A disclosed embodiment is a programmable memory cell having improved IV characteristics comprising a thick oxide spacer transistor interposed between a programmable thin oxide antifuse and a thick oxide access transistor. The spacer transistor separates a rupture site formed during programming the programmable antifuse from the access transistor, so as to result in the improved IV characteristics. The programmable antifuse is proximate to one side of the spacer transistor, while the access transistor is proximate to an opposite side of the spacer transistor. The source region of the access transistor is coupled to ground, and the drain region of the access transistor also serves as the source region of the spacer transistor. The access transistor is coupled to a row line, while the spacer transistor and the programmable antifuse are coupled to a column line. The rupture site is formed during programming by applying a programming voltage to the programmable antifuse.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally in the field of memory devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to programmable memory cells.
2. Background Art
One type of conventional one-time programmable memory cell is implemented using an antifuse and an access transistor situated at the intersection of a row line and a column line (i.e. a bit line). The antifuse is coupled between the column line and the access transistor drain. The access transistor gate is coupled to the row line, and the access transistor source is coupled to ground. When the antifuse is unprogrammed, no current can pass through the antifuse and access transistor, because the antifuse is an open circuit. This state corresponds to an unprogrammed state of the memory cell. To program the memory cell, a programming voltage is applied to the column line, rupturing the antifuse. When the programmed memory cell is read, a conductive path is formed from the column line (i.e. the bit line) through the rupture site in the antifuse and to ground through the access transistor.
This type of conventional memory cell may exhibit an unpredictable and wide range of IV (current-voltage) characteristics after being programmed, because the antifuse rupture site location is a big variable. For example, the antifuse may rupture near the access transistor drain, resulting in one set of IV characteristics, or far from the access transistor drain, resulting in a different set of IV characteristics. This variation in IV characteristics between different programmed memory cells makes it difficult to determine whether a particular memory cell has been properly programmed, and what value is stored in the memory cell. Such difficulty can require the implementation of redundancy schemes or other costly compensatory measures.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a one-time programmable memory cell that exhibits improved predictability and improved IV characteristics.


A radio pager of the present invention includes battery terminals each having an inductance component. The pager therefore reduces the fall of antenna efficiency as far as possible without resorting to any extra part. In addition, a coin type battery is located in the vicinity of short bars included in the pager so as to prevent the antenna efficiency from decreasing.

The present invention relates to a radio pager and, more particularly, to a radio pager including an antenna sandwiching a coin type battery.
A problem with a radio pager using a coin type battery is that when the battery is positioned in the vicinity of an antenna, a magnetic field is generated when a current flows through a conductor. The magnetic field disturbs an electromagnetic field around the antenna and thereby lowers the efficiency of the antenna. In light of this, it has been customary with the radio pager to add coils or similar parts having impedance components or to so position the battery as not to effect the antenna. Such conventional schemes, however, increase the number of parts of the pager and obstruct a miniature, low cost configuration and reliable operation.
Technologies relating to the present invention are disclosed in, e.g., "Pager Design Techniques", WHITE SERIES No. 158 published by Tiriceps (Japan) on Oct. 25, 1994, pp. 62-68.


A mobile communication terminal comprises: a magnetic field unit for generating magnetic field; an induction unit comprising at least one coil; a fixed unit and a motion unit which is movable relative to the fixed unit, wherein one of the magnetic field unit and the induction unit is arranged on the fixed unit, and the other is arranged on the motion unit; and an energy storage unit electrically connected to the induction unit for storing electrical energy generated by the induction unit. The mobile communication terminal can solve the problem that existing mobile communication terminals have large power consumption and short continuous service time. It can take full advantage of energies and have long continuous service time.

With the development of technologies, current mobile communication terminals (such as cell phones, tablet computers, and so on) have had very broad applications.
Because all mobile communication terminals are powered by batteries, their continuous service time is limited. When the battery is used up, it has to be charged. However, frequent charging operations disturb the user's normal usage. More seriously, if the user forgets to charge the device, the problem that the device is not usable may be caused.
In particular, with the popularization of smart phones, the above problems become more notable. Smart phones have larger power consumption though they have more functions, but the energy storage capacity of batteries cannot be increased unlimitedly such that the smart phones have shorter continuous service time. Usually, many smart phones need to be charged every one or two days, which degrades users' usage experience dramatically.

Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A wiper connector for a vehicle may be provided which connects a wiper arm to a wiper blade 10 and includes: a body 320 including a pair of elastic moving pieces 362 which is formed on one end thereof and faces each other, and one or more coupling parts 330 and 340 which are formed on both sides thereof and by which the wiper arm is caught; and a cover 310 movable to a fixing position for fixing the wiper arm which is caught by the body 320 and to a release position for releasing the fixed wiper arm. The pair of the elastic moving pieces 362 elastically restrains the movement of the cover 310 at the fixing position and allows the cover 310 to move to the release position when a releasing force for removing the elastic restraint is applied to the elastic moving piece 362.

Field
The present invention relates to a wiper connector for a vehicle, which connects a wiper blade with a wiper arm.
Description of Related Art
In general, a wiper blade removes impurities, snow, rain or the like when driving and prevents a driver's front sight from being deteriorated and performs a repetitive reciprocating action in a fan shape as a motor drives a link apparatus connected to a wiper arm.
A conventional wiper blade includes a lever assembly configured by connecting levers of metal materials in a tournament type. In the lever assembly, a plurality of tournament levers curve a wiper strip, so that the wiper strip having a backing plate installed therein traces a curvature of a vehicle glass.
The wiper blade has a problem in that the wiper blade lifts by an air pressure applied to a glass surface when the vehicle is driven at a high speed and chattering occurs.
Further, in order to accept various types of wiper driving arms having different standards and shapes for each kind of vehicle, conventional wiper blades have been released in a dedicated product types corresponding to the wiper driving arms.
That is, the conventional driving arm for the vehicle is largely classified into a "U" shaped clip type having a catching structure, a bayonet type fitted as a plug type, a pin type forming a protrusion in a side portion and taking a fitting structure by the protrusion, a side hole type performing a fitting coupling in a side portion of a wiper apparatus, developed by a Bosch corporation, and a top-lock type performing a coupling by a covering structure in an upper portion of the wiper apparatus, and the various types of driving arms have a limitation in that they can use only dedicated wiper apparatuses since their shapes and sizes are different from other.


A lifting apparatus (30) configured with independent lifting means at opposite ends of the longitudinal axis of a base (40) is provided. Slidable transverse support combined with an ability of the lifting means to tilt longitudinally causes the apparatus to be particularly suitable for lifting two wheeled vehicles such as a motorcycle (20). One embodiment (200) uses resilient pads between the lifting means and the base to facilitate tilting. Another embodiment (300) is directed to rigid lifting means.

Some vehicles such as motorcycles can be difficult to lift for the purpose of repairs due to the inherent instability of a two wheeled device when at rest. Sometimes a standard jack is employed in conjunction with ropes or other attachments from the motorcycle to a source of support such as a building. At least one manufacture (Harley Davidson) offers a cam type jack that lifts the rear wheel a pre-set height from the ground but no variation in height, to facilitate repairs, is possible. Sophisticated work benches are available but, because of their high expense, are restricted to the use of motorcycle dealers and others who can rationalize the cost.
U.S. patents of interest in the art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,780,266 to Lolley, 1,982,642 to Curok, 2,132,343 to Jarrett, 2,165,366 to Gormley, 2,470,105 to Murphy, 2,563,927 to Engle, 2,902,349 to Lerner, 3,326,527 to Jenkins, 3,555,934 to Merind, 3,606,255 to Stevens, 3,614,064 to Adamski, 3,881,692 to Clarke, 4,084,791 to Margueratt, 4,090,689 to Enzenauer et al, 4,180,252 to Cushenbery, 4,251,056 to Maniglia, 4,324,384 to Elser, 4,441,736 to Shedden, 4,558,848 to Rutter, 4,624,448 go Lawman et al, 4,688,759 to Gray, 4,723,756 to Stumpf, 4,787,600 to Bode, 4,798,592 to Green et al, 4,793,593 to Pittman, and 4,885,918 to Vaccoro.


A vehicle includes: a plurality of sensor devices that determine a driver state; a driver state determining device that receives detection results from a plurality of sensor devices and determines whether the driver state is a dangerous state; and a driving assistance device that performs lane keeping control and speed control of a vehicle and transmits a network connection request to a management server when the driver state determining device has determined the dangerous state.

