A system, method, and computer program product for presenting items within a list of items based on an individual user profile, a social network of friends of the user or a mood of the user. The system generates the individual profile of the user, determines passive friends of the user from the social network of the user and also determines the mood of the user. The user has a choice to receive an ordered list of items based on the individual user profile, the social network or the mood of the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and computer program for analyzing, organizing and ordering items within a list based on a user's profile, friends' preferences or user's mood. More specifically, the method, system, and computer program provide a personalized list of items (movies, songs, books, or other content) for the user based on specific characteristics of that user.
2. Discussion of the Background
Consumers receive information about various products (for example movies, songs, books, games, stock, insurance, interest rates, etc.) from multiple sources and that information has become so vast with today's capabilities of receiving information (email, instant messaging, mobile phone, internet, content on demand, cable TV, etc.) that a consumer is not able to browse all that information to make an informed decision about purchasing the desired products. More specifically, a user is faced today, for example, with the task of selecting a movie from a database of movies that includes over 5,000 artists, 2,000 directors, and over 100 genres. That task is almost impossible especially when the user has to take into account the preferred artist, director, and genre. In addition to this vast array of information, the mood of the consumer and the circle of friends of the consumer also contribute to the making of the informed decision about buying the products.
However, there is no content service available that takes into consideration specific criteria used by a particular consumer/user when purchasing a product. None of the existing content services integrate all those criteria and recommend the products of a certain class (for example movies) to the consumer such that the products are ranked according to the importance to the consumer based on the above noted criteria (all the information available on the market, the preferences of the circle of friends of the user, and the mood of the user).
Recommendation services or content on demand services recommend items (usually movies and/or songs) based on a database of know preferences of a majority of consumers. Thus, these services ignore the specifics of a particular consumer and its mood. In other words, the available services create an average consumer profile and recommend to all users the same products irrespective of the user's particulars.
As the digital TV infrastructure is developing worldwide, the content on demand offer is increasing. For example, in the United States, Comcast has over 2,000 hours of content available on demand for premium customers. It is estimated that by 2008 the content services as MovieLink, CinemaNow, Music Match, Soapcity, etc, would have over 20,000 movies and over 3 million music tracks available for on-demand applications. Also, because Set Top Boxes are increasingly becoming intelligent, it is estimated that by 2008 more than 40 million users only in the United States will have advanced Set Top Boxes in their home and therefore, able to navigate and select media content from the available content on demand services.
However, the content on demand available services are confronted with the vast information discussed above, the lack of user specific information, and the failure to provide content tailored for a specific user. The conventional technique commonly used by the content on demand services for selecting and recommending movies are identifying items which are similar to items that are known to be of interest to the majority of the users. For example, based on surveys that include the opinions of thousands of users, a common pattern (majority of users like action movies) is determined and based on that common pattern the content on demand service offers to the users across the board mainly action movies.
More sophisticated services, for example a content-based website service may operate by analyzing the user's favorite web pages to generate a profile of commonly-occurring terms and then use this profile to search for other web pages that include some or all of these terms. This method takes into account some preferences of the user but those preferences are limited because the method does not differentiate, for example, a movie directly selected by the consumer by its title or by its leading artist. In other words, the above described method does not categorize the artists preferred by the user and does not distinguish between a 3rd preferred artist and a 4th preferred artist when recommending a movie to the user.
Existing content-based recommendation systems have other significant limitations. For example, content-based methods generally do not provide any mechanism for evaluating the quality of popularity of a product. In addition, content-based methods generally require that products/items that are searched by searching engines include some form of content that is amenable to features extraction. Thus, content-based systems tend to be poorly suited for recommending movies, music titles, etc. or other items that have little or no useful content.
Another system that is capable of producing some content recommendations is the Interactive Program Guide (IPG), which is becoming the entertainment portal for TV viewers. In-stat/MDR, a leading provider of actionable research, assessments and market forecasts of semiconductor and advanced communications equipment and services, expects the worldwide IPG market value to grow to nearly $1 Billion by 2008. IPGs will help end-users to find a TV program, movie, or sporting event from among listings of thousands of available options, and then make it easy for the users to select the program for viewing, tag it with a reminder for later, or even set up a recording to capture the show for time-shifting on a Personal Video Recorder.
However, the problem of the existing content on demand and IPG systems is that the content to be organized and presented to the user is vast and very diversified such that various categories are not related to each other. Thus, the existing systems take into consideration only those categories that can be related to each other and not all the categories available. For example, known systems take into the consideration the purchase history of the user regarding certain items or certain reviewers' recommendations about those items but not the preferences of the user's friends and the mood of the user.
Further, none of today's content navigation systems takes into consideration multiple factors that can influence the user's choice about content, as for example, in the case that the user is looking for a movie, the artist, director, basic description, rating, box office results, genre, band, producer and other factors that can play a role in influencing the user's choice about the movie. In other words, none of today's content navigation systems cater to such a low level breakdown of content to perform personalization for the individual user.
Furthermore, none of today's content navigation system takes into consideration the opinions of friends, colleagues, family members, or related persons to the user regarding the user's choice of content. Thus, the social effect on the user when deciding about the content to be purchased is not a factor considered by the available content navigation systems.
Another problem of the available content navigation systems is that the mood of the user just prior to receiving or selecting the item is not known and not taken into consideration. Therefore, even if the user likes a certain item, the mood of the user before purchasing that item can be such that is not compatible with that item. For example, if the user typically likes dramas, other conditions, e.g., a promotion at work or a death in the family, may make it inappropriate to suggest a drama at the current time. Because the available content navigation systems are not capable of factoring in the user's mood, the system would still recommend a drama movie to the user. Therefore, the conventional content navigation systems do not account for the existing mood of the user at the time of purchasing.
The conceptual model of the background art content systems discussed above is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a user 110 that interacts with the content on demand system 120. The content on demand system 120 offers the user 110 a list of movies and the user 110 selects a preferred movie from the list based on (i) information available in the media about the movie (called meta-content) 130 that the user has read, and (ii) the information about the movies received from his friends 140. Thus, the user 110 "makes up his mind" based on the information (i) and (ii) and selects a desired movie from the list provided by the content on demand 120. Alternatively, the user 110 physically visits the store/provider 150 and purchase/rents the movie based on the above information.
It has been shown that Internet-based businesses like Amazon, DVD rental portal NetFlix, and TiVo have a revenue increase between 30% and 60% by a simple user assistance/recommendation engine as described above and which suggests certain content to the users. Traditionally, 80% of the entertainment industry's revenue comes via 20% of the content they produce. In a typical revenue share model, a content owner takes between 30 and 60% of the revenue and the remaining amount goes to the service provider. The more popular the content, the larger the content owner's revenue share. Thus, a content navigation and recommendation system that better suits each user will help the users increase the consumption of lesser known content (for the content that matches the criteria of the user).


A duplexer includes a common terminal, receiving filters, a transmitting filter, and a hybrid having four terminals (terminals 1 to 4). A first terminal (terminal 1), which is one of the four terminals of the hybrid is connected to the common terminal, the receiving filters are connected to a second terminal and a third terminal to which a signal is transmitted if it is input from the first terminal, and a transmitting filter is connected to a fourth terminal (terminal 4) of the hybrid. Thus, it is possible to improve the isolation of the duplexer, while avoiding an increase in the number of parts as well as greater complexity.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional duplexer. This conventional duplexer 81 includes a transmitting filter 82, which is connected between a common terminal Ant and a transmitting terminal Tx, a receiving filter 83, which is connected between the common terminal Ant and a receiving terminal Rx, and a matching circuit 84. When the duplexer 81 is used in a mobile phone for example, the common terminal Ant is connected to an antenna 94. The transmitting terminal Tx is connected to a transmitting circuit 93, and the receiving terminal Rx is connected via a balanced output filter 91 to a receiving circuit 92.
In FIG. 18, arrow Y1 denotes the flow of a transmission signal. Since the pass band of the transmitting filter 82 differs from the pass band of the receiving filter 83, when the transmission signal that is input into the transmitting terminal Tx passes the transmitting filter 82, as indicated by the arrow Y1, it does not flow to the receiving filter 83 but is output from the common terminal Ant to the antenna 94. Then, the transmission signal is radiated as an electromagnetic wave from the antenna 94.
Arrow Y2 denotes the flow of a reception signal. The reception signal received by the antenna 94 passes the matching circuit 84 and the receiving filter 83, as indicated by the arrow Y2, and is output from the receiving terminal Rx. The balanced output filter 91 converts the received signal into a differential signal (balanced-unbalanced conversion), and outputs it to the receiving circuit 92. This is the ideal signal flow within the duplexer.
However, in real duplexers, the entire transmission signal that is output from the transmitting filter 82 is not necessarily output from the common terminal Ant to the antenna, and a portion of it flows into the receiving filter 83 and reaches the receiving terminal Rx. Arrow Y3 indicates the flow of the transmission signal (transmit/receive leakage signal) that leaks in this manner to the receiving filter. Because of this transmit/receive leakage signal, there was the problem that the reception signal that is input from the receiving terminal Rx into the receiving circuit includes noise, and as a result, the receiving properties deteriorated.
Here, the transmit/receive isolation (referred to simply as "isolation" below) is used as a value that indicates the degree to which the transmit/receive leakage signal leaking from the transmission signal, which is input from the transmitting circuit to the transmitting terminal Tx, to the receiving filter 83 and reaching the receiving terminal Rx is suppressed.
With the duplexer 81 indicated in FIG. 18, the balanced filter 91, which is connected between the receiving terminal Rx and the receiving circuit 92 has the function of improving this isolation. As another example, a configuration has been disclosed (see for example Patent Document 1 listed below), where a shield electrode is provided in order to eliminate unnecessary electromagnetic coupling within the antenna branching filter, which is one of the causes of transmission signal leakage from the transmitting circuit to the receiving circuit.    Patent Document 1; Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-60747
However, providing the above-noted balanced filter 91 or shield electrode leads to an increase in the number of parts, to higher costs and to greater complexity. Thus, with conventional duplexer configurations, it was difficult to improve the isolation while avoiding an increase in the number of parts, higher costs and greater complexity.

