A protector has a two-stage structure that includes a large-diameter portion and a small-diameter portion. The large-diameter portion includes a cylindrical first peripheral wall and a first front end wall. The small-diameter portion includes a cylindrical second peripheral wall connected to the first front end wall and a second front end wall connected to a front end portion of the second peripheral wall. Opening portions are not formed in the first and second peripheral walls. First opening portions, which are opened toward only first recessed portions and an inner surface of the first peripheral wall, are formed at the first front end wall. A second recessed portion and second opening portions, which are formed in the second recessed portion and are opened toward an inner surface of the second peripheral wall, are formed in the second front end wall.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas sensor including a protector protecting a detecting element, which is exposed to a gas to be detected, from water.
2. Description of the Related Art
A gas sensor, such as an oxygen sensor, an NOX sensor, or an HC sensor, which detects a specific gas contained in an exhaust gas of an automobile or the like, is known in the art. An oxygen sensor, which is a typical gas sensor, includes a detecting element that includes a bottomed cylindrical solid electrolyte body made of a ceramic such as zirconia. A pair of electrodes is formed on the surfaces of the solid electrolyte body, the solid electrolyte body being interposed between the electrodes. When the gas sensor is used, a detecting electrode formed on the outer surface of the solid electrolyte body is exposed to the exhaust gas and a reference electrode formed on the inner surface of the solid electrolyte body is exposed to a reference gas (commonly, air). The detecting element detects oxygen contained in the exhaust gas by an electromotive force generated between the electrodes according to a difference in partial pressure of oxygen between two atmospheres isolated from each other by the solid electrolyte body, that is, between the exhaust gas and the reference gas.
Since this detecting element is not activated when the temperature is low, a heater heating the detecting element is provided near the detecting element. A heat generating resistor made of high melting point metal, such as tungsten or molybdenum, embedded in an insulating ceramic base body such as alumina, has been widely used as the heater. Since the heater is inserted into a cylindrical hole of the detecting element in use, the heater is formed in the shape of a round bar and the heat generating resistor is embedded into the front end portion of the heater. Further, electrode pads, which are used to supply current to the heat generating resistor, are disposed so as to be exposed to the outer surface of a rear end portion of the heater. Connection terminals, which are used to supply the current, are bonded to the electrode pads (for example, see JP-A-11-230930).
Furthermore, if moisture (water droplets) contained in an exhaust gas adheres to the detecting element (where the moisture, namely, water droplets contained in an exhaust gas wets the detecting element) when the temperature of the detecting element is high, there is a concern that cracks or breakage may occur on the detecting element due to thermal shock. For this reason, a protector covering the detecting element is mounted on the gas sensor, so that the detecting element is protected from water. For example, in each of gas sensors disclosed in JP-A-11-230930 and JP-A-2008-96419, a protector has a double structure that includes an inner protector covering a detecting element and an outer protector covering the inner protector. Outer introduction holes through which an exhaust gas is introduced into the outer protector are formed in the outer protector, and inner introduction holes where the exhaust gas introduced into the outer protector is introduced into a gas detecting chamber to which the detecting element is exposed are formed in the inner protector.
JP-A-2008-175685 is an example of the above-described related art.
3. Problems to be Solved by the Invention
However, in the gas sensor disclosed in JP-A-11-230930 or JP-A-2008-96419, the protector has a double structure that includes the outer protector and the inner protector. For this reason, the structure of the protector is complicated, so that many man-hours for assembly are required. Moreover, the cost of the protector is also increased.


A method for correcting for the offset carrier frequency in a wireless modem is provided. The method further allows for the periodic correction of the offset of the carrier frequency. A Fine tuning method is implemented that uses fine tuning frequency increments to determine minimum and maximum edges of a received frequency from which to calculate an offset used to adjust the transmitted frequency or the receiver of the wireless modem. Power correction is performed for variances in received signal power by adjusting an output power relative to differences in received power compared to an expected received power value.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to frequency correction, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for performing automatic frequency offset detection and correction in broadband wireless access systems.
2. Discussion of Background
Point to multipoint fixed broadband wireless access systems over MMDS networks are known in broadcast situations. These networks operate over licensed bands including the MMDS band (2,150 to 2,162 MHz), the WCS band (2,305 to 2,360 MHz) and the ITFS/MMDS bands (2,500 to 2,686 MHz).
A known cable based broadband access system, which operates at a range of between 50 MHz and 864 MHz, but not in the MMDS, WCS, or ITFS/MMDS bands, is the data over cable specification system, which is specified in the data over cable system interface specifications (DOCSIS). An overview of a cable based DOCSIS system is depicted in FIG. 1. A CMTS 10 communicates with a wide area network 20, such as the Internet. The CMTS 10 can transmit signals from the wide area network 20 along a cable network 30 through cable modems 40 to CPE 50 (Customer Premise Equipment—intended throughout this document to include a computer and/or all of the equipment at the customer site, such as a LAN—Local Area Network). CPE 50 messages can be transmitted to the wide area network 20 through the cable modem 40 along the cable network 30 to the CMTS 10.
In point to multipoint broadband access systems one central end-point, e.g. the head-end, communicates through a bi-directional link or links with multiple end-points, e.g. the nodes. The number of nodes in communication varies in time and can be none, one or two or more at any specific time.
The link(s) between the head-end and the nodes are combined in one or more channels. The signal path from the central end-point to the nodes is referred to as downstream, while the signal path from the nodes to the central end-point is referred to as upstream.
A single upstream channel can be used to deliver information from a node to the head-end, and a downstream channel from the head-end to a node or a group of nodes. If a single upstream channel is used for communication from the nodes(s) to the central point, then only one end-point can sends information on the single upstream channel at any one time.
Determining and maintaining accurate frequencies for downstream reception and upstream transmission is important for successful system operation. One way to determine and maintain accurate frequencies is to use sensitive but expensive circuit elements in the transceiver, or receiver and transmitter. The use of sensitive component will improve the frequency accuracy of the modem but will also lead to an expensive modem, making it difficult to sell the device at a reasonable price to the consumer.
In broadband access systems a very important time for a modem to be accurately detect and calibrate frequencies is when it wants to initiate communication with a cable modem termination system (CMTS) and therefore needs to register and be able to operate according to the appropriate parameters of the broadband wireless access system. It is during the registration procedure that modem needs to accurately determine the downstream and upstream frequencies in order to accurately transmit and receive during its communication period.
Therefore there exists a need for a modem that can accurately lock onto and maintain the downstream frequency in order to receive a reliable downstream data.
There also exists a need for a modem that can accurately lock onto and maintain the upstream frequency in order to transmit in the exact frequency without disturbing neighboring upstream channels.
However, it is further desired that creating a modem that can accurately lock onto and maintain both the downstream and upstream frequencies while at the same time reducing the need to use expensive components.
Another frequent problem in broadband wireless access systems occurs due to line of sight operation. The problem is very short duration interruptions in the in the physical transmission path between the wireless hub and the wireless modems is regarding very fast interruptions. The wireless modem needs to be able to make a fast reaction in order not to have data loss in its transmissions after these situations.
Therefore, it is desired that modem have the capability to compensate for short duration interruptions in the transmission path.

Offset carrier frequency correction in a two-way broadband wireless access system


A method and apparatus to provide appropriate coupling between resonators in an HTS microstrip filter are disclosed. Primary and secondary couplings between a pair of resonators are utilized. With a given spacing, the primary coupling is fixed, while the secondary coupling can have different magnitude. In addition, the secondary coupling can have the same phase or opposite phase as the primary coupling. With different combinations, large or small bandwidth filters can be made without very small or very large spacing between resonators. The same cross coupling layout configuration may be designed to achieve either positive or negative results.

