A blower unit for a vehicle heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit is disclosed. The blower unit includes a case member that defines at least one exterior air intake aperture and at least one interior air intake aperture. The blower unit also includes a sealing member, a first door, and a second door. The first and second doors can move independent of each other. The first and second doors can be positioned in a mixture position to allow air flow into the blower unit through both the exterior and interior air intake apertures. The first door, in the mixture position, is sealed against the sealing member. As such, the first door and the sealing member cooperate to reduce air flow out of the blower unit through the interior air intake aperture.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
It is known to provide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in vehicles. These systems heat and cool the air within the passenger compartment for the comfort of the vehicle passengers. Some vehicle HVAC systems can be selectively configured to change the source of air. In one configuration, the HVAC system draws in air from outside the vehicle, conditions the air, and then pumps the conditioned air into the passenger compartment. In another configuration, the HVAC system draws in air from inside the passenger compartment, conditions the air, and then recirculates the air into the passenger compartment. In still another configuration, the HVAC system draws in a mixture of exterior air and interior air, conditions the mixed air, and then pumps the conditioned air into the passenger compartment. In the "mixture" configuration, the passengers receive a portion of fresh air, which can reduce window fogging and also make riding in the vehicle more pleasant. In the mixture configuration, the passengers receive a portion of recirculated air while fuel economy is increased.
Although these vehicle HVAC systems have worked for their intended purposes, some disadvantages remain. For instance, these HVAC systems typically include an exterior air intake vent through which exterior air enters the system, and these HVAC systems typically include a separate interior air intake vent through which the interior air enters the system. In the "mixture" configuration described above, both the exterior and interior air intake vents are open. As such, it is possible for exterior air to enter through the exterior air intake vent and leak into the passenger compartment through the interior air intake vent. As such, the leaked exterior air enters the passenger compartment before being heated or cooled. This problem is especially likely to occur when the vehicle is traveling at higher rates of speed because the pressure of the exterior air entering the HVAC system (i.e., the "RAM air") is relatively high.
As an example, on a warm day, warm exterior air can enter the HVAC system through the exterior air intake vent and leak into the passenger compartment through the interior air intake vent without being cooled. The warm air thus raises the temperature inside the passenger compartment, making the HVAC system expend more energy to cool the passenger compartment. As a result, fuel economy of the vehicle decreases. Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved HVAC system that draws in a mixture of exterior air and interior air for conditioning and that eliminates the amount of exterior air that leaks into the passenger compartment via the interior air intake vent.

Partial recirculation vehicle HVAC system


2N−1 four-terminal phase-reversing switches are arranged in one or more columns of cascaded switches, wherein a frequency having a given relative phase φ is applied as an input of the top switch in a cascade. A particular configuration of 2N−1 different reference-values, determined by a preselected N-Bit binary code, is applied to the respective 2N−1 switches so that (1) whenever the amplitude value of an applied analog signal reaches a value equal to the reference value applied to any switch, that switch will switch to reverse the phase at its output from the phase at its input, and (2) cause the switching of the phase at the output at each switch ordinally situated in a column below that switch. The respective output phases from a certain subset of N switches of the 2N−1 switches define the binary values of the preselected N-Bit binary code output from the A/D converter.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to implementations of an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter that employ cascaded phase-reversing switches for converting the amplitude of an analog signal to a preselected N-Bit binary code and, more particularly, to such implementations that may use microwave-phase-logic (MPL) integrated-circuits suitable for operating on an analog signal having a multi-Gigahertz (GHz) bandwidth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Incorporated by reference herein is U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,175, entitled "Devices for Implementing Microwave Phase Logic," which issued Jun. 18, 1996 and is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,175 discloses the MPL implementation of both a full-adder device and a memory element that can operate as a phase latch.
Further, incorporated by reference herein is U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,748, entitled "Microwave Phase Logic Implementation of an Analog-to-Digital Converter," which issued Dec. 28, 1999 and is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The implementation disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,748 is directed to serial pipelined A/D converters that propagate both the analog signal and a reference, with the amplitude of the reference asymptotically approaching the amplitude of the analog signal but with a reversal of polarity or phase.
Known are flash A/D converters that employ an array of amplitude comparators for comparing, in ascending order, the amplitude of each of a plurality of reference-value inputs with the amplitude value of an analog signal input. If the amplitude of the signal input to any one of the comparators exceeds the amplitude of the reference-value input to that one comparator, the output from that comparator will be a binary "1" value. If the amplitude of the signal input to any one of the comparators does not exceed the amplitude of the reference-value input to that one comparator, the output from that comparator will be a binary "0" value. The output from the entire array of amplitude comparators is known as a "thermometer code." A flash A/D converter then needs a thermometer code to binary code converter (one of several known ways of implementing this comprises a complex array of many FULL ADDER logic devices) to decode the thermometer code and convert it to a selected N-Bit binary code output from the flash A/D converter.
Flash A/D converters also may be implemented employing an array of MPL phase-reversing switches as comparators, instead of employing amplitude comparators. In this case, the MPL FULL ADDER logic device disclosed in the aforesaid is U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,175 may be employed in the implementation of the complex array of many FULL ADDER logic devices to convert the thermometer code to a selected N-Bit binary code output from the flash A/D converter.
Known is a doubly-balanced mixer comprising a four-diode ring. Also known since 1967 is a doubly-balanced mixer called a Gilbert cell mixer that employs four transistors instead of four diodes. As known, a Gilbert cell mixer may form the basis of a common integrated-circuit bipolar building block. Because a Gilbert cell mixer exhibits gain (and a four-diode ring doubly-balanced mixer does not), a Gilbert cell mixer is the preferred implementation of each phase-reversing switch of a flash A/D converter and the cascaded phase-reversing switches employed in the MPL A/D converter implementation of the present invention. However, because conventional double-balanced mixers do not switch phase when two baseband inputs thereto are substantially equal, A/D converter implementation of the present invention with conventional double-balanced mixers needs phase latches.

Analog-to-digital converters employing cascaded phase-reversing switches


The radiotelephone of a time-divided radiotelephone system, i.e. TDMA, has a first mode and a second mode, whereby in the first mode the transmitter (TX) is active and in the second mode the receiver (RX) is active. When the transmitter is on, the TX signal dependent on it controls switching means (V2) in such a way that in the first mode blocking is accomplished of at least one active signal path that is in the other mode. In this way the isolation between the transmitter and the receiver is improved. The switching means can comprise, for example, a transistor (V2), by means of which the collector of the transistor (V1) of the RX amplifier is connected substantially to the earth potential.

The present invention relates to a radiotelephone operating in a time-divided radiotelephone system, which telephone has at least a first mode and a second mode, whereby in the first mode the transmitter is active and in the second mode the receiver is active.
In TDMA, i.e. time-divided radiotelephone systems, the transmitter and receiver are on at different times. Accordingly, connecting the transmitter and receiver to the antenna can be done either with synchronized switches (PIN diode, GaAs-fet switch, or the like) or with a duplex filter that is familiar from analog telephone applications. A typical block diagram using a duplex filter is shown in FIG. 1.
To reduce power consumption and block leakage of the TX-frequency signal to the RX branch, the receiver's electric power (VRX) is switched off when the transmitter (TX) is on. In this case, at the antenna port of the duplex filter there is a signal level that is of the order of +30 dBm at its greatest, in other words, when the transmitter is using the highest power level.
The isolation from the transmitter to the input of the receiver may be less than 20 dB at its poorest (1800 MHz, i.e. in the PCN range), in which case during transmission a still quite strong signal (>10 dBm) is connected to the receiver (RXamp). Although the receiver stage does not carry a supply voltage during transmission, the transmitter signal leaks through it. In addition, the signal is not attenuated very much in the RX filter (RXfil), because the highest transmission frequency is only 20 MHz away from the lowest reception frequency and the reception band is all of 75 MHz wide. When the transmission signal reaches the RX mixer with a sufficient intensity, it causes a frequency pulling of the local oscillator (VCO), which shows up in the transmitted signal as a phase error because the same oscillator is used to form the transmission frequency. To minimize this effect, buffering can be added in between the oscillator and the RX mixer or the isolation from the transmitter to the receiver can be improved. Improving the isolation by tightening the duplex filter nevertheless increases the price of the filter and the attenuation on the upper channels of the transmitter.
The above-described leakage problem also hampers systems operating in a lower frequency than PCN range, though it is somewhat less pronounced.
A well known means of remedying the problem discussed is thus to use a better duplex filter whose RX branch attenuates the TX frequency signal more. This nevertheless complicates the structure of the filter, and makes it bigger and more costly. Another problem is that now attenuation of the duplex filter for TX frequency signals increases, in this case on the upper channels. Thus, the transmitter power going to the antenna tends to diminish on the upper channels, and it has to be compensated by increasing the power obtainable from the transmitter, which on the other hand increases the current consumption.
Another well known way is to add a buffer amplifier in between the RX mixer and the VCO. This reduces the leakage from the RX mixer to the VCO. In order for the buffer amplifier to work in the desired manner, it must of course be active, and this increases current consumption.
Some telephone manufacturers use in place of a duplex filter a changeover switch which serves to select the signal path TX-amp . . . >ANT during transmission and ANT . . . >RX-amp during reception. These switches too cause signal leakage at high frequencies.
The leakage of a quite strong transmission signal into the telephone's other blocks causes problems similar to those in a VCO. A problem point is, for example, at least the integrated circuits, where it is attempted to integrate both the receiver and transmitter blocks on the same circuit.