Duplexer, module including a duplexer and communication apparatus


Methods and apparatus for controlling movement of aircraft through a defined air space are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes generating a model of the defined air space. The model is configured to indicate a safe subset of the defined air space for movement. Receiving a trajectory datum from an aircraft facilitates placing the aircraft at an aircraft position in the generated model of the defined air space according to the trajectory datum. A route is generated for the aircraft through the defined air space according to the aircraft position and the safe subset. Control commands are transmitted to the aircraft; the control commands are configured to control the aircraft according to the route.

Controlling assets through a defined space is a task that has both civilian and military uses. In a most common situation, air traffic control may involve moving commercial airplanes through airspace. Air traffic control has, in common with tasking military assets, the coordinated movement of multiple assets through a crowded space filled with terrain, weather, and other obstructions.
The U.S. Air Traffic Control or ATC system is heavily burdened. In the first nine months of 2000, for example, one in four aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS) found itself plagued by system delays averaging 50 minutes per aircraft and affecting 119 million people. The ATC system is under heavy demand, particularly along the east coast. This demand has grown steadily the past few decades. For example, air carrier departures in 1999 rose 12% over departures logged in 1994. Air traffic has grown more than 2.5 times since 1974.
The current U.S. Air Traffic Control System includes 20 Air Route Traffic Control Centers or "Centers" that are the largest ATC facilities interacting directly with the aircraft. Each Center is responsible for the safety and efficient transit of aircraft through their assigned segment of the airspace. Controllers at the Centers communicate with individual aircraft that are generally at high altitudes or away from major airports. The Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities house controllers that are responsible for the airspace within approximately 40 miles of major airports. Towers are responsible for approaches and departures of aircraft as well as taxiing at a specific airport.
Air traffic control relies heavily upon verbal communications between controller and pilot. In tactical communications between the controller and all of the pilots within the controller's airspace, only a single VHF channel is available for communications. Due to the number of communications that must occur between the controller and the pilots and the poor quality of the communication channel, it is critical for the communications to exhibit a clear intent spoken expeditiously.
To date, there has been little ability to improve the viability of verbal air traffic control. One such improvement to the controlling of aircraft in the airspace has included FAA & the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) honing the language used in verbal communications to such an extent that there exists an ICAO standard phraseology requiring timely feedback, thereby minimizing ambiguity about the sender's true intent. This standard phraseology has also improved the speed with which the sender communicates. Nonetheless, the incremental improvements in speed achieved by these measures has not been sufficient to deal with the ever-mounting control load.
Communication is also important to the Traffic Management Coordinators within a facility. Though not directly influencing the safety of a particular aircraft, inadequate or misleading communications may lead dozens of aircraft along inefficient paths. The aircraft's routing decisions may arise from miscommunication between ATC, the flight crew, or the airline, or from the fact that one party was lacking a critical piece of information. If the full content of the message is communicated using the wrong vocabulary or notation (the message is poorly encoded), then the message's intent is lost. The message must also be sent in a timely fashion. If the message is sent too late, then the content of the message is lost, no matter how accurately it is transmitted.
Additionally, ATC controllers make decisions about routing without knowledge of flight capabilities of aircraft, fuel state, or aircraft attitude. Controllers propose flight paths by selecting from predefined flight paths chosen to suitably match the flight characteristics common to the least capable of likely aircraft to use the space. Thus, where high performance aircraft occupy a space in proximity to lower performance aircraft, separations are selected to rule out the likelihood of interference in spite of the great disparity in performance. Packing the airspace in this manner fails to exploit the space available where performances are more closely matched.
What is needed is a method, system, and software product to more efficiently pack a three-dimensioned airspace with flight paths chosen to exploit the space efficiently.

Tracking, relay, and control information flow analysis process for information-based systems


In an internal combustion engine comprising a mechanical charger in the form of a positive displacement compressor connected to the engine intake duct for supplying compressed air to the engine and a turbo-compound including an exhaust gas turbine connected to the engine exhaust duct for converting energy remaining in the exhaust gas to power, the exhaust gas turbine being connected to the engine via a reduction gear drive, the mechanical charger and the turbo-compound are coupled to the engine by a common belt drive including a first belt pulley mounted on the crankshaft of the engine, a second belt pulley mounted on the shaft of the reduction gear drive, and a third belt pulley mounted on the shaft of the mechanical charger.

The invention relates to an internal combustion engine comprising a mechanical charger and an exhaust gas turbine coupled to the engine for transmitting power thereto.
Internal combustion engines comprising a mechanical charger and a turbo-compound consisting of an exhaust gas turbine and a reduction gear have been known in the prior art for a long time. The mechanical charger is coupled to the internal combustion engine and compresses the air required for combustion. The turbo-compound utilizes the energy contained in the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine by means of the exhaust gas turbine and transmits the power obtained from the exhaust gas to the internal combustion engine via a reduction gear.
Particularly positive displacement machines are used as mechanical chargers in internal combustion engines. Owing to the compact type of construction of, for example, a screw charger, the latter can easily be adapted to the internal combustion engine and is distinguished, inter alia, by a high pressure ratio at low rotational speeds, high part-load efficiencies and a characteristic pumping curve having a flat profile. The power consumed by the mechanical charger, which needs to be provided by the internal combustion engine, is a disadvantage however.
The power loss due to the mechanical charger can be compensated by the turbo-compound. By virtue of a suitable design, even at low to medium rotational speeds and/or load, the turbo-compound can output more power than the mechanical charger derives from the internal combustion engine.
The patent specification DE 37 41 286 C2 describes an internal combustion engine, the mechanical charger of which is connected to the internal combustion engine by means of a belt drive. An exhaust gas turbine is coupled to the mechanical charger by means of a gear.
The publication JP 63-055325 A describes an internal combustion engine with a mechanical charger which is coupled to the internal combustion engine via a first gear drive and an exhaust gas turbine which is coupled to the internal combustion engine via a second gear drive.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an internal combustion engine of the type referred to above, wherein, however, the mechanical charger and turbo-compound can be coupled to the internal combustion engine by a simple common means.