Narrowband filters are particularly useful in the communications industry and particularly for wireless communications systems which utilize microwave signals. At times, wireless communications have two or more service providers operating on separate bands within the same geographical area. In such instances, it is essential that the signals from one provider do not interfere with the signals of the other provider(s). At the same time, the signal throughput within the allocated frequency range should have a very small loss.
Within a single provider's allocated frequency, it is desirable for the communication system 20 to be able to handle multiple signals. Several such systems are available, including frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), and broad-band CDMA (b-CDMA). Providers using the first two methods of multiple access need filters to divide their allocated frequencies in the multiple bands. Alternatively, CDMA operators might also gain an advantage from dividing the frequency range into bands. In such cases, the narrower the bandwidth of the filter, the closer together one may place the channels. Thus, efforts have been previously made to construct very narrow bandpass filters, preferably with a fractional-band width of less than 0.05%.
An additional consideration for electrical signal filters is overall size. For example, with the development of wireless communication technology, the cell size (e.g., the area within which a single base station operates) will get much smaller—perhaps covering only a block or even a building. As a result, base station providers will need to buy or lease space for the stations. Since each station requires many separate filters, the size of the filter becomes increasingly important in such an environment. It is, therefore, desirable to minimize filter size while realizing a filter with very narrow fractional-bandwidth and high quality factor Q.
Microstrip filters have the advantages of small size and low manufacturing costs. However, microstrip filters constructed of conventional metals suffer a much higher loss than other technologies (e.g., such as waveguide, dielectric resonator, combline, etc.), and especially in very narrow bandwidth filters. With high-temperature superconductive ("HTS") thin film technology, microstrip filters using HTS materials can achieve extremely low loss and superior performance. Therefore, use of HTS microstrip filters is particularly useful for very-narrow band filters.
Using microstrip technology for narrow bandpass filter design, the spacing between the resonators usually determines the amount of coupling between the resonators. As the spacing increases, the coupling decreases and, therefore, the bandwidth becomes narrower. For very-narrow band filters, the spacing between resonators can be quite substantial. Techniques have been developed in the prior art to reduce the required spacing. For example, in a lumped element type resonator environment (see Zhang, et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/706,974, which issued on Aug. 20, 2002 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,394, and Ye, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/699,783, which issued on Oct. 14, 2008 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,437,187); and in a distributed element type resonator environment (see Tsuzuki, et. al., U.S. Provisional Application 60/298,339), all assigned to the assignee of the current invention. These techniques have been shown to be successful in effectively reducing the spacing between resonators for very-narrow band filters in the respective environments. However, the techniques may not be effective (using the same structure), when the required bandwidth of the filter becomes large. Where a broader bandwidth is desired, closer spacing between resonators is required. In some cases, the spacing may become too small from manufacturability point of view, i.e., lithography, sensitivity, yield, etc.
It is also known that to reach higher filter rejection performance while maintaining a minimal number of resonators, couplings between non-adjacent resonators can be applied to realize transmission zeros. For example, see MICROSTRIP CROSS-COUPLING CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD, filed Apr. 2, 1999, and receiving Ser. No. 09/285,350, which issued on Mar. 4, 2003 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,350, which application is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application. Such application being incorporated herein and made a part hereof by reference. These transmission zeros can be placed at strategic locations to achieve optimal filter performance. Besides actual cross coupling value, the precise transmission zero location depends an the phase of these crass couplings, i.e., whether it is positive cross coupling or negative cross coupling. Therefore, crass coupling can be utilized to improve filter performance.
Therefore, there exists a need for a very-narrow bandwidth filter having the convenient fabrication advantage of microstrip filters while achieving, in a small filter, the appropriate coupling. Further, the appropriate coupling should take advantage of cross-coupling between non-adjacent resonators to introduce transmission zeros which provide an optimized transmission response of the filter.

Microstrip filter including resonators having ends at different coupling distances


A method for manufacturing a nonvolatile memory device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may include providing a substrate comprising a cell region and a peripheral region, wherein the peripheral region comprises an NMOS region and a PMOS region; performing a well forming ion implantation over the substrate in the cell region and the NMOS region; performing a threshold voltage adjusting ion implantation over a surface of the substrate in the cell region and the NMOS region; forming a gate pattern comprising a floating gate electrode in the cell region and the peripheral region; and performing a junction ion implantation over a surface of the cell region, wherein the floating gate electrode may have P-type conductivity.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a nonvolatile memory device.
2. Background Art
As a NAND flash device has become highly integrated in recent years, an area or a linewidth of a floating gate (FG) has decreased. Due to the decrease in the area of the FG, problems such as a decrease in program speed, a decrease in capability of storing data, and thus deterioration of reliability occur. Moreover, interference by coupling of adjacent cells is also increased.

Method for manufacturing a nonvolatile memory device


When the combination of the image signal and contents each having various aspect ratios is displayed on the display with various aspect ratios, an image display device that generates a proper display screen with simple operation or automatically is provided. The image display device of the present invention has a display screen expanding part for expanding a display screen of input image signal in at least one direction of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction based on an expansion ratio; a selecting part for automatically setting the above-mentioned expansion ratio of the above-mentioned display screen expanding part in at least one direction of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction based on information on an aspect ratio of a display, information on an aspect ratio of an image signal, and information on an aspect ratio of contents as an effective section of the above-mentioned image signal; and the above-mentioned display for displaying the display screen of the above-mentioned image signal.

Recently, an image signal containing contents having various aspect ratios and having various aspect ratios has been broadcast on television and has been recorded in a recording medium for sale or rental. When the user watches and listens these contents with an image display device with various aspect ratios, the image display device is required to display a proper display screen by expanding the display screen of the image signal in the horizontal and vertical directions.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an image display device of a first conventional example. FIG. 10 shows an analyzing circuit 1, an image decoding circuit 2, a horizontal expanding circuit 3, a vertical expanding circuit 4, a display 5 and an expansion ratio setting circuit 13. The user sets proper horizontal expansion ratio and vertical expansion ratio in the expansion ratio setting circuit according to contents through an operation panel (not shown). The analyzing circuit 1 picks up only desired data from an input image stream. The image decoding circuit 2 decodes the image data picked up in the analyzing circuit 1 into an image signal. The horizontal expanding circuit 3 expands the image signal in the horizontal direction at the horizontal expansion ratio set by the user. The vertical expanding circuit 4 expands the image signal in the vertical direction at the vertical expansion ratio set by the user. The display 5 displays the image signal expanded at each of the horizontal expansion ratio and the vertical expansion ratio. For example, the user determines setting values of the horizontal expansion ratio and the vertical expansion ratio by trial and error so as to remove black zones produced at top and bottom sides or its left and right sides of the screen due to the difference among the aspect ratios of the display, image signal and contents.
Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 5-323944 discloses an image display device of a second conventional example. The image display device of the second conventional example intends to display an undistorted image at a correct pixel aspect ratio when image data having a different pixel aspect ratio from the pixel aspect ratio of the display of the image display device is displayed. Based on information on the pixel aspect ratio added to the image data, the image display device of the second conventional example converts the horizontal and vertical image display size by using the size converting means and displays the converted image. Here, the pixel aspect ratio means a ratio of height to width for each pixel represented by digital instead of a ratio of height to width of the whole screen.
However, it is extremely bothersome for the user to set the aspect ratio of the display screen of the image display device for each contents by trial and error. The user frequently forgets to set the aspect ratio or sets an incorrect aspect ratio, resulting in viewing a screen displayed at an improper aspect ratio.
More recently, various aspect ratios have appeared in each of the display, image signal and contents. For example, the aspect ratios of vertical to horizontal size for display are 1:1.33 (=3:4) and 1:1.77 (9:16), the aspect ratios of vertical to horizontal size for image signal are 1:1.33 (=3:4) and 1:1.77 (9:16), and the aspect ratios of vertical to horizontal size for contents are typically 1:1.33 (=3:4), 1:1.66 (European vista) and 1:2.35 (cinema scope). Depending on combination of these aspect ratios, black zones with various widths appear at the top and bottom sides or the left and right sides of the display screen.
When the aspect ratios of the image data, contents and display are the same, the image reproducing device of the second conventional example displays the image data without generating black zones at the top and bottom sides or the left and right sides of the display screen. When the requirement is not satisfied, however, black zones occur at the top and bottom sides or the left and right sides of the display screen. The image reproducing device of the second conventional example lacks the concept of displaying the screen based on the contents aspect ratio.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image display device and an image display method that generate a proper display screen, with a simple operation or automatically, when a combination of an image signal and contents each having various aspect ratios is displayed on a display with various aspect ratios.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image display device and an image display method that generate a display screen that does not cause distortion due to the difference between the image signal aspect ratio and the display aspect ratio with simple operation or automatically without generating black zones at its top and bottom sides or its left and right sides in most cases when a combination of an image signal and contents each having various aspect ratios is displayed on a display with various aspect ratios.

Video display apparatus and video display method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A biodegradable packaging for storing eggs is provided and includes a package manufactured from the plastic transformation of a biodegradable composition, including at least one source of gelatinized starch, at least one source of powder starch and at least one natural fiber. The embodiments present a new design, improved ergonomics of handhold, high stacking capacity, improved mechanical resistance and moisture resistance over other biodegradable packages, besides high thermal insulation. After consumption of the eggs initially packaged in its interior, the embodiments may be reused as a plant's vase, as a complement to animal feed or as an organic compound.