Radiotelephone operating in a time-divided radiotelephone system


A data conversion apparatus is provided for reading a document for a display screen and generating a display image for another display screen which has a different aspect ratio from the former display screen, where the document is composed of control statements written along with character strings or image information. The data conversion apparatus obtains the document from an external unit and converts the character strings and the image information in the document into display image elements based on conversion information. The data conversion apparatus judges whether a storage includes a blank for storing the display image elements at an appropriate position based on the conversion information. The data conversion apparatus writes the display image elements into the blank if it judges that the storing unit includes the blank; the data conversion apparatus assigns a new storage area in the storage and writes the display image elements into the new storage area if it judges that the storing unit does not include the blank.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a data conversion apparatus used for TV broadcasting systems, and more specifically to a data conversion apparatus for converting HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) documents into information of a format suitable for the TV broadcasting systems.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Recent years have seen a variety of information providing services on the Internet.
Meanwhile, in TV broadcasting systems, a change has taken place in terms of the screen size, so that a standard screen with a conventional aspect ratio (4:3) and a wide screen with aspect ratio (16:9) are now both popular.
The standard screen and the wide screen have different numbers of pixels in horizontal (X-coordinate) direction.
Due to the above difference, a blank is generated when TV programs for the standard screen, for example, are played on the wide screen. A technique has been developed to extend the display image in horizontal direction so that the blank is deleted from the screen. With this technique, however, the display image is distorted in horizontal direction.
The above phenomenon is also distinguished in reproducing of multimedia data. Multimedia data is composed of character information, image information, control information, etc. Home pages provided by WWW (World Wide Web) servers in the Internet are one example of multimedia data. Here, the display image of the multimedia on the wide screen will generate a blank if the above conventional technique is not used; the display image will be distorted if the above conventional technique is used. This is because multimedia data is created for standard PC (Personal Computer) screens which have a different number of pixels in X-coordinate direction to wide screen televisions. With the conventional technique, characters and images, such as company product images, are distorted. With such presentation, correct information may not be conveyed. That is to say, the conventional technique is unable to make effective use of the wide screen.

Data conversion apparatus for reading a document for a display screen and generating a display image for another display screen which has a different aspect ratio from the former display screen

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The method of forming a floating gate array of a flash memory device includes: (a) sequentially forming a tunnel oxide film, a floating gate forming film, a capping oxide film and a first nitride film on a semiconductor substrate with an active device region defined by device isolation films; (b) patterning the first nitride film to form a first nitride film pattern; (c) forming first oxide film spacers on sidewalls of the first nitride film pattern; (d) selectively removing the first nitride film pattern; (e) forming a plurality of second nitride film patterns separated by the first oxide film spacers on the capping oxide film; (f) selectively removing the first oxide film spacers interposed between the plurality of second nitride film patterns and a portion of the capping oxide film to expose a surface of the floating gate forming film between the second nitride film patterns; (g) forming a plurality of floating gate patterns by removing a portion of the floating gate forming film exposed using the second nitride film patterns as an etching mask; and (h) oxidizing the sidewall of each of the plurality of floating gate patterns to form sidewall oxide films therebetween.

A flash memory is a kind of PROM (Programmable ROM) possible for electrically re-writing data. The flash memory utilizes a single transistor made to perform both a program input function of an EPROM (Erasable PROM) and an erasing function of an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM) by combining advantages of the EPROM, in which a memory cell is composed of a single transistor so that the area of the memory cell is small, and data can be collectively erased through ultraviolet radiation; and the EEPROM, in which data can be electrically erased, while a memory cell is composed of two transistors so that the area of the memory cell is larger. This type of flash memory is referred to as a Flash EEPROM.
Since memory information is not erased even though a power source is turned off, such a flash memory is referred to as a non-volatile memory, and it is different from DRAM (Dynamic RAM), SRAM (Static RAM) or the like in that it is non-volatile.
Flash memories may be classified into a NOR-type structure in which cells are arranged in parallel between a bit line and a ground and a NAND-type structure in which cells are arranged in series. A NOR-type flash memory with a parallel structure has been widely used for booting a cellular phone because a high-speed random access is possible when performing a reading operation, and a NAND-type flash memory with a serial structure has an advantage in that it is suitable for storing data and is profitable for miniaturization because a reading speed is slow but a writing speed is fast. Further, the flash memories may be classified into a stack gate type and a split gate type depending on the structure of a unit cell, and classified into a floating gate device and a SONOS (Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon) device depending on the shape of an electric charge storage layer.
The floating gate device among these devices generally includes a floating gate made of polycrystalline silicon surrounded by an insulator, and an electric charge is injected into or discharged from the floating gate through channel hot carrier injection or Fowler-Nordheim tunneling so that storing and erasing data are accomplished.
FIG. 1 illustrates a sectional view of a semiconductor substrate with a floating gate array formed thereon in a process of manufacturing a flash memory device. The section of the substrate shown in FIG. 1 shows a vertical section parallel to a word line of the flash memory device. In the conventional flash memory device, a series of device isolation films 11, e.g., STIs (Shallow Trench Isolations), are formed in a direction perpendicular to the word line on the substrate 10 so as to define an active device region. Thereafter, a silicon oxide film 12 used as a tunnel oxide film is formed in a predetermined thickness on the entire surface of the substrate 10, and a polycrystalline silicon layer to be used as a floating gate is then formed on the silicon oxide film 12. The polycrystalline silicon layer formed in such a manner is patterned through photo and etching processes to form an array of a plurality of floating gates 14.
The respective plurality of floating gates 14 formed in such a manner constitute one memory cell in which the neighboring floating gates 14 are spaced apart from one another at an interval W. Since the floating gates 14 are generally patterned through photo and etching processes, it is not easy to reduce the interval W by any significant amount. Further, the method of manufacturing the conventional flash memory device is progressed through a process of first forming STIs on a substrate and then patterning floating gates through an additional photo process as described above, and a minimal alignment margin should be secured in order to prevent the misalignment of an etching mask in the process of forming the floating gates. Accordingly, since the interval of the floating gates needs to be maintained larger than a certain size, the integration of a device cannot be further reduced by relying upon the conventional method of manufacturing the flash memory. Further, since very expensive equipment needs be used in a case of the photo process, the manufacturing costs of the products is increased.

