A smoker's booth for isolating, containing, venting, and filtering tobacco smoke. The booth has a walled enclosure with a modular room divider system using hollow walls, filtration, and blower devices to remove tobacco smoke from workplace air.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to a wrap-around enclosure or booth as a "designated smoking area" within public or private facilities or outdoors suitable for one or more smokers that isolates, contains, vents and/or filters tobacco smoke. This invention makes it possible for smokers to enjoy a cigarette, cigar, or pipe in public or private buildings or out-of-doors without contaminating the air for non-smokers in the vicinity. This invention also relates to a modular office system and method, whereby one or more office or workshop areas are defined by an assembly of walls, couplers and fan/filtration stations. Ambient air containing tobacco smoke or other pollutants is drawn through duct-like walls, filtered, and returned to the office areas, thus allowing smokers to work in the vicinity of non-smokers without tobacco smoke irritations.
There are four major issues concerning tobacco smoke or smoking: health, productivity, social conflict, and legal compliance/liability. The health effects of primary and secondary smoke include allergies, asthma, emphysema, and increased incidence of lung cancer. There is growing evidence that non-smokers have shown decreased general health in the presence of secondary smoke. Productivity is reduced for smoking employees by at least the amount of time spent smoking and traveling to and from permitted smoking areas. In facilities that have been declared totally non-smoking, the time required to travel from the work location to the outside and back again can be significant. Encounters between smokers and non-smokers are becoming more confrontational and divisive. Local ordinances prohibiting smoking in public buildings, except in designated smoking areas, create a legal obligation for facility owners and managers. Liability arising from smoke related illnesses, or perceived civil rights violations could result in potentially disastrous financial consequences.
Modifications to existing public buildings and facilities, or out-of-doors, to create designated smoking areas that effectively contain and filter tobacco smoke for large numbers of people are difficult and expensive. In all known facilities, such designated smoking areas segregate the population physically into rooms containing either smokers or nonsmokers and do not allow the two groups to commingle in a common area.
Thus, the need exists to provide an isolated smoker's booth or kiosk, which is inexpensive and useful in high traffic areas.
The need also exists for a means and method of integrating smoke evacuation and filtration systems into the office or workshop workplace, thereby permitting smokers to work in the immediate vicinity of non-smokers without undue isolation of either.
2. Background Art
Various types of booths, enclosures, and tobacco smoke containment and/or filtering devices are already known. Each varies significantly from the present invention.
Canadian Patent No. 968,113, to Anon, entitled Telephone Booth, is intended for use solely as a telephone booth and not as a smoker's booth. It does not contain an ashtray, venting, or air filtration system. The size of the enclosure appears incapable of containing the volume of tobacco smoke that is usually produced by a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. The sides of the booth are perforated to allow the air within the booth to exchange freely with the air outside the booth. Thus, this device would not satisfy the obvious requirements of an isolated smoke containment booth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,507, to Doublet, entitled Isolation Hut, teaches a temporary booth made principally of cardboard and useful as a polling booth, not as a smoker's booth. The device contains no air handling, venting, or filtration equipment. Its flammable construction material, lack of an ashtray or fireproof container and non-durable design make it inappropriate as a smoker's booth. Further, its use of floor space makes it unsuitable for high pedestrian traffic areas like the hallways of large public buildings or airport concourses.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,768, to Fulton, entitled Booth with a Rotatable Door and Seat, discloses a booth suitable as a telephone booth and not for isolating tobacco smoke. The device does not contain an air movement, venting, or filtration system or an ashtray. When closed, it would trap tobacco smoke created by a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, but would not remove this smoke from the air or prevent it from escaping when the door was opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,898, to Le Cacheux, et al., entitled Sales Boutique, Especially a Newspaper Kiosk, is designed to be located outdoors and serve as a facility that exhibits and sells small items such as newspapers or magazines, not to isolate or contain smoke. It does not contain air handling, venting, or filtering equipment or ashtrays for smokers.
French Patent No. 74 03884, to More, entitled Habitacle de cafe, discloses an enclosed circular seating area, a round centrally located table, ceiling lighting, and a floor heating duct. It is designed to be placed outside a cafe to offer shelter in all weather to customers, and not as a smoker's enclosure. This invention does not contain air handling, venting, or filtration equipment to clean and remove smoke generated within the enclosure. The size and design of the enclosure would not make it appropriate for use as a smoker's booth. It is not suited to the requirements of public facilities that must handle potentially large numbers of smokers within existing floor space and traffic flow requirements.
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,367, to Paulson, entitled Smoke-Free Work Area, is shaped like an umbrella covered patio table or a work desk with a hood. These devices are most appropriate for offices or restaurants that have limited traffic flow and sufficient floor space to permit their use by smokers who will remain in the area for an extended period of time. The smokers must be seated and face toward the center of the table for the smoke to be captured by the air handling system. This invention and its embodiments would not be appropriate for high traffic areas, such as hallways or airport concourses. The Paulson device relies on a relatively calm air environment to effectively contain the smoke within the filtering volume of its air handling system. It is not suited to the requirements of public facilities that must handle potentially large numbers of smokers within existing floor space and traffic flow requirements. It does not automatically turn on and off when the smoker approaches.
Japanese Patent No. JA 0112951, to Tsujimura, entitled Illuminator, discloses a hood suspended above a table containing a cooking burner or ashtray to capture the smoke that rises in the heat of the light and vent it through the ceiling. A smoker has to remain seated at the table and face inward for the tobacco smoke to be contained by the rising air and overhead hood. This invention is most appropriate for a restaurant or other location where there is floor space suitable for tables and chairs. Modifications to the existing facility must be made to remove the smoke that is exhausted above the ceiling. The illuminator must remain on at all times for this invention to work properly because the heat generated by the incandescent bulb is required to create the updraft that moves smoke into the hood. This device does not have the air containment, movement, venting, and filtration capacity required for an isolated smoker's booth.
Japanese Patent No. JA 0118049, to Ehama, entitled Hood Device for Smoking, contains a fan and single paper filter element mounted above a chair. The device is not automatically activated when a smoker enters the area or sits in the chair. The application of this invention is limited to those locations (office and possibly restaurant) that can fix the position of a chair so that the shield screen and down-draft air curtain can be lowered to collect the tobacco smoke. The smoker must remain seated or standing under the hood for the smoke to be contained by this system. The air curtain of this invention will not effectively contain smoke in the turbulent air conditions created in high traffic areas. This invention also requires modifications to the ceiling of the facility to support the hood device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,633, to Martin, entitled Ventilated Core Unit for Service Connections, U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,445, to Ott, entitled Heated and Ventilated Work Station and U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,832, to Mark, entitled Multiple Section Work Station, describe multiple work stations with circulating air from a central core or node. These devices do not circulate air through the partitions or walls of the workstations nor do they draw or exhaust air through furniture attached to the workstation.
Devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,727, to Doss, entitled Data Station with Wire and Air Duct; U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,966, to Nussbaum, entitled Personalized Air Conditioning; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,309, to Walters, entitled Heating and Air Conditioning System Incorporating Contaminant Control are fixed location systems that are the air conditioning and ventilating system for a building. They do not disclose a portable modular system that runs independently of the main building air conditioning or ventilating unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,915, to Bussard, entitled Modular Work Station, discloses a cluster type work station with a "weather station" for circulating filtered air through the walls and out vents to the work area. A vented hood and vented base above the top and bottom of each wall unit, respectively, is not disclosed. Additionally, circulating air through customized furniture to draw contaminated air and exhaust filtered air in closer proximity to a worker is not shown.

Modular wall apparatus and method for its use


Provided is a clamp for fastening a portable electronic device. The clamp comprises two spring biased sliding arms and a spring biased trigger member. Pushing the trigger member toward the body will move the shuttle member upward to unlock both arms for extending thereafter. In response to sandwiching the device between the arms releasing the trigger member will push the trigger member outward and the shuttle member downward respectively for locking the ridges. In a case of the device having its ports provided at one side or both sides thereof, two central, rectangular openings of the arms are adapted to allow the ports to dispose therein for causing no interference to a normal operation of the fastened device. A distance between both arms can be adjusted by sliding one arm toward or away from the other arm or sliding both arms toward or away from each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to clamps and more particularly to an improved clamp for fastening a portable communication device (e.g., cellular phone or smart phone) or a portable computer (e.g., PDA (personal digital assistant)).
2. Description of Related Art
Both Taiwanese Patent Application No. 092,203,182 entitled "Improved Device for Holding Cellular Phone" and Taiwanese Patent Application No. 091,213,179 entitled "Hands-free Device for Holding Cellular Phone" have a drawback of being unable to firmly clamp a cellular phone when ports of the cellular phone are provided at one side or both sides thereof. Hence, a need for improvement exists.


A system and method for pairing two devices for secure communications. A user selects a first device to pair with a second device. The first and second devices have the ability to securely communicate with each other through the use of encrypted communications. An encryption key is written to the first device and then burned into the encryption module on the first device. A corresponding decryption key is written to the second device and then is burned into the decryption module of the second device.

