A method and apparatus for conducting a survey independent of location and participant schedules is disclosed herein. An exemplary method of the present invention comprises sending a multi-media data file to a plurality of survey participants, receiving reactionary feedback from a plurality of participants via a wide area network, and compiling the reactionary feedback to generate the survey results. Subsequently, a viewer synchronously displays the compiled survey results with the corresponding streamed media from the multi-media data file.

This invention relates generally to surveys, and more particularly to multi-media surveys.
Multi-media surveys provide statistical information regarding the average response to multi-media segments, such as music programming, television programming, advertisements, political messages, etc. Based on this information, radio stations, television networks, and other organizations may adjust multi-media content according to desired business goals. For example, based on the results of a multi-media survey, a television network may adjust the content of future news programs to increase the numbers of viewers, a radio station may adjust a play list to increase the number of listeners, a politician may adjust a political message to appeal to a broader range of voters, etc.
Conventionally, conducting a multi-media survey requires gathering a group of participants in a central location, such as an auditorium. During the survey, each participant manipulates a mechanical device while viewing and/or listening to a multi-media segment. In so doing, the participants indicate their reactions to the content in the multi-media segment. While such conventional surveys provide the desired survey information, they have inherent problems. First, conventional multi-media surveys are expensive due to the high costs associated with renting an auditorium and setting up all of the survey equipment. In addition, the effort associated with arranging for all participants to take the survey at the same time in the same location is time consuming and inflexible. These cost and schedule considerations often limit the amount of survey data that can be collected, which in turn limits the usefulness of the survey.

Method and apparatus for collecting survey data via the internet


A solid-state image sensor of a charge sorting method used in a time-of-flight measurement method, in which noise derived from background light, which is caused by the reflection light from the subject derived from background light is eliminated, reflection light from the subject derived from a predetermined light source, which is previously set in the solid-state image sensor, is effectively extracted as a signal component to achieve high sensitivity and low noise, which is a solid-state image sensor that is equipped with a plurality of charge-storage sections, discriminates photoelectrons generated by incoming light on the incoming timing and sort to the above-described plurality of charge-storage sections, and measures the timing of the incoming light, in which the sensor has: a plurality of capacitors that capable of conducting to the plurality of charge-storage sections; and a control section that controls a conducted state between the above-described plurality of charge-storage sections and the above-described plurality of capacitors, in which by selectively conducting the above-described plurality of charge-storage sections and the above-described plurality of capacitors by the control of the above-described control section, the difference component of charge stored in the above-described plurality of charge-storage sections is extracted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image sensor, more particularly to the improvement of a solid-state image sensor that can be utilized as each pixel of a time-of-flight distance sensor that measures time-of-flight by receiving the reflection light of light irradiated on a subject using a time-of-flight measurement method (TOF: Time of flight) to measure a distance to the subject based on the time-of-flight, an image sensor that obtains the three-dimensional image of the subject, or the like, and the invention particularly relates to a solid-state image sensor in which the method of difference extraction of sorted charge in a solid-state image sensor employing a charge sorting method that can be used under unknown background light illumination.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a solid-state image sensor that can be used as a conventional time-of-flight sensor using the time-of-flight measurement method, there is known a distance image imaging device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-281336 publication, a solid-state image sensor disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-51988 publication, a range image sensor disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2004-294420 publication, a time-of-flight distance sensor disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-235893 publication or the like, for example.
Herein, FIG. 1 shows an explanatory view for describing the principle of the time-of-flight measurement method. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an LED light source, reference numeral 12 denotes a subject on which light associated with the light emission of the LED light source 10 is irradiated, reference numeral 14 denotes a sensor where a solid-state image sensor receiving reflection light from the subject 12 is used as 1 pixel and the sensors are arranged on a two-dimensional plane in an array state.
The time-of-flight measurement method is a method in which light modulated by high frequency, e.g. 10 MHz, (high-frequency-modulated light) L1 is irradiated on the subject 12 as signal light from the LED light source 10, reflection light derived from the LED light source 10 (reflection light derived from high-frequency-modulated light) L2 is captured as a signal by the solid-state image sensors of the sensor 14, and distance from the subject 12 to the sensor 14 and the LED light source 10 is measured from phase shifting between the high-frequency-modulated light L1 and the reflection light derived from high-frequency-modulated light L2.
In such a time-of-flight measurement method, measurement is relatively easy if light that the solid-state image sensors of the sensor 14 receive is only the reflection light derived from high-frequency-modulated light L2 being reflection light derived from the LED light source 10.
However, in actual measurement sites, unknown background light L3 of various factors such as the sun, street light and room illumination exists, reflection light derived from the background light L3 (reflection light derived from background light) L4 becomes noise and received by the solid-state image sensors of the sensor 14.
FIGS. 2(a)(b) respectively show the light emission intensity of the LED light source 10 (FIG. 2(a)) and the light-receiving intensity of solid-state image sensor (FIG. 2(b)) and are timing charts showing their light emission timing and light-receiving timing, there are cases where the reflection light derived from high-frequency-modulated light L2 has extremely smaller light-receiving intensity comparing to the reflection light derived from background light L4 as shown in FIG. 2(b).
Herein, since time-of-flight FT that appears as the phase shifting between the high-frequency-modulated light L1 and the reflection light derived from high-frequency-modulated light L2 is as short as approximately 100 nsec in the distance of approximately 15 m, there has been a problem that accurate measurement could not be performed without sufficient signal-to-noise ratio in the time-of-flight measurement method.
As a method of solving the problem in the time-of-flight measurement method, various structures of a solid-state image sensor as shown in the above-described Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-281336 publication, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-51988 publication, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2004-294420 publication or Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-235893 publication, for example, have been proposed.
Herein, although the solid-state image sensor disclosed in the above-described Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-281336 publication, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-51988 publication, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2004-294420 publication or Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-235893 publication has different methods, they are basically based on a principle that two or more charge storage capacitors are connected to one photodiode, high-frequency-modulated light or pulse-emitted light is separated and stored in the above-described two or more charge storage capacitors synchronizing with its modulation or light emission time, signal-to-noise ratio is increased by reading out and averaging separated/stored charge by each given amount of time, and distance is calculated by using a signal obtained based on the separated/stored charge. It is to be noted that this principle should be appropriately called as a charge sorting method in this specification.
FIGS. 3(a) (b) (c) show an example of a light-receiving portion where charge in a solid-state image sensor is separated and stored according to the above-described charge sorting method of separating and storing charge, where FIG. 3(a) shows a circuit diagram, FIG. 3(b) shows a structural view, and FIG. 3(c) shows a potential diagram.
In FIGS. 3(a) (b), reference numeral PD denotes a photodiode, reference numeral Fd1 denotes a first storage capacitor, reference numeral Fd2 denotes a second storage capacitor, reference numeral M1 denotes a first FET switch, reference numeral M2 denotes a second FET switch, reference numeral M3′ denotes a first reset FET, reference numeral M4′ denotes a second reset FET, reference numeral Tx1 denotes a first transfer gate driving the first FET switch M1, reference numeral Tx2 denotes a second transfer gate driving the second FET switch M2, reference numeral R1 denotes the gate of the first reset FET M3′, reference numeral R2 denotes the gate of the second reset FET M4′, and reference numeral Vdd denotes a power source.
In the solid-state image sensor, the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2 as a plurality of storage capacitors are connected to one photodiode PD via the first FET switch M1 and the second FET switch M2 respectively.
Therefore, by severally controlling voltage to be applied to the first transfer gate Tx1 driving the first FET switch M1 and the second transfer gate Tx2 driving the second FET switch M2, photoelectrons generated in the photodiode PD can be sorted and stored in the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2.
Herein, the first reset FET M3′ is used for initializing charge stored in the first storage capacitor Fd1, and the second reset FETM4′ is used for initializing charge stored in the second storage capacitor Fd2, and when voltage is applied severally to the gate R1 and the gate R2, the voltage of the storage capacitor Fd1 and the storage capacitor Fd2 is initialized to the voltage of the power source Vdd.
When light is irradiated on the potential in the initial state after the above-described reset (refer to FIG. c-1), photoelectrons are generated in the photodiode PD.
After that, when voltage is applied to the first transfer gate Tx1, the photoelectrons generated in the photodiode PD run down to the first storage capacitor Fd1 side according to the potential (refer to FIG. c-2).
Herein, when the voltage of the first transfer gate Tx1 is returned and voltage is applied to the second transfer gate Tx2 on the contrary, the photoelectrons generated in the photodiode PD run down to the second storage capacitor Fd2 side according to the potential (refer to FIG. c-3).
When the above-described application of voltage to the first transfer gate Tx1 and the second transfer gate Tx2 is repeated at high frequency, each temporarily sorted charge is severally stored in the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2 as shown in FIG. c-4.
After the charge stored in the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2 are read out in this manner by a read out circuit (not shown), voltage is applied to the first transfer gate Tx1 and the second transfer gate Tx2 to reset (FIG. c-5), and the charge is initialized.
Therefore, according to the solid-state image sensor shown in FIGS. 3(a) (b) (c), by reading out and averaging the charge stored in the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2 by each given amount of time, the signal-to-noise ratio is increased and distance can be calculated by using a signal obtained based on the separated/stored charge.
Incidentally, in the case where the solid-state image sensor having the constitution shown in FIGS. 3(a) (b) (c) is used as the solid-state image sensors of the sensor 14 and the light as shown in FIGS. 2(a) (b) is measured in the constitution shown in FIG. 1, charge as shown in FIG. 4, for example, is stored in the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2 of the solid-state image sensor after passing the given time.
In this embodiment, the photodiode is expediently shown as PN junction type in the drawings. However, the transfer efficiency and the transfer rate between the photodiode and the transfer gate will be able to be improved by using an implanted photodiode and/or photo gate type detector.
Meanwhile, in FIG. 4, reference numeral 42 expediently denotes a component by the reflection light derived from high-frequency-modulated light L2 synchronized with the first transfer gate Tx1, which is derived from the LED light source 10, reference numeral 45 expediently denotes a component by the reflection light derived from high-frequency-modulated light L2 synchronized with the second transfer gate Tx2, which is derived from the LED light source 10, reference numeral 43 expediently denotes a component by the reflection light derived from background light L4 derived from the background light L3, which is synchronized with the first transfer gate Tx1, and reference numeral 44 expediently denotes a component by the reflection light derived from background light L4 derived from the background light L3, which is synchronized with the second transfer gate Tx2, but actually, the component of reference numeral 42 and the component of reference numeral 43 cannot be separated by each component, and the component of reference numeral 44 and the component of reference numeral 45 cannot be separated by each component as well.
Then, in the case where the contribution of the background light L3 is large in the constitution shown in FIG. 1, there has been a problem that charge severally stored in the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2 was saturated as shown in FIG. 5, sorting action of charge became invalid.
Specifically, in FIG. 5, reference numeral 52 and reference numeral 53 severally express saturated charge, and reference numeral 54 express charge overflown from the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2.
In this case, charge exceeded a potential difference between the photodiode PD and the first storage capacitor Fd1 controlled by the first transfer gate Tx1, and a potential difference between the photodiode PD and the second storage capacitor Fd2 controlled by the second transfer gate Tx2, and sorting action of charge became invalid.
Conventionally, to avoid malfunction caused by such saturation of charge, device such that near infrared light has been used as the LED light source 10, a bandpass filter having the wavelength of the light has been installed accordingly to the solid-state image sensors of the sensor 14, to attenuate as much reflection light derived from background light L4 derived from the background light L3 as possible.
However, since sunlight contains much near infrared light, it has been difficult to eliminate its influence considering the use in outdoor.
Further, the invention described in the above-described Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2004-294420 publication discloses a device such that influence of background light is reduced by separately observing background light before the emission of modulated light.
However, to realize an essentially high-sensitivity sensor, a measure for solving such a problem of saturation caused by background light is necessary, because the smaller capacitance of the first storage capacitor Fd1 and the second storage capacitor Fd2 is desirable for higher sensitivity, but in this case, there is a fear that charge amount reaching saturation becomes smaller and the capacitors cannot be used by being saturate by the background light.