Method of forming floating gate array of flash memory device


It is an object to provide a semiconductor integrated circuit which can easily be designed and has a low wiring resistance, and a method and apparatus for designing the semiconductor integrated circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit and a method and apparatus for designing a wiring pattern of the semiconductor integrated circuit, and more particularly to a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus which is effective for designing a semiconductor integrated circuit using a multilayer wiring layer, a wiring pattern designing method and a wiring pattern designing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus, conventionally, a multilayer wiring technique has been used to enhance a degree of integration.
If a wiring layer has the variation of wiring pattern density, there are the following two drawbacks.
As a first drawback, finishing precision in a wiring is deteriorated by a loading effect. The loading effect implies a phenomenon in which a finishing dimension of the pattern fluctuates depending on the density of the pattern. The loading effect is caused by an optical proximity effect in a photolithographic step and the excessive or insufficient amount of an etching gas in an etching step.
A second drawback relates to a controllability of an interlayer insulating film on a wiring layer.
FIG. 30 is a view showing a sectional structure of a wiring. As shown in FIG. 30, an interlayer insulating film 90 is flat in a region A in which first layer wiring patterns 10A, 10B and 10C are arranged regularly at an interval which is equal to or smaller than a predetermined interval, and a dent region is formed on the interlayer insulating film 90 so that a concavo-convex portion is generated in a region B in which the interval has a predetermined value or more as in the first layer wiring patterns 10C and 10D. A second layer wiring is formed on the concavo-convex portion. For this reason, there is a problem in that a thickness of a film is reduced in a step portion or precision in the pattern is deteriorated to cause a disconnection, and a manufacturing defective rate is increased.
Moreover, a chemical mechanical polishing method (CMP) has widely been used as a technique for flattening an interlayer insulating film. In the case in which a wiring pattern has a variation of density, however, it is hard to completely carry out the flattening. A wiring in a microfabricating process has a problem to be considered in addition to the above drawbacks.
As a third drawback, a capacitance of the wiring is changed depending on the presence of an adjacent wiring.
A wiring spacing is extremely reduced due to an increase in integration, and a parasitic capacitance between adjacent or intersecting wirings is greater than a parasitic capacitance between a signal wiring and a silicon substrate. As a result, the cross talk which causes noise and signal delay by coupling signal lines.
As a fourth drawback, a wiring resistance is increased. A thickness of a wiring is increasingly reduced due to a decrease in a wiring dimension with a process scaling and a length of the wiring is increased more and more due to a high degree of integration, and the wiring resistance is increased. For this reason, an RC delay of the wiring (a delay generated by a resistance component and a capacity component of the wiring) is greater than a transistor delay.
As the conventional art for the first and second drawbacks caused by a nonuniformity of the wiring, there has been invented an automatic wiring method for generating a flattened pattern (a wiring dummy pattern) in an empty region. For example, Patent Document 1 has disclosed an automatic wiring method for a semiconductor apparatus which serves to search for an empty region in which a wiring path is not present and to generate a redundant wiring which does not come in contact with an element and a wiring in the empty region (claim 1) in order to form a flat wiring layer without a variation in the wiring (the abstract and object of the Patent Document 1).
The automatic wiring method is executed in the following manner in accordance with a flowchart showing a flow of steps in FIG. 23.
First of all, at S100, data representing a wiring path in each layer are held in a wiring path storing apparatus.
At S200, next, an empty region in which a wiring path is not present is searched. At subsequent S300, a redundant wiring which does not come in contact with an element and a wiring is generated in the empty region.
This method will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 24. FIG. 24 shows a wiring pattern. In a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus 700, first layer wiring patterns 10A and 10B which are vertically adjacent to each other and second layer wiring patterns 20A and 20B are shown. Moreover, description will be given on the assumption that a horizontal direction is preferentially used in the first layer wiring pattern 10 and a perpendicular direction is preferentially used in the second layer wiring pattern 20.
The first layer wiring 10 is provided on a first layer wiring grid line 11 and the second layer wiring 20 is provided on a second layer wiring grid line 21. The first layer wirings 10A and 10B and the second layer wirings 20A and 20B are connected to each other through vias 30A and 30B, 50A and 50B denote a net to be wired at an equal electric potential. FIG. 24 shows two nets 50A and 50B.
At the S100, data indicative of a wiring path in each layer based on the wiring pattern in FIG. 24 are held in a wiring path storing apparatus.
In FIG. 25, a portion related to the first layer wiring is extracted from the wiring pattern in FIG. 24. At the step S200 in which the empty region is searched, a region which is not occupied by the first layer wiring patterns 10A and 10B in the first layer wiring grid line 11 in FIG. 25 is searched as a first layer empty region 12.
At the subsequent S300, as shown in FIG. 26, redundant flattened patterns 101A, 101B and 101C which do not come in contact with the first layer wirings 10A and 10B are generated in the first layer empty region 12. In FIG. 27, the via 30 and the second layer wiring pattern 20 are added to FIG. 26.
For a conventional flattened pattern generating method, a method using a wiring pattern area ratio (a rate of an area occupied by a wiring with respect to a whole area in each wiring layer) as an index of a uniformity of the wiring has often been utilized. For example, as shown in Patent Document 2, there has been disclosed "a pattern generating method wherein a flattened pattern capable of achieving a target value of a pattern area ratio is actually disposed in an empty region of a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus based on a result of an area ratio verifying method". In the case in which the pattern area ratio is used, it is sufficient that the area ratio in a region to be aimed is satisfied. Therefore, a wiring may have a density locally.
In addition to the first and second drawbacks, for the drawback that the capacitance value of the wiring is changed depending on the presence of the third adjacent wiring, Patent Document 3 has disclosed a technique for disposing either an actual wiring or a dummy wiring on all grids of a semiconductor integrated circuit in order to cause a wiring capacity to be uniform, and furthermore, fixing the dummy wiring to a certain electric potential, thereby eliminating a density of the wiring and causing a capacity between the wirings to be uniform (Paragraph [0009] in the Patent Document 3).
For a fourth drawback that a wiring resistance is increased, Patent Document 4 has disclosed a semiconductor integrated circuit optimizing method for increasing a wiring width after the wiring.
FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the conventional technique described in the Patent Document 4. An element is disposed at S50, a wiring is carded out at S60, a wiring causing a violation of a design restriction such as a delay or a cross talk is extracted at S70, a width of only a horizontal segment which is parallel with a cell row of the extracted wiring is increased at S80, and a horizontal interval is increased when a perpendicular interval between the horizontal segment and a circuit component which is close to the horizontal segment is smaller than a predetermined threshold at S90.
The method will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. It is assumed that a result of the wiring in the S60 is set into a state shown in FIG. 20. In FIG. 24, the cell row is not shown for simplicity. FIG. 24 is the same as the drawings used for the explanation of the Patent Document 1 and the reference numerals have been described above. It is assumed that the net 50B is extracted as the wiring causing the violation of the design restriction in the S70. At the subsequent 580, as shown in FIG. 29, a width of the horizontal segment 50B is increased. At the S90, if a wiring spacing 42 between the first wiring layers does not satisfy a minimum interval rule specified by a design rule due to an increase in the wiring width at the S80, the wiring spacing 42 between the first layer wirings is increased so as to satisfy the design rule by a compaction in a perpendicular direction.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-5-63085 Publication    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2005-222214 Publication    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent No. 3137072 Publication    Patent Document 4: JP-A-2001-34646 Publication
The methods (the Patent Documents 1 to 3) of generating a flattened pattern (or a flattened dummy) according to the prior art in the Patent Documents 1 to 3 do not take the wiring resistance to be the fourth drawback into consideration. Moreover, all of the flattened pattern generating methods according to the prior art serve to generate a redundant wiring which does not come in contact with a wiring in an empty region and only use the empty region for mainly generating a flattened pattern, and do not consider that a wiring resistance is reduced by using the empty region and there is a problem in that the wiring resistance is increased.
As in the semiconductor integrated circuit optimizing method described in the Patent Document 4, moreover, when the wiring width is simply increased after the wiring, a wiring spacing rule 42 depending on the wiring width (a design rule in which a wiring spacing is to be increased with an increase in a wiring width) is applied to a deep sub-micron process. For this reason, a design becomes complicated.
In a designing method based on a minimum wiring width and wiring spacing as in a wiring grid used in an automatic place and route tool in an ASIC designing technique, particularly, there is a problem in that a design is complicated if a wide wiring is partially handled.

Semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus with low wiring resistance

Abstract: In a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus according to the invention, a first wiring layer is provided with a plurality of signal wirings having an equal width which is disposed in parallel with each other at a regular interval, and at least two of the signal wirings which are adjacent to each other are electrically connected to each other.


Many media streams contain “objects” that repeat. Repeating objects in a media stream are defined as any section of non-negligible duration, i.e., a song, video, advertisement, jingle, etc., which would be considered to be a logical unit by a human listener or viewer. An “object controller” identifies such repeating objects as they occur, and provides an interactive user interface for allowing users to specify how individual repeating objects are to be handled either in real time, or upon subsequent occurrences of particular repeating objects. In general, the object controller includes a mechanism for identifying repeating objects, a mechanism for identifying temporal endpoints of those objects, a user interface for specifying actions to be taken when a particular object repeats within a media stream, and, in one embodiment, a buffer having sufficient length to allow for real-time deletion of objects from the media stream without obvious interruption in the str.