The present disclosure relates to securing communications between two or more devices.
Most devices/components are connected to each other by wires or wireless. Most of these connections/links have some sort of security involved. The downfall to the current approach is that the security is implemented via software, and eventually bugs and security holes are found which enables unauthorized access to the device and communications between the devices. Additionally, the device operation/implementation can be reverse engineered by connecting to a device and sending it commands/request and see what the device returns. The software encryption is not able to protect against reverse engineering of the security protocols. Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a system and method for securely pairing two devices. A user selects a first device to pair with a second device. The first and second devices have the ability to securely communicate with each other through the use of encrypted communications. An encryption key is written to the first device and then burned into the encryption module on the first device. A corresponding decryption key is written to the second device and then is burned into the decryption module of the second device.
The above summary is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present disclosure.
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

International Business Machines Corporation


According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus includes a first liquid crystal panel, a second liquid crystal panel, a camera overlapping the first liquid crystal panel and the second liquid crystal panel and receiving light via the first liquid crystal panel and the second liquid crystal panel. The first liquid crystal panel includes a first liquid crystal layer, a first pixel electrode not overlapping the camera, and a second pixel electrode overlapping the camera. The second liquid crystal panel includes first transparent electrodes overlapping the camera, a second transparent electrode overlapping the first transparent electrodes, and a second liquid crystal layer disposed between the first transparent electrodes and the second transparent electrode.

Recently, electronic apparatuses such as smartphones comprising a display part and a camera on the same surface side have been widely put into practical use. In such an electronic apparatus, the camera is disposed outside the display part, and there has been an increasing demand for expanding the display part while securing a space for installing the camera and the like.
Meanwhile, a technique of using a liquid crystal lens as a light refraction part of a three-dimensional image display device has been proposed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An acoustic hearing aid comprising: (a) a pair of thick-walled, sound collector cups (12) each shaped to fit over the pinna (20) of a user's ear, turning the back of pinna (21) forward, and each constructed of a sound reflective material of sufficient thickness to provide insulation against sound transmission therethrough from a side (19) of collector cups (12), collector cups (12) each having a C-shaped ridge (17) of substantial thickness dimension formed for engagement of the user's head immediately proximate and around the user's pinna (20), ridge (17) extending from a position in front of the top of pinna (20) and above the level of ear canal (22) around pinna (20) to a position below earlobe (23), collector cups (12) each further extending outwardly from ridge (17) and away from the user's head and extending forwardly in a generally parallel relation to the user's head to a position in advance of ear canal (22) to reduce sound transmission to the user's ears from the sides of the user's head, collector cups (12) each terminating in a forwardly facing, substantially vertically oriented, generally rectangular opening (25) for receipt and collection of sound emanating from the front of the user; and (b) an arcuate headband (14) constructed of a resiliently flexible material and having collector cups (12) mounted proximate opposite ends thereof, headband (14) being dimensioned to apply a resilient biasing force to collector cups (12) to bias C-shaped ridge (17) into contact with the user's head proximate the user's ears to transmit collected sound vibrations through C-shaped ridge (17) to the user's bone structure proximate the ears and resist the entry of sounds other than from in front of the user from entering said collector cups.

1. Non-Electronic Hearing Aids
Non-electronic hearing aids have been around for many years and their development has traditionally preceded electronic hearing aids. Unfortunately, the cost of purchasing and repairing today's electronic hearing aids has become quite substantial. In fact, today's electronic hearing aids may easily cost upwards of $2000 each. For a typical user, this cost is frequently doubled as users often wear hearing aids in both ears. The cost of these expensive electronic hearing aids is often not covered by medical insurance or Medicare. In addition, electronic hearing aids require a continual supply of new batteries. As a result, a need exists for an effective inexpensive acoustic or non-electronic hearing aid manufactured without the need for any internal expensive electrical componentry.
Many different forms of acoustic hearing aids have been developed, both pre-dating and concurrent with the development of electronic hearing aids. All of these non-electronic hearing aids can, however, typically be conveniently analyzed as belonging to one or the other of the following two separate families of hearing aids.
A first family of non-electronic hearing aids consists of a large outwardly-protruding cup or scoop for capturing and focusing sound waves into a user's ear canal. An early development of such a device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 656,182 to Ehrhardt. This device consists of two hollow truncated cones or scoops which each fit around the user's ears. The novel aspect of this invention was that it could be conveniently attached to the user's head by use of a head band, so as to avoid the necessity of being held by the hand, as was the case for pre-existing ear trumpets.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,708,257 to Campbell also disclosed a sound wave catcher which physically contacts the back of the user's ear and conducts sound waves into the user's ears. As such, the operation of this device resembles the use of the hand being cupped behind and outside of the ear. A novel aspect of this invention was that the sound wave catcher could be folded so as to be carried in a vest pocket or other small space.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,537,201 to Amfitheatrof disclosed a pair of cupped-shaped sound collectors which fit behind the user's ears and are connected together by a head band passing over the user's head. The novel aspect of this invention was that the sound cups or baffles could be selectively regulated by extending them such that the surface area of the overall sound gathering cup could be varied.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,616 to Brownfield disclosed a sound multiplier comprised of a pair of thin cups mounted on a person's head which are held in position by a head band such that these cups fits sealingly about a person's ear. The cups are separated from the sides of the wearer's head by a layer of felt. These cups have a spiral contour opening which is approximately co-incident with the front face of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,912 to Fuss, et al. disclosed an earmuff hearing aid consisting of a pair of thin-shelled outwardly-extending ear extenders transversely in contact with the listener's head behind the user's ears. These extenders were held in position by a head band. Having these extenders positioned behind the ears and in contact with the listener's head, sounds were thereby amplified and transmitted directly into the user's ears.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 292,916 to Ikeda shows an ornamental design for a scoop-type non-electronic sound amplifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,859 to Breland disclosed a hearing aid apparatus consisting of two cupped-shaped members with sound reflective surfaces which direct sound waves into the user's ears. Also disclosed in this design is the modified embodiment of the invention using a foam padding in a rear portion of the cupped-shaped members to cause a gentle forward bending of the user's ears to further increase hearing ability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,056 to Riley discloses an ear-focused acoustic reflector. This device mechanically intercepts frontally-generated sound waves in a manner that accurately preserves their phase coherency at all frequencies, and then reflects these sounds into the ear canals of the listener. To accomplish this, the Riley device uses a pair of acoustic reflectors which are parabolically shaped and are held in position by a head band passing over the user's head. The Riley device further uses acoustically damping material which operates to prevent the amplifying of sound vibrations emanating from sources not directly in front of the user. Accordingly, the Riley device allows the user to actively select the sound source to be amplified, while blocking out unwanted sounds. Specifically, sounds coming from other sources are not amplified as an acoustic dampening pad is provided on the reflectors such that any unwanted vibrations intercepting the reflectors are not transmitted by bone conduction into the ears. Accordingly, the object of the Riley device is to increase the degree of acoustic fidelity which a listener hears emanating from an audio system's loud speaker by providing a very directionally selective system which operates to shield the listener from sounds emitted from other sources.
The disadvantages of this first family of hearing aids are numerous. First, they all are rather large in size. Using large outwardly-scooped cup or parabolic-shaped sound reflectors, this family of hearing aids consumes considerable space. Secondly, these devices tend to be quite wide, spanning a large distance between their lateral ends and the user's ears. These two disadvantages combine to produce a third disadvantage, namely that the device is not aesthetically appealing to a typical user.
A second family of acoustical hearing aid devices operate on the principle of inserting a thin tubular-shaped member directly into the user's ear canal while concurrently covering this region with a second external member having a small opening such that this external member encloses a small cavity of air while covering the first internal member.
A first example is found in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 20,871 to Donoher which discloses a simple auricle having a wig hair covering placed thereover.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,453,969 to Brown discloses a second example of an auricle device. This device operates to intensify sound wave vibration reflected into the ear canal and the external member of this device engages the side of the head to transmit vibrations into the bones of the skull.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,122 to Goode discloses a similar device. This device modifies the normal concha resonance and combines it with the ear canal resonance to shift the normal sound pressure gain of 15 to 20 decibels at the tympanic membrane downward from 2,600 to 3,000 kilohertz to 1,500 to 2,000 kilohertz. A 5-15 dB increase in sound pressure is generated in the 1000-2500 Hz range. To achieve this, the Goode device provides a thin hollow shell that fits snugly into the auricle and concha of the external ear so as to enclose a volume of air within the concha. An opening in the shell lets sound waves into this air volume. The proper ratio of this air volume to the area of the opening in the shell controls the peak frequency of amplification desired, the amplitude and also the bandwidth of amplification. Accordingly, the Goode device is able to provide significant sound amplification for persons with mild high frequency hearing loss. By varying the volume of this chamber and the area of the opening within a certain range, the resonance frequency of the device can be adjusted to meet the specific hearing amplification needs of a particular individual suffering from mild hearing loss.
A first disadvantage with this second family of hearing aids is that they are limited over the range of frequencies with which they selectively operate. Furthermore, using a device such as the Goode device, the desired frequencies over which this device is to operate must be pre-set for each particular user. This pre-setting is done by modifying the structure of the device itself. Once this modification has been made, the device can not be re-modified for another range of frequencies. This second family of hearing aids is also limited by the fact that it employs an invasive internal member which is typically tubular in shape and fits into the user's ear canal. A less intrusive device, avoiding this feature, would instead be much more desirable. Operating on the principle of selectively vibrating at certain resonance frequencies, this second family of devices does not truly catch, funnel or reflect a broad spectrum of sound waves, concentrating these sound waves in the user's ears as was accomplished by the first family of hearing aids. Therefore, a third disadvantage of this second family of hearing aids is that sound vibrations are transmitted directly into the ear canal regardless of the direction from which the sounds are emanating. Accordingly, any directional selectivity enabling the user to choose to listen to one particular sound source is reduced, impaired or non-existent in the second family of non-electronic hearing aids. This presents problems for some hearing-impaired persons who have trouble distinguishing between various sound sources.
Lastly, an anechoic ear piece which can not be easily classified into either of the above two families of devices exists as found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,688 to Baker. This anechoic ear piece does not operate to amplify sounds and is therefore only marginally related to the present invention. Instead, this device is simply designed to block out the reception of all sound waves approaching the ears with the sole exception of sound waves emanating from a source directly in front of the listener, preferably being the sound waves coming from a stereo speaker.
In light of the existing prior art and its associated limitations, a long-felt need exists for a hearing aid device which would combine the positive features of the first and second families of non-electronic hearing aids while overcoming the limitations of both these families. Specifically, a need exists for a device which is able to gather and reflect into the ear more sound waves than would otherwise normally be received by the ear in the absence of such a device. These sound waves should be collected and directed into the ear canals using a device which does not require the large, wide sound reflectors as seen in the first family of prior art hearing aids. In addition, this new device should operate well over a wide range of frequencies, be directionally selective, not require non-reversible structural modifications or adjustments be made for each user, and not require invasive tubular members be inserted into the inner ear, thus overcoming the problems inherent in the above second family of non-electronic hearing aids. Accordingly, the preferred device should not entail sound collectors extending too far beyond the sides of the ear and should be able to effectively gather and reflect sound waves into the ear canal over a wide variety of frequencies. This device should also have the added advantage of transmitting sound waves directly into the ears through conduction in the skull bones of the user. Furthermore, this device should be directionally selective such that the user may, simply by orienting his or her head towards a particular source of emitted sound waves, amplify particular sounds as desired.
2. Objects of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide an acoustical hearing aid device which employs no electrical or electronic circuit components.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a versatile acoustic hearing aid which is very inexpensive.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an acoustical hearing aid which does not have a cosmetically or aesthetically objectionable large size or laterally extending width. This device should also be lightweight.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an acoustical hearing aid which gathers and reflects sound waves into a user's ear canals over a wide range of frequencies.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a non-electronic hearing aid which does not require a tubular member be inserted into the user's ear canal.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an acoustic hearing aid offering a gain in volume of approximately 25 decibels in the 1,500 kilohertz range.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an acoustical hearing aid which is directionally selective such that the user can choose to amplify the sound waves emitted from a particular source or direction simply by reorienting his or her head.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an acoustic hearing aid which does not require any permanent structural modifications to be made for each individual user.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an acoustic hearing aid which is durable, reliable and easy to fabricate and which has no repair costs.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an acoustical hearing aid which is lightweight, comfortable and easy to use.


