A resonant switching power source device is provided which comprises first and second MOS-FETs 1 and 2 connected in series to a DC power source 3, a first transformer 5 which has a first primary winding 5a connected in parallel to first or second MOS-FET 1 or 2 and in series to a first capacitor 4, a first rectifying smoother 10 connected between a secondary winding 5b of first transformer 5 and first output terminals 11, 12, a second transformer 6 which has a primary winding 6a connected in parallel to primary winding 5a of first transformer 5, and a second rectifying smoother 20 and an output-regulatory MOS-FET 41 connected between a secondary winding 6b in second transformer 6 and second DC output terminals 21 and 22 to control peak current flowing through primary windings of transformers 5 and 6 and rectifying smoothers 10 and 20 in secondary sides for improvement in power conversion efficiency and to produce stable DC outputs of desired level from a plurality of output terminals 11, 12, 21 and 22.

Prior art current resonant switching power source devices are widely known as having their high power conversion efficiency with low noise and reduced switching loss because a resonance circuit therein converts electric current flowing through switching elements into a sinusoidal wave form for zero current switching (ZCS) when the switching elements are turned on or off. For example, a prior art resonant switching power source device shown in FIG. 6 comprises first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2 as first and second switching elements connected in series to a DC power source 3, a series circuit which includes a current resonance capacitor 4, a leakage inductance 5d and a primary winding 5a of a transformer 5 connected in parallel to second main MOS-FET 2, a voltage pseudo resonance capacitor 7 connected between drain and source terminals of second main MOS-FET 2, a first output rectifying diode 8 which has an anode terminal connected to one end of first secondary winding 5b of transformer 5, a first output smoothing capacitor 9 connected between a cathode terminal of first output smoothing capacitor 8 and the other end of first secondary winding 5b, a second output rectifying diode 18 which has an anode terminal connected to one end of second secondary winding 5c of transformer 5, a second output smoothing capacitor 19 connected between cathode terminal of second output rectifying diode 18 and the other end of second secondary winding 5c, and a step down chopper 27 connected to second output smoothing capacitor 19. First output rectifying diode 8 and first output smoothing capacitor 9 are incorporated together to form a first rectifying smoother 10 which produces a first DC output voltage VO1 through first DC output terminals 11 and 12. Second output rectifying diode 18 and second output smoothing capacitor 19 are incorporated together to form a second rectifying smoother 20 which produces second DC output voltage VO2 through step down chopper 27 from second DC output terminals 21 and 22.
Transformer 5 comprises a leakage inductance 5d acting as a current resonance reactor connected equivalently in series to primary winding 6a, and an excitation inductance 5e connected equivalently in parallel to primary winding 6a. Connected to both ends of first output smoothing capacitor 9 in first rectifying smoother 10 is a first output voltage detector 13 for detecting first DC output voltage VO1 issued from first rectifying smoother 10 to produce an error signal VE1, the differential between detected first DC output voltage VO1 and a reference voltage for prescribing the detected output voltage VO1, and error signal VE1 is transmitted to a feedback signal input terminal FB of main control circuit 15 through a photo-coupler 14 of a light emitter 14a and a light receiver 14b.
Step down chopper 27 comprises a chopping MOS-FET 23 which has a drain terminal connected to a junction of second output rectifying diode 18 and second output smoothing capacitor 19 in second rectifying smoother 20, a flywheel diode 24 connected between a source terminal of chopping MOS-FET 23 and ground terminal 22 in secondary side, a filter reactor 25 which has one end connected to a junction between source terminal of chopping MOS-FET 23 and cathode terminal of flywheel diode 24, and a filter capacitor 26 connected between the other end of filter reactor 25 and ground terminal 22 in secondary side. A chopper controller 28 has a built-in power supply for producing reference voltage to prescribe a value of second output voltage, and produces a PWM signal VS2 of modulated pulse width based on an error signal, the differential between output voltage VO2 on filter capacitor 26 and the reference voltage. Thus, step down chopper 27 controls the on-off operation of chopping MOS-FET 23 by PWM signal VS2 from chopper controller 28 to produce, from second DC output terminals 21 and 22, second DC output VO2 of a constant level lower than DC voltage input into step down chopper 27 from second output smoothing capacitor 19 in second rectifying smoother 20.
As shown in FIG. 7, main control circuit 15 comprises an oscillator 29 for producing pulse signals VPL of frequency variable in response to voltage level of error signal VE1 transmitted from first output voltage detector 13 into feedback signal input terminal FB through photo-coupler 14 of light emitter 14a and light receiver 14b, an inverter 30 for producing an inverted signal of a pulse signal VPL from oscillator 29, a first dead time adder 31 for incorporating a constant dead time in inverted signal VPL from oscillator 29 through inverter 30 to produce a first drive signal VG1, a level shift circuit 32 for shifting voltage level of first drive signal VG1 inclusive of added dead time, a high side buffer amplifier 33 for applying first drive signal VG1 from level shift circuit 32 to a gate terminal of first main MOS-FET 1, a second dead time adder 34 for incorporating a constant dead time in a pulse signal VPL from oscillator 29 to produce a second drive signal VG2, and a low side buffer amplifier 35 for applying second drive signal VG2 inclusive of dead time to a gate terminal of second main MOS-FET 2. Pulse signal VPL has the varied frequency and a constant pulse width, and first drive signal VG1 has a fixed off-period and an on-period varied in response to voltage level of error signal VE1 from output voltage detector 13. Second drive signal VG2 has a fixed on-period and an off-period varied in response to voltage level of error signal VE1 from output voltage detector 13, and therefore, main control circuit 15 produces first and second drive signals VG1 and VG2 to gate terminal of respectively first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2. In this way, first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2 are alternately turned on and off in response to voltage level of error signal VE1 from first output voltage detector 13.
Referring now to FIG. 8 showing time charts of voltages and electric currents at selected locations in FIG. 6, and the operation of the resonant switching power source device of FIG. 6 is described hereinafter. When second main MOS-FET 2 is turned from on to off at a point t1 in time under the off-condition of first main MOS-FET 1, electric current ICi flows from leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e of transformer 5 through voltage pseudo resonance capacitor 7, current resonance capacitor 4 to excitation inductance 5e of transformer 5 while releasing energy accumulated in leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e of transformer 5. This causes electric charge in voltage pseudo resonance capacitor 7 to drop voltage VQ1 between drain and source terminals of first main MOS-FET 1 and adversely raise voltage VQ2 between drain and source terminals of second main MOS-FET 2.
When charged voltage in voltage pseudo resonance capacitor 7 comes up to voltage E at a point t2 in time under the off-condition of both first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2, voltage VQ1 between drain and source terminals of first main MOS-FET 1 becomes substantially zero and at the same time voltage VQ2 between drain and source terminals of second main MOS-FET 2 becomes substantially equal to voltage E of DC power source 3. During the period of time between points t2 and t3, electric current ICi flows from excitation inductance 5e and leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5 through a parasitic diode 1a of first main MOS-FET 1, DC power source 3 and current resonance capacitor 4 to excitation inductance 5e to electrically charge current resonance capacitor 4.
When first main MOS-FET 1 is turned on at point t3 in time under the off-condition of second main MOS-FET 2, electric current ICi decreasingly flows from leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5 through first main MOS-FET 1, DC power source 3, current resonance capacitor 4 and excitation inductance 5e of transformer 5. Upon completion of energy release from leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e of transformer 5 at point t4 in time, electric current ICi flowing through current resonance capacitor 4 becomes substantially zero.
When electric current ICi through current resonance capacitor 4 has become nearly zero at point t4, charging current ICi for current resonance capacitor 4 starts flowing from DC power source 3 through first main MOS-FET 1, leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e of transformer 5, current resonance capacitor 4 to DC power source 3. In other words, during the period from point t4 to t5, electric current ICi flows through current resonance capacitor 4 in the adverse direction from that during the period from points t1 to t4 to reset magnetic flux produced in primary winding 6a of transformer 5.
When first main MOS-FET 1 is turned from on to off at point t5 under the off-condition of second main MOS-FET 2, electric current flows from current resonance capacitor 4 through voltage pseudo resonance capacitor 7, leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e of transformer 5 to current resonance capacitor 4 to discharge voltage pseudo resonance capacitor 7, while elevating voltage VQ1 between drain and source terminals of first main MOS-FET 1, and decreasing voltage VQ2 between drain and source terminals of second main MOS-FET 2.
When electric discharge from voltage pseudo resonance capacitor 7 is completed at point t6 under the off-condition of both first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2, voltage VQ2 between drain and source terminals of second main MOS-FET 2 comes to approximately zero, and at the same time, voltage VQ1 between drain and source terminals of first main MOS-FET 1 becomes equal to power voltage E. At this time, electric current ICi flows from excitation inductance 5e of transformer 5 through current resonance capacitor 4, parasitic diode 2a of second main MOS-FET 2 and leakage inductance 5d to excitation inductance 5e.
When second main MOS-FET 2 is turned on at point t7 under the off-condition of first main MOS-FET 1, electric current flows from excitation inductance 5e of transformer 5 through current resonance capacitor 4, second main MOS-FET 2 to leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5.
At point t8, energy is transmitted from primary to secondary side of transformer 5, and a positive voltage appears on upper end of first secondary winding 5b of transformer 5. At this time, first output rectifying diode 8 of first rectifying smoother 10 is biased in the forward direction into the conductive condition, and therefore, voltage VD1 across first output rectifying diode 8 becomes approximately zero. Concurrently, due to resonance action by leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e and current resonance capacitor 4, circulation current branches from a path inclusive of excitation inductance 5e of transformer 5, current resonance capacitor 4, second main MOS-FET 2 and leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5 and flows through primary winding 6a of transformer 5. Also, due to resonance action by leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5 and current resonance capacitor 4, resonance current flows through primary winding 6a of transformer 5 along a path of primary winding 6a of transformer 5, current resonance capacitor 4, second main MOS-FET 2 and leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5. As a result, superimposed two circulation and resonance currents flow through primary winding 6a of transformer 5. Accordingly, sine wave-like load current ID1 starts flowing from first secondary winding 5b of transformer 5 through first output rectifying diode 8 while load current ID1 has the substantially same frequency as resonance frequency determined by leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5 and capacitance of current resonance capacitor 4.