1. Technical Field
The invention is related to media stream identification and segmentation, and in particular, to a system and method for providing both automatic and real-time user control over repeating audio and/or video objects identified within one or more streams of media such as, for example, a media stream broadcast by a radio or television station.
2. Related Art
There are many existing schemes for identifying audio and/or video objects such as particular advertisements, station jingles, or songs embedded in an audio stream, or advertisements or other videos embedded in a video stream. For example, with respect to audio identification, many such schemes are referred to as "audio fingerprinting" schemes. Typically, audio fingerprinting schemes take a known object, and reduce that object to a set of parameters, such as, for example, frequency content, energy level, etc. These parameters are then stored in a database of known objects. Sampled portions of the streaming media are then compared to the fingerprints in the database for identification purposes.
Thus, in general, such schemes typically rely on a comparison of the media stream to a large database of previously identified media objects. In operation, such schemes often sample the media stream over a desired period using some sort of sliding window arrangement, and compare the sampled data to the database in order to identify potential matches. In this manner, individual objects in the media stream can be identified. This identification information is typically used for any of a number of purposes, including segmentation of the media stream into discrete objects, or generation of play lists or the like for cataloging the media stream.
However, as noted above, such schemes require the use of a preexisting database of pre-identified media objects for operation. Without such a preexisting database, identification, and/or segmentation of the media stream are not possible when using the aforementioned conventional schemes.
Further, user interaction with such media streams is limited by the ability to quickly identify both repeating objects and the start and end points of such repeating objects with the media stream.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for efficiently identifying and extracting or segmenting repeating media objects from a media stream such as a broadcast radio or television signal without the need to use a preexisting database of pre-identified media objects. Further, once the repeating media objects have been identified, an intelligent user interface for providing user interaction with the media stream is needed for allowing a user to control handling or processing of the media stream upon subsequent occurrences of particular repeating objects.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for providing user control over repeating objects embedded in a stream


A search method for a neural network model structure, includes: generating an initial generation population of network model structure based on multi-objective optimization hyper parameters, as a current generation population of network model structure; performing selection and crossover on the current generation population of network model structure; generating a part of network model structure based on reinforcement learning mutation, and generating a remaining part of network model structure based on random mutation on the selected and crossed network model structure; generating a new population of network model structure based on the part of network model structure generated by reinforcement learning mutation and the remaining part of network model structure generated by random mutation; and searching a next generation population of network model structure based on the current generation population of network model structure and the new population of network model structure.

Deep learning neural network achieves feature extraction of end-to-end, which is an improvement over manual feature extraction. At the same time, artificially designed neural network architectures increase complexity of neural network.
With the development of technology, neural architecture search (NAS) realizes designing neural network by using neural network, and represents a direction of future development of machine learning. In NAS technology, evolutionary algorithm or reinforcement learning algorithm is used as search strategy to search the neural network model structure.

Search method, device and storage medium for neural network model structure

Beijing Xiaomi Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.


A ball screw device includes a screw engaged into a nut member for forming an endless ball guiding passage and for receiving a number of ball bearing members, two end caps are attached to end portions of the nut member and each include a radially and inwardly extended helical bulge for engaging with the helical groove of the screw, and the nut member includes a peripheral protrusion for engaging with the end cap and for preventing the end cap from being moved radially toward the screw and for preventing the screw from being scrapped by the end cap. The end caps each include a peripheral depression for receiving and engaging with the peripheral protrusion of the nut member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an end cap for a ball screw device, and more particularly to an end cap including an improved anchoring or securing structure or device for suitably anchoring or securing or retaining the end cap to the ball screw device and for preventing the end cap from being contacted or engaged with the elongated bolt or screw and for preventing the elongated bolt or screw from being scrapped or rubbed by the end cap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical ball screw devices comprise a nut threaded onto an elongated bolt or screw and rotatable and movable or adjustable along the screw, one or more endless ball guiding passages formed in the ball screw device for slidably receiving ball bearing members, and one or more end caps or dust caps or deflectors attached onto the nut and rotatable or movable in concert with the nut relative to the elongated bolt or screw.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,199 to Yang et al. discloses one of the typical ball screw return systems comprising a nut engaged onto an elongated bolt or screw and rotatable or movable along the screw, one or more endless ball guiding passages formed in the ball screw device for slidably receiving ball bearing members and for guiding the nut to smoothly rotate or move relative to the elongated bolt or screw, and one or more end caps or dust caps or deflectors attached onto the nut and rotatable or movable in concert with the nut relative to the elongated bolt or screw for enclosing the end portions of the nut and for preventing the dust from entering into the slit or space between the nut and the elongated bolt or screw.
However, the end caps or dust caps or deflectors are attached onto the nut with hooks or clips or latches and may not be solidly and stably anchored or retained or positioned to the nut, and may have a good chance to be moved and contacted or engaged with the elongated bolt or screw such that the elongated bolt or screw may have a good chance to be scrapped or rubbed by the end cap and may be easily and quickly worn out after use.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,533,593 to Pan et al. discloses another typical ball screw device also comprising a nut engaged onto an elongated bolt or screw and rotatable or movable along the screw, a number of ball bearing members disposed or engaged between the nut and the elongated bolt or screw for guiding the nut to smoothly rotate or move relative to the elongated bolt or screw, and one or more end caps or dust caps or deflectors attached onto the nut and rotatable or movable in concert with the nut relative to the elongated bolt or screw for enclosing the end portions of the nut and for preventing the dust from entering into the slit or space between the nut and the elongated bolt or screw.
However, the end caps or dust caps or deflectors are attached onto the nut with hooks or clips and may not be solidly and stably anchored or retained or positioned to the nut, and may have a good chance to be moved and contacted or engaged with the elongated bolt or screw such that the elongated bolt or screw may have a good chance to be scrapped or rubbed by the end cap and may be easily and quickly worn out after use.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional end caps or dust caps or end deflectors for the ball screw devices.


Aircraft systems having baffle seals with low coefficients of friction and methods of assembling aircraft systems are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, an aircraft system includes: (a) an aircraft baffle; (b) an aircraft cowl separated from the aircraft baffle by a gap, the aircraft cowl having a contact surface; and (c) a flexible aircraft baffle seal extending from the aircraft baffle to the aircraft cowl to seal the gap, the aircraft baffle seal having a contact side for contacting the contact surface of the aircraft cowl, the contact side having a kinetic coefficient of friction that is not more than 0.4, the aircraft baffle seal comprising an elastomer sheet and a laminate, the laminate being the contact side.