Recently, vehicles are equipped with driving assistance functions for driving assistance and safety assurance.
A lane change function can prevent a vehicle from changing a lane when a dangerous situation occurs. For example, a vehicle may not able to change a lane in a situation such as detecting a dangerous situation of a vehicle, detecting hands-off, turning off a signal indicator light by a driver, delaying a lane change operation, a driver steering override, lane non-detection/mis-detection, or the like.
However, when a lane change function is interrupted when a dangerous situation such as drowsiness or abnormality in a biometric signal occurs in the driver during driving assistance, the driver may not immediately be able to cope with the dangerous situation.

Vehicle traveling control apparatus, method and system


A developing device is provided with which the increase in torque of a supply roller, unevenness of image density, and wear to the supply roller caused by the formation of an aggregated block of toner in the gap between the supply roller and the opposing side wall of a supply developer holding chamber can be suppressed. This developing device comprises a developing roller for developing an electrostatic latent image supported on a photoconductive member, a supply developer holding chamber for holding toner to be supplied to the developing roller, a supply roller for supplying the toner supported on the peripheral face thereof to the developing roller, a hopper that is disposed above the supply developer holding chamber and used to hold toner for replenishing the supply developer holding chamber, and a communication opening for allowing the hopper to communicate with the supply agent holding chamber, wherein a canopy member is provided directly above the gap to impede the advance of the toner on the supply roller into the gap between the supply roller and the opposing side wall of the supply developer holding chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developing method in which a latent image on a latent image support is developed by a developer support that supports a developer supplied from a developer supplier, and to a developing device, a process unit, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming method in which this developing method is employed.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a developing device of this type, if a large amount of toner (developer) is deposited on a developer supply member such as a supply roller, the pressure produced by the toner's own weight promotes aggregation of the toner, which leads to inferior image quality and various other problems. This problem has generally been dealt with by providing a second holding chamber for holding a large quantity of toner to the side of and apart from a first holding chamber for holding the developer supplier and toner, and gradually supplying the proper amount of toner from the second holding chamber to the first holding chamber, so that the aggregation of the toner is minimized around the developer supply member. Aggregation of the toner inside the second holding chamber holding a large amount of toner is minimized by stirring the toner with a rotary stirring member such as an agitator, and thereby mixing the toner with air.
Meanwhile, a so-called tandem configuration is often used in recent color image forming apparatus in order to increase the printing speed. With a tandem system, a latent image support (such as a photoconductive member) is combined with a developing device for developing a latent image supported on the surface of this support, a plurality of these combinations are lined up, and monocolor images of mutually different colors that have been developed on this photoconductive member are superposed and transferred to an intermediate transfer belt or the like. This superposed transfer forms a multicolor image (such as a full-color image). With a configuration such as this, if the combinations of latent image support and developing device are lined up horizontally, and the developing device is one in which the above-mentioned second holding chamber is disposed to the side of the first holding chamber, then a corresponding amount of space has to be left in the horizontal direction, and this ends up making the apparatus larger.
However, this increase in the size of the apparatus can be suppressed by using a taller developing device, such as the one disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001194883. This developing device has a hopper serving as a second holding chamber above a first holding chamber that encloses toner and a supply roller serving as a developer supply member. The toner in the hopper passes through a communicating passage provided between the hopper and the first holding chamber, and drops into the first holding chamber. In the first holding chamber, the supply roller, which supports toner around its peripheral face, is rotated to supply the toner on the supply roller to a developing roller serving as a developer support member. With this configuration, the second holding chamber, which takes up a particularly large amount of space in a developing device, is provided above the first holding chamber, so that the developing device has an overall shape that is taller and takes up more space in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction, which means that the increase in space taken up in the horizontal direction can be minimized.
With a developing device with this configuration, however, a large amount of the toner that drops down from the hopper into the first holding chamber is deposited on the supply roller. The pressure produced by the toner's own weight causes the particles to aggregate, which can increase the torque of the supply roller, lead to uneven image density, or severely abrade the supply roller.
Experiments conducted by the inventors have revealed that the aggregation of toner within a tall developing device occurs most markedly between the supply roller and the opposing side wall which, out of the plurality of side walls of the first holding chamber, opposes the peripheral face of the supply roller via a relatively small gap. More specifically, with a tall configuration as with the developing device described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001-194883, After the toner deposited on the supply roller has been supported on the surface of the supply roller, it is transported by the rotation of the roller to the supply location, which is either in contact with or across from the supply roller. Then the surface of the supply roller that has passed the supply location is advanced by its rotation back to a contact location with the deposited toner. In the space around the supply roller region, from the supply location to the contact location, if the toner should spread out laterally or move in the gravitational direction under its own weight, it will not be able to come into proper contact with the supply roller, and will end up staying where it is indefinitely. Therefore, if the above-mentioned space is ensured, this will increase the amount of wasted toner that is not used in developing.
In view of this, with a tall developing device, it is preferable for there to be as little wasted toner as possible, which is accomplished by moving the opposing side wall of the first holding chamber considerably closer to the supply roller region, from after the supply roller has passed the above-mentioned supply location up to the contact location. The developing device described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001-194883 and the tall developing device used in the experiments conducted by the inventors both had this configuration.
Nevertheless, with this configuration, if toner that has dropped down from the hopper into the first holding chamber and been deposited on the supply roller is subjected to higher pressure due to the increase in the deposited amount, or is pressed against the toner in the hopper, it may work its way in between the supply roller and the opposing side wall of the first holding chamber. This toner that has worked its way in can bind movement within this small space, and is difficult to dislodge from the gap. Meanwhile, toner deposited on the supply roller readily works its way into this gap, so the pressure of the toner in the gap steadily builds, until the toner finally becomes an aggregated block. When this aggregated block presses against the supply roller, it raises the torque of the supply roller, increases image density unevenness, and leads to abrasion of the supply roller.
A toner that contains wax in its particles has often been used in recent years in an effort to achieve oilless fixing OR low-temperature fixing, but such toner is relatively soft, and the adhesion between particles is relatively strong, so this toner is prone to forming an aggregated block, which makes the problems mentioned above more likely to occur.
Technologies relating to the present invention are also disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Applications S60-218679, H10-020640, H10-039612, and H11-167282.

Developing device including an advance impeding member and an image forming apparatus using the same


