To provide appropriate communication quality between a radio station (e.g., small-scale base station) and a mobile station in a state where the radio station is located within a large-scale cell and communicates with the mobile station while reducing interference exerted on the large-scale cell by communication between the radio station and the mobile station regardless of the place of the radio station within the large-scale cell. A femto base station 4 sets a target received power RTWP_target of uplink data used for controlling transmission power of uplink data transmission from a mobile station on an uplink based on a measurement result of received power Pmacro of a pilot signal transmitted from a macro base station 3. Specifically, the target received power RTWP_target is preferably set to a larger value as the received power Pmacro of the pilot signal becomes smaller.

In recent years in which mobile phones have become widespread, as the demand for indoor voice communication and data communication has grown, the development of a home-use base station installed indoors has been pursued. As a form of operation of such a home-use base station, a way of implementing communication in which only a pre-registered mobile phone(s) is connected to a home-use base station has been studied. Since a range covered by a home-use base station is considerably smaller than that of a base station installed outdoors (hereinafter called "macro base station"), the range is called "femtocell". Accordingly, a home-use base station is referred to as "femto base station" hereinafter.
Femto base stations as well as base stations in existing mobile communication networks transmit a common pilot signal. A mobile station performs synchronization establishment, channel estimation, and the like by receiving such a common pilot signal in order to establish a line, and then performs data transmission/reception with a base station. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to receive a common pilot signal with appropriate receiving quality in a mobile station in order to provide appropriate communication quality.
Further, as data transmission from a base station to a mobile station on the downlink has been speeded up, data transmission from the mobile station to the base station on the uplink has been also speeded up. To achieve the speedup of data transmission on the uplink, a technique to maximize the data transmission rate by maximizing the transmission power of the mobile station within the range in which the total amount of the received power (RTWP: Received Total Wideband Power) of all the channels in the base station remains at or below a predetermined target value has been known. The target value of RTWP is set in a fixed manner in each base station.
The femto base station like the one described above has been studied for use in systems such as WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and E-UTRAN (Enhanced UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network). In WCDMA, data transmission is performed by using a dedicated channel, of which transmission power is controlled, on an uplink and a downlink, or performed by using a shared channel on a downlink as shown in Non-patent document 1. Further, in E-UTRAN, a radio frequency band is divided into a plurality of PRBs (Physical Resource Blocks) as shown in Non-patent document 2. Furthermore, a scheduler provided in an E-UTRAN base station assigns PRBs, and a base station performs data transmission with a mobile station by using an assigned PRB.
[Non Patent Document 1]
    3GPP TS 25.214 V7.3.0 (2006-12), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Physical layer procedures (FDD) (Release 7)[Non Patent Document 2]    3GPP TS 36.300 V8.1.0 (2007-06), 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 8)

Radio communication system, communication control method, radio station, and recording medium


A spark-ignition internal combustion engine with direct injection into the combustion chamber which operates according to the jet-guided combustion method, and includes at least one injection device and one ignition device per cylinder. In order to increase the stratification capabilities and the service life of the injection device, the ignition device is disposed centrally, preferably in the zone of the of the cylinder axis, and the injection device is disposed laterally offset in the direct vicinity of the ignition location, with the distance between the orifice of the injection device and the ignition location being 0.1 to 0.24 times the piston diameter.

The invention relates to a spark-ignition internal combustion engine with direct injection into the combustion chamber which operates according to the jet-guided combustion method, with at least one injection device and one ignition device per cylinder.
In spark-ignition engines with direct injection one distinguishes between wall-guided and jet-guided combustion methods. In wall-guided combustion methods the injection jet is directed more or less directly against the wall of the combustion chamber. This offers an increased preparation time for the mixture formation. As a result of the relatively large freedoms in the arrangement of the injection device, which is mostly close to the cylinder wall, the gas-reversing valves can be designed optimally with respect to position and arrangement. Since injection jet and ignition device are disposed relatively far apart from one another, there is no direct wetting of the spark plug. The system is very insensitive to changes in the shape of the injection jet. The disadvantage is, however, that wall-guided combustion methods have a limited stratification capability. A purposeful wetting of the piston wall is obtained in wall-guided combustion methods. As a result of the longer transport path for the mixture, the basic flow and the fluctuations have a stronger effect on the mixture stratification and thus on combustion.
In jet-guided combustion methods on the other hand, the injection jet is not directed towards the combustion chamber wall or the piston top, but a substantial atomization of the injection jet in the zone of the ignition device is desired. Jet-guided combustion methods have the advantage over wall-guided combustion methods that it is possible to realize an extreme stratification capability which has a direct beneficial influence on fuel consumption. Moreover, a high stability of the stratification can be achieved. The central arrangement of the injection device and the spark plug lead to a reduced size of the gas-reversing valves. A further disadvantage is that a wetting of the ignition device occurs frequently. This can have an unfavorable influence on the combustion stability. The combustion method further shows a high sensitivity with respect to the quality and the shape of the injection jet.
In known jet-guided combustion methods the injection device is usually disposed centrally in the zone of the cylinder axis. The spark plug on the other hand is positioned laterally offset thereto in the combustion chamber ceiling, depending on the constructional conditions. The arrangement of the orifice of the injection device in the zone of the cylinder axis leads to the disadvantage, however, that only very low flow speeds arise in this zone, which leads to the consequence that fuel residues at the orifice are not blown away. This can lead to a coking of the orifice of the injection device, as a result of which the same have a relative short life.
GB 2 276 206 A shows an internal combustion engine with an injection device disposed centrally in the zone of the cylinder axis which is disposed close to a spark plug positioned outside of the center. The injection of the fuel is not performed directly into the combustion chamber, but into an injector chamber of the injection device which is separated from the combustion chamber by a poppet valve.
It is the object of the present invention to increase the stratification capability and the service life of the injection device in a direct-injection spark-ignition internal combustion engine with a jet-guided combustion method.
This occurs in accordance with the invention in such a way that the ignition device is disposed centrally, preferably in the zone of the of the cylinder axis, and the injection device is disposed laterally offset in the direct vicinity of the ignition location, with the distance between the orifice of the injection device and the ignition location being 0.1 to 0.24 times the piston diameter.
As a result of the decentralized arrangement of the injection device, the orifice of the injection device is disposed in a zone of higher flow speeds, as a result of which fuel residues can be blown away effectively. As a result of the ultimate vicinity to the ignition device, it is possible to realize extreme charge stratifications with exceptionally favorable igniting capabilities and, as a result, a particularly low fuel consumption.
It is preferably provided in this respect that the angle of inclination of the jet axis of the injection device to the cylinder head sealing plane is approx. between 40xc2x0 and 80xc2x0 and that the angle between the jet axis of the injection device and the axis of the ignition device is approx. between 10xc2x0 and 65xc2x0, with the axis of the ignition device preferably being disposed parallel to the cylinder axis. A high stratification stability can be achieved by this constructional arrangement. At the same time, the wetting of the spark plug is reduced to a minimum.
In order to form extreme stratifications with high stability it is particularly advantageous to provide in the piston a flat, rounded and substantially circular trough. It is preferably provided that the center of the piston trough, when seen in a plan view, is displaced with respect to the cylinder axis in the direction of the jet axis, with the displacement being particularly preferably between 0.02 to 0.08 times the piston diameter. The piston depth best suited for a lean combustion is obtained between approx. 0.04 to 0.1 times the piston diameter. The mean piston trough diameter should be approximately between 0.35 to 0.5 times the piston diameter.
In order to achieve a particularly high lean-making capability it is advantageous when the combustion chamber ceiling formed by the cylinder head and/or the piston top are shaped in such a way that during the compression stroke of the piston a purposeful flow, preferably a cylindrical flow, is initiated from the injection device to the ignition device at the upper dead center. As a result of the purposeful flow to the ignition device, additional air is guided to the ignition location, thus leading to the prevention of coking of the ignition device. The purposeful flow to the ignition device is promoted when the piston top is provided with a squeezing surface on the side of the injection device.

Spark-ignition internal combustion engine with direct injection


A pallet retainer for securing a load on a pallet within a cargo container is monolithic and has upper and lower arms. The arms are placed under and over a transverse member of the pallet and the retainer is secured to the floor of the cargo container by various means to prevent forward and aft shifting. The upper arms may be bifurcated into two transversely spaced segments to retain the vertical members of the pallet and prevent transverse shifting.

The present invention relates to a retainer used to secure a load supporting pallet within a cargo container. The retainer has upper and lower arms which are placed over and under the transverse member of the pallet, and the retainer is then secured to the floor of the container to secure the pallet in place.