The state of the art teaches a wide variety of packages intended to condition fragile and brittle foodstuffs, such as eggs. However, all packaging available in the consumer market present relevant problems that have not yet been adequately solved.
Firstly, problems related to the raw materials used in manufacturing such packages are common. Plastic materials commonly used such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are difficult to recycle and they are not easily biodegradable. As biodegradable material is understood to be the one capable of being degraded through the action of microorganisms or other biological means. Other materials, such as recycled cardboard, offer low mechanical resistance, low moisture resistance, low thermal insulation, low quality finishing and high toxicity since they contain high concentration of heavy metals and favor the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms, such as fecal coliforms. Frequently, pigments, inks and toxic dyes are used in the manufacture of packages, representing risks to public health.
Biodegradable packages are also described in the state of the art, as may be seen in patent applications PI 0200787-8 and PI 0400842-1. In these documents, compositions based on manioc starch, hereinafter referred to as manioc starch, binding agents, solvents and natural dyes are presented. However, such compositions are poorly mechanically resistant and exhibit low moisture resistance.
Another problem faced by the state of the art consists in inadequate ergonomics of the existing packaging on the market. Such packages are usually fully rectangular, designed with no concern regarding ergonomics optimization. Thus, referred packages present impaired handholds, favoring the risk of fallings and eventual breaking of stored eggs.
Examples of non-ergonomic rectangular packages are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,258,234, and 9,027,780 and in the patent application of utility model MU 8900957-6.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,258,234 presents a conditioning package for eggs formed by transparent base and lid, both rectangular and connected with each other by a hinged portion. Disadvantageously, the referred package has been designed without any concern regarding stacking or the ergonomics of the handhold.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,027,780 presents a package to eggs condition and other foods formed by a base and a lid, both rectangular and connected with each other by a hinged portion. Disadvantageously, the referred to package was designed without any concern regarding stacking or the ergonomics of the handhold.
Utility model patent application MU 8900957-6 teaches a conditioning eggs and other foods package formed by a base and lid, both rectangular and connected with each other by an articulated portion, sealed by ultrasound. Beyond the need of using additional equipment in its manufacturing, the package was designed without any concern regarding stacking or the ergonomics of the handhold.
As one can see, the state of the art would be favored by the introduction of an ergonomic biodegradable conditioning egg package with high stacking capacity, made from natural and abundant elements, presenting high mechanical resistance, being resistant to humidity and presenting high thermal insulation.

Biodegradable packaging for storing eggs


A summary change log indexed by inode number is disclosed. An indication is received that a file system object associated with a corresponding file system index node (inode) has been modified. A summary change record is stored for the corresponding inode, including by: locating or creating an entry for the inode in an inode translation file; storing data associated with the modification in a summary change record located within a summary change file at an offset indicated in the entry; and using the summary change record to perform a backup.

Certain backup solutions track modifications to files and for each modification stores a summary of the changes in one or more change logs. In one approach, change records are indexed by inode numbers. A bitmap may be used to keep track of which inode number that has been modified and has a record in the summary change log.
A summary file change log that uses an inode bitmap to keep track of summary change records works for inode numbers that have good locality (i.e., inode numbers associated with changes are not scattered throughout the inode number space) and when the inode numbers are less than 32-bits. However, modern file systems have started using truly 64-bit or 128-bit inode numbers that may or may not have locality. The bitmap file that would be required for a 64-bit inode number space, for example, would be of the size 2{circumflex over ( )}61, which would have to be read in its entirety to determine all the inodes that had been modified. This can be very time consuming at the time of backup. Further, the inode summary change log and inode bitmap log also may become quite large and inefficient in terms of disk space usage since the file system often ends up allocating one logical storage block for each inode number that has been modified.

Summary change log indexed by inode numbers


In some examples, a system uses ambient air from outside a controlled airflow environment to cool equipment within the controlled airflow environment. The system can include ductwork that seals the ambient air from air outside of the ductwork within the controlled airflow environment. The system can further include a passive heat exchanger connected to the equipment and extending into an interior of the ductwork to allow heat exchange between the equipment and the ambient air. The system can further include a fan to flow the ambient air through the ductwork, the fan being connectable to the equipment to allow the equipment to control the operation of the fan.

Controlled airflow environments, such as certain data centers, cellular towers, and the like, can be designed to house a large number of heat generating equipment, such as computer servers, network switches, and other computing devices. Excessive heat within such an environment can, for example, cause electronic components to not perform correctly, corrupt data on the electronic component, or damage the electronic component. In some cases, such environments can rely on air conditioners or other devices to circulate and cool air within the environment.

Fan controlled ambient air cooling of equipment in a controlled airflow environment

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


A diagnostic system for measuring temperature, pressure, CO2 concentration and H2O concentration in a fluid stream is described. The system may include one or more probes that sample the fluid stream spatially, temporally and over ranges of pressure and temperature. Laser light sources are directed down pitch optical cables, through a lens and to a mirror, where the light sources are reflected back, through the lens to catch optical cables. The light travels through the catch optical cables to detectors, which provide electrical signals to a processer. The processer utilizes the signals to calculate CO2 concentration based on the temperatures derived from H2O vapor concentration. A probe for sampling CO2 and H2O vapor concentrations is also disclosed. Various mechanical features interact together to ensure the pitch and catch optical cables are properly aligned with the lens during assembly and use.

The present subject matter relates to internal combustion engine diagnostics and more specifically to apparatuses and methods for determining the spatial and temporal nonuniformities of CO2 in a complex fluid stream. A complex fluid stream may contain concentrations of CO2 that vary with space, time and temperature.
Internal combustion engines typically suffer from the production of undesirable NOX emissions. Experience has revealed that more NOX emissions are formed at higher combustion temperatures and that NOX formation has a nonlinear dependence on temperature. More specifically, lowering the combustion temperature by small amounts can result in relatively large reductions in NOX formation and is favorable in that respect.
Exhaust-gas recirculation, EGR, is a known technology used to reduce automotive NOX emissions, and involves mixing some of the engine exhaust gas products with the intake air stream before it enters the combustion chamber. The exhaust products act as a diluent in the inlet air that reduces peak combustion temperature. Ideally, the air/exhaust mixture, or EGR fraction, is uniform across the various cylinders of a multi-cylinder engine. However, practically, the EGR fraction can vary from cylinder to cylinder and cycle to cycle due to various spatial and temporal nonuniformities; e.g., non-ideal mixing characteristics, intake-manifold restrictions and path length differences, and overlap of valve timing events with manifold resonating. The actual combustion chamber charge is affected by: external EGR, residual backflow caused by valve overlap, and residual exhaust remaining in the combustion chamber between the piston and the cylinder head. Such nonuniformities can cause one cylinder to reach a limit (e.g., incomplete combustion, etc.) earlier than the other cylinders, and can limit the performance of the other cylinders. Ultimately, the result is lost efficiency and increased engine emissions.
Application Ser. No. 14/051,788, entitled EGR DISTRIBUTION AND FLUCTUATION PROBE BASED ON CO2 MEASUREMENTS describes an apparatus and method of determining spatial and temporal nonuniformities of CO2 in an intake stream.
CO2 absorption spectra are affected by the temperature of the intake fluid stream itself. Since the backflow exhaust portion will be at a higher temperature than the external EGR, temperature correction is necessary to ensure CO2 measurement is not underestimated at higher temperatures. See FIG. 1-3 for an illustration of these known phenomena.
Water vapor concentration may be used to determine intake charge temperature in the regions of CO2 measurements for correction and more accurate measurements.
Jatana G S, Naik S V, Shaver G M, Lucht R P. "High-speed diode laser measurements of temperature and water vapor concentration in the intake manifold of a diesel engine." International Journal of Engine Research October 2014 vol. 15 no. 7 773-788 describes the use of a diode laser and absorption spectroscopy to determine the concentration of water vapor in an intake stream.
Jatana G S, Magee M, Fain D, Sameer V, Shaver G M, Lucht R P. "Simultaneous high-speed gas property measurements at the exhaust gas recirculation cooler exit and at the turbocharger inlet of a multicylinder diesel engine using diode-laser-absorption spectroscopy." Applied Optics, vol. 54, issue 5, p. 1220 describes the use of a diode laser and absorption spectroscopy to determine temperature, pressure and H2O vapor concentrations. See FIG. 3 for an example of known H2O vapor concentration spectra at two temperatures.
What is needed is an apparatus and method for measuring spatial and temporal CO2 concentrations in a complex fluid stream that includes relatively cool external EGR and relatively hot backflow exhaust species present.