Most modern aircraft with reciprocating engines employ a cooling system known as "pressure cooling". Pressure cooling is accomplished by placing a cowling around an engine and then using a system of baffles and seals to induce airflow around the engine cylinders to achieve even cooling with minimum drag. Most pressure cooling systems are "down-draft" type systems where, in conjunction with the placement of the air inlet and outlet, the baffles and seals create a high pressure region above the engine and a corresponding low pressure region below the engine. The resulting pressure differential between the two regions produces a top-to-bottom airflow around the engine cylinders.
The baffles are typically of aluminum sheet metal construction and attach to brackets on the engine. The baffles extend from the engine almost to the engine cowl, and there is normally a small gap (1 to 4 inches is common) between the baffle and the cowl to allow for engine vibration and movement. This gap is sealed by baffle seals.
Baffle seals are typically made from a flexible material, such as neoprene or silicone rubber, and they are sometimes reinforced with fiberglass. The baffle seals are commonly stapled or riveted to the baffles and extend to the cowl to prevent air from by-passing the baffles. The baffle seals are typically wider than the gap they must seal, and the excess seal material bends forward such that the pressure differential between the high pressure and low pressure regions forces the baffle seal against an inner surface of the cowl (also referred to herein as "cowl contact surface").
Due to constant flexing, mishandling during cowl installation, and a harsh operating environment, baffle seals have a limited useful life and must be replaced as part of regular maintenance. There are currently three types of baffle seal material commonly used to replace baffle seals: 1) un-reinforced silicone rubber (e.g., Federal Specification ZZ-R-765 Class 2B Grade 60 Silicone); 2) fiberglass reinforced silicone rubber (e.g., AMS 3320 Glass Cloth Reinforced Silicone Sheet); 3) neoprene coated fiberglass (e.g., AMS 3783 Chloroprene Coated Glass Cloth, a.k.a., T8071). All three of these materials are available in bulk from many aircraft supply companies. Replacement seals ordered from aircraft manufacturers appear to be either AMS 3320 Glass Cloth Reinforced Silicone Sheet or AMS 3783 Chloroprene Coated Glass Cloth, depending on the manufacturer and the aircraft vintage.
All three types of baffle seal material have a common shortcoming; they do not have a sufficiently low coefficient of friction. A low coefficient of friction is especially important, not just to extend the life of the baffle seals, but also to prevent damage to the cowl and attaching hardware. Friction between the baffle seal and the cowl contact surface transfers engine vibration to the cowl. This vibration locally erodes the cowl where the baffle seal contacts it and fatigues the cowl and all hardware attached to it, which eventually necessitates costly repairs.
Using the ASTM D 1894-01 test method with an opposing surface of stainless steel with a #8 finish, a cross head speed of 6 inches per minute, and modified with 0.25 psi surface pressure instead of 0.07 psi to more accurately reflect the conditions under which the materials are used, we found AMS 3783 Chloroprene coated fiberglass to have a static coefficient of friction of 0.616 and a kinetic coefficient of friction of 0.495. We found ZZ-R-765 Class 2b Grade 60 Silicone to have a static coefficient of friction of 2.28 and a kinetic coefficient of friction of 3.02.
Replacement baffle seals are commonly coated with a powder for shipping purposes, but this powder is quickly rubbed off, either before or during installation or when the baffle seal interacts with the cowl. This powder is not part of the baffle seals, and it offers no sustained reduction in the material's coefficient of friction. It should be understood that "baffle seal" and "sheet of material" as used herein do not include powders used topically for shipping or otherwise that do not provide more than a momentary reduction in coefficient of friction.


An apparatus and method for passively generating a current flow in a body of water is disclosed. The passive water circulating apparatus has an aeration plate having a central opening; a plurality of flotation members joined to the aeration plate, the plurality of flotation members being adapted and disposed for maintaining buoyancy of the aeration plate above a water surface; an uplift tube member having a central orifice in fluid communication with the central opening of the aeration plate; a concentrator member disposed at an end of the uplift tube opposite the aeration plate, the concentrator member having a bottom opening in fluid communication with an upper opening, the bottom opening being wider than the upper opening and the upper opening being connected to the uplift tube member; and a plurality of bio-substrates suspended from the concentrator member below the bottom opening, the plurality of bio-substrates providing a substrate for growth of microbes.

In waste treatment ponds and lakes, aerobic microbes eat waste in the presence of dissolved oxygen, producing carbon dioxide (CO2) and waste sludge in the process. In turn, facultative organisms eat the waste sludge and expel liquefied waste. This liquefied waste provides nutrients for other organisms, which turn the liquefied waste into short chain volatile fatty acids (VFA). These VFA generally cause a drop in pH of the pond water towards approximately 5.5 (7.0 being the pH of pure water). Still other organisms process the VFA and produce acetic acid, which further depresses the pH of the water to below 5.5. Methanogenic microbes reduce the acetic acid to methane and CO2. With the acetic acid being broken down, the pH of the water once again begins to rise. This process occurs naturally in healthy bodies of water; and is mimicked in sewage treatment and pollution mitigation processes.
The process described above is in dynamic equilibrium where one process is dependent on the product of the preceding reaction. If any one reaction is overly encouraged, the system becomes unbalanced, leading to a break down in the efficiency of the water system to process out organic waste. In natural, as well as man-made, water systems, circulation of the water in the system is very important for maintaining the proper aeration of the water and functioning of the waste removal processes.
Responsive to the need for water circulation to increase dissolved oxygen levels and waste removal processes, circulation devices are often utilized in waste treatment ponds and in highly polluted lakes. However, these water circulation devices employ motors, which require a power source. Consequently, the conventional circulator devices are quite expensive, and thus prohibitive for widespread use especially in poorer regions that are most likely to have polluted bodies of water.


A scanning line driving circuit includes an arithmetic circuit for generating an operation result for specifying a unit register for outputting an output signal by means of an arithmetic process on an output number control signal for specifying the number of signals to be outputted. An input stage of each unit register is provided with a signal control circuit for controlling whether to allow the unit register to output an output signal based on the operation result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving circuit and a driving method for driving scanning lines or image signal lines of a display panel.
2. Description of the Background Art
For example, in liquid crystal display devices, a driving circuit (scanning line driving circuit) for driving scanning lines of a display panel (a liquid crystal panel) is configured so as to output signals whose number corresponds to the number of the scanning lines of the liquid crystal display panel. Similarly, a driving circuit (image signal line driving circuit) for driving image signal lines of the liquid crystal display panel is configured so as to output signals whose number corresponds to the number of the image signal lines.
In general, since the number of scanning lines and the number of image signal lines in the display panel are larger than the number of signals (the number of the output terminals) that can be outputted by one driving circuit (integrated circuit), the scanning lines and the image signal lines are driven by using a plurality of driving circuits that are cascade-connected. From a viewpoint of reduction in the cost of liquid crystal display devices, since it is preferable that the number of driving circuits to be used is smaller, the number of output terminals provided in one driving circuit tends to increase according to recent improvement of fine processing technology.
It is the most efficient that all the output terminals in a driving circuit are used. However, since resolution (the numbers of scanning lines and image signal lines) of the display panel varies, the number of required signals does not always match with the number of the output terminals in the driving circuit. Recently, since the number of the output terminals in the driving circuit increases, it is more difficult than ever to adjust the resolution of the display panel to the number of the output terminals in the driving circuit. For this reason, some output terminals of the driving circuit are not often used.
A driving circuit having a function for enabling the number of output terminals to be switched (namely, some of them can be disabled to be used) according to standard resolution of the display panel is also proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-128776).

Display panel driving circuit and display device


A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving a first data at a first network element; determining that the first data does not match an entry in an access control list; and sending a first message to a second network element that causes the second network element to enter into a low-power state. In yet another example embodiment, the method can include receiving a second data; determining that the second data matches an entry in the access control list; buffering the second data; sending a second message to the second network element, where the second message causes the second network element to exit the low-power state; and sending the buffered second data to the second network element.

Modern hardware can generally be placed into various low-power states, where various components may be throttled down or disabled altogether. Certain low-power states cause a total loss of network connectivity for some period of time. This makes low-power features difficult (almost impossible) to use for some devices (e.g., set-top boxes and embedded multimedia terminal adapters (eMTAs) that need continuous uninterrupted access to upstream and/or downstream data). It would be beneficial if power savings strategies could be employed as frequently as possible without interrupting important data flows. It would be a further benefit if a system could make intelligent decisions to minimize the energy consumption, while maximizing the user experience.

System and method to conserve power in an access network without loss of service quality


A speaker frame, and corresponding speaker, may have tapered spokes that form a radial triangular pattern with an apex converging near the frame's mounting flange, for example, near tabs including mounting holes where the frame attaches to a speaker baffle. The tapered spokes may include a triangular cut-out region defining a pair of converging legs that converge at the mounting flange. The width, curvature, and the angle of the spokes may allow for a thin and lightweight configuration with uniformly distributed minimal stress.

The function of a frame in a direct radiating loudspeaker is to hold the edge of a diaphragm's suspension on one side and hold the attached motor assembly and the moving assembly spider on the other side. The traditional frame configuration uses radially-oriented spokes that connect the base of the frame to the surround landing. Many loudspeaker applications require the minimization of transducer weight, which includes the weight of the frame. Weight reduction must also be balanced with the structural integrity of the frame.

Harman International Industries, Incorporated


A flowable material for pavement repair and maintenance comprises rounded sand coated with a polymeric surfactant to be non absorbent of water in the presence of a polymer mix which allows time for easy placement of the mix into damaged pavement. The polymeric surfactant coating creates a strong affinity between the sand and the polymer mix. The materials are chosen preferably to cause an isoviscous reaction to occur. This type of reaction is characterized by a setting phase which stabilizes the repair before a rapid change in viscosity occurs and may be further enabled by an excess of polymer to increase flowability. An excess of polymer insures that sufficient binder remains at the upper portions of the repair to provide flexible and waterproof structure while excess fluid components settle to the bottom of the repair before setting occurs to seal the surrounding pavement. The slow buildup of viscosity allows the sand to settle so that the mix becomes self-compacting.