When electric current ICi through current resonance capacitor 4 becomes nearly zero at point t9, circulation current flows from excitation and leakage inductances 5e and 5d of transformer 5 through second main MOS-FET 2 and current resonance capacitor 4, and at the same time, resonance current flows through primary winding 6a and current resonance capacitor 4 due to resonance action by leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5 and current resonance capacitor 4. Accordingly, superimposed circulation and resonance currents flow through current resonance capacitor 4 to discharge it. At this time, sine wave-like load current ID1 keeps flowing through first output rectifying diode 8 in secondary side until it comes to zero at point t10. During the period of time from point t8 to t10, voltage appearing on first secondary winding 5b of transformer 5 causes electric current to flow through first output rectifying diode 8 and first output smoothing capacitor 9 for commutation and smoothing to produce first DC output voltage VO1 at first DC output terminals 11 and 12.
At point t10 in time, circulation current flows from excitation inductance 5e of transformer 5 through leakage inductance 5d, second main MOS-FET 2 and current resonance capacitor 4 to accumulate energy in leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e of transformer 5. At the moment, voltage on first secondary winding 5b of transformer 5 is equal to or lower than first DC output voltage VO1 and inversely biasing voltage VD1 is applied on first output rectifying diode 8 which therefore is turned off into a non-conductive condition to stop electric current ID1 through first output rectifying diode 8. At time t11 after a cycle of first drive signal VG1 from main control circuit 15 has elapsed, second main MOS-FET 2 is turned from on to off while retaining first main MOS-FET 1 off, and from then on, the foregoing operations are repeated.
First output voltage detector 13 detects first DC output voltage VO1 on first DC output terminals 11 and 12 to produce error signal VE1, the difference between the detected voltage by detector 13 and reference voltage for prescribing first DC output voltage value VO1, and then error signal VE1 is transmitted to feedback signal input terminal FB of main control circuit 15 through photo-coupler 14 of light emitter 14a and light receiver 14b. Main control circuit 15 prepares first and second drive signals VG1 and VG2 of pulse frequency modulated based on voltage level of error signal VE1 forwarded from first output voltage detector 13 to feedback signal input terminal FB, and supplies first and second drive signals VG1 and VG2 to each gate terminal of first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2 to alternately turn them on and off with the frequency corresponding to voltage level of error signal VE1 from first output voltage detector 13, and thereby control toward and at a consistent value of first DC output voltage VO1 generated from first DC output terminals 11 and 12.
On-off operation of first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2 induces voltage on second secondary winding 5c of transformer 5 and also on second rectifying smoother 20. At this time, produced between both ends of second output smoothing capacitor 19 is DC voltage of the level accordant to turn ratio of first and second secondary windings 5b and 5c of transformer 5. DC voltage appearing between both ends of second output smoothing capacitor 19 is applied to step down chopper 27. Chopper controller 28 compares voltage VO2 between both ends of filter capacitor 26 with reference voltage for prescribing second output voltage value to produce a pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal VS2 based on an error signal, the difference between voltage VO2 and reference voltage. Step down chopper 27 controls the on-off operation of chopping MOS-FET 23 depending on PWM signal VS2 from chopper controller 28 to generate from second DC output terminals 21 and 22 second DC output voltage VO2 of a constant level lower than that of DC voltage applied to second output smoothing capacitor 19.
General switching power source devices of flyback or forward multi-output type are designed to control the DC output generated in secondary side by changing the on and off duty-ratio of main switching elements in primary side, and therefore, they are disadvantageous in changing period for transmitting electric power from primary to secondary side. Therefore, the above-mentioned duty ratio determined by DC voltage taken from one of secondary windings restricts electric power taken from the other of secondary windings so that output voltage from the other secondary winding is inconveniently reduced. On the contrary, resonant switching power source device of multi-output type can determine the period for supplying electric power from primary to secondary side of transformer 5 by resonance frequency given by current resonance capacitor 4 and leakage inductance 5d of transformer 5 in primary side, and therefore, almost no change arises in the period for supplying electric power from primary to secondary side of transformer 5 even though load connected to first DC output terminals 11 and 12 fluctuates. Consequently, whether load is big or small, the resonant switching power source device can produce electric power of necessary level from second secondary winding 5c of transformer 5 without drop in output voltage from second rectifying smoother 20. However, second rectifying smoother 20 may produce fluctuating output voltage because actually transformer 5 does not have an ideal electromagnetic coupling and/or due to impact on the output voltage by fluctuation in input voltage E or voltage drop in first rectifying smoother 10. For that reason, prior art resonant switching power source device shown in FIG. 6 employs step down chopper 27 to stabilize DC voltage from second rectifying smoother 20 and produce steady second DC output voltage VO2 from second DC output terminals 21 and 22. Specifically, step down chopper 27 at the subsequent stage of second rectifying smoother 20 can provide a resonant switching power source device of multi-output type capable of performing an ideal cross-regulation. The term "cross-regulation" means a fluctuation in output voltage produced under changing load or loads of other output in a prescribed range in a switching power source device of multi-output type.
Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 3-7062 demonstrates a resonant switching power source device which comprises a frequency modulator for modulating reference pulse signals in frequency into pulse array signals, a power transistor turned on and off by pulse array signals to control voltage applied on a primary winding of transformer, and a rectifying smoother provided in each of plural secondary windings for rectifying and smoothing an output from each secondary winding to output terminals. This power source device comprises a comparator as a primary control means for controlling frequency of pulse array signals produced from a frequency modulator in response to given output signals from rectifying smoother in secondary side. Also, a secondary control circuit is provided to turn a switching transistor on and off in response to given output signals from the secondary winding through a rectifying smoother in order to control the duty-cycle of pulse array voltages produced at the output side of switching transistor. This may thin an appropriate amount of pulse array voltages produced at the output side of switching transistor to adjust DC output voltage from secondary winding through rectifying smoother at a desired level.
Also, Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 2000-217356 shows a DC-DC converter of multi-output type which comprises a transformer having a primary winding and two secondary windings for power conversion, a field effect transistor connected to the primary winding of transformer of performing switching operation, a first voltage detector for detecting output voltage after stabilization of output from first secondary winding of transformer, a first pulse width modulator for comparing detection signal from first voltage detector with reference voltage to control pulse width of pulse control signals supplied to field effect transistor, a switch circuit connected to one end of second secondary winding of transformer, a second voltage detector for detecting rectified and smoothed output voltage from second secondary winding, a second pulse width modulator for comparing detected signals from second voltage detector with a reference voltage to modulate pulse width of pulse signals forwarded to switch circuit, and a synchronization circuit for synchronizing output from second pulse width modulator with output from first pulse width modulator. This DC-DC converter may control the on-time of switch circuit in secondary output line according to output voltage except the main feedback output to reduce power loss and stabilize output voltage even under large load fluctuation in the main feedback output.
Prior art resonant switching power source device shown in FIG. 6 may transmit energy to secondary side of transformer 5 by means of electric current ICi formed by merged and superimposed resonance current on circulation current flowing through primary winding 6a of transformer 5. In this case, as half-wave rectification is performed through first rectifying diode 8 in secondary side of transformer 5, resonance current joined into circulation current increases with increase in energy transmitted to secondary side. Since the only AC component of resonance current flows through primary winding 5a of transformer 5, resonance current of average value being approximately zero flows through primary winding 5a of transformer 5. In other words, positive and negative half cycles of this resonance current indicate substantially the same temporal area each other. Main control circuit 15 performs the on-off operation of first and second main MOS-FETs 1 and 2 while diverting electric current to parasitic diodes 1a and 2a of each main MOS-FET 1, 2 to control and alleviate fluctuation in voltage between drain and source terminals of main MOS-FETs 1 and 2 under the voltage pseudo condition. To transmit maximum energy to secondary side of transformer 5, while still retaining the voltage pseudo resonance condition, the time area of circulation current has to be substantially equal to the time area of resonance current flowing through primary winding 5a of transformer 5. Accordingly, to transmit more amount of energy to secondary side of transformer 5, more amount of circulation current has to flow through primary winding 6a of transformer 5. This results in increase in electric current flowing through primary winding 5a of transformer 5 and augmentation in self-heating by more amount of circulation current together with a large power conversion loss and a lowered power conversion efficiency.
To solve the foregoing problems, for example, a resonant switching power source device shown in FIG. 9, comprises an excitation reactor 34 connected in parallel to leakage and excitation inductances 5d and 5e of transformer 5, and excitation reactor 34 has an inductance value smaller than that of excitation inductance 5e of transformer 5 shown in FIG. 6. This circuitry allows a major amount of circulation current flowing in primary side of transformer 5 to divert through excitation reactor 34 to control effective value of electric current running through primary winding 5a of transformer 5. However, the power source device shown in FIG. 9 undesirably incorporates excitation reactor 34 which leads to increase in number of electric components and rise in cost for manufacture.
Also, the power source devices shown in the above-mentioned references comprise a switching element connected in any secondary line of transformer to adjust DC output voltage by the on-off operation of the switching element, and therefore, it has a drawback of current convergence in a specific output line upon turning-on of the switching element while disadvantageously providing a period of time of no current flow through other output lines than the specific output line. Especially, switching power source devices of boost type, which require higher output voltages, induce high voltages on secondary windings of transformer which result in rapid electric charge into output smoothing capacitors for very short charging time with large charging current. Inconveniently, this gives rise to a peak current appearing during the charging period of output smoothing capacitor, and peak current invites current concentration upon turning-on of secondary switching element with increase in power conversion loss and degradation in power conversion efficiency. Moreover, the foregoing current convergence causes uneven DC output voltages to develop from plural output terminals so that it makes difficult to separately generate steady DC output voltages of desired level from plural output terminals.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a resonant switching power source device which may reduce electric current flowing through a primary winding of a transformer. Another object of the present invention is to provide a resonant switching power source device which may control peak current flowing through each rectifying smoother in the secondary side for improvement in power conversion efficiency. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a resonant switching power source device which may independently generate stable DC output voltages of desired level from plural output terminals.