Diagnostic system for measuring temperature, pressure, CO2 concentration and H2O concentration in a fluid stream


A semiconductor circuit of the invention comprises: a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells formed at intersections between a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines; a plurality of sense amplifiers each for amplifying data of the memory cell connected to a selected word line through the bit line; a plurality of data holding circuits each for holding data transferred from the plurality of sense amplifiers; and a plurality of selectors each for selecting a data holding circuit from a unit group including a predetermined number of the data holding circuits based on logic input data, and for externally connecting one end of the selected data holding circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory circuit in which a memory cell array having a plurality of memory cells is provided and a semiconductor device in which this memory circuit is provided, and particularly relates to a semiconductor device having a configuration in which one or more logic functions are performed using a plurality of look-up tables configured by the memory circuit.
2.Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in order to use LSI for various purposes, techniques for allowing users to freely change the configuration of the LSI has been achieved. For example, a programmable logic LSI in which a large number of logic circuits are arranged, logic functions and connection relations are set according to configuration data, and it is possible to implement various logic functions by changing the configuration data. Generally when implementing a logic function of the logic circuit, a look-up table (LUT) corresponding to the desired logic function is configured in a memory, and thereby an arbitrary logic function capable of obtaining an output corresponding to a logic input having a predetermined number of bits can be implemented.
Meanwhile, the circuit scale of the programmable logic LSI is increased, a problem arises that the reconfiguration takes long time, and therefore a configuration of the programmable logic LSI is proposed in which the reconfiguration can be completed in a short time by implementing a large scale memory such as DRAM (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10-285014). According to a configuration disclosed therein, the entire configuration data is written to an memory element using DRAM or the like, and the configuration data is transferred to a configuration memory in a logic element, so as to achieve high-speed reconfiguration.
However, according to the above conventional configuration, since the look-up table is configured in the configuration memory, data of the look-up table written to the memory element needs to be transferred to the configuration memory, and therefore rapid reconfiguration is hindered. Then, when the memory element is used as a work RAM, a special purpose bus for connecting to the logic element is required, which causes an increase in chip area. Further, since connection information is stored in the configuration memory as well as logic information, access efficiency of the logic function is reduced. In this manner, according to the conventional configuration, even when a changeable look-up table for implementing the logic function is configured in a large scale memory circuit such as DRAM, it is difficult to utilize the look-up table effectively.

Memory circuit and semiconductor device including the memory circuit, the memory circuit including selectors for selecting a data holding circuit


A combination bumper cover and stiffener for vehicles maintains a good appearance and maximizes the absorption of shocks when a pedestrian is hit by the front of a vehicle. The combination bumper cover and stiffener includes a stiffener and a bumper cover. The stiffener includes a first mounting surface which contacts a front end module carrier of a vehicle, an extension surface which extends from the first mounting surface towards a front of the vehicle, and a second mounting surface which is formed by bending an edge of the extension surface towards a rear of the vehicle. The bumper cover is mounted at one surface thereof to the second mounting surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a stiffener for vehicles that insures the safety of a pedestrian when the pedestrian is hit by a vehicle and, more particularly, to a combination bumper cover and stiffener for vehicles that is constructed so that one surface of a stiffener is united with a bumper cover of a vehicle to provide more efficient shock absorption in the event that a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, as shown in FIG. 1, a bumper cover 30 is mounted to a front end module carrier 10 of a vehicle, and provides a pleasing appearance when the hood 40 of the vehicle is opened, and absorbs shock in the case of a head-on collision.
Further, a stiffener 20 is mounted to the lower portion of the front end module carrier 10 to meet a legform test for a pedestrian. When a pedestrian is hit by the vehicle, the stiffener 20 absorbs shocks, and causes the pedestrian to land on the hood 40, thus minimizing shocks due to the collision.
However, the conventional stiffener 20 and bumper cover 30 for vehicles have separate functions, so that the stiffener 20 and the bumper cover 30 are separately installed at predetermined positions. Thus, when a pedestrian is hit by the vehicle, the pedestrian is bumped against the bumper cover 30 and thus is primarily subjected to shocks. After that, the stiffener 20 absorbs shocks. Therefore, the effect of the stiffener 20, which is installed to absorb shocks in the event of a collision, is decreased.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Combination bumper cover and stiffener for vehicles


A switching matrix and testing platform may enable controlled testing of various configurations of radio access networks (RANs) at various signal strengths. The switching matrix and testing platform may enable testing of the radio frequency (RF) signals from RANs or telecommunications devices for new and/or predetermined scenarios, such as using different configurations of the RANs at various signal strengths. During a scenario, various operations may be performed on the telecommunications device in communication with the tested RF signals, such as making voice calls, transmitting and receiving data (messages, videos, music, etc.). A performance of the telecommunications device and/or various telecommunication network elements may be analyzed in comparison to other telecommunications device and/or various telecommunication network elements.

The telecommunications industry is a dynamic industry where new products are continually being released and implemented for use by people and businesses in the marketplace. The new products often include customer-based products and/or infrastructure, such as back-end software and hardware to support the customer-based products, which when used together enable people (via computing devices) to communicate and exchange information/data at continually increased speeds, at increased quality levels, and/or at reduced costs.
A release of a new product can be a complicated endeavor when the new product includes new technology. Not only do traditional concerns exist about marketing, inventory, and sales of the new product, but other concerns exist that may include concerns about compatibility, operation, and future costs, among other concerns related to deployment of the new product that includes new technology.
Before a product (e.g., device, system, software, and/or hardware) is implemented in the market and/or made available for consumption, the product often undergoes rigorous testing to ensure that the product is fully functional/operational upon deployment. This testing can be time consuming and expensive, especially when the new product must be tested in a field environment. In some instances, duplication (repeatability) of a test is difficult or impossible when some aspects of a test are subject to uncontrollable variation based on changes of weather, movement of people, or acts of nature and/or the immediate environment.


A side entry heat recoverable article (2) pre-formed to enable a wire bundle (4) to be easily positioned and maintained within the article prior to recovery of the article. The wire bundle snaps into an enlarged section (6) between tab portions (10, 12). An adhesive (24) is disposed on the interior surface of the article for securing the tab portions together and for sealing the wire bundle. Upon recovery of the article, the wire bundle is thereby sealed within the heat recoverable article. A heat recoverable tube (2'), including adhesive, undergoes a post processing step to form the slit sleeve (2) that can be easily handled and installed.

Heat recoverable insulating or corrosion resistant sleeves have found widespread application in protection and sealing of wire bundles.
Heat recoverable articles are well known. They are articles the dimensional configuration of which may be made substantially to change when subjected to heat treatment. Usually these articles recover, on heating, towards an original shape from which they have previously been deformed but the term "heat recoverable," as used herein, also includes an article, which, on heating, adopts a new configuration, even if it has not been previously deformed.
Attempts have been made to provide sleeves which may be installed at any point along a line without requiring access to its end, as is typically required by tubes. The problem most commonly encountered in constructing and installing such a wrap around or side entry article is the provision of a closure device capable of withstanding the considerable shrinkage forces exerted during recovery, and yet simple enough to be manufactured and used in a practical manner. Typical wrap around articles are also difficult to handle and install, tending to unwrap around the wire bundle while closure is effected, taking considerable time and skill. Examples of wrap around type heat recoverable articles can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,900,596; 4,735,836; 4,731,271; 4,699,821; 4,560,828; 4,518,448; 4,442,155; 4,280,258; 3,959,052 and 3,770,556; Great Britain Patent Application No. 2 043 729 A and German Patent Application 40 32 376 A1 which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
There is a need for a side entry heat recoverable article which is economical, easy to manufacture, and easy and quick to install.

Side entry device for sealing wire bundles


Optical characteristic measuring systems and methods such as for determining the color or other optical characteristics of teeth are disclosed. Perimeter receiver fiber optics are spaced apart from a source fiber optic and receive light from the surface of the object/tooth being measured. Light from the perimeter fiber optics pass to a variety of filters. The system utilizes the perimeter receiver fiber optics to determine information regarding the height and angle of the probe with respect to the object/tooth being measured. Under processor control, the optical characteristics measurement may be made at a predetermined height and angle. Various color spectral photometer arrangements are disclosed. Translucency, fluorescence, gloss and/or surface texture data also may be obtained. Audio feedback may be provided to guide operator use of the system. The probe may have a removable or shielded tip for contamination prevention. A method of producing dental prostheses based on measured data also is disclosed. Measured data also may be stored and/or organized as part of a patient data base.