Internal combustion engine comprising a mechanical charger and a turbo-compound


A recording medium storing linking type information, a method of processing a defective area in the medium and recording and/or reproducing apparatus therefor. The recording medium stores information indicating that linking is applied immediately after the defective area, distinguishing a linking type which occurs in a general incremental recording mode from a linking type which occurs after the defective area. Defective areas are detected and registered in a predetermined area (recording management data (RMD) area) before user data is recorded or while user data is being recorded in the recording medium having a plurality of continuous basic recording units, such as a digital versatile disc-rewritable (DVD-RW) in which recording and reproducing can be done repeatedly. Linking is not only applied in an incremental recording mode or in a restricted overwrite recording mode, but linking is also applied to an area immediately after the defective area which is registered in the defect list, increasing reliability of the user data. In addition, a test signal such as data, a groove wobble pattern, or a recording mark which has a test pattern, which functions as linking data is recorded in advance in a block immediately after the defective area detected during certification. If the test signal is detected after the defective area, the new user data is recorded immediately after a predetermined number of error correction code (ECC) blocks following the defective area without using linking, reducing the time for recording linking data, which is advantageous to real-time recording.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of optical recording media having continuous basic recording units, and more particularly, to a recording medium for storing linking type information which indicates whether a linking scheme applies to an area immediately after a defective area and a method of processing a defective area using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since basic recording units of a digital versatile disc-rewritable (DVD-RW) and a digital versatile-recordable (DVD-R) are positioned continuously, contrary to those of a DVD-Random Access Memory (DVD-RAM) which are divided by physical identifier (PID) areas or buffer fields (extra areas allocated to correspond to a requirement for controlling a spindle motor accurately), it is required that a recording-start point of each basic unit in a DVD-RW is precisely located. The basic recording unit of the DVD-RAM can be a sector and the basic recording unit of the DVD-RW can be an error correction code (ECC) block.
Since the basic recording units of the DVD-R and the DVD-RW, which have the same physical formats, are positioned continuously as described above, for an incremental recording mode, that is, the mode in which data transmission is momentarily discontinued or new data is recorded following the previous data, the DVD-R and the DVD-RW use a linking scheme in which a predetermined number of bytes (for example, 3 bytes) of a next recording-start point are allocated as a linking area. In addition, there are two linking area sizes which are applied in incremental recording; 2 kilobytes and 32 kilobytes.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the linking scheme which occurs in the general incremental recording mode, and shows old data 4, the 32-kilobyte linking area 2 and new data 7. Referring to FIG. 1, when recording of old data 4 is completed without filling up the basic recording unit (the ECC block unit in FIG. 1), padding data 5 is recorded from the remaining portion of the basic recording unit, where no data is recorded, to a first sector after a sync mark 1. Recording of the new user data 7 begins after recording linking data 6 in the 32-kilobyte linking area 2 for the incremental recording.
In the case of DVD-RW, when a defective area is registered in a defective area list which is registered in a recording management data (RMD) area, the DVD-RW uses a restricted overwrite recording mode along with the linking scheme similar to the incremental recording mode when recording actual user data after the registered defective area. Therefore, the current DVD-RW specification only applies a linking scheme for the incremental recording mode and the restricted overwrite recording mode. The DVD-RW specification does not define specific linking schemes for processing a defective area, such as defining a linking area after a defective area.

Recording medium for storing linking type information, method of processing defective area using the same, and recording and/or reproducing apparatus therefor


The invention provides a color display device structure, including a substrate (1), an anode (21), a thin film transistor array (23), a hole injection layer (24), a hole transport layer (25), a light emitting layer (26), an electron transport layer (27), a cathode (28), a cover plate (3), a color conversion layer (4) formed on the inner side of the cover plate (3), and a sealant (6). The light emitting layer (26) is a blue and green light emitting layer (26). The color conversion layer (4) includes a blue filter unit (41), a green filter unit (43) and a red conversion unit (45) separated one another. The blue light and the green light emitted by the blue and green light emitting layer (26) is filtered to become blue light by the blue filter unit (41). The blue light and the green light emitted by the blue and green light emitting layer (26) is filtered to become green light by the green filter unit (43). The blue light and the green light emitted by the blue and green light emitting layer (26) is converted to red light by the red conversion unit (45). The color display is achieved by the color display device structure. The color display device structure is manufactured by a simple production process, and has the features of high color purity, good emitting efficiency, high stability, ultra-thin, and so on.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of display technology, and more particularly, to a color display device structure and manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
The organic light emitting diode display (Organic Light Emitting Diode, OLED) is a very promising flat panel display technology, which not only has a very excellent display performance, but also has self-luminous, simple structure, ultra-thin, fast response, wide viewing angle, low power consumption, flexible display and other features, known as the "Dream monitor". To be coupled with the investment of OLED in production equipment is much smaller than that of the liquid crystal display (Liquid Crystal Display, LCD), OLED has got the attention of the major display manufacturers and become the main force of third-generation display.
Currently, there are several color OLED technology roadmap. One is RGB (Red, Green, Blue, RGB) three-color light, Samsung company representative. This technique is only applicable to organic small molecules material easily sublimated. The advantage of the technology is mature, easy to operate. However, because of the need for high accuracy and precision of the mask alignment in the preparation of high-resolution display, it results in low productivity and high cost, and because of the life of the three primary colors, the excitation rate, and the large attenuation difference, it results in a color cast of the color display device.
The other is white +RGB filters (Color Filter, CF) technology to LG company representative. Since the CF technique of the LCD can be used, the mask alignment is not required, which greatly simplifies the vapor deposition process, and thus can reduce production cost and manufacture large-size high-resolution OLED. However, since most of the light energy is absorbed by the filter, only about 30% of the light is transmitted, so that the white light emitting material requires high performance, otherwise the efficiency of the display device is low, and is generally used for small molecule OLED display.
The third is that a blue OLED luminesce, through a green and red light color conversion method (Color conversion method, CCM) and the red and green light material excited by blue light, to obtain three primary colors, red, green and blue, achieving color display. Since the same production technology as that of the color filter can be used, it increases the pixel density, and can achieve a higher yield. But the blue material is the bottleneck restricting this technology. At this stage, it is generally only used for the preparation of small molecule OLED.
The semiconductor nanocrystals (semiconductor nanocrystals, NCs) has the size of 1-100 nm. Due to the size of the semiconductor nanocrystals smaller than the exciton Bohr radius of its material, that exhibits strong quantum confinement effect. The quasi-continuous energy band evolves into the discrete energy level structure similar to that of a molecule, showing a new material properties, also known as quantum dots (quantum dots, QDs).
Since the excitation of the external energy (photoluminescence, electroluminescence, cathodoluminescence, etc.), electrons are transited from the ground state to the excited state. The electrons and holes in the excited state may form excitons. The electrons and holes combine and ultimately relax to the ground state. The excess energy is released through the combination and relaxation processes, which may emit photons by radiative combination.
Quantum dots light emitting diode display (Quantum Dots Light Emitting Diode, QD-LED) has important commercial applications, arousing intense research interest in the last decade. Indeed, QD-LEDs have many advantages as compared with OLED: (1) because the line width of light emitted by the quantum dots is between 20-30 nm, relative to luminescence, longer than 50 nm, of OLED, the FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum, FWHM) is narrow, which for color purity of the screen plays a key role; (2) the inorganic material with respect to the organic material exhibits a better thermal stability. When the device is in a high current density or high luminance, Joule heat is the main reason for degradation of the device. Because of the excellent thermal stability, the inorganic material-based devices will exhibit a long life; (3) since the lives of the different organic materials of red, green and blue color are different one another, the color of the OLED display will change over time. However, by using a material to synthesize the quantum dots of different sizes, due to the quantum confinement effect, the three primary colors light can be emitted. The same kind of material may exhibit a similar degradation of life; (4) QD-LED can emit infrared light, and the emission wavelength of an organic material is generally less than 1 micron; (5) there is no limitation to the spin statistics for quantum dots, and the external quantum efficiency (External Quantum Efficiency, EQE) may reach 100%.
QD-LED can be divided into organic-inorganic hybrid devices and full-inorganic devices. The former can achieve high brightness and flexible production. The latter has an advantage in terms of stability of the device. But reports of the QD-LED are relatively small, now.
It is therefore necessary to develop a new, simple production process to manufacture a thin color display device structures with high color purity, good emitting efficiency, and high stability.