An apparatus to generate a seek direction detecting signal for an optical pickup to determine a position of a center of an optical spot focused on an optical disk relative to a center of a track, which focuses a main beam on a first optical detector and a sub-beam having a predetermined aberration in a radial direction on a second optical detector using a light dividing unit. The second optical detector has an inner and an outer pair of light receiving portions arranged along the radial direction, the inner pair being between the outer pair. A signal processing portion includes a first signal processing portion to detect a track error signal from signals output from the first optical detector, and a second signal processing portion to generate the seek direction detecting signal from signals detected by the second optical detector and the track error signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus to generate a seek direction detecting signal for an optical pickup to determine the relative position of a center of an optical spot focused on an optical disk with respect to a center of a disk track in a RAM-type optical disk having a land/groove structure, and more particularly, to an apparatus to generate a seek direction detecting signal for an optical pickup using a main beam and a sub-beam having a predetermined aberration in a radial direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an optical pickup apparatus optically records or reproduces information of an optical disk, such as a RAM type disk, which is used as a recording medium to record/reproduce information. A conventional optical pickup apparatus comprises a light source to emit laser light, an objective lens to converge light emitted from the light source on an optical disk to form an optical spot on the optical disk, an optical detector to receive light reflected from the optical disk and to detect an information signal and an error signal, and a signal processing portion to process the detected signals.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional apparatus to generate a seek direction detecting signal for an optical pickup comprises a grating (not shown) to illuminate both a track and adjacent tracks at the same time so as to record/reproduce information, an optical detector, and a signal processing portion.
As shown in FIG. 1, a spiral track having a land (L) and groove (G) structure is formed on an optical disk 1, and information marks 1a are formed on the lands (L) and grooves (G). When information is recorded on or reproduced from the optical disk 1, light beams diverged by the grating are focused on the disk 1. That is, a main beam BM is focused on the track to record/reproduce the information marks 1a, and first and second sub-beams BS1 and BS2, which respectively precede and follow the main beam BM by a predetermined time, are focused on tracks of the optical disk 1 to be ±½ track pitch off the main beam BM in a radial direction of the optical disk 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the optical detector includes a main optical detector 2a to receive the main beam BM reflected from the optical disk 1, and first and second optical sub-detectors 2b and 2c to receive the first and second sub-beams BS1 and BS2, respectively. The main optical detector 2a comprises two separate plates A and B that are separated in the radial direction of the optical disk 1 and independently receive light. In addition, the first and second optical sub-detectors 2b and 2c comprise two separated plates C and D, and two separated plates E and F also separated in the radial direction of the optical disk 1, respectively.
The signal processing portion comprises a plurality of differential amplifiers 3, 4, 5, and 6 to differentiate and amplify the signals detected by the main optical detector 2a, and the first and second optical sub-detectors 2b and 2c to detect a track error signal (TES) and a track cross signal (TCS), a tracking control unit 7 to receive the detected TES and TCS and to output a tracking control signal, and an objective lens driving portion 8 to actuate an objective lens (not shown) according to the input tracking control signal.
The TES uses a push-pull signal Md output from the main optical detector 2a. The TCS uses a difference signal S1d–S2d of push-pull signals S1d and S2d respectively output from the first and second optical sub-detectors 2b and 2c, and the push-pull signal Md. Since the first and second sub-beams BS1 and BS2 are disposed ±½ track pitch off the main beam BM, and the push-pull signals S1d and S2d have phase differences of ±90° with respect to the push-pull signal Md, the TCS can be detected using the phase differences.
While the conventional apparatus to generate the seek direction detecting signal for an optical pickup has an advantage in that the TCS can be detected in a relatively simple manner using the three beams, there is a problem in that, since the first and second sub-beams BS1 and B2 are disposed to precede and follow the main beam BM, cross erasures occur on adjacent track signals when a RAM-type optical disk is used.

Apparatus for generating seek direction detecting signal using track error and track cross signals for an optical pickup