A need has been recognized for devices and methods of measuring the color or other optical characteristics of teeth and other objects in the field of dentistry. Various color measuring devices such as spectrophotometers and colorimeters are known in the art. To understand the limitations of such conventional devices, it is helpful to understand certain principles relating to color. Without being bound by theory, Applicants provide the following discussion. In the discussion herein, reference is made to an "object," "material," "surface," etc., and it should be understood that in general such discussion may include teeth as the "object," "material," "surface," etc.
The color of an object determines the manner in which light is reflected from the object. When light is incident upon an object, the reflected light will vary in intensity and wavelength dependent upon the color of the object. Thus, a red object will reflect red light with a greater intensity than a blue or a green object, and correspondingly a green object will reflect green light with a greater intensity than a red or blue object.
The optical properties of an object are also affected by the manner in which light is reflected from the surface. Glossy objects, those that reflect light specularly such as mirrors or other highly polished surfaces, reflect light differently than diffuse objects or those that reflect light in all directions, such as the reflection from a rough or otherwise non-polished surface. Although both objects may have the same color and exhibit the same reflectance or absorption optical spectral responses, their appearances differ because of the manner in which they reflect light.
Additionally, many objects may be translucent or have semi-translucent surfaces or thin layers covering their surfaces. Examples of such materials are teeth, which have a complicated structure consisting of an outer enamel layer and an inner dentin layer. The outer enamel layer is semitranslucent. The inner layers are also translucent to a greater or lesser degree. Such materials and objects also appear different from objects that are opaque, even though they may be the same color because of the manner in which they can propagate light in the translucent layer and emit the light ray displaced from its point of entry.
One method of quantifying the color of an object is to illuminate it with broad band spectrum or "white" light, and measure the spectral properties of the reflected light over the entire visible spectrum and compare the reflected spectrum with the incident light spectrum. Such instruments typically require a broad band spectrophotometer, which generally are expensive, bulky and relatively cumbersome to operate, thereby limiting the practical application of such instruments.
For certain applications, the broad band data provided by a spectrophotometer is unnecessary. For such applications, devices have been produced or proposed that quantify color in terms of a numerical value or relatively small set of values representative of the color of the object.
It is known that the color of an object can be represented by three values. For example, the color of an object can be represented by red, green and blue values, an intensity value and color difference values, by a CIE value, or by what are known as "tristimulus values" or numerous other orthogonal combinations. For most tristimulus systems, the three values are orthogonal; i.e., any combination of two elements in the set cannot be included in the third element.
One such method of quantifying the color of an object is to illuminate an object with broad band "white" light and measure the intensity of the reflected light after it has been passed through narrow band filters. Typically three filters (such as red, green and blue) are used to provide tristimulus light values representative of the color of the surface. Yet another method is to illuminate an object with three monochromatic light sources or narrow band light sources (such as red, green and blue) one at a time and then measure the intensity of the reflected light with a single light sensor. The three measurements are then converted to a tristimulus value representative of the color of the surface. Such color measurement techniques can be utilized to produce equivalent tristimulus values representative of the color of the surface. Generally, it does not matter if a "white" light source is used with a plurality of color sensors (or a continuum in the case of a spectrophotometer), or if a plurality of colored light sources are utilized with a single light sensor.
There are, however, difficulties with the conventional techniques. When light is incident upon a surface and reflected to a light receiver, the height of the light sensor and the angle of the sensor relative to the surface and to the light source also affect the intensity of the received light. Since the color determination is being made by measuring and quantifying the intensity of the received light for different colors, it is important that the height and angular dependency of the light receiver be eliminated or accounted for in some manner.
One method for eliminating the height and angular dependency of the light source and receiver is to provide a fixed mounting arrangement where the light source and receiver are stationary and the object is always positioned and measured at a preset height and angle. The fixed mounting arrangement greatly limits the applicability of such a method. Another method is to add mounting feet to the light source and receiver probe and to touch the object with the probe to maintain a constant height and angle. The feet in such an apparatus must be wide enough apart to insure that a constant angle (usually perpendicular) is maintained relative to the object. Such an apparatus tends to be very difficult to utilize on small objects or on objects that are hard to reach, and in general does not work satisfactorily in measuring objects with curved surfaces. Such devices are particularly difficult to implement in the field of dentistry.
The use of color measuring devices in the field of dentistry has been proposed. In modern dentistry, the color of teeth typically are quantified by manually comparing a patient's teeth with a set of "shade guides." There are numerous shade guides available for dentists in order to properly select the desired color of dental prosthesis. Such shade guides have been utilized for decades and the color determination is made subjectively by the dentist by holding a set of shade guides next to a patient's teeth and attempting to find the best match. Unfortunately, however, the best match often is affected by the ambient light color in the dental operatory and the surrounding color of the patient's makeup or clothing and by the fatigue level of the dentist. In addition, such pseudo trial and error methods based on subjective matching with existing industry shade guides for forming dental prostheses, fillings and the like often result in unacceptable color matching, with the result that the prosthesis needs to be remade, leading to increased costs and inconvenience to the patient, dental professional and/or prosthesis manufacturer.
Similar subjective color quantification also is made in the paint industry by comparing the color of an object with a paint reference guide. There are numerous paint guides available in the industry and the color determination also often is affected by ambient light color, user fatigue and the color sensitivity of the user. Many individuals are color insensitive (color blind) to certain colors, further complicating color determination.
While a need has been recognized in the field of dentistry, however, the limitations of conventional color/optical measuring techniques typically restrict the utility of such techniques. For example, the high cost and bulkiness of typical broad band spectrometers, and the fixed mounting arrangements or feet required to address the height and angular dependency, often limit the applicability of such conventional techniques.
Moreover, another limitation of such conventional methods and devices are that the resolution of the height and angular dependency problems typically require contact with the object being measured. In certain applications, it may be desirable to measure and quantify the color of an object with a small probe that does not require contact with the surface of the object. In certain applications, for example, hygienic considerations make such contact undesirable. In the other applications, contact with the object can mar the surface (such as if the object is coated in some manner) or otherwise cause undesirable effects.
In summary, there is a need for a low cost, hand-held probe of small size that can reliably measure and quantify the color and other optical characteristics of an object without requiring physical contact with the object, and also a need for methods based on such a device in the field of dentistry and other applications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for determing optical characteristics including subsurface characteristics of dental objects using first and second light source-receiver pairs and first and second critical heights


In a method for preparing copper salts from at least one cupriferous and one additional reactant, the reactants are used to prepare micro-emulsions while employing at least one block polymer, the intermediate products obtained this way are mixed and reacted together so as to form a micro-emulsion. The preparation of the starting micro-emulsion as well as the subsequent joint reaction preferably occur either with ultrasound or in a high-pressure homogenizer. The copper salts obtained this way exhibit a particle size of less than 50 nm, preferably 5 to 20 nm and can be adjusted to specific applications through the appropriate doping of foreign ions.

The production of crystalline copper salts, such as for example copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)2), copper-(I)-oxide (Cu2O), copper-(II)-oxide (CuO), alkaline copper carbonate (CuCO3×Cu(OH)2×H2O) or alkaline copper nitrate (Cu(NO3)2×3Cu(OH)2×2H2O) as well as mixed salts, such as for example copper oxychloride (CuCl2×3Cu(OH)3) and alkaline copper sulfate (CuSO4×3Cu(OH)2) generally occurs either through the oxidative leaching or metallic copper or through a stoichiometric chemical reaction of soluble copper salts with the appropriate base (preferably a strong base such as lye) and/or through consecutive reactions of the created finely dispersed substances.
One example for oxidative leaching is the preparation of copper oxychloride pursuant to the reaction:4Cu+2CuCl2+2HCl+½O2→6CuCl+H2O  (1)6CuCl+1½O2+3 H2O→3Cu(OH)2×CuCl2+2CuCl2  (2)
Examples of chemical reactions of soluble copper salts are the production of copper hydroxide pursuant to the three methods below:
Copper Hydroxide Method ICuSO4+Na2PO4→CuNaPO4+Na2SO4  (3)CuNaPO4+2NaOH→Cu(OH)2+Na3PO4  (4)or
Copper Hydroxide Method II3Cu(OH)2×CuCl2+2NaOH→4Cu(OH)2+2NaCl  (5)or
Copper Hydroxide Method III3Cu+1½O2+3H2O→3Cu(OH)2  (6)
Further examples include the production of alkaline copper carbonate pursuant to the reaction:2Cu(OH)2+CO2→CuCO3×Cu(OH)2×H2O,  (7)of alkaline copper nitrate pursuant to the reaction:4Cu(OH)2+2HNO3→Cu(NO3)3×3Cu(OH)2×2H2O  (8)and the so-called Bordeaux mixture pursuant to one of the following reactions:CuSO4+Ca(OH)2+4CuO×SO3×3H2O×3CaSO4  (9)(in the case of excess CuSO4)CuSO4+Ca(OH)2→[Ca(OH)2]3CuSO4  (10)(in the case of excess Ca(OH)2)
The copper salts generated in these reactions usually have a particle size between about 1 and about 10 micrometers (μm) and a particle surface area of about 1 to about 10 m2/g. The structure of the crystalline material produced will depend upon the chemical composition and, to a certain degree, upon the production method utilized. For example, copper hydroxide crystals produced according to the of the copper hydroxide produced pursuant to Method II are generally available in a needle shape, while the crystals of the copper oxychloride produced through oxidative leaching pursuant described above are generally available in an octahedron shape.
The biologically active portion of such copper compounds is the copper ion, which can be released from these water-insoluble salts and which is available through a natural, so-called slow-release process for the medium that is to be protected, e.g., plants, wood or water. In the case of fungicidal and bactericidal applications of such compounds to plants, the respective copper salt compound is typically sprayed onto the plant's leaf surface to form a copper salt particle film substantially covering the leaf surface.
By reducing the particle size of the copper salt particles, it is possible to reduce the quantity of copper salt that has to be applied per leaf surface while at least maintaining the same effect. One way to achieve this result is by controlling the production conditions, especially the temperatures and concentrations of the involved substances. This way the particle size can be lowered from 50 to about 10 μm, possibly to about 1 to 3 μm. It is thus possible to increase the effectiveness towards special types of fungi from the existing 80% to 100% or to main an existing 100% effectiveness towards special fungi while simultaneously reducing the copper salt dosage rate that is required per hectare.