The dismal state of American roadways is well documented as is the deficiency in the funding for taking corrective measures. One basic problem with roadways is that the materials used are to a large extent incompatible with and dissociate from one another in response to traffic, a process accelerated in the presence of water. This is particularly true for asphalt concrete roadways. But as will become clear hereinafter, the remedy will be applicable to Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) roadways as well.
Asphalt concrete is a mixture of graded rocks and sand with asphalt oils. The composition requires no joints because it is flexible and can easily move to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction. Asphalt concrete is easy to place and creates a smooth pavement that supports heavy loading.
Asphalt concrete is applied hot and is ready for traffic when compacted and cooled. Because of the low cost, the simplicity and speed of application, and short time for return to traffic, asphalt concrete is the dominant pavement for building roads, driveways, and parking lots.
Unfortunately, rock and sand combined with asphalt oils is an inherently unstable mix with a short service life compared to Portland cement concrete pavements. Asphalt oils are nonpolar and do not form a strong attraction to polar materials like rocks and sand. Water has a strong attraction to the polar aggregates and readily displaces the asphalt oils. It is for this reason that water flowing over asphalt concrete pavements rather quickly removes the asphalt oils to expose and ravel the rocks and sand.
But a more serious limitation is caused by the flow of asphalt oils because of the continuous movement which occurs under traffic loads and thermal expansion and contraction. Rock and sand specify gravity is 2.6. Asphalt oils specific gravity is 1.1. This large difference in specific gravity causes rocks and sand to sink and asphalt oils to rise.
The difference in expansion and contraction, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity between asphalt oils and rocks and sand creates internal forces to force asphalt oil flow. As the asphalt concrete pavement heats, oils with their low heat capacity warm quickly, liquefy and expand at a rate much greater than the expansion of rocks and sand. The path of least resistance for expanding flowable oils is up to the surface.
Oil on the surface is exposed to traffic, heat and cold, oxygen, wind, dirt and sand, ultraviolet light and water to volatilize, oxidize, wear away and emulsify the exposed oils into the environment.
Thermal expansion is followed by thermal contraction as the pavement cools at night. The spacing between the rocks and sand and the asphalt oils is reduced from oil loss to shrink and stiffen the pavement.
It is no surprise then that as asphalt concrete ages and the asphalt oil disperses, the pavement becomes hard and brittle. Cracks form and the pavement shrinks. After the first cracks appear, breakdown accelerates rapidly. As water flows through the cracks to the base, the support for the pavement washes away. In short order more cracks appear followed by more serious pavement distress including potholes.
Although each of the components of asphalt concrete pavement is inherently stable and not readily prone to breakdown, the combination of rocks and oil is unstable. The situation is similar to the case with liquids. Liquids, such as oil and water are not mutually compatible, and are only made compatible by emulsification. The emulsion appears stable and uniform but the components are doomed to early separation in the absence of a suitable emulsifying agent or surfactant.
It is clear that asphalt concrete similarly is a mix of incompatible components with widely different polarity destined to a short life together unless means of stabilizing the mixture is used.


Embodiments include techniques for determining the validity of service recommendations, where the techniques include receiving a service provider recommendation for a device from a service provider, and receiving device inputs and service provider inputs associated with the device. The techniques also include performing an input analysis on the device inputs to determine a predicted recommendation, and determining a trust level score for the service provider based at least in part on the service provider inputs, and comparing the service provider recommendation and the predicted recommendation. Techniques include performing, based at least in part on the trust level score, a value analysis and a severity analysis, and generating a recommended action based at least in part on the value analysis and the severity analysis.

The present invention generally relates to validity tools, and more specifically, to determining the validity of service recommendations.
In today's environment, devices and equipment are used daily for commercial and personal applications. In order to extend the life of the device and equipment, regular service according to maintenance schedules should be performed. Each device can have a specific set of services, including both planned and unplanned services, that need to be performed that is based on the model of the device, type of device, the age of the device, usage of the device, among other factors. As devices become more complex the required maintenance for the devices can increase and the type of service may require more skill.

Determining validity of service recommendations

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A hearing aid includes a relatively rigid shell which holds hearing aid electronics and one or more flexible, shape-retaining filaments attached to the hearing aid shell. The filament(s) extend(s) out a proximal side of the hearing aid shell having a shape which interacts with the user's ear anatomy such as the conchae bowl. The shape determines an insertion depth of the hearing aid shell into the user's ear canal, and a spring action biases the hearing aid toward the desired insertion depth. The hearing aid supported by the filament(s) provides an open, unoccluding position in the ear canal.

The present invention relates to hearing aids. In particular, the present invention pertains to systems and structures for correctly and consistently locating hearing aids relative to the ear anatomy of a user.
Hearing aids on the market today are available in different mounting configurations. Many hearing aids include a behind-the-ear ("BTE") portion which, as the name implies, is mounted behind the user's ear, with the ear supporting the weight of some or all the hearing aid components, including primarily the weight of the battery and amplifier and associated housing. Many BTE hearing aids include a sound tube which extends into the user's ear canal. Other hearing aids are considered in-the-ear ("ITE") hearing aids with some or all of the weight of the hearing aid supported in the conchae bowl of the user's ear. Many hearing aids also include a portion which resides in the user's ear canal, including receiver-in-canal ("RIC") hearing aids which have only the receiver of the hearing aid in the ear canal, in-the-canal ("ITC") hearing aids which extend largely into the ear canal for support but include a portion outside the ear canal, or completely-in-canal ("CIC") hearing aids which reside entirely in the user's ear canal. Some ITC and CIC hearing aids have used a flexible retrieval line for removing the hearing aid from the ear canal.
Hearing aid placement is important for best sound quality and best comfort of the hearing aid. For BTE and ITE hearing aids, the location is driven mostly by comfort and aesthetics. Aesthetically, most users desire a hearing aid which is as inconspicuous as possible. Because sound quality is somewhat dependent upon proximity of the hearing aid's sound outlet to the eardrum, placement (depth of canal insertion) affects sound quality more heavily in ITC and CIC hearing aids.
Part of the difficulty in designing hearing aids is that the anatomical shapes of different users' ears are not uniform. To achieve accurate and consistent placement in the desired location relative to a user's eardrum, many hearing aids use a custom shell which is custom shaped to fit that particular user's shape of ear anatomy. However, customization of the shell involves significant costs which can be avoided with a less customized solution.
For many RIC, ITC and CIC non-custom hearing aids, placement is largely set by the user, i.e., the user pushes the hearing aid (or canal portion) into the ear canal sufficiently far that it comfortably seats in a desired ear canal location by biasing off the wall of the ear canal. A large part of the consistent placement of such RIC, ITC and CIC non-custom hearing aids relies on the gradually decreasing diameter of the ear canal, i.e., the user pushes the hearing aid into the canal until it feels snug but not overly tight. As more hearing aid solutions become available, proper placement methods for non-custom hearing aids that do not rely on "snugness" in the ear canal are needed.