A cable protector for insertion into the open end of a duct or conduit for preventing a cable pulled therethrough from being damaged by the edges of the duct or conduit. The cable protector has a substantially C-shaped cross-section and includes a turned-over lip which encapsulates the end of the duct and prevents the cable protector from being pulled into the duct or conduit. A groove at the juncture of the lip and a curved transitional portion facilitates folding of the cable protector to allow insertion thereof into a variety of sizes of ducts or conduits. Ribs located on the external surface of the body of the cable protector ensures a substantially tubular configuration of the protector after its diameter has been reduced to fit into the intended duct or conduit. The inside surface of the cable protector may be textured to minimize friction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for protecting cable as it is pulled through a duct or conduit.
2. Description of Related Art
In those instances where cable or wires must be run through a concrete, plastic or metal duct, or a conduit or pipe, a device commonly referred to as a cable protector is often placed at the open end of the duct or conduit for the purpose of protecting the integrity of the cable as it is pulled into the duct or conduit. Indeed, the rough edge of a duct or conduit can often damage the cable, rendering it inoperative or useless. Generally, these cable protectors have comprised a rounded split piece of semi-rigid, semi-flexible material (such as plastic) of a uniform thickness which is folded over to form a tubular-like shape capable of fitting into the open end of the duct or conduit. These cable protectors are equipped with a smooth flanged end whose purpose is to protect the cable or wires from having contact with the end of the duct or conduit as the cable is pulled therethrough. A typical prior art cable protector of this type is known as the "Leaderguard" brand (types 345, 800, 225 and 400) manufactured by Virginia Plastics Company, Inc. of Roanoke, Va.
A major difficulty with the cable protectors which are presently in use is that, as the cable protector is folded over for placement into the duct or conduit, the flanged end of the protector turns inwardly and upwardly. That is, the more the cable protector is folded over to create a smaller tubular configuration, the more the flanged end turns inwardly and upwardly. If folded over enough, the flanged end would disappear completely. This creates the likely possibility of the cable protector being pulled into and lost inside of the duct or conduit as wires or cable are pulled therethrough.
In addition, since the present cable protectors are designed to be of a uniform thickness throughout, a centerline is created as the cable protector is folded over for insertion into a duct or conduit. This centerline is naturally stressed more than the other areas of the cable protector on each side of the centerline. Thus, the cable protector may fracture along the centerline rendering the cable protector useless. The creation of the centerline fold also prevents the cable protector from having the substantially tubular configuration of the duct or conduit in which it is placed. Thus, the cable protector may encounter some difficulty in being inserted into the duct or conduit.
Further problems encountered with the cable protectors currently in use is that the smooth polished outside surface of the cable protector may be scratched or cut due to a sharp edge or burr. This creates a potential point of fracture, particularly in cold or dry conditions. Also, current cable protectors are provided with a smooth polished inside surface. This smooth surface can create additional surface friction as cable is drawn therethrough, potentially causing damage to some insulations on the cable.


An accessory device for a first portable audio unit, for sharing audio data between the first audio unit and a second portable audio unit, the accessory device including communication means linked to the audio input and arranged in such a way as to send the inherent audio stream originating from the portable audio unit to an accessory device linked to the second portable audio unit and to receive a third-party audio stream from said accessory device of the second portable audio unit, and mixing means arranged in such a way as to receive as input the inherent audio stream and the third-party audio stream, and to send as output, to the audio output, a mixed audio stream corresponding to a combination of the inherent audio stream and of the third-party audio stream.

A social network, such as the one known under the name Facebook (registered trademark), allows the members of the network to exchange information and share multimedia contents (songs, videos, etc.). These exchanges and sharings are traditionally performed via Internet and require a device capable of connecting to Internet (computer, mobile phone, etc.). Such a social network is not satisfactory since the exchanges are not performed in real time, the members being not continuously connected.
A portable multimedia unit, such as a unit marketed under the trademark IPOD, includes a memory for the storage of multimedia data, in which, for example, songs or audio books are stored, and means for reading these data arranged to generate an audio stream. In a classic way, the unit comprises an audio connector to which means are connected for broadcasting the audio stream; typically, in a portable unit, the connector can appear in the form of a "jack" which receives, for example, a male plug of a headset which broadcasts the audio stream in the user's ears. The portable multimedia unit is traditionally used in an individual way, the audio stream from the unit being listened to only by the user of the unit who wears the headset.
To share an audio stream as a social network does, several alternatives are offered to the user.
An immediate solution consists in connecting speakers on the audio connector of the unit so that the audio stream is amplified and heard by the persons near the user of the unit. Unfortunately, this solution is not satisfactory in all the environments. For example, in public transportation, such as the subway, this use is banned because the environment is generally very noisy and besides, it would be an embarrassment for the other users of the subway. Because of its lack of selectivity, the sharing of audio stream via speakers is not appropriate.
Another solution consists in using a T-shaped mechanical audio accessory and comprising an audio input, intended to be connected to the portable multimedia unit, and two audio outputs, each one appearing in the form of an audio connector capable of receiving, for example, the male plug of a jack of a headset. Thanks to such an accessory, which forms in fact a dual connector, two users can listen to the same audio stream, each connecting his/her own headset to an output of the T-shaped accessory. However, this solution is not totally satisfactory, the possibilities of interaction on the listened to audio stream are limited and there is no musical dialogue.

Accessory device for mixing audio streams from two portable audio units, and broadcasting device comprising said accessory device


A monitoring system for indicating to a supervisory individual, such as an adult, when a monitored individual, such as a child, has moved beyond a safe predefined maximum distance limit. The monitoring system includes a first electronic module suitably fixed to the monitored individual and arranged to exchange signals that are useful to determine the relative distance and direction the first electronic module is from a suitable second electronic module. The second electronic module, which is in the possession of the supervisory individual, is arranged to exchange signal information with the first electronic module and indicate to the supervisory individual information including when the distance between, and the direction of, the monitored individual. Should the distance between the monitored and supervisory individuals increase beyond the maximum distance limit, an alarm situation may be annunciated by an audio annunciator (or other suitable annunciation device). The second electronic module includes a direction display and distance display, that may be employed by the supervisory individual to locate the monitored individual.

1. Field Of The Invention
The invention relates to personal safety devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system to enable one or more supervisory individuals to monitor the location of one or more monitored individuals.
2. Background And Objects Of The Invention
Personal safety devices are well known in the art and provided in many forms. However, there is a need for simple, capable systems, and associated devices, to enable a supervisory individual, such as a parent, to quickly locate a monitored individual, such as a child, as required.
For example, assume a parent and child are in a park, and the parent is distracted for a moment. During this time the child moves off to play on another item in the park, say a slide provided a short distance away. Next, the child moves to yet another play item. Thus, in a possibly relatively short period of time the child and parent may be separated by a somewhat significant distance. It may even be possible that the child is now out of the line-of-sight of the parent. Upon realizing the child has moved (possibly out of sight), the parent may panic and actually head off in the wrong direction, thereby increasing the distance to the now unsupervised child. Therefore, even if the child is actually nearby, a disaster may result.
When considering the current technology available, especially with regard to the level of miniaturization that is possible with electronic circuits and modules constructed with such circuits, devices and systems are providable that can address this and other `monitoring` concerns. Further, such systems should be readily providable at reasonable costs and embodied in rugged and reliable constructions.
Objects of the present invention are, therefore, to provide new and improved monitoring systems having one or more of the following capabilities, features, advantages, and/or characteristics:
a reliable and low maintenance system using available technology; PA1 a modular wireless based architecture; PA1 provides a first electronic module associated with a monitored individual and a second electronic module associated with a supervisory individual; PA1 provides distance and direction related information to the supervisory individual (regarding the monitored individual) PA1 supports the annunciation of distance related alarm situations; PA1 supports the annunciation of other types of alarm situations; PA1 simple and economical construction; PA1 very simple to use.
The above listed objects, advantages, and associated novel features of the present invention, as well as others, will become more clear from the description and figures provided herein. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the invention, limited only by the scope of the appended claims.