A system and method for controlling a hybrid power-split transmission of a vehicle involve obtaining measured rotational speeds of an engine and an electric motor of the transmission, wherein the transmission comprises at least two input shafts having a gear set therebetween and an output shaft, wherein one input shaft is coupled to the engine and another input shaft is connected to the electric motor, determining a main torque profile for the electric motor based on a set of operating conditions of the vehicle, calculating a speed difference between the measured rotational speeds of the engine and the electric motor, determining a disturbance torque profile for the electric motor based on the calculated speed difference, and performing closed-loop control of the electric motor based on a combination of the main and disturbance torque profiles to mitigate a disturbance at the output shaft of the transmission.

A hybrid vehicle typically includes both an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors. One specific type of hybrid vehicle includes a hybrid power-split transmission comprising an engine and at least one electric motor that are each coupled to a separate input shaft. Via a system of gears, the engine and the electric motor(s) are each capable of providing torque to an output shaft of the hybrid power-split transmission. These devices, however, do not always operate at the same frequency. The frequency of the engine, for example, depends on its firing rate. When rotational speed differences between the engine and the electric motor(s) occur, a disturbance (i.e., noise/vibration/harshness, or NVH) at the output shaft could occur. This disturbance could be continuous, often referred to as "rattle," or instantaneous, often referred to as "clunk," and could be felt by a driver of the vehicle, which is undesirable. Accordingly, while such hybrid transmission systems work well for their intended purpose, there remains a need for improvement in the relevant art.

Disturbance mitigation techniques for hybrid power-split transmissions


A method for removal of metal ions from rice hulls. The method includes: 1) providing a water storage reactor, and disposing a gas dispersion device at the bottom of the water storage reactor; 2) bagging rice hulls, placing it in the water storage reactor, and pressing down on the bagged rice hulls to be lower than a water surface in the water storage reactor; 3) spraying industrial flue gas into the water storage reactor; controlling the amount of the industrial flue gas such that about 1 g of carbon dioxide is dissolved per 100 g of water, thus generating a carbonic acid solution; 4) allowing the carbonic acid solution to react with metal ions in the rice hulls to yield a precipitate; and 5) washing the rice hulls collected in step 4), washing again with desalinated water, and then squeezing the rice hulls.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the recycling of rice hulls, and more particularly to a method for removal of metal ions from rice hulls by utilizing industrial flue gas.
Description of the Related Art
Conventional methods for removing metal ions from rice hulls involve strong acids. Strong acids are harmful to human body and are environmental pollutants. In addition, the waste water resulting from the acid treatment cannot be drained off directly, thereby increasing the disposal cost.

Method for removal of metal ions from rice hull


A process for the preparation of polymers having low molecular weight of the order of 10.sup.4 and with a low polydispersity index in the range of 1.2-1.7, said process comprising reacting an electron donor and an electron acceptor in a solvent medium at a temperature below the boiling point of the mixture under inert atmosphere, to form a complex which dissociates to release a free radical and a cation radical; preparing a solution of the desired monomer or monomers) and the free radical quencher in the same solvent used in step (i), under the same temperature; and adding the reaction mixture obtained in step (ii) to the mixture obtained in step (i) to form the polymer.

Low molecular weight polymers with narrow poly dispersity index (1<1.7) find applications as additives in petroleum industry for pour point depression, viscosity improvement, and enhancement of antioxidant properties. These are commonly prepared by condensation, solution or charge transfer polymerizations.
Condensation Polymerization follows a step growth mechanism which involves the same basic reaction either between two monomeric units, between two end groups of different polymer chains, or between a monomeric group and end group of a polymer chain. However, the utility of this type of process is limited to monomers containing specific functional groups such as carboxylic and phenolic groups.
In solution polymerization process a solvent is used to dissolve the monomers, polymer and the initiators, and the solvent directly interacts with the growing chain to enable formation of low mocelular weight polymers. The main disadvantage of this process is that it should be conducted at relatively high temperatures (>70.degree. C.) to be able to initiate the reaction. In charge transfer (CT) polymerization also a solvent is used to dissolve the monomers, polymer and the initiators. However, unlike in case of solution polmerization process, the initiation mechanism in CT polymerization takes place even at ambient temperatures(.ltoreq.25.degree. C.) through electron donor-acceptor interactions. Because of this distinct advantage CT polymerization route was chosen in the present case.

Charge transfer polymerization process for obtaining low molecular weight polymers having high yields

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research


A method for remotely storing data is provided. The method comprises providing a first data file on a client computer; splitting, on the client computer, the first data file into at least two partial files; encrypting the at least two partial files with an encryption algorithm; distributing the at least two encrypted partial files in at least two remote storage locations; storing information about the at least two storage locations of the at least two encrypted partial files for a later retrieval of the at least two encrypted partial files; and storing decryption information for the decryption of the at least two encrypted partial files on the client computer. Further, a computer software product adapted for executing, when run on a computer, a method for remotely storing data is provided, and a client computer for executing the method for remotely storing data.