Hearing aid positioning system and structure


An apparatus and method for attaching a crawler vehicle to the surface of an object. The crawler vehicle may comprise a frame, a number of moveable surface-engaging components attached to the frame, a number of actuators, and an electro-permanent magnet. The number of actuators is operable to move the frame with respect to the object when the number of moveable surface-engaging components is in contact with the surface of the object. The electro-permanent magnet is operable to hold the number of moveable surface-engaging components in contact with the surface of the object by a magnetic force between the electro-permanent magnet and the object when the electro-permanent magnet is activated and to remove the magnetic force when the electro-permanent magnet is deactivated to release the number of moveable surface-engaging components from the surface of the object.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to crawler vehicles for moving tools on the surface of an object. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for holding a holonomic or other type of crawler vehicle onto the surface of an object using an electro-permanent magnet.
2. Background
A vehicle may move along the surface of an object to perform various tasks at various locations on the object. Such a vehicle may be referred to as a crawler vehicle. For example, without limitation, a crawler vehicle may be capable of holonomic movement on the surface of an object. A vehicle capable of holonomic movement may rotate while moving in any direction across the surface of an object at the same time.
A crawler vehicle may be configured to carry various tools for performing various tasks on an object. For example, without limitation, a crawler vehicle may be configured to carry a number of tools for performing an inspection on the object, repairing the object, or for performing another desired task or various combinations of tasks on the object.
It may be desirable to hold a crawler vehicle on the surface of an object to prevent undesired movement of the vehicle with respect to the surface of the object. For example, without limitation, it may be desirable for a crawler vehicle to move on inclined or substantially vertical surfaces of an object or in other adverse conditions in which undesired movement of the vehicle may occur. In this case, it may be desirable to hold the crawler vehicle on the surface of the object to prevent undesired slipping movement of the vehicle on the surface or to prevent the vehicle from falling off of the object as the vehicle moves on the surface of the object.
Various systems and methods may be used to hold a vehicle on the surface of an object as the vehicle moves on the surface of the object. Some current examples of such systems and methods include systems and methods for holding a crawler vehicle on the surface of an object using a suction force or a magnetic force.
For example, without limitation, a suction force for holding a vehicle on the surface of an object may be generated by a ducted fan or other appropriate mechanism on the vehicle for propelling air from a channel or other space between the vehicle and the surface to create a suction zone. The use of such a suction force for holding a vehicle on the surface of an object may have several limitations. For example, generating the suction force may consume a relatively large amount of energy and the suction force generated may not be sufficient for holding a vehicle on the surface of an object in some cases.
A magnetic force may be used to hold a vehicle on the surface of an object that comprises a ferromagnetic material. Currently, a magnetic force for holding a vehicle on the surface of an object may be provided by a number of permanent magnets or an electromagnet on the vehicle. Holding a vehicle on the surface of an object using permanent magnets may have several limitations. For example, removing a vehicle comprising permanent magnets from the surface of a ferromagnetic object and transporting such a vehicle comprising permanent magnets may be difficult in some cases. Holding a vehicle on the surface of an object using an electromagnet also may have several limitations. For example, generating a magnetic force by an electromagnet on the vehicle may consume a relatively large amount of energy.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account one or more of the issues discussed above, as well as possible other issues.

Electro-permanent magnetic attachment of a vehicle to an object


An interconnection element for use in an user-configurable interconnection technology includes a normally shorted fuse element and a normally open antifuse element connected in series. The antifuse element is designed to program at a first current at a selected programming voltage. The fuse element is designed to program at a second current which exceeds the first current by a margin sufficient to prevent inadvertent programming of fuse elements during the antifuse element programming cycle. An interconnection network for use in integrated circuits and other connection networks includes a plurality of circuit nodes which may be selectively connected to one another. Each circuit node is connected to other circuit nodes using the interconnection element of the present invention which includes an antifuse element which programs at a programming voltage and a first current in series with a fuse element which programs at a second current having a magnitude larger than the first current.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to interconnect technology such as is used in integrated circuit technology and general interconnect substrate technology. More particularly, the present invention relates to user-configurable interconnections in integrated circuits and interconnection substrates and to a network of user-configurable interconnections for integrated circuits and interconnection substrates.
2. The Prior Art
Numerous schemes for providing integrated circuit interconnections are known in the prior art. Various ones of these schemes relate to user-configurable interconnections for use in integrated circuits, wherein a plurality of potential interconnection points are fabricated into an integrated circuit during the manufacturing process, but the particular interconnections between circuit nodes in the integrated circuit are made by the user by programming selected ones of the interconnections such that desired connections between circuit nodes are made while other potential interconnections are deliberately unrealized.
More recently, general interconnect schemes, which may be realized on non-integrated circuit substrates, such as thick-film and thin-film hybrids and printed circuit boards, have begun to be investigated. Interconnect matrix applications and other non-integrated circuit applications employing user-configurable interconnections between conductors are possible.
There are several types of user-configurable interconnect schemes which are currently available to the designer. One type of user-configurable interconnect is reprogrammable, and can be altered by a user after initial circuit configuration has been accomplished. In integrated circuits, this type of interconnect may be implemented by simple transistors whose gate voltages are controlled to determine the interconnections to be made, or by one form or another of non-volatile memory devices, such as EPROMS, EEPROMS, NOVRAMS, or combinations of both simple transistors and non-volatile memory elements. An example of a technology for implementing this type of interconnect is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,302 to Freeman.
Another type of user-configurable interconnect element is one-time programmable, and once initially configured, may not be reconfigured. This type of user-configurable interconnect may take one of two forms, a first form, normally short circuited until rendered an open circuit as a result of a programming procedure, and a second form normally open circuited until rendered a short circuit as a result of a programming procedure.
The first form of one-time user-programmable interconnect is usually referred to as fuse technology, and is exemplified by the disclosure found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,075 to Whitten. The second form of one-time user-programmable interconnect is usually referred to as antifuse technology, and is exemplified by the disclosure found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,181 to Mohsen et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,205 to Hamdy et al.
While each form of one-time user-programmable interconnect technology has been and continues to be useful in numerous integrated circuit and general conductor interconnect applications, there remains room for improvement of this technology. For example, interconnect networks comprising fuse technology initially present a network of connected nodes. Fuses connecting unwanted circuit paths are then programmed by applying a voltage or current source across them. One disadvantage of this method is that other fuses in the interconnection network which are not to be programmed are in the current path of the fuse to be programmed. Depending on the configuration of the particular network, these "sneak" paths for current can be significant enough to require a large amount of current to be supplied to program the desired fuses.
When antifuse technology is used, care must be taken to avoid the inadvertent programming of antifuses which are intended to remain unprogrammed. In some cases, the existence of parallel current and voltage paths through the potential interconnection networks raises the possibility of stressing antifuses which are to remain unprogrammed. Overly stressed antifuses may inadvertently become programmed, or may become so weakened that they will present a reliability problem and shorten the operating lifetime of the circuit in which they are used. This consideration necessitates careful design of the programming process and may also affect circuit design considerations.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an interconnection network for use in integrated circuits and general electronic/conductor interconnection networks which minimizes or eliminates the disadvantages of fuse and antifuse based interconnection networks.


A vacuum cleaner is provided, including a dirt collection container, a suction unit for acting on the dirt collection container with negative pressure via a suction chamber, at least one filter element arranged between the dirt collection container and the suction chamber in the flow direction of the air sucked in by the suction unit, a filter cover covering the filter element on the clean space side, at least one rechargeable battery for providing electrical energy for the suction unit, and at least one battery receptacle. The vacuum cleaner can further include a battery lid, which includes the at least one battery receptacle, and which is arranged above the filter cover, the battery lid being transferable from a closed position in which it covers the filter cover to an open position in which a user has access on the clean space side to the filter cover, and vice versa.

A vacuum cleaner of the aforementioned kind is described in WO 2012/062579 A1. The vacuum cleaner comprises a housing with a housing cover which is pivotable into an open position. In the open position, a battery compartment of the vacuum cleaner is released, and the user has access to two rechargeable batteries which are each accommodated in a battery receptacle. The battery receptacles are arranged on the top side of the filter cover. To gain access to the filter cover, for example, for maintenance of a filter cleaning device arranged on the filter cover, the user must first remove the batteries from the battery receptacles. When the user wants to access the filter element for maintenance purposes, previous removal of the sometimes heavy batteries from the battery receptacles is also necessary in order that the filter cover is more easily transferable from a position covering the filter element to a position releasing the filter element. The provision of the battery receptacles on the top side of the filter cover also requires a certain constructional height especially since there remains below the housing cover a spacing from the batteries for improved heat dissipation and better cooling of the batteries.
The vacuum cleaner described in WO 2012/062579 A1 performs well in practice. Provision of a vacuum cleaner with a more compact design and simplified access to the filter cover is, however, desirable.
An object underlying the present invention is to provide a generic vacuum cleaner which has a more compact design and in which access to the filter cover is facilitated.


Systems and methods are disclosed herein for distributing online ads with electronic content according to online ad request targeting parameters. One embodiment of this technique involves placing online test ads across multiple online ad request dimensions and tracking a performance metric for the online test ads. The performance of the online ad request dimensions is estimated based on the tracking of the performance metric for the online test ads and online ad request targeting parameters are established for spending a budget of a campaign to place online ads in response to online ad requests having particular online ad request dimensions. Online ads are then distributed based on using the online ad request targeting parameters to select online ad requests.