According to one embodiment of the invention, photoelectron spectroscopy is used to determine the thickness of one or more layers in a single or multi-layer structure on a substrate. The thickness may be determined by measuring the intensities of two photoelectron species or other atom-specific characteristic electron species emitted by the structure when bombarded with photons. A predictive intensity function that is dependent on the thickness of a layer is determined for each photoelectron species. A ratio of two predictive intensity functions is formulated, and the ratio is iterated to determine the thickness of a layer of the structure. According to one embodiment, two photoelectron species may be measured from a single layer to determine a thickness of that layer. According to another embodiment, two photoelectron species from different layers or from a substrate may be measured to determine a thickness of a layer.

Integrated circuits typically comprise a number of layers formed on a silicon substrate. As integrated circuits become smaller, and the thickness of layers comprising the integrated circuits is reduced, the behavior of devices formed from these layers often depends on the thickness of a specific layer. For example, a transistor formed on a silicon substrate may have different characteristics depending on the thickness of the gate of the transistor. It may therefore be useful to determine a thickness of a layer in a microelectronic device such as an integrated circuit.
The thickness of a layer in a microelectronic device such as an integrated circuit may be determined using one of several techniques. The microelectronic device typically includes a structure including several layers built up over a substrate. Ellipsometry, using an electron probe with wavelength dispersive spectrometer(s), angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) are techniques that may be used to determine a thickness of a specific layer in a structure.
Ellipsometry includes directing polarized light at the surface of a structure, and measuring a shift in polarization of light reflected off of the surface. Ellipsometry may be difficult to use with very thin layers (e.g., less than 1 nanometer (nm)), because of weak optical response. Since layers are becoming increasingly thin, the applications of ellipsometry are becoming more limited. Further, ellipsometry can only determine the thickness of one layer in ultra-thin multi layer film structures.
An electron probe with wavelength dispersive spectrometer(s) irradiates a layer with medium-energy electrons. The thickness of multiple layers can be inferred by the measurement of characteristic x-rays corresponding to different layers. However, film damage is a concern because of the irradiation. Further, interfacial silicon oxide layers underneath an oxide (e.g., a silicon dioxide layer underneath a hafnium oxide layer) are difficult to measure accurately because the technique cannot distinguish between the different chemical states of silicon.
Angle-resolved XPS uses photoelectron spectroscopy to determine a thickness of a layer. Photoelectron spectroscopy bombards a sample with photons having a specific wavelength (here, x-ray photons), which excites the atoms of the sample to generate a photoelectron having a characteristic energy for the sample. The technique depends on measuring photoelectrons at different emission angles from the sample surface, for example by tilting the sample with respect to an electron energy analyzer. For metrology applications, the technique is expected to be deficient in meeting high measurement throughput requirements due to lack in signal intensity, which either results in poor measurement precision or long analysis time.
SIMS uses a focused ion beam directed toward the surface of a sample. The bombardment by low or medium energy ions leads to the ejection of both neutral and charged species from the surface of the sample. The ejected charged species are measured using a mass spectrometer by monitoring the signal intensity of one or more suitable ion species as a function of time. Assuming a constant material removal rate for a given material and primary ion current, the analysis time required to observe a defined change in signal intensity of a suitable ion species is converted into a depth scale, which is used to determine layer thickness. However, SIMS is a destructive process, as the species ejected and analyzed are a portion of the layer being measured.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Determining layer thickness using photoelectron spectroscopy


A document processing system and method for using image quality to sort documents. The document processing system comprises: a document sorting system that designates a destination pocket for each document based on data gathered from each document; a document imaging system that captures an image of each document; and an image quality analysis system that analyzes each image and causes any document having an unacceptable image to be redirected to an unacceptable destination pocket.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to document sorting systems, and more specifically relates to a system and method of sorting checks based on image quality.
2. Related Art
Various applications require the automated processing of documents based on printed information. One common application involves the high-speed processing of checks by, e.g., a bank or other financial institution. In one such application, checks are sorted based on a set of special characters at the bottom of the check, which are called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) characters. These characters are generally printed in a font referred to as E13B, and contain information regarding account number, routing numbers, etc. To implement such a system, the characters are printed in magnetic ink so that the characters can be read magnetically. An exemplary system is the IBM® 3890 check-sorting system, which directs checks to a desired destination or pocket based on the printed characters.
Depending on the particular application and needs of the financial institution, digital images of selective checks may also be captured as part of the check processing operation. The collected images may be used, for example, to provide electronic records for particular clients. In these cases, the check-sorting device analyzes the MICR characters to determine whether the check should be imaged. Check imaging is an independent process, and therefore does not impact the sorted destination of the check.
As part of imaging process, the quality of the image may be analyzed to determine if the quality is acceptable. Such a system is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,065, Apparatus and Method for Determining Image Quality, issued to Prakash et al., on Nov. 25, 1997, and is hereby incorporated by reference. If the image quality for a selected check is identified as unacceptable, it is flagged as suspect. If flagged, the check must then be manually retrieved by an operator who must either resubmit the check to the image/sorting process or submit it an image repair process. Unfortunately, the process of manually locating and removing flagged checks from a sorted destination can be a time consuming, costly, and error prone task.
Moreover, with the growth of imaging technologies, it is believed that electronic images will play a greater role in legally representing transactions. For instance, an original paper check is currently required to legally represent a transaction. However, it is likely that in the near future, an electronic image of a check will provide a legal basis for representing the transaction. Accordingly, imaging systems will be required to handle a larger volume of imaging tasks. Therefore, efficient systems for handling unacceptable images in document sorting devices will become necessary to avoid the overhead currently stemming from manual operations.

System and method of sorting document images based on image quality

International Business Machines Corporation


A cash recycling system and a banknote separating device thereof are provided. The banknote separating device includes a supporting side plate, and an impeller wheel assembly, a banknote separating assembly, a first banknote pressing assembly and a second banknote pressing assembly mounted to the supporting side plate. The first banknote pressing assembly includes a first banknote pressing plate and a synchronous belt pulley mechanism configured to drive the first banknote pressing plate, and the synchronous belt pulley mechanism includes two synchronous pulleys and a synchronous belt sleeved on the synchronous pulleys. With the banknote separating device, the structure is simplified, the banknote clamping risk is reduced, and the reliability is improved.

A banknote separating module performs banknote separating as well as banknote clamping and conveying in processes of banknote disposing, banknote depositing, banknote withdrawing, banknote picking, forgotten banknote recovering, etc. In a conventional cash recycling system, a banknote separating module performs the processes of banknote depositing, banknote withdrawing and forgotten banknote recovering by two up and down banknote separating assemblies. Also, for achieving up and down separating of banknotes, and clamping and conveying of banknotes in the above three processes, generally three banknote pressing plates are provided in the banknote separating module, and the three banknote pressing plates are driven by three motors and six synchronous belts to move to achieve various states.

Cash recycling system and banknote separating device thereof


A throwing and catching game makes use of a series of pylons known as poles that operate analogously to a hole in the game of golf. In the course of play, a player advances the ball, or other throwing object, by throwing the object or the ball in the air and catching the object or the ball. The point at which a ball is successfully caught becomes the point where a subsequent throw is made. By a series of successful turns comprising throw and catch combinations, a player advances towards a pole. A pole is considered completed when the player, after having made a successful throw and catch, is able to touch the pole, while keeping at least one foot fixed at the point where the catch was made. Either a player alone, or a plurality of players in groups may play the game.

The art of games is continually receptive to novel ways in which to use play as a constructive way in which to use recreational free time. In order to appeal to those interested in games, novel combinations of activities are used to create games that appeal to persons looking for new recreational activities. Games that involve physical exertion have the added benefit of promoting physical activity as well as the development of athletic skills.
Games to improve physical fitness and athletic coordination are common. Such games typically involve various combinations of running, throwing, catching, kicking or striking playing balls. These same skills are important for the enjoyment and development of proficiency in widely recognized sports such as football, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, tennis or badminton to name a few. Thus many aspects of games and activities that people engage in are also useful for developing physical skills that form the basis for subsequent development of more specialized athletic abilities.
Of all the basic physical skills, the development of hand-eye coordination required for throwing and catching is important to the successful participation in many formal sports. While there are many prior art devices and games that incorporate the actions of throwing and catching, the prior art games routinely require two or more players throwing to each other. The primary drawback of the prior art games is that they are not suitable for play by a single person. As a result, individuals often do not engage in active play involving throwing and catching on account of the lack of a playing partner.