A substrate with a nitride semiconductor layer is cleaved to form resonator end faces, on which a coating film is formed so as to make a nitride semiconductor laser bar. This is divided into nitride semiconductor laser elements. Prior to forming the coating film on the resonator end face, the resonator end face is exposed to a plasma atmosphere generated from the gas containing nitrogen gas. When a ratio of nitrogen to gallium in the surface of the resonator end face before the exposure is represented by “a”, an average value of ratios of nitrogen to gallium inside from the surface of the resonator end face before the exposure is represented by “b”, a ratio of nitrogen to gallium in the surface of the resonator end face after the exposure to the first plasma atmosphere is represented by “d”, and an average value of ratios of nitrogen to gallium inside from the surface of the resonator end face after the exposure is represented by “e”, the value “g” that is expressed by g=(b·d)/(a·e) is set to a value that satisfies g≧0.8.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser element having a nitride semiconductor layer and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In these years, an optical disc is requested to have larger and larger memory capacity with higher density. In order to responds to this request, BD (Blue ray Disc) and HD-DVD (High Definition DVD) using a blue color semiconductor laser are standardized, and devices such as decoders conforming the standards have been commercialized. New types of disks for these standards require a high power blue color semiconductor laser with high reliability so as to enable higher density and high speed writing of information on a two-layer disk.
An AlGaAs system or an InGaAlP system semiconductor laser for reproducing or writing information on a conventional CD or DVD includes has a coating film made of a dielectric such as SiO2, Al2O3 or Si3N4 on an end face of resonator for preventing a deterioration or an optical damage to the end face of resonator that is an exit face of a laser beam. However, if an EB (Electron Beam) evaporator or a sputtering device is used for depositing a coating film as it is on the nitride semiconductor laser that is a blue color semiconductor laser, a COD level that is a critical power at which a COD (Catastrophe Optical Damage) may occur is low, so that reliability is very low. Therefore, an improvement in coating technique is necessary. Note that the COD means a phenomenon of melting crystals constituting a semiconductor laser element due to absorption of laser beam by the exit face.
JP-A-2002-335053 discloses a method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser, in which a resonator end face of the semiconductor laser element formed by cleavage is exposed to an argon plasma atmosphere so that a natural oxide film formed on the resonator end face naturally is removed by argon particles in a plasma state. Thus, the adhesion of the coating film formed on the resonator end face to the resonator end face is enhanced so that reliability of the resonator end face is improved. In addition, it is also proposed to remove moisture or the like that adheres to the surface of the semiconductor by heating the same after the cleavage, so as to improve the reliability more.
In the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere that is used for the method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser as proposed in JP-A-2002-335053, a voltage is not applied to the semiconductor laser bar and a holder thereof, and an argon ion is not attracted to the semiconductor laser bar by a potential difference so as to collide the resonator end face of the semiconductor laser bar. In other words, it is not so-called counter sputtering. In this case, the ion that reaches the resonator end face of the semiconductor laser bar is regarded to have energy of tens of keV. This energy of the ion is sufficient for removing by plasma thereof a moisture, carbon, a natural oxide film or the like adhered to the surface of the semiconductor laser bar, and it has been considered to damage hardly to the resonator end face of the semiconductor laser bar.
The inventor performed an ultimate analysis of the resonator end face that had been exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere for studying effects of the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere. As a result, the inventor found that carbon and oxygen were not observed when the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere had been performed though they are observed if the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere was not performed. The observed carbon and oxygen are considered to be contained in the natural oxide film, moisture or contaminant that adhered during the time period after forming the resonator end face by cleavage until forming the coating film. When a heat treatment had been performed on the resonator end face instead of the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere, a similar result was obtained.
From this result, it can be said that the formation of the coating film should be performed after removing the carbon and the oxygen from the resonator end face for improving the semiconductor laser element, and that such formation of the coating film can be realized by a heat treatment or exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere.
However, according to an experiment performed by the inventor, the following fact was found. That is, although the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere is effective for removing the carbon and the oxygen from the resonator end face, the surface of the semiconductor laser element including the resonator end face is affected by the exposure if the semiconductor laser element is a nitride semiconductor laser element.
The detail of this experiment is as follows. Two samples of the nitride semiconductor laser element were manufactured. One of the samples was exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere, while the other sample was not exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere. Each of the samples was subjected to an aging test, and the COD level of each sample was measured before and after the aging test. FIG. 11 shows a variation of the COD levels before the aging and after 200 hours of the aging about two samples. One of the samples has the coating film of Al2O3 formed on the resonator end face after exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere. The other sample has the coating film of Al2O3 formed on the resonator end face that is in the state after the cleavage without exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere. The conditions of the aging include an ambient temperature at 70° C., a power at 60 mW, APC (Automatic Power Control) driving and CW (Continuous Wave) driving. In addition, the COD levels were measured under the condition of 50 ns, duty factor of 50%, at room temperature and a pulse measurement.
As understood from FIG. 11, the COD level before the aging, i.e., an initial COD level is lower for the sample exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere than the other sample. This is considered to be because that the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere had some influence to the resonator end face.
In addition, the COD levels after the aging of both the samples with the exposure and without the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere are dropped from the COD levels before the aging. However, the sample that was exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere has a higher COD level than the sample that was not exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere. In other words, the relationship between the two COD levels is inverted after the exposure. Therefore, it can be said that deterioration in the COD level due to aging is reduced by the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere so that reliability can be improved.
The reason of this can be considered as follows. In the nitride semiconductor laser element that was not exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere, there is an interface state that can cause a non-light emission recombination at the interface between the resonator end face and the coating film due to an impurity such as the natural oxide film or the like in the resonator end face. Therefore, the resonator end face was deteriorated by the heat during the aging. On the contrary, in the nitride semiconductor laser element that was exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere, the interface state that can cause a non-light emission recombination at the interface between the resonator end face and the coating film is reduced compared with the case without the argon plasma atmosphere. Therefore, there is little heat generated during the aging so that the deterioration in the resonator end face is reduced, resulting in little deterioration in the COD level.
In other words, although the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere has an advantage that deterioration in the COD level can be reduced, it also has a disadvantage that the initial COD level is decreased. The decrease of the initial COD level may be a serious problem when a high power of the nitride semiconductor laser element is required. For example, in the case of the semiconductor laser element having characteristics shown in FIG. 11, it is difficult to realize a high power above the initial COD level at 200 mW for the one that was exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere.
Although the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere may cause some damage to the resonator end face as described above, detail or a specific content of the damage has not been studied up to now. Therefore, the inventor studied about it and found that the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere causes reduction of quantity of nitrogen in the resonator end face made up of a nitride semiconductor. The detail of this will be described below.
Concerning the nitride semiconductor laser element, a ratio of the number of atoms between gallium and nitrogen was measured by an AES (Auger Electron Spectroscopy) method while sputter etching was performed on the resonator end face from the surface toward the inside. The measurement was performed in the area where GaN is exposed on the surface. FIG. 12 shows the measurement result of the sample without the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere and the sample with the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere. The vertical axis corresponds to the ratio of the number of nitrogen atoms to that of gallium atoms, while the horizontal axis corresponds to a time period of the sputter etching. Hereinafter, in this specification, every description about a ratio of nitrogen to gallium means the ratio of the number of atoms. Here, one minutes of the sputter etching corresponds to a depth of approximately 3 nm. As understood from FIG. 12, the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere caused a reduction of the ratio of nitrogen to gallium at the top surface of the nitride semiconductor laser element (at zero in the horizontal axis in FIG. 12).
Further, concerning another nitride semiconductor laser element, the ratio of the number of atoms between gallium and nitrogen was measured by the AES method while sputter etching was performed on the resonator end face from the surface toward the inside. FIG. 13 shows the measurement result of the sample without the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere and the sample with the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere. The horizontal axis corresponds to a depth from the surface of the resonator end face, while the vertical axis corresponds to the ratio of nitrogen to gallium. It is understood from FIG. 13 too that the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere caused a reduction of the ratio of nitrogen to gallium at the top surface of the nitride semiconductor laser element.
As described above, the ratio of nitrogen to gallium is reduced on the surface of the nitride semiconductor laser element that was exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere, and the reason of this is considered to be removal of nitrogen having a high vapor pressure due to an attack of the excited argon ions. In addition, this reason may include that the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere causes removal and reduction of the nitrogen from the surface of the resonator end face so that the resonator end face becomes the state where gallium exists more than nitrogen. Since stoichiometry in which a ratio of nitrogen to gallium is balanced as 1:1 is imbalanced substantially, a non-light emission center increases resulting in an increase of heat value that causes a rapid deterioration in the end face. For this reason, the state of removing nitrogen depends on a time period of the exposure to the argon plasma atmosphere, a power of a micro wave, a treatment temperature, and the like.
As shown in FIG. 11, the sample that was exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere has the lower initial COD level than the sample that was not exposed to the argon plasma atmosphere. This is considered to be resulted from that the removal of the nitrogen from the resonator end face brings about an increase of the non-light emission center as well as a probability of the non-light emission recombination so that the heat value increases.
Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing a semiconductor laser as proposed in JP-A-2002-335053, the semiconductor laser bar is heated for evaporating and removing the moisture adhered to the end surface before forming the coating film. This process with heating the semiconductor laser bar to a temperature higher than the room temperature is usually performed for evaporating moisture or improving quality of the coating film. However, in the case of the nitride semiconductor laser, it was found that this heating process causes removal of nitrogen from the resonator end face resulting in lowering of the COD level.

Nitride semiconductor laser element and method for manufacturing the same


A thermomechanical analyzer for efficiently measuring the dynamic viscoelasticity of a sample piece. The analyzer is provided with a function generator, a stress applier, a strain detector, an analog-to-digital converter, a memory and a Fourier transform processor. The function generator generates a sine wave signal to induce a sine wave stress-strain response in the sample piece. This response is Fourier-transformed by the processor to calculate the dynamic viscoelasticity of the sample piece.

The present invention relates to a thermomechanical analyzer for measuring mechanical characteristics of materials as a function of temperature and time.
Conventionally, in such type of analyzer, the dynamic viscoelasticity of a sample piece is measured by directly detecting and analyzing the amplitude ratio and phase difference between a stress signal and a strain signal. In another method, the dynamic viscoelasticity is measured by reading a Lissajous pattern indicated on a stress-strain coordinate plane.
Prior art devices of this type exhibit various drawbacks, such as complicated and troublesome processing for obtaining a measured value of dynamic viscoelasticity. For example, it is difficult to accurately detect the phase difference between the stress signal and the strain signal in the first-mentioned conventional device. With regard to the second conventional device, geometrical computation is needed during each period for reading of the Lissajous pattern.