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


A semiconductor apparatus includes a semiconductor substrate having a main surface, a multilayer structure circuit formed over the main surface of the semiconductor substrate, a protective wall formed in the same layer as an uppermost layer of the multilayer structure circuit so as to surround the multilayer structure circuit in plan view, and an alignment mark formed in the same layer as the uppermost layer. The alignment mark is formed so as to contact at least part of the protective wall.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor apparatus and substrate and in particular to a semiconductor apparatus including alignment marks and a substrate having the semiconductor apparatus formed thereon.
A single product (semiconductor apparatus) obtained by simultaneously forming, for example, multiple integrated circuits over the main surface of a single semiconductor substrate (wafer) by certain technologies is cut into multiple products (semiconductor chips) on an integrated circuit basis, typically by the technology called dicing. Formed over the main surface of the wafer are so-called alignment marks. Examples of alignment marks include alignment marks for performing alignment during so-called laser trimming (LT) (alignment marks for LT) and alignment marks for overlaying a photomask on a desired position (alignment marks for overlay). Note that while alignment marks for LT and alignment marks for overlay have different applications, they are not limited to the applications described in the specification of this application. That is, alignment marks described as alignment marks for LT may be used as alignment marks for overlay, and vice versa.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-28243, for example, alignment marks are formed over lines (scribe lines) along which a wafer is to be cut during dicing. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-303073, for example, walls called guard rings are formed in order to control entry of moisture into integrated circuits and corrosion of the integrated circuits.
The guard rings are intended to protect the integrated circuits from the sides (peripheries). On the other hand, a protective film (such as a passivation film, or a polyimide film) may be formed in order to protect the integrated circuits from above. Covering the top surfaces of the integrated circuits with a protective film allows the integrated circuits to be protected from moisture or sediment. A semiconductor apparatus including such protective film is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-282484.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2008-28243 and 2003-282484, alignment marks are formed in positions over scribe lines. Alternatively, alignment marks may be formed in a semiconductor chip, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-129695.
In a semiconductor apparatus of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-282484, for example, a protective film is formed in an area where scribe lines are to be formed (scribe line area). Accordingly, the protective film is cut during dicing. A crack may be formed in the protective film from cut surfaces of these films by external stress. Such a crack in the protective film is known to break the guard ring and thus reduce the moisture resistance of the integrate circuit, as well as to reduce the reliability of the semiconductor chip. For the purpose of dispersing and reducing external stress that causes such a crack or break, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 2(1990)-77131, for example, discloses a semiconductor apparatus having slits formed in guard rings. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-29430, for example, discloses a semiconductor apparatus including guard rings that each include two wiring layers and a via coupling the wiring layers for the same purpose. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-201855, for example, discloses a semiconductor apparatus including guard rings that each include a pattern bent in a meandering manner for the same purpose.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to pipe handling apparatus that comprise a base, an elongate door, a pipe carrier and a lift member. In some embodiments the lift member is pivotally connected at one end to the base and pivotally connected to the pipe carrier at the other end. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes further features that provide full capture of the pipe carrier by the elongate door and the lift member. In some embodiments the pipe carrier is moved substantially along the elongate door by a combined actuator, shiv and cable system.

Pipe handling apparatus are known for moving heavy pipes from a lower surface to an elevated surface and vice versa. Such heavy pipes can include components of a drill string, casing and other types of pipe and elongate tubulars that are used in forming and completing an oil and/or gas well.
During drilling or completion operations, the pipe is moved in two ways: (i) vertically, between the lower surface, which is typically the ground floor of a drilling rig or a completion rig, to an elevated operational floor upon the rig; and, (ii) rotationally, whereby the pipes move between a substantially-horizontal storage orientation to a substantially-vertical operational orientation, for insertion or extraction from the well below the operational floor of the rig.
These heavy pipes can weight upwards of about 15,000 pounds (one pound is equivalent to about 0.453 kilograms) and due to the typical round shape, the pipes must be handled carefully to avoid losing control of the pipe and causing catastrophic accidents.


A method is provided for determining a laser threshold of a laser diode, which is operated by a drive circuit as a function of a first signal in a first feedback and a second signal in a second feedback, the first feedback being supplied via an optical coupling of an optical output signal of the laser diode. The method is characterized in that the second feedback is supplied by an electrical signal picked up between the drive circuit and the laser diode, the electrical signal is compared with an adjustable activation threshold, only a portion of the electrical signal that exceeds the adjustable activation threshold is transmitted to the drive circuit in such a way that the second feedback is active only when such a portion occurs, the adjustable activation threshold is changed in such a way that the activity state of the second feedback changes, and the laser threshold of the laser diode is determined as a function of the value of the adjustable activation threshold during a change in the activity state of the second feedback. Furthermore, a drive circuit is presented which carries out the method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for determining a laser threshold of a laser diode, which is operated by a drive circuit as a function of a first signal in a first feedback and a second signal in a second feedback, the first feedback being supplied via an optical coupling by an optical output signal of the laser diode.
The invention relates furthermore to a drive circuit, which determines the laser threshold of a laser diode, wherein the drive circuit generates a drive signal and the laser diode an output signal, dependent on the drive signal, with a first feedback and a second feedback, the first feedback being set up to supply a portion of the output signal via an optical coupling.
2. Description of the Background Art
A method and drive circuit are known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,955. According to this publication, the optical power/drive current characteristic of a laser diode has a lower, nonlinear section of lower drive currents and optical powers. Furthermore, the characteristic has an upper section of higher drive currents and optical powers, in which the optical power depends approximately linearly on the drive current. The linear section in the patent is called a lasing region and the nonlinear region is called a light emitting or spontaneous emission region. Both sections are separated by a value of the drive current, which is also called the laser threshold. Knowing the laser threshold is helpful for controlling the laser diode.
To determine the laser threshold two feedbacks are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,955, which are connected by a common electrical connection node to a photodiode. A first feedback serves to regulate the power of the laser diode during laser diode operation. The second feedback serves to determine the laser threshold. To that end, the signal in the second feedback is compared with a fixed threshold value. As long as the threshold value is not exceeded, an increase in the laser diode drive current occurs successively. If the threshold value, which correlates with a specific optical power received by the photodiode, is exceeded, the associated drive current is maintained with no further changes. During operation, the second feedback then supplies this laser threshold/drive current, whereas a reference signal generator supplies control signals for the drive current contributions above the laser threshold. These are stabilized with the first feedback.
In prior-art arrangements of drive circuits and laser diodes, the stabilization occurs in the following manner: The first feedback is connected to a feedback signal input of a differential amplifier and receives part of the emitted laser diode optical power via the photodiode. A reference signal, which controls the optical power of the laser diode, is supplied furthermore to the differential amplifier. If the laser diode emits a relatively high optical power, the photodiode supplies a high photocurrent to the feedback signal input of the differential amplifier, which makes the output signal of the differential amplifier smaller and thereby reduces the laser diode optical power. Accordingly, a relatively low emitted optical power leads to an increase in the difference and thereby to an increase in the optical power. The feedback thereby closes a control loop by which a stable optical power becomes established in the built-up state.
The laser thresholds for driving individual laser diodes can also be individually different in laser diodes of the same type and in addition change due to aging influences. In a laser diode type serving as an example here, the individual laser threshold of an individual laser diode can be, for example, within a range of drive current intensities between 10 mA and 50 mA. To be able to generate defined output signals with defined drive signals, it is therefore helpful to know the individual laser threshold of a laser diode. This applies very generally also to other components that have an activation threshold, or to arrangements comprising a differential amplifier and a laser diode. In this type of arrangement, the drive current intensity, at which a laser effect begins in the laser diode, depends in addition on the offset current of the amplifier. If an output signal of a laser diode is indicated below, this usually refers to an optical power above the laser threshold or activation threshold.
For the greatest possible control for the optical power of the laser diode and thereby the output signals of the laser diode, it is desirable to know the tolerance pertaining to the laser threshold.
In addition, drive current sources, for example, have various examples of the aforementioned differential amplifier, frequently also dispersion in their input/output signal relation, which are to be compensated for a defined function of the component by adjustment of the differential amplifier. This adjustment can occur the more accurately, the better the operating condition of the differential amplifier during adjustment coincides with the operating conditions during later operation. Because drive current intensities of the magnitude of the laser threshold are to be provided during later operation, the adjustment should occur as closely as possible to the laser threshold. For this reason as well, it is desirable to know the laser threshold.
In the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,955, to determine the laser threshold, the drive signal passes through a certain signal bandwidth and in so doing, an activity in the signal path behind the optical coupling between the laser diode and photodiode is determined by a threshold value comparison. In practice, this type of feedback having an optical coupling reacts especially very sensitively to measuring actions in laser diodes. A sufficient reliability and accuracy of the obtained results are therefore not readily assured.

Method and device for determining an activation threshold


A stator assembly, an electrical motor having the stator assembly, a wind power generator set and a method for cooling a stator assembly are provided. The stator assembly includes a stator support and a stator core mounted on the stator support, wherein the stator support includes a support enclosure plate, a first axial air flow channel is formed between the support enclosure plate of the stator support and a radial side surface of the stator core, and the first axial air flow channel is used for receiving a first cold air flow, so that the cold air flow can flow in the axial direction. The stator assembly can introduce a cold air flow from the other side, opposite an air gap, of a stator during the operation of an electrical motor, so that two radial sides of the stator can be cooled at the same time.