Throw and catch game and method of playing same


A dark field lighting testing device, for detecting a surface defect of an object having mirror surfaces, includes a cavity, the interior surface of which is made of a light-absorbing material; an opening arranged on a top of the cavity; a tape body arranged on the interior surface of the cavity; a plurality of lighting elements arranged on the tape body and electrically connected to each other; and a plate body arranged right above the opening of the cavity. During testing procedure, light emitted from each lighting element is incident upon the surface of the tested object, from which the diffusively reflected or refracted light forms an image on the surface of the plate body, thus a defect on the surface of the tested body and a position thereof being able to be detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical device, in particular, to a testing device having a dark field photograph for detecting a surface defect of an object.
2. Description of Prior Art
At present, dark field lighting technology is comprehensively applied to the testing procedure of an element or an object having a structure of mirror surfaces, for example, to the defect detection of surfaces of jewel, gem, and semiconductor element, etc. Essentially, a dark field lighting technology is to apply a light source to generate a light incident directly upon an object to be tested, through the diffusively reflective or refractive characteristics thereof, the diffusively reflected or refracted light forming an image, from which a defect on the tested object may be detected.
As shown in FIG. 1, which is a dark field testing device commonly seen, and the device includes: a cavity 10, the interior surfaces of which are all made of light-absorbing materials; an opening 101 arranged on the top of the cavity 10; a plate body 20 arranged in corresponding to the opening 101; a lighting element 30 arranged at the bottom of the cavity 10; a plurality of light-guiding tubes 40 closely surrounding the lighting elements 30 to guide the light from a light source toward an object 50 to be tested; and, a platform 102, on which the tested object is placed, and by which the light emitted from the lighting element 30 is blocked, such that the light guided by the light-guiding tubes 40 are directly incident upon the object 50 to be tested, which has the characteristics of reflection or refraction to focus an image on the surface of the plate body 20, whereby the optical image may be judged to determine whether a defect exists on the surface of the tested object or not.
However, in the prior detecting device, in which light-guiding tubes 40 are served as light-guiding paths and light sources of the dark field lighting, the object 50 to be tested has to be placed directly on the platform 102 with an artificially turning or rotating way to make the light of the light-guiding tube 40 incident upon the object to be tested from every aspect. Not only the testing efficiency is deteriorated, but also it easily results too insufficient light source to focus into an image through reflection and refraction, by applying the light-guiding tubes 40 as light-guiding paths, thanks to an indirectly lighting manner, so during testing judgment, this kind of uncertainty will influence the testing accuracy and becomes a problem needed to be solved urgently by those who are skilled in this art.


An electric brake comprises an actuator module including a module housing, a reciprocating ram, and an electric motor operatively connected to the reciprocating ram for selectively extending and retracting the reciprocating ram with respect to the module housing. The ram has an inner portion of non-circular cross-section and an outer portion of circular cross-sectional, and the housing has a guideway for the ram, which guideway has an inner portion of non-circular cross-section for interacting with the inner portion of the ram to prevent rotation of the inner portion of the ram, and an outer portion of circular cross-sectional. The actuator module can be equipped with a bi-stable holding brake having a first state permitting at least retraction of the ram and a second state preventing at least retraction of the ram.

Known in the prior art are aircraft wheel and brake assemblies including a non-rotatable wheel support, a wheel mounted to the wheel support for rotation, and a brake disk stack having front and rear axial ends and alternating rotor and stator disks mounted with respect to the wheel support and wheel for relative axial movement. Each rotor disk is coupled to the wheel for rotation therewith and each stator disk is coupled to the wheel support against rotation. A back plate is located at the rear end of the disk stack and a brake head is located at the front end. The brake head houses a plurality of actuator rams that extend to compress the brake disk stack against the back plate. Torque is taken out by the stator disks through a static torque tube or the like.
Electrically actuated aircraft brakes of various configurations are known, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,381,049, 4,432,440, 4,542,809 and 4,567,967. The brake assemblies shown in these patents include electric motors which respond to an electrical control signal to effect rotation of a ring gear member which interacts through a plurality of balls to drive a linearly movable ram member into contacting engagement with a brake disk stack to effect compression thereof and braking of a wheel.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,316, another configuration of an electrically actuated brake uses a roller screw drive wherein a ring gear member interacts through a plurality of roller screws to drive a ram member into engagement with the brake pressure plate to effect compression of the brake disk stack for braking action. A plurality of electric motors and their associated pinions drive a ring gear into rotation and the plurality of roller screws effect linear axial movement of the ram member.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,162, a further electrically actuated aircraft brake employs a roller screw drive mechanism driven by an electric torque motor through a gear drive associated with either the screw or the nut of the roller screw drive mechanism. Rotation of the gear drive by the torque motor moves the other one of the screw or nut into axial engagement with a brake disk stack to compress the stack for braking. A plurality of the roller screw drive mechanisms and respective gear drives and torque motors are mounted in a balanced arrangement about the axis of the wheel to apply and release a brake pressure force on the brake disk stack in response to an electrical control signal to the torque motors.
The repair or maintenance of these previously known brakes including torque motor driven rams heretofore has required significant disassembly of the brake. The complex integrated nature of prior art designs normally requires substantial teardown of the assembly for maintenance, repair and/or overhaul of the assembly even if minor repair or only replacement of a single faulty component is required. Associated with extensive teardown is a lengthy reassembly and retest procedure to verify flight worthiness. Also, a highly integrated design and assembly with complex machining and assembly procedures is costly to process and manufacture. Distribution and parts stocking of individual components of such an assembly is similarly complex and inefficient as can be appreciated by those knowledgeable in this area. Consequently, an aircraft, for example a commercial passenger aircraft, would most likely have to be taken out of scheduled service until a faulty actuator could be serviced. This results in lost revenue for the airline, scheduling adjustments, considerable inconvenience for customers, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,293 discloses an electric brake and method characterized by the use actuator modules each of which can be easily and quickly replaced as a unit. This enables quick and easy replacement of the actuator modules without requiring disassembly of the overall brake and wheel assembly. Also, it is conceivable that a malfunctioning actuator module could be replaced on an aircraft and tested with a minimum of equipment preferably quickly enough to allow the aircraft to remain in scheduled service and/or with a minimum of downtime. In addition, periodic maintenance of the brake can be done quicker and more efficiently by replacing the actuator modules with reconditioned and/or new actuator modules.
The electric brake described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,293 comprises a brake disk stack, a brake head, and at least one actuator module mounted to the brake head. The actuator module includes a module housing, a reciprocating ram and a motive device, i.e, an electric motor, operatively connected to the reciprocating ram for selectively moving the reciprocating ram into and out of forceful engagement with the brake disk stack for applying and releasing braking force. The actuator module is removable as a unit from one side of the brake head and most preferably from the side of the brake head opposite the brake disk stack. The ram includes a ram nut, and the electric motor is drivingly connected to a lead screw, e.g. a ball screw, in threaded engagement with the ram nut whereupon rotation of the lead screw effects linear movement of the nut toward and away from the brake disk stack. The module housing includes a guideway for guiding the ram nut, and the guideway and ram nut respectively have polygonal cross-sections defined by plural outer side surfaces which rotationally interfere with one another to restrain rotation of the ram nut relative to the housing.


The invention relates to a UV additive for aminoplast resins, to a method for producing a UV additive as well as to uses thereof. Said UV additive contains soluble sterically-hindered nitroxyl compounds in an aqueous aminoplast precondensate. A UV additive for aminoplast resins with several application forms is thus obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to UV additives for amino resins with a nitroxyl compound soluble in an aqueous aminoplastic precondensate, to a UV-resistant amino resin, to a UV-resistant aminoplastic molding composition, to a UV-resistant aminoplastic precondensate, to a process for producing a UV-resistant laminate, to a process for preparing UV-resistant amino resins, and for preparing UV-resistant aminoplastic molding compositions.
2. Description of the Related Art
The excellent properties of thermosets, especially amino resins, gives them outstanding suitability for many applications where demands are, inter alia, scratch resistance, flame retardency, mechanical stability, gloss, environmental compatibility and chemical inertness. From these applications, resistance to UV radiation over many years is also needed, since yellowing or yellow coloration of the surfaces is undesirable. Amino resins therefore require addition of suitable UV stabilisers. Very high requirements are placed upon these UV stabilisers suitable for amino resins. They include, for example, good solubility in the amino resin, since a precondition for their effectiveness is homogeneous distribution of the UV stabilisers in the resin matrix. Another criterion is chemical stability during the curing process characteristic of aminoplastics. Another decisive factor in that there has to be lasting binding of the UV stabiliser within the aminoplastics. This means that there must, for example, be no subsequent leaching of the stabiliser out of the aminoplastics. Another decision factor is that UV protection is active immediately, i.e. as soon as mixing with the aminoplastics has ended. A further decisive factor is that the UV stabilisers do not color aminoplastics but ensure that transparency continues over the years.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,426 prepares sterically hindered nitroxyl compounds of 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine type from the underlying 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, which is not a free radical, via an oxidation process with the aid of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a carbonate or bicarbonate of ammonium or of an alkali metal as catalyst. One possible use of these nitroxyl compounds is the use as polymerisation inhibitor to prevent premature polymerisation of vinyl monomers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,436,345 describes another preparation method. An application sector given is the polymerisation of reactive acrylic monomers.
EP 0581737 B1 again describes the use of sterically hindered nitroxyl components of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine type. They are described as polymerisation inhibitors in the monomer preparation process for aromatic vinyl components (examples being styrene, alpha-methylstyrene, or in other substituted vinylbenzenes).
Compounds of the type represented by ortho-hydroxyphenylbenzotriazoles, 2-aryl-2H-benzotriazoles, hydroxyaryl-1,3,5-triazines or sulfonated 1,3,5-triazines are also known and are used in textile materials as absorbers for the UV-A and UV-B components of sunlight, these being injurious to the skin. According to EP 0659877 A2, the sun-protection factor of clothing can be increased by adding these compounds to the rinsing water for a textile material, for example. The UV absorbers are in aqueous solution, or if water-solubility is poor, in disperse form when incorporated into the textile material.
There are no UV additives known hitherto which fulfil the requirements for amino resins. The properties of the additives known for thermoplastics are inadequate for aminoplastics. EP 0704560 B1, for example, describes a synergistic combination of UV absorbers from the ortho-hydroxyphenylbenzotriazoles group with a sterically hindered amine (HALS, hindered amine light stabiliser) from the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine compounds group, for UV protection of thermoplastic fibres. These UV stabilisers cannot be used for aminoplastics, since they cannot be incorporated homogeneously into aminoplastics.
Furthermore, they have the disadvantage that the substance responsible for the UV protection has to be formed in situ, not until exposure to UV light has begun. This means that there is a time delay in the protective action with respect to UV irradiation.
The object of the present invention was to provide a UV additive for amino resins.