It is difficult for a material having low resistance to electron beam irradiation to obtain an electron microscopic image having a high S/N ratio. A conventional image smoothing process can improve stability of measurement, but this process has a problem of measurement errors for absolute values, reduction of sensitivity, deterioration of quality of cubic shape information and the like. In the present invention, by performing an image averaging process without deteriorating cubic shape information of a signal waveform in consideration of dimension deviation of a measurement target pattern, measurement stability is compatible with improvement of precision and sensitivity. Accordingly, it is possible to realize measurement of pattern dimensions and shapes with high precision and control of a highly sensitive semiconductor manufacturing process using the measurement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for measuring dimensions of a shape of a circuit pattern, which is formed on a wafer, using an electron microscopic image of the circuit pattern in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
Dimensions and shape of a multi-layered pattern formed on a wafer as a substrate are important factors having a great influence on performance of the semiconductor device in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device. In particular, a wiring pattern including a transistor gate wiring has a strong connection with its wiring width and shape, and accordingly, it is very important to build a manufacturing process to realize a desired wiring shape.
A general pattern of a semiconductor device is produced using an exposure technique. A fine pattern is formed by forming a film such as a photosensitive organic material (also called a photoresist) on a target material, exposing and developing a desired pattern, and etching the target material using the formed photoresist pattern as a mask.
In production lines of semiconductor devices, dimensions of the photoresist pattern after the exposure and development or dimensions of the pattern after the etching are commonly measured and controlled using a CD-SEM or the like. Scanning electron microscopes for line width measurement (for example, CD-SEMs (Critical dimension Scanning Electron Microscopes)), which are capable of picking up an image of a wiring with hundred thousand magnifications or above, have been conventionally used as length-measuring tools for measuring a fine wiring width of about several tens nanometers. As disclosed in ┌International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors 2005 Edition, Metrology (Http://www.itrs.net/)┘, measurement by CD-SEMs requires high repeatability and reliability. For measurement with high precision using an electron microscopic image (hereinafter referred to as an SEM image), it is effective to use an image with high contrast, low noise and good quality.
In the mean time, among materials commonly used in recent semiconductor manufacturing processes, there are many materials having low electron beam radiation-resistance, such as ArF resists or Low-k materials, as disclosed in ┌A. Habermas, D. Hong, M. Ross, W. Livesay, "193 nm CD Shrinkage under SEM: Modeling the Mechanism" Proc. SPIE 4689, pp. 92-101 (2002): (Habermas et al.)┘. When a pattern made of such materials having the low electron beam radiation-resistance is measured, it is preferable to limit the amount of radiation of electron beams to be as low as possible in order to reduce damage to the pattern. In general, in measurement for a sample having low electron beam radiation-resistance, it is difficult to use a high quality image having a high S/N ratio. For this reason, such a sample has to be subjected to an image smoothing treatment or the like to reduce an effect of noise, thereby improving repeatability of measurement.
In addition, a method of measuring dimensions of a pattern in consideration of a sectional shape of the pattern with attention paid to a relationship between the pattern shape and a waveform is disclosed in ┌J. S. Villarrubia, A. E. Vladar, J. R. Lowney, and M. T. Postek, "Scanning electron microscope analog of scatterometry," Proc. SPIE 4689, pp. 304-312 (2002): (Villarrubia et al. −1)┘. Specifically, this disclosed method is to measure a pattern sectional shape and dimensions of the pattern with high precision based on the pattern sectional shape by calculating a relationship between the pattern sectional shape and a waveform of an SEM signal through a Monte Carlo simulation, storing the calculated relationship as a library, and selecting waveform data nearest to an actual SEM image for measurement of dimensions of the pattern.
Furthermore, an example of obtaining a CD value of bottom, top, signal peak interval and the like of an SEM image signal as an example of sites selected as image features when the image features varying depending on a pattern shape are calculated from an obtained waveform is disclosed in ┌Chie Shishido, Ryo Nakagaki, Maki Tanaka, Yuji Takagi, Hidetoshi Morokuma, Osamu Komuro, and Hiroyoshi Mori, "Dose and focus estimation using top-down SEM images," Proc. SPIE 5038, pp. 1071-1079 (2003): (Shishido et al)┘.

Method and apparatus for measuring pattern dimensions


A carrier frequency based system employs a capacitive probe which is located at a predetermined desired fluid detection level in a fluid containing vessel. The probe forms one plate of a capacitor where the other plate is formed by the fluid in which the probe is immersed. A carrier frequency is injected into the fluid by means of a suitable oscillator and at a frequency which is close to the system resonant frequency. When the probe is immersed in fluid, the probe will receive a predetermined carrier frequency of an amplitude determined by the system. The output of the probe is coupled to suitable sensing circuits which monitor the amplitude of the signal frequency coupled to the probe. When the fluid level recedes and therefore a portion of the probe or the total probe is out of fluid, the capacitance of the system changes. A different signal from the injected carrier frequency is now applied to the probe indicating to the sensing circuit that the probe is not immersed and therefore indicating an alarm condition. The output of the sensing circuit is monitored by control circuitry which can operate an alarm indicating to the user that the probe is not fluid immersed and that preventive measures should be taken. The fluid sensing probe utilizing the carrier injected frequency can discriminate between fluid and foam, "probe fouling" and probe shorting and is relatively fail proof.

This invention relates to a sensing device to monitor the level of a liquid in a vessel and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for detecting the level of a liquid utilizing a propagated carrier frequency.
As one can ascertain, the prior an is replete with many devices which operate to monitor the fluid level in a tank or other storage vessel. Many devices operate by means of an electromechanical switch which is activated by a float. The float rides or floats on the surface of the liquid, and when the liquid reeves to a given value, a switch coupled to the float is operated. These types of devices are subject to sticking in either the on or off position. Most of the devices are operated so that they control a pump or other means for controlling the level of fluid in a storage tank or vessel. Thus, if such a switch sticks in the closed position, it will cause the pump to continue to operate and create problems. On the other hand, if the switch locks in the open position this can cause flooding or overflow because the pump or other device will not operate. Such system failures are well known and occur in many instances.
There are other systems which utilize electrical or electronic devices to detect the level of fluid in a vessel or otherwise. Such devices are also well-known. In any event, the detection of fluid in such vessels is extremely important in many different applications. A particular application is to monitor the fluid level in a steam boiler. The function of such a device is to open a set of electrical contacts in the event of a low water condition in the boiler, thereby shutting down the burner and protecting the boiler against thermal damage or fire. Approximately two million residences in the United States are heated using low pressure steam. There is a significant demand for replacement boilers and associated controls and each of these boilers must be outfitted with a low water cutoff device to prevent the above-noted problems.
As indicated, many of the prior art devices use float-type controls. Electronic low-water cutoff devices have been available from many different manufacturers. As will be explained below, certain of these devices have serious problems in the reliable sensing of fluid levels.
It is of course understood that a major consideration in the design or operation of any such device is reliable, fail-safe operation at relatively high temperatures which device should also be easy to install while being economical and reliable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a low-water cutoff device or fluid level detector employing a carrier frequency sensing technique.

Carrier frequency sensing of fluids in vessels


In accordance with a set of previously defined options relating to such things as information retrieval, applications, items of interest, payment options, etc., a software program configures the computer system on which it executes to access information on an item over which a pointer has hovered for a preset time without the user having to provide any additional inputs. The information may be retrieved from a local or remote location. The information may be free, paid for by the user, a sponsor, or a third party. The information desired by the user is presented visual, audibly, or both.

The present invention pertains to the field of information retrieval using computer networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing supplementary relevant information to the user of a computer on a network without changing the user""s context.
The explosion in growth of the World Wide Web (Web), and particularly the Internet and web sites, has resulted in vast amounts of information being available to users. Web sites often use HyperText Markup Language (HTML), embedded Universal Resource Locators (URL), and other xe2x80x9ctagxe2x80x9d mechanisms to provide hyperlinks between Web pages as well as interactivity and links to additional information or resources.
Current ways of accessing information on the Web have certain shortcomings. For example, a common way for acquiring information on the Web requires the user, when viewing a Web page, to actively select, (e.g., via a mouse click) a source or hyperlink for the additional information. It is sometimes undesirable for users to have to select a hyperlink to view additional information related to a Web page. The user may become lost or have difficulty returning to his starting point if he does this action repeatedly. Another approach requires the user to click on a word to open a menu, which may then take the user to another page. Again, the requirement for the user to click and further select is present. Another approach uses a combination of a keystroke and a mouse click, e.g., holding down the xe2x80x9cAltxe2x80x9d key while clicking on a word. With these navigation approaches, the user is often taken to another Web page, menu, or another Web browser opens up with the information. Often the user""s screen becomes cluttered, and the user may become confused, frustrated, or unable to return to where he wants. The result may be lost Web site consumer sales and upset users. The ability to maintain the same user context while providing supplemental information may reduce these undesirable results.
Additionally, information available to a user selecting a hyperlink generally has several other limitations. One is the static nature of the information. The information is intended to be viewed by anyone and so is necessarily generic and general purpose in nature. Thus, it is not tailored to a particular viewer. Another limitation is the static nature of the link itself. The link is not capable of changing based upon a particular viewer. The ability to personalize the nature of the information and its retrieval based on user-defined criteria may be beneficial.
A method of providing information to a user of a processing system includes identifying a position of a user-controlled pointer on a display device of the processing system, determining if the position coincides with an item of interest, and if the position coincides with the item of interest, retrieving the information associated with the item of interest dynamically without requiring any further action from the user, and displaying the information on the display device.