A large amount of heat is generated during the operation of an electrical motor. The heat source comes from an inside of the electrical motor. Part of the heat source is a copper loss generated during the current flows through a stator winding, and part of which is an iron loss generated during the magnetic flux in the iron core changes. The loss is converted into heat, which increases the electrical motor temperature. The increase in the temperature of the electrical motor may directly affect the service life and rated capacity of the electrical motor, and may also cause the electrical motor to malfunction. One of the main risks of motor failure due to motor heating is that the thermal expansion of the stator core reduces the air gap between the stator and the rotor, and the permanent magnet poles provided on the rotor may collide with the stator core to cause damage, and in severe cases, it may cause the electrical motor failure or damage. Therefore, the cooling problem is of great significance for the electrical motor, especially for the wind electrical generator, and the maintenance cost and economic loss caused by the electrical motor failure are negative.
In the conventional technology, cooling medium is usually introduced into the air gap between the stator and the rotor to cool the heat source components of the electrical motor. For a large rotating electrical machine such as a wind electrical generator, forced convection of the heat exchange is usually performed on the heat source of the winding, and relying on high-power and large-scale (impeller diameter) fluid machinery (ventilators), for example, relying on fluid machinery, the cooling medium is forcibly introduced into the air gap between the stator and the rotor or the radial ventilation channel of the stator core winding. On one hand, this cooling method of introducing cold airflow into the air gap does not completely prevent the expansion and deformation of the stator; and on the other hand, serious impact of the fluid transmission of the cooling medium and the wind-induced noise of the air flow on the natural environment is also not allowed by the ecological regulations.
In addition, in the conventional technology, when the wind turbine is cooled, a partition wall heat exchanger is provided in the nacelle, and the heat generation surface in an inner circulation cavity is cooled by an external circulation of natural ambient airflow, and the induced draft fan introduces the fluid cooled by the heat exchanger and diffuses the fluid in a rear space of the cabin at 360 degrees. However, in this cooling method, the loss of the resistance along the path and local area during the fluid transmission process is large, which restricts the heat exchange rate of the internal heat generation link of the electrical motor, thus the key organization inside the electrical motor—the insulation structure still has a high risk of high temperature rise and threatening the stability of permanent magnetic pole performance.

Stator assembly, electrical motor, wind power generator set and method for cooling stator assembly

BEIJING GOLDWIND SCIENCE & CREATION WINDPOWER EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.


A silicon-carbide semiconductor substrate having a plurality of first doped regions being laterally spaced apart from one another and beneath a main surface, and a second doped region extending from the main surface to a third doped region that is above the first doped regions is formed. Fourth doped regions extending from the main surface to the first doped regions are formed. A gate trench having a bottom that is arranged over a portion of one of the first doped regions is formed. A high-temperature step is applied to the substrate so as to realign silicon-carbide atoms along sidewalls of the trench and form rounded corners in the gate trench. A surface layer that forms along the sidewalls of the gate trench during the high-temperature step from the substrate is removed.

Semiconductor transistors, in particular field-effect controlled switching devices such as Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFET) and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) have been used in a wide variety of applications such as power supplies, power converters, electric cars and air-conditioners. Many of these applications are high power applications, which require the transistors to be able to accommodate substantial current and/or voltage.
Power transistors, which may have voltage blocking capabilities of up to several hundred volts and a current rating of higher than one ampere, can be implemented as vertical MOS trench transistors. In a vertical transistor, a gate electrode can be arranged in a trench that extends in a vertical direction of the semiconductor body. The gate electrode is dielectrically insulated from source, body and drift regions of the transistor and is adjacent to the body region in a lateral direction of the semiconductor body. A drain region may adjoin the drift region, and a source electrode may be connected to the source region.
Silicon-carbide (SiC) offers certain favorable properties as a substrate material for power transistors. The specific properties of SiC can be utilized to implement power transistors with a higher voltage blocking capability at a given on-resistance in comparison to semiconductor devices using other substrate materials, such as silicon. For example, SiC offers a critical electric field (i.e., the electric field at which avalanche breakdown occurs) of 2×106 Volts/Centimeter (V/cm), which is higher than that of conventional silicon. Thus, a comparably configured SiC based transistor has a higher threshold for avalanche breakdown than a conventional silicon based transistor.
Although SiC offers favorable properties with respect to breakdown voltage, it also presents several design challenges. For example, in an SiC based device, the interface between the SiC and the gate dielectric (e.g., SiO2) is prone to thermal oxidation, which leads to defects in the SiC. One consequence of these defects is lower electron mobility and increased on-resistance. Furthermore, due to difficulties in trench etching techniques, the corners of the gate trench in an SiC based device are uneven. Consequently, it is difficult to provide a gate dielectric of uniform thickness in the corners of the gate trench. This in turn leads to increased electric fields in the corners of the gate trench, which make the device more susceptible to failure. The electric field in the gate dielectric may increase by a factor 2.5 if the electric field in the SiC approaches the critical electric field. Thus, to fully take advantage of the beneficial avalanche breakdown properties of SiC, proper measures must be taken to shield the gate dielectric from the large voltages that are tolerated by the SiC material.
There is a need to provide a power transistor in SiC technology with minimal defects in the channel region and a shielded gate structure at minimal expense.

Method of forming a silicon-carbide device with a shielded gate


Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for a cipher then segment approach in a Power Line Communication (PLC). A node or device generates frames to be transmitted to a destination node in the PLC network. A processor in the node is configured to generate a data payload comprising data to be sent to the destination node. The processor divides the data payload into two or more payload segments and encrypts the payload segments. The processor creates a frame for each of the encrypted payload segments, wherein each frame comprises a message integrity code. The processor creates a segment identifier for each frame using the message integrity code and an authentication key that is shared with the destination PLC node. The segment identifier is added to each frame.

Power line communications (PLC) include systems for communicating data over the same medium that is also used to transmit electric power to residences, buildings, and other premises, such as wires, power lines, or other conductors. In its simplest terms, PLC modulates communication signals over existing power lines. This enables devices to be networked without introducing any new wires or cables. This capability is extremely attractive across a diverse range of applications that can leverage greater intelligence and efficiency through networking. PLC applications include utility meters, home area networks, and appliance and lighting control.
PLC is a generic term for any technology that uses power lines as a communications channel. Various PLC standardization efforts are currently in work around the world. The different standards focus on different performance factors and issues relating to particular applications and operating environments. Two of the most well-known PLC standards are G3 and PRIME. G3 has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). IEEE is developing the IEEE P1901.2 standard that is based on G3. Each PLC standard has its own unique characteristics.
The manner in which PLC systems are implemented depends upon local regulations, characteristics of local power grids, etc. The frequency band available for PLC users depends upon the location of the system. In Europe, PLC bands are defined by the CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization). The CENELEC-A band (3 kHz-95 kHz) is exclusively for energy providers. The CENELEC-B, C, D bands are open for end user applications, which may include PLC users. Typically, PLC systems operate between 35-90 kHz in the CENELEC A band using 36 tones spaced 1.5675 kHz apart. In the United States, the FCC has conducted emissions requirements that start at 535 kHz and therefore the PLC systems have an FCC band defined from 154-487.5 kHz using 72 tones spaced at 4.6875 kHz apart. In other parts of the world different frequency bands are used, such as the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB)-defined band in Japan, which operates at 10-450 kHz, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)-defined bands in China, which operates at 3-90 kHz.
Segmentation is used for the transmission of large frames when the physical Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size in a system does not permit transfer of the entire frame. In some standards, such as IEEE P1901.2 and G3, segmentation is performed at the MAC layer. The MAC layer on the transmitter side segments an incoming frame if it is larger than a particular size. At the receiver side, the MAC layer performs a reassembly procedure.
The MAC layer is also responsible for performing encryption to provide security. Such encryption may be performed before or after segmentation. If encryption is performed before segmentation, then there is a potential security threat because the MAC header (MHR) is unencrypted. A receiver in this situation cannot determine a fake packet until the reassembly is completed. On the other hand, if encryption is performed after segmentation, it can lead to additional overhead due to presence of a message integrity check field (MIC) and the security padding that is necessary for encryption mechanisms typically used in PLC networks.

Power line communication (PLC) network nodes using cipher then segment security


An imaging apparatus for reading an image recorded on a photographic film includes: a solid-state imaging device on which an image derived from light transmitted through the photographic film is formed; a density-measuring device for receiving the light transmitted through the photographic film and for measuring a large area transmittance density of the image for each color of R, G, and B; and a correcting device for correcting image color signals on the respective colors of R, G, and B outputted from the solid-state imaging device, on the basis of a ratio of large area transmittance densities of the image for the respective colors of R, G, and B determined from an RGB output of the density-measuring device. Accordingly, since the image color signals on R, G, and B outputted from the solid-state imaging device are corrected in correspondence with the large area transmittance densities of the image for the respective colors of R, G, and B determined from the RGB output of the density-measuring device, it is possible to obtain image color signals having accurate color information irrespective of the spectral sensitivity characteristics of the solid-state imaging device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and more particularly to an imaging apparatus for reading an image recorded on a photographic film.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, techniques have been proposed concerning so-called digital printing in which light is used to illuminate an image recorded on a photographic film, the light transmitted through the image is read and converted into image color signals representing the respective colors, red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and printing is effected on the basis of the converted image color signals. In addition to the just-described digital printing, image display apparatuses have been used in which an image recorded on a photographic film is read and image color signals are obtained, and the image is displayed on a monitor such as a CRT on the basis of the image color signals obtained.
When the image recorded on the photographic film is displayed on a monitor such as a CRT or printed onto a predetermined recording material, it is necessary to set exposure conditions and the like which make it possible to effect the display or printing properly. Conventionally, a MOS-type imaging imaging device (MOS sensor) is used as a sensor for setting the exposure conditions, while a solid-state imaging device (CCD sensor) is used as an image-reading sensor. Although the MOS sensor has a low spatial resolution, the MOS sensor is capable of providing conditions concerning color, while the CCD sensor is capable of obtaining image information with a high spatial resolution.
However, there has been a problem in that despite the fact that the MOS sensor is relatively expensive and leads to the high cost of the apparatus as a whole, since the CCD sensor does not have sufficiently satisfactory performance concerning color, the MOS sensor is inevitably used.