Additive for inhibiting photolytic degradation reactions in aminoplasts

AMI—Agrolinz Melamine International GmbH


Method and Apparatus for making more efficient use of air link resources and network capacity in a mobile telecommunications system in which unauthorized and/or unsupported media types transmitted in a session initialization protocol (SIP) message sent from one equipment user (UE) to another are deleted by the network(s) as the SIP message is routed through the system.

The present invention relates to wireless telecommunications. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for reducing unnecessary consumption of the air link resources and network capacity by reducing the size of transmitted messages.
The current third generation partnership project (3GPP) and internet engineering task force (IETF) session description protocol (SDP) protocol (RFC 2327) mandate that the proxy call state control functions (P-CSCF), the serving call state control functions (S-CSCFs) and the terminating end user (User Equipment UE) to examine the media contents of the session description protocol (SDP) text in the session initialization protocol (SIP) message.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified session initiation system. A user, UE-A 20, desires to initiate a media session with another user UE-B 40. In FIG. 1, UE-A 20 is shown as "roaming" in network A 22, not its home network. UE-A 20 sends a SIP invite message 441 to UE-B 40 via network A 22. The UE-A SIP invite 441 indicates all the media types that it can support. As shown in FIG. 1, the SIP invite 441 has a header, global information, and a list of the supported media types (media 1 to media 6). The supported media types include information for each media, such as the CODEC type, stream format, stream bit rate, and communication port number. Under the proposed system, there are no limits on the number of media types that a UE can include in the SIP invite message.
FIG. 2 is an example of a SIP invite message. The SIP invite message has a header, global information and supported media types for UE-A 20 for potential use in the proposed media session. The header includes various overhead information, such as the origin and destination of the SIP invite. The global information includes information common to all the proposed media types, such as the destination address and the proposed session identification (ID) number. The supported media types are listed. In this example, four media types are listed, two video (video media 1 and video media 2) and two audio (audio media 3 and audio media 4). Each proposed media session includes information regarding the media session, such as the port number, real time protocol (RTP) payload type and RTP format and clock rate port.
UE-A 20 sends the SIP invite to its current network, such as network A 22, in which it is currently located. UE-A may be "roaming," as shown in FIG. 1 and communicating with a network, network A 22, or it may be in its home network, network B 30. The SIP invite 441 is examined by a P-CSCF 24 of its current network, such as network A 22, for routing to its destination, UE-B 40 via UE-A's home network, network B 30. The P-CSCF 24 examines the session description protocol (SDP) multimedia contents of the SIP invite 441 for validation and authorization. If the P-CSCF's network, network A 24, does not support any part of the media information, (such as the CODESs, bit rate or the type), it flags that portion of the media information by setting the port number to "0" and leaving the other contents of the media information untouched, as shown for media 5 and 6 for SIP invite 442.
FIG. 3 is an example of such a flagged SIP invite 44. To illustrate, the P-CSCF cannot support video media 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the port number is set to "0" so that UE-B 40 realized that video media 1 cannot be selected for the media session.
The network A P-CSCF 24 forwards the modified SIP invite 442 to the network B S-CSCF 26 for further handling, routing and validation. If UE-A 20 is in the home network, both the P-CSCF and S-CSCF function are performed by the home network 30. The network B S-CSCF 26 examines the SIP invite 442 including the media information. Media types not supported by UE-A's service license agreement (SLA) are flagged. If UE-A 20 is in its home network, the flagging process is only performed by the S-CSCF 26, not by the P-CSCF 24. The S-CSCF 26 forwards the SIP invite 443 to UE-B's home network, network C36, using intorgating-CSCFS (I-CSCF) 28, 32.
The network C S-CSCF 34 similarly examines the SIP invite 443 for media types not available under UE-B's SLA. The not available media types are flagged, as illustrated for media 1 and of SIP 444. If UE-B 40 is not in its home network, as shown, the SIP invite 444 is forwarded to the P-CSCF 38 of the network, network D 42, where UE-B 40 is currently located, or "roaming." If UE-B 40 is in its home network, the SIP invite 444 is forwarded to the P-CSCF 38 of the home network.
The P-CSCF 38 flags the media types not supported by the network, network D. No additional flagged media types are shown in SIP invite 445. If the UE-B is in its home network, the flagging is only performed by the S-CSCF 34. The P-CSCF 38 sends the SIP invite 445 to UE-B 40. UE-B 40 examines the media information of the SIP invite 445 and determines whether it is capable of using any of the unflagged media types. If it can not use any of the unflagged media types or there are not any remaining unflagged media types, UE-B 40 sends UE-A 20 a session description protocol message (SPM) 46 with all media types flagged. If it can use the unflagged media types, UE-B 40 selects one or more of the available media types for the session. The selected media types unflagged and the flagged media types are returned to UE-A 20 in the SPM 44.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the SIP invite message 44 is large and, accordingly, consumes valuable air interface and wireless network resources. This resource consumption either degrades the network performance or reduces the maximum number of users serviced by the networks.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have alternate approaches for media session initiation.

System and method for reducing information communicated between universal mobile telecommunication system multimedia capable units


A pourer for a liquid container is disclosed. This pourer has a base element (1, 2) with a supply duct (13) and also a pouring element (5) with a pouring duct (53). The pouring element (5) is connected swivellably to the base element (1, 2) in order to connect the pouring duct (53) to the supply duct (13). The pouring element (5) is surrounded by a collecting cup (4). A return means (57) for returning liquid from the collecting cup (4) into the liquid container is also present. In order to improve hygiene and to avoid dirt entering the liquid container, the collecting cup (4) is connected rigidly to the pouring element (5). The pourer is suitable in particular as an oil dispenser.

Pourers of the kind mentioned in the introduction are known from practice. In a known pourer, which is designed as an oil dispenser, a base element is inserted into a specially adapted edible-oil bottle. A pouring element is attached swivellably to the base element. A supply duct in the base element and a pouring duct in the pouring element can be made to communicate with one another by turning the pouring element against the base element. Oil can then be poured. In order to collect oil which runs down on the outside of the pouring element after pouring, a collecting cup is arranged around the pouring element. The oil thus collected passes back into the oil bottle through a return duct.
In the known oil dispenser, the collecting cup is connected rigidly to the base element. When the oil dispenser is opened and closed, the pouring element is therefore rotated relative to the collecting cup. During these movements, oil can enter the gap between the pouring element and the collecting cup. The gap can be cleaned only with difficulty, so that oil may come into contact with dirt located in the gap and convey it into the oil bottle. Moreover, the oil which has entered the gap can be removed again only with difficulty, becomes rancid and viscous over time and thus impairs the functioning and the practical value of the oil dispenser. In particular, such an oil dispenser is hygienically unsatisfactory. Similar disadvantages arise if a pourer with such a construction is used for, for example, vinegar or other liquids.


A seat belt assembly capable of extending from a seat back, the assembly including a frame attached to a seat, an extension member slidably mounted to the frame, an inertial locking reel, and a seat belt positioned within the frame in contact with the extension member, the seat belt having a first end engaged with the inertial locking reel and a second end extending from the extension member.