System and method for providing contextual and dynamic information retrieval


An elastomeric article having a matte finish is prepared by curing a hydrolyzable composition under conditions of elevated humidity, or by including short aramid fibers therein. Disclosed herein are particular processes for the preparation of matte finished silicone rubber articles in a continuous extrusion process.

Elastomeric materials have long been used as gaskets, seals and other like components of architectural structures, vehicles, appliances and other such articles of manufacture. For example, in the field of architecture, elastomeric architectural strips are used to cover joints between building sections, at roof lines and around windows, both in new construction and as a repair item for preexisting buildings. Silicone polymers are particularly important in the fabrication of architectural strips. These polymers are extremely flexible and strong, and their inertness makes them resistant to oxidation and photodegradation. Silicone rubbers may be fabricated in a variety of colors by the inclusion of pigments therein, so as to match a variety of substrates.
A wide variety of elastomeric articles, such as architectural strips, gaskets and the like are frequently prepared from silicones or other polymeric compositions by a process in which resin composition is extruded to provide a shaped body which is subsequently cured to produce the finished item. In the context of the present disclosure, an extrusion process is defined to include any forming process wherein a precursor of the elastomer is forced under pressure into or through a shaping member such as a die or a mold to produce a shaped body. A number of shaping processes are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,289 discloses a continuous extrusion process for the preparation of elongated silicone rubber members. According to the process, a silicone composition is extruded from a die into a body of water to produce an elongated member which passes through the body of water, and cures while it is doing so.
Elastomeric articles produced through extrusion processes of the prior art tend to cure with a very smooth surface. In many instances, this smooth surface is not desirable in the article. For example, in architectural applications, it is generally desirable that joints and seals blend in with the appearance of the building, and the glossy surface of the elastomer contrasts strongly with the texture of stone, wood, concrete and other such building materials. In some instances, it is desirable to apply paint or other coatings to an elastomeric body, and such coatings often adhere poorly to a highly glossy surface. For reasons such as these, the prior art has made various efforts toward providing a matte finish on extruded elastomeric items. For example, a matte finish can be provided to an item by curing the elastomer within a mold having a textured surface. This approach is impractical when very large, or long, items such as architectural strips are being fabricated, or when the residence time of the article in the mold is a factor in the logistics or economics of the molding process. In another approach, a textured surface is provided to the cured article by brushing, sanding or otherwise abrading the surface. This approach constitutes an additional processing step and is not always practical, particularly when the items being manufactured have large or complex, surfaces. In yet another approach, the finished articles are provided with a textured surface by overcoating them with another material. Again, this requires a complicated post-processing step, and the technique often is not applicable when the item includes surface characteristics which would be masked by the top coat.
It will be appreciated that there is a need for a process by which elastomeric articles, particularly silicone rubber elastomeric articles, having a matte finish may be fabricated. The process should not require any post-cure processing steps nor should it require any long residence time of the article in a shaping die or mold during the curing process. It is further desirable that any such technique be compatible with continuous fabrication processes such as those used for the extrusion of silicone rubber strips. It is also desirable that any such technique not require extensive modification of presently employed processing equipment.
The present invention is directed to a process for the manufacture of elastomeric articles having a matte finish. The process is particularly suited for the fabrication of silicone rubber articles and may be implemented in a continuous fabrication process, such as that used for the manufacture of elongated architectural strips. The method of the present invention is simple to implement and control, and provides high quality, matte finished, cured, elastomeric articles. These and other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the drawings, discussion and description which follow.

Process for preparing matte finish elastomer


A controllable transmission system and a method thereof are provided. The controllable transmission system includes a first rotation device, a coupling device and a control device. The first rotation device includes a transmission shaft, a rotation body and a plurality of blade units connected with the rotation body, wherein each of the blade units includes an adjustable blade having a first and a second contact elements and having an opening corresponding to the adjustable blade. The coupling device is mounted beside the rotation device and includes a coupling unit having a first and a second contact surfaces. The control device is connected with the coupling device for controlling a movement of the coupling device to cause one of the contact surfaces positioned corresponding to a respective one of the first contact element and the second contact element.

The energy is the motivity of any activity. The development of human culture relates closely with the energy used, and dependence on the energy becomes stronger with the industrialization development. Nowadays, the energy has a close relationship with economics, politics, national defense, technology, traffic and environmental sanitation, and thus it is doubtless that the energy is important. The energy used by humans can be divided into renewable energy and non-renewable energy. The renewable energy is derived from the sun, the wind, the water, the tide and the temperature difference of the ocean. However, the non-renewable energy refers to the energy with limited storage and being dwindling such as the fossil fuel (for example, the coal, the oil and the natural gas) and the nuclear energy.
The water is a commonly used energy since the ancient times. In order to make use of the water energy, the motive force generated therefrom can be outputted through a proper transmission system. Unfortunately, the existing transmission systems have a constant receiving stress rather than a controllable receiving stress, and thus they can not be controlled according to actual needs. Therefore, the water energy can not be utilized in a best way, thereby unavoidably wasting the energy.
In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, a controllable transmission system with a reasonable design is provided. The present invention overcomes the drawbacks in the prior art described above, and the summary of the present invention is described as follows.

Controllable transmission system and method thereof


Various examples for accelerating multiplication operations are presented, which can be employed in neural network operations, among other applications. In one example, a circuit comprises a non-volatile memory cell, and an input circuit coupled to a gate terminal of the non-volatile memory cell. The input circuit is configured to ramp a control voltage applied to the gate terminal at a ramp rate representing a multiplicand value. An output circuit coupled to an output terminal of the non-volatile memory cell and is configured to generate an output pulse based on the control voltage satisfying a threshold voltage of the non-volatile memory cell, where the output pulse has a duration comprising the multiplicand value multiplied by a multiplier value represented by the threshold voltage.

Artificial neural networks (ANN) can be formed from individual artificial neurons that are emulated using software, integrated hardware, or other discrete elements. Neuromorphic computing can employ ANNs, which focuses on using electronic components such as analog/digital circuits in integrated systems to mimic the human brain, and to attempt a greater understanding of the neuro-biological architecture of the neural system. Neuromorphic computing emphasizes implementing models of neural systems to understand how the morphology of individual neurons, synapses, circuits, and architectures lead to desirable computations. Such bio-inspired computing offers enormous potential for very low power consumption and high parallelism.
Many neuromorphic computing implementations use semiconductor based random-access memory to emulate the behavior of biological neurons. More recently, emerging non-volatile memory devices, including phase change memory, resistive memory, and magnetic random-access memory, have been proposed to be used to emulate biological neurons as well. However, several mathematical operations used to implement neuromorphic computing and artificial neural networks require additional circuitry beyond the corresponding artificial neurons. This additional circuitry can inhibit large-scale integration efforts for artificial neural networks, which might increase footprint and cost for implementing artificial neural networks. Some example mathematical operations include convolution operations, multiplication operations, or matrix multiplication operations.

Neural network matrix multiplication in memory cells


A method of performing an ultraviolet (UV) curing process on an interfacial layer over a semiconductor substrate, the method includes supplying a gas flow rate ranging from 10 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) to 5 standard liters per minute (slm), wherein the gas comprises inert gas. The method further includes heating the interfacial layer at a temperature less than or equal to 700° C. Another method of performing an annealing process on an interfacial layer over a semiconductor substrate, the second method includes supplying a gas flow rate ranging from 10 sccm to 5 slm, wherein the gas comprises inert gas. The method further includes heating the interfacial layer at a temperature less than or equal to 600° C.