A surface activating process in which treatment can be performed within a short time and in which activation of undesired areas does not occur is achieved by concentrating ultraviolet light with wavelengths from 200 nm to 300 nm by means of an oval focussing mirror. The ultraviolet light is incident in parallel on a mask via a first reflector, an integrator lens, a shutter, a second reflector, and a collimator, and is radiated through the mask onto a workpiece to activation a surface area of the workpiece. The arc length of the lamp is selected to be within a range from 7.5 to 29 mm to obtain a radiation intensity which is sufficient for surface activation. Furthermore, the relationship .alpha.>1.5.degree. and the relationship d.times.tan .alpha..ltoreq.0.1 W are satisfied at the same time, where .alpha. is the visual angle of the ultraviolet light, d is the thickness of an oxygencontaining gas layer which is formed between the mask and the workpiece, and W is the width of a minimum unit of the surface areas of the workpiece to be activated. In this way entry of adverse light can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a surface activating process which is used to improve the surface characteristic.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among liquid crystal display devices there is, on the hand, a liquid crystal display devices of the transmission type, which is formed of a liquid crystal panel, a driver to control the latter, and a back light. On the other hand, there is a liquid crystal display of the reflection type which does not use back light, but internal lighting.
A liquid crystal cell conventionally consists of two substrates. On one of these substrates, a driver system for triggering the liquid crystals, such as a thin-film transistor, and electrodes for triggering the liquid crystals, as well as an alignment layer for alignment of liquid crystals to a certain direction, are formed. A light screening film which is called a black matrix is formed on the other of these substrates. In a color liquid crystal cell, a color filter and the above described alignment layer are formed.
The alignment layer is produced by subjecting one surface of a thin film, such as polyimide resin or the like, to a treatment which is called rubbing, and by providing it with fine grooves (scratches) in a certain direction; this is intended to align the molecules of the liquid crystal along these fine grooves in a certain direction.
In a liquid crystal cell, the picture contrast changes according to the angle of view field The angular range in which advantageous contrast is obtained is called the angle of view field of the liquid crystal cell. The greater this angle of view field, the more visible and better the liquid crystal cell becomes. Therefore, there is the important technical object of how a large visual angle is obtained.
In a known process, a pre-tilt angle of the molecules of the liquid crystals is controlled. Here, the term "pre-tilt angle" is defined as an angle for which the molecules of the liquid crystals with reference to the surface of the alignment layer rise with a certain angle when they come into contact with the alignment layer. In the process, the alignment layer is irradiated through a mask with ultraviolet light, and thus, the characteristic of the alignment layer is activated. This technique of controlling the pre-tilt angle is known, for example, from Japanese patent disclosure document HEI 6-222366 and Japanese patent disclosure document HEI 6-281937.
Here, a liquid crystal cell with a wide the angle of view field is produced using the phenomenon that the pre-tilt angle of the areas irradiated with the ultraviolet light decreases and using the measure by which, within this same substrate, areas with different pre-tilt angles are arranged in mixed fashion.
The phenomenon that the pre-tilt angle is changed by irradiation with ultraviolet light is presumably caused by the fact that the surface of the alignment layer is oxidized by the ultraviolet light and that the polarity of the alignment layer changes. To activate the above described alignment layer it is necessary to place the alignment layer within a gas atmosphere which contains oxygen when it is irradiated with ultraviolet light. This means that, in irradiation of the alignment layer with ultraviolet light through the mask, the mask and the surface of the alignment layer (substrate surface) are held at a distance from one another and a gas layer (air) which contains oxygen is formed between the mask and alignment layer.
FIG. 8 is a schematic of the known process for activating the characteristic of the alignment layer by irradiation with ultraviolet light in the above described manner.
On mask MK, a mask pattern MP is formed which partially screens the ultraviolet light. On the substrate 101, the above described thin-film transistor, the above described electrodes for triggering of the liquid crystals and the like, which are not shown in the drawing, are formed and on which alignment layer 102 is formed.
To improve the characteristic of alignment layer 102, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the mask MK, on which the mask pattern MP is formed, is positioned at a distance from the substrate 101 on which alignment the layer 102 is formed, and the mask MK is irradiated with ultraviolet light from above. In this way, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the characteristic of alignment layer 102 is partially activated and the pre-tilt angle of the areas irradiated with the ultraviolet light changes.
To activate the characteristic of the above described alignment layer, ultraviolet light with wavelengths of less than or equal to 300 nm (especially from 200 nm to 300 nm) can be used. A mercury lamp of the long arc type is known as a light source which emits light in this wavelength range. The reason for this is that the distance between the discharge electrodes is great, i.e., it is a few dozen cm to a few hundred cm, that the surface of the emission part is large, and that therefore strong ultraviolet light is easily obtained.
As was described above, a mercury lamp of the long arc type is known as a lamp which is used to activate the characteristic of the alignment layer or the like which is formed on the substrate. In the following, the substrate is called a workpiece. The ultraviolet light from a lamp of this type is, however, scattered light.
If irradiation is performed with ultraviolet light in the state in which the mask and the workpiece surface are separated from one another, as was described above, the component of the light which is obliquely incident on the mask enters the interior of the light screening area of the mask. As a result thereof, areas which are not actually to be activated are irradiated with ultraviolet light and activation of undesired areas is effected. If, for example, in the above described FIG. 8, scattered light is used, ultraviolet light which is obliquely incident enters the areas which are not to be irradiated with ultraviolet light; this causes a change of the pre-tilt angle of the areas in which a change of the pre-tilt angle is actually not wanted.
If, on the other hand, the distance between the mask and the workpiece surface is reduced, or if the two are brought into contact with one another in order to prevent the above described entry of the oblique light, the disadvantage arises that, as a result of the lack of a sufficient amount of oxygen for the activating reaction, sufficient activation cannot be achieved.
To prevent the aforementioned activation of the undesired areas, therefore, it is necessary to irradiate the mask as well as the workpiece with parallel light using an optical system.
If a lamp is used with an arc length such as in a mercury lamp of the long arc type or the like, using a lens with a high degree of parallelism of the central light beam, the degree of parallelism of the light emitted from the middle area of the lamp can be increased. The light which is emitted from the end of the lamp is, however, obliquely incident on the workpiece, this angle being designated the visual angle. The visual angle is defined as a half angle with consideration of a light source. As a result thereof, advantageous parallel light is not obtained and the oblique light enters.
Furthermore, a lamp with a large arc length has a large discharge surface. When an integrator lens or the like is used, it is necessary to enlarge this integrator lens. This leads to the disadvantage of resultant higher costs. In this case, the "are length" is equivalent to the distance between the electrodes of the lamp.
If, on the other hand, a lamp is used with a short arc length, such as a super high pressure mercury lamp or the like, the degree of parallelism of the light can be increased and the visual angle can be decreased. If the visual angle is extremely decreased, light diffraction phaenomenon occurs more. As a result, the exposure of the screened parts increases due to the diffracted light.
Furthermore, a lamp with a short arc length is constructed such that the light with a so-called i-line (365 nm), an h-line (405 nm) and a g-line (436 nm) is emitted with high efficiency. Radiation of the above described ultraviolet light with wavelengths of less than or equal to 300 nm is low in this case. In a lamp with a low arc length (discharge lamp of the short arc type), therefore, in the wavelength range which is necessary for activating the surface of the alignment layer, a irradiance in a sufficient amount cannot be obtained. In addition, when used as a surface activation lamp, it is considered disadvantageous that the duration of irradiation becomes long.

Surface activating process, and device and lamp for performing said process


A carrier tray assembly is provided for compactly supporting a plurality of individual items, such as packaged food products. The carrier tray assembly has an inverted T-shaped configuration and a handle and also includes a member for releasably securing a plurality of these individual items together and directly or indirectly to the carrier tray. A blank is also provided which forms the carrier tray upon assembly.