Since the earliest days of aviation, seat belts have been required for all occupants of an aircraft. The first restraints were mere lap belts that were attached at either side of the seat and extended across the lap of the person sitting in the seat. Today's passenger jets use a modern variance of the lap belt with the two piece belt and quick release buckle that is required in all passenger seats.
Over time, a shoulder harness was added to the pilot's seat. This restraint allowed the pilot to remain upright in the event of a hard landing or crash. Although most passenger seats used in commercial airliners do not have a shoulder harness, seating used in private aircraft and, in particular, business jets are beginning to feature a restraint system that employs such a harness.
Unlike the interior of a commercial jetliner where seats are aligned in rows facing forward, the interior of a business jet may include individual seats and divans that face sideways or aft. A divan is a bench-type seat that allows for one or more passengers to be seated together. Frequently, divans have to be designed with high backs in order to accommodate the restraint assembly necessary for a shoulder harness. This high back design makes it difficult, if not uncomfortable for passengers sitting on the divan to converse with one another during flight as the high back does not allow one to rest their arm on top of the seat. Furthermore, depending on the interior arrangement, the high back seat may block a window, thereby reducing the amount of sunlight in the cabin.
In light of these shortcomings, a seat-belt guide assembly that is capable of extending to provide for a shoulder harness when necessary, yet capable of being retracted into the seat back when not in use, would be an important improvement in the art.


Color photographic elements are processed with a highly acidic periodate bleaching solution including a rehalogenating agent and a strong acid. Bleaching is carried out after color development without any intervening processing steps, such as an acidic prebath. The processing method provides rapid bleaching without physical defects such as blistering or vesiculation, and minimizes the formation of Dmin.

During processing of silver halide color photographic elements, the developed silver is oxidized to a silver salt by a suitable bleaching agent. The oxidized silver is then removed from the element in a fixing step.
The most common bleaching solutions are desirably acidic, and contain complexes of high valence metal ions, such as ferric ions, and various organic ligands. Both the metal ions and the chelating ligands present environmental concerns and are the subject of increasing regulatory scrutiny. Thus, a primary desire in this industry is to design bleaching compositions that are more compatible with the environment, with reduced use of high valent metal complex bleaching agents.
Bleaching solutions containing peroxide, or peracids such as persulfate, perborate, perphosphate, percarboxylic acid or percarbonate as bleaching agents offer an alternative to the ferric complex bleaching solutions. They are less expensive and present lower chemical and biological demands on the environment since their by-products can be less harmful. A number of such compositions have been explored, but to date they have not found wide acceptance in the trade for various reasons.
Various peroxide and peracid bleaching solutions are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,880 (English et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,728 (Szajewski et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,151 (O'Toole et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,056 (Buchanan et al).
While persulfate bleaching agents have low environmental impact, they have the disadvantage that their bleaching activity is slow and thus requires the presence of a bleaching accelerator or the use of an accelerator prebath, as widely practiced to process motion picture films. The most common bleaching accelerators are thiols that have offensive odors.
Because hydrogen peroxide reacts and decomposes to form water, a peroxide based bleaching solution offers many environmental advantages over persulfate and ferric complex bleaching solutions. As a result, many publications describe peroxide bleaching solutions, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,556 (Koboshi et al), U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,236 (Idota et al), U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,224 (Brien et al), U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,649 (Hall et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,009 (Haye et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,041 (Haye), U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,615 (Haye et al), WO-A-92/01972 (published Feb. 6, 1992), WO-A-92/07300 (published Apr. 30, 1992) and EP 0 428 101A1 (published May 22, 1991). These compositions may comprise various amounts of chloride ions and have a pH in the range of 5 to 11.
Hydrogen peroxide bleaching compositions, however, often cause physical defects in the processed photographic elements, such as blistering (or vesiculation), and suffer long term stability problems at certain acidity levels. In addition, peroxide is ineffective in oxidizing developed silver to silver halide at acidic pH values, and thus it cannot be used to directly replace current high valent metal ligand bleaching solutions.
There is a desire and need in the photographic industry to find solutions to all of these problems. Thus, there is a need to avoid the use of bleaching accelerators and high valent metal bleaching agents while providing an effective acidic bleaching environment.
In copending and commonly assigned U.S. Ser. No. 08/947,072, filed on Oct. 8, 1997, noted above, useful acidic periodate bleaching compositions and methods of bleaching are described. However, such methods include the use of an acidic prebath immediately before bleaching.
The purpose of this acidic prebath is two-fold. Firstly, it serves as a wash solution to remove any residual color developing agent carried over by the processed element from the color developer solution. Secondly, it serves to lower the pH within the element layers to a level at which any incorporated dye forming color couplers are no longer reactive with oxidized color developing agent. Without the prebath before bleaching, the processed element would carry color developing agent into the bleaching solution, and this color developing agent would be oxidized by bleaching agent. Additionally, incorporated dye forming color couplers may still be reactive with oxidized color developing agent, forming additional dye. Since this dye formation would occur in a non-imagewise fashion, the newly formed dye would be seen as undesirable overall dye "stain" in the processed photographic element.
Yet, there remains a need in the art to eliminate the use of the acidic prebath so as to reduce the number of steps to be followed and solutions to be prepared and maintained. Thus, prebath elimination would increase processing time and productivity in a processing facility.
In order to process such photographic elements without the use of an acidic prebath, the bleaching solution must be sufficiently oxidizing to oxidize developed silver to a silver salt, but acidic enough to deactivate the reactive dye forming color couplers in the elements before they can react with color developing agent carried over from the color developer solution. With relatively weak oxidizing bleaching agents, such as chelated high valence metal ions (for example, the common ferric chelates of aminocarboxylic acids), bleaching compositions may be formulated over a wide range of acidity and bleaching agent concentration for silver oxidization without unwanted dye stain. These expectations can be characterized as the need to reduce residual silver in a processed element to below about 0.04 g/m.sup.2, and to minimize dye stain, or minimum density (Dmin) in unexposed areas. Acceptable Dmin would be that obtained from comparable processing of the same element using an acidic prebath prior to the use of a conventional chelated iron bleaching agent.
When much stronger oxidants are used as bleaching agents, however, we discovered that there is less flexibility in formulating a bleaching composition that performs all of the desired functions without dye stain. For example, merely using the periodate bleaching compositions and methods described in our copending U.S. Ser. No. 08/947,072, noted above, in the absence of an acidic prebath, did not provide desired results. Bleaching was effective in most cases, but dye stain was unacceptably increased. Thus, there is a need to find a way to use a periodate bleaching composition in the absence of acidic prebath solutions.

Periodate photographic bleaching method without acidic prebath


A Domain Name System (DNS) service provider may be engaged to host DNS service for a domain. Before providing service for a domain, the service provider may wish to verify that the entity that set up the service is the owner, or authorized controller, of the domain. The service provider gives the entity some information, such as a particular pair of name servers, and instructs the entity to have the domain registrar put the information into the name server (NS) record(s) for the domain. The service provider then queries NS for the domain and compares the NS record(s) returned with the information provided to the entity. If the NS records match the information given to the entity, then the service provider concludes that the entity has control over the domain, and uses the DNS records provided by the entity to provide service.

The Domain Name System (DNS) provides name resolution services for Internet addresses. The various services associated with a domain—e.g., web hosting, mail, instant messaging, etc.—can be provided by different hosts, and DNS may be used to identify the hosts that provide these services. For any domain (e.g., a domain named "example.com"), DNS may associate, with the domain name, records such as an "A" record that identifies the domain's web site host, an "MX" record that identifies the domain's mail host, etc.
In DNS, name resolution itself is treated as a service. An "NS" record identifies the host(s) (or "name server(s)") that will provide name resolution for that domain. (Providing such name resolution services for a domain may be referred to as DNS hosting.) Domain registrars normally provide DNS hosting services, and when a domain is registered with a particular registrar, the registrar normally points the name server ("NS") records for that domain at its own DNS hosts. However, there are third-party DNS hosting services, and some domain owners may wish to re-delegate DNS hosting for their domain to a third-party service.
Any entity can contact a DNS provider and set up DNS records for any domain. An entity can set up DNS records even for a domain that the entity does not own or legitimately control. The situation in which an entity has set up DNS records for a domain that the entity does not own or control is benign, since the DNS records created with the new provider do not control name resolution for the domain until the NS records for the domain point at the new provider's name servers. However, if two or more entities assert control over the same domain and create sets of DNS records for that same domain, the DNS provider may wish to use some mechanism to resolve which entity is actually in control of the domain, and thus which set of DNS records to use for the domain once the NS records are pointing to that provider.
One way of addressing the situation where two or more entities set up DNS records for the same domain is to employ a rule such as the last entity to register for DNS service wins control of the domain. If this approach is used, then a "hacker" could insert itself as an owner by setting up DNS records with the DNS provider after the true owner sets up DNS records but before the true owner has pointed the NS records at the new provider, thereby allowing the hacker to take control of the domain. Another option is to block entities from setting up DNS service for a domain after one entity has set up DNS service. If this approach is used, then a hacker could set up DNS service for arbitrary domains and thereby cause a later party, such as the true owner, to be blocked from setting up DNS service with the DNS provider.


An embodiment provides a wafer cassette stoker comprising: a cassette on which a plurality of wafers are loaded; a plurality of chambers disposed in one line while forming at least one layer, wherein the cassette after being cleaned is inserted in each of the chambers and a humidity control unit for supplying a compressed dry air (CDA) into the insides of the chambers so as to control humidity of the cassette.