Intentionally grown interfacial layer (IL) is used in order to arrange a good interface between the silicon surface (i.e. the surface of a substrate) and the gate insulator, especially with high-k dielectrics (e.g. HfO2, HfSiO4, ZrO2, ZrSiO4, etc.), and to suppress the mobility degradation of the channel carrier of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs).
Previously, chemical oxide prepared by diluted HF, Standard Clean 1 (SC1), and Standard Clean 2 (SC2), and thin oxide layers by In-Situ Silicon Growth (ISSG), Enhanced In-Situ Silicon Growth (EISSG), Rapid Thermal Oxidation (RTO), etc., were used as IL's in gate stacks, which reaches the limit around 0.8˜1.0 nm.
For example, chemical oxide is grown on silicon surface during wet cleaning and rinsing operations, highly hydrated with composition departing from stoichiometric SiO2 (SiOx with x<2). SC1 is a cleaning solution, Ammonia hydroxide-hydrogen Peroxide-water Mixture (APM, typically 0.25:1:5), used primarily to remove particles from the surface, and also capable of removing surface organics. SC1 forms chemical oxide on Si surface, and is applied at temperature between 40 and 70° C., typically combined with megasonic agitation. SC2 is another cleaning solution, hydrochloric acid-hydrogen peroxide-water mixture (HPM, typically 1:1:5), used primarily to remove metallic contaminants. Also, RTO grows an oxide layer on Si surface during high temperature and short time (typically <60 sec) exposure to oxygen containing ambient.
High-k and metal gate (HK/MG) stacks were used for generations beyond 45 nm technology due to their excellent leakage performance from high-k materials having thicker physical thickness but the same equivalent oxide thickness (EOT). In general, capacitive effective thickness (CET) of 45 nm transistors after thermal budget process is around 1.4 nm, which includes quantum mechanical thickness, EOT of HK, and IL layers. IL thickness is accordingly around 0.8˜1.0 nm.
Following the scaling trend, the CET of 32 nm technology and beyond would require EOT of IL layer at least around 0.7 nm (0.6˜0.8 nm). The previous methods for IL preparation would not be sufficient to meet this requirement. Besides, the OH termination bonding would be necessary for high-k film deposition, especially for inorganic precursors. This would preclude the potential processes such as HF last pre-clean process, due to its lack of OH bonding for high-k film deposition for inorganic precursors.
Accordingly, new methods are desired to reduce the EOT of IL, thus scale down the CET of a gate stack.

Method for reducing interfacial layer thickness for high-k and metal gate stack

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


An emitter package comprising a light emitting diode (LED) emitting light at a wavelength within a wavelength range and a plurality of phosphors. Each of the phosphors absorbs at least some light from the LED and re-emits a different wavelength of light. The package emits a combination of light from the LED and the plurality of phosphors, with the phosphors having excitation characteristics such that the emitter package emits light within a standard deviation of a target color for LEDs emitting at the wavelengths with the wavelength range. A method for fabricating emitter packages comprising fabricating a plurality of LEDs, each of which emits at a wavelength within a range of wavelengths. Each of the LEDs are arranged in a respective package with a plurality of conversion materials so that at least some light from each of the LEDs is absorbed and re-emitted by its corresponding conversion materials. The plurality of conversion materials have excitation characteristics that compensate for different LED emission wavelengths within the LED range of wavelengths such that each of the LED packages emits light within a standard deviation from a target color.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to emitters having conversion materials, and in particular to solid state emitters having multiple conversion materials to compensate for emitter wavelength variations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light emitting diodes (LED or LEDs) are solid state devices that convert electric energy to light, and generally comprise one or more active layers of semiconductor material sandwiched between oppositely doped layers. When a bias is applied across the doped layers, holes and electrons are injected into the active layer where they recombine to generate light. Light is emitted from the active layer and extracted to the surrounding ambient from all transparent surfaces of the LED.
Conventional LEDs cannot generate white light from their active layers. Light from a blue emitting LED has been converted to white light by surrounding the LED with a yellow phosphor, polymer or dye, with a typical phosphor being cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Ce:YAG). [See Nichia Corp. white LED, Part No. NSPW300BS, NSPW312BS, etc.; See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,316 to Lowrey, "Multiple Encapsulation of Phosphor-LED Devices"]. The surrounding phosphor material "downconverts" the wavelength of some of the LED's blue light, changing its color to yellow. Some of the blue light passes through the phosphor without being changed while a substantial portion of the light is downconverted to yellow. The LED emits both blue and yellow light, which combine to provide a white light. In another approach light from a violet or ultraviolet emitting LED has been converted to white light by surrounding the LED with multicolor phosphors or dyes.
Current white LEDs are fabricated in packages by selecting the phosphor or down-conversion material based on their emission properties alone. Preferably, the phosphor or converter material provides a broad and flat excitation spectrum to achieve a constant brightness of phosphor emission even if the LED wavelength is changing. The result is the Lumen output of the white LED is relatively constant independent of the blue LED emission wavelength.
These packages, although fabricated pursuant to controlled methods and standards, can experience variations of the color or hue of the combined light from the LED and the phosphor or converter material. This can be caused by, for example, variations in the amount of phosphor or conversion material covering the LED. In other packages this variation can be caused by other factors such as material composition variations introduced during the LED device fabrication. For example, during the fabrication of gallium nitride based devices, the active region in different devices fabricated from the same or different wafers can have slightly different compositions, such as a varying indium concentration in devices having an indium gallium nitride active region. These different compositions can result in the active region emitting different wavelengths of light. White LED packages and LED systems fabricated using a single phosphor and such blue emitters can suffer from a variation of the color point depending on the LED emission wavelength. These emission variations are difficult to prevent and thus devices or packages utilizing such LEDs in combination with phosphors or converter materials can emit many different colors or hues of white or mixed color light.
The human eye is relatively sensitive to variations in emission wavelengths and white hue, and can detect relatively small differences in emission wavelengths or color. Perceptible variations in color emitted by packages designed to emit a single color of light can reduce customer satisfaction and reduce overall acceptance of LED packages for commercial uses. To ensure that the LEDs provided to the end customer emits light within an acceptable color range, LEDs can be tested and sorted by color or brightness into different bins, generally referred to in the art as binning. Each bin typically contains LEDs from one color and brightness group and is typically identified by a bin code. White emitting LEDs can be sorted by chromaticity (color) and luminous flux (brightness). Color LEDs can be sorted by dominant wavelength (color) and luminous flux (brightness), or in the case of certain colors such as royal blue, by radiant flux (brightness). LEDs can be shipped, such as on reels, containing LEDs from one bin and are labeled with the appropriate bin code.
FIG. 1 shows one example of binning chromaticity regions plotted on the 1931 CIE Coordinate system for commercially available white emitting Cree® XLamp® XR-E and XR-C LEDs provided by Cree Inc. Each of these regions corresponds to a particular chromaticity range of white LEDs with the regions shown surrounding the black body curve or black body locus (BBL). Each of these regions is designed to designate chromaticity variations that are within acceptable ranges to the human eye. For example, region WF designates a particular region having substantially imperceptible chromaticity variations such that LEDs emitting within this region would be binned together.
This binning process typically lowers the product yield and increases the manufacturing cost of LEDs by the overhead associated with the testing and separation of devices with different emission characteristics, and the formulation of the data and records surrounding this process. The greater the number of bins for a particular LED being manufactured, the greater the additional cost associated with the binning process. This in turn can result in increased cost for the LEDs and related packages.

Multiple conversion material light emitting diode package and method of fabricating same


The present application discloses methods for predicting the risk of developing, or the presence of, recurrent acute pancreatitis and/or chronic pancreatitis, in a subject, by identifying the presence of an rs12688220 T allele, an rs7057398 T allele, and/or an rs10273639 C allele in a sample from the subject. The present application also discloses methods for treating or preventing pancreatitis in a human subject in need thereof.

Chronic inflammation is a variable and unpredictable complication of tissue injury or stress in humans. Chronic inflammation of the pancreas leads to irreversible destruction, known as chronic pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is a complex, progressively destructive inflammatory disorder. Inflammatory changes of the pancreas involving some or all of the following: fibrosis, calcification, pancreatic ductal inflammation, and pancreatic stone formation. Alcohol was long thought to be the primary causative agent, but genetic contributions have been of interest since the discovery that rare PRSS1, CFTR, and SPINK1 variants were associated with pancreatitis risk.

Method for diagnosing and assessing risk of pancreatitis using genetic variants

University Of Pittsburgh—Of The Commonwealth System Of Higher Education


A method for augmenting expression of a heterologous nucleic acid in a eukaryotic cell or increasing the efficiency of gene expression using any gene expression system is carried out by decreasing expression or activity of an endogenous Interferon-induced protein-16 (IFI16).

Viruses have been used to transduce genes of interest into mammalian cells for laboratory research and for clinical purposes. This approach has allowed expression and over-expression of proteins of interest as well as the understanding of both virus life cycles and eukaryotic cell mechanisms. Gene transduction used to treat genetic diseases, cancer, and more recently has been proposed as an approach to treat infectious diseases, vascular diseases and others disorders, e.g., Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Viral vectors have been progressively modified in order to increase their transduction efficiency and to reduce their toxicity, immunogenicity and inflammatory potential. Limitations of gene expression systems include low or inadequate expression of the nucleic acid of interest or therapeutic gene.

PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE


Follow-up steering control is executed in a vehicle speed region where vehicle speed V0 is less than V1, and for a vehicle speed region to the higher speed side, a target yaw rate γt for the vehicle is calculated depending on the current positions of a preceding vehicle and the vehicle, and a power steering instructed current value ic for following up the preceding vehicle is calculated based on the target yaw rate γt and output to an electrical power steering control unit. On the other hand, for a vehicle speed region to the lower speed side, a target steering angle St for the vehicle is calculated depending on the current positions of the preceding vehicle and the vehicle, and a power steering instructed current value ic for following up the preceding vehicle is calculated based on the target steering angle St.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive assist device for a vehicle for carrying out automatic steering control by generating steering wheel torque that follows a preceding vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, there has been research and practical implementation of follow-up traveling control follows the preceding vehicle and traveling control device keeps a distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle constant, by detecting traveling environment in front of the vehicle using cameras mounted on the vehicle and detecting the preceding vehicle from the traveling environment data.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-81123 discloses technology, in a steering control system for a vehicle that detects a traveling lane to cause a vehicle to follow along the traveling lane, for calculating a target yaw rate using forward viewpoint lateral displacement, vehicle speed, and forward viewpoint distance, and generating steering wheel torque so as to obtain the calculated target yaw rate.
However, with the steering control system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-81123 described above, since target yaw rate is set to carry out steering control, in a specified control region, particularly in a region where sufficient yaw rate is not being generated, such as a low speed region, it is not possible to accurately set a travel locus to be made a target, and there is a problem that it is not possible to carry out follow-up control with respect to the preceding vehicle with good precision.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle drive assist device that can accurately obtain a travel locus to be followed even in, for example, a low speed travel region, and that can carry out follow-up control with good precision.


A very lightweight sandwich panel is constructed using as the core layer a very thin plastic sheet that has been preformed with projections having broad bonding areas on their free ends for chemically cementing to one outer layer of the panel and with areas between the projections for bonding to the other outer layer. The projections may be made of different cross-sectional shapes, heights, spacings, tilts, profiles, etc., to produce different characteristics in the panel. Differences may even be made in a given sheet to produce a panel having different characteristics in various portions, including shape and function. These characteristics can be predetermined, and the panels may therefore be computer designed. Special panel applications such as airplane wings and thermal boards are comtemplated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sandwich panels which are used where strong, stiff, lightweight panels are required, and more particularly to exceedingly lightweight sandwich panels readily formed to different and varying characteristics of rigidity, strength, compressibility, flexibility, profile, shape, size, thickness, weight, etc., and methods of so doing.
2. Description of the Prior Information
Sandwich panels are not new. Basically, they consist of two outer layers interconnected by a core layer. The outer layers may be sheets or slabs of various material such as wood, metals, paper, or plastics. The inner or core layer usually is particle board, plywood, woodstrips, plastic sheeting or a honeycomb structure (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,533,894 (Engelbrecht et al), 3,462,330 (Grieg et al); 4,643,933 (Picken) and 4,731,038 (Hancock et al)) of paper or aluminum or plastic to provide lightness while separating the outer layers a distance sufficient to provide the necessary resisting moments for the uses contemplated; the characteristics of a honeycomb panel being controlled not only by core material thickness, but also by density and cell design. The edges of honeycomb or other core structure are secured to the outer layers usually by chemical bonding. Honeycomb edges are narrow and hence the bonding is weak, can be easily pulled apart, and results in many sandwich panel failures. Furthermore, it does not allow for much flexibility in altering the properties of a sandwich panel.
Sandwich panels have also been formed of inner cores involving pulled apart plastics. Such cores are formed by placing a plastic sheet between heated molds of which one is vented on the underside to atmosphere. After the mold is closed and the plastic warmed, the molds are separated a distance equal to the thickness of the finished core. A core having a definetly random cellular structure results.


A method is provided for consolidating data retrieved from different text records stored in different languages and associated with a single user. According to an embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: extracting a plurality of users' identifications from a plurality of text records and converting them into a corresponding plurality of speech records, each being essentially identical to the pronunciation of a corresponding user identification in a language which its respective text record has been stored; converting each speech record to a respective data record; extracting from the data records obtained, at least one group of data records comprising two or more data records essentially identical to each other; for each of the groups, retrieving information comprised in two or more text records which are stored in different languages from each other; and storing the information retrieved in a consolidated text record.

In today's world, people and businesses retain extensive amounts of data in various databases. In addition, it is rather common nowadays for a user to be registered with a large number of software applications, by providing different user's details (such as an e-address and perhaps other associated details) in the registration process with each of these software applications. Thus, users often have different user names in various applications (which may also be defined in different formats), and receive and send messages over a variety of wired and wireless networks via a variety of devices, such as desktop computers, wired phones, wireless devices (e.g., phones and personal digital assistants ("PDAs")), and others, where certain details associated with the users' contact details are stored.
Moreover, it often happens that when a user wants to communicate with another user, not only that the details of that other user must be retrieved from a different database (e.g. depending on the medium that the user selects for establishing such a communication session), also the required information may be stored in a language different from the one currently used by that user.
Therefore, there is a need to be able to generate a consolidated text record that preferably includes all retrievable contact details for a single entry from various databases, irrespective of the language in which they were entered. However, there are several problems which limit the ability to find all the relevant data associated with an entity in various databases. Multiple data records may exist for a particular entity as a result of separate data records received from one or more information sources, which in turn leads to a problem that may be referred to as data fragmentation. In case of data fragmentation, a query of the master database may not retrieve all of the relevant information about a particular entity. In addition, as described above, the query may miss some relevant information about an entity due to a typographical error made during the entry of the data, which would lead to the problem of data inaccessibility. These problems limit the ability to locate the information for a particular entity within one or more databases.
In order to reduce the amount of data that must be reviewed, and prevent the user from picking the wrong data record, it is also desirable to identify and associate data records from various information sources that may contain information about the same entity. There are conventional systems that locate duplicate data records within a database and delete those duplicate data records, but these systems may only locate data records which are essentially identical to each other. Thus, these conventional systems cannot determine if two data records for example, entered in two different languages, contain nevertheless information about the same entity. In addition, these conventional systems do not attempt to index data records from a plurality of different information sources, and do not locate data records within the one or more information sources containing information about the same entity, to enable linking those data records together. Consequently, it would be desirable to be able to associate data records from a plurality of information sources which pertain to the same entity, despite discrepancies between attributes of these data records and to be able to assemble and present information from these various data records in a cohesive manner. However, in practice it might be extremely difficult to provide an accurate, consolidated view of information from a plurality of information sources. This is true when all the information is retrieved from sources handled in one language. The challenge is naturally even greater in cases where data records are stored in more than one language, in a number of information sources.
There are translation programs that may conduct a search for a word in the non-native language entered by the user and find its explanation in the native language. However, if the word is not presented in a written form to the user, he cannot know exactly how to spell the word. In such a case, the user cannot use usual translation software for translation. In order to overcome this problem, some solutions are described in the art which propose to employ a speech input method for the translation. Such a method uses a speech-to-text conversion engine for converting the speech into text, and then translates the converted text as if it were input text in any of the known methods for translating a text. However, the problem with such solutions is that not everyone has the same pronunciation for the same word. Thus, the converted word may not be the exact one.
US 20110022378 describes a translation method using phonetic symbol input that includes the steps of: establishing translation words in a translation database, each of the translation words having a corresponding translational explanation; entering an input message that includes at least one phonetic symbol; according to some comparison rule, comparing the input message with the translational explanation corresponding to each of the translation words and, when there is a match, loading the matched translation word from the translation database.
Still, there is a need for a solution that provides means to enable consolidating data retrieved in different languages which pertain to a single user, into one single consolidated database entry.

Method and system for consolidating data retrieved from different sources


A motor vehicle electrical system has at least one apparatus for regulating the power supply voltage of an electrical load which has a nominal or rated supply voltage. The regulating apparatus is supplied by a variable value unidirectional voltage source. The apparatus includes an oscillator for generating a rectangular control signal having a cyclic ratio which varies with the value of the unidirectional voltage when the latter is above a given threshold value. The apparatus also includes an interrupter controlled by the control signal and connected in series with the load across the voltage source. Each voltage regulating apparatus further includes an inductance connected in series with the load, and a component with unidirectional conduction in parallel with the series connected load and inductance.