The subject matter described herein relates generally to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for remote data storage, and more particularly, to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for encrypted remote data storage carried out from a computer system, even more particularly from a client computer.
In recent years, providers of online storage accessible over the internet, also called remote storage providers or online storage providers, have been very successful both in the consumer market and in the corporate market. An example of the services provided are simple, easy-to-use backup and/or storage services that predominantly target the consumer segment, also called "cloud" services. Examples for such services are Dropbox, Onedrive offered by Microsoft, and Drive offered by Google. These services offer ease of use, simple and relatively similar user interfaces, online/offline content synchronization, and pricing plans. However, the offered convenience comes at a cost—users must leave the supervision over their files to the service provider, leaving the security and integrity of the files in the hands of the vendor. As the user uploads his files to the service provider of choice, he loses control over the security of his data and has to rely on the integrity and ability of the service provider to safeguard his files. This leaves room for improvement, as it would be desirable to not have to rely on trust and good faith only.
In the cases above, the user has no influence or control what the company actually does with his data, at which geographical locations and in which countries the data is stored, or which safety mechanisms and standards are employed against data loss, manipulation and intrusion, etc. To sum up, the user is entirely dependent on at least one third party, namely the service provider, but also on his internet service provider to take good care of his data. In particular with sensitive personal data, financially relevant data or other sensitive information like business information or financial account data, this trust-based approach is not satisfactory with respect to a number of aspects and leaves room for improvements.
As long as the user's data to be stored, embodied as files, is stored in a plain, non-encrypted format, there are plenty of risks in that an unauthorized intruder might gain access to the stored data, which is generally known as computer related crime or computer crime. Therefore, it has become good practice, which is nevertheless followed only by a minority of the providers of remote storage services, to encrypt the customer data prior to storing it on a storage facility of the service provider. However, this method also has a number of drawbacks and potential risks for customers, be it consumers or corporate customers: Even if the customer's data is stored in an encrypted form at a facility of the service provider—that is, when the data is stored in a scrambled, non-readable form and is only readable with the knowledge of the employed encryption method and, for example, an encryption key—intruders may for example gain electronic access to a location of a company's storage network where the cryptographic information needed for accessing the data is stored. Also, even employees of the service provider might behave inappropriately and thus gain access to the customer's data. Thus, it is desirable to have a method for securely storing data remotely, without the potential for intrusion or data theft by an unauthorized private individual or other instance.
Furthermore, it has become common knowledge that government agencies in various countries have more or less direct access to the data of major companies, in most cases on a legal basis. This pertains to hardware and software companies, and also to storage service providers. Further, it is known that a significant part of the internet traffic is monitored on a regular basis, or in some cases even nearly continuously, by the authorities in a number of countries. Consequently, storage service providers may be able to protect files belonging to their customers from ordinary attackers, but may for example be obliged by law to collaborate with government agencies to give them access to the data—even full access to originally encrypted data—that users have stored with their storage services.
This is particularly relevant as in today's globalized economy embodied in the internet, no one person can be sure which governments might want access to his data. For example, an American citizen might store his data with a company which operates data storage centers physically located in various other countries, e.g., for economic, tax or other business related reasons. At least one of these countries might grant access via covert cooperation—probably unknown to the public, regardless in which country—to its own government's authorities or even to the authorities of a yet further foreign country. This might result in the authorities of a country hardly known to the private or even corporate US customer having full access to his sensitive personal or business related files. That data might in turn, for example, even contain information relevant to the security of the US or be potentially damaging to the business interests of US companies, such as to the employer of the individual using the storage service, or directly to a private business using the storage service. Thus, it would be desirable to have a method for securely storing data remotely which offers enhanced security against intrusion or manipulation by, for example, cryptographic attacks or the well-known "social engineering" attacks used by professional attackers against individuals and companies.
One approach for safeguarding the privacy of personal or business data against the above cited and other risks is to locally encrypt files on the user's computer (client computer) before transferring them to an online storage provider over the internet. Such a service is, for example, provided by the German company boxcryptor.de. However, also this method leaves room for improvement. For example, it is typically only a question of time until a known encryption algorithm will be broken, for example by specialized branches of government agencies which are known to take such action, and it may be years before such a security breach becomes public knowledge. Thus, in the meantime, the authorities of various countries might continuously inspect the encrypted personal or business data remotely stored, which is falsely considered to be safely encrypted by both the customer and even by the respective storage service provider. Also, the described method for the file encryption prior to the upload also prohibits users from benefiting from one of the desirable useful effects of storing files online, that is to easily and conveniently share personal files, such as photographs and the like, with friends, family or coworkers.
Hence, it would be desirable to have methods, systems or services for the remote storage of data which provide enhanced safety against a great number of attacks and against any kind of attacker, while at the same time providing ease of use and at least some or all of the advantages for users known from remote online storage services.
For the reasons cited above and for other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Computer system and method for encrypted remote storage


In order to allow for security beyond revocation lists, a policy regarding when permissions may be granted (in the form of a rights document, e.g. a use license or a certificate) is enforced. When a request is made for a rights document, the requester submits an account certificate which includes certain metadata regarding the requester. This metadata is analyzed to determine whether it meets a specific policy before the request is granted. If the request is not granted, the cause of the rejection may be overcome, for example by updating or upgrading some system component (hardware or software) in the requesting system. In certain cases, such an update to overcome a policy-based rejection may be performed transparently to the user.

Digital rights management ("DRM") and enforcement is highly desirable in connection with digital content such as digital audio, digital video, digital text, digital data, digital multimedia, software, etc., where such digital content is to be distributed to one or more users. Digital content could be static, such as a text document, for example, or it could be streamed, such as the streamed audio/video of a live event. In a typical use of a rights-management system, a user receives a piece of digital content via a network (e.g., the Internet), or on a physical medium (e.g., on a disk). Additionally, if the user is permitted to "consume" the content (e.g., play audio or video content, view textual content, execute the software, etc.), the user also receives a license for such content. The rights-management system enforces the requirement that the user can consume the content only when such consumption is permitted by the terms of the license.
Rights management systems typically rely on cryptography in at least two contexts. First, content that needs to be protected is encrypted. Second, given that any meaningful use of encrypted content requires the decryption key, the keys must be distributed only to trusted entities, and cryptographic certificates and signatures are used to establish this trust. In the simplest rights management system, the owner of encrypted content directly verifies the trustworthiness of the consumer of that content, and, if the owner is satisfied of the consumer's trustworthiness, distributes a license containing the decryption key to that consumer. Such a system, however, does not provide rich enough capabilities to be of much commercial significance. Most content —like anything else in commerce—is distributed through a complex chain or web of relationships. For example, the content owner may actually delegate to a distributor the task of issuing licenses (and, thus, keys) for content. In this case, the decoupling of the content owner from the license distributor provides greater flexibility in terms of how content gets distributed (e.g., the content owner does not need to spend time or money distributing content and operating a licensing server). On the other hand, this decoupling also requires that the content owner (who has a proprietary interest in the content) trust the license distributor (who has the power to affect the owner's proprietary interest).
In order to provide digital rights management according to one set of DRM techniques, content is stored only in an encrypted form, and then decrypted for use according to preset policies and an electronic license which defines the specific user's rights to use the content. In this way, persistent policy enforcement and protection of such content is provided at the file level.
This may be implemented using a server component and two client-side components, a rights management client and a security processor. The security processor may also be known in some systems as a "lockbox", "blackbox" or "secure repository." The security processor is a trusted component comprised solely of software, or of a combination of software and hardware. The security processor is responsible for all decryption, signing and policy interpretation. Thus, the security processor is the core security component on the client. Where a public key infrastructure (PKI) system is used to encrypt content, the security processor is the secure container of the unique private key assigned to the client machine, and also secures all other secrets (ex. other keys like the content key and the user's key) that might need to be managed in the process of decrypting the content. Additionally, the security processor allows only processes with the correct security to be running.
Although these components are termed secure, while they are resistant to tampering, breaches of the security may occur. It can be seen that if a vulnerability is found in the secure processor, the security of the DRM system could potentially be subverted. This might allow an attacker to decrypt, publish or redistribute protected content without licensed permission, or to publish or distribute software which allows others to gain unlicensed use of protected content. As a result, keeping the secure processor resistant to such vulnerabilities is critical to the security of the DRM system.
Traditional PKI systems use revocation protocols to respond to subversions of security (a.k.a. security "breaks"). Revocation protocols allow previously-issued credentials (ex. licenses, certificates) or other security-related components (ex. software which validates licenses or manages content) to be invalidated. That is, trust can not be established for licensed use of the DRM system if establishing that trust requires reliance on a revoked entity.
Revocation is accomplished by publishing "revocation lists" of components of the system considered untrustworthy for a given security level, such as compromised keys "broken" software modules, or insufficiently secure execution environments. A DRM client system attempting to validate a given certificate first will consult with a revocation list to determine if the security of any component implicated in establishing trust for the certificate (e.g. the author, publisher, or other grantor or certifier of the certificate) has been compromised. If some element in the certificate chain or other component, such as software involved in validating the certificate, appears in the revocation list, the certificate can not be trusted. One problem with using this revocation system in a DRM system is that the security processor, the very element of the system which may be compromised, is also the element of the system which controls the checking of a revocation list. The security processor or some part of its machine certificate chain may also be the subject of revocation. A compromised element may not be trusted to revoke itself.
Thus, in view of the foregoing, there is a need for a system that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.