A silicon wafer may be contaminated at a surface thereof by various contaminants in a procedure in which a semiconductor process such as light exposure, deposition, etching, or the like is performed.
In order to avoid such contamination and to achieve an enhancement in process speed, a plurality of silicon wafers may be moved during a wafer manufacturing process or a semiconductor process under the condition that the silicon wafers are stacked in a wafer cassette, or may be shipped under the condition that the silicon wafers are packed in a cassette in a stacked state.
Generally, a wafer, which is widely used as a material for manufacture of semiconductor devices, means a monocrystalline silicon thin plate made using polycrystalline silicon as a raw material thereof.
Such a wafer is manufactured through a slicing process of growing polycrystalline silicon into a monocrystalline silicon ingot, and then cutting the silicon ingot in the form of a wafer, a lapping process of planarizing the wafer through uniformity of the thickness of the wafer, an etching process of removing or alleviating damage caused by mechanical grinding, a polishing process of polishing a surface of the wafer, a cleaning process of cleaning the wafer, etc. Such a wafer is then shipped in a state of being packed in a wafer cassette.
Such a wafer cassette may be classified into two kinds, that is, a front open unified pod (FOUP) and a front opening shipping box (FOSB). Such a wafer cassette may also be referred to as a "wafer carrier".
In the FOUP, a plurality of wafers is horizontally stacked. The FOUP is constituted by a FOUP cell and a FOUP door. The FOUP is used to be directly put into a production process.
The FOSB is used for a shipping purpose to store or move wafers. The FOSB has a structure substantially similar to that of the FOUP. The FOSB exhibits excellent sealing characteristics for wafers, and has a feature in that a separate auxiliary device such as a carrier box is unnecessary.
Meanwhile, such a wafer cassette is used under the condition that the wafer cassette is on standby in a wafer cassette stocker after removal of contaminants present therein through a cleaning process using deionized water (DIW) and a drying process. In this case, when residual moisture is present in the wafer cassette (for example, an FOSB), haze contamination in which surfaces of wafers stacked in the cassette become hazy due to the residual moisture with passage of time, that is, time-dependent haze (also referred to as "TDH"), may occur in the wafers.
The FOSB is mainly made of polycarbonate (PC). However, this material is a material having high moisture absorption and, as such, may generate the above-mentioned TDH phenomenon in accordance with humidity in the interior of the FOSB.

Wafer cassette stocker and wafer cassette drying method using the same


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes depositing a SiO2 film on the substrate having formed thereon a wiring pattern; coating a SOG film on the SiO2 film; and polishing the SOG film using a slurry containing cerium oxide and cationic surfactant with a chemical-mechanical polishing process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device. More particularly, the invention concerns a method of polishing for planarization when manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, in the process of executing multi-layer wiring, a lot of use has been made of a step wherein after forming a wiring pattern on a relevant substrate, an insulation film is formed and the surface of the resulting mass is planarized using a chemical-mechanical polishing process (hereinafter, referred to as "the CMP").
The outline of the multi-layer wiring process will now be explained using FIG. 1A. First, on a wiring pattern 102 on which a substrate 101 is formed, there is formed a SiO2 film 103 that serves as a protection/adhesion layer for the wiring pattern 102. On the resultant SiO2 film 103, there is coated and embedded an Spin on glass (SOG) film 104. Thereafter, CMP is performed with respect to the SOG film 104 under the conditions that the polishing selectivity can be set between the SOG film 104 and the SiO2 film 103, thereby performing planarization.
Also, in another form of example, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, on a substrate having a wiring pattern 102 formed thereon, a SiO2 film 103 that serves as a protection/adhesion layer for the wiring pattern 102 is formed, and CMP is performed with respect to the resultant SiO2 film 103, thereby performing planarization.
It has hitherto been proposed that for CMP with respect to these insulation films 103, 104 there be used slurry using silica or cerium oxide as the polishing particles, further a slurry prepared by adding thereto anionic or nonionic surfactant.
However, in the earlier techniques, as described below, the problems that are to be improved remained unsolved.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 1C, in a case where, using, for example, a slurry containing cerium oxide 105 and anionic surfactant 108, performing CMP by relatively moving a polishing pad 107 and the substrate 101, since the polishing selectivity of the SOG film 104 to the SiO2 film 103 is low, the SiO2 film 103 is eliminated, which tends to scratch the wiring pattern.
Especially, as the wiring becomes micronized, the thickness of the SiO2 film 103 tends to be made thinner and, therefore, it was fairly difficult to polish the SOG film 104 so that the SiO2 film 103 that had been made thin was not eliminated.
Also, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, in a case where there is used the slurry of the earlier technology, containing the cerium oxide 105 and anionic surfactant 108, polishing particles were easy to leave behind on the surface of the insulation film.

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device


The present invention proposes a computerized method and means for providing an improved handling of messages directed to an user of an electronic messaging system.

1.1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to collaborative document systems like message control systems, and more particularly to electronic mail control systems.
1.2. Description and Disadvantages of Prior Art
Collaborative document systems represent a well established technology allowing to share electronic documents within a community of a large number of distributed users using their interconnected workstations for access to these collaborative document systems. A common feature of this technology is that the electronic documents to a certain extent obey a predefined structure of interrelated data fields. Typically the particular data fields making up an electronic document can be freely defined; examples for instance are: project name, subject, author, list of team members representing the primary editors, additional editors and the like. Type and number of these data fields typically depend on the particular purpose the electronic documents are used for.
A particular example of such collaborative document systems are the digital communication systems, called messaging systems. One specialized variant of these systems are of the "electronic message" or "electronic mail" type, which often are simply called email systems. In such systems, several or even a very large number of work stations are interconnected by a system which allows users at the work stations to send messages to each other. Such messages are the electronic equivalent of letters and memoranda.
In a typical messaging system there will normally be a standard format defined for such messages (or, often, a number of slightly different formats for different purposes). The format will normally have several fields, including a sender field, a date field, an addressee field (the TO: field), and a message body field; in addition, there will often be further fields, including in particular a "copy-to" field (the CC: field) and a "subject" field. The addressee and copy-to fields will often each be capable of holding more than one identifier, so that a message can be sent to several addressees and copied to several more. The "addressee" and "copy-to" fields are normally functionally equivalent as far as the system is concerned, with the distinction between the two being of significance only to the users.
In a typical prior art system, when a user generates a message, the system will automatically transmit it to the addressees (including the copy-to's). At each of the stations to which it is sent, it will be stored in a folder (which may well be termed the "in-tray" folder). When the users at that station choose to manually inspect the contents of the in-tray, they will extract the various messages from it one after another, inspect each, and take whatever action they think appropriate, such as deleting the message, printing it out, or storing it in some other folder.
In practice, it is found that such a procedure can become burdensome, because the number of messages which accumulates in the in-tray can become so large that a considerable amount of time and effort is required for the user to work through the accumulation of messages in the in-tray. Because the usage of such systems nowadays is so widespread and their handling has become quite simple the number of messages the typical user is receiving every day may be quite large; one may even expect that this number will increase further.
To cope with these increasing numbers of messages various technologies have been suggested within prior art.
Certain collaborative document systems, like for instance Lotus Notes, allow a sender to attach some type of sender specific priority to a certain message. The "Urgent" flag within Lotus Notes allows a sender to mark messages with the following levels of urgency: "Urgent", "Normal", "Just for information". A serious disadvantage of such approaches is that this priority expresses only the author's (e.g. sender's) perception of urgency rather than the reader's individual perception of urgency, not to talk about a sender who willfully "oversells" the importance of his message. In particular if the document is targeted for several users, this mechanism cannot work.
Other prior art approaches consist in establishing filters which automatically filter out documents based on attributes occurring within a message (like for instance author, subject, size). This is an approach typically taken to filter out spam messages, i.e. messages advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup.
Other teachings, like for instance U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,354, provide technology for prioritizing a plurality of incoming electronic mail messages for a user by applying user created rules, which are stored in a rules-store, to said user's messages. After execution of these rules priority numbers are assigned to the messages which permit to sort said user's list of messages in accordance to this computed priority number.
To improve the handling of these rules the teaching of W. W. Cohen in "W. W. Cohen, W. W. 1996a. Learning rules that classify e-mail. In Papers from the AAAI Spring Symposium on Machine Learning in Information Access, 18-25" discloses to dynamically create such rules based on a proposed learning process.
Despite of all of these advances further progress is still required as users of such collaborative systems, especially messaging systems, are not satisfied with the current state of the art.
1.2 Objective of the Invention
The invention is based on the objective to improve the handling of messages directed to an user of an electronic messaging system.

Handling of messages in a electronic messaging system

Abstract: The suggested method comprises a first step of determining user characteristics capable of identifying the user as an addressee of a message.

Abstract: The method further comprises a second step of analyzing a certain message and determining its message characteristics exploiting the information contained in one or a multitude of message fields.

Abstract: The method finally comprises a third step of applying at least one deduction rule of a potential set of deduction rules to said certain message. The deduction rule assigns based on the user characteristics and the message characteristics a role of said user to said certain message. The role is capable of revealing said user's relationship to said certain message.