The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a toothbrush having needle-shaped bristles, and a toothbrush manufactured by the method. The toothbrush manufacturing method of the present invention includes the step of partially tapering ends of bristles, which are made of polyester and are set in a toothbrush body, through a physical grinding process, and the step of completing of a process of tapering the partially tapered bristles by immersing the partially tapered bristles in a chemical. The present invention makes it possible for toothbrush bristles to be tapered through a simple process. Furthermore, the present invention solves conventional difficulties occurring in tapering bristles after setting them in toothbrush bodies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to methods of manufacturing toothbrushes with needle-shaped bristles and toothbrushes manufactured using the methods and, more particularly, to a method of tapering bristles set in a toothbrush and a toothbrush manufactured by the method.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
In conventional methods of manufacturing toothbrushes having tapered bristles, a bundle of bristles, each having an end point from 0.16 to 0.2 mm in diameter, is cut to a predetermined length. Thereafter, the end points of the bristles are hydrolyzed by an alkali chemical or strong acid chemical, thus being tapered. Subsequently, the bristles are washed in water and dried. The bristles are thereafter folded in half and set in holes, formed in a head part of a toothbrush body, using anchors.
However, recently, toothbrushes have followed trends, so that various bristle setting patterns have been required. Furthermore, according to an increase in the size of a bundle of bristles, it has been difficult to fasten bristles with an anchor.
Three methods of manufacturing an anchorless toothbrush are as follows.
First, in a method used by Coronet Co., Ltd. of Germany, bristles are set in a mold and, thereafter, resin is injected into the mold, thus integrating the bristles with a toothbrush body.
Second, in a method used by the Oral-B company of U.S.A, bristles are set in a mold brush plate and, thereafter, the mold brush plate having bristles is placed in a mold. Subsequently, resin is injected into the mold, thus fastening the bristles to a toothbrush body.
Third, the method used by the Boucherie company of Belgium uses a bundle of bristles having a predetermined length, unlike other companies which use a spooled filament as a bristle, and bristles are set in a head insert made of plastic. Thereafter, the head insert is seated into a head insert seat formed in a head part of a toothbrush body. Subsequently, the head insert is bonded to the toothbrush body by ultrasonic waves.
The above-mentioned methods can reliably fasten bristles to a toothbrush body without anchor. However, equipment is very expensive, and productivity is relatively low. Moreover, because a mold, a bristle setting machine and an injection molding machine are integrated together, it is very difficult to change the setting pattern of bristles.
However, toothbrushes manufactured by the above-mentioned methods can realize various bristle setting patterns. Thus, the appearance is superior. As well, the bristle setting pattern can freely be designed to match the tooth structure of every type. Therefore, toothbrushes manufactured by the above-mentioned methods have been popular among consumers.
In the toothbrushes manufactured by the above-mentioned methods, to realize various bristle setting patterns, the volume of a bundle of bristles must become large. As a result, it is impossible to taper bristles using a conventional physical grinding method. It is well known that if bristles are tapered, flexibility is increased so that the gums of a user are protected from injury while brushing the teeth, and penetration ability of the bristles is increased, thus enhancing tooth brushing efficiency.
Due to these reasons, in the case of an anchorless toothbrush, instead of a method of tapering bristles, bristles made of relatively flexible nylon, for example, nylon 6, 10, and nylon 6, 12 are used, thus overcoming the above-mentioned problems. However, a nylon bristle has insufficient durability and water resistance, compared with a polyester bristle. Also, because the penetration ability of bristles, which are not tapered, is poor, tooth brushing efficiency is reduced. Furthermore, bristles made of polyester cannot be used in such a toothbrush due to excessively high stiffness.
Due to these reasons, a tapering process is required even when manufacturing toothbrushes having various setting patterns. There are bristle tapering methods as follow. First, as described above, there is a method 1) in that a bundle of bristles is cut to a predetermined length and, thereafter, the ends of the bristles are hydrolyzed by an alkali chemical or strong acid chemical, thus being tapered. Subsequently, the bristles are washed in water and dried. Thereafter, the dried bristles are folded in half and set in a toothbrush body using anchors. Second, there is a method 2) in that bristles are tapered by a physical method such as a grinding method after a bristle setting process is conducted. Third, there is a method 3) in that bristles are partially tapered by the method 1) and are then additionally machined by the method 2).
The method 2) is problematic in that, because the length of tapered portions of the bristles is relatively short, the bristles are not sufficiently flexible. On the other hand, the method 3) has the advantages of solving the problem of the method 2) and reducing the manufacturing costs. This method was proposed in Korean Patent No. 261658 which was filed by the inventor of the present invention. However, application of this method is limited to a toothbrush to be manufactured using a bundle of bristles cut to a predetermined length. That is, this method cannot be applied to the case using a spooled filament.
In addition, as proposed in Japanese Patent No. 3022762, there is a method in that, after bristles are fastened to a toothbrush body using anchors made of metal, particularly, aluminum, the bristles are immersed in an alkali chemical until just before the cores of the bristles are dissolved, thus tapering ends of the bristles.
However, this method is problematic in that, because the alkali chemical penetrates to the anchors due to a capillary phenomenon during the bristle immersion process, the anchors may be undesirably dissolved. If the anchors are dissolved, the set bristles may be removed from the toothbrush body. Furthermore, in the case of a mass production process, because hydrogen gas is generated when aluminum anchors react with alkali, there is the probability of the explosion of gas due to the heat in a reaction flask. Even if the material of the anchor is changed into brass which has been popular, dissolution may occur because zinc, added to increase the stiffness of brass, reacts with the alkali chemical.
For these reasons, a product manufactured using this method has not been commercialized. In consideration of economical efficiency, only products that are manufactured by the method, in which both ends of a bundle of bristles, cut to a predetermined length, are tapered using a chemical and thereafter folded in half and set in toothbrush bodies using anchors, has been commercialized.
Furthermore, in the case of a toothbrush manufactured by the above-mentioned method of tapering bristles using a chemical after a bristle setting process, each bristle of the toothbrush has a bottle shape, as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, in the strict sense of word, this bristle cannot be said to be a needle-shaped bristle. Furthermore, this bristle does not have the characteristics of a needle-shaped bristle, including superior penetration ability.
The reason why the bristle is dissolved into the bottle shape, shown in FIG. 1, by a chemical is as follows. In the case that a bundle of bristles is chemically treated, because forty to fifty thousand bristles, which are densely bundled together, serve as a cooling means, the chemical is cooled while penetrating to upper portions of the bristles due to a capillary phenomenon. Therefore, the chemical cannot dissolve the upper portions of the bristles. Conversely, only the ends of the bristles which are immersed in the chemical are dissolved. However, in the case that the bristles, set in the toothbrush body, are chemically treated, because gaps between the set bristles are greater than in the case of the bundled bristles, and because the number of set bristles is less than in the case of the bundled bristles, the set bristles cannot serve as a cooling means. Therefore, the chemical, which penetrates to upper portions of the set bristles due to a capillary phenomenon, is not cooled, so that the upper portions of the bristles are also dissolved by the chemical.
Furthermore, when the bristles, which are partially tapered by the above-mentioned method, are ground by a grinder in the same manner as in method 3), because the bristles, the upper portions of which are dissolved, are inelastic, the thicknesses of the end points of the bristles become uneven. Moreover, a large number of bristles may be bent in a shape shown in FIG. 2 after being ground.
Meanwhile, recently, as proposed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-0097188, a toothbrush, in which bristles are set in a mountain shape so as to enhance cleaning ability, has been commercialized. However, to dispose bristles in a mountain shape, the bristles must be cut by a cutting machine after the bristle setting process. Furthermore, it is very difficult to taper bristles of such a toothbrush using the above-mentioned conventional tapering method.
Besides, the conventional bristle tapering methods have common problems in which a bristle setting machine, to which an expensive special device is mounted, is required, and a skilled worker is necessary.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of manufacturing toothbrush with needle-shaped bristles, and toothbrush manufactured by the same


A method for delivering announcements via a cabin communication facility comprising at least one cabin loudspeaker and via an on-board entertainment system comprising at least one headset output comprises the steps of delivering an announcement via the at least one cabin loudspeaker, beginning at a first instant, and delivering the announcement via the at least one headset output, beginning at a second instant, which differs from the first instant, the delivering of the announcement via the at least one cabin loudspeaker and the delivering of the announcement via the at least one headset output being initiated at differing instants.

1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for delivering announcements via a cabin communication facility comprising at least one cabin loudspeaker and via an on-board entertainment system comprising at least one headset output, and to a system for delivering announcements in a cabin, in particular an aircraft cabin. Usually, each headset output has the form of a headset connection socket.
2) Discussion of the Prior Art
Modern passenger aircraft are equipped with a cabin communication facility and an on-board entertainment system. The cabin communication facility is a so-termed "cabin intercommunication data system (CIDS)", by means of which the pilot of the aircraft and the cabin crew can make announcements, addressed to the passengers, via cabin loudspeakers installed in the cabin. The on-board entertainment system is a so-termed "in-flight entertainment system (IFE)", by means of which passengers are provided with entertainment offers. For example, the passengers can listen to music, watch films or play games. A headset output, to which a headset can be connected, is provided at each passenger seat. The passengers can use the headsets to listen to audio recordings of the on-board entertainment system.
When an announcement is made via the cabin loudspeakers, the delivery of audio recordings of the onboard entertainment system via the headsets is interrupted. During the delivery of the announcement via the cabin loudspeakers, either no audio signals at all are delivered via the headset, or the announcement is delivered additionally via the headsets.
If a passenger continues to wear his/her headset during the delivery of the announcement via the cabin loudspeakers while, at the same time, the delivery nouncement via the headset, the loudspeakers of the headset, particularly its foam covers, cover the ears, or auditory passages, of the passenger, with the result that the announcement delivered via the cabin loudspeakers can be heard, or comprehended, only to a limited extent by the passenger. This is problematic, since it must be ensured that announcements can be heard clearly and comprehensively by all passengers at all times, such that, for example in emergency situations, information can be provided directly to all passengers.
If, on the other hand, the announcement is also delivered via the headset during the delivery of the announcement via the cabin loudspeakers, the passenger hears the announcement twice, owing to a short time delay between the delivery of the announcement via the cabin loudspeakers and the delivery of the announcement via the headset. This time delay results from design, since the cabin communication facility and the on-board entertainment system are separate systems having differing delay times and processing speeds. If, for example, an announcement is spoken into a microphone of the cabin communication facility, this announcement is delivered directly via the cabin loudspeakers. By contrast, an announcement to be delivered via a headset must first be passed from the cabin communication facility to the on-board entertainment system and then to the headset inserted in a headset output at the passenger seat. In the case of a passenger using a headset, the thus time-delayed delivery of the announcement via the headset output results in an echo effect that renders comprehension of the announcement difficult or even impossible.

Method and system for delivering announcements in a cabin


The invention includes a semiconductor construction. The construction has a semiconductor material die with a front surface, a back surface in opposing relation to the front surface, and a thickness of less than 400 microns between the front and back surfaces. The construction also has circuitry associated with the die and over the front surface of the die, and a layer touching the back surface of the die. The layer can correspond to getter-inducing material and/or to a stress-inducing material. The layer can have a composition which includes silicon dioxide and/or silicon nitride. The composition can include one or more hydrogen isotopes, and the hydrogen isotopes can have a higher abundance of deuterium than the natural abundance of deuterium.