Controlled morphogenesis of copper salts


In a structured document managing method and system for managing a structured document formed by a plurality of elements, any file forming a registered document is selected as an object of updating from relationship data indicating an entity structure and a logical structure of the registered document and the data content of the selected update object file is updated. There is generated partial relationship data which indicates an entity structure and a logical structure of the update object file after updating. Relationship data of the registered document is updated by use of the generated partial relationship data. Thereby, a logical structure and an entity structure possessed by a document are managed in association with each other in a mutually convertible form.

The present invention relates to a structured document managing method and system in which electronized document data is managed by use of a computer, and more particularly to a technique effective in the application thereof to a structured document managing system in which a structured document is managed with a logical structure of the document and an entity construction (or entity structure) thereof associated with each other.
The real progress of the information society has brought about the very energetic increase in amount of electronized document data generated by use of word processors, personal computers or the like. There are desired not only the mere generation or creation of various kinds of documents by a computer for use thereof for display or printout but also the realization of the great improvement in working efficiency by electronically generating documents which play an important part in the work of an organization (or mission critical documents) and electronizing the whole of a work which handles these documents.
Such a mission critical document may be made the object of various processings which include not only the mere display/printout but also the extraction of data from the document, the generation of a derived document, the reuse with a changed display style, and so forth. In many cases, therefore, the mission critical document is generated, by use of a document markup language such as SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or the like, as structured document data which are capable of being easily subjected to mechanical processing. Accordingly, a structured document managing system handling those mission critical documents has need to have a function of storing and managing a structured document to perform the reference to structure information, the edition/revision of the content of the document, the management of a version history.
The structured document described by the above-mentioned document markup language has a double structure which includes an entity structure and a logical structure. The logical structure is a structure which includes the order of arrangement of individual logical elements (chapters, sections, paragraphs and others) forming a document and a mutual inclusion relationship between the logical elements. According to the document markup language, the logical structure of a document is represented in such a manner that a "tag" as a character string indicating the type of each logical element (or an element type) is arranged at each of the head and tail of that element. The entity structure is a structure represented in such a manner that document data is divided into units called "entities" and the reference to another entity is described in the content text. Namely, the entity structure includes a call relationship between entities.
In the case where a document becomes so long that it is inadequate to maintain the document as a single continuous text, there is generally performed the management which includes, for example, dividing the document into a plurality of entities so that the respective entities are assigned to persons in charge of writing/edition. Also, data such as graphic data is handled as a separate entity since it is described in a data format peculiar to each of various processing programs and is therefore incapable of co-existence with a text composed of content character strings and tags. In the case where a document is formed by a plurality of entities, it is general that each entity is stored in one file. Tags used for identifying elements in a structured document, entity reference describing the reference to an entity, and character strings describing comments or the like are generically termed marks.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the conventional structured document described by a document markup language SGML. The entity structure of a single SGML document is composed of one entity corresponding to a body of the document (or a document entity) and zero or one or more external entities to which the reference is made directly or indirectly from the document entity.
The external entity includes a text entity described as an SGML text in a manner similar to the document entity, and a non-SGML data entity such as graphic data. (In the present specification, the document entity and the external entity are merely called entity in a general term.) In the case of the document shown in FIG. 15 by way of example, a document entity 101 has the reference to text entities 102 and 103 and a non-SGML data entity 104 therefrom. Also, the text entity 102 includes the reference to the text entity 103 therefrom. As a result, the text entity 103 having the reference from both the document entity 101 and the text entity 102 is shared between the document entity 101 and the text entity 102.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a logical structure obtained through the analysis of the conventional SGML document shown in FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 16, a logical structure possessed by the SGML document can be represented as a tree structure which has elements and data contents as nodes.
In FIG. 16, an elliptic node represents an element and a rectangular node represents data content (parsed character string data or non-SGML data). Also, an area enclosed by dotted line in FIG. 16 represents a set of nodes. A node set 201 corresponds to the document entity 101, a node set 202 corresponds to the text entity 102, node sets 203 and 204 correspond to the text entity 103, and a node set 205 corresponds to the data entity 104. As shown by the relationship between the entities and the node sets, the content of an entity called by the entity reference or an entity to be referred to is developed at a called position and a developed text or a text obtained as the result of development is subjected to syntax analysis, thereby obtaining the logical structure of the SGML document.
In a typical example of the conventional technique, document data is stored in files and is managed on a file system. According to an invention disclosed by JP-A-9-223054 (hereinafter referred to as prior art 1), the reading of files from storage means, the storage of files into the storage means and a version management are realized in units of a file set including a plurality of files. Though the invention of the prior art 1 primarily aims at the management of file groups forming computer programs, the disclosed file management function can also be used for the purpose of managing file groups forming a large scale document. However, the invention of the prior art 1 handles each file as data having no structure. Therefore, in the case where the invention is applied to the document management, it is not possible to perform an operation with the consciousness of the structure of a document.
On the other hand, an invention disclosed by, for example, JP-A-8-44718 (hereinafter referred to as prior art 2) is known as a prior art with which a structured document can directly be managed. A document processing apparatus disclosed by the prior art 2 includes means for analyzing the structure of a registered document to generate tree structure data with logical elements such as chapters and sections taken as nodes and storing/managing the tree structure data. The apparatus further includes means with which a sub-tree forming a part of the document structure is shared between a plurality of documents, and means with which in the case where the addition, deletion and/or updating of-a logical element are made for a sub-tree, the resulting version is managed.

Method and system for management of structured document and medium having processing program therefor


A system and method for depositing a pattern of media on a moving surface includes a media depositing apparatus that deposits media in a predefined pattern on the moving surface. A media applicator roll having a media receiving region, such as engraved or raised portions, receives the media from a media feeder as the media applicator roll rotates. A media retaining member maintains the media in contact with the media receiving region until the media reach a bottom region of the media applicator roll and are released from the media applicator roll in the predefined pattern onto the moving surface. The media depositing system also includes a multiple compartment media feeder that selects and selectively feeds one or more of multiple types of media or granules to the receiving region of the media applicator roll. The method for depositing a pattern of media includes synchronizing the speed of rotation of the media applicator roll with the speed of the moving sheet of material so that the media are precisely deposited as they are released from the media receiving region. The method also includes minimizing the distance that the media must drop from the applicator roll receiving region to the moving surface.

A common method of manufacturing roofing materials involves depositing granules on a coated sheet of material, such as a webbed material that is coated with asphalt. A common roofing material is the roofing shingle which presents a well defined and pleasing pattern on a roof. Shingles are time consuming to install, however, and the seams present a potential source of water leaks. Although a continuous sheet of roofing material would be preferable, such a continuous sheet lacks the distinctive "shingle" pattern users have grown accustomed to.
Some attempts have been made at depositing granule patterns on a continuous sheet of material. The continuous sheet of material is unrolled, coated with a tacky material such as asphalt, and moved beneath a granule application device that drops granules onto the tacky coating covering the sheet. Existing granule application devices are limited in that they are not capable of depositing granules in a predefined pattern, such as a pattern simulating overlapping shingles. A sheet of shingle material with a pattern simulating overlapping shingles would be useful and would save considerable time in the roofing industry.
A typical granule application device uses a hopper and a roll or gate rotating beneath the hopper to allow the granules to fall onto the moving sheet of roofing material itself. However, such devices do not adequately control the falling of the granules onto the moving sheet of roofing material and do not allow the granules to be deposited in a predetermined and predefined pattern.
One such prior art granule application device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,589 to Montgomery. This granule application device includes a series of granule applicators and a sheet that travels under the applicators for receiving the granules. Each applicator includes a roll and gate unit for depositing the granules by allowing the granules to just fall to the sheet. This device does not deposit granules in a predefined pattern on the sheet and does not control the dropping of the granules.
Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,869 to Brady, et al. This device includes a series of hoppers for applying granules to a continuously moving strip. This device provides a means for sensing the amount of excess granules collected in a back fall hopper and for monitoring the rate of discharge of the granules to the back fall hopper. However, this device does not provide a system and method that controls the dropping of granules and deposits granules in a pattern on the continuously moving sheet.
Other granule application systems are overly complex and have been unable to simply and efficiently deposit a pattern of granules on a continuous sheet of shingle material. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,295,445 and 4,352,837 issued to Kopenhaver. This type of apparatus and method for manufacturing roofing shingles is a long and complex process in which one stage includes applying a series of bands of coating asphalt with an inking wheel so that the granules will stick to the bands of asphalt in a pattern. Such a complex and time consuming process is expensive and unproductive.
Conventional granule application systems also require a large amount of space. In particular, when different granular blends, e.g. different types or colors of granules, are being deposited, the conventional granule application systems typically use a separate granule applicator for each type or color of granule. Each granule applicator takes up a significant amount of space which is often at a premium in most manufacturing plants, and the media to be coated with granules must be passed through successive granule applicators.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for precisely depositing various combinations and different types of granules, particles, liquid, or any other type of media, in a predefined pattern on a continuously moving surface. The media depositing system and method should be simple and efficient so as to minimize the production costs and increase productivity. The system and method should control the dropping of the media to precisely deposit the media in a predefined pattern, for example, by controlling the speed and distance at which the media is dropped. A need also exists for a media depositing system that can deposit different types of media in the pattern without requiring a large amount of space for multiple applicators.