An automotive truck for moving a robot along a surface comprises a chassis and at least one platform hingedly connected to the chassis at one end of the platform. A drive wheel is rotatably mounted to the platform. A spring is connected at an opposite end of the platform pressing the drive wheel against the surface.

The present invention relates to an automotive truck on which a robot is mounted, and is able to move around the workplace along pre-set routes in order to perform a number of repetitive operations with the precision typical of this kind of machine.
The robot, which is designed in such a way to reduce its size and increase the range of the movements generally possible for this kind of machine, is mounted on a automotive truck.
The result is a fully-automatic unit which moves along programmed routes, stopping to perform the required operations.
Many industries use automatic machines, especially robots, to perform repetitive tasks, work in dangerous environments or carry out operations requiring a degree of precision that cannot be achieved manually.
These robots and manipulators are already known, but are always used in fixed or semi-fixed positions. At most, they are mounted on guides which allow limited movements, generally between two given positions.
Automotive trucks are already known such as those which can automatically follow a number of tracks marked along the route and which can be programmed to decide independently which track to follow, depending on the task to be performed.
For example, some known trucks can follow a track consisting of an underground wire along which a signal travels, while others can optically detect a track drawn on the floor and move along the center of the track.
Such trucks are called AGV's, which is the abbreviation for automatically guided vehicles and this term will be used throughout the remainder of this description. However, robots and manipulators mounted on AGV trucks which can move for long distances along different routes in order to perform a given number of operations do not appear to be known.
There is a need for this kind of equipment in many industries, such as manufacturing industries and the like, but its construction presents numerous major problems.
For example, it is necessary to compensate for any unevenness in the flooring so that the robot can position itself with the required precision; another problem is the difficulty of constructing a robot which is compact enough to be mounted on an AGV of normal size while retaining all the necessary movements and precision.


An outboard motor includes a prime mover, a marine propulsion unit having a propeller arranged to be driven by a rotational force of the prime mover to generate a thrust force, a shift position changing mechanism, a shift position changing mechanism actuator, and a control unit arranged to control the shift position changing mechanism actuator. When the shift position is changed to one of the first shift position and the second shift position from the neutral position, the control unit inhibits a change in the shift position to the other one of the first shift position and the second shift position until a predetermined time period elapses. The above arrangement improves the controllability of a boat propulsion system having an electronically controlled shift mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boat propulsion system, and a control device and control method for the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a boat propulsion system having an electronically controlled shift mechanism, and a control device and a control method for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as described, for example, in JP-A 2006-264361, a technology for changing shift positions by actuating a shift mechanism of an outboard motor using an electrically operable actuator has been disclosed. In the shift mechanism of JP-A 2006-264361, the electrically operable actuator actuates a dog clutch between a connected state and a disconnected state to change the shift position among forward, reverse, and neutral positions.
Boat shift change operations of a control lever are, typically, conducted for accelerating, decelerating, or stopping the boat. Hence, in a boat, the shift position change operations are relatively frequently conducted. Occasionally, the shift position change operations can be conducted without any pauses.
However, in the electronically controlled shift mechanism of JP-A 2006-264361, a time lag exists after a boat operator has operated a control lever and before a shift position change is actually completed. Thus, if such a shift position change operation is conducted without a pause, an actual shift position change can fail to follow the shift position change operation. If the actual shift position change does not follow the shift position change operation, the operator can feel some discomfort in handling the boat.

Boat propulsion system, and control device and control method for the same


The base of solder bumps is preserved by converting the under-bump metallurgy between the solder bump and contact pad into an intermetallic of the solder and the solderable component of the under-bump metallurgy prior to etching the under-bump metallurgy. The intermetallic is resistant to etchants which are used to etch the under-bump metallurgy between the contact pads. Accordingly, minimal undercutting of the solder bumps is produced, and the base size is preserved. The solder may be plated on the under-bump metallurgy over the contact pad through a patterned solder dam layer having a solder accumulation region thereon. The solder dam is preferably a thin film layer which may be accurately aligned to the underlying contact pad to confine the wetting of the molten solder during reflow. Misalignment between the solder bump and contact pad is thereby reduced. The solder bumps so formed include an intermetallic layer which extends beyond the bump to form a lip around the base of the bump. This lip provides extra protection for the solder bump.

High performance microelectronic devices often use solder balls or solder bumps for electrical interconnection to other microelectronic devices. For example, a very large scale integration (VLSI) chip may be electrically connected to a circuit board or other next level packaging substrate using solder balls or solder bumps. This connection technology is also referred to as "Controlled Collapse Chip Connection--C4" or "flip-chip" technology, and will be referred to herein as "solder bumps".
In the original solder bump technology developed by IBM, the solder bumps are formed by evaporation through openings in a shadow mask which is clamped to an integrated circuit wafer. Solder bump technology based on a electroplating process has also been actively pursued, particularly for larger substrates and smaller bumps. In this process, an "under-bump metallurgy" (UBM) is deposited on a microelectronic substrate having contact pads thereon, typically by evaporation or sputtering. A continuous under-bump metallurgy film is typically provided on the pads and on the substrate between the pads, in order to allow current flow during solder plating.
In order to define the sites for solder bump formation over the contact pads, the sites of the solder bumps are photolithographically patterned, by depositing a thick layer of photoresist on the under-bump metallurgy and patterning the photoresist to expose the under-bump metallurgy over the contact pads. Solder pads are then formed on the exposed areas of the under-bump metallurgy, over the contact pads, by pattern electroplating. The plated solder accumulates in the cavities of the photoresist, over the contact pads. Then, the under-bump metallurgy between the plated solder pads is etched, using the solder as an etch mask, to break the electrical connection between the solder bumps. The photolithographic patterning and under-bump metallurgy etching steps define the geometry of the under-bump metallurgy at the base of the solder bump, between the solder bump and the contact pad. Solder bump fabrication methods are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,950,623 to Dishon, assigned to the assignee of the present invention; 4,940,181 to Juskey, Jr. et al.; and 4,763,829 to Sherry.
Unfortunately, in fabricating solder bumps using the process described above, it is difficult to preserve the base of the solder bump, at the contact pad. Preservation of the base is important because the base of the solder bump is designed to seal the contact pad. The process described above often reduces the base, which exposes the underlying contact pad and leads to mechanical and/or electrical failure.
The base may be reduced due to at least two steps in the above described process. First, there is often an inherent distortion of the patterned thick film photoresist layer, and misalignment with respect to the contact pads lying thereunder. Typically, a dry thick film photoresist (such as du Pont RISTON.RTM. photoresist) or multiple coatings of liquid photoresist is used, in order to accumulate sufficient volume of plated solder. Thicknesses on the order of tens of microns (for example 50 microns) are used. The thick film photoresist must be accurately patterned over the contact pads, without misalignment or distortion.
Unfortunately, for dry film photoresist, distortion of the shape of bump sites may result from the relatively poor adhesion of the photoresist to the smooth under-bump metallurgy. Light scattering through the thick film photoresist and cover layer, and the imprecise nature of the thick film photoresist development process, also contribute to distortion of the photoresist mask pattern over the contact pads. For multiple-layer liquid photoresist, factors such as hardening of photoresist due to long periods of baking, and edge bead build-up, may cause distortion in the photoresist mask pattern over the contact pads. Accordingly, the resultant solder bump often does not cover the entire contact pad.
The second major factor which may reduce the solder bump base is undercutting during chemical etching of the under-bump metallurgy. In particular, as described above, the under-bump metallurgy is typically etched, between the solder bumps, in order to break the electrical connections therebetween. In order to insure that all of the unwanted under-bump metallurgy is removed, overetching typically needs to be practiced, because etching frequently does not proceed uniformly across the substrate surface. However, this overetching typically undercuts the under-bump metallurgy between the solder bump and the contact pad, which reduces the solder bump base. Electrical and mechanical reliability of the solder bump connection is thereby degraded.


Liquid detergent composition comprising greater than 5% anionic surfactant, less than 15% nonionic surfactant, a light-sensitive ingredient and an inorganic pearlescent agent.