Enhancing digital rights management system security through policy enforcement


A rapid construction method of pipe jacking for underground rescue tunnel with large section is disclosed. The present invention realizes rock breaking through the cutting head of a roadheader cutting unit, and pushes pipe jacking forward through a pushing thruster. During the process, a protecting bush fixedly connected with a stretchable part is adopted for circumferential support; and since the cutting head and the protecting bush occupy the rock breaking space, and the pushing thruster pushes pipe jacking forward to push the coal rock in the annular space to the circumferential direction, the effect of moving forward without slag discharge can be achieved. The present invention can establish a rescue tunnel quickly and effectively, which saves rescue time and greatly reduces the threat to the life safety of trapped people. The present invention can establish a fast and safe underground rescue tunnel with large section for the rescue of people.

Emergency rescue of coal mine disaster accidents is an important part of mine safety work, and rescue after coal mine collapse becomes the last line of defense to save lives. However, the operating conditions of the coal mine are poor, the geological conditions are complex and changeable, and the construction technology is complicated. At present, the monitoring and control on coal mine safety management are inadequate. If a collapse occurs, the life safety of the trapped people will be seriously threatened. The key to the rescue of coal mine collapse accidents lies in taking scientific and reasonable rescue measures in a short time. The tunnel cross-sections of modern mechanized mines are relatively large, most of which are above 12 m2. For drilling methods, complex situations and accidents such as bit blocked, mine wall chipping and collapse, tools stuck and tools truck sometimes occur, which are not conducive to rescue. The traditional method for rock breaking by a cutterhead has insufficient rock breaking ability when the job object is collapsing coal rock, and slag discharge with such method not only affects the rock breaking ability but also wastes time. After a tunnel collapses, a 100-meter-long tunnel is formed in the collapsed and unstable coal rock. The collapsed pile in the tunnel contains coal rock, rock bolt, anchor cable and the like, the dimensions are complex, and the hardnesses are also different; and the overall characteristics tend to be loose, the geometric dimensions tend to be small, and the geometric shape tend to be complicated. Therefore, in view of the above situation, the present invention provides a rapid construction method of pipe jacking for underground rescue tunnel with large section.

Rapid construction method of pipe jacking for underground rescue tunnel with large section


Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for a zero voltage processor sleep state. A processor may include a dedicated cache memory. A voltage regulator may be coupled to the processor to provide an operating voltage to the processor. During a transition to a zero voltage power management state for the processor, the operational voltage applied to the processor by the voltage regulator may be reduced to approximately zero and the state variables associated with the processor may be saved to the dedicated cache memory.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of electronic systems and power management. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for a zero voltage processor sleep state.
2. Description of Related Art
As the trend toward advanced microprocessors, e.g. central processing units (CPUs), with more transistors and higher frequencies continues to grow, computer designers and manufacturers are often faced with corresponding increases in power and energy consumption. Particularly in mobile devices, increased power consumption can lead to overheating, which may negatively affect performance, and can significantly reduce battery life. Because batteries typically have a limited capacity, running the processor of a mobile device more than necessary could drain the capacity more quickly than desired.
Thus, power consumption continues to be an important issue for mobile devices including laptop computers, wireless handsets, personal digital assistants, etc. In today's mobile devices, for example, to address power dissipation concerns, certain components may be placed into lower power sleep states based on reduced activity or demand.
For one approach, an operating system may support a built-in power management software interface such as Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) (e.g. Advanced Configuration and Power Interface, Ver. x285, June 2004). ACPI describes a power management policy including various "C states" that may be supported by processors and/or chipsets. For this policy, C0 is defined as the Run Time state in which the processor operates at high voltage and high frequency. C1 is defined as the Auto HALT state in which the core clock is stopped internally. C2 is defined as the Stop Clock state in which the core clock is stopped externally. C3 is defined as a Deep Sleep state in which all processor clocks are shut down, and C4 is defined as a Deeper Sleep state in which all processor clocks are stopped and the processor voltage is reduced to a lower data retention point. Various additional deeper sleep power states C5 . . . Cn have also been proposed. These additional power states are characterized by equivalent semantics of the C1 through C4 powers states, but with different entry/exit latencies and power savings.
In operation, to enter the deeper sleep states, ACPI may detect a time slot in which there are no new or pending interrupts to the mobile processor. The ACPI policy then uses an input/output (I/O) controller or other chipset features to place the mobile processor into the deeper sleep states.
Once the processor is placed into the deeper sleep state, a break event or interrupt from the operating system or another source may be sent to the chipset, and the chipset will then allow the processor to exit the deeper sleep state. The ability to transition between various power management states, including deeper sleep states, may enable power dissipation to be reduced and battery life to be increased.
Currently, entry into deeper sleep states is done by referencing an external voltage reference in a processor voltage regulator circuit and regulating to this reference voltage whenever a platform "Deeper Sleep" signal such as a DPRSLPVR signal or other similar signal is asserted by the I/O controller or other integrated circuit. The voltage regulator then transitions from a first voltage to a second lower voltage associated with the deeper sleep state. Upon exiting the deeper sleep state, a voltage transition in the other direction takes place with a similar specified time window.
As previously noted, obtaining low power sleep states is important to achieving better battery life in mobile devices. The mobile device market is a fiercely competitive product space and one of the key areas for advancement in this space is low-power solutions to preserve battery life.
Unfortunately, existing deeper sleep states for processors in mobile devices still burn a non-neglible amount of power because voltage is still required to be applied to the processor and cannot be completely powered off.

Method and apparatus for a zero voltage processor sleep state


A system and method for automatic conversions of units of measure in a wireless communication network are provided. With the system and method, when a wireless communication device enters a region of a wireless network, the wireless communication device registers with the wireless network. The registration includes the creation of a database entry at the mobile switching center that includes an indication of the origin, such as the country code, of the wireless communication device. Based on this indication of origin, a conversion function may be identified for converting of units of measure to a format that is most likely to be understood by a user of the wireless communication device. When a text based message is sent to the wireless communication device, the text message is received by the mobile switching center which determines how to route the text message and parses the text message to identify any portions of the text message that include a unit of measure that may need to be converted. These identified units of measure are then converted using the conversion functions identified based on the identification of origin. The text message with the converted units of measure is then routed to the destination wireless communication device.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to a system and method for automatic conversion of units of measure in a wireless communication network. More specifically, the present invention is directed to conversion of units of measure in messages sent to a wireless communication device wherein the conversion is based on an identification of origin of the user of the wireless communication device.
2. Description of Related Art
Various measurement systems have been devised and used in various countries of the world. The predominate measurement systems are the English and the Metric systems. Because different countries use different ones of these measurement systems, it is sometimes difficult for travelers to understand information being provided to them.
Lack of immediate access to understandable measurement information to travelers has resulted in numerous mistakes and discomfort to foreign travelers around the world. For example, a traveler may not be prepared for the day's weather due to the lack of understanding of temperature measurement (Fahrenheit vs. Centigrade) of the local weather forecast or may be unable to follow directions based on problems converting between Metric and English distances.
Currently there are numerous devices for travelers that address these sorts of problems but they are not automatic and often require a traveler to carry yet another piece of hardware. A device which has not been well-utilized for this purpose is the cellular telephone. Currently, the only conversions available via a cellular telephone are via web-based lookup or manually-configured personal digital assistant (PDA) based applications for cellular telephones with integrated PDAs. These applications must be specifically invoked by the user of the cellular telephone and actively interfaced with to perform such conversions.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for automatically performing conversions of units of measure in a wireless communication network.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method of automatic conversion of units of measure in a wireless communication network

International Business Machines Corporation


Integrated circuit devices and methods of forming the same are provided. The methods of forming an integrated circuit device may include forming a first insulating layer and a first conductive layer on a substrate and selectively forming a second insulating layer on the first insulating layer. The first insulating layer may include a recess, and the first conductive layer may be in the recess of the first insulating layer. The second insulating layer may include a first opening exposing a surface of the first conductive layer. The methods may also include forming a third insulating layer on the second insulating layer and the first conductive layer, forming a second opening extending through the third insulating layer and exposing the first conductive layer, and forming a second conductive layer in the second opening.