Numerous applications are known for semiconductor constructions, and new applications are being developed. Semiconductor constructions can be utilized in, for example, mobile devices, such as, for example, cell phones and other small personal telephones, cameras and personal calendars. It is a continuing goal to make the portable electronic devices smaller and more lightweight, and accordingly it is a continuing goal to reduce the size of semiconductor constructions utilized in the devices while maintaining desired performance characteristics of the constructions.
Typical semiconductor constructions have a die of semiconductor material serving as a base for the constructions. Integrated circuitry is formed to be supported by the die. Such circuitry can comprise portions formed over the die, as well as portions extending within the die (for example, diffusion regions). An exemplary semiconductor die is a silicon-containing material. Such material can comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of silicon lightly doped with appropriate background-type dopant. The die can be referred to as a substrate in some aspects of this disclosure. To aid in interpretation of the claims that follow, the terms "semiconductive substrate" and "semiconductor substrate" are defined to mean any construction comprising semiconductive material, including, but not limited to, bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductive wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). The term "substrate" refers to any supporting structure, including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrates described above.
One method which has been utilized to reduce the size of semiconductor constructions is to reduce the thicknesses of the semiconductor dies utilized in such constructions. Each die utilized in a semiconductor construction will typically have a front surface configured for supporting integrated circuitry thereon, and a back surface in opposing relation to the front surface. The die are thinned by removing material from the back surface until a desired thickness of the resulting die is achieved. Such removal can be accomplished by first subjecting the die to a coarse roughening to remove the majority of the material, and subsequently removing the remainder of material with a chemical-mechanical polish to form a smooth surface over the remaining back of the thinned die.
An exemplary thinned semiconductor die 10 is shown in FIG. 1. Such die comprises a front surface 12 and a back surface 14 in opposing relation to the front surface. The front surface would generally support integrated circuitry (not shown). Sidewall surfaces 16 extend from the front surface to the back surface. A thickness of the die (i.e., a length of sidewall surfaces 16) is typically less than 400 microns, frequently less than 100 microns, less than 50 microns, less than 20 microns, or even less than or equal to about 15 microns. Although the die of FIG. 1 is shown flat, it is to be understood that the die can have a more curved configuration, such as, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. 2. Such curved configuration results from tensile and/or compressive forces exerted on and/or within the die. Typically, the die will have a curved configuration. Such is well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and integrated circuitry is frequently fabricated to have optimal performance when the die is within a particular curved configuration. If the die is within tolerances of the desired curvature, the die is considered to be within the "sweet spot" for device performance.
The present invention is motivated, in part, to address various problems associated with thin dies. For instance, it is found that performance characteristics of thin dies frequently do not fall within desired tolerances, and accordingly the rejection rates of the dies can be unacceptably high. The poor performance characteristics of the dies can result from the dies having the wrong curvature to fall within the "sweet spot", or can result from other causes. It is desired to improve thin die constructions in order to reduce rejection rates. Although the invention was motivated by particular problems, it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited. Rather, the invention is only limited by the accompanying claims as literally worded, and in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.


An approach is provided for automatically selecting the most appropriate sensor system for high-definition map feature accuracy and reliability specifications. The approach, for example, involves selecting at least one survey point that has a known physical location. The approach also involves initiating a plurality of passes to capture a plurality of images of the at least one survey point using a sensor system. For each pass, the approach further involves calculating an estimated location of the at least one survey point based on the plurality of images and calculating error data based on the estimated location and the known location. The approach also involves generating an error curve with respect to a number of the plurality of passes based on the error data for said each pass. The approach further involves providing an output indicating a target number of passes to meet an error specification based on the error curve.

Modern location-based services and applications (e.g., autonomous driving) are increasingly demanding highly accurate and detailed high-resolution digital map data (e.g., centimeter-level accuracy or better) across wide geographic areas. To achieve such levels of coverage, map service providers have relied on data (e.g., imagery) collected from a variety of sources with different views or perspectives (e.g., top-down imagery from satellites, ground-level imagery from surface vehicles, etc.). Map service providers can then, for instance, identify common semantic features (e.g., lane markings, signs, etc.) across the image views for map making, localization, and/or other similar location-based services. With the advent of less expensive systems deployed in vehicles (e.g., global positioning system (GPS), camera, etc.) crowd-sourced mapping and change detection data is becoming increasingly feasible. However, the positional quality of the semantic features derived from such sensor data is heavily dependent on the sensor system used for the data collection and the reliability on the number of observations/passes made by the vehicle. Accordingly, map service providers face significant technical challenges to automatically select the most appropriate ground-level sensor system before the corresponding data is incorporated into high-resolution digital maps for modern automated applications (e.g., autonomous driving).

Method, apparatus, and system for selecting sensor systems for map feature accuracy and reliability specifications


An encoding method and a decoding method. The encoding method includes generating curved image by creating projection of visual scene onto inner surface of imaginary 3D geometric shape that is curved in at least one dimension; dividing curved image into input portion and plurality of input rings; encoding input portion and input rings into first planar image and second planar image, respectively, such that input portion is stored into first planar image, and input rings are packed into corresponding rows of second planar image; and communicating, to display apparatus, first and second planar images and information indicative of sizes of input portion and input rings.

In recent past, devices which allow users to have an immersive experience of an extended reality (XR) environment are being extensively developed. Such XR devices utilize image rendering techniques to render XR images that are perceivable by a user's eye. The XR images are typically processed to have a wide field of view (for example, such as, more than 100 degrees along a given dimension). Pixels of these XR images, when rendered using perspective projection for example, get deformed and have improper pixel density at edges of the XR images. Moreover, rendering the XR images with such wide fields of view increases an effective PPD (pixels per degree) with respect to an incident angle with an image surface from a centre of the image surface, such that the pixel density at the edges is higher than a pixel density at a central portion of the XR images. For example, the pixel density more than doubles at the edges of the XR images as compared to the central portions. This means that a significant number of pixels are spent on extreme corners of such images, at the expense of a required resolution at the central portion of the image. This problem worsens further as the field of view is increased.
Moreover, polar coordinate system-based foveated encoding and decoding of planar XR images is performed such that a resolution of a given XR image is highest in a gaze-contingent portion thereof, and the resolution gradually decreases to a lowest resolution on moving away from the gaze-contingent portion. However, such planar XR images cannot be processed to have a field of view that is wide enough to cover a field of view of a human eye (for example, such as around 170 degrees per eye). This leads to a poor viewing experience for the user.
Furthermore, when using planar mapping on a log-polar foveated coordinate system, an off-centre projection matrix is required to be used as an origin of said coordinate system is at a gaze location. As a result, a pixel density in the XR images does not change uniformly in all directions, but instead, is a product of a PPD curve and a density curve, causing various inaccuracies in implementing processing techniques such as reprojection, filtering, and the like. Conventional image encoders and decoders are limited in their ability to provide such foveated XR images, often sacrificing image quality to perform a high degree of image downsampling for transportation. This loss in image quality of the XR images is perceivable as deformed and improperly arranged pixels when downsampled XR images are upsampled (by the conventional image decoders) and rendered at light sources of the XR devices. The perceivable loss in image quality of the XR images reduces the user's immersion within the XR environment.
Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks associated with conventional image encoders and decoders.

Foveation-based image encoding and decoding


A secure access circuit provided on a PCB (10) by designating a via hole (26) as a security via hole, storing data relating to the address and status (intact or drilled-out) of the via hole in a connectable EPROM (26), determining the status of the security via hole, and authorizing access of the EPROM only if stored data and determined status of the hole are identical. Circuit (44) can be upgraded by use of different EPROMs; by use of different PCBs with different security via holes corresponding to each upgrade, an illegally copied EPROM providing upgraded facilities by use of a printed circuit board cannot be used on a PCB (10) intended to provide only basic facilities.

This invention relates to printed circuit boards (PCBs) especially to boards used to carry microprocessor-controlled circuits which are capable of being upgraded.
Conventionally, PCBs are used in complex equipment, such as the printer or dispenser in an automated teller machine; such items are designed to be capable of upgrades and improved functionalities. When a customer requests an upgrade, the whole PCB is replaced, although in many cases the upgraded functionality is provided simply by replacing a memory circuit, such as an EPROM, while the remainder of the circuit is unchanged. Naturally the manufacturer charges a substantial sum for the upgrade to each item of equipment in order to cover the original development costs.
Plug-in components such as EPROMS are however relatively easy to copy. There is a risk that, by dishonest copying of the EPROM or other memory device, PCBs can be upgraded without recourse to the manufacturer.