A system for inserting commercials into an audiovisual bit stream by providing cue commands in response to cue tones in a pre-existing analog signal, and/or in response to control signals from an uplink (/programmer/network) site or headend (/affiliate). Firmware upgrades are provided to a digital encoder to facilitate generating spliceable bit streams and generation of cue_commands. This enables commercial insertion at an uplink site (/programmer/network) as well as at a cable television headend (/affiliate). The system provides functional compatibility between a digital bit stream and the analog cue tones. The cue commands are preferably carried in the transport layer of the bit stream so there is no need to decode and process several layers of the bit stream. Accordingly, a new commercial insertion capability can be added to existing uplink and headend equipment in a backward compatible manner minimizing upgrade-related expenses, yet allowing different splicing techniques to be employed depending on cost-performance tradeoffs in terms of desired post-splicing audiovisual quality.

The present invention provides a system approach to digital advertisement insertion in a television signal or the like that is consistent for both satellite television uplinks and cable television headends. The invention is particularly adapted for use with analog television signals that are subsequently digitized, e.g., using an MPEG-2 compression system.
Analog television signals are commonly broadcast over satellite links to headends of cable television networks or affiliate sites of Broadcaster""s network. The term xe2x80x9cheadendxe2x80x9d is used hereafter even though the same applies to an affiliate site. Programming signals from different cable or television networks (e.g., CNN, ABC) are provided with cue tones, which signal the start and end of a message break period during which commercials may be run. Each network generally has a unique cue tone which occurs a few seconds before the start and end times of the insertion window.
For example, the network signal may leave blank air time during this period to allow the headend to insert commercials of local interest when the cue tones are detected. Typically however, the network""s national commercial may get replaced by a local commercial if the window or part of it allows such replacement and a replacement is available locally. The commercials may be paid advertisements, unpaid public service announcements, or the like. The content may be video, audio, and/or other data (e.g., HTML pages with hyperlinks, etc.). Note that in the data-only case, the original programming (with or without a national ad) may be left intact with locally originated data added as supplementary information to the original content. For example, web-supported ads, with locally generated web pages, can be facilitated. The bandwidth requirements for insertion of such data are minimal. Regardless, the required bandwidth would have been allocated a priori.
The cable headend operator may use automated equipment that controls video tape players and positions the local commercial or other messages for playback and insertion when cued at the proper time.
Or, the network signal may include its own commercials which can optionally be electronically pre-emptied by the local insertions.
Typically, the message break (window) is one or two minutes in duration, which allows a number of commercials. Commercial or xe2x80x9cspotxe2x80x9d durations vary. Some are fifteen seconds or less, while others are thirty seconds, sixty seconds, etc.
Currently, however, broadcasting of digital audiovisual content has become increasingly popular in cable networks and soon in TV broadcast networks, and is expected to gradually supplant the analog schemes. Various standards have been developed for the communication of digital audiovisual content such as the MPEG-2 standard. Moreover, MPEG-2 provides a framework, albeit incomplete, for splicing of transport streams, discussed in xe2x80x9cRevised Text for ITU-T Recommendation H.222.051 ISO/IEC 13818-1, Information technologyxe2x80x94Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information: Systems,xe2x80x9d ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29, Apr. 27, 1995, pp. 135-138 (Annex Lxe2x80x94Splicing Transport Streams).
The MPEG-2 standard provides syntax elements that are relevant to splicing in a transport packet adaptation field. The syntax elements include a splicing_point_flag, which is a single bit that indicates whether a splice_countdown field is present. The splice_countdown field is used to count down how many packets of the same packet identifier (PID) occur before the splice point. Additionally, the transport stream packet in which the splice_countdown field value reaches zero is called the splicing packet. The splicing point is located immediately after the last byte of the splicing packet.
However, some of the past proposals to complement the MPEG-2 capability required decoding of several of the data layers in the digital transport stream to obtain information regarding timing (e.g., time stamp values) and buffer fullness status to allow a successful commercial insertion. In another approach, the entire data stream, including video and audio, is decoded in a manner that maintains some of the original encoding parameters. Then, a commercial is inserted into the decoded stream, and the stream is re-encoded using the conveyed parameters which were obtained during decoding. The intent was to enable more efficient re-encoding when compared to re-encoding without these parameters.
Moreover, such digital splicing schemes do not take into account the operational requirements associated with cue tones in the analog domain, nor the various operations that may be applied to the stream prior to commercial insertion, e.g., add/drop multiplexing.
Additionally, there already exists an installed base of equipment, including encoders and transcoders, for digital television distribution, that in many cases does not support the MPEG-2 and other complementary splicing syntax. It would not be economical to redesign and replace such existing equipment to support the MPEG-2 splicing format.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system for inserting commercials in a digital television transport stream that is compatible with the operational aspects of pre-existing cue tones in analog television signals.
The system should avoid the need to decode and re-encode several data layers in a digital transport stream to obtain information regarding timing and buffer fullness status to allow a successful commercial insertion, thereby simplify and reducing the costs of required insertion equipment.
The system should be backward-compatible with equipment such as encoders, transcoders, and the like, that are already deployed by various cable television and satellite television service providers. Moreover, the system should be able to be implemented with only minor firmware upgrades to existing equipment, which is particularly advantageous when compared to integrated commercial insertion solutions.
The system should allow the use of splicers of varying seamless splicing capability, and should have a relatively minimal impact on the other devices at the uplink or headend (e.g., encoder, transcoder).
The system should further allow add/drop multiplexing prior to, or as part of, commercial insertion.
The system should provide compatibility between satellite television uplinks and cable television headends.
The system should ensure that decoders in consumers"" homes are splice-unaware (i.e., unaware of the presence of spliced data). This is to avoid having to replace these decoders and to prevent the enabling of xe2x80x9ccommercial killerxe2x80x9d devices which detect and block out commercials.
The system is preferably compatible with constant bit rate (CBR) and variable bit rate (e.g., including statistically multiplexed) streams. In other words, the inserter, depending on its type may operate on CBR streams for insertion, or add/drop (insert) into statistically multiplexed streams. The system described herein applies to both cases.
The present invention provides a system having the above and other advantages.
The invention relates to a system for inserting commercials into a digital television signal using cue commands. A cue command is functionally analogous to a cue tone but instead of a dual-tone multifrequency (DTMF) implementation of the cue_tone, it is implemented as a protocol message that is understood by the inserters (splicers).
A method for inserting digital commercials into a digital audiovisual bitstream includes the steps of: processing a first audiovisual signal to determine whether cue tones are present therein, encoding the first audiovisual signal as a digital spliceable data stream, and providing cue commands corresponding to the cue tones, if present, in the digital spliceable data stream. The cue commands indicate splicing points for splicing a digital commercial into the digital spliceable data stream.
The term xe2x80x9caudiovisualxe2x80x9d is used to represent a signal including video, audio, and/or other data, including, but not limited, to a television signal.
The digital spliceable data stream is forwarded to a commercial inserter, which detects the cue commands and inserts a commercial into the digital spliceable data stream in response thereto at a splice point designated by a first detected cue command, and monitors the digital spliceable data stream for a subsequent cue command to splice back from the inserted commercial to the original digital spliceable data stream.
A plurality -of single video program transport streams, including the digital spliceable data stream, may be multiplexed into a multi-program transport stream, and the multi-program transport stream forwarded to the commercial inserter.
In this case, the multi-program transport stream is forwarded to a commercial inserter, which detects the cue commands and inserts a commercial into the digital spliceable data stream in response thereto at a splice point designated by a first detected cue command, and monitors the multi-program transport stream for a subsequent cue command to splice back from the inserted commercial to the multi-program transport stream.
The first audiovisual signal may be an analog signal, in which case it is digitized and compressed to provide the digital spliceable data stream.
The cue commands are provided at the uplink site, or a remote studio site, while the commercials may be inserted at the uplink site and/or at a headend. In some cases, the digital audiovisual signal is originated locally from a server located in the headend.
Preferably, the cue commands are provided as a message in the digital spliceable data stream in a transport layer such that they may be readily detected by the inserter without having to decode several layers of the data stream.
Furthermore, the cue commands may designate desired or required program attributes of the inserted commercial, such as bit rate, and stream construct, such as number of audio streams, and the like.
Moreover, even if no cue tones are detected, the cue commands may be provided in response to a local network device, such as a real-time trigger or a scheduler/controller that is co-located or remotely located in a studio site.
An example syntax of such cue commands which may be used with the present invention is discussed in xe2x80x9cProposed SMPTE Standard for Televisionxe2x80x94Splice Points for MPEG-2 Transport Streams,xe2x80x9d SMPTE-312M, SMPTE Journal, October 1998., incorporated herein by reference.
The digital spliceable data stream may be a constant bit rate stream or a variable bit rate stream.
A corresponding apparatus is also presented.