This invention generally relates to a carrier tray which compactly supports a plurality of individual items. The invention also generally relates to a blank for forming such a carrier tray. More particularly, the invention embodies a carrier tray which is generally T-shaped so as to provide opposing shelf portions extending in opposite directions from a spine panel. A plurality of items such as food packages can be supported upon opposite sides of the spine panel in conjunction with securement means in order to provide a compact and easy-to-carry bundle of items. The carrier tray only minimally obscures from view the items which are thereby supported by the carrier tray.
Many consumer items are packaged in individual cartons which have an overall generally rectilinear shape. At times, a consumer may wish to purchase more than one of these packaged items at the same time. On some occasions, the manufacturer of the item will wish to offer a discount for purchasing same in multiple quantities. Both objectives are addressed by packaging approaches that simply provide a larger volume of items in a single package in order to thereby reap the benefits of economies of scale for both the seller and the purchaser. This larger volume approach, however, is not particularly satisfactory in instances where the item sought to be marketed in a larger quantity arrangement is not conveniently scaled up by simply increasing the volume in a package.
In some instances, simply providing a package of larger volume in order to scale up the product being sold can be undesirable. For example, this necessitates the manufacturing of differently sized packages, thereby increasing overall costs and causing inventory complications. In other instances, the particular item being marketed is in effect defined by a given size consideration. One example in this regard is when the item is a packaged meal for an individual. A more specific example is a pre-packaged meal which is intended to be transported as a unit such as from home to school or work. For these types of products, economies of scale can be realized only by further packaging the individual items or products in a way that each meal, for example, remains individually packaged, but a plurality of them are sold as a unit.
Accordingly, it is at times desirable to bundle together multiple items for sale as a unit, whether those items are intended for a single use application such as a meal or whether the bundling is done in order to avoid having to produce a large-sized version of a particular product. A typical approach for achieving this bundling can be to put up a package which is in form of a carton that contains a plurality of these items.
The present invention eliminates certain disadvantages of this traditional cartoning approach. It uses much less material than does the traditional carton. It avoids the situation where graphics and other informational and promotional information is hidden from view by being within an outer carton. It minimizes the need, if any, to provide product identifiers on an outer carton. The approach in accordance with the present invention also reduces inventory requirements by eliminating outer cartons which must be specifically sized in order to accommodate properly the individual items or packages to be bundled by the carton.
In accordance with the present invention, a carrier tray and blank from which the carrier tray is formed have been found to successfully address these shortcomings of traditional multiple-package cartoning while also avoiding certain difficulties which can arise with certain individual item packages such as damage to the packaging during transport handling and stacking and during pick up and carrying by the consumer.
In summary, the present invention takes the form of a carrier tray which compactly supports a plurality of individual items, such as packaged meals and the like, the carrier tray having a generally vertically oriented spine panel, a generally horizontally oriented bottom panel, one or more members or features for releasably securing a plurality of the individual items to the spine panel, and a handle member which projects beyond the bundled individual items during carrying. The blank for forming the carrier tray incorporates a plurality of panels of selected sizing and orientation which, when folded, define such a carrier tray.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide an improved carrier tray and blank from which the carrier tray is formed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved carrier tray and blank which conserves material when compared with traditional cartoning approaches.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved carrier tray and blank for bundling a plurality of packaged items in a form having a carrying handle.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved carrier tray and blank for bundling and supporting a plurality of packaged items having windows and which minimizes the likelihood of damage to the windows while picking up and carrying the package.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved carrier tray and blank therefor which features enhanced visibility of individual items which are bundled.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved carrier tray and blank which provides for substantially flat and secure stacking of bundles of packaged items.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bundling approach which minimizes the extent of printing or other product identifying information on the bundling device.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved carrier tray and blank for forming same which can be used with bundles of packages of different sizes which are generally close in size and shape.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from and clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description.


The present invention is a pre-oriented, non-stretched polyester fiber spun with spooling speeds of at least 3,000 m/min., wherein the polyester is a copolymer comprised essentially of ethylene terephthalate units and up to 10 weight % of other dicarboxylic acids or other diols, and carboxy phosphonic acid units of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R is selected from C.sub.1-10 -alkylene, C.sub.1-10 -cycloalkylene or C.sub.6-10 -arylene, in a quantity corresponding to 30 to 500 ppm phosphorus, in relation to polyester. The invention also comprises a process for the production of this fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pre-oriented, non-stretched polyester fiber (POY fiber), spun at spooling speeds of at least 3,000 m/min., which is well-suited for processing by means of stretch texturing at speeds of over 500 m/min., as well as a process for the production of the same.
2. Summary of the Related Art
The development of a process for the production of POY polyester fibers, which can be stretch-textured at speeds of over 500 m/min., is of great economic interest, since at these speeds the investment expended per kg of POY fibers is reduced. Furthermore, the speed of fiber production can be significantly increased. A non-modified polyethylene terephthalate with a breaking elongation of approximately 110 to 125% corresponding to a spooling speed of approximately 3200 to 3400 m/min. is necessary for the stretch texturing at approximately 500 m/min. If the spooling speed is increased, the increased orientation of the fibers reduces elongation, which, in turn, compels a reduction of the stretch texturing speed. Ultimately, texturing becomes impossible since the fiber capillaries break under the torsion stressing.
An increase in the stretch texturing speed may be accomplished by the addition of up to 10 meq/kg of certain chain-branching substances, such as pentaerythrite, trimethylolpropane, mellitic acid or timer acid (GB patent number 1 553 020), trimesinic acid or trimellitic acid (European patent number EP 0 263 603), or tetraethyl silicate (U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,740), during the production of polyester. The use of the polyhydroxy compounds limits the texturing speed to less than 200 m/min. The addition of polycarboxylic acids or tetraethyl silicate produces fiber of varying quality due to the formation of volatile ethylene glycol esters or decomposition through reaction water, respectively. All of these chain-branching additives are to some degree toxic. Decreased texturing speed and increased fluctuations in fiber quality and toxicity are some of the disadvantages of the chain branching substances of the prior art.
In the production of polyester, it is generally known to add carboxy phosphonic acid compounds of the formula: ##STR2## after the reesterification process but prior to polycondensation for the complexing to and inactivation of the reesterification catalyst. U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,018, European patent, EP 0 699 700 A, and Japanese patent JP 49-125 494 A describe compounds where R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 are alkyl groups and U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,944 describes compounds where R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 are --H or alkyl groups. In no example are R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 all hydrogen. None of these references describes the production of POY fibers or stretch texturing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,208 describes the addition, at the beginning of the esterification or reesterification, of 500 to 50,000 ppm of phosphorus of the compound above, wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are hydrocarbon radical or --H. Subsequent polycondensation followed by conventional methods of spinning and stretching produces polyester fibers with improved flame resistance. Examples with compounds in which R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are hydrogen are absent in these references. Also, neither stretch texturing speeds of over 500 m/min. nor the production of POY fibers suited to stretch texturing is disclosed.


An adjustable vest that permits the wearer to carry an oxygen bottle and other necessary attachments while having free use of both hands. An expandable bottle pouch on the back of the vest has an adjustable strap and buckle and closure flap that retain the bottle. A pocket on the pouch holds a gas metering device. Plastic loops retain a hose on the pouch and on the shoulder of the wearer. Multiple snap hooks connect the front and back of the vest to the wearer's belt loops.

People having lung problems often require supplemental oxygen. Conventionally, if these people want mobility while using supplemental oxygen, they must either pull a cart with an attached bottle or carry the bottle in a shoulder sling or a case carried in the hand. In each case, the person loses mobility of either one arm or one hand.
Oxygen containers which may be carried or towed typically contain between 164 and 415 liters (5 and 14 cubic feet) of oxygen. The typical flow rates can be controlled between 0.5 and 6 liters/min. The oxygen can be contained as a gas or liquid.


Where there are potentially two or more applications installed on a smart card, with each application having a stored application identifier (AID), a desired application may be selected by specifying a desired application in terms of multiple parameters, retrieving multiple parameters from a stored AID for an application on the smart card, and comparing the specified multiple parameters with the retrieved multiple parameters to determine whether there is a match.