Security via hole(s) for printed circuit boards


A device includes a timing sprocket configured to receive a rotational force from a crankshaft and includes an annular internal-teeth constituting portion having an inner circumferential portion formed with internal teeth; an eccentric shaft portion provided on a motor output shaft of an electric motor and formed in a cylindrical shape such that an outer circumferential surface of the eccentric shaft portion is eccentric relative to a rotational center of the eccentric shaft portion; and a plurality of rollers provided between the internal teeth and the eccentric shaft portion and having total number smaller than total number of the internal teeth. A laser hardening is performed from a tooth top and both tooth surfaces of each internal tooth to attain a high degree of hardness. On the other hand, a tooth bottom surface of each internal tooth is not treated with the laser hardening.

Recently, a variable valve device is proposed in which valve timings of intake or exhaust valve are controlled by transmitting rotative force of an electric motor through a speed-reduction mechanism to a cam shaft (output shaft) and thereby varying a relative rotational phase of the cam shaft to a sprocket to which rotative force is transmitted from a crankshaft.
For example, a variable valve device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes an eccentric shaft which receives rotative force of an electric motor, an internal-teeth constituting portion which is formed in a radially-inner portion of sprocket and formed with internal teeth, and a plurality of rollers which are provided between the internal teeth and the eccentric shaft and have total number smaller than total number of the internal teeth. This variable valve device employs a speed-reduction mechanism configured to output rotative force from a retainer that restricts a circumferential movement of the plurality of rollers.

Variable valve device for internal combustion engine


The present invention relates to perfluoropyridine derived aromatic monomers and processes of making and using same. Such monomers can be easily and selectively functionalized and yet still synthesized by an efficient and environmentally friendly pathway. In addition, such monomers can be used to produce polymers with highly satisfactory char yields.

Cyanate ester resins are used extensively in a number of applications including the aerospace industry. Unfortunately, the manufacture of such resins requires the use of a number of toxic raw materials and the yields of such manufacturing processes are not ideal. Furthermore, such cyanate esters have a short shelf life, must be used in a carefully controlled manner as they can generate hydrogen cyanide when they undergo hydrolysis and many times they do not cure as evenly as desired and/or give as high a char yield as desired. Attempts have been made to overcome the difficulties associated with cyanate ester resins. However, such attempts yielded systems such as expoy resins which are subject to the many of the same short comings as cyanate esters. As a result of such problems, research focused on bis-ortho-diynylarenes. While have satisfactory char yields the synthesis of such materials requires transition metal chemistry and the ability to functionalize such materials is extremely limited
Applicants recognized that the source of the aforementioned problems of bis-ortho-diynylarenes was that of bis-ortho-diynylarenes require two adjacent alkenes in order to be capable of curing and the lack in the variety of precursors of bis-ortho-diynylarenes limits the ability to functionalize bis-ortho-diynylarenes. As a result, of such recognition Applicants worked to discover materials that could be easily and selectively functionalized and yet still synthesized by an efficient and environmentally friendly pathway. As a result of such work, applicants disclose perfluoropyridine derived aromatic monomers and processes of making and using same. Such monomers can be easily and selectively functionalized and yet still synthesized by an efficient and environmentally friendly pathway. In addition, such monomers can be used to produce polymers with highly satisfactory char yields.

Perfluoropyridine derived aromatic monomers and processes of making and using same

United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A synchronous transmission system is adapted to carry both synchronous and asynchronous traffic and has a number of nodes providing ingress and egress of the traffic. Each node includes first and second ATM/SDH identifiers whereby the switch can separate the synchronous and asynchronous traffic Separate processing of synchronous and asynchronous traffic is performed at each node.

A recent development in communications technology has been the introduction of synchronous networks commonly referred to as synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) or, in North America, as SONET. Synchronous networks have the significant advantage of simplifying the process of demultiplexing channels and thus avoid the need for the so-called multiplexer/demultiplexer mountains that were associated with previous plesiochronous techniques.
Synchronous networks are now being used to carry both synchronous and asynchronous/ATM traffic. The asynchronous or ATM traffic is carried in cells which are carried over the synchronous network in standard SDH virtual containers (VCs). The cells are recovered from the virtual containers into the standard ATM transmission format at the egress from the synchronous network. Arrangements for carrying both synchronous and ATM traffic are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,416 and IEE Conference Publication No 39, October 1990, pages 73-78.
These conventional systems suffer from the disadvantage that they are of complex construction and require a relative large number of ATM ports to handle the ATM traffic. Further, many of these systems are inefficient in their use of bandwidth.

Communications network carrying synchronous and asynchronous traffic


The invention is related to a wearable information system having at least one camera, the information system operable to have a low-power mode and a high power mode. The information system is configured such that the high-power mode is activated by a detection of at least one object in at least one field of view of the at least one camera.

1. Technical Field
The invention is related to a method and of system capable of providing multimedia information to a user at reduced battery consumption.
2. Background Information
Examples of standard approaches, their limitations and existing solutions are provided below.
Smartphones, Audio Guides and similar information systems have become popular in recent years. Augmented Reality, as a new user interface paradigm, has seen great progress, especially based on computer vision algorithms for object recognition and pose estimation. Head mounted displays, equipped with a camera have been known for some time (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 7,245,273).
One major obstacle for the true success of ubiquitous information systems, which are able to always watch the user's surrounding for interesting objects, is the high power-consumption of image processing algorithms run on the application processor or the GPU.
The closest state of art we could find to our invention is U.S. Pat. No. 7,302,089. The '089 Patent describes the idea of running a mobile device in low power mode (standby) and high power mode (active). In low power mode, the camera may take a low-resolution image and match it against a known symbol (e.g. the face of the user of the phone or an image). If in the low-resolution image a known symbol is found, the phone may wake up and take a higher resolution image to verify the result and basically unlock the phone in order to take a call or similar things. The goal of the '089 Patent is to enable a power-efficient unlocking, based on images. A scenario might be the phone is laying around and as soon as it receives a call, it tries to check if the user gets in sight in order to unlock the screen.

Wearable information system having at least one camera


An upper, aluminum insert is positioned between an upper, non-aluminum jaw of a clamp and an aluminum part of a vehicle, and a lower, aluminum insert is positioned between a lower, non-aluminum jaw of the clamp and the aluminum part of the vehicle to shield the aluminum part of the vehicle from the jaws to prevent galvanic corrosion.

Typically, the main material used in building vehicles is steel. However, the automobile industry is paying more attention to fuel efficiency, weight, reducing CO2 emissions, and design. Therefore, aluminum is now playing an important role in modern vehicles more than ever because aluminum is light, strong, and flexible.
In the collision repair industry, the changes to the materials used for manufacturing vehicles have necessitated new repair procedures. When performing an aluminum repair, parts may become contaminated with steel particles if the technician does not use a tool made from the same material as the part he or she is repairing. Therefore, in order to carry out proper repairs, all aluminum repairs must be made with tools that are aluminum because only aluminum tools can touch aluminum vehicle parts during the repair process.
If steel particles get into the aluminum panel, for example, an electrolytic process called galvanic corrosion may occur. Galvanic corrosion is a process where one metal corrodes when it is in contact with a dissimilar material. The aluminum will corrode around the steel contaminations and min the paint and the structural integrity of the aluminum on the finished vehicle. In order to prevent this problem from occurring, a separate set of working tools should be maintained.
Frame or unibody damage is quite common in most auto accidents. Vehicles in accidents usually have a frame, a body, or unibody structures that need to be straightened. Vehicle straightening involves using high-powered hydraulic equipment, mechanical clamps, chains, and measuring systems. Clamps and chains are attached to the damaged areas and a hydraulic system pulls out the damage. Clamps are bolted to the specific points on the vehicle to distribute pulling force to prevent the frame or unibody from moving. One end of the pulling chain is fastened to the hydraulic ram, and the other to pulling clamps to pull the frame or unibody back to the manufacturer's specifications.
Therefore, aluminum tools will now have a major role in more than one aspect of the collision repair industry. To repair vehicles that contain aluminum parts, the repair shop will be required to use aluminum specific tools. This will eliminate the transfer of oxidation from aluminum to steel if everyday body repair tools are used. For these reasons, separate tools are required for the repair of aluminum vehicles.