In the preparation of liquid treatment compositions, it is always an aim to improve technical capabilities thereof and aesthetics. The present invention relates to the improvement in the traditionally transparent or opaque aesthetics of liquid compositions. The present invention relates to liquid compositions comprising optical modifiers that are capable of refracting light such that the compositions appear pearlescent.
Pearlescence can be achieved by incorporation and suspension of a pearlescent agent in the liquid composition. Pearlescent agents include inorganic natural substances, such as mica, fish scales, bismuth oxychloride and titanium dioxide, and organic compounds such as metal salts of higher fatty acids, fatty glycol esters and fatty acid alkanolamides. The pearlescent agent can be acquired as a powder, suspension of the agent in a suitable suspending agent or where the agent is a crystal, it may be produced in situ.
Detergent compositions and pearlescent dispersions comprising pearlescent agent fatty acid glycol ester are disclosed in the following art; U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,501 (to Kao); U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,305 (to Henkel); U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,659 (to Henkel); U.S. Pat. No. 6,835,700 (to Cognis). Liquid detergent compositions containing pearlescent agent are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,956,017 (to Procter & Gamble). Liquid detergents for washing delicate garments containing pearlescent agent are disclosed in EP 520551 B1 (to Unilever). Having put effort and expense into improving the aesthetics of a composition, the Applicant preferably packages the ensuing composition in a transparent or translucent package, be it for example a bottle, box, tub or water-soluble film. However some ingredients of the composition that are essential or at least preferred for performance are sensitive to light. Packaging the composition in a transparent or translucent package increases the risk or destabilization of these light-sensitive ingredients. It is important to protect these light sensitive ingredients as far as possible in order to maintain stability of the product, aesthetics and performance for as long as possible. Especially since a product may remain in storage or on shelf for some time, potentially a period of several months.
Bismuth oxy chloride, a pearlescent agent has previously been described as also being sensitive to light Ke-Lei Zhang et al., Applied Catalysts: Environmental 68 (2006) pp 125-129. In this report Bismuth oxy chloride is reported to be a photocatalyst which can decompose dyes upon exposure to light.
Despite the above, it has surprisingly been found that compositions comprising an inorganic pearlescent agent exhibit improved light-sensitive ingredient stability.


A switching center for use in a communication network includes a pool of echo cancellation units for use in providing echo cancellation services to users associated with the switching center on an “as needed” basis. A communication connection being supported by the switching center is analyzed to determine whether intolerable reflections are being received from an associated trunk. If such reflections are detected, one of the echo cancellation units in the pool is assigned to the communication connection for use in reducing or eliminating the reflections. When the communication connection terminates, the echo cancellation unit is returned to the pool for subsequent use with another communication connection.

In a telephone switching center, problems arise when relatively large echoes are received from one or more of the outgoing trunks. To address this problem, each of the outgoing trunks in a switching center has traditionally been assigned a dedicated echo cancellation unit to suppress any echoes received from the trunk. However, only a small percentage of the outgoing trunks in a switching center normally experience echo problems during normal system operation. Therefore, more echo cancellation functionality is being provided than is necessary to ensure quality communication in the network.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for suppressing harmful echoes in a switching center that does not require dedicated echo cancellation functionality on each outgoing trunk.

Method and apparatus for performing echo cancellation within a communication network


A stacked semiconductor device is disclosed that includes a plurality of semiconductor dies. Each die has oppositely disposed first and second surfaces, with pads formed on each of the surfaces. A plurality of through-vias connect respective pads on the first surface to respective pads on the second surface. The through-vias include a first group of through-vias coupled to respective I/O circuitry on the semiconductor die and a second group of through-vias not coupled to I/O circuitry on the semiconductor die. The plurality of semiconductor dies are stacked such that the first group of through-vias in a first one of the plurality of semiconductor dies are aligned with respective ones of at least a portion of the second group of through-vias in a second one of the plurality of semiconductor dies.

Semiconductor packaging often involves assembling and electrically interconnecting groups of semiconductor devices together in space-efficient, yet inexpensive ways. One packaging approach involves stacking devices to reduce the horizontal footprint of the assembled system. Conventional stacking schemes typically rely on signal redistribution layers and/or wirebond resources to provide electrical access to and from each device. Moreover, conventional stacking arrangements often overlook power efficiency concerns.
While conventional stacking methods work well for their intended applications, the need exists for power and cost efficient stacked die arrangements and methods. Embodiments of packaged semiconductor systems and methods described herein satisfy these needs.