Most people now have a collection of small plastic cards, representing various credit cards, store cards, identity cards, membership cards, and so on. Information about the card and its owner, such as account details and so on, is normally printed or embossed on the card, and may also be stored in some form of magnetic strip. Note that such cards are simply passive storage devices, and the information that they contain is fixed at card creation time.
In recent years, smart cards have also proliferated. These are similar in scale to traditional credit cards, but incorporate within their plastic cases a microelectronic memory and also (optionally) an embedded processor. It will be appreciated that the computational resources available within a smart card are extremely limited compared to those of a desktop workstation, or even a laptop or handheld device. One especially popular form of smart card is known as a Java Card. This is based on the Java platform developed by Sun Microsystems ("Java" and "Java Card" are trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc). In such devices, a Java virtual machine (VM) is provided within the smart card to allow the execution of Java applets or applications. Particular advantages of being able to use the Java environment for smart card applications are the inherent security features of the Java environment, plus the ready availability of software development packages for the Java programming language. It is estimated that by the end of 2002 over 200 million Java cards had been shipped. More information about the Java Card smart card platform is available from the page: /products/javacard/ at the web site: http://java.sun.com and from the site: http://www.javacardforum.org/.
An Application Programming Interface (API) is defined for the Java Card platform. Applications written in the Java programming language invoke this API to access the Java Card run-time environment (JRE) and any native services. The Java Card API allows application portability, in that the same application can run on any smart card that supports the API. The Java Card API is compatible with international standards, in particular the ISO/IEC 7816 family of standards.
Note that programs that run on smart cards may be referred to as either an application or as an applet. It will be appreciated that there is a clear distinction between a Java applet and a Java application in a desktop environment, in particular the absence of a main class from the former. However, this distinction does not apply in the smart card environment. Thus applets for use on a Java card platform are not the same as applets that run on a web browser. The term applet will generally be used herein to refer specifically to code, and the term application to refer to the higher level functionality provided by the applet code and associated data (unless the context requires otherwise).
The Java Card platform supports multiple applications on a single card. These may be separated by firewalls, in order to ensure that they do not interfere with one another. This is particularly of concern if the various applications are operated by different organizations, whose business relationships with the cardholder may be independent of one another.
FIG. 1 is a high-level schematic diagram illustrating the main architectural components in a typical smart card application. In particular, smart card 102 belonging to cardholder 101 interacts with a terminal 110 by exchanging an application protocol data unit (ADPU) 108. The format for the ADPU is defined by the International Standard ISO/IEC 7816-3.
Terminal 110 may be a handheld device, an adjunct to a desktop workstation, a dedicated card reader (analogous to an ATM) or any other suitable system. Furthermore, the communications between the smart card 102 and the terminal 110 may be by wired connection, such as some form of bus (e.g. USB), or by wireless link (e.g. radio or some other electromagnetic signal), depending on the particular devices concerned. In addition, the terminal 110 may be under the direct control of an operator 111 (such as for a handheld terminal), or alternatively terminal 110 may be automated (such as for an ATM).
Terminal 110 interacts with a back office 130 over any suitable form of network 120, such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and so on. Back office 130 may comprise multiple systems (not explicitly shown in FIG. 1), such as a web server or portal attached to network 120, perhaps with an application server and/or a database system behind. Note that the terminal 110 may be off-line until activated by a smart card 102, a card holder 101 or a terminal operator 111 to access a back office 130 over network 120.
In operation, the cardholder 101 typically places the card 102 into or adjacent to the terminal 110, thereby allowing the two to interact, e.g. to perform a debit operation from the card, in order to purchase some goods. This interaction will generally be referred to herein as a session, and typically involves the exchange of multiple messages between the smart card 102 and the terminal 110. A session can be regarded as comprising multiple transactions, where each transaction represents the completion of some portion of the overall session (e.g. a security authorization).
Associated with each applet on smart card 102 is an Application Identifier (AID). The AID is a byte string up to 16 bytes long, whose format is defined by International Standard ISO/IEC 7816-5. Thus according to this standard, the first 5 bytes of the AID represent the registered application provider identifier (RID) and have a value allocated by ISO or one of its member bodies. The RID generally indicates the merchant or other entity involved with operating the applet, hereinafter referred to as the RID operator. The RID operator is generally responsible for the back office program 130, and is depicted as application/RID operator 131 in FIG. 1. The last 11 bytes of the RID constitute the proprietary application identifier extension (PIX). The PIX is determined by the RID operator 131, and can be used to store a reference number or other information associated with the applet.
FIG. 1A illustrates the storage of the AID on a typical smart card 102. The AID bytes are stored in a byte array, which represents internal storage for a Java AID object 161. Applications can therefore access the AID by making appropriate calls to AID object 161, which in effect provides a wrapper for the underlying byte array.
International standard ISO/IEC 7816-4 defines a procedure to allow a terminal to locate a desired application on a smart card, and this is illustrated at a high level in the flowchart of FIG. 1B. The procedure starts when the smart card 102 is first inserted into the terminal 110. The terminal detects the insertion of the smart card (reference numeral 162), and in response to such detection activates the smart card (reference numerals 164, 172). This activation typically includes providing power to the smart card.
The terminal now sends a request using an application protocol data unit (ADPU) 108 to the smart card (reference numeral 166). The ADPU identifies the application to be used in this session in terms of its AID. The request from the terminal is received by the smart card (reference numeral 174), typically within an applet selector program that is running on the smart card 102 as part of a card executive layer. The applet selector is then responsible for locating and launching the application that matches the AID request from the terminal, i.e. the application that has the same AID as specified in the request (reference numerals 176 and 177). The smart card also returns the AID for the matching application back to the terminal 110 (reference numerals 179 and 180). (N.B. Reference numerals 179 and 180 are optional within the context of ISO/IEC 7816-4, although commonly implemented).
FIG. 1C describes a variation on the above approach (also in accordance with ISO/IEC 7816-4), in which the terminal 110 supplies the card with a truncated AID (known as a partial AID), for example the first ten bytes of an AID. In these circumstances, there may be multiple matches against the partial AID. For example, if two applets have AIDs that have the first ten bytes in common, and then differ only in the final six bytes of the AID, they will both match the same partial AID of length 10 bytes (or less). One reason for using a partial AID might be if the terminal 110 wants to identify all applets on the card having a particular RID.
The processing of FIG. 1C commences as just described for FIG. 1B, except that at reference numeral 166 the request from the terminal 110 to the smart card 102 comprises only a partial AID. Consequently, the smart card may identify multiple matching applications at reference numeral 176. The AIDs for these matching applications are then returned to the terminal 110 (reference numerals 179, 180), in order to allow the terminal (or user) to select a specific desired application from those matching the partial AID. Thus the terminal now sends a request to the smart card to launch an applet (reference numeral 182). This request specifies the particular applet to be launched on the smart card in terms of its complete AID (generally selected from the set of those received from the smart card at reference numeral 180). The smart card duly responds to this request by launching the applet selected by the terminal (reference numeral 190).
In fact, the skilled person will realize that although FIG. 1C represents an appropriate logical model for the use of partial AIDs, the actual implementation looks more like FIG. 1B (primarily for historical reasons). Thus current systems generally accommodate the matching and return of multiple matching AIDs by identifying only a single matching AID at a time. In particular, the applet having the AID that is first matched to the partial AID received from the terminal is launched, and the complete AID for this applet is returned to the terminal 110. The smart card then only supplies a next matching AID upon a subsequent specific request from the terminal. Nevertheless, it will be appreciated that multiple matching AIDs could be handled in other ways, such as by returning the complete set of multiple matching AIDs all at once in a single response to the terminal (as depicted in FIG. 1C).
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram representing the life cycle of a smart card, which in this particular implementation is a Java Card. This life cycle commences with the manufacture of the card, and the initial loading of the base operating system and the Java Card environment (reference numeral 210). Also at this stage, one or more applications may be preloaded (reference numeral 215). Generally, the base operating system and Java Card environment, and also potentially any preloaded applications, may be stored in ROM on the smart card 102 as part of the manufacturing process.
The card is now ready for issue to a cardholder (reference numeral 220), which typically involves an appropriate personalization process, as well as initialization of the Java environment, and starting the Java virtual machine on the card. The cardholder is thereafter able to use the card (reference numeral 230), such as in the manner illustrated schematically in FIG. 1. Note that if the card was originally issued without any preloaded applications, then the cardholder may have to load an application prior to making substantive use of the card. In practice however, this situation is rather uncommon, since usually there is at least one preloaded application in order to motivate issuance of the card in the first place.
During the operational lifetime of the card, further application programs may potentially be installed onto the card (reference numeral 235), for example if the cardholder signs up to new accounts or services. Conversely, applications may be removed from the card, perhaps because an account is closed.
The last operation shown in FIG. 2 is where the card is terminated (reference numeral 240). This may occur, for example, because the card has a built-in expiry date or is surrendered by the user (perhaps if the user is moving to a new card issuer, or the card is physically damaged).
Although the Java Card environment does support multiple applications from different RID operators, nevertheless, in practice, the installed applications on a large majority of issued cards come from and are run by a single RID operator. In other words, applications from one RID operator are typically found on one card, and applications from another RID operator on a different card. Consequently, relatively little attention has been paid to the business and technical problems associated with the provision and utilization of multi-vendor smart cards.

Method and apparatus for selecting a desired application on a smart card