Inserts for shielding aluminum vehicles from clamps


A method for preparing carboxylic acids including (n+1) carbon atoms, or the related esters, by liquid phase carbonylation of an alcohol including (n) carbon atoms, in the presence of a uniform catalytic system based on at least one iridium compound and at least one halogenated promoter. In particular, the method is characterised in that the content of ester related to said carboxylic acid and alcohol is kept between 15 and 35% in the medium during the reaction, while the halogenated promoter content is kept between 10 and 20%, and the partial carbon monoxide pressure is 40-200 bar. Said method enables both the rate of carbonylation and the acetic acid selectivity to be increased.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing carboxylic acids having (n+1) carbon atoms, or the related esters, by liquid phase carbonylation of an alcohol having (n) carbon atoms, in the presence of a homogeneous catalyst including iridium.
More particularly, the method according to the invention enables obtaining a high productivity of carboxylic acid formed with an improved selectivity in this product.
During carboxylic acid preparation by reaction of carbon monoxide with at least one alcohol, two catalytic cycles are used, the first is constituted by the carbonylation reaction as such, and the second by a secondary reaction, commonly called water gas reaction. During this reaction, gaseous by-products are formed such as notably carbon dioxide.
Thus, the object to be achieved is obviously to favour the first reaction over the second.
The carbonylation of an alcohol, or any other carbonylatable compound, in the presence of an iridium-based catalytic system giving the corresponding carboxylic acid or ester is known to the person skilled in the art. However, such methods are not very efficient since the rates of carbonylation that are reported are in the order of 2 to 4 mol/hour.liter of acid formed.
In the French patent application No. 93 03734, a method of carbonylating methanol is described which uses a catalytic system which comprises iridium. This method is characterised by the maintenance of a specific composition of the reaction mixture. In the case of obtaining acetic acid from methanol, the composition comprises up to 10% water, alcohol and methyl iodide; up to 40% methyl acetate; the rest being constituted by acetic acid which is used as reaction solvent. The tests described have been carried out with relatively low partial carbon monoxide pressures, in the order of 10 to 20 bar. The performances of this method are appreciably improved over those of prior methods, and the technical interest of the latter is not questioned. However, the selectivity in by-products such as carbon dioxide remains high, since it ranges between 1 and 2%.
Furthermore, a carbonylation method is described in the French patent application No. 94 05896 which uses a catalytic system comprising iridium and iodides which are soluble in the reaction medium under the reaction conditions, and which are notably selected from alkali metal iodides. The performances, in terms of rate of carbonylation are there further improved over the prior methods, but the problem of the selectivity in carbon dioxide always exists. In fact, the selectivities in this by-product range between 1 and 3%.
Such values are not negligible in this sense that they correspond to relatively significant losses of carbon monoxide; losses which are felt in two ways. First of all, and obviously, the carbon monoxide employed is consumed for something other than the formation of the acid or the ester. Further, an additional loss is noted in carbon monoxide, due to the necessity of increasing the number of purges and consequently increasing the losses in carbon monoxide brought about during the evacuation of the gases. In fact, the appearance of gaseous by-products contributes to the lowering of the partial carbon monoxide pressure in the gaseous blanket of the reactor, resulting in the necessity of increasing the number of purges in order to maintain said partial pressure constant.

Preparation of carboxylic acids or related esters by carbonylation in the presence of iridium


Disclosed are an energy spectrum modulation apparatus, a material discrimination method and a device thereof, as well as an image processing method are disclosed, which can discriminate the material in large- and medium-sized objects such as cargo containers, air cargo containers, etc. by using X-rays having different energy levels. The energy spectrum modulation apparatus comprises a first energy spectrum modulation part for modulating a first ray having a first energy spectrum, and a second energy spectrum modulation part coupled to the first energy spectrum modulation part and for modulating a second ray having a second energy spectrum different from the first energy spectrum. The present invention can be used in the non-opening inspection for large-sized container cargo at places such as Customs, ports and airports.

The present application claims priority of Chinese patent application Serial No. 200610011945.9, filed May 19, 2006, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The existing cargo inspection system based on radiographic imaging generally causes a single energy ray to interact with the object under inspection, and then detects the ray having penetrated through the object under inspection to obtain an image. Although such a system can reflect the change in shape and mass thickness (i.e., mass per unit area obtained by multiplying a thickness t by a density) of the object under inspection, it can't discriminate the material of the object under inspection.
The dual-energy detection method for distinguishing the material attributes of objects has been proposed for a long time as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,002, and within low energy region, the method has been widely applied to various fields such as osteoporosis diagnosis, geographic oil layer detection and material discrimination for small objects. However, it has long been recognized that within high energy region (>1 MeV) the slight difference caused by electron pair effect is insufficient to implement material discrimination, thereby having a poor practicability.
In 1990s, U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,133 disclosed that the angular distribution of Compton scatter effect and the isotropy of electron pair effect were used to analyze the scatter components of X-rays caused by each effect after the X-rays interacted with an object, thereby discriminating the substance's atomic number of the object interacting with the X-rays. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,133, high-energy X-rays is caused to interact with a target having a greater atomic number after interacting with the object. Then several detectors are positioned at different angles with respect to the target so as to detect Compton scatter effect and electron pair effect. Nevertheless, since it is very difficult to detect the scatter after interaction between the target and the X-rays, which have penetrated through the object, a large incident dose of X-rays is usually required. In addition, the SNR (signal to noise ratio) of detection signals is rather low because the detector array arranged at such angles within the same horizontal plane is susceptible to the interference from its neighbor channel. The above disadvantages have an adverse impact on the determination of the substance's atomic number, and the image quality is unsatisfactory. Thus this method has not been put into practical application since proposed in 1993.
Later in U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,936 and international application WO 00/43760 a high-energy radiation source is employed to generate X-rays, which are filtered by means of specific materials to obtain another ray having a higher energy spectrum. The penetrating X-rays having two energy spectra are detected after they interact with the substance. The substance's atomic number and material type are then determined by computing the ratio between the two detection values.
During the X-rays having two energy spectra interact with the inspected object in this method, as the inspected object grows in thickness, the two energy spectra of the X-rays, which have penetrated through the inspected object, have an ever-decreasing difference and rapidly become identical to each other. In this case, it can't discriminate the inspected object any more.

Energy spectrum modulation apparatus, material discrimination method and device, image processing method


Disclosed is a suitcase (1) comprising two metal or plastic shells (3, 5) that are hingedly connected to each other and can be locked on frame elements (9) by means of a locking device (7), said frame elements (9) being located on edges of the suitcase shells. At least one main area (11) of the suitcase shells (3, 5) is provided with an embedded cavity (13) inside which at least one pocket (15) is fixed via a base plate (17).

The invention refers to a suitcase as defined in the preamble of claim 1.
Such shell suitcases, whose case shells are preferably made of plastic material or metal and which are hinged together at one edge of the case shells, are known.
Frame elements are provided at the edges of the case shells, which have a closing means for closing the suitcase. Further, suitcases with two case shells are known that have a zipper as the closing means. The zipper may additionally be provided with a lock.
Further, suitcases are known that are made of textile material. They may be provided with additional, easily accessible side pockets on their outside.


Enhanced message passing architectures and libraries include an interruptible wait feature. After a thread X calls a completion-awaiting routine of a message passing interface library, a progress engine executes while the routine is in the blocked condition. A thread Y interrupts the routine before all messaging operations are completed. The interrupted routine returns control to thread X with an indication that the routine's completion condition is unsatisfied. The completion-awaiting routine may have the same function signature as a standard MPI routine. In some cases, thread Y interrupts the routine while requesting a lock held by thread X. In some applications, thread X is a communication thread and thread Y is one of multiple worker threads. The interruptible wait feature may be joined by an asynchronous callback feature, which associates a callback with a deterministic execution context.

Message Passing Interface (MPI) is a group of language-independent Application Program Interface (API) specifications which define protocols for software processes to communicate with one another by sending and receiving messages. MPI is a de facto standard, unsanctioned at present by any major standards body. A variety of MPI specification versions and MPI implementations exist, many of which are directed at multi-threaded and/or parallel programs. MPI is widely used in High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments.

Messaging interruptible blocking wait with serialization


An article of manufacture comprising a packet for carrying and dispensing of sanitary articles needed in toilet hygiene. Restroom facilities do not always offer toilet seat covers for use to the patrons of the establishment. Sometimes the supplies at various toilet stations are depleted. The article of this invention comprises a sealed packet of useful toiletry materials that easily fits in the pocket or purse of a traveler, and which opens to supply a toilet seat cover, as well as tissues, towels, temporary underwear, or undergarment liners.