Such lighting systems are supplied from an onboard energy source which is typically the battery of the vehicle. Vehicle batteries used at the present time generally deliver a nominal voltage of around 12 volts. However, it is normal practice to find that there are over-voltages at the terminals of the items of equipment supplied by the battery. These over-voltages may be of short duration, and may not perturb the operation of the apparatus except over a time interval short enough to be acceptable.
However, over-voltages in the power supply network may often be prolonged, especially as a result of the discharge of capacitive elements, or because an alternator regulator is defective. In the absence of any additional regulation of voltage directly at the terminals of the apparatus, the disturbance to the operation of the latter will therefore persist.
In the case of headlights, such a prolonged over-voltage may typically reach 18 volts and can cause the light intensity emitted to be increased. This can infringe photometric regulations and cause dazzling, which is tiresome or even dangerous to drivers coming in the opposite direction.
The over-voltages can also be voluntary, because manufacturers sometimes increase the power distributed in the vehicle in order generally to compensate for the various voltage losses that are linked to the increasing number of items of electrical equipment mounted in a vehicle, such as electrical power assisted steering, electrically governed suspension systems, and so on. In this context, headlights are such that, under these circumstances, they will emit light of too high an intensity, which, apart from the dazzling effects already mentioned above, also involve a considerable shortening of the useful life of filament lamps in the headlights.
In addition, in order to solve the problem of the increase already mentioned above, in the power consumed by the various onboard electrical items of equipment, it has been arranged that the nominal supply voltage delivered by the battery of the vehicle should be substantially increased. Thus, some vehicles have batteries of 24 or 42 volts for example.
The use of existing apparatuses which do not have intermediate adjusting means for the voltage is then excluded, because the voltages delivered at the terminals of such apparatus is too different from the nominal voltage of each respective apparatus, which is of the order of 12 volts.
In the case of filament lamps, which are the type most often used in headlights, it is certainly possible to envisage that the lamps should have a supply voltage corresponding to the battery voltage of the vehicle, of 24 or 42 volts for example. However, the constraints imposed on design and manufacture of the filament (which has to have a very fine double coil so that it can be brought to incandescence, but which must also be quite strong so that it will not be damaged by the supply voltage) has made such lamps expensive and fragile. In addition, the filament of such a lamp is not well adapted to the photometric requirements imposed by certain so-called "free surface" reflectors.
Another solution would consist in the use of a second voltage source which is dedicated to the lighting system, or the use of a specific electrical network for lighting purposes, connected to the battery of the vehicle through a voltage reducer. However, this would involve major complexity and extended length in the wiring network of the vehicle, which is something manufacturers try to avoid, given the high costs involved in wiring.
One solution that can resolve the above mentioned drawbacks linked to persistent or permanent over-voltages or to an increase in the nominal voltages delivered by the vehicle battery, consists in associating with each lamp of a headlight or indicating signal display a voltage regulating apparatus which firstly reduces the voltage to the rated or nominal value of the headlight or indicating light in the case of general supply of the vehicle with a voltage greater than the rated voltage, and secondly, regulates the voltage so as to minimise fluctuations in the voltages that may occur across the lamp.
One such voltage regulating device has been described by the Company Valeo Vision in French patent specification No. FR 2 707 021. In the arrangement described in that document, a n electronic circuit modules the vehicle battery voltage and a periodic voltage with square wave pulses for supplying the lamps of the illumination equipment. The periods of the pulses of the supply voltage are so defined that there mean value is adjusted on a given rated value corresponding to the nominal power supply voltage of the lamps.

Voltage regulating system for electrical loads in a motor vehicle


The image processing apparatus is configured by including a palm luminance estimation unit and a surface reflected component enhancement unit that separate low-frequency components from a signal indicating luminance values of pixels of an input image, a denoising processing unit that executes a denoising process for the signal from which the low-frequency components have been separated, and a merging unit that generates an image by merging the signal after the denoising process and the low-frequency components.

An existing biometric authentication device executes a biometric authentication process by picking up an image of a subject with the use of a dedicated image pickup device such as an infrared camera or the like, and by determining whether biological information extracted from the picked-up image and preregistered biological information match.
Incidentally, biometric authentication devices provided with a general-purpose image pickup device are expected to command a large market share hereafter due to the recent trend of decreasing prices for biometric authentication devices. For example, as a general-purpose image pickup device, an image pickup device provided with a single-chip image pickup element, RGB color filters of a Bayer arrangement, and the like is conceivable. Moreover, a demosaicking process is executed for a signal indicating luminance values of pixels of an image picked up by such an image pickup device so as to reduce a sampling noise caused by a difference among frequency bands of light rays that pass through the color filters, an imbalance among light absorption characteristics of the color filters, or the like (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-143100).
Additionally, shapes of veins are sometime used as biological information for biometric authentication. In this case, a luminance value of a portion that exhibits the veins in a picked-up image is smaller than that of a portion peripheral to the veins due to the light absorption characteristic of reduced hemoglobin within blood, and a change in the luminance value is smaller than that in the portion peripheral to the veins. Accordingly, when a demosaicking process is executed for an image including the veins, low-frequency components can be possibly reduced along with a sampling noise, leading to a possible difficulty in extracting the shapes of the veins as biological information from the image for which the demosaicking process has been executed.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and computer-readable recording medium


Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A user equipment (UE) may obtain identification information for a device and may assist in establishing credentials by which the device accesses a wireless network. The UE may establish a connection with the wireless network using its own credentials, and register the device to access the wireless network by associating the identification information for the device with the credentials of the UE. The UE may receive or establish credentials by which the device accesses the wireless network and may communicate these credentials to the device over a local connection. In some cases, the UE may authenticate the device's identification information to determine whether the device is allowed to be registered with the wireless network.

The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to associating a device with another device's network subscription. Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple mobile devices or other user equipment (UE) devices. Base stations may communicate with UEs on downstream and upstream links. Each base station has a coverage range, which may be referred to as the coverage area of the cell. Some types of wireless devices may provide for automated communication. Some wireless devices may implement Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication or Machine Type Communication (MTC). M2M and/or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station without human intervention. For example, M2M and/or MTC may refer to communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application program that can make use of the information or present the information to humans interacting with the program or application.
In some cases, an MTC device or a UE may lack credentials for accessing a wireless network or it may lack the hardware necessary to support a particular access procedure. For example, an MTC device may not have a smart card or a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC).

UE-based network subscription management


A method and apparatus for extracting CO2 from air comprising an anion exchange material formed in a matrix exposed to a flow of the air, and for delivering that extracted CO2 to controlled environments. The present invention contemplates the extraction of CO2 from air using conventional extraction methods or by using one of the extraction methods disclosed; e.g., humidity swing or electro dialysis. The present invention also provides delivery of the CO2 to greenhouses where increased levels of CO2 will improve conditions for growth. Alternatively, the CO2 is fed to an algae culture.

There is compelling evidence to suggest that there is a strong correlation between the sharply increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 with a commensurate increase in global surface temperatures. This effect is commonly known as Global Warming. Of the various sources of the CO2 emissions, there are a vast number of small, widely distributed emitters that are impractical to mitigate at the source. Additionally, large scale emitters such as hydrocarbon-fueled power plants are not fully protected from exhausting CO2 into the atmosphere. Combined, these major sources, as well as others, have lead to the creation of a sharply increasing rate of atmospheric CO2 concentration. Until all emitters are corrected at their source, other technologies are required to capture the increasing, albeit relatively low, background levels of atmospheric CO2. Efforts are underway to augment existing emissions reducing technologies as well as the development of new and novel techniques for the direct capture of ambient CO2. These efforts require methodologies to manage the resulting concentrated waste streams of CO2 in such a manner as to prevent its reintroduction to the atmosphere.
The production of CO2 occurs in a variety of industrial applications such as the generation of electricity power plants from coal and in the use of hydrocarbons that are typically the main components of fuels that are combusted in combustion devices, such as engines. Exhaust gas discharged from such combustion devices contains CO2 gas, which at present is simply released to the atmosphere. However, as greenhouse gas concerns mount, CO2 emissions from all sources will have to be curtailed. For mobile sources the best option is likely to be the collection of CO2 directly from the air rather than from the mobile combustion device in a car or an airplane. The advantage of removing CO2 from air is that it eliminates the need for storing CO2 on the mobile device.
Extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from ambient air would make it possible to use carbon-based fuels and deal with the associated greenhouse gas emissions after the fact. Since CO2 is neither poisonous nor harmful in parts per million quantities, but creates environmental problems simply by accumulating in the atmosphere, it is possible to remove CO2 from air in order to compensate for equally sized emissions elsewhere and at different times.
Most prior art methods, however, result in the inefficient capture of CO2 from air because these processes heat or cool the air, or change the pressure of the air by substantial amounts. As a result, the net loss in CO2 is negligible as the cleaning process may introduce CO2 into the atmosphere as a byproduct of the generation of electricity used to power the process.
Various methods and apparatus have been developed for removing CO2 from air. For example, we have recently disclosed methods for efficiently extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from ambient air using capture solvents that either physically or chemically bind and remove CO2 from the air. A class of practical CO2 capture sorbents include strongly alkaline hydroxide solutions such as, for example, sodium or potassium hydroxide, or a carbonate solution such as, for example, sodium or potassium carbonate brine. See for example published PCT Application PCT/US05/29979 and PCT/US06/029238.
There are also many uses for sequestered CO2. This includes the use of CO2 in greenhouses where higher levels of CO2 contribute to increased plant growth. CO2 may also be supplied to algae cultures. Researchers have shown that algae can remove up to 90% of gaseous CO2 from air streams enriched in CO2 and can also reduce the CO2 concentration in ambient air.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for extracting carbon dioxide from air