A self-aligned via (SAV) structure has been introduced to enhance electrical isolation between a via and an adjacent conductive layer by providing a layer having a high etch selectivity. The SAV structure, however, may not be effective to provide electrical isolation between a via and an adjacent conductive layer in high density integrated circuit devices.

Integrated circuit devices including a via and methods of forming the same


A power supply controller includes a first port, a second port, and a controller. The first port is connected to a power supply device. The second port is connected to a first relay node device via a wired path. The controller performs control to supply power received from the power supply device from the second port to the first relay node device. The controller performs control to generate a power-on instruction frame for instructing the first relay node device started by receiving power supply to start power supply from a port included in the first relay node device to a second relay node device connected to the first relay node device via a wired path. The controller performs control to transmit the generated power-on instruction frame from the second port.

In recent years, the social consciousness of the environment and energy-saving has been enhanced, and efforts have been activated for realizing optimum energy supply by monitoring the emissions of greenhouse gas, such as CO2, or collecting information, such as power consumption, from time to time. In view of this, in order to accurately and immediately collecting information, such as green house gas emissions or power consumption, a technique referred to as a sensor network has been studied and developed.
A system of the sensor network includes a plurality of sensors provided in a target area, a plurality of relay node devices including a connection interface to the provided sensors, a gateway connecting the plurality of relay node devices and a server, and a server collecting data detected by the sensors.
In the sensor network system, an ad-hoc communication technology can be used. In the sensor network system using the ad-hoc communication technology, the relay node device recognizes a relay node device adjacent to the own node device and autonomously constructs a network, and monitors communication quality or a communication failure with the adjacent relay node device and autonomously selects a communication path.
A place to be detected by the sensor is, for example, a dangerous area, such as a river or a cliff, an area in soil, an area under water, or an area in a structure. When the sensor is provided in the area described above, it is difficult in some cases that a relay node connected to the sensor performs data transfer to or from an adjacent relay node device using a wireless communication system. In addition, when a relay node device is configured to be driven by a power source incorporated into the own device, the relay node device stops operating due to the life of the power source.
In order to solve the inconveniences described above, a power supply device that supplies power to each of the relay node devices is provided in the sensor network system, and a wired ad-hoc network in which adjacent relay node devices are connected by wired cables is used. On each of the wired cables connecting the adjacent relay node devices, a signal line and a feeder line may be mounted using, for example, the Power Over Ethernet (POE) technology.
When multiple sensors are provided in the wired sensor network system, the number of relay node devices connected to the sensors is also increased, and therefore it is complicated to manually start the multiple relay node devices. In addition, in the wired sensor network system, when the sensors are provided in a dangerous area, such as a river or a cliff, in soil, under water, or in a structure, it is difficult to manually start each of the plural relay node devices connected to the sensors. In view of the foregoing, the plural relay node devices are configured to be started by supplying power from a power supply device to the respective relay node devices through wired cables connecting relay node devices adjacent to each other.
However, when power needed for starting each of the relay node devices is supplied simultaneously from the power supply device, a large current from the power supply device flows at once into a root relay node device connected near the power supply device. For that reason, in the relay node devices near the root, the temporary large current from the power supply device becomes a rush current, and the relay node devices near the root are likely to not be started normally. In addition, relay node devices near a terminal that receive power supply via other relay node devices are likely to not be started normally due to voltage drop or the like.
In view of the foregoing, the power supply from the power supply device to each of the relay node devices in the wired ad-hoc network system needs to be controlled such that each of the relay node devices is normally started.

Power supply controller, relay node device, wired ad-hoc network system, and power supply control method


A sensor for measuring the concentration of an analyte in a solution is disclosed. The sensor may be adapted for use as either an amperometric or a potentiometric sensor. It includes a membrane having a biologically active protein immobilized within. The membrane is attached and reliably sealed to a housing by means of ultrasonic welding, either directly or indirectly. Further, the membrane may be compressed to a fraction of its original dimensions. Metallic parts of the device may, optionally, be physically isolated from the sample solution to reduce corrosion. These features operate synergistically so that the claimed device exhibits relatively fast response and recovery times, is reliably leak-proof, and may be constructed in relatively small sizes.

Biosensors are electrodes which employ enzymes or other biologically active materials as highly selective catalysts. Early biosensors contained an enzyme in aqueous solution which was held in proximity to a sensing electrode by a membrane which did not contain a significant amount of the enzyme. The membranes of these biosensors served primarily as a physical barrier which, by virtue of their small pore size, prevented the enzyme from migrating into the bulk solution. The membrane also served to keep large protein molecules from entering the aqueous enzyme solution and interfering with planned reactions. These biosensors were comparatively large and their reaction times were slow by modern standards.
One improved type of biosensor held an enzyme trapped between two or more individual membranes. The enzyme could be dispersed in an adhesive which held the membranes in place, especially when the enzyme was glucose oxidase and the adhesive was glutaraldehyde. The restraining membranes did not contain a significant amount of enzyme.
Another type of biosensor contains enzymes immobilized directly within a permeable or semipermeable carrier. The enzyme may be physically encapsulated within the membrane in the form of fine droplets dispersed in a polymer. Alternately, the enzyme may be covalently bonded to functional polar groups which are attached to a synthetic polymer membrane. Functional groups include covalent binding groups, ionic binding groups, and hydrophobic groups. The immobilized enzyme membranes contain micropores which facilitate diffusion of target reagents and reaction products through the membrane.
Covalent bonds for immobilizing proteins are formed by linking amino or carboxyl groups, which are present in every enzyme, with polar functional groups which may be present on the carrier membrane. The functional groups can be derived from components normally present in the materials that forms a carrier substrate or the functional groups can be added to the carrier substrate. Suitable functional groups include carboxyl groups, amino groups, sulfonic acid groups, imino groups, thio groups, hydroxyl groups, pyridyl groups, and phosphoryl groups. The functional groups may be pre-activated by chemical treatment to enhance their ability to join with the amino or carboxyl groups present in the enzyme molecules.
As biosensor technology progressed, laminated membranes were produced which included an enzyme membrane which carried immobilized proteins and other membranes. The other membranes are located on one or both sides of the enzyme membrane and serve to impede the movement of undesirable species. For example, protecting membranes having relatively large pores are included in laminated membranes between an analyte solution and an enzyme membrane in that position, the protecting membranes prevent high molecular weight species from becoming adsorbed upon and fouling the surface of the enzyme membrane. Similarly, blocking membranes with relatively smaller pores were included between the enzyme membrane and a sensing electrode to prevent low molecular weight species, such as ascorbic acid and paracetamol from interfering with electrical detection and measurement as the sensing electrode. Some of the laminated membranes are prepared by the technique of spin casting successive layers of polymeric material.
The laminated membranes are not entirely satisfactory, however. They are expensive and time-consuming to prepare. Achieving a uniform distribution of enzyme attachment within the enzyme membrane is problematic. In addition, the laminated membranes frequently leak at their point of attachment to a sensor device and an analyte solution is then able to bypass the enzyme. Laminated membranes can also separate during operation.
Accordingly, improved laminated membranes and improved methods of manufacturing have been sought, as well as substitutes. One substitute is a blocking layer deposited directly upon the sensing electrodes. Such blocking layers are produced by polymerizing compounds directly on the electrodes, such as diaminobenzene and dihydroxybenezene copolymers. Intimate contract is achieved between the sensing electrode and the blocking membrane, but the quality of devices produced by this technique is often inconsistent.
Over the last two decades, evolution in biosensor design has been stimulated by a demand for smaller, faster, and more reliable leak-proof sensors which exhibit high sensitivity. Such sensors are especially useful for constructing arrays which contain many sensors. The demand for small biosensors with faster response and recovery times appeared to be at odds with the requirements of leak-proof reliability and high sensitivity. Generally, the route to faster response times is by incorporation of more sophisticated, less diffusion-resistant membranes, and through improved immobilization techniques which uniformly distribute the enzyme in well-defined layers without exposing the enzyme to conditions which might denature it.
In contrast, the use of sophisticated membranes and advanced immobilization techniques places a premium on the integrity of a seal between the enzyme membrane and the housing. Previously, the seal had been made using clamps, mechanical fasteners, or adhesives, and was a frequent source of leakage. Leakage around the enzyme would reduce the sensitivity of the biosensor device because reagents which had not been converted would not register at the electrode. Of course, the leakage bypass problem is most critical for small biosensor devices where the deleterious effect of any given size leak becomes relatively more important. When the seal leaks, the time required to rinse out a sample or calibrant solution is extended. Avoiding leaks is especially important in the case of systems with multiple sensors.