It is one of the most disappointing discomforts of modern life, to enter a filthy or unsanitary toilet facility away from home. Entering such restrooms or relief stations can be a trying experience, even when the facilities are relatively clean or adequate for providing the relief sought.
It is known that bacteria can be transmitted to humans by contact with unsanitary toilet seats. Many people try to avoid directly sitting upon a toilet seat for fear of acquiring disease. Some people try crouching above a toilet bowl, when they relieve themselves. This is both cumbersome and tiring. Still others use inordinate amounts of toilet paper in trying to wipe-down, or coat the toilet seat prior to use.
There are some comfort stations and restrooms that will supply a toilet seat cover. Even some states, such as California, are proposing laws to make it mandatory for restroom facilities to offer toilet seat covers.
Even with growing toilet seat cover availability, there is always a good chance that such amenities may be absent, or where available, may be fully consumed or exhausted. This inadequacy also applies to other restroom supplies, such as: towels, tissues, and toilet paper.
In most cases, therefore, it is a hit-or-miss affair to find the proper sanitation and amenities in restroom facilities, when one is away from home.
The present invention comprises a packet of sanitary materials for use while traveling. The packet of materials is enclosed in a cellophane bag, which is easily torn or ripped away in order to expose the packet of materials inside. The packet is shaped like a book having sleeve pockets on each inside leaf. Sanitary supplies are housed inside each sleeve pocket. On one side, is a supply of one or two, folded covers for toilet seats. On the other side, there is housed a supply of folded toilet paper, or a number of tissues.
In addition, a separate packet can contain a pair of folded paper panties, and/or paper briefs, for those occasions when an individual has an accident in his underwear. The paper panties can comprise linen-type paper, or light fabric materials, such as: silk, rayon, polyester, or nylon.
It is also contemplated that a packet of this invention can have one leaf pocket containing folded toilet seat covers, and the adjacent pocket containing a folded brief or panty, or a brief or panty liner. The liner is designed to fit within a brief or panty to prevent soiling of the brief or panty. The liner can be easily discarded after its use.


A sampling unit that sequentially samples a received signal. A plurality of demodulation processing units set in advance with frequency correction values of mutually different sizes, and that correct frequencies of the sampled signals according to the frequency correction values, demodulate the sampled signals after the frequency correction, and output decision values and reliability information of the received signal, and detect known synchronization words that have been inserted into the received signal from the decision value. A decision value selecting unit selects one final decision value from a plurality of decision values based on a plurality of pieces of reliability information that have been output from the demodulation processing units and a result of the detection of the synchronization word. And, a frequency error detecting unit estimates a frequency error of the received signal based on a frequency correction value of the demodulation processing unit corresponding to the final decision value.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a conventional frequency error estimating circuit that is shown in, for example, "Performance of a Simple Delay-Multiply-Average Technique for Frequency Estimation", S. N. Crozier, et al., Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, paper WM10.3, Sep. 13–16, 1992. In FIG. 10, 1 denotes a received signal, 2 denotes a sampling section that samples the received signal 1 at a symbol rate, 101 denotes a multiplier that multiplies a sampled received signal 3 and removes a modulation component from the signal, 102 denotes a delay detector that sequentially detects delay of an output of the multiplier 101, 103 denotes an averaging filter that averages an output of the delay detector 102 and suppresses a noise component, 104 denotes a coordinate converter that calculates a phase component of a received signal based on an output of the averaging filter 103, and 105 denotes a divider that calculates a frequency error from the phase component of the received signal.
The operation of the conventional frequency error estimating circuit will be explained below. The received signal 1 has been modulated according to an M-phase PSK (Phase Shift Keying) modulation system, and is prescribed by the following expression 1.r(t)=A(t)exp[j{θ(t)+Δωt}]  (1)where r(t) represents the received signal 1, A(t) represents an amplitude component, and θ(t) represents a modulation phase component. The phase component of the received signal includes a frequency error Δωt. In order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the received signal 1 does not contain a noise component.
The sampling section 2 sequentially samples the received signal 1 at a symbol rate. The received signal 3 after being sampled is expressed by the following expression 2.r(nT)=A(nT)exp[{θ(nT)+ΔωnT}]  (2)where r(nT) represents the sampled received signal 3, T represents a symbol period, and n represents a natural number. A modulation phase component θ(nT) becomes as follows according to the M-phase PSK modulation system.θ(nT)=2πk/M  (3)                k=0, 1, . . . , M−1)The modulation phase component θ(nT) takes M values in total at equal intervals within a range of 0 to 2π.
The multiplier 101 multiplies the received signal 3 by a predetermined modulation multiple-value M to remove the modulation phase component from the received signal 3. A signal r1(nT) after the multiplication is expressed by the following expression 4.r1(nT)=A(nT)exp[jM{θ(nT)+ΔωnT}]  (4)
It is clear that a modulation phase component Mθ(nT) after the M multiplication is an integral multiple of 2π from the above expression 3, and it is possible to disregard this component. In other words, the signal r1(nT) after the multiplication is expressed by the following expression 5.r1(nT)=A(nT)exp(jMΔωnT)  (5)
The delay detector 102 detects delay of the M-multiplied signal r1(nT) for a predetermined symbol period. When a symbol period in the processing of delay detection is D, a demodulated signal d1(nT) after the delay detection becomes as follows.
                                          d            1                                          (            nT            )                          =                                            r              1                                                  (              nT              )                                                      r            1                    *                      (                          nT              -              DT                        )                                                  =                              A                                      (              nT              )                                                      A                                      (                              nT                -                DT                            )                                                      exp            (                          jMD                                                                                Δω                                                                                T                                                                          )
where r1*(nT−DT) represents a conjugate complex of r1(nT−DT).
Assume that a Nyquist point has been selected as a sampling timing in the sampling section 2. As an amplitude component A(nT) of the received signal is always constant, the demodulated signal d1(nT) is expressed by the following expression 6.d1(nT)=exp(jMDΔωT)  (6)
The averaging filter 103 averages the demodulated signal d1(nT), after the delay detection, over a predetermined period of time, thereby to suppress a noise component contained in the received signal. As it is assumed here that a noise component is not contained in the received signal, the demodulated signal d1(nT) is output from the averaging filter 103 as it is.
The coordinate converter 104 converts the coordinates of the demodulated signal d1(nT) that are expressed in an orthogonal coordinate system on the phase plane into coordinates expressed in polar coordinates, and calculates a phase component MDΔωT of the demodulated signal d1(nT). Last, the divider 105 divides the phase component MDΔωT of the demodulated signal by MD, and outputs the frequency error ΔωT of the received signal over one symbol period T. An estimate range Δf (=Δω/2π) of the frequency error is expressed by the following expression 7.|Δf|<fs/2MD  (7)
where fs represents a symbol rate of the received signal.
Therefore, for example, when the number of symbol periods of the delay detection processing is D=1 in the QPSK modulation system (multiple number to be modulated M=4), it is possible to estimate frequency error up to ⅛ of the symbol rate fs. The frequency error thus estimated is used to control a local oscillator of a receiver like a VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator).
According to the conventional frequency error estimating circuit, it is necessary to make the symbol period D of the delay detector 103 as small as possible, in order to widen the estimate range Δf of the frequency error. However, when a local oscillator with low setting precision of frequency is used in the mobile communications of a low symbol rate, or when the received signal undergoes large Doppler shift like in the mobile satellite communications, the frequency error of the local oscillator with respect to the received signal might become larger than the estimate range Δf of the frequency error estimating circuit prescribed by the expression 7. Consequently, there has been a problem that it is not possible to accurately estimate the frequency error.
On the other hand, in order to estimate a large frequency error in the conventional frequency error estimating circuit, there has been a method of expanding the estimate range Δf of the frequency error by M times without performance of the multiplication processing of a received signal by the multiplier 101. According to this method, it is necessary to transmit known patterns for estimate of a frequency error separately from the normal data, in order to estimate the frequency error. Therefore, there has been a problem that the data transmission efficiency is lowered substantially.
Further, it is not possible to estimate a frequency error during reception of the normal data. Therefore, there has been a problem that it is not possible to accurately correct the frequency error and the communication quality is degraded when there is a large variation in the frequency error due to a move of the receiver during communications.
Therefore, the present invention has an object of providing a receiver and a frequency error estimating method capable of accurately estimating a frequency error without lowering the data transmission efficiency, even when a large frequency error occurs between a received signal and a local oscillator of the receiver.

Frequency error estimating receiver, and frequency error estimating method


A semiconductor device fabrication process in which an oxynitride layer and a polysilicon layer are formed in the same reaction chamber is provided. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a semiconductor device is formed by forming, in a reaction chamber, an oxynitride layer on a surface of a substrate and forming, in the same reaction chamber, a polysilicon layer over the oxynitride layer. The oxynitride layer may be used to form a gate oxide and the polysilicon layer used to form a gate electrode.