An apparatus and method are provided for automatically making a pocket sandwich. The apparatus includes a platform configured to support a wrap (such as pita bread, tortillas, or the like) and a rotatable food pocket arranged at a center of the platform. A folding paddle is configured to rotate toward and away from the center of the platform, being placed at a location with respect to the platform such that motion of the folding paddle toward the center of the platform folds a portion of the wrap. The holding arm has a tip at a free end thereof, being movable in a vertical direction toward and away from the center of the platform. The holding arm is configured to contact the wrap and hold the folded pleat in place while the food pocket rotates with respect to the platform to permit the folding paddle to generate a successive pleat.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses and techniques that may be used to automatically make a pocket sandwich. More specifically, the subject apparatus and method disclose an automated means to form a sandwich from a tortilla, pita bread, or other wrap so as to contain selected food ingredients.
Pocket sandwiches are sandwiches made by using a single piece of folded or hallowed bread, such as pita, tortilla, or other wrap with fillings contained inside the bread. For example, tortilla sandwiches are made of a flour tortilla that is folded to include various other food ingredients and are popular worldwide. Generally, such sandwiches are manually made by putting an appropriate amount of food ingredients at a location on an unfolded tortilla and folding the tortilla in a desired configuration to enclose the food ingredients. However, making a pocket sandwich is not a simple or fun process, particularly where heat is applied to seal the food ingredients within the pocket.
No compact or automatic pocket sandwich makers are known in the market. Currently-available wrap makers are either too bulky and/or complex or need extensive manual interventions. These bulky and/or complex wrap makers are provided for commercial use and are generally not suitable for individual use. Wrap makers with manual interventions may be unsanitary and/or messy in making wraps. A wrap may also not be toasted as would be commonly done with a pocket sandwich.
In view of the foregoing reasons, it would be desirable to have a compact size apparatus for automatically making pocket sandwiches with limited manual interaction. Further such an apparatus would not have undue complexity, would be suitable for personal use, would not be unsanitary, or some combination of the above.

Apparatus and method for making sandwich


A test apparatus for testing a semiconductor device includes a circuit board having a contact pattern on one side and an opening therethrough, and a probe card supporting a probe needle array. The probe needle array is insertable into the opening of the circuit board and is configured to probe a device under test. The probe needle array is in electrical contact with the contact pattern of the circuit board, to allow signals through the probe card and circuit board to a test equipment. A holder supports the probe card and other probe cards. The holder has multiple sides, each of which is supportable of a probe card having a probe needle array. The holder is rotatable to manipulate and position the probe needle arrays of the probe cards relative to a device under test. The holder allows disconnection and replacement of the probe needle arrays from the holder.

The semiconductor industry continues to have a need to access many electronic devices on a semiconductor wafer. As the semiconductor industry grows and devices become more complex, many electrical devices, most commonly semiconductor devices, must be electrically tested, for example, for leakage currents and extremely low operating currents. These currents are often below 100 fA (Femto Ampere, e.g. 1×10−15 Amp). In addition, the currents and device characteristics are often required to be evaluated over a wide temperature range to understand how temperature affects a device. Also, due to characteristics of dielectric materials, it is often difficult to test characteristics of semiconductor devices in a wide operating temperature range.
To effectively measure at currents below 100 fA, a measurement signal must be isolated from external electrical interference, leakage currents through the dielectric material, parasitic capacitance, triboelectric noise, piezoelectric noise, and dielectric absorption, etc.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for improved semiconductor test equipment for electrically probing semiconductor devices, such as semiconductor wafers, at low currents over a wide temperature range. There is also a need to improve upon probe mounting equipment and circuit board layout designs, and their structures so as to optimize such diagnostic capabilities.

Test apparatus having a probe card and connector mechanism


A wearable display device, system and method are described. The display system includes a wearable display to be worn by a person; a display buffer to receive display data from a graphics engine, which data includes data regarding position of a wearer in a virtual environment; a display processor unit to process vision direction data using the display data from the graphics engine, wherein the display processor unit sends the display data to the wearable display. In an example, the display system is a component to a gaming system or environment.

Computer generated, interactive environments have been proposed to augment reality. However, due to various issues such interactive environments have not been widely accepted. One reason for this is the artificial nature of such environments as perceived by the person interacting with the environment. The person interacting with the environment may find the environment too artificial based on the way the person perceives the artificial environment.
SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIBED EMBODIMENTS
A wearable display system is described. In an example, the wearable display system includes a wearable display to be worn by a person, a display buffer to receive display data from a graphics engine, which data includes data regarding position of a wearer in a virtual environment, a display processor unit to process vision direction data using the display data from the graphics engine, wherein the display processor unit sends the display data to the wearable display. In an embodiment, the wearable display includes a left display and a right display, wherein the wearable display is to be worn by a wearer with the right display in field of view a right eye of wearer and the left display in field of view a left eye of wearer. In an embodiment, the display buffer includes at least a first sub-buffer and a second sub-buffer for the left display and at least a third sub-buffer and a fourth sub-buffer for the right display. In an embodiment, the first sub-buffer is to provide display data to the left display and release the second sub-buffer to be updated at a first time, and wherein the second sub-buffer is to provide display data to the left display and release the first sub-buffer to be updated at a second time.
In an embodiment, the display processor unit is to control a change from the first time to the second time using a movement signal from a direction tracking unit.
In an embodiment, the display processor unit includes direction tracker with a direction tracking rate, and wherein a display data rate provides data from the display buffer to the display and is about equal to or greater than the direction tracking rate.
In an embodiment, the display includes a refresh rate that is about equal to the direction tracking rate.
In an embodiment, the display includes a refresh rate that greater than the direction tracking rate.
In an embodiment, which can be combined with any of the preceding embodiments, the direction tracking unit is to track direction in three or greater axis.
In an embodiment, which can be combined with any of the preceding embodiments, the display processor unit operates at at least 600 HZ, and wherein the display buffer receives data from a graphics engine at less than or 120 HZ.
In an example, a gaming system includes a gaming computing device, a graphics processing unit to provide location of a user in a virtual gaming environment, and a wearable display unit operably connected to the gaming computing device and being wearable by the user. The wearable display can include any of the above described features. In an example, the display unit includes a wearable display to be worn by a person, a vision direction tracking unit to detect the direction of vision by the person, a display buffer to receive display data from the graphics processing unit, which display data includes data regarding position of the user in the virtual gaming environment, and a display processor to process vision direction data using the display data from the graphics processing unit, wherein the display processor sends the display data to the wearable display.
In an embodiment, the gaming system wearable display includes a left display and a right display, wherein the wearable display is to be worn by a user with the right display in field of view a right eye of user and the left display in field of view a left eye of user.
In an embodiment, the gaming system display buffer includes at least a first sub-buffer and a second sub-buffer for the left display and at least a third sub-buffer and a fourth sub-buffer for the right display.
In an embodiment, the first sub-buffer is to provide display data to the left display and release the second sub-buffer to be updated at a first time. In an embodiment, the second sub-buffer is to provide display data to the left display and release the first sub-buffer to be updated at a second time.
In an embodiment, the gaming system display processor is to control a change from the first time to the second time using a movement signal from the vision direction tracking unit.
In an embodiment, the gaming system display processor includes a display data rate that provides data from the display buffer to the display, and wherein the display data rate is about equal to or greater than the direction tracking rate.
In an embodiment, the gaming system display includes a refresh rate that is about equal to the direction tracking rate.
In an embodiment, the gaming system display includes a refresh rate that greater than the direction tracking rate.
In an embodiment, the gaming system direction tracking unit is to track direction in three or greater axis.
In an embodiment, the gaming system display processor unit operates at at least 600 HZ, and wherein the display buffer receives data from a graphics engine at less than or 120 HZ.
In an embodiment, the gaming computing device is to provide gaming data that is placed into the virtual environment by the graphics processing unit.
In an embodiment, the graphics processing unit includes an input separate from the wearable display unit to control a position of the user in the virtual environment.
In an embodiment, the vision direction tracking unit tracks movement of the user's eyes.
In an embodiment, the vision direction tracking unit tracks movement of the user's head on which the wearable display unit may be worn.
In an embodiment, the wearable display unit includes an accelerometer that is to detect the position and the movement of the user's head with when the wearable display unit is worn by a user.