Biosensor with a membrane containing biologically active material


A beverage dispense font incorporating a portable cooling device is provided wherein the portable cooling device cools an outer housing of the dispense font in order to encourage ice formation on the dispense font. Unique visual effects can be obtained with ice formation on the outer housing of the dispense font, and the portable cooling device therefore enables independent cooling of the outer housing without redesign or modification of the existing glycol cooling system used to cool the dispensed beverage.

Beverages such as beer must be maintained at a sufficiently cool temperature in order to prevent excessive foaming of the beer when it is dispensed from the tap. Pressure-fed beer dispense systems typically include a glycol cooling system or cooling deck that cools the beer as it is transferred from the beer keg to the dispense point. The dispense point typically includes a dispense font or tower having a small reservoir to hold a quantity of the beverage to be dispensed. The tower itself may be cooled by the glycol cooling system wherein a glycol supply line circulates cooled glycol through or around the tower. The reservoir is replenished as the beverage is dispensed, since the beverage is under pressure from the keg.
It is preferable to minimize the distance between the beer keg and the dispense point. However, depending upon the layout of the particular establishment in which the beverage is to be dispensed, in many circumstances the beverage supply line must be cooled for a considerable distance. Glycol cooling systems include a glycol circulation loop, a refrigeration source, and one or more heat exchangers whereby the beverage supply line comes in contact with the glycol circulation loop. A glycol cooling system certainly adds to the expense of providing a cooled beverage. The most common glycol cooling systems are used for dispensing beer at establishments such as restaurants and bars.
It is common for the dispense tower to have a particular shape or style that corresponds to the brewer's commercial identity. In other words, the tower many include the trademarks/logos of the brewer and may be shaped and sized to reflect other commercial characteristics of the brewer. Thus, certain non-functional or aesthetic features may be added to the exterior surface of the dispense tower and beer tap with the intention of clearly associating the identity of the brewer with the beverage being dispensed from the tower. One feature that has been recently developed for dispense towers is the formation of ice on the beer tower itself. The glycol cooling system sufficiently cools the housing or shell of the dispense tower such that moisture in the atmosphere surrounding the beer tower condenses on the beer tower surface, and then ultimately freezes. Thus, the beer tower appears as a frozen mass.
One disadvantage to present frozen dispense towers is that the dispense towers must be integrated within the closed loop glycol cooling system. Therefore, the particular style or type of dispense tower that is in use at any particular location cannot be modified without disconnecting the glycol cooling line, redesigning/replacing the tower, and then reconnecting the glycol cooling line. Additionally, cooling of the dispense tower by the glycol cooling system also places additional demands on the glycol cooling system. Depending upon the length of the beverage supply line, the cooling capacity of the glycol cooling system, and the size of the dispense tower, the beverage may not be kept adequately cooled if the dispense tower must also be cooled.

Beverage dispense font incorporating portable cooling device

Abstract: The portable cooling device can be inherently small in size due to relatively minimal cooling capacity requirements for cooling just the outer housing of the dispense font. The dispense font and portable cooling device may be moved from location to location thereby greatly enhancing the capability to provide a frozen-appearing dispense font to many locations.


An instrument panel is identified based on a captured image such as a photograph. A target configuration of the instrument panel is compared with a current configuration of the instrument panel based on the image data. An indication of differences between the target configuration and the current configuration is provided.

When preparing an aircraft for takeoff, a number of cockpit procedures must typically be followed. The flight crew generally has to ensure preparation of details necessary for the flight including correct configuration of the instruments and settings, the destination and flight path, the weather, and so on. There are typically a large number of controls and displays inside the cockpit, such as systems that monitor the airplane's electrical, hydraulic, fuel and pressure systems, and a flight management system that manages the flight plan, speed control and navigation details. Various controls and displays also allow the crew to monitor the wind speed and direction, the fuel temperature and flow, cabin and cockpit pressure and temperature, and so on. To ensure safe operations, a number of standard operating procedures must be followed that provide the crew with step-by-step guidance for carrying out their operations.


The present invention delivers a portable and disposable infused beverage experience that is an improvement over prior art. The invention enables users to be able to realize faster and stronger permeable contents infusion, realize multiple servings of strong flavored beverages from one disposable serving, improve the cleanliness and efficiency of saturated beverage bag handling and disposal and provides a means to deliver other experience enhancing products and/or information. The invention components work together to provide an attractive, streamlined design that enables beverage creators to cleanly and efficiently increase liquid flow velocity and duration through a tea bag which improves the speed and intensity of infusion. Cleaner saturated tea bag handling and disposal benefits are delivered with specialized invention handling functionality and in combination with the apparatus packaging that provides a waterproof handling container. The invention provides the ability to add specialized header attachments to the top of the apparatus that deliver multiple types of additional products and/or information to beverage consumers. The header attachment provides the ability for new “game changing” methods to be executed that will enable current infused beverage Customers to be acquired and retained and new Customers to be developed and retained.