Apparatus and method for digital advertisement insertion in a bitstream


In a semiconductor memory having a configuration of a plurality of bits, there are provided a parity calculation circuit and a test input-output circuit, wherein the test input-output circuit is operated during a pellet checking operation, outputs the test data inputted from a test input-output terminal to data buses while being divided into a plurality of bits constituting one unit during the writing operation, and then the same test data is written into the memory cell of a plurality of bits at the specified address. During the reading operation, a parity calculation circuit performs the parity calculation with all the readout data of a plurality of bits constituting one unit to generate the parity bit and the test input-output circuit outputs the parity bit from the test input-output terminal. The memory tester determines whether the value of the parity bit coincides with the expected output value, thereby the number of concurrent measurements in the pellet checking in the memory can be increased and the measuring cost is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a memory having a configuration of a plurality of bits.
2. Description of Related Art
A pellet check which is a test performed under a wafer state of a semiconductor memory. This test is performed for each of a chips on the wafer by executing a writing operation and a reading operation for data by using a memory tester in the same manner as that of an actual operation.
FIG. 1 is a top plan view for showing one chip of the semiconductor memory comprised of a plurality of bits in the related art. The memory tester has a probe card provided with a plurality of contact needles 3 to be touched to each of terminals 2 of the semiconductor memory 1. Each of the contact needles 3 is connected to each of a power supply terminal, a ground terminal, an address input terminal and a control signal input terminal in addition to input terminals IO.sub.0 to IO.sub.n of the semiconductor memory 1 shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of essential parts required for performing the pellet check of the semiconductor memory 1 shown in FIG. 1 of the constitution of the memory tester. This memory tester has a plurality of coaxial lines 5a to 5n, and each one end of the coaxial lines 5a to 5n is connected to each of the contact needles 3 contacted to the input and output terminals IO.sub.5 to IO.sub.n of the semiconductor memory 1. The other ends of the coaxial lines 5a to 5n are connected to the output terminals of each of the drivers 6a to 6n and one input terminal of each of comparators 7a to 7n, respectively. To the other input terminals of the comparators are connected power supplies 8a to 8n for generating a reference voltage. Input terminals of the drivers 6a to 6n are connected to a data generating part 10. The output ends of the comparators 7a to 7n are connected to a discriminating part 11. The data generating part 10 and the discriminating part 11 are connected to a control part 12. In addition, although the memory tester is provided with a power supply voltage generating part or an address generating part or a control signal generating part in addition to the aforesaid configuration, these parts are eliminated for their illustration. Only the required number of coaxial lines 5a to 5n, drivers 6a to 6n and comparators 7a to 7n for performing the pellet check of the semiconductor 1 are illustrated and actually it is possible that a greater number of parts than that shown can be applied.
Operation of the pellet check of the related art using the memory tester shown in FIG. 2 will be described as follows. At first, each of the contact needles 3 of the probe card is touched to its corresponding terminal of the semiconductor memory 1. Then, a predetermined address signal is given to the address input terminal of the semiconductor memory 1 through the contact needle 3 under a control of the control part 12, a control signal is given to the control signal input terminal of the semiconductor memory 1 and concurrently a desired data is generated by the data generating part 10 and given to the input and output terminals IO.sub.0 to IO.sub.n of the semiconductor memory 1 through the drivers 6a to 6n, the coaxial lines 5a to 5n and the contact needles 3 so as to write data into the memory cells in the semiconductor memory 1. Then, the data is read, the electrical potentials of the input and output terminals IO.sub.0 to IO.sub.n of the semiconductor memory 1 are compared with a reference voltage by the comparators 7a to 7n, thereby output data of the semiconductor memory 1 is reproduced and taken into the discriminating part 11. At the discriminating part 11, the written data and the readout data are discriminated for every input and output terminals IO.sub.0 to IO.sub.n so as to discriminate whether the data is normal or not.
In this case, the number of concurrent measurement of chips during the pellet check may be substantially influenced by the number of comparators in the memory tester. In the case of the pellet check in the semiconductor memory of the related art, since the input and output terminals IO.sub.0 to IO.sub.n of the semiconductor memory 1 and the comparators 7a to 7n of the memory tester strictly correspond to each other on a one-by-one basis, there is a problem that if the bit configuration of the semiconductor memory is increased, the number of concurrent measurements is decreased and the measuring cost is increased.


An electronic assembly (98) includes a substrate (20), a capacitor having first and second conductors (38,54) formed over the substrate, a first set of conductive members (76) formed over the substrate and being electrically connected to the first conductor of the capacitor, and a second set of conductive members (78) formed over the substrate and being electrically connected to the second conductor of the capacitor.

In recent years, semiconductor integrated circuits have become more complicated both in terms of packing density and the variety of device components that are included in a single circuit. As the productivity and performance demands increase, the size of integrated circuits, and the microelectronic dies (or "dice"), or semiconductor chips, on which they are formed continues to be reduced. As the devices become smaller and smaller, it is increasingly difficult to find room on each die for all of the desired components. Passive device components, particularly capacitors, can be greatly affected as the performance of such devices is often dependent on the surface area of die used.
Depending on the intended use of the semiconductor chip, one of the types of passive devices formed on the semiconductor substrate (e.g., wafer) may be a capacitor. "On-chip" capacitors are often used on integrated circuit devices such as converters, radio frequency (RF) circuits, and filters. In such applications, it is desirable for the capacitors to achieve a high capacitance density, as well as have a high "Q-factor," low voltage and temperature coefficients, excellent matching properties, and long-term reliability.
One common type of on-chip capacitor used in the semiconductor industry is known as a "double poly capacitor" (DPC). A DPC typically includes two conductive plates stacked over a field oxide on the substrate with an insulating material, or dielectric, formed between. DPCs are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and can achieve reasonably high capacitance densities. However, DPCs have high voltage coefficients, and because of non-uniformity which often occurs in the thickness of the dielectric across the substrate, the capacitance density the individual capacitors formed on the same substrate varies, which leads to poor matching.
Another type of capacitor is known as a "metal-insulator-metal" (MIM) capacitor. MIM capacitors are known to have better electrical characteristics than DPCs, including smaller voltage and temperature coefficients. However, MIM capacitors add significantly to the manufacturing costs of the integrated circuit because several extra processing steps are required which are not typically used in the formation of the integrated circuits (i.e., are not part of standard complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processing).
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a capacitor with improved electrical characteristics while maintaining low manufacturing costs. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Composite capacitor and method for forming the same


A method for transmitting digital data over data lines between subscribers forming data sources and data sinks and being disposed in a network having a ring structure and connecting a plurality of subscribers to one another with network segments each being formed between two adjacent subscribers, includes transmitting the data in the network in a format specifying a clocked sequence of individual bit groups of equal length, each including at least one partial bit group forming a data channel to be assigned temporarily to two subscribers in the network for a data transmission. A temporary allocation of the data channels for a data transmission between two subscribers takes place segmentally in the network, for optimal utilization of the data transmission capacity of the network only those network segments that are located between the applicable data source and the associated data sink are occupied for the particular data transmission.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for transmitting digital data over data lines between subscribers forming data sources and data sinks and being disposed in a network having a ring structure and connecting a plurality of subscribers to one another, including network segments with a single data line each being formed between two adjacent subscribers, which includes transmitting the data in the network in a format specifying a clocked sequence of individual bit groups of equal lengths each including at least one partial bit group forming a data channel being assignable temporarily to two subscribers in the network for a data transmission. The data are transferred in a continuous data stream which is synchronous to a clock signal. The clock signal is generated by a single subscriber. All other subscribers synchronize themselves to that clock signal. Purely asynchronous data transmision methods have to be differentiated therefrom as packet or package-oriented data transmission methods, for example ATM-methods.
Methods of that type are used wherever a plurality of electrical and electronic devices that are to exchange information with one another are interlinked through the use of data lines. In the audio fields for instances the communication between interlinked data sources on one hand, such as CD players, radio receivers and cassette tape recorders, and the associated data sinks on the other hand, such as an amplifier-speaker combination, can be controlled by such a method.
In known methods of that type, the existing data channels for data transmission are each assigned temporarily, in other words for a certain data transmission, to the two subscribers involved in the network, that is the data source and the data sink. In a network with a ring structure, those two data channels are blocked in the entire network for the entire duration of the transmission of data between those two subscribers. In other words, other data transmissions can be made only through further data channels, even if those two subscribers are not involved in the other data transmissions.
That has the disadvantage of requiring that a large number of data channels be kept available, if a plurality of data transmissions are to be possible simultaneously between different subscribers in the network. That entails considerable expense for equipment and administration. If there is a fixedly specified number of data channels available in the network for data transmissions, then the transmission capacity, that is the number of simultaneously possible transmissions between different subscribers in the network, is also limited.