Systems are provided for the offloading of protocol control and conversion information within microprocessor-based systems. A converter controller comprises a first interface and protocol, as well as a second interface and protocol. An intermediate protocol and interface is interconnected to both the first protocol and the second protocol, and forwards or offloads protocol information to the system CPU, which comprises device driver information for protocol conversion and/or control. The CPU acts upon the received protocol information, performs protocol conversion as necessary, and forwards the converted protocol information back to the converter controller through the intermediate interface. Some embodiments of the offloading protocol conversion system comprise a SDIO controller within a USB-based device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view 10 of a typical implementation of a converter/controller device 14 within a computer system platform 12. A central processing unit (CPU) 18, along with associated random access memory (RAM) 22, and read only memory (ROM) 24 are typically connected to other elements of the host system 12, through platform logic 20, to a bus architecture 26.
The platform logic 20 comprises bus interface logic and memory control logic, and is typically incorporated into one or two chips, called a "chipset". In some cases, the chipset 20 is integrated within the CPU device 18. Typically, the chipset 20 further comprises the bus architecture 26, which comprises one or more bus interfaces 28a,28b,28c that are commonly used to connect additional platform components 16 to complete the desired function of the platform 12.
FIG. 1 also shows a conventional protocol converter/function controller 14, which is embedded on the computing system platform 12. The protocol converter/function controller device 14 communicates to the operating system and other software components associated with the CPU 18, through the bus architecture 26, using the first electrical interface 30 and first protocol 32, and communicates with one or more end functions 16, using a second protocol B 36 and electrical interface B 34.
The protocol converter and function controller device 14 is connected, by the first electrical interface A 30 and first protocol 32, to the platform logic 20 associated the CPU 18, through the bus architecture 26, comprising electrical signals on one or more of the bus interfaces 28a,28b,28c.
The end function 16 of a component associated with or soldered to the platform 12 may be one of the many functions desirable by the user of the computer system platform 12. For example, the end function 16 may typically comprise a disk drive or other storage interface, a network interface, an audio or video user interface, a human input device interface, a data acquisition interface, or an alternate bus interface, which acts as a bridge or router. The end function 16 may alternately comprise a wireless connectivity endpoint. For end functions 16 which are embedded in the converter/controller device 14, the protocol B 36 and electrical interface B 34 may not be visible or accessible outside the converter/controller device 14.
The on-board converter/controller device 14 is connected through input/output terminals 15 to the bus interface 26, and provides function control and/or protocol conversion between the CPU 18 and one or more end functions 16. The converter/controller device 14 is a connected component within the platform 12, and comprises an additional component within the platform material list. The converter/controller device 14 is typically soldered to the platform 12, or mated to the platform bus interface through a bus interface-specific expansion connector, e.g. such as through a PCI bus slot.
The first electrical interface 30 is typically connected to one of the system bus interfaces 28, e.g. such as through bus interface X 28a, such that the operating system, device drivers, and other software components, which are typically executed from either RAM 22 or ROM 26, can identify the on-board converter/controller device 14, and load the appropriate device drivers.
The layer of software that interacts directly with hardware logic in the on-board converter/controller device 14 is the device driver. Device drivers use a device specific protocol to communicate with the on-board converter/controller device 14, which may be either an industry standard protocol, or a vendor-unique protocol, depending on the design of the protocol support logic 32 for the converter/controller device 14. The supported protocols are typically indicated to the operating system, when the operating system detects the device presence in the system bus interface 26, such as through plug and play mechanisms.
The on-board converter/controller device 14, as shown in FIG. 1, includes an embedded microprocessor 38, which provides conventional electrical and/or protocol conversion, within the converter/controller device 14. Similarly, alternate computer systems have previously provided microprocessor-less converter/controller designs, which interface from a first protocol 32 and electrical interface 30 to a second protocol 36 and electrical interface 34, e.g. such as by performing protocol conversion in state machines and logic elements integrated in the converter/controller device 14.
The first electrical interface A 30 typically comprises a state machine, which controls the bus interface specific signals used to transmit and receive data elements. For example, electrical interface A may handle raw data transfer over PCI, ISA, USB, IEEE1394, PCMCIA, RS232-UART, 3GIO (PCI Express), SPI, MultiMediaCard (MMC), SmartMedia, SD Memory Card, SDIO, Memory Stick, ISO7816 (Smart Card), Serial ATA, Parallel Port, IDE, or any other wired bus interface 26. The first electrical interface A 30 may also handle raw data transfer over wireless interfaces such as through BLUETOOTH™ technology, as defined by Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). A wireless first electrical interface A 30 typically comprises transceiver circuitry being capable of transmitting and receiving raw data over the bus interface, including any wireless transceiver components that may be necessary.
The first protocol A support logic 32 comprises the method by which raw data transferred through the first electrical interface A 30. The protocol support logic 32 typically includes a set of registers and that communicate information about raw data elements, such as the source of the data, the destination of the data, and the format of the data. The protocol support logic 32 may include methods that manipulate raw data, e.g. such as performing cryptographic functions upon the raw data. The protocol A support logic 32 may be simply a data buffer large enough to contain both raw data and the information about the raw data. Protocol A 32 can be any protocol or combination of protocols that gives meaning to raw data that is sourced from or destined to the end function 16, e.g. such as ATA/ATAPI, SBP-2, and/or TCP/IP. The protocol A support logic 32 in FIG. 1 represents all hardware state machines, logic elements, and data buffering implemented in the converter/controller device 14 which support these protocols.
The second end function protocol support logic 36 provides hardware elements necessary to support the protocols which give meaning to raw data elements transmitted and received using the second electrical interface 34. Protocol B may be a standardized protocol for communicating with the end function 16, or it may be specific to the end function. For example, protocol B for a converter/controller device used to connect Memory Stick cards to platform 12 is specified in the Memory Stick Standard. In this example, the electrical interface B 34 is also specified in the Memory Stick Standard.
The embedded microprocessor 38, within the controller 14, has dedicated firmware program ROM 40 and data ROM 42. The embedded microprocessor 38 typically receives commands within 1394-SBP2 protocol 32, and converts the commands to USB storage device class bulk transfer protocol 36.
A general purpose USB-based function controller 14, such as Part No. TUSB3210, available through Texas Instruments, Inc., is one example of an embedded micro-processor function controller 14. As seen in FIG. 1, firmware ROM 40 and data RAM 42 are associated with the embedded micro-processor 38. The TUSB3210 device 14 comprises an integrated 8052 core microprocessor 38, and several RAM and ROM components 40,42.
Microsoft Corp., Small Form-Factor I/O Devices for Windows, describes conventional protocol conversion through embedded microprocessors. Electrical conversion and USB mass storage control are typically achieved with such embedded micro-controller designs, such as with a TUSB3210 function controller 14.
The embedded microcontroller, i.e. microprocessor, 38 is a peripheral device to the CPU 18, which offloads CPU instructions to provide dedicated protocol conversion. However, while the peripheral microcontroller 38 offloads such tasks from the CPU 18, there is a substantial cost and complexity associated with a peripheral microprocessor 38.
In alternate prior system platforms, in which the microprocessor 38 is embedded within the system 18,20, the embedded microprocessor 38 is still a discrete device, having a similar design to a peripheral processor 38, and similarly off-loads processing tasks from the CPU 18.
While prior art protocols conversion has provided an increase in overall system speed, for earlier CPUs 18 having limited processing capabilities, current CPUs 18, such as Intel Pentium 4™ microprocessors 18, provide substantially more processing capabilities than earlier microprocessors 18, such that there is often a surplus of processing capacity.
The converter controller 14 shown in FIG. 1 comprises an embedded microprocessor 38 to provide protocol conversion. In alternate converters/controllers 14 without an embedded microprocessor 38, the design complexity is directly related to the complexity of the protocol conversion tasks. In addition, such microprocessor-less converter/controllers 14 rely on hardware state machines and logic which are typically not upgradeable to support new protocols or electrical interface changes. For simple converter/controller devices, this type of microprocessor-less architecture may be sufficient.
It would be advantageous to perform efficient protocol conversion for a computing system platform, such that conversion and control processing is performed in a cost and time efficient manner. It would also be advantageous to perform protocol conversion for a computing system platform, such that conversion and control processing is offloaded to the central processing unit.
Microprocessor-based devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and/or mobile phones often comprise a connection to flash media, such as to a Memory Stick™, to a SmartMedia™ card, or to MMC/SD media. Flash media is typically installed within a flash media port, either directly into the microprocessor device, or through an intermediate adapter, having a socket connector. Card detect (CD) signals are very common in socket connectors, to indicate to the system when a card, e.g. such as a Memory Stick™ card, by Sony Electric Co., Inc., has been inserted. For common flash media connectors, the card detect signals, e.g. CD#, are typically active low.
FIG. 2 shows a media adapter system 50 adapted to receive different flash media 60a,60b,60c,60d having different formats. A dedicated Memory Stick™ passive adapter 58a comprises a socket connector 68a to establish contact with corresponding contacts on the Memory Stick™ 60a, and further comprises host, i.e. system, connections 66a to establish contact with a PC card controller 54 through corresponding contacts, such as through a card bay socket interface 56. Similarly, a dedicated SmartMedia passive adapter 58b comprises a socket connector 68b to establish contact with corresponding contacts on the SmartMedia card 60b, and further comprises host connections 66b to establish contact with a PC card controller 54 through a corresponding contact interface 56.
In FIG. 2, an MMC/SD passive adapter 58c comprises a 2-in-1 socket connector 68c, to establish contact with corresponding contacts on either an MMC card 60c or an SD card 60d, and further comprises host connections 66c to establish contact with a PC card controller 54 through corresponding contacts. Since there are only slight differences in the form factor and required software between an MMC card 60c and an SD card 60d, some passive adapters 58c can provide connections to either an MMC card 60c, or to an SD card 60d, without a query process to distinguish the type of connected media card 60c,60d. The functional extensions of SD cards 60d beyond MMC capabilities are provided by a shared protocol which comprises responses from the media in response to requests from the host 52.
Therefore, the PC card controller 54 supports a single flash media 60 through a dedicated passive adapter 58. For example, the PC card controller 54 shown in FIG. 2 supports Memory Stick™ flash media 60a through a Memory Stick™ passive adapter 68a, SmartMedia™ flash media 60b through a SmartMedia™ passive adapter 68b, and either MMC media 60c or SD flash media 60d through a MMC/SD passive adapter 68c.
As seen in FIG. 2, the PC card controller 54 typically supports a single type of flash media 60, e.g. 60a, through a passive adapter 58, e.g. 58a, except for media types that share a command electrical interface, such as for MultiMedia Cards 60c and SD cards 60d.
In the prior art, a signal, e.g. such as an MC_CD# signal, is used to identify when a flash media card 60 is inserted into a dedicated, i.e. format specific, passive adapter 58. While a query mechanism is sometimes used to identify which type of flash media 60 is supported by a connected passive adapter 60, e.g. for a SmartMedia™ adapter 58b, such a query process only provides query values that correspond to a single media type, e.g. corresponding to a SmartMedia™ card 60b and a SmartMedia™ adapter 58b.
While an adapter system 50 as seen in FIG. 2 can be used to interface with flash media 60 having different formats, dedicated adapters 58 are used to interface with flash media 60 respectively. A user who desires to alternatively connect more than one flash media 60, i.e. having different command interfaces, to a host system 12, through a PC Card socket 46, is therefore required to acquire and use multiple passive adapters 58.
While the media adapter system shown in FIG. 2 may provide a query process to conform the type of flash media 60, e.g. 60a, supported by a connected passive adapter 58, such as 58a, such a process is limited to activate only one flash media interface at any time.
After the media 60 has been inserted into the adapter 58, and the MC_CD# signal is asserted, and a SQRYDR signal is typically driven by the PC card controller 54. The SQRYDR signal is used as a voltage source during the query process. After the SQRYDR signal is activated, the SQRYx signals can be read. Therefore, the SQRYx signals are only read one time per MC_CD# assertion. Since there is only one MC_CD# signal in the system 10 shown in FIG. 2, the architecture is limited in that one notification is given that a card is inserted into a passive adapter, with card detect signals that independently notify the host system when cards are plugged into the corresponding sockets. Therefore, only one flash media electrical interface can be activated through the passive adapter 58 at any time.
It would be advantageous to provide card bay architecture which supports a passive adapter that interfaces with multiple flash media types, and provides both card insertion and multiple media format determination. It would also be advantageous to provide a 3-in-1 connector for SD Card, Multimedia™ Card, and SmartMedia™ interfaces.
Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide a PC card controller which integrates flash media reader technology. Such a system would be a major technological breakthrough. It would also be advantageous to provide a PC card controller which integrates flash media reader technology, which supports a flash media adapter comprising passive componentry. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide an PC card controller which integrates flash media reader technology in conjunction with a flash media adapter comprising passive componentry, to minimize the cost of the flash media adapter. Such a system would be a further technological breakthrough.
It would also be advantageous to provide a query process which corresponds with flash media type, in conjunction with a passive adapter that supports more than one type of media, such as by connecting typical CD# signals to SQR5:3 signals (FIG. 10), to indicate the type of media in the socket of a passive adapter.
Socket connectors, such as Yamaichi Series No. FRS001 connectors, provide a 2-in-1 card bay connection to both SmartMedia card 60b and to an SD card 60c. However, while other cards 20, such as MMC cards 60c may physically be inserted into the card socket 28 of such an adapter, an MMC card 60c may become stuck within the card socket. Such adapter connectors are therefore typically sold as 2-in-1 connectors, such that connection to an MMC card 60c is not supported by the adapter. While such adapter connectors are often provided with documentation and/or labeling to warn users that the adapter does not support an MMC card 60c, a user may still mistakenly attempt to connect an MMC card 60c to a host system through such a connector.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an adapter connector to properly connect MMC flash 60c, in addition to cards having other formats, e.g. such as Memory Stick media 20a, SmartMedia™ 60b, and/or SD cards 60c. The development of such an adapter connector would constitute a major technological advance.

Enhanced protocol conversion system capable of providing offloaded protocol instruction processing


Aspects of the disclosure relate to systems and methods for increasing the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of language processing systems. A provided method may include storing a plurality of distinct rule sets in a database. Each of the rule sets may be associated with a different pipeline from a set of pipelines. The method may include receiving the utterance. The method may include tokenizing and/or annotating the utterance, determining a pipeline for the utterance, and comparing the utterance to the rule set that is associated with the pipeline. When a match is achieved between the utterance and the rule set, the method may include resolving the intent of the utterance based on the match. The method may include transmitting a request corresponding to the intent to a central server, receiving a response, and transmitting the response to the system user.