The present invention relates generally to the field of preparing infused beverages using a disposable infusion apparatus. Tea preparation using a disposable tea bag would be the dominant beverage type and method related to this field of this invention. The improvements over prior art delivered by this invention extends to all beverage types prepared using dry materials that infuse contents into liquid.
Tea is the number one brewed beverage consumed by volume in the world and the number two beverage consumed after water. According to Wikipedia 2014, "Tea is the most popular manufactured drink in the world in terms of consumption. Its total consumption equals all other manufactured drinks in the world, including; coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, and alcohol, combined."
According to the 2013 US Tea Fact Sheet, tea can be found in almost 80% of all U.S. homes. It is the only beverage commonly served hot or iced, anytime, anywhere, for any occasion. On any given day, over 158 million Americans are drinking tea. In 2012, Americans consumed well over 79 billion servings of tea, with approximately 85% of this consumption being iced. Hot brewed tea consumption is 11.85 Billion units per year or 32.5 Million units per day.
In 2012, over 65% of the total tea brewed in the United States was prepared using tea bags. Away from home consumption of tea has increased by at least 10% over the last decade and the industry anticipates strong, continuous growth over the next five years. This growth will come from all segments driven by convenience, benefits of healthy properties of tea, the continued development of unique blends and flavors and the ability to deliver health improving supplements. Global first world country tea consumption markets are massive and continue to expand. Currently, tea of all types, flavor and supplement infusions can be accessed through online companies and through a growing retail market of tea stores and other retail outlets.
The first tea bags were hand-sewn silk bags. Tea bag patents date as early as 1903 (U.S. Pat. No. 723,287), and tea bags were successfully marketed by the tea and coffee shop merchant Thomas Sullivan from New York, who shipped his tea bags around the world. The loose tea was intended to be removed from the sample bags by the customers, but they found it efficient to brew the tea with the tea still enclosed in the bags. Over the last century the tea bag, has seen some improvements in structure and membrane materials used. Modern tea bags are typically made of paper fiber. The heat-sealed paper fiber tea bag was invented by William Hermanson, who subsequently sold his patent to the Salada Tea Company in 1930.
In 1944, the typical shape of the tea bag was upgraded from the sack style of bag to the rectangular style of tea bag. In 1952, Lipton Tea Company patented a "flow-thru" bag, which has four sides (U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,741). In 1992, Tetley launched the round tea bag and actively marketed the benefits of faster and stronger infusion. The pyramid tea bag shape was invented by Brooke Bond and continues to be a popular in India and is marketed through the brand, Taj Mahal Tea. This invention increased the area for tea to move freely in the tea bag versus a flat tea bag. This change results in greater total tea leaf surface area being made available to water which can result in improved infusion.
The goal of the majority of these evolving tea bag inventions is to enable more water to flow over a greater surface area of tea leaves and produce a stronger infusion, faster. The tea bag advantage is that it is highly portable, disposable and can be used to deliver varying beverage strengths.
A disadvantage with the string attachment used to facilitate infusion with a tea bag is that it delivers a short distance of tea bag movement and a weak velocity of movement in liquid causing more effort and time to be exerted to generate an infused beverage. The string is also often not used to move the tea bag to facilitate infusion and is just used to remove the tea bag from the beverage container, once steeping is complete. The weakness of infusion ability of the string and tea bag apparatus also makes it increasingly harder to utilize one tea bag to generate multiple servings of strong infusions. Opportunity exists to improve on this prior art by providing means to increase the distance and velocity of tea bag movement in a beverage container in order to deliver improved infusion results.
Another disadvantage associated with tea bags is the sloppiness and inefficiency in handling a liquid infused tea bag after beverage preparation and disposal. Opportunities exist to improve on this prior art by providing means to increase the cleanliness and efficiency of tea bag handling during use and disposal.
In recent years, loose leaf tea consumption has significantly increased at home, at work and in retail outlets. There are many methods and devices that have been invented in order to enable the use of loose leaf tea to facilitate infusion and generate beverages.
"Tea socks" are used to create infused beverages using loose-leaf tea. These tea-bag-like infusers that are constructed with similar materials and, like tea bags, are disposable. They are filled with the infusible materials of your choice and then folded, clipped or tied shut for during infusing. Upon completion of infusion these socks are removed and thrown away. Another patented example is a cup sized disposable cone (U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,083) that is filled with infusible materials then liquid is poured into the cup and it filters through the disposable cone filter. The filter is then removed from the cup and the infused beverage remains. The disadvantages with these prior art methods are the same as tea bags and also include the fact that loose leaf tea or other beverage infusion materials need to be separately acquired and placed in these disposable infusion containers.
Other non-disposable, re-usable individual brewing devices mount directly on a beverage container and are used to facilitate loose leaf tea infusions. A device (U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,830) uses a filter suspended on a rod, where the filter can hang within a cup, and is removed when steeping is complete. Another patented device, the "Tea Ball" (U.S. Pat. 2007/0101870) employs an apparatus that includes a tea basket that is filled with loose leaf tea and supported for infusion be a circular device that fits around the rim of a beverage container. Another patented device, is a metal basket that is filled with loose leaf tea and hangs on the side of a cup and submerges the loose leaf tea into the liquid in the cup in order to facilitate infusion (US 2014/0053737). The disadvantages with these types of devices are that they can be unstable, are not very portable, are apparatus intensive, only fit specific size beverage containers, require loose leaf tea supplies to be available and require excessive apparatus handling and cleaning requirements.
"French press" or "Bodum" type devices which are primarily used for coffee can also be used to brew loose leaf tea and other infusible beverages. Basically, the infusible material is placed in a beverage container containing hot water and the steeping process occurs. When steeping is complete a plunger device that is fitted for the beverage container and is largely comprised of a fine mesh is depressed and the infusible material is captured at the bottom of the device and a consumable infused beverage results. The coffee press was first patented (U.S. Pat. No. 1,797,672) by Italian Designer Attilio Calimani in 1929. It underwent several design modifications through Faliero Bondanini, who patented his "Chambord" version in 1958 (U.S. Pat. No. 2,900,896). This type of device was further popularized globally by the Danish tableware and kitchenware company, Bodum (U.S. Pat. D557,978).
Disadvantages with this method are the cleaning requirements for each infusion occurrence and the requirement to have the device available limits portability. Also tea will continue to steep even after the plunger is depressed which may cause the tea remaining in the press to become an undesirable flavor. This can be prevented by pouring the tea into another container, which is another handling and cleaning disadvantage.
Disposable beverage press (U.S. Pat. No. 20,130,125,761) type devices have been patented. These devices are basically beverage presses designed with disposable materials and fitted for a disposable cup. The disadvantages are the same for these types of inventions as the non-disposable press designs, except for the cleaning requirements. These devices are also apparatus and process intensive which counters the goals of ease of beverage preparation that should accompany portability and disposability.
Another group of methods and devices currently used to deliver infused beverages are cartridge based beverage delivery systems. The Keurig Company is a well-known brand of patented beverage infusion machines that use disposable single serving beverage cartridges (U.S. Pat. No. 7,165,488). These machines use specific shaped disposable cartridges that are full of infusible materials. The dominant usage volumes are coffee cartridges, but they also supply cartridges with beverage infusions for tea, cider, hot cocoa, and other specialty infusions. The machines are filled with cup sized portions of water and the water is passed through the inserted cartridges. The result is a fixed portion size of a fixed strength beverage. The used cartridge can then be removed from the machine and the cartridge disposed.
The advantages of this machine and cartridge system are that beverages can be efficiently prepared with a clean preparation and disposal process. This method is of significant value to hotel businesses where customers can efficiently enjoy hot beverages in their room. These machines are also used in homes and businesses that supply beverage options for employees.
A significant disadvantage with these machine-cartridge based systems is that the physical size of these brewing machines eliminates the ability to enjoy portability. These cartridges also deliver only one flavor strength of brewed beverages. Users have no opportunity to under or over infuse the flavor transfer to their desired strength with these machine-cartridge based systems. Another disadvantage with the cartridge and machine system is that a single serving is the result of the use of one cartridge, there is no ability to generate another quality strength beverage serving out of a single serving cartridge. With cartridge and machine designs being patent protected the cost per serving can be significantly higher than other methods.
Opportunities exist to improve over this prior art by delivering high quality infusion beverage types and flavors with a portable, disposable apparatus that does not require any cleaning, can deliver the flexibility for Users to prepare their desired infusion strengths and can deliver multiple servings of desired strength beverages. As previously disclosed in this section, the infusible beverage global market is massive and expanding. Premium tea types, flavors and health improving supplements can be ordered on-line from a large variety of global and regional companies. Opportunities have been identified that improve on prior art by providing products that improved customers experiences and deliver additional value as part of a portable and disposable premium infused beverage.
We identified that opportunities exist to improve on prior art by adding additional products to a beverage infusion apparatus that are efficiently attached and attractively displayed. These added products can be personalized in order to deliver an added "positive emotional" boost and/or "show off ability" boost to a User. These added headers enable "game changing" sales methods to be executed that will attract and retain current infused beverage Customers and enable the creation and retention of new Customers.
Opportunities exist to deliver value to businesses by leveraging a daily consumable beverage infusion apparatus that can also communicate information to Consumers. Opportunities exist to leverage current internet e-commerce abilities to enable high-quality personalized and customized gifts that deliver premium infused beverages of a variety of types and flavors that also deliver personalized images that are of great value to gift receivers. Opportunities exist to efficiently deliver other value and experience enhancing products with a beverage infusion apparatus that are not delivered by prior art. For example, the ability to enjoy a cold and flu medicine infused tea created with the infusion apparatus and then enjoying a throat lozenge lollipop that is detached from the infusion apparatus tea-bag attachment after the beverage is enjoyed.

Tea bag pumper infusion apparatus with multi-purpose header attachments and waterproof apparatus handling and disposal container


A variable valve lift apparatus may include an outer body, an inner body inserted in the outer body to move up and down in the outer body, a valve cylinder inserted in the outer body on a lower side of the inner body to have one side coupled to the inner body and the other side coupled to the valve, a latching member provided either to the outer body or to the inner body to be operated by a hydraulic pressure for coupling to the outer body and the inner body selectively, a hydraulic chamber formed between the outer body and the inner body, a latching flow passage formed in the outer body to supply the hydraulic pressure to the latching member, and an oil removal valve provided to drain a fluid.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable valve lift apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a variable valve lift apparatus of which operation stability is secured.
Description of Related Art
In general, an engine is provided with a combustion chamber for burning fuel to generate power, an intake valve to be opened and closed for selective supply of combustion chamber mixture gas, and an exhaust valve to be opened and closed for selective exhaust of exhaust gas.
The intake valve and the exhaust valve are opened and closed by a valve opening and closing device connected to a crankshaft for intaking the mixture gas and exhausting the exhaust gas, respectively.
A related art valve opening and closing device is operated by a cam of a fixed shape to open the valve to a fixed lift always, without changing timing or a valve lift of intake and exhaust. Consequently, appropriate intake and exhaust cannot be performed according to an operation state of the engine.
For an example, if a valve mechanism has been designed suitable for a low speed operation state, adequate mixture gas may not be supplied to the combustion chamber and exhaust from the combustion chamber may not be smooth in a high speed operation state when a relatively high output is required. And, if the valve mechanism has been designed suitable for the high speed operation state, excessive mixture gas may be supplied to the combustion chamber and an exhaust time period from the combustion chamber may be long excessively in the low speed operation state.
Recently, in order to solve such a problem, researches on a variable valve lift apparatus undergo, actively.
However, if the variable valve lift apparatus is operated only by a hydraulic pressure, smooth operation of the variable valve lift apparatus may become difficult as viscosity of the oil of the hydraulic pressure increases when an engine temperature becomes low which results in a low temperature of the oil.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the related art already known to a person skilled in the art.


