed state is less (or, at most, equally) likely to occur. Thus the sensitivity level used by the sensitivity threshold locator will approach the limit at which the prescribed output state will not occur. The sensitivity threshold locator thus effectively detects the sensitivity threshold of the prescribed output state.
The prescribed output state may be the 1,1 state of a quadrature-related pair of light detectors, and the sensitivity level for each pair may be adjusted in unison. Alternatively, the prescribed output state may be the 1 (or 0) state of the binary-converted output of a single light detector, and the sensitivity level for each light detector may be adjusted together or individually, as desired. Other appropriate prescribed output states may be chosen, for example, the (0,0) state, the non-(0,0) state, or the non-(1,1) state, of a quadrature-related pair.
The correct sensitivity level for optical encoding (i.e., for motion encoding) is determined as a function of the sensitivity threshold(s) detected by the sensitivity threshold locator. The optimal motion encoding sensitivity level may be determined as linear function of the detected sensitivity threshold, and may be set by a processor operation, by a look-up table, or by other suitable means.
Sampling for locating the sensitivity threshold(s) of the prescribed output state(s) may be interleaved with sampling for motion encoding. Each new sensitivity level used for threshold location is also used to set a new sensitivity level for motion encoding. The total (absolute) motion detected during the threshold location process may be used to determine the end of the threshold location process. When no new threshold is located through a prescribed amount of total absolute motion, the threshold location process terminates, the sensitivity level is fixed at the proper level for motion encoding, and all further samples from the light detectors are used for motion encoding, with the resulting encoded motion being reported out as motion by the input device. (Motion encoded during threshold location is optionally not reported out as motion by the input device, since only half the sampling rate of the sampling circuit is used to encode such motion, increasing the possibly of aliasing.)
Using the total encoded motion of the encoding wheel to terminate the threshold location process, upon reaching a properly chosen prescribed amount of absolute total motion, statistically guarantees that the threshold location process will terminate within an acceptably short amount of motion, and at a sensitivity level adequately close to the actual sensitivity threshold.
The interleaving, during threshold location, of the sampling for threshold location with the sampling for motion encoding increases the possibility of aliasing in motion encoding. Also, motion of the encoder wheel during threshold location may be confined to small displacements, oscillatory in nature, depending upon the motion of the wheel caused by a user. To allow proper termination of threshold location under these circumstances, the total absolute motion is summed during threshold location, so that termination of threshold location will occur only after sufficient absolute motion to guarantee statistically that adequate sampling to find the threshold(s) has occurred. To prevent premature termination of threshold location due to possible jittering between adjacent states, the total motion is not incremented (or is decremented) upon a detected incremental position change indicating a change of direction.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description of an illustrated embodiment which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Apparatus and method for finding optimal sensitivity level for optical encoding circuit