Language processing systems are useful for processing spoken utterances and resolving the intent of the speaker of the utterance. Once resolved, a computer system may be able to respond appropriately to a request of the speaker when a request is included or implicated in the intent of the speaker.
Conventional language processing systems, however, often suffer from speed, accuracy, and efficiency deficiencies. It may be difficult for the conventional systems to quickly disambiguate the utterance. This difficulty may cause the system to produce slow and/or inaccurate results. For example, if the word "apple" is a part of the utterance, the system may not be able to quickly determine if the intent is for the fruit or a company of the same name. Conventional systems may make an incorrect assumption. Conventional systems may take processing time to achieve an accurate result. Conventional systems may engage in time-consuming queries to the speaker to disambiguate the utterance and achieve an accurate result.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide systems and methods for increasing the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of language processing systems.

Multi-pipeline language processing platform


The desander (10) for positioning downhole includes a generally tubular desander body (16) and a generally sleeve-shaped vortex body (39, 94). The desander with a seal or packer may be positioned in a well below the casing perforations. The desander with an ESP may be used with gas separator (60), which may include a seal (24) for positioning above the producing formation. The separator (60) may be used independent of the desander for some applications.

Various types of pumping systems have been devised to pump fluid from a downhole formation to the surface. Solid particles, such as sand, and/or gas bubbles may significantly detract from the efficiency of the pump, and may lead to pump damage. Various types of desanders and gas separators have been devised for removing sand or gas from downhole fluids before entering the pump.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,248 discloses well production apparatus which includes a gas fluid separator in the casing of the well. A fluids composition sensor and transmitter are also provided. U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,158 discloses another type of gas separator with a single large gas exit port and a single large fluid inlet. U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,331 discloses a system with a centrifugal pump driven by a motor. The bypass tube is used for workovers and does not require pulling the tubing. U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,286 discloses a system for separating lower density fluids from a higher density fluid. The separated fluids are removed through separate outlets. U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,018 discloses a desander which includes a spiral guide such that helical motion is imparted to the well fluids and solid particles settle downwardly within the vortex chamber.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, which discloses an improved downhole desander and method of operating a desander. An improved gas separator and method of operating a gas separator are also disclosed.


A depth-based video combiner that combines two video signals to produce a combined video signal as a function of respective key signals and a priority signal derived from respective depth coefficient signals also combines the respective depth coefficient signals as a function of the respective key signals and the priority signal to produce a combined depth coefficient for the combined video signal to provide smooth depth transitions at intersecting edges between the two video signals. A mix coefficient for the depth coefficient signals is generated from the respective key signals and the priority signal. The mix coefficient signal is used to combine the respective depth coefficient signals to produce the combined depth coefficient signal.

The present invention relates to video signal processing, and more particularly to depth-based video combining which creates a combined depth that preserves smoothness for further combining operations.
Digital picture manipulation devices take an incoming video image and remap the pixels to another video image to make the incoming video image appear to have been moved or warped in three dimensional space. A digital picture manipulator (DPM) transforms one image per channel, with this image containing luminance, chrominance and key (opacity) information. Often a digital picture manipulator manipulates more than one video channel and the channels are combined into a single resulting channel. A problem arises when a pixel of the combined image has contributions from two transformed source images, i.e., a decision has to be made to give priority to one video image over the other. The Kaleidoscope DPM-1 digital picture manipulator, manufactured by The Grass Valley Group, Inc. of Nevada City, Calif., United States of America, uses the calculated depth of the transformed source images to determine priority, i.e., the image appearing closer to the viewer having priority over the farther appearing image.
The Kaleidoscope digital picture manipulator's depth-based combiner creates a priority signal that determines the priority of a foreground image over a background image. This priority signal is input to a combiner as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,912 issued Jul. 25, 1989 to Richard A. Jackson and Kevin D. Windrem entitled "Apparatus for Combining Video Signals." Which signal is the "foreground" and which the "background" is determined by depth, and can switch on a pixel-by-pixel basis for a combined image, as in the case of intersecting planes. The Kaleidoscope DPM creates the priority signal by using depth information from each image. This information is called W, the depth coefficient, where EQU 1/W=Z/V.sub.p +1
V.sub.p being the simulated distance of the viewer from the plane upon which the images are perspectively projected and Z being the distance from that plane to the transformed image in three dimensional space prior to perspective projection. W gets smaller, decreasing to zero, as an object in the image goes to infinity, and gets larger as the object in the image approaches the viewer, being clipped at a value of 8 in the Kaleidoscope DPM. Priority is formed from each image's W by the following function, commonly called a clip and gain function, EQU P=CLIP(GAIN.times.(W.sub.A -W.sub.B))+1/2
where W.sub.A is the depth coefficient for image A, W.sub.B is the depth coefficient for image B, GAIN is a softness multiplier and CLIP is a function that returns -1/2 for values less than -1/2 and returns +1/2 for values greater than +1/2 and passes all values inbetween. The output of the circuit is a number ranging from zero to one. When P is less than 1/2, image A is behind image B and image B has more priority, and when P is greater than 1/2, image A is in front of image B and has more priority. Priorities between zero and one give smoothness to intersecting images and are more visually pleasing than sharp intersections where only zero and one are possible.
A problem associated with depth combining involves a situation where there are more than two images competing for priority. The Kaleidoscope DPM uses a serial method for combining where two images are combined to form a resultant image which is then in turn combined with a third image, whose result is combined with a fourth image, etc. This requires a series of two-input video combiners. Each of the source images has a depth signal, as does each successively combined image. With the serial combiner approach the Kaleidoscope DPM selects the nearest of the two depth values to determine the depth of each combined image. However when the nearest image is nearly transparent, such as along soft edges, setting the resulting depth to that of the nearest image gives the combined image a stronger depth when mixing with a third image later on. For example during a soft edge the depth is that of the near image, even though some of the far image may be seen, and then where the foreground image fades completely, the depth abruptly jumps to that of the far image, i.e., the depth component of the combined image has abrupt changes. If a third image is combined with this result, the abrupt change in depths may cause an abrupt change in the priority signal used in the next combining operation. Such abrupt changes give unpleasant harshness to video images. It would be more pleasing if the depth smoothly changed from that of the nearest image to that of the farthest image during the soft edge.


An electronic mail (email) processing system set up on the Internet includes terminals that send and receive email messages, cellular telephones that send and receive email messages by radiocommunication through base stations, a mail server that performs the overall management of an email service, a client database, provided within the mail server, for storing user information about registered users who are clients of the email service, and a map database center and a map information provider site, both of which perform a map information providing function. In a specific embodiment, the mail server receives an email message sent from a terminal, adds, to the received email message, telephone number data and position information-associated map link information, which are items of the user information, and forwards the resultant email message to one or more recipient cellular telephones.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic mail (email) processing systems that transfer email sent from a sender terminal to recipient terminals via a network. More particularly, the invention relates to an email processing system that forwards email to recipients by adding predetermined items of user information to the email.
2. Description of the Related Art
The proliferation of the Internet in recent years has promoted email-based data communications among terminals of different types. Email is a simple and quick device of conveying messages, since a message composed on a terminal by a user who can use email can be readily received by one or more recipient terminals once sent to a mail server via the Internet. Today, Internet-capable cellular telephones are among those email-supporting terminals, and many of their users exchange email messages with other cellular telephones, personal computers, and/or other like devices.
In some features provided by prior art email processing systems, when a user includes one or more links such as various addresses in message text, a recipient can activate these links at the recipient terminal. For example, when a function called "Mail To" is used, the recipient user specifies (i.e., clicks on) an email address written on the message text through the recipient terminal to give a reply to that email address immediately. If the recipient terminal is a cellular telephone, a function called "Phone To" can also be available. The recipient user, who is the user of the cellular telephone, similarly specifies a telephone number written on the message text to dial that telephone number immediately. These functions provide recipient terminals with ease for connection to links through a network, and hence make email more useful.
If a sender user utilizes the Phone To function when sending email to a user carrying a cellular telephone, the recipient user can call the sender user without looking up the sender user's telephone number, which is of great convenience. However, the sender user must add telephone number data to message text every time he/she sends email, which is troublesome.
Moreover, if a map information provider site on the Internet is utilized, a recipient user searches for map information corresponding to an address (hereinafter meaning strictly "place of residence" as distinguished from "email address") written on message text so that a recipient user can have a map image around that address displayed on a recipient terminal. However, the sender user must again add text data representing an address to message text, and go through an operation of searching for map information around the address every time he/she sends email, which is likewise troublesome.
Thus, the prior-art email processing systems have involved time-consuming, troublesome operations of entering telephone numbers, etc. even if sender users utilize various link information-related functions when sending email.

Electronic mail processing system and mail server