Elaborate computing systems are used to coordinate the display of online ads to visitors of web pages, search engine users, social media users, e-mail recipients, and other electronic device users. In a common example, a merchant (marketer) wanting to reach its customers (visitors) on some other company's website (publisher), like a sport television network's website, does so by bidding on one or more online ad-slots on the publisher's web pages. The publisher web pages have online ad-slots that are commonly auctioned via an online ad-exchange such as the DoubleClick Ad Exchange™ program by Google, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) such as Adobe Media Optimizer, by Adobe Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., place bids on behalf of marketers. For example, when a visitor requests a web page, an online ad-exchange quickly runs an auction to a find a bidder. The online ad-exchange provides an online ad requests that bidders bid upon and the winning bidder's online ad is displayed with the web page as an online ad-impression. The visitor could then potentially take a desired action, such as clicking on the online ad, making a purchase on the marketer website, etc.
Every day there are billions of online ad requests requesting bids for available online ad-slots. Marketers and the automated systems that assist marketers continue to struggle to distinguish and select appropriate online ad requests. For example, showing an online ad about promotional offers in California to a person residing in India would be meaningless. On the other hand, it would make sense to display an online ad about tires on automobile related web pages. Existing provide no way to identify which dimensions (i.e., attributes of the web page and/or visitor) of the online ad requests to use to select online ads bid requests to bid on. Moreover, once a bid request is identified to bid on, an appropriate bid amount must be selected and existing systems.
Existing techniques for selecting online ad requests to respond to and appropriate bidding amounts have deficiencies. For example, contextual techniques serve online ads based on best contextual matching, serving an online ad for a credit card on web pages related to financial articles. However, the contextual associations between the online ads and the web pages are manually identified and based on intuition and assumptions. As a result, online ads are often not optimally placed. In addition, contextual models are generally based on textual analysis of the web pages and hence require extensive crawling of the web pages followed by natural language processing. These processing requirements make contextual techniques impractical in many circumstances. For example, a response to an online ad bid request generally must be made in 200 ms or less, making it infeasible to do contextual analysis of web pages in real-time. Additionally, natural language processing tools come with their own shortfalls making the contextual bids sub-optimal. In certain scenarios based on domain knowledge, human curated lists of websites or website categories have been created where online ads are displayed. However, such an approach only includes certain well-known web-domains while excluding the vast inventory available in the online ad-exchanges. Moreover, the right categories are often not obvious to simple human observation.
Behavior-based ad placement techniques are similarly inefficient. For example, behavior models are created for single or cohorts of visitors based on user attributes (e.g., age, gender, income, etc.) and online ads are served based on visitors having an expected interest that is similar to the online ad's topic. Data for single visitors is, however, often unavailable, changing over time, or so sparse that it is insufficient to statistically deduce useful visitor information.

Methods for determining targeting parameters and bids for online ad distribution


A method for controlling an information processing system that includes a client device including a plurality of sensors that acquire positional information of the client device and a server device that transmits data to the client device includes causing the server device to specify a positioning requirement corresponding to positional information of the client device based on association information associating a distance between the client device and a location in which the server device transmits the data to the client device located with each of the sensors, and causing the client device to select a sensor based on the positioning requirement specified by the server device among the sensors.

In recent years, the number of mobile terminals that include various sensors is increasing. The mobile terminals can use the sensors to sense behaviors of users. The number of services using positional information as sensing information is increasing. For example, there is the following service. That is, the current position of a user is measured by a global positioning system (GPS) installed in a smart phone, a wireless local area network (LAN) or the like. When the user approaches a location (store, station or the like) specified by a service provider, a center server distributes, to a mobile terminal of the user, an application and coupon that can be used at the location. In the service, an application installed in the mobile terminal periodically acquires information of the current position of the mobile terminal from the GPS or the like and transmits the acquired positional information to the center server. The center server determines, on the basis of the received positional information, whether or not the user has entered in a range in which the service is provided. If the user is in the range, the center server distributes an application and recommended information.
For mobile terminals, there are multiple positioning methods such as autonomous navigation using a GPS, a wireless LAN, a public mobile phone line, an acceleration sensor and a geomagnetic sensor in order to acquire information of the positions of users. The amounts of power to be consumed by the mobile terminals and the accuracies of the positioning methods vary. In general, when a high-accuracy positioning method is used by a mobile terminal, the amount of power to be consumed by the mobile terminal is large. An application that uses positional information and is executed on a mobile terminal does not detect a range in which a service registered in the mobile terminal is provided. Thus, positional information is acquired using a high-accuracy positioning method at short time intervals and is continuously transmitted to the center server. When positioning is repeated with a high accuracy at short time intervals and positional information is transmitted to the center server, the center server can acquire detailed data of the position of a user. The mobile terminal, however, repeats positioning for a short time and consumes power. When an application of the mobile terminal executes positioning with a low accuracy, and the user is close to the range in which the service is provided, the mobile terminal is detected to be far from the range in which the service is provided. In this case, an application and recommended information may not be distributed. Even when the user is far from the range in which the service is provided, and positioning continues to be executed with a high accuracy, the mobile terminal consumes power.
Public mobile phone lines enable mobile terminals to perform communication upon subscriptions to the mobile terminals. Normally, the public mobile phone lines enable the mobile terminals to perform communication in order to receive calls and mails. A service for positioning mobile terminals through the public mobile phone lines is provided. Although the accuracy of the positioning is low, the amount of power to be consumed is small. If the positioning is to be executed with a high accuracy, the positioning is executed using a wireless LAN or a GPS and power is consumed in order to newly drive the sensor.
The following is a related-art document.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-115415 is an example of related art.

Method for controlling information processing system, server device, and client device


A sleeve for securing a cryogenic vial includes a cylindrical body sized to receive a vial, the body including a longitudinal axis, a first end, and a second end. A plurality of deformable members are disposed near the first end of the body and are arranged to deform from a first configuration to a second configuration. Each deformable member is displaced outwardly relative to the longitudinal axis of the body in the second configuration.

Many industrial, commercial, and research processes require, for optimal results, that an object or material be maintained at a low temperature. For example, cryogenic preservation or maintenance at low temperature is a common means of insuring the molecular integrity of specimens and products. Substances that would degrade in a relatively short interval at higher temperatures can be stored with limited or no change for long durations at temperatures below the material freezing point.
However, maintenance of a vial that contains a particular specimen or product at a low temperature, such as, for example, below negative 80 degrees C., may make labeling of the vial difficult. In some instances, it is difficult to ensure that a label is easily and permanently affixed to the vial at the low temperature. The label may be important for identifying the specimen or product, such as, for example, a drug, contained within the vial.
In a blinded study, it is also important that a doctor and/or a patient be unaware of what drug the doctor is administering to the patient to ensure that the results of the study are not affected by a placebo effect. Oftentimes a label on a vial will be covered in order to prevent the doctor and/or the patient from knowing what is contained in the vial. However, it may be difficult to ensure the label and covering have not been tampered with in order to view drug information on the label.


In a device for applying paint on surfaces, more particularly on ceilings and walls by means of a paint roller, mounted in rotating position on a stirrup which can be attached to a stirrup carrier, preferably a handle clean and comfortable working and high safety standard is ensured due to a paint roller to which a device for the protection against sprays is assigned, the device being retractable from a work position, which encloses the circumference of the paint roller at the side of the stirrup carrier like a tub, into a release position releasing the paint roller and vice versa.

The present invention relates to a device for applying paint on surfaces, more particularly on ceilings and/or walls, by means of a paint roller which is mounted on a stirrup in a rotable manner which can be joined to a stirrup carrier, preferably having the shape of a handle.
In known devices of this kind a which are used extensively in private households as well as professionally, the paint roller is fully accessible from the outside along its circumference. As much as this is desirable when the paint roller is immersed into a paint container and when the paint roller is wiped off on a grid there is, however, the danger of paint dripping or spraying from the paint roller when the paint is applied on the surface to be painted. In this connection it can be assumed that due to the rotational movement of the paint, roller paint drips are flung off and/or that due to too much pressure on the paint roller, paint is squeezed out. In known setups, however, there is the danger that the floor in the room where the painting is done is soiled by paint drops. It is therefore required to cover the floor and possibly other objects in the room by a plastic sheet. This is, however, not only awkward and costly but also constitutes a major risk of accidents.