An HDCP receiver device that receives frames from an HDCP transmitter device. The receiver device has a frame counter that is updated for each frame that is received from the transmitter device and that includes encrypted content, while the receiver device is in a pre-authorization mode. During the pre-authorization mode, the receiver device does not decrypt any received frame bearing encrypted content. While the receiver device waits to transition from the pre-authorization mode to a post-authorization mode in which the receiver device can begin to decrypt any received frames that include encrypted content, the frame counter is updated for each frame received that includes encrypted content. In the post-authorization mode, the frame counter has a nonzero value if frames including encrypted content were received by the receiver device during the pre-authorization mode.

Revision 2.2 of the specification for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) on High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) was released on February 2013. When setting up an HDCP HDMI transfer, a session key exchange (SKE) is performed.
An HDCP system is composed of a source device, one or more sink devices and/or one or more repeater devices. A source device is an HDCP transmitter that encrypts the video/audio content according to the HDCP HDMI Revision 2.2 specification. A sink device is an HDCP receiver that decrypts the video/audio content according to the specification. A repeater device is an HDCP repeater that can decrypt and re-encrypt the video/audio content according the specification. In this document, we will only consider the HDCP transmitter and HDCP receiver but the same rationale can be applied to HDCP repeaters.
At the end of the pre-authorization stage, the HDCP transmitter will generate session information and pass this to the HDCP receiver. This information, along with the initial values outlined in the HDCP HDMI Revision 2.2 specification, are programmed into the content encryption engine prior to the transmission and receiving of the content data. This moves the HDCP system to the post-authorization stage which must maintain cipher synchronization in order to avoid link integrity problems. Cipher synchronization is achieved when both devices maintain the same frame counter value. The counter value starts at 0 and is incremented for every encrypted (protected) frame. This value is used for AES in counter mode. The HDCP receiver maintains this count by counting each encrypted frame.
The HDCP HDMI Revision 2.2 specification states that the HDCP transmitter must wait 200 ms after session key exchange (SKE) before transmitting the encrypted content. This minimizes issues related to the cipher synchronization on the HDCP receiver. In some cases, the HDCP transmitter may not be compliant to the HDCP HDMI Revision 2.2. specification and begin transmission of protected content immediately after SKE and/or less than the stated 200 ms. This may result with the HDCP receiver not able to properly synchronise with the HDCP transmitter therefore causing link integrity problems.
Referring to FIG. 1, a transmitter (Tx) sends three frames 101a-101c with no encryption (ENC_DIS). Once the receiver (Rx) 100 programs the encryption keys and reaches the AUTH (authorization) mode 103, the receiver 100 begins to monitor the frame content for ENC_EN control signal 102c-102e. When the control signal is received after the receiver 100 transitions to the AUTH mode, the receiver 100 begins to perform a frame count 104. Maintaining a proper frame count is essential to ensure proper cipher synchronization.
If the transmitter does not wait 200 ms after sending the encrypted session key but rather begins to send encrypted content immediately before, during or after the SKE (session key exchange), the receiver 100 may not be ready or prepared for listening to the ENC_EN=1 control signal, and the receiver 100 may not synchronize the cipher and therefore cannot decrypt the content data. FIG. 1 illustrates this scenario, when the transmitter (Tx) starts sending encrypted content starting at Frame #3 102a, but the switch to authorization mode 103 does not occur until after Frame #4. Accordingly, the receiver (Rx) 100 does not initialize the frame counter until after Frame #5 is received.
There is a need to guarantee correct cipher synchronization even if the transmitter sends encrypted content prior to the 200 ms delay required by the HDCP HDMI 2.2 specification.

Early content engine receiver synchronization


A method includes providing a semiconductor structure including a nonvolatile memory cell element and one or more electrically insulating layers covering the nonvolatile memory cell element. The nonvolatile memory cell element includes a source region, a channel region, a drain region and a floating gate over at least a first portion of the channel region. A first opening is formed in the electrically insulating layers over the floating gate, a control gate insulation layer is deposited, and a second opening is formed in the electrically insulating layers over the drain region. The first opening and the second opening are filled with an electrically conductive material. The electrically conductive material in the first opening provides a control gate of the nonvolatile memory cell element and the electrically conductive material in the second opening provides an electrical contact to the drain region.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present disclosure relates to the field of integrated circuits and, more particularly, to integrated circuits including nonvolatile memory devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nonvolatile memory, such as, for example, flash memory, may be used in various storage devices, such as, for example, secure digital memory cards (SD cards), USB sticks, solid state drives (SSDs), and internal memory of various electronic devices, such as, for example, mobile phones, tablet computers, media players, etc. Further applications of nonvolatile memory include embedded systems, wherein nonvolatile memory blocks including nonvolatile memory are provided in addition to host logic devices and wherein the nonvolatile memory devices and the logic devices are physically and electrically integrated on a single substrate, for example, a single monolithic silicon substrate. Embedded systems including nonvolatile memory find applications in various fields, such as, for example, in automotive, industry and communication market segments. Integrating nonvolatile memory and logic circuitry on a single substrate may help to improve performance and reduce costs compared to solutions wherein nonvolatile memory and logic circuitry are provided on separate substrates, for example, due to an elimination of input/output buffers, design flexibility, lower power consumption and/or system-on-a-chip capability.
Types of nonvolatile memory cell architectures include one transistor cells (1T-cells) including a single gate, as well as split gate solutions such as 1.5 transistor (1.5T) and 2 transistor (2T) cells.
Examples of known nonvolatile memory cells include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,747,310 and 7,868,375.
Nonvolatile memory cells as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,747,310 and 7,868,375 include a source region and a drain region that are formed in a semiconductor substrate. Between the source region and the drain region, a channel region is provided that is doped differently than the source region and the drain region. Over the channel region, a floating gate and a select gate are provided. Over the floating gate, a control gate is provided, and an erase gate is provided over the source region. The select gate, the floating gate, the control gate and the erase gate are electrically insulated from each other and from the source, drain and channel regions by electrically insulating materials. The floating gate may be surrounded by electrically insulating material so that it is electrically floating. The source region, the drain region, the select gate, the control gate and the erase gate may have respective electrical contacts connected thereto so that voltages may be applied to the source region, the drain region and the select, control and erase gates for performing operations of programming, erasing and reading the nonvolatile memory cell.
For programming the nonvolatile memory cell, voltages adapted for creating a relatively strong, substantially vertically oriented electrical field in the channel region between the select gate and the floating gate may be applied to the select and control gates and the source and drain regions, which may cause a hot electron injection into the floating gate so that the floating gate is electrically charged. Since the floating gate is electrically floating, the charge injected into the floating gate can remain in the floating gate and can create an electric field that acts on a portion of the channel region below the floating gate.
For reading data from the nonvolatile memory cell, a voltage may be applied between the source region and the drain region, and a voltage adapted for creating an electrically conductive channel below the select gate may be applied to the select gate. Due to the influence of the electric charge in the floating gate on the portion of the channel region below the floating gate, a current flowing between the source region and the drain region can be influenced by the electric charge of the floating gate. Thus, it can be determined if an electric charge has been injected into the floating gate by means of a programming operation.
For erasing the nonvolatile memory cell, a relatively high positive voltage may be applied to the erase gate, and a Fowler-Nordheim tunneling of electrons from the floating gate to the erase gate may be obtained. Thus, an electric charge injected into the floating gate in the programming of the nonvolatile memory cell can be removed from the floating gate. The select gate can provide a separation of the floating gate from the drain which may help to substantially avoid or at least reduce an over-erase phenomenon.
In nonvolatile memory cells, each of the select gate, the control gate, the erase gate and the floating gate may be formed of polysilicon, and silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and/or silicon oxynitride may be used for providing an electrical insulation between the select gate, the control gate, the erase gate and the floating gate and for providing an electrical insulation between the gates and the source, drain and channel regions of the nonvolatile memory cell.
In techniques for the formation of nonvolatile memory cells, each of the select gate, the control gate, the erase gate and the floating gate may be formed in a front-end-of-line (FEOL) module of a semiconductor manufacturing process, wherein techniques of furnace polysilicon deposition and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of polysilicon may be employed. Moreover, known techniques may include the use of sacrificial spacers and self-aligned reactive ion etching (RIE) may be employed in the formation of nonvolatile memory cells.
Nonvolatile memory cells and techniques for the formation thereof as described above may have issues associated therewith. Chemical mechanical polishing of polysilicon may be relatively expensive and may cause a relatively high amount of defects that can reduce the yield of the manufacturing process. Additionally, applying techniques as described above for small technology nodes such as, for example, the 28 nm technology node and below may have issues associated therewith which may be related to a sensitivity of the manufacturing process with respect to a topography of the semiconductor structure. Moreover, in semiconductor structures manufactured in accordance with small technology nodes such as the 28 nm technology node and below, it may be of advantage to encapsulate gates of logic transistors including high-k materials formed in the same semiconductor structure in silicon nitride after patterning the gate electrodes of the logic transistor, and the encapsulation of gate electrodes of logic transistors may be adversely affected by manufacturing processes such as chemical mechanical polishing of polysilicon.
The present disclosure provides methods for the formation of nonvolatile memory cells and semiconductor structures including nonvolatile memory cells which may help to substantially overcome or at least reduce some or all of the above-mentioned issues.

Method including a formation of a control gate of a nonvolatile memory cell and semiconductor structure including a nonvolatile memory cell


A semiconductor laser diode (LD) has been disclosed, where the emission efficiency is independent on a thickness of the p-type cladding layer. The LD provides a first semiconductor region made of group III-V compound semiconductor material, a mesa region and a burying region. The burying region, disposed on the first region, buries the mesa region. The mesa region includes an active layer, a cladding layer with a first conduction type, another cladding layer with second conduction type and a contact layer with the second conduction type. The LD of the invention in the contact layer thereof contains aluminum (Al) and indium (In) for group III element, while, arsenic (As) for group V element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor optical device, in particular, the invention relates to a semiconductor light-emitting device.
2. Related Background Art
A Japanese Patent Application published as JP-H05-082891A has disclosed a semiconductor laser diode (hereinafter denoted as LD) with a mesa structure that includes an n-type InGaAsP optical guiding layer, an un-doped InGaAsP active layer, a p-type InP cladding layer and a p-type InGaAsP contact layer. This LD further provides a semi-insulating iron-doped InP burying layer so as to bury the mesa structure in both sides thereof the structure to block the current flowing the burying layer, accordingly, to concentrate the current flowing in the mesa structure. Moreover, the LD provides another semi-insulating layer made of InGaAsP with the band gap energy smaller than that of InP, which is a material of the semiconductor substrate, so as to bury the semi-insulating InP burying layer.
Another Japanese Patent Application published as JP-2003-060310A has a semiconductor light-emitting device where the device has a structure to restrict the out diffusion of p-type dopants to the semi-insulating burying layer. This device includes a mesa structure with a stack of layers each formed on a semiconductor substrate. That is, the mesa structure includes a lower cladding layer with a first conduction type, an active region, and an upper cladding layer with a second conduction type. The device further provides semi-insulating semiconductor regions in both sides of the mesa structure, and this semi-insulating region includes a layer including dopants that accelerates the diffusion of impurities to make the upper cladding layer to be the second conduction type and another layer including other dopants that prevents the diffusion of the impurities. Two dopants in the semiconductor region make this region to be semi-insulating.
These semiconductor devices described above provide the configuration that a layer with high resistivity or a semi-insulating characteristic buries the mesa structure including the active layer and the contact layer. The contact layer of these devices, which is formed on the p-type cladding layer, is a p-type InGaAs or a p-type InGaAsP, and the p-type cladding layer, made of p-type InP, has a thickness of 1.5 μm.
Thinning the p-type cladding layer, which reduces the series resistance of the device, degrades the emission efficiency of the device. On the other hand, to make the p-type cladding layer thick to obtain desired emission efficiency increases the series resistance of the device.

Semiconductor laser diode with emission efficiency independent of thickness of p-type cladding layer


A system and method for detecting glass breakage using thermal imaging is provided. The system includes an infrared image detector for acquiring an infrared image of a monitored area, and a signal processor for processing the acquired images to determine removal of a glass door or window based on a comparison of the thermal signature of the acquired image against the thermal signature of a reference image. Specifically, signal processor subtracts the reference image data from the acquired image data, which results in a substantially uniform image when the acquired image matches the reference image. On the other hand, the image resulting from the subtraction exhibits significant non-uniformity when the acquired image does not match the reference image, as would be the case if the pane of glass of a door or window were broken, removed or opened.

Current glass break technology utilizes either acoustic or shock sensing methods to determine the glass break event. The inherent weakness with both of these systems is they can be defeated with specific break methods. In one example, a center punch or torch can be used that will go undetected by prior art detection systems.

Passive thermal image glass breakage detector


Provided are an image processing apparatus and an image processing method that enable a strobe image using a 3D model to be generated. A strobe model in which 3D models of an object at a plurality of times generated from a plurality of viewpoint images captured from a plurality of viewpoints are disposed in a three-dimensional space is generated. When the strobe model is generated, a target object that is a target in which the 3D model is disposed in the strobe model is set according to a degree of object relevance indicating relevance with a key object serving as a reference for disposition of the 3D model in the strobe model.

A method of generating a strobe image in which a subject (image) photographed at a plurality of times is reflected has been proposed (see, for example, PTL 1). Since a subject at a plurality of times is reflected in the strobe image, it is possible to easily ascertain a movement or trajectory of the subject.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method for generating a strobe image using a three-dimensional model of an object


A method of forming a semiconductor package (50 and 52) includes providing a substrate (14) having a die pad and bond pads on a first surface (20) and conductive pads (66, 68 and 74) on a second surface (22). An integrated circuit (IC) die (38) is attached to the die pad and the first surface (20) of the substrate (14) is attached to a lead frame (26). The substrate (14) is electrically connected to the lead frame (26), and the IC die (38) is electrically connected to the substrate (14) and the lead frame (26). The IC die (14), the electrical connections (40, 42 and 44), a portion of the substrate (14) and a portion of the lead frame (26) are encapsulated with a mold compound (46), forming a stackable package (48). The conductive pads (66, 68 and 74) on the second surface (22) of the substrate (14) are not encapsulated by the mold compound (46).

The present invention relates to the packaging of integrated circuits (ICs) and more particularly to Package-on-Package (PoP) stacking and a method of forming a stackable package.
Package-on-Package (PoP) stacks are a type of three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor package being developed to meet the demand for smaller electronic devices with greater functionality and higher performance at lower costs. PoP stacking typically involves stacking a pre-tested package atop another packaged integrated circuit. Advantageously, PoP stacking enables the integration of two or more electrically tested devices within a small footprint, thereby conserving precious real estate on the printed circuit board (PCB) and achieving high final test yields. In view of these and other advantages associated with PoP stacking, it would be desirable to provide a method of forming a stackable package for PoP stacking.


There is provided a sensor device that can easily reduce an accumulated error in a sensor, the sensor device including: a first inertial sensor; a first information code formed to be capable of being imaged from an outside; and a first imaging unit capable of imaging a second information code formed on another sensor device.

Recently, technology to visualize (that is, to digitize) a move of a body has been actively developed. In the field of sports, for example, technology is being developed to attach sensor devices to various parts of a body for visualizing a move of the body on the basis of the measurement results and contributing to improvement in forms, and the like.
For example. Patent Literature 1 below discloses technology that generates information regarding sports on the basis of sensor information indicating the behavior of a user who plays sports.

Sensor device, sensor system, and information processing device


The present invention relates generally to a tarp systems, in particular, to improvements to various aspects of a tarp tensioning system. The tarp tensioning system has a plurality of frames, the frames having two or more bow members and a biasing mechanism coupled therebetween to maintain tension on the tarp.

Aerodynamics and fuel efficiency is and has been a problem for the trucking industry for a considerable length of time. In a conventional tarp system, a drag factor exists whenever the tarp is not tensioned properly. Furthermore, the distance between the truck and the headboard of the tarp system also experiences drag. Prior designs in the industry have not had a particular focus on fuel efficiency in the design of the tarp system.
Tensioning of the tarp in the tarp system has also been a challenge for the industry. Various tensioners have been developed. Prior systems connect the tarp to a headboard and rely on the rigidity of the headboard to support tension that is adjusted from the rear of the trailer. This is a problem because the trailer may flex allowing slack in the tarp resulting in wrinkles in the tarp and consequently drag as the truck and trailer travel.
One such tarp tensioning device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,117 to Aero Industries, Inc., herein incorporated by reference. The automatic tarp tensioning device removes slack from a tarp cover by way of an extension mechanism attached to the tarp cover. An adjusting element is moveable relative to the extension mechanism to apply tension to the tarp cover. A biasing mechanism is disposed between the extension mechanism and the adjusting element to bias the adjusting element away from the extension mechanism to thereby tension the tarp cover. The biasing mechanism may be one or more springs in compression.
Another tarp tensioning system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,931,326 to Iles Professional Engineering Corporation, herein incorporated by reference. The system for connecting tarps to the vehicle has bows for supporting tarps, the bows comprising one or more tarp connectors, each of the connectors having a pair of channels for accepting a support pole. One or more corner connectors are adapted to receive an end of one of the tarp connectors. A plurality of tarps, each secured to the tarp connectors by wrapping the tarp around the support pole are inserted into the channel of the tarp connector. The bows are combined with the tarps to create an enclosed cargo area.
It is an object of this invention to at least provide a novel method and system for improved tarp tensioning.

Method and system of improved tarp tensioning


The invention concerns a method for source decoding a variable-length soft-input codewords sequence (y [1:T]) into a soft-out-put bit sequence (Lv [1:T]), the variable-length soft-input input code-words sequence (y [1:T]) encoded in accordance with a VLC codewords table. It comprises—a first stage (100) of implementing a stack decoding algorithm for a sequential estimation of an hard-output bit sequence of said variable length soft-input codewords sequence, including storage of intermediate data contained in the stack and generated by the stack decoding algorithm; and—a second subsequent stage (102) of post-processing the stored intermediate data for generating the soft-output bit sequence (Lv [1:T]), a soft-output (L(x [t])) being provided for each bit.

A video communication system typically comprises a source encoding system, a channel and a source decoding system. The source encoding system generates variable-length codewords sequences and transmits them over the channel to the source decoding system that decodes them thanks to a shared code.
Variable-length codes, which are widely used in video coding standards for their compression capabilities are very sensitive to channel errors. As a matter of fact, when some bits are altered by the channel, synchronisation losses can occur at the receiver side, possibly leading to dramatic symbol error rates. This phenomenon has led to introduce modified variable-length codes such as e.g. self-synchronising Huffman codes, reversible variable-length codes.
Another solution is to re-introduce redundancy in the bitstream by inserting an error correcting code in the chain. The key point of the latter solution is to appropriately use the residual source redundancy at the decoding side. Being considered as a form of implicit channel protection by the decoder, this redundancy can be exploited as such to provide error correction capability of the variable length coded source.
Recent work showed that low-complexity approximate MAP (Maximum A Posteriori) decoders could be used, that provide approximately the same performance as all existing soft decoding algorithms while exhibiting a complexity close to the hard decoding case. Such a decoder is disclosed in [L. Perros-Meilhac and C. Lamy. "Huffmann tree based metric derivation for a low-complexity sequential soft VLC decoding". In Proceedings of ICC'02, volume 2, pages 783–787, New York, USA, April–May 2002].
Even though MAP algorithms exist and provide very good results in terms of error correction, they are very complex. On the other hand, stack algorithms, as the one disclosed in [Buttigieg:"Variable-length error-correcting codes" PhD thesis, University of Manchester, United Kingdom, 1995] are much less complex and can reach similar performance. However, they are primarily symbol level decoding algorithms and thus are not well adapted to provide reliability information on bits.
The aim of the invention is to provide a method for source decoding a variable-length soft-input codewords sequence working at a bit level and at low complexity for VLC codes.

Method end device for source decoding a variable-length soft-input codewords sequence


A system according to the principles of the present disclosure includes a profile storage module, a profile playback module, and a speed control module. The profile storage module stores an acceleration profile specifying a manner of accelerating a marine vessel. The profile playback module, in response to a play command received from a vessel operator, retrieves the acceleration profile and adjusts a desired engine speed based on the acceleration profile. The speed control module controls an engine speed of the marine vessel based on the desired engine speed.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
In some marine activities, such as skiing and wakeboarding, a participant may prefer a certain acceleration profile when launching a marine vessel to a cruise speed. Some marine vessels include engine control systems that control the vessel speed when a measured speed is greater than or equal to a cruise speed. However, traditional engine control systems do not control the vessel speed during launch, and therefore an operator must control the vessel speed until a cruise speed is achieved. This may lead to inconsistent launch acceleration and/or overshooting of the cruise speed.

Engine control system and method for a marine vessel


Apparatus for creating a current in a swimming pool against which a swimmer can swim-in-place in the pool, the pool comprising a water basin having an upper rim and being filled with water up to a predetermined upper level below the rim, the apparatus comprising a propeller and a motor mechanism for driving the propeller; a mechanism connected to the propeller for positioning the propeller at selected depth below the upper level of water in the basin such that when the propeller is driven the propeller generates a current of water flowing in a selected direction between about 0.1 and about 4 feet below the upper level of water in the basin; a mechanism for immovably mounting the positioning mechanism at a selected position around the rim of the basin, the positioning mechanism being connected to the mounting mechanism; the mechanism for mounting being portable such that the propeller and positioning mechanism are transportable to and away from the rim of the basin; the mounting mechanism being immovably mountable at the selected position around the rim of the pool; a rigid protective housing mounted around the propeller such that the propeller is completely surrounded by the housing, the protective housing being impenetrable by a human body part and being permeable to the current of the water flow generated by the propeller when driven.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating a current in swimming pool against which a swimmer can swim in a generally stationary place without having to swim the entire length of the pool. More particularly, the present invention relates to a safe, simple and portable apparatus having motor driven components which can be driven with low voltage electrical power.