A projectile detection system, and method of detecting a projectile (for example a bullet), for use on a vehicle (100) (for example a helicopter), the projectile detection system comprising: a radar antenna array (4) arranged to transmit and receive microwave signals so as to provide a plurality of detection segments (40, 42, 44, 46) of a volume of airspace (38); one or more processors (3) arranged to: determine which segments (40, 42, 44, 46) microwave signals reflected by a projectile (10) are received from; determine timing information relating to a time order in which the received microwave signals are received; and determine directional information relating to a direction of travel of the projectile (10) using the determined segments (40, 42, 44, 46) and the determined timing information; wherein the microwave signals have a frequency between 1 GHz and 30 GHz.

Helicopters can come under enemy fire in conflict situations. This enemy fire may include small arms fire and heavy machine gun fire.
If a helicopter pilot was aware that the helicopter was under enemy fire, evasive action could be taken. This may break the lock the enemy has on the helicopter, which would minimise damage to the aircraft structure and safeguard personnel.
Thus it is desirable to detect incoming enemy fire, from small arms fire up to heavy machine gun fire. It would also be desirable to determine the direction of the incoming enemy fire. For example, information related to the direction of incoming enemy fire could be used to prevent the helicopter turning into the enemy fire, or to identify the location of the enemy e.g. by incorporating it with information about the local terrain.


A method and apparatus for a driver layout is described. The layout includes an first number of gate lines arranged along a first axis and a second equal number of gates arranged along a second axis, such that the first set of gates lines is orthogonal to the second set of gates lines. The layout includes a total of N discrete transistors.

The present invention relates to integrated circuits, and more specifically, to integrated circuit layout design.
As the frequency of VLSI circuits increases, the need to control skew in critical circuits becomes increasingly important. Two major process related components of skew are optical astigmatism and angle of implantation. Both of these effects are sensitive to gate orientation.
Optical astigmatism can cause vertical and/or horizontal lines to be imaged onto a silicon wafer less accurately than normal. The accuracy of these critical dimensions (CDs) is fundamental but obviously some variance must be tolerated. Variance in the width and/or length of the intended transistor channel dimensions ultimately affects the strength, xcex2, (Eq. 1.4), i.e. the current carrying capability of the device (Eqs 1.2 and 1.3). This effect is becoming ever more dominant as CDs continue to approach photolithographical limits.
The second source of transistor driving strength modulation, albeit less dominant, is a result of a variance in the angle of implantation. This causes a modulation of the device threshold voltage, Vt, resulting in a change in the effective driving strength of the device.
In the prior art, several methods have been used to control skew. Two of these are:
use of long-channeled transistors
guaranteeing the same gate orientation of all critical circuits.
The use of long-channel transistors minimizes the effects of poly CD variance reducing the percentage change in Leff (Eq. 1.6) caused by xcex94l. However, in order to achieve that same effective driving strength for the driver in question, the effective width, Weff (Eq. 1.5) must be increased so that the xcex2 of the device is equal to that of the minimum channel device. Long-channel drivers inherently consume more die area. For example, a 20% increase in Leff requires a 20% increase in Weff which translates to a 20% or more increase in silicon area required.
FIG. 1A illustrates a driver circuit that may be implemented with the various circuits described below. FIG. 1B illustrates one layout of the driver of FIG. 1A having a vertical orientation with parallel transistors. FIG. 1C illustrates an alternative layout with parallel transistors having a horizontal orientation. The driver may alternatively be implemented as a single large device, as shown in FIG. 1D. The device example shown has a W/L ratio of 12. FIG. 1E shows the horizontal embodiment of the single legged device. A vertical implementation may be done in the alternative.
Guaranteeing the same gate orientation for all critical transistors is another method of controlling skew. However, maintaining the same gate orientation is not always practical. For example, I/O cells are normally placed radially to form the I/O ring of a design as shown in FIG. 2. As can be seen, the same I/O library element is placed on both the top/bottom and left/right side of a die. Thus, the same gate orientation can not be maintained.
Therefore, an improved method of controlling skew would be advantageous.
A method and apparatus for a driver layout is described. The layout includes an first number of gate lines arranged along a first axis and a second equal number of gates arranged along a second axis, such that the first set of gates lines is orthogonal to the second set of gates lines. The layout includes a total of N discrete transistors.

Layout to minimize gate orientation related skew effects


A composition includes ascorbate, zinc gluconate, and tropocollagen factors including L-proline, glycine and L-lysine. The composition contains the ascorbate, tropocollagen factors and zinc gluconate in concentrations effective to accelerate the production of collagen proteins within at least one collagen-containing tissue of an animal when administered to the animal. The at least one collagen-containing tissue includes at least one of cartilage tissue, tendon tissue, ligament tissue, vitreous humor tissue, connective tissue, hair tissue, bone tissue, and corneal tissue.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally compositions formulated to accelerate the production of collagen proteins with an animal. More particularly, this disclosure relates to compositions formulated to accelerate the production of collagen-containing tissues of an animal that contain the collagen proteins.
2. Description of the Related Art
At least 12 different types of collagen exist within an animal's body, with Type I collagen being the most abundant. The basic triple-helix structure of Type I collagen is the prototype for most of the other collagen types. The other types of collagen differ from Type I collagen in the length of their triple helix and the presence or absence of globular domains at their amino or carboxyl terminal ends. Collagen itself is made up of a unique Amino Acid (AA) and Imino Acid (IA) composition with 33% of the total residues being glycine (Gly), 10% proline (Pro), 10% hydroxyproline (Hyp), and about 1% hydroxylysine (Hyl).
The basic structural unit of all types of collagen is tropocollagen, which is cross-linked to from large fibers of collagenous tissues. Tropocollagen is made of three polypeptide chains called α chains, where each of the α chains is wound around the other to form a triple helix structure. Every third AA or IA in the α chain is a glycine (hence the value of 33% for the relative amount of glycine present in collagen).
Sixty percent of the α chains are made of either the sequence Gly-Pro-X or the sequence Gly-X-Hyp, where X may be any AA or IA. The remaining forty percent of the α chains are various sequences of AAs and IAs, with every third AA or IA being a glycine. The AAs and IAs that compose tropocollagen may be referred to as tropocollagen factors.
A subset of particular proline and lysine residues in the region where the triple-helix formation occurs are hydroxylated before assembly can take place. Three enzymes are required for proper hydroxylation: lysl hydroxylase, prolyl-4-hydroxylase, and prolyl-3-hydroxylase.
Lysl hydroxylase converts lysines in the sequence X-Lys-Gly to 5-hydroxylysine. Prolyl-4-hydroxylase converts prolines in the sequence X-Pro-Gly to 4-hydroxyproline. Prolyl-3-hydroxylase converts prolines in the sequence Hyp-Pro-Gly to 3-hydroxyproline. The above hydroxylation reactions require ferrous/ferric iron, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), oxygen, and α-ketoglutarate in the chemical reaction that is described below in equation (1).AA or IA residue+iron+ascorbic acid+O2+α-ketoglutarate→hydroxyl-AA or IA+succinate  (1)
Since the presence of new collagen proteins encourages the production of new collagen-containing tissues (e.g., cartilage tissue, tendon tissue, ligament tissue, hair tissue, etc.), the present inventor has found that it would be advantageous to develop compositions formulated to accelerate the production of new collagen proteins within an animal.

Compositions for accelerating the production of collagen-containing proteins


A capacitance type contact switch has a conductive push button in the form of a bottomed cylinder which is slidably contained in first and second fitting members attached to a support plate. One end of a conductive spring member presses on the inside of a bottom portion of the push button to bias the push button toward the back of a front contact plate, while the other end of the spring member is in contact with a conductive seat member. An electrical circuit substrate contained in a switch case is connected to the seat member by means of a lead wire. Thus, electrical conduction may be provided between the contact plate and the electrical circuit substrate by means of the push button, spring member, seat member, and the lead wire. The switch is operated when a user touches the front contact plate to form a capacitance, the charging voltage of the capacitance being detected to control the switch in a manner known per se.

This invention relates to a capacitance type contact switch for the control of electronic apparatus, capable of being operated by part of human body, e.g. a finger.
Recently, there have been developed for practical use electronic apparatus which employ a contact switch operated when touched by part of a human body, e.g. a finger, whereby switching of power supply of the apparatus may be controlled. The contact switch used with this type of electronic apparatus is so constructed that a capacitance may be formed between itself and a reference potential by a digital touch. By detecting charging voltage obtained by charging such capacitance, switching of the power supply may be controlled. These electronic apparatus using a contact switch are almost trouble-free and long-lived because they include no mechanical elements.
Prolonged use of such prior art contact switches may, however, lead to undesired interruption of electrical conduction, thus making them unreliable. Moreover, the conventional contact switch has a relatively complicated structure, involving difficulty in assembling.