The present invention relates to a system and a method of providing content for a mobile communication terminal, and a computer readable medium comprising a program for implementing the method. There is provided a method of: providing content for a mobile communication terminal, storing content organized into sub-content files, wherein the sub-content files comprises at least one of an executable file, a DLL file, and a resource file; generating package list data for the multi files; transmitting the package list data to the mobile communication terminal; and transmitting the sub-content files in the package list data to the mobile communication terminal, wherein a download agent program in the mobile communication terminal checks if the transmission completes. By organizing content into a plurality of sub-content files, it is advantageous to transmit the sub-content files efficiently.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method of providing content for a mobile communication terminal, particularly, a method of efficiently providing large-size content by organizing content to be downloaded to a mobile communication terminal into a plurality of sub-content files and for managing efficiently the large size content in the mobile communication terminal.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Recently, the rapid development of Internet is enhancing access to various content data through the Internet.
The term "content" indicates various information or their contents, both are provided over the Internet, such as text, music, games, movies, and executable program of reproducing the above-mentioned content on a user terminal.
The content was downloaded through the landline Internet and played on desktop PCs or notebook computers in the past, however, since cellular phones or personal digital assistants (PDA) become popular nowadays, the needs to use content over mobile communication terminals increase more and more.
Currently, it becomes possible to provide several tens of mega-bytes to several giga-bytes content with ongoing advances in the technology of massive multimedia data transmission over the landline Internet and rapid performances of desktop PCs or notebook computers. However, in providing content to a mobile communication terminal, it is the fact that small-size content can be sent to the mobile communication terminal due to the limited memory volume, performance of the mobile communication terminal, and instability of wireless network.
Since small-size content used to be downloaded to the mobile communication terminal in the past, it was general to organize content for the mobile communication terminal as one file.
For example, in case of providing game content, execution data for using content and resource data for presenting characters or backgrounds, etc. were put into one file and then provided.
Recently, it becomes possible to expand memory capacity of the mobile communication terminal with external memory devices and to improve its processing performance, so that it allows to process large-size content in the mobile communication terminal. It is, however, still the fact that large-size content is being provided in one file.
But, there may be the following shortcomings when providing content in one file to the mobile communication terminal.
First, in case of large-size content, there may be various patch files after the first development of content, and when content is provided in one file, whole content has to be newly downloaded for downloading a relatively small-size patch file.
Second, in case of downloading whole content to download a small size patch files, it causes increased communication costs due to high volume of packet transmission through the network.
Third, in case of large size content, there may be an extension pack for expanding function. In this case, even if there are many consistent components between a basic pack of the content and the extension pack, whole extension pack has to be newly downloaded.
In addition, reproduction programs such as VOD player, DMB player, and MP3 player for mobile communication terminals have been included in an operating system when manufacturing a mobile communication terminal due to the performance of the terminal, however, it is possible to provide patch file for revising errors or extension pack for upgrading these programs through updating the terminal OS binary. But, since the performance of the terminal is increasing continuously and the limitation on the terminal storage is disappearing with external memory devices, the possibility of downloading these kinds of programs used to be provided with the terminal OS increases.
But, if this execution program is also downloaded in one file to the mobile communication terminal, in case of downloading small size patch files or extension packs including lots of components that are already included in the basic pack, there are still shortcomings that whole content has to be downloaded.
In addition, content for the mobile communication terminal has been provided in one file, and this file was stored in the predetermined address region in memory of the mobile communication terminal as one file without any specific directory.
Recently, it becomes possible to provide large size content due to the increased performance of the mobile communication terminal and increased memory capacity, however, large size content is still provided to the mobile communication terminal in one file and stored in the predetermined storage region without designating any specific directory.
It is possible there are various patch files if the size of content becomes larger, however, whole content had to be downloaded for the small size patch file, and accordingly, the mobile communication terminal must reserve large size of memory volume when downloading content.
Also, no extension pack was provided for large size content that was already installed on the mobile communication terminal, or even if there was an extension pack, this was recognized as a different file because content was organized in one file, so that the memory volume was limited because the extension pack was stored in another storage region different from the region where the basic pack was stored.

System and method of providing contents for mobile communication terminal


Provided is a liquid crystalline compound which has a large value of refractive index anisotropy, exhibits a liquid crystal phase in a wide temperature range, and is stable under use conditions.

Liquid crystal elements are widely used as e.g. displays in a display field and as e.g. diffraction elements and phase plates in an optical pickup field. These elements are required not only to have various properties such as a high contrast ratio, a wide view angle, a wide operating temperature range, a high-speed response, a low operating voltage and chemical stability, but also to decrease the thickness and size of the elements. Therefore, important physical properties are refractive index anisotropy, dielectric constant anisotropy, electrical conductivity, etc. of a liquid crystal material to be used for the liquid crystal elements, and in particular there is an increasing demand for a material with a large value of refractive index anisotropy.
For example, a product of a value of refractive index anisotropy (Δn) of a liquid crystal material and a thickness (d1) of a cell is required to be constant in the display elements. The recent display elements adopt a method of attaining good-quality display without domains by reducing d1, and a liquid crystalline compound with a large Δn value is needed for adjusting the Δn value of the liquid crystal material to an optimum value. Furthermore, because a response time can be reduced by decreasing the d1 value, a liquid crystalline compound with a large Δn value is extremely useful for producing a liquid crystal display element with a high response speed and good display quality.
Moreover, in the optical pickup field, it is proposed to realize a polarization diffractive element with high light utilization efficiency by forming a lattice-like rectangular structure on a transparent substrate and filling the structure with a liquid crystal material. When such a polarization diffractive element satisfies λ/2=Δn·d2 where d2 is a height of the lattice, Δn is a value of the refractive index anisotropy of the liquid crystal material, and λ is a wavelength of light to be used, the ±1st-order diffraction efficiency becomes maximum. In recent years, with downsizing of optical head apparatus, a lattice pitch p of the polarization diffractive element is becoming smaller and smaller. However, as an aspect ratio d2/p of the lattice becomes larger in accordance with the decrease in the pitch p, deviation from an ideal lattice-like structure becomes larger, which causes a problem of decrease in the diffraction efficiency. It is thus necessary to decrease the lattice height d2 and thereby decrease the aspect ratio. Namely, in order to satisfy both of the small aspect ratio and good diffraction efficiency, there is a demand for a liquid crystalline compound with a large value of refractive index anisotropy.
Compounds below are proposed heretofore as liquid crystalline compounds having a large value of refractive index anisotropy (in the formulae, R3 and R4 are each independently an alkyl group with a carbon number of from 2 to 12, an alkoxy group with a carbon number of from 2 to 12, a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a cyano group or a nitro group, and X3 is a hydrogen or fluorine atom).
(1) Tolan derivatives represented by the formula (A) below (cf. Patent Document 1)
(2) Butadiyne derivatives represented by the formula (B) below (cf. Non-patent Document 1)
(3) Stilbene derivatives represented by the formula (C) below (cf. Non-patent Document 2)
(4) Difluorostilbene derivatives represented by the formula (D) below (cf. Patent Document 2)
(5) Enyne derivatives represented by the formula (E) below (cf. Patent Document 3)
(6) Hexenediyne derivatives represented by the formula (F) below (cf. Patent Document 4)
    Patent Document 1: JP-A-1-502823    Patent Document 2: JP-A-3-294386    Patent Document 3: JP-A-6-312946    Patent Document 4: JP-A-7-304694    Non-patent Document 1: "Molecular Crystal Liquid Crystal", 1978, vol. 48, p. 175    Non-patent Document 2: "Liquid Crystal", 1993, vol. 15, p. 529-540

Abstract: It is a liquid crystalline compound represented by the following formula (1):

Abstract: wherein the symbols in the formula have the following meanings:                R1, R2: each independently, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkoxy group, a halogen atom or a cyano group, wherein at least one hydrogen atom in each of the alkyl, alkenyl and alkoxy groups may be replaced with a chlorine or fluorine atom;        ring A, ring B: each independently, a trans-1,4-cyclohexylene group or a 1,4-phenylene group, wherein a hydrogen atom in each of these rings may be replaced with a chlorine atom, fluorine atom or methyl group;        X1, X2: each independently, a hydrogen or fluorine atom;        n: 0 or 1.