Apparatus for creating a swim-in-place current in a swimming pool


A versatile envelope assembly that can be printed upon either before or after the resulting envelope is assembled. The resulting envelope can be used to store a wide variety of items, including compact discs and digital video discs, and can also provide a label for labeling the items contained in the envelope. The label is specially designed to extend the life of compact discs and digital video discs when applied to these items. Furthermore, the resulting envelope can be used as a mailing envelope, a filing pocket, a ring-binder pocket, or for any other suitable use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a versatile label and/or envelope assembly. The invention is also directed to a coating for a label, and a method of coating a label, which renders treated surfaces of the label printable. The invention is also directed to a tearable line for a label and/or an envelope assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Labels typically have text, or a design, or some type of printed matter on a face sheet. However, certain face sheet materials, such as films and foils, cannot be printed on due to the xe2x80x9cunprintablexe2x80x9d surface properties of these materials. A protective panel is typically adhered to the face sheet with an adhesive coating, and disposed of as waste once it is separated from the face sheet. The protective panel typically has a smooth surface which is usually unprintable. Furthermore, when a single label is removed from a sheet of labels, a plain, smooth surface of the protective panel to which the single label was adhered is exposed and often discarded as waste, for one reason because nothing can typically be printed on the smooth surface.
When separating a label from a remainder portion of a label sheet, die-cut lines can be too flimsy, thereby allowing the label to separate from the remainder portion before a user desires such separation. Conversely, micro-perforations can be too durable, thereby creating difficulty for a user who attempts to separate a label from a remainder portion, the process of which often results in a torn label.
Envelopes can be used to hold a wide variety of items, including letters, documents, compact discs, DVDs, pictures, baseball cards, and the like. Quite often, it is desirable to have a label for adhering to items within an envelope. In order to label items and store them in envelopes, one must purchase the envelopes and the labels separately. Furthermore, an outside surface of the envelope usually must be labeled to indicate what the contents are inside the envelope.
An envelope having a window is one way to reveal the contents of an envelope, but labels must still be purchased separately in order to label the contents themselves. If the labels and the envelopes are separate items, they cannot be run through a printer simultaneously. Furthermore, if an envelope has a window, the window often occupies a considerable amount of printable surface area on the envelope.
In addition, labels affixed to objects, such as compact discs (CDs), with adhesive can harm the discs if a user attempts to remove the labels. More specifically, damage may be caused by pulling off some of the disc protective coating, metal and dye along with the label. A somewhat contradictory reason to oppose the use of labels with adhesives on CDs is that some adhesives can dry out and become less effective over time, especially in the presence of heat, thus the labels could arguably become unattached while being used in a CD drive. Furthermore, ink printed on a thin label is subject to bleeding through the label and onto the CD, which could easily damage the protective coating on the read/write portion of the CD. However, discs with no labels at all are subject to scratching of the protective coating, metal and dye, which can cause irreversible damage.
A further setback in envelope organization is difficulty in distinguishing one envelope from another. When envelopes are aligned in a row, they typically all look alike. Even when a surface of an envelope is labeled, one must usually sort through a number of envelopes, looking at an entire surface of each one, before finding the sought-after envelope.
Envelope assemblies produced as a continuous web during the manufacturing process can be difficult to produce due to the precision required in separating adjacent assemblies from one another. If a cutting device used to separate adjacent assemblies from one another is even slightly misaligned, a large number of misshapen, nonfunctional assemblies can result from the misalignment.
When assembling an envelope from an envelope assembly, a protective panel is often difficult to separate from a face sheet. Not only does this difficulty lead to frustration, but it can also result in worn edges of the face sheet. Furthermore, once the protective panel is separated from the face sheet, it is often difficult to evenly fold one element of the assembly onto another element of the assembly, thereby resulting in a lopsided, uneven envelope.
Accordingly, a need exists for a new and improved envelope, or envelope assembly, that provides means for labeling the envelope and any contents within the envelope. A need also exists for an envelope that can be more easily identified and organized. A further need exists for an envelope assembly that can be easily manufactured and assembled to form an envelope having a finished appearance.
Furthermore, a need exists for a way to print on typically unprintable label surfaces. A need also exists for an envelope or envelope assembly having a window without a loss of printable surface area. A further need exists for an improved way to separate labels from remainder portions.
The present invention relates to a label, or an envelope assembly, or an envelope. The label, or envelope assembly, or envelope, has a coating that renders coated surface areas printable. More particularly, even extremely smooth surfaces, such as protective panels, can be printed upon when coated with the coating of the present invention.
The present invention also relates to a tearable line that can be used to separate a label or an envelope assembly from a remainder portion, or from an adjacent label or envelope assembly. The tearable line, having both die-cut lines and micro-perforated lines, is durable enough to withstand bends and turns when routed through a printer, yet weak enough to allow easy separation.
The present invention also relates to an envelope, or an envelope assembly, with a removable panel that can be printed upon simultaneously while printing upon the envelope or envelope assembly. The envelope, or envelope assembly, can further comprise a tab for ease of identification and organization.
The envelope assembly includes a sheet of material having a printable surface on one side and an adhesive covered by a protective panel on another side. The sheet of material comprises an assembly shape preferably having a primary panel adjacent a secondary panel. At least one flap is preferably but not necessarily located along at least one edge of the primary panel and/or the secondary panel.
In one embodiment, the sheet of material is rectangular with micro-perforated and die-cut tearable lines located around at least a portion of a periphery of the assembly shape, thereby separating the assembly shape from a remainder portion of the material.
The protective panel is preferably transparent or translucent, and may also be printable. The adhesive coating at least partially covers one side of a removable panel located on the assembly shape and/or on the remainder portion. Alternatively, instead of adhesive coating, the removable panel can be statically adhered to the protective panel. When the removable panel is removed from a remainder of the envelope or envelope assembly, the transparent or translucent protective panel enables a user to view any contents of the envelope from outside the envelope. Furthermore, when the transparent or translucent protective panel is printable, the envelope or envelope assembly maintains as much printable surface area as an envelope or envelope assembly without a removable panel.
In another embodiment, the primary panel, the secondary panel and/or the remainder portion of the material is preferably perforated, micro-perforated, and/or die-cut to form the removable panel. The removable panel can be in a shape of a compact disc label, for example, so that graphics can be printed upon the printable surface of the primary panel and/or the secondary panel, and the removable panel can then be separated from the primary panel and/or the secondary panel and adhered to a compact disc. Alternatively, the removable panel can be in a shape of a DVD label suited to fit a non-read/write portion of the DVD. Furthermore, multiple nested ring-shaped removable panels can be located on the primary panel and/or the secondary panel, thereby providing multiple ring-shaped labels for multiple purposes.
The adhesive coating also at least partially covers one side of the at least one flap, and/or at least one edge of the primary panel and/or at least one edge of the secondary panel. The protective panel can be removed to expose the adhesive coating. In one preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating entirely covers one side of the sheet of material. In another preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating only partially covers the one side of the sheet of material. In yet another preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating entirely covers one side of the sheet of material, and a second sheet of material is attached to the sheet of material and contains a portion of the assembly shape thereon. In a further embodiment of this invention, a laminate layer is coated with an adhesive coating on both sides and is located between the sheet of material and the protective panel.
The protective panel preferably has at least one tearable line of separation, such that a portion of the protective panel can be separated from a remaining portion, such as a border portion, of the protective panel. In one preferred embodiment, the tearable lines of separation are located along fold lines of the flaps. In another preferred embodiment, the tearable lines of separation are offset from the tearable lines of separation on the sheet of material for ease in separating the protective panel from the sheet of material in the appropriate places.
To form an envelope, the protective panel is first partially or completely separated from the adhesive to expose the adhesive on each flap, edge of the primary panel and/or edge of the secondary panel. The flaps and/or the secondary panel are then folded toward the primary panel such that surfaces with exposed adhesive are aligned to contact surfaces to which they can adhere, thereby forming an envelope.
In one preferred embodiment, at least one tab extends outward from the primary panel and/or the secondary panel. A flap can be die-cut about a portion of a periphery of the tab, such that the tab remains extending outward while the flap can be folded over and adhered to either the primary panel or the secondary panel. The tab can be printed upon directly, or alternatively, the removable panel can be of a size and shape suitable to be adhered to the tab.
The envelope assembly of the present invention can be designed and constructed in a wide range of sizes for a number of different uses. In particular, the envelope assembly is suitable for housing compact discs, mini-discs, baseball cards, photographs, and many other items. Furthermore, the envelope and/or envelope assembly can have one or more holes in the primary panel corresponding with one or more holes in the secondary panel, thereby enabling a user to store the envelope in a ring-binder, such as in a personal planner.
When the envelope assemblies are produced along a continuous web, registration lines can extend between adjacent assemblies, thereby providing for a margin of error in the process of separating adjacent assemblies. Furthermore, fold lines can be created on the envelope assemblies in order to make the assembly process of the envelope more user-friendly. Such fold lines can be created by score lines, perforations and/or micro-perforations and can be located between flaps, panels and any other component intended to be folded.
When the envelope assembly has a circular removable panel situated on either the primary panel or the secondary panel, one of the flaps can have a removable partial circle situated on the flap in such a manner that when the flap is folded, no portion of the flap blocks the view of the circular removable panel. This embodiment is desirable whether or not the flap on which the removable partial circle is located is or is not intended to be used to close the envelope. When the flap is not intended to close and seal the envelope, the flap on which the removable partial circle is located can be tucked inside the envelope, thereby providing reinforcement at the opening of the envelope and, if the protective panel is transparent and/or translucent, the flap will not impede the view of the contents of the envelope. When the flap is intended to close and seal the envelope, if the protective panel is transparent and/or translucent, once again, the flap will not impede the view of the contents of the envelope.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a surface treatment suitable for coating an unprintable surface of a label and/or envelope assembly, thereby rendering the surface printable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an envelope assembly having a printable protective panel. In this embodiment, the protective panel is also preferably transparent and/or translucent, for example for viewing the contents of the envelope through the protective panel once a removable panel is removed.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tearable line for a label and/or envelope assembly that has sufficient structural strength, for example for routing through a printer, yet is configured for easy separation that forms a clean edge.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a versatile envelope assembly that can be printed upon either before or after the resulting envelope is formed, can provide a label for labeling items contained in the envelope, and can be used as a mailing envelope, a filing pocket, a ring-binder pocket, or for any other suitable use.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are intended to illustrate the present invention rather than limit the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents of the appended claims.


A portably blower fan assembly is provided that may be configured to be removably attached to a golf cart. In some embodiments, the present invention may provide for a battery pack element configured to power a blower fan, which in some embodiments may be a squirrel cage blower fan. The present invention may also provide for one or more clamps configured to removably secure the blower fan in position along a golf cart's frame.

In order to complete a round of golf, golfers spend a considerable amount of time on the course. Much, if not most, of that time is spent either in or nearby a golf cart. But when they are not driving the golf cart, many of these golfers don't have any air circulating to keep cool. Because the heat can rise to uncomfortable temperatures, many older players aren't always able to finish their rounds. Some golfers can even suffer from heat related illness in such conditions. Many golfers therefore turn to portable fans. However, these fans are often inadequate. Besides the fact that they do not circulate enough air for the golf course environment, most portable fans are limited by a configuration wherein the batteries are inserted into the frame of the fan itself. As such, not only do these fans inevitably run out of battery power, they are also limited by the size and type of power they can receive and use. These golfers would therefore benefit from a portable fan powered by its own separate external power source that can travel the golf course with them. As such, a need exists for an advanced portable blower fan assembly that can removably attach to a golf cart.
Various attempts to solve this problem have been made. One such attempt can be seen with respect to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0152482, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, which generally discloses a portable solar-powered fan. While this disclosure does provide for a fan configured to be portable and of use in the outdoors, it fails to provide for a strong enough fan to properly cool golfers in a golf cart, and is also not adequately configured for mounting to a golf cart.
Another attempt can be seen with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,293, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, which generally discloses a golf cart having built-in air conditioning. While this disclosure does provide for a golf cart having cooling properties, this disclosure is a large, expensive, and permanently-mounted solution that is an impractical purchase for the average golfer. This disclosure would also be very difficult to install and uninstall for a round of golf.
Yet another attempt can be seen with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,538, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, which generally discloses a portable misting device configured for use in a golf cart. While this disclosure does provide for the flexibility of a portable cooling device on a golf cart, many golfers may not want to get wet. Additionally, this disclosure is likely to run out of water during a round of golf, and therefore has limited usefulness.
Various attempts have been made to solve the problems which may be found in the related art but have thus far been unsuccessful. A need exists for a new blower fan assembly that is configured to removably attach to a golf cart to avoid the above-mentioned problems.


A light source module including a light guide plate and a light source is provided. The light guide plate has a light incident surface and a light emitting region, and the light guide plate has a plurality of grooves or protruding patterns thereon. The length of the grooves or the protruding patterns is smaller than the length of the light guide plate. The light source is disposed on the light incident surface of the light guide plate, and the grooves or the protruding patterns of the light guide plate are disposed beside the light incident surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a light source module and a display module, and more particularly to a side incident type light source module and a display module having the side incident type light source module.
2. Description of Related Art
The main components of a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus includes an LCD panel and a backlight module, in which the LCD panel is formed by two substrates and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the two substrates, and the backlight module is used for providing the required light source for the LCD apparatus to display images.
Typically, the backlight module is divided into a direct type and a side incident type. The direct type backlight module is usually applied to large-sized LCDs, whereas the side incident type backlight module is usually adopted in small-sized LCDs.
FIG. 1 represents a schematic view illustrating a conventional side incident type backlight module. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional side incident type backlight module 100 includes a light guide plate 110, a light source 120, an optical film set 130, and a reflector 140, in which the light source 120 is disposed on a side of the light guide plate 110, and the optical film set 130 and the reflector 140 are respectively disposed above and below the light guide plate 110. In order to improve the brightness performance of the side incident type backlight module 100, conventionally a light guide plate 110 having V-grooves is used. The V-grooves of the light guide plate 110 are disposed on an entire light incident surface 110a, meaning that the length of the of the V-grooves and the length of the light guide plate 110 are the same. After a light emitted from the light source 120 enters the light guide plate 110, the light is reflected by a reflector 140 on a bottom surface 110b of the light guide plate 110. By using the V-grooves to refract the light, the front emitted luminance and the light source efficiency are improved, thereby generating a planar light source having enhanced brightness.
FIG. 2 represents a schematic view illustrating another conventional side incident type backlight module. Referring to FIG. 2, a side incident type backlight module 200 depicted in FIG. 2 is similar to the side incident type backlight module 100. The differences are: the V-grooves of a light guide plate 210 of the side incident type backlight module 200 depicted in FIG. 2 are disposed on an entire bottom surface 210b, the light emitted from a light source 220 enters the light guide plate 210, the light paths are guided directly upward by a reflector 240 disposed beneath a bottom surface 210b of the light guide plate 210, and the V-grooves are used for increasing the brightness of the front emitted light.
It should be noted that whether the V-grooves are disposed on the light emitting surface 110a of the light guide plate 110 or disposed on the bottom surface 210b of the light guide plate 210, when the side incident type backlight modules 100 and 200 are assembled or transported, the V-grooves may collide or cause friction with the optical film set 130 disposed above the light guide plate 110 or the reflector 240 disposed below the light guide plate 210, thereby damaging the V-grooves and forming a plurality of hot spots. Consequently, not only is the display quality of the LCD apparatus compromised, the production costs are increased because extra optical films are needed to solve the hot spot issue.


A plurality of information symbols are transmitted by a carrier wave by assigning different modulation indices to the individual information symbols. Thereby the modulated carrier wave carries information not only by the digitally encoded (modulated) data words but also by the different modulation indices used for successive intervals that thus also represent information symbols. This increases the data rate of a wireless communication. When used in passive identification systems, for example transponders, the transmission of the superimposed clock information eliminates the need for the clock generation logic in the receiver. The reduced energy consumption enables the communication distance to be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for transmitting information symbols between a first transceiver and a second transceiver by modulating a carrier signal.
2. Description of the Related Technology
The types of information are designated by the term information symbol. Examples of types of information, in addition to the actual digital data words, are control signals such as clock information. In previous methods of contactless communication, the types of information are coded and digitally transmitted in the form of data words by means of modulating a carrier wave. An important area of application for this is the area of contactless identification, in which particularly transponder technology is used. These systems consist of a transponder, which is frequently integrated into a keyring pendant or a so-called smart card, and a stationary base unit which, in the case of applications in the automotive field, is fitted in an automobile. The communication between transponder and base unit is based upon an inductive coupling, in which the data is transmitted by means of a modulated carrier wave. Particularly in applications in the automotive field, the complete authentication between base station and transponder must be completed within a period of some 100 ms so that the user does not notice any delay. The information must be transmitted between transponder and base station at a high data rate in order to implement the ever higher security requirements for the authentication process. This requirement is difficult to fulfill, especially in so-called passive systems in which the transponder does not have its own power supply, and has to obtain all its energy from the electromagnetic field of the base station by means of absorption modulation. To do this, the transponder has to be located in the electromagnetic near-field region of the base station in order to be able to absorb enough energy because the inductive coupling is low in the medium air. As the near-field region is substantially larger at low frequencies, the carrier frequencies lie in the range around 20 MHz in passive systems, which enables a range of a few cm to be attained.
Methods which function according to the previous state of the art are described, for example, for passive transponder systems in the data book of TEMIC Semiconductor GmbH, 2000, p. 319 and p. 333. In this method, all types of information are coded in the form of data words, and modulated in digitized form upon a carrier frequency. In order to decode this information in the data words, a system clock, which is gained from the carrier frequency by using dividing stages, is required in the transponder system.
The disadvantage of previous methods is that, in order to be able to decode the information contained in the data words in the receiving station, additional digital data (overhead) has to be generated by coding all types of information in the form of data words based on a protocol. This lowers the data transmission rate correspondingly. This results in additional waiting time for decoding the transmitted information, which is disturbing in time-critical applications. Another disadvantage of the previous method is that, in passive systems for decoding the transmitted data words, the system clock is derived from the frequency of the carrier with the aid of a dividing stage. With a frequency in the 20 MHz range, the dividing stage has to switch frequently within the transponder in order to generate the system clock and, in combination with the further switchover for clock generation, requires a considerable proportion of the energy which is gained by absorption modulation from the field of the base station. This substantially reduces the communication distance between base unit and transponder.

Method for transmitting a plurality of information symbols


A control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle includes: a motor for driving the fuel cell vehicle; a motor control unit controlling driving and regenerative operations of the motor; a traction control unit suppressing slippage of drive wheels by controlling a driving force acting between tires and a road surface; a fuel cell generating electricity through electrochemical reaction by being supplied with reactant gases by a reactant gas supply unit and supplies electrical power to the motor; an electrical storage apparatus charged by power generated by the fuel cell and power regenerated by the motor; an output control unit controlling the output of the fuel cell; and a control unit controlling power consumption of the motor in advance of a change in a supply state of the reactant gases to the fuel cell due to execution of driving force control by the traction control unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for a fuel cell vehicle and a control method for a fuel cell vehicle.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-196186, filed Jul. 5, 2005, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
There is conventionally known a control apparatus that performs traction control to suppress slippage of drive wheels due to excessive driving force being applied from the tires to the road surface in a vehicle equipped with a fuel cell and an electrical storage apparatus as a power supply for the vehicle traction motor (refer, for example, to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-204107). This control apparatus restricts the electrical power supplied from the fuel cell to the vehicle traction motor by restricting the fuel supplied to the fuel cell, whereby the output of the vehicle traction motor is restricted to increase the grip force of the drive wheels.
In the control apparatus according to the aforementioned prior art, after an appropriate control command is input with respect to the supply state (i.e., pressure, flow rate, etc.) of the fuel containing a fluid substance in a gas or liquid state supplied to the fuel cell, the time, i.e., response delay, until reaching the control state in accordance with this control command becomes relatively long.
For this reason, from the moment slippage of the drive wheels is detected, the time required for output of the vehicle traction motor to be actually restricted for the grip of the drive wheels to increase is lengthened, leading to difficulty in executing traction control with suitable timing.
Moreover, when the output of the vehicle traction motor rapidly increases, such as when the tires slip on a road surface with a relatively low frictional resistance due to freezing or the like, there is the risk of electrical power exceeding a specified upper limit power from the fuel cell and an electrical storage apparatus during the time from the detection of the output surge to restricting the electrical power supplied to the traction motor by restricting the supply state of fuel to the fuel cell. This gives rise to the risk of being unable to suitably protect the fuel cell and the electrical storage apparatus.

Control apparatus for fuel cell vehicle and control method for fuel cell vehicle


The driving method includes a first drive step of applying a specified drive voltage to a piezoelectric film to drive a piezoelectric device during a first drive period, a standby step of suspending a drive of the piezoelectric device to keep the piezoelectric device on standby during a drive standby period and a second drive step of applying the specified drive voltage to the piezoelectric film to drive the piezoelectric device during a second drive period that follows the first drive period. During the drive standby period between the first drive period and the second drive period, a reverse electric field with respect to a drive electric field formed in the piezoelectric film by the specified drive voltage routinely applied during a drive of the piezoelectric device is applied to the piezoelectric film for a specified period of time.

The present invention relates to a method of driving piezoelectric devices fitted with piezoelectric films having a perovskite-type crystal structure represented by the general formula Pb(Tix,Zry,Mz)O3; in particular, the present invention relates to a method of driving such piezoelectric devices in a way that improves their durability.
In recent years, active R&D efforts are being directed to various kinds of devices that use the piezoelectric element, as exemplified by actuators, sensors and memory devices, and piezoelectric films that are formed by vapor-phase growth techniques such as sputtering are drawing particular attention as functional films capable of high performance. Such piezoelectric films are currently used in piezoelectric devices such as piezoelectric actuators in ink-jet heads, micro-pumps and so forth.
JP 5-338150 A discloses an ink-jet head and a method of driving it; in the ink-jet head, an electric pulse is applied to a piezoelectric material to cause partial deformation of an ink chamber, whereupon a pressure pulse is generated within the ink chamber so that an ink drop is ejected from a nozzle. According to JP 5-338150 A, the application of the electric pulse that causes ejection of an ink drop is followed by the application of an additional electric pulse that produces a voltage of opposite polarity with respect to the first applied electric pulse, whereby the ink meniscus is rapidly reverted to the reference state so that the response frequency of the ink-jet head is sufficiently increased to enable faster marking.
JP 6-342946 A discloses a method of regenerating a piezoelectric device which is characterized in that in order to restore the displacement performance of a piezoelectric device that has deteriorated in that performance due to prolonged use, an electric field at least equal to the coercive electric field is applied to the piezoelectric device in opposite direction with respect to the electric field applied during the drive mode. According to JP 6-342946 A, the disclosed method of regenerating a piezoelectric device is such that the piezoelectric device, namely, a piezoelectric film that has been driven for a prolonged time to have an internal electric field formed in it is supplied with an electric field at least equal to the coercive electric field of the piezoelectric film in opposite direction with respect to the electric field applied during the drive mode, whereupon the internal electric field is destroyed to restore the displacement performance of the piezoelectric film.


The doll stand has a base, a vertical support part between the legs of the doll when in use, a carrying part and holding parts. A coupling part connects the carrying part to the vertical support part. The carrying part is a single manufacture with a coupling part extending downwards from its middle section and holding parts which project upwardly from its end. The carrying part is bandaged onto the doll, and the doll and carrying part are placed on the vertical support part. The lower end of the support part is either attached to a visible base plate or, in an embodiment without the base plate, in or below a presentation plate. The legs can be moved and the doll can be rotated either mechanically or by hand. The holding parts may include tension straps, brackets, and it may be formed as a seat bowl.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to doll stands, i.e., to stands for supporting and holding dolls. When in use the stand has a support part which is positioned between the legs of the doll and which extends vertically to the lower body of the doll. The support part is attached to an element which keeps it in the vertical position.
Dolls produced before and shortly after 1900 are referred to as antique dolls and are today valuable, and in some cases extremely valuable, collectors items. Such collections form the basis of many doll museums. In museums the visitor sees the dolls displayed alongside each other. They are held on the rear side by the doll stands and the viewer can see their faces and the fronts while the legs are held identically and monotonously on the base plate of the stand.
Fashion dolls, for example, which in the 19th century were dressed exactly to scale in the latest fashion and sent abroad for advertising purposes were lovingly viewed from all angles. These and the equally wonderful girl and boy dolls cannot be displayed in profile or in their all-round beauty using the customary doll stands.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,915 to Cindric et al. describes various groups of doll stands. The following specification expands on that grouping and provides a further, expanded overview of the field.
Group A: Doll stands that require the support part to be inserted into an opening or drilled hole in the doll made for this purpose. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,284, the holes are formed in the feet.
Group B: Doll stands that grip the feet or the legs of the doll at various levels to hold the doll upright. In order for such stands to function properly, it is necessary that the doll be able to stand on its own, i.e. the doll's joints (feet, knee, hips) may not bend under the weight of the standing figure.
Both feet are restrained in accordance with German utility model DE-GM 92 05 187.1 of April 1992. Both lower legs are retrained in accordance with French Patent No. 1,346,680 of February 1963 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,362 of December 1970. Both thighs are restrained in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,632 of August 1968.
These stands require that the doll be able to stand upright on its own. The wire support part extends upwardly between the doll's legs and ends with two horizontally positioned loops at the doll's lower body. These loops wrap around the thighs of the doll and hold them. Both feet must rest on the base plate and support the weight of the doll.
Group C: These stands are characterized by a support part that extends upwardly either behind the rear of the doll or between the doll's legs to the doll's back. The support holds the torso of the doll with a wire clamp, preventing the doll from bending at the hip joints.
An early example of this type of stand is the English Patent No. 18,419, dating from 1889 and patented in the name of an inventor from Sonneberg, the center of the German doll making industry. The wire clamps of that disclosure are angled at the top, which is important as the dolls from that period had noticeably enlarged posteriors. The angle of the line that connects the posterior to the upper back of the doll can be estimated as approx. 10.degree. from vertical. The inventor was obviously undisturbed by the fact that the support part was fully visible, as it did not fit under the clothing worn by the doll.
Shortly thereafter, U.S. Pat. No. 479,481 was granted in 1892. In that disclosure the angled nature of the support part can be clearly seen. This meant that the wire clamp could fit under clothing that was not too tight. For tight-fitting clothing, one must decide whether the bumps in the clothing are acceptable or if the support part should be attached from the outside. With minor variations, this doll stand from the year 1892 represents the type of doll stand construction most commonly used today.
The stand shown in FIG. 2, for example, offers the option of bending the mounting which is fixed to the base plate and onto which the support part is attached. Another variant has a rigid sectional through to the base plate. The support's fixed angle of approx. 6.degree. from vertical is a compromise and is generally too small for antique dolls.
The weight of antique dolls is the next problem for this type of stand construction. Depending on the type of construction--such as very old dolls with paper mache heads and leather bodies or later dolls with articulated bodies and porcelain heads with wigs, elaborate costumes, accessories and jewelry--the weight of various kinds of dolls can be estimated as follows: doll height 40 cm--approx. 0.8 to 1.2 kg; 60 cm--approx. 1.7 to 2.3 kg; 80 cm--approx. 2.9 to 3.7 kg; 100 cm--approx. 4.5 to 5.5 kg.
When such a doll is mounted on this type of stand, certain points have to be considered for optimal positioning: the pressure of the wire clamps may not damage the doll's painted body or clothing; the doll's feet should rest on the base plate; the pressure of the wire clamp should strong enough to securely support the doll; the friction between the sectional tubing and the clamping wire must be great enough to ensure that the wire clamp does not slip. Usually a number of attempts are necessary before these factors can be adjusted properly to each other, which means the doll can be damaged and its value reduced.
German utility model DE-GM 92 05 195.2 of April 1992 may be described as follows: The object of that stand is to allow one leg to move freely, while the other leg supports the weight of the doll. A support part extends upwardly behind the load-bearing leg and holds the torso with a rubber strap. The doll must be able to stand on its own.
A quite interesting suggestion is found in U.S. Pat. No. 352,161, issued in 1886: there is shown a type of construction that has the support positioned between the legs of the doll. Two wire clamps extend upwardly from that support to the lower torso--one on the front side and one on the rear side--which can be adjusted in height. Dolls displayed using this stand are thus supported from the front and from the rear. The doll's legs provide the necessary lateral support. The doll must be able to stand on its own. From an aesthetic point of view, it is interesting that the supporting rod is more hidden from view.
Group D: This group consists of doll stands that have a support part extending vertically behind the posterior of the doll, which has a support arm that is positioned between the legs on the lower torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,527,152, issued in 1945, shows a strap extending upwardly on the rear side of the doll, with a 180.degree. angle in the small of the back, which leads between the doll's legs and up the lower stomach of the doll to about the height of the hips. The straps on the back and stomach of the doll are held in place on the lower torso with a belt. For some dolls an alternative is used, in which the strap extends vertically along the stomach of the doll to the height of the hips. From the vertically positioned strap on the rear side of the doll to the strap that is slightly angled away from the body on the stomach of the doll, another strap which is attached to the rear strap extends between the legs. Both of the straps, reach approximately to the height of the hips, are held against the lower torso with a belt. For adjusting height, the straps--which can be considered to be the support--are divided into two parts and have drilled holes, so that the divided straps can be set in place by fixing them against each other. The fact that the height can only be adjusted in a step-by-step manner means that the doll cannot be fully and completely supported. For this reason and due to the low resistance of a single strap on the rear of the doll as a support, this aesthetically less than pleasing construction requires use of the doll's legs for support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,915 (issued in 1986) allows the height of the doll stand to be adjusted in two places (on the bracket between the legs and on the supporting element on the upper torso). The bracket must be flexible in order to be able to adapt the front part of the bracket to the doll. This flexibility, however, makes the bracket less well suited for supporting larger dolls. Consequently, the bracket cannot be considered as a supporting element and the legs of the doll must bear the weight of the doll.
Group E: This group consists of doll stands that support the doll on a vertical support part extending upwardly between the doll's legs.
With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a doll stand of the company Mattel Inc. (Malaysia, 1985 3415-Q 503-6-1) for the BARBIE.RTM. doll. The stand includes a flat support part attached to a base plate, which extends vertically between the doll's legs and has a saddle-shaped depression at the top. The lower body of the doll can be placed in this saddle-shaped depression, which supports the doll between the legs from below. In order to prevent the doll from falling forwards or backwards (the doll's legs are supported laterally by the stand), the support has a pair of protrusions on both sides underneath the depression. These hold the thighs of the doll and prevent it from falling forwards or backwards.
This requires, however, that the hip joints be sufficiently stiff, as otherwise the doll's body can fall over, even though the legs are held firmly by the stand. The hip joints must also be stiff laterally, as the protrusions act as a wedge between the legs.
In summarizing the prior art, the term doll show triggers associations such as antique dolls or reproductions thereof. Further, "artistic" dolls have lately become very popular. Those dolls share the characteristic that they are heavy and almost always have rubber cords for making the joints moveable. Generally, those dolls cannot securely stand on their own, especially if the doll in question is old. These factors make Group A and B unsuitable for use with such dolls. Group C and D have the support parts positioned on the edge of the base plate (with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 352,161), which is unsightly for the viewer.
Additional disadvantages associated with the prior art doll stands may be categorized as follows: Clumsy handling when removing the doll from the stand and positioning the doll on the stand, combined with the adjustments required to make the proper fit, increase the danger that the doll or doll's clothing will be damaged; the doll's clothes are subject to deformation by the stands; the stiff, backward leaning position of the doll resulting from the construction of the stand does not portray natural body posture; effects of the bending and tilting moments arising from the construction of the stand are difficult to estimate; even small dolls cannot be rotated without turning the base plate as well; free movement of the legs is limited.
Groups C and D are limited in application, if, due to weight considerations, the doll's feet must stand on the base plate. Leather bodies with sewn knee and hip joints cannot bear loads. None of the doll stands described could support a leather body "Paulinen" doll, with a height of 78 cm and a weight of 4.6 kg, made around 1840, in a standing position. The joints of dolls with articulated limbs slowly change position and slip. At some point or another, the doll finally comes to rest. Group E stands, such as that of Mattel Inc. as described above, support the doll near the center of gravity and, depending on the size of the stand, can support dolls of all sizes. As was mentioned though, the doll must have sufficiently stiff hip joints. This condition is not met for antique dolls, reproductions and artistic dolls. Hence this type of stand cannot be employed for these types of dolls. This leaves the interesting task of inventing a doll stand, which, based on a support part between the legs, can safely support dolls of any size while simultaneously ensuring optimum display and presentation.


The invention relates to a method on a computing device comprising: displaying in a display area graphical objects, this display area comprising a structured text section with text objects and block sections with text or non-text objects; locating an initiation point from which starts a user selection gesture; determining a selection path forming a selection area; and selecting each graphical object contained within the selection area. If the initiation point is located in the structured text section, a first mode may be selected thereby allowing the selection path to be drawn in the display area to select any graphical object. If the initiation point is located within a target block section among the block sections, a second mode may be selected, thereby confining the selection path within the target block section.

Computing devices continue to become more ubiquitous to daily life. They may take various forms such as computer desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, hybrid computers (2-in-1s), e-book readers, mobile phones, smartphones, wearable computers (including smartwatches, smart glasses/headsets), global positioning system (GPS) units, enterprise digital assistants (EDAs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), game consoles, and the like. Further, computing devices are being incorporated into vehicles and equipment, such as cars, trucks, farm equipment, manufacturing equipment, building environment control (e.g., lighting, HVAC), and home and commercial appliances.
Each type of computing device is equipped with particular computing resources and destined for given uses. Computing devices generally comprise of at least one processing element, such as a central processing unit (CPU), some form of memory, and input and output devices. The variety of computing devices and their subsequent uses necessitate a variety of input devices and interfaces to allow users to interact with their computing devices.
One such input device is a touch sensitive surface such as a touchscreen or touchpad wherein the user input is received through contact between a user body part (e.g. a finger) or an instrument (e.g. a pen or stylus), and the touch sensitive surface. Another input device is an input surface that senses gestures made by a user above the input surface. A further input device is a position detection system which detects the relative position of either touch or non-touch interactions with a non-touch physical or virtual surface.
Handwriting recognition can be implemented in computing devices to input and process various types of graphical objects (also called input elements), hand-drawn or handwritten by a user, such as text content (e.g., alphanumeric characters) or non-text content (e.g. shapes, drawings). Once inputted on a computing device, the input elements are usually displayed as digital ink and undergo handwriting recognition to be converted into typeset versions. The user handwriting input is typically interpreted using a real-time handwriting recognition system or method. To this end, either on-line systems (recognition carried out using a cloud-based solution or the like) or off-line systems may be used.
The user input may be drawings, diagrams or any other content of text, non-text or mixed content of text and non-text. Handwriting input may be made on a structured document according to guiding lines (base lines) which guide and constraint input by the user. Alternatively, a user may handwrite in free-mode, i.e. without any constraints of lines to follow or input size to comply with (e.g. on a blank page).
FIG. 1A shows an example of a computing device 1 comprising a display device 1 which displays digital ink graphical objects hand-drawn or handwritten by a user using an appropriate user interface. In the present case, the computing device 1 detects and displays text content 4 and 6 and non-text content 8, 10 and 12. Each of these elements is formed by one or more strokes of digital ink. As discussed later, text and non-text may each take various forms. Graphical objects may comprise text handwriting, diagrams, musical annotations, and so on . . . . In this example, the shape 8 is a rectangle or the like which constitutes a container (a box) containing text content 6 so that both elements 6 and 8 can be selected and manipulated together.
As mentioned earlier, handwriting recognition may be performed on text input elements. Handwriting recognition may also be performed on non-text input elements. In addition, each input element may be converted and displayed as typeset input elements, as depicted in this example in FIG. 1B.
The content depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B is a mere example and other elements, or other types or forms thereof, than those depicted may be present in addition to or as an alternative.
In handwriting recognition applications, it is usually possible to perform some level of editing on user input displayed on a computing device. Conventionally, such applications are however limited in their capabilities to handle editing functions and typically constrain users to adopt behaviors or accept compromises which do not reflect the user's original intent. As a result, some conventional handwritten recognition applications force users to navigate menus to select and edit ink elements.
Typically, the ability in conventional handwriting recognition applications to rearrange text or non-text ink input elements is limited where only certain operations are available, often involving complex or unnatural manipulations by the users. As such, it is generally difficult for users to edit text or non-text context in an ergonomic and efficient manner.
In particular, when various graphical objects are displayed on a screen, it is often difficult for a user to select graphical objects, for the purpose of editing for instance. Computing devices running handwriting recognition applications generally does not permit easy and intuitive selection of graphical objects. It is thus fastidious for users to manipulate text and non-text content displayed on a screen.
Improvements are desired to allow easy and intuitive selection of graphical objects (either text and/or non-text) on a computing device.

System and method for selecting graphical objects


Process for the preparation of organosilylated carboxylate monomers comprising the step of reacting an acyloxysilane with an unsaturated carboxylic acid, the monomers and their use as comonomer unit in the binder of antifouling coating compositions.

Antifouling paints are used to prevent and delay the fouling of underwater structures (e.g. ships' bottom, docks, fishnets, and buoys) by various marine organisms such as shells, seaweed, and aquatic bacteria. When such marine organisms adhere and propagate on an underwater structure like the bottom of a ship, the surface roughness of the whole ship may be increased to induce decrease of velocity of the ship or increase of fuel consumption. Further, removal of such aquatic organisms from the ship's bottom needs much labour and a long period of working time. In addition, if these organisms adhere and propagate on an underwater structure such as a steel structure they deteriorate their anticorrosive coating films leading to a reducing of the lifetime of the underwater structure.
Underwater structures are therefore coated with antifouling paint employing polymers containing various hydrolysable groups and more specifically organosilyl groups.
EP 0297505 relates to an antifouling paint that contains a polymer having organosilyl groups and/or organopolysiloxane groups in side chains. Since the organopolysiloxane group is derived from dehydrating condensation or like means of silicon oil with methacrylic acid, this patent refers to a mixture of oligomers having different numbers of the recurrence of the organosiloxane group.
Another patent JP 10245451 A describes a mixture of organosilylated carboxylate oligomers having different numbers of the recurrence of the organosiloxane group in acrylic rubber composition.
WO 8402915 and JP 63215780 A describe an antifouling paint of the hydrolysable self-polishing type employing a methacrylic ester polymer having triorganosilyl group in side chains or a similar polymer. Other examples of patents and patent applications related to the use of organosilyl acrylate polymers in antifouling compositions are EP 131626, U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,055, 4,594,365, JP 63118381 A, EP 0775733, WO 9638508, JP 11116257 A, EP 802243, EP 0714957, JP 07018216 A, JP 01132668 A, JP 05077712 A, JP 01146969 A and U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,989 and hereby incorporated by reference.
Some of the polymers used in the above-described antifouling paints are based on silylated carboxylate monomers.
Several processes are known as conventional techniques for the synthesis of said silylated carboxylate monomers.
JP 5306290 A describes a process to obtain a methacrylic functional group-containing organosilicon compound. The process comprises reacting methacrylic acid with a halogenoalkylsilane (e.g. trialkylsilylchloride) in the presence of a tertiary amine compound having a cyclic structure. This process has disadvantages such as the reduced availability and storage stability of the silyl chloride. Moreover, the reaction yields as a by-product a hydrogen halide (which provokes the corrosion of the production equipment) or a halide salt (which has to be removed by filtration).
The synthesis of trimethylsilyl methacrylate from methacrylic acid and hexamethyldisilazane is described in A. Chapman & A. D. Jenkins J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Chem. Edn. vol 15, p. 3075 (1977).
JP 10195084 A discloses the reaction of unsaturated carboxylic acid such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid with a trialkylsilylhydride compound in the presence of a copper catalyst. One of the disadvantages of this method is the risk of hydrogenation of the unsaturated carboxylic acid due to a side reaction of the produced H2 on the carbon-carbon double bond.
Trialkylsilylcarboxylates of aliphatic carboxylic acids can be obtained by transesterification. H. H. Anderson et al. describe in J. Org. Chem 1716 (1953) the reactions of triethyl silyl acetates with halogenated propionic acids and in J. Org. Chem. 1296 (1954) the reactions of trifluoro silyl acetates or propionates with chloroacetic acid; they distil the acetic or propionic acid under reduced pressure.
Russian chemists (Izv. Akad. Nauk. Ussr. Ser. Khim. 968 (1957)) run similar reactions at much higher temperatures (190–210° C.).
JP 95070152 A discloses reactions of trialkylsilylacetates with C6 to C30 carboxylic acids (e.g. palmitic, myristic, benzoic, . . . ); the acetic acid is distilled under reduced pressure or azeotropically with hexane.
S. Kozuka et al. in Bull. Chem. Soc. Jap. 52 (7) 1950 (1979) study the kinetics of acyloxy exchange reaction between acyloxysilanes and carboxylic acids. The rate of the reaction has been found to proceed faster with a stronger attacking acid and a more basic leaving acyloxy group.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel process capable of readily preparing organosilylated carboxylate monomers in a high yield from easily available starting materials.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a more direct method for the synthesis of such organosilylated carboxylate monomers, with easy work-up procedures.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel process offering an improvement vis-à-vis of the disadvantages disclosed above.
The present invention is based on the use of unsaturated carboxylic acids with acyloxysilanes to synthesize organosilylated carboxylate monomers. The use of unsaturated carboxylic acids in this reaction was unexpected as it is well known by the man of the art that the unsaturated carboxylic acids are polymerisable and lead to very low rate of reaction.
The present inventor has surprisingly found that by reacting acyloxysilanes with unsaturated carboxylic acids weaker than the leaving acyloxy group, organosilylated carboxylate monomers could be synthesised.

Process for the preparation of organosilylated carboxylate monomers, and their use in antifouling coatings


The present invention relates to a golf club head having a multifunctional damping assembly. In certain aspects, the invention provides a damping assembly configured to provide dampening of vibrational response of the club head upon impact of the club face with a golf ball, thereby improving the feel of the club. The damping assembly is further configured to provide information to a golfer in the form of visual and/or audible feedback indicative of one or more characteristics of a golf ball strike with the club face.

Golf club heads come in many different forms and makes, such as wood- or metal-type, iron-type (including wedge-type club heads), utility- or specialty-type, and putter-type. Each of these styles has a prescribed function and make-up. The present invention will be discussed as relating to iron-type clubs, but the inventive teachings disclosed herein may be applied to other types of clubs.
Iron-type and utility-type golf club heads generally include a front or striking face, a hosel, and a sole. The front face interfaces with and strikes the golf ball. A plurality of grooves, sometimes referred to as "score lines," is provided on the face to assist in imparting spin to the ball. The hosel is generally configured to have a particular look to the golfer, to provide a lodging for the golf shaft, and to provide structural rigidity for the club head. The sole of the golf club is particularly important to the golf shot because it contacts and interacts with the playing surface during the swing.
Perimeter weighting in iron-type golf clubs distributes non-essential mass of the iron towards the perimeter, reducing the effects that off-center hits have on the golf club and producing more accurate and consistent golf ball trajectories. Perimeter weighting is achieved by creating a cavity in the back of the golf club opposite the face or hitting surface. The material weight removed to create this cavity is redistributed around the perimeter of the golf club head. In general, larger cavity volumes correspond to increased amounts of mass distributed around the perimeter.
Removing material from the rear of the club head, however, may reduce the thickness of the club face. Since the club face is the hitting surface, the club face cannot be so thin that the strength of the club face surface is not sufficient to withstand the stress resulting from the club face striking a golf ball. A reduction in the thickness of the club face may also increase the vibrational response of the club head upon impact of the club face with the golf ball, which may have unappealing vibration and deflection characteristics that adversely affect the feel of shots and the energy transfer to the golf ball during impact.
Golfers tend to be sensitive to the feel of a golf club, particularly feel of the club upon impact of the club face with the golf ball. Accordingly, some designers try to dampen these unappealing vibrations by adding an elastic material in the club head. There are various examples of secondary material incorporation into iron golf club heads for vibration damping. For example, some iron golf club heads include damping inserts fitted within the rear cavity of the club head and in contact with the back of the club face. Such inserts may be composed of a polymer, such as TPU (thermoplastic urethane), TPR (thermoplastic rubber), or other material capable of damping vibrations caused by club face impact with a golf ball. Some iron golf club heads include a damping system, such as constrained layer damping assembly, which may consist of, for example, a medallion composed of TPU, plastic, or metal attached to the back of an iron cavity using viscoelastic tape.
Although current damping inserts/assemblies are intended to provide vibration damping and improve the feel of the club, golfers may prefer to have some form of clear indication that such vibration dampening is actually occurring, rather than simply relying on a designer's advertised claim. As such, one drawback to current damping inserts/assemblies is that they fail to provide a means for a golfer to quantify the efficacy of the damping insert/assembly. Instead, a golfer is left to either assume the validity of a manufacturer's claim that their golf club has an effective damping means or compare a golf club with a damping element to a golf club without such a damping element so as to determine improved feel, if any.


Methods of forming MOSFET devices featuring LDD regions offset from the edges of conductive gate structures has been developed. A first embodiment of this invention features the definition of a tapered conductive gate structure with the foot of the tapered structure larger in width than the top of the structure. Formation of an LDD region is accomplished in regions of the semiconductor substrate not covered by the tapered conductive structure. A dry etch procedure is next used to remove the foot of the tapered conductive structure resulting in an LDD region being offset from the edges of a now straight walled conductive structure. A second embodiment of this invention entails the definition of a conductive gate structure featuring notches located at the bottom of the conductive gate structure, extending inwards. Formation of an LDD region is again accomplished in regions of the semiconductor substrate not underlying the non-notched portion of the conductive gate structure, resulting in the LDD region being offset from the notched edges of the conductive gate structure.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods used to fabricate semiconductor devices, and more specifically to methods used to form lightly doped source/drain (LDD) regions for metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) devices.
(2) Description of Prior Art
Lightly doped source/drain (LDD) regions have been used to improve MOSFET device reliability via a reduction of a hot electron injection phenomena. However as MOSFET or complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology advances into 0.10 μm generation and beyond there is a need to reduce the possibility of compensation of the already narrow channel region that can occur via lateral diffusion of the adjacent LDD implanted dopants. Offset insulator spacers formed on the sides of a conductive gate structure prior to formation of the LDD region do offer the desired additional spacing between the channel and LDD implanted regions. The use of offset spacers however increase device fabrication costs via the use of additional process steps such as deposition of the offset spacer insulator layer as well as the dry etch procedure needed to define the offset spacers.
The present invention will describe methods of offsetting the LDD implanted regions from the MOSFET channel region without formation of offset insulator spacers thus avoiding the additional process costs inherent in the definition of the insulator offset spacers. This invention will describe the formation of conductive gate structures featuring specific edge profiles which will allow the LDD implanted regions to be offset from the channel region, accomplished without additional process steps. Prior art such as Fang et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,830 B1, Yu et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,639, B1, Chan et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,240, Lin et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,644 B1, and Lin et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,432 B1, describe methods of forming offset insulator spacers as well as methods of forming ion implanted LDD regions. None of the above prior art however describe the novel procedures featured in the present invention in which the edge profile of a conductive gate structure is specifically engineered and then used to offset an LDD region subsequently formed via ion implantation procedures.

Method of forming polysilicon gate structures with specific edge profiles for optimization of LDD offset spacing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.