Over the last few decades, the electronics industry has undergone a revolution by the use of semiconductor technology to fabricate small, highly integrated electronic devices. The most common semiconductor technology presently used is silicon-based. A large variety of semiconductor devices have been manufactured having various applications in numerous disciplines. One such silicon-based semiconductor device is a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor. The MOS transistor is used as one of the basic building blocks of most modern electronic circuits.
The principal elements of a typical MOS semiconductor device are illustrated in FIG. 1. The device generally includes a semiconductor substrate 101 on which a gate electrode 103 is disposed. The gate electrode 103 acts as a conductor. An input signal is typically applied to the gate electrode 103 via a gate terminal (not shown). Heavily doped source/drain regions 105 are formed within the semiconductor substrate 101 and are connected to source/drain terminals (not shown). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the typical MOS transistor is symmetrical, which means that the source and drain are interchangeable. Whether a region acts as a source or drain depends on the respective applied voltages and the type of device being made (e.g., PMOS, NMOS, etc.). Thus, as used herein, the term source/drain region refers generally to an active region used for the formation of a source or drain.
A channel region 107 is formed in the semiconductor substrate 101 beneath the gate electrode 103 and separates the source/drain regions 105. The channel is typically lightly doped with a dopant of a type opposite to that of the source/drain regions 105. The gate electrode 103 is generally separated from the semiconductor substrate 101 by an insulating layer 109, typically an oxide layer such as SiO.sub.2. The insulating layer 109 is provided to prevent current from flowing between the gate electrode 103 and the source/drain regions 105 or channel region 107.
In operation, an output voltage is typically developed between the source and drain terminals. When an input voltage is applied to the gate electrode 103, a transverse electric field is set up in the channel region 107. By varying the transverse electric field, it is possible to modulate the conductance of the channel region 107 between the source region and the drain region. In this manner, an electric field controls the current flow through the channel region 107. This type of device is commonly referred to as a MOS field-effect-transistor (MOSFET).
One important step in the fabrication of semiconductor devices is the formation of the gate electrode and the insulating layer. Generally, this process involves first forming an insulating layer over the surface of a substrate and then forming a polysilicon layer over the insulating layer. The polysilicon and insulating layers are then typically etched to form the gate electrode and insulating layer structure depicted in FIG. 1.
It is often desirable to form an oxynitride insulating layer, e.g., an insulating layer which includes oxygen and nitrogen. One conventional process for forming an oxynitride insulating layer involves oxidizing the substrate using pure oxygen in an atmospheric furnace and then reoxidizing the surface using NH.sub.3 in a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) furnace to form an oxynitride layer. To form the polysilicon layer, the substrate is then typically moved to a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber in which the polysilicon layer is deposited on the insulating layer using a CVD process.
In another conventional process for forming an oxynitride insulating layer, an oxynitride layer is formed on a substrate in an atmospheric furnace using N.sub.2 O gas at 900.degree. C. The substrate is then moved into another reaction chamber, such as a CVD chamber, where the polysilicon layer is deposited on the oxynitride layer.
In each of the above conventional processes, the formation of the oxynitride layer and the polysilicon layer undesirably involves processing at elevated temperatures and processing in multiple reaction chambers. This often requires that the substrate be transferred between one or more reaction chambers, typically causing a deleterious oxide growth on the substrate which degrades the quality of the oxynitride layer.

Formation of oxynitride and polysilicon layers in a single reaction chamber


A programmable device I/O architecture allows for a variable number of I/O banks. Each I/O bank is of an I/O bank type. Each I/O bank type has a fixed number of I/O pins. I/O banks of the same I/O bank type are compatible within the same programmable device and between different types of programmable devices. The largest size I/O bank type and intermediate size I/O bank types are adapted to be a compatible supersets of every smaller I/O bank type. Support pins are regularly distributed between data pins in each I/O bank type. Multiple instances of the same or compatible I/O banks are arranged to be accessible from different sides of the programmable device. To facilitate circuit board layout, each I/O bank is arranged as a mirror and/or rotation of other I/O banks on the device.

The present invention relates to the field of programmable devices, and the systems and methods for programming the same. Programmable devices, such as FPGAs, typically includes thousands of programmable logic cells that use combinations of logic gates and/or look-up tables to perform a logic operation. Programmable devices also include a number of functional blocks having specialized logic devices adapted to specific logic operations, such as adders, multiply and accumulate circuits, phase-locked loops, and one or more embedded memory array blocks. The logic cells and functional blocks are interconnected with a configurable switching circuit. The configurable switching circuit selectively routes connections between the logic cells and functional blocks. By configuring the combination of logic cells, functional blocks, and the switching circuit, a programmable device can be adapted to perform virtually any type of information processing function.
Programmable devices include one or more input/output (I/O) banks for communication with external devices, such as memory devices, network interfaces, data buses and data bus controllers, microprocessors, other programmable devices, ASICs, or any other type of electronic device. Each I/O bank is connected with a number of conductive I/O pins, balls, or other electrical connectors in the programmable device chip package. An I/O bank includes logic for sending and receiving data signals, control signals, clock signals, power and ground signals, or any other type of signal used in conjunction with communications between the programmable device and an external device.
The I/O banks of a programmable device include logic, amplifiers, filters, and other circuits that together can be configured to provide one or more standard interfaces between the programmable device and external devices. Additionally, the I/O banks of a programmable device can be configured to provide custom or proprietary interfaces if required by a particular application.
Typically, a wide range of different programmable devices are designed as part of a programmable device family. The programmable devices within a device family typically have similar architectures but may differ in chip package size and type, the number of I/O pins, the number of logic cells, the number and type of functional blocks and other specialized logic blocks, and/or other characteristics.
In prior programmable device families, the programmable device architecture supports only a fixed number of I/O banks. As a result, programmable devices within the device family may have different amounts of I/O pins per I/O bank. For example, if a programmable device architecture supports 8 I/O banks, a small programmable device within the device family may only have 20 I/O pins per I/O bank, for a total of 160 I/O pins for the programmable device. In contrast, an example large programmable device within the device family may have 70 I/O pins per I/O bank, for a total of 560 I/O pins for the programmable device.
The use of a fixed number of I/O banks and a variable number of I/O pins per I/O bank in a programmable device architecture presents a number of problems. First, most I/O banks can only be configured to support a one interface at a time. As the number of I/O pins per I/O bank increases, any I/O pins not needed for the supported interface are left unused. The unused I/O pins from one or more I/O banks cannot be aggregated to support an additional interface. Thus, as the number of I/O pins per I/O bank increases, the percentage of I/O pins utilized typically decreases. This often forces designers to use programmable devices with even more I/O pins to ensure that there are sufficient I/O pins available to support the required interfaces, which further increases the costs of implementing a design. Additionally, these restrictions on I/O pin usage limit the designers' flexibility in circuit board layout.
Vertical migration is another problem arising from prior programmable device architectures that use of a fixed number of I/O banks and a variable number of I/O pins per bank. Often, designers will develop an initial design for a particular size programmable device within a device family. Subsequent revisions or improvements to the design may require additional programmable device resources. Designers would like to be able to implement the revised design using a larger size programmable device within the same device family without substantial reengineering and testing costs.
However, prior programmable device architectures having a fixed number of I/O banks and a variable number of I/O pins per bank often require substantial reengineering for vertical migration. For example, because the number of I/O pins per I/O bank often increases for a larger devices, the I/O banks of the larger device may not support the same I/O pin assignments as the corresponding I/O banks in the smaller device. Thus, designers must reengineer the device as well as associated circuit boards to account for these differences.
Noise, clock skew, and signal reflection are other problems arising in vertical migration that are caused by the use of a fixed number of I/O banks and a variable number of I/O pins per bank. As the number of pins per I/O bank increase, the total number of active switches and other components associated with I/O pins increases, thereby increasing the amount of noise and signal reflections introduced. Similarly, I/O banks with more I/O pins will have greater amounts of clock skew than smaller I/O banks. Thus, when a design is migrated from a smaller programmable device to a larger programmable device, designers must work to overcome the additional noise, signal reflections, and clock skew introduced by the use of I/O banks with additional I/O pins.
It is therefore desirable for a programmable device architecture to overcome the difficulties normally associated with a fixed number of I/O banks having variable numbers of I/O pins. It is desirable for the programmable device architecture to allow for efficient I/O pin utilization regardless of the total number of I/O pins. It is further desirable for the programmable device architecture to facilitate vertical migration to larger programmable devices while reducing the required reengineering effort. It is also desirable for the I/O banks to have improved performance as compared with I/O banks of prior